Hello and welcome back to the blog, this week it is Brandon with you to talk about the new BracketLife apparel we have launching today!
Rachel and I are extremely excited to introduce our fourth collection of BracketLife apparel. This collection will be known as our 'Vintage Collection' and will take you back in time.
]]>Rachel and I are extremely excited to introduce our fourth collection of BracketLife apparel. This collection will be known as our 'Vintage Collection' and will take you back in time. Through these designs, we try to embrace what a racing shirt can be. While many racing shirts are filled with colour and flashy designs with a race car on top (trust me I do love those designs also) the new apparel focuses on our branding of good old fashioned grass roots racing and the drag racing lifestyle.
Starting off with the Crest shirts which are the same design we have on our long sleeve shirt and is our first cross over to a casual wearing design. A classic look made to wear anywhere from at the track or to a nice dinner. This shirt comes in colour options of Black, White, Heather Grey or Blue. The Blue option of this might be my favourite option because it is a fresh mix up from my usual black t shirt collection that is just nice enough to wear out to dinner and is not ruined from stains after I wear it for a day at the track.
Next, we have our official Vintage design which is one of the best designs we have made so far. This really hits the vintage feeling with the front engine dragster planted front and centre on the shirt followed by “It’s a lifestyle” because it really is. This design to me shows the beginning of drag racing with the old school dragster and represents how far the sport has come since then, but the mentality of the racers and people involved are still the same being fuelled by the thrill of going to the race track.
The Vintage Design is offered in a t-shirt in Navy and Heather Grey. We also offer this design on the back of a hoodie and is also available in Navy or Grey.
We really have a great product that is very comfortable to wear and will stand out from the usual racing shirt designs we are all accustomed to. Check out all the products online or at the track where we will have them set up on display along with all the other apparel and products we offer.
As always, thank you for taking the time to check out our blogs every week and keeping up with Rachel and I. We appreciate all the support we get from every one of you and plan to keep bringing you great content and even better products.
I will talk to you here again in a couple of weeks.
Brandon Barker
]]>The weekend of May 14th was our first race of the year at ICAR in Mirabel, Quebec. With a rainy forecast in the schedule, we were only able to get Saturday’s race in [which we knew was the plan a head of time]. I ended up making it to fourth round, which for me was an accomplishment! I was actually surprised with how comfortable I felt getting back into the car for the first time and how focused I was each round. With Brandon making it to the finals that day, it was definitely an exciting first race day for all of us!! It was also a great first race to get back into the groove of things and having Sunday to relax was a bonus! My favourite part was hitting Herb’s truck stop for breakfast on Sunday morning! It’s almost become a tradition now for us to have breakfast there on Sunday’s.
This past weekend (May 21st) was quite the welcome back to our second home, Luskville Dragway! Again, we knew heading into the weekend that the weather forecast did not look great – so we had planned to run both races on the Saturday (just to be safe). The first race was $5,000 to win, and it was also the Mulligan race – which means you can purchase an extra ‘life’ to get back into the race after you lose (any round). I was really excited for this race, as you can typically go a few extra rounds than usual, but sadly my day ended early. I did not win a single round that morning …
Brandon however, was on a winning streak and going rounds. He was double-entered into the race, driving both his and his brother’s race cars. But at 3:00 PM that afternoon, we could tell the weather was starting to get worse. It started to spit rain and we knew if it continued to rain any harder, that we’d be done for the day. We got one more round of racing in before the Emergency Weather Alert popped up on our phone. 25 minutes later … a freak storm hit us! Taking the hydro out, flipping over multiple trailers and garbage bins + debris everywhere. They say it wasn’t a tornado [but a derecho] … but boy did it feel like a tornado! After about 15 minutes the storm ended and that concluded racing for not just the day, but for the weekend! We all jumped into cleanup mode, and the track staff + drivers spent the rest of their long weekend putting the track back together.
Fortunately, nobody got hurt and we will be able to finish the race in two weeks when we are back at Luskville again. Brandon is still in the race at 5 cars and will be chasing his first win of the season! Until then, Brandon will be headed to Napierville Dragway this weekend to compete for $3,000 and I will be headed back home to host a Baby Shower for my best friend!
I hope you have all had a great start to May!
Catch you next-next week,
Rachel Barker
]]>The weather forecast heading into the weekend was not great for Sunday so the race promoters took the total weekend purse and doubled it up for Saturday’s event. This could have been really good or really bad depending on how your day went. Being the first race of the year and most people (including us) did not get a chance to go out testing. So, we were all working the bugs out of our equipment and trying to remember how to drive our cars with $10,000 on the line to win. Fortunate for myself I was driving both mine and my brothers dragsters and did not have any major malfunctions. We had some spongy brakes on my dragster but after a few good bleeds they were better. As for driving the cars I had spent the last few weeks rehearsing my whole routine in my head for what to do and I spent a good amount of time in the morning sitting in both cars and getting used to them again. It was almost like riding a bike getting back into the groove of going down the track.
Saturday was hot. In the morning we talked about the key to winning the event would be whoever was able to withstand the conditions the best since this was our first day back wearing our fire suits and driving the cars again in 6 months. I am not saying I was the best conditioned for the weather but we were able to combat the heat all day with lots of water and drinks as well as some well timed snacks throughout the day. Mid way through the race I started to lose the fight in the heat but had some recommendations for different snacks and drinks to try to stay energized. Rachel bringing a cold towel to put around my neck definitely helped as well.
The final round came up fast as we were trying to get the event done before the cruise night began and the street cars took over. I was confident in my game plan heading into the final round looking to start the season off with a big win. Unfortunately it did not work out that way as when I pressed the button for the transmission brake to get ready to launch, the button had failed and did not make a connection to tell any of the timers or solenoids to begin working and my car rolled forward before the green light came on and ended my race day.
