Sunday, May 31, 2009

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

Sunday, May 17, 2009

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

Sunday, May 03, 2009

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