Monday, May 17, 2010
Good Start to the Season
May 8th was supposed to be a Mini-Stock night but only Aaron and the #28 showed up so they thought we'd be spending the evening watching other people race. The owner of Elko came up with an interesting proposition. He asked the guys if they wanted to race with the 8 cylinder Power Stocks. They thought it might be fun so they decided to try it out. They both got a little pushed around but they only ended up with some scratches and donuts and had some fun. We did find out that Elko will no longer be doing the Mini-Stock division so all the Mini-Stock nights are now Super Hornet nights. This makes Aaron really happy although he would have really liked for more Mini-Stocks to show up.
May 15th was a regular night for the Super Hornets. Aaron started 5th in the heat and found the cars in the inside lane to be rather slow. He patiently made his way forward but #28 was already in the lead so this time #28 won and Aaron got 2nd. In the feature Aaron started on the outside of the front row and #12 was on the inside of him. # 28 started in the 2nd to last row. Aaron quickly got out front with #12 behind him. #28 got caught up in traffic but eventually made it to 3rd place. So, Aaron won his 2nd feature. In the pits we had #12 on our left and # 28 on our right so it was great to see our little group finish 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. :)
Friday, April 30, 2010
Ready to Race
Friday, April 23, 2010
Almost Ready to Go Racing
Farmington Steakhouse (for sponsoring Aaron another year)
Friday, October 23, 2009
Rain, 2nd, 3rd, Win, Wall, Now What?
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Lots of Ups and Downs
Only 2 weekends of racing left but both nights are double features.
Michelle
Thursday, September 10, 2009
A Quick Note
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Thankful for God's Protection
Friday, August 21st Aaron started out 9th in the heat and after only a couple laps ended up crashing into the wall. It all happened so fast I can't even explain how it happened. One second I saw Aaron going through the grass in turn 1 and then next thing I know he's hitting the wall. Apparently Aaron dove down in the grass to avoid #28 and then Aaron hit his breaks which made the grass like ice and he slung back out on the track hitting #28 and then the wall. He then bounced off the wall and hit #53 who ended up hitting #73. Aaron didn't even know he hit #53 until we talked to him at the end of the night. So, we kind of got the story all pieced together from fellow racers and spectators.
Aaron did take a ride in the ambulance and they brought him to our pit and checked him out. He jammed his heel and thumb and has a few bumps and bruises but thanks to God, Aaron is doing pretty good.
We have another racecar that we were saving for 2010 but it's a possibility it could be ready this weekend. However, we need to sell some parts off the CRX or something in order to continue racing this season.
My Dad did chain the CRX to a tree Sunday afternoon and used his skidloader to straighten out the front end. It is much straighter and it's a possibility that with hours at the framerack that the CRX could be fixed but everything is pushed back a few inches and the frame is really bent up.
Since God is the giver of wisdom, we have been praying for wisdom and will continue to pray. We really don't know what God wants us to do at this point. If Aaron doesn't race, we do plan on being in the pits this Saturday night helping others and giving out candy, toys and literature at the end of the night. We did have several people in our pits at the end of the night last Friday night. People love to see the cars that get trophies and even more so they seem to like to see the crashed cars too.
Our Pastor and his wife were at the races that night. Too bad they had to see Aaron crash but we are glad they, as well as other friends and family, came out to support us.
Michelle
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Rain Shortened Our Night
The feature was supposed to start in basically the same order as the heat and I wasn't looking forward to a repeat of that race. The rain started coming down right before intermission and they ended up calling it quits for the night. I'm sure some were happy to see the rain come and some were disappointed. This was the last night before the Race For The Chase begins. Now, only the top 12 drivers in each division are eligible to win the championship. Also, all points are brought closer together so anyone in the top 12 could win depending on how the rest of the season goes. So, 1st place has 4500 points, 2nd place has 4490 points, 3rd place (ie Aaron) has 4480 points and so on.
