Can you say VACATION!!!

We start out our vacation with one last race. We head to Atlanta Dragway to do their annual Night of Fire. This is a great family race as we always celebrate our 4th of July with our racing family at the race track. Friday we load in and do our display at Walmart and then head to the hotel for some great pizza and swimming in the pool. Saturday morning and the kids head back to the pool and I get ready for the full day of racing. HOT HOT HOT is the best way to describe the race. Man I thought Florida got a little toasty, but by 12:00 it was steaming. I mean literally steaming. We had a rain shower and the steam was pouring off the track. I thought it would cool things off but wow it got sticky. Talk about true racers. The Jr. dragsters drivers were real sports. They raced in all of that heat and were amazing. It is the largest group of Jr. drivers that I had seen in a while. They are amazing.

So we were supposed to make two passes on Saturday night and then the fireworks were going to go off at 10:00. We pull into the staging lanes @ 6:30 p.m. and were schedule to blast off @ 7:00. Unfortunately a racer in front of us had a problem on the track and oiled it down, and I mean the entire track. It took over 2 hours to clean up. We road down the return road throwing out t-shirts and hats in some guys in the Army. Pretty cool. I was racing Hojo and Casey Jones and the trains were on hand to give the crowd what they came for. We were only able to make one lap down the track as time was running out for the fireworks. They were awesome. After the show, Chris and they guys get everything loaded up I finish up with the fans and then we hit the road.

Now we really really have to hit the road, our vacation is starting in just a few hours. Our friends from Michigan flew in while we were racing and we were all scheduled to board a cruise ship in Tampa by 12:00 on Sunday. There was no time to stop, and we rolled into the house @ 9:30 a.m. jumped in the shower and hit the road. We were all ready for some R&R. First day was just floating at sea. Second day was Grand Caymans and sting rays. Third day Cozumel and the beach, fourth day is Belize and cave tubing, last but not least is Roatan and shopping in the port. Then to finish it all off we had the last day at sea.

This was the best vacation we have ever had. We rested and got all caught up to hit the ground running for the race season that is coming up. I will post vacation pics real soon. Hope you all enjoyed the 4th and can't wait to see you at the races.

luv ya,
e

Back Home Again

It feels so good to be home. I am sitting in my favorite chair with Nitro sitting here with me, Chris talking on the phone (of course) and Andrew playing basketball with his friend Nelson. Life is good. I made homemade double chocolate chip cookies and dunked them in ice cold milk. Wow can you say paradise!!!!! But we have to back up a little. We left our house almost two weeks ago to fly out for the next race. Our first stop is Maple Grove, PA We are heading out to race for the NMCA. We have never been to this track and I am very excited. The only problem is that it is raining when we get into town on Friday. Not cool. One of my good friends Jill is coming in to hang with us at the races. We met up on Friday night and got to bed early for the fun day at the races. It was Jill's first time at the Drag Races and I was really excited to put her on the starting line. Saturday we made two nice passes and I think Jill went back a little extra crispy!!! Sunday and we are back at the races. We made a great pass and then it was time to hit the road. The only problem is I had made some great friends at the track. We said our goodbyes and then started out for Michigan where we were going to our next race.

Okay, I did not think the roads could get any worse, Nitro even went air born, talk about bumpy. When we dropped the trailer off at the Roush Museum for a display later in the week, we were still bouncing in the truck. We figured out that we had lost our airbag in the back of the truck. Well that explains everything. Chris's cousin owns a trailer dealer, we pulled in and they took great care of us. Both of our families live in central Michigan, so it was off to see family. Lunch at Uncle Johns, and then dinner later with my sisters and their families. I can feel my pants getting tighter. Only one night to spend with family and then back on the road.

