Las Vegas Drag Strip

I have been out of town for the past 4 days. And, I enjoyed the rest and relaxation. So, here are a few photos as to what we have been doing. But, first, a little background. When I met my husband, he was the crew chief for a Top Alcohol Dragster. He (ok, I mean 'we') spent our weekends at the race track. We even took trips (out of town) to go to National events. I enjoyed the 'hobby' of it, but not the lifestyle. My husband is no longer a crew chief. But, these boys with their toys, oh my.

Anyways, we flew out to Las Vegas Nevada for a National Event. Our son-in-law, Max Tafoya Jr. is a professional race car driver. He competed in this past weekends event, and he will be racing in Las Vegas again this up coming weekend, and then in Pomona, Calf. He is actually very good. He has quite a few 'walleys'. (Trophies for winning.) He is racing a Barracuda in Super Gas and a dragster in Super Comp.

So, now onto the photos.

I think its 'funny' that a candy company has a race car. So, I wonder, why doesn't any paper craft company have a race car? Like Basic Grey, or Cosmo Cricket, or Stampin' Up!

This is a top fuel funny car. For those of you who don't know, that means these cars are screaming down the track. By screaming, I mean, 300+ mph/in 3.5 seconds. And, they don't go the full quarter mile anymore. They are running so fast, that the tires fall apart. And the tire companies don't know how to make a tire that will hold up to those speeds, so they race to those bright orange pylons. (the shutter speed on the camera was a clicking away to get this shot.)

I don't really like the motorcycles. But, I just had to show you. These motorcycles are doing 190+ at a quarter mile. That is just insane to me. They say, if you fall off, make sure you hold your arms and legs up in the air, and ride it out on your back. If you tuck, you will tumble and greatly increase your chances of head injury and possibly lost of limb.

I don't have any photos of John Force, who, I witnessed doing 303 mph in the quarter mile in Phoenix back in Feb. 1996. (He was the first to break the 300 mph mark down the track.) He was at the races, and I believe he won yesterday. His daughters now race, or have for awhile. I saw Ashley Force Hood (the Queen of Hearts) go down the track in her top fuel funny car, in 4.105 seconds. That's pretty fast. But, she lost in the end.

Thank you for letting me share my 'boy' weekend with you. I will post a card or two tomorrow.