February 24, 2011
Mandy’s Monthly!- February
Well it’s that time of year again…Race Season! YEAH!!
As we loaded the motorhome with our shorts and light jackets in the freezing rain it was hard to believe that we would actually be using those clothes! We headed south before the ice freeze hit Indy thank goodness… only to stop in Georgia for a small motorhome problem….the alternator.
After getting the motorhome repaired at Cummins in Augusta we headed to the first race of the year at Screven Motor Speedway. The Heffner guys, Sean and Rhino, made the trip south with the new truck and new trailer loaded to the max with spare cars, spare motors, and spare wings! (It made it back to PA with all those spare parts too—thank goodness!)
Taylor woke up from her nap only to see “ray cars” out the front window and she was happy. I bundled her up in her snow suit and we headed out. She cheered “go daddy” during hot laps and even cleaned mud off the car afterwards! It ended up being a short night as rain started after heat races and we headed even farther south for warmer weather.
The 5 and half hour drive to Ocala was made better with a short lunch break at “Whataburger” – my favorite hamburger place. The ketchup here is just awesome – don’t knock it until you try it! The racing at Ocala was a good way to start the season with a 2nd place but the weather was perfect! Taylor chased Daryn around on the scooter begging for a ride, we played ball outside, and only needed a light jacket by the time the feature rolled out onto the track. The only drama of the night was Taylor losing her Terry McCarl race car under the grandstands – it’s a good thing we have friends that quickly replaced it and Rob Hart who dug it out from under the grandstands during a red flag. She cheered “go go Daddy” and pointed every time the car came by . It is amazing how much she has grown up in one year.
After rain set in on Saturday morning the boys did maintenance on the car under the motorhome awning and we watched the Chili Bowl during lunch only to see Sean with his Indy Race Parts gear on tv!
After arriving at Volusia we visited a college roommate of mine in Jacksonville. It was great to catch up with old friends and the girls played well together. Thanks for dinner!
Daryn’s mom flew in to help with Taylor and that was a huge blessing. They came out only a few nights since it was still cold at night, but her and Nana swam and watched movies and enjoyed their time together.
It was fun to “hang out with the boys” at the track and help a little here and there. I am good at refilling the fuel jugs and topping off the car w/Rhino! We had a good week at Volusia – with a 4th, 8th, 10th, 20th, and 13th. We were fast and did not tear anything up unlike many other team! The boys felt that they made progress on the car each night and learned some valuable info for the season. Thanks guys for letting me “help!”
It was great to see my friend Anita at the race track. She was definitely in her element- writing those times down and keeping up with who started where. It was great to see you back girl!
After Volusia we headed to Disney with Taylor and it was a blast. She enjoyed it saying “its Minnie its Minnie!” We wore her out for 2 days straight at the Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom. I’ll put up some pictures soon.
After Disney we headed to warm Tampa! The last week was the best in Florida- of course to win the King of the 360’s!! Taylor enjoyed victory lane, especially the light up septor! She even wanted Rhino to take her back to victory lane after we returned to the trailer saying “Cmon Wino!” We ended our trip in Florida on a high note that left us all wanting to race more, but the hauler headed north back to PA and we headed home to Indy. Race season in PA will start next weekend at Lincoln and I’m sure the boys are ready!
Thanks to Sean and Rhino for working so hard in Florida!
Thanks to Brett for making the trip to Volusia and to Mike for the opportunity to drive the #27!
It is great to see my husband so excited about the race season!
Chat soon!
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