The past two weeks have been super busy for me! I am finally moved out of my apartment in Chico and settled into my new little house in Orland. It was quite a challenge moving. Many of my friends in Chico have gone home for the holidays, so it was hard finding help to haul my furniture down my apartment stairs. One of my best friends, Annette, and I had quite the experience carrying my couches down the stairs. Annette is a little thing and can’t weight more than 120 pounds, so we struggled a little. However, we had many good laughs out of the situation. We were pretty proud of ourselves when we finally had everything loaded in the back of my truck. Big thanks to Annette for the help!

In addition to moving I have been going full throttle looking for some financial help for next year. I have set up a little office in my new house to help keep myself organized and productive. It is my goal to run a full season this year, so I am working very hard to make it happen! My dad has been telling me since I was a little girl, “If it is to be, it is up to me.” I always thought that was a great saying, and I try and live my life by it.

I also have some other things cooking at the moment. Last Wednesday, I attended a class in order to obtain my dealers license. My dad is planning on opening a trailer sales business in addition to his drilling company. I plan on helping him accomplish this, and hopefully put some of the money towards our race team. My dad, his secretary, and I took our dealer's test Wednesday, which just so happened to be my birthday! I turned 19. I keep telling my parents that this means I am no longer a rookie in the motorcycle world. They just laugh at me; I guess the big 19 isn’t going to make me a veteran in the sport.

This weekend I also had a very exciting adventure. Annette and I took a road trip to Southern California. Her boyfriend lives down there, so we had a free place to stay! I have not spent much time in Southern California except to race, so they took me all over! We visited L.A., San Diego, Temecula, La Jolla, and Escondido. I had such a good time, and it was absolutely beautiful down there, even despite the rainy weather. After I got home from the road trip with Annette, I planned on leaving for another very long, long road trip. I am going to drive a couple motors and many parts across the country to the Gann Custom shop in North Carolina. However, my trip was pushed back to this Sunday. It should be another exciting adventure for me. It’s a good thing I enjoy traveling! I am looking forward to visiting the Gann family and getting to check out their shop. Even though I worked with the Ganns most of last year I have yet to see their shop (probably due to the distance factor), so it should be a fun trip.

I have a lot of exciting adventures heading my direction. My ambitious nature is keeping my life very busy, just the way I like it, too! However, I still find the time to see my family and friends as much as I can. Also, I always have to make time to keep my riding skills in practice and pull out my dirt bike. I really enjoy riding as much as I can find the time for. I can not wait for the 2010 race season; it is constantly on my mind! Hope everyone is amazing, and I will keep you posted on our progress towards the up and coming race season! Take care!

Last year was one of the most amazing times of my life. It has been my dream since I was 12-years old to race professionally in the NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle class and also to be the youngest female to ever qualify for a pro race. Last year I accomplished both of those things and much more, including my first professional round win against one of my biggest heroes, Karen Stoffer. Looking back on the 2009 season, I could not be more thrilled. However, like all good seasons, they must come to an end and I am looking ahead to 2010.

Although I missed the field at the Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals, I left the track in Pomona with a good feeling because I was fairly certain that last I had found a sponsor that was going to allow me to fulfill another dream by racing at all 17 events in 2010. The deal had a lot of promise, but due to unforeseen circumstances, it fell through. I was disappointed, but I am too driven and too stubborn to let a little road bump like that stand in my way. 

I am also blessed with the most amazing and supportive parents in the world, so when our sponsor fell through, my dad, Charlie, and I quickly began making plans to run our own program this year. One thing I have learned in racing is that plans can change at any time, but right now our plan is to make every race and I am working very diligently on finding some financial help in order the make that a reality. We are going to run the Pro Stock Suzuki that my dad owns, and he is going to be my crew chief. Mike Fields Jr. and Bob Newman will be working alongside my dad as my crew. Blake Gann of Gann Custom will also be helping to furnish us with horsepower.

In my opinion one of the most exciting and unique parts of our program this year is that I am going to be driving our truck and trailer all over the country and my dad is going to fly into the races. I know that most racers prefer to fly to the races but there are still a lot of places on the tour that I haven’t yet seen so I can’t wait to take on this challenge.

