WKA NADTC Margarettsville Speedway, Margarettsville, NC October 25th & 26th, 2003     Photos load one after the other. Depending on your modem speed, there maybe a short delay between images.

Race Report

Back at Margarettsville! This is a great track. We were disappointed when we saw that there wouldn't be a national event here this year so when we heard about this special race we signed up right away. The turn out wasn't really what you would expect for a national WKA event but the track was the same and they ran a good race so maybe next year's turnout will be a good bit better.

Margarettsville is a 1/4 mile track a lot like Jasper except that it is deeply banked. You would think that this would make this track quite a bit faster than Jasper but there is one thing that makes it a little tricky, you have to run up hill out of the corners. This takes a lot more gear and keeps the speed down as a result.

We got to the track on Thursday evening and set up our pits. We got a really good spot right across from the grid too! Made us think that we were getting a little special treatment but later we realized that the turn out wasn't going to be very good so I guess you could say that everybody got a little special treatment because we all got to pit close to the grid!

On Friday morning we got the karts ready for practice. Even though they hadn't had a lot of rain during the last few weeks the track was pretty wet from the owner watering it. The owner of this track is not afraid to put out the calcium either so the early rounds of practice were more for track maintenance than testing. Towards the end of the day the track came in nicely and we got some very good laps in.

Next year WKA is going to let us use a larger restrictor plate on our champ kart and there will be a new "light" class that we can run with 15 lbs less weight. During Friday's practice we ran the larger "Blue" plate and that was really cool. I think that the additional horsepower will help us break out of the draft a little more. The good thing was that the kart handled as well with the bigger plate so my crew chief says that we should be able to make the transition without too big a learning curve (what ever that means?).

Saturday was supposed to be sunny and warm but the sun never came out. During practice the track was wet and slick from the calcium and we just couldn't get any grip. With a track like that the only thing you can do is break out some heavy prep for the tires. My crew chief used something called "Goat Pee" even though he says he hates to use it because it ruins the tires. But, a couple of coats of that stuff and the tires hooked up and we were doing fine. The first class to qualify was Jr. Sportsman 2 Light and I came in 4th fastest. Then in the Champ I qualified 4th as well. The air was heavy and so we didn't expect the track to change much after the last round of practice but it picked up over a second so we were about 300 RPM off on our gear. It wasn't long after qualifying was over that the rain came and even though it wasn't much more than a drizzle, it never really stopped and so they decided to call the races.

On Sunday it looked like it was going to be a repeat of the day before. By this time we had our tires just soaked in that goat pee stuff. In qualifying I thought I did pretty good in the sprint kart but I came up 6th. In the champ I was really fast and qualified on the pole!

When it came time for the first race I got a good start and got 2 positions on the field in the first lap. Then on lap 3 I moved around the 3rd place kart and took that position. My crew chief told me after the race that my right rear tire was smoking so badly that he could barely see the engine as I went past! The track was drying out and the tires were way too soft so as the laps wound down I got slower and slower and I eventually lost the 3rd position finishing in 4th.

The races were just clicking off one right after the other and there were only 3 classes to race between the sprint race and the champ. We knew that we needed to change tires on the champ and get off those prepped tires but we really didn't have time to pick the right tires out and put them on. In a last ditch effort to do something, we just changed the right rear and went to the grid. It was about 2 in the afternoon and the track was black with rubber. I got a good start and keep the lead but it wasn't too long and it became obvious that the tires were just too soft and I was slow as a turtle. The race ran start to finish without a caution so I just drifted back further and further with each lap. First the 2 karts that eventually wound up leading the race and finishing 1st and 2nd got by me and then I lost 3rd and then 4th finishing the race in 5th.

Believe it or not, I would up winning $300! KaChing - KaChing! That's the most I have ever won at a race. Does this mean I've turned pro? My crew chief and I are gonna split the money and I think I'll put most of it in the bank so I can buy a car when I'm 16. I don't know what my crew chief is going to do with his money but I did hear him on the phone ordering some tires after we got home!