|
|||
|
|
FDDS Race #2 Cross Roads Motorplex, Jasper, FL
|
||
Race Report
Now back to Jasper! What a great track! They are still trying to get the track ready for the nationals but they haven't had any rain which is what they need to really soak the surface and get it to stick together. It's still coming apart by the end of the races but I'd bet that they will have the track right when we come back on the 17th.
This week we intended to practice the Champ on Friday night and we were ready but the track wasn't. Last week we went out first and picked up about 20 lbs of clay on my kart. We weren't going to do that again! Every time we were ready to go out they would water the track so we waited a little longer. Finally, we just covered up the kart and put everything away until morning.
On Saturday we woke up to a beautiful, sunny day. The track was slick as usual all during practice but in the last round the track started to come in and the karts both felt really good. We studied the gear and tire pressures we had used before and decided on what we were going to do for qualifying.
Sportsman II Lite was our first class. There is this one guy who, no mater what group he is supposed to go out in, he puts his kart down before everyone else and creates a bottleneck on the grid. We knew what group we were supposed to got out with but we didn't know what group he was supposed to go out with. He pushes his kart in front of ours and then one of the karts ahead of his couldn't get his motor started. We waiting on the grid for them to get going as the first 3 karts went out. Finally, we just went around them but by then the other karts had already taken their first lap of qualifying. That meant I only got 3 laps to get my kart up to speed while everybody else got 4. Still, I qualified 3rd.
Next was the Champ kart in Lite and we put too much air in the tires. We are still working from our notes from last year when they had us using a smaller restrictor plate. I was loose and couldn't get the kart to come off the turns so I only qualified 9th. Then, we went on in the Sprint kart for Heavy and we overfilled the tank again causing me to sputter around the track qualifying 15th. Finally, we got the air pressure right in the Champ and I qualified outside pole for the Champ Heavy race.
Now for the races! In the first race I was really focused on holding my position. I was starting 3rd and I knew I had a fast kart but when I have started up front in the past I always have trouble letting the kart drift up off the corners and everyone gets past me. I guess I got a little carried away and I was pinching the kart down coming out of the turns. It worked pretty good for a while but one of the karts behind me got a really good run off the corner and nailed me pretty good a couple times. That got me up out of the groove and allowed about 5 karts to get by me. I tried my best to get them back but I couldn't and finished the race in 8th.
Next was the Champ Lite race. I got a good start and everything was pretty tame until about 4 laps to go. I was in 4th watching the leaders ahead just wishing I could catch them and then all of a sudden the leaders got into it and spun. That caused the 3rd place kart to check up and I just went by for the lead. I lead 2 laps while the 2nd and 3rd place karts got in a draft and ran me down. I tried the same blocking deal that didn't work in the first race and it didn't work in this race either. They caught me coming out of turn 4 with 2 laps to go and got me up out of the groove again. I passed the leader back on the next turn but then he passed me again with another kart behind him and I finished the race in 3rd.
Before the next race, my crew chief asked me if there was anything between driving up off the corners and letting everyone go by and pinching the kart down at the bottom and loosing all my momentum? He seemed to think that there was but I would just once like to see him take a few laps if you know what I mean... Anyway, he said forget about everything he had been telling me and just go out and race my race. That sounded good to me because I was starting the next race in 15th with a lot of work to do. I got a great start and drove the best I could. I made up a lot of ground but towards the end I got to racing with a couple of karts that were just as fast as I was and we swapped positions several times. By the end I wound up in 11th but that was a really fun race.
The last race was Champ Heavy and I was on the outside pole. I was relaxed and ready and I knew I could win this race. We tried to get the races started but karts were spinning everywhere so we had to go single file. On that start we came around and there were karts sitting in the middle of the turn. I went high to try to avoid the wreck and almost made it but a kart came up and hit me and I went sailing into the fence on the back stretch. I came to a stop with my nose up against the tire barriers thinking that another good start was lost and I would have to start at the back. Then, a guy jumped the fence and pulled me back so I could get going again. That was great but now the only problem was that my right front spindle was now bent back about 2 inches and I had about 2 and a half inch of toe. When the race got restarted I didn't realize that I was in for a pretty wild ride. Every time I would come out of the turns the left front tire would set down and caused my kart to bounce and dart all over the place. I tried to hold my position but the toe just slowed me down too much and I finished in 5th place.
You know, I don't remember the races being this ruff last year. I guess the racers this year are a lot more competitive and we are all getting bunched up a lot more. One thing I'm glad of is that we finally have the tires working good and I think we will get this gas tank deal fixed too. Now, if I can just find that middle ground coming off the corners like my crew chief was taking about I think we may have this thing figured out! (That was supposed to be a joke!)
See you next week!
Copyright © 2005 - Berbranon Marketing - All Rights Reserved