Why Me??

Hey guys, I know that it has been awhile since my last blog.   As always, so much has happened.  Here is a quick recap. 

January  - Worked hard to get the shop ready for the VIP and public open house

February – Time to get to work on the 2016 race season

March – Time to go racing and had a visit from some friends from down under, took a bite out of the Gators and was awarded the Dick Moroso Award 

April -  We took to the skies and displayed at the Melbourne Airshow and went 4 wide at ZMAX dragway in Charlotte, NC

May – We got Mustang fever at the NMRA Ford Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway. 

Yep, that about does it.  Is it time to sleep yet??  LOL NEVER!!!  I have to say, if you would have asked me just a couple of years ago if I thought we would ever have been where we are today, in this beautiful facility with amazing partners, with, in my opinion, the best dang race team, I would have never seen this coming.  I am just a farm girl from Michigan, married to her high school sweetheart, have one son, who likes me most of the time and the cutest Pug on the planet, I have to ask, why me??  Why have I been chosen for this life?  I have been called to run these race cars, it is a passion that runs through my veins.  It occupies most of my thoughts and is a fire in my belly. 

This weekend, I had the opportunity to just relax at the races just a bit, yes I do relax, and reflect as I was blasting down the quarter mile.  I am so blessed to be able to work with my team.  They are young, and have a lot to learn, but I wouldn’t trade them for anything in the world. 

So what’s next……HAHAHA just wait.  I have some surprises up my sleeve.  As always stay tuned and we will see you at the races.  

Fueling a Champion!!

What a season it has been! The 2015 season was one for the books.  We introduced a new jet dragster driver, Shea Holbrook to the LMS team, licensed Jake Elliott, yes a boy, and traveled to many races--some even twice!  At the end of the day, along with my crew chief, Paige Sanchez, we were able to come out on top in points to take our second IHRA Jet Dragster World Championship!!

Taking a moment to look back so we can enjoy the view we have in front of us now, Chris and I have traveled long and sometimes rocky roads.  From our start bracket racing at Orlando Speed World to the creation of our very first Jet Dragster, Miss Ta Fire, we have always known that this is the path that we wanted to travel.  The list of people that have helped us along the way, all of the crew, family, neighbors and of course the amazing sponsors that help our teams live our dreams, will always hold a place in our heart and shop!!!

How did we get here?  A lot of work and some great decisions, all made possible with the support of our sponsors.  We have been so blessed to partner with companies like Miller Welding, Matrix Systems Automotive Finishes, Applied Racing Components, and our newest affiliate, Florida Institute of Technology.  These companies have truly enabled us to have such an impact in the racing community.

For those of you who know some of our background, you know that we recently moved from Daytona Beach to Palm Bay, FL.  Chris and I have always had this dream, the dream to make a difference.  This dream came true!!  Located in the heart of the Space Coast, we have everything we have ever wanted!!  The support of great partners and now a world class facility to build World Championship teams.

This year, Paige and I proved that #GirlPower can get things done!!  We only have 3 match races left this year until we park the cars for the season.  It will be a sad time as Orlando marks Marisha Falk's last full time race with LMS.  She is moving on with her career and family!  We want to wish her well, but you never know when she may decide to hop back in and teach us all a lesson!!  Kat has finished up her second season with the teams and I could not be prouder!!  She has come so far in her driving skills, giving us a run for our money all season.  The newest driver, Shea, took home an Ironman in San Antonio, proving she's got the right stuff to drive these land locked missiles.  But the unsung heroes? The team.  Andrew Larsen, Jake Elliott, Mike Mathes, Paige Sanchez, Dewayne Hill, Corey Weigand, Brian Tocci, all of the interns working so hard back at the shop, the husband Chris and, of course, the best for last: NITRO!!!  Not one of us girls could have made a single pass without you all working so hard and giving us the cars to get down the track.  You guys are the rock stars!

So this brings me to 2016.  A lot is going on at Larsen Motorsports; a new address, new interns, new drivers, new crew chiefs, new sponsors, and of course a lot of fun.

