PRI in Orlando, Florida

For the last show of the year, we didn't have far to go. The Performance Racing Industry was held in Orlando, FL. This was a very exciting time for everyone at Larsen Motorsports. We debuted our brand new jet car at the show. A 1941 Willys Jet Pro-Mod!!!!! We have so many sponsors to help for putting this car on the map. First Vedalo HD and Swiss Trax for putting us in their booth at the PRI show, Jammin Grafix for such an amazing job on the paint and Vickerys Speed Shop for my awesome new Impact helmet with the eye popping paint scheme. Photos will be coming soon!!!

We arrived on site on Wednesday morning and the place was packed with everyone setting up their booths. It is so cool to see this part. We were helping Chris set-up the Vedalo HD booth when I soon realized that we needed help getting our supplies into our booth, it was up to me to find a cart to carry in all of our boxes. I enlisted the first person I found as I walked in the show. Little did I know who I was enlisting to help. Berserko Bob!!!!! He is with Bob Gilbertson for those of you who may not know. Well we had a lot of fun for the next few days!!!

We set-up the booth and then went home to get ready for the first day of the show. 9:30 a.m. and the cover came off our car. There is not other show like this in the world. The Willys Jet Pro-Mod received a lot of attention which was hard to do at a show like this with "who's who" of racing.

There were many high profile drivers and race teams at the show and it was an honor for them to stop by our booth to check out our sunglasses. Thursday was so busy that by the time we got home, I was exhausted. We had to be back early on Friday morning and it was going to be a long day as we had the NMRA and NMCA banquet later that evening.

Saturday, and the last day of the show. Even though I was very tired, it was so amazing and such an honor to be a part of the largest racing trade show in the world. We ended the show and it was time to go home to start thinking about the Christmas Season, since I haven't bought even the first Christmas present, YIKES!!!! I better get busy.

I hope everyone has a wonderful and blessed Holiday Season!!! Make sure you celebrate all that is important, friends and family. I have BIG news coming the first of the year. Watch for a brand new website, fan club, our 2008 schedule and some major announcements.

I luv you all!!!
e

Last Race of the Year!!!!

The 2007 Snowbird Nationals in Bradenton, FL was my last pass down the quarter mile for the 2007 season. We headed to Bradenton Motorsports Park on Friday afternoon to set up for the event. We met up with one of our crew guys, Mike Mathes from Georgia, that drove down for to help us out. Bob also met us on Friday to take some photos for the weekend.

Saturday morning and we headed to the track very early because we were having some special guests from American Heart Hero's later that day. You can learn more about the wonderful group at http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3004967 It was so wonderful to be able to walk the kids and their family around to meet all of the exhibition drivers. Hopefully they had as much fun as I did.

I only race a few times in Florida every year, and some of my friends came out to visit us at the races. We made two great passes down the quarter mile and packed everything up to get some rest for the next day.

Sunday morning and we made to the RFC chapel service. Tom always does a great job. We pulled the car out and got it ready for the last run of the year. After blasting down the track one last time, we loaded things up. As much as we love racing, I was ready for some time off. I do have one more show before I can put the year to bed. One of our newest sponsors Vedalo HD and Swiss Trax has asked us to be in their booth at PRI. I am very excited to see what 2008 has to offer. A lot of BIG NEWS, an brand new website, fan clubs and so much more. Keep checking back.

e

Citrus Nationals

This blog. is very hard to write. I have been putting it off this week, but I guess it is time. Chris Gould, driver of the Firepower jet funny car lost his life piloting his funny car at the Citrus Nationals this past weekend. We were rained out on Saturday and had made our first pass on Sunday, on the last pass of the day Sunday he lost control of the funny car. We do not at this time know what happened, except a friend lost his life. Words can not describe the feelings that you have at a time like this. We all take our cars for granted, we all feel like Superman and indestructible, but unfortunately, we are human, and tragedy happens at the race track.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Chris's family and friends. Chris licensed for the jet funny car about the same time I did. We raced with him at all of the Moroso events. The jet racing community is so very small, that this loss will be felt by everyone.

Life is precious, live everyday to its fullest.

e

Winding Down

Well it has been a while for me to write, but we have been very busy. In the past few weeks, we have displayed the ERAU dragster, displayed Miss Ta Fire and in the middle I have licensed a brand new jet funny car driver.

We started off the displays at Middleton High School over in Tampa. It was great to see the cool ideas the students have. Then we went to an Admissions Fair at ERAU. Miss Ta Fire was feeling a little left out, so we put her on display in South Florida and in the middle of all of it I licensed a new jet funny car guy.

Last weekend we headed Homestead for the last race of the year in Homestead where we were on display in the fan zone. It was amazing again this year.

Now it is Thanksgiving evening and we spent the day with friends and family. I ate too much turkey and stuffing. Every year I say not again, but it seems as if I do it anyway. I am trying to decide if I am going to be like everyone else tomorrow and hit the malls running. Right now I am too tired to think about it, but tomorrow the stores may be calling me.

This weekend we are head to West Palm Beach for the Citrus Nationals. Then we go to the other coast to Bradenton Motorsports Park for the Snowbirds. We finish up the year at the PRI (performance racing industry) show in Orlando.

I hope everyone has wonderful plans for the holidays. If you are in the area, please stop by and see us in our last few races of the year.

Happy Thanksgiving,
e

Gulfport, Mississippi

Andrew had Friday off for a teacher work day so we hit the road early for the last race outside of the state of Florida. We arrived in time to have a nice dinner and get some rest before our display the next day at Keesler Airforce Base.

Saturday morning and we headed out to the base and set the dragster up. Later that day we headed out to the track. We met up with Dick and Terry Rosberg had some ice cream and went to the track. We were scheduled to make one pass on Saturday night and then two the following day. Well we almost didn't make it, not because of the the car, because they were feeding us some amazing food, and it was all we could do to tear ourselves away to go and make a pass. Gumbo & boiled shrimp. YUMMMMM Now that was worth the drive to Mississippi.

The next day we made our two passes and packed up to come home. I am looking forward to staying close to home for the next few weeks. We are working with our sponsor for the next couple of weekends over in Daytona Beach. Then it will be time to wrap the season up.

