First round, I hit a .511 to my opponent's .537, and I get out there a bit and it looks like he's just sitting there on the track. Throttle stop! He's got a throttle stop! I see the cones come up and stab the Wilwood dual-disc brakes and just about come to a stop myself, then I hit that swale at the end of the track that they were telling me about, and I thought I was going airborne. I take the win light, scrubbing four mph. 'Yeow-eee' wins his first-ever round of racing, none the worse for wear.

Second round of the Quick 8, I get thrown into the left lane. I take out one number to my delay box and dial one number up, but that ain't enough -- didn't they tell me that there is a .015 difference between left and right? So I red light with a .496 and lift. Now I'm back into the regular bracket race, third round.

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I go back to the right lane, dial down one and leave the delay box setting alone, then I do something I've never done in my racing before -- I take off my glasses. 'You can't do that,' Fran said. 'I have to,' I said. 'I can't see a thing, they're so fogged up.' I pull up, back into the water box -- Oh, I didn't tell you that at Baileyton, you have to back into the water box, which is manned by Jack Walker himself, and is partly covered with two big slabs of steel, to hold the water for a good burnout (that's another reason to love Baileyton; it's so unique). I do my burnout, stage, and let go and am rewarded with a .497 red light. I leg it on through and nearly jump over the Alabama moon again, hitting the dip on the top end at 120 mph. And it's 12:30 a.m. Sunday and I'm through for the night.

This night was the first ever that we've driven home from the races in 10 minutes or less. But then, we have a motor home, and home is where the trailer is. That's the beauty of Baileyton -- one guy will say, 'I live just 20 minutes that way,' and the other will say, 'Oh, I'm just down the road apiece, 15 minutes thataway.' Yeah, these guys will travel to a big race now and then, but at Baileyton, it's home-style racing around the house.

Just before I leave, I ask my friends if they think Jack will ever get those dips on the top end fixed. Probably not, they say. And the pits? Nope, probably not. But still, Baileyton Good Time Drag Strip is their racetrack of choice, and they'll most likely return next week to watch the 'Tater Hauler' make some passes, then race again for $1,000 for a $25 entry fee. I kind of wish we could have been there too.

I didn't win any money; 'Yeow-eee' the dragster is still in one piece, so I guess I had me a good time. Hey, maybe that's why Jack Walker named his track the Baileyton 'Good Time' Drag Strip. It was good enough for me on the weekend before my 60th birthday, in a dragster that had been down the track only eight times before.

Come to think of it, maybe I shouldn't have named 'Yeow-eee' 'Yeow-eee.' Maybe 'Good Times' would have been better.

Fun, fun, fun.

wilson@dragracingonline.com