A night at the drag strip! Who could ask for more? Well, lots of people, but never mind that for now. It was a good night - only a few mechanical problems and everyone went home in one piece, and that's always the best outcome.
Here's something you don't see every day - two Fuel Altereds in a head-to-head race. The noise at this range defies description. It is more a physical assault than anything so droll as mere noise, as though several burly men are pounding on your ribcage with sledgehammers. I had fashioned earplugs out of pocket debris so I could take the picture. If I hadn't been able to make my own earplugs, well, I wouldn't have dared to try to take the picture.
"Arizona Thunder" at launch, and me with no earplugs! These cars aren't as loud as Fuel Altereds. It feels more like several adolescents beating on your ribcage with pool cues. Alas, Arizona Thunder siezed its engine on the next burnout and that was that.
"Big Al" and the Smoky Burnout. I love the smell of tire smoke and race fuel. It smells like... victory!
Under the body of "Hard To Handle", a bona fide Fuel Altered. You're looking at, what, 5,000 horsepower? Something like that. Enough for the driver to have to pedal the whole way down the strip in the desperate search for traction. One of the most amazing things about drag racing is the relationship between the drivers and the fans. As I was getting ready to take this picture, the car's driver walked by doing some errand, and actually apologized for stepping in front of the camera. I had to tell him not to apologize. "You're the driver, you're the one doing the important work here; I'm just taking a picture. Do what you have to do!" And he smiled and got out of the way of the camera anyway.
And NASCAR charges how much for pit passes again?
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