Winner Winner!!!

Huge CONGRATS to my girl Stacy for winning her first Wednesday Night Drags! She beat out numerous other riders (mostly guys) to take the win! I am so proud of you girl! YOU ROCK! Keep up the good work, your doing great! Clearly she was possessed to win last night...look at those eyes! ;)

Lots O' Love - Annette

Pics from Governor's Cup 2007

38th Annual Governor’s Cup

Sacramento Raceway Friday, September 21 @ 6pm – Sunday, September 23 @ 9pm

The weather predicted rain Friday night through Saturday. We thought we were perhaps gonna be in the good graces of mother nature as Saturday morning rolled around and there was no rain (yet). Yes, it was overcast, but as long as it wasn’t raining we are good to GO! We ended up getting two (2) qualifying passes done before the sky opened up and dumped on us. The track officials said if it rains they would call the race until Sunday (which was predicted to be nice & sunny)… Well that’s exactly what happened. Although it rained fairly steady for about an hour and then got beautiful again… Oh well, for many it was just what they needed (in order to fix or make last minute adjustments to their cars/bikes or equipment). Our crew did great, our two qualifying passes were consistent but we spun off the line both times… but we knew where we stood at the end of the day! :)

Another crew Wild Child Racing however was up against a dilemma… they had some problems with the belt that drives their transmission. Although many reasons could be deducted from the problems they were having, there was nothing specific that said “that’s the problem, for sure”. One of the best things that I love so much about drag racing is the camaraderie that is developed between teams and people. I don’t run with Wild Child Racing, but I know the guys and I know enough about bikes in general to be able to lend a hand (where needed), so that’s what I did. We worked on a few different things, while the rest of the crew tried to find another belt, unfortunately the alternate belt did not pan out. However, at the end of the day when all was said and done, it was decided to run the bike with the belt with some minor adjustments (not the ideal set-up but it would work)… Now it wasn’t all work and no play. These guys (Greg, Rogge, Steve, & Johnny) are nothing short of great, they all make you laugh and have a great relationship with one another, not to mention they are all easy on the eyes! They certainly made a drab rained out Saturday entertaining… thanks guys, you’re the best!

Sunday morning rolled around and everyone was ready to race! Now I’ve seen, heard and felt funny cars from attending NHRA Autolite Nationals the past 3 years, but I’ve never seen, heard, and felt them up close and personal. I had the opportunity to do that at this event. There were some amazing Top Fuel Dragsters and Funny Cars, as well as Nostalgia Cars running some phenomenal numbers. I love the ET and speeds they are hitting, but still think I’ll stick to two wheels! There is nothing like the smell of nitro and the rumble these cars put down… it’s truly amazing! In addition, to all this good fun…

• The Jelly Belly fire truck which does quarter mile wheelies. I didn’t get any pics of this bad boy but it’s cool to see. Haven’t figured out how the guy does it, but as he passes down the lane you get the hint of cinnamon (like a cinnamon jelly belly)! How does he do that? I gotta know!
• The worlds largest motorcycle was there too, Thanks Greg & Kaleb for bringing out your beast. This thing is amazing and is always a crowd pleaser!

Tons of fun all wrapped around a great weekend of racing! I really have no idea who won in the different categories aside from motorcycles, sorry. However, motorcycles did great! Miss Katie made it to the semi finals against Michael O’Neil while Phil Nasca went against Eddy Palmer. Michael won against Katie, good job Michael and Phil won against Eddy, good job Phil! Then we moved on the finals and it was Phil against Michael… Now it was a good race, both left the line hard (so much so... that they both red-lit) and both were given it their all. The difference between the red lights was marginal but it comes down to who red-lit worse… and that ended up being Michael. Thereby making Phil Nasca the Governor’s Cup WINNER! WooHoo, Phil! I am so proud of you; you worked hard for it and raced good all weekend. Plus it was great that Mia got to be there and see her daddy win! I’m sorry I did not get any pics of the Governor’s Cup trophy, when it gets dark my camera is useless.

But there is more… Phil was not only in contention to win the Governor’s Cup; he was also striving for the NorCal Dragbike Association 2007 Championship. Which he accomplished! FANTASTIC! So the season finished out like this…

• Phil Nasca – CHAMPION
• Eddy Palmer – Runner Up
• Diego Ortiz – 3rd place

Great job guys, I’m proud of each of you! In closing, I can’t encourage those who did not attend any more then by saying “get ya azz out there next year!” It’s always a ton of fun with great racing and fun people! Till next year peoples… Photos to come!

