Bruce Brothers Racing

Welcome to Bruce Brothers Racing

2011-10-08T09:55:00.000-07:00

Bruce Brothers Racing is a family-based kart racing team in Columbus, Ohio. I've created this site for family and friends as a convenient place to post race reports, pictures, etc. I have started from the beginning, thereby creating an archive of all the race reports since we began this adventure in 2003. Watch this space for future updates and race reports...

Bill

Pictures from MSOKC Race No. 12 – October 2, 2011

2011-10-07T12:54:00.000-07:00

Click to enlarge.

Staying warm before practice.

Driver's meeting.

Conor prepares to qualify.

The end of Lap 1 of Conor's heat race.

Conor exits the track.

Peter leads towards the end of his heat race.

Peter exits the track.

Conor, Peter, and friends.

Conor on the pole for the start of his feature race.

Conor leads through Turn 10 (the first corner for a reverse-direction event).

Conor leads through Turn 9.

Conor leads comfortably during the opening laps of his feature race.

Peter on the grid for his feature race.

Peter leads the field through Turn 1 toward the start of his feature race.

Close racing on Lap 9.

Peter with the checkered flag.

Peter's lap time for Lap No. 7 of his feature race was sub-46.2 seconds - a personal best.

Bill

MSOKC Race No. 11 – September 24, 2011 – Conor is the Champion!

2011-09-25T18:56:00.000-07:00

NEWS – Race No. 11 of the Mid State of Ohio Kart Club championship series was this past Saturday, September 24, 2011. Conor was able to clinch the championship in the 80cc Shifter class without even showing up. We moved him into his residence hall at The Ohio State University the week before, and he had a ticket to the Buckeye football game on Saturday, so he elected to sit this one out. With five feature race wins in a row, and six wins out of 10 this season, he had accumulated a healthy points lead in the championship series. There was a mathematical possibility that his point lead could be overtaken in the final two races of the season, but events turned out in his favor and he was able to clinch without even being there. While Peter’s engine returned from the engine builder just in time for Race No. 11, his UA Crew rowing team had their first regatta of the season in Toledo that day, so he was absent, too.

NEXT RACE – We plan to have both boys on hand for the finale of the 2011 MSOKC season. Race No. 12 on Sunday October 2, 2011 will be a reverse direction (clockwise) event at Circleville Raceway Park and will feature qualifying as opposed to the normal heat race format. Both boys tend to do well at reverse direction events, and with Conor having already clinched and Peter having missed too many races to be in contention for the championship, we will have a less stressful, pedal-to-the-metal good time just trying to add to our team total of eight feature race wins this season.

Bill

MSOKC Race No. 10 – September 3, 2011 – Five in a Row for Conor

2011-09-20T08:33:00.000-07:00

NEWS – MSOKC Race No. 10 on Saturday September 3, 2011 was a qualifying format event at Circleville Raceway Park that followed the normal Sunday (day race) schedule to allow time in the afternoon/evening for the annual MSOKC Hog Roast. There was plenty of food for everyone, a variety of games, and a Powder Puff race in the rental karts for wives, girlfriends, and mothers of the regular racers. Peter’s engine was not back from the engine builder yet, and he had a practice session with his Upper Arlington Crew team that day, so Conor was our lone participant. Laura and Peter came to the track later in the day for the Hog Roast, but we couldn’t talk Laura into entering the Power Puff race again this year.

PRACTICE – In our continuing our quest to sort out the problem that causes Conor’s front brakes to drag when they heat up, we replaced the line to his right front brake. These are made of braided stainless steel over rubber tubing, and the thought was that the rubber inside may have swelled and was acting like a check valve – letting fluid out but not letting it back. Conor tried out this change during his practice sessions with mixed results.

80cc SHIFTER – There were only five karts in Conor’s class instead of the usual 8 to 10. In his qualifying session, Conor recorded a time of 45.477 seconds on the first of his three laps. He improved this to a 45.423 on his second lap. His third lap was spoiled when one of the other karts had spun in Turn 3 and took his time getting out of the way. His best lap was good enough for pole position however – by a scant 0.078 seconds. Conor got a great start in his heat race and led from start to finish. The second place kart caught up with Conor at about the half-way point and was even able to stick his nose in the inside on a couple occasions over the next few laps. Conor was able to respond and won by just less than 2 seconds. Conor got another great start in his feature but the second place starter did not and got bottled up behind another kart for the first few laps. This allowed Conor to open up a fairly healthy lead. The second place starter made a pass on Lap 5, but by that time Conor was out of reach. Conor backed off over the next few laps and won his fifth feature race in a row, and sixth out of 10 events this season, by a comfortable 4 second margin.

NEXT RACE – The 2011 MSOKC season is winding down with only two events to go. Race No. 11 is Saturday September 24, 2011, and will again follow the normal Sunday (day race) schedule. In the meantime, Conor has recently moved into his residence hall at The Ohio State University and classes will start later this week. Peter has been back in school for some time now. He has his first regatta of the season in Toledo with his crew team on that day, so he will again be absent.

Bill

p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found at http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=710260.

Pictures and Video from "Senna" Movie and FasTimes

2011-08-27T15:40:00.001-07:00

A group of us traveled to Indianapolis from Columbus for the opening-day showing of the movie "Senna" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1424432/) at the Keystone Art Cinema. We got together for dinner before and indoor kart racing at FasTimes after (http://www.fastimesindoorkarting.com/). Click to enlarge or play.

Keystone Art Cinema in Indianapolis.

Conor's "adopted" sisters, Dana, Julie, and Tracy.

The Conlin sisters with dad Jim.

Conor had not only the fastest time of the day and the week, but also the second fastest time of the month.

Bill

MSOKC Race No. 9 – August 20, 2011 – Conor’s Win Streak Continues

2011-08-24T05:19:00.000-07:00

NEWS – We had a very eventful day last Saturday at Mid State of Ohio Kart Club (MSOKC) Race No. 9, which was an under-the-lights night race at Circleville Raceway Park on August 20, 2011. I didn’t have time to take many notes, and this was our fourth race weekend in a row, so what appears below is how I remember it.

PRACTICE – After Race No. 8, we rebuilt the carburetor on Peter’s kart and mounted up a set of lightly used tires. On Conor’s kart, we rebuilt the fuel pump and, in our continuing our quest to sort out the problem that causes his front brakes to drag when they heat up, replaced the pins that hold his front brake pads in place. We wanted to try out these changes before the official practice sessions got underway, so we arrived at the track about an hour early on Saturday. Both karts ran great the first time out. On Peter’s second run, he came to a stop at the end of the long back straightaway. Thinking he may have just spun and stalled the engine, I took the starter with me when I went to retrieve him. He reported that the engine just died, so we loaded him up and returned to the pits where we realized something was seriously wrong. The crank would not turn. We took the cylinder head off and discovered that the piston was no longer pointing in correct direction. As we continued to disassemble the engine, we discovered lots of big chunks of aluminum piston and miscellaneous bearing components in both the intake and exhaust side of the engine. As David Hobbs says on SpeedTV’s Formula 1 coverage, it went ka-BLAM-o. .After a few inquiries around the pits, we found a fellow competitor who was more than happy to loan us their back-up engine for the day. It had recently been assembled using spare parts and they were anxious to see how well it would run. With the help of several volunteers, we frantically swapped engines and got Peter out for one of the regular practice sessions. On his second lap, he came to a stop in Turn 3. Being optimistic, I took the starter with me again. I decided that, since this was not our engine, we should load him up and investigate in the pits. When we did, we discovered… …another ka-BLAM-o. Not as catastrophic as the first – a skirt had broken off the piston – but this wasn’t even our engine! As we were investigating, several other competitors offered the use of their spare engines. I was just about the throw in the towel when one insisted that we use theirs. I hadn’t even had the chance to mix fuel yet, and it was getting close to race time, so the boys assured me that they would do most of the work if we would give it a try, which is what we did. The work was completed, again with the help of volunteers, just in time to allow Peter to have a few practice laps prior to the driver’s meeting. This engine was not configured for Peter’s class when it was presented to us, so we used our carburetor, exhaust, and clutch, and it actually ran fairly well.

SPEC 100 PIPE – There were only four karts in Peter’s class on Saturday. I can’t remember where Peter started in his first heat race, but he finished the first lap in third. He made a pass on Lap 4 (of eight) and finished second. Peter also finished the first lap of his second heat race in third. He hung with the leaders until Lap 5 or so when he began to fall back. His fastest lap was his second (46.425 seconds), which was only 0.2 slower than the blistering lap he recorded the weekend before (46.226). In his feature, Peter started and finished third, again hanging with the leaders for a while and then dropping back. Not a bad result for a day in which he was fortunate to be racing at all. Best of all, the second borrowed engine can be returned in one piece.

80cc SHIFTER – Four race weekends in a row must take its toll on not only us, because there were only six karts in Conor’s class instead of the usual 8 to 10. Conor started his heat races from the middle of the group – fourth in the first and third in the second. In the first, he gained one position at the start and ran in third until the leader spun on Lap 3. While Conor was working on getting past the new leader, the third place kart slipped by on the inside in Turn 7. Conor worked his way back to second on Lap 5, which is where he finished. Conor made a great start in his second heat race, but unfortunately the pole-sitter in front of him did not. Conor had nowhere to go and lost two positions in the process. He made a rare double pass on Lap 4 which promoted him to second. The leader had gotten away by that time, and while Conor did catch up, he ran out of laps. Starting from second in his feature, Conor made another great start and was in the lead by Turn 3. He extended his lead by over a second per lap over the first seven laps (of 10). With a massive lead established, he finally slowed down on Lap 8 to save his tires. This was Conor’s fourth MSOKC feature race win in a row and his fifth of the season in nine events so far.

NEXT RACE – Peter may be done for the season. His engine is on its way back to the engine builder for an assessment, but I suspect that the damage may be terminal. Even if it can be rebuilt, the cost is likely going to be beyond what remains of our budget for this season. Our next race is MSOKC Race No. 10 on Saturday September 3, 2011. This will be a qualifying format event at CRP that follows the normal Sunday (day race) schedule to allow time in the afternoon/evening for the annual MSOKC Hog Roast. There will be plenty of food for everyone, a variety of games, and a Powder Puff race in the rental karts for wives, girlfriends, and mothers of the regular racers. Hopefully we can talk Laura into doing this again.

Bill

p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found at http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=703474

MSOKC Race No. 8 – August 14, 2011 – Double Win!!

2011-08-19T06:07:00.000-07:00

NEWS – Mid State of Ohio Kart Club (MSOKC) Race No. 8 last Sunday was the third race weekend in a row for Bruce Brothers Racing. Much had to be done to return our karts to their regular club racing configuration at Circleville Raceway Park following the Commercial Point Grand Prix. While the CPGP does take its toll on the equipment, we were fortunate to avoid any major crash damage.

PRACTICE – The weather forecast for Sunday called for cloudy skies and a 70% chance of rain. While the track was damp when we arrived, and it did sprinkle towards the end of the day, it turned out to be a nice day for racing. Our first practice sessions were used as shakedown runs to try out all the reconfiguration that was done. Our tire budget is getting a bit thin, so we elected to go with used tires on both karts for Race No. 8. To make the best use of used tires, we flip them around on the rims so that what was the outboard side becomes the inboard side. Both boys spent their second practice session breaking in their flipped tires.

SPEC 100 PIPE – As the season has progressed, there are five karts that have consistently shown up for almost all of the events in this class. This was the case again on Sunday. Peter drew the fifth starting position for his first heat race and improved one position at the start. He spent the next eight laps nipping at the heels of the pack in front of him, who were fighting it out amongst themselves, but was unable to improve further. Starting on the pole in his second heat, Peter got snookered at the start and settled in to second position. He dropped two wheels into the grass on the exit of Turn 4 on the first lap, which cost him another two positions. He gained one back on Lap 2 and another on Lap 4. He caught up with the leader towards the end, setting the fastest lap of the race in the process (46.397 seconds), but finished second. The leader had lost a lead weight off of his kart on the last lap and was disqualified at the scales for being underweight, which gave the win to Peter. A fourth and a first earned Peter pole position for the feature. An excellent on-board video of Peter’s feature race from the perspective of the second place starter can be found here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycxOEEMLylc. Determined to avoid getting snookered again, Peter drove deep into Turn 1 at the start – a little too deep. The second place starter was able to get by on the inside, which dropped Peter to second. He got a good run through Turn 4 on Lap 2 and was able to regain the lead in Turn 5. From there he just took off and never looked back. His fastest lap was on Lap 3 (46.226) and was the fastest lap recorded by anyone in this class this season. This was Peter’s first feature race win in an adult class – way to go Peter!