Keep checking back as we have some big things on the horizon for Larsen Motorsports.

e

Back to where it ALL began!!!

Well, it has been a long hot summer, and it is nice to be back in Florida to race at Moroso Motorsports Park. It is always nice to come back to Moroso, but we made the decision to bring the Miss Ta Fire out of retirement so it was extra special. We had some special guests that came down to hang out with us. Bob made the trip from Daytona to take some AWESOME photos of the ole' girl. It felt great to watch her shine again this weekend. The fans were also excited to see her back in action.

We were there for the All Ford Show. I was racing the Thriller jet dragster, the funny cars came out to play as well, Firepower and Rocky Mountain Thunder took their turns to Blast down the quarter mile. But that is not all, the Wheel Standers came out as well, Danny O'Day with the Super Wench and Billy Moffett with the Bottoms Up. Elvis came out to make some test runs. As you can see, it was great weekend.

Saturday Night Danny invited us down to enjoy big stories, this is what drag racing is all about, sitting around the pits and talking about the good ole' days. What a night. The next morning we went to the RFC service and then back to racing. The wind was really strong so they cut the racing to 1/8 mile. The Miss Ta Fire made her laps and it was time to put her back in the trailer for a while. I don't believe she will run again until next year, but it was fun to blow the cobwebs out.

We made it home in time to put Andrew to bed for school the next day. No time to rest, we have a race in Gulfport Mississippi, the annual Ford vs Chevy where I will be racing Thriller again.

Thanks to my AWESOME crew that always does a great job. Bob, you are the best, and Chris, hope you had fun at homecoming. See you on the road.

e

The NMRA World's Finals in Bowling Green

The Embry-Riddle Jet Dragster loaded up and hit the road for Bowling Green, KY to race at Beech Bend Raceway. We were invited to the World Finals and when I tell you this was big, I mean BIG. We pulled into town on Friday afternoon, met up with Mike our crew for the weekend, washed the truck and trailer and it was time to get some rest. Okay so no rest it was time for the Bassani party. Darrell made some wonderful white chili. YUM!! Then we went to the Go Kart track and had some fun.

The next morning and we head to the track. It was wall to wall race cars and people. It was awesome!!! We had one of my biggest fans Mustang Jay reported for duty and the weekend was complete. We made two passes on Saturday and then two on Sunday. The weekend was almost perfect, yes almost, it was HOT. But the racing goes on and may what a race. This was the worlds finals for the NMRA and the cars were going all out. In the end on Sunday the last car went down the track and a new champion will soon be announced. A perfect weekend.

We hit the road for a 14 hour drive to get Andrew back in school for Monday morning. He was only a little late, and now it is time to set our sights on the up coming weekend for Moroso Motorpsorts Park's Ford show. We are going to drive the Miss Ta Fire for this event. It is time to bring her out of retirement. I hope to see you there.

e

NMCA in Atlanta

After a week of rest, it was time to get back out to the track. The Embry-Riddle jet team loaded up and headed back on the road. We had all of the crew scheduled to come up and join the fun. We were asked to a display for the events sponsor Nitto/Toyo tire. It was a lot of fun to share what we do with the many people who work to make sure our tires are made correctly.


Friday evening and we head to the race track to drop off the trailer and get some sleep to get ready for the big weekend. Saturday morning and our crew all arrive. E. Lowe brought Chuck and Chris from south Florida, Russ and Bob drove in from Embry-Riddle and Mike lived close by. It was nice to have ALL of the crew there. Saturday morning and we were happy to be at the race track. After we set up our display, Andrew took off to watch racing. I went to say HI to all of my vendor friends that we have made over the last few weeks. We were scheduled for two runs each day. The first pass, the car ran a little slow thanks to driver error, but the second pass, the car ran well. We packed up for the night and headed for dinner for some great food After we headed back to the hotel to jump in the pool. Little did we know how cold the pool would be, but still we had fun.

Sunday morning and we are back at the track for more fun. We started the day with Chapel Service. It was a cool morning but what a way to start the day. The rest of the day went by fast. We made two more nice safe passes, and then loaded up the team as we had to drive to get Andrew back in school Monday morning. YIKES!!! We made it back in time and Andrew was back in school first thing. Back to our normal life.

We have a couple of weeks off. There are a lot of projects coming up for Larsen Motorsports. Big announcements and lots of great racing action yet to be completed this year. Keep up with us and we wind down the 2007 year in the Southeast. Keep up with the schedule and watch for some exciting news.

c ya,
e

Working on Labor Day

Labor Day weekend was all about work, okay so maybe not so much work as racing. We spent the weekend in Columbus, OH racing for the NMRA. We left for the race on Thursday afternoon, flying out of Orlando into Charlotte, NC to pick up the truck and trailer. We hit the road and met up with Danny O'Day (Super Wench wheelstander). Danny had fixed one of our fuel tanks and did an amazing job. Thanks Danny. The next morning and we drove the rest of the way. We were excited for this event as I was meeting up with my sister and her family.

We were scheduled to do a display at Hooters on Friday evening. It went well and we packed up the car for race day. Saturday morning and it was very cool outside, but there was a lot of cars getting ready to make their first laps. We set up and started the day. I was scheduled to make two passes on Saturday and two on Sunday. The car ran well, and we packed up for the night.

We decided to go our for Japanese with my sisters family and our sponsor George from Syngery Coatings who also joined us for the weekend. The food was good but the chief was great. We all enjoyed a nice dinner and back to the room to get rest for the next day. Sunday morning and we are packing up and heading to the track. The car ran well again, and We had the opportunity to met some great fans. I was sad to see my sister leave, but we had to put some miles behind us so we could get home.

We spent one night and made it home about 7:30 on Monday evening in order to watch the US Nationals. We are now home for the next week and no race this weekend. It is time for a breather. The plan is to get everything caught up, and then we hit the road again for Atlanta, GA for a NMCA race.

Sparkplug is back in school, so it is homework at night and getting in bed early. Keep up with our schedule as we may be coming to a city near you.

See you on the road.
e

Racing in North Carolina

We left the truck and trailer in Charlotte, NC after racing last Saturday night and flew home so Andrew could start 5th grade. He had a great first week in school, but the race track was calling. Friday afternoon we flew back to Charlotte for this weekends racing at Wilkesboro Raceway Park.

