Now, talking to The Greek himself, well color me star-stuck, but was I in awe of, and as such INTIMIDATED by the prospect? Does the Pope bleep in the woods? Hell yeah, it was overwhelming!

I was at a brunch at The World of Wheels in Chicago once in 2008, they were giving The Golden Greek some form of award. Bracing myself for what could be a "speech for the ages", I made certain that I had plenty of film in the camera, only to see Chris walk up to the podium, lean into the mike and basically say, "This is real nice. Thanks"...and return to his seat. Certainly, a man of few words!

But at Joliet he was great, taking time away from working on the car to talk with me. When asked what it was like, being qualified at the same event as his granddaughter, the pride came through that seemingly gruff demeanor as he said, "Well, she's always loved racing so, yeah, it's cool.”

When I asked what it’s like, being a sort of underdog, battling these cubic-dollar battles with millionaires (Greek has upgraded from a station wagon to a dualie cab!) he made the observation that "Well, I've been coming out here for fifty years. The people they came out when they were young, now, they come back with their KIDS! I like being here, being around the people, it keeps me young."

Now, he didn't always "wax poetic", like when I told him that last year I visited Alton, Illinois, and the very dragstrip surface that he upended the racing world on with the first 200-mph clocking, actually still exists. His response? "Well, it’s the way of life I guess." Realizing that the crowds were swarming in for autographs and photos, I graciously said 'this is real nice, thanks' and let The Legend continue on with his busy day.

And so, as the not-at-all hot summer day continued at this place, the path between Heaven and Earth, comfortably (92 degrees, at least that's what the car said) so did eliminations. There was one more 'rainbow-thread' on this generational racing family: both drivers were qualified at number sixteen in their respective fields, and both underdogs would fall in the first round, ironically enough, to female drivers as well.

Another driver, who 'took up the family business', in the form of Don’s boy Tony Schumacher, had a great line on the PA, saying "Hey, all you kids out there who grew up with this everyone-gets-a-trophy-stuff, well, this is DRAG RACING, at the end of the day, only ONE racer gets a trophy" (Per class, obviously). And while neither Krista nor The Greek would be standing on a podium at day’s end, it was still a pretty damn outstanding weekend.

Some would even say Golden.

So that's my tale of the 2016 K&N Filters NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Illinois. Time to make my getaway, which should succeed because I have a car with “a Cop motor, Cop tires, Cop shocks..." and I'm gonna COP an exit.

Til next time, I AM Chicago Jon...C-YAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!