Game ON!!

As we head into the hot days of August, it is seams at this point every year that we stop looking at the 2012 season and believe it or not, start focusing on the 2013 season.  As Ferris Bueller said, "Life moves pretty fast, if you don't stop and look around every once and a while, you could miss it."  So true, but you have to always be 10 steps a head of the game with your defense in place.  A lot has gone on in 2012, with the opening of the new Jet Shop in Daytona, Marisha coming on board to drive the Embry-Riddle Jet, you would think that we would take a year to coast.  NEVER!!!  Lots going on for next year.  We have extended our sponsorships and added some new partners.  Press release coming soon!!!  That that covers that money portion, the hardest part, but that is just the dollars and sense. We thought it would be fun to add some more teams!!! 

Yes, we will be going from a 2 car team next year to a 4 car team!!!  This is the most exciting.  Chris and I had a dream, to bring Jet Racing in the spot light.  Unfortunately, everyone in our industry just didn't want the same things.  So we decided that the easiest way to do this was to bring on just a few teams at a time.  We started looking for teams that had the same goals.  To elevate the Jet's to a level they had never seen before.  What was attempted by the NJRA, will be finished by the Larsen's!  It may take us a little while longer, but as long as we cross the finish line, the effort will be worth it.  Look for a lot of announcements coming soon for the newest jet teams!!!

My head spins at what is a head of us.  The only way we get through a day is just take it one minute at a time.  If you look at the big picture, it is easy to just lost in the amount of work that is a head of us, but if you break the jobs down and keep moving forward, you will get to the end.  Both Chris and I are willing to risk it all in order to see our dream come true, last year we just had to re group and organize the troupes.  So hang on because it is definitely GAME ON!!! 

Other new and exciting things on the horizon is our video reality series Playing with Fire.  This series follows Larsen Motorsports from the shop to the track, showing what it takes to put a team out there.  This is my brain child, as Chris likes to stay with the cars, my job is promotion, so I figured what way better to highlight the day to day operations.  If you haven't checked it out, you can check out  Playing with Fire on youtube, on Blip TV http://blip.tv/larsenmotorsport on on our iTunes podcast http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/playing-with-fire/id533842715?mt=2&ign-mpt=uo%3D4  You can also see some of promo videos that we have been working on! 

The Miller Jet Racing team just debuted our jet dragster die cast.  You can visit our website for information on how you can get yours.  There were only 5000 made, so get them quick.

Keep checking back.  We will continue to battle on in our jet racing war!!  Marisha is dong so well and at this point is a couple of rounds a head of the boss!!  YIKES, time to bring it for the remainder of the season.  It is time for me to let her run her race and for me to concentrate on my own.    GAME ON!!!

see you at the races,
luv ya,
e

Hot Rods

Well we are just back from the 10 anniversary of the Hot Rod Reunion that was in Bowling Green, KY.  I have heard so much about this race, and it seems as if we always were headed one place or another and never had the opportunity to stop in.  Well let me just tell you something, it lived up to all of the hype!!!  The car show alone is reason enough to make this a destination for Fathers Day weekend.  It was so cool to see these amazing Hot Rods cruising around town. 

Now the racing was pretty darn cool as well.  This year the NHRA Museum decided to spice things up a little and had both of our Jet Dragsters on hand to entertain the crowd.  We were welcomed with open arms by the Hot Rodders.  In fact I was surprised to find how long it had been since a lot of them had seen a jet car and the memories of the first time they had. 

All in all it truly renewed my faith in Hot Rodding and Drag Racing.  The fans were great, the racers were amazing and it was an honor to be able to say that we were a small part of the event.  Marisha and I did the very best we could and tried to put on a show to be proud of.  I think we brought the house down.  Check out our youtube page for videos that we have uploaded.  http://www.youtube.com/user/larsenmotorsport?feature=mhee

Other news, we are now on iTunes as a pod cast, which is pretty darn cool.  Just log into your iTunes account and search for Larsen Motorsports.  One last thing, Nitro has decided that he needs a little more attention, so stay tuned for our official Nitro Cam!!! 

I hope everyone is enjoying is enjoying their summer with friends and family.  Keep it real!!

luv ya,
e

Time to Kick It UP!!!

Well, we are in the middle of June and now have 5 races under our belt.  Marisha has done so well and we could not be prouder, except for one thing, she is kicking by behind!!!!  How does this happen.  The first race, it was more about just getting the teams up and running.  The second race, it was about fine tuning but she has beat 4-1 right now.  We headed into Atlanta with a lot to prove.   The first race we had a tuning issue and she took me.  I had the better light, but my car just didn't run up to par.  The second race, I knew it was now or never so as we lined up, it was going to be a drivers race.  Marisha hit a .002 light and she was off, but I still have a little left in me and hit a perfect .000 light to get the win light by .009 at the end of the race.  It was to be the best of three so Sunday was to be the tie breaker and I looked over at her, and she just smiled, she had nothing to prove, me on the other hand, I have been getting teased and was tired of looking at her tailpipe.  So we lined up, crew had done their job, it was gut check time.  I knew that I had cut it way too close the last time with that perfect light, and she was not going to give me any slack, so I had the challenge of getting a good light, but not to red light.  We pulled up to the line and I thought, what are you doing, just have fun and stop listening to everyone that is just stirring the pot!!!  It isn't about who wins or looses, it is about just being in the game and lining up to the starting line and doing what I love to do.  I could feel the tension just lifting and at that point I thought, lets do this!!!!

