On Nov. 1, Larsen Motorsports attended the Night of Fire at Orlando Speedworld Dragway, where Elaine Larsen raced the Florida Tech jet dragster and Josette Roach ran the House of Kolor jet dragster. This photo story captures the intensity, the flames and the energy of jet racing up close — highlighting the spectacle, power and adrenaline that make Night of Fire one of the most electric events in motorsports.
The Orlando Speedworld Dragway sign at the front of the track. The dragway originally opened as Central Florida Dragway in February 1966, while the Lakeland Dragstrip began operations a few years later in April 1970.
Elaine in the Florida Tech jet dragster waving to fans for the pre-race parade at 6 p.m. The LMS crew followed behind her, along with Josette in the HOK car, and waved to all the fans before they prepared for racing.
There were about 6,000 people at the Orlando Speedworld Dragway watching funny cars, jet trucks and dragsters race throughout the night.
Elaine, Josette and the LMS crew praying before making their first pass — a tradition they do before every race to pray for their safety and appreciation for one another.
Josette suiting up for her first pass at 7:30 p.m. Her crew chief buckling her in and making sure all of her safety equipment was secure, while she is also putting her gloves on prior to heading down the dragstrip.
Elaine getting into her car to be towed out to the dragstrip. The dragsters are towed out by trucks to preserve the engines prior to racing, plus they are too powerful for casual driving. Both dragsters race down the quarter mile in about six seconds and can go up to 300 mph.
Chris, Elaine’s husband and co-owner of Larsen Motorsports, checking Josette’s controls and cabin before she races. If even one minor thing looks off, LMS will have their drivers turn off the car and not race for their own safety.
Elaine beat Josette in their first pass of the night going 273.05 mph in 5.67 seconds, while Josette ran 272.89 mph in 5.80 seconds. Both LMS cars race against each other for safety reasons, since jet racing is such a risky sport. Jet cars can go down the quarter mile faster when there is less humidity in the air.
Elaine and Josette had lines of people waiting for their autograph before and after they made their passes down the dragstrip. They had lots of younger kids inquiring about how they enjoy racing for a career, what a day in their life looks like and for pictures and autographs.
Elaine and Josette are women in the racing industry, meaning they have a lot of fans that look up to them as pioneers in the sport. The industry used to be more male-dominated, so Elaine and Josette think it’s important to show other females the opportunities and perspectives women can bring to motorsports.
For their second run, Josette finished her pass in 5.78 seconds and reached a top speed of 272.28 mph, while Elaine beat her in 5.66 seconds going 267.43 mph. So, how did Elaine beat Josette going faster down the dragstrip? It’s because Elaine’s elapsed time was faster since she got from the start to finish line faster. In drag racing, speed is just a measurement of how fast you were going at the end, while time is a measurement of how quickly you covered the track.
The jet truck lighting the Orlando Speedworld Dragway wall on fire — a yearly tradition that ends the show every year. Then, all the drivers for each team sign the wall and it is repainted for the next event. Following the jet truck, there was a fireworks show that ended the night before the race teams packed up, signed more autographs and headed back to their race shops.