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FAN MAIL

Rich,

First off let me say thank you a million times over for bringing Pinks All Out to Infineon. I was car #219 a blue 1995 camaro Z28. I had registered in December of 07 and couldn't wait as I'm a huge fan of the show as well as dragracing in general. I wanted to make sure you were aware of how much you are helping the sport of grassroots dragracing and how great it felt to take part in an event of the caliber that you brought to Northern California. I have been racing since 1994. I've never raced in a class where my car fit because being military I was never able to be around for each and every race. I built my car more to be a heads up style of car. In the past 12 years of owning my camaro I have spent every penny I could to make it faster than the next guy. In addition to having a growing family, paying bills, and just living life. In 2003 after returning to California I found that the engine in my camaro was hurt and needed to completely be replaced. It was at that point that I decided I would go "ALL OUT" and build one of the baddest 4th generation Camaro's on the west coast. 5 years and countless thousands of dollars later in April of 08 I rolled my camaro out of the garage in hopes of having it ready to go by Pinks in September.

When I got to race my car at an event like Pinks All Out at Infineon my wildest dreams were realized. We are not a big money operation. We typically race for nothing but the pride of bringing our car out there. I can't pay my crew chief but he shows up everytime I want to race. I only had one nitrous bottle and had to borrow a few. But when I rolled up to where you were standing on that podium and I looked left and saw close to 12,000 people in the stands I completely forgot that we were a small operation. I felt like John Force. I felt like Tony Pedregon. There was a PACKED house and they were watching MY car!!!!!! I have NEVER felt anything like that in dragracing. YOU are to be commended for giving the little guys what we have never been able to experience. YOU are the sole reason that dragracing is fun again. It was almost dead. The big money that teams command has all but pushed out the heads up dragracer. Unless you like bracket racing most people gave up on competing.... Your show gives us a reason to be excited again.

Everything you said in the drivers meeting on saturday kept replaying in my head. Back in the pits people were happy to help other drivers get their cars together. I picked up a nail in my slick on Friday and a stranger drove me 45 miles to pick up tubes that I had at home so I could run. Once back in the pits we stayed overnight and talked for hours about our cars and worked on them while we got ready for saturday. Some slept in trucks, some slept in trailers. Some slept on the ground. Some didn't sleep. But we all were there together... Your event generated memories I'll NEVER forget and one that has motivated me and countless others to have fun again when we're dragracing. I wasn't selected to the 32 cars but I didn't care cause I had so much fun I'd do it every weekend if you guys were there.

If you could I would really appreciate if you can thank not only you but Ken Herring, Charles Hendrickson, Nate and Adam Pritchett and Gavin and all the others that are responsible for putting on Pinks All Out. I did wish you had the wheelie competition because I would have won that HANDS DOWN. :D But I understand how fluid your schedule has to be to put on an event like this. I included a picture of my car on the pass where you were armdropping. My only question is "Why the heck were you looking at that other car????" :D:D:D

Again Thanks for the memories Rich and thanks for keeping dragracing alive for the little guys with the small budgets.....

Jason

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Rich, I just wanted to say thanks for bringing PAO to Infineon Raceway. I was lucky enough to be in the final 16 and lost at 8 cars. I am a loyal fan of the show, but I never dreamed that I would be on it. Your crew is the best in the business, i have never met more down to earth people in my life. Getting to meet all of the people i watch almost every nite of the week was amazing. You guys made us feel like rock stars. The feeling I got coming down in front of the stands after my first win, was one I will never forget. I got a lump in my throat just hearing the roar of the crowd. Please pass on the many thanks of all of us Infineon raceway regulars to your staff and crew. I guess this means that my 15 minutes of fame are used up

Thanks, Mike

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Hi Rich,

We just got home from competing in the Pinks ALL OUT competition at Infineon raceway...I am in AWE of the whole event.

I have been racing since 1989, and have done quite well both as a driver, car owner, and crew chief on some winning cars. I have competed in so many events I cant even remember them all. But none of them compared to the Pinks ALL OUT competition we just entered.

The event was run smoothly, professionally, and above all, the way us grass-roots racers appreciate. But more important was your speech you gave the drivers before Saturday's time trials.

I wont make you sit through a long, boring email from another stranger, so I'll just get to the point.

Dont ever doubt yourself for the decisions you made. Have confidence in knowing that the style of racing you have brought forth is capable of becoming something greater than any form of motorsports. Drag racing was starting to fade. It was losing its fan base, and due to the rising costs of being competitive in the sport, it was losing many of its drivers-the souls of the sport.

But with your new format of racing, the field is competitve in ways that a driver can actually fathom-it is EQUAL. All a driver has to do is show some respect for the format, his/her fellow competitors, and to you and your team of awesome support.

Run the cars all out. No sand bagging. No tricks. No foul play. Just build it legal and safe, focus on the goal of getting to the finish line in front of tens of thousands of fans, and do so as quickly as you can.

THAT is drag racing in its entirety. That is what makes it such a thrill. It takes the complications of "top end stripe racing" and turns it in to "perform to the best of your top ability, both driver and car".

it doesn't get any better than that.
It doesn't get any better than Pinks ALL OUT.

You are a gift to us racers...I can't speak for the millions of us out there...but if I could thank you a million times, I would.

Our car wasn't chosen as one of the 16. But many of our friends were...

Thank you Rich.

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I just want to say that I was never really into car racing, but when I was at Bandemere Speedway last weekend to see Pinks All Out, it has changed my whole perspective. Rich is living the dream of many men, and some women. His personality and team is awesome and it was a whole different experience seeing Pinks live than on TV.

Jennifer