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!

I have heard many times that drag racing can be won or lost on the integrity of a fifty-cent part.  Our parts worked well this weekend, but bbq at the track was almost lost on the absence of a spatula.  Now, said spatula WAS MENTIONED a couple of times while plans were being made.  Grill? Check. Meat? Check. Salads? Check. Buns? Check. Condiments? Check. Chips? Check. Plates, etc? Check.  Spatula?  <ahem> Spatula? <sounds of crickets>

Minor stuff – and we were saved by a fellow racer!  The important part of the weekend (besides the hard time we gave to the spatula-forgetter) were the friends and the speed.

We were matched up against Jeff Atamian and The Beast Jet Dragster for both runs Saturday at Sacramento Raceway Park. An electrical malfunction (read gremlin) sank the first run.  Jeff was moving into the beams….and moving…and moving…finally said to himself he knew he had to be beyond staged and came down the track.  This was a little scary seeing only one car come down.  But once he had cleared, Derek and Warhawk followed.

On the second run, everything went off in much better fashion.  With Vicki and Janice leading the “Slay the Beast” chant from the stands, Crew Chief Mike King brought Jeff and The Beast to the line with their signature air blasts announcing their arrival.  Lined up side by side and with the timing system in top form, the cars blasted their way down the track in a great side-by-side display.  Beast turned in a final ET of 6.168 @ 243.159 but could not best Warhawk’s 6.059 @ 260.676.

Our next stop?  Actually, into the shop!  The next order of business for Warhawk is a new afterburner pipe.  Troy?  We’re counting on ya!  Make us proud!

Then on to Phoenix!!

Before we get into the news, I want to start out on a serious note.  Sorry – but I don’t think anyone can say this enough.

Leaving town Thursday night, not far into the trip at all, we passed a nasty, scary rollover crash in the median of I15.  It is just another reminder that no matter how we all enjoy our vehicles – roads, racetracks, dirt tracks, jeep tracks – they have to be respected and we have to be careful out there (I know…shades of Hill Street Blues-but the Sarge was right).  Please – everyone should get home safely!

Arriving in Boise with no jet was a different experience for us!  We hadn’t booked in to the Nightfire Nationals this year…but we were there with the Arctic Thunder Nitro Funny Car instead.  Now, those of us who run jets do work in our pits, but we also shake our heads in commiseration as we leave the pits after our runs and the nitro guys are still thrashing.  We get back in the morning and hear about how they crashed for a few hours sleep and then were back on the job waayyyy before we have had our coffee in the morning.  (P.S. – if you want to make a nitro friend, bring coffee and food.)  Well, we got a small taste of that with Arctic Thunder.

First – Shawn Nault was scheduled to be there to drive, but a surprise call from Tanya pulled him out of the boarding area for his flight.  His son was making his appearance into the world and new Daddy was not going to be missing!  Call Derek Snelson to step in and take up the driving duties.

Friday, first qualifying run found us finishing up in the 16^th spot, right on the bump with a 6.93 at 173.74.  Not a very comfortable position, but respectable.  The problem lay in the cars not yet qualified and the performances they could turn in Saturday.

Gary decided to hold out of the Saturday 2pm session and run the 7pm only.  Hopes were brewing even if no one said anything to each other.  Steps checked and double checked.  Then – moment of truth!  And what happens?  Can you guess?  Even if you don’t guess it right away, I know you have heard it before – for the want of a $.50 cent part……………on the trailer.  That’s racing.

Which, when we compare it to Twig’s luck (when you can see straight through the block at the end of a run, it is NOT a good thing), isn’t such hard luck at all.   Twig did make his own luck and was able to find a replacement, so there was a better side in the end.

We had a chance after leaving Boise and on the way to Yakima to head for Vancouver, Washington and see our daughter and her family and spend time with the grandkids.  Grandkids are the payoff you get for seeing your kids all the way through to adulthood.  Leaving Vancouver, we headed back Route 14 through the Columbia River Gorge – a drive that we never get tired of and finally got to see on the Washington side.  I love the fact that phones take pictures but I really, really wish I was more diligent about taking my camera.  Actually, I need to get a good digital SLR.  Any camera sponsors out there??

