The Rock...

What a weekend at The Rock. The fabled Dragway in Rockingham, North Carolina managed to provide even more racing history this last weekend while I created a little bit of my own at another Rockingham landmark. Not only did I get to see all my friends from years past at the track, all of whom we’re struggling to get down the Rockingham track, we also met up at a local staple in the Aberdeen community by the name of Pure Gold - a place where racers and golfers go after a hard day at the track or on the links.

And a hard couple of days is exactly what everyone had at The Rock. It’s amazing that a track as prestigious as this struggled so badly to give the racers an equal surface on Friday and Saturday. In the first round of Pro Stock only one car went down the left lane and just a handful of back-pedaling Pro Mods made it down it as well, the best being Ed Hoover with a outside-looking-in 6.19 lap.

What, why, who and when is the problem. The teams that did make it had to squint just to see the ET/MPH posted on the scoreboards because of expired light bulbs – and people actually question why car counts and fan base fades. Those burnt-out light bulbs are the perfect metaphor for a great majority of the guys and gals out here doing this deal. Still screwed in, but obviously burnt out.

Beyond that, I was excited to see the number of engine builders involved, hands on, with their customers and/or racing themselves. It was great to see Scott Duggins of PAR from Spartanburg, who’s one of the coolest f*#$&@ I know, always managing to remain even-keel, guys like Billy Albert, Sandy Wilkins, Nesbitt Racing Engines and APD’s John Kile (carb guy of choice for my dragster). What a diverse group of people from one small region in the country. It’s astonishing that these guys manage to have the business they do considering their geographical location…

As far as I’m concerned, the industry-theme of the weekend was that customer service is paramount no matter what arena you may be in. One car’s performance doesn’t mean a hill of beans to the other 200 cars out there.