This was still a ridiculously good way to start out the season and hopefully is a sign for what is to come for the rest of 2022. It felt so good to be back out. We are headed to Luskville this upcoming weekend and I am going to do everything I can to keep this momentum rolling!
Thanks everyone for keeping up with the Blog and for following Rachel and I. If all goes well we will have a great race weekend success story from Rachel soon!
See you next time,
Brandon Barker
]]>
Over the last couple of years, I’ve gotten really good at finding quick, healthy and delicious food to take to the track. Since every member of our family races, there is not a dedicated ‘cook’ per say (unless Brandon’s mom/Grandma comes). What typically ends up happening is that no-one actually cooks a meal – we just snack all day. Which is fine … until you start overeating on junk! Last year, we took snacking to the next level and turned to healthier alternatives. Here are some of my must have healthy snacks at the track:
1) Liberté Greek Yogurt & Berries
In the morning, it’s always all hands on deck to get the cars warmed up and ready to go for race day. Instead of cooking a big breakfast, we’ve just learned to grab a quick bowl of yogurt + add raspberries or blackberries to it! This is a high protein and quick breakfast option that will satisfy your hunger in the morning.
2) Mid-Day Squares
Because everyone loves chocolate, so why not curb your sweet tooth with a healthy, functional chocolate bar. If you’re not familiar with MDS, you need to be! They are a fairly new and BOOMING chocolate bar company that is based right here in Canada (Montreal, to be more specific). They have set the bar for me when it comes to enjoying a ‘bar’. I 1000% prefer MDS over regular protein bars and/or granola bars. Go RUN to their website and use ‘RACHELB15’ at checkout for 15% off your order.
3) Hummus Crisps (Chips) made by Off The Eaten Path
These chips are SO delicious. They are made with real chickpeas and organic ingredients – and you would have no idea! We all know how delicious a good bag of chips is, especially at the racetrack. So next time you’re craving a bag of chips, reach for these bad boys instead!
4) Turkey Bites made by Piller’s
My family is always looking for easy ways to consume protein, and these are a great option for the track! Low in calories, carbs and fats, these turkey bites make a quick and filling snack! Mix a few of these with some crackers and cheese – now you’re really set!
5) Apple Slices & PB
If you race with us, then you’ve probably seen us going crazy over apples and PB. Last year, when I was really trying to be cautious about what I ate (for our wedding) I started bringing apples to the track. I’d cut up an apple and put a spoonful of peanut butter with it. All of a sudden, everyone was reaching into my bowl to enjoy for themselves. So, we started bringing 3-4 apples and cutting up a bunch at a time to enjoy all together! It sounds so crazy, but they are such a refreshing snack and different from the typical fruit/veggie trays you get at the grocery store.
These are just a few of my favourite family-friendly, healthy snacks that I take to the track with us! Do you guys try to take healthy snacks to the track? Let me know your favourite snacks below!
Catch you next-next week,
Rachel Barker
]]>This was our first time setting up a booth for BracketLife anywhere except in our trailer at the race track, so it was a whole new experience.
It was at the Motorama Show 2 years ago in 2020 when we first launched BracketLife. We showed up with our first BracketLife golf shirt with a brand-new idea and company. I was scheduled to be on their drag racing panel, and we were planning to meet as many people as we could to share our new project.
Unfortunately, as everyone knows it did not go that way and the show was cancelled mid way through and all those plans quickly went away. So, when we got the chance to come back for another chance at Motorama with a booth, we had to go for it.
This year we got to do it up right. After weeks of planning, Rachel and I hit the road Thursday to set up. My mom, Sherry, met us that night for dinner to relax and refresh before a long few days. Friday morning the three of us hit the show early around 9 AM before the rush. Doors opened and we were in business ready to go. Most of Friday was filled with students, and we were trying our best to introduce them to drag racing. I was up on the racer zone stage with representatives from other types of racing, talking about how we can grow the sport. We closed the show at 9 PM and had a lovely dinner together to celebrate our first day.
Saturday morning our BracketLife crew added four more bodies. Mike, Vicki, Ashley and Nic arrived to help and support our cause. The drag racing night of champions was held mid afternoon which was great to finally be a part of and celebrate my championship in 2020 at Shannonville. We were joined later that night by my BracketLife Broadcast co-host Andrew Stirk for dinner and were also accompanied by my brother Daniel and his girlfriend, Alyssa.
Sunday, we started out with the full team there and I finally got to be part of the drag race panel with four other industry leaders to speak about the future of drag racing, where it is headed, and how much we all genuinely love drag racing. It got hectic at the end of the day as you could imagine when everyone was trying to load up and hit the road from the show. But with the entire BracketLife crew together we flew out of there and busted out in great time.
Something I want to close out with was what Mike had talked about during the show. In 1995, Mike and Vicki were at the Motorama show (the show had a different name) and they were set up in the main hall right beside my grandfather and Uncle. Being in the spring of ’95 this took place before myself or Rachel were even born. It was a surreal time for Mike and for Rachel and I to be back at the show 27 years later with our own brand and booth.
I want to thank Mike, Vicki, Ashley, Nic, Daniel, Alyssa and my always supportive and encouraging mom, Sherry, for their help and support not just over the weekend but with everything Rachel and I do and whatever adventure or challenge we take on.
I will talk to all of you again soon, let’s go racing!
See you next time,
Brandon Barker
]]>Here's what you need to know about the show this weekend:
You can find us in Hall 1B at Booth #2022
Show Hours:
Friday, April 29th: 10:00 AM – 9:00 PM
Saturday, April 30th: 10:00 AM – 8:00 PM
Sunday, May 1st: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Admission Prices (includes tax):
ADULTS: $25 (or $60 for 3-day pass)
SENIORS (65+): $20 (or $50 for 3-day pass)
YOUTH (7 to 15): $17 (or $40 for 3-day pass)
CHILDREN (6 & under): FREE!
PARKING: FREE!
