A Southern rite of passage: your first drag race
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Before I begin today's post I want to apologize for the lack of postings over the last couple of weeks. Bob Balaban and I have been killing ourselves on our new feature for Notes, known as the Lotus Notes access for SAP Solutions. I'll post a lot more about it next week from DNUG, but right now suffice it to say that Bob, myself, the QE team, and the rest of us involved are working very hard to deliver the best featureset possible.
Not only have we been working on that, but Bob and I are also slated to speak at DNUG next week about this feature as well as some other stuff - which means sessions to create, examples, etc. Oh and did I mention that I have five kids who all get out of school in the next couple of weeks, so there's been end-of-school stuff and sports stuff as well? Suffice it to say it has been crazy-hectic here at the Oliver household, so blogging has fallen to the bottom of the pile - at least recently. It will surface again, hopefully tomorrow. Until then, here's a little story to tide you over - and I'll post a small SnTT tomorrow too.
A Southern rite of passage: your first drag race
When I was a young boy my father and my uncle were into drag racing. My dad fancied himself a mechanic and drag racer, and one of my earliest memories was of a V-8 engine on a stand in our kitchen, my dad hovered over it rebuilding it (much to my mom's chagrin). I spent many days (and a few nights) at various dragstrips, but the ones that stick in my memory the most were the NHRA "big" events - in Atlanta that event is known as the NHRA Southern Nationals (formerly the Dixie Nationals, but the name has been changed for obvious reasons). I can remember the smell of alcohol fuel, burnt rubber, and the unbelievably loud thunderous sound of the top fuel dragsters and funny cars taking off from the line. These are precious memories to me, and I decided that it was time to share them with my sons so that we could create new memories together.
I bought tickets to the finals, which was last Sunday. Unfortunately the weather sucked on Sunday - so we hung around the house for a bit before heading to the Atlanta Dragway, which is actually not far from us, in Commerce GA. When we got there the weather was still pretty bad, but we hung around for awhile to see if it would let up. Unfortunately we were on a time deadline - Tommy needed to go to a birthday party later in the day, and if the races had begun on time it wouldn't have been a problem - but with the delays I was worried that the trip to the races would be for naught.
But fortune smiled upon us and the races finally began around 2:30PM. While waiting I bought my sons toy versions of Tony "the Sarge" Schumacher's US Army top fuel dragster. They liked the design, and I knew Tony was one of the top contenders, so I thought they may get to see him race today. We made our way to the stands, which were general admission. I moved us to right next to the starting line - I wanted the boys to experience the primal sensation of a 7,000 horsepower engine leaping from the starting line. The boys heard some of the cars cranking in the pits, while they were being serviced before the race. They thought it was loud, but I told them it was nothing compared to what they were about to see - and feel.
Drag racing mini-primer
For those of you not familiar with drag racing, the idea of drag racing is to go as fast as you can in 1/4 mile. 90% of drag racing is the "hole shot", or how fast you get off the line when the "christmas tree" (i.e. the lights that tell the drivers to GO) turns green. The top funny cars and dragsters (like Schumacher's in the picture above) average around 350mph at 4.5 seconds or so - in 1/4 mile. Top fuel dragster engines are monstrous beasts that put out 7,000 horsepower to the wheel. Quite simply, it is an awesome demonstration of raw power. Before the racers take off, they have to "burn" or "smoke" the tires - they put bleach before the starting line, and the cars deliberately spin the wheels to heat up the rubber so that they "stick" to the track better. After burning out, they back up and "stage" at the line, where they get exactly on the line (sensors tell them when they are there). Then they go when the tree is green.
Time to RACE
We were amazingly fortunate - the one of the very first races of the day included Tony Schumacher. The boys were standing at the rails, watching them prepare to race. When the cars began their burnouts, the boys looked at me and grinned. "Daddy, that was loud, but not that loud."
"Boys, sit tight - you haven't seen anything yet."
Before anyone asks, yes we were all wearing very good earplugs, because sitting that close without them would have been a sure prescription for hearing damage. I quickly checked my boys' earplugs to make sure they were in and tight, and then I told them to watch the tree. Yellow, then BOOM!!
Now, there is no way to describe the assault on the senses that is a drag race starting line. You hear it, smell it, and see it all right, but more than anything you feel it - through your body, an aural tidal wave of thunderous power. When the tree turned green and the cars took off, my boys looked at me, and in that instant I was transported back to my first drag race, and how it felt - because I saw it, rapturous upon their faces. This was the fantasy of every boy who has ever raced hotwheel cars, made real. And in that instant of watching their sheer joy, I knew they were hooked. They laughed and kept screaming WOW!! AWESOME!! DID YOU SEE THAT? DID YOU FEEL THAT? And the best part of it all is that the next race occurred a few minutes later. And then another. And another. It was an adrenaline junkie's dream come true.
We watched quite a few more races before it was time to go, and between each one I was asked, "Can we do this again? When is the next drag race? Can we go?" I assured them that we would come back, and that this would become a part of those special times between a father and his sons. And at that moment I realized that while I was vowing to return to the races for my boys, it was just as much for me. Not because I miss the drag races; I do. But now, as a father, the most important reason of all for returning is to watch in fatherly contentment as my boys enjoy being boys - with their dad.
Rock
**The amount of sleep required by the average person is about 5 minutes longer.
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Comments
Posted by R. J. Lesch At 12:43:30 PM On 05/11/2006 | - Website - |
Posted by Chris Whisonant At 09:20:44 AM On 05/11/2006 | - Website - |
8" of snow in a day is considered a bit of snow - but not a blizzard.
Anyway, in-house tent building is fantastic fun and I am glad I am able to share in his enthusiasm. Thanks for sharing, Rock.
Posted by Neil Roberts At 02:29:37 PM On 05/11/2006 | - Website - |