Happy Birthday Mike!

For Mike's birthday I got him tickets to the NHRA Drag Races at Pacific Raceways (formerly SIR). It was a wonderful day for it, for the most part. We did have 1/2-2 hour delays for mist/drizzle/sprinkles and then drying of the track. And we went on the best day of the 3-day event! We saw the races all the way down to the semi-finals, but then it got too late for our little guy (who was having a blast with Grandma and Grandpa Pitts and would have prefered us to stay at the track) on a work/daycare night.

We got some pictures with Mikes favorite drivers:


First up is Ashley Force. This year (we believe anyway) is her first as a Funny Car Driver. She used to race Top Fuel (that's what the big long ones are called, right?). She did well in the first race we saw, but unfortuantely crashed in the second. She was ok, she climbed out of the car her self and her dad (below) was there sooner than the fire crew!


Nex is John Force, Mike's favorite driver. We tried to get an autograph the last time we went, but we struck out. This time we not only got autographs but we also got photos, talk about cool! John made it all the way to the finals, where he had some engine (I believe) trouble and lost.

Johns crew is working on the car....notice they are wearing gas masks? Now, a smart set of folks would think "Hey, they're wearing gas masks, maybe we should back away." But no, we all (not just me and Mike, but every one there) assumed that if it was dangerous they'd make us back up. Not so much! Those were tough fumes to breathe in (burning lungs and eyes), and we were smooshed forward by the crowd of autograph seekers and had a hard time getting back from them. We made it ok and are just fine.