Dearborn, Mich. — One thing is for certain this weekend: The race that the Wood Brothers are goin’ to watch this weekend is goin’ to be considerably shorter than the one they normally see durin’ the Pocono weekend. But then again, a good night’s sleep needs less time than it takes to run a typical Pocono race.

And, by “considerably,” the Sparkster means “Oh-man-it’s-over-already-where’s-my-seat-and-why-are-my-ears-ringin’-and-my-eyes-waterin’?”

For the first time ever, Eddie and Len Wood are goin’ to an NHRA drag race. They are goin’ to the Route 66 Nationals in Joliet, Ill., as guests of Bob Tasca III, who earlier this year won his first ever Funny Car event, which leaves him only 95 all-time victories behind the Wood Brothers. But, the Woods have been racin’ a little bit longer—like, by almost six decades.

Anyway, it’s will be an interestin’ meetin’ between two families that both feature third-generation racers—the Woods goin’ around in circles, and the Tascas goin’ straight. Eddie and Len’s father, Glen, is on NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers List. Bob the Third’s grandfather, Bob, prompted Ford Motor Company to get involved in drag racin’ in the first place, back in the 1960s, and is often credited with coinin’ the phrase: “Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday.” Both the Woods and Tascas had affiliations with Holman Moody. Both now have affiliations with Motorcraft.

The Sparkster talked with Eddie this week (while Eddie stood atop Indianapolis Motor Speedway durin’ a break in spottin’ for a tire test; Ol’ Sparky a little more traditionally settled for a telephone and comfortable chair), and Eddie was sayin’ how much he was lookin’ forward to this weekend, particularly at watchin’ Tasca’s team break down and put back together one of those 8,000-horsepower-producin’ engines that powers Tasca’s Mustang Funny Car.

At Route 66, the Woods, no doubt, will also visit with John Force Racing. A win by John, by the way, would run his streak of consecutive seasons with at least one victory to 23. John’s daughter Ashley won earlier this year, and reached the finals at Topeka last week after qualifyin’ No. 1. And, it’ll be a homecomin’, of sorts, for John’s crew chief, Austin Coil, whose racin’ career really took off with the Chi-Town Hustler almost 40 years ago.

Meanwhile, back at Pocono Raceway, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series resumes with the one of those races that some think is just too long, while others think isn’t long enough. Carl Edwards, a two-time winner at the 2½-mile triangular track, said this week that, shoot, as long as he’s goin’ to be there, 1,000 miles wouldn’t be out of the question. But, Bobby Labonte, a former NASCAR champion believes otherwise. And, his description of the length of that long Long Pond straightaway is, by far, the best the Sparkster has ever heard: “You can’t eat a hamburger, but you can probably think about eating a hamburger.”

The most successful driver ever at Pocono is none other than Bill Elliott, who has five wins and five poles there, but he won’t be there this weekend. He was at Indy with the Woods earlier this week for that tire test. And, as an aside, joinin’ Eddie Wood on the spotter’s stand for a little bit this past week was Ken Schrader, who also has five career poles at Pocono.

When the Sparkster thinks of Awesome Bill, he thinks more of 1985 and not his championship season of 1988. It was in ’85 that Elliott won a career-best 11 races and added 11 poles, and, as a matter of fact, swept both races from the pole at Pocono.