Fasten your seat belts, we've only been running in 1st gear, get ready to drop the hammer!!!

luv ya,
e

Reflections

Hey guys! The other day I was on Facebook and it pulled up a memory and asked if I wanted to add it to my timeline.  This memory was from 5 years ago.  It's funny because as everyone else is celebrating Labor Day, I celebrate something else.

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!!

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

My Hero!!!

Rain Rain go AWAY!!!!!

Life is a jet racer isn't always as it may seem!!  We have our good days and then we have our rainy days!!!  The Larsen Motorsports teams hit the road for our summer IHRA Nitro Jam tour and our first stop was at Cordova, IL  We decided to make a quick detour, chocolate was calling my name, so we stopped to visit a friend at the Nestle factory first!!!  My inner fat kids was dying  to get out!!!  So cool, we were able to see where the morsels as wells as the butterfingers and nestle crunch bars were made.  I restrained my self!!!  LOL

MINE MINE ALL MINE!!

It was a struggle to fit in my firesut that weekend let me tell you!!!  Believe it or not, we actually had a race to go to, onward!!!  Friday night and we made our first pass and then......the rain!!!  Saturday was even worse, the rain would just not stop and the temperature had dropped so there was no hope to get the race in.  We loaded up and headed to the next race in Budds Creek!!  

The IHRA always does a great job with the press, but they really hit a home run on this one!!  Front page of the sports section in the Washington Post!!!  

HOLY COW!!

Ready for a great race weekend!  One pass complete and getting ready for the second pass and you guess it.....Mother Nature strikes again!!!  This was one wicked storm!  

YIKES!!!

Yet again, we move onward to the next race in Grand Bend!  We had a couple of days before the race to visit Chris's and my family!  We like to take time to have some fun, so with that being said, what better way to go back to Michigan and hit Silver Lake!!  Sand Dunes, quads and crazy racers, what could possibly go wrong!!!  Well it isn't a trip unless someone takes it a little too far!  Who could it be you ask......me : (  I decided that jumping sand dunes was a lot of fun on the quad and got in over my head!  It flipped on me and let me just tell you, I will not be playing with things that do not have roll cages on them!!!  Bruised ribs and even bigger bruised ego, let's go racing!!!  Right?????  Grand Bend and we load in, first pass, painful, but happy to be back in the race car!!  Things are looking up!  Saturday comes and we wake up to......RAIN!!!  You ca't make this up!!  No chance for clearing and the IHRA made the decision to postpone the race until August!!  Okay this is getting on my nerves now!!  

Time to hit the road again and head west!!!  Spokane, WA here we come.  Let me let you in on a little secret, that is a LONG way!!!!!!  Holy cow, I really need to get a map and look at these things before we leave home!!  But hey, we still get to race cars so suck it up and drive girl!!  In order to keep morale up, we decided to make a couple of stops along the way.  Mount Rushmore was first on the list!!  

Road Warriors!!! 

We then stopped in Montana for a visit with friends that moved!!  I have never felt so small!!  There are more cows in Montana than people!!!  Gorgeous country to drive through, loving my job at this point.  As we got closer to Spokane, the weather app on my phone just kept tempting me.  I had heard rumors that it had not rained there in a couple of months and there were fire hazards.  I thinking our chances of getting a race in was pretty darn good!!  We get to Spokane and do the pre race press, set up the rigs, and get ready for racing!!  A graduate from Florida Institute of Technology, Blair, flew out as well and one of our interns Corey decided to make the trip!!  

Ready for our close up!!

We are really really ready to race!!!  Hear we go, Friday and we make both of our qualifying passes!!!  OH YEA!!!!   Things are going our way!!  Right......WRONG!!!  It starts to rain.  We are thinking, no problem, they haven't had rain for months, it will just be quick.  Saturday morning and still raining!!   Not cool!!  But the IHRA worked very hard and as soon as the rain stopped, they had the track ready to race and race we did!!!  I ended up loosing in the final against Marisha, but hey we were racing.  

Next stop Edmonton, AB but of course we have to make a couple of pit stops along the way right!!  Most of the team stayed on the road, so we headed into Seattle for some fun!!  Space Needle, check, Boeing Factory, check, Fisherman's Wharf, check, Mr. Explosive's house, CHECK!!  Onward to Canada!!  The countryside was some of the prettiest we have ever seen and we had such a great time!!  I had a front tire bow on the truck.   We were coming off a mountain, scary, but hey who better to have with you than the crew chiefs of all of the teams!!  5 minutes and we were back on the road.  

