Racing Fuel and Rubber

Last night we let Kelton go to the Motocross race out at RMR with a friend of his. I wanted to go as well. We can go for free with our summer pass that we bought. We were running late because I wanted to make sure that Kenny had a chance to eat dinner and relax for a minute before I drug him out the door. We ended up being an hour late, which isn't a really big deal with any race unless you have to see every second of the race. I'm one of those people that get around to going when I can and it's usually late because I just like seeing the end anyway. If it's drag racing then I don't have the patience to sit through all of the elimination rounds. If it's any other type of racing, I will either go towards the end or if it is on TV I will turn it on towards the end just to see the fight for the finish and the carnage that usually comes with it. The carnage is only fun if the driver is okay and only the car gets damaged. After years of watching my dad and uncle race I know the anxiety of watching someone you love wreck and then waiting to make sure that the driver is okay. I wasn't there when my uncle wrecked his car in Idaho, but it was a horrible wreck and he is still trying to completely recover after a few years.

Back to last night, since we were late, when we got to the gates for the motocross we were informed that the motocross was already full but that if we wanted to watch the drag races they were letting us in for free that night. I had a choice. Really? Oh, lets see, motocross or drag racing? Hmmmm, there wasn't really a decision to be made. Drag racing here I come! As I entered the gate I could already smell the gas and cars were doing their burn outs and I could smell the smoke and rubber. It wasn't as good as when the big cars are running, but it worked for last night. One of the "Security" people asked to check my purse. Okay, no big deal, I handed him my purse and all he did was squeeze my purse in a few different places. I'm glad he isn't at the airport. If you ask to check my purse you should actually check my purse. Squeezing it doesn't count and by doing it that way he could have broken something. Not that I had anything breakable other than my phone and camera and all of my lip gloss and lip sticks. Okay, he would have really needed to pound on my purse to break anything, I just am used to going to larger events where they actually open purses and look.

We enjoyed watching all the cars and motorcycles. It was sort of disappointing because now they have the different classes of cars separated and we were there for the street legal cars. It's still fun to watch but they are quiet and their tires squeal. There were a few cars that were loud and fast, but only a few. There was one guy with his racing motorcycle who was doing his runs to get licensed. He did an amazing job and had almost perfect reaction times every time he ran. When I was watching he had the same reaction time for every run except for the last one. That is what you want, good and consistent reaction times off the line. Really, that is how you win races.

Kelton's friends and his dad left before we did, so Kelton came over and joined us for some drag racing. He said he had tons of fun at the motocross race and that there was lots of carnage. I guess I could have had fun at that race, but being a drag racing girl I had to go with what I love.

I did tape one of the race cars because it was what I remember from my teenage years. I spent almost every Friday night out at the race track. I will always remember those years and cherish them. That time that I had with family was invaluable. I will never have that again and when I go out there it makes me a little nostalgic for the past. I miss helping my dad with his gear and pushing his car up through the staging lanes and being right there beside his car while I guided him into the water box for his burn out. Back then, I could be right there on the track and I could watch his run from behind him as he went down the track. I loved the times that he would let me guide him onto the trailer when we were done racing. I would stand at the front of the trailer and guide him up the ramps. The car had so much power that I can still see the car jump forward and stop, then jump forward again toward me and stop. We did that until the car is in the perfect position on the trailer. It was always a good night when we could make through all the racing without anything breaking. Back then everyone knew those Shiflett boys and when they could line up together to race each other you would hear the announcer say, "Oh, it's the Shiflett boys!" That wasn't always a nice thing to hear because it meant that they knew both would push their cars to the limit and one would break something. Once they were done racing it was almost guaranteed that the track would have to be closed down for a good half hour or more while they cleaned the track of whatever parts and fluids were left in their wake. It was good times!

We had so much fun last night and also learned a lesson; bring bug spray next time. We got eaten alive by mosquitoes.

Here is the quick little video that I took of my favorite car that out there last night; it is a Dodge Dart (forgot what year). Sorry for the shaking, my hands just shake (it's really annoying). The noise is the best, I love the sound of a good loud race car. Just wait until we go to a bigger race. I will subject you to many of these videos. Now if I ever ask you to repeat something you will understand what happened to my hearing :)

Now, turn up those speakers, ignore the shaking, and enjoy the most important and loudest part of the race!