Happy Thursday Blog Day, everyone. I’m back from Brainerd and still kind of glowing about it. It was my fourth visit to a race this year, which lends further credence to the Facebook post my former colleague Lachelle Seymour wrote, which stated, “You’re failing at being retired from drag racing.” Considering I’ve visited four tracks so far and plan to be at three more before the season is over, means I’ll be at a little less than 1/3 of the races this year. And let’s remember I didn’t travel to all the races last year. I went to 15 races in 2015, and I’ll be at seven this year. Lachelle is right.

The biggest (and most obvious) difference is that I’m simply attending for social purposes now. I don’t have to fly out on Thursday, spend four nights in a hotel, leave for the track at 7:00 a.m. and return 12 hours later, stick on decals, do PR on social media every hour, or any of the other stuff I did for 20 years. I just go “hang out” now, with my former teams and former PR colleagues. The simple reduction in the amount of stress makes it completely different. And the stress reduction makes it really enjoyable.

It’s funny, though, how some of the stress is deeply ingrained in me and hard to suppress. My plan was to drive up early on Saturday morning, since I had my room at Madden’s for two nights, starting Saturday. Barbara had originally planned to come along, but the birth of her nephew’s twins precluded that, so I was on my own. My goal was to be on the road at 7:00 or 7:30 on Saturday morning. I failed. I actually woke up at 7:00, so it was a bit after 9:00 when I was finally pulling out of the driveway in Woodbury.

I wasn’t too worried about it. It was Saturday morning, after all, so how bad could the traffic be in the Twin Cities? What I forgot to factor in is the fact we have two seasons in Minnesota. There’s winter, and there’s road-construction. Even on Saturday morning, it took me more than an hour just to get on I-94 westbound, on the other side of Minneapolis. It cleared up after that, but on the 694 loop I saw how lucky I was to be going west. They had large stretches of the eastbound lanes completely shut down, and were detouring the traffic onto surface roads. It was ugly, and I saved that information for later decisions, on the trip back.

As I passed St. Cloud and neared Little Falls, I realized how late it was getting. I wasn’t going to be at the track before noon. And the wave of panic washed over me. Stress is not a good thing. Then, I realized (yet again, this year) that I had nothing to worry about. I’d get there when I got there. I had no meetings, no structure, and no pressing issues. I was just going to hang out.

I saw my longtime friend Laura Contreras-Rust at the VIP Credentials trailer. She always gets my stuff to me with a smile and then takes the time to come outside to give me a hug. That’s the best start to a day at the drags.

I put my Media parking sticker on the the windshield (no hard-card for me, anymore) and I had a feeling the reserved Gold Key lot would be full. The actual Media lot at Brainerd is all the way around the track through the pits, behind the left-side grandstand where the Media Center sits. It’s super convenient for getting to the Media Center, but a hike and a half from the Nitro pits. With that in mind, I usually just park in the open field that is Gold Key, and walk in from there. When you come in that gate, you’re right at the edge of the pro pits.

Gold Key often fills up, though, and this year it was way worse. They’d had torrential rain for a couple of days, and at least half of the lot was flooded. The rest was full of cars. So, I made up my mind to drive on in to park all the way over in the Media lot, but just as I approached the gate I spotted an empty spot along the fence. Someone, who had no doubt gotten there very early to nab that spot, had left the track after originally parking. I pulled right in. Rock star parking at its best!

I walked to the Team Wilk pit and said hello to everyone, including my traditional wonderful hug from Krista Wilkerson. With no hospitality, it was a tight squeeze in there, but we had enough room to at least stand and chat.

Our good friend Gerald Meux was there. He’s been a rising star with Hormel since he graduated from college, and now has earned his latest promotion all the way to the corporate headquarters in Austin, Minnesota (about 100 miles south of Minneapolis). It’s always a blast to see Gerald. He told me about his trip to Japan, and then on to Okinawa, which was set to begin on Monday. He’s probably on his way back by now.

