It's All Over But the Eggnog

12/8/05

his year in drag racing was quite a ride. When I look back over 2005 it's been a real ball for me at the drags from the Nitro Blast Off at Las Vegas to the recently completed PRI Show in Orlando. On the plane ride back to the left coast there was time, five hours on a non-stop, to reflect on the year that was.

Here's a list of the highs and lows of our drag racing year from my point of view, the Left Coast Awards. It probably won't be a yearly column, but with my feet still hurting from pounding the five miles of carpeting at the Orlando Convention Center during PRI, here are my thoughts.

The most fun I had drag racing was the Goodguys Pomona event driving the straight axle '66 Chevy II owned by Paul Soliz. Followed closely by my best reaction time of all time, a .500 at the same event in Paul's car.

My best driving experience of 2005 was at the wheel of a 1200-pound, 630 horsepower sprint car for the first time at Cory Kruseman's school on the dirt track at Ventura Speedway for a birthday present from my son Zak.

My biggest surprise of the year is that not all big block project engines survive the dyno test. Hitting 691 horsepower at 6400 RPM was a big surprise too.

To my eyes the absolute worst crash that brought tears was the Bruce Allen and Kenny Koretsky collision at the Motorplex. Thank God they survived!

My pick for the best "almost drag racing" TV show is PINKS on Speed TV.

The biggest waste of money on a weekly TV show is the Sunday morning NHRA 2Day infomercial, where any new reporting is rarely shown on a race weekend.

The biggest sponsorship disappointment of the season award goes to corporate sponsors who seldom see value in using drag racing drivers as TV spokespersons in their advertising, as happens in NASCAR on a daily basis. The notable exception is Checker, Schuck's & Kragen Auto Parts usage of Del Worsham in their TV spots and Brut print ads with Ron Capps.

By far the most overrun drag racing oriented commercial is Paul Romine driving his CARQUEST dragster; it's still on the air and on Motel 6-Vision long after his sponsorship ended. I can only hope Romine is getting his ample SAG residuals check!

A special note to POWERade: there's nothing wrong with incorporating drag racers or powerful drag racing images into your TV and print advertising. Drag racing can work creatively and if your ad agency creative director needs some guidance or reference, please don't hesitate to give me a call.

The "I don't get it award". I have never seen a Skull Gear T-shirt on any spectator at any event, but thanks to Evan Knoll's ongoing spending spree, many drag teams are still racing on the quarter mile.

My pick for the best dragstrip on the left coast is the Strip at Las Vegas.

The best entertainment award for the dollar award goes to Chris Blair for combining the World of Outlaws Finals on the LVMS dirt track on Friday and Saturday night during the second NHRA event.

The most fun on a Thursday night is at Irwindale Dragstrip and the best dragstrip food, by far is from Martin's BBQ at Irwindale. Don't forget the grilled onions!

The absolute worst dragstrip food for the money goes to the Pomona Fairplex.

This award also includes the dumbest gate closure on the left coast; padlocking the gate out the back of Pomona Raceway closing off the short cut to el Merendero Mexican Restaurant for an afternoon burrito.