Chris dropped me off at a friends house who lives near our display. We have been friends with the Kempf's for several years. We first met on a cruise ship when our kids were very small. We have since vacationed a lot together and stayed real close. Andrew and I hung at the house while Chris went to do business. Later that night, you guessed it, back out to eat. The next morning it was all work. We were scheduled to place the dragster into the Roush Museum to display with several of the top NASCAR drivers along with Jack and Susan Roush. Susan and I sat together signing autographs for most of the evening, it was girl power all of the way.

The next morning and we had to set up for the races. Rest, are you kidding me. We get everything set up and make our pass, last car down the track 10;45 P.M. Back to the hotel for a little rest and then back to the track at the Milan Dragway for the NMRA. Saturday morning and we had better be all hands on deck as our families and friends are coming out to the races. It was cloudy but believe it or not no rain in sight and the race went off perfect!!!! We made our passes and it was so much fun to see my sister in the stands cheering me on. Worth all of the work to get here.

No rest yet, we still have to tear everything down so we can hit the road first thing in the morning. Thanks JIM for the help. We get back to the hotel and crash. Now comes the fun part, the long drive home. We made it half way the first day and then finally we are back to the beginning of this blog. Me sitting in the chair. See, that chocolate chip cookies sounds pretty good right now. No rest as we have to fight those new car blues and get the new car up and running for our next race, Atlanta Dragways Night of Fire. I think I need more cookies.

luv ya,
e

New Car Blues!!!

Well we went to test the new Embry-Riddle Jet dragster this weekend, well test isn't really, we put it on a chain in order to get pressure readings and set up the car. We had big plans that if things went well, we were going to rent the track with friends on Monday morning. With great expectations we headed out on Saturday morning. Things did not go as planned. We fired the car up but that is about that. I guess the up side is that we didn't have to rent the track. The new Embry-Riddle car is not ready to ride yet. I can promise you she will be ready very soon. We will figure out the gremlins that are giving us some problems and we will make this car amazing. She just wants us to work a little harder. I guess it will make us enjoy the moment when things do go right so much more.

Okay so on to better things. We are getting ready to hit the road for the next few weeks. We are heading for Maple Grove, PA for the NMCA race this coming weekend June 5 & 6. We are meeting some friends and we are looking forward to a great weekend. Then we head to Milan, MI for the NMRA race. Some of our family will come out as both Chris and I grew up a couple of hours away. We will also meet up with some close friends that we are going to be going on vacation with. AHHHHHH vacation. What a great thought. Sun Sand and many other memories!!!!

New website. Okay so the new website if up and running. YESSSSSSS!!!! Sherry from Firefly has been amazing. She got me up and running and I think it looks amazing. We still have a little more work on the store, but if you get a chance, check it out and make sure you let www.Fireflywebsites.com know what a great job they did.

Right now it is Sunday night and Chris is in the office working on the computer, Andrew is in his room ready for school to be over and Nitro is snoring on my chair beside me. Even though the weekend didn't go as planned, even on my worst day, life is still pretty darn good.

see you at the races,
luv, e

Hitting the Summit!!

Well it is time to get back on the road and race again. Chris and I flew to Norwalk OH Friday morning and met our crew guy Mike to race at the 3rd annual Cavalcade of Stars at Summit Raceway Park. It is always such a pleasure to race with the Baders as they always run an amazing race. We were scheduled to run 3 times on Saturday as it was a NHRA Division race and final rounds were on Sunday.

We set up on Friday and then met up with friends on Friday night for dinner. We went back to the hotel to relax at the hot tub and get ready for a great day of racing. Okay so that is the glass is half full. When we left on Friday the rain chances were really bad. 70% on Saturday and cooling off temps did not look good. I was trying to keep positive, but after the last rain out, it was tough. So back to the hot tub. We figured we might as well make the best of it and have some fun. Well Saturday morning and the alarm went off. I was very nervous to go over and look out of the window. But to my surprise it looked really good, I saw some sunshine. Talk about a mood changer. I hurried up and got ready for a great day of racing.

