Life in the Fast Lane - Dale Smith on NHRA

Here at Racerchicks.com we try to cover all aspects of motorsports --  now We are  the first to admit we don't know everything about racing, 
so that's when we call in an expert.  Welcome Dale Smith - the NHRA expert in our eyes and the racerdude that will bring us up to speed!

Now what have I got myself into? Not that it is a bad thing; in fact, this can be quite cool. Actually I know it is going to be a good deal once this ball gets rolling. What am I talking about? I am talking about yours truly being a contributor for a motorsports website. And not just any website, but one geared towards racerchicks. You must be saying, what can a guy offer this place? I don’t know, maybe it is something about a woman in a driving suit. (Come on now, no boos or hisses cause I heard many comments about “men in uniform” when I was playing combat in the military)

Seriously, I had come upon this website while doing my typical Saturday morning surfing for racing stuff on the web. I really liked the way it was done, first class, very professional, and dropped a note to Nika giving her a “ thumbs up” for what she has put together. She was kind enough to reply and confided that she would like to have more drag racing content. So here I am, volunteering my efforts to provide a little something that she wants for this place in cyberspace. Now where to start????

I guess the best thing is to qualify myself for stepping up and thinking I have something to contribute. (now this is going to be a stretch). You can say that I literally grew up with drag racing, and did so in the area that is known as the birth place for organized drag racing; Southern California. Yup, grew up in Long Beach, and was attending the digs as a 10-month-old baby in a stroller, being pushed around the pits on the fabled grounds of Lions Drag Strip. Now don’t get to thinking that I only have exposure to drag racing, oh no. So Cal offered plenty other forms of motorsport, as well as my dads interest, (and for a short time, his job), exposed me to some serious road racing action whether it was Can Am, IMSA, F-5000, F-1, and just about anything else. However, drag racing has been my greatest passion.

I have helped out and worked on many a different car in drag racing. Off the top of my head I’ve done duties in Top Fuel, Nitro Funny Car, alcohol dragster and funny car, Pro Stock (both cars and bikes), even did some time crewing on a jet dragster. I’ve also done some driving too and currently hold a competition licensed in NHRA for both Super Comp (dragster) and Top Alcohol Dragster. One thing I haven’t done is be a journalist, and I’m not about to claim to be one for this effort here. I will do my very best to give as much material on and about drag racing, just so long as it entertains, inspires, or at least strikes a nerve.

You can expect some frequent submissions without any kind of pattern. What this means is it may be nothing more than a rant of my own opinion. It may include some inside information, rumors, and gossip. We can also expect some “tales from the road”, and other nonsense surrounding the sport. There is also going to be the occasional interview, along with some “inside the helmet” goodies for those who are less informed on the nuances of the sport. I’m also going to encourage anyone and everyone to email me with any technical question you may have. I may not be the expert to provide all answers, but I like to think that I know the right people to whom I can turn to get the best answers. We’ll even get some first hand stories that are bound to happen when we take out my own car and attempt to make sacrifices to the Alcoa god. Being the car is a match race nitro funny car, we should have plenty of mishaps to report. Most importantly, since drag racing has no shortage of racerchicks whether they be driver, owner, crewchief, we will snoop around to bring racerchicks.com the latest happenings from the land of nitro.

Until then, remember, if ya ain’t going in a straight line, you are just going in circles. That said, keep it in the groove, count to five, then duck!

Dale Smith (AKA Coyote) is a native of Southern California now residing in West Palm Beach, FL. He grew up in the world of motorsports, but had a more focused exposure to the So Cal drag racing scene. His interests are all things with motors, whether you can cruise it or race it, but his deepest passion is with Drag Racing. A graduate of “Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School”, Dale holds an NHRA license in both the gas dragsters in super comp and top alcohol dragster. It is also not unusual to see him helping out on a team, with experience in Jet Dragsters, Nitro Funny Cars, vintage Top Fuel, and many others. If you have any question about drag racing, technical or otherwise, you may e-mail him at TAFC273@aol.com