Well dear readers, that best time of the year is upon us, but I have to confess things have been a lot quieter at the track than usual. October is usually a blaze of activity at Drag City, but not this year; there’s just too much going on in other areas, principally with work. This “adult stuff” is really a drag…and not the cool kind of drag!
However, I do have an update on the “technical difficulties” I mentioned in this post! I’m extremely elated to say that, although it cost some money and a lot of time, I have recovered my missing files! It took several weeks to get everything recovered and readable, but I was able to do it! That means the fun I have at both the track and on this blog is not irreparably damaged after all, and Drag City and thunderjetheaven.com can carry on as before! So that’s good news!
The bad news is that the time this took up, as well as my trip out of town, some other personal issues, and-as mentioned-long hours at work, is going to force the cancellation-or perhaps more correctly, the long delay-of the sports car racing championship series that was an integral part of the “Secret Oktober” festival. The “Banzai Runner V” race is going to have to wait, and what that means is that, for the first time evar, this year’s racing season will spill into the next “real” calendar year.
But, you see, that’s the great thing about a fanstastical visit to the past: if, long after January of 2025 arrives, I say it’s still 1986 at the track, then, it is! So, due to delays caused by this adult stuff, I’m extending the 1986 racing season for…well, as long as I damn well please! Who’s gonna stop me? A pox on you, father time! I admit I was looking forward to 1987 because that, dear readers, was a great year (just look at the music and movies that came out that year!) but ‘86 wasn’t bad. More importantly, I don’t want to rush anything! Rushing would get us to the ‘90s too fast! Ugh! We don’t want that!
Now, the one traditional October event that I am still going to try my hardest to run is another tournment that always (ok, usually) happens toward to the end of the month: The Muscle Car Monster’s Ball! That’s a fan favorite and often results in the biggest crowds of the year, and with the now-finished grandstands offering more seating than ever, the business side of Drag City sure doesn’t want to let that opportunity pass! Thus there should still be some great racing action at the track toward the end of the month, so tune in for that right around All Hallow’s Eve!
This will be by 2nd Halloween without my dear friend Dale, and another of my best friends has been knocked around enough by hard times that he is unlikely to be present either, as the distances that separate us have increased by his need to move farther away. But I shan’t despair: once I return from my trip down south there’ll be plenty of fun in amongst the toys when time allows after work is done, so as always, I welcome my favorite month of the year with open arms and hope for improvement…even as our political and economic situations for the future do indeed look bleak.
Tune in for more racing action as the end of the month approaches, because it’s going to be a “Holiday in Orange & Black” @ DRAG CITY!
And now for an added bonus: since the 1986 season is being extended well into the next calendar year, here’s a little reminder about the some of the things that made that year cool! My personal favorites highlighted in bright yellow; what were yours???
| KROQ Top 106.7 of 1986 |
| 1. Pet Shop Boys – Suburbia |
| 2. Depeche Mode – A Question of Lust |
| 3. Oingo Boingo – Pain |
| 4. Dramarama – Anything, Anything (I’ll Give You) |
| 5. The Smiths – Ask |
| 6. Gene Loves Jezebel – Desire |
| 7. The B-52’s – She Brakes for Rainbows |
| 8. Peter Gabriel – Sledgehammer |
| 9. Duran Duran – Notorious |
| 10. Talking Heads – Wild, Wild Life |
| 11. The Cure – Close to Me |
| 12. Dead or Alive – Brand New Lover |
| 13. Depeche Mode – But Not Tonight |
| 14. Modern English – Ink and Paper |
| 15. Billy Idol – To Be a Lover |
| 16. OMD – If You Leave |
| 17. The Smiths – Panic |
