Introducing Halley Sparx!!!

Hey Guys, I am super excited to introduce you to Halley Sparx aka Blaze.  Okay so you are probably thinking, who is the Blaze and what does she have to do with Larsen Motorsports.  Well, Halley is my alter ego, she is only 22 years old, she is fierce, she is a strong competitior and she is fearless.   When I go to the track and get ready to go race, I put on my firesuit.  The look in the kids eyes, they wanted to know if it was my "Super Suit"   The more I thought about it, it was true.  It keeps me safe and it allows me to do my job.  Blaze was born.  It started out just going to be an activity sheet, games, word search, you know just the normal stuff.  When we started designing her, we realized that she had much more potential.  So here is Halley Sparx, aka Blaze:

Halley is 22 years old she does not come from a family of racers, in fact she really doesn't fit in with the rest of her family.  She met this guy named Max, Max is pretty cool.  He has been around racing his entire life, funny thing is he has never raced a car himself.  Max is a great builder, tuner and has everything that it takes to get a car ready for the track.  People come from all over to have Max build cars for the best of the best.  Halley ran into Max when she started hanging out at the race tracks, she started asking questions and pretty much just making a pest of herself.  She knew that the world of racing was something she wanted to learn about, but everyone in her family thought she was crazy.  Halley asked Max to teach her, she said she was willing to do ANYTHING to be able to get into racing.  Max took Halley under her wing, he taught her the mechanics of the car along with everything she would need to know to race down the track.  There was only one problem, Max said there was 3 ways for her to race a car.  1.  Born into a racing family  2.  Have enough money to buy a seat  3.  Work really hard and earn a shot.

Halley went home and got to thinking was this something that she really wanted to do?????  Heck yes, so she got to working at Max's shop.  From sweeping the floors, emptying the trash, this girl did anything to get a shot in the drivers seat.

Halley was a natural.  The first time she got behind the wheel, it was like she was home.  She was gifted and had a focus Max had never seen before.  She did well and started to win for Max.  Halley and Max was an unstoppable team and they made the decision to go pro in the Jet Dragster catagory.  Max assembled the best of the best to build Halley's car.  Heading up the team was Lia as crew chief, Annie is a wiz with Math problems, Lacy has a mega mind, Ariana heats things up for the girls and last but never least the twins, Jenny who does the graphic designs and Gema who can paint anything. The perfect STEAM team.  With Halley behind the wheel these ladies are unstoppable right?  Well that is until the meet Dylan Burns and his team.  They want to win no matter what.  Halley has to learn some new lessons and the girls have to ask for help.

Welcome to the fast paced world of Halley and her girls.  Join them in this out of this world journey.  The first comic of this journey is available for purchase at AdventuresOfBlaze.com today.  Future comics will be coming out 5 in 2017 and the adventure will continue in 2018.  Each and every comic has a free STEAM poster and lesson plan that is available for download at AdventuresOfBlaze.com  You can follow the team on their journey to be the best on facebook and instagram.

I am super excited about Halley and her team and hope you enjoy the comics as well.  Thanks for always supporting the Larsen Motorsports teams, we are excited to kicking off our racing season the the NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, FL March 17-19th.  I hope to see you at the races.

luv ya,
e

To Tell The Truth!!!

So recently my life has been a little crazy!!!  From racing jet dragsters, being the CFO and President of Larsen Motorsports, licensing new jet drivers planing the 2017 season and all of the other stuff on my plate; when ABC called and asked if I would like to be on a game show, I of course said YES!!!

So a little bit about the show first.  To Tell the Truth is a show that started back in 1956 and ran until I believe 1968.  The premise of the show is a person of notoriety and two impostors try to match wits with a panel of four celebrities.  The object of the game is to fool the celebrities. They brought this iconic show back last year (2016) on ABC!!   (I AM SO IN!!!)  Before we flew out to LA for filming, we worked for weeks on back stories, wardrobe, photos videos etc. so that we would have everything handled before we got there.

