MSOKC Race No. 11 (2003)

Originally sent: Friday, September 12, 2003 3:42 PM

The past several weeks have been action-packed for Bruce Brothers Racing, with two significant acquisitions and a Saturday night race-under-the-lights for Conor.

Saturday, September 6, was MSOKC Race No. 11. Conor drew the fifth starring position (of six competitors in his class) for the first heat race. He dropped a position at the start and made his way up to third at the finish, passing his main rival (who finished fourth) in the process. Starting second in the second heat race, he passed the pole sitter in the second turn, led every lap, and won by a significant margin. A 3:00 PM start to day's events and an extra long intermission ensured that the lighting system at Circleville Raceway Park would be put to good use during the feature events, which began at about 8:30 PM. In addition to the unfamiliar lighting conditions, the dew had begun to settle on the track. Conor's third and first place finishing positions in the heat races earned him the second starting position for the feature event. In the first turn, the third place starter (Conor's main rival) stuck his nose under Conor and the ensuing contact left Conor sitting sideways in the track between Turns 1 and 2. Everyone was able to take evasive action except for the tail-ender, who clobbered Conor's kart in the left front wheel with the nose of his kart. It was a scary moment for me, but the impact actually turned Conor back in the right direction, and he immediately set off after the pack with no apparent damage. Conor's main rival had gotten himself high-centered after a spin in Turn 3, which brought Conor up to fifth. It took Conor several laps to catch the others, who were running closely together. He was able to make two additional passes, but with only six laps in the under-the-lights format, he ran out of time just as he was beginning to put pressure on the second place kart and had to settle for third. It was a well deserved result for the winner, however, who had also won Race No. 9. After the race, Conor and all of his competitors were beaming about having gotten to race under the lights. I have to admit that it was exciting (too much so at one point!), but it made for a long day at the race track.

The previous Saturday, Bruce Brothers Racing acquired an enclosed trailer in which to haul things around, including the second kart we acquired the following day. Over the next few weeks, we hope to get Henry up to speed for the class in which he will run next season. Watch this space for further updates...

Bill