The grandstands were packed, people NEVER LEFT THEIR SEATS and the action was non-stop.Was it Top Fuel or big burnouts? Nope, it was a bunch of bracket cars keeping everyone's attention. Why did this work so well when normally there are never spectators at a bracket race? One simple answer is that it was not a technical show. By that I mean, no red-lights, no reaction times, no scoreboards, no breakouts; just race them to the finish and whoever gets the win light goes to the next round.

When they called our group up I was probably as excited as this old man gets about racing. Just something different about not having to think about the weather affecting the dial in, setting the delay box, what the wind might do, etc, etc. It was a simple task ahead. Put the engine on the chip when he raised his arms and let go of the button when his arms dropped. First car there wins. No finish line driving, no worry about breakout, just RACE.

I was lucky enough to go to the third round and then we broke the ring and pinion in  the twelve-bolt rear end in Nick's Olds. I guess it was a matter of time with 1.29 second  60' times and three foot-high wheelstands. But hey, it was FUN and I enjoyed the heck out of it and we had a lot of crowd support for that wheelstanding Cutlass.

It was the first time I had raced three rounds in fourteen minutes and never got out of the car between rounds. It was fun, exciting, and evidently fun to watch as the grandstands were just as full when we ran as the third group as when the event started. How often have you ever seen that at a bracket race? As far as that goes, how often do you see that at National Events?

I will give credit where credit is due, and to Rich Christensen's Arm Drop Live crew I have to say CONGRATULATIONS on putting on a very interesting show. it was one of the most unique two-day events I have ever attended and participated in. It is without a doubt the ONLY FORMAT where bracket racers and their cars are the SHOW!

To those die-hard drag racers that read this column, I am not saying it was the most unique drag race I have ever been to. Let's not confuse entertainment that involves drag cars with normal weekend drag racing. It is a totally different deal, and if you haven't attended one of these events you might want to give it a try if you're getting a little burnt out with dealing with the intracacies of today's bracket racing scene.

Thanks to the Arm Drop Live group and Cedar Falls Raceway for adding some fun to my summer racing schedule. We had a lot of fun and can't wait to enter another Arm Drop Live, or maybe a Pinks All-Out event.

All you got to do is "Run it All Out"....