The American Legion Provide A Ride Event

Yesterday was a heart touching day! There were these BIG burly bikers who took these visually impaired people on a ride! Who ever said bikers don't have a heart, didn't know these guys! I think the official count of bikes was 120 - but to the city of Newport it was only 99!!!!

Check out the video......

I met a lot of interesting people, as always! I had one lady in particular that impressed me. She was blind and she rode on the back of one of the harleys! "What a Rush" she said, she also said she wished it were a longer ride! We both laughed!

They raffled off a 2009 Harley Street Glide....I wish I would have won it! I miss my bike! The person who did win, wasn't even present!

I met some new people from other American Legion posts. Hopefully I'll be working with them to bring the dragster to their events! One said they work with March AFB....That would be fun! I wonder who would win in the 1/4 mile....ME or an F-16? I know the F-16 would win, but a girl can dream can't she!! I also met "Disco", he's from the Harley shop in Fullerton...might be doing a show with them! And of course, I can't thank the following people ENOUGH: Dar and Bear, Glenn, Bruce, The Martins, The Ellings, Kendall, Dennis, OMG I can't list'em all! I'm gonna run out of space! But especially to everyone that supported the event THANK YOU!

Well, I'm out of here! Stay safe, and I'll see you at the races or the next show...whichever comes first!

Here are a few more pics from the event:

Elk's Club Chili Cook off and Car show

WHAT A BLAST!!! A special thanks goes out to K&N for loaning me one of their EZ UPS...mine kinda bit the dust! But, the chili cook-off/car show was sooo much fun, we met so many great people. Our day started at 5 a.m. We left the house around 6 and picked up the trailer and car then headed to the Elk's club in Huntington Beach. Of course we turned a lot of heads as we pulled in, kinda hard not to when you have a dodge dually (nicknamed cement truck because of its sound) and a 48' monster trailer! We park and pull the dragster and ATV out. We hook up the dragster to the ATV and pull it to the driveway of the club. That was as far as we got!!! We high-sided the dragster! Well, it's easy to do when you only sit 3" off the ground. So, after finding some muscle, we got over the hump and into our "show" spot. Thank you guys for the muscle power...you know who you are!

So, back to the trailer for the chairs, table, banner, ez-up, flags, and tape...then back to the "show" spot. Then set it all up....Then BREATHE, for only a second!!! Then remember that I left my flyers in the truck....AAAGGGGHHHH. But we got it all together and it looked great!

On to the chili.....I want to say that there were about 15-20 chili competitors. I only had the time to taste 3. The first was HOT, the 2nd was salty, but the 3rd was perfect! Just enough heat for flavor and not overloaded on spice. I don't know if that was the one that won, but it hopefully atleast placed!

Some of the people I have to mention, I can't even begin to tell you the size of their hearts!

First, Scott and Helen Martin, they are part of the Elk's club and just wonderful people. Mr. "Ughlee", wonderful man, without him and Dennis and Allene Macklin....I wouldn't have even been at that show! Then there's Russ and Judy Barnes. They were competitors in the chili cook off and their tent was just down from me. They told me about this certain foundation - Snowball Express. This organization helps children of fallen soldiers. If you get the chance, check out the website: http://www.snowballexpress.org/

Well, to finish up, I hope everyone that visited me and the dragster got a kick out of it. I know some of the people who sat in the dragster ended up looking like kids in a candy store! That's what it's all about! : )

DON'T FORGET - Saturday August 29th, 2009 American Legion Post #291. This is the "Provide A Ride" event and they will be raffling off a 2009 Harley Street Glide...$10 a ticket!!!

Come get some!!!!

All right...that's enough from me for now.....

Take Care, be safe, and I'll see you at the races!

Pictures through a link from Surffest '09!!

Hey Everybody.....
Check out the link....http://rtphoto.albumpost.com/SAL291_SURFFEST09
There are quite a few great pictures of Woody's and Vette's and a dragster! : )
If you're interested in purchasing any picture, the proceed's are going to be donated to the American Legion Post #291 to help the trooops!!!!
Take care and I'll see you at the next show on August 22nd at the Huntington Beach Elks Club @ 7711 Talbert Ave......9 a.m. til ???

