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Gotta Love Those Win Lights!
By Emily | September 16, 2008
Well, it’s nearing the end of the season for drag racing and Chris and I knew we had to get one last race in before the rainy season hit. The Pacific Northwest Super Comp Association was having their last two races at the Woodburn Fall Classic in Woodburn, OR and it seemed like a perfect chance! However, there were a couple hurdles we had to jump before we were able to make it to Woodburn and one was transportation!
Chris had it easy with a fairly straight forward five hour drive from Woodinville to Woodburn. I, on the other hand, has a six hour drive through nowhere Washington. I left on Friday right after work and hit the road. Chris made it just fine and kept me company on the phone during the second half of my drive. I managed to hit construction, waiting for the clearing of a car wreck and sat through one lane traffic on I-84 due to the horrible fire. After 7 hours I finally made it to Woodburn and crashed in the hotel room.
Saturday morning Chris and I were pumped to get to the track. We unloaded and made sure we were all set up. We spent extra time checking the weather, our calculations and the track. We wanted to be able to get the most out of our two qualifying runs. Our first two runs went well, even though we waited in the staging lanes for a good hour before each run. I qualified 11th and was paired up again Marcia Miller, a strong racer in the Super Comp division. Important to note that during the day I had been hitting killer lights on the tree. My first shot was a .009 and my second was a .003. I should have known that my lights would only get better and that it would be helpful to put some delay in the box, but I didn’t. So, I red-lit the first round against Marcia and I was really upset. But Chris reminded me that these things happen and that we still had a whole other of racing. We where both so exhausted that it may have been a blessing in disguise as a packed up and headed to the hotel.
Sunday was a much better day. Chris and I felt really rested and were pumped for our last race of the 
season. Like I mentioned before, it was the Fall Classic that weekend and the track was packed. We were called into the staging lanes early, but there was a blown engine a few rounds before us. As they were trying to clear the track two tow vehicles crashed on the return road and we all waited as fire trucks and ambulances tried to clear the crash. We finally got a chance to run and almost everyone in the field broke out. Only four of the seventeen races were above 8.90. Even with our breakout we were able to qualify 8th and were matched against Ross Souza. Ross is quite a talented racer and had significantly more experience than I did, so we knew we had to step it up. I put a little delay in my box, as I red-lit in the qualifying run, set the throttle stop and hoped for the best. And just to make things interesting, Chris had me change the throttle stop setting as I rolled into the water box for the burnout.
I couldn’t believe it when the win light came on and Chris screamed in my radio that I had won! First round win ever and with an 8.904 to his 8.907. Not a bad run at all! I couldn’t have been more please and that one win light made the entire year worth it. Having never been to a second round, Chris and I didn’t know what to do with ourselves. We jumped the gun a little and put too much in the throttle stop for the second round. We did breakout, but we were still so excited about our first round win that I doubt anyone noticed our second round loss. What a great day!
Overall this year has been amazing. I honestly couldn’t have asked for a better first season and I am passionately in love with this sport. Chris has been an amazing Crew Chief, father and fan. Thanks for everything, Dad!
Please keep in touch during the off season. We’ll keep you updated as we freshen the engine and tweak the little things to get ready for 2009.
Thanks for all the support!
EMDUB
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