ELAINE LARSEN

a new demographic to the racetrack . Recently , a bride brought her bachelorette party to the racetrack to see us run . A lot of times , jet cars are overlooked ; we ’ re the halftime show brought in to entertain the crowd . But we ’ re bringing new eyes and , hopefully , revitalizing the sport . That means that what I ’ m doing matters . In life , we all have opportunities , and this is how I ’ m choosing to make a difference .

Would you go back and do anything different , if you could ?

Not in racing . I would always choose to drive a jet car . I love the path that I ’ ve taken . I might have been a little bit smarter in some of my decisions , but the path I chose led me to become the person that I am today . I have no regrets .

What ’ s next for you ?

Right now , only a small portion of my time can be given to my educational outreach , Blazing Trails , and I ’ m excited to give it 100 % of my attention . We ’ ll take the car to schools , talk to young kids and teachers , and show them the opportunities in our sport . I ’ m also excited to reconnect with my comic book , Blaze ( available at LMSJETS . com ), as the author and the mastermind behind it . There are three in the series so far , and I ’ m looking forward to diving back into that .

Who ’ s been behind the scenes with you on this journey ?

My husband , Chris Larsen , has been my driving force to be a better person . He ’ s given me the courage to get in the car and trusted me behind the wheel not to ruin all his work . My son , Andrew , has allowed me to be the ‘ crazy mom ,’ and he ’ s never made me feel like I should stop because I ’ m a mom . They ’ ve encouraged me to be who I am , and they ’ ve been my biggest cheerleaders .

What are you most excited for in the months ahead as this final season as the primary driver comes to a close ?

I ’ m looking forward not to saying goodbye , but to making memories in the driver ’ s seat . I ’ m looking forward to making every moment count . DI

48 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated . com Issue 176