Michelle
Thursday, August 13, 2009
The Past Couple of Weeks Have Been Very Exciting!
Friday, July 31, 2009: Aaron raced the Super Hornets division and the Mini-Stocks at Elko. We had a really great night! It started out with him getting 1st in the Super Hornet heat and 4th in the Mini-Stock heat. He then got 2nd in the Super Hornet feature and WON the Mini-Stock feature. We had alot of friends and family at the races that night so they all came down to victory lane to congratulate Aaron and to be in our victory lane picture.
The rain came down at the start of the Super Late Model feature so unfortunately we didn't have anyone down in our pits at the end of the night. I had already left since I had to get up at 3:30am.
Saturday, August 8, 2009: CLEAN SWEEP! Aaron started outside pole for the heat and ended up winning the race. For the feature, he started in 6th place and quickly got out front to get his 3rd Super Hornet feature win of the year. I had very little sleep so I headed home while Aaron and our friend Josh handed out candy, toys and literature. There were a lot of kids there that night and Aaron and Josh had fun letting them sit in the racecar.
Michelle
Friday, July 24, 2009
Quick Update
July 18th: Aaron was leading the heat most of the race until the unbeatable #22 passed him so Aaron finished in 2nd. For the feature, Aaron was stuck behind #37 and #53 who battled for second almost the whole race. Aaron made a couple of peaks inside, outside and in the middle but backed off knowing that making it 3 wide might not be a good idea. He finished fourth in the feature.
ALS update: That morning, my Mom, Brittney and I walked the 5K for ALS. The weather was perfect as we walked through the neighborhoods and town of Elko and then finished the last stretch around the racetrack. We raised $450 as a team. Thanks to all those that supported us by giving to "A Race Worth Winning".
July 22nd: Dirt Nationals! It was really exciting to see dirt on Elko's asphalt track and to share the pits with Modifieds and Sprint cars. However, the way the CRX is set up now, it wasn't super fast in dirt. Aaron finished 11th in the heat and 9th in the feature. There were a few Super Hornet cars that showed up from local dirt tracks that dominated in the heat but it was exciting to see our Elko guys finish 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the feature! We are very thankful that the car is still in one piece.
Michelle
Friday, July 10, 2009
What an Exciting Week!
Friday, July 3rd - Elko started a new 7 race series for the Raceway Mini-Stocks. Originally Elko said we couldn't race both divisions so we had been praying for wisdom whether to continue racing Super Hornets or just race the Mini-Stocks. Aaron had decided to just race Mini-Stocks but at 3:30 while we waiting to get into the track, we got a phone call saying that we could race both. We unloaded the racecar and Aaron quickly drove the truck home to get our Super Hornet tires. Elko set it up so we had just enough time in between divisions to change all 4 tires and change out the air filter/cold air intake as each division has different rules. Aaron practiced using the Mini-Stock tires, we then changed tires and set up the car for Super Hornets. Aaron started 1st in the heat and he took off and won the race. We then changed tires and set up the car for Mini-Stocks. The Mini-Stocks race on the inside track for turns 1 and 2 and the car wouldn't turn very well so Aaron started out 8th in the heat, quickly went to the back and then started getting the hang of it and ended up 7th. We then changed tires and set up the car for the Super Hornets. Aaron started 3rd in the feature and was making his way to the front when another car got into him and I remember thinking "We're done for the weekend" as he headed toward the wall but we thank God that Aaron was able to pull out of it and although he got sent to the back he ended up 5th. We then changed tires and set up the car for the Mini-Stock feature where he started out 1st. We had to make some big changes to the tire pressure because we needed the car to turn especially with Aaron starting out front. Two of the faster cars ended up passing him and we were really thankful for a 3rd place finish! We were then able to go up into the stands to watch a few races and ended the night with fireworks. The Assistant Pastor, his wife, their 3 children and 2 of their nieces came out to watch Aaron race. There was also another couple from church that came out. My parents were also there. It was a very exciting night. We ended up handing out a lot of candy, toys and literature. We ended up giving one lady a small bag full of our stuff so she could share it with her nephews.