So I guess you want to know what happened right???  It was the best dang drag race of my life!!!!  We were side by side the entire way down the track.  I could see her out of the corner of my eye and let out a "YEEEE  HAWWWW!!!!  We went through the traps side by side and it was probably the closest races of my life!!!  To share this with Marisha was so amazing.  We pulled off the race track it didn't matter who got the win light, who had the better reaction time, who had the better ET, it mattered that we had a BLAST!!!!  I LOVE MY JOB!!!!  We found out later that the margin of victory was .004.  Okay so who got the win light...........me



luv ya,
e

Summer Time is Calling!!!!

As April is coming to an end, it is time to look forward to all of the travel over the summer.  It is so exciting as Marisha Falk, our new driver, hits the road for the first time.  We just returned home from our first Texas Motorplex race and I have to tell you, we had a lot of fun.  We are scheduled to be back for their Super Chevy race on May 12th and can't wait to get back. 

In the meantime, we are enjoying the time at the new shop and time to sit back and enjoy living in Daytona Beach.  Shop work will slow down and little, but we have have some new projects that are coming around the bend.  Look to hear more about the Adventures of Blaze coming out over the summer as well as our video series for a true behind the scene look at what it takes to run a race team. 

Probably some of the races I am looking forward to the most is the NHRA Hot Rod Reunion in Bowling Green, KY.  We are lucky enough to be there racing June 15 - 16th.  I have always wanted to go to the race, but to be able to be one of the racers is even better. 

I hope everyone enjoys their summer.  Enjoy family time, BBQ's and friends. 

Luv ya,
e

No EXCUSES!!!!

Okay, so I truly have no excuses on why I haven't posted a new blog. in so long. I can give you all of the normal stuff, like I am so busy, but I am sorry it has taken me so long to update. I have so much to tell you, I just don't know where to start. Last July, we moved to Daytona Beach to the new Larsen Motorsports High Performance Vehicles Research and Development Center. Wow that is a mouthful. It was not move in ready and far from being the Jet Shop that it is today!! We worked day and night to put the new shop together. There are way too many names to give you, but we had an overwhelming amount of help. Finally on February 22nd, we held our Grand Opening. It was one of the proudest days in racing yet. To see how far we have come was very emotional to Chris and myself. My sister and brother in law flew down to help and I couldn't have done it without them. We are luck enough to have several new student interns that come in and help us each and every day. They have also been able to attend several of the races. We are now open to the public 3 days a week Tuesday-Thursday from 10-5, so if you are ever in the area and want to check it out, make sure you stop by.

That takes care of the shop, now we have to get to the racing. When I last blog. I had a little trouble in Cordova, IL with the Miller Jet Dragster. As luck was not on my side that day, I hit some very small debris on the track to take out my right front tire. We damaged the Miller car and it was out of commission for the rest of the season. We used the Embry-Riddle car for the remainder of the season. I was fine, but my spirit was broken. Not by the wreck, but the reaction. I give a speech about having the Guts to go for the Glory, and I guess I was saying the words, but wasn't believing them. Well all that has changed. I now believe that you have to have the guts to get back in there and give it your all. If we all caved when others tried to get you down, we would let the bullies win. I WILL NOT let them win. Chris was my rock and helped me get through this. You truly find out who your friends are and I am proud that I have some amazing ones!

So the racing went well for the rest of the season once I changed my attitude, but we had much bigger plans. We have been working on expanding our race teams for a while now, and Larsen Motorsports was proud to announce that Marisha Falk would be the new driver in 2012 for the Embry-Riddle team. Marisha is 25 years old, she is a pilot and an instructor at Embry-Riddle. She has been with Larsen Motorsports for a few years. She is new to drag racing, but has a lot of talent. She made her first laps down the quarter mile December 7th and licensed the end of February after testing every weekend and most Wednesdays at the track. She is going to be a force in racing and I can't wait for everyone to meet her.

So that takes care of racing, now on to the family. We not only moved our shop to Daytona Beach, we sold our home of over 20 years. Sad to say goodbye to neighbors and friends, but we needed to be close to the shop. We were lucky to find a home about 3 miles from the shop in a great neighborhood. Just this weekend, I finally feel like I am home when I walk in the door.

I wake up each and everyone morning thankful for everything that has happened in the past year, even the wreck. I have grown so much as a wife, mom, business owner, and a driver that I wouldn't change it for the world. Nitro is snoring beside me happy in his new life as well. He misses chasing the bad kitty, but I am sure he will find something to keep him busy.

Thanks for sticking with me. I still have some life left in me yet. I hope that we will see you somewhere on the road. Keep it shinny side up!!!

luv ya,
e