80cc SHIFTER – The number of karts in Conor’s class has varied widely this season – from a high of 10 to a low of six. There were eight on Sunday, and since more championship points are awarded for well-attended races, there were a decent number of championship points on the line. Conor’s first heat race was a lot like Peter’s. He started fifth, made one pass early, and then got bottled up behind two karts that were fighting among themselves. Conor made a great start from fourth in his second heat race and finished the first lap in second. He was passed by the eventual winner on Lap 2 but passed another kart on Lap 3 to regain second, even though his lap times were a bit off. A fourth and a second were good enough for the second starting position for the feature. He maintained his position at the start, but in Turn 10 on the first lap, the leader pulled off with a broken transmission. Conor was able to pull out a bit on the second place kart over the next few laps only to get reeled back in again. On Lap 9 (of 10), the second place kart slid down the inside in Turn 7 only to have Conor muscle his way back to the lead in Turn 8. Conor held on for the win, which was his third feature race win in a row – way to go Conor!

NEXT RACE – This event was the first double feature race win for Bruce Brother’s Racing since Conor and Peter did it at MSOKC Race No. 12 on October 5, 2008. Our next race is MSOKC Race No. 9 on August 20, 2011, which is another Saturday night race at CRP. Gates open at 1:00 PM and racing gets underway at 5:00 PM. This will make four race weekends in a row for us, one of which was a double-header. We’re all looking forward to the two-week break that follows.

Bill

p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found at http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=700431.

(click to enlarge)

Pictures and Video from 2011 Commercial Point Grand Prix of Karting

2011-08-16T12:30:00.000-07:00

Click to enlarge or play.

Henry (#2H) on the cover of the program for the 2011 CPGP. This picture is from the 2009 event.

Peter enters Turn 4 during his Merchandise race on Saturday.

Peter preparing for the start of his Trophy race on Sunday.

Peter leads a traffic jam through Turn 1.

Laura, Peter, and friends.

Preparing to have a broken seat strut on Conor's kart welded.

Conor chasing down the leader during his Merchandise race on Saturday - 1 of 4.

2 of 4.

3 of 4.

4 of 4.

Peter on the podium after his Merchandise race.

Conor on the podium after his Merchandise race.

Video of the start of Peter's Trophy race on Sunday.

Bill

Commercial Point Grand Prix of Karting – August 6-7, 2011 – Peter Storms and Conor Cashes In

2011-08-13T08:48:00.000-07:00

NEWS – Another great time was had by all this year at the Commercial Point Grand Prix of Karting. Even the weather cooperated – for the most part. The circuit was again the revised six turn 0.5 mile course that winds through the streets of Commercial Point, Ohio. The front straight is 900 feet long, which results in top speeds 75 mph in the faster karts. The course is lined with an impressive number of straw bales and plastic drums. The CPGP does not offer the adult class that Peter has moved into for our club racing, so we had to reconfigure our Yamaha Spec 100 Pipe kart into a SuperCan Lite kart for this event. Conor once again competed in the 80cc Shifter class, including the Pro race for this class.

PRACTICE – Two rounds of practice took place on Saturday with best times from the second session determining starting positions for the Merchandise races later on Saturday. Finishing positions from the Merchandise races determined starting positions for the Trophy races on Sunday. Both boys had a lot to get used to during the practice sessions; the course and the stickier MG “Yellow” tires that are allowed for the CPGP for both, the reconfigured kart for Peter, and new brake pads all around for Conor. Peter did well in his first session, but had a problem during his second. We had made a gear change just prior to this session, and somehow, the bolts didn’t get tightened. He got through the first few laps before the gear came loose, throwing the chain and bringing his kart to a disappointing stop (see photo sequence in earlier post). With only a few laps in the bag and the track getting faster as more rubber was laid down, Peter qualified only ninth (of 15 in his class). This would set the stage for an exciting Merchandise race for him, however. When Conor applied the brakes for the first time going into Turn 1 (at about 70 mph), the new pads on the front left grabbed before the ones on the right and just about threw him into the bales. He nursed it around for the next few laps until they seated in properly. There were only four karts in Conor’s class this year, which was a bit of a disappointment. In his second (qualifying) session, Conor held the fastest lap at several points, but ended up second, just 0.1 second behind the eventual pole sitter. He reported that several of his laps were spoiled by a random downshift that he didn’t order. We traced the problem to a broken seat strut, which was allowing his seat to hit the gear-shift linkage over the bigger bumps. Having this welded involved removing and reinstalling the seat before Conor’s Merchandise race, which was a bit frantic but was completed with time to spare.

YAMAHA SUPERCAN LITE – Knowing that he had his work cut out for him starting in ninth, Peter’s objective for his Merchandise race was to make at least one pass. He got away well from the Le Mans-style standing start and entered Turn 1 where he started; in ninth position. We had obviously made some good decisions regarding setup, because he was able to make a pass going into Turn 1 on the second lap. He was able to do the same thing on the next lap, which brought him up to seventh. He made two more passes on Lap 5 and another on Lap 9 (of 15), bringing him up to fourth. The closer he got to the front, the more difficult the passes became. He made another pass for third on Lap 14, and had the second place kart in his sights when the checkered flag fell. He was obviously very pleased to have underestimated his potential in his first year in an adult class at the CPGP. Peter’s Trophy race on Sunday was also exciting. Starting from third, he held his position at the start. He made a pass for second going into turn 1 on Lap 4, but got crossed up on the exit and let two karts get by. He regained one of these positions with another Turn 1 pass on Lap 5. He repeated this move on Lap 7 to move into second. We had made another gear change for the Trophy race, and it may have been a bit too much. While it got him into second place, he couldn’t quite shake the two karts behind him. One of these hit the bales exiting Turn 6 on Lap 13. While Peter and the third place kart were catching the leader, Peter had to do everything he could to keep the third place kart behind him. The third place kart gave Peter a big bump in Turn 5 on the final lap, but Peter was able to hold on to second at the finish – by a less than 0.1 seconds.

80cc SHIFTER – Since the shifter karts have manually operated clutches, they use Formula 1 style starts as opposed to Le Mans style. Conor got away well in his Merchandise race and set out after the leader. These two were never more than a second apart, but Conor didn’t have the speed to challenge for the lead, even though he did record the fastest lap time on the final lap (31.736 seconds). I suspect that the brake problem he had earlier in the day was having an adverse effect on his confidence. During the single practice session on Sunday morning, Conor pushed a little too hard and clipped a bale on the exit of Turn 6, which bent a tie rod and a spindle, which ended his session early. We made the necessary repairs, but in his Trophy race on Sunday, it became apparent that something was not right. It turned out to be a brake problem again. He lost a position on Lap 2 and ran a lonely race in third to the end. For Conor’s 20-lap Pro race, we managed to fix the brake problem and we made a gear ratio change to help him get out of Turn 6 a little better. At the start, he bogged the engine down and fell from third to fourth. He made a pass for third in Turn 1 on Lap 3. On Lap 4, the leader (and winner of the Trophy race) pulled off with mechanical problems, which promoted Conor to second. The new leader had about a half-straightaway lead by then, and while these two traded fast laps (Conor’s best was a 31.670), Conor was unable to close the gap significantly. That Conor was able to do as well as he did was due in large part to the eventually winner, who just happens to be the welder who fixed his broken seat strut. I suppose it would have been in bad taste to have beaten him, but I doubt that Conor was thinking about this at the time. Conor’s second place finish in the Pro race earned him a cool $250 while the winner took home $500.

NEXT RACE – As we were watching the last two Pro races after Conor’s, the sky darkened and the wind began to pick up. The temperature dropped about 10 degrees in a matter of minutes. We made it back to our pit area just in time to start packing up prior to the rain coming down. When it did, it came down in buckets. By the time we got it all packed up, all four of us were soaked to the bone. The normal trophy ceremony was replaced by an impromptu gathering in the registration trailer, where Conor picked up his check and he and Peter both picked up their trophies. Our next race is Mid State of Ohio Kart Club Race No. 7 at Circleville Raceway Park on Sunday August 14, 2011. I’m hoping that all of our equipment will be dried out by then, but the weather forecast for Sunday does not look promising.

Bill

p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found at http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=697421 (Saturday) and http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=697433 (Sunday)

Peter Looses a Gear During CPGP Qualifying

2011-08-08T18:15:00.001-07:00

Laura captured an amazing sequence of photographs of Peter during his qualifying session for the 2011 Commercial Point Grand Prix on Saturday, August 6, 2011 (click to enlarge). We had made a gear change prior to this session, and somehow, the bolts didn't get tightened. He got through the first few laps before the gear came loose. The last picture below captures the gear as it came off. The chain has not figured out that the gear is missing yet! He qualified ninth, but made significant improvements in his merchandise race later in the day and in his trophy race on Sunday. A full race report will follow.

Bill

MSOKC Race No. 7 – July 31, 2011 – Conor’s Perfect Day… …on Peter’s Birthday!

2011-08-05T12:01:00.000-07:00

NEWS – Peter celebrated his 16th birthday this past Sunday during Mid State of Ohio Kart Club (MSOKC) Race No. 7, which was our first reverse direction event of the season at Circleville Raceway Park (CRP). We had just returned from Rhode Island where we visited Henry in his new apartment and had a relaxing vacation that included plenty of water. The house we rented was on a small lake and included the use of a variety of small watercraft. We also took a day trip on the ferry to Block Island where we toured around on rented scooters. The final day of our trip was spent cruising around Narragansett Bay and Newport on a large motorboat.

PRACTICE – While we had nice weather in Rhode Island, it was still hot and humid in Ohio when we returned. It had rained the night before, so we had fog Sunday morning as well. During practice, we confirmed that we had corrected the brake rotor problem on Peter’s kart and we experimented with a replacement exhaust pipe on Conor’s kart. No track records were broken during practice as both the ambient and track conditions were less than favorable.

SPEC 100 PIPE – Both Peter and Conor drew the pole position for their first heat race. Peter made a great start in his and motored off into the distance for another heat race win, setting the fastest lap of the race in the process. Starting from the rear in his second heat race, Peter let things settle down in front of him before beginning to apply pressure. While Peter was fast on Sunday, all of the other competitors in this class seemed to be running strong as well. Peter managed to make one pass entering Turn 4 on Lap 3, but that was as far as he could get. He did set the fastest lap of the race again, however. A first and a fourth earned Peter the third starting position for the feature. He maintained his position at the start and inherited a position on Lap 4 when the leader pulled off with a mechanical problem. While running second, Peter was pushing hard to catch the new leader when he dropped two wheels into the grass between Turns 6 and 5. This cost him two positions. He finished fourth, but it was good to see him once again have the speed to run up front.

80cc SHIFTER – Conor also made a great start in his first heat race and motored off into the distance for another heat race win, setting the fastest lap of the race in the process. Starting from the rear in his second heat race, everyone got away well which left Conor in sixth position at the end of Lap 1. On Lap 2, the two karts in front of Conor has a brief coming together, which let Conor slip past. Conor then executed a series of late-braking passes entering Turn 4. Each time, the kart being overtaken tried to late brake with him only to overshoot on the exit of the corner. The first came on Lap 3 and the next came on Lap 5. Having worked his way up to second, it took Conor several laps to catch the leader, during which he set the fastest lap of the race again. When he caught the leader, he had just enough time to make one last pass in Turn 4. Starting from pole position in the feature, Conor again made a great start and motored off into the distance for his third feature race win of the season in this class. This was the first perfect day of the season for anyone in this class (maximum championship points) and Conor’s first perfect day since he clinched the Yamaha SuperCan Junior championship in the season finale in October 2008.

NEXT RACE – Next up is the Commercial Point Grand Prix on Saturday and Sunday, August 6 and 7, 2011. The CPGP (http://www.cpgrandprix.com/) is a street race through the village of Commercial Point, Ohio, and has been the highlight of the season for Bruce Brothers Racing in recent years. Peter and Conor will race on both Saturday and Sunday and Conor will race twice on Sunday. Admission is free, but passes must be purchased to access the pits. We will be under two beige-colored EZ-Up tents in the pit area near the starting grid. Extra chairs will be on hand. There will be food vendors, beer wagons, etc., and all proceeds benefit the Scioto Township Firefighter’s Association. Commercial Point is located approximately 14 miles south of Columbus, just south of Grove City.

Bill

p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found at http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=694124

Feature Race Lap Chart from MSOKC Race No. 7 - 80 cc Shifter

2011-07-31T18:52:00.000-07:00

Conor qualified on pole (two heat race wins) and led every lap of the feature (click to enlarge).

Peter had a heat race win, too. A full race report will follow.

Bill

MSOKC Race No. 6 – July 17, 2011 – Conor Gets Another Win

2011-07-22T14:02:00.000-07:00

NEWS – Peter was back in action for Mid State of Ohio Kart Club (MSOKC) Race No. 6 after nearly four weeks in Italy. The rest of us (including Henry) had also just returned from a week in Kansas City where we were visiting family. For Race No. 6, Peter was looking forward to trying out the new racing shoes he got in Italy and Conor was looking forward to making better use of the speed we have recently found in his kart. Laura, who attends nearly all the races, needed to stay in Kansas City for an extra day to tie up some loose ends and missed this one.