Weekend at Fontana

Well, it started out to be a great weekend. Glenn and I picked up the trailer and car from the storage facility and headed out to Fontana on Friday. We made it just in time to get in the gate and get parked in the pits. Even though as we pulled through the main gate and took the first right turn to head to the pits, Glenn cut the turn to short and he hit the curb and blew one of the tires on the trailer. LOL! Anyway, we dropped the trailer and headed out for some dinner. Glenn and I usually try to stick to local restaurants (not the chain stores), but we thought maybe we'd give Red Lobster a try (mistake)! Now, I'm not knocking chain restaurants, but it's just my personal thought that all they are is cookie cutters who take money away from "mom and pop"!
But we won't get into all of that! So, we start out with the steamed clams, well, whoever the chef was must have put vinegar in the mix! It was soooo bad, I couldn't even get one down. So, back they went. Glenn ordered the 2 item combo steak and salmon. The salmon was really good, the steak well, shoe leather. I ordered the shrimp trio, it was okay, but I have definitely had better!
Well, enough about that adventure!
We made it back to the trailer, saw some of our racing friends and called it a night.
Saturday morning we were up at 6 a.m. and excited to start the day of racing! We pulled out the car and got her all cleaned up, filled up, and aired up. Then we wait! and wait and wait! We started wondering why no one was going down the track. So Glenn and Rob take off on the scooter to find out what's up. Come to find out, one of our racing friends was in an accident in the pits. At that point we had no idea how bad it really was. Come to find out that he was working on his car and didn't put it up on jackstands. Well, the throttle stuck and he lost control of the dragster, while in the pits. It is estimated that he went about 300 feet at about 100 mph and crashed into the side of a trailer. He lost his life. Accidents can happen sooo fast with these machines, I just hope that all of us racers learn from this. There are reasons why there are safety rules in place! We didn't race Saturday, but I do have to say, I lost a little respect in the human race that day too! We gathered in the stands for the official announcement, and we were given the option of to race or not to race. The decision was actually split! There were people more worried about "points" than someone who just lost their life!
Enough on that subject....please check out this video....it's dedicated to Ronnie Marcum.....
http://www.postyourmusic.com/myvideos/video/1086/California-Speedway

Sunday, we raced! It was a hot day! We had 2 time trials. Then a drivers meeting. Then into 1st round. I went up against Megan Mckernan. I hate racing other girls!!! There's not that many of us as it is!! She had me on the tree, but I took the stripe and won. Then 2nd round came up and I had a door car! YUK!!! Those are not fun to race. So, we do the burn outs and stage the cars............ White, White, Yellow........RED!!!!!! .392 DDDDDUUUUUCCCCCKKKKK!
Oh I yelled all the way down the track! Then to top it off, what do I run for ET.....8.907 on a 8.90 index!!!!! Never fails! What light did my opponent have? .450!!! Oh well, just not my time to win yet!
So, back to the pit, packed up the car, said goodbye to our friends, took the trailer back to the storage yard and made it home safe and sound back to Brodie Jae! He stayed with Grandma! Spoiled rotten dog!
Well, I'm signing off for now....Don't forget August 22nd come see me at the Huntington Beach, CA Elks Club...7711 Talbert.....9 a.m. until ??
Take care, stay safe, and I'll see you at the races!!!!

Going into business

I must be crazy? Well, I already knew that! Yes you read the headline correctly, I'm turning Drag Race Girl into Drag Race Girl, LLC! I'm going to hopefully make some money with my passion! I figure I don't have anything to loose, I'm already unemployed (along with 13 million other Americans), my house (well it's too hard to go there), so....I might as well do it!
Basically I will be a marketing machine for local businesses and the money I make off of that, will go to racing (of course), but I will also turn it into more trips to see the troops and kids. In between all of that, I will be donating time and money to local charities like the American Legion and The Elks Club and even the ICS (international chili society). I will probably come up with t-shirts and the like to make even more, it all helps!
Well, that's it for the update for now.....
Take care and I'll see you at the races!

SoCal SuperComp Racing this Weekend at Fontana

Howdy Everybody!