We pulled into the track and things were still looking good. We got the Embry-Riddle dragster out of the trailer and started getting things set-up. We were racing against 3 other jet dragsters, Bob Motz and Bob Hall finished out the list for the weekend. As the day went on the spectators started coming in and the Lucas Oil racing series was racing on the track. It started clouding over about 10:00 and just got worse and worse. We had our drivers meeting at 1:00 and was scheduled for a drivers autograph session at 2:00. It has sprinkled on and off, but I thought we were going to dodge a bullet. Well about 10 minutes into the autograph session it started to rain. I mean rain. It was cold and wet and that is not good for racing. It was amazing how long the fans stood in line to finish out the signing getting wet. My day was going down hill fast.

I went up to the tower to see what the weather was looking like and by the faces I thought we were done. I was feeling so bad for all of the fans that had hung out all day long getting wet and cold just hoping to see some great racing. Well someone was looking out for us because the sun started to shine though the clouds. Before you knew it I was getting my Vedalo HD's out!!!! We got the okay from the track and we headed up for the staging lanes at 6:30!!!! I made my first run and the crowd was so excited. I think it was more from the heat that got the fans on their feet!!! We hurried up and got the cars ready for the last round. It was a lot of fun as the track at Summit Raceway Park is always top notch.

After the final round we all waited at the end of the track to tow the cars back up the track for our final autograph session right on the track. It is so much fun to have the fans get right out on the track and get up close to the cars. Thanks so much for everyone who cheered me on this weekend. We went back to the trainer loaded up and then headed for the hotel. After 4 hours of sleep the alarm went off and it was time to get back to the airport to head for home.

When we got home Nitro and Andrew was waiting to tell me all about their weekend. Nitro chased the bad Kitty's while Andrew rode on Dolphins at Discovery Cove. It was a field trip that Andrew did not want to miss. I think the entire class had a great time.

Well now Chris is out in the shop working on the brand new Embry-Riddle jet dragster, Andrew is writing book logs for school, Nitro is playing with his monkey and I am watching of course, drag racing on TV!!! Two weeks off and then back on the road. Maple Grove is on the next stop!! See you at the races,
luv e

Rain Rain Go AWAY!!!!!!

Well it is time to hit the road again for Bowling Green, KY. We love this track as both Chris and I think it is one of the prettiest tracks to pull up to in the country. It truly takes you back in time. Just the winding roads with the fences and the cows and horses, if that isn't enough the amusement park is just a must see on the racing stops!! We pulled out very early on Thursday morning as we had a radio interview to do on later that evening so we had to beat feet to get there in time. All was going well and we were making great time that is until we made it north of Chattanooga, TN. We were ahead of schedule until we hit the rest area and our truck decided that it wasn't going to go any further. It just stopped. Not a good thing to happen at the the entrance of the rest area. The security guard walked up to us and said "you can't park here!" Well you can imagine what I was thinking, but luckily Chris got the truck started and we moved it enough to get it in a parking spot. Obviously the security guard did not realize we were having problems. But we still had a problem with the truck. I got on the GPS first thing and found a Ford dealer and Chris called our warranty company and got a tow truck coming. Just so you understand we broke down at 3:00 and we were towed and to the Ford dealer by 4:00. The dealer closed at 5:00 and we had a race to get to. Let me just say "holy cow" they said stay out of the way and I will get you back on the road. Sure enough he had us back on the road and we were haul butt down the road by 6:30 that night. I can't say enough for Ford and everyone that helped us get back on track. I missed my interview, but we pulled into town when things were not looking so good. Thanks everyone.
Well on to the racing. Thursday night we went to bed very early. We were beat, but Friday morning we woke up and it was not sunny and pretty like we had hoped it was going to be. Cloudy and gloomy but we head to the track to set up. You never know, but the weather station did not predict it to be a great racing weekend. So we did a small set up and then went out to eat with friends. Saturday morning and YUCK!!!! Not good at all. We got to the track and people were just hanging out not moving fast. The promoters of the NMCA about 11:00 decided to pull the plug on the weekend. The weather wasn't bad and it wasn't raining, but later that afternoon it started and didn't stop through Sunday. So it was so nice for them to let everyone go early and let us just hang out with friends and spend some well needed R&R!!! Guess what this means???? HOT TUB!!!!! We headed back to the hotel and got into our bathing suits and relaxed for the rest of the day. Later even though we never like rain outs and it costs us so much money, it was sure nice to take a break and rest for a couple days. I called the airline and got out early and made it back home in time to relax on Sunday. Chris is moving the rig to the next race which is the Cavalcade of Stars in Norwalk, OH. I spent the afternoon watching the Bucket List. BOO HOO!!! I cried like a baby. I had heard the movie was good, but I thought it was great even though it made me cry. Now Andrew is finishing up homework for the weekend. He went to a Tampa Bay Rays game today. Nitro is sitting on my chair watching drag racing with me. I figure if I can't race, I might as well watch racing. I hope you all have a great week. Hey we will see you at the races. luv ya,e

