WKA FDDS Race #3 Crossroads Motorplex Jasper, FL April 26th, 2003     Photos load one after the other. Depending on your modem speed, there maybe a short delay between images.

Race Report

Well, I quit racing. After Sundays races I told my crew chief that I was through. He said he knew just how I felt but that I would probably change my mind by Thursday. Turns out he was right. I changed my mind.

We left for the track Friday morning to get set up at the track early. My Chief Sandwich Maker and Data Acquisition Specialist couldn't make the race so it was just me and the crew chief this weekend. We figured we would get a few things out of the way so that we could manage a little bit better without her. It rained almost all the way to the track and when we got there the gate was still locked. They were a little late getting to the track but they finally came and let us in. The rain stopped and we were hopeful that we would get to practice but the sun never came back out so the track was too wet to run on and we closed up the trailer and headed for the hotel.

On Saturday morning I was ready to hit the track as soon as we got there but my Crew Chief said that the track was too wet to go out for the first round of practice and that we just didn't have enough help to clean off the mud and get the kart ready for the next practice in time. So, we sat out the entire first round. The track started to come in pretty nicely by second round and we figured that we would have 3rd round to make a few final adjustments. Then they announced that if you didn't go out for the first round you couldn't go out for the last round. Thanks a lot for telling us in advance!

The first class to qualify was Sportsman II light. I tried my best to get the kart to free up but I couldn't even qualify in the top 10. Then, I went out in the Champ and qualified 2nd! My crew chief pulled out all the stops for Sportsman II Heavy but we were only able to scratch off 6 tens and we needed over a second so we qualified 12th fastest.

In the first race I got a pretty good start and was heading forward when one kart ahead of me got up on the rear wheel of the kart in front of him. It looked like they were going to go high so I went low but the karts got separated and one of them pulled down in front of me. I slammed on my brakes and spun while everybody went by me. I wound up finishing the race the last kart on the lead lap in 13th place.

Then the heart breaker came. I started the Champ race on the outside pole and got spun on the start when I tried to get down in behind the pole sitter. That was ok though because they restarted the race in single file. We got a good start and I tried to stay with the leader but he was a few tenths a lap faster than me so I slipped back a little each lap. The 3rd place kart wasn't catching me much and it looked like it was going to be a boring race with me finishing about a half a straight away behind the leader in second and with 3rd place 20 or 30 feet behind me. Then I decided to try a few different lines to see if I could gain anything on the leader but all that did was slow me down. Before I knew it the 3rd place kart had caught me and passed me going into turn one. I gave him plenty of room and then set my sights on running him down and getting my position back. Well, a lap later I was under him in turn 3 but he didn't give me the same courtesy that I gave him and he drove me down into the cones where I clipped one and spun down into the infield. I got restarted as quickly as I could but I was now in 8th place. At the end of the race they penalized the kart that crashed me 2 positions for rough driving but that didn't help me any. Now, that makes 2 races finishing the last kart on the lead lap.

Then came Sportsman II Heavy. The sun had set which freed the track up a little. We made some rather drastic changes to the kart again and I went out to run the race. I passed a few karts and got passed by a few but in the end it was just a 20 lap joy ride. I finished in 10th, the second kart from the last on the lead lap. I guess we'll take it! It's better than the last kart on the lead lap.

All the way home my crew chief grumbled and finally he said that the only thing we have changed on the kart since last year is the body. See, we are testing a new prototype body made from carbon fiber and it is really stiff. Last year I was pretty tough on body work and, even though carbon fiber is expensive, if it lasts a few more races that the plastic bodies I used last year did, it will be worth the extra money. So, since we have a month between races, we are going to test at a few tracks and see if we can change the mounting of the new body to help the chassis work like it used to again.