Sad as it may be to say that the season is over, the last race couldn’t go off without a little “drama”. First, there was the new tailpipe – manufactured, fitted, refitted, tweaked and settled. But the test-fire didn’t happen until Wednesday night, so we were a little “touch and go” for a bit. The test went fine and the word came down – pack it up and see you in Phoenix! Yes! A bit of shock though….we traveled partway the first night and stopped in Cedar City. When we left that morning, it was 29 degrees. By the time we hit Phoenix it was 89. Talk about feeling wrung out, it was quite a shock.

On the first run, Derek and Warhawk turned in a 6.26 @ 256 and shut her down right by the turnout as if nothing had ever changed. In fact Warhawk announced her return to fitness by blowing a window out of the tower! On the second run (having figured that since the shutdown runs well past that turnout) and finishing with a 6.33 @ 254, Derek let her run down slowly and headed further down the track. Interesting choice – because we didn’t know there is a set of bumps between the second and third turnouts in the right hand lane that had Warhawk up in the air! It is not comforting to see a 2000+ lbs jet car with daylight underneath it. Luckily, she landed straight and true. Maybe that was payback for the window??

Now, I have to tell you – going to a Super Chevy Show is not like a regular day at the track. You could say that jet car teams are easygoing and we have said it ourselves….especially when we are teasing with our brother-team in nitro. The difference came at the end of the day, because the runs were at 12:00 and 3:30. So Saturday evening found us at 7:00 back in the hotel room, fed, showered and relaxing in sweats when we usually are still thinking about how much time we have until our first run. Really? What are we supposed to do with ourselves? This is like normal people! Of course, normal people don’t blow windows out of the tower – score Warhawk – 1, Tower – 0!

Sunday was a pretty much the same, maybe even easier since we only had one run at 3:00. Warhawk never looked back on the change in the tailpipe, turning in another 6.29 @ 253.  Sweet! You can’t beat having a turbine powered, 10,000+ horsepower bracket car. The lady has our continuing love and respect.

We finished the day with a barbeque invitation from Curt and Craig and the Eierdam team. Mom cooks a heck of a spread and I honestly can’t say how many people they fed but everywhere we looked we saw folks with plates in their hands and crumbs on their faces. We even got to see Al Eierdam for a little bit. He was able to make it out to the track and see the team run. If you see him, have him show you the “ink” he now wears. Oh, and we have a new team! Curt Anderson and the Jett-Lagg “funny truck” made its debut! If you see them out and about, give them a “Hi” and check them out.

Winter is settling in. The forecast calls for snow tonight and over the weekend. Turkey feathers and Christmas wreaths are everywhere and it is time to get another year older. I look back at my full year wall calendar, seeing all the race days highlighted and sigh a little when I see the long stretch of white between this season and next year. Time to plan and fix and see about maybe a new look for next year? It’s coming fast!