Events on Main Stage:
Friday, April 29th:
Saturday, April 30th:
Sunday, May 1st:
*Brandon will be on stage for ALL of these events.
For more information, head over to their website: https://www.motoramashow.com
We hope to see all of you there, it is going to be a blast!! We will be sure to recap the event in our next blog post!
Catch you next-next week,
Rachel Barker
]]>As we continue to spend a lot of time working on what’s to come for this year’s racing season, I wanted to jump on here quickly for two reasons! One, to wish everyone a Happy Easter Weekend, and two, to share that we will be hosting an Easter Sale this weekend on our shop!
Personally, I love Easter! It’s always been one of my favourite family holidays. I loved dyeing eggs as a kid, the easter egg hunts in the morning, all the pretty spring flowers and the pastel colours that come along with the holiday. Now that I’m older, I definitely still love the décor aspect of Easter and making fun easter themed desserts for family dinners. This year, I am tasked with making a delicious carrot cake!
And because I love Easter so much, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to host an Easter Sale! From now until Monday, April 18th at 11:59 PM EST, enjoy 15% off all orders. Let us help you look your best when you roll into the racetrack for the first time this year!
I hope you all have a great Easter Weekend! Thank you as always for your support!!
Catch you next-next week,
Rachel Barker
]]>Obviously race cars need to be finished. My dragster is 80% finished right now. Transmission is back in, new rear end together, u-joints are back together. Waiting for axle bearings then I can set the valves and we will be ready to fire it up. The nitrous kit is coming along, I want to finish everything else first and be ready to go racing then I will focus more on finishing the kit.
Daniel’s dragster needs the transmission put back in and it will be finished as well so nothing major going on for either one of the dragsters right now.
The Ogilvie dragsters will take a good day to have them all ready, but again nothing major to do now. Mike already has his together and ready to fire up. Vicki’s dragster is going to get a brand new Jones Transmission Pump which will have a YouTube video made to show the process to get one set up and the benefits of having one. As for Rachel and Ashley, both of their dragsters will get a good look over and be ready to hit the track.
What I am looking forward to the most is getting our Toterhome out. Working on the dragsters all winter is great, but it isn’t like there is a big change for a certain point to when we are going racing. But once we get the Toterhome and trailer out that means it is go time!
Other than that we have to prepare for the Motorama Car Show April 29-May 1 so if any of you want to check that out make sure to come by and see us. Also check out next week out BracketLife Broadcast with myself, Andrew Stirk, and Travis Ringguth talking about the differences between Bracket Racing and Super Class Racing. Thanks for coming back to the blog and we will be talking to you again in 2 weeks hopefully with some more progress towards going to the race track!
See you next time,
Brandon Barker
]]>With all of that going on, I wanted to make sure that I still set out goals for my own race program this season. Here's what I'll be focusing on:
We will look back and review my results at the end of the year to see if I was able to live up to the expectations. I hope in 9 months we look back at it and have accomplished everything on my list!
Catch you next time,
Brandon Barker
]]>When I first became interested in drag racing, the only reason I knew it was possible for me to become a racer was because I saw a Disney Movie about two sisters who started drag racing. It just so happened that they were exactly the same age as me and my sister in the movie, and their dad drag raced just like mine did! The movie is called Right on Track and it’s the true story of Erica & Courtney Enders … if for some reason you have no idea what I’m talking about, lol. But I digress.
The idea that drag racing is a male dominated sport, isn’t new. It’s seriously a fact. There are far more men in the sport than women. And I know you think I’m going to jump into the whole ‘gender-divide’ issue, but I’m actually arguing the opposite. I think our sport does an excellent job of treating all racers equally, regardless of their gender. I’m so thankful for not only the women who came before me in the sport, but for how the sport has welcomed women.
During International Women’s Day, I heard a lot of women talk about the biases and inequality they face in their life, industry, sport, etc. (and I’m not saying that stuff doesn’t happen, because it most certainly does). But when I sat back and thought about what it was like in drag racing specifically, I realized a few things.
In drag racing, we as racers are not split up into categories based on gender (or age for that matter). Because of this, I think that brings a REALLY unique aspect to our sport. AND because our sport only categorizes us by speed, engine size, car, etc. it allows everyone an equal opportunity to compete against each other if they choose. In drag racing, we don’t have a ‘female super pro champion’ and a ‘male super pro champion’ we have ONE super pro champion, and we ALL compete for that one spot. This is what makes our community so solid. Because we are all competing for that one championship or winner spot, men and women.
In a lot of other sports, women stay in their own group and so do men. But in drag racing, we all stick together, learn together, race together and win + lose together. Are there more men in our community? Yes. But that doesn’t change the fact that women are still considered serious competitors and treated as such. We are all judged the same when it comes to our skills and talent, and there is no proof that gender is a part of this equation. We see successful men just as much as we see successful women in this sport.
Overall, I love how unique our sport is when it comes to the topic of gender. Of course, this is a very controversial opinion with a lot of different layers to account for. But from a generalized standpoint, I think we can be proud of how encouraging our sport is for women to be a part of.
Thank you to the men and women for what you contribute to the sport. To the women who show up unapologetically and never shy back from their true capabilities as a competitor. And to the men, who also bring their best to the table and never lower their expectations when it comes to competing against a woman. It says a lot about us as individuals, but also as a community.
Thanks for reading. I’d love to hear your opinion on this topic!
Catch you next-next week,
Rachel Barker
]]>Honestly I have been putting it off a bit to actually be physically working on the cars because as we all know the weather has not been very motivational. We go up to the race shop a lot but lately it has turned into hanging out and doing tow calls.
But now that we are officially in March, it's getting closer to game time. The warm weather is slowly starting to come and the snow is disappearing. The transmissions are both out and won't be very hard to get done and back together. My engine that we hurt last season is not ready yet but we are all good with the spare staying in for a while longer. The biggest job we need to do right now is get the Nitrous system set up. I will spend some time next weekend focused on wiring that all together and that will turn into a YouTube video showing how we do it and what challenges we find along the way.
