I wouldn't say depressed is the word... actually... more like
INVIGORATED! After a little recovery sleep I'm now more psyched than ever to continue the chase for the Holy Grail/Trinity of Limited's... the Jewke's Speed 3, ProQuest's Wasabi, and Carolina's Delivrance! : ) I'm not worthy!!! (but I'm sure as heck gonna try to figure out a way catch up to you guys, or die trying!) ;D (although judging from my previous track record I think my wife's frying pan hurtling at my head will prove my ultimate undoing... <grin>)
Now... my wife is probably a little depressed after seeing the glazed look in my eyes as upon my return as I spewed forth my drivel detailing the relative merits of oil vs. graphite and their relative perfomance in humid versus dry conditions, .086" vs. .089" vs. .092" diameter axles, solid versus nail-type axles, aerodynamic enhancement and the associated weight placement tradeoffs (not to mention build challenges... the tolerances of some of these builds... MAN are some people skilled!)... she just rolled her eyes and walked away...
I really did start to wonder about my sanity on my way to Bluegrass... I was on a United flight from O'Hare to Lexington and we were about 20 minutes outbound when all of a sudden
the plane banked HARD to the right, and
then began a rather precipitous dive... I about soiled myself right then and there... thinking "what they heck???" when the Captain (a rather attractive brunette gal by the way) came on over the intercom and said in a rather stressed sounding voice "Ladies and gentlemen, we have had an indication that the halon system (i.e. the fire extinguisers) in the baggage compartment has deployed, and as a result we have have been cleared for immedate return to O'Hare... we will keep you posted... and we apologize for this inconvenience." Shortly after the hottie Captain emerged from the thingypit and was feeling the floor of the plane (I assume checking to see if the floor was getting hot... after that maneurver I kept checking under my seat every minute or so!).
So at this point I was seriously contemplating meeting my maker, but what was going through my mind? How much I'd miss my wife and kids/would they be o.k. without me? My folks/brothers/extended family?
You know how you never know how you're going to react in a situation until you're actually in it? Well... all I could think of as we were hurtling towards earth at 450 miles per hour was "Ohhhhhhhh, noooooooo... Sushi is my fastest car ever and now it's going to be burned to a crisp! I'll NEVER be able to beat Wasabi now!!!
".
You can't make this stuff up! This is a SICKNESS!
I managed to snap a few pics in the aftermath of our incident... we were greeted upon landing by three fire trucks and a raft of other emergency vehicles... as we taxi'ed off the runway they parked the plane in the middle of nowhere as the firetrucks drove in circles around the plane (reminded me of an old Western with the Indians riding thier horses in circles around us)... the Captain finally came on and said "The good news is that the Fire Department doesn't see any smoke coming from the aircraft"... lol... and all I could think was "I hope that halon gas is inert enough not to mess with my Sushi!!!"
Here are a few pics of the aftermath I took with my cell phone cam:
Chicago's finest checking upon Sushi's condition (note the fireman in the rear donning the gas mask... probably to protect him from the lingering pinewood fumes... Oh, the horror!)
One of the firetrucks by the plane after we'd taxi'ed back to the ramp...
Anyway, fortunately I did finally make it to Somerset by 2:40 a.m. Saturday morning (via Cincinatti, no thanks to United who booked me on a flight due to arrive in Lexinton at 9:48 a.m. Saturday morning... likely a little late for what I thought would be a 10:00 a.m. start time for Limiteds! LOL! I was sooooo tired... didn't get to sleep until 3:30 a.m. or so, woke up at 6:30 and then drank so much caffeine my hands were literally shaking when I was staging my cars... my apologies to everyone I met if I repeated myself/forgot your name/etc... I was pretty much running on empty most of the day.
I had finally run out of caffeinated energy/felt compelled to leave the race before the end of the last race (Pro-Modified? I think) but it was so close between Bubba and the Jewkes and 234 (GREAT race you guys!) that I stayed until the bitter end (JAC was probaby getting irritated every time my head would smack the chair in front of as I dozed off... LOL!). So I got back to my hotel, took a quick shower and climbed into bed, and got ready to drift off into a long needed slumber when... what happened???
ALL I could think about was those doggone axles! Lubes! Could I build a sponson thingies on the side of the car to improve airflows? Short vs long wheelbases... Stockers... where'd I put those lightweight wheels I took off of 'Ol Yeller???
HEEEEEEEEEEEELP MEEEEEEEEEEE! ;D
I tell ya... this sport is gonna be the end of me! But if ya gotta go, it might as well be doing something you love!