American Nostalgia Association race at Famoso California

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Here's the complete race report....

Complete race report.....

ANRA Cool August Nights, August 23, Famoso Raceway
I've really been looking forward to this race. Back in the 80s, Famoso ran it's summer bracket programs at night to beat the summertime heat. This event was a throwback to those days. The front gates opened at 4:30pm and the first rounds of qualifying were set to begin at 7:00pm. By the time we made our first run, it was just about sunset and conditions were great.
Once again, we were entered in E/Gas, on an 11.60 index and sitting in the number two position in points. We were hoping for a decent showing to protect our position. Since the car's performance has been erratic lately as I have been trying different fuel supply schemes, I was hoping that we had the configuration right this time. My hopes were realized in 11.44 seconds after carrying a huge wheelie all the way through first gear, dragging the muffler and emitting a shower of sparks!
That first run put to rest my fears and it was our best run ever at Famoso, and second best ET ever. While it didn't put us in good position in qualifying, it did tell us that we had "Plenty In The Bank." Round two of qualfying put us in the number five position with some throttling back in high gear to try to hit the number.
First round came at close to midnight. We drew Paul Gonzales in his 64 Impala, the number 2 qualifier. I knew he could cut a good light and run the number, but even trying to stay within my game, the increased visual accuity of the tree at night, I went .000 on reaction time, and took the win in a double break-out race.
In round two, perhaps a little rattled by the perfect reaction time I had the previous round, I was pretty late on the tree at .181, but my opponent Bud Tickel, in his early Chevy Nova, was even worse. He took the stripe but ran under the 11.60 index, handing us the win. By this time our "Huckleberry," and #1 in points, Rocky Phillips, had lost to a Chevelle who ran a .014 RT and a right on the index 11.60 and took Rocky out.
The worst case scenario at this point was that Rocky and I would be tied for the points lead, should I lose to the Chevelle. With some down time, I was able to spend some time and get my head straight so I could go out and do what I do.
With a .006 second starting line advantage, and knowing the guy could run well under the index, I pushed him all the way to the stripe, forcing him to run under. I ran under as well, but by less. I knew instantly when my win light came on and I knew I was going too fast. The victory was ours! I got a congratulatory hug from the gal at the time slip booth. She was happy that we had won because she said the Blue Car was her favorite! What can I say? Chicks dig the Blue Car!
Cindy was jumping for joy when she arrived to tow me back to the pits. Since ANRA does a photo shoot of the winners, we towed back up to the lanes and put the car in the "Winners Circle" for the photos and trophy presentation. We had to wait for a little while for the rest of the program to conclude, so we watched those runs in the company of John Hashim of M&H tires. he told me I was hitting the header pretty hard on those wheelies, and sure enough, I had a loose pipe and a header leak!
While we were waiting between runs, John shared some track temp and tire temp data with us. He had been observing my burnout procedure and told me I was doing well. And then a stink bug running across the pavement caught Johns eye and he just had to get that bug's temperature! As it turned out, the stink bug was the same temp as the pavement. Goes to show what we will do to keep ourselves amused while we wait....at 4am in the morning!
The win was sweet. It was sweet because it was at my "home track." It was sweet because we finally put a check mark in the "W" column this year and because it put us in the points lead. It was sweet because it was amongst and against the V8 boys. They are a tough crowd!
And it is now us with the target on our back.