PRACTICE – The conditions last Sunday were excellent in the morning but the temperature and humidity increased throughout the day. Peter did some extra laps when we first arrived to re-acclimate himself. His lap times during practice were on par with the fastest karts in his class. While preparing for Race No. 6, we found a big crack in Conor’s exhaust. We had this fixed, and while scrubbing in new tires during practice, Conor set his fastest lap of the year so far (45.11 seconds).

SPEC 100 PIPE – Peter started both of his heat races from the third position (of five). In the first, he maintained his position at the start and hung with the leaders for the first few laps, but began to fall into the clutches of the fourth place kart at about mid-way through. He held on to third to the finish, however. His second heat race was much like the first, although his lap times were increasing by about 0.2 seconds per lap. He got passed on Lap 6 (of 8) and finished fourth. At the time, we attributed his decreased pace to the increase in grip that the track was providing as the temperature increased. We would later discover that he had lost two set screws in one of his rear axle bearings, which was causing his brake rotor to rub one of his brake pads in left-hand corners. Unfortunately, we figured this out after his feature race. We made a few changes to “loosen him up” for his feature, in which he started fourth, but it became quickly apparent that there was still a problem. His lap times started out reasonably well, but as his brake caliper began to heat up, his lap times again began to increase. His final lap was a 48.24, while he had recorded a 46.89 in practice that morning. There was one retirement, so Peter ended up finishing fourth.

80cc SHIFTER – There were six karts in Conor’s class on Sunday. Conor started his first heat race from the sixth position. I don’t recall exactly what happened in the first few corners, but what I do remember is that he went for a pass in Turn 6 on the opening lap and ended up in the grass facing the wrong direction. He got going again but had lost a ton of time. He was extremely fast on new tires and caught up and made a pass on Lap 3, another on Lap 5, and another on Lap 6. One kart had retired, so with two laps to go, Conor was chasing down the leader. He came up about two kart-lengths short, but he recorded the fastest lap by over 0.3 seconds. When you start at the rear in the first heat race, you get to start on pole for the second. Conor had a great start and motored off into the distance for the heat race win. He again had the fastest lap by about 0.3 seconds. Conor found himself on pole again for the feature, but after an amazing string of awesome standing starts, he bogged the motor down this time. He only lost one position. The leading kart was pushing hard to stay in front of Conor, and in Turn 8 on Lap 2, he dropped two wheels off the outside of the track and Conor was able to easily slip by. He once again motored off into the distance for his second feature race win of the year in this class. Fastest lap again? You bet – by over 0.8 seconds this time. While others struggled with worsening conditions, Conor’s lap times were consistent all day.

NEXT RACE – Next up is MSOKC Race No. 7 at CRP on Sunday July 31, 2011, which is Peter’s 16th birthday. His axle bearing has been repaired and we have a few chassis adjustments to try, so hopefully his birthday will be a happy one. While Conor has been fast lately, his luck last Sunday was better than it was for Race No. 5. Hopefully that will continue. In the mean time, we’re off on another vacation – this time to Rhode Island where we will visit Henry, who is back in Providence for the rest of the summer, and spend some relaxing time at a nice house we’ve rented on a lake and near the beach.

Bill

p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found at http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=688383

Picture from MSOKC Race No. 6 – July 17, 2011

2011-07-19T15:11:00.000-07:00

No caption necessary (click to enlarge). A full report for MSOKC Race No. 6 will follow.

Bill

Video of Conor from MSOKC Race No. 5

2011-07-14T11:37:00.000-07:00

An on-board video of Conor's heat race in our Spec 100 Pipe kart from MSOKC Race No. 5 is posted on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-szU9AsF_q8

He's in the No. 2 kart that grabs the leads at the start. He leads until getting balked slightly while being passed by a kart from a faster class. Thanks again to Frank Oyer for posting.

Bill

MSOKC Race No. 5 – June 25, 2011 – Conor Gets a Win… …in Peter’s Kart!

2011-07-14T08:50:00.000-07:00

NEWS – Peter is in Italy again this summer with our neighbors and good friends the Rizzoni’s, so he was unavailable for Mid State of Ohio Kart Club (MSOKC) Race No. 5. We took the opportunity to experiment with a new exhaust header on our Yamaha Spec 100 Pipe kart by putting Conor in the seat. Conor had never done two classes in the same day before (see picture below - click to enlarge), so it was a good opportunity to test his endurance as well.

PRACTICE – Race No. 5 was another Saturday night race at Circleville Raceway Park (CRP), although this was a qualifying format event instead of the normal heat race format. We arrived a bit early again to give Conor a chance to acclimate to a chassis in which he is very familiar but with more power than when he won the Junior SuperCan championship in this kart. Conor was able to record some impressive lap time both in free practice and during class practices in both the Spec 100 Pipe kart and his 80cc Shifter kart. We had new tires for qualifying for the 80cc shifter kart, but Conor would have to make due with some very used tires on the Spec 100 Pipe kart.

SPEC 100 PIPE – The Spec 100 Pipe class was combined with the faster TaG class, which had only one entry. In the Spec 100 Pipe qualifying session, Conor qualified second and missed pole position by just over 0.2 seconds. Only 0.4 seconds covered the rest of the field (five karts total), however. This class allows the choice of two engines. The pole sitter uses the other engine, which is fast over a lap distance but does not accelerate as well as the Yamaha. In the heat race, Conor was able to gain the lead going into the first corner. The faster TaG kart, which had started in the rear, tried to pass both the second place kart and Conor going into Turn 5 on Lap 4 (of 8). She squeaked by, but caused Conor to lift slightly which allowed the second place kart to get by, too. A pair of seconds earned Conor the second place starting position for the feature. He once again passed the pole sitter going into Turn 1. Conor was able to extend his lead a bit over the first few laps this time. When the faster TaG kart came up through the field, she could only manage get by the second place kart going into Turn 5. This caused him to lift, and because of his poor acceleration, he dropped back by about 10 kart lengths. Just as all appeared to be smooth sailing to the finish, the TaG kart clipped Conor in the left rear going for an aggressive pass in Turn 10 on Lap 7 (of 10). The TaG kart had a half spin, and Conor was turned around by about 90 degrees, but he was delayed only slightly and hung on for the feature race win.

80cc SHIFTER – The 80cc Shifter class had the biggest field of the season so far this year – 10 karts. This included a former Junior SuperCan competitor of Conor’s who in now racing for Andretti Autosport in USF2000. We seemed to have nailed the setup for the new set of tires we put on Conor’s kart for the qualifying session, as Conor qualified on pole by over 0.4 seconds. In the heat race, the second place qualifier jumped the standing start by a mile. He was rolling past Conor with a head of steam before any of the other karts moved (see picture sequence video below). The rules state that, when someone jumps the start, the race is supposed to be red flagged, the offender moved to the rear of the field, and the race re-started. Well, that didn’t happen. Conor fell into second place behind the offending kart and applied significant pressure over the first seven laps. He made several passing attempts, but each time, had to fall back in line. The leading kart seemed to be focusing on defending his position, which resulted in lap times much slower that Conor’s qualifying time and caused a bottleneck of four karts behind him. Conor’s best opportunity for a pass came entering Turn 3 on the final lap. Conor went wide to set up an inside pass in Turn 4, but got hung out to dry when the leading kart left no room. Conor dropped to fifth before he could get back in line, which is where he finished. A first and a fifth earned Conor the fourth starting position for the feature. Conor gained a position at the start, but lost it on Lap 4 to another professional driver (and the champion of this class last year) who was substituting for a regular driver who was complaining of back pain.

NEXT RACE – While it was fun to see Conor get a win in the Spec 100 Pipe class, it was frustrating to see what happened in the 80cc Shifter class. Prior to the start of the 80cc Shifter feature race, there was a hastily-called meeting to discuss the consequences for jumping the start. While no penalties were handed out this time, a stern reminder of what is supposed to happen was given. This will hopefully prevent a recurrence in the future. Our next race is MSOKC Race No. 6 on Sunday July 17, 2011, at CRP. Peter will have just returned from Italy and the rest of us will have just returned from a week in Kansas City where we are visiting family. In between all of this, Laura and I had relaxing week of vacation in Colorado for our 25th wedding anniversary, and Henry is home from Providence for a few weeks. Yes, it’s been a busy summer.

Bill

p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found at http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=677490

Video of Peter from MSOKC Race No. 4

2011-07-02T12:24:00.000-07:00

There is another nice on-board video posted on YouTube, this time of Peter's first heat race from MSOKC Race No. 4:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaChVnOmnT4

He's in the No. 2 kart that leads from green to checkered just in front of the red kart. Thanks to Frank Oyer for posting.

Bill

MSOKC Race No. 4 – June 18, 2011 – Under the Lights

2011-06-24T05:19:00.000-07:00

NEWS – Mid State of Ohio Kart Club (MSOKC) Race No. 4 last Sunday was our first night race of the season. We arrived a bit early to break in the engine we had to have rebuilt for Peter after it experienced a broken cylinder head during Race No. 2. We also needed to try out the new axle we put in Conor’s kart after the one he had been using was slightly bent during an altercation during Race No. 1. Soon after we arrived at Circleville Raceway Park (CRP), in began to rain. We managed to get both boys out for one session prior to this, so our early start was not a complete loss. It would continue to rain on and off right up to the 5:00 PM start time.

PRACTICE – The track began to dry after a few brave souls went out for open practice on rain tires. To make up time, regular class practices were limited to one session. Peter’s engine ran flawlessly and Conor’s new axle has no adverse effect. After practice, it was announced that the format would be shortened to six-lap heat races and an eight-lap feature (as opposed to eight and ten respectively) to beat the rain that was expected later in the day.

SPEC 100 PIPE – The random draw had Peter starting from pole position in his first heat race. He timed the rolling start perfectly and led easily through the first few corners. He extended his lead over the next few laps, recorded the fastest lap of the race in the process (46.80 seconds), and won by a comfortable margin. Starting last (fifth) in his second heat race, Peter took it easy through the first few corners, but was able to make a pass for fourth in Turn 4 on the first lap. He gained another position when the kart in front of him made a mistake in Turn 4 on Lap 3. He pushed the second place kart to the finish, but finished third. A first and a third earned Peter the pole position for his feature, which got underway just after dark. He got away well again and led easily for the first two laps. While pulling away, it was his turn to make a mistake in Turn 4. The time he spent in the grass dropped him to fourth place with quite a bit of distance to make up. By Lap 6, Peter had caught the leading group. He made well timed move for third in Turn 5 on Lap 7, but couldn’t make it stick, and finished fourth.

80cc SHIFTER – There were seven karts in Conor’s class on Sunday. Conor timed the standing starts in his class perfectly all day, starting with his first heat race in which he started fifth. He was up to third by the Turn 1. He made another pass for second in Turn 3 on the first lap. He was obviously faster than the leader and was all over his back bumper for the first few laps. He went side-by-side with the leader through Turn 4 on Lap 3. These two had a drag race down the back straightaway with Conor on the inside for Turn 5. He left his braking a bit late, locked his rears, and ended up in the grass with a stalled engine, which is where he stayed to the finish. In his second heat race, Conor got another great start from third to maintain his position. He made a pass for second in Turn 5 on the first lap and set out for the leader. The leader had put on new tires for this race, so Conor could not quite track him down and finished second. A seventh and a second had Conor starting fourth for his feature. Another great start had him up to second by Turn 1. He was able to close the gap to the leader by the end, but finished second.

NEXT RACE – Mistakes cost both boys better finishes on Sunday, but both were pleased to have the pace to run up front, particularly Peter in his relatively new class. It was also fun to have some of Peter’s friends in attendance on Sunday. Our next race is MSOKC Race No. 5, which is another night race on Saturday, June 25, 2011, at CRP. Peter is in Italy until mid-July, so Conor may try his hand in both his kart and Peter’s kart.

Bill

p.s., The electronic timing system was a causality of the weather on Sunday, so there are no lap times and lap charts posted on MyLaps.com.

Video of Henry from MSOKC Race No. 2

2011-06-07T12:31:00.000-07:00

There is a nice on-board video of Henry's second heat race from MSOKC Race No. 2 posted on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhICkBnmzZk

He's in the No. 2 kart just in front of the camera man. There's a lot more action than the write-up below would have you believe. The three-wide passing attempt going into Turn 5 on Lap 3 is impressive. Too bad he couldn't make it stick...

Bill

MSOKC Race No. 2 – May 22, 2011 – Conor Gets a Win and Henry Fills In

2011-06-02T20:28:00.000-07:00

NEWS – For Mid State of Ohio Kart Club (MSOKC) Race No. 2 at Circleville Raceway Park (CRP), Peter was out of town competing with his crew team at the Midwest Scholastics Rowing Championships in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Henry is home from Providence for few weeks prior to returning for a summer internship in the Biology department at Brown University, so he filled in for Peter. Conor made room for Race No. 2 among all of his high school graduation activities. Race No. 2 was scheduled to feature a combined feature race for the 80cc, TaG, and Spec 100 Pipe classes with a rolling start for everyone and 20 laps instead of 10. While the feature race did get under way, it was cut short by a late afternoon rain shower.