Just Beautiful!!

We loaded into the race track, did our pre race media and we were ready to race!!  Friday came and we got the 1st pass out of the way!!  Looking good!!  Saturday we woke up to yes believe this......RAIN!!!  Thinking at this point we just can't win.  But hey the glass is always half full!!  We took advantage of the rain day to head to the mall and go ice skating!!  Great team building and Kat got the chance to show us her stuff!!!  

YIKES I had better stick to racing!

Can you believe this, no broken bones!!  Sunday we wake up to......SUN SUN SUN SUN!!!!   Boys and girls, let's go racing!!!  The IHRA did another fabulous job getting the track ready and we were ready!!  I ended up in the finals against Kat, and she got the Iron Man!!  At this point the Miller team is still in the points lead, but I have to find away to cut better lights or we will never win!!  No time to pout, home we are coming HOME!  After 40 days on the road, the road warriors arrived back safe and sound in Melbourne, FL  Rest??  LOL no time for that, we have a shop to put together!  It's all rock and roll!!  Stay tuned the best is yet to come!!!

see you at the races luv ya,

e

A New Chapter

Hey guys, a lot is going on at the Larsen Motorsports shop.  We are getting settled in to our shop in Palm Bay, FL (Chris is in Heaven!!!!).  Racing is fast and furious.  Mother Nature has not always been kind to us this year, but we are making the best of it.  The Miller Welding team has taken home 2 Ironmen and are currently the IHRA jet dragster points leader, so I am a happy woman.  New driver Shea Holbrook (Florida Institute of Technology) is doing a great job adjusting from road racing to jet racing.  I am so proud of her willingness to learn out sport!!  I see a very bright future for her!!!  We licensed a new driver Jake Elliott, a weld engineer from Miller.  Jake has been with us for several years as crew, but would like to make the leap into the drivers seat.  He obtained his jet car license in the office season, and we are looking for opportunities for him to move in the drivers seat full time!!!  Make sure you follow Jake on his facebook and twitter.  https://www.facebook.com/elliott.lms?fref=ts  I can tell you, it was a lot different training a guy instead of a girl.  Guys think totally different!!  Jake licensed in my Miller Welding Jet and we are working towards building a car for him.  Lucky I have a welder!!  LOL

Speaking of drivers, long time LMS driver Marisha Falk, announced that this will be her final season racing.  I have known Marisha for over 6 years and it has been so much fun to see her grow her racing career.  I have been in the lane beside her and watched her cross the finish line in front of me too many times to count.  She is a furious competitor, a great racer and an even better friend.  I know a lot of fans will miss seeing Marisha and her infectious smile and cartwheels down the track.  This was a hard decision for her, but she is ready to take that next step in her life.  We support Marisha 110% and wish her well.  She will continue on at LMS, but more in a management position.  You never know, she may kick one of us out of the seat and take our hot rod down the track!!  Marisha was a great addition to the team and I for one will miss our adventures!!  From the races, our happy hours at Bahama Breeze to the Fireball Run.  I love this girl and wish her the best!!!!


The racing will go on!!!  We are getting ready to head out for our summer tour with the IHRA.  Our next race is in Budds Creak, then on to Grand Bend, Spokane, and Edmonton!!!  Kat's car has been the quickest and fastest, but Marisha was looking really good in Cordova, so this battle is far from over.  Make sure you follow all of the teams on Facebook and twitter to stay up to date!  We hope to see you all at the races!!!

love ya,
e

Kicking off the Season!!

Hey Guys,

Well here we are, another race season has started.  2014 was a little bit bumpy, with new drivers, new races and moving shops, things were a little crazy.  We ended the season packed in 23 PODS and with no shop.  Things were difficult to get work done on the cars we race, and we couldn't work on any new projects from June - until present day.  Brian Tocci, our director of operations had to work out in a parking lot with our trailers going through all of our belongings.  Talk about not fun!!!  But 2015 came and with that a lot of changes.  The biggest one is our new affiliation with Florida Institute of Technology.  We have moved our base of operations 90 miles south to Palm Bay, FL to an amazing new building.  The PODS were delivered and we waited until the renovations to the new facility were completed.  While we waited, we moved ourselves.  Sold our house in Daytona Beach, and purchased two beautiful homes in Melbourne.

