Blake Bowser understands that he's got a lot of making up to do, and he's not even the one who did anything wrong. 

When the California Hot Rod Reunion kicks off on Thursday afternoon, he will be the captain of a new ship sailing through the treacherous waters of public opinion of a once proud event that fell on hard times. NHRA handed over the captainship to the promoter of the Famoso Dragstrip and the driving force behind the Good Vibrations March Meet. 

"Honestly, we're going to be using the crawl, walk, run approach on this one," Bowser said. "We're not looking to hit a home run this year, but I'll tell you what, if I can hit a single and round first, maybe go to second, we're going to be happy. It's going to be a good show. But we just got a lot of stuff that's behind the scenes and below the surface to rebuild and work on. 

"We're getting there, though. It's going to be a great race. The fans are going to love it. The racers are going to love it. Vendors are going to be here; everything's going to be here. It's just going to be a little bit of a behind-the-scenes rebuild if you will."

NHRA has owned its mistakes of the 2016 event where heavy-handed tactics left racers who spent months restoring old cars to their former prominence were turned away at the gate because, as Dave Densmore put it in a commentary, "there apparently can be too many old cars at an old car event."

It was determined the cackle cars were a safety liability. The NHRA appeared to make moves to correct the situation, but with the advent of Steve Gibbs' Nitro Revival, the damage appeared irreparable. 

Bowser and his team at Famoso are making an all-in effort to write the wrongs, with the NHRA not being the benefactor but the Wally Parks Drag Racing Museum instead. 

Bowser's uphill challenge appears to be getting the old-school drag racers to accept his apologies for transgressions he never committed yet is committed to repairing. 

"We faced that back in 2007 with the first March Meet that we did," Bowser admitted. "That's when we took over from Goodguys. We faced the same thing. Right? We had to just overcome that. And that's what I'm doing with this thing, is we've got some guys that are set in their way, some people that got discouraged with how things were run before, and we're trying to fix all that. 

"That's why I'm thinking we need to take the crawl, walk, run, and just sort of kill them with kindness. We're going to fix a lot of things this year, fix a lot of things next year, and before long, we're going to have a very good race."

Those who have known and witnessed the Bowser Family's ascension through the promoting ranks understand that his kindness and approach to making amends are genuine. He's already hard at work. 

"This is my job. This is my office. I've got a 100-acre office, man, and it's controlled, organized chaos right now. I mean, we've literally got cars getting situated. We're chalking out spaces. We're getting stuff all positioned here and there. Tents are going up, and this is what I do, man. I'm running around overseeing everything right now. It's great. I love it."

Another challenge for Bowser is walking a tightrope of balance when it comes to providing the Good Vibrations California Hot Rod Reunion with an identity that does not impede its sister event, the Bakersfield March Meet. 

"I've got to make sure I'm balancing the two," Bowser confirmed. "There's a lot of stuff I want to do for this race that I can't do in March just because the weather and the temperature won't let us. So, my only limits are just what I can and can't do at each event. I have great ideas for this one. I got great ideas for March Meet and some don't transfer over to each race. So that's my limitations, is realizing that I've got to be careful about, "Okay, certain things work for March, but they don't work for here, or vice versa." 

Bowser said the NHRA will remain a partner at the event. While he didn't say it, it appears their approach is hands-off. 

"I've got a lot of people that want to see this thing work at NHRA, obviously here at the track—a lot of racers. I got Good Vibration sponsoring this race, too. They want to see it work. A lot of folks want to see it succeed. So we got a great group of guys backing us right now."

The biggest lesson Bowser understands that many didn't is that the California Hot Rod Reunion is a get-together that just happens to have a drag race. The March Meet routinely attracts upwards of 500 entries, and while the California Hot Rod Reunion has a respectable car count, it's not 500.

"That's the line we're walking," Bowser admitted. "The car count lets us dictate that. We don't get nearly the car count that the March Meet gets. So this gives us a little bit of time to slow down, take it all in, talk and reminisce, and that sort of thing. And you've heard the expression, 'Don't forget to stop and smell the roses?" 

"We're going to say, 'Hey, don't forget to stop and smell the nitro this weekend. Just slow down, enjoy yourselves, let's smell some nitro, let's have a good time, let's reminisce, let's catch up, let's remember those we lost this year, and do some racing too in the meantime."

And if everyone leaves happy, that's all that matters, and Bowser knows it.