I remember the very first time we raced four-wide here, and it was SOMETHING. I stood trackside when the fuel cars ran so that I could get the full experience, and what an experience it was. The thunder of four Top Fuel dragsters leaving the starting line at once sent an intense vibration down and through the concrete; traveling to quake the ground beneath my sneakers and send a wave of violence through my body, attacking stomach, heart, lungs, vision. My mind would never be the same. Once you know that kind of ferocity, you simply cannot unknow it.

We live in such a chaotic world already, we drag racing folk. Traveling all over tarnation in pursuit of the ~ mere possibility ~ of greatness, we trade calm for chaos on our best days. It’s a lot, this weird life we’ve all chosen, and then we come here and experience a multiplication of madness. It’s dizzying and difficult, and sometimes it’s downright mean — but there are always moments where I’m like, okay yeah I fricken love this. It doesn’t hurt that it takes place at one of the finest facilities on the planet, our “Bellagio of Dragstrips,” zMAX Dragway.

I think the reason I like this race is also the reason it makes me so uncomfortable. I don’t know where to look. I’m out of my comfort zone. Drag racing is always unpredictable, but here, you truly have no earthly idea what’s going to happen (or even what DID happen – it takes a while to comprehend what you just saw). I’m absolutely married to two-lane drag racing, but this experience gets your heart pumping and your brain working in different ways. It’s mentally exhausting, but it’s also an invitation – if not a demand – to broaden your perspective, see an old thing in a new way, stretch.

I woke up this morning feeling rejuvenated by the experience, but I must also admit that I am eager to return to our normal level of chaos.

See ya, Charlotte. Thanks for another wild ride. xo

(Photo by my sweet friend Bob Szelag)