Passion

[Larry Hill]

djm670 your cars performance level is the goal we have strived to attain for years. Thanks for leading the way.

[Mike Bassin]

John, several years ago a bunch of D1 racers were out for dinner in the off season. Dave Ley was there and to quote him about Stock and Super Stock racers, "It's not a hobby, It's not a passion, It's a life style, they live it 24 / 7 and they embrace it, It's who they are and what they do" Seems to sum it up pretty well I think.

Mike Bassin, track announcer, Mason Dixon Dragway

[richie 2]

im back in SS after a 35yr. layoff...come on next summer ! i cant believe the rule changes making everything different...OHHHHH BABY !!!

[Mike Taylor 3601]

I was born addicted to drag racing and I have spent my whole life trying to get to the level, I always dreamed of as a kid reading National Dragster ,Drag Review SS&DI etc.
I probably will never quit, there is always a goal to reach.
I have been fortunate enough to reach some of my goals, but it never will end ,because once I reach my goals.... I just want to do it again.... if you win one round, one race, one divisional or world championship.... you want to make it two, then three.....never ending LOL

[djm670]

Originally Posted by Larry Hill

djm670 your cars performance level is the goal we have strived to attain for years. Thanks for leading the way.

You have me chuckling Larry; you have far surpassed my level of performance! I admire how quick and fast your car is today!

We all have a window in time where the passion and effort can come together and it is amazing what one can do with it with a lot of help from good friends!

[Larry Hill]

I still have pictures, somewhere, of yours and Greg’s car at Bowling Green when we first got started and our car could not get out of its own smoke.

[Andy Friar]

Another good one John. Drag racing is like addictions, IMO. (Been in/around AA for ~12yrs and just under 6 yrs sober) Once you get deep enough into drag racing you become hard pressed to explain to someone not into racing why you spend up to $30k (or more) on a class car that 'only' does 11's and it costs ~$1000 (or more) all in to go to a pts meet, where IF you win the purse is $1500, plus some contingency. If you loose 1st rd or rain hits, you may make 2 or 3 runs over 3 days after driving 8 or more hours each way too.That you spend lots of waking hours working on the car, trailer, motorhome or tow vehicle to get it all better, but then you don't want to go bracket race and practice b/c you will wear out your motor. That you don't buy a bigger house or newer daily driver so you can pour more money into your race car, trailer and motorhome. It may affect your jobs choices too, ones that fit around your racing habit.

To us in the game it is just life priorities that make sense as we love drag racing. That the track and garage with our race car is our happy place. To a bunch of disgruntled wives and ex-wives our stupid race car didn't make much sense. Tell your wife you don't want to put on new siding or a nice deck with screened in portion with outdoor kitchen because you want new trick heads and intake for your race car. Some may be cool with that logic, I would suspect a lot wouldn't. Class racing is a hard sell for a lot of bracket racers and I believe a harder sell to understand the $$ per 'fun unit' math for non racers. We in the game have the bug that most of us can't shake. I am ok with that addiction.

Hi, I'm Andy, and I am a drag racer....

[Angelo DiTocco]

My experience -
Every time I think seriously about getting out.... I somehow end up acquiring another car.

[Bob Lasko]

Originally Posted by Angelo DiTocco

My experience -
Every time I think seriously about getting out.... I somehow end up acquiring another car.

How many now??

i say that i getting out for the last five years, still doing it.
Bob

[djm670]

Originally Posted by Andy Friar

Another good one John. Drag racing is like addictions, IMO. (Been in/around AA for ~12yrs and just under 6 yrs sober) Once you get deep enough into drag racing you become hard pressed to explain to someone not into racing why you spend up to $30k (or more) on a class car that 'only' does 11's and it costs ~$1000 (or more) all in to go to a pts meet, where IF you win the purse is $1500, plus some contingency. If you loose 1st rd or rain hits, you may make 2 or 3 runs over 3 days after driving 8 or more hours each way too.That you spend lots of waking hours working on the car, trailer, motorhome or tow vehicle to get it all better, but then you don't want to go bracket race and practice b/c you will wear out your motor. That you don't buy a bigger house or newer daily driver so you can pour more money into your race car, trailer and motorhome. It may affect your jobs choices too, ones that fit around your racing habit.

To us in the game it is just life priorities that make sense as we love drag racing. That the track and garage with our race car is our happy place. To a bunch of disgruntled wives and ex-wives our stupid race car didn't make much sense. Tell your wife you don't want to put on new siding or a nice deck with screened in portion with outdoor kitchen because you want new trick heads and intake for your race car. Some may be cool with that logic, I would suspect a lot wouldn't. Class racing is a hard sell for a lot of bracket racers and I believe a harder sell to understand the $$ per 'fun unit' math for non racers. We in the game have the bug that most of us can't shake. I am ok with that addiction.

Hi, I'm Andy, and I am a drag racer....

Andy you have me rolling on the floor laughing! Probably not a laughing matter either!

I finally walked away because I had to win, and I no longer had the desire to do all of the work or go to as many races as required to win on a regular basis. That said, I still text and talk to the buds who are still racing at Pts meets and national events while watching the streamed events online (most of them are now). A lot cleaner, quieter and more comfortable from a desk chair or couch than being there. Sure I miss the tension, the acceleration etc.. But it is a whole lot cheaper this way! Good luck as you continue the good fight!