Thanks for posting that Jeremy, I've been pouring through our pictures and have been unable to find one of your Dad's Charger parked next to us. I know someone in my family took some, probably Boone on his cell phone, which will disappear later in the story as well!! Really enjoyed getting to spend time with you again, always a pleasure.

Pleasure is all mine. I wish I had driven the fury back the other time to get the same picture. Will have to wait, this east coast stuff isn't for me.

Surprisingly Randi Heinselman was one and done in the Hemi powered AAR Cuda, despite running nearly two tenths off his opening day 9.30 with a 9.49-143.62, but we would discover later that low gear went away in the 727 after day two, so he was launching in second for the rest of the week and just taking what the he could get at that point.

After making multiple runs at Byron, Ross and the yellow Road Runner took the first hit as well, but Terry Keifer in the Fire Amber Barracuda wasn't slow lucky. He suffered terrible turbo lag out of the hole, and the disappointment on his wife's face as she walked away from the line meant Terry better get it figured out and get back in line!

The rest of the Family rolled in around an hour and a half after we did, and I directed them back to where we were pitted.

"Why didn't you pit next to Michelle and Rick", Dale asked, pointing across the field to where the purple Duster and green dart were sitting.
I just stared at him with my hands on my hips, and shook my head. "I wanted to be in the shade, but you are welcome to join them if you want!"

Joel, and I, had the pleasure of having dinner with Scott Abbott, Randi Heinselman, and their wives on DW18. Truly some of the nicest people you could ever meet. Randi talked about losing low gear on DW17, and what he learned from it. Was interesting.

Things got really interesting in Street Race Small Block Normally Aspirated at Great Lakes. Jason Tabscott's hard leaving, high flying 70 Camaro had been pulling huge wheel stands all week, and had fifteen hundredths in the bank over Paul Corman's Demon, despite the fact that the W headed Mopar had nearly 2 mph on him. But at Great Lakes, Freiburger hinted that the silver Camaro was having a problem and sure enough, it left with the front tires barely off the pavement and slowed to a 9.68-140. Paul and the green 71 Demon were able to answer with a 9.57-142 that meant he would only need to be four hundredths better than the Camaro on Friday to take the class win.

#36 Sky King Red 87 Dodge D-150
Day 1: 18.17-76.6
Day 2: 17.60-75.4
Day 3: 17.71-76.2
Day 4: 17.57-77.2
Day 5: 17.59-76.8
Final Average: 17.730-76.49

Eight of the forty-four Mopars that registered on Sunday were unable to finish Drag Week this year. Sky's stone stock 318 auto short bed 1/2 ton hauler was the slowest of those who did. The young man didn't seem to mind, as he had a smile on his face every time I spoke to him.

I think Billy got a book deal and is saving all the content!

Look out Simon and Shuster best sellers list!

Mr. Abbott's second attempt in the NA Hemi powered Belvedere wasn't a bunch better than his first, but I think battling the evil mannered elephant got the best of him, and he decided to call it a day. The 10.898 would be their slowest accepted ET all week, but the 138.33 MPH would be the best speed of the week, so while he headed towards the tower to turn in the time slip, Kim began the arduous task of loading everything back in the B-body.

Frank Perkins' 69 Valiant moved around a bit out of the hole, and the NA big block recorded a 10.07-134 just a few pair behind Scott, but he was desperately trying to hang onto a nine second average so I wasn't surprised to see him head back to the lanes, despite the fact that his Canadian buddies were loading up and ready to head out. Frank is a tenacious guy who works hard on his stuff and runs it even harder. He would later admit that the wedge was less than 100% for DW17, but he was going to get the number he wanted!

"We parked next to the laundry room at the motel, and I ran a drop cord from there to the charger, hooked it up to the Duster, and went to bed," Boone explained when I asked him about the level of the Duster's batteries.
"It was still hooked up and charging when we woke up, so I guess nobody needed a battery charger worse than we did!" He was bent over the fender changing the spark plugs while Dale was taking the -3 lines loose from the plate.
"What are you guys up to now?" I shook my head as I asked the question.
"He wants more!" Dale laughed, "Not my call, strictly his".
"I've got a Valiant to catch", Boone shrugged, "and it drives so easy, I figured a little more power was just what she needed!"
"You are an idiot!" I exclaimed, "you went 1500 feet to get to the stripe at Byron, and this place doesn't have nearly as much room for error..."
"I got this", he interjected, "I was just letting her run free at Byron, but I can reign her in any time!"
"You tell yourself that!" I just shook my head, "I'm gonna go up and watch for a little bit if anyone wants to go."
"I'll walk up to the bleachers with you", Dad agreed.
"Hey", Dale pointed, "if you see Rachael up there, ask if she's going to cook, or if it's track food today!"
"Will do...I noticed they brought in some extra food trucks this time, so should be plenty of choices."
"Yeah, they probably learned from the last Drag Week, this place packs in the spectators for this deal", Boone agreed.