PRACTICE – We thought that having Henry fill in for Peter would provide us with some extra time to experiment with tuning our Spec 100 Pipe kart. It certainly did, but we went the wrong way during Henry’s second practice session. We ran the engine way too lean and ended up sticking the piston and potentially ending the day for Henry. Fortunately, one of the local engine builders came to our rescue and loaned us an engine for the remainder of the day. We tried a new part in the carburetor of our 80cc Shifter kart and Conor was fast right out of the trailer, so we made few additional changes except for bolting on a set of gently used tires after his practice sessions.

SPEC 100 PIPE – We finished the engine change just after the driver’s meeting concluded. Henry started his first heat race from the fourth position (of eight). He made a great start and ended up second after the first few corners. He struggled with handling a bit and lost a position on Lap 3 and another on Lap 5. While pushing to maintain his position, he had a half spin in Turn 3 on Lap 6 and dropped to eighth. He inherited a position on Lap 8 to finish seventh. In his second heat, Henry started and finished fifth. He lost a position on Lap 6 but gained it back on the same lap. The combined feature race featured 17 karts, which was quite a sight to see at the start. The six 80cc Shifter karts led the way, followed by three TaGs, and then the eight Spec 100 karts. Henry started fifth among the Spec 100 karts. It had started to sprinkle just prior to these karts taking to the track, and while the track was damp, the green flag flew anyway. While the front of the field got through the first few corners unscathed, there was a mid-field melee in Turn 3 on Lap 1. Henry managed to avoid the trouble and found himself first-in-class at the end of Lap 1. The rain intensified over the next laps or so and the red flag flew bringing an end to the day. Results were awarded based on starting positions, which negated the improvement Henry had made on the opening lap.

80cc SHIFTER – We were optimistic about Conor’s chances based on his practice times on old tires. Conor started his first heat race from the fourth position (of six). He gained two positions at the start and ran in second to the finish. His lap times on new-ish tires were about half a second slower than his practice times, which had us scratching our heads. We made a few chassis adjustment for Conor’s second heat race, in which he started third. Conor made an excellent start. When the pole sitter got away a bit slowly, Conor dove to the inside and he found himself in the lead going into Turn 3. He couldn’t quite pull away from the second place kart, but managed to lead comfortably to the end for a heat race win. A second and a first earned Conor the pole position for the combined feature. Rolling starts are a new thing for the 80cc Shifter kart class and Conor timed it perfectly. He led easily through the first few turns. The second place kart over-cooked it going into Turn 5 and went into the grass after running into the back of Conor. Conor extended his lead over the next lap or so while the rain intensified. After the red flag flew, Conor was awarded the feature race win based on his starting position.

NEXT RACE – Peter’s crew team’s performance in Oak Ridge qualified them for the Scholastic Rowing Association of America National Championship Regatta in Camden, New Jersey, this past weekend. In Camden, they advanced out of their heat race into the semi-final (top 12 teams in the nation), but couldn’t manage to qualify for the final. They were on pace to advance when one of the boys hit a goose with his oar! It was fortunate that Henry had the engine problem in our Spec 100 kart, because if it had not been him, it would have been Peter in the next race. Speaking of which, the next race is MSOKC Race No. 3 on Sunday, June 5, 2011, but the Bruce Brothers Racing team will be previously occupied. That is the day Conor will be graduating from Upper Arlington High School. He will graduate with an International Baccalaureate diploma, which is a two-year educational program for high school students that provides an internationally accepted qualification for entry into higher education and is recognized by universities worldwide. Conor had decided to attend The Ohio State University in the fall, which suits me just fine. That makes our next race MSOKC Race No. 4 on Saturday, June 18, 2011, and our first night race of the season.

Bill

p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found at http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=659630

Pictures from MSOKC Race No. 2 – May 22, 2011

2011-05-23T16:59:00.000-07:00

Henry is home from Providence for a few weeks (see picture below - click to enlarge) and filled in for Peter this past weekend while he was away competing with his crew team at the Midwest Scholastics Rowing Championships in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. He struggled a bit with mechanical problems but had fun in the process. Conor had an excellent day with a heat race and feature race win. A full race report will follow. Peter and his teammates in the Boys Freshman 8 boat (see picture below - Peter is fourth from the left) qualified for the Scholastic Rowing Association of America National Championship Regatta in Camden, New Jersey, next weekend. More on that later, too.

Bill

MSOKC Race No. 1 – May 8, 2011 – Fast and Furious

2011-05-16T10:46:00.000-07:00

NEWS – The start of the 2011 Bruce Brothers Racing season was Mid State of Ohio Kart Club (MSOKC) Race No. 1, which was a qualifying format event at Circleville Raceway Park (CRP) on Sunday, May 8, 2011. Yes, this was Mother’s Day. Being on the MSOKC Board of Directors, I have some say-so regarding the season schedule, but I was out of town for the meeting at which the schedule was finalized. Needless to say, I would not have voted for a race on Mother’s Day. Laura was not feeling well, so she stayed home for some much-needed rest. Peter graduated a class and came to grips quickly in our reconfigured Spec 100 Pipe kart after we sorted out a significant mechanical gremlin. Conor has a rebuilt engine and gearbox for our 80cc shifter kart and was fast all day.

PRACTICE – It was nice to finally see the sun shine last Sunday after an unusually cold and wet Spring in central Ohio. Both boys had had one opportunity to break in engines and practice prior to Race No. 1. On Sunday, Peter went out for open practice to get in a few extra laps while Conor was content with his pace. Regular class practices went well for Conor, but Peter came to a stop on the second lap of his second session. The engine would run, but would not rev high enough to even engage the clutch. This sent us into a tailspin, but fortunately there was lots of help to be had.

SPEC 100 PIPE – By the time that Peter’s new class was called to the grid for qualifying, we still had not sorted out the problem. Everything that could be changed without removing the engine from the chassis was changed. With the help of others, we finally decided to take the engine off and eventually found a broken wire between the coil and the ignition unit. Peter missed his qualifying session, but two other karts in his class also had problems, so a make-up session was allowed. Peter qualified fifth out of eighth karts in his class, just 0.4 seconds slower than the fastest qualifier. At the start of his heat race, the inside row got going much more slowly than the outside row, which resulted in Peter dropping to sixth on the opening lap. Peter locked up the rear brakes and had a half-spin while attempting an inside pass in Turn 3 on Lap 4, which dropped him another position. He ran the last few laps in clean air and lowered his best lap time to 46.962 seconds in the process. He inherited a position when another kart had mechanical problems, which resulted in a sixth place finish. The combination of Peter’s qualifying position and heat race finish earned him the fifth starting position for his feature. At the start, Peter managed to get out of line to avoid what was again a slow-starting inside row, which allowed him to maintain his fifth position on the opening lap. He gained a position when another kart had a half spin in Turn 3 on Lap 4. On Lap 8, he set up and executed an excellent pass on the approach to Turn 5 at the end of the long straightaway. He ran in third to the end for a podium finish in his first outing in the Spec 100 Pipe class.

80cc SHIFTER – Except for some fresh components, we started the 2011 season pretty much where we left off at the end of 2010 with our 80cc shifter kart. The class champion from last year has graduated to the SCCA Pro Formula Enterprise Series (http://sccaproracing.com/series.php?ID=fe) along with two of Conor’s competitors from previous years. We put new tires on for Conor’s qualifying session, and while he looked good, he reported that he was not able to put a complete lap together. As a result, he qualified second out of six karts in his class, just less than 0.1 seconds slower than the fastest qualifier. Conor made an excellent start for his heat race but couldn’t manage to get past the pole-sitter. He seemed to be content following the leader for the first few laps but turned it up a notch for Laps 5 and 6 (of eight) hoping to force the leader into a mistake. Conor did record the fastest lap in the process (45.479) but ran out of laps and settled for second. The start of Conor’s feature was almost a carbon copy of his heat race start except that Conor may have gotten a little bit better start than the pole sitter. With the frustration of his heat race still in mind, Conor tried an early move to the inside going into Turn 3 on the opening lap. He later reported that this surprise tactic would have worked had he not changed his brake bias towards the front. Conor once again settled into second, but it became quickly apparent that a chassis adjustment we had made prior to the start of his feature was working – he was all over the leader from the very start. Conor was able to stick his nose in several times at several places but the leader was doing a through job defending. On Lap 6, Conor got a good run through Turn 9 and was setting up for a late apex into Turn 10 when the leader come over into Conor’s path. The leader’s right rear contacted Conor’s left front, which lifted Conor’s kart onto the back of the other kart. Both karts ended up in the infield, and while the other kart was stranded with damage, Conor was able to continue. He lost about 10 seconds in the process and dropped to fourth. Unsure about damage to his kart, Conor took it easy at first. He was able to reel in the third place kart by the end but finished fourth. Conor again had the fastest lap, which was about a second faster than the eventual winner.

NEXT RACE – While Peter’s problem was frustrating and Conor’s incident was unfortunate, both could have been worse and we were generally pleased with our performance during Race No. 1. We’ve not quite figured out all there is to tuning the exhaust on a Spec 100 Pipe kart, so there is still more performance in store for Peter. Conor’s kart is running well, but we have a few things to try on it as well. MSOKC Race No. 2, which will feature extend feature race laps (20 as opposed to 10) for some classes, including both Peter’s and Conor’s, is Sunday, May 22, 2011 at CRP. Peter will miss this race as he has taken up the sport of Crew (http://www.uacrew.org/) and has a regatta in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, that weekend. I wish I could say that Laura was feeling better, but her participation at either event is questionable at best. She has since been diagnosed with pneumonia and has been (i.e., is supposed to be) confined to bed rest. Some Mother’s Day present…

Bill

p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found at http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=652870

Peter on the Podium for MSOKC Race No. 1

2011-05-13T10:41:00.001-07:00

Peter finished his feature race on the podium (third) last Sunday in his first outing in the Spec 100 Pipe class (see photo below - click to enlarge). Conor was the fastest kart in the 80cc Sifter class, but got into a tangle going for the lead late in his feature race. He recovered to finish fourth. A full race report will follow.

Bill

Video of Peter in Spec 100 Pipe Kart

2011-05-06T12:57:00.000-07:00

Peter takes his initial laps in the reconfigured Bruce Brothers Racing Spec 100 Pipe kart during pre-season testing at Circleville Raceway Park - May 1, 2011.

Bill

2011 Schedule for Bruce Brothers Racing

2011-05-06T10:25:00.000-07:00

Bruce Brothers Racing will once again be contesting the Mid State of Ohio Kart Club (MSOKC) championship and participating in the Commercial Point Grand Prix (CPGP) street race in 2011. Our race schedule is as follows:

Race No. 1 - Sunday, May 8 - Qualifying - 20 Bonus Points
Race No. 2 - Sunday, May 22 - Normal (Extended feature laps for TaG, Spec 100, 80 cc)
Race No. 3 - Sunday, June 5 - Clockwise
Race No. 4 - Saturday, June 18 - Night race, Standing start
Race No. 5 - Saturday, June 25 - Night Race , Qualify
Race No. 6 - Sunday, July 17 - Normal (Extended laps for Supercan, Supercan Novice)
Race No. 7 - Sunday, July 31 - Clockwise, Standing start
Commercial Point Grand Prix - August 6-7 - Non-points event - Street race
Race No. 8 - Sunday, August 14 - Normal
Race No. 9 - Saturday, August 20 - Night race
Race No. 10 - Saturday, September 3 - Sunday Schedule, Qualifying, Hog Roast
Rain Date 1 - Sunday, September 4 - Rain Date No. 1
Race No. 11 - Saturday, September 24 - Normal, Sunday Schedule - 20 Bonus Points
Race No. 12 - Sunday, October 2 - Clockwise, Qualify - 40 Bonus Points
Rain Date 2 - Sunday, October 16 - Rain Date No. 2

All MSOKC events will take place at Circleville Raceway park (CRP), which is located just north of Circleville, Ohio, on Route 23. The CPGP will take place in the streets of Commercial Point, Ohio.

Conor returns to our 80cc Shifter Kart, which has undergone a complete engine and gearbox rebuild. Peter will graduate to the Spec 100 Pipe class, which required a reconfiguration of the kart he drove last year. We look forward to seeing you at the races!

