I started writing this on Sunday from home and a big blank is all I came up with. I know that’s kind of unusual for me to go blank about having something to say, but none the less it happened. You know when your not racing there isn’t much to report. There is no racing here we didn’t go to Florida and the Colts didn’t make the Super Bowl (but I am rooting for the NY Giants, after all they do have a Manning for a quarterback) so what else can be reported? I know I can always talk about Hayden and that I do a lot of because he is the angel in my life sometimes with a little red pointed tail but none the less an angel. After the terrible tragedy this weekend to the Doug Herbert family I will keep that little angel as close to me and my heart as possible.

I don’t know if many of you know Doug Herbert but he is the owner of Doug Herbert Performance Parts in Lincolnton, North Carolina. Bob and I have been friends and colleagues of Doug Herbert and his ex-wife Sonnie for many years. Doug’s company carries our spring line and he drives his Top Fuel car with the K-Motion Valve Spring decal on it and has for many years. Bob and Doug raced in IHRA drag racing at the same time. Tragedy struck the Herbert family on Saturday January 26th when both of their sons were killed in an automobile accident near their home in North Carolina. Jon, 17, and James, 12, were killed instantly. The Herbert’s also have a younger child , a daughter Jessie at home. We want to send our deepest sympathy and prayers out to the Herbert family on this terrible loss.

On a brighter note our daughter Michelle and I witnessed the miracle of birth this morning January 29, 2008. Dori Jones, who works the pit concession stand, gave birth to a beautiful baby girl at 8:31 a.m. Dailyn Grace Jones weighed in at 6 pounds 15 ounces and was twenty inches long (I swear her fingers are at least ten, just kidding, but they are long). Dori’s mother passed away a year ago and Bob and I have kind of been surrogate parents to her (she is Michelle’s best friend) and she asked Michelle and I to be with her. It was a wonderful experience and both mother and daughter are doing fine.

The coffee chat room we have been putting together at K-Motion is almost complete. I have painted racing stripes on the walls in Tony Stewart orange. It started out to have red stripes but the chairs we picked up at the Purdue surplus outlet are definitely “ORANGE” so the red idea went out the door. Jim Westfall of Westfall Automotive, who also does woodworking is building a table for the lounge. I really appreciate his contribution to this project. This will be a place for drivers to come and shoot the breeze, watch past race videos, drink coffee or a soda, maybe snack on a cookie and finish the time spent here shopping in the K-Motion retail store. It should be complete within the week (the table may not be done but we can improvise until it is).

We will be at the 4th annual Racer’s Trade Show and Swap Meet on Saturday the 23rd of February. The trade show is at the Jasper County Fair Grounds in Rensselaer, Indiana. Show hours are from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (CST). For more show information contact Scott Madison @ 219-285-6932 or Stan Larson @ 219-394-2188.

In closing I would again ask you to keep our armed forces in your thoughts and prayers as they fight the war in Iraq to keep us safe from terrorism. I would also ask you to keep the Doug Herbert family in your thoughts and prayers as they battle the loss of their children.

With all that said until next time be happy and be safe.

Gayle

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 29th, 2008 at 4:51 pm and is filed under The Desk. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.