Moving to a new Site!!!

Okay, we for those of you who have been so faithful and followed my blog. Thanks so much. A brand new Web Site will be up and running in the next few weeks and I am changing up my blog. as well. I will keep this blog. up for the old posts, but all current posts will be made on my MySpace account. I want to invite you to check out my page. http://www.myspace.com/elainelarsen

Please feel free to add me as a friend. I will try and update more often.

Thanks so much and we will see you at the races.

luv ya,
e

Back home!!!! For now????

Okay, we are back at home and I am sleeping in my own bed, life is good. I flew out to Vegas to meet up with Chris and go to the SEMA show. It was very very cool to fly into Las Vegas at night. The problem was I didn't get there until 9:30 p.m. Vegas time which was 12:30 my time. Now I had a choice to make, I could have some fun and go out, or go back to the hotel and get some sleep..........Okay, we went out. We walked the strip and it was amazing just to see the lights and the different casinos ..... wow!!! We finally got something to eat and made it back to the hotel about 3:00 a.m. Vegas time, so at that point I was up for over 24 hours. Man am I getting old!!!

The next morning we got up early to head out to the show. I had heard so much about SEMA and knew a lot of my racing friends were going to be there, I could tell we were going to have fun. To say that we saw just about everything is an understatement. From the Ghostbuster car to every Challenger on the face of the earth you can see it all at SEMA. Each hall is a different. From Wheels and Tires to Racing and Performance, I walked my feet off.

Dodge had one of the most impressive displays. I don't think you could turn a corner without seeing their new Challenger, but my heart belongs to the new Camero. I found a couple that I would have liked to take home. I told Chris I would take one in black and one in yellow for Christmas. He said "YEAH RIGHT!!!!!" I won't hold my breath.

We spent two days just trying to soak it all in. A highlight was meeting up with our friends Donna and Danny O'Day with the Super Wench wheel stander. Super Wench unveiled a Danny O'Day signature series of wenches. I know that we need a new one for our trailer and you can bet that will be first on the list.

We only had two days there and flew out Thursday afternoon, not much time, but enough that I know I want to go back. But as much fun as it was, we had a show to do this weekend at the Daytona Beach campus for Embry-Riddle. It was their homecoming event and we took the rig out and set up the display to show the students and Alumni the good ole ERAU jet dragster.

Sunday afternoon and we are back at home. We only have until Friday until we head our for our next show. For the past 3 years we have been invited to the Miami Homestead Raceway for the last NASCAR race of the year. We are meeting up with some drag racing friends, so we should have some fun.

We will return home and I am sure I will have some good stories to tell from the circle track guys. I will be waiting to hear how the NHRA Championship ends up this weekend. We have two races left this year. We are going to the newly opened up Palm Beach International Raceway (Moroso Motorsports Park) and then the final race of the year is in Bradenton Motorsports Park. I hope I get to see some of you at the races. I think the best is yet to come for the Embry-Riddle jet racing team.

luv ya,
e