Saturday, July 4th - Aaron raced a 100-lap Enduro race at Raceway Park. These races usually scare me as I watch Aaron squeeze through lots of other cars. Around lap 40, Aaron shifted and the car ended up jumping up on the back fender of another car but he bounced right back out. I jumped up and got up to the fence to see if he had any damage. The right front fender was sticking out but it looked like he was fine. At lap 50 there was a 10-minute mandatory pit stop in which we usually just get lined up back on the track. However, I told him to go to our pits. As I was running to our pitslab, a fellow racer from Elko went flying past me and beat me to our pits. He asked for some duck tape and he used that and a sledge hammer to get the fender away from the tire and bent back in. I scanned the tires and they all looked amazingly good. So, Aaron went back out on the track and finished the Enduro in 9th place (unofficially). We watched the rest of the races and some more great fireworks. We handed out more candy, toys and literature and hung out for a little while. My Mom was there and so was a couple that used to go to our church as well as there son.
Wednesday, July 8th - Rousch-Fenway night at Elko Speedway. Jack Rousch, Greg Biffle and Erik Darnell were there for a meet and greet autograph session and Erik raced with Elko's late models. Aaron raced in the Super Hornet division. He started out 6th in the heat and ended up 4th. He started out 1st in the feature and finished 2nd after several laps side by side with #33 who ended up 3rd.
ALS Walk Update - Thanks to Jan Moen, Tom Hakala, Pam Wolfe and Denise Bowe I have already raised $275 which is 55% of my goal. I thank God for all of you!
Michelle
Monday, July 6, 2009
A Race Worth Winning’s 4th Annual Walk/Run
This is the 3rd year that I, Michelle, will be participating in this fund-raising event. My Mom and my niece will also be doing the walk with me! If you would like to make a donation, you can do it online at http://web.alsa.org/goto/Michelle58.
As I mentioned in a previous post, Dan Ryan, Sr. a former racer at Elko Speedway died of ALS this past January. He retired from racing a few years ago but still spent every weekend at the racetrack helping his sons. 2008 he was inducted into Elko Speedway’s hall of fame and he was thankful for every weekend that he was able to be at the track. Elko Speedway along with many racers, crews and fans have been making an effort to raise money and awareness to this fatal disease.
The ALS Association is the only non-profit organization fighting Lou Gehrig’s Disease on every front. By leading the way in global research, providing assistance for people with ALS through a nationwide network of chapters, coordinating multidisciplinary care through certified clinical care centers, and fostering government partnerships, The Association builds hope and enhances quality of life while aggressively searching for new treatments and a cure.I am asking you to help by supporting my fund-raising efforts with a donation. Your tax-deductible gift will make a difference in the lives of many!
Any amount, great or small, helps in the fight. We greatly appreciate your support and will keep you posted on our progress.
Thank you!
Michelle
We Had a Great Weekend!
Michelle
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
An Apology from Aaron
So after getting under #33 and accidentally hitting him, I did not know that the flagman was waving the checkered flag. That sounds really stupid on my part, and I cannot believe that I was not aware. I have been beating myself up about it for days. And I feel really bad for opening my big mouth and hurting people that I really care about. I should of thought about the situation first then I would of realized that it was all my fault and I put myself in the wall. If nobody knows what I'm talking about yet, I was still racing after the checkered flag and I came down on #33 trying to go into turn 1 thinking that it was just another lap. Yes, I was very stupid and I am very sorry to everybody. Please forgive me. And I am asking God to help me make better decisions on and off the track but please forgive me if I make the wrong one. I am human.