E. Lowe met up with us after spending a week visiting family and friends. We were up against the Thriller jet dragster and scheduled to make three passes. We pulled into the track and unloaded the car. Okay, so I went over and talked to Dustin and Terry and the guys unloaded the car. After we set everything up it was time for the gates to open. We were expecting Embry-Riddle representatives from our North Carolina World Campus. Mark and his sons came out to cheer on the good ole ERAU car.

The car ran well, and we always have fun running with the Rosburg crew. After the race we threw some hot dogs on the grill and told BIG stories. We are racing in Columbus, OH next weekend, so we left the rig in Charlotte again and flew home. Four days to get caught up and back on the road. Some of my family is coming out to see us, so it should be a fun Labor Day weekend.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by and said HI at the track. We will see you on the road.

e

Clay City Kentucky Here We Come!!!

Okay so our plans did not work to fly home for a couple of days, so we made the best and visited Washington D.C. After a couple of days there, we headed to our race in Clay City, Kentucky. We arrived into town on Wednesday evening and met up with Pepi and Danny from the Xtreme Machine. We had dinner with them and then back to the hotel. Thursday we were a bunch of veggies. I laid out in the sun, Chris worked on the race car, Andrew watched TV and Nitro chased his tail. It felt good to just relax for a change.

Friday morning and it was time for some action, so we got in the truck and headed for something fun to do. We had heard that there was this Natural Bridge you could climb up, so we headed in that direction. Wow if you are ever in the area, this is a must see. I wish we would have known about this when we first got into town, as there are cabins you can rent and so many trails to explore. Next time we are in the area, this is the place to stay.

Saturday morning and it is race day. Chris washed the truck and I had to do some last minute school shopping for Andrew as we get home on Sunday evening and he starts school on Monday morning.

We headed out to the track and met up with Fran and Phil Peppler, Pepi, and Danny O'Day. The Bars Leak team was also there to help put on a great show. This race track has been around for over 40 years. We were scheduled to make three runs at 7:00, 8:30 and 10:00 and right on the dot they were pulling us in the staging lanes. We made three passes, no problems, the car ran great and the crowd was standing room only. The stands filled in by 4:00, and the rest of the people lined the fence. Not a bad way spend a Saturday night.

We loaded up everything and headed for the hotel as we had to hit the road by 4:00 a.m. to make our flight out and get some rest before Andrew starts the 5th grade. Wow time is flying.

I want to thank Mike for coming out and filling in for E. Lowe. Also all of the fans that stopped by to see the car and say HI. Next stop Wilkesboro N.C.

See you on the road.

e

Catching up

Well we have traveled a lot of miles since the last blog. After our great time at Oshkosh it was time to hit the road for Texas. We made it into town a couple of days early, so we hung out and enjoyed the hotel pool. We met up with Mike and Maria from the Interceptor team and head dinner on Thursday evening. On Friday it was show time. We headed to the track and it was time to get down to business. We made two passes on and it was time to load it up and get some sleep. On Saturday we headed back to the track to make two more passes.

Peggie Horton came out to help us on Saturday evening. It was great to see her again. While we were at the track we had a lot of people stop by and tell us about the times Ancel had raced up and down the many race track in Texas. I still miss him a lot, but think he would be proud of what we have accomplished.

We made our two passes and loaded up. It was a long drive home, but I was looking forward to sleeping in my own bed. We made it home Monday morning at 11:00, and it gave me just enough time to do laundry, and repack the trailer to hit the road again on Thursday.

Thursday morning and it is on the road again heading for New Jersey. We were running on of the NMRA (national mustang racing association) races. I had never been to Atco Dragway before, but what a wonderful track. The place was packed and it was going to be a great race.

Friday evening and we had nothing to do, so we headed into Philadelphia to see the sights. We headed to Independence Hall and wow what a great time. We walked and walked up and down all of the old streets.

Saturday morning and race time. We made two passes on Saturday and then two on Sunday. The car ran great at 283 mph. I met a lot of fun people and would love to come back again to race their.

Monday morning and our plan was to fly out and then return on Thursday to head to another race. Well plans changed when we pulled into the airport. There was NO parking for our rig. I had really misjudged the parking situation as it was going to cost us $300 to park for 3 days. YIKES!!!! So I called the airline and canceled the flights and we decided to drive and hang out. As I was looking at the map I realized that we had passed by D.C. three times this summer and never had taken the time to sight see. Well all we had was time. So D.C. here we come.

We found a wonderful hotel just outside of the city that was pet friendly and had a shuttle to the metro, the train that runs into the city. We lucked out. If you ever get a chance to visit D.C. take a couple of days and stop. It was amazing. We tried to see everything, but ran out of time. Next time we are in the area, we are going to stop again and see more.

So now that we are caught up, I am in Kentucky in a hotel waiting to race this weekend. Andrew starts school on Monday and we race again next weekend. What a great life.

see ya,
e

Nashville and Oshkosh here we come!!!!!

The Larsen family hits the road, air, for our next race in Nashville, TN. We had left the rig at the race track as we were pulling through town, so I booked us a flight to go back out for the race. It was Nitro's first flight, and I am happy to say that he was wonderful.

We landed and we went to the car rental to pick up our surprise, I had rented us a Nitro from Dodge. We loaded up and met up with George from Team Synergy. He was our guest for the weekend. The next day it was time for a display at Tennessee Speed Sport and then off to the race track to drop the trailer.

Saturday morning and it is sunny and blue skies. We hang out by the pool to relax before the busy night. We head out to the track. Charlotte and Rick, owners of the track, have done a lot of work to make the track really nice for the racers. We were scheduled to make 3 passes for the evening. Just before my first pass I look up and Big John, my ERAU buddy shows up after a 500 mile drive just to come and see me!!!!!

We make 3 good passes, and the crowd went wild. It was a late night, and he loaded everything quickly as we had to hit the road very early 4:00 a.m. to head to Oshkosh, WI. 45 minutes of sleep was not even near enough, but it had to do.

We were very tired on the drive, but we had to be at the airport to set-up the display by 5:00. The rest of the ERAU team were waiting for us to help and then it was time to get some well needed sleep.