Dad and I stopped by and checked in with the Heath's and the Hardee's before we made it to track side.
"You drove right by us", Rick laughed, "We were here well before you..."
"I actually saw the other green 71 Dart from the back, and thought it was you guys, I'm only two rows behind it!"

Our pit area was closer to the final turn off than the finish line, so Dad and I just found a spot on the bleacher furthest down track and settled in. It really looked difficult to find seating next to the starting line anyway, as those stands were packed and they were three deep on the fence.

While Lohnes kept telling us that the track had plenty of teeth, some of the times from the first hour, and the fact no sevens had yet been recorded, led me to believe otherwise. Doc McEntire's Pro Street NA Hemi Powered 68 Camaro had turned in 8.06,7.99,8.00 for the first three days, and went 8.14 at a DW17 best 168. Nathan Chesler's 600 inch nitrous assisted BBC powered 93 Mustang went 7.86-178 on Monday, but had blazed the tires to a stab and steer 8.32-176 in the early going at Great Lakes Dragaway. The same result occurred when Cal Hayward's Twin Turbo SBF Fox Body gave it a shot, another low eight out of a car normally in the 7.70 range!

It didn't give me much confidence for a good run when I realized that Shroeder and Ens, along with help from the Lutz family were preparing to send the Monte Smith Performance 66 Vette down the left lane.

Allow me to provide a little context to what was unfolding before us on Thursday morning at Union Grove Wisconsin. Dave Shroeder and John Ens were competing in their nitroused Vette for the sixth time on Drag Week, on the previous 5 attempts they had staged the car on day 4 only once back in 2014. They had to back out and take a 20/50 on that day, so this would be the equivalent of a .200 hitter known for weak singles, stepping to the plate desperately needing a home run. To follow the baseball analogy a little further, the tarmac at GLD was the epitome of a stingy pitcher, having yet to yield a seven, let alone the six we were all hoping to see out of the blue chevy.

To add to the drama and anxiety, Jeff Lutz was just bringing Dave and the Vette into the beams, when the red lights starting flashing on the tree, indicating a problem down track. They backed the pair up, but the problem took a while to resolve, so eventually the decision was made to push the car back down the hill and start the burn-out process all over again!
Finally, the tree flashed and Dave Schroeder smacked the 872 with several kits of Monte Smith nitrous. The first 60 feet was beautiful with the front barely hiked. "He's gonna do it", Brian Lohnes boomed out with uncontrolled emotion over the loud speakers. The little sports coupe jumped out of the groove towards the wall at 200 feet but the butterflies, clearly visible in the unique intake, never wavered. A series of small adjustments on the wheel kept the Vette off the wall past the eighth mile, but Dave had yet to get the monster back in the groove.

Then what happened?

I'm not sure if David just couldn't keep it off the wall, or if he heard the phantom noises we all hear in our rides as we get closer to the finish of this event, but he stepped off the power at 1100 feet, and the chutes blossomed just as he hit the stripe.
"6.75 at 196!" Brian Lohnes shouted, "and he was out there tiptoeing that thing where Angels fear to tread!"
"Yeah, he was way over to the left...but that should give them the win if they can only get it back to Cordova", Freiburger added.

"Wow, he needed that one!" Dad commented to me as the numbers lit up on the board.
"We all needed that one, Dad, every single Drag Weeker here wanted to see that!"

