hello everybody Blacks and I made it to the
Tailum  Bend raceway relatively unscathed,
we had a bit of a problem getting a ticket and it was the same problem as last time but this time it was was worse but eventually after exposing  my internet banking ,
they let us both in to the raceway.

We
Had a quick look at the pits before we went straight up to the grandstand area on the hill to watch some of the races ,
you could hear the burnouts and runs in the background in the carpark  on the way to the gate
but soon the rain was coming on and off and it was now periodically raining pretty darn lightly but heavy enough to wet the track enough to make it just too dangerous for the competitors at those times so a lot of the racing in the qualifying period was delayed ,
and some heats  were  even cancelled,
but I was hoping it was gonna clear up for the Doorslammers class cars and fir the awesome 

 nitro  burning Top Fulers

I was dreaming of
Britney Force and something quite out of the ordinary i brought an energy drink after a tiring long drive  I was A can Of Monster brand as they finance Brittney and allow her to smash her record  at nearly every single run , the top fuiles  later, which were lucky enough and it did so.

Only one top fuel got to actually run the strip and he shredded a tyre fifty meters out of the gate before finally a washout was declaredand the day was over .

Times are fast because its not a quarter of a mile race its half that distance and an eighth of a mile instead so it makes for fast races .

We went back into the pits to have a look so zi could see if any of the blokes and the people I knew from years ago were in there at all ,
but they must be two different competitions cause there’s none of them here but so ther’s still like half a dozen of the top fuel cars 11000 horsepower animals , parked up out in the pits
but none of the guys I know.

The gearboxes in the pics are both costing in excess of 30k

So it is an extremely expensive sport ,
except for in juniors ,
as all the cars are snakler and all basically engineered the same .
And they are heaps less expensive.

But the day and the races  was so bloody exciting ,
so we went back watched the races a bit more and went back to the pits  a few time to watch testing firings as rain delayed competition all day on and off and we watched  teams pulling apart  and assembling engines in the pits ,
together ,

I just generally was having a good time,
but it got rained out in the end but we saw just one run by one of the top fuels and the noise you physically actually feel it i just can’t  really describe it properly

You gotta have at least five fingers and a thumb in your ears and something actually funny really happened on the way home when Blackie and instead of him buying earplugs ,
Because I forgot to bring some ,
he had actually made his own ,
out of cigarette filters ,
for rolling your own smokes ,
and he used them as you use plugs and we’re in the car on the way back and he was scratching his ear and he’s carrying on and we stopped the car and he’s still carrying on and ripping at his ear ,
and what’s wrong i said and he goes.
I’ve got a cigarette filter stuck deep right inside my ear in my ear Curly ,
he said to me ,

I thought what ?
I said how the freaking hell do you get
A cigarette filter stuck in your ear ?
I used them as ear plugs
Lmao

Oh my God he was in a bit of a panic ,
I said hang on a minute and I pulled out of the car door my favourite tool in the world which is Leatherman MUT multiple tool ,
and I opened it up and got out the pointy nosed  plies and made Blacks lean his head across to me and I used the dome light on the roof to look in ,
I spotted just the end of it and  i grabbed the cigarette filter and pulled it out of his ear ,

I was laughing and thinking this is this crazy and pretty funny but I wonder if I could send a bill under Albo‘s new laws to Medicare and Clam full consultation after hours surgery it’s sure worth a few bucks.

So yeah we’re just went to the pub for dinner and camp at local river frontage  , it said it was free on Google and was packing up  this morning and having a coffee and the sun‘s out and it’s beautiful
it’s a beautiful day 
so we’re gonna get a full race day in the big boys don’t usually starts at 11:30 or even their first run you know so it’s no big deal. We’re just not long had a coffee and a reaction but i hooked the solar charge on the second battery  to top it up a bit because the car is not charging it for some reason and to keep the fridge cold.

The car battery has now also shit itself so i borrowed a shifter from a camper and pulled out the fridge battery from in the boot and i had a set of jumper leads so that got the Stato engine fired up

So its been really a day of smoke and mirrors ,

I hope to see lots of smoke coming off my hot tyres and the Australian government fading away fast in the past in my re view mirror

The cars  as enter the arena all dressed up and looking so pretty , and a bit innocent
A marshall wets the concrete at the opening of the chute with s hose to assist the start of the burnout

The engine roars as the car lites up the rear end but only on av gas ,
The tyres actually change thir physical shape  and grow and stand up tall and smoke and the smell of burnt rubber just fills the air ,
The cars back up with people guiding them back so they are as close to dead centre as possible.

They often lift the lid on the show ,
and  then fan the smoke from the burnout out of the cockpit ,
so the driver can see for the race let alone breath some air though their oxygen mask .

Once they are correctly on the line
The stage light is on top of the Christmas tree comes on and its all in the starters hands and the drivers reaction time is super critical at this stage it is imperative to have a fast reaction time to-put in a fast run

And its speed and adrenaline and g forces that these crazy men and women chase .

All in a dream not only to beat their personal best but to have a shot at the world record every time you are on a track with favourable conditions ,
its actually within reach of a well oiled team ,

Just like the Australian 

 Revolution is within reach of our team ,
We just need the crowd to cheer

So we just got to the track today an hour ago its sunny slightly breezyand a massive  crowd and great community spirit here racing all day long

Hmm

A home drag strip at the Philip Is race track would be awesome i still don’t understand why the top Fulies  done run in Victoria  anymore

The heart jumps as it runs down in a flash to the Green

Pedal to the metal hit the gas and hold her straight

All the way down the tarmac  at warp speed pace .

Sometimes its only a one horse race and they set their own pace .

The Tough Fuel sound from the launch pad  is indescribable

I have heard an F111 give it the berries   and break the speed of sound at low altitude  before ,
that was high pitched sound of barrier stuff ,
This is so different but so darn enormous that you actually  hear and feel the sound with your whole body

Last time i went,
twenty years or so they were 5000 horspower with no room believed for improvement back then and they were incredible.

Now they are rated at over 11000 horspower

This horsepower reading is not physically possible for various reasons and cant be be obtained on a regular  car or engine stand type of dyno 

Instead they use good old science and  maths matched against old records and the times ran to calculate
Their power .

But its  so friggen huge and powerful
Got to love it

Boys toys

Cheers xxx
Curlyg