Hollywood Hills, NM

We left in Thursday night (6/26) and headed to Raton, NM. We’ve discovered that leaving the night before and going half way is so much healthier and less stressful. We stayed at a wonderful little resort called Ceder Rail. It was a peaceful little place which allowed us to relax and enjoy the morning.

We also practiced with Tazzer’s new Mutt Muffs which he got the hang of pretty fast. Thank goodness for hand commands. He’s looks so funny!

The drive to the speedway was smooth. This has probably been the easiest trip so far since there were no major passes to stress out the truck and Justin. When we got to Hollywood Hills Speedway we were amazed at how professional the track was. They even had concrete pit stalls complete with power. Awesome!! The stands were huge, the bathrooms nice (no porto potties! Ya!), and the track officials were really on top of their game. There was even a casino next to the track. The night was gorgeous with an amazing sunset. Justin did incredible! He learned how to off-road in the car when he got bumped from behind. He took 5th in his B event which was such a bummer because they only took the top 4 to the A event. If he would have had just a few more laps he could have caught the forth place guy because his car was hooked up! But he had a chance to really push the car and had it completely floored. Sweet!
The next day we set to cleaning up the car. It was pretty muddy from the night before so Justin’s mom and I got out the sponges. It started out as a hot day so we put up the ez-up and the guys got to work on the car.

Our good buddies Karla and Brandon came down to for the weekend to watch the races and help out. We are so thankful for these dear friends who mean so much to us. Brandon’s strength came in handy when Justin had problems getting a bent wheel part off. And Karla volunteered to take me to the store so we could get lunch. God has blessed us with great friends! We had a professional photographer take a photo of Tazzer in his Mutt Muffs so we could submit it to their website. I had him get up on the sprint car tire and wave to the camera. Everyone was amazed at his obedience but little do they know…he’ll do anything for a cheeto. ;o)
That night it was very windy with intermittent rain. Not a fun way to race. Ugh! The races still went on and we had to fight the elements, which was a little new to us. Everyone had dirt in their eyes, ears and nose. I dug out my dirt goggles. But after much prayer and hope, when Justin went out for his heat, the wind finally died down. Whew! Justin placed 11th in his feature after surviving some bumps and aggressive drivers. Some of the drivers were out for blood and it showed in the A event when half the field either crashed or dropped out from something breaking or not working right.