Midseason Already!

This past weekend marks the middle of the racing season (not really, since we race into mid October) but most regular scheduled tracks are half done already.  Being that we don't race Sunday's anymore with the Golden Spike being closed, this year has been quite a bit less hectic.  Usually one, or both, of us are pooped out on racing by now, but it hasn't been all that bad (yet...lol!)  The worst part is getting ready to go, and finding that nothing fits me.  My bedroom floor will be clean at 3pm, but by the time the bus (aka: hauler) leaves, there's 4 pair of pants & 5 shirts lying on the floor.  I'm almost 23 weeks pregnant, and I feel like I did when I was 33 weeks pregnant.  Thankfully, 17 weeks to go, doesn't sound all that bad!  However, on the contrary, 4 months to go seems like forever! :)

Mason and I having our own race at Willmar!

Skyeler and Mason goofing off in the bunk of the hauler!

Mason and Papa Steve watching the races at Willmar.

Shane finished 2nd in the MWM, and won the Mod feature at KRA in Willmar.

Pep talk before the feature!

Waiting outside Tim's unit..No kids allowed! (Mason, the camera's this way---> )

Princeton on Friday was rained out, so we decided it was the perfect day to go visit Tim (the promoter from Brainerd, who was hurt in the accident a couple weeks ago).  I assumed by his caringbridge that visiting hours were Fridays only from 6-8pm, but I was mistaken, they are all week-days from 6-8, so any of you that know Tim and would like visit him are more than welcome.  His family says that the more and more people that come may spark parts of his memory back!

We drove in horrible storms the whole way, with Clearwater looking like the worst damage...trees all over the road, an irrigator in the field tipped over, a farmer's market building leveled to the ground, stop lights, and power out....  But anyway, we made it!  The nurse said kids under 16 weren't allowed in the unit, so DJ and I took turns in the waiting area with Mason.  We found out first hand why they aren't allowed!  People with brain injuries tend to be aggressive (and I do remember this with my sis Jenny after her accident...in fact, she still likes to pick a fight with Shane and start hitting him....lol!)  But yes, a patient and nurse got into it, then another patient tried to defend her, and all hell broke loose!  The patient was sent to his room, and all was calm again!  Tim looked exceptionally well!!  He knew who all of us were and we had a nice chat!  His sense of witty humor is still intact :) and we had some good laughs.  Occasionally his mind would wander back to this past winter when he was in Florida for the races, but I believe he is doing awesome, and we are grateful for his wonderful recovery thus far!!  God Bless Tim & his entire family! And please continue prayers for Keith Nelson who (according to his caringbridge) is still in a coma.  I believe he's been off the sedation medication for a few days, so let's hope that he responds/wakes up soon!

Pics from the airshow

We went to an undisclosed location to get a peak of the airshow for free!

On the way home, I asked Mason what he liked better, the dirt piles or the airplanes?  He answered "the rocks and dirt"  So good thing we didn't waste our money going to the actual airshow grounds!

Saturday we raced at North Central Speedway in Brainerd, where Shane won the MWM feature and DNF'd in the A-mod feature.  After leading about 13 laps, all of sudden the car died (turned out to be the coil?)...Thankfully it wasn't major, and better to happen now than at the upcoming Mod Nationals, which is already next weekend!  Since I won't post til afterwards...Happy 4th of July-Stay safe!

EDIT: I forgot that we raced a midweek show this week.  Tuesday was the 2nd round of the RACEMN series and was ran at Ogilvie Raceway.  Shane finished 6th in the MWM and 10th in the modified.

Sorry so late!

Sorry I didn't post anything last weekend (June 10-12), we didn't do a whole of racing, except for Friday.  And the rest of the weekend we drove around truck shopping.  Since Shane traded his dually for the hauler, he was in need of a pick-up for plowing in the winter, and finally we found one in Litchfield, and went to get in on Sunday.  It's nothing special, but it'll get the job done!!

This weekend was beautiful weather all weekend, and we got 4 nights of racing in! We were actually suppose to have 5, but Tuesday's special rained out.  Wednesday was a special at Brainerd, where Shane finished 2nd in the MWM, and the feature for the A-mod will be made up at a later date due a horrible accident that ended the night.  If you haven't heard, there was a bad crash that sent 3 people to the hospital via helicopters. It was so scary (and sad) to witness, and really makes you realize that this sport can be very dangerous. Thankfully we have heard awesome news from 2 of the victims, but the 3rd is still not in the clear, and may not be for some time. You can read his story by clicking here .  Please keep Keith Nelson and his family in your prayers.  Mason was drawn for junior fan for the mwm, so got a trophy and his pic with the winner (Dustin Scott).

And with Axel, of course!

Thursday was racing Willmar, where Shane won with the Midwest mod, and finished 7th with the A-mod.  Friday was Princeton, where he finished 4th with the A-mod and 17th in the Midwest mod.

The boys hanging out!