Longtime fans and friends Juan and Sonja Morgan were in attendance, as were so many other longtime blog readers or friends who shouted at me, shook my hand, or just waved. Erica Moon, the girl with Minnesota license plates that say “WILKFAN” was also there. It was great to see everyone, but I have to say the best part is just walking through the pits. Crew members, drivers, crew chiefs, and NHRA folks would spot me and the slightly puzzled look was usually priceless. It’s beyond wonderful to say hello and share a few words with so many great people. It’s my extended family, really, and it’s heartwarming to connect again with my “brothers and sisters” in the NHRA.

Krista asked me if I wanted to go to the starting line with the team, for the qualifying sessions, and I declined. I didn’t want to be a burden or get in anyone’s way. She kept after me though, and finally went and got a crew shirt out of the lounge. I had not gone to the line with the team in Gainesville, Chicago, or Sonoma but this time it seemed like the right thing to do.

I put the shirt on (authentically stained by whichever crew guy had worn it before me) and before the first session I made the long walk to the Media Center to see my peeps there. Elon Werner, Sadie Floyd, Leah Vaughn, Cody Poor, Nicole Clark-Erickson, Laz Denes, Lee Montgomery, and all the rest were just like they were when I saw them last, which is not odd because I saw them last just two races ago. It’s always like I’m “home” when I walk in there. The fact I was wearing an LRS starting line shirt only raised a few eyebrows, however. Just about everyone looked at the shirt, tilted their heads, made a funny face, and said, “What’s this about?” as if they were wondering if I’d gone back to work. Nope, just visiting. It was great to see everyone, but I sure do wish my friend Kelly Topolinski had been there. (Sad face).

I hung out in there until Top Fuel was running in Q3, and figured I’d head down to the starting line when it got closer to the Funny Car session. And then it rained. Hard. I was kind of stuck.

We all just hunkered down and sat it out, for about an hour. And I noticed one key thing about how rain-delays have changed in the past few years. We’d always talk and tell jokes to pass the time, but now everyone gets on social media or plays funny games on their phones. The laughs are still abundant, though. Maybe more so.

When the rain finally abated, I headed back to the pit and passed the time with the team until the track was dry. Rain and drag races are a lousy combination, but it gave me some extra time to socialize and circulate, so I guess that’s not a totally bad thing. Finally, as the Funny Cars all pushed back and towed up to the line, I headed that way on foot and once again ran into dozens of people I hadn’t seen in a while.

In the lanes, I spotted Del Worsham and pointed at him in his car. Seconds later, his wonderful wife Connie spotted me and we just had time to share a hug before two cars fired up. We really need to carve out some time to spend a day together with the Worshams, somewhere…

Finally, as we pushed forward to make our Q3 run, I saw announcer Joe Castello behind the starting line. He came over for a quick handshake and a few fine words. Then, there was a slight delay before it was Team Wilk’s turn to run, and I heard Joe say into his microphone, “Do we have a minute? I have Bob Wilber here…”

Sure enough, just a second later I had a camera in my face and was getting interviewed by Joe. He’s such a great guy, and very gracious. He even teed up a question about “Bats, Balls, & Burnouts” so I’d have a chance to plug the book. That was great fun.

One duty I did not take over was the running of the video camera during Tim’s lap. That’s Krista’s job and all I had were foam earplugs. Without the full headset ear muffs, I wanted to have my fingers at the ready for the launch, and plus I’ve shot thousands of those videos. Been there, done that, don’t want to go totally deaf.

Tim had struggled on Friday, smoking the tires in Q1 and then having some mechanical problems in the pits before Q2. Not getting the second one in, due to the problems, left him outside the Top 12 going into Saturday. The fact he ran 3.935 at 323.50 mph with me standing right by the car could only mean one thing. It means he and the crew are very good. I was just happy to be there.

When more rain started circling around, and things were getting later and later, I decided to head over to Madden’s to get checked in and have dinner. It’s such a soothing pleasure, really, to drive out there around Gull Lake and feel like vacation is a full-time gig. I love that place.