Aaron
Friday, June 26, 2009
A Tough Night
Aaron started out 6th in the feature and an early incident left a few cars scrambling while Aaron avoided the mess and jumped into 2nd. #22 was in first and Aaron began to pursue him. I remember thinking that Aaron could catch up to him but they seemed to be going close to the same speed. Meanwhile #33 was caught up in the mess so he had to work his way up to Aaron and the #22 car. With just a few laps left #33 caught up to Aaron and passed him. Aaron was trying to pass the #33 and found a small opening on the inside on the last turn of the last lap. Coming out of that last turn, Aaron accidentally bumped into #33 and got him loose. Aaron let off to make sure #33 had room and he was able to straighten himself out. Aaron then went to the outside of him after the checkered flag and ended putting himself into the wall. Aaron is fine but the car is getting worked on so he won't be racing this weekend.
After the towtruck dropped Aaron and the car off at the pitslab, Aaron wanted to apologize to #33 so we asked an official to escort us down to #33's pitslab. Elko officials want us to bring them along to keep things calm. #33 wasn't at his pitslab so we went up into the grand stands to watch the rest of the races.
At the end of the night we handed out candy, toys and literature to the racefans and then went down to ask an official to escort us down to the #33's pitslab. However, when we got down there, the #33 and his wife were already down there waiting while the officials were having a discussion about the incident. After a long wait, we finally were able to talk to the race director and he said he didn't see what happened after the checkered flag but he did see Aaron get into the #33 on the last turn. He has dealt with these issues many times over the years and said the best thing to do is to wait a week and then we can all talk it out and that things like this usually work themselves out. Aaron really wanted to apologize but I guess we'll have to wait. Although Aaron didn't hit him intentionally, he knows that the godly thing to do is to apologize.
Even though Aaron won't be racing this weekend we will be at the races so Aaron can have his meeting with the officials and #33. Please pray that it goes well. It's really hard because we really like #33 and his wife. Also, please pray for wisdom. Aaron is thinking about racing a different division.
Some good news for people 62 and older: Tickets to Elko Speedway are now only $5 for regular race nights and $10 for special events (Eve of Destruction, ASA Midwest Tour, Dirt Nationals, etc).
Also, here's a neat story about Dan Ryan Sr: http://araceworthwinning.org/News/LosingALegend.htm
Friday, June 19, 2009
Why Are We Slower?
This Saturday night is cheap date night at Elko. For $30 you can have 2 tickets, 2 pops and a bucket of popcorn. Hope to see you there. It won't be cold out.
We are going back to the same set-up we had when Aaron won his two features. The CRX doesn't like the humidity but maybe it will like the old set-up.
Michelle
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Much Needed Rain Cancels Racing Tonight
Our next race is Friday, June 12th. If you want to come out, let me know and I can email you a $5 off coupon. Just let me know by adding a comment to this post. Hope to see you there!
Michelle
Friday, June 5, 2009
Wisdom and Patience
In the feature Aaron started 5th. The 1st and 2nd place car were side by side when Aaron caught up to them. When the 4th place guy caught up, there was a 3 way battle for 2nd. Jeremy ended up taking off and got quite a lead before Aaron won the battle for 2nd which is where he finished in the feature.
It's kind of funny. From my perspective, Aaron looked like he was inpatient and I thought his fellow racers would be mad at him. However, Aaron felt like he was being patient because he backed off when it seemed like it wasn't a good idea to make the pass. Also, when we were in the tech barn (for inspection) at the end of each race, the guys Aaron had a 3 way battle with in both the heat and feature said it was a lot of fun. I pray for wisdom and patience for Aaron and all his fellow racers. I guess God is giving Aaron more than I realize.
Check out a picture of Aaron racing in the feature where he caught up to the 1st and 2nd place cars. http://www.elkospeedway.com/drivers/driver-news/173-mini-stocks-to-race-at-elko-speedway-on-july-3-2009-in-20-lap-feature.html
He's also on the home page: http://www.elkospeedway.com/
He's also on Elko's facebook page. You can make comments on his pictures: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Elko-MN/Elko-Speedway/66144379561
Michelle
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Better Late Than Never, Right?
