Any trip I make to Sonoma is filled with great memories.    Besides the fact that my son, Patrick, was born at the Presidio of San Francisco, my assignment there was one of my favorite.  And it was 10 years ago at Infineon Raceway that the Army was introduced to Don and Tony Schumacher.

Wednesday morning I turned off the Garmin and drove through San Francisco, through the Presidio, and across the Golden Gate Bridge visiting even for just a few minutes my favorite places.

There is a lot of work going on at the Presidio.  It is great to see the beautiful old fort still living with museums, offices, and a special effects facility, replacing the Army units that once served there.  As I drove along Chrissy Field is was reassuring to see families playing and biking or just walking along the bay while the Golden Gate towered in the background.

One of the great things about living here was that on the San Francisco side of the bay it could be gray and chilly, but as soon as you crossed the bridge into Marin County the sun could be shining and it could be 20 degrees warmer.

During our assignment from 1979-1982, we would often make the drive over to Sonoma or Napa to see the wineries or enjoy the architecture of these quaint California cities.  There were and still remain many great places to eat.

Infineon Raceway is one of the most spectacular tracks we visit for both NASCAR and NHRA.  It sits on a hill surrounded by farms and vineyards.   The owners have invested wisely to make this one of the best tracks on the NHRA circuit.

The weather was nearly perfect all weekend with blue skies, warm temperatures and a great breeze.  There was a large crowd and the racing was outstanding.  We had a great turn out of visitors to the Strength in Action Zone and easily achieved our leads goals.  There was also a strong turnout of centers of influence for our Army Day at the Race on Saturday.

We gave up a few points to Cory Mac and Larry Dixon during qualifying.  While Tony can where from any position, at this point we need to be picking up points during qualifying and not giving them away.  Despite the challenges, Mike Green and the crew remained quietly confident.

Fans certainly got their monies worth on Sunday especially during the semi finals.  Tony took on Brandon Bernstein.   We had lane choice and took the right lane.  But Brandon had won in the left lane setting up a great match.

Tony got the jump off the line but Brandon was on his way to catching up when his car briefly moved out of the groove.  This allowed Tony to stay ahead and wrap up a spot in the finals.

The Dixon-Cory Mac match up was equally as exciting.  I wasn’t sure who to cheer for.  We haven’t done well against Dixon all year, so if Cory could take him out we might have the edge in the finals.  But on the other hand if Cory lost, we would be back in second place.

Bad luck struck in the left lane as Cory’s car broke allowing Dixon to advance to the finals.  We were back in second, but hurting for our teammate who had a real chance to take out the points leader.

Of course, Dixon had lane choice for the finals and stayed in the right lane.  I wasn’t worried, however since Antron, Cory and Hot Rod Fuller had all been down the left lane and their data would help Mike Green with the set up.

As usual, I watched the finals on the TV monitor at the top end.  It is a bit of tradition that Tony and I started many years ago.  That way I’m there to congratulate him as soon as the run is over.

Tony left the starting line well ahead of Dixon.   But, the left lane jinx hit again.  The Army car dropped at least one cylinder and Dixon pulled around us to his eighth victory.

Losing is never easy.  But our team gave it a great effort. 

We head to Denver next and need to have a strong performance to remain in second as we head toward the Countdown to One.