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Lack of writing experience wasn’t the reason that I
was so nervous. By that time, I had been writing a column
called, coincidentally enough, “Chicks ‘n’
Slicks” for the old Nitronic Research website. A guy
named Cole Coonce who ran that site (one of the aforementioned
fast friends) had taken a chance on me and let me write a
column for him, but my columns/ramblings were based on whatever
stupid observation I had on the race scene at the time and
nothing to do with actual “facts”. The Goodguys’
job was real writing - race reporting. Writing where one mistake
could make you the laughingstock of the 142,000 drunk guys
who subscribed to the mag. It was the equivalent of a spelling
bee where I was asked to stand up in front of the whole school
and spell “Floyd Lippencott Jr. – F-L-O-Y-D-L-I-P….”
and then thinking “Ah, crap! Does it have one ‘p’
or two?”
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Riding in the passenger seat on the way up from L.A. to Bakersfield,
I was studying my cheat notes on the teams and having Jeff
quiz me, but I was still feeling less-than-knowledgeable.
Thank the nitro gods that once I got to the track, I had more
experienced folks around to help me. Guys like photographer
and Canadian drag fan-extraordinaire, Tom Postuma, who took
the pictures to go along with my story. And guys like ace
drag photog and writer Mike Bumbeck (another of those guys
who would turn out to be a true-blue, hang-around-with-off-the-track
pal) who would answer my five-million stupid questions in
my vain attempt to get all the critical facts straight like
“Ummm… is that guy on the starting line with the
American flag spandex on and the hat on his head shaped like
an injector paid to do that?”
The March Meet is also where my band, the Neptunas, got to
play our second pit show. Believe it or not, I play in a couple
of bands when I’m not at home practicing my car backing-up
technique (Jeff and me in the backyard, him directing me,
Bob Fosse-style, “Walk. Walk. Look straight ahead. Arm
up. Good. Walking. Walking. Good. Don’t run! Don’t
run, damn it!”). One of my bands is Cheap Chick (www.cheapchick.com),
which is an all-female Cheap Trick tribute band. The other
one has been around as long as the husband and the drag racing
thing – my all-girl ‘60s surf and garage rock
band, the Neptunas (link: www.theneptunas.com).
At a Hot Rod Reunion a few years back, the Neptunas were
asked to play an “official” event at the races.
Due to poor planning, some major screw-ups and probably the
use of illicit substances on the part of the organizers, we
had to make a mad scramble to find a pit to play in at the
last minute to salvage our gig. Enter Professor Ginz, a.k.a.
Shep Ginzburg to the rescue. Yeah, before you knew him as
a star of stage and screen, Shep used to run a nostalgia dragster
and be in a band himself called the Reactors. His band was
slated to play too and so both bands hurriedly set up in the
Voodoo team’s pit and played. It was such a success,
that the following March Meet, we did it again. Those impromptu
pit parties became the stuff of legends. Believe me, Bob Gilbertson
and his flaming minibike has nothin’ on us.
So, when I say that the March Meet is my special race, I
mean it. Every time I go, something life-changing and semi-historic
(at least in my world) seems to happen. So, if you want to
find the action, your best bet is to find me. Stop by Gaynor’s
pit and introduce yourself. And if you want some real excitement,
tell your unsuspecting drunk friends to come up to me and
say, “Hey lady, the March Meet is my special race.”
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