I arrived late Thursday morning and was surprised to find the place already packed. Five tracks were set up to host the various national and support races. I found it amusing that the T-Jet and unlimited races would be hosted on the same track. Talk about your extremes! I think it is safe to say that T-Jet racing is rising in popularity. 38 racers entered this year compared to 21 last year. I thought it might be a problem getting T-Jet practice time since we had to share the track with the unlimiteds. Fortunately, the majority of the unlimited racers were also entered in the T-Jet race so there were few complaints when those of us racing T-Jets found the track empty and started turning laps. It was usually met with an "Oh, it's T-Jet time!". I don't think there are two more different breeds of racers on the planet but we managed to coexist peacefully. It was a real Hands Across America moment. I helped marshall the unlimited practice while waiting my turn to run my T-Jets. I felt a little uneasy without my protective eyewear and cup. T-Jets were turning eleven second laps while the unlimiteds were breaking the two second barrier. Yikes!

On Thursday I managed to qualify 5th in NASCAR box stock which surprised the heck out of me. The race was run on a 24-foot 6-lane oval. My car preparation consisted of finding which of my seven LifeLikes was fastest. I got some help with tire selection from Bob Muys whom I met at one of my T-Jet races. He also offered me his Omni controller but I stuck with my trusty Parma Economy. I'm used to it. I found out the next day that I could have done even better by running a Chevy body instead of a Ford. At first I thought the guy was giving me the old Chevy vs. Ford line but he was actually giving me a racing tip. The main was fast and furious and I took 5th by three feet after 18 minutes of racing. Whew!

I had high hopes for the T-Jet race on Friday. I thought the racing in Illinois would be good preparation. I met up with the father/son team of Chuck and Jim Keen and Mark Ferris. We had a great time talking and trying to find a good car for the track. Jim had a much improved showing over last year with a top ten qualifying run. Last year he finished dead last when he flooded his chassis with oil. Just a drop, Jim! Mark had terrible luck in his qualifying run. He lost a screw-on hub and gave away three or four laps fixing it. He most likely would have qualified near the top given how well he did in the remaining three heats. Chuck was there just to have fun and he accomplished that. I qualified third despite a couple boneheaded driving mistakes like driving into a marshall's thumb on a straightaway right in front of me. Duh! Unfortunately, our cars were put back in the unmarked dead strip for the track counter and it took a little while for everyone to figure out what the problem was. While it's easy to focus on your own misfortune, real or imagined, it's the same for everyone. Trouble free qualifying runs are as rare as 15 ohm arms.

Five racers qualified for the main with fourth and fifth in a tie. I did much better in the first two heats of the main by driving without a single incident. I didn't have the lap totals I had hoped for so I may have driven a little conservatively. I ended up in fifth, two laps out of fourth. A couple cars were absolute rockets. We find out why when they were teched. One was disqualified for having silver shoes and a plastic idler gear.

Another was rumored to have failed the groove pin test. The rules stated that the magnets had to be T-Jet or Tuff-Ones but nothing about passing the groove pin test. I'm not sure why the test was performed as nothing came of it. It would have been fairer to all participants if the cars had been teched more thoroughly when entered. It would have given those racers with questionable cars the opportunity to make them right. It also would not have taken qualifying spots away from racers that deserved them. Everyone wants to know they are competing on a level playing field. That is something we will strive for in the NITRO series.

I had a fun-filled two days of slot car racing and that was only half of what was scheduled. I renewed old friendships and made new ones. My performance far exceeded my expectations by making the mains in my first two national races. It's going to be hard to top that but I'm already looking forward to next year!