Monday morning and it is show time. They say that for the entire week over 700,000 people attend the World's Largest Air Show. I can believe it. For the third year in a row, we had a wonderful show. I love watching the airshow every afternoon, and we have a great spot. The Beach Boys performed sounded great.

My new sponsor Vedalo HD, expect to hear more about them in the near future, was also at this event and I was able to show off some of the newest line of sunglasses.

For the entire week we were there to talk to prospective students about their career goals. Then on Friday we had a Lunch with the Stars scheduled. It was a one on one time for them to ask questions with some of the air show performers. It was a honor to be a part of this panel. Later that evening it was the kick off party for my newest sponsor, Vedalo HD. I invited all of the ERAU staff, and we all enjoyed ourselves. By the end of the week, we were all very tired, but I am already ready to do it all over again next year.

Thanks to everyone that took the time to stop and say HI. Right now I am in Missouri at a Comfort Inn watching Shark Week eating pizza heading for Texas to race. Nitro is going crazy in the room, jumping from bed to bed trying to get our food. I will check in later.

see ya,
e

Time to get back to work!!!

Okay, we have had a couple of weeks off and it is time to get back to work. We are going to be on the road for the next 6 weeks straight, and I can't wait.

We start out in Nashville, then Oshkosh, Texas, we make a quick stop at home and then back on the road. This is going to be fun. I will be finishing up this week packing, and getting everything ready for next weeks.

If you see us on the road, make sure to stop and say HI!!! Check out our schedule and see if we are coming to a city near you!!!

see ya on the road.
e

Skills USA

Skills USA, for those of you who do not what this is, let me send you to their website for help. http://www.skillsusa.org/ Now that you may know more about this organization, let me tell you HOW COOL IS THIS!!!!! It is like the Olympics for any type of trade. Students compete in everything from aviation maintenance to dental assisting. To be able to watch these students work so hard for the ultimate goal.....being the best of the best.

This is defiantly something that I was so proud to be a part of. We had the opportunity to meet some other great vendors. On Tuesday morning, I took a break to walk around and see what was there, and you would never guess who I ran into, a fellow drag racer. 2 time NHRA world champ Tony Schumacher. Years ago he got his start racing in a jet dragster, so of course I had to ask him which one he liked driving the best, well top fuel won, but he did have some great times in a jet. For those of you who have never taken the time to go to a NHRA national event, make sure you stop by and tell Tony HI. He is one of the good guys.

The next day we started out with cloudy skies. The event areas were still full and there was a lot going on. We snuck out for lunch to the world's famous barbecue place called Arthur Bryants. You have to go to this place to believe it. When you ask for pork, they slap down two pieces of wonder bread, and use TWO hands to shovel the pork onto the bread. It was HUGE!!!!! I have to tell you amazing doesn't even cover it. We ate until our stomachs couldn't put anything else in. The bad part was we had to go back to work when all we wanted was a nap.

Thursday was the main day of competition for the students. It was a rainy day, which didn't upset us as we wanted to be up stairs to watch all of the events unfold. At the end of the day, everyone had a wonderful time and was ready to relax. But rest if not for us, we loaded up and hit the road yet again. This time was for HOME!!!! We arrived home in the middle of the night, and man my bed never felt so good. We are now home for 18 days. Time to get some laundry done and get things ready for the next trip. We also have to have a party for Chris, as he turns 40 on July 5th. Wow he does pretty good for an old man!!!! I hope everyone has a great 4th of July. We are going to spend it with friends and family. I will check in later.

see ya,

e

Atlanta Night of Fire

Okay, so now we have been on the road for so many days, I have lost count. It gets bad when you forget what hotel you are staying at.

But the up side is we have had a BLAST racing up and down the country. We pulled into Commerce for Atlanta Dragways Night of Fire on Thursday afternoon. Chris now calls me a princess, as I changed our hotel plans when the hotel pool had green sludge growing on the top. I moved us over to a beautiful brand new Best Western which we both enjoyed the pool on Friday morning before we had to go to work at a display in the afternoon.

Kroger was one of the sponsors of the event, so we set the car out front for a few hours. Then it was time to pack it up and head to the track. This as kind of a combo weekend as we were doing a race along with a photo shoot for a new sponsor soon to be announced. We hired a great photographer to come out for the weekend and shoot us in action. Friday night, was just the beginning. We finished up about 12:00 a.m. and headed to get something to eat. Taking pictures makes you very hungry. I was happy to have one of the newest members of Larsen Motorsports, Russ Glover, come out for the weekend to help us with all of the set up. Russ really loves drag racing and I can see a bright future for him with us. Look for his crew bio coming soon.

Early the next morning we were up and getting ready to go to the track. I had rented E. Lowe a car to drive in and had called to check his progress as we were getting ready. Not long after we arrived at the Atlanta Dragway, E. Lowe pulls up in his rented PT Cruiser convertible. I wave and pull him in. He gets out of the car and we start talking, I feel someone rubbing my shoulders and turn around to see that the some of our other crew has snuck a ride up with E. Lowe. Chuck and Chris Foster decided late on Friday night that they wanted to come up and have some fun. You could have blown me over. I was shock but sooooooo happy as the race was going to be hectic and we really needed their help.

Marc, the photographer took some awesome photos. I will post some when he gets them all cleaned up, and me looking good. I was racing the Danchuck jet funny car driven by Paul Miller. We were scheduled to make three passes for the evenings events. They had a full points race as well as some great looking pro-mods. We made our three passes without any problems and then pulled up on the return road to enjoy the best fireworks display that you can see anywhere.

We cleaned everything up and was too tired to even eat after the race. We went back to the hotel to get 2 hours of sleep before hitting the road for our next event in Kansas City, MO. In route we received some very sad news. Bob Motz, who drives one of the jet semi trucks, had a problem on the starting line at his race on Saturday evening. He was burned and was taken to a hospital nearby. If we can keep him in our thoughts and prayers along with his son Scott that was also burned trying to get him out.

It always puts things in perspective when you hear of one of our best racers having a problem. It is important for us all to stay on our toes. Bob has entertained so many people over the years, that it is easy for us all to take it for granted.

Well we are Kansas bound for a display that Embry-Riddle set up. It is called Skills USA. I will give you more information the next time.

