I was fortunate to attend the 2011 NHRA Summer Nationals in Topeka, KS the weekend of May 20 - 22, and loved every minute of it, well except for the funnel cloud that threatened us. The weather ended up cooperating with the event and it didn't slow down the progress of racing.
I flew into St Louis, MO on Friday where my great NTG Brother, Greg, picked me up. We then proceeded to his hometown Cracker Barrel and had a great breakfast. Did I say how much I love Cracker Barrel. After Breakfast we attended Greg's son, Shea, play at his elementary school. It was very entertaining to see these first graders remember their lines and put on a fantastic, well choreographed play. Had something to do about Frogs.
We, Greg, Toni, Lynn, Shea and I then took off for our journey to Topeka, KS. It was about a six hour drive, and of course we stopped at the Cracker Barrel for dinner.
Saturday we headed down the HPT where we met up with Laura, @LDCrust on twitter, as it was so wonderful to see her again. Heartland Park is really spread out, so bring your walking shoes if you ever attend. The weather was perfect for qualifying on Saturday. I strolled around the pits and talked with Terry McMillen, Cori, and Jim with Team McMillen, and gave them our NTG Decals as they placed them on Terry's Top Fuel Dragster. That was such a surreal moment seeing our decal on a NHRA Car. I then proceeded to the Kallita Camp where I met up with Todd, Kalitta Pr Guy. He also is such a wonderful person and was such a pleasure to meet. He took 3 or our NTG Decals and placed them on Jeff Arends Funny Car, Doug Kalitta's and David Grubnics Top Fuel Dragsters. I was in Awe when he said he would put them on the cars. I needed a tissue. Todd then told us to come back on Sunday where he would give us the Hospitality treament. I continued over to see Vincent Nobile, to give him our decals too. Steve Emerson, @sremerson, had written to Vincent about the decals and got the ok. I love how our NTG comes together in support of our love for Drag Racing. Steve is an asset to the NTG. I met up with Vincent and right away he didn't hesitate to place both decals on his Pro Stock Car. It was overwhelming seeing our NTG decals on these cars as the came through the staging lanes and headed down the track. I'd like to thanks Team McMillen, Team Kalitta, and Vincent Nobile for being such a historical part of the Nitro Twitter Group.
Saturday evening we headed over to pick up Laura to go to dinner with us at the Texas Roadhouse. But on the drive over, we encountered the sirens of Tornado warning. Golf Ball sized hail began to fall and Greg wisely pulled into a Hospital Parking Garage Structure where we spent almost an hour waiting it out. We could see the funnel cloud forming, and I was a bit worried there for a few, but it did not touch down near us. The storm was massive and worst one that I have ever experienced. After the storm passed we proceeded to dinner and then to Laura's hotel where Greg and Shea when swimming an polished the 3 floor slide that traveled though to the pool. It wasa fun packed day.
Sunday we all arrived at HPT and met up with Todd and Kristin. Our fist meeting with the newest members of the NTG. They are such great people and had a wonderful time meeting up with them. We all continued over to Kalitta Hospitality where Todd gave us the Royal Treatment. Took the tour inside Kalitta's pit area as we watched the cars warm up, and our eyes teared heavily. But love the smell of Nitro. Todd showed is up close where he placed the Decals and we also took a lot of group pictures. The Kalitta's are a class act organization and the NTG thanks them for taking the time out of their busy schedule to show us what they're made of. An experience we'll never forget.
Eliminations were very exciting as the day went on. It was perfect picture weather, but a little on the hot side. Track temperatures reached 124 degrees so there were more cars not hooking up with the track like on Saturday. When it was all said and done, the winners were Spencer Massey - Top Fuel, Robert Hight - Funny Car, and Shane Gray - Pro Stock. It was a fun filled day and I have to say that Topeka has some of the Great NHRA Fans on the Full Throttle Series Circuit. My next event will be English town on June 2.
Click on links to View Photos of Topeka:
Vincent Noblile
Assortments
Terry McMillen
Team Kalitta
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