[Carl Battis]

When I drove up to the lanes on Saturday I was directed by a track official at the back of the lanes which lane to line up in. As I drove past all the other cars already in line it dawned on me that I had been sent down a third lane, and not wasn’t going to be paired with anyone. I backed up about 100 yards and got back in line in the right lane. (As far as I know NHRA isn’t running any 3 Wide events thus far �� )

By the time I got towards the front of the lanes the same track person at the back had mixed in a bunch of Super Street cars in the left lane, and the entire process was now a giant goat rope. There were cars feeding into the line up from all directions. I got switched by a different track official at the front of the lanes into the left lane right before going under the arch despite having chosen the right lane....and now was lined up with a Division 4 top 10 driver instead of my original pairing. I guess the word of the day wasn’t so “random” after all.

Thankfully I won the round. Between the weather, disorganization, and several long cleanup delays it was a tough three days. The NHRA people put in some seriously long hours and deserve a hearty thank you for their efforts. As always it was a refreshing to see how friendly everybody is in Division 4. Thanks for hosting the out of town visitors.