BB

Eluded again...

ADDICT: n. One who is addicted
ADDICTED: adj. Doing or using something as a habit or compulsively

Ok so we have defined the two… I’m fairly certain that mine, along with many of my friends and now my daughter faces appears next to these definitions in the dictionary. Because when it comes to drag racing there is NO OTHER option. I always say drag racing is black or white; you either LOVE it or you HATE it! Although, I really don’t know how anyone couldn’t love it but again, I think that falls under the broad definition of addict.

With that said, the weekend doesn’t get any better when you get to race and your daughter gets to race too! I posted her results and the evenings character previously, make sure you take a peek at Victory...so SWEET!

So it’s been awhile since the last time I ran, seriously feels like forever. In reality I think it’s been a tad over 4 weeks… YIKES, that’s too long – I’m going through withdrawals! So as usual I leave work, go grab the kid and my gear and we head to the track. We get there and there are a few street bikes playin’ along with a few dragbikes. Mark Topalinski (sorry if I killed your last name Mark) and another guy (so sorry, I always forget his name). Very nice guy and his wife is such a sweetheart! We get ready to run and go over a few details (bike set-up and minor changes)…

8-17-07 recap – best pass was a 9.27 @ 149.1 mph.

First pass, get up to do my burnout… can’t seem to find second, neutral, or first gear. Eventually I get it, line up and GO…

9.14 @ 149.3 mph with a .520 reaction and 1.56 60’ time

Next pass…the launch throws me off balance and the whole run feels like a dance to keep it in the groove. I drifted toward the cones then towards the guard rail till finally I get her going straight and dam its over… WOW, a low 9 second pass sure goes by quicker then a high 9 or low 10 second pass. Even with all the dancing we still ran…

9.11 @ 149.3 mph with a .355 reaction and 1.46 60’ time

This next pass marks the first time I’ve raced with someone in the opposite lane. Thank you, Brandon! I firmly believe having a competitor naturally pushes you to do better and this was no exception!

9.00 @ 149.5 mph with a .274 reaction and a 1.45 60’ time

Now, let me start by saying I thought for sure this was the 8 second pass that I’ve been craving for so long… But alas it was not. However, you don’t get much closer to an 8 then to run a 9 flat. At this point, I think I just over-amp’d myself and somehow wedged my head up my a$$. My next pass was straight out of the twilight zone, as if I just couldn’t get it together…stupid, stupid, stupid.

16.36 @ 105 mph with a .346 reaction and a 1.42 60’ time

Ultimately, it didn’t feel good when I got out there and I got out of it, which yes was the right thing to do but definitely threw my momentum off. I questioned…was it me or was it the bike? The bike died at the end of the track, but was that my fault, did I get out of the throttle too much??? Well clearly based off the reaction time and 60’ time (which was my best so far BTW) it was NOT the bike… 100% rider error! I let the fact that I wanted that 8 second pass so bad get in my head and it ultimately back fired. The irony in this was that Eddy was trying to teach me a lesson, but again “head up a$$” so hard to hear way up there… :) He asked if I wanted to go ahead of the Jr’s that were running, to which I replied “nah, I’m in no hurry”… now I have a better understanding of WHY he wanted me to go ahead of them. Sorry Eddy…

So the next and final pass (we were concerned about the track going away at this point, it was getting cooler and there were no big tire cars running anymore)…but we said “one more”…

9.39 @ 148.1 mph with a .256 reaction and a 1.66 60’ time

So we rebounded a bit but the track was just not able to support us. Its all good, as usual, I learned a lot and had a blast! My daughter got a couple of pictures (from my phone, despite having the camera with us)… Enjoy! Feel free to leave me any comments, I love to hear the feedback!

As I close out, please come out and join us on Saturday, September 22 at Sacramento Raceway for the 39th Annual Govenor’s Cup! Pit Adm. $25. General Adm. $20. All kids under 12 Admitted FREE. Racing 10am-10pm.

It is the final race of the season for Nor Cal Dragbike Association and we’d like to see as many fans out as possible! Come out & enjoy the weather, a great event and some kick-a$$ racing! For event details check out www.sacramentoraceway.com. If you want more info on Nor Cal Dragbike Association, visit http://myspace.com/norcaldragbikes. Hope to see you there!

