What a crazy race and show season it has been!

The 2016 car show and racing season is quickly drawing to a close.  I'm still slow, but getting faster, and I'd say overall the mods I've done to my car have been well received.

I had high hopes this year in terms of racing; unfortunately, I was not able to do nearly as much of it as I had wanted, and my initial races this year were primarily for test & tunes on the local 1/8 mile track (SumerDuck) which is "hit or miss" in terms of track prep.

However, I was able finally to put together a short string of events these past couple of months, and while I'm no where near where others are getting their Scats to perform, I'm getting better.

First was an all day test & tune at VMP (Virginia Motorsports Park) below Richmond, in preparation for the Demon Performance sponsored Fall MSHS, where I set my (then) personal best time of 12.89 seconds.

I raced in the final day of the MSHS event, and while I had fun, I didn't do so well.

Then I attended the Mopar Eastern Classic at MIR (Maryland International Raceway) where I actually advanced to the 3rd round, and not only dropped my personal best time to 12.700, but had vastly improved 60' times, and almost replicated my best with a 12.751 in a race in which I lost by 0.0116 seconds.  All in all, I had 5 runs that night and my reaction times and 60' times were becoming consistent.

I have decided that 2017 will be the year I attend all MSHS events in my region, if at all possible. The racing bug has bitten me, and I'm definitely infected!

From a show standpoint, I truly have nothing to complain about.

I am proudest of my 1st Place finish at the Carlisle Chrysler National show, especially considering the class I was registered in: 2011 & Up Modified Challengers.  I finished third in this category in 2015, and now have to figure out what mod I'm doing next to try and repeat my success in 2017!

Numerous First and Second place finishes were earned in other shows, and I'm also quite proud of taking Best in Class at the TMP Mopar Madness show for the second year in a row.

I especially want to thank club members Anthony Robinson Jr. and Neichaun "Mopaar" Tatum for their sage advice and encouragement.  They are light years ahead of me in this world of "Mopar" but have always been willing to answer questions or provide guidance.

I'd also like to single out Michael McHugh (SuperBee) and Joe Michael Wittusen (ThunderRT), fellow show and race fanatics for their fellowship and advice, especially in the realm of drag racing...guys, I really appreciate it, and hope to give you some real competition next year!

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and may the Force of the Season be With You

Car wise, now is the "down" season; shows are over, tracks are closed, so it's time for detailing and planning out mods for the upcoming seasons.

Football wise, the Steelers are outside looking in playoff-wise, but they have a manageable schedule ahead that should allow them to slip back into the fifth or sixth slot.  This just isn't the year to see the full potential of the team; too many injuries and/or stupid suspensions.

Life wise, it is the season for family and friends.  Even though the turkey is history, we all should still be thankful for who and what we have in our lives.  I know I am.

Finally, let me leave you with this little snippet from Dodge; a perfect product tie-in to the upcoming blockbuster film opening over Christmas!

There's a chorus of new voices for Steeler Nation

Hey Steeler Nation; there's a new and different source for your Steelers' fix and you definitely need to check out.

It's called: Going Deep: An Introspective Steelers Site  I'll let the founder of the site, Ms. Rebecca Rollett describe the site herself:

You won’t find breaking news on our site, although we have a twitter feed on the sidebar to keep you up-to-the-minute : ) But the fact is, you can find “breaking” news on most of the existing sites.

What we offer is a place to take an in-depth look at any aspects of the organization which catch our fancy. As writers, we all have different viewpoints and interests, and we want to generate a discussion about the things that intrigue us. So as much as anything, this is a place for conversations. In fact, I suppose it is more like a virtual Steelers coffeehouse than anything else. Since it doesn’t seem to exist elsewhere, we decided to create our own.

If you're looking for more than just news, gossip or the usual pabulum the "major media" outlets provide; if you're looking for something deeper, you'll find it at this site.  The authors are seasoned writers who honed their voices elsewhere on the Intraweb, but found themselves dissatisfied with the "breaking news" mad rush, and the washing away of substantive pieces from other sites' main screen just to feed the insatiable appetite for mouse clicks.

At Going Deep: An Introspective Steelers Site you will find a wide array of articles that don't merely repeat what you've seen on Twitter or Yahoo, but instead take a fresh, different and deeper look at what many accept as commonplace.  For example:

Steelers Training Camp for Fans, Part One – The Myth of the ‘Knowledgeable’ Fan  

...or...

Character (Ac)Counts - an ongoing series of articles that introduce rookies to Steeler Nation, but goes behind the uniform to give a glimpse of the men underneath 

This is a fledgling site that's only been up for a few weeks, so it's still developing its look, but you should definitely add it to your list of Pittsburgh Steelers sites to check out.  I should caution you however, that you will need to set aside some time for this site; not only to read the articles in their entirety but also to give yourself time to contemplate what it is that you have read. 

The authors at this site don't produce fluff; their work requires a great deal of research and effort on their part, and can be quite lengthy.  But, and I mean this sincerely, you will be glad you made time for their work.