Luv ya,
e

Traveling Tbrough the Country

Well, we hit Hershey, PA and let me tell you, chocolate does make everything better. We had so much fun at Chocolate World. We went to the Kit Kat Lounge to have some lunch and make our own sundaes. All of us left with a smile.

We decided to spend a little time and explore. We went to a campground to see if we could rent a canoe. The water level was so low, that we just decided to wade through the streams. Andrew and Nitro had so much fun. It was a day to remember.

Now time to get back to work. We headed out for the 13 hour drive to Bowling Green. It was through some beautiful country side but we could not take time to enjoy work was calling. We kept up and finally made it. The problem was, I started to not feel well. I just thought it was the flu at first, but after a couple of days of running a fever and laying in the hotel bed, it soon became apparent that I had to get to the Dr. Thursday morning, I found out that I had a really bad Kidney infection. After a couple of antibiotic shots and some strong medicine, by that evening I had to pull it together to do a radio show.

The next day I was feeling much better and we decided to go to Splash Lagoon at the race track. It was a fun relaxing day to enjoy.

The next morning it was time to head to the race. Beech Bend Dragway is such a family fun race track, it is hard to not have a good time. We were hired to be there for Match Race Mania, along with 30 other exhibition race cars. The track and facility was wonderful, but unfortunately the crowd was not. But we all made the best of it, and made one pass and loaded up to head for home.

We dropped our trailer at a friends business in Atlanta, and drove the rest of the way. I couldn't tell you who was the most happy to be home. Nitro just ran from room to room rolling on the ground. We all enjoyed an evening at home. Chris and Andrew had also become very run down on the last couple of days, so we all visited the Dr. on our first day home. They both have sinus infections.

We will try and all get better in order to head to Commerce to head up the Atlanta Dragways Night of Fire. I am racing Paul Miller in his Danchuck funny car. This is my third year back to this event, but the first for the Embry-Riddle jet dragster. I will be a great race!!!! I have some special guests coming, so we will rest up and get ready to have some fun.

See you all at the races.

e

Rain Rain Go Away!!!!

Okay the title says it all. I knew it was too good to be true. We woke up on Saturday morning to rain, and after breakfast, more rain, then the fateful phone call from the track, the race has been canceled. It continued to rain for the rest of the day and into the evening.

I felt really sorry for New England Dragway. They put in a lot of work to make this event a nice one, to just have it rain out. For us, well we had an enjoyable drive, and saw some areas that we have always wanted to visit. I can't complain. Okay so I can, but it won't make it any better. I was really looking forward to the race, but the good news is, E. Lowe is now considered a very very spoiled crew chief. We can say that we flew him in for an official New England Clam Chowder bowl of soup. He arrived in time for breakfast at the hotel, when we found out the race was canceled, we went to have some soup, and then we relaxed at the hotel for a nice dinner.

An Embry-Riddle representative, Gretchen, also flew in for the race. Everett and her both flew out on Sunday morning, and we hit the road to head to our next race. We are making a small pit stop in Hershey, PA to drown my sorrows in chocolate. I think a chocolate massage would make me feel much much better.

I will check back with you when we hit the next stop.

e.

P.S. Nitro is afraid of his shadow.

Hitting the Road!!!

Back from vacation and now it is time to work. I am telling you, I think I need a vacation from vacation. We filled our seven days as full as you could. I finally on the 6th day took a much needed nap. We snorkeled with stingrays, kayaked in the ocean, jumped on water trampolines, climbed water glaciers, explored Mayan ruins, dune buggied through Costa Maya, and finally hung out with friends and family. It was a blast!!! I am ready to sign up for the next one. It went much too quick, but well worth the money. I did try my hand at the slots, but ended up on the loosing end.

We came home on Sunday, and it was time to get to work to prepare for the next month of racing. T-shirts to fold, trailer to pack and laundry to do and then repack. It was time to hit the road

We took off Tuesday mid-morning, made our first stop in North Carolina, and then didn't plan our travels very well, we hit New York at 6:30 p.m. but to our surprise, the traffic wasn't as bad as Orlando traffic in rush hour. We made our next stop in Connecticut. Something funny happened, it turned COLD. I am talking really really cold. It got in the low 50's overnight. Talk about an adjustment, we were in the tropics just days ago, and now the temperature was totally the opposite. We pulled into Epping, NH on Thursday mid-morning and dropped off the trailer. Met up the the Interceptor team and went to the Hampton Falls to have some lunch. Very very cool. We then found our hotel and got some sleep. Friday morning and it is bright and sunny. I think the sun comes up earlier here. 6:00 a.m. and the sun is coming through the drapes. We decided to play tourist today. We went to the Hampton beach, and walked the boardwalk. Chris and Andrew wanted to try all of the different food, I just had the fried dough!!!! Andrew wanted to run and jump in the ocean, well that all changed when he put his baby toe in the water. I think ice is warmer than the water was. BURRRRRRRRR!! But the sun was out and it was a wonderful day. We decided to do a little house shopping while we were here. HAHAHAHA

Tomorrow is race day. The forecast doesn't look good, but we are thinking positive. When we get to our next stop, I will tell you how the race went. Thanks for checking.

P.S. Nitro is afraid of the dandelions.

e

Summer is here!!!!

Well today was Andrew's last day of school. I remember the feeling of walking through the doors for the last time of the school year, hearing the song "Schools out for the Summer" Man do I feel old sometimes. These last few weeks have been crazy. There is so much behind the scenes organization that has to go on, I wonder if I will ever get things done. We are leaving on vacation this Sunday, we come home for one day and then leave for Epping, New Hampshire for Jet Wars. Then it is off to Hershey PA to eat some chocolate, YUMMMMM. We will roll down the highway and head toward Bowling Green, KY for Match Race Mania. We are going to come home for 3 days and then back on the road to Atlanta, GA to run their Night of Fire. We can't go home yet, Kansas City here we come. We will be home for the first of July!!!

So hang in there with me, I will try and post as many updates as I can.

On a business note: Keep checking back as we have some really cool news to post soon!!!

Now it is time to pack and relax for one week before the craziness begins. If you happen to see us on the highway or if you are in the area where we are racing, make sure you stop and say HI.

