This weekend was a weekend of extremes – highs and lows. 

Most all of them landed on the high side.  One of our sponsors – Bodybuilding.com – came to the track and was extremely excited about the cars and our whole team.  Its always a plus when you can make the sponsors happy!  They have been wonderful with us, and we look forward to all the new ideas that were flying.  Also, Friday went like clockwork – in the lanes on time, no delays, everyone ran great ahead of us and we ran right on time.  Even the time slips were amazing – both cars ran 6.289, Nitehawk at 247 and Warhawk at 255.  The margin of the win for Warhawk was .0013.  You can’t beat side by side jet cars!  Sunday was a good day, too, except that we had to pack up and leave our friends until the next race we can attend.  The rest of the team heads to Mission but my husband and I were just are not able to make the Canada runs this year.  Next year will be a different story. 

Sunday night included a high accolade for Richard Smith – he was awarded a trophy for his contribution to the sport of drag racing over the last 30 years.  An amazing career that has also touched the lives of so many people.  Richard is not just a fellow racer, he is a wonderful friend.  He joins some of the biggest names in racing for his accomplishments and contributions.  Way to go, my friend!!! 

Saturday started out as a good day.  The whole weekend was a weather blessing – highs in the 70′s and chilling down at night.  And can I just say that any weekend where you can experience Nitro is exciting, too?  It was so much fun to watch those cars thunder down the strip!  That is a plus about being the last set of cars down the track – you can always head up to the starting line and feel the power of some amazing machines!  Yes, we love Jet Cars…..but you still gotta love the nitro lol  Not to mention being parked in the pits between two of them – we spent a lot of time with burning eyes and noses when they fired off.  Now, we’re not complaining, just enjoying! 

We lined up just like always.  Started the cars and headed down the track to retrieve them and bring them back home.  Side by side runs of 6.22 and 6.23.  Derek’s chute deployed just fine…..then everything stood still….. 

Until Nitehawk is back in the shop and gone over piece by piece, everything is speculation, but mechanical failure is at the top of the list.  The car made a hard move to the right and at those speeds a move is never good.  Sideways, although he never touched the wall (thank heaven for small favors), back to the other side of the track and several barrel rolls.  A dust storm.  Safety crews rolling…when they got to the end of the track, they even headed over to the Warhawk initially, because no one could see where Nitehawk and Richard had ended up.  Then, a blessed ending.  Richard got out of the car himself and walked away.  Safety gear all worked exactly as it was supposed to and aside from some bumps and bruises, he is fine.  

The rebuild is already underway.  Not the first bump we have encountered this year and not one that will keep us down.  Warhawk is still running as beautifully as ever and Nitehawk is on the mend.  Look for her soon!

Talk about changes!  The improvements that have been made to Spokane County Raceway have really made this a racer friendly track.  The new concrete out to half track and improved staging lanes make a big difference and we can only look forward to seeing the next stage of improvements.  Our thanks to Bucky Austin and Jay Livingston for having us to their new home and for their hospitality.  Good luck to them in the future, and we hope to be invited back soon!

In the spirit of keeping as many vacation days in the bank as possible, we left after work on Thursday and made our way into Dillon, Montana for the night.  Nothing remarkable but the next day into Spokane we met up with our old nemesis – road construction.  Why is it always uphill behind a semi??

Heat.  That is one thing we will remember about this weekend.  If it made it below 100 degrees in the pits, we would be amazed.  We only made one run on Friday night-Derek and the Warhawk laid down a respectable 252.43 mph and 6.36 seconds.  It was an indicator of what was to come for the entire weekend for the pair, as Warhawk ran like a bracket car.  Bryan had an igniter problem and….well….we won’t embarrass him in print.

Saturday we made two runs.  Again, Warhawk first round went 252.00 and second  round 256.  We did manage to trouble-shoot the igniter problem for Nitehawk and brought in a 218 and on the second run a 250…but no time slip, as the computer decided to take a break.

Sunday was back to just one run to close the show.  Warhawk again ran a 6.31 at 252 and Nitehawk a 6.36 at 225.  Just good side by side races!

While working on a body issue for Warhawk, we had to run and find a couple of little parts.  We found a feed and hardware store (not a chain) that took us back to the old days.  Aisles packed with boxes of pieces and parts, a little bit of hardware, some livestock items, a bunch of plumbing supplies, an aisle of automotive and you-name-it-everything-else.  The man behind the counter had to be in his 70′s and probably owned the store when it opened….if he hadn’t started working there when his dad opened it before him.  Had we had more time, it would have been even more interesting to hear him talking to the neighbors at the counter about the fire that so-and-so’s combine started in the barrow pit, but we had to get back to the track.

It was a weekend to find a bunch of blessings everywhere.  We had a great weekend with friends and what is becoming our extended family – Cody Smith and Ed and Wendy Jones were there.  We drove through beautiful country (check out Coeur d’Alene Lake if you ever get the chance) and even saw a herd of elk by the side of the Clark Fork River on the way into Spokane Friday morning.

What adventure can we expect on our next trip?  We get to find out in two weeks at Boise’s Firebird Raceway and the Nitefire Nationals!!