As for the rest of the fleet, we have some work to do on Vicki’s dragster just touching up some things as well as mounting the new Jones Transmission Pump to control the transmission temperature during the race day. There are some tires that will also need to be mounted. And on a completely separate topic, I always tell myself I am going to clean out the trailer but never actually end up changing much. So maybe this spring I will have a chance to mix up how the trailer is organized to be more functional.
That pretty much sums up the work we need to do for the cars but as you all know, nothing ever ends up being as easy as it seams.
Thanks for reading and I will talk to you all again soon!
Brandon Barker
]]>Hello BracketLifer’s and happy March! I feel like I blinked and all of a sudden we are three months into 2022. We have had such a busy start to the year, and it doesn’t seem like it’s going to slow down at all. This week, I had planned on writing about Motorama and how we are SO close to the show, but like most other events in Canada right now, it has been postponed. But don’t worry, you’ll get to hear all about Motorama on the blog next month when we are getting ready for the show which will take place on April 29 to May 1.
As we close out the first quarter of the year this month, I thought it would be fun to share what we have planned for the next six months. Between a brand-new season of racing, apparel launches and BracketLife Broadcasts, there is always a lot going on over here. Although this month might seem quieter (as the racing season hasn’t started for us yet) we anticipate a big month for our BracketLife Broadcast. We are currently working to add additional value to the show, each and every week, so you’ll see a few new additions to the show in the coming weeks.
As we head into April and May, we shift gears back over to our apparel with a large focus on Motorama. We hope to get our apparel out in front of as many racers as possible through Motorama and will even be holding a Clearance Sale through our online website in April. By May, we will be starting our racing season off, and launching our new 2022 Apparel Collection. I won’t give any ideas on what it will entail, but let’s just say it’s my favourite collection we’ve ever launched to date.
Midway through Q2 or Q3 (we don’t have an exact launch date yet) we will be launching Brandon’s e-book. This is something we are SO excited about and will be the perfect guide for beginners in the sport. Brandon walks through all the basics of drag racing, making it easier for beginners to enter our sport. You can read more about his e-book here.
Then in June, Brandon and I will be headed down to Edmonton, Alberta for the week to compete at the Oil City Classics event at RAD Torque Raceway, where we finally get to meet our fellow Western Canadian racing friends! This will be the first time we’ve ever been to a racetrack in Western Canada, and we could not be more excited!
If all goes as planned, our first half of 2022 will be incredible! We are always working on new things, so who knows what the other half of 2022 will look like right now! We can confirm that we will be racing until October this year, but we will be sure to keep you updated as we go.
Thank you again for all your support, we couldn’t do it without you guys! Let us know below what you are most excited for in 2022!
Catch you next-next week,
Rachel Barker
]]>Now this definitely was not a racing related trip so this wouldn’t have been my first choice, but Rachel and Alyssa got my brother and I this trip for a Christmas gift that we could all do together so I figured we would make the best of it. For myself I was most excited for the food, more specifically the pizza and Italian cuisine.
After a bit of a flight delay, we took off from Toronto Friday afternoon and arrived in New York around 8 that night and after getting to our hotel the four of us hit the streets to experience the city. Our first stop was the Ellen Stardust Diner on Broadway. My mom had gone there before and had a great experience, so she recommended we try it out. Now I had heard stories about the Diner but had no idea what it was all about. Almost everyone on the staff there is an aspiring Broadway singer or dancer, and the purpose of the Diner is to showcase these performers and their skills to the world while they are working to pay the bills. So, for the entire time we were there it was live music from shows on Broadway being preformed by our wait staff and it was unbelievable the talent they had. It really was a great experience to see these people putting everything into the songs because you never know when opportunity can come up. Oh, and we ate the Yankee Doodle Burger which is served with Mac & Cheese on top of it which yes, was unreal.
Saturday, we hit the road and walked around the city and started out at the 9/11 Museum and if you ever get the chance to check that out, I highly recommend it. We were there for what felt like hours taking it all in. I was only 6 years old when it happened, and I have looked into a bit of what happened, and everyone knows the story of what happened but when you get to look at the timeline breakdown of that day it blew me away how the events happened and how the whole world had to react in such a short time. They have a memorial room for all those who passed away that day and inside that room is a room that plays an obituary for each individual where one of their friends or family shares a story about that person. It was a very moving experience for an event that changed the way we live.
Sunday was full of touring the heights of the city. We climbed to the top of “The Edge” at Hudson Yards which is an outdoor Skydeck 100 stories above New York City. It was a ridiculous view to see across the city from that vantage point. The scope of taking in the city and all that it is, was a really great experience. We followed up that really tall building with going to the top of another really tall building at the Rockefeller Center. Top of the Rock, although not as tall as The Edge standing only 70 stories above the city, sits in the middle of the city. Here we got to learn the history of the Rockefeller Center and the giant Christmas Tree it had its own great parts to it.
That Sunday night we all got to watch “Chicago” on Broadway, and I must tell you it was amazing. I love musical and shows like that and it really lived up to the hype for me. My favourite part is watching the performers to see who really is giving it their all and showing why they deserve to be there on the stage while so many others aspire to be there.
Monday was saved for Central Park and to prepare for our flight home. We toured around the park for awhile relaxing and taking it all in before Rachel and I hit up Dave & Busters for some arcade action before heading to the airport.
Overall, it was a great trip I’m glad we got to take and experience. Of course, I couldn’t cover every single detail of what we did because then we would be here all day long. But we had a great trip, I have attached a few more food photos below for your viewing enjoyment.
Thank you guys for reading and keeping up with us all the time. I will talk to you guys in a couple of weeks!
