BACK IN THE SEMI'S

Hi everyone. This is Todd. Norwalk turned out to be another great outing for the team – our second semifinal finish in a row at a national event and the second time in a row that a race was even more special for me personally.

My wife, Jacque, and I got married during the Englishtown event, about 50 miles from the track in New York City. Norwalk held extra meaning because my parents threw a wedding reception for Jacque and me about 50 miles from the track, in Wadsworth, Ohio, where I grew up.

It was at their house, and the whole team came. Everybody flew in Thursday except Jay, Eddie, and Charlie, who had driven the rig to Norwalk after first stopping at a Permatex plant in Solon, Ohio. It was great having everybody there with my family and all of my relatives. (In September, on the Saturday of the U.S. Nationals, Jacque and I are having our own reception at our new house, which is just a few miles from Indianapolis Raceway Park.)

Thursday morning, I picked up Jay, Charlie, and Eddie at the track and took them to Wadsworth, where Jay delivered a motivational speech to the Lions Club. It was the first time I've ever gotten to hear him speak, and it was awesome. Jacque and my dad were there, and everybody loved it. Event organizers said it was one of the best presentations they've ever had. The coolest part, other than Jay's speech itself, was that my eighth-grade English teacher, Mrs. Casey, is a member of the Lions Club and was there for the speech. She got a kick out of the fact that I grew up to be a writer and remembers that I always wanted to be a drag racer.

From there, we all went to my dad's shop, which is just a few miles away, and my dad gave Charlie, Eddie, and Jay a tour of the place, showing them the CNC machines, his four-engine tractor puller, and the supercharged 270-cubic-inch Hemi engine he built for his street rod. I don't know who enjoyed it more – my dad or the guys. After the reception that night, it was back to Norwalk for what always is one of the biggest races of the season.

We came off the trailer with a 5.72 Friday morning and picked up to a 5.67 that afternoon that was extra cool because the car barely made it. It hazed the tires on the launch and it felt like it was going to kick 'em loose at the top of low gear, but when I shifted into 2nd, the shake was gone and it charged to the finish line. After a consistent 5.70 Saturday morning, we entered eliminations in the number 5 spot.

We beat veteran Larry Dobbs, who's been racing Alcohol Funny Cars since 1982, in the first round, and John Anderika, the same guy we raced in the second round a couple weeks ago at Englishtown, in round two. In the semi's, there he was again: Frank Manzo. We've been to the semifinals at three national events this year, including our season debut in Gainesville, and we've had to run him every time.

This time, we didn't get the chance. As I was bringing the engine up, probably less than a second from staging, the engine quit. I couldn't imagine what happened – everything was fine. Tuner Tommy Howell quickly figured out that the new safety device we installed on the car this weekend – something designed to shut off the fuel, kill the ignition, and throw out the parachutes after the finish line if the driver hasn't already done it – somehow kicked in and silenced the engine on the starting line.

It was a lousy end to the race – we would have loved to see how the changes Tommy made for that run worked out – but it didn't keep the weekend from being a success on all fronts. The best part: we're up to eighth in the national standings. Our next Division 1 Lucas Oil Series race, in Lebanon Valley, N.Y., is just a few days away. Talk to you soon!