                          

With everyone settled, we needed to focus on the 2015 race season.  We took on new comer Shea Holbrook from Orlando, FL.  Holbrook was a road racer that wanted to change things up a bit.  January was filled with licensing runs at Palm Beach International Raceway.  With the line up set for the 2015 season, the only thing that was left was to get the teams ready to hit the road.

Here is the line up for the 2015 season!!!
Elaine Larsen - Driver     Paige Sanchez - Crew Chief     Miller Welding
Marisha Falk - Driver      Mike Mathes - Crew Chief       Applied Racing Components
Kat Moller - Driver          Andrew Larsen - Crew Chief   Matrix System
Shea Holbrook - Driver    Jake Elliot - Crew Chief           Florida Institute of Technology

Tucson, AZ was our first stop.  All of the teams did an amazing job just getting back in the groove.  I ended up again Kat in the finals and the Miller team took home our first win of the season.

Next up Baton Rouge, LA, again it was Kat and I in the final although this time, Kat got the Iron Man!

We headed home to FL for the next couple of races.  Bradenton, FL and this time it was Shea and I in the final.  Second win of the season for the Miller team.

Just one weekend later we were in West Palm Beach and it was time for Marisha and I to battle in the final.  I jumped the gun with a red light and Marisha took her first win of the season.

I am so proud of all of the teams.  We are all running strong, Paige and I have the points lead for now, but I can tell this is going to be a very fun season.  We have a small break before we hit the road for the summer.  Perfect timing, our new shop is ready to move in!!!  The the PODS lined up out front, we are going to start the process of getting set back up to start doing what we love best....building!!!

In between racing, I had the opportunity to fly back out to Arizona to speak at the 50 anniversary of Cochise College.  A good friend, Belinda took me up for a flight to show me around.  Chris is the pilot of the family......for now!!!!  

We had a visitor at the shop.  I think we will name him CHOMP!!!  Don't worry, I will keep Nitro far away from CHOMP!!  I don't think he will taste like chicken!!!!

Thanks so much to all of you that continue to support all of the Larsen Motorsports teams.  We have big plans for the new facility in Palm Bay, new dragsters, new funny cars and we just licensed another new driver.  Keeping busy is never a problem for us.  Keep checking back and don't forget to follow all of the teams on Facebook and Twitter.  We will see you at the races.

luv ya,
e

Taking home the championship!!!

Hey Everyone,

We are just getting back from completing our first full season with the IHRA Nitro Jam!!  Things started out a little ruff in the beginning, but once we found our footing, all of the hard work really paid off.  This was the biggest season for Larsen Motorsports.  Not only did we expand to a 4 car team, we took on the task of traveling to the 12 Nitro Jam shows that cover North America.  Every mile we traveled, every pass down the track has made Larsen Motorsports closer, stronger, and more focused than ever.


We finished up the season in Memphis, TN.  We started the weekend doing press and PR.  The schedule for the weekend was first a morning TV show, then to set up 3 of the rigs at the track and finally on the Beale Street where we would light up the streets firing up the Miller Jet Dragster.  It always is a good time to expose new people to the sport of drag racing.  We had a great time and I don't think Beale Street will ever be the same!!!  I left my mark!!!



Finally, what we have been waiting for, the World Championship at Memphis International Raceway!!!  The teams are ready, the rigs are set up, now we look to mother nature to behave for us to get our runs in.  Friday looked good, and we were able to get one pass done.  I was lucky to get #1 qualifier for the evening.  Race day and the skies are cloudy and full of rain.  The IHRA tires their best, but Mother Nature came out the winner for Saturday.  So now we have to look at the points and see where we stacked up.  At the end of the day, the Miller team wasn't always the fastest or the quickest, but we proved consistency pays off.