Yakima found us back with Warhawk.  Now, anyone who hasn’t seen the Warhawk recently (since Spokane in the end of July) has to check out the awesome paint job that Ron’s Hot Rod and Custom Shop of Spokane did for us (check them out on Facebook).  They also decked out the Arctic Thunder last week and can I just say show car?  Oh, wow!  Just beautiful!  The kind you don’t even want to sneeze around, they are so gorgeous.  Warhawk will get a turn, as well, but that will have to wait just a bit.  Warhawk again closed the show, running a solid 6-second pass at 261.  We also had the fun of match-racing Twig Zeigler for “nitro under the lights at Renegade” – a sight not seen there for many years.  The announcer – OJ, whose voice you would recognize from Spokane County Raceway – did a great job keeping everyone enjoying the action and well informed.  We also had the blessing of a professional barbeque supplied by Two Loose Screws….we are fans for life!  Brisket, chicken, ribs, beans, pork loin, munchies – they definitely know how to do this and they can prove it.  They are BBQ champions from all kinds of competitions and brought their best to the track.  Even the fact that the timing did not work out as was originally planned didn’t do a thing to detract from their wonderful menu.  Annette from Cruzin’ magazine was also with us, also and took some great shots.  It is my fault they are not on the webpage yet, not hers.  Annette got them to us before we even left town– I am still sorting out “stuff” from the trip.  Soon!

Another fun side note, so if you are looking for racing news – this isn’t it.  We did however get a chance to take a tour of a “hops” (yes, beer type hops!) farm (facility? ‘cause they harvest, dry, bale and sell, as well).  Justin Jackson – son of Jay Jackson of Bonnie and Clyde’s Tune Up fame – works on the crew of the Arctic Thunder along with Robbie Crawford and Gary Ritter.  When he heard that I was a newcomer to the hops fields of the northwest, he set us up on a tour of Ben and Katie’s farm.  We got to see everything – from the fields, vines and drip irrigation, to the harvester, drying bins (Ben even fired up one of the heat manifolds on the drying bins….rivals the jet!), right on through the baling facilities.  It was quite the tour but make no mistake – Katie (sorry, Ben!) is the better tour guide.  However, there is a circle track car hidden out in one of the barns…………Good people, all way around.  Thanks for the education!  No, didn’t get to sample any product <sigh>.  They were heading into their last quiet weekend before the harvest, where they will run harvesters, dryers, balers, people and machines for 24 hours a day, 40 days or until everything is in.  God bless anyone who farms!

From there it was on to Spokane and a weekend of just spectating….spectatoring?  (my spellcheck wants to make it into spitting or sputtering – go figure).  Watching!  It also gave us a chance to spend some more time with folks like Mark Sanders, Ron and Elaine Sellers, Twig Zeigler, Darin Bay, Billy Hosford, Richard Smith, Ed and Wendy Jones, Annette Barton…..we really have been blessed to be able to call folks like these our friends.  With luck, we will get to spend lots more time with them before the end of the season.  Next – on to Sacramento for the Governor’s Cup!

Sometimes when you have a good weekend, you just have a good weekend and then there are those weekends that are just the absolute cream!

Our Fourth of July was one of those weekends that leave you feeling like it can’t get any better.  We spent it at Renegade Raceway in Wapato (Yakima) Washington and it was three fantastic days all rolled into one weekend.

For a long time we have been missing hooking up with Kevin Therres and his bio-diesel powered Jet Funny Car sponsored by the Canola Growers Association, but we finally met up.  The way the pits were configured was a little different, with the rigs parked so that the work areas were open to each other and I don’t know how it worked for the alcohol and nitro teams, but it gave us a great chance to visit with Kevin, his wife Gwen and their granddaughter Caitlyn and finally get to know this amazing couple that we seem to always miss.  I don’t think you could meet a nicer group of people – real and down to earth from the word go but quick-minded and intelligent, all around fun and new friends.  If you ever get to a track where they are running, ask them to tell you about bio-diesel!  The presentation is amazing and simple – or maybe they are just so good at explaining it that it makes it simple to understand. 

When we arrived at the track, Derek also introduced us to his long-time friend Doug Tyo. Doug has worked for just about every name in the pros that you can come up with but has finally decided that it is time to relax a little and get back to the roots of racing – home tracks and the fun of the sport.  Doug is a little quiet and always listening until he has something he wants to say but you know that the thoughts are always working behind those eyes.  Very intelligent, businessman, and another down to earth, common sense individual with a fun, dry sense of humor that makes him fun to just hang with, that I hope we can now also count as a friend.

