More signs that drag racing concrete' can work in '07 continue to appear

I've been....petting the NHRA Div. 7 site the last few months...wherein the addendum for Top Sportsman is laid out neat as a pin. What's nice about this rulebook synopsis is what it doesn't say. It doesn't demand restrictions on innovation, delays on getting through tech--nor anything to immediately concern afficianados of doorslammer fusion racing: that postmod form of T/S-Pro Street-Pro Mod creature that seems to offer the most for the least, whether bleacher bum or bastard stepchild of racing's lineage. Unlimited doorslammers continuing to maintain the abstract energtic lineage stemming from early FX/XS late '60's approaches in both handicapped brackets and heads up circuits. The Dept. of Weights and Measures reports only 2100 lbs. at the scales is needful in TS trim...making a lower HP combo feasible for sub 8 second activity on some kind of budget. Can't help but smile at this.....
The Bible of unlimited HP; the Dr. Robert Post monument that so many of us have used to grasp reality in the face of corporatist lies and propaganda, cites a kindly, paternal Wally Parks alluding to the examples set out by Samoa/Eureka, CA. and Summerduck, VA. as places the sport can really maintain 'purity of tone' and celebrate the reason we orig. embraced drag racing: that theater of machines thing I repeatedly refer to. I interrupted my '89 honeymoon for a few hours just so I could drive through the burnout box on the sanddunes strip of Somoa (and other words that begin with the letter 'S'). Summerduck (hee!) has unveiled their '07 schedule...and I'm in happyland at the prospect of regular 16 car Top brackets, regional 'outlaw' PM shows...and a Pat Musi-headlined 2 car match race. Plenty of potential south of WA. DC for action that defies the abilities for this colorful venue vis a vis the shutoff available. Holy Cow! Holy Creek coming up quickly! Holy S***!.........

This is......as the 'kids' say..How I Roll...........................................

I came away with some treasures from the annual Early Times Model-T club swap meet yesterday. Don't be fooled by the low-profile event moniker..this is now THE huge "Luddite Winter Olympics", as I've dubbed it. The swap meet drew a Sat. crowd to rival a lot of Div. points meets-elbow to elbow at the Puyallup Fairgrounds.

As I empty my JC Taylor Ins. comp shoppin' bag, I find the '71 Garlits March Meet win HR mag. issue to go with my '65 Garlits win ish...which means I only have to get that famous 5.37 ET Bakersfield appearance issue to feel complete...cuz dats how I roll....econo.

I also have a good repro. from Past Lane- my fave Lions decal...the "Giant of the West" logo with the words on the left side that everyone who claims to love our sport should meditate upon:

ALL PROCEEDS TO CHARITY

We need less delusional thinking and corporate rewriting of history. We need to discuss how the Lions clubs and Mickey Thompson developed a business-savvy that focused upon a mutually beneficial arrangement to promote and grow our sport AROUND a sense of community and responsibility.... ethics too many racers and their sponsors have actively sought to destroy. The darkness their souls carry is its' own reward for greedy usurpation. I can be expected to call bull to more people face-to-face as industrially amoral reps try to scrub the slate of my culture and market their own alternative story to bury how drag racing, lakes and land speed events and honorable participants nourished our sport during the first 20 or so years. Much has been written how Wally Parks had opportunism as motivation in no less a manner than the Jim Tice's and Larry Carrier's of the sport. Control issues related to keeping his 'well-heeled amateur' friends in control of the pits and cockpits aside, Wally did seem to grasp how culture and local/regional continuity could not be derailed by money interests without karmic retribution. He certainly understood the need to respond to the needs of the little guy for the sport to survive. Early Hot Rod editorials made this very clear. Many shiny happy faces in suits are aware..and deliberately throwing ad and promo energy directly in the face of the original premise of the NHRA. May they rot.