In the meantime, I am still a student at Chico State University, however I am going to school part time and I am taking online classes. I still fully intend to finish my education and some day, I’d like to own my own custom paint and body shop. As of right now I’m living in Chico, but I plan to move closer to our race shop and office soon. My hermit crab, Tony Stewart, is also doing awesome. Life is going great for me, and I am very excited for the race season to officially begin. How many days till Gainesville?

     Being at Pomona was an amazing experience. I can not believe that just the year before I was sitting on Shawn Gann's bike in the staging lanes before his run, and in my eyes I was the luckiest girl in the world. Then there I was 18 years old, sitting on my own pro stock bike, putting on my own gear, getting ready to make a pass at the Pomona national event! Every race I attended this year has been this way for me. I have pushed for this dream since I was 12 years old and this year all my dreams came true.
      I have loved every single minuet of this race season and there are a lot of people I must thank for that. To everyone who has ever supported me in any way, thank you. You can not imagine what your support means to me. And to my bossDad who believed I could do it from the beginning, even when everyone else was skeptical, thank you! I could not have accomplished any of the things I have with out your support. Your my hero boss .
      I will never forget my first year racing pro stock motorcycle, but like all good seasons, they must come to an end. I must admit though the 2010 season is looking to be a rather amazing one! It's almost embarrassing to admit, but I have literally not slept well in a month out of excitement for the up and coming race season. Right now the complete plan is still pending, but it is for sure that I am working with Lister Harrell with Extreme Rebellion for next season. My commitment to Lister includes a move to Eastman, Georgia! A little way from California, but I am super excited about Lister owning the team I ride for!
     School is still a big priority in my life, so I am going to remain a student at Chico State and become a distance learner for now. My mom and I are going to fly out to Georgia tomorrow morning to meet with Lister and others! Also so we can check out were I will be living and what I will be doing for next year and possibly/hopefully more! I am so excited I have butterflies just writing about it!
       I love every thing about drag racing and I can't imagine my life with out it. Thank you again to all the people that make my dreams possible! I hope I will be able to share my full plans for next year soon, but as of right now I am looking at a full NHRA pro season for next year! Life is amazing and I could not be more happy! Hope you all feel the same! Happy holidays

Love,
Kalifornia Katie

     My Vegas experience  began on the famous Freemont street for an autograph signing, which was completely amazing! I must say it was a little intimidating signing autographs among all the big dogs of the drag racing world, but I sat in between Karen Stoffer and Hector Arana and being the awesome people they are, they made me feel right at home! I also had three of my favorite people in the world there supporting me.....I like to refer to them as Uncle Ronnie, Uncle Mike, and Uncle Dave. They are not my real uncles, but I decided to adopt them right into the family.
      During qualifying we had a rough time trying to find power, but I must say I am very proud of what our team accomplished. To put together an entire pro stock bike operation in one month took a ton of work, and so many people were involved! We went out and got our bike down the track and I could not be more thrilled! Thank you to everyone who was a part of our Vegas trip! It means the world to me to have so much support now that my Bossdad and I are trying to rock our own team!
      After the national we spent the next weekend in Vegas with the plan to test, though we were un-able to make passes due to some issues back home. My bossdad had to leave the track, but I stayed to watch! I spent my time crew chiefing a little for my good friend Denny Alves, whose Dad, (Uncle) Ronnie, bought our old turbo bike. Hanging out with those guys is always a kick, I laugh a ton around them. I also spent a great deal of time in the top fuel Harley pits. Even though I continue to hear the word no, I am determined to someday ride a top fuel Harley!
      Even though we have wavered back and forth a couple times about attending Pomona, we are now all set to head out tomorrow! I am stoked! The only bummer is I may have to miss the first qualifying pass, but school comes first! Life has been super busy for me, but I am living my dream and having the time of my life. My Hermit crab Tony Stewart and my fish Jimmie Johnson are doing good as well! Life is amazing and I could not be happier! Hope to see everyone in Pomona!