See you next time,
Brandon Barker
]]>Well for us, typically the first few weeks after the season ends, we really do become couch potatoes. We spend every waking second trying to recover from the long days and sleep as much as we can! Then, once we are rested, we quickly get to work on the race cars. We determine what work needs to be done on them. Do we need to pull the motor or transmission and send them out to be freshened up? Do we need to order any parts, tires, etc.? If so, we get that work done quickly and order everything we need! Then we jump into winterization. What do we need to do to winterize the cars and motorhome? For us, this has become much easier since building the Ogilvie Race Shop, but definitely a critical step before the snow starts coming down.
Once we have a good handle on the race cars and motorhome, we typically spend the next couple of months travelling or getting together with friends and family that we don’t typically see during the year. I feel like since we have been racing for so long, our friends and family just understand that they won’t see us in the summer unless they come to the track themselves. As much as we always wish we were racing, it’s a nice change of pace and we always make great memories. Some of our favourite memories include throwing a Halloween Party, going to the Apple Orchard, hitting the ice for some pickup hockey and Texas hold em’ tournaments.
My biggest recommendation for the off-season is to have a plan for every weekend like you would in the summer for racing. Instead of picking out what racetrack you will be going to that weekend, make a list of things you want to do during the off-season and start planning your weekends out early! If you’ve always wanted to go on a cruise, or throw a Christmas party, do it during the off-season! Especially if you have a wife/partner who is always busting your butt about wanting to travel or do different things in the middle of race season!!
Holidays are also a good time to do fun and exciting things, and there are a lot during our off-season! We love to throw parties for every holiday and go all out! Halloween and NYE have quickly become favourites for us! Then, by the time the new year has rolled around, and Valentine’s Day is over, it’s time to get back into the shop and begin ramping up for next season!
What do you do to keep busy during the off-season? How do you stay busy?
Catch you next-next week,
Rachel Barker
]]>So, with time flying by I am here for some ideas to get your wife, husband, girlfriend, boyfriend or whoever else you want to pick up a gift for. And do not worry, I have some pretty good ones!
There are my top 5 last minute Valentine’s Day gift ideas. Let me know if anyone here uses one of my recommendations and how it goes for you! If all goes well for me, Rachel will read this and pick me up a meat lovers pizza with extra cheese, heart shaped or not I will appreciate every pizza of it.
Catch you next time,
Brandon Barker
]]>I hope these gift ideas are helpful for Valentine’s Day! Let me know below what your favourite Valentine’s Day gift was that you’ve received. It might just help other readers with their shopping.
Catch you next-next week,
Rachel Barker
]]>Starting off let’s go straight to my main source, Ogilvie’s Auto & Fleet Service, or Ogilvie Motorsports. I am sure most of you all know the Ogilvie’s are my in-laws and I work very close with them helping customers get sorted out with what products we can get and pricing. Right now, Ogilvie’s is an official K&R Performance Parts Dealer as well as a Motorstate dealer which gives them access to a majority of performance or drag race related parts for anything you could need. Give me a call or send a message if there is anything I could get you information on from tires to electronics then just let me know!
Another great Canadian product dealer is Octane Performance, located in Quebec, who brought Pro-1 Safety Products into Canada. Pro 1 makes some of the best safety equipment on the market from full fire suits to gloves and other safety equipment. Octane Performance has now expanded their Pro 1 Safety products across the country to T&T Motorsports in Western Canada and JNB Racing in the Maritimes. Check out their products online and let them know BracketLife sent you!
We use Fast Eddie Racewear for our personal custom fire suits, as well as all Impact and Simpson race products. Fast Eddie is a great Canadian company for custom apparel such as t shirts or crew shirts with wild designs. We have used them for years long before Rachel and I began running BracketLife for different event shirts such as what we used for the Jim Parkhurst Memorial Event T-Shirts.
And to finish off we could not go any further without talking about BracketLife bringing Wild Willy Fuel Fragrances into Canada. I was impressed by how certain race cars would stand out so much from their exhaust scents I needed to have it. So, we got set up with Wild Willy and now keep 15 different scents in stock. And if you are not sure how well they work then all you need to do is ask the Grand Bend Motorplex staff what they think about the Fruit Loops scent I run in my car!
To finish this weeks blog off after I just shared with you 4 great Canadian companies, I wanted to remind you (and myself) that Valentines Day is coming up soon! If you were unsure of an idea for your spouse, then maybe something from one of these or the countless other local companies could help you out!
See you next time,
Brandon Barker
]]>When it comes to social media, there are two really important factors to success: having a developed niche and posting consistency. People want to know ‘who’ and ‘what’ your page is about. If they can’t find those two things out within the first 10 seconds, they are less likely to engage with your account. You want people to engage with you, because this opens up SO many other opportunities for you (which I’ll come back to later). Secondly, if you don’t post on a consistent basis, then your audience (followers) won’t know what to expect from you. You don’t need to post every single day, but you should post on a regular basis enough so that your followers don’t forget about you.
Ok so why do I prepare for social media? What does this even mean? Well, most importantly, you need to create a social media strategy. Having a social media account on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Tik Tok, etc. is a great start – but once you have the account you need to have a strategy to keep it active ALL year!
As you know, drag racing is a seasonal sport, so we typically only have about 6 months to race (unless you live in a southern state). Majority of racers are fantastic at posting throughout the racing season, but then when it comes to the off-season, they go radio silent. But when you think about it, when do us racers spend the most time on social media? Usually during the off-season when we are bored. So this is when we should be posting, and where you'll actually see the most success!
Ok so how do I create a social media strategy? Well, the first thing to note is that your strategy needs to include consistently posting on social media ALL YEAR. Which means that you will essentially be creating double the content you are currently creating. Once you realize how much content you’ll need to create, this is when you can narrow down how frequently you want to post on social media and how you want to post. Do you want to post pictures, videos, reels, stories, a mixture of everything? Ok, now you can get to work.