Victory...so SWEET!

Well my friend Jason officially created a monster! Thank you! Sara got to race his truck Friday night (9-14-07) and ran the best time he’s seen on it (14.90 @ 84 mph)! ROCK ON, girl! He swore she wasn’t racing it again, but then ended the night with…”she can race tomorrow night too, if she wants”…

So as soon as Saturday morning rolled around, I hear “Mom, when are we going to the track?” I couldn’t help but chuckle as I assured her we would be going later since Grudge Fest didn’t start till 6pm anyway! She was happy with that and happily rolled over and went back to sleep! We got ready as the evening came around and got to the track around 8pm… yeah I know a little late, but we both knew she wouldn’t get a ton of passes in. Or at least that’s what I kept telling myself. Now let me give you some back ground on this… I’ve raced motorcycles for a good number of years now and have progressively gotten quicker and faster! None of which scares me or makes me feel uncomfortable. However, I have NEVER raced a car and thereby am a little nervous especially because Jason said “you have to ride with her, since I have to work the tree”… YIKES! hhhmmmm, how can I get out of this…? Bottom line is I couldn’t and I really want her to feel like she is a part of drag racing on her own, not just because mom does it. So with that said… I sucked it up and we made our first pass. She does good; still creeps to the light a little far out, but overall is learning everything well. NOW with this pass, I get to experience a few new things too.

Wow, its different then being on a bike… well duh!
Everything seems so much slower… again duh! (do you see a pattern forming here?)

So the light is a bit different and I actually got to look around and see the track go by. WOW, now that is a new concept for me. I typically see the start and finish…the rest is a quick blur! Overall, she did great and above all else had a GREAT time!

So without further adue…here are her stats from Saturday night.

.739 reaction, 2.33 60’ = 15.20 @ 91.6 mph
.677 reaction, 2.30 60’ = 14.83 @ 94.6 mph – now this pass has significance for her…

She raced a newer mustang on this pass. It was actually VERY cool to see how close it was throughout the whole 1,320 feet of track we covered. In the end, she beat the mustang. Here are his stats…yes I said HIS…

.443 reaction, 2.35 60’ = 15.12 @ 93.8 mph

WooHoo! That’s my girl that just schooled you in a Dodge Truck! Can you tell I was a little excited for her!?! As was she… so much so that Sunday when we got up she said “Mom, I had a dream about racing last night…” she’s addicted! Till next time, keep the rubber side down (at least for awhile)!

Bumble Bee

Its genetic!

I'm super excited to share a fun and exciting moment that took place this weekend. As you all know I live and breathe drag racing! Well I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree (now)! My daughter had her first experience with drag racing Friday (9/7/07). My friend Jason asked if it was ok to let her run his truck, he was in the truck with her during the runs. I was very clear if anything happened, it would be his ass! :) Well, she did great and now understands the addiction that comes along with the quarter mile! ;) Here are her stats...

1. 16.94 ET @ 81.4 mph (1.398 reaction & 2.60 60' time)


2. 16.15 ET @ 84.4 mph (.358 reaction & 2.49 60' time)


3. 16.38 ET @ 84.4 mph (.231 reaction & 2.75 60' time)


4. 16.25 ET @ 84.3 mph (.390 reaction & 2.53 60' time)


5. 16.03 ET @ 85.1 mph (.094 reaction & 2.53 60' time)

Way to GO, princess! She now has a better understanding of why mom LOVES drag racing so much! :) I'm very proud of her! Big thanks to Jason for allowing her to run his truck, now once she gets comfortable doing it on her own... your in trouble! ;) She can't wait to get back out there, just like mom!!!

ET Summit Series @ Infineon Raceway

I'd like to take a moment to hand some well deserved "KUDOS" to the crew! The guys did good Monday (Labor Day)! We went to Infineon Raceway for the guys to compete in the ET Summit Series. I'm very proud to announce that although they did not bring home the Wally, they did one hell of a job! Phil Nasca made it to the semi's taking a loss to Michael O'Neil, while Eddy Palmer had the by run. Then it came down to Eddy and Michael in the final round, due to unexpected challenges with the bike and breaking the tire loose all day, Michael walked away with the Wally! Congratulations Michael!

The crew did great! You both should be very proud of yourselves!

Till next time...keep the rubber side down (at least for awhile) and be safe!

Bumble Bee