May 15-17th: We had the weekend off from Elko. Aaron ended up racing at Raceway Sunday night. We had been convicted to keep Sundays as God's day and that we wouldn't race on Sunday nights. However, Aaron really felt that God wanted Him to race and I really felt that God wanted me at church. Like usual when we have differing direction from God, we prayed that either God would change my heart or God would change Aaron's heart. Well by that Sunday morning, God hadn't changed either one of our hearts. In fact, we both really felt like we knew what God wanted. We even talked to our Pastor after church and he said there's really not a black and white answer. He directed us to some Bible verses in Romans and said that if we feel uneasy about something that we should not do it. We had a good discussion with our Pastor. We prayed with him and then went home to pray. We felt like my place was at church and Aaron felt like his place was at Raceway. Although, I never wanted to miss one of Aaron's races, I had to obey God first. We both felt we were doing what God wanted. That night, Aaron ran into the back of someone when a red flag came out to stop the race. He did some damage to the front end but went on to finish 5th in the Heat and 6th in the feature. He prayed with some of his fellow racers, handed out some tracts and gave out candy and toys to the kids. We both ended the night knowing we did what God wanted us to do.
May 22nd - 25th: During practice at Elko on Saturday, the car just quit and a tow truck had to push the car (and Aaron) back to our pit slab. We weren't able to figure out exactly what was wrong with it and we couldn't get it fixed so Aaron wasn't able to race. However, it was a beautiful day and the ASA Midwest Series was at Elko so it was a great night of racing and we were still able to hand out our new driver cards plus candy and toys. Aaron had wanted to race at Raceway Sunday night and Memorial Day but couldn't.
Aaron took the CRX to Kevin (our Honda tech guy) on Tuesday and we found out some great news. We had been thinking that the engine may need some major work and had been praying for direction on whether to fix the CRX or get our new Honda Integra up and running. Well, we found out that the distributor was busted and Kevin had a couple extras in his garage. They were brand new and he ended up giving them to us. We thank God for the talent and generosity that He has given Kevin. The CRX is ready to go for this Saturday night at Elko.
We also got 2 new sponsors since my last posting: Ace Hardware & Paint and Image Express Inc. Aaron has been doing temporary work at Image Express the last few weeks. We thank God for them and for Ace Hardware supporting us for another year!
Here's a picture of Rick and John, the President & Vice President of Image Express. (Happy Birthday Rick!)
Michelle
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Faith in God = Win #2
We had many visitors to our pits that night and I'm always amazed at Aaron's boldness. God has given him a gift that I often pray for. We have been studying the book of Acts at church and we know that boldness comes from God. Please pray for us.
Michelle
Monday, May 4, 2009
Victory Lane
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Prayer and Patience
Ministry Update: It was kind of cold out so there weren't very many fans. We probably only had 25 kids come to our pit at the end of the night. We had a few people say that they like Aaron's horn and that they were cheering for him. I think it's because the announcer brought it to everyone's attention that the "Honda was on the move". One guy even wanted his picture taken with us and the racecar. We gave him Aaron's driver card with his testimony on the back and a pen with Aaron's name on it. We are working on some new driver cards so we told him to come back to get the new one. We hope to see him at the races soon.
The Next Morning: Our Pastor is in South Africa so we had a special speaker. Dr. Greg Huffman, former president of Pillsbury Baptist Bible College, preached on Acts chapter 1. After Christ was resurrected, the apostles were instructed to wait in Jerusalem. While they waited, they all "prayed with one accord" in a group of 120 people. They prayed for 10 days. I've been working on not rushing into decisions that we are praying about. However, I again was convicted that I'm not praying enough. Not only are we having Missionary Mondays but we also want to think of other themes throughout the week so we spend more time in prayer. We need God's enlightenment and we need God to energize us and that is what the waiting time is for. Dr Huffman said "If God is not doing something for us, he's doing something in us so he can do something through us".
Missionary Monday: We prayed for Joseph & Danielle Contreras in Spain, Paul & Jo Anna Harmon in Uruguay, and Sam & Molly De in India.
