Hello Texas!

[Harbone]

The wife and I just got into the motel in Waxahachie. Looks like tomorrows drag racing is gonna get washed out with a 90% chance of rain all day :(

We are going to head back into Dallas in the morning to check out the Gas Monkey Garage and the newly opened Gas Monkey Bar & Grill. Plan on hitting the Kennedy museum at the book depository on the way back.

So far Saturdays weather looks good and we are really looking forward to the DRAW auction Saturday night. Feels good to be out of Illinois and get a nitro fix this weekend. I will post up some pics as soon as the weather breaks.

[bjuice]

You and the Misses have Fun. Sounds like a well planned trip !

[curtisreed]

I hope you guys have a good time while you are down that way. I hope the parking down there doesn't get too bad for you guys. Last time I was there we parked in a cotton field that had been harvested. On a plus note the cars should be flying this weekend. :D :D

Curtis

[Harbone]

I got lucky Curtis, scored a gold key parking pass from DRAW that puts me inside the gates on the west side in the pits.
We ran into Tim Wilkerson this morning at the motel, the wife and I have been part of the Wilk's Warriors for years since his shop is about an hour from our house. It was pretty cool since he recognized us from working with DRAW. What a way to start the day! :D
The forecast says it may clear up in the late afternoon so they might get at least 1 round of Pro qualifying in tonight. Top Fuel at night in Texas would be great!

[curtisreed]

He is one of my favorite racers. I always root for Tim. I have seen him a few times here in Tulsa also. Glad you will be on solid ground.

Curtis

[Scooterz]

Have fun Harb!!

[Swiley383]

I got to try to make it a race next year I have not been in 10 years maybe Indy or Bristol those are close.

[Harbone]

Friday was rained out but Saturday and Sunday were beautiful days to say the least. Ran around all morning get ready for Saturday nights DRAW auction. We found out that morning we would be auctioning off a "shadow day" with Alexis DeJoria and Jack Beckman to the highest bidder! The DRAW booth was a buzz with all the people checking out the 57 Chevy pitcar and then I got to ride (towed unfortunatly) over to the Champions club to get it ready for auction.



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I got a chance to hang out at the starting line during the 1st round of qualifying on Saturday, that made my day.

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Now the wifes day was even better, we had a little help at the booth that morning. One of the people was Sharon Smith, she is the wife of Paul Smith who owns and operates a Funny Car driven by Blake Alexander. Her and my wife hit it right off and the next thing you know the wife is off to sit in their pit van during the second round of qualifying. She started off in the pits, went up to the starting line, watched Blake suit up, watched the launch, went down to the finish line for the pickup, across the scales and back to the pits with the whole team! She was so wound up and useless the rest of the damn day but I did not care, she got to scratch a big one off her bucket list! The pics are kinda blurry cause her phone lens was dirty but you will get what happened.



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I am still working on getting all the pics together from the auction so it may be a little bit. We did raise $57,000 that night so it was a HUGE success :!: :D

[Swiley383]

Rasing money for a good cause meeting great people it dosent get much better.

[TheYellaBrick]

GREAT for your wife to get that experience of a lifetime !
And a BIG KUDOS to you BOTH for doing what you do ! Thanks for the field report and updates

[curtisreed]

Really glad you guys had such a good time. Good job with the auction.

Curtis

[outlaw256]

man bone you are the man! thanks for the pics. now im jealous!!!lol

[bjuice]

NICE Bone....Happy to hear you both had a great time ! Is that the misses in above pic ?

[bjuice]

NICE Bone....Happy to hear you both had a great time ! Is that the misses in above pic ?

[Harbone]

NICE Bone....Happy to hear you both had a great time ! Is that the misses in above pic ?

I dont see her in any of those pics, here is Sharon Smith, myself and the wife at the auction Saturday night. Sharon is a great person and really made our trip to Dallas one to remember this year!



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[Harbone]

The auction was great, Alexis DeJoria's "shadow day" sold to Top Fuel crew chief Jim Oberhofer the first time around for $2,600 then he donated it back and it sold to a guy in the crowd for $2,700. Since the bid was so high Alexis said he could bring his whole family for shadow day!

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The 57 Chevy pitcar was a huge hit, Texas Motorplex track woner Bill Meyer bought it the first time for $6,000 then donated it back and it resold for $6,000

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Then it was Jack Beckman's turn to auction off his "shadow day", he is one of the coolest and down to earth guys you could ever meet. The wife reads his blog and when she mentioned that to him they sat and chatted for a half hour about it. His shadow day ended up selling for $2,400



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Artist Kenny Youngblood pulled some sweet pieces out of his personal collection and was their to help out all night. Another down to earth guy that is very approachable. As each of his pieces sold he offered to give each buyer a personalized autograph on each one. His 5 pieces sold for $4,500 combined.

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Team owner Roger Comstock's wife Karen is deeply involved in DRAW, she is the one that talked Alexis and Jack to offer up the shadow days.

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Spencer Massey, Roger Brogden, Jeg Coughlin, Michael Ray and many others were there. The night was great and we raised $57,000!

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[Harbone]

Stopped by The Gas Monkey Garage on the way to the airport Monday morning.

Saw Rick Rawlings standing out front talking to a guy unloading an old Ford. Tom and Jordan were standing by the shop.

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[Swiley383]

You didn't let the gas monkey guys talk you into bringing something else's home did you??????

[Harbone]

You didn't let the gas monkey guys talk you into bringing something else's home did you??????

Unless it was fitting in my carry on bag, the wife wasn't let me buy anything! :lol:

[Swiley383]

The but honey I need it doesn't work for me either but I still try!!! I have been trying that for a AR for over a year now. She finds something we need more. Maybe after Christmas
.