Still Wondering...

We are still wondering if the racecar will be faster after all the changes we made for the 2009 Racing season. Practice was postponed due to cold weather. We still went and were able to go through safety inspection. We passed inspection so now Aaron can get it out on the racetrack whenever we are able to. This is a picture of the track as it was on Saturday. There had been a big heavy equipment auction there a couple days prior to that so there was trucks in the infield and tons of heavy equipment in the parking lot.
Michelle

Will it be even faster?

Aaron's fastest lap time for the first race in 2008 in the CRX was 18.564 seconds (72.721 average mph). Throughout the year, Aaron improved his lap times. He got his fastest lap time of the season during the last race of the year - 17.961 seconds (75.163 average mph). So, you would think we wouldn't change a thing on the car for 2009 but we did. We had the CRX put on a frame rack to fix the alignment. It was really messed up but you can't help but wonder if the bent up frame made the car run around the track faster. The frame guy did say the way it was twisted would actually make us slower but we can't help but wonder what's going to happen. Logically, we should be faster but we'll soon see. We also had the CV shafts replaced, put on a fresh coat of paint and took off some extra weight.
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

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...

Thinking of my Uncles

My Mom's brother, my uncle Lee, is in heaven now. He has been battling throat cancer and he died Tuesday night. His memorial service is this Saturday. I have many good memories of him from my childhood and we had some fun times when we visited him a couple times this winter. I'm thankful that he was at our wedding and got to see us race at our wedding reception. I've been thinking alot about Lee the last couple of days. It's also made me think of my uncle Russ. He was my Dad's brother that died from a brain tumor about 18 years ago. Before he died he was making a racecar. He never got to race but because of him, 2 of my cousins (sons of another one of my uncles) started racing and eventually their sister did too. They started racing when I was living in Florida but as soon as I moved back to Minnesota, I never missed a race unless I was out of town. I eventually started racing too. And then Aaron started racing and here we are. Isn't it amazing how God interweaves all the people and situations in our lives to bring us exactly where He wants us.
Michelle

We thank God for our sponsors!!!

We are praising God that all of our sponsors from 2008 have agreed to back us for the 2009 racing season. If you are hungry for pizza, please visit Papa Murphy's! If you are looking to sell a house or buy a house at the current low interest rates, please contact Tom Hakala at ibr Realty. If you are hungry for steak, gyros, etc please visit Pete, Are and their family at Farmington Steak House! Both Papa Murphys' and Farmington Steak House have yummy food with great value in these tough economic times. Please thank them for sponsoring Aaron & Michelle Hopkins and supporting their ministry! We also want to thank B&T Automotive (Napa) in New Prague for continuing to give us a discount on the parts we need to maintain our racecar. Thank you Lord!
Michelle