There was a tinge of daylight working through the curtain when I woke up, but it was only 6:30 AM. I knew I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep unless I checked on the cars, so I pulled on a t-shirt and my shoes to make my way out to the parking lot.
Tim Hall was obviously suffering from the same kind of anxiety I was, because he was in the parking lot checking on his nine second, Hot Rod class leading 47 International pick-up at the same time. His face brightened into a smile when he saw me come out and he extended his hand.
"Coming out to check on the cars too I see", he laughed.
"Yeah, we stayed here Sunday night, and we were the only DW cars here...it's a pretty rough looking area."
"I didn't have a room reserved for Thursday night, in case I didn't feel like making the whole drive", He explained, "and this is what I found, but I could tell it was pretty sketchy, so I didn't sleep all that well!"
Everything seemed to be in order, so I made my way back through the lobby, and grabbed a small cup of coffee on my way to the room. Odd considering I planned to lay back down, but my wife is addicted and has a pot on 24/7 at our house, so it's never a bad time for a sip or two.

I was still restless when I returned to the room, so I went ahead and took a shower, laid out my clothes, and packed all my things before crawling back in bed.
"It's 9AM", Rachael was shaking my shoulder, "last call for the continental breakfast!"
She had the last of her stuff in her arms, and Boone had already cleared out of the room, so I dressed quickly and joined them at a table. All of us were aware that they would start putting food away promptly at 9:30, so we loaded up several plates in advance, and Rachael was cranking out waffles as fast as the machine would allow. Everyone looked refreshed and well rested except Dale, he looked like he could've slept another five hours!
"You just going to roll the beams and take a 20/50 and call it good when we get out there", I asked him.
"No", his voice was coarse and he shook his head slowly, "did the math already and I need an 8.97 or quicker to beat last year's average, so that's what I intend to do!"
I gave a shocked look at both Boone and Dad, but they just looked down at their food and shrugged.
"The engine is hammered, the car is hammered, you don't have anything to prove...", I tried to reason.
"Look Dave", he stared right at me, "We don't set many goals for our Drag Weeks: have fun, spend time with the family."
"Yeah...that's the way we approach it," I agreed.
"We don't come out here and try to win class or impress everyone, it's just fun. We do however, try to run faster every year, and improve our average. Right? Isn't that what you are trying to get Rachael to do with the Belvedere?"
"Yes, yes, but I don't want you to drive over the crank and put the little beast in the wall either!"
He leaned back in his chair, and laughed, "She's got another eight left in her, I'm sure of it!"

We didn't roll into National Trail until around 11:30, and we heard the announcement that they were indeed going to start with a two hour session of Street Machine Eliminator, so we turned our concentration towards making sure that Rachael and the Belvedere were ready to go first.