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This weekend, my travels will be taking me 7 hours north to Highlands, Illinois. Why? To test fit in a Nitrous Pro Mod that I may have a chance to drive some next season.

Late last year, I received an email from a gentleman asking if I’d be interested in driving an Outlaw Pro Mod. Hmmmm, lemmee think about it..umm..YES! Pro Mods are my passion, and of course I’d love any opportunity to drive one, especially a faster one than mine.

The email came from Dennis Price of TEAM Motorsports, Inc. in St. Louis. He has owned/partnered with several very competitive nitrous Pro Mods in the midwest (Donnie Little’s 68 Camaro, Aaron Hodges ’63 Corvette, John Deflorian’s Corvette, Eric Steffey’s Camaro, etc.) over the years. Of course, I promptly returned his call.

Upon speaking to Dennis, I learned that he was in the process of building a new car, and was looking for a shoe to compete in ADRL Pro Nitrous and various Quick 8 Pro Mod shootouts in 2007. With all of his previous successes, and the talent and experience of his former drivers, I would definitely have some tall shoes to fill. Having spent so much time around Dan Parker/Bill George’s Pro Mod, I learned a lot about Nitrous Pro Mods, so luckily I was not completely lost on the idea. I explained my current experience, my eagerness and willingness to learn and work hard, and my belief that with proper instruction, I could quickly adapt to the differences between a 4.36 second (1/8th mile) turbo pro mod, and the 4.00’s that a nitrous pro mod would be running. Initially, he expected the car to near completion in March, so after some discussion, we agreed to touch bases again after the new year.

Of course, the new year came and went, and with everything happening around that time for me personally, I did not have the chance to follow back up with Dennis until recently. Remembering that I had not seen or heard of any new cars in competition, I sent out an email to Dennis to see how the project was coming and if he’d found his shoe.

Much like my own delays, Dennis responded this week that it had taken a little longer to complete than he expected and that they were now nearing completion. He had still not decided on a driver, and asked me to come up and sit in the car and talk further in person if I was still interested.

So, with that, I am off tomorrow to Illinois to meet Dennis and sit in his new car. He described the car to me as having a House of Kolor tangerine paint job with a white gold flake/white pearl strip. It sounds stunning, I am excited to see it.

Cross your fingers for me! More to follow soon!

Well, I just got surprising news that the car is almost done at Chassis Engineering! I’m very excited. From there, Dennis Lugo of Excessive Engineering is picking it up and taking it over to his shop in Orlando, FL to finish up some of the other details and get the car wired. While he’s handling that, the body work will be getting finished, and then its back to Grant for paint and final assembly.

I’m so excited!

I finally arrived at the Bristol Track around 1:30pm after my detour. But of course, its not a solo road trip, unless I arrive with some sort of whacky or great story to tell. This trip is no exception.

Shortly after I stopped for gas outside of Nashville, I ran into another black Mustang… A 99, with some good sounding exhaust and cobra wheels. Well, I noticed he had a radar detector, and I was having fun playing chase with him down I-40. Cat and mouse… he’d take off, get through traffic, and I hang with him. Or I’d take the lead for awhile and play too. At one point, I pulled along side him with a note written on a piece of paper:

“GOING TO FFW?”

I figured that a car with Virginia plates, with cool exhaust, headed the same direction had a good chance of going to the same place. But he yelled back that he didn’t know what this was and I told him it was a race in Bristol (all while doing 80 mph down the interstate). I wasn’t sure how long he’d be going my way…. but he hung with me all through Knoxville and onto I-81 before he got off on exit 10 or so. I waved and he threw his hands up as I passed as if to asks why I didn’t stop. I was running late, and I had to get to the track. Oh well, now I had to slow down to 80 mph since my radar detector and new found road buddy had abandoned me.

That is until he came flying back up on me around 40 miles later. (figure out that equation on how fast he had to be traveling to do THAT, math whizzes!) This time, he had a note, it said:

“HAD 2 PEE”.

Too funny! I about pee’d my own pants I was laughing so hard.

Sadly, he got too far ahead of me in traffic right before my exit, so my new friend didn’t get a good bye. Darn! And I was going to try and convince him to go to the race!

So I got up as planned to leave out for Bristol at 6am this morning.