                    Love,
                    Katie

     A lot has happened since I last blogged! Sometimes it is hard to keep up! My bossdad and mom are now the proud owners of their own pro stock bike operation! My Boss and I flew out to Colorado and purchased Mike Berry's entire pro stock suzuki operation. Then like the crazy race fanatics we are, we rented a U-haul and drove everything back to sweet home California. Between the two of us, we made it about a thousand miles one day, then the remaining 400 the next morning! It was a blast, like all the adventures my dad and I have together!  When we got everything home it was seriously like christmas unloading that U-haul. We made the trip over a month ago and every time I walk into my garage I still get butterflies in my stomach seeing our new bike, motors, and parts!
      Ever since we brought home the new bike there has been a ton of support and excitement from many people. However we also have all the people telling us that we are way in over our head and we can't succeed owning our own team. In all honesty, I absolutely love that word no. I have heard it so much through out the different stages of my race career and there is nothing that drives me more than some one telling me I can't do something! I realize that there is going to be a learning curve doing it on our own, but I have confidence in the people helping me. Mark Rissling and Mike Wanbaugh are going to be doing my motor work. I feel it is an understatement to call Mike Wanbaugh a genius. He has been doing my motors since I first started racing Jr. Dragsters. Mark Rissling is very smart too, so between the two of them, look out pro stock! Bob Newman has taken up semi residency at our house in Corning. He is such a huge help, just always around to help us with anything we need. Bob and I have a great time working together. Then there is little miss Annette Robb with Bumblebee motorsports. This weekend some people at the track were teasing her asking her what I was allowed to eat, this is because they know she does so much for me. Not only when it comes to my marketing, but also just being my friend. I don't know what I would do with out her. I don't know what I would do with out any of these people! The two people who I really owe my success to are my parents though. I am so excited to continue racing with them. We have always called our team Sullivan Family Racing since we raced Jr. Dragsters and at first I thought that we may want to start calling our team Sullivan Racing because so many others are involved. However I came to the conclusion Mark, Mike, Bob, Annette, Fuzz, and all the other people who have been a part and supported our race team are family. It only makes since to call it Sullivan Family Racing!
     Mike Berry being the super nice person he is flew down from Colorado to help us test this weekend! Everybody worked really hard to get the bike together and we finally got it down the track at the end of the weekend! Sullivan FAMILY Racing is now Vegas bound baby!

 Love,
    Katie

      The night before I left for Indy I was running around my apartment like a crazy lady. I had home work that had to be finished, packing that needed to be done, and various other things before I could leave. The next morning proved to be the same crazy run around. I had two morning classes, a little more packing to be done, and being the new mom of a fish, I had to make sure Nitro ( my fish) was all set for me to be gone a couple days.
      When I finally had everything done and all my bags were loaded in my car, I started my 2 hour drive to the airport in Sacramento. I had been excited for Indy ever since I had found out I was going to be able to go. (However that may be a little bit of an understatement, because I have been excited to race there since I was about 12 years old.) On my drive to the airport though it really hit me what I was about to go do.As I drove, tunes cranked and dutch bros in hand, I began to think of all the people who have helped me get to this point in my racing career. It was a little overwhelming as I began to go through names and names of all the people who have supported my dreams. Then it occurred to me I can never say thank you enough to all those people. So to every one who has ever helped or supported me in any way, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Even if it was just by saying good luck or good job, or even just a smile in my direction. It means the world to me and I honestly couldn't have made it this far with out everyones help!
     When I finally reached Indy it was about 12:30 at night. After a day of traveling you would think sleep would come easy. Except I was about to race at the big GO! How was I ever going to be able to sleep again? The next morning I couldn't wait to get to the track. I must admit being there with a new team and a new bike was a little nerve racking, but come first pass when I was sitting on the bike it was go time. Our first pass I was making a slight error in my riding. When I was twisting the throttle around I was dropping my shoulder and pushing the bike to the right. Every pass I made we went a little quicker, except on the last pass where I double shifted. Our quickest ET for qualifying was a 7.19. Even though we didn't qualify, I have to say I am proud of the progress we made. Between the Stoffer's and the Underdhaul's I learned a ton over the weekend. It was a very accomplishing feeling to fix some of the errors I was making riding. A huge thank you to the Stoffer's and Underdhaul's for all your help!
       My experience in Indy was one I will never forget. I met lots of new amazing people, Reggie Showers and Chip Ellis being a couple of them! I also was lucky enough to talk with Angelle, who was another one of my childhood hero's! I am really living out my dream and I can't even put into words the way I felt racing in Indy. Plus i was able to share the experience with my biggest hero, my dad . Out of all the people I have to thank, my mom and dad are at the top. They have always believed I could do it, even when other people didn't. Thanks again to everyone who has had a part in my success! I hope to make you all very proud!

