First of all, I have to apologize for not connecting with you
folks in a couple of weeks. It’s been a rather active time
both at the track and away from the track.
Since I last appeared on this site, the U.S. Army Top Fuel
team has competed in two races — at Gateway International
Raceway outside of St. Louis and at Atlanta Dragway in Commerce,
Ga.
The race at Gateway was a good one for us if you saw the
results. We managed to collect a much needed win. It had been more
than a month since we had visited victory lane. We’re not
used to that type of dry spell.
While it was the best of times at Gateway, it wasn’t
the greatest of times down in the Peachtree State. We did manage to
advance to the semifinals, but we just seemed to struggle all
weekend long. For some reason, we couldn’t get a handle on a
very hot, challenging track.
With the above said, we’re heading to Heartland Park
Topeka (Kan.) this weekend for the O’Reilly Auto Parts Summer
Nationals holding fourth-place in the standings. We’re only
10 points out of third and 35 points out of second.
The U.S. Army team just needs to start running consistently
and before long we should be nipping at Larry Dixon’s heels
for the lead. Dixon has been running extremely well of late so
it’s important we don’t let him get too far out in
front.
The Topeka race marks the halfway point of the initial phase
of the Countdown to the Championship. After 17 races, the points
will be reset and the top 10 drivers will then compete for the Full
Throttle world championship in what’s called the Countdown to
One.
While we’re going to work real hard to be the leader
entering the “playoffs,” the worst we would want to be
is second. That way, we’d be only 30 points behind and
clearly within striking distance.
Heading to Topeka, I’m hoping I can deliver my
long-time sponsor — the U.S. Army — its 100th NHRA win.
As you may be aware, 59 of my 63 career victories have come with
the U.S. Army’s colors covering my championship-winning,
record-setting dragster.
Other NHRA drivers who have carried the U.S. Army to victory
lane over the years include Don “The Snake” Prudhomme
(24 wins in Funny Car), Angelle Sampey (10 wins in Pro Stock
Motorcycles) and Antron Brown (six wins in Pro Stock Motorcycles).
We definitely want the U.S. Army to be celebrating this
Sunday. We always want to win badly for our Army Strong Soldiers.
They deserve nothing but our very best every race weekend.
So, it’s now time to begin packing for the trip to
Kansas. “The Sarge” extends his usual group salute to
y’all. We’ll be back with you in a more timely fashion
next week post-O’Reilly Auto Parts Summer Nationals.
Until then, I ask you to stay well and please remember our
hard-working Army Strong Soldiers in your thoughts and prayers.
