After three weekends in a row without racing, it was so great to get back in my dragster. As you can tell from my previous blogs, I stayed really busy with my time off but a lot of what I did made me more anxious and even more appreciative of what I get to do. Spectating at the professional lacrosse game in Boston, made me appreciate the heat of a battle and competition and that I can have career where I can be competitive. Watching the NASCAR race just enhanced my desire to get in a race car and win.

We were at Heartland Park Topeka this last weekend. I flew in on Tuesday night before the race to help promote the event. I went on a morning news show on Wednesday at 6 a.m. Usually we just do a quick interview, but this time I sat behind the news desk and was on a couple of different times throughout the news hour. I always wondered what it was like to be a news anchor. Then in the afternoon there was a Fanfest in downtown Topeka. It was during lunchtime so a lot of people came by to say hi and get an autograph on their lunch break. It’s always cool interacting with the fans. I’m not the only driver to do things like this. It’s common for other NHRA drivers to come early to races to help promote the event.

When I was at the NASCAR race, one thing a lot of fans pointed out to me is how much they appreciate the accessibility at that NHRA offers. That’s what makes our sport so unique because the fans can go right into the pits at races and they can also interact with the drivers and teams at different times throughout the weekend. As with most races, I had the opportunity to talk to a lot of the fans over the weekend. It seemed like a lot of them had traveled to Kansas from neighboring states. I talked to people from Nebraska, Missouri, Iowa, New Mexico, South Dakota, and, of course Kansas.

On Thursday, I went to Wichita, Kansas to do a couple of TV interviews to promote the race. Wichita is an easy two-hour drive from Topeka, so we tried to draw a lot of fans from that area. Brian Hacker of the NHRA public relations department picked me up and we drove through lots of Kansas farm country to get there. It was a pretty drive and I had never been to Wichita before. The TV interviewers asked me questions about what it’s like to be a woman in Motorsports. They always ask how I got my start in racing and what it feels like to drive 330 mph. I answer their questions plus try to fit in other things that will encourage viewers to come out to the race.

Now we are focused on our next race in Joliet. My team is already there. They stayed in Topeka and serviced the car on Monday and then traveled to Joliet on Tuesday. Unfortunately, we didn’t move up any in the points at Topeka. We know that we have to go rounds this weekend because it’s critical that we start working our way into the top eight. Wish us luck!