Friday nights are usually not very big nights but it looks like Renegade is getting a reputation for putting on a good show, because there was an excellent spectator turnout.  And on Saturday, the stands were packed and there were rigs lined up down the fence all the way to the finish line!  I know some of the fans were disappointed by the problems faced by the fuel and alcohol teams and the fact that they could not run the passes they had hoped to see.  Unfortunately, racing includes breakdowns and shutdowns and unforeseen issues.  And, if they happened to stick around on Sunday, they saw a few extra shakedown passes that Shawn Nault and the Arctic Thunder Nitro Funny Car was able to make.  You never know when those extras will be popping up!

One point in the weekend we even had our Fourth of July BBQ!  With the break on his Alcohol Funny Car, Jeff turned in his wrenches for some tongs and a spatula and proved himself to be as good a cook as a driver.  (Sorry Jeff – don’t mean to rub in the break but thanks for taking such good care of all of us!)

And, as always, when we get to race beside Shawn, that means spending time with our friend and his tuner, Gary Ritter and our great friends Janice and Robby Crawford.  Janice, I don’t know what I would do without you – you keep me sane.  Robby, you have to be a long lost relative because it seems like we all just fit together.  If you ever get tired of that nitro…..you always have a place with us.

We also got to spend time with Derek’s daughter Dana and her husband, Mike and their new son – Derek’s grandson – Anthony.  A special treat, seeing that they live in Florida at present but were up to Washington for a friends wedding and were able to come down and spend some time with everyone.  Even Cody came down from Spokane!  Cody is always ready to throw his hands in for anything that we need or even just kick back and enjoy the racing.  The only thing that was missing was having Layne and Megan there, but work wasn’t cooperating.  And I know I haven’t yet mentioned that we are expecting a new grandson come October.  You know us grandparents – always bragging!

Oh yeah…..gotta tell ya……Warhawk ran like a dream Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.  Never anything but!  And (drum roll, please)….turned in the best EVER ET at a 5.75!  Woohoo!  Just after we had new pictures made with the stats on the back.  That’s okay, though.  For a new number like that, we will GLADLY write them all by hand!  LOL

A couple of weekends off, now.  Time to spend with the family (if we can ever get over this working for a paycheck thing – keeps us racing but man, it eats time!).  Looking forward to the next race – Spokane County Raceway on the weekend of July 29th-31^st – Super Chevy Show!!

Hope to see you there!

First, an apology to everyone – we have been out of touch for a long time. Computer problems reared their ugly heads again and were finally stomped out but family medical issues took precedence even after the computer fix. Hopefully things are back to normal so we’re trying to catch up.

2010 ended well and we had a great time at the final races. Coming back from Tucson we routed through Sedona to try Nick’s on the West Side cafe (ok, we had inside information, the owner is Gregg’s boss’ relative) and it was sooo worth it. Never been to Sedona before and it is beautiful country. There is a rumor that there is another “vortex” nearby…..have to check that out next time.

2011 began on a good note with Sacramento on April 16th. I have to say, I saw the most talented welder I know work his magic that day. Steve Gibson worked on a tiny, tiny line for the puke tank – a tiny ferrule – and it was beautiful work! We found a small leak after the run and Steve was concerned that his work hadn’t held because it was so small, but his weld was high and dry. We did find a crack in another fitting….add it to the “to-do” (actually now it is the “to-done”) list.

Before we go too far, I just want to honor the passing of one of the greats of the jet world. Dick Rosberg was a racer who spanned decades of racing with friendliness, professionalism and honor. We had the pleasure of racing with him in Tucson and we warmed by the friendly welcome both he and Terry extended to us, as well as their assistance without which we would have been sidelined. He will be missed by all who knew him.

As has been the case in the last couple of years, there are more irons in the fire than you can count. We have a new race trailer (woohoo!!! Thanks, Shawn, for letting us piggy-back while we had to. Thanks to our friend who helped make this happen) so there is a flurry of work trying to make sure everything gets moved, finding places for everything and figuring out what might be needed and appreciated. Derek has taken over operations at the Renegade Raceway in Yakima, Washington and we spent last weekend there seeing things from “the other side of the fence”. Neal Hanson and his track crew kept everyone in line and moving along. Friday we were to make a run but as the prep began, Gregg found a flaw in the bishop’s hat – pieces are not supposed to be sticking out. Once all the insides were outside, we also found a hole in the crosspieces in the cone itself. Troy was our savior and provided welding for us. We got up on Saturday to drizzly skies. Troy provided emergency resuscitation on the bishop’s hat in the nice, dry fab shop as the rain started in earnest, then Robby crawled the tube and did some repair and reinforcing on areas that we can’t normally easily access. And it rained harder. And we finished the work in the shop, went back to the trailer and it rained harder. So with the help of a quick-up awning and some plastic over the open parts, Gregg and Robby got the pieces back inside and guess what? The rain finally stopped (after the work was done – go figure). Which was perfect timing to get the track dried out and we got the entire race in. Warhawk ran a 6.04 at 261mph like the lady she is – just like nothing happened.

