At the end of the season they will have the pit bike race. All the top racers will race their pit bikes. I had bought my pit girl Dandelion an ATV pit bike, because she does so much running for me during my events. She knows how all the gear and bike goes together and comes apart, coming off and on the trailer. She carries half the weight of putting the rig together and taking it apart. She makes sure that I have plenty of air for the air shifter and gas in the drag bike. She gets and organizes all my time tickets and is learning how to analyze the times and helps determine my dial in times.

Dandelion wanted to compete in the pit bike race. She had heard about it all year and now she had a very cool ride to compete with. She and I were a little bit skeptical on how she would do against the top racers. We both agreed that it would not be about winning, but the fun of competing.

I could tell she was just a little bit nervous about the upcoming event. The weekend before she tried on my leathers and we had long conversations about how the starting tree works. We discussed the best tactics to use off the line for a good hole shot, to catch the perfect light off the line.   

The day of the big event came and all I could think about was getting back into that winners circle and doing well in the last event. I was also excited for Dandelion, because she could finally experience the thrill of drag racing competition. The surge of adrenalin when you approach the line, and the need, the need for speed..!  

Turns out I did not have that great of a day on the track, racing wise. My reaction times were all over the place off the line. Any good drag racer will tell you that the race is won in the very first tenths of a second of the race.

My day ended early when the elimination rounds started. So the rest of the time until the pit bike races started Dandelion and I was getting pumped for the pit bike competition.

Dandelion started her qualifying rounds and lost a couple, but was figuring out her dial in time. She did everything herself in analyzing the time tickets to call the perfect dial in time for eliminations rounds.

The elimination rounds started and she took out her competitors out one by one. It was like the crowd found a new hero and was going wild for her every time she pulled up to the line. I watched in amazement and glowed with pride and told anyone that would listen that, “hey that is my girl..!”

Not only did she win the race, but during the award ceremony she delivered a speech that knocked the crowd out.. She spoke of what you can achieve when put your heart and mind in to something. She gave a good ribbing to the Pro-Racers that just got beat by a girl, one of them even bowed to her. She thanked the crowed for their support and then she thanked her dad for his support. She called me her dad in front of a crowed and was proud to say it.

I have always thought that the proudest achievements would be my own in my life. Well it seems that I was mistaken. Standing beside her in the winners circle that night was the proudest moment of my life. She asked me later that she saw my eyes were watering up. I told her that “I was tierd and it had been one hell of a long day,” “and yea I still stand behind that,” “yea that was it…!”

On one of the walls in the living room we have our wall of fame. On one side I have my runner up award for Pro-ET and three pictures of the event. On the other side we have her award and pictures of her event. Hers says 1^st Place Winner of the PRMA Pit Bike, World Event. She still gives me grief over it, but “mine is bigger…!” :-)

I would like to thank my girl Dandelion for being the best Pit Girl a drag racer could hope for. Together we are Norman Knight Racing and we will be a very hard team to beat in next years events.

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