Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Finally

Okay, sorry it has taken me so long to check in with everyone, but it has been a very busy summer. We left home heading for Route 66 for the Super Bowl of Drag racing with the NMRA vs the NMCA. We had never been to Route 66 before and I had heard great things, well it is amazing. The facility is just breath taking.




We pulled into town on Friday morning as we had extra set-up for this event. The Embry-Riddle team has an addition to our display, a brand new awning, and boy oh boy were we ever happy to have it that weekend. Rainy weather on Saturday morning put a damper on the morning, but sunny skies later that day and into Sunday, made for some of the best drag racing in the country. Andrew never missed a second and kept us up to date, but in the end NMCA came out victorious over the NMRA. It was a great weekend. Chris from Vedalo HD came out to bring the racing action into HIGH DEFINITION!!! Check out the sponsor page to get a set of your own Vedalo HD sunglasses!!!


Next we headed for Oshkosh, WI but had a couple of days to spare so we hit the Wisconsin Dells first. The Dells has the worlds largest water parks as well as the famous ducks and the now famous Lake Dalton. Now why would the lake be famous, we it is no longer there. After severe rain in June, the lake overflowed into the Wisconsin River and disappeared in 2 hours. When we arrived we could walk across the lake. Spooky!!! We stayed in a cabin for a couple of days and enjoyed the town. It was very nice to sit back and relax. If you ever get a chance, this is definitely a place to stop.
Well it was time to get back to work and head for Oshkosh, WI for the EAA airshow. We set up on Saturday with the help of Embry-Riddle. Monday morning and it is time to go to work. During the week over three quarters of a million people will come though the gates. It is amazing and so much fun to see old friends. We we busy everyday trying to do our best to represent drag racing. Now every year we get a lot of the same questions and one question is "Are you going to run out here this week?" Well guess what.......this year I was happy to be able to say YES!!!!! Thursday at 2:57 the Embry-Riddle jet racing team rocketed down the runway at the World's Largest Airshow in front of people from all over the world. It was amazing to see the reaction. I was so proud of my team for giving me the tool to blast down the runway. What a rush!!!! I can't wait until next year. Thanks for all of my friends that took the time to stop and say HI. I have a new theme song and can't wait to do something with it. All in all what a great week.

But that was the airshow. Larsen Motorsports held their first annual sponsor appreciation party and the local bowling alley. Sorry to say NO photos will be posted : 0 ) We finished up the week and Sunday was the mark of another successful airshow. We packed everything up and it was time to head back to New Jersey for the NMRA race.

On the way to New Jersey we made a pit stop in Akron, OH. Now a lot of people may say "what is in Ohio?" But to a jet racer it is where a lot of history began. We went to the late Art Arfons shop and got to take a look at some amazing pieces of jet racing history. It was a honor to meet Tim Arfons and see photos and hear some of the old stories. We spent a couple of hours in the shop and then it was back on the road. No rest.

Curt Eierdam was in the area so he made the trip over to help crew for the Embry-Riddle team. We made a pass on Friday evening to light up the New Jersey skies and then 2 passes on Saturday. We were supposed to make an additional pass Sunday but rainy weather put a stop to the race and sent us on our way early. We said goodbye to Curt and started for our good friends house in Indianapolis. We spent the night and then flew home on Tuesday morning. We have been on the road for almost 5 weeks and I can't wait to sleep in my own bed tonight.

Well home sweet home. We are going to get caught up on work back at the shop and in the office before we hit the road again for August 23rd. We have been invited to perform at the World Series of Drag Racing in Cordova Dragway. I can't wait. Check out the schedule page for more information. I hope to see you all at the races.

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