Just wanted to put in a quick note to let you know that Glenn and I will be at Fontana, CA racing the Socal Supercomp Association. It's a small venue, but that makes it really nice when you want to hang out with a group of people. We will see our racing family and do some camping with a little racing in between! Come out and join us if you can....Just look for my car, you can't miss it! So, we will see YOU at the races!!!!

As always.....Stay safe!

3rd Annual Chili Cookoff & Classic Car Show

Just got the news this morning that we will be showing the car at the Huntington Beach, Ca Elks club on August 22, 2009 from 9-????!!!!! We are asking for a $5.00 donation from everyone who would like the opportunity to sit in a dragster. All proceeds will be donated to "Life Rolls On" & The Elks Club!
Any questions, contact me on my Facebook page!! www.facebook.com/drgracegrl

Take care, stay safe and I'll see you at the show!!!!

Just a Reminder

1. August 29, 2009 American Legion Post #291 in Balboa Island, CA
I will be showing the car for the Provide a Ride event.
Please be there!

2. If you would like to see the shows we have already done, just check under the blog archive.
It's full of great stories.

3. I have a show lined up for May, 2010 at the California State Chili Championship in San Bernadino. As time gets closer, I will be reminding you all.

4. Check out my facebook page to keep in contact with me! www.facebook.com/drgracegrl

5. If you know of any businesses that would be interested in my dragster services, please tell them about me! The more I make, the more I can go to schools, and military bases and bring lots of SMILES!!!!!

As always, take care and I'll see you at the races!!!!

No Sonoma...... : (

Well, to all my friends and family, we didn't make it to Sonoma this weekend. Glenn has been really sick since last Friday! So I got a double header of movies instead...lol!!!
The first show was Harry Potter..the half blood prince, in which I saw with a couple of my friends. Then when I returned home, Glenn was feeling a little better and wanted to get out of the house, so, we went to see Public Enemies. I loved Harry Potter, of course! Public Enemies, in my opinion, was too long and too many close-ups of Johnny Depps pores! Also, too much shoot'em up for me too. But, some people like that kind of stuff.
On to another subject real quick.... Parallel parking! Is it really that difficult? As I sit in my trusty little window chair, I'm watching this one guy who after turning around in the middle of the road and blocked traffic, tried twice to park behind my car - there was enough room for him - then he pulls out, goes down the street turns around again and parallel parks across the street and it took him about 4 times to get it straight in the spot. He doesn't have a big SUV or even a big car, it's a Nissan 4 door Sentra (I think). Amazing!
So, today I'm just taking it easy and filling you all in the best I can. Not much on the agenda today.......
Keep your fingers crossed that we will make it to Sonoma next weekend for the Divisional race.
Well, as always, stay safe and I'll see you at the races!!!

Surffest '09

Well, another GREAT show has come and gone! The day started at 5:00 a.m., for those of you who know me KNOWS that I am not too much of a morning person...lol!!! But I got up had some Coca-Cola and got a move on!! Glenn threw out his back and had a cold, but he was a trooper and got up and helped me out. We went to the storage yard and picked up the trailer. We made it to the American Legion around 7:30. We blocked the main street with our 48' trailer, unloaded the car and pushed her to the place where she would be shown. I left with Glenn and dropped the trailer back off at the storage yard, then brought Glenn home and left him back in bed to get better.
I was back at the Legion by 9:00 and already tired!!! Luckily, the voluteers there set up my little EZ UP for me, boy they were a God send! So, I started getting the dragster all cleaned up and getting myself together to meet the masses. And there were definitely some masses!
I met so many great people, as I usually do, at this show. I even met some "Southern Boy" Marines. One was from Kentucky and I think the other was from Tennessee! Boy if I got that wrong - I'm in trouble!!! I met this one gentleman who is a videographer and has a website that is pretty cool: www.postyourmusic.com there is a picture on the web site of him sitting in my dragster! The rest of the show was comprised of a chili cook off and a Woody car show.
I had one lady(who owned a woody) come up and and ask where the wood was on the dragster! I told her it flew off when I went down the track last time....she was laughing!!
The most attention I got was when I started the car up! That was the fun part!!!! It stopped everyone in their tracks - I think I scared a couple of people too! I warmed the dragster up a little then I would RAP the motor up to about 3500 RPM so it would vibrate the people standing around me. The Smiles I saw after that were wonderful! That's what makes what Glenn and I do GREAT! Well, the show went on till 10 p.m. and I was one tired Drag Race Girl!
Thank you sooo much to the American Legion Post #291 for inviting me and thank you to all the people who donated money to have your pics taken in the car!
Well, as always, STAY SAFE and I will see you at the races!!! Remember to check back regularly to see the pictures that will be posted!