Now it is time for the banquet.  I have to say that 11 years ago, Chris and I never imagined we would be at this point.  We both are farm kids from Michigan that had a dream.  Our dream is to love what we do and hopefully leave the racing world a better place after we are done.  Chris is amazing at this.  Just his passion for the sport and the wiliness to teach these young kids the important "hands on" skills that so many kids never get the chance to learn makes me so proud of what our company has become.

So my team, Miller Welding Jet Dragster, took home the championship.  It was such an honor to stand on the stage with my son and husband and hold that trophy.  It meant so much to us and we can't thank the IHRA enough for what they have done for our category of Jet Racing.


No time to rest, we headed home in order to load into the Daytona Speedway to work Biketoberfest. We also came home to announce that we had separated with long time sponsor Embry-Riddle.  We have been with ERAU for over 10 years and all of the kids we have worked with has forever changed Chris and myself.  We have decided to go in a different direction and we are very excited to keep promoting the development of new drivers and crew in the Motorsports industry.  There will be many more press releases to come!!!


Finally, I have to
address something that has been weighing heavy on my mind.  I totally understand that everyone doesn't have to like me and our teams.  That is what is so great about our country, we do have the freedom of speech!!  But it has been brought to my attention, that Chris and my morals have been brought to question  our true reason for this development program.  I can only let our actions speak for who and what we stand for.  Promoting young ladies to reach for their dreams, is a huge part of who and what I am.  It isn't always easy, and trust me it sometimes would be easier to just do it ourselves, but the satisfaction that both Chris and I get from helping these kids do things that only dreams are made of is the entire reason we keep fighting the battle!!!


So on to new and exciting news!!!!  IHRA has hired a film crew to document the Nitro Jam events and the professional teams that race at
each event.  The series premier is November 6th on MAV TV!!!  We are so proud to be a part of this show and let people in our lives.  We hope you enjoy and can't wait to see you at the races!!!

luv ya,
e

Countdown to a Championship!!

Well here we are, after 11 races with the IHRA Nitro Jam, it all comes down to the last race of the series in Memphis, TN for the very first IHRA World Championship.  It has been a very exciting year for the Larsen Motorsports teams.  We have had our ups and our downs and we have defiantly learned who is cheering us on!!!  All of the teams have done such a great job at the races.  We push each and every team so hard at every race, we give 110% every time we load in to a race.  It has been an interesting year.  We had our share of growing pains adding new drivers and crew.  I think we have figured out that winning combination and can't wait for this last race to show how far we have come in 2014!!!

So the stage has been set, the team are ready.......who will take that final win light to be the very first IHRA Jet Dragster World Champion!!!!  You won't want to miss this for anything!!!  Here is a video your you to decide!!!

The Count Down is ON!!!!

See you at the races,
luv ya,
e

Western Swing Packs a Punch!!!

Hello out there, we are two races into our 2014 season and Holy Cow it is nothing like I thought it would be!!!  First for those of you that have not been following along, we have gone from a two car team to a four car team this year.  We expected some growing pains, but OUCH!!!  Tucson, AZ was our first stop.  Full of expectation, the teams hit the road.  The trip out went flawless.  Rigs were set up, press was done, now it was time for us to show the world what we were made of right??  

The stage is set the cars are loading in, drivers are nervous.  First pair out was Kat and myself.  We fire the cars up.  When I spun mine over I heard something strange, but all gauges looked good, I got the thumbs up so we started the first show.  Kat did amazing.  I knew her heart was beating so fast, but she hung right there with me.  Fire show, burner pops.  Now it is time to get down the track.  Both cars stage, Kat's car starts to slide through the beams.  We see this and both of us light the burners.  I make a nice pass for the Miller Welding Jet Dragster and when I get out of the car to look for Kat, she is not there.  I get on the radio and I heard "Kat has scrubbed the wall"  My heart sunk!!  First thoughts were for Kat and her safety, but Chris quickly assured me she was fine.  Then unfortunately, the show must go on with Dawn and Marisha in the water box, the next pair was set to go down the track.  