The easiest way I know how to execute on my social media strategy, is by creating a content calendar – AKA a calendar that showcases everything you want to post to your social media page for the year. I always start by looking at the year as a whole – usually with holidays and big race events. These are things I KNOW I want to post (talk) about. Then, I get more specific and plan out each quarter and/or each month.
For YouTube, I plan our video topics out each quarter, for Instagram and Facebook posts, I plan those out a few weeks to a month in advance. Once I have planned out the topics/events – now I have an idea of what footage I need to capture. For example, if I plan on making a vlog for our YouTube Channel during Opening Weekend, then I know I need to take a few minutes out of the race day to grab my phone and shoot an introduction video and multiple shots of things happening throughout the race day. I can edit it and write the caption later, but the content needs to be taken then. When it comes to off-season posting, my biggest advice is to just ALWAYS be taking random pictures and videos at the track throughout the season. You can use this content in the winter months to share a throwback, funny story, etc.
The most important thing to note about social media as a whole is to just, BE YOU. Stick to topics that represent who you and your racing team are. Don’t post just to post. Aim for posts that either educate or entertain your audience. Provide VALUE to your audience and engage with other fellow racers in the community.
Social media can also be a great tool to advertise your sponsors to a wider audience, share your racing wins/accomplishments, and potentially monetize your channel to make an income. Be sure to include these in your social media plan and never be afraid to ‘gloat’ or talk about yourself too much. People want to see what you’re doing and how you do it. Give them exactly what they want – a behind the scenes look!
I hope this blog post helps put into perspective why it’s important to have a social media strategy and what you can do to get started. Happy social media planning!
Catch you next-next week,
Rachel Barker
]]>BracketLife Broadcast will focus on Canadian Drag Racing, with our main focus being on sportsman/bracket racing. Discussions about events coming up, results from the weekend prior, as well as personal opinions and stories we have picked up along the way will be shared. We will also be joined by special guests, from time to time, to bring insight and information from coast to coast across Canada.
I am very excited about this new adventure because first, I have always wanted to shine a bigger spotlight on Canadian Drag Racing along with the racers and their stories. And instead of waiting for someone else to bring it to us, I decided to take on this task myself. Creating a central place for news, race highlights, and event winners will create a huge opportunity for us to push Canadian Drag Racing out into a larger market, spreading awareness for what we all have going on.
Secondly, since I started BracketLife Brand, I have been able to meet so many racers from across the country that I had no idea were out there. Now, after getting to know them and working together with different tracks, promoters, and racers I have had my eyes opened to just how strong bracket racing really is in Canada.
When I was brainstorming who I wanted to have as a co-host on the show, it didn't take me long to figure out that I wanted to work with Andrew Stirk. Andrew and I have known each other for roughly 10 years now, and we met when I first started attending his DSE Sportsman Series events. Since then, we have spoke many times and have established mutual respect for one another. After a few hour-long phone calls, I made the decision that Andrew would be the perfect co-host for a show based on Canadian Drag Racing. Not only has Andrew been around to see a whole lot, but his dad has been around even longer. We also both race similar styles and events, but I race mainly in Quebec while he is in Southern Ontario; so we are close enough to both be mixed into the same circles, but far enough apart from each other that we see different experiences and form different opinions on certain topics.
When it came to the format of the show, I wanted it to be streamed in real-time. The great part about streaming live will be the ability to interact with viewers in real time as they comment on the video or send us messages. We want it to be an interactive experience for everyone to be involved in.
This is going to be a great addition to BracketLife Brand, and I hope it becomes a great resource for all Canadian Drag Racing as we continue to grow our sport.
See you next time,
Brandon Barker
]]>Well, that was 2021 in a nutshell! As I sit back and look at all the progress we made in 2021, it makes me even more excited for 2022! Our biggest focus was expanding our apparel and product offerings for our online shop, and I feel like we did a great job of that! We now offer over 50 products on our website, and there will be more to come for 2022!
This year, we are going to continue making huge strides in business through our apparel items, but our main priority will be to expand our social media platforms and improve our content! Although I’m not going to share exactly what our plans are for our platforms just yet, I can say that it will make a mark in the Canadian Bracket Racing scene for sure!
Catch you next-next week,
Rachel Barker
]]>So, to get started, Mike and Vicki (my in-laws) picked Rachel and I up at our house around 7:30 Wednesday morning and we hit the road. We ran into traffic coming through Toronto and lost some time crossing the border at Port Huron but overall had no real set backs on the drive. It wasn’t until 7:30 that night we got to the hotel and decided to hit Cracker Barrel for some dinner. I know that many of my Canadian friends and readers might forget but the food in the USA is ridiculously delicious.
Thursday was an early start so we could get to the show by 7 AM for the Opening Ceremonies and a welcome breakfast with over 2,000 other show guests. We got to listen to excellent speakers highlighted by Roger Penske speaking about his personal business practices. Following this we headed into the show for the first time to find a huge number of vendors and businesses all set up and ready for opportunity! For most of the day we just cruised around the show trying to take it all in and get our bearings. The after party was the real surprise of the day as you can see in this weeks YouTube video, there was a band, they had a complimentary beer bar as well as a complete dinner buffet set up for all the attendees. We enjoyed the buffet so much all we needed for the rest of the night we a quick trip to DQ for some ice cream before we packed it in!
Then Friday morning we were a little more relaxed on when to get to the show so we could be a little more refreshed. We start out touring around some more and began talking to different vendors and making contacts as well as meeting friends we have met online over the last few years with BracketLife. The coolest parts of meeting different people was when they had already heard about or seen BracketLife. It is always great to have that kind of “validation” that the work you are doing is really getting you somewhere and making progress. Friday night we tried to get over to Texas Roadhouse but the 2 hour wait sent us to Applebee’s for an excellent dinner.