C ya,
E

Jet and Truck Nationals

It was time to head back to south Florida to Moroso Motorsports Park in West Palm Beach. On Friday morning April 27th Chris loaded up the trailer and headed south to set up the Embry-Riddle Jet Dragster. I had to stay home for an extra night so that Andrew could play his baseball game on Friday evening. The kids tried, but unfortunately they didn't win the game, but they had fun, so that was good.

Crew Chief Everett stopped by early Saturday morning to pick up Nitro, Andrew and myself so that we could make be there when the gates opened. We did have enough time to stop and eat breakfast in Okeechobee. I was looking forward to this weekend, as there was going to be a lot of jet cars performing. When we arrived, it is always nice to see some of my fans that come out to see me. Chuck and Chris Foster were also on hand to help crew the car this weekend, which I greatly appreciate as it was Chuck and Ellen's 25th anniversary. We were scheduled to make two passes each day. On Saturday evening the Embry-Riddle Jet Dragster made both laps with no problems. We packed up and headed to the restaurant and was in bed by 12:oo, which is a pleasant treat.

Sunday morning we were up early and back at the track, as we had two more passes to make. We lined up and blasted down the quarter mile both times with no problems. It is so nice to have a race car that just motors down the track, my husband and the students from Embry-Riddle designed and built an awesome car.

We have a couple of weeks off, which we will be able to get caught up on all of the day to day stuff. Keep checking back, as we have a lot of exciting news coming up in May.

Stay safe.

Elaine

SUN N FUN 2007

Okay, I have the greatest life. First I get to drive two awesome jet dragsters, which is an amazing job, but I get to meet some amazing people on the road. You never know when you open the door, who is going to be on the other side. I guess you have to grab life by the horns and go with what ever is put in front of you and never look back. I can't list all of the people that have made such of an impression on my life, because I will for sure forget someone, but just know it means something to me.

Okay enough of the mushy stuff, on to the good stuff. Sun-N-Fun is always fun for me, because it is so close to home and I get to sleep in my own bed every night which is a BIG plus!!!! That being said, it is always nice to see the people that always go to all of the shows. For me racing is my only social life, sad but true. So we connected with some of our old friends, and pretty much just had a wonderful time enjoying the daily airshows and entertainment. We talked to many perspective students which is always great for my sponsor Embry Riddle, and some that just had a lot of questions about the car. By the end of the week, I couldn't tell you how many thousands of people stopped by, but it made the week go fast.

I had the chance this year to watch the night-time airshow. This was my first time and let me tell you I was impressed. To see these pilots fly during the day is amazing, but at night....WOW!!! The Aeroshell guys are always amazing. They rock and just have their act down to perfection!! It was very windy and they had to cancel the skydivers, which was a good decision, safety first. I can't wait until next year, I will be front row center.

Now I have been to a lot of airshows, and it would be impossible for me not to be curious about flying. Chris has his pilots license, but I have only flown commercial or with him in small planes. I was invited to go up and fly a fully aerobatic, competition, "Skybolt" from Steen Aero. Now for those of you who do not know what this plane is you can go to http://www.steenaero.com/ and see a photo and stats. She is a little hot rod with wings. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. WAY WAY cool. The pilot Barrett had me doing loops and rolls. I felt like I could conquer the world when I got out. It is life changing to be up there and feel like you are one with the plane. I didn't want it to end, but Chris was scheduled to go up after me, so reluctantly we had to head back. Chris also enjoyed the ride. I won't tell you which one that Barret said was the better pilot.....but needless to say, it was an amazing ride for both of us.

After working the week long event, I was ready to stay at home for the day, but Polk County Florida, where I live, had other ideas. On Monday I was called in for jury duty. Everyone was hoping I was going to get to sit on a speeding violation. After spending the day at the court house, my services were not needed. Thinking that I was going to get at least one day off to put my house back in order, I was mistaken. Chris had a Doctors appointment early Tuesday morning to help repair his knee. He fell back in December hard on the kneecap. Fluid has been gathering since then, and being a typical man, he wouldn't go to the Dr. until now. As it turns out, all they had to do is drain the fluid out and give him a cortisone shot. We will see if the fluid comes back for further treatment.

We have only a few days to get ready to head for Moroso Motorsports Park. Rest is not on the schedule yet....but watch out for next week. PJ's all day long.

Take Care,
Elaine

Back to Douglas

Miss Ta Fire is back in action!!! We tested the Miss Ta Fire at Gainesville Raceway to blow out the cobwebs. I hadn't raced my girl in a few months, and she was needing some attention. So we decided to race her back at Douglas Motorsports Park. It is located in Douglas, GA and the Miss Ta Fire had a lot of fans that were ready to see her back in action. I was scheduled to run Paul Miller with the Danchuck funny car.

We left town on Thursday afternoon after I picked Andrew up from school. We arrived in town later that night and was up early in the morning ready for the display at Walmart. We set-up and hung out at Walmart. Later it was off to do some radio shows and then it was time to head to the dragstrip to make some passes down the dragstrip.

My crew had the car out and ready to go by the time I arrived at the track. As we were listening to the weather reports for the weekend, it was starting to look a little like we were going to have problems Saturday night. The track manager, Tim Pafford, made the decision to run us twice on Friday and only once on Saturday because of the weather. It felt great to be back in the Miss Ta Fire. She did me proud, and never let me down. We made two amazing runs down the track and off to the Waffle King. YUMMMM I think.

Saturday morning and we had some time to spare. We hung out at the hotel and then finally we left for the track. It was hot and humid, and we were worried about the weather. We were scheduled to run at 8:00 and it had rained a few times slowing down the racing progress. Finally, at dusk, it was time. I hit the track and heard that rain was 10 minutes out. We quickly pulled out on the track and I was amazed to find the stands full and people lining the fence. This is why we do this. The Miss Ta Fire never let me down and she made a great pass. As we pulled back to the trailer and not a minute later the skies let loose. Just in time!!! We quickly loaded up and hit the road.

Thanks everyone. We will see some of you at Sun-N-Fun.