You would think that this is where our bad luck would end right??  WRONG!!  Dawn's car had an electrical short and shut off after the burner pops.  With only Marisha and I making it down the track what else could go wrong.....this is where it gets good.  Upon returning to the pits, and during the inspection of of my engine, we found out that my engine had been "FODed"!!  What you may ask is FOD?  Foreign Object Debris, in other words, NOT GOOD!!!  I thought what the heck just happened?  From hero to zero so quick.  But in true Larsen Motorsports fashion, we did not look at the problems, we look at the solutions.  First a team went to look at Dawn's car to determine what was the cause.  It took less than 2 minutes to address the issue and fix it.  Next on to my car, engine - needs to come out and new one put in.  No problem, we brought a spare. We would be unable to make the second pass of the night, but we would get it back together for Saturday's race.  Lastly, Kat's car.  We found that the damage was minimal, but we would not be able to completely fix it for Saturday's race.  Time to roll our sleeves up and get to work.  

Friday's second pass went well and then the work started, pulling my engine and getting the new one ready to roll.  We worked until 5 a.m. Mountain time which was 8 a.m. for us.  Went back to the hotel to shower sleep for an hour and get back to the track to keep up the fight.  At 2:00 p.m. we rolled the car out to test fire.  With fingers crossed we spun her over....waited ....waited....and she purred to life!!!!  First pass out I laid down a 5.79 at 276 mph!!!  

Dawn Perdue took home the win in Jet Dragster that weekend, but let me tell you, the entire team was the winner.  One of my favorite movies is Rocky.  A quote from the movie " It ain't about how hard you hit, it's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward, how much you can take and keep moving forward.  That's how winning is done!!"  

Our team took a hit, but we didn't even stumble!!  We kept moving forward to the next race, San Antonio, TX. There in Texas, Larsen's shined.  Did we make mistakes, sure!  Was everything perfect...NOPE, but guess what.....WE ARE BACK!!!!  

Our next race is in Bradenton, FL  Kat's home town and one of my home tracks.  It is sure to be an epic race that you will not want to miss. If you haven't ordered your First Edition Blaze comic go to AdventuresofBlaze.com today. See us at the races!!!  

luv ya,
e

2014 Here we come!!

Well I hope this finds everyone healthy and happy for 2014.  Larsen Motorsports is getting ready to explode!!  2014 is going to be a huge learning curve for not only the drivers of LMS, but the teams that make sure we get to the track and down the track safe and sound.

Getting you up to speed, in 2012 we hired Marisha Falk to pilot the Embry-Riddle jet dragster.  We also made the move to Daytona Beach to the Larsen Motorsports Research and Development Center.  For the past two years, we have been working hard to get ready for the next expansion.  In 2013 we announced the opening for two additional jet teams.  We hired two drivers and began to build their teams.  Trailers were purchased, graphics were applied and now here we are in 2014 locked loaded and ready to go.  February 8th in Orlando, FL at the Orlando Dragway we will unleash the power and rock the house.  Are you ready??  We are!! Don't be late.

Office Work

Hey, so I am trying to keep up my blog. as best as I can, it is hard when all you are doing is office work.  Not that it isn't good to get caught up, and I appreciate the extra time to get things in order, but good night this girl needs to get back racing!!!!  The Larsen Motorsports have had the month of May off and for good reason.  The month of June is going to be crazy!!!  5 weekends, 5 races, so hold on cuz things are going to get fun!!!  Make sure you stay tuned, I will do my best to keep you up to date on all of the fun we have on the road.  Please check the schedule and see if you can meet up with the Larsen Motorsports teams on the road!!  We would love to see you.  An amazing friend, Ancel Horton, said one time to me, "Do you want to watch the news, or do you want to be the news?"  We are going to go and make some news!!!  visit elainelarsen.com

luv ya,
e

Hitting the Ground Running!!!

Hello Everyone!!!  It has been brought to my attention that I have not been doing my duties on my Blog, (Paige), so I am going to fix that.  Larsen Motorsports intern Paige Sanchez is going to help me make my Blog prettier, and I am going to do my job by actually writing.  So here goes.

Racing
2012 was a good year, we learned a lot running two cars, some good, some bad.  It was a lot more work than we originally thought.  How hard could it be right??? WRONG!!!!  Just running two teams with the all of the personalities was hard, let alone handling "Larsen" when he was stressed out!!!  (all of the time).  All in all, I think we did a dang good job making our way through something totally new for us.

