First, the weather was awesome. A little warmer than what I am used to dealing with but since the Reality Motorsports trailer is air conditioned I was pretty well set up for a nice 75 degree day. Outside temps were about 15 degrees warmer than that, on Sunday I registered 90 in the shade. Oh Wow.

I ran my first 7 second pass on the Top Fuel Bike. A 7.89 at 171 mph. I was pretty excited and happy about this accomplishment and felt that the crew was pretty pleased about it as well. The Reality Motorsports people were there as well as Vanson Leathers and I wanted to show them what we are capable of putting together.

I also need to mention a product that we bought over the weekend called The Fume Buster. If you are a Nitro Drag Racer you may want to check into this product. I was first introduced to it last year in Sturgis by fellow Top Fuel Racer Rocky Mann. He said it pumped air into his helmet and helped him breath. I was a bit suspicious of this contraption but Rocky seemed to enjoy the benefits.

Before we left for Phoenix Arlie & I discussed this forced air system and agreed to give it a try. Big Tim sent the tubing and instructions for installation. Arlie put the tubing inside my helmet before we left so when we hooked up with Tim at the track all we needed to do was hook it up and attach the cylinder to the bike. I was still a little suspicious because it reminded me of being at the dentist but after a test breather I felt a little more comfortable with the air being forced through a tube into my face.

The first pass I make at every race is strictly a "shake-down" pass. I am usually so stressed that just making it to the end of the track is a big challenge. I don't know how some of the guys do it, unless we are all faking it and just making it look easy.I felt good after that first pass, even though it was a "slow" 8 second pass, it was done. I was hoping that pass number 2 would go a little better. Having the air in my helmet seemed to help a lot. I wasn't hyperventilating like I usually do and I wasn't as sore as usual - riding that bike is like an all-day work-out that's done in about 30 minutes. It's pretty intense and can make you feel like you've finished a marathon. My second qualifying pass was much more comfortable and if not easier to ride then at least more manageable.

I must admit I was pleased as can be when I got the bike stopped at the far end of the track and got everything shut down. I did the air last so I could breathe fresh air for a few seconds longer. I felt great. When Arlie came to get me and showed me a 7.89 I was really thrilled. Another "OH WOW" when I saw that slip. I was really starting to get a handle on this bike. The new tire was helping a great deal as well. Arlie said I went in a nice straight line and the pass looked really good. It felt really good.

Since I ran the bike a little farther than the last turn out I needed to back it up and get it out of the way. There was someone there to help me with the bike but I basically backed it up about 100 feet to get off the track and wasn't out of breath even in my leathers, in 90 degree weather, felt fine. If you run Nitro, you may want to consider this forced air product. I was impressed, to say the least, at how I felt after each pass.

So far, on a Saturday, we had run a 7 and we felt great. The crew was very pleased - finally- all that hard work was paying off.

We had a big crew this weekend, but it turned out to be a good thing. It was great to have everybody there: most of the crew is from the Seattle/Everett area. My mom came in from Seattle for the weekend; Joel, Tonia and 5 Bucks and Shawn came down to tune the bike, do the clutch, feed us and polish the bike. Tracy came down to sit in the warm sun and sell t-shirts. Rob and Val came in from California to hang in the sun and sell shirts too. And Tom came in from Texas to help us with the video's. I can't thank them enough for their help and hard work.

I was qualified with the 7.89. I found out I was to run Ken Kent in the first round of eliminations on Sunday. I started to really stress out about it until I went to talk to Ken and found out he was really struggling with the tune on the bike and was going to make an attempt to get down the tack. Usually it's me that has the trouble and this time we had a bike that was running some decent numbers. I still had a 50/50 chance on this round.

On Sundays the racers are offered a tune & test pass that doesn't count toward qualifying but can be used to tune the bike and get the bugs out of the racers' head. We decide to take a pass on Sunday morning for that reason. It turned out to be a wise decision as I ran a 7.74. Talking about feeling good! Oh Wow! I did it again! Of course I'm feeling pretty happy about all these 7's and was feeling pretty confident when Ken and I lined up to race.

It was a tough pass for me and even worse for Ken. I managed to beat him with a 9 second pass. Both of us struggled down the track and I just barely got there first.

This was my first Round One Advancement in Top Fuel and I was feeling pretty good about it until I found out I was up against Jim Gauthier for the second round. Jim has run some fast bikes in his career and was on a bike that ran a real low 7 in qualifying. If I was stressed about running against Ken Kent in the first round it didn't compare to the stress I was feeling when I found out I had Jim in the second round.

It went pretty much as I suspected it would. Jimmy shot out of the gate and never looked back. I limped through with a low 8 to his low 7.

Our first event of the year was absolutely fantastic. The whole weekend was good.

Our team was again assisted by sponsors and I can't thank them enough for being there with us year after year. From Wisconsin I'd like to thank S&S Cycles for sticking with us again. And I'd like to welcome back Reality Motorsports for another year. I can't say enough about my Vanson Leathers. Other sponsors for this year include Delkron Manufacturing, Kirkland Life Chiropractic, General Business Printing, Lanstat Incorporated and WACfit. Without the help and support from these companies we wouldn't be where we are today

I hope to see you at the next AHDRA event, to be held at Bandimere Speedway in Denver, the weekend of June 16 & 17, 2001.