NHRA

Time for the NHRA Nationals at Firebird! I will post more pictures later but this one needed to get up. This is on the spoiler of BME's top fuel dragster.

Firebird Raceway NHRA Nationals 2011

I have made my annual pilgrimage to Firebird for the drag races. I was surprised that it was switched this year to October. It hit 100 degrees so there were no really fast runs due to track temperatures but there were a lot of completed runs. It was a great, if hot, day! I like to roam the pits for a little it in the morning. No telling who might be around.

One must get the morning wafting of nitro-methane to energize the day!

Yes ladies, there are pink dragsters.

Self explanatory.

Wonder if those heads will fit the Bronco?

We counted 8 trailers for Force Racing. 

The Sarge.

And they're off!

A few videos are here for your viewing entertainment. The little camera does not do justice on the sound portion. I think that the camera shake is just the ground pounding vibration of top fuel. It couldn't be me.

Spectator Killed at Firebird

There is some inherent danger being at or around the track. This unfortunate lady was not even track side. It would have been spectacular from where we were sitting but debris would not have been a problem. I have gone down toward the end of the track and watched Funny Cars go by at 300 MPH. My thoughts were that it was neat watching them zip by but that if anything happened you were in the path of fast moving parts and pieces. We sit close to the line so I would expect that the main danger there is blowing an engine/supercharger and getting shrapnel from that. Most accidents take place moving down the track.

I Like the Drag Races

This weekend was the annual trip to Firebird for the NHRA Nationals. We typically go on Saturday which is one of the qualifying days for the Top Fuel and Pro Stock classes. The Phoenix area was not living up to its normal amount of sunshine in the morning. There was a distinct possibility that this was going to be a rain day. We arrived early enough to roam the pits prior to getting in our seats but there was no hurry as no racing was taking place. There should have been Supergas and others racing but the track was wet and it was drizzling. The stand were empty as anyone who was there was in the pits our sitting in their vehicles.

It started to rain harder so we went to the car. I was glad that my friend brought some Hot Rod magazines etc along as it gave us something to read while sitting in the car waiting for the rain to stop.

We had purchased some nice seats in section P2 - A5&6. Note that old hairy butt is not sitting on that wet seat yet.

I was texting my better half for the weather radar. She informed us that it looked like about 45minutes more and then it should at least stop raining. That report was music to our ears and turned out to be correct. Woohoo - the rain had stopped so we went to get something to eat and watch them dry the track. It is kind of like watching grass grow or paint dry.

Since we were bored it seemed a good idea to roam the pits again. This was good timing as we went to Nitro Alley in time to hear the announcement that the schedule had changed to run Top Fuel, Pro Stock and then the rest. I like to be in the pits when the top fuel cars are firing up. I love the smell of nitro-methane in the morning! Nothing like a lot of DBs, burning eyes/nose, and tears running down your face to jump start the day! If you think that we are nuts then you obviously not a fan of the drag races. I would suggest that you never stand at the very front of the crowd when one is firing up in the pits. It is real hard to back away through a crowd that can't see either. It is amazing how much money has to be in the trailers for the cars.

Help - I can't get up! JK. Note the fine expression wondering why that jerk is taking his picture.

The name says it all.

My wife would love this as she has that spot for Mopar & purple.

I am not a big fan of the new Government Motors takeover but this is a fine looking vehicle.

Motorcycle tricks to amuse the crowd from the Geiko group while waiting for the crew to dry the track.

It's time!
You should be able recognize and name this gent if you have spent any time watching funny car drags.

I will not post every picture I took but you get the idea. I like drag racing!

NHRA 2009 - New Fan

Once again, I went to the Nationals at Firebird! I love the smell of nitro-methane in the morning! My usual drag racing buddy could not make it this year so there I was with two premier seating tickets and just me. I contacted a young man (18 years old) that we know to see if he was available. He had never been to the drags before and was interested.

I drug him around for my usual routine. We cruised the pits. I saw a young lady standing out in front of some trailers and encouraged my guest to get his butt over there for a picture. We got a nice picture with Ashley Force. He had no idea why I was pushing the picture.

I fed him and then went back to the pits when they were starting to fire up the top fuels for tuning. This allowed him to get up close and personal with the nitro fumes and the sound level.

We went to our seats for the first pass of qualifying for pro-stock & top fuel. I believe he came about a foot off the seat when the first top fuel launched off the line. He never did get over jumping every time the light went green. I was pointing out to him that the one car on the line belonged to the young lady he had his picture taken with. He was surprised that she was a driver. Live and learn.
We were then off to roam the stores, and then back for the second qualifying pass of the pro-stock & top fuel.

I believe that there is a new drag racing fan now!

NHRA

We went to the trials on Saturday at Firebird. I do like to watch just about anything but bracket racing. My favorites are the Pro-Stock, Funny Cars, and Top Fuel. I did not take a camera this year - oops. I took one last year and was challenged to get the perspective on film that I desired. Trying to take pictures starts to take away from the fun of watching the drags.

There is nothing like being close to a top fuel dragster when the tree goes green!

This weekend was just something else. Drag races on Saturday and then a steel pistol match on Sunday makes for a full couple of days. Gee - drag racin and shootin - almost sounds like it should be a regular.