In fact, Shannon Jenkins told me the track was one of the smoothest tracks he had ever been on. "Smooth as a baby's bottom," he said.  

Just for the record, the best ET ever run at the track on a quarter-mile is Von Smith's 5.740/412.02 KPH that he recorded on an ill-fated check out pass.

The action last night didn't start until the sun went down and the winds tapered off. After dark it was really pleasant at the track. The spectator side of the track filled with drag racing fans, mostly dressed in white flowing robes called "throbs". They came equipped with air horns and every time someone did a burnout the fans blasted the air horns. They played music and the fans sang along.

The Burkster purchased a six-pack of chicken wings and a diet Coke and sat down with the fans. They were just like the fathers and sons I've sat with in the stands in Dallas, Pomona or St. Louis. They loved the racing and I wouldn't be surprised that, like their U.S. brethren, a wager or two might have been going on. They stayed until the last car went down the track.

The points Championship between the Pro Mod teams of Sheikh Al-Thani and Mr. Abdullah from neighboring Bahrain is probably going to go down to the last lap. It's so close that all the teams were stressing about the qualifying points last night. 

The quickest car is that of the Bahrain 1 team. It is a '68 Camaro with a blown 526-inch Brad Anderson motor under the hood and is tuned by one of the very best supercharged alky tuners, Rick Hickman. His driver, Ali Aryan, drove to a second round 5.989, leading the field.