The Bob Drapp Rap

6/21/2009

Jimmy Mac stayed home this weekend, so I traveled west to Kansas City with my old team mate from last year, Donnie Huffman.

The Friday night test and tune saw me run an almost perfect 9.704 seconds in the first pass off the trailer, but that was going to be the best of 11 runs that I made that night.

The race facility was an older track, probably built in the 1960’s. The starting line area had been updated to newer standards with concrete, so the hook up (traction) out of the gate was good, but just past the 60 foot mark where the concrete ended, the asphalt on the track was like a wash board, it was so rough, that a few times my bike bounced so hard that the rear wheel left the ground and the engine revved past the redline momentarily. The shut down area at the end of the track was a bit shorter than any of the other tracks that I have been to in quite some time, so the brakes got a real good workout.

Saturday qualifying in Super Gas, the best that I could do was 9.756, but that was good enough to put me in at 4th place. In the Super Sport class I landed in the 5th place with a 10.342 against the 10.30 index. The E.T. class was another story, with a reaction time of .066, putting me in the 18th position out of 38 entries.

Sunday (race day) the first round Super Sport I ran a 10.32 losing to a 10.31 in one of the closest matches of the weekend. In the E.T. class I made it to the 2nd round before being defeated by a very slow .171 reaction time, but this gave me enough points to move into first place in the national points chase. The high point of the weekend came in the first round of Super Gas, where I ran a perfect 9.700 seconds for the win. I went on through the 2nd round with a decisive victory over my opponent, but fell victim in the 3rd round to yet another poor reaction time. I can’t remember a time when I was that slow on the lights.

This weekend was probably the highest temperature that I had ever experienced during a race. The temperature in the shade was 101 degrees, with a heat index of 110. I believe heat exhaustion is the main cause of my slow reaction times, even though I went through my usual regimen of taking aspirin, eating 2 bananas, and drinking several quarts of Gatorade. I am going to disassemble the clutch and give it a thorough inspection just to be sure there isn’t any mechanical reason for the slow reaction times.

I am now in first place in the E.T. class, 3rd place in Super Gas, and tied for 7th place in Super Sport, with 2 races left.

Jimmy Mac and I will be traveling to one of the best drag race facilities in the world, for our next event. Rush Thunder In The Valley Nationals, on August 8-9, in Bristol, Tenn.