How many superlatives does it take to describe three days of racing at the Nightfire Nationals??  Incredible! Awesome! Fantastic!

Our weekend began with a display of the Warhawk at Economy Transmissions on Overland Blvd, and then also at Key Bank in Emmett.  Dan at Economy – you have done so much to help us out and we thank you, thank you, thank you!  Also, Grant from Bronco Motors in Boise – we would have been stranded in June without you!  Finally, we ended the weekend with a display on Monday at bodybuilding.com in Boise.  Again - OUR SPONSORS ROCK!  If you are looking for a way to help support racing, you can also help by supporting the sponsors who make it possible for us to do what we love.  Check them out on the web, in person, send your family and friends to them and give them your business.  They are the best!

So, now thoroughly sunburnt, we wandered our way out to the track to get down to some serious racing.  Can you say packed?  Brackets, Pro-Mods, Top Fuel, Nitro – what a turn out!  They must have even topped the field from last year with this year’s entries.  Over 20 cars in the nitro turn-out alone….no, those were not tears of joy.  They were tears from the fumes that wafted over the pits  LOL  We were also lucky enough to have our son Layne Conger and his wife Megan helping us this week, along with Cody Smith from Fox Sportswear, Craig (ummm…you know what?  After how many races and I still didn’t ask you last name!  bad me…)  and Kevin Burgess and his wife, Yvette.  And Bugsy (small, white, fluffy, friendly – dog, that is)  Craig is incredible at making contact with the fans and selling t-shirts and doing anything needed on the car.  Unless he is getting mugged by Mark Sanders (Mr. Explosive).  Okay, not exactly mugged – Craig was throwing shirts to the stands and Mark came over, wrestled one away from him and did the honors.  Unfortunately, Craig didn’t know for a minute that it was Mark lol.  He just thought he was getting mugged for a shirt.  Mark?  You weren’t really, were you?  Were you?

A twist to the weekend – Darin Bay, owner of the Incinerator and Black Rat Jet Dragsters opted to take a change-up and drove Twig Ziegler’s Pizza Haven Nitro Funny Car to seventh place qualifier on the nitro ladder.  Not to be outdone, Mark Sanders took Mr. Explosive up to third.

Warhawk ran like the veteran and class act that she is, as always.  Friday night turned in a 6.396 @ 253.16.  And what better omen for the rest of the weekend that the spotting of a shooting star from the Perseids Meteor Shower on our way back to the motel.  Saturday was an even quicker ET of 6.338 @ 251.95.  We finished Sunday with 6.434 @ 255.02.

Our thanks, also to Brad New and the entire New family for having us out to Firebird Raceway.  They run an incredible facility and keep it as close to clockwork as it is possible to do when you have so many variables and cantankerous machines to deal with.  The new tower is beautiful, their announcers spot-on with their commentary, their crew one of the finest in the Mountain West and their safety crew top notch.  We love coming back to Firebird!

Before I close, I do want to address one other thing on a somber note.  On our way to Boise Thursday night, we reached Glenn’s Ferry and were directed to leave the highway and take a detour along a frontage road.  At the time, we didn’t know what had happened, but looking down on the highway, you could tell it was something terrible – nothing but traffic at a standstill and a sea of emergency lights.  We found out later that there had been a head-on collision not long before we reached that area.  A truck was driving the wrong way on the highway and the Herrera family – a family of four from California – was killed.  We want to offer our deepest sympathies and our respects to the family left behind by this tragic accident.  Also – we want to plead with everyone – be careful out there!  Please, please, PLEASE – if you have been drinking or are drowsy – DON’T DRIVE!!!

For a little while there, we weren’t sure if we would be running in Spokane at all!  We hit some pretty good rain storms on the way in (okay, I don’t remember a great deal about them-Gregg was driving and I was sleeping but I take his word for it lol).  We did make it and the weather did clear up for the most part.  Mother Nature still threw a few good solid wind gusts at us just in case we weren’t paying attention.   Our first run Friday night went well and came in at 6.296 @ 251.20 and just got better from there.  Saturday clocked 6.235 @ 255.48 and 6.199 @ 259.26.    We didn’t take much time for sight-seeing this trip.  Yes – we were boring!  We spent all our time in the pits with friends Darin Bay, Billy Hosford, Mark Stevens and David Doughit.   Also, we got to meet up with Cody Smith again (Cody – should have put you on the cards as crew, you are always with us every year-see you in Boise!), Kevin (ah, the smell of fiberglass repair) and also Marshall.  (Marshall, thanks for the wheels!)   And by the way – congratulations to Mark and David for making contact with an over-the-top and awesome sponsor in Redstone College!!  May it be a long and happy relationship!!

