The Next Chapter Of Our Adventure, “The Project”

Evenings like this make you realize how anything is possible with God!

I have had a blog going for several years to document our racing journey and it has been fun keeping it going. I have not revamped it since the beginning, and I felt like I needed to start over as we move into a new (and more serious) phase of "The Project".

As Traci and I enter our twilight years it becomes more apparent that you must live each day like it is your last. Many people that know us wonder why we have always been risk takers in our careers, hobbies, and vocalizing our beliefs.

Traci and I are both very comfortable in our own skin and we have always had a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Because of that, we do not live in fear. We know that HE has a plan, and we know that he will guide us if we listen. That doesn't mean that we think bad things can't happen, it just means that we have HIM to rely on in both good times and bad.

Traci and I have very different roles in our relationship with Jesus but together we make one complete person in HIS eyes. 

Traci is a tireless student of the Bible and knows it very well. When things happen, she always knows what part of the Bible to turn to for guidance. 

I, on the other hand have a strong internal compass about what I think HE wants me to do. I am the guy that wakes up in the middle of the night with a feeling and acts on that feeling no matter how difficult and scary it may be.  For instance, our company was formed in the middle of the night on my birthday in 2006. I had a great job with good pay and a wonderful boss (Tim, who works for our company today) and no real reason for quitting. During the night, that "Feeling" cam over me that HE wanted me to make a change in my life. When I woke up, I knew exactly what to do. I promptly told Traci that I felt led to turn in my resignation (that day) and start a new business so we could make a difference! Traci looked at me and said, "So you really feel strongly about this". 

Traci had a lot to lose with my decision because she worked at the same place I worked. She had better pay and more respect there than any job she ever had, but she knew my "compass" was pretty strong and I must be led to do it. She wholeheartedly agreed that it was the right thing to do and off to work we went to turn in our resignation to my boss Tim. That was one of the best decisions we have ever made besides our salvation, getting married, and having kids.

Our business is a safe harbor for 25 plus people who get to work with people that have good values, respect one another, and have some fun every now and then. Corporate politics is not a part of our company, and everyone is treated the way Jesus would want us to treat them. 

Together, we make a team that can do most things that others think are crazy! 

That brings us to "The Project"

From the time I was a kid, I always liked any kind of motorsports. I was especially fond of motocross, motorcycle road racing, drag boat racing and drag racing cars. I raced motocross until my body gave up. I road raced motorcycles as well (track day type fun racing) until I started making costly mistakes. 

I have done a lot of crazy things and checked a lot of boxes, but I always dreamed of drag racing at a professional level. In my early days, there was only a couple of media sources to watch motorsports (ABC's Wide World of Sports and TNN's American Sports Cavalcade), so watching drag racing was a rare and special occasion for me.

We also had a local drag strip (Pennwell Raceway) close to my hometown that had Friday night high school grudge races. My family went to some of those races because both of my brothers and my dad participated in a few of these Friday night races. I was too young to participate but it instilled a love for the sport in me that never went away. That little track in Pennwell, Texas is still in business today. It is one of the longest continually operating drag strips in the United States. 

Around 1975, we went to a large professional race in Amarillo, Texas and we got to see some of the greatest drag racers while they were in their prime. Names like Don Garlits, Shirley Muldowney, Raymond Beatle, Dale Armstrong, Brad Anderson, Bob Glidden, Tom Hoover, and many others were there. It was an amazing weekend! I still have an old 8mm home movie that I made at the race. That weekend gave me a burning desire to drag race at that level someday. Turns out, it would be some 45 years later before I would ever get my chance!

Most of you all have read about the journey that led us here so I won't bore you with that (you can go to my old blog if you need to catch up). We are moving into a new phase with serious goals. Qualifying a ProMod at an NHRA national event is something special (there are probably less than 1000 people that have ever done that). Doing it this late in life and with so little actual experience puts you into a group that is a small percentage of that number. Doing it in these circumstances in the name of Jesus is almost non-existent! That is my kind of group, with my kind of odds!!!!!

Traci is fully on board but is concerned about me leaving her alone in this crazy world. It is a risky sport, but we have the best in the world helping us (The Janis Family). We are going to have the best equipment money can buy. The weakest link in the chain is me, but with HIS help, I am confident I can do the job!

This goal is NOT an easy thing, it is not cheap, and it requires a lot of commitment, patience, and help. We have already been working towards the goal for 4 plus years. We bought, rebuilt, and gave up on drag racing boats. We bought a dragster to get some experience in drag racing. We built a ProMod car without any experience. We bought three different race trailers to get the right logistics setup. We tested cars, raced cars, and gave up on cars, while trying to get it right. So much time, money, and effort has gone into the dream that most people can't imagine. Traci has told me on multiple occasions "If my goals were that hard to achieve, I would give up". Those of you that know me well, know that I am either too hardheaded or too stupid to give up! 

What we have learned in this process is that it is the same as any other activity in life, anything worth doing is worth doing right! We have also learned that there are no shortcuts in the drag racing world (again, just like life). Shortcuts lead to wasted time, effort, money, and potentially your life!

The most important thing we have learned is (even doing something like drag racing), God will guide you if you listen! HE is amazing how HE has led us down this path. HE shut us down when we went down wrong pathways, HE led us to the right people when we needed it. HE is/will provide the resources to accomplish the goal! 

Without his guidance, our business would not be what it is. Without his guidance, we would not have met the Janis family. Without his guidance, we would be lost!

We are convinced that we are on the right track now. We have full support from our friends and family (they probably don't understand it, but know it is important). We have the full support of the best ProMod racing family of all times (in my opinion). We have one of the best chassis builders. Most importantly, Traci and I have one another and our relationship with God.

The way I look at it, the stars are aligned, the time is right, and we are running out of time (in so many ways) to accomplish our goals. We don't know how much time we have or how long we can sustain our effort to accomplish our goal (nobody does), but we know that nobody can accomplish goals without trying! 

I will end this with a quote from one of my favorite movies (Galaxie Quest) "Never Give Up, Never Surrender" That pretty closely describes where we are at!

This is the beginning of a new chapter for Traci, myself, and the Janis family. I hope you all follow us on our journey with our family, our friends, the Janis family, and God!!!

This is truly "The Project" in so many ways.