Interns
Now on to the interns at Larsen Motorsports Research and Development Center......now that is a mouthful!!!!  The first group started at the beginning of the racing season, so not only were we training new driver, crew, but we had this huge group of interns that always wanted to know what they could do to "help"!!!  I remember their first day thinking wow this is great, and by Friday thinking "What have we gotten ourselves into!!"  Just keeping one step ahead so that they have work is a job in itself!!!  We have definitely learned from our successes and our failures!  

New Business
On to new business, we finished the racing season and dropped off the grid for a few weeks to rest up, but no rest for us, we challenged ourselves to debut not one, but two new cars for the 2013 season.  I don't know what we were thinking, but hey sometimes no guts, no glory!!!  We started out with the Embry-Riddle jet dragster driven by Marisha Falk.  This was nerve wracking for me, as in the past I have always been the one to run the cars in, not the case.  Marisha had to learn real fast how to adapt to a new temperamental car.  She did a great job, and in no time, we had ourselves a running car!!  Now 2013 is a big year for Larsen Motorsports, we are celebrating a decade of racing jet dragsters, so in honor of this Miller Welding is sponsoring our Decade of Thrills!!!  Matrix Systems provided the paint and she sure is an eye catcher!!  Back behind the wheel, after Marisha had such an easy time, I figured, hey lightening could strike twice and maybe I could get lucky right???  RIGHT!!!  Holy Cow, all of the extra work that the teams did back at the shop sure did pay off!!  Both cars were up and running in no time.  This was the easiest time we have every had tuning in our new jet cars in 10 years!!  I can't wait to see what these cars are going to do for the 2013 season.  We are hitting the road June 1-2 for the Chevy High Performance Nationals in Commerce, GA so keep your fingers crossed.

The Future
We have a very aggressive racing season planned this year.  We are heading to new venues, racing new cars, new rigs, and oh yeah did I mention that we are hiring new drivers?  OH YEAH!!!  We announced the first of May that Larsen Motorsports is taking applications.  See article for information http://www.competitionplus.com/drag-racing/news/24822-want-to-drive-a-jet-car  
If that wasn't enough, I decided that I needed just one more thing on my plate for 2013, so with that being said say hello to BLAZE!!!  For more information on who and what BLAZE is, visit AdventuresofBlaze.com  She will make her official debut at the RPM Trade and Motorsports Expo http://rpmtradeexpo.com/ where I am being honored as a FAST Women in Motorsports.  (see nomination) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksezUNsLBuE December 4-8 and The Walt Disney World Resorts!  I think that is it for now!!  Stay tuned because you never know what Larsen Motorsports will be up to next.  Hey a girl has to Blaze her own Trail!!!


luv ya,
e

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

Failure is only a fact when you give up. Everyone gets knocked down, the question is: Will you get back up?

Well as usually it has been a little bit since I have checked in and man oh man do I have a lot to tell you. We have moved our race shop to Daytona Beach and are putting the finishing touches on the new shop. This is a dream come true for Chris and myself. We have worked so hard for the past 10 years and then some to get to this point and every morning when I pull into my parking spot, I think this is OURS!!!!

So not only it is the coolest Jet Shop, we are work with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University to start up their Research Park. I can't tell you much yet, but stay tuned because there is so much going on right now. I never dreamed that 20 years ago when I went down the dragstrip in my 75 Vega, that it would ever turn into this. But here we are and I don't even know if I can dream big enough to know where this is going to take us. So in February we are having our Grand Opening. We will also do a mini opening in December for the PRI show. If you are in the area, I will post the dates and we would love to show you what we have been working so hard on.

With moving our shop, we had to relocate as well, so we sold our house and purchased a new one not far from the shop. Nice to be close, but still able to get away. We are still unpacking and putting the finishing touches on the house. Nitro isn't quite sure what is going on, and he misses chasing the squirrels and kitty's, but he is adjusting. He loves coming to work with us everyday at the shop and has made many new friends. Andrew is adjusting as well, he is doing the Florida Virtual School this year and I am so proud of him. He does his school in the morning and then afternoons he works with Chris in the shop to earn money for a car as he will be 15 very soon. YIKES!!!!