Bill

Video of Conor's Lap at Competition Racing

2011-01-18T03:42:00.000-08:00

Indoor Karting Adventure

2011-01-17T18:59:00.000-08:00

Bruce Brothers Racing took advantage of Henry’s last few days at home before returning to college and packed our bags and headed to Cincinnati this past weekend. Our first stop was for some indoor kart racing fun at Competition Racing (http://www.competitionracing.net/) in nearby Lawrenceburg, Indiana (see pictures below - click to enlarge). Indoor karting events involve timed wheel-to-wheel driving sessions where the primary objective is to post the fastest lap time. All five of us did the first session, the boys and I did the second session, and the boys did the third session along with several other competitors. The boys easily posted the fastest lap times of the day to that point and were within 0.06 seconds of each other (19.34, 19.38, and 19.40 seconds for Peter, Henry, and Conor, respectively). From there, we headed to Blue Ash Chili (http://www.blueashchili.com/) for some authentic Cincinnati-style chili. After checking into our hotel and having a dip in the pool, we went to the theater and saw the remake of True Grit (http://www.truegritmovie.com/). After the movie, we had burgers at Terry’s Turf Club (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Terrys-Turf-Club/164701121642). Both Blue Ash Chili and Terry’s Turf Club were recently featured on the Food Network’s Diners, Drive-ins and Dives (http://www.foodnetwork.com/diners-drive-ins-and-dives/index.html) – Blue Ash Chili was excellent and Terry’s Turf Club was awesome (see pictures below). After a good night’s sleep and a free breakfast, we packed up and headed to Jungle Jim’s International Market (http://www.junglejims.com/), which has been described as a theme park of food, in Fairfield, Ohio. When we got home, Henry prepared sushi for dinner. My post-Christmas diet took a severe beating...

Bill

2011 Commercial Point Grand Prix of Karting

2011-01-13T18:05:00.000-08:00

The 2011 Commercial Point Grand Prix of Karting will be held on August 6 and 7, 2011. Hopefully the weather will cooperate this year. We'll be sure to bring extra tie-downs for our E-Z Up canopies just in case.

Bill

New Buckeye Bullet Article

2010-12-04T07:51:00.000-08:00

There's a great new article on the Buckeye Bullet that can be found here:

http://speedhunters.com/archive/2010/12/03/car-spotlight-gt-gt-the-buckeye-bullet-2-5.aspx

It includes a bunch of good pictures. One of the Bruce Brothers Racing stickers (B2R for B-squared-R) can be seen in the third picture down - just to the right and below the Penske sticker. The mention of high school interns about two-thirds of the way down refers to Conor.

Bill

Video of Conor at CRP

2010-11-21T12:56:00.000-08:00

It's the off-season, so there's nothing new to report, but here's a video that I took with my iPhone of Conor during open practice for MSOKC Race No. 5 back in June. This is the "normal" direction (counter-clockwise) at Circleville Raceway Park. The video begins with Conor exiting Turn 10 (the final corner at CRP). He crosses the Start/Finish line (marked by an orange cone) and continues through Turns 1, 2 and 3. You hear gear changes from fourth, to fifth, and then sixth. Turn 1 at CRP is flat out for most karts, including our 80cc shifter kart. The long back straightaway between Turns 4 and 5 is longer than anything between Turns 10 and 3 at CRP, but top speed (about 70 mph for Conor) generally occurs entering Turn 3.

Bill

MSOKC Race No. 12 – October 17, 2010 – Season Finale Redux

2010-10-28T17:41:00.000-07:00

NEWS – The make-up date for the rained-out Mid State of Ohio Kart Club season finale was a week ago Sunday, October 17, 2010. Unfortunately, my work required me to be out of the country that day (Berlin, Germany, and then Sofia, Bulgaria). Peter, who has taken up the sport of Crew, had secured fourth place in the MSOKC championship in his class by simply showing up for the original date of the season finale. He had a regatta the day before the make-up date and elected to spend the day at home recovering from the extensive physical exertion that this sport requires. Conor stood to lose second place in the championship in his class if he failed to show up for the make-up date, so we recruited friends and family to give Conor the support he needed. I prepared his kart and had everything loaded up and ready to go before I left for my trip. My dad offered to accompany Conor to the track, our good friend Greg Wilkinson offered to help with the at-the-track activities, and Laura took over as scribe and caterer. While Conor was on the track, Greg provided me with live commentary via cell phone – into late Sunday evening in Berlin.

PRACTICE – My first phone call didn’t come until Conor’s first heat race, so apparently everything went well during practice. I did learn later that it became apparent during practice that the run-away championship leader in Conor’s class had elected to sit out for the make-up, since he had already clinched the championship.

80cc SHIFTER – The random draw from the previous attempt at the season finale, which had Conor starting from pole position in his first heat race, was used again for the make-up. Conor got away well and settled into the lead easily in the first few corners. He and his rival for second position in the championship, who had started from the second position, quickly pulled away from the rest of the field during the first few laps. Conor was able to extend his lead by 0.1 second or so each lap. His rival backed off a bit on the last lap and Conor won by a margin of just over 2 seconds. With the order reversed for the start of the second heat, Conor would have to follow his rival through the field to avoid negating the advantage he had gained by winning the first heat. Conor’s rival managed to improve from sixth to third on the first lap (of eight) while Conor went from seventh to fifth. Both improved one more position on Lap 2. On Lap 3, Conor’s rival improved one more position into the lead, but Conor improved two positions into second. Conor reeled in the leader during Laps 4 through 6, but seemed to back off knowing that damage would be minimized by finishing right behind his rival. A first and a second earned Conor the second starting position for his feature. All Conor would need to do was finish one place behind (or ahead of) his rival to secure second place in the championship. Conor got away well again but couldn’t manage to get ahead of his rival at the start. These two traded fast laps through the first half of the 10 lap feature. The leader began to feel the pressure that Conor was applying just past half distance. Conor even pulled along side his rival on the entrance to Turn 9 after getting a good run through Turn 10 (the previous corner when going in the opposite direction) on Lap 7. Conor’s pressure paid dividends a lap later when the leader dropped two wheels into the grass on the exit of Turn 1, which allowed Conor to slip by into the lead. Conor pulled away over the next two laps for his first feature race win of the season.

NEXT RACE – That’s a wrap for the 2010 MSOKC season. I was apprehensive about the boys racing in my absence, so I was pleased when Peter decided to give the make-up a miss and to see Conor do so well without me – maybe I should plan to be away more often! While Conor is highly capable on his own, his performance was enhanced by friends and family who stepped up to the plate in my absence. I hereby extend my heart-felt thanks to Greg, my dad, and Laura. Kudos also go to Greg for thinking to call me with live coverage by cell phone. Both boys ended the season on a high note – Peter with a win and a fourth place finish that would have earned him a front row feature race starting position before the rain ruined the original attempt at the season finale, and Conor with a feature race win during the make-up that secured his second place finish in the championship. The season-ending MSOKC banquet is January 8, 2011.

Bill

p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found at http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=607941.

MSOKC Race No. 12 – October 3, 2010 – Rain Delay

2010-10-14T18:46:00.000-07:00

NEWS – The weather cooperated for the first 11 races of the Mid State of Ohio Kart Club season, but that streak came to an end for Race No. 12, which was supposed to be the season finale a week ago Sunday. The day dawned cool and partly cloudy, which necessitated more warm clothing than we had brought.

PRACTICE – Race No. 12 was a reverse direction event at Circleville Raceway Park in which all classes would have standing starts like the shifter karts. The weather was such that neither Peter nor Conor wanted to do extra laps in the morning – both spent a significant part of the morning in the cab of the truck “doing homework”. While preparing for Race No. 12, I noticed that Conor’s throttle cable had stretched a bit to the point where it was questionable whether or not he was getting full throttle with the pedal all the way down. After this was adjusted, I decided to check Peter’s kart. With the pedal all the way down, his throttle was only three-fourths of the way open. This has certainly contributed to the fall-off in performance Peter has experienced in the later part of the season. When they finally did go out for class practice, both boys recorded some excellent lap times.

YAMAHA JUNIOR – From the second starting position in his first heat race, Peter got away well and settled into second in the first few corners. He got a good run through Turn 5 on the second lap and managed to out-brake the leader going into Turn 4 (the following corner going in the reverse direction). He extended his lead over the next few laps but began to come under some pressure at about mid distance (Lap 4 of 8). Peter responded to the pressure and led to the end for his first MSOKC heat race win since Race No. 3 on May 16. Peter started his second heat race from the sixth position (of seven in his class on Sunday). He gained a position at the start and another on Lap 3. The top five karts or so in Peter’s class have become very closely matched as the season had progressed, so further progress through the field was not possible. A first and a fourth place finish would have earned Peter the second starting position for his feature race, but a steady drizzle started before that could happen and the events of the day were suspended.

80cc SHIFTER – Conor’s first heat race was much like Peter’s except that the random draw for starting positions had him starting from pole position. He made an excellent start and led easily through the first few corners. The second place kart – Conor’s rival for second place in the championship – had started on new tires. Conor also had new tires, but we had him scrub them in with a few easy laps during his second practice session. New or “sticker” tires perform best on the second or third lap, but can be dicey on the first lap. They’re okay for qualifying sessions where only one lap counts, but are not ideal for heat races. This difference in tire strategy allowed Conor to develop a fairly healthy lead on the first lap. The advantage went the other way for Laps 2 and 3, which brought the first two, and the championship leader who was in third, nose-to tail. Conor was adamant in defending his position over his rival, who tried twice to out-brake him going into Turn 4. On the second attempt, Conor had to go wide on the exit to avoid contact. These two went side-by-side through Turns 3 and 2. Conor had the better line going into Turn 1, which allowed him to reestablish the lead. Over the next few laps, the championship leader began to pressure the second place kart. These two swapped places on Lap 5, which was promising for Conor from a championship-points perspective. Conor went on to win with a buffer between himself and his rival, which would have been ideal had it not been for the drizzle that started before Conor’s second heat race. Conor’s heat race win was the first time anyone has beaten the championship leader since Race No. 5 on June 26 when Conor did it.

NEXT RACE – If the final three classes could have finished their heat races either before the rain came or after it dried up (which it did eventually but after a decision had been made to suspend the events of the day), the season would have been complete (points for rained-out feature races are awarded based on earned starting positions). All Conor would have needed to do was finish one or two places behind (or ahead of) his rival to secure second place in the championship. By showing up for Race No. 12, Peter has secured his position in the championship. Because the heat races were not completed, the slate is wiped clean and a rain make-up date comes into effect, which is next Sunday, October 17. Unfortunately, my work requires me to be out of the country that day (Berlin, Germany). Friends and family have come to the rescue, however, and will see that Conor gets the support he needs during the rain make-up date. It’s going to be hard to top the way the day was going before the rain came.

Bill

Pictures from MSOKC Race No. 11

2010-10-10T18:54:00.000-07:00

Click to enlarge.

Peter on the grid.

Conor on the grid.

MSOKC Race No. 11 – September 26, 2010 – Down to the Wire

2010-10-01T20:26:00.000-07:00

NEWS – Race No. 11 was the penultimate race of the 2010 MSOKC season last Sunday at Circleville Raceway Park. Peter’s position in the championship in his class is pretty well fixed, but Conor is embroiled in a battle for second place in his class. Conor entered Race No. 11, which was another qualifying format event, trailing by the slimmest of margins, but managed to improve by the end of the day.

PRACTICE – We had a belated birthday celebration for Conor’s 18th birthday at Japanese Steak House in the Short North area of Columbus the Friday before Race No. 11. All five of us (including Laura’s sister Kathy who was visiting from Kansas City) eventually succumbed to a healthy dose of food poisoning, but it hit each of us at different times. Laura was sick right away. It didn’t hit Kathy and me until the next day. Fortunately, both boys still felt reasonably well on Sunday morning. They practiced well with both recording reasonable lap times. They had to do much of the work required to get two karts on the track themselves as I spent time lying down in the back seat of the truck. Both Peter and Conor succumbed early the following week.

YAMAHA JUNIOR – The 2006 Margay Brava 1.6 chassis that Peter uses seems to like cooler conditions, which is what we had for Race No. 11. After qualifying sixth during the previous race, he improved to fourth in qualifying for Race No. 11. In his heat race, he improved his position by one at the start and held on all the way to the finish while keeping the leaders in his sights. The first lap of Peter’s feature race didn’t go so well. He didn’t quite time the start right and lost a position going into Turn 1. He lost another position in Turn 5 on the first lap. He had the speed to regain the position going in to Turn 10, but left the door open on the inside and lost another position. His qualifying position and heat race result took possible points away from his closest rival, so his feature race result – a respectable sixth – did not make much of a difference. Peter has to do little more than show up for Race No. 12 to claim fourth place in the championship.

80cc SHIFTER – I’m thinking about starting to call Conor “Mr. Excitement”. He easily posted the second fastest time during his qualifying session, two places ahead of his closest rival. Qualifying events tend to be processional affairs – if everyone gets a good start – which would have had him finishing second all day. Well, Conor bogged the engine down at the start of his heat race and lost two places. He pulled off an excellent pass on his rival in Turn 5 on Lap 5. He pulled out a gap but ran out of laps before he could further improve his position. From the third starting position in his feature race, Conor held his position at the start, but missed a shift in Turn 4, which caused him to loose a position to his rival in Turn 5. After several attempts, he regained the position on Lap 7. On Lap 9, the second place kart retired with a mechanical problem, which resulted in a second place finish for Conor.