Normally, I have a pretty darn good sense of direction. But somehow today I’ve managed to go the wrong way on I-24 and ended up in Nashville instead of Knoville. Grrr! I can’t believe I just did that! I’m about 140 miles too far west on I-40! Its now 11am…. I’m supposed to BE in Bristol… and instead, I’m in Nashville.

Great, now I’m going to be hearing this for the next 10 years. Dennis’ friend Robert was even such the sweetheart as to give me a compass.

Smart ass.

I know, I know…

Where’s my sign?

Well, this weekend I get to attend the Fun Ford Weekend Thunder Valley Nationals as guest crew chief for Dennis Lugo’s Outlaw car. He’s short handed for the weekend, so Debbie and I both offered to assist, but due to astronomical plane fares, Debbie was grounded. So I’ll be headed out shortly for Bristol, TN for the 2nd time this year to help get Dennis his first FFW win of the season.

Dennis is the person who taught me everything, and the person I can still count on the most today… its the least I can do, I really owe him for that.

And, thanks to my cool new gadget, a MOTO Q from Sprint, I’ll be able to keep Debbie and my readers informed direct from the trackside!

Well, there’s a new Pro Mod driver entering NHRA Pro Mod. And its a “she”…. Diana Harker is the newest Pro modified pilot of a 69 Blown Camaro. I should be happy for her, right? I mean, I should be happy for any woman that gets the chance to live that dream. I should be happy that she’s out there competing against the men and helping open doors for other women. I should, and I AM happy for her. But part of me just sits back and wonders WTF?

I know that envy is an ugly characteristic, and I try and keep it in check. I love rootin’ for all the women in the sport, and I look up to many of them for what they have accomplished… and what I hope to someday be able to accomplish myself. They are often a source of inspiration and hope. But as of lately, I’d have to shamefully admit that I’ve had my fair share of jealous resentment inside me recently. As if self-pity can get any more pathetic, right? But seriously, why me?

Maybe the better question is “Why NOT me?” I have kept my head down and my nose to the proverbial grindstone for 10 years. I have had little to no resources available, so I make the best with what little I have and make huge sacrifices in my life to try and get the chance to make my dream a reality. I work hard, I do my own work whenever I can, I try and learn every chance I get, I self market, I travel the country by myself because ultimately, I’d do whatever it took to get the chance to chase this dream. And so far… I’m proud to say that its gotten me as far as I have come on a non-existent budget, and with little other support.But I also know that I’m at the limit of my abilities in terms of “do-it-yourself”. I’m at the limit of where cutting corners and minimal budgets are even an option. And what I’m realizing is that its not impressive, its not ambitious, its not even proven determination taking these approaches anymore…. its risky and downright dangerous.

I know that I can’t cut corners at 200+mph, because those corners don’t just mean parts carnage anymore. They could be fatal. I know that I am at a plateau in terms of performance and how far my shallow pockets can carry me. I know that without some outside help, I cannot advance any further alone.Which is why lately its been so hard not to feel jealous over the Diana Harkers or Erica Enders of the world. They’re born into racing families, they are bred and primed to get only the best opportunities. And I’m sure they are talented drivers, I want to take nothing away from them. But what exactly am I doing wrong?I started at the bottom… I didn’t have parents to guide my interest or teach me the ropes. My parents knew nothing of anything automotive. I read magazines to learn about cars, I practiced racing my daily driver, I wasn’t content just “driving”. I wanted to know the hows, the whys, what made things tick and what made things happen. I worked at a shop, spent nights learning the mechanics and days learning the business. I surrounded my life with everything racing and built it up from a daily driver all the way to a fledgling Pro Mod. I live and breath everything that is drag racing… so why not me?I can drive. I can build an engine. I can work on the car. I can tune the computer. I can drive the hauler. I can market and promote. I can sell. I can represent. But I can’t get the support it will take to make my dreams come true….

Its just very overwhelming. So its hard not to feel a little green with envy at those who have an entire team at their disposal… who don’t have to worry about how they are going to afford the fuel to haul to a race, how they’re going to make it to a race 24 hours away with no vacation time, or what will happen if the unstable crank in their engine lets loose because they can’t afford the one that’s required.

I just wish for once I had that chance….