I watch Tom's son during the week, and Friday night Mason would not leave Tom's side...so I joked that I probably owe him a free week of daycare for all the trouble!

Never say you're not strong enough... With a little leverage and body weight, he got it!  Edit:  I guess it's hard to tell in the picture, but he was jacking the car up, and it took alot of muscle. So he would hang on the jack handle and put his feet on the front bumper!

Saturday was an interesting night. I just wasn't in the racing mood with the tragedy that happened at North Central Speedway in Brainerd just 3 days prior. But the track had a nice tribute for the victims at intermission, and racing went as usual. We had make-up features from a rain-out a few weeks prior, and Shane ended up winning all 4 features (the midwest mod & mod make-up, and the regular scheduled nights midwest & mod feature). Obviously this was a first for Shane, being that it is pretty rare to even have make-up features. But the night turned out to be a success, and almost unbelievable! And check your "All the Dirt" newspaper, even Mason made the cover! He was pretty excited when I showed him!

This week is racing at Ogilvie tonight (Tuesday) for the RACEMN series, then Wed. off, and back to racing on Thursday again for the weekend.  Have a great week!

Rain & Shine

 

Thursday was racing in Willmar, along with their bike giveaway!  Thankfully Mason was content with just holding the ticket in his hand.  It must have been similar to a lottery ticket....As long as you haven't checked the winning numbers, there's still a chance you could be a winner!  I checked the numbers and he did not win, but he didn't seem to really care.  Shane had an excellent night, getting the feature win in both the A-mod and the B-mod!  He tried to give his A-mod trophy to a little boy out on the front stretch, but the boy didn't take it.  Shane's sister and I sat in the stands and joked that the kid didn't like Shane.  Turns out he didn't think Shane was serious....Like why would a driver give away his trophy?! ;)  Later he, his brother, and his mom came over to the pits and were very thankful that each recieved a trophy!!

Friday, we raced at Princeton again, and finished 3rd with the A-mod and 5th with the B-mod.  After the race we camped out at Shane's cousins house, and headed to Brainerd from there.  Unfortunately it rained most of the morning & afternoon, but Mason had fun having a squirt gun fight with his cousin, Skyeler!  About the time we had to load up to leave, the sky cleared, and Mason & Ron built a fire to make some smores for dessert...although we never did make them :(

Brainerd started out sunny and beautiful, but it turned out the rain was still lingering around.  We got in all the heats, and then the rain started.  The track was forced to cancel the show, and the features will be made up next week.... Or as Mason refers to it: "Dad gets to race 6 times next time!"  Geez, that's 86 laps around North Central Speedway in one night!

We race tomorrow...already?!

Wow, today is already Wednesday, so I might have a hard time remembering results right....If you wanna check my accuracy, go to speednetdirect.com (find KRA, Princeton, & North Central) :)  I could, but I'll trust my memory for the time being!   I won't even attempt heat race finishes...

Thursday was racing at KRA Speedway in Willmar, MN where Shane won the midwest mod feature! Thankfully for us, he started outside front row, and there were no cautions...Cause the hard charging "medford monster" was coming :)  Shane finished 2nd in the A-mod after running 4th most of the race, but passed 2 guys right at the checkers.  The announcer announced Shane got 2nd, then in the tech shed, they said he was 3rd, but then he was paid for 2nd... That's how close it was! 

Friday was racing in Princeton where Shane won the midwest mod feature!  In the A-mod he was running 5th much of the time, until he flew over the edge of corner 3-4, and when he came back on the track he fell back to 9th... Which is where he finished.

Saturday we raced at North Central Speedway in Brainerd, MN where Shane won the midwest mod feature, and finished 2nd in the A-mod.  He took 2nd to Don Eischens in the 9E, who also was Thursday's winner at Willmar. 

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday.... Well, a week prior we had planned on racing Alexandria, but Shane just got new tires, and being that Alex track eats your tires like their cookies, he opted to go to Proctor instead (or so I thought).  But when I mentioned to him (20 minutes prior to the bus leaving) that his Grandpa Bill might ride with us to Proctor, he informed me that we were no longer going there, we were going to go to Rice Lake, Wisconsin instead.  There really was no reason as to why he changed his mind, but regardless, it turned out to be the wrong choice!  We drove there, unloaded, and the rain started!  We waited it out a while, but it just didn't let up, so they were forced to cancel!

Mason slipped in the mud...

Oh, and did I mention the trailer tire blew on the way there?!

On the plus side... the cars are ready to go for this coming weekend (tomorrow already)! 

Hangin out at Willmar.... And tomorrow is their "bike-mania giveaway".  They are giving away 50 kids bikes! I think I'll secretly put Mason's name in, and ignore the bike giveaway all together... hoping to avoid a repeat of Brainerd's Kids Night

Hang On!

My pics won't load right now, and I don't have time to wait!  So check back this evening or tomorrow for results on the weekend.............

Thanks!