                          Love,
                          Katie

    Right now I am going through some life changes! I just moved out of my parents house in Corning, to a cute little studio apartment in the heart of downtown Chico. I just became the proud mama of a beta fish, thanks to my awesome sister! School just started for me at Chico State and I am taking a full load of 16 units. So many exciting things are going on in my life right now and to top it all off we were fortunate enough to be able to add Indy to our schedule!

     Unable to find much financial help to be able to race Indy my Boss ( or Dad!) and I decided we were going to skip it for this year and save our money to go towards owning our own pro stock bike. This was sad to both of us, because its INDY! What a dream to get to race there. Word got out that out that we had made the decision to hold off on Indy for this year, and about a day after we made that decision my Boss received a call from Gary Stoffer. He made us an offer we could not refuse! Greg Underhal will be supplying the chassis and Gary Stoffer will be supplying the motor. I can not even describe how incredibly excited I am to have this opportunity! Any one that knows me, knows that Karen Stoffer has been my hero since I was a little girl. To be racing in a situation associated with their race team in Indy no less is AMAZING to me! I have to extend a huge Thank You to the Stoffer's and the Underhal's, you really can't imagine how much this means to me!

     This week I am unable to leave for Indy until Thursday evening due to classes! I must send a little apology out to all my professors in advance because I doubt I will be able to sit still in any of my classes this week! I can't wait to be in Indy and I look forward to seeing everyone who makes it out to the race! If you are not able to attend, don't forget to check it out on ESPN 2 if you get the chance!

              Love,
                 Katie  

     This passed weekend I was back in Sonoma for round two! It was awesome to get to see all the division 7 racers. I hadn't had the chance to see most of them all year and there are some pretty amazing people out there.

     On Thursday my best friend Arielle Patton and I set out on an adventure to the track. My parents were both unable to come to the track until Saturday, so we were on our own until then. Everything went smooth up until we got to the track and they told us we had to move our trailer which had been left there from the previous weekend. Now this really wasn't a big deal except for the fact i have never in my life moved a 48 foot trailer. Good thing there are always super nice people at the track, because they stepped right in to help me get it moved! A big thank you to all those people .

     After all the stress of getting the big trailer moved, I was very happy to be pitted and able to unload the turbo bike. We no longer own the turbo bike, but lucky for me a good friend of mine bought it. He was nice enough to let me borrow it so I could run the divisional race. There was not much to be done to the bike and another good friend of mine Kin Bates had come up to help us out for the weekend, so we headed off for a little adventure in good old San Francisco! We had a total blast.

     The next Morning I was a little nervous because I had never ran the turbo bike with out my Dad right by my side. However I have the greatest friends in the world who were there to help. With my crew consisting of Arielle, Kin, and Mike Fields Jr. we got the bike semi down the track. Which was only due to the fact that we had a kill switch going bad!  So as funny as it sounds it was an accomplishing feeling to do it on our own! Although I must say I was very happy to see my Mom and Dad that night, its always comforting having them there. And by the way Thank you for your help Arielle, Kin, and Mike! You guys rock!

    Once we figured out we had a kill switch going bad the bike was finally running decent the last qualifying pass I made. I went .012 on the tree putting us in the number 4 qualifying position out of 18 bikes. Of course it would only seem fitting that I ended up racing Ronnie Alves first round, who just so happens to be the new owner of the turbo bike.  We had joked around all night before about racing each other, but  on Sunday morning it was time to focus! Ronnie had a little issue on the starting line, and he turned on the the red light. So we were off to round two!