We finished off our PRI experience Saturday meeting more folks and finishing off some new deals which we will be able to share in a few weeks, but this was the day we were able to really get some progress made. This whole experience was such a whirlwind just like we had expected it to be but was so worth it. The night ended with a ridiculous meal at Chili’s and packing up for the long tour home in the morning.
For everyone wondering how it was going over and back across the US border over 72 hours, for us it fortunately wasn’t a huge hassle. We scheduled a drive thru covid test for Thursday at noon which was only around the corner from the show. So, we headed to CVS and got in the drive thru line where we administered our own tests, returned them to the counter and waited for our results. It took 2 days for us to receive our results, which then we had screenshotted on Rachel’s phone. Saturday night we filled out the ArriveCAN information with the app on our phone which then gave us a QR code that we also screenshotted and kept on Rachel’s phone.
When you are coming back to Canada from the USA your covid test “expires” after 72 hours so since we had ours done Thursday, we had until 12 noon on Sunday to be back across the border which meant an early ride home! We were able to be on the road just after 5 AM which set us at the border around 10:30. We wanted to leave some room for if we ran into traffic or got slowed down on the drive. So, when we arrived to cross back over, we showed our passports to the border officer as well as Rachel’s phone with all the information of negative tests and our QR codes and we were good to go.
So that overall was our trip! It was busy, tiring, but was such a great experience and I can not wait for next years show!
Thank you all so much for coming back and keeping up with us every week. I hope you enjoyed it and cannot wait to share more stories about everything BracketLife!
Brandon Barker
]]>We have been creating a program to teach people who are new, just starting out, or are inexperienced, how to bracket race. This program would focus specifically on the basics of bracket racing such as understanding the numbers on the time slip and the math to come up with them, how to use a delay box and what using one does for you on the starting line.
The program idea came from talking about how to grow our sport. We looked at the various places new racers could come from and whether that be racers who have cars and stick to test & tune events or racers completely new to the sport. Something all these people have in common is they can look at the concept of bracket racing and it can be very intimidating. An interesting point coming from this is that there are not many places easy to find information on what the heck is happening.
That is what we would offer through our program, a place for beginners to understand the basics, racers looking to try out a new class or to increase their racing IQ. I will be honest this program would not be the place to go if you are a racer who has been around the block and has found success and are looking to turn your program up to a more elite level. But we would hit all the basic principles so that you have a comfortable understanding of the sport and can then continue to improve your knowledge and skillset on the track.
So let us know what you think in the comments and if this is something that would interest you. Also, if an idea or topic comes to mind that could be a good addition to the program let us know! We are still working on the initial stages of our program, but it could be something you see in the future.
Thanks, guys, for the continued support and I look forward to hearing all the responses.
Brandon Barker
]]>For those that don’t know what PRI is, it’s the world’s largest gathering of motorsports professionals, bringing together 1,100 exhibiting companies with 70,000 attendees from all 50 states and 70 countries. Every December, they host a three-day trade show in Indianapolis – and it’s the first time we’ve ever had a chance to go!
Luckily, my mom and dad have gone to many PRI and SEMA shows in the past, so they will be able to show Brandon and I the ropes. We are super excited that they will be joining us at the show as well.
If you happen to be reading this blog post, and you are also going to PRI – let us know! We would love to meet and connect with you at the show! We will be there all three days! And for those of you who aren’t going to PRI, we promise to keep you updated on all the fun! We hope to be able to vlog our journey and will post it on our YouTube Channel as soon as we can!
I hope everyone has a great December.
Catch you next-next week,
Rachel Barker
]]>And just so you don’t feel left out in any way, these can be used in any type of fuel from gas, diesel, methanol, or anything in between. It will treat a full 55-gallon drum of methanol, 20 gallons of gas, as well as 16 gallons of diesel.
These are only 5 of the 15 scents we have in stock, so make sure you check out the BracketLife Brand website to see all the others and if you don’t see exactly what you are looking for then check out Wild Willy Fuel and let us know what other scents we can bring in for you.
]]>Personally, I really need to pull my socks up and get shopping, because Brandon and I are headed to Mexico for our honeymoon the week before Christmas! My goal is to start Christmas shopping this weekend and be done by the first week of December – wish me luck!!
If you read Brandon’s blog post last week, then you know he wrote about what was on his Christmas list. But, unless I win the lottery tomorrow, it’s not looking like I can afford to buy those gifts for him. Soo … here is my version of ‘What to Buy Your Husband for Christmas’, without breaking the bank! Let’s hope he doesn’t read this, haha.
Well, I hope these gift ideas are helpful! Let me know if you end up purchasing any of these for your husband (or even wife for that matter)!
Catch you next-next week,
Rachel Barker
]]>While we were putting all the cars away of course the conversation comes up about what our plans are for next year, what upgrades we want to do and new ideas and ways to improve the cars for next season. This, along with the upcoming Black Friday Sales coming up have inspired me to start working on my Christmas list.
I am sure I will have to update this list as we go but here is what I have so far:
In all seriousness we have a lot of opportunities coming up this winter and who knows what on this list may or may not show up at our house!
Thanks for keeping up with us every week and for your continued support. I will see you back here in a couple of weeks!
Brandon Barker
]]>Over the past couple of years, I have found myself very fascinated with the online e-commerce and social media world. Which makes a lot of sense when you think about what BracketLife is. So naturally, my biggest goal (and focus) for BracketLife right now is to expand our online community and hear directly from other BracketLifer’s themselves. When we first launched BracketLife, we had bracket racers sharing their racing stories with us and I would love to get back into that and hear more from our community.
Not only do I want to hear from our community online, but I also want to get out and meet you guys in person! A large part of our community is from the United States (roughly 75%) and with the pandemic, we haven’t had a chance to get down racing in the US. Next year we have big plans to get down to some of the races in the US and potentially even some in Western Canada. We hope to see you guys in 2022!