NEXT RACE – Conor’s results gained him some valuable points and put him back in second place in the championship, but by a slim margins. While Peter can relax a bit at Race No. 12, as his points position is relatively secure, Conor has to at lease finish ahead of his rival in one race and be right behind in the others. Conor’s 2002 Trackmagic Dragon chassis seems to like cooler conditions more so than that of his rival, and cooler conditions are just what we are expecting for the season finale on Sunday, October 3, 2010, at CRP. We’re going to stay away from the Japanese Steak House between now and then…

Bill

p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found at http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=600458.

MSOKC Race No. 10 – September 4, 2010 – Hog Roast!

2010-09-21T18:40:00.000-07:00

NEWS – MSOKC Race No. 10 was another qualifying format event at Circleville Raceway Park on Saturday, September 4, 2010. The event followed the normal Sunday (day race) schedule to allow time in the afternoon/evening for the annual MSOKC Hog Roast, which involved plenty of food for everyone and a variety of games. There was also a Powder Puff race in the rental karts at CRP for wives, girlfriends, and mothers of the regular racers. Laura was apprehensive about entering at first, but eventually warmed up to the idea.

PRACTICE – It was Conor’s turn to re-acclimate, as he had missed Race No. 9 while at the Bonneville Salt Flats helping a student-based team from The Ohio State University's Center for Automotive Research break the Land Speed Record for electric-powered vehicles. Both boys practiced on used tires and saved their new tires for the qualifying session.

YAMAHA JUNIOR – Peter’s qualifying time was only a half second slower than the pole position time, but the competition in this class is such that this resulted in a sixth place starting position for his heat race. Qualifying format events tend to be processional affairs and that was exactly the case for Peter’s heat race. Everyone completed the first lap in the same order in which they qualified and they ran in that order to the finish. In Peter’s feature race, he was able to improve one position during the start. He managed to keep the kart he passed at the start behind him for the full distance for a fifth place finish.

80cc SHIFTER – Conor’s class was split into two groups for qualifying. He went out third in the first group. One of the slower karts in the class had gone out first, but Conor allowed what he thought was a sufficient amount before taking to the track. On his third lap, which was his fastest, he caught the slower kart exiting Turn 10 and had to take evasive action, which cost him about a tenth of a second. He qualified third, but catching the slower kart ended up costing him a position – the margin being 0.057 seconds. Conor’s heat race was also a processional affair with everyone finishing where they started. Conor provided the excitement during his feature race. He bogged his engine during the standing start and dropped to sixth place in the process. He made a pass for fifth on Lap 2, fourth on Lap 4, and managed to work his way back up to third on Lap 8, recording the second fastest lap time in the process.

POWDER PUFF – Laura suited up in Conor’s garb for the Powder Puff race (see picture below – click to enlarge). This event has gained popularity since it was introduced during the Hog Roast event in 2008. There were 27 entries in 2010, which required four separate heat races. The top two finishers in each heat would transfer to the feature. Laura had never driven one of the rental karts at CRP, so she was at a significant disadvantage. She managed to work her way up to some respectable lap times, but did not manage to transfer to the feature. We’ll be sure to arrange some practice laps for her prior to next year’s event.

NEXT RACE – MSOKC race No. 11 is another qualifying format event at CRP on Sunday, September 26, 2010. Peter’s position in the championship is pretty well fixed, but Conor fell from second to third after Race No. 10 by the slimmest of margins. We’ll do our best to get him three clean laps during the qualifying session on Sunday.

Bill

p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found at http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=589263.

Gimme Shelter

2010-09-12T11:12:00.001-07:00

I found a great deal on E-Z Up shelters at Cabela's, so I bought two to replace the ones we lost during the Commercial Point Grand Prix. We tried them out at Circleville Raceway Park during Mid State of Ohio Kart Club Race No. 10 last Saturday (see pictures below - click to enlarge).

I was actually able to salvage one of the old ones by combining parts from the two twisted ones, so now we have a spare. A full race report for MSOKC Race No. 10 will follow soon.

Bill

Mario Andretti

2010-09-08T19:43:00.000-07:00

I ran into Mario Andretti in the Delta Sky Club at the Detroit airport this evening. I mentioned that, in 2008, Conor raced with Zach Veach, who now drives for his son Michael in USF2000 at Andretti Autosport. Mario was nice enough to sign an autograph for Conor (see below - click to enlarge). Zach finished second to Conor in the championship that year, but I didn't mention that...

Bill

MSOKC Race No. 9 – August 22, 2010 – Ping-Pong Peter

2010-09-03T10:35:00.000-07:00

NEWS – For the third time this season, Bruce Brothers Racing had only one kart to look after during a race day. For Mid State of Ohio Kart Club Race No 9 on August 22, 2010, Conor was at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah where he was a member of a student-based team from The Ohio State University's Center for Automotive Research that succeeded in breaking the International Land Speed Record for electric-powered vehicles (see related posts below). Peter had just returned from a trip to Chicago with Laura and Henry where they spent time seeing the sights with Laura’s mom and her brother and his family. Since Race No. 9 was a reverse direction event at Circleville Raceway Park, Peter really didn’t want to miss this one as he tends to do well in this direction. Laura agreed to drive through the night from Chicago to get him to the track on time.

PRACTICE – Peter decided to re-acclimate to the reverse direction by running some practice laps during the early-morning open practice session. I’m glad that he did, too, because during his second (and final) class practice session, the throttle return spring on his carburetor broke which left him stranded on the track. Without the early-morning session, the spring may have broken during his first heat race, which would have been much worse. During the practice laps that he did manage to complete, his lap times were some of the fastest in his class.

YAMAHA JUNIOR – The random draw for starting positions had Peter starting from near the rear in his first heat race (sixth of nine) and from pole position in the second. In his first heat race, Peter made a great start and made his way up to fourth on the first lap, but dropped a position on Lap 3 (of eight). Peter was getting out of Turn 5 leading onto the long back straightaway well. He was also managing to late-brake into the following corner (Turn 4 going in the reverse direction). He used this to his advantage on Lap 5, diving to the inside at the approach to Turn 4, but the other kart moved over on Peter even though Peter had earned the position. These two tangled which dropped Peter to sixth position, which is where he finished. Peter made another great start from pole position in his second heat race and led easily for the first two laps. He lost some ground to the second place kart on Lap 3. The second place kart proceeded to punt Peter off the track with an optimistic passing attempt in Turn 6. This would definitely have earned the other kart a black flag – if the corner worker had been looking in that direction. The result of this tangle dropped Peter to fourth. He dropped another position on Lap 4 but made up a position on Lap 6 for a fourth place finish. Both of Peter’s heat race incidents resulted in either Peter’s kart on top of the other kart or the other kart on top of Peters, which can be very dangerous. I had a discussion about rough driving with the Race Director during the intermission. The Race Director in turn summoned all of the participants in Peter’s class for a stern talking to prior to the start of the feature races. This seemed to have the desired effect, as there was much less action in Peter’s feature race. Peter started fifth and ran in fifth to the finish. This could have been a very productive day for Peter if he had not been batted around like a ping-pong ball during his heat races. I’m hoping that the effect of the Race Director’s message will follow through for the remainder of the season.

NEXT RACE – MSOKC race No. 10, which is another qualifying format event, is this Saturday, September 4, 2010, at CRP. This event will follow the normal Sunday (day race) schedule to allow time in the evening for the annual MSOKC Hog Roast, which will involve plenty of food for everyone and a variety of games. In the mean time, Conor is back from Utah and all three boys are back in school – Henry for his Junior year at Brown University and Conor and Peter for their Senior and Freshman years, respectfully, at Upper Arlington High School.

Bill

p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found at http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=583487.

Venturi Buckeye Bullet 2.5 Sets New FIA Land Speed Record

2010-08-31T12:10:00.000-07:00

On Monday, August 24, 2010, the Venturi Buckeye Bullet 2.5 set a FIA (international) Land Speed Record for electric-powered cars of 307 mph! The record was set over a 60-minute period and consists of the average of two runs over a timed mile in the middle of a 12-mile course on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. The previous record of 245 MPH was set by White Lightning in 1999. While the original Buckeye Bullet set an SCTA (national) record at 314 mph, this record does not meet FIA specifications. Bruce Brothers Racing is extremely proud of the team, including our own Conor Bruce, for this monumental achievement. A video clip that Conor took of the BB 2.5 returning to the pit area and a parting shot of Conor on the salt are shown below.

Bill

p.s., FIA = Federation Internationale de l'Automobile, SCTA = Southern California Timing Association

More Pictures from 2010 Commercial Point Grand Prix of Karting

2010-08-24T18:34:00.000-07:00

Here are some additional pictures from the 2010 CPGP (click to enlarge).

Before the storm...

...after the storm.

More of the aftermath.

What an E-Z Up canopy looks like inside out.

Henry during practice before the storm.

Conor preparing for his practice session.

Peter ready for his heat race.

The start of Peter's heat race.

Conor debriefs the crew chief.

Conor looks on as Peter lines up for his feature race.

Peter gets away quickly at the start of his feature race.

Conor gets away quickly at the start of his pro race.

Bill

Commercial Point Grand Prix of Karting – August 14-15, 2010 – Peter Sweeps and Conor Collects

2010-08-21T22:07:00.000-07:00

NEWS – The Commercial Point Grand Prix of Karting, which is a street race through the village of Commercial Point, Ohio, that benefits the Jackson Township Fireman's Association, has always been the highlight of the season for Bruce Brothers Racing. This year was no different. It can be challenging, because unlike our club races, the event proceeds rain or shine and damage to the karts is more likely because of the straw bales that line the circuit. While weather was definitely a factor this year, there were no incidents with the bales for Bruce Brothers Racing. We had planned to run three drivers in two karts like last year, but after the weather did its thing on Saturday, Henry decided that he would rather spend what little time he has left of the summer with friends before going back to school.

PRACTICE – Practice is about all we got accomplished on Saturday, which had been slated to include a qualifying session and a heat race as well. The sky began to darken after Peter finished his practice session. The wind began to pick up and rain drops about the size of marbles began to fall. We scrambled to get everything that was sitting out either into the bed of the truck or the trailer. The two E-Z Up canopies that we have normally provide reasonable shelter from the rain, but on this day, the rain decided to come down sideways. During the worst of it, the canopies began to act like airfoils. Even though they were staked down, it took all of us just to hold on to them. Just as it became apparent that the one Laura was holding onto was about to take her away with it (Dorothy!!!), the part she was holding onto broke and it went sailing. The other one was right behind it. With nothing left to hold onto and no more shelter, everyone piled into either the bed of the truck or the trailer. I made it into the cab of the truck and remember worrying that the trailer and its precious cargo were going to go next! After it subsided, the pit area was littered with the remains of canopies – close to 50 of them – along with various motor home awnings and other bits and pieces. Unfortunately, one of our canopies landed on Laura’s new car and did a significant amount of damage. The track dried up faster that the recovery efforts in the pit area, so practice resumed without having to resort to rain tires. All three boys came up to speed quickly during their practice sessions. As preparations were being made for the qualifying session, the skies opened up again. It became apparent rather quickly that the delays caused by the weather were going to preclude any further on-track action, so the remainder of the events scheduled for the day was postponed until the following day.

YAMAHA JUNIOR – During his practice session, there was one kart in particular that seemed to be able to keep up with Peter, so we decided that he should go out behind her in the qualifying session on Sunday morning. It’s often advantageous to have a target to shoot at. This seemed to work out perfectly, as Peter posted the fastest qualifying time – by a scant 0.066 seconds. To make up some time, the organizers elected to forgo the traditional Le Mans style standing start (used for most of the classes at the CPGP) for the heat races in favor of a rolling start. Peter timed the start well, but had to concede the lead in Turn 1. Our choice of gear ratio resulted in a bit more top speed than the lead kart down the 900 ft long front straightaway. Peter used the slipstream at the end of Lap 2 and took the leader deep into Turn 1. She went in a bit too deep and got sideways on the exit. Peter had the momentum to get by but these two touched briefly, which let the third place kart slip into the lead and the previous leader back around Peter. Peter and the previous leader both got around the new leader on the next lap. On Lap 6 (of 8), Peter made an excellent (and apparently unexpected) inside move going into the revised-for-2010 Turn 6. This turn had been a very fast sweeper but was made into a sharp turn with a run-off area to keep speeds down and encourage passing. Well, it worked. Peter completed the remaining two laps uncontested for a comfortable win. With the weather cooperating and a sufficient amount of time made up, the organizers went back to a Le Mans style start for the feature races. We had done some work on Peter’s clutch leading up to the CPGP, and that seemed to work, too. He pulled away easily at the start and continued to pull away lap after lap. Even though he acknowledged my signals to back off a bit, he continued to improve his lap times. Peter won comfortably and his fastest lap time was set on his final lap.

