Getting ready for a two-day racing weekend

Brooke Wakenhut

Hi race fans! This weekend we are having a Junior Drag Racing doubleheader. We will be hitting the track on both Saturday and Sunday starting at 9 a.m. Please come out and watch us race!

We had a great time at the NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals a couple of weeks ago. Kylie and I even got to have our Junior Dragsters signed by Cruz Pedregon and Ashley Force Hood. Hopefully that will give us good luck!

See you at the races!

Brooke Wakenhut

Back to racing at the Bullring

Cheyanne Schindler

Racing season is finally back at the Bullring! I have been staying busy during the off-season playing fast pitch softball at school. This is my first year and it is a lot of fun, but not as fun as racing! So far, we have won all of our games!

For me, the first race of the year was not a very happy one.  My car was running great and I qualified third, but when the green flag dropped, my transponder wasn't working.  I had to go off of the track to get a new one. They had to restart the race but I wasn't allowed to get back into the race.  I don't really know the reason for that, but that's my Aunt Donna's job!    

Congratulations to Rachel in the Young Guns for winning two races in a row, but I do have to cheer for my teammate, Amanda. Those two are fun to watch on the track.  My little friend Kayle in the Bandits is doing so well and I know she is going to win a race this year. It will be an exciting season for all of us.

That's all for now! See you at the races!

Cheyanne

NHRA Driver Entry: Matt Hagan

Matt Hagan

We got to the Cashman Center for the USBC US Open on Thursday in Las Vegas
and everybody was so nice. They got us set up with our bowling balls and measured our fingers and drilled the balls for us and got us hooked up with bags and other really nice stuff.

That was really cool because I haven't been able to experience that before and I didn't even realize you had to get measured for a bowling ball. I just thought that they drilled the balls and you just went up and grabbed one that best fit you. I was impressed with the fact that the balls were made custom for you.

We started doing a little bit of practice and one time my ball surprisingly changed lanes. That was a first and I was like, Man, did that just really happen? Just like anything it's a learning experience.

I came away feeling like I was learning a lot about this sport with each game (we played three). I had a lot of fun. Del Worsham and Robert Hight carried us through and we ended up winning  the deal among the three teams of drag racers, and that was the icing on the cake for me. Although I felt like I was struggling, at least I felt we did enough to where I could get by and not let everybody else down. Every game I was improving a little bit here and there and the guys were all really laid back and didn't put a lot of pressure on me to do well, but we all still wanted to win.

We played against a huge number of real bowlers and I believe this tournament is still going on for five months. It's seven days a week for five months, and they have new teams coming in every day and bowl. It's a pretty intense deal. There is also a form of tech inspection. They weigh your ball and make sure it's legal. To me it was, Wow these people take this very seriously. There's no joking around. They're there to win and be very competitive about it.

I felt a little bit out of my element because a lot of times people come to the race track and you're able to tell them things and show them things about the race car. And, during this bowling experience I felt like I was more like one of those people coming to the race track. You just try to do the best that you can and have a lot of fun.

Now it's back to what I'm familiar with and that's racing the Shelor.com Dodge Funny Car for Don Schumacher Racing at The Strip. Today we have two rounds of qualifying and it's nice and cool outside. That should produce some good numbers.

NHRA Driver Entry: Jack Beckman

Jack Beckman

You know, bowling is an interesting sport, and now that I took part in the USBC US Open at the Cashman Center on Thursday I understand why I do it once every three years with a beer in my hand.

I've got to tell you, I was impressed with Del Worsham, Robert Hight is just awesome with all that mental stuff, and Jeff Arend is a killer on the bowling alley. And, thank God, because Matt (Hagan, Don Schumacher Racing teammate) and I certainly didn't bring the team average up.

But it was cool because we actually won amongst the NHRA teams out there. And it was fun. It was not something I would normally have done and it was an opportunity that NHRA opened up for us and I'm really glad I did it.

Now I have my own bowling ball and I have no excuses next time I go out with my buddies.

This week I showed up in Las Vegas Tuesday, and on Wednesday I did the NHRA media luncheon, then we went over to Cashman Center to register for the bowling tournament , then I went to the Nellis Air Force Base hospital and did my usual tour there when we're in town for the NHRA races.

We then participated in the bowling tournament for three hours on Thursday and went straight from there to the Stratosphere Hotel and Casino for the DSR autograph session. Next it was to the Palms for the NHRA autograph session there.

This busy schedule this week makes the racing almost seem like a vacation part of it. It's actually less hectic now that I'm at the race track getting ready for the qualifying sessions today.