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FDDS Race #4 Dirt Devils Speedway, Land-O-Lakes, FL
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Race Report
We weren't in much of a hurry to get to the track on Friday because we didn't have any engines to practice with. Besides, every Friday night practice this year has been just a waste of time because the track is usually nothing but mud. We have to run the track in for them and about the time we get a little groove on they shut down practice for the night. For this we pay $10! Naa, not this time. I've noticed that not very many other guys are coming out to practice any more either. Maybe the track owners will catch on and realize that they are supposed to be providing a "racetrack" for us not the other way around. When we got to the track we went over and picked up our engines from the motor builder and spent the rest of the evening getting them mounted and the karts ready for the next day.
On Saturday morning the weather was beautiful. Not a cloud in the sky although everybody said that the weather forecast was almost definite that we would have rain by the afternoon. My crew chief took his time getting the rest of the set up done on the karts while I sat and waited, not so patiently, until he said that we could go out and see what the new motors would do. You may have been reading about the struggles we have been having this year. Well, I think we have the motor problem solved now but there always seems to be something else that trips us up. Finally, he gave me the word and we headed for the grid. The moors were awesome. They pulled all around the track and just keep pulling and pulling but the sprint kart was a little tight. We haven't been tight all year so that was quite a shock! We only got one round of practice but that was enough to see what we had and know what needed to be changed so we went back to the pits to get ready for qualifying.
The first class was Sportsman II light and even though we made a few changes we were still tight as ever. I qualified 19 out of about 22 karts. Then we went out in the Champ and I got the pole! Next was the sprint Kart again in heavy and I did a little better but still I could only get a 13th fastest time. Then came the Champ again in heavy and we decided to go up a little on the air pressure but we shouldn't have so I qualified 3rd.
The first race wasn't really my best but I tried as hard as I could. I didn't get a real good start and my crew chief said I was pinching the kart down in the corners so I wasn't going as fast as I could have. The kart was still tight after even more adjustments so between the kart and my driving I didn't really improve my position that much and ending up in 11th place.
Next came the champ race and I wanted to win so bad but I was still pinching it down and so I lost several position during the race as the faster karts, one by one, got by me and at the end I finished in 5th.
Mean while my crew chief started to look over his notes and realized that he had set the camber too low in the sprint kart. Usually we are a little lose so he takes camber out of the right front but I guess he should have put it back in when we first realized we were tight. Before my second race in the sprint kart my crew chief told me to just drive my race and not worry about blocking our letting the other karts by me so that's just what I did and I had a great race. The kart was fast and free and I let it drift up off the corners nice and easy and I finished the race in 6th place. After the race they disqualified a kart that finished ahead of me for losing his gas cap so I got another position to officially finish in 5th.
Last was the Champ heavy race and I never even got to the green flag before I got spun by a kart behind me that was jumping the start. This driver has a move that is pretty hard to do but he is the best at it. Unfortunately, he always seems to do it to me. He does what I call a sweep. This is where you get the right side of your front bumper along side of the left side of the rear bumper on the kart ahead of you. Then you pull up until you get his kart sideways a little. The driver thinks he's going to spin so he turns up and that makes room for you to go by on the inside. Pretty cool when everything goes right but if you do it wrong you could spin him out, or worse yet, you both can spin out. Well, he did it wrong and I got spun around backwards in the middle of turn 4. Then a kart hit me head on. Then another kart hit him knocking him into my right front tire and then up and over the front of my kart. By this time we had the whole track blocked and everybody crashed into each other while the hot shoe that spun me went on without a scratch. They called off the start and then lined us up in single file order but my front wheels were now toed out about 4 inches. Some how I was able to finish the race and only gave up 3 positions to finish in 6th place.
After the race my crew chief and hot shoe's crew chief had a little talk and they decided that the best way to handle this was for hottie and me to work this out ourselves. I know what that means because I had to do it with another driver last year. So, we're going to the WKA Nationals next week where the official's only concern is getting the races over with and they have no interest in penalizing rough driving so it aught be an interesting race to say the least!
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