I am also excited to share that we have four new apparel items hitting our online shop next week! These items are the perfect Christmas gifts and are launching just in time to begin your holiday shopping. Stay tuned for more details on our email list + social media channels!
Thank you for all of your support. I am so grateful to all of you.
Catch you next-next week,
Rachel Ogilvie
]]>I partially feel relief to sit back and relax a bit to catch up on some other aspects of life that needed attention (such as cleaning our house and putting away the wedding gifts) but the pace for us does not slow down very much. For anyone who knows Rachel knows that she is full throttle full time. We spent our first weekend at home cleaning out the Toterhome, getting all our BracketLife inventory back in order and hanging out with friends.
On the other hand, I wish we were still racing.
But now that we are done the season, I need to start working on my winter list of what needs to be done on the cars. Naturally I already have a plan for what I would like my 2022 race season to look like! First off, I would love to buy a super charger. In reality, that probably won’t happen and wouldn’t be the best move to make, but I would still love to have one. Second, as it stands right now it looks like the border between Canada and the USA will be open for crossing here soon so that should mean we are going racing south of the border again! I have a schedule that I am already working on for some “can’t miss” events I am going to try and hit next summer. The Spring Fling event in North Carolina, the SFG event in Michigan, I would like to try and go to some of the big money events at Empire Dragway in New York and maybe sneak in one of the Million Dollar events next year if we have a successful season!
Before all of that though we do have a pretty jammed up schedule, as we are finally able to attend the Luskville Dragway Banquet to celebrate the seasons champions in a couple weeks. Rachel and I also have our Honeymoon lined up in December, which I am very excited about because it has rained for the past 2 or 3 days straight here and thinking about being back in the sunshine on a beach in Mexico is really starting to get me excited to go!
Other than that, we have some very exciting BracketLife news coming as we set up plans with marketing partners and get a direction on how high we can take this all.
So, until next time,
Brandon Barker
]]>If you know anything about me, you know I’m obsessed with event planning. So, let’s just say I had a little but too much fun planning our wedding. Every last detail was so important to me and it was truly such a special day for us.
When Brandon first proposed, we knew two things very early on. 1) That our wedding was going to be at my parent’s race shop and 2) that it would be a Fall wedding. Brandon’s family actually came up with the idea for us to get married at the shop and from that moment on it wasn’t even a question, that was our venue. We also knew that no matter what, we were having a fall wedding because we didn’t want it to interfere with racing.
In terms of the overall design of the wedding, I was the most excited for this aspect. Since we were having a fall wedding, I knew I wanted our wedding colours to be burgundy (for the bridesmaids) and black (for the groomsman). But, once I began shopping for my wedding dress, that’s when my wedding vision came to life. I had initially planned for the wedding to have more of a fall, rustic feel to it but I ended up changing the entire design.
When I went wedding dress shopping, I actually had a hard time finding ‘the dress’. Long story short, I actually worked with Sinder’s Bridal House in Carleton Place, ON (the same place my mom bought her dress) to design a custom gown. I took the top, front, and back of three different dresses and transformed it into the wedding dress I wore. At the time, I was obsessed with Prince Harry and Meagan Markle’s wedding, and the simplicity of the dress and my long train gave me the royal, elegant vibe I was looking for.
Now that I had my dress, I knew that I wanted an industrial, and elegant/ black-tie event. I instantly reached out to our wedding designer and coordinator, WEDECOR and explained my new design ideas. Overnight, they took exactly what I wanted and created our dream wedding. My must have’s for our wedding included:
Once the design was complete, then came my favourite details:
There were also many personal aspects to our wedding that were very special to Brandon and I:
I could go on and on about how incredible our wedding was. It was truly the most perfect day and we will remember it for the rest of our lives. Here are a few sneak peeks from our special day.
Wedding Vendors:
Hair: Mikaela Allore
Makeup: Stephanie Bullock Makeup
Photographer: Chelsea Mason Photography
Videographer: Peaking Zebra Productions
Transportation: Parkhurst Transportation & Healey's Transportation
Cake: Raindrop's Cupcakery
DJ: Quality Entertainment
Decorator/ Florist/ Rentals/ Coordinator: WEDECOR (Michael Donovan)
Caterer: Waterfall Catering
Portable Bathrooms: Lavish Bathrooms
Catch you next-next week,
Rachel Barker
]]>Hello and welcome back to the blog! It’s Brandon back again and I don’t know about you but it feels like ages since we last talked! So much has gone on I don’t know where to start. As I’m sure you’ve seen and heard, Rachel and I got married! So that has been a whirlwind getting through and why we have been a little absent the last couple weeks.
]]>So much has gone on I don’t know where to start. As I’m sure you’ve seen and heard, Rachel and I got married! So that has been a whirlwind getting through and why we have been a little absent the last couple weeks.
The wedding was unreal. It was so much more than I had expected. Rachel organized it all and planned the vendors, decorations, and everything else behind the scenes. We had the wedding at her parents race shop which was totally transformed into the best wedding venue we could have imagined.
So I wanted to say thank you to everyone who joined us to celebrate our day for all of the great support we have received.
We got to spend a few days on a mini honeymoon after the wedding which was a great little getaway. We ate some great food and did a lot of fun activities we don’t usually get to try.
Now since we have been gone we haven’t stopped going racing! We have been out twice since we last spoke and both were at Luskville.
Neither weekend was very successful for Rachel or i with great finishes, but Daniel was able to get a win driving my dragster in the Saturday night shootout at the final Bracket Super Tour event of the year.
Now after 3 of the busiest weeks I can remember we are preparing to hit the road for our final race of the year. We have loaded Rachel’s dragster in my trailer and the two of us are rolling to Grand Bend for the Bracket Finals event which we have our own 25 racers on the BracketLife Brand Team.
So wish us luck! We hope to finish the year off with a bang before we wind down and start our winter reset.
See you next time,
Brandon Barker
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