Show & Tell Magazine

Show-and-Tell-2020

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150 I-CONNECT007 I REAL TIME WITH... IPC APEX EXPO 2020 SHOW & TELL MAGAZINE When I race, I wear my sponsor brands, so I not only represent myself, but I represent every single sponsor. And when I walked to the stage at IPC APEX EXPO 2020, I had already thought about what I wanted everyone to take away from it. I wanted to put out the vision that I have when I see myself in the mirror. I wanted to be a strong, confident woman who's not afraid to take chances; if you feel that from the inside out, then usually people receive that. Johnson: Could you recount some of your key- note where you spoke about being in the hos- pital after crashing your dragster into a wall at 280 mph with severe injuries. Larsen: It was scary. My husband knew that he had built the car that ended up hurting me. But as I saw it, he built the car that saved my life. Had he not built such a strong car, I wouldn't be here talking to you today. He did the right things, but he felt extreme guilt. When I opened my eyes, he knew that I was okay and that we were going to keep going because he knew how much I loved getting behind the wheel of this race car. Everyone was saying, "You're done. That's it for you." Instead, my husband said, "This is not your last race. This is not how people and young girls are going to remember you—get- ting taken out in an ambulance." He was there when I couldn't stand up on my own, and he was there to help hold me up. He was so sup- portive and helped me regain my confidence. Johnson: That's fantastic. Larsen: Having a support system is so impor- tant. You have to surround yourself with peo-

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