80cc SHIFTER – Conor also went out second in his qualifying session. We’d have been perfectly happy with the second fastest qualifying time, but one other kart snuck in a flyer, which resulted in the third fastest qualifying time for Conor. Since the 80cc Shifter karts have a manually-actuated clutch, they use a Formula 1 style standing start regardless of what the other classes do. At the start of Conor’s heat race, I saw him sit there momentarily while everyone else took off. I later learned that he was watching the wrong flagman! The flagman who lined them up and the head flagman are similar in build and were both wearing a bright orange official tee-shirt, so Conor was surprised when everyone left without him when the guy he was watching didn’t throw the green flag. He quickly selected first gear and got going, but this dropped him to last (eighth) in the process. He eventually worked his way back up to third at the finish, and seemed to have a fun time doing it. The first few places came easily, but the closer he got to the front, the more difficult the passes became. Unfortunately, the organizers lost the MyLaps data for this event before it was posted, so I don’t have a record of which passes came on what laps. Conor had his eyes on the correct flagman for his feature race and maintained his third place starting position into Turn 1. The first two almost had a coming together in Turn 1 at the start. He made a pass for second at about mid distance when the kart ahead of him kart slowed slightly with a mechanical problem but then got reeled in by another kart towards the end. He finished third again, but reported that his brakes seemed to be dragging towards the end. Conor was also entered in the Pro race in his class, where a $500 purse was at stake. After a through brake cleaning, he once again lined up in third for the start. While the leader got away, Conor applied a significant amount of pressure to the second place kart over the first few laps. The second place kart pushed too hard and ended up in the run-off area for Turn 6. Conor cruised home to a second place finish in the Pro race and collected a $250 check for his efforts.

NEXT RACE – Peter achieved a perfect result at the CPGP in 2010, duplicating the feat that Conor accomplished in 2008. Conor had a rough start to the event, but managed to pad his bank account in the end. Bruce Brothers Racing would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to all of our friends and family who braved the elements on Saturday. Maybe 2011 will be the year for the relaxing picnic atmosphere at the CPGP that Laura was hoping for! Our next event is Mid State of Ohio Kart Club Race No. 9 on Sunday, August 22, 2010, at Circleville Raceway Park. Peter will just have returned from a trip to Chicago with Laura and Henry where they have been seeing the sights with Laura’s mom and her brother and his family. Conor will still be at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah where he is a member of a student-based team from The Ohio State University's Center for Automotive Research that is attempting to break the Land Speed Record for electric-powered vehicles, so he will miss Race No. 9.

Bill

Bruce Brothers Racing Sticker

2010-08-21T20:00:00.000-07:00

Note the Bruce Brothers Racing sticker on the side of the Venturi Buckeye Bullet 2.5 (inside yellow circle in picture below - click to enlarge). Conor took the picture at the bottom.

Bill

Conor in Bonneville for Land Speed Record Attempt

2010-08-19T11:04:00.000-07:00

Conor is at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah this week for a Land Speed Record attempt, not driving his kart, but as part of a student-based team from The Ohio State University's Center for Automotive Research (CAR). Conor has spent his weekdays (and many weeknights) this summer as an un-paid intern at CAR working with the Buckeye Bullet team. The Buckeye Bullet is the world's fastest electric-powered car(http://www.buckeyebullet.com/). The team will attempt to break their own record of 314.958 mph with the current iteration of the car - the Venturi Buckeye Bullet 2.5. Conor is one of only two high school students to ever be invited to join the team on the salt in Bonneville.

I'll post updates as they become available (click pictures below to enlarge).

Bill

Pictures from 2010 Commercial Point Grand Prix of Karting

2010-08-17T20:03:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures from the 2010 CPGP (click to enlarge). A full race report will follow.

Peter takes the green flag in Yamaha Junior qualifying.

Conor (No. 07) lines up for the start of his heat race.

Peter with his trophy on the top step of the podium.

Conor on the second step of the podium next to Eric Fagan.

Bill

Schedule for 2010 Commercial Point Grand Prix of Karting

2010-08-12T14:36:00.000-07:00

The tentative schedule for the 2010 Commercial Point Grand Prix of Karting (http://cpgrandprix.com/) is shown below.

Saturday August 14, 2010
Gates Open - 7:00AM
Open Practice Begins - 10:00AM
Merchandise Races - TBD

Sunday August 15, 2010
Gates Open - 7:00AM
Open Practice Begins - 9:30AM
Trophy Races - TBD
Pro-class Races - TBD

Unfortunately, it's not very detailed. The second practice session on Saturday also serves as a qualifying session. There is only one practice session on Sunday.

A more detailed schedule was issued for the 2009 event. It, along with the class lineup from 2009, is shown here:

http://brucebrothersracing.blogspot.com/2009/07/schedule-for-2009-commercial-point.html

Bill

MSOKC Race No. 8 – August 1, 2010 – Self-Inflicted Wound

2010-08-12T10:15:00.000-07:00

NEWS – Argh! I hate it when I screw up. If Mid State of Ohio Kart Club (MSOKC) Race No. 7 was mediocre for Bruce Brothers Racing three Sundays ago, Race No. 8 two Sundays ago was a disaster – for Conor anyway. Peter struggled a bit early but managed to work his way onto the podium for his feature race. Conor’s qualifying time would have earned him the second starting position, but when he crossed the scales, he was underweight and was disqualified! This put him behind the eight ball for the rest of the day. The worst part is that it was my fault – argh!

PRACTICE – Race No. 8 was a qualifying format event. We had made significant changes to both karts looking for a bit more speed, including a top-end engine rebuild for Conor and a carburetor and clutch rebuild for Peter, so practice was our chance to try these out. These changes were okay, but for some reason, I was thinking that the minimum required weight for Conor’s class was 360 instead of 370 lbs, so when he came across the scales at 365 lbs during practice with an almost empty fuel tank, we decided to remove some of the lead weight and replace that weight with additional fuel. This seemed to make sense since Conor has been eating like a horse in an effort to gain some weight. Peter was still complaining about too much grip in the rear, so we experimented with short hubs on his rear axle during practice. This didn’t seem to have the desired effect, so we went back to the medium-length hubs and made a tire pressure adjustment for his qualifying session.

YAMAHA JUNIOR – Peter’s qualifying time was less than 0.5 seconds off of the fastest qualifier in this class, but the level of competition is such that this resulted in a sixth place starting position for his heat race. Race No. 8 was also an event that featured standing starts for all classes. Peter got away reasonably well at the start of his heat race, but was not able to move forward, indicating that there was still too much grip, and finished sixth. For his feature race, we made a radical tire pressure adjustment that seemed to help. Peter made an excellent pass in Turn 10 on Lap 1 and then benefited from a retirement on Lap 3 for a fourth place finish. One of the karts in front of him was a visitor on non-club-spec tires and was disqualified at the end of the day, which promoted Peter to the third place position on the podium.

80cc SHIFTER – Conor posted the second fastest qualifying time by nearly 0.4 seconds. Because he was underweight, not only was his time disallowed, but he was awarded zero points for his qualifying session. This meant that he would not only start from the rear in his heat race, but that the “zero” would also affect his feature race starting position. Conor made an impressive run through the field in his heat race moving from eighth to fifth on the first lap He gained another position on Lap 3 for a fourth place finish while quickly catching two of the karts in front of him. From the rear again in his feature race, he got bottled up behind a group of karts fighting for position. He made his way around two of these on Lap 2 and another on Lap 3. He fought hard with the fourth place kart for the remainder of the laps – pulling along side on several occasions – but could not find a way past and eventually finished fifth. Conor was the second fastest kart all day, but was not able to capitalize on this.

NEXT RACE – The next event for Bruce Brothers Racing is this coming weekend (August 14-15, 2010) – the Commercial Point Grand Prix of Karting, which is a street race through the village of Commercial Point, Ohio. Conor will contest the 80cc Shifter class and Peter and Henry will double up in our Yamaha SuperCan kart – Peter in the Junior division and Henry in the adult Heavy division. All three boys will race on both Saturday and Sunday and Conor will race twice on Sunday. Admission is free, but passes must be purchased to access the pits. Extra chairs will be on hand in our pit area. There will be food vendors, beer wagons, etc., and all proceeds benefit the Scioto Township Firemen’s Association. Commercial Point is located approximately 14 miles south of Columbus, just south of Grove City. This will be our only non-MSOKC event of the season. Because it is a non-club event, the rules allow any tire to be used, so we have some sticky ones mounted on both karts for the low-grip surface of a street circuit.

Bill

p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found here: http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=565396.

MSOKC Race No. 7 – July 25, 2010 – The Return of Pietro

2010-07-30T13:42:00.000-07:00

NEWS – Peter is home from his four week trip to Italy, where he spent most of his time lounging on a beach on the northwest coast of the island of Sardinia. When I was 14 years old, I got to spend part of the summer on the southwest shore of Buckeye Lake! In any event, it’s good to have him home. We had what can best be described as a mediocre day at the race track for Mid State of Ohio Kart Club (MSOKC) Race No. 7 on Sunday, July 25, 2010. Both Peter and Conor had some great dices during the day, but we came away knowing we had left some valuable championship points on the table. None-the-less, we had our usual enjoyable day. The day dawned much cooler than the day before, but the skies opened up not long after we had unloaded. This postponed the order of events by about two hours. So that everyone could get home at a reasonable hour, the number of laps was shortened from eight and ten to six and eight for the heat races and feature race, respectively. This would work both for and against us as the day progressed – Conor needing more laps in his feature race and Peter needing less.

PRACTICE – The washing that the track got before practice began meant that no lap records were going to be broken on Sunday. Less than ideal atmospheric conditions, which changed as the day wore on, and re-rubbering of the track necessitated many chassis and engine changes throughout the day to stay on top. We experimented with different setups during practice. Peter had badly damaged his right front spindle in his most recent feature race (Race No. 4), so he had a chance to try out the repaired one during practice and to break in his new tires.

YAMAHA JUNIOR – The random draw for starting positions had Peter starting in the third position for his first heat race (of seven karts in his class). He was lined up behind a relative newcomer but with good equipment. I advised Peter to stay behind the pole sitter in an effort to pass the second place starter in the first corner and then the pole sitter in Turn 4. That turned out to be bad advice. The pole sitter checked up in the first turn which resulted in Peter dropping all the way back to sixth by Turn 4. On Lap 3, Peter got a good run through Turns 9 and 10 and managed to pull out a double pass going into Turn 1 on Lap 4. This resulted in a fourth place finish. There was a pileup in Turn 3 on the first lap of Peter’s second heat race, in which he started fifth. The action occurred ahead of Peter. He managed to miss it and advanced to third in the process. He got around Turn 9 well again on Lap 2 and dove to the inside in Turn 10 to take over the second position. These two ran nose to tail for the remainder of the distance with Peter hanging on for a second place finish. A fourth and a second earned Peter the third starting position for the feature. Peter had complained that his kart was too tight during his second heat, so we made a slight adjustment to loosen it up. Unfortunately, this was not enough. Peter held his position at the start, but the two in front began to draw away fairly quickly. One of the karts involved in the second heat pileup caught Peter on Lap 2 and got around him on Lap 3. He completed the laps in a comfortable fourth place.

80cc SHIFTER – Conor started from pole position in his first heat race. He led into Turn 1 and began to pull away a bit over the next few laps. The series leader, who had started from the rear, caught and passed Conor on Lap 4. Conor had to defend his position for the remainder of the laps to bring home a second place finish. In the second heat, it was Conor’s turn to start from the rear (seventh). He gained a position at the start, and two more on Lap 2. He was faster than the next kart in line but ran out of laps and finished fourth. A second and a fourth earned Conor the third starting position for the feature. He made a great start, but the second place starter dove to the inside to keep Conor behind in Turn 1. On Lap 3, it was Conor’s turn to get around Turn 9 well and dive to the inside in Turn 10 take over the second position. He pulled away slightly, but it was apparent that he was pushing hard to do so. After loosing a position by locking the rears during Race No. 6, Conor had been nudging his brake bias forward all day. He must have gone a bit too far because he locked the fronts in Turn 3 on Lap 5 and took a detour through the grass. This was enough to let the kart behind through. Conor caught back up in the next lap, and made one last ditch effort to regain the position in Turn 10 on the last lap, but came up about a kart length short for a third place finish.

NEXT RACE – In the week leading up to MSOKC Race No. 8, which is Sunday, August 1, 2010, both Henry and Peter had birthdays – 21 and 15 years, respectfully (how can that be?). For Race No. 8, which is a qualifying format event with standing starts for everyone, Peter got a carburetor and clutch rebuild and Conor got a top-end engine rebuild. After that, there is a much-needed two week break prior to the Commercial Point Grand Prix, which is August 14-15, 2010.

Bill

p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found here: http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=569762.

MSOKC Race No. 6 – July 17, 2010 – Three Deuces

2010-07-20T15:56:00.000-07:00

NEWS – There can be no delay in these next few race reports as Mid State of Ohio Kart Club (MSOKC) Race No. 6 on Saturday, July 17, 2010, was the first of three races on consecutive weekends for Bruce Brothers Racing and the first of five races in a six week span. Peter was still in Italy, so once again had only one kart to look after during Race No. 6, which was a night race that followed the qualifying event format.

