Hi everyone, Toni here. Jim left yesterday afternoon in the rig heading for Vegas so I thought I would write a quick blog just to check in before the rest of us leave in the next few days. We have had a lot to do here lately, so I decided to take Jim up on his offer to have me fly to Vegas instead of riding with him. I tried not to be too enthusiastic when I agreed to that. Let's see, 48 hours of driving in the tractor trailer or four and a half hours in a plane. Let me think about that for a minute.

Well, I know he is not too disappointed because I'm not there to keep him on a reasonable drive/sleep schedule. You guys all know the one; drive 20 hours and sleep four and stop twice just to say you did. And don't forget arriving at the "designated mile marker" ahead of some pre-determined time. Need I say more? Anyway, the last time I talked to him he was rolling across Interstate 40 in the pouring rain hoping he will get through Texas tonight. I have assured him that once he gets that far, the weather looks a lot better. He did grumble something about how the rain had slowed his average mph down considerably -- oh please!

Though our weekend at home was busy, I did get a chance to visit my niece Joanne, her husband Walter, and their new baby boy Mac. If you have been reading our blogs you might remember the picture of Joanne just a couple of months ago when she was very pregnant. Well, it was worth the wait because now we have baby Mac. I have included a picture just so you can see how cute he is. Of course I may be just a little prejudice.

In closing, I want to offer our congratulations to Robert Patrick and his entire team for winning the IHRA Pro Stock Championship this weekend in Rockingham, N.C. We have been friends with him, his family, and his team for many years. Bob and Julie Ingles of J&B Performance build the engines for the Patrick Racing and as many of you remember, Bob was our engine builder until just a few years ago. In fact, the last championship Bob won was with us in 1997. During that time, Rich Purdy was our crew chief and he is now Robert's crew chief so you can see why we are so proud and excited for all of them. Way to go guys!

Well, things are going be a little busy for us during the next week or so but we will definitely check in before Pomona. Keep your eyes open if you are riding along Interstate 40 in the next day or two. If you see a big purple racing rig be sure to wave at Jim. He won't have time to stop -- that would totally mess up the whole mileage/arrival time thing -- but he will be glad to have an excuse to wave and use his newly fixed air horn! Don't you love it?

Toni