Michelle
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Missionary Monday
Last night I went to a local Jewish Synagogue for Holocaust Rememberance Day. This was an amazing service honoring the survivors and remembering the 6 Million who were killed. Please pray for us as we look for more opportunities to reach out to God's chosen people and to build relationships with them in order to point them to the Messiah they are looking for.
Michelle
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Wounded
Aaron finished 5th in his heat and 4th in his feature. He got a few new boo-boos on the car during the heat. Both sides of the car and both the front and rear bumpers have some scrapes on them. During his heat, a car dropped power steering fluid on the track which made it slippery. One car got into the back end of Aaron and sent him into the wall but he bounced back and straightened it out and kept on racing until they finally called a caution to clean up the track.
Ministry Update:
We handed out candy, toys and driver cards at the end of the night. We have candy that has scripture verses on them, bouncy balls that say "Smile Jesus Loves You" and driver cards for Christian NASCAR drivers. Those driver cards plus Aaron's driver card has testimonies and scripture verses. We also have a Racing edition of the Daily Bread (a devotional). I'm guessing there were about 25 kids that came to our table. The night was cold so many went home instead of coming into the pits.
The Next Morning:
At church the next morning, we had breakfast at 7:30am and then we had a wonderful Easter service celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ! Friday night at church we had reflected on Christ being wounded beyond recognition (Isaiah 53) and dieing on the cross for our sins. So Sunday was a great celebration. If Christ wouldn't have been wounded for our sins, if Christ wouldn't have died on the cross for our transgressions then we would not have a way to be forgiven. He said He would be resurrected and He was. Praise God!
Michelle
Monday, April 6, 2009
The Unexpected
Friday, April 3, 2009
We're not wondering anymore...
Michelle
Monday, March 30, 2009
Still Wondering...
Michelle
Friday, March 27, 2009
Will it be even faster?
The first practice is tomorrow - March 28th. I'll try to update the blog every Monday or Tuesday throughout the race season. For more up to date, results you can come out and watch or look online at http://www.elkospeedway.com/.
Michelle
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
We thank God for our parents!!!
We are praising God for our parents and all they are doing for us this racing season and in the past! Aaron's parents have bought a portion of the sponsorship space and it will probably say something like "We're Outta Here!" as they plan to move to Florida this summer. My parents continue to allow us to store the car(s) and trailer at their house, get frequent visits from us as we work on the car, pick up the car, and raid the fridge. Also, both parents watch Tori when needed and bring her to the races on the weekends we have her. My Dad not only helped me turn the Escort and the CRX into a racecar but he gets frequent questions from us on how to do something. I'm sure I could go on and on and I'm probably forgetting something that I shouldn't forget. Thank you Lord for the parents you have given us! Michelle
P.S. First Practice is this Saturday, March 28th. High Temp is supposed to be 42. Low is supposed to be 22. Here we go...
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Thinking of my Uncles
Michelle
Thursday, March 5, 2009
We thank God for our sponsors!!!
Michelle
Friday, February 27, 2009
Lord, you do the driving, I'll just hang on to the wheel
Michelle
Thursday, February 12, 2009
The Number 58
I then went hunting for a verse or chapter in the Bible that had 58 in it. One night a teenager at our church, while getting baptized, said his life verse was 1 Corinthians 15:58 so I quickly thought "That's it", what a great verse for our ministry! (See the top of the blog to read the verse.)
Another verse that has been around since day 1 of my racing is Isaiah 41:10.
fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. I would say that verse before I raced and while I raced. I would also sing the song "I love you Lord". God has really protected us. There have been many times that God brought us through some tight spots.
Check back soon and I'll add the story of a regular prayer of ours before each race.
Michelle
Thank you Dani and Lori
Michelle
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Sponsors, Accomplishments & Pictures
Michelle
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Racing Schedule
Michelle
Monday, February 2, 2009
Maybe this year...
Michelle