Hollywood Hills, NM: Round #2

We headed out after work on Thursday night and stayed at one of our favorite RV Parks in Raton, NM. It was gorgeous night with a full moon. The next morning we headed out and met up with Justin’s family at the Hollywood Hills track. His brother had flown out from DC to hang out with us for the weekend. His sister was also there and we were looking forward to the race. This is the most comfortable Justin has been since we have raced at this track before.
It was a nice day as we set up and got the car out. We all chipped in getting everything ready. We noticed the clouds start coming in and when Justin got ready to do his mud laps, the skies opened up. The track turned instantly to mud soup and as soon as Justin drove out onto the track, he slid down into the middle and had to be pushed off track. Meanwhile the rest of us hightailed it back to the rig since the rain was coming down, drenching everything. I was grabbing stuff we had left out and trying to cover the rest in tarps. Tazzer and I were soaked in seconds! We waited for things to clear and they finally sent everyone out for their heat races. Justin pulled outside pole and was doing awesome! All of the sudden he started dropping to the back of the pack. When he came in I was shocked to see him covered from head to toe in thick mud. You could not see the color of his helmet or car. He told us that half way through his heat, a mud glob attached itself to the side if his helmet so when he went to grab a tear-off, ALL of them came off in one shot. Ugh! So half the heat, he was blind eventually having to shove his visor up and wiping the mud from his eyes. Scary stuff!
We all worked like crazy to get the mud off the car, tires and Justin. It was so thick and sticky. We scraped, dug and clawed off the mud. When he went out for his main event, he ran out of tear-offs thanks to all the mud. Needless to say, it was very frustration because we are finally understanding how to set up the car. Plus Justin is really getting a hang of driving and trusting that the car is going to do what it was built to do. So it was a very wet and muddy night. The next day our friends Brandon and Karla showed up to help out and encourage us. While the guys took the car to the carwash, Tazzer and I hung out with Karla. We then met them at the track and set up lunch for them. It was a beautiful morning but just like the day before, the clouds came in and unleashed on us. The ez-up protected the guys while they worked on the car but there was so much rain that it flooded the grounds. We all cramed into the rig and waited for a clearing. It finally stopped raining but by this time it was too late for the track. The officials decided to cancel the race so that we would not have to endure another muddy, miserable night of racing.
So we packed up, headed back to the hotel and then a group of us went to Albuquerque for dinner. It was nice to relax with friends but a bummer to not race after everyone came in to see us.

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.