Welcome back, race fans! I loaded the INS Dragster the Friday before Labor Day, prepared for the tow to Earlville and looked forward to a weekend of racing. As the week had progressed, it sure appeared that “Mother Nature” was going to provide us with some badly needed moisture. We just didn’t count on that much! After showering and packing, I was out the door around 5:30 p.m. I planned on a casual drive, hoping to arrive easily by 7:30 p.m. I was wrong!
Between Vinton and Independence on the not-so-modern Hwy 150, I had my first trial of the weekend. Boom! I had a tire blow out on the trailer’s left side. I drove very slowly for a couple of miles until I could get turned into an abandoned farm lane to change the tire. I got the tire changed and was on my way in 30 minutes, which wasn’t bad.
I pulled into the race facility around 8:15 p.m. – just enough time to park, shower again (it was muggy and warm changing the tire), have an adult beverage and get some sleep. The evening was quiet until around 2:30 a.m. Then, the wind picked up and the rain started. We had it all – rain, wind, thunder, lightning. And, of course, trying to sleep in a tin box when it’s pouring down rain is not easy.
When I woke up around 7 a.m., the rain had stopped, but it certainly didn’t look promising for racing. Around 8:30 I unloaded the car and headed for the pay/registration area. It didn’t take long to realize more rain was on the way. I rounded up a couple of helpers and loaded the INS Dragster just in time as the rains came. They never completely stopped all day! The races were not officially called off until 11:30, so it made for a long morning.
The afternoon involved napping, watching a movie and then going out to eat at 7:30 p.m. It was still raining when I returned after dinner and it continued well into the morning hours. So much for Saturday race day!
Sunday morning was fantastic — cool, slight breeze and lots of sunshine! Along with the gorgeous weather came lots of race cars. With so many cars, the time runs were limited to two and there were no ½ hour of open time trials.
Time runs started at 9 a.m. and my turn came around 10:05. My first trip down the quarter mile in the left lane netted us a 7.576 at 178.17 mph. I was very happy as that was the first time the INS Dragster had been in the 7.50s. Our next pass came around 11:15. I was in the right-hand lane and netted a time of 7.582 @ 177.85 mph – our second quickest run ever. I felt good about going a few rounds that day. We were ready. They took a few minutes for lunch and started eliminations.
Our first run was around 1:15. I had a lane choice and I chose the left lane. My competition dialed a 7.67 and I dialed a 7.57. I was a tenth quicker, so he would be leaving sooner. I rolled into the staging beams, set the button (brake), released on the first sign of yellow, pushed the throttle pedal to the floor and hoped for the best. A millisecond later the car sort of shuddered, lurched forward and broke the beam! Yes, red light! I was so shocked I didn’t know how to react. We lost again. Although it was an obvious mechanical/electrical problem, it did’t help. When you red light at the start, there is no way to win. It was a lonely ride down the track and back to the trailer. There was nothing else to do other than ponder what might have been…which I had time to do since my cell phone had locked up and I couldn’t make any calls on the way home.
