“You can measure your worth by your dedication to your path, not by your successes or failures.” – Elizabeth Gilbert
Typically my first blog of December is recapping my visit to the PRI Show, but this year we had an unexpected detour while on our way to the Kansas City airport last week that caused us to miss the show. Despite the injuries and totaled car, we greatly needed the rest and relaxation that was forced upon us as a hidden blessing to our bodies and minds.
As many of you know, I was driving my dad to the airport on Tuesday when we were struck by a van on the highway that resulted in a 7-car accident. Since we are still in the works with insurance companies we cannot disclose all the details of what happened, but to give you a brief idea click here. All I can remember is spinning out before we finally came to a stop in the middle of the highway. I immediately called 911, and thankfully a man who was a former EMT saw the accident and assisted us right away. He could tell I had some injuries so he told me to stay put in the driver’s seat as he held my head, since a car was smashed against my door. As soon as the ambulance came to the scene, I was the first to leave and only had a second to look around at what looked like a war zone of plastic and metal car parts. It was unreal – had we really just been involved in such a huge accident, or was this a scene in a movie?
Thankfully my Rav4 had multiple airbags surrounding me, so I only suffered minor injuries from the crash and had to stay home for a few days with medicine, which meant that we were unable to go out of town for the elusive PRI Show. As a result of this tragic accident we realized how important it is to not drive distracted because your life, and the lives of everyone around you, is too precious. Whether it’s texting, eating, putting on makeup, or looking at something other than the road in front of you, please don’t do while driving – it can wait.
In the weeks leading up to this, we celebrated Thanksgiving at home with our extended family and had a celebratory party at our race shop with friends and our racing family to celebrate our third world championship. We had a great time with everyone, and we were able to say hi to a few faces that we haven’t seen in years. If you remember, I am taking a break from social media, which means I’m away from my phone not worrying about finding photo ops and taking the best pictures and videos to capture the event to share with everyone online, and instead I’m enjoying being in the moment and soaking up time well spent with loved ones.
I was looking forward to attend PRI Show this year, as I have attended the show ever since I was a teenager and have only missed it once before for my college graduation. I always enjoy spending time with my racing friends that I don’t see very often, building relationships with sponsors, and attending marketing and business seminars to learn more about the growing industry. One of the notorious events at PRI is the Drag Illustrated 30 Under 30 reveal, where my teammate Julie Nataas was awarded the honors of being in the 2019 class, followed by the NHRA Division 3/North Central Region where she claimed her regional championship with our team.
With less than 2 weeks away from the new year and new decade, I will keep enjoying my time away from the screen and social media, make as memories as possible with my family for Christmas, and ring in 2020 which I see as being an even better year than 2019 as I become the future Mrs. Megan Lingner. (Don’t worry, you can still call me Megan Meyer.)
Megan Meyer is the driver of the NGK Spark Plugs/Lucas Oil/WELD Racing A/Fuel Dragster in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series. Follow Megan on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
This DRAG ILLUSTRATED Driver Blog is presented by WELD Racing. Follow WELD Racing on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and visit them online at www.WELDWheels.com.
This story was originally published on December 19, 2019. 
