We left off on Friday from the airport in Las Vegas as I was flying to Sacramento. There was a surprise birthday party for Ashley Jeffrey. The Jeffrey family – Ashley, Judy and Justine – are like a second family to me. They own the company Western Stabilization and you see the WS logo on my helmet and windshield. They’re like my West Coast parents. I’ve known them for more than 10 years now. I was a surprise for Ashley’s birthday party. Justine told Ashley that I got held up in Michigan due to bad weather after our testing and I couldn’t make it. Shame on us for lying I guess. LOL

Ten years ago in Tucson, Ariz., at a D7 race, my truck broke down. I had known the Jeffrey’s a little bit and the repairs cost more than I had. They lent a helping hand and got me back on the road. The standing joke is that if it wasn’t for the Jeffrey family, I’d still be working at a truck stop in Tucson.

Back to the b-day trip to Sacramento. Friday afternoon, Justine picked me up at the airport. The party was at Carla’s house. Carla is another Jeffrey daughter. There are three girls, Justine, Carla and Denise. I’m like the son the Jeffrey family never had. When we got to the house, all the kids were playing the Wii. I was with the kids playing Guitar Hero. I had never played and was instantly addicted to it. It was so much fun. I have to go out and buy a Wii before I leave to Charlotte tomorrow. It would be awesome for hand-eye coordination.

I heard when Ashley and Judy arrived. They were all talking and he was surprised about the big turnout for the party. Justine got me and I walked up behind Ashley and I touched his shoulder and he looked at me and lifted up my hat and was all surprised. It was really cool to see his reaction. It was really nice to spend a few days with the Jeffrey family.

The next morning, Judy remembered that my favorite cereal was Cap’n Crunch. I haven’t eaten it in years and I ate like half the box on Saturday morning. We just relaxed all day and hung out. Justine and I read wedding magazines because she’s getting married next May. I saw an awesome tux that I really liked. I liked it so much I tore it out of the magazine. It was a D&G tux. If I ever do find “the one” it’s what I’ll bearing wearing at our wedding. Ashley had bought 36 of our Caterpillar die cast dragsters, so I signed them for him. You too can purchase the 2008 Caterpillar diecast dragster at the Nitro Mall; shameless plug. Then we had dinner at my favorite Mexican joint in Vacaville called Murillo’s.

The next morning, Ashley took me to the airport to fly home to Vegas. I always take a taxi home from the airport, but I remembered I had left my car at the economy lot, so I had to jump out of the taxi line and take the shuttle to the lot. The rest of the day I watched NASCAR and NFL and AT Dave made me go train. We ran hills at a local park. He exhausted me. Today is get ready for Charlotte day. I have to pack and get ready to fly tomorrow morning.

We’re excited about this race. In my mind, it’s the biggest drag race of the year being the first race of the Countdown to 1, the first race at Charlotte, and now we’re only 60 points behind the Sarge.

Take care,

Rod