9:00 AM  Here's a quick preview of what we can expect to see at Mission Raceway Park today: rain, followed by showers, followed by more rain, a bit of wind, cool temperatures and.... more rain. The most on-track action we'll see today will be the track crew making laps with their equipment.

Let's hope my prediction and the forecast from the weather office proves wrong, but we're probably looking at a two-day event, starting late tomorrow morning. The latest weather system off the Pacific Ocean is about 24 hours late in coming through.

NOON  No rain yet and we're in the gates. Just as I climb the crossover bridge into the pits, two of the baddest Super Stock "A" cars on the planet pull into the burnout box. I'm too slow to get the camera running, but enjoyed the high level view of these wheelstanding monsters. The 8.79 at 149 mph on the scoreboard for one of them (can't remember which car) was very impressive. Looks like a good omen for a day that I didn't hold out much hope for.

By the time I get the necessary paperwork done for my Media Pass and restricted area access, the first qualifying session for Comp Eliminator is on deck. NHRA has finally bowed to reality and included Pro Mods in this category -- at least until they move them into the place of the soon-to-depart Pro Stock Truck class. Next year? I wouldn't bet against it.

Two of the best western Canadian cars; actually, Trevor Lowe's '57 Chevy and Glen Kerunsky's S-10 pickup truck, lead off the session and they put on quite a show. Lowe's 6.50 is impressive, but Kerunsky's 6.44 in his nitrous truck is under the national record. Wow, quite a start to the season for those teams. Next up is North Vancouver's Rob Harrison, with his "Igor" powered six-cylinder Beretta and despite a major starting line bog, runs -.35 under his index on the first lap of the year. Another good omen.

1:00 PM  As the sounds of blown alky and injected nitro engines fill the pits, it's starting to look like we might just beat the weather and get in today's scheduled qualifying session. Since I'm supposed to be at work in Vancouver at 4pm, I'm starting to look for someone with a cellular phone I can borrow to call for a replacement for tonight.

2:00 PM  No worries. The rain is here, a little behind schedule, but it's gaining strength by the minute and within half an hour, the balance of the day's activities are obviously lost. NHRA doesn't officially pull the plug on the day until two hours later, but by that time I'm already dry and warm in my office, for another night of toil.

Check out the photo page for the few pics I managed to click before the day ended. Then come back Saturday evening, after 9:00 pm, for the full report on what should be quite a day of action from Mission Raceway Park.