Well, I know it was a short post but it has been a hectic week and I apologize.  I will try to do better with this weekend’s trip to Boise – three days of NightFire Nats!!!

Ah, Summer….When you can feel the heat baking into your bones, a fire at night as it starts to cool off…..oh, wait-that’s a Jet Car!  Well, we did have a couple of elements of summer with us on the 4th. We did have our barbeque and we had our homemade ice cream with Derek and Krysia and we were joined again by Robbie and Janice Crawford. We just did it at Champion Raceway in Medford Every year this feels more like someplace to call home! Jim – you and your staff were the absolute best and we can’t thank you enough for “having us over”. Kudos to your safety crew who understand how to handle a jet on the shut-down area.

And two great runs! First pass came in 6.23 @ 258 and a second of 6.105@ 261.49 as we closed out the show and ushered in the fireworks. A little bit of a timing challenge to get that to work out, but I think it came off pretty well. Although, it was a little hard to see the fireworks through the trees on the tow back until we made it all the way to the trailer. Lol

Dennis Murphy and his crew were also there with the Detroit Dragon, but the gremlins hit him hard this weekend. Hang in there Dennis!!

We saw some really great racing and some really nice cars. That is one of the perks of being parked right by the staging lanes. Sooner or later, you see everything and everybody! Even the one that rattled his own door off on the burnout. Yes, you read that right. Ummm-does it count if you blow your own doors off??

Then, on Sunday we made our way up to Eugene to visit our “retired” crew chief Richard Fuller and his wife Peg. Again-thanks so much for your hospitality! We loved being able to see you both. They showed us around town, took us shopping, even cooked for us and just put up with us in general. We have been blessed with wonderful friends.

Then, they showed us how to cut over on the way home through an absolutely beautiful road that follows the McKenzie River. Okay, another area to fall in love with! Did I say how beautiful it was?

Off for a few weeks before we head to Spokane for July 31st. Ugh….yard work and house cleaning LOL………

Saturday at Sacrament Raceway Park was a banner night for Warhawk! Our first run came in with a 6.142 @ 255.316 BUT……on the second run Derek and Warhawk set a new top speed of 271.196 with an ET of 6.059! It was the topping to an incredible weekend.

For a while we were wondering just what kind of run we would have, with the wind blowing hard Friday night. By the time we did run on Saturday though, the conditions were much better. We had lots of help and company at the track, with our buddy Robbie Crawford helping us out on the crew (they gave him a break from the fuel car so we stole him), his wife Janice (becoming a really good friend) and sister Vicky, Derek’s brother Rob and cousin Zach joining us too. And it was a good thing we had everyone because we had to make a quick turn-around between runs and still a little winter rust to shake off. And of course when you have everything happening at once….the generator runs out of gas. Thanks to the fellow racers in the pits who were willing to part with some of theirs.

A few standout moments of the weekend….If you ever make it into the pit where Mike Patterson is working and he happens to be cooking with a bit of Mad Mike’s Nitro Rub? Do whatever it takes to wrangle an invite because Mike makes a MEAN tri-tip sandwich! (Website for NitroRub-http://www.rbssuperchargers.com/Store_Detail.cfm?ID=229931&InfoID=3921)  Thanks, Mike, for sharing We’re hooked. Even tried it on some of the regular fixin’s at home already and making plans for more. Also, on the way into town on Friday we made an off-the-wall stop when we didn’t originally intend to take and ran across a little restaurant called Sweetpea’s in Auburn, California that was an absolute delight for lunch. Great service and wonderful food. It will definitely be on our return list, as well.

Next weekend – June 19th – Firebird Raceway in Boise, Idaho for Foxhunt
Hopefully, our computer will be repaired quickly. Having to hunt one down is sure a pain in the <ahem>! But we will keep doing our best so we can keep you up to date. Later!

for a while-our home computer has problems and we are diligently trying to fix the little begger but not having much luck.  I can’t convince myself to actually buy a new computer, but I also can’t convince myself to spend half the price of a new computer on having someone work on the old one.  We haven’t forgotten everyone….please bear with us!