| 18. Deborah Harry – French Kissing in the USA |
| 19. INXS – What You Need |
| 20. XTC – Dear God |
| 21. Erasure – Oh L’Amour |
| 22. Thompson Twins – Nothing in Common |
| 23. New Order – Bizarre Love Triangle |
| 24. Public Image Ltd. – Rise |
| 25. The Pretenders – Don’t Get Me Wrong |
| 26. The Smithereens – Blood and Roses |
| 27. The Bangles – Walk Like an Egyptian |
| 28. Fine Young Cannibals – Ever Fallen in Love |
| 29. Big Country – Look Away |
| 30. Siouxsie and the Banshees – Cities in Dust |
| 31. Ken Heaven – The Calling |
| 32. The B-52’s – Summer of Love |
| 33. Sparks – Music That You Can Dance To |
| 34. R.E.M. – Superman |
| 35. Peter Gabriel – Big Time |
| 36. The Cure – Boys Don’t Cry |
| 37. The Smiths – Bigmouth Strikes Again |
| 38. Sigue Sigue Sputnik – Love Missile F1-11 |
| 39. Arcadia – The Flame |
| 40. New Order – Shellshock |
| 41. Oingo Boingo – Not My Slave |
| 42. Depeche Mode – A Question of Time |
| 43. The Blow Monkeys – Digging Your Scene |
| 44. OMD – Forever Live and Die |
| 45. Love & Rockets – Kundalini Express |
| 46. Talking Heads – Puzzling Evidence |
| 47. Real Life – Babies |
| 48. The Fixx – Secret Separation |
| 49. The Psychedelic Furs – Heartbreak Beat |
| 50. Robert Palmer – Addicted to Love |
| 51. Fine Young Cannibals – Suspicious Minds |
| 52. King – Alone Without You |
| 53. Iggy Pop – Real Wild Child |
| 54. Oingo Boingo – Stay |
| 55. General Public – Too Much or Nothing |
| 56. Bronski Beat – Hit That Perfect Beat |
| 57. The Bangles – Manic Monday |
| 58. Howard Jones – You Know I Love You…Don’t You? |
| 59. Pet Shop Boys – Love Comes Quickly |
| 60. a-ha – I’ve Been Losing You |
| 61. Bananarama – Venus |
| 62. The Smithereens – Behind the Wall of Sleep |
| 63. Eurythmics – Missionary Man |
| 64. The Psychedelic Furs – Pretty in Pink |
| 65. Wang Chung – Everybody Have Fun Tonight |
| 66. The Cure – A Man Inside My Mouth |
| 67. Icehouse – Cross the Border |
| 68. INXS – Listen Like Thieves |
| 69. Simple Minds – All the Things She Said |
| 70. Talking Heads – Love For Sale |
| 71. Genesis – Invisible Touch |
| 72. Gene Loves Jezebel – Heartache |
| 73. Martini Ranch – How Can a Laboring Man Find Time for Self-Culture? |
| 74. Falco – Rock Me Amadeus |
| 75. David Bowie – Absolute Beginners |
| 76. The Divinyls – Pleasure & Pain |
| 77. The Venetians – So Much for Love |
| 78. Stan Ridgeway – Drive She Said |
| 79. Feargal Sharkey – A Good Heart |
| 80. Tears for Fears – Mothers Talk |
| 81. Belinda Carlisle – Mad About You |
| 82. Big Audio Dynamite – E=MC2 |
| 83. INXS – Do What You Do |
| 84. Boys Don’t Cry – I Want to Be a Cowboy |
| 85. John Taylor – I Do What I Do to Have You |
| 86. Run DMC – Walk This Way |
| 87. Love & Rockets – All in My Mind |
| 88. Robert Palmer – I Didn’t Mean to Turn You On |
| 89. Tonio K – Romeo and Jane |
| 90. Art of Noise – Legs |
| 91. Pet Shop Boys – Why Don’t We Live Together |
| 92. Magazine 60 – Don Quichotte |
| 93. Prince & the Revolution – Kiss |
| 94. Arcadia – Say the Word |
| 95. Boom Boom Room – Here Comes the Man |
| 96. Erasure – Who Needs Love Like That |
| 97. Andy Taylor – Take it Easy |
| 98. INXS – Kiss the Dirt |
| 99. The Smiths – There is a Light That Never Goes Out |
| 100. Mick Jagger – Ruthless People |
| 101. Love and Money – Candybar Express |
| 102. Billy Idol – Soul Standing By |
| 103. Ric Ocasek – True to You |
| 104. The Fixx – Built for the Future |
| 105. Robbie Nevil – Time Waits for No One |
| 106. Device – Hanging on a Heart Attack |
| 106.7. LA Dream Team – L.A. Dream Team is in the House |
I’m really sorry to hear about your friend’s trouble and the adult stuff that has taken so much time. I’ve had a fair about of that myself lately, but did start putting up some decorations a bit early to prolong the best time of the year. Your trip should be a restful break from it all and some well deserved time off. It is fantastic that you were able to recover your files and I knew if it could be done, you could do it. I know you’ll be plotting some great Halloween racing and I’m looking forward to hearing about it.