Hemby Bridge, NC – Wednesday morning around midnight, I rolled into my brother’s driveway just east of Charlotte to start another long adventure as KKR delivery men.
First stop found us in Mooresville to trade in a 1992 F-150 that pisses oil over neighboring highway travelers for a 2018 Chevy High Country with more buttons in the driver’s compartment than the space shuttle and loaded down with sprint car parts.
Four hundred and twenty-two miles later, we caught an hour nap at the Mid-Atlantic Hoosier tire facility in middle Maryland waiting for 9AM to arrive so we could exchange new tires for new tires. Then it was off to York, PA to tour Winters Performance after dropping off rear ends needing to be rebuilt. Our final Central PA stop of the morning involved the loading of three brand new 410 small blocks before making a semi-cross country road trip to meet up with teams in Brownsburg, IN.
All in all, we accomplished four deliveries across seven states in the span of twenty-six hours and 1,300 miles.
Since we were already up there, we mind as well stay and watch the Outlaws and USAC at Eldora. Knowing the Outlaws never disappoint at “The World’s Greatest Dirt Track,” we were well aware that we were in for an enjoyable weekend.
What we didn’t expect was how crazy non-wing drivers are. Standing inside turn one chatting with close Carolina friends, we decided to turn our attention to Heat One of the USAC program. What I witnessed in the first 1/8 mile was one of the most beautiful experiences I think a fan of racing ever hope for. I’m not sure where Dave Darland started, but going by the flag stand around 6th place, he decided he was just going to slide job the whole field. I almost started running from the infield wall thinking he was going to run us over. After I realized he knew what he was doing, I just stared in amazement as he went from the lowest of One to just barely jumping the cushion and kissing the wall coming out of Two. Jake and I just looked at each other with dropped jaws.
The wingers were equally impressive all weekend through sheer speed and precision. Kerry Madsen swept the entire weekend and definitely deserved the winner’s portion of purse. Had he made one mistake either night, Chad Kemenah would have capitalized on the opportunity and rolled it into victory Lane.
Watching both KKR cars roll into their trailers, it was time to hit the road again back to Central PA to drop off worn out motors. Only this time, we would have the distinguished honor of hauling Lethal Lee’s warn out body back also. For eight hours straight, we bugged him for set-up advice, and he told us stories of him and Hodnett’s adventures on the road. When we got to his home, we all had a beer and he showed us around his shop.
Looking at the clock on the wall, Jacob and I realized we had just enough time to get back to the Carolinas to take mom out to dinner for Mother’s Day.
It’s 2:02PM and Jake just mentioned we rolled over 2,500 miles for the week. Only a hundred more miles to go!
Momma… Momma, I’m coming home!