Come on, race season is coming up. Are you ready? Excited? Broken? No time? No desire? No money?

[dvw]

I’ve been through them all. Car is ready, trailer is close, truck repair will start when vacation is over on the 30th. I’m excited, at 71 don’t know how many more seasons are left. Broken stuff has or is being repaired. When you are retired the only time limit is your energy, so far mine is very good. Desire to win has never been higher. Money? Who cares there’s enough left for what ever time I have. If it runs out I’ll work more or live on Social Security. Bring it on!
Doug

 

[vance.dykes]

not racing any more but love driving the rr but the nickel and dime is now 100 hear and 100 there just love being retired is quite and do as i please very blessed will be the same will drive - work on the car for fun and up-keep house and rides man there is time now for and not rushed . glad to hear you will be wheels up all the way god bless and go get them .

 

[65CopCar]

Still not ready. But not much needs to be done to go. Soon!

You coming down my way anytime this year?

 

[WS23U1]

Lots of desire at older than dirt. Time and money are the issue right now. Although 85% done on one and 90% on the other.

 

[Virg464]

Excited for a first season at the track with a long overdue hot rod, but I feel I'm behind the power curve...still!

 

[fullmetaljacket]

You're the man Doug. The world's oldest teenager. LOL.
Some of us have young and growing families, some with young and growing careers, some with old and growing time limits.
It's endless why some can't go out as much or at all, but the passion still lives.

 

[33 IMP]

Two cars, both need work. A couple years ago, had two tracks within 20 miles in either direction. Both closed.
Now have one track five minutes away... that only divisional or pro racers can use.
Nearest track I can use is now 125 miles (San Diego, or Vegas.). Thirty years ago that wasn't a problem. Now, it is.
I used to haul my junk to work Thursday morning, head straight to the track after, be there before the gates opened. Time has sure passed that by!
So..... old and tired, lost desire. Not enough desire to pay somebody to do what I can do, if I felt like it.
If pomona opened their street legal program again, I'd be in the garage 24/7.

 

[OneWheelPeel]

If I had a local track I would do test and tune nights, I miss having a track in my backyard.
Brotherhood Raceway Park - Wikipedia

 

[33 IMP]

If I had a local track I would do test and tune nights, I miss having a track in my backyard.
Brotherhood Raceway Park - Wikipedia

Man, I raced a little bit at brotherhood. It wasn't quite in my backyard tho. (Nitroused V8 vega)
One of about fifteen tracks I raced at in Southern california...... that aren't there anymore.

Irwindale, the new one, was my tnt track, every (or, most) Thursday night. Off work at 3:30, rig in line, waiting for the gates to open by 4:00.
I used to get off work, at 9pm, and haul *** to the old Irwindale, and sneak in the (unoccupied) gate, and watch till closing. That was more than a couple years ago.

 

[padam]

I haven’t touched my car since last fall. I think I might be done. The desire is definitely there, but my resources don’t match up.

My family is extremely important to me and they aren’t into it. But I do have other hobbies in which we share interest so going to spend more time on those things.

 

[dvw]

Still not ready. But not much needs to be done to go. Soon!

You coming down my way anytime this year?

We will be running the NDRL event at Kil Kare. Our closest track is Milan Mi, 115 miles round trip. Have some long road trips this year, 3 close to 1100, 1 over 800, 1 over 600, 2 over 500. Biggest expense is diesel fuel. It’s nuts. Along with buying a large trailer. Hopping for10 mpg. We will see. Fortunately I’ve done a lot of hot rod repair out of the garage along with winning some bigger events in the past years. There was a time when we left Friday after work and do these long trips. Then drive all night home to be at work Monday morning.
Doug

 

[charger greg]

Doug, I love your enthusiasm and dedication to perusing what you enjoy.
I am looking forward to this race season , we plan to travel to some different events this year. I've done a lot of work to my car this winter, engine removed, flat tappet cam replaced with a roller, short block freshened up. The transmission disassembled and fixed, sent the converter out for inspection. Differential removed and inspected and I still have some trailer maintenance to do yet.

 

[junior340]

Our local Firebird raceway opens this weekend, I am ready and excited.

 

[fullmetaljacket]

Even the street haunts are gone or too far. It's all cyclical, when the time is right, anything arrives in its rightful time.

 

[3sloppydogs]

A number of years ago 75-80 dragaway closed. That kind of took the wind out of my sails. It was only 1/2 hour away at the most. Summer friday night just sitting around someone alway suggested to go and we did. We would load tne grill and cooler and you could back up next to the track and grill, drink whatever and have general good time.
Mason Dixon raceway is the next closest but we have to make an effort to get there through the frederick traffic and people heading to the mountains for the weekend. It is fairly rare we do that.
I miss 75-80

 

[OneWheelPeel]

Man, I raced a little bit at brotherhood. It wasn't quite in my backyard tho. (Nitroused V8 vega)
One of about fifteen tracks I raced at in Southern california...... that aren't there anymore.

Irwindale, the new one, was my tnt track, every (or, most) Thursday night. Off work at 3:30, rig in line, waiting for the gates to open by 4:00.
I used to get off work, at 9pm, and haul *** to the old Irwindale, and sneak in the (unoccupied) gate, and watch till closing. That was more than a couple years ago.

I remember a green Vega there, pretty tall dude with glasses drove it, any chance that was you?
I always wonder what became of the regulars there, I haven't been able to find anything out for most of them.

 

[turbo t]

Hope to meet you Doug at Kil-Kare this season, We have a few customers who race our engines in the NDRL series. We've been trying to get everything ready for April, Still have to do brakes on the trailer and Tires on the toterhome. OUCH. New top dragster almost finished, have some tiding up on suspension and racepak stuff to do and I believe it's ready. The pro stock hemi A/D comp car is all fresh and ready stem to stern but we are going to sell it, suck's because it's the quickest one in the country, We just don't have the help to run it anymore, wife's health and crew getting older. Glad to have been able to do it while we did and could. New car will be quicker and faster but hopefully won't be as much work between rounds. Time wait's for no one. Seems like yesterday but we've been doing the comp gig since 94 so it's time to sell and move on from it.

 

[dvw]

Hope to meet you Doug at Kil-Kare this season, We have a few customers who race our engines in the NDRL series. We've been trying to get everything ready for April, Still have to do brakes on the trailer and Tires on the toterhome. OUCH. New top dragster almost finished, have some tiding up on suspension and racepak stuff to do and I believe it's ready. The pro stock hemi A/D comp car is all fresh and ready stem to stern but we are going to sell it, suck's because it's the quickest one in the country, We just don't have the help to run it anymore, wife's health and crew getting older. Glad to have been able to do it while we did and could. New car will be quicker and faster but hopefully won't be as much work between rounds. Time wait's for no one. Seems like yesterday but we've been doing the comp gig since 94 so it's time to sell and move on from it.

I screwed on Koffel B/D many years ago. Lot of work. Im piecing together a race pac but don't have all the senors yet. Maybe midsummer.
Doug

 

[33 IMP]

I remember a green Vega there, pretty tall dude with glasses drove it, any chance that was you?
I always wonder what became of the regulars there, I haven't been able to find anything out for most of them.

Twas. 6'3", wearing glasses since puberty, lol. (I stopped doing that going blind stuff as soon as I couldn't see good....)

 

[gesto]

Had my Camaro out last weekend for the first time in 7 years. Got a new trailer and just need to get the new drag radials mounted on the old hemi and it's ready to go out and break something else.

You guys are still young.