A change from 59 to 93 degrees in two and a half hours is drastic. A change from 0 to 100 mph in 0.8 seconds is a face-contorting, ear-flattening, physics-challenging rocket ride to make even an F-16 fighter jet envious. To quote Charles Darwin, "It is not the strongest of the species that survives but the one most responsive to change." If this is true, the grand opening of zMax Dragway in Concord, N.C., featuring 7,000+ horsepower top fuel dragsters (the fastest-accelerating machines on the planet) may have been a glimpse into the future of earth's gene pool.

When Hannah Martell, graphic designer, and I left Wisconsin the morning of September 8, it was 59 degrees. When we landed in Charlotte two and a half hours later, I could have sworn we landed on the equator: 93 degrees with heavy humidity. I questioned whether my Wisconsin body, typically fueled by cheese and bratwurst, could survive in this environment. I felt like a deep-sea creature, yanked from the cool depths to this sweltering surface.

The design of a drag car involves incredible technology and engineering. Each team's crew has a mission: to reduce weight as much as possible without dipping below the minimum requirement and to maintain safety. We were able to observe John Force's crew (Force is a 14-time funny car champion and one of the most dominant drag racers in the sport with 126 career victories) assemble his incredible ride for the weekend. Carbon fiber and Kevlar abound in the car's construction. Money, clearly, is no object in building these machines; but what does count is every ounce, and weight monitoring is essential.

In the sport's early days, sneaky drivers would sometimes work around the rules—adding weight to themselves or within hidden compartments during the weighing stages, then shedding this weight during the race to gain an unfair advantage. These days, weighments are taken directly after the race. At zMax, two special Rice Lake RoughDeck® scales are installed—one on each side of the drag strip. Actually, each scale is divided into two 8 ft x 14 ft RoughDecks, joined to act as one scale (10,000 lb x 5 lb). This allows the necessary length to accommodate the top fuel drag cars while still providing 5 lb accuracy.

Once a race is finished, each car pulls onto one of the Rice Lake scales to ensure they are not below the minimum requirements. Even a 5 lb violation results in disqualification, no questions asked. The results are displayed on a 720iTM indicator connected to a tape printer. The 720i's LCD screen makes it a perfect selection because it remains readable, even in direct sunlight.

Steve has the unique talent of being able to do his own professional concrete work during scale installations. He does not, however, drive the concrete mixer. "They backed up a fully loaded, 20,000 lb concrete truck onto the scale," Steve remembers. With a 10,000 lb capacity, surely the load cells would be ruined, if not more damage done. "The scale feet were the only part of the scale damaged. That's amazing!" Steve said, showing me a warped foot. "This is one tough scale."

Without hesitation, I approached the vehicle at near top fuel acceleration and opened the driver's side door. Immediately, confusion set in. The cockpit looked more like a space shuttle than my 1997 Mercury® Sable® back home. I was able to recognize the steering wheel, but that was the extent of similarity. Levers, buttons and gauges seemed to cover every square inch. To compound my bewilderment, I wasn't certain exactly how to enter the vehicle. Protective bars inhibited a customary turn-and-sit approach, and I didn't want to roll down the window and enter Dukes of Hazzard style. To be honest, I did want to, but didn't think the maneuver would go over very well.

With the feet replaced and the scale calibrated, SSI quickly had the scale ready to go. Our first customer, Robert Burgin, driving a 2007 Chevy® Cobalt® Super Stock rated at 648 horsepower, pulled onto the scale for a test reading. The weight registered within seconds and Burgin, who knows the weight of his car like most people know their own phone number, verified its accuracy. "That's the first time I've seen an accurate weighment right off the bat!" Burgin said. He exited the race car so Hannah could take a few photos. Noticing my admiration, Burgin turned to me and said, "You can get in if you'd like."

If, as Darwin stated, the species most responsive to change will lead the path to the future, surely those individuals who can dictate such change are worthy as well! Armed with a warped and irrational sense of power, and hope for potential inclusion in the future's gene pool, I said goodbye to North Carolina and we boarded a plane for Grantville, PA.