All of that should be enough, but we are just getting started. A few weeks ago we announced the addition of a new driver Marisha Falk. Marisha is 24 and will drive the Embry-Riddle jet dragster for the 2012 season. She is an Alumni of Embry-Riddle with a degree in Aeronautical Science. We have know Marisha for over 4 years when we met up at EAA in Oshkosh, WI. She looked at the dragster and was hooked. We have been working with Marisha for that past few years and she is going to make a great addition to the Larsen Motorsports Team. Marisha's dragster is at the shop getting the final touches put on her and as soon as possible we are going to have her start making some test passes. She is so talented and dedicated, I know she will make an amazing driver. I will be driving the Miller Welding jet dragster full time and we will be racing across the country together.

Speaking of racing, we have been busy on that front as well. Larsen Motorsports has visited a lot of our favorite tracks so far in 2011. Everything was going well until we hit the World Series of Drag Racing in Cordova, IL Friday nights pass went well came back the next day to make two passes on Saturday. Unfortunately on the first pass Saturday evening we had an issue. The car sustained some damage, and I am fine, but was very sad. I have to thank everyone at Cordova for helping us that evening as well as the Miller Road Show guys. Talk about true pros!!! Never fear, my beautiful baby is back at the shop getting worked on to be better than ever.

There is never any rest. We are working hard to put the Miller dragster back in circulation as quickly as possible while finishing up the year with the Embry-Riddle jet dragster. It has been an interesting experience. You sure do realize very quickly who your friends are in times of need. Failure is only a fact when you give up. Everyone gets knocked down, the question is: Will you get back up?

Take care, be safe and we WILL see you at the races!!!
luv ya,
e

Gotta Love it!!!

After almost 10 years driving a jet dragster, it is still so much fun to be knee deep in racing. Every year I always wonder how we are going to be able to do this and keep up the pace, and sure enough, we just keep getting busier. I wouldn't have it any other way. I realize that there are a million people out there right now that would give anything to be in my position. Racing for two teams, living my dreams with my family. Pretty cool!!!

Here are some highlights since we last talked. We have officially moved to Daytona Beach. We are in our new shop full time and have just purchased our new home!!! With the help from a friends and lot of very dedicated Embry-Riddle students, things are really starting to take shape in the new shop. A lot of back breaking work and so many long hours have gone into making this place shine!!! We can't move into our house for a few more weeks, but that works out as we are on the road racing for most of the summer.

Racing has been amazing. The new 2011 Embry-Riddle jet dragster is running great. She didn't have very many bugs, I think we are getting a handle on these jet cars. The Miller jet dragster continues to shine with her large fire!!! We have put many miles on both rigs getting them from Bradenton, FL to Norwalk, OH twice and just leaving Maple Grove Raceway.

For up to date news, we will be running at 3 NHRA National events this year. We are kicking it off with the US Nationals in Indy!!! Then we go back to Maple Grove and finally we hit Firebird Raceway Park in AZ. Jets have not run at National events in over 15 years. We can't wait to show everyone a little smoke and fire!!!!

Andrew is going into the 9th grade. Scary, I remember when he was so little and the only thing he cared about was his hot wheels cars. Soon he will be driving a real car. Chris has been very busy at the shop and just made a trip out to Prescott, AZ to catch up with the Embry-Riddle students working on a jet dragster!!!

All seems to be coming together. I hope that many of you check out the website www.ElaineLarsen.com to see where we are racing next and if you want up to date info, join my facebook page.

I hope everyone has a great summer and we will see you at the races.

luv ya,
e

In Memory of a Great Friend Dick Rosberg

On May 23, 2011 a legend in drag racing passed away. Dick Rosberg, a dedicated family man, a record breaking racer and an amazing friend left us today. It is with a heavy heart for those of us who is left no longer have this amazing man that was such a charmer. We all have many memories and Dick has touched so many people in his entire life. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and for all of the friends that will miss him. Chris and I were lucky enough to have him in our life. We will miss you my friend.

Luv you,
e