Happening things.....

Well, I have a new penpal(email pal), her name is Riley and she is going into the 7th grade.
She was at Pearblossom elementary where we showed the dragster. The 6th grade class sent me thank you notes and Riley was the only one who sent me her e-mail address and requested that we become penpals. So, I obliged. Hopefully we will have a long friendship.

Onto other items....
Saturday July 18th American Legion Surffest '09!!!!! Be there or you really are a bbbbaaaadddd person! As you know, Glenn and I will be showing the car and also, letting people sit in the car and have their pics taken for $1 each. All proceeds will be donated to the AL post #291!!!!!

Then the following weekend, we will be heading to Sonoma, CA! It's RACE time again!!!
YEAH!!! I love the smell of VHT in the morning. I'm looking forward to seeing all our friends and going down the track! Not to mention, a big bread bowl of clam chowder!!! OOOOHHH man, to the Wharf I come - Ghiradelli's is a girls dream! Nothing like a huge caramel and chocolate sunday to make your day!

Other than that -
We will be back in Sonoma the following weekend as well. Sooooooo
stay tuned and I will have pictures and tells from the road. Maybe we'll even find a new place to go while we are up there.
Take care, and I'll see ya at the races! : )

Short Update

Not much going on in the racing seen yet for us. We are getting a sponsorship from Miller-Leaman. You can check out there website at: www.millerleaman.com. They are based out of Daytona Beach, Fla.
I worked with the girls and guys doing Surffest 09 on a banner that we are going to hang by the dragster stating that for $1 you can have your picture taken in the car and all money will be donated to the American Legion to help support our troops!
Our next race will be July 23rd - 26th in Sonoma, CA. And we will be there the following weekend for a divisional race as well.
Then, I think, we are going to be headed to Seattle, WA to see my sister, brother-n-law, and my nephew and niece! I am soooo excited about that one!
Well, that's all for now......Take care and I'll see ya at the races

Surf Fest Show!

As of yesterday, it is official! We picked up another showing of the car!!! YEAH!!!!
It will be at the American Legion Post#291 on Balboa Island. It starts at 12 p.m. on July 18th and doesn't end until 10 p.m. that nite! It's gonna be a loooonnnnggg day. But it's going to be a lot of fun!
There's going to be a Woody car show and a chili cook-off, as well as, a couple of live bands.
Glenn says he wants to enter the chili cook off - he'd probably win if he did it!!!
I will post more as it happens.....
As always, stay safe and I'll see you at the races!!!!

I'm almost Famous!! : )

I just received an e-mail today from a couple of on-line drag racing magazines. They are going to publish my story on the "Oklahoma Show"!
The web sites are:
www.dragstory.com
www.rpm-mag.com

Please add these to your FAV's! Who knows, maybe I'll become a regular contributor.
For those of you just tuning into the drgracegrl blog, check under May 09 then click on the "Diamond Support Show". Glenn and I took the dragster, which is all decked out in camo and the American Flag, to Ft. Sill, OK and did a "support" show for my brother-in-laws unit. What a blast. I'm in the works to go to Camp Pendleton, and I'm doing a show at the American Legion post #291. I will keep you all informed.
Take Care.....I'll see you at the races!!!!

Brodie is 1 year old!

Brodie had his 1 year bday this week. I made him some butter cupcakes (no icing) and some vanilla ice cream. He went to Petco and got a very needed grooming, and Noel (his groomer) gave him a bag of goodies and a ribbon for his collar. As you can see in the picture, he had fun with that too! Of course it didn't end there! He got a new Kong with peanut butter filling and a big bag of goodies. His CA grandma got him a puppy lollypop. And he played all day.

