Looking Back
by Debbie Knebel

We‘ve only days left in 2003 before the conclusion of another year of drag racing.

The AMA Prostar World Finals will conclude the Spring race as well as the last race of the season, making this one of the most hectic and "up for grabs" finals ever! Despite the allure of speed, danger and just raw competitive drive, this sport still contains the true heart of individuals desiring to help one another.

There is just something about Rockingham Dragway that I love. It seems that victories at Rockingham seem to come with divine intervention. A few years ago we struggled into the pits with a questionable truck transmission. We were fortunate that weekend and won $1,000! Before we had traveled 50 miles we were sitting overnight in a steakhouse parking lot, awaiting a transmission shop’s opening. The great guys at Skyway Transmissions had us repaired a couple of days later and once we tallied the expenses - they were exactly $1,000.

The week before Prostar’s Montgomery event, we won $1,100 at Rockingham. I joked with my husband, asking him if the transmission was in good shape. I decided to squirrel away the money - just in case!

While running the first round in the Gambler’s race my bike took a nosedive and was finished for the weekend. Much to my surprise, I was met at the return road by Mike Coulson who was watching at the finish line. He noticed my waving arm as I was trying to let the starting line officials know something had let loose and to hold things up - fearing an oil down. As any racer who has had an engine failure, it’s a sickening feeling and to see a friend there so quickly was a great comfort. It didn’t take long to ascertain that we were finished on that bike for the weekend. However, that was not before many, many racers had offered to help tear down and rebuild.

The amazing thing was I was offered the use of other racers bikes to allow me to race the next day! Without any hesitation, John Markham immediately spoke up and said he’d help me and that he knew he could get me really close to the number in Super Gas aboard his Pro ET bike! At the time, I was unaware that since I had not qualified the bike, that I could not substitute another, even at the bottom of the ladder. John has been racing regularly with SEMDRA and hasn’t been attending all of the Prostar races. I have hardly seen John this entire year and yet he was eager to let me step aboard his machine! I soon learned that I would have to watch the Super Gas class from the sidelines. However, I was so touched by how many racers offered their bikes for me to compete - Steve and Jenny Bess offered Jenny’s ET bike and they are in the points chase with us! Folks - y’all are the greatest! My thanks to each of you!!!

That’s what Sportsman racing is about - being competitive on the track but being friends, enjoying one another’s company, and sharing in our challenges - winnings and defeats!

As for the $1,100 win in Rockingham - well, thanks to some very special friends that choose to remain anonymous and some wonderful sponsors with extremely quick turnaround - (Fast by Gast, Gardner Racing Concepts, Schnitz Racing, and PR Factory Store - my husband Pat and my #1 supporter - God) the bike is complete, we’ve made 2 practice passes, and we’ve tallied the expenses - I think you know the total - it’s divine!