On February 22nd, David & Rachel Lombardi, Marv Wiegand and Steve Blank journeyed down to the Firebird International
Raceway to enjoy the first day of racing at the 2013 NHRA Arizona Nationals event. By all accounts, Firebird lost their lease, and this was the last year for this event.
The Firebird facility is absolutely huge. Friday is used for the preliminaries. We were able to see all the cars' initial runs without the massive
crowds. It was busy enough on Friday.
Touring the pits was a treat. It was amazing to see the top fuel funny cars and dragsters with the crews at work. The engines had the heads off. Clutch packs
were on another work bench. Two hours later everything was back together, and they were clocking speeds in excess of 320 MPH in under 4 seconds. There is no way to describe the incredible power
when these cars "launch". You have to be there.
The "big sponsor" racing teams go to the races "in style" with four to five tractor-trailer semi trucks loaded with their equipment. The small
race teams have just a pickup and car trailer and have to work on a "blue tarp".
