Well it’s your Gearhead at Large again.  Last week started a little early on Friday the 13th with the Goodguy's drags out at National Trail Raceway.  With nothing newer than a “1972” racing, you know I was in heaven for sure.  There was a bad as# blown Olds, 40’s Willys, local Ron Doran’s “Ferdinand” 40’s Willys out of Pataskala Ohio, and other members of the “Geezer Gassers” with cars doing wheels up runs down the ¼ mile.  There were a few front engine dragsters, or rails if you like, one with two 500 cu.in. Caddy’s that did ¼ mile runs with the tires smokin’ the whole way just like the old days, and a 33 or 34 red chopped Ford coupe that was really fast (hope you got and like the pics you asked for).  There were Fords, Mopars, Pontiacs, and Chevys like Randy Cochran’s ‘68 Camaro from Homer. Oh yeah, and a vintage funny car or two.  Everything from ratrods, hotrods, muscle cars and drag cars were there. A good time was had by all.

Saturday my daughter came in from Wisconsin and in between walks to the river that runs by my house we managed a trip to the zoo on Wednesday.  My granddaughter loved walking from exhibit to exhibit looking at the different animals and we all liked the reptiles and the manatees the best.  Shane, my son in law, took the pics for me that day.  Thanks Shane.

On Friday we went to “The Works Museum” in downtown Newark.  It’s about the history of the industry in and around the Newark area.  More on that later.

Saturday the 21st my daughter and family left for Wisconsin and I headed out to “Trails” for “Night of Thunder” where there was everything from 150mph snowmobiles to jet cars.  The snowmobiles have wheels on the front and they ran some close races fro the fans.  My only question is how fast will they on snow?  It just goes to show you that anything with a engine in a gearhead’s hands can, an will, be raced.  Two jet funny cars, one was a Super Cobra jet, made three runs down the track and two wheel standers, one that was a dragster, made ¼ mile wheelies 3 times.  There were two jet dragsters with engine covers that look like locomotives. One was the “Cannonball Express” and the other one “Chattanooga Choo-Choo”.  They made some 300mph side by side passes down the track.  “Blastro” the Chevy Astro van from Columbus took on “Miss B’s Famous Grocery Getter” in a best of 3 match race.  The crown jewel of the show was “Shockwave” with its three J34-48 jet engines and its starting line antics.  It engulfed the tower in smoke and then fire as it melted signs and warped the windows on the tower on its way to 300mph+ runs, one in daylight and the other one at night.  Thanks Les and Ken Shockley and the “Shockwave” crew, and all the cars and crews for putting on a spectacular show for the fans.

-- Your Gearhead at Large