Of course, last year I had a room at Madden’s but the huge storm that did so much damage at the track, just a couple of weeks before the race, also did major damage at the resort and they had to close so many buildings and rooms I lost my reservation. Now, a year later, there are very few signs of destruction left to spot, but there are a lot of new facilities. When I got to my room, it still had that “model home” smell of all new carpet and furnishings. It was fantastic.

And, it was huge. A big king-sized bed, a large round table, a sitting area, and a deck. My only regrets were that Barb couldn’t enjoy it with me and that I couldn’t enjoy it for a month. What amazing work they’ve done to get Madden’s back in shape.

I really didn’t think Q4 would happen, but when it finally did I at least got to follow along with NHRA All-Access on my laptop. Tim ended up qualified 10th and would face some character named Force in round one. I think his first name is John, but I could be mistaken.

After a delicious and nutritious dinner of pizza, which was delivered to my room by yet another smiling Madden’s employee, I took a glass of wine out onto my deck to enjoy what turned out to be a phenomenal sunset.

When I got out there, it was beautiful. As it proceeded, it became something better described as stunning.

I present to you, for your viewing enjoyment, sunset over Gull Lake. You’re welcome. The iPhone photo actually doesn’t even do it justice.

I once again dealt with the rush of stress when I got up in the morning, and once again realized I was in no hurry. The only issue with getting to the track at 9:30 was the flooded parking situation.

As I pulled in, I could see the water hadn’t really receded and the entire lot seemed to be full of either cars or water. Just as I was about to head on in and park in the Media lot, a guy from the track came up on a golf cart and said, “Follow me. I’ve got a spot for you…”

Sure enough, down at the end of one row of cars there was just enough space for one more vehicle to park without being in the water. I backed in and thanked the guy profusely.

I had my room for two nights, but I decided to keep my options open. With Barb being out of town, I didn’t want to leave the boyz for any longer than necessary, but if we won the race (or even went to the final) I figured I’d stay and enjoy the camaraderie and another sunset, if not another pizza. So, when I left the room in the morning I left all my stuff there. If we didn’t go to the final, I could always go back and quickly pack up to drive home. I had to pay for the room either way, so I thought it was a good option to make that decision later in the day. Plus, since I was just driving my own car and not flying, I could literally just toss everything in the back and go.

Prior to driver introductions, I got to hang out in the staging lanes with Del and Chad Head, for a while. That was great, and it was big fun to laugh with those guys before the racing got serious.

Sunday was a big one for Del. By qualifying, he was making his 500th career start. That’s a lot of drag racing for a guy a lot of people still think of as “The Kid From The Coast.” By my rudimentary version of math, I suspect I was with him for more than 260 of those 500 races. And, since I’m now deep into those CSK Worsham Racing years in the book, I’m reliving most of them.

I generally start out each day now doing research in the morning. Writing about my childhood was easy, because it’s all just general memories. Writing about the racing years takes more digging, because I want to get all the facts right, with the correct elapsed times and the right opponents, at the right tracks, in the right years. So, thanks to the NHRA.com data base and archives, I sit down each morning with a pad and a pen and spend a couple of hours going race-by-race through an entire year. And as I look back on those results and stories (even my own preview and post-event reports) more storylines emerge. At least five times a morning, I’ll think to myself, “Oh yeah. I totally forgot about that…”

With it being his 500th race, Cody Poor (who does PR for Kalitta Racing) organized a whole bunch of stuff to honor Del, including having some special hats made up. Cody told me on Saturday that he’d get one for me. When I ducked out early, he took it to the pit.

When I got to the pit on Sunday morning, Krista said, “Follow me” and took me into the lounge. When she handed me the hat, she had a little tear in her eye. And that tear was for good reason. This incredibly thoughtful gesture makes this a hat I will keep forever. And once again, remember: You just have to click on the photo to enlarge it.

After all the pre-race hoopla was over, we headed to the line to race Force. I figured Tim would get the LRS car down the track and we’d give old 16x a battle, but you always sense a bit of fear that it will smoke the tires. These cars are running so fast now, it’s mind-boggling. And it’s still easy to lose traction.