On another note, next week I am going to be working with Dar, from the Amer. Legion, on her event "Provide a Ride". I will also be contacting some people at Camp Pendleton to see if we can bring the race car down there to show the troops. I hope it goes well. Keep your fingers crossed!

AS Always, stay safe, take care, and I'll see you at the races!

Pearblossom Elementary School K-6

My day started at 5:30 this morning. And anyone who knows me, knows that I am not too much of an early bird! But none the less, the kids were calling!!!! We left the house at 6:30 a.m and headed over to El Toro to pick up the car and trailer. We hooked up to the truck and made sure everything was secure and then we hit the road. We didn't have to be at the school until 10 a.m. so we had plenty of time (so we thought)! 405 to the 55 to the 91 to the 15 then to the 138 to Pearblossom.....NOT!!!! We did great until we hit the 15. Then a huge sign, you know the ones that hang overhead and tell of impending danger, overhead read "15N closed at the 215". Just the way we were headed! Come to find out that there was a huge wreck due to the fog. We're talking 20 cars, couple of motorcycles, and a big rig full of deisel. Wow, that sounds like a Hollywood movie.


Well, it was detour time, so we jumped on the 210 through LA. It wasn't as bad as we thought it was going to be. Traffic was lite and we actually made it to the school by 10:30 a.m. Not to bad considering!
We had enough time to get the car out and cleaned up then the kids started showing up.
I was suppose to be showing the car to the 6th grade class of Mrs. Jeannie Kirby! She told me there were only 60 students in her class so I made goody bags for "her" class . Boy did she get me! 360 students later.......I'm surprised I have a voice left! It was so much fun though. Glenn said I was in my element. I was asking questions, answering questions (some of them quite hilarious), and just having a ball with the kids! Of course, Jeannie was telling the kids that I was a "World Famous" Drag Racer and that Glenn and his dad (they sat in the background) were my "bodyguards". After all the kids from the school came out and visited with me and the car, I went into Jeannie's class with the goody bags. The kid's loved it all. I'm glad I had the opportunity to share my passion, and hopefully some good messages with them all. We spent about 3 hours at the school in total and it was worth it! The smiles on the faces will always stay in my memory!
Take care and I will see you at the races!!!!!!

Fontana and the Socal SuperComp Assoc

We were at Fontana this past weekend to see all of our friends and do some racing. Or, as Glenn calls it "Camping with a little racing in between".
Saturday, not so good on the racing scene, but great on the friends and camping part! Rob and Rosemary Flory, who are our very good friends, were out there with their daughter, Stephanie, and her best friend (nickname) Bubbles.
During the qualifying runs we just couldn't get our stuff together! So, I lost 1st round - BLAH!!!!
Saturday night we had tacos, burrito's, and homemade ice cream!
After a good nite's sleep, we got up and started with a new attitude! Made our one qualifying run and then waited for first round. I had Mandy Quigley and the right lane. It was a very good race and I got the win light.
Then we waited for 2nd round. We found out that I had to go up against Rob! Yep, our bestest racing buddy ever! So, he took the right lane and I took the left. I think Rob had a .423 lite to my .407 lite (WHEW) he went 8.897 and I was 8.906 IT WAS CLOSE!!!! I got the win lite again.
Then 3rd round came up and I was paired with Val Jr. We staged the cars and I blinked!!!!!
GGGGRRRRR.....yep, I was way late on the lite!!! Val got the win lite!
One of these days I'm gonna win! I just know it!
ONTO other news, Glenn and I are taking the car to the Elementary School tomorrow to show about 60 kids. With Rosemary's, Steph's and Bubbles help, we put together some goody bags for the kids. It's going to be a fun time! I can't wait.
Well, That's all for now. Take Care and I'll see you at the races!!!!!!!!

We are home for a day!

