Hey, blog readers! LP here with you from Pomona, with a much overdue blog. Somehow time has been escaping me for the past few weeks. The last race of the season is going by in a whirlwind! Let me play catch up just a bit and bring you up to date.

Vegas, Vegas, Vegas. What can I say about Vegas? It is, indeed, a city that never sleeps. From what I understand, Shannon put a hurting on the slot machines and ended up headed to Pomona with heavier pockets than he arrived with, as did Allison and Larry. I learned how to play roulette, thanks to lessons from Danny (I still owe you dinner!) and managed to turn 20 bucks into 50. Well, at one point, I had turned it into about $220, but we all know how that goes.



Marc Denner, co-crew chief on the blue CSK car, and his wife Krysta have an adorable little boy named Jake. Since Allison’s hubby Larry works on the blue car, Allison has gotten to spend quite a bit of time with them. Krysta brought Jake out to Vegas, and one of his favorite things to do when he is at the track is to visit Allison at the merchandise trailer. She always gives him a toy dragster to play with, and the trip to Vegas was no exception. In fact, Krysta snapped this picture of our little buddy at bedtime. Isn’t he adorable? And look what he is snuggled up to! One of our big toy dragsters and he is holding the little one in his hand. Too cute for words!

After Sunday’s eliminations in Vegas, Doug and I headed back to North Carolina on the red eye, while the guys packed up and made the short jaunt to Pomona and the last race of the season. As much as I love going to Vegas, I was just as glad to get out of there.

We came to Pomona on Wednesday, and as always, things have been nonstop ever since. Doug’s parents live here in Southern California, so he has gotten the chance to spend time with them. In fact, they came out to the track yesterday, and so did Marty Sr., father of our own Marty “The One Man Party.”

Last night, Doug, Steve Johnson, Terry Lyles (our sports psychologist extraordinaire), Major Phil Toretti, Alicia Smales from Snap-on and myself had dinner at Pomona Valley Mining Company. What a place! It’s located on the side of a mountain where actual mining used to take place. The view was incredible, despite the smoke in the air from all the horrible wildfires. The food was really good, and any time you put Doug and Steve together, you have to have a good time, no two ways about it. The next time you run into Steve, make sure you ask him about the 24-inch Jumbotron.

If you are a faithful blog reader, and I’m sure you are, you might remember a blog entry from Doug several months ago about visiting Dr. Neon over in Asheville, North Carolina. Dr. Neon was in charge of Snap-on’s Ain’t Street Legal (www.aintstreetlegal.com) project, which involved rebuilding a ’57 Chevy Nomad. The car spent last week at the SEMA show in Las Vegas, and made it’s way into our pit area for the next few days. I have to tell you, this is one sweet looking hot rod. They have incorporated Snap-on tools into every single part of the car, and the way it’s been done it just amazing. The pictures simply can’t do it justice.

As I sit here typing, I hear the sounds of the nitro Funny Cars firing up, getting ready to make two more qualifying runs today for this last race of the season. Our guys will be doing the same very shortly, and before I blink again, there will only be one day left for this, my rookie season. Where did the time go?

Until next time, be good,

LP