We we arrived in LA they had put us up in this beautiful hotel where all of the other contestants were staying.  We were all supposed to meet in the lobby and a car would take us to the studios.  We had signed a bunch of non disclosure paperwork before this so we were all pretty tight lipped on the ride over, but we all looked each other up and down trying to decide what each of us brought to the table.  The studio we filmed on was the American Idol set, so pretty cool!!  We went to hair and make up and got the meet the impostors!!!  This is where it gets really fun.  My impostors were a female police officer and a guy.......(we will get back to that).  It was my job during hair and make up to give them more of a back story so they could help me fool the judges.  I was sworn to tell the truth, but the impostors could have some fun!!!

After hair and make up we went on the set, it was HUGE, much larger than I thought, about 200 people could fit in the audience and there were a lot of lights!!!  It looks just like it does on TV, a very cool set!!  We did our walk through and  we back to get wardrobe.  Ours was the first segment to film, no time for nerves, lights camera action!!!  I messed my first line up!!!  Yep we had to re set and film again (glad you didn't see that)  OMG!!!!  After the butterflies went away, I had the chance to just take in what was really happening.  I was sitting on a film set in LA with celebrities talking about drag racing the sport I LOVE!!!

Before you knew it, it was over and the music played, I stood and then it was all over!!!  Talk about an adrenaline rush!!!  No time to rest, we went back to make up where the guy on the panel went under his transformation from Joshua to Rhea Lite a drag queen!!!  She would make her appearance at the end of the show.

So more about the other impostor, Ellie, she was so amazing to meet, a strong powerful female, that has taken charge of her life.  Her name is FitCopMom, if you can guess, she is totally into fitness and is just amazing.

About the others on the show, everyone was just so much fun, none of us had done anything like this before and the ride back to the hotel, I think we were a little shell shocked not believing what we had just done.

I have to thank my hubby for flying out with me, my team back at the shop who always makes me look good, the fans for tuning in, the sponsors and partners that make this all happen and last but not least To Tell the Truth!!  I was able to bring what we do to an audience that is in the millions.

So now it is time to get back to work, (okay driving jet cars is pretty cool and I don't consider it work) but all of those other things they make me do here : (    and get ready for the 2017 season!!  Thanks for always being the best part of my day!!!

See you at the races!!

luv ya,

e

Time on my Hands

Well here we are, the end of September, it is my favorite time and year and my least favorite time of year.  I love the change in the weather, cooler temps. 85 lol, but I hate that the racing season is coming to a close.  This has been a totally different year for the Larsen Motorsports teams.  The past couple of years we were running for a championship and really miss that racing family.  This year, we changed our focus and stayed closer to home working on our 6th generation of jet dragster and licensing new drivers.  It has been great to put some time in our new facility and really get into the shop work that we haven't been able to do in the past few years.  It has also given me extra time to work on projects that I have just been too busy to look at.

First on my list......Blaze!!!  She is coming back with a vengeance.  She has new stories that we can't wait to tell.  With a Relit attitude she is ready for 2017.





Next, new opportunities!!!  I met Kat Redner over a year ago, and she has been working hard at Larsen Motorsports.  Now you won't see a lot of photos and videos of her, why?  Because she has been the one behind the camera highlighting everything we do here.  Soon it is going to be her time to get in front of the camera and have her turn.  Other opportunities will be an exciting new 2017 schedule which will be coming out soon with new races and new faces.

That's it for now.  Keep checking back and don't forget to follow all me on social media, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

We will see you all at the races!
luv ya,
e

Getting Ready for the Big Go.

So here we are packed and the cars are on the way for one of the most prestigious drag races on the planet, the US Nationals. I can't tell you how excited we are to be a part of this event. Now don't get me wrong, I love the funny cars, the dragsters, the pro stocks, but the sportsman that have worked so hard and traveled so far to get to this race inspires me.

Kat Moller and I will be making passes Friday and Saturday night to close the event and we are locked, loaded, and ready to make fire!  If you are there stop by and say hi, if you can't make it follow my Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to keep up with all the racing action.

Luv ya,
e

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