Wow, how wonderful it feels to be back in Corona Del Mar after 3 weeks on the road!!!! The trip was wonderful! The people we met, the smiles we saw, our family we hung out with, and all the beautiful sites this country has to offer was awsome. We only had 2 pains, one in New Mexico and one in Kingman, AZ. In NM, they pulled us over for not going through the scales. Well, we aren't commercial, we are private. Then, the cop tried to tell us that everything in the trailer had to be registered, Glenn looked at him like he was crazy! Glenn told him that if we took the dragster to the dmv to register it they would kick us out on our butts! Needless to say, the cop didn't have a foot to stand on so he let us go with a "Warning". And in Kingman, OMG! The hotel we stayed at SUCKED!!!! Home of the sticky carpets! I'm not sure, but I think we rented a room from Osama Bin Laden. We could have stayed at the truck stop and got better sleep. It was just off Andy Devine Blvd in Kingman, I think it was a travelodge. (I'm trying to put the name out of my memory) Anyway, that's enough about that!
Now tomorrow, we will be headed out to Fontana, CA for our Southern California Super Comp Assoc. race this weekend. I think Glenn is going to race one day and I will race the other. We can't wait to see everyone! Rob and Rosemary, Jack and Jeff Derencin, The Fischle's, The Madrid's, and the whole association! Maybe.....I'll come home with a s/c association win!

As I'm writing this blog I looked out my window and Kenny Bernstein is taking a rest on my lawn. I'm thinking the flying all the way back from Topeka must have been hard on his arms! LOL(I know...old joke!) For those of you who don't know, he and Cheryl (his wife) live about 4 houses down from us. It's great to be back home!
Take care and I'll see you at the races!!!!!

Practicing my Wally Pose

Well, the little devil eluded me again this weekend! All the way to Heartland Park I was practicing my Wally pose!! You know the one where you pretend to hold it over your head with a big smile and a thumbs up....Yeah, Glenn thought I was losing it too! During time trials on Friday I was in the zone!!! I had a .410 light in the left lane and a .411 light in the right lane, the car was a little slow on the first pass, then Glenn had her dialed with an 8.889 on the second pass. We were very happy with that! Saturday at about 5:oo was 1st round! I had a .407 to my opponents .415 and we both ran 8.906 at the finish. My win light came on!!! WWWOOOO that's a great feeling! Then about an hour later was 2nd round. I had a .415 to my opponent's .420, he went 8.918 to my losing 8.924....my win light didn't come on!!! YUK, that's NOT a good feeling! I got the time slip and I looked ( I shouldn't have!), I lost by 16 ten thousandths of a second! No biggy! I'll keep practing my Wally pose and one day..... He'll be mine!!!!!

On to some other fun stuff............We had quite a few people turn up for us in Topeka. Glenn's dad and stepmom, Jeannie, Glenn's cousin Doug, Glenn's long time friend Terry and his 2 sons Tom and Tim (great crew!)and Terry's friend Gil, and of course Kay and Dan.

It was a great weekend at Heartland Park. The place was packed with fans inside and outside the park. It was sooo cool to see all the tents and campers and flags and campfires. I think Topekans know how to RACE!

We'll be back next year and I am coming home with Wally!

We did receive some bad news from Kay and Dan...their oldest dog,Wyatt, had to be put to sleep this weekend. He was a german short hair and he was 13! Cool bird dog!!!!!

Before the weekend started, we went out to Glenn's cousins place and went fishing a couple of times, then went over to Glenn's 95 year old aunt's house for dinner a couple of nites. Don't let that age fool ya, she can kick all our butt's and keep on smiling about it too!

Glenn's mom just flew in today, she's going to ride back with us to California. We will end up in Fontana, California for our Socal Supercomp Association race. Can't wait to see all our friends and be back home in Cali!

Well, I'm going to sign off for now so TAKE CARE, and I'll see ya at the races!!!

Short Update.....

Hi Everyone,
Just wanted to let you know that we made it safe and sound to Topeka, KS!!! We've been visiting with Kay and Dan Brown, our friends from Nebraska, and we have been hanging out with Glenn's cousin Doug. We tech'd the car today and passed with flying colors!!!! That means we get to race tomorrow!!! Actually it's only qualifying tomorrow, but I still get to go down the track at 175 mph!!! I can't wait.
I will be posting some pics later so you can see the rv park and Hartland Park (race track).
Take care and I'll see ya at the races!!!