Robbins - NHRA.com

● On Safari from page 42
toward the wall on fire. We speed onto the track, and
several Safari members jump off the back of the truck
with blanket bottles and fire extinguishers with long
wands that reach beneath the flames. Pedregon is out of
the car and pacing.
“Make sure the fire is out,” he says as Poplin tries to
examine his nose and mouth to determine whether or not
he inhaled any fire. “Did we get a time slip?” asks
Pedregon. “How about the body, does it look bad?”
Pedregon is high on adrenaline, and although his pacing
appears to be making the job of the Safety Safari a little
difficult, within a few short minutes the car is off the
track and a massive cleanup is taking place. Even the
boss, “Double R,” is pushing a broom. A few minutes
later, the track is cleared and ready to go.
Sunday, 9:30 a.m.
Final day of event
Miller asks what my plan for the day is, and after a
brief discussion, it’s decided that I should spend the
first few Pro rounds at Emergency 2 and 3. “You
should see what happens at the starting line after the
final round,” he says. “Everything goes into different
trailers and gets packed up in a hurry, and what took
four or five days to set up comes down in about an
hour and a half.”
I head down to Emergency 2 for round one, and during
the first round of eliminations, Tony Pedregon’s Funny Car
explodes into flames, and debris rains onto the track. I’m
sitting next to “Doc” in Truck 2, and as he shifts the
idling truck into drive, my hand flies to cover my mouth.
I’m completely shocked, but the Safety Safari is not.
For the first 30 seconds after the explosion, I can’t
form a complete thought, but I can see Safari members
rushing around the track, picking up large and small
pieces of the Funny Car’s body. Later, my notes from the
first few minutes seemed foreign
to me: “Huge flash. Pieces
everywhere. Their shoes are
sticking, and John Force (who
was in the other lane) is yelling
on the PA system. Everyone is
moving so quickly, but they are
so calm.” I learn that Pedregon
was still tucked into the chassis
as it rolled down the track in
flames and that Emergency 3
extinguished. Pedregon’s hand is
burned, but he is okay. His car,
on the other hand, is toast.
My heart is still slamming
in my chest after the cleanup.
“Scared you, didn’t it?” “Doc”
asks. I nod and ask him what
he was thinking when he saw
the explosion. “I was thinking, ‘That’s going to be a
big mess,’ ” he replies. He trusts that every person is
going to do their job and that the outcome is going to
be okay, and his trust is deserved. Everyone did what
they were supposed to do. Gaudy comes to “Doc’s”
window and says, “I beat the debris to the gate, did
you see that?” I hadn’t even noticed, but Gaudy was
44 ✦ National DRAGSTER
quick on his feet to get
that gate open in time
for us to fly through it.
EMS Coordinator Dave Caslin rides with
Emergency Truck 3 to respond to incidents
and verify the well-being of the drivers
involved. The Safari members on the truck
must stay suited in full fire gear — hot,
bulky jackets, pants, and helmets —
during the Alcohol and Pro sessions.
Part-time Safari members Robin Crosby, right, and Donnie
Butts roll the track scrubbers down the track. The Zambonilike
machines thoroughly cleanse the surface with detergent
and emit flames to dry the track as they go along.
After the first round
of eliminations, I move to
Truck 3, and the rest of
the day goes by in a blur,
aside from the Safety
Safari parade. “Everyone
talks like they don’t like
it,” says Jenkins. “But
when it’s time, everyone
is on the truck.” As we
slowly roll in front of the
grandstands, we’re
cheered and showered
with words of gratitude. I
feel guilty being on the
receiving end of the
celebration, but I can’t
help feeling honored to
be part of something so
special and important.
Back at Emergency 3, I
ask “Double R” how he
feels the weekend went,
and he says, “All the cars
ran good, not too much
oil. All in all, it has been
a good weekend. Most of
all, it has been a safe
weekend.”
After the last Top Fuel
pair come around the
bend, “Cal” says, “That’d
be all she wrote,” and the
team quickly loads its
supplies onto the truck, ready to pack up and head to the
next event in Phoenix. “Cal” and
“Popcorn” alternate who drives the
18-wheeler between events, Crosby
and Robin will drive a new rig and
Emergency Truck 1, “Double R”
will pull the jet dryer, Conner will
pull the registration trailer behind
Truck 2, and Miller will drive the
sweeper. These guys are only at
the beginning of a long season on
the road and will probably log
somewhere in the neighborhood of
200 to 250 days on the road, but
each of these individuals appreciate
and are dedicated to the
adventurous, strenuous, and heroic
duty of the NHRA Safety Safari.
I ride with Glasco to the
compound so that I can say
goodbye to everyone who has been so helpful and kind
to me this weekend. As they smile and shake my
hand, they’re patting me on the back and thanking
me, an odd gesture because I feel so grateful for the
experience that they’ve willingly shared with me. I
should be thanking them (and I do, of course).
As I head home, I think back to the first day when
I questioned whether or
not I could fit in with
this group of people
who hold so much
serious responsibility in
the palm of their hands.
Turns out that it’s
pretty easy to fit
because they’re such a
great group, but the
truth is that being a
member of the NHRA
Not every incident calls for “all hands on deck,” but in some instances, every body and
every piece of equipment is needed for cleanup.
Safety Safari is one of the toughest, most demanding
jobs I’ve ever had the opportunity to observe. I’m so
keeping my day job. ND
(Above) Lonnie Bevens, left, the top-end director (commonly
known as TED), uses hand signals to let approaching drivers
know which car should exit first and where, exactly, the
turnoff is. (Below) The turnaround crew got the most exercise
during the weekend, pushing cars that run out of oomph off
the track and rolling up parachutes. “Because of them,
everything happens in a timely manner,” said part-time Safari
member Randy Jenkins.
Funny Car driver Scott Kalitta
was one of four drivers who
ended up in the sand at the
CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA
Winternationals at Auto Club
Raceway at Pomona. As
Kalitta made his way across
“the beach,” the Safety Safari
worked to dig around the body
before towing the car out.