Well, I’m facing down the reality that my 20’s are fast drawing to a close. In a day or so I’ll officially be 30 years old. That’s a fact that strikes me as both a little funny and a little unbelieveable. It’s not that I didn’t think I’d make it to 30, it’s just that I don’t see myself as being any older than 18. Depending on your outlook on things, that’s either good or really bad. This whole age milestone thing made me realize it had been far too long since my last Barnstormin’ installment, and there’s a bunch of random junk I need to share.

Why is it that when I have the time I don’t have the parts and when I have the parts I don’t have the time?

I like to be the driving version of Michael Meyers every now and then. You know what I mean. Michael Meyers (the horror movie villain not the Canadian comedian) never ran after his victims in the movies. He just plodded along and eventually managed to do his evil deeds on most people. On a recent trip in some junk weather, a fellow driving in front of me was acting like a complete jackass. His sad, mid-1990’s Geo was weaving and bobbing through crappy traffic on a two lane secondary road. Meanwhile, I decided I would drive like a normal person and still manage to pass him. A couple of well placed lane changes and some loafy cruising later and the douche in the Geo was three cars behind me. Strangely satisfying. Try it some time.

It’s a proud moment when your three year old picks up a Hot Wheels, studies it, and then asks thoughtfully, “Dad, is this a blower on the hood? The fact that it was a blower made my eyes well up with joy.

You may not believe this, but Chad Reynolds, my better half here at Bangshift.com is one of the smartest guys I have ever met. When he is not jamming his head into ProCharger F-4 blowers, he’s making stuff happen. From his skills as a wrench and a fab man to his ability to edit insane video, the man is oddly impressive. (Man, I hope he doesn’t read this.)

I like walking out of my house and seeing my 1966 C50 truck, Goliath at the end of my driveway. It makes me smile every morning.

On that note, there was a part of me who, for a long time was bitter about working on my heaps outside or having to beg off some space in my dad or dad-in-law’s garage to fix something. I’m way over that now. The shop will come eventually, but I’ve taken a strange liking to winter wrenching. Going out side on a 20 degree morning with my hat and gloves on, usually Tom, my son, in tow (for a few minutes anyway) and the sweet silence of a frozen New England morning is actually pretty nice. He’s learned a few foul words that come from fumbling nuts and bolts in bulky winter gloves but I’d say he’s richer for the experience. Maybe it’s some weird badge of honor or something.

One of my proudest accomplishments to this point in my life is the fact that I lived up to my high school year book predicition about what I would be doing in 10 years. I said I would marry Kerri (I did), I’d still be at New England Dragway as much as I could be (I am), and I would be writing stuff for Hot Rod Magazine (I do). It may be lame to admit that, but I really don’t care. It’s a privelage and something I certainly do not take for granted to see my name on that page.

My mom has an interesting theory about why I love drag racing so much. Before I was born, I was luggage in mom’s oven and made the weekly trip to New England Dragway along with my dad, his racing partner Ed Fisher, and his wife Jean. They ran a nine-second, tube chassis, late 1970’s Monza back then, and I was front and center to the action as mom was riding in the tow vehicle that would chase the car down the track. She thinks the sounds of the track, the literal feeling and vibration of the place got engrained in me back before I was actually born. It may be true. Being at New England Dragway is akin to being in my own home. It just feels right.

The coolest racing venue I have ever been to is Maxton, home of the ECTA.

The day that Gray Baskerville died, I was in college. More specifically, when Dave Kennedy, a former UMass buddy of mine and a staffer at Peterson’s 4Wheel and Off-Road at the time called to tell me Ol’ Dad had died, a keg party was literally raging in the crap hole I rented with my buddies. I went upstairs and cried. A few months before, when Baskerville was ill and out of the office, I had visited Kennedy out in LA. I got to step into Ol’ Dad’s office. I just breathed the air and looked at the walls. It was about as spiritual an experience as I have had.

Keith Turk could be a mega-millionaire if he ever decided to go on the speaking circut. He is one of the few people I have ever met that refuses to accept excuses for anything. I’m sure it pisses some people off to no end, but in my case, one conversation that he probably doesn’t remember turned into a life altering deal for me. The crazy son of a bitch pretty well convinced me that there’s no reason I should ever fail to achieve a goal that I set or reach for something I want and get it. Thanks for that.

I think the Jeep funny cars of the 1960’s were the coolest and craziest of the breed. Ever.

If you made it this far, thanks. Thanks for reading BangShift.com. Thanks for supporting a couple of guys who were too stupid to see the long odds they were up against in making a gearhead website a success. We’re loving every second of this and we honestly believe that we grabbed lightning in a bottle. The growth is steady and strong. Both of us vowed to ditch sleep, a social life, and to do whatever it would take to grow BangShift into what we know it can be. We’re marching in that direction every day and with the support of an AMAZING group of sponsors and advertisers we’re able to do it. We’ve officially moved from the “little website that could” status into, “the website that can and does” status. We’re bringing the thunder in coming weeks and months with a big update/upgrade to our forums, kick ass event coverage, a live stream of the freakin’ March Meet, and even more announcements of new sponsors. There are plenty of people who are smarter, better looking, and more talented, but I am confident in saying that Chad and I work circles around most all of them.

Thanks for reading.

Brian