What to do when out of town
WMRRA round 5 was in Spokane over the weekend, and I went across the state for tech and to corner work. It's pretty tough to inspect bikes and then just watch all weekend, but at least technical inspections and corner working get me to the track.
I headed over early on Friday morning, since I was meeting with an entrepreneur who wanted to discuss his latest venture. It was a worthwhile meeting and his venture is fascinating, but it was all done with by a bit after 2:00. So, I checked email and got a few things done sitting in a Starbucks near the track in Airway Heights, then headed over to the track to spend the next couple of days.
The previous round at Spokane was the first time I had ever paid much attention to drag racing, and it was fascinating. So, instead of hanging around, telling lies, and drinking beer all evening, I decided to try it. The van hauls bikes, hauls band equipment, serves as a hotel room at the track and is my work vehicle. It's now my drag car, too, and I have the Spokane County Raceway Park license to prove it.
I didn't expect to get so keyed up at the start line, but it was exciting every time. The van amused just about everyone who saw it, although there were a few who didn't seem to get the joke. Too bad, since I had a blast. My last run was finally against another guy who was there on a lark. He had an ancient 4WD Toyota or Nissan pickup. Even it was a bit quicker than the van, but we were both laughing all the way down the track. The van is very, very consistent. With a bit of practice on starts, I think it would be an outstanding bracket racer. Consistency is all that matters, and as long as nothing breaks, it should run about 20.15 second all day and all night. I don't drive it much more than 65 mph on the freeway, and 65 is it's top speed in the quarter, too.
So, now I have another way to burn gasoline in the pursuit of having fun. I would like to thank all my sponsors for putting up with me. It's not exactly what they were expecting, but I'll advertize any way I can.