Elaine

Flying with the Big Boys

Thunder in the Valley Airshow was the stage for this weekends event. As Andrew put it "On the Road Again!" The Embry-Riddle Jet Racing Team headed to Columbus, GA to perform at their 10th annual airshow. We arrived in town on Thursday morning in order to speak at a wonderful organization Girls Inc. This is a program that gives young girls a place to go after school. For more information go to http://www.girlsinc.org/

We returned back to the hanger and were invited to join a local flying club for dinner. Then came the one of the best parts of the weekend. ICE CREAM. This place was called the Marble Slab. Holy Cow. If you have ever been there, you know what I am talking about. You get to pick from so many types of ice cream, but here is the good part, they have available more things to add in ice cream than I have ever seen. Now lets start with some plain vanilla ice cream, then add cookie dough, Girl Scout cookies, Snicker Bar, Heath Bar, chocolate chips, nuts, and put it all in a cone dipped in chocolate. The Airshow committee was worried that they may have hired a 50 mph jet dragster with all of the ice cream I ate.

Friday morning, and it is rainy, windy, and very cold. Not good. We went to the performer meetings and found out our schedule for the weekend. The big event for this day was RIBS!!! National award winning ribs were on the menu for later that evening. All of the performers were invited to enjoy these wonderful ribs. Later that evening I fired the car up and tried to warm things up for our own special show.

Saturday morning and the show is on. Windy and bitter cold is what greeted us as we pulled up to the airport. I just knew that it would keep the crowds away, boy oh boy I couldn't have been more wrong. This event is something that people look forward to every year, and they all came out and braved the weather. We fired the ERAU Jet Dragster up to make two passes down the runway. Later that evening, the airshow hosted a catered dinner along with a silent auction to help the Boy Scouts of America.

Sunday morning and it is cold, but the weather report looks better. The wind was down, and it was warmed up fast. We again made two passes down the runway. It was awesome to be taxing down the runway while they were pulling out the perectly restored war birds for the final flight of the day. I can truly say that my job is the best.

At the end of the day we headed home. On the road, Chris and I talked over the weekends events. It was amazing. We were treated so wonderful and with such down home respect. It makes you realize that moments like this don't come along often and you better enjoy them while you can. Thanks Columbus, Georgia.

Love ya,

Elaine

Getting Older

Well, since the last blog. a lot has happened. Andrew played another baseball game. They did a great job, but unfortunately they lost, better luck next time. My friends took me out for my pre-birthday lunch, which was really nice. On my official birthday, we had to head to the next race, so Chris took me out for a quick lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant, we picked Andrew up from school, and hit the road.

The Embry-Riddle jet team headed down to Moroso Motorsports Park this weekend for their Chevy Show. We arrived and set things up, we had the opportunity to meet Mike and Maria that run the Interceptor jet funny car. Chris and Andrew had planned to take me out to a nice place for dinner, but we started watching racing and talking, we ended up eating at the track.

We headed back to the hotel to check in and get some rest for the next day, but there were others who had bigger plans. I was racing the Thriller jet dragster, the crew was staying at the same hotel, so we decided to go down to the lobby and talk racing.

Saturday morning and the sun is shining, and I mean shining. This was the first heat of the spring, and man it got hot. E. Lowe was of course on hand to help with the car this weekend, Chuck and Chris Foster came out to make sure everything ran smooth. George DeWees from Embry-Riddle brought out some students to help crew the car as well. Our pit area was full, and we had a lot of fun.

Nitro again was the hit of the race. He dazzled everyone that walked by. Of course I could be a little bias. We were scheduled to make two passes, the Embry-Riddle jet dragster powered down the quarter mile just like a bracket car.

On the final run of the evening, Chris had planned a surprise Birthday party for me at the track. The crew had decorated my pit with black balloons to celebrate my 40th birthday. They also had a huge cake for everyone to enjoy. I was very surprised, and we all had a great time. It made turning 40 a lot easier.

Sunday, with the time change we didn't get a lot of sleep, but it is back to the race track for another day of fun. The Embry-Riddle jet dragster made her final two passes without a problem, and ended the weekend on a high note. Peas & Carrots, the concessions at the racetrack, supplied us with food to get us home, which was great as I was too tired to cook.

We have a couple of days off, and then we hit the road again for Columbus, GA for the Thunder in the Valley airshow this weekend, March 17 & 18. I am going to meet back up with my buddy from the Aeroshell team who was so kind to give me on ride at Oshkosh last year.

Thanks so much for everyone who came out to the races last weekend. I hope to catch you on the road real soon.

Luv ya,
Elaine

No Problem!!!

Larsen Motorsports headed to No Problem Raceway in Belle Rose, LA for the NHRA division 4 race. We left home on Wednesday afternoon. On Thursday there were tornado's all over Alabama, but luckily we missed them all. When we pulled into the track on Thursday, the trailer was ready for a good washing. We washed the rig, and headed for the hotel. Friday morning, E. Lowe was flying in to help us for the race. We all headed to the track, and the place was packed. There were a lot of quality cars, and the racing action was awesome.


I was scheduled to make one pass on Friday evening to close the show down. This was my first pass since I ran at the Snowbirds in December, so it felt really really fast, but man was it fun to be back in the drivers seat.


We were invited to some of the racers trailers to have some crawfish. I had never eaten it before, but the 20 foot table was overfilling of crawfish, and they kept piling it on. My lips were on fire after the third one, but they were tasty.

Saturday morning and it was cool outside. We went back to the track, and made our two passes for the day. The crowd at No Problem was on it's feet and that makes it so much more fun. On the last pass of the night, I decided that the guys in the tower needed to wake up, so wake them up I did.

Sunday morning and it is now freezing, which if you are sitting around the pits, not so much fun, but if you are running a race car, man did she fly. The guys at the track thought I needed to eat some more local food, jambalaya hear we come. All I can say is YUM!!!! The last pass was great, and after giving a lot of hugs goodbye, it was time to hit the road for home. I followed the rules that are posted at No Problem:

1. Have Fun
2. Make a Friend
3. Go Home Happy






We had to be back home for Andrew to be back in school, and I was co-hosting on ESPN radio again. So it was time to pull an all nighter!!! We arrived back home at 6:00 a.m. which was great except Nitro was all wound up from being cooped up in the truck all night, he was not going to let me get even a hour of sleep. So as Chris and Andrew were sleeping, Nitro was running around the house glad to be home. I took Andrew to school, and came home to catch 45 minutes of sleep. Back up and on the road in order to be a Disney World to co-host on the ESPN show. This was my second time back at the ESPN club, and it was a lot of fun. This time we were talking motorsports, my favorite sport!!!! Ashley Force was our call in guest. Talk about a great way to end a wonderful weekend.