Just two pairs later, Tom McGilton staged up his 2013 ZL1 Pro Street Power Adder Camaro in the same lane Schroeder had just assaulted. Even before he backed up from the burn out, Lohnes was posing the question of whether today would be the day McGilton would run 200 mph. He had went 199.1 at St Louis, so it was possible. The pass looked really clean, and you could hear the disappointment in Brian's voice when he announced the 7.368 at 198.93.
"Wow, that was stout", I exclaimed pointing at the numbers.
"He didn't get the two hundred", Dad gave me a sidelong look and had just stated what most people were undoubtedly thinking.
"No, the ET! He just dropped the class record by over a tenth! Only 3 PSPA cars have even been in the 7.50's before this year, and Glenn Hunter just lowered the mark to 7.47 on Tuesday...that was one heck of a shot right there!"
"Well, I'm glad I've got you here to explain it to me, but you should probably text that to Lohnes so he can inform everyone else", Dad laughed.
"I'm sure he knows...they've got people", I shot back.
"You and Boone have this stuff down, I don't think they've got anyone with the knowledge of the numbers you guys have."
"I just think it makes it more fun, that's all...it adds to the moment if you're seeing the whole picture, I explained.

Cal Haywood, who had struggled to grab the track earlier, lined the drag radials on his 91 Mustang up directly in McGilton's tracks, and threw down a 7.73-182.
"Hello!" I laughed "We have a racetrack now!"
"Here comes Squirrel down the return road", Dad pointed.
"We must've just missed his run, I wonder how he did", I shrugged.
"You mean the AWB Chevy II?" The guy seated directly behind us interjected.
"Yeah, that's a friend of ours and I've been trying to keep tabs on him", I explained.
"Sounds like you keep tabs on everyone" he laughed, "He went 10.08-131".
"Is that a good number for him?" Dad asked.
"Yeah, he only has a bar, so he can't go under 9.99, that means a ten oh anything will be exactly what he's looking for."

Just two pairs later Matt Blasco and the Dirty Drag Week Dart would lay down a burnout in the same left lane. It was clear right from the hit that something in the little A-body wasn't happy, so Matt just cruised to a 9.32-144 and didn't even pull the chutes.
"The thing was real, real lumpy down low, so he's going to basically shut it off, and coast through", was Lohnes' description on the mic.

The Creamsickle, Joe Barry's 56 Chevy, which was leading Ultimate Iron and was currently second overall, did a long smoky burnout right through the chatter marks left by the Dart.
"Is the left lane that much better, or is it a coincidence that all the fast cars are in it?" Dad asked me.
"It could be better, or it could be that the impound pit area just feeds into that lane, because all these cars were in impound to start the day."
"OK, that makes sense".
"I'm wondering if they are gonna have Joe Barry put some full left rudder into that thing before he stages it because the car is angled towards the center of the racetrack a little bit" Brian Lohnes explained to everyone over the PA system.
From our vantage point we could see engine builder Steve Morris standing a safe distance behind the car with his arms crossed, as he was waiting for one of his customers, Les Smith to run a couple of pairs later. When Brian mentioned it he took a few steps forward and glanced down one side of the 56 Chevy, then walked four of five steps over to look down the driver's side. We watched as he exchanged a few words with Michelle, Joe's wife, then nodded and sprang into action.
"Steve Morris is walking around down there, having a look at it, and Michelle just slapped him on the back and told him to show Joe where to stage that thing. So now, there he goes, Steve is going to get him straight! You know as dumb as it sounds, I always pay attention to how cars like this get lined up, not just left or right of the groove, but when they get crossed up like this, you know how this works, those big tires are going to drive the car wherever it's pointed and Joe Barry would have no other choice but to peddle the thing and throw away a run!"
Brian Lohnes wasn't just giving play by play, he had taken an active roll in correcting a problem he spotted from his perch in the tower just above the cars, and Steve Morris who had already lost two customers that he had been helping to DNF's had no affiliation with the Barry's but was more than willing to jump into a spot we had watched Monte Smith fill in the past.
"That right there is what Drag Week is all about...moments like that", I explained to Dad, trying to keep the emotion out of my voice.
"That's one heck of an announcer", the guy behind us offered.
"Yes", I acknowledged, "the best there is, on the planet, bar none!"
"Friend of yours?"
"Friend of everyone of us", I laughed "he puts as much passion and effort into this event as anyone here!"
"The other guy on the mic is an idiot!" The man behind us exclaimed, which caused both Dad and I to burst into laughter.
"Yeah, but he's our idiot, and we love him for it!"

I can't speak for any one but myself but I can see and appreciate your passion for the sport and dragweek in particular.
Thanks for the story

Joes seat actually is at an angle in the 56.With his helmet,Hans device etc on its hard for him to know if the car is straight in the beams.Thus he needs some guidance getting lined up.As for the other guy on the Mic one racers wife refers to him as Fruitaburger.LOL