     I made a big mistake come round 2. I was dialed an 8.30 and the guy in the other lane was dialed an 8.49. In my mind I new our trees were going to drop close to around the same time, and I made the mistake of thinking my tree came later then it did. I honestly am embarrassed to say, but I was DEAD LATE with a .182 light. OUCH! Even though I ran an 8.31 on an 8.30, I had already killed my chance when I left the line! I'm still hearing jokes about my light and it has been 4 days! Thats racing though, and I learned a big lesson from it. So I'm ready for our next race, so I can hammer that tree to regain my title of  "Tripleohkatie", which this weekend was changed to "DEAD LATE KATE."

     All in all it was another amazing weekend! I made some new friends, had the chance to hang out with some old friends! Life is always good at the track!

     What an amazing weekend Sonoma turned out to be! We had the best support out there any one could ask for! Thanks to everyone who was a part of such a great weekend!

     I was one lucky little lady and had the opportunity to go do a couple cool things before even heading out to the track. My sister Kristin and I headed down to Rocklin on Wednesday for an open house at the Harley shop. It was a good time with some very good friends and Matt Guidera and his family are super sweet people! Plus it was nice to go on a little road trip with my favorite sister. Then on Thursday I went with my good friend Annette Robb to a press conference to help get people to the race in Sonoma. I had a total blast! I must admit I was a little intimidated at first, especially being there with some of the big dogs...Shawn Langdon, Morgan Lucas, and Jack Beckman. However they were all very nice and I calmed right down. People always ask me if its intimidating having the camera in my face or talking in front of people, and it can be....right until the point when I get to start talking about racing. Then I think I could just go on talking all night!

     On Thursday afternoon I was finally headed for the track. My mom had let my sister and I take her Dodge Challenger to Sacramento, so I was coasting right on down the road. I was so excited to be heading to the track I forgot to put gas in the car, so I had to pull up to our pit area pretty much on "E." A stupid move on my part, but lucky for me i have the greatest family in the world so they just laughed at me!

     Being in Sonoma on a pro stock bike at a national event has been my dream since I was 12 years old. So on Saturday when I ran my career best  E.T. of 7.09 and claimed the number 14 qualifying position I was pretty overwhelmed. I honestly can't even explain the way I felt. After 6 years of working and dreaming there we were qualified at my home track! I can't be sure, but after seeing my dad come down the return road with the biggest grin I have ever seen on his face, I think he was just as excited as me. 

     Everybody has their own opinion, and when it surfaced that I was going to be racing Andrew Hines in the first round....boy did I hear a lot of opinions! But my own opinion was "what an honor." We came to Sonoma to race and here we were matched up with one of the best. So what else were we going to do, but race! To me it doesn't matter who is in the other lane,  when its time to race its time to race! First round the bike took me towards the wall, so I ended up getting out of the throttle. When you get out of the throttle on a pro stock bike you have to pull in the clutch, or you risk damaging the motor. After our pass people kept telling me they were sorry about what happened, I just laughed because I had just had the best weekend of my life! We went out and gave it our best shot, and it just wasn't my day to go to round two! To me just by qualifying and being there with all my friends and family.... I had already won

    Thanks again to everyone supporting us and everyone who made it out!

               Love,
              Katie

     Since I was 12 years old my dream has been to race a pro stock motorcycle, and more specifically to be racing one at the Autolight Nationals in Sonoma. Here we are 6 years later and after years of hard work, my dream is about to come true!

    This week has been a lot of work, between waxing the trailer and just getting everything ready to be hauled to Sonoma! Then on top of that I am busy trying to get my classes worked out at Chico State and find an apartment to move into to be closer to school. Plus I always have to take a little me time and go to the gym and spend some time with my friends. Lots to do, but with all the exciting things going on in my life I have a tough time sleeping!  So that gives me a little more time in my day.

     There are so many people I know planning on going to the race this weekend in Sonoma, and I really really appreciate everyones support! It really does mean the world to me! Also thank you to everyone who wrote in the guest book, I love your comments . If your going to be at the race, I can't wait to see you there! And if you can't make it, try and catch us on ESPN 2!

                                                       Love, Katie