Wait a minute, my day isn't over yet.....Elaine the racecar driver is done, but now it is time for mom. Andrew had his first baseball game. So there is no time to sleep yet, it is time to be the team mom. Andrew was AWESOME!!!! I was so proud. This was his time to shine, and he did. He struck 3 kids out, and just had so much fun. Well that about does it for me. I am going to get some sleep. But not much, cuz it is time to go racing this weekend. Life is great!!! Thanks to everyone at No Problem Raceway. This is how a track needs to be. Family fun for everyone. I hope to see you all again real soon.

Luv ya,

Elaine

A Wild Week

This past week was amazing. I was very excited about the Women in Aviation international conference which was to be held at Coronado Springs in Walt Disney World. It did not disappoint. But we need to start at the beginning of the week. I was excited to receive an invitation to be a co-host at the ESPN sports club there at Disney. It was so exciting, and a lot of fun. I hope to be invited back to do it all over again.

The next day, the show began. Our booth received a lot of attention, and I was honored to meet many great women doing some amazing things. We were scheduled to be at the booth from Thursday through Saturday. On Friday evening after the show, Embry-Riddle honored the Alumni with a party.

Saturday morning I was up at 3:00 a.m. in order to fulfill another obligation. The Miss Ta Fire jet dragster was schedule to be at career expo to help out one of Embry-Riddle's World Wide Campus's in Ft. Lauderdale. Chris was in Orlando with the one dragster, while the rest of the crew went with me to the other show.

On the way home from the expo, Everett (crew chief) and I pulled into a rest area to get something to eat, as we were pulling out, a very nice man asked me to stop. I rolled down the window, and was pleasantly surprised to find out that he was a father of two women who had graduated from Embry-Riddle. I signed a couple of photos for him and we were on our way.

Sunday I watched the Daytona 500 with the rest of the world. It was an exciting finish, we were rooting for Mark Martin, but I guess you can say "That's Racing!"

On a family note, Andrew is starting baseball. This is his favorite sport, beside racing. I have volunteered to be the team mom. Nitro is growing bigger everyday. Andrew is having so much fun with his new puppy, even the chores that come with a new dog.

Now it is time to gear up for the start of the racing season. I am scheduled to be in Belle Rose, LA for a division 4 race and then back in Florida at Moroso Motorsports Park we will finish up March at an Air Show in Columbus, GA. We would love to see you at one of the shows. Check out the schedule for updates as new dates come available.

See ya at the races.

Elaine

Busy Busy Busy

Wow, it is time to get back to work again. I don't think my family got the memo about the off season, we just kept right on working. Since the last Blog. a lot has happened, where to begin. First, Larsen Motorsports would like to welcome Synergy Coatings to our team. They are a premier coatings specialists. You can find more about their product by visiting the website at www.coat-this.com

We had a photo shoot with Mike from Gotcha Pics. He is an amazing photographer that loves to get that perfect shot. He came out to get pictures of if both jet dragsters, Miss Ta Fire and Embry-Riddle. We fired up both cars, and had a wonderful time.

My sister and brother-in-law from Michigan came down for a visit. During this time, Andrew tried out for little league baseball, we are still trying to train a new puppy and getting two race cars ready for the 2007 season. I wonder what we did with our spare time before racing!!!!

Well I decided that we didn't have much going on, so we went to the track to test the ERAU car. We are hitting the road in two weeks to start the racing season, so we thought it would be a good time to make sure everything was running in tip top shape. Well my baby fired right up and didn't disappoint. I am pumped and ready to go.

My family left for home, not looking forward to the cold weather that they were going to go home to. It is always sad to see family go, but there wasn't much time to think, it was more work. ESPN at Disney gave me the opportunity to co-host their Wednesday evening show. It was a lot of fun and a great opportunity.

I guess that brings up to date for now. We are heading back to Disney for the Women In Aviation conference. I will keep you posted.

Getting ready for the 2007 season!!!

Well, it is time to get back to work. Wait a minute, when did we stop working. This off season has been really really busy. We will have some major announcements in the up coming days. Things are going really well for the LMS teams.

On February 3rd we are doing a photo shoot with both teams. A friend at a local airport has given us permission to fire both cars up and hopefully take some awesome photos. Also that weekend we will be trying out a new driver. I am still going to drive both cars at this point, but there are times that we need a second driver for the cars. I will keep you updated.

Now on to the new puppy. Nitro has been a wonderful addition to the family. It has been hard to get any work done since he has come into the house, but he is very very entertaining. I won't bore you will all of the little details, but we think he is the cutest, smartest, and bravest puppy who ever lived.

Well it is time to get to work. We have BIG plans for 2007. We are going to be stopping at some new tracks this year as well as going back to some of my favorites. I will be posting my schedule very soon. I am looking forward to seeing everyone back at the track.

Keep it safe and between the lines.

Elaine

A new addition to the family!!!

Well we have been really busy in our down season. First to catch you up, Christmas was very restful, but it wasn't long until we were back to work. There is a lot of maintenance to be done on the cars, trucks and trailers to keep them in top shape for the season. With the help of Everett, Chuck, Chris and John, the crew jumped in and we have a great start.


Now for the new addition. We had a wonderful dog named Chippy, who was 19 years old. She passed away a year ago and it has taken us this long to get over the loss, but we made the decision to add a member to the already crazy Larsen family. Enter Nitro. He is a pug who is only 6 weeks old. We went for our first visit today and he has won us all over, even Chris. We can't pick up Nitro until January 23rd, Andrew is already counting down the days. I am sure that we will have plenty of fun stories to tell in the days to come.

Now looking forward to 2007. There are BIG things on the horizon for Larsen Motorsports. We just finished our new promo video and are currently booking the dragsters for the 2007 season. If that wouldn't keep us busy, we are working on the third dragster and a funny car. Like is said BIG plans.

Well I hope you all enjoyed your holidays. It is time to get back to work and look forward to all that 2007 has to offer for the new year.

See ya,
Elaine