This past weekend was one I had been looking forward to for almost two years. I went to the dragstrip to race. Now I know what you all must be thinking. C’mon, you cover races for MM&FF, and you get to test cars on track days. While you are right, there is something to be said for racing your own car in competition, which is what I had the chance to do this weekend.
By my own admission, it was in my ’68 Chevy Nova (Ford fans, mercy, please!), but I did have a chance to chat with some racers who piloted Mustangs and other Fords in competition. The fact remains that for the first time since June of 2007, I strapped behind the wheel of my race car and got ready to do battle. A longtime friend of my family, Bob DiMino, bought Numidia Raceway in Numidia, Pennsylvania a few years ago, and has been trying to get us, meaning myself and my brother, to race at his track on a full-time basis. Mr. DiMino has helped us out a lot in the past, and is one of my dad’s closest friends, so it was only a matter of time before we made our way up there. The thing is, when you have raced 14 years non-stop, every weekend, you get a bit tired. After a while, something that should be fun seems more like a job, and it stops being fun. Throw in a nasty accident that costs you a race car (by breakage nonetheless), planning a wedding, plus work here at MM&FF, and you can see why I took a break as long as I did.
I have to admit that even though I was at the track covering an event for the magazine, or there testing cars for a tech article, I got tired of going and watching everyone else have fun. If I am there doing something, then it’s no big deal, but I never did make for a good spectator. I swore that the next time I went to the track, it would be with my race car in tow. This weekend was that time.
After spending close to two months getting the car in tip-top shape, I strapped her down in the trailer, hooked the truck up, and drove the two hours to Numidia for a $5,000 to win race on Saturday and the track’s regular points day on Sunday. I fully expected to be rusty both on the tree and at the finish line, but I was pleasantly surprised. I did fairly well in the money race (which my brother won…good job bro!), and ended up going to the final round in Street eliminator on Sunday. As my wife, Robin, said afterwards, “Not too bad for being out of the car for so long.”
When I got home on Sunday night (late I might add), I was sweaty, tired (more like exhausted), sunburned, and generally worn out. Yet at the same time, I haven’t had so much fun in a long time. It was a great feeling to get behind the wheel again, feel the thrill of competition, the happiness of victory, and the agony of defeat. All day Monday, all I could think about was getting back to the track again next weekend.
Now if I could have only won that dang final round race…
For more information on Numidia Dragway’s upcoming events, check out www.numidiadragway.net.