Five years ago, I was racing for NMRA in Columbus, OH. It was Saturday morning and when we arrived at the track it was cool and there was a gusty wind. I remember the gusting wind that day because we had to take our awning down the night before after doing a display at the corn festival. When we got the call that it was time to run, I suited up and got ready to make the pass, just like I had done hundreds of times before. I remember Chris buckling me in really tight, the RFC pastor praying for a safe pass and then rolling onto the track. Just like every time before, we started the car and Chris took off down the track to position himself for the end of the race. Line show, stage, light turns green and go!!!
It was a single pass, and I was in the left lane, 330 foot all good, 660 foot still looking good, 1000 foot mark good, focus on the finish line. 1200 foot, not so good. The car makes a sharp turn to the right and directly into the wall. It rolls on its side, fuel tank lets go, fire in the back. Car rolls on the side sliding down the wall. I remember sliding, sliding, sliding...and wondering if it was ever going to stop. Pushed up against the wall, I see one thing......Chris. He is barreling down the track coming at me as fast as he can. I hear him saying, "I got you!" Me? I am in shock, just sitting there unable to move. I hear them working on the fire in the back, I feel Chris's hand on me saying "You.re Okay, You're Okay!" Then the car is getting flipped back over and and everything comes back into focus. I look up and see the man I love standing there taking care of me as always. My Knight in Shining Armor!!
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| Ouch!! |
The next question is "Are you hurt?" and "Why did this happen?" A lot of people focused on the first question. Chris kept himself up at night thinking, thinking, thinking How did this happen? Me, I just wanted it to go away and get back to racing. Things wouldn't be so easy. I was hurt and it took me about 6 weeks to recover from my injuries. That was the easy part. All of our confidence had been broken. Confidence in car and me.
Chris and I had two choices, lick our wounds and quit racing, or buckle down and figure out what happened. My crash was a turning point at Larsen Motorsports. Before this, we felt on top of the world. Indestructible!!! As we found out, that was not the case. A lot changed; our focus changed and our plans changed. After that day, neither of us would ever be the same. Our innocence was gone, replaced with determination!!
So back to the Facebook memory. Do I want to remember? No. It was a painful time in our lives. But do I ever want to forget? NEVER!!! That day put us on the course was are still on today, and that is something that we choose to celebrate!!
Thanks for reading,
luv ya,
e
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| My Hero!!! |