It was a beautiful morning, but maybe a little warmer than anticipated. All week, the forecast called for mid to high 70s on Friday and Saturday, and then a cool front would come through and keep it pretty chilly on Sunday. One forecast I saw had a high of 67 listed for race day. Instead, when round one kicked off it was already flirting with 70.

We were also the seventh pair, so waiting through Top Fuel and six other pairs of Funny Cars was enough to keep me pacing, walking in circles. Whether I’m directly involved with the sport or just there to see everyone, the pre-race pacing will probably never stop.

Pair by pair went down the track, and some big numbers were going up on the board. In the first pair, Fast Jack went 3.85 and the crowd went nuts. Then Matt Hagan went 3.89 and in the next pair Del matched it with another 3.89, before Courtney Force threw down a 3.87.

When it was our turn, the two cars launched and when Tim’s car got past the “danger zone” where smoking the tires is most likely, I could tell it was going to be close.

Your brain goes into hyper-drive during a run, and I had plenty of time to think, “OK, this is going to be close. Gosh I hope we don’t lose by a hundredth.”

We didn’t. The two cars were running almost identically for 900 feet before Tim pulled away and Force’s motor quit a little early. Our 3.923 beat his 3.954 and I can attest right here, in writing, that the high-fives at the starting line felt awesome.

We did lose in round two, to Del (who went on to win the race) but it was in the oddest way. When Tim launched, his red light came on and we all saw it staring at us. He legged it out and put a nice 3.913 on the board. Del ran an even better 3.904 on his side of the track.

When I got back to the pit, I went up into the lounge to see Tim and he was perturbed. He said, “I’m telling you, I saw all kinds of yellow before I put my foot down. I can’t believe I red-lit. Here, look at the video.”

It was the strangest video of a launch. Frame by frame he moved to video forward, and all three amber bulbs were lit for a good long while before the first puff of smoke came out of the pipes. But, the oddest thing was that the top amber bulb came on just slightly before the other two. And it’s the top bulb he was staring at. Going on the top bulb probably made him five hundredths early, and that made him foul. Crazy.

Just like in baseball, just as soon as you think you’ve seen it all you see something you’ve never seen before.

After that, and a fun chat with my buddy Shorty Shannon, I decided to head back to the hotel, pack up, and head on home. Many hugs and handshakes later, I was doing that.

It was probably around 3:00 or 3:30 when I loaded up the Lexus and pulled away. Gerald and I had been talking about which route we were each going to take when going home, and both of us agreed that we wanted to avoid using I-694 around the top side of the Twin Cities. So, I went east to Mille Lacs Lake. If you go south from there, on Rte 169, you end up in Elk River, still on the west side of Minny. So I went around the north side of the lake and then over to I-35, which would allow me to miss all that construction on 694 once I got to the Twin Cities.

I wasn’t on 35 for two miles when I discovered there was construction there too. At one point, we came to a complete stop and people were putting their cars in park to get out and take a look. It stretched on forever. It should take about two and a half hours to get from Madden’s to Woodbury. It ended up taking more like four and a half. Almost five by the time I pulled into the garage.

That was a lousy way to end a fabulous and spectacular weekend.

My next race will be St. Louis. I can’t wait!

And as for the book, I’ve stepped up my writing in the last couple of weeks. Yesterday, I completed Chapter 29, which covers 2002 and 2003 with the Worsham team. Chapter 30 should cover 2004 and 2005. Chapter 31 will get us to 2008, and the end of the CSK sponsorship. And that means I’m just two chapters away from joining Team Wilk.

The finish line is so close at hand I can visualize it. And it’s amazing to be this far along after thinking, back in January, how massive this task would be. The time has flown, and I can’t believe it’s about to be September. I’m sure it seems, to everyone who’s not writing a book, that I’m taking forever. This is just how long it takes. You can only write as much as you can write, as often as you can write. And, of course, every Thursday has been Blog Day, and every Friday has been editing “clean up” day. I’m cranking about 20-30 pages every Monday through Wednesday, and it’s a thrilling thing to do.

We’re almost there.

See you next week! Enjoy the weekend!

Bob Wilber, at your service in the field of writing.