PRACTICE – We had made a few changes to Conor’s kart for Race No. 6, so he tried these out during practice but saved his new set of tires for the qualifying session. New tires seem to have a “golden lap” in them on about the third lap. The first two laps scrub off the mold release and scuff them in, and then after the golden lap, the performance begins to fall off a bit.

80cc SHIFTER – There were 10 karts in Conor’s class for Race No. 6, so the class was split into two groups for the three-lap qualifying session. Conor went out first in his group and took his time coming up to speed on new tires. The kart that went out behind Conor didn’t maintain a proper gap during the warm-up lap. Conor got one clean lap in before the kart behind passed him in Turn 5 on the second lap. This spoiled Conor’s second lap, and because of a misunderstanding in the tower, the checkered flag was given after the end of the second lap. So much for our planning around the golden lap! Needless to say, I was not happy, but the circumstances were the same for everyone. It didn’t make much difference either, because Conor was 0.4 seconds (i.e., a significant amount) behind the eventual pole sitter (the kart that passed Conor, which was also on new tires) and nearly 2 seconds (i.e., an eternity) faster than the next fastest kart. After qualifying second, Conor made an excellent start in his first heat race, nearly jumping the pole sitter but settling into second in the first turn. He ran within sight of the eventual winner for a comfortable second place finish. Starting from second in his feature, he did jump the pole sitter at the start. His lead was short lived, however. Much to his own dismay, he had neglected to mind his brake bias, which was not far enough forward, and locked the rears going into Turn 5 on the first lap. After the pass, he again settled into second and ran within sight of the eventual winner for another comfortable second place finish.

NEXT RACE – Qualifying format events do tend to be processional affairs, which was certainly the case for MSOKC Race No. 6. I’m not sure what else we can do to get Conor a feature race win it 2010. We seem to have squeezed every bit of speed out of the equipment that we have. We are content to be ahead of the rest of the field, however. Peter will be back in action for MSOKC Race No. 7 on Sunday, July 24, 2010, which is a regular direction event at Circleville Raceway Park. It’s good to have him home.

Bill

p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found at http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=567152.

MSOKC Race No. 5 – June 26, 2010 – Good News, Too

2010-07-11T07:18:00.000-07:00

NEWS – The best news of all first – Conor and I have just returned from University of Iowa Children’s Hospital in Iowa City where Conor had his annual check-up from the spinal surgery he had there three years ago. Dr. Menezes was thoroughly impressed with Conor’s condition and gave him a clean bill of health. While there are still some things that he will never be able to do (play football, wrestle, jump on trampolines), Conor was told that he doesn’t ever have to return unless he begins to have problems again. So ends a very trying chapter in the life of the Bruce family… Now back to racing – Mid State of Ohio Kart Club (MSOKC) Race No. 5 on Saturday, June 26, 2010, was our first night race of the season at Circleville Raceway Park (CRP). These events are intended to make use of the cooler evening hours, but while the morning was relatively cool, temperatures rose significantly throughout the day and then it ended up raining on us in the evening.

PRACTICE – It’s been quite a while since we had only one kart to look after during a race day, but that’s just what we had for Race No. 5. Peter is spending the better part of a month this summer in Italy. We had planned to put Henry in our Yamaha SuperCan kart during Peter’s two-race absence, but he decided that the potential enjoyment wasn’t worth the expenditure involved. Also, Henry is working full time during the week this summer and wanted to spend time that weekend with friends. Conor had new tires for Race No. 5. As usual, we had him practice initially using an older set that we have mounted on a duplicate set of rims. At least I thought they were a duplicate set. We discovered that the hub offset is different on the fronts of one set compared to the other, which explains the difference in handling we’ve been experiencing between practice and race conditions. We would struggle with lack of rear grip (too much front grip) during practice, only to have it sort itself out during race conditions – or vice-versa, which was worse. With this under control, and with new tires and a carburetor adjustment that seemed to help, Conor was easily turning laps in the 44 second range during his second practice session.

80cc SHIFTER – The random draw for starting positions had Conor starting from pole position in his first heat race. He didn’t get away from the standing start as cleanly as he has been and was squeezed out of the lead in Turn 1. Further back in the field, two karts made wheel-to-wheel contact with one being launched into the hay bales on the outside in Turn 1. Everyone was okay, but fortunately for Conor, this caused a red flag condition which meant that the race would be restarted. Conor got away much more cleanly during the restart and led easily into Turn 1. He immediately began to pull away and developed a fairly large gap back to second place. At about mid distance (Lap 4 of 8), he backed off a bit to save his tires yet still continued to pull away. He won easily and recorded the fastest lap time in the process (44.781 seconds and the only kart in the 44 second range). Conor made another great start from the rear (sixth of seven) in his second heat. He immediately began slicing through the field and was up to third by the end of the first lap. The two karts in front of him were involved in what would become an epic dual for the lead. Conor was right on their tail and waited for his opportunity, but it never came. He had the speed to be more offensive, but seemed to be content knowing that a third place finish would give him a front row starting position for the feature. The rain came just as the starting lineups for the feature were being posted. After it became apparent that the rain was not going to let up, points for the feature were awarded based on earned starting position, which resulted in second place points for Conor. This was a bit disappointing since Conor seemed to have the speed for his first feature race win of the season.

NEXT RACE – The MSOKC schedule for the first part of the season has been rather spread out this year. By the time that Race No. 6 rolls around on Saturday, July 17, 2010, we will have had after another three week break. Race No. 6 will be another night race at CRP but with a qualifying format, in which we seem to do well. Peter will still be in Italy (he returns July 19), so unless Henry has a change of heart, we will once again have only one kart to look after. Beginning with Race No. 6, we have five races in a six week span, which includes a two-day event – the Commercial Point Grand Prix on August 14-15, 2010.

Bill

p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found at http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=557628.

2010 Commercial Point Grand Prix Website

2010-06-27T12:28:00.000-07:00

The website for the 2010 Commercial Point Grand Prix (CPGP) has finally been updated. It can be found here:

http://cpgrandprix.com/

The CPGP will take place August 14-15, 2010, through the streets of Commercial Point, Ohio. Bruce Brothers racing will have three entrants in four classes - Peter in Yamaha Junior Lite, Conor in 80cc shifter (trophy and pro classes), and Henry in Yamaha Heavy.

Bill

MSOKC Race No. 4 – June 6, 2010 – The Lows with the Highs

2010-06-19T07:24:00.000-07:00

NEWS – The start of the 2010 Mid State of Ohio Kart Club (MSOKC) season had been remarkable for Bruce Brothers Racing until Race No. 4 on Sunday, June 6, 2010. This was the first race of the season without any twists – regular direction, rolling starts (except shifter karts), heat race format, and daytime schedule. While we seem to do well when there is a twist involved, there was no reason to suspect that we’d have a difficult day for Race No. 4. Sometimes, it’s just your turn for a bit of bad luck, and for both Peter and Conor, it was apparently their time. Both were fast all day, qualified reasonably well for their feature, but were involved in a series of incidents that resulted in less than desirable overall results for the day. Peter tangled with a spinning kart in his feature race and Conor was taken out twice – once while leading a heat race and again in his feature.

PRACTICE – It was pouring down rain when we arrived at Circleville Raceway Park (CRP) on Sunday morning, but the forecast called for clearing skies. It cleared up at about 10:00 AM and practice got underway about an hour later than normal. This was Peter’s fourth race on his initial set of MG “Red” tires. While they are holding up quite well, he was at a slight disadvantage to those who had new or newer tires for this race. Conor’s second set had only race laps from Race No. 3 on them, so he was in excellent shape tire-wise. During practice, we experimented with gear ratios on both karts to account for the big headwind that was blowing down the long back straightaway.

YAMAHA JUNIOR – There were nine karts in Peter’s class on Sunday, two of which would be disqualified at the end of the day for non-club-spec tires. From the fourth starting position in his first heat race, he made one pass on the first lap. While trying to get by the next kart in the queue, he left the door open in Turn 10 and dropped back to fourth. After he finally did make the pass back into third, he set the fastest lap of the race (46.855 seconds). Peter also gained one position (from sixth to fifth) at the start of his second heat race. He lost a position on Lap 2, gained one on Lap 4, and lost one on Lap 5 to finish where he started – in sixth. Through all of this, he somehow managed to set the fastest lap of the race again (46.777). A third and a sixth resulted in a fifth place starting position for his feature race. He once again gained a position at the start. On Lap 2, the second place kart spun ahead of Peter in Turn 9. I thought that this was going to promote Peter to as high as second, but the spinning kart ended up right in front of him and Peter hit him hard. This deranged the nose of his kart slightly and dropped him back to seventh, after which he had trouble getting around a slower (and somewhat erratic) kart. He finished in seventh but was promoted to sixth after the tire disqualifications.

80cc SHIFTER – Conor made a great start from outside the front row in his first heat race, leading easily into Turn 1. The pole sitter had dropped back at the start but began to catch Conor at the end of the first lap. The second place kart made an aggressive move to the inside of Conor in Turn 5 on Lap 2. There was contact and both karts went into the grass. Conor had to get out and push to get going again, which dropped him to last. The offending kart received a rolled black flag (warning) and the driver apologized profusely afterwards for taking Conor out while he was leading. Conor also gained one position (from fifth to fourth) at the start of his second heat race. He was passed by the eventual winner on Lap 2 but made the position back up on the same lap by passing another kart. He spent the remaining laps embroiled in a battle with a slower kart. These two traded places on Lap 6, but Conor was not able to make the pass stick. A fifth and a fourth was good enough for a fourth place starting position for the feature. Conor once again made a great start and was up on the third place starter by nearly a kart length entering Turn 1, but the third place starter failed to concede the position. The right front tire of the offending kart hit Conor just ahead of his left rear, which sent Conor into the grass again. It took him more than a minute to get going again, which ended his hopes of salvaging some valuable championship points for the day.

NEXT RACE – After another three week break, during which we are visiting family in Kansas City, our first night race of the season is MSOKC Race No. 5 on Saturday, June 26, 2010, at CRP. Gates open at 1:00 PM and racing gets underway at 5:00 PM. In the mean time, school is out for the summer for Peter and Conor, and Henry is home from college. Conor will begin a summer internship at Center for Automotive Research at OSU when we return to Columbus and Henry has already started his summer job at the James Cancer Hospital at OSU. Peter will be spending about a month in Italy this summer (Rome, then the island of Sardinia) with our neighbors and good friends the Rizzoni family, so Henry will be contesting the MSOKC Yamaha SuperCan Heavy class during Peter’s two-race absence.

Bill

p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found at http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=546502.

MSOKC Race No. 3 – May 16, 2010 – Backwards Bonanza

2010-05-24T20:21:00.001-07:00

NEWS – Mid State of Ohio Kart Club (MSOKC) Race No. 3 on Sunday, May 16, 2010, was the first of several reverse-direction (clockwise) events at Circleville Raceway Park (CRP) this season. Both Conor and Peter enjoy the variety that this brings, as CRP is a much different race track in this direction. The end of the long straightaway brings a near-hairpin turn in this direction, which emphasizes hard braking in the primary passing zone. The final turn in this direction (the normal Turn 1) is a very fast right-hander that takes courage to do flat out. For the third race in a row, we won heat races (both Conor and Peter this time) and both boys ended up on the podium in the feature. Conor also earned his first feature race pole position of the season.

PRACTICE – The new club-spec MG “Red” tires have held up pretty well on our Yamaha SuperCan kart (Peter), but we decided that the first set on our 80cc Shifter kart (Conor) wasn’t going to make it for three races. For Race No. 3, we rotated the tires on Peter’s kart and mounted up a new set for Conor. We saved Conor’s new set for his first heat race, however, and had him practice on his old set. Both boys acclimated quickly to the reverse direction during practice, although there are muscles that get used in this direction (seven rights three lefts) that don’t get used to a great extent in the other direction (seven lefts and three rights), particularly in the neck and torso.

YAMAHA JUNIOR – Peter made a great start from the fourth position (of eight in his class) at the start of his first heat race, moving to second in the first few turns. He was able to go much deeper into the turn at the end of the long straightaway (the normal Turn 4) than the leader and made a pass for the lead on Lap 4 (of eight). He went on to record another heat race win – his third in three events this season. There was a delay in the start of Peter’s second heat race when one of his competitors had trouble getting started. When the green flag finally did fly, Peter’s row was a bit behind the other row, and Peter dropped from fifth to sixth. It took Peter until Lap 6 to get past one kart and then he made another pass on the final lap for a fourth place finish. A first and a fourth earned him the third starting position for the feature. He held his position at the start, after which the first three separated themselves from the pack, running nose-to-tail. The second place kart passed the leader on lap seven (of 10) and Peter was able to do the same on Lap 8. Peter was right on the tail of the new leader for the last two laps. He pulled along side at the end of the long straightaway on the final lap, but couldn’t make the pass stick. He was disappointed not to get the win, but was happy to record another second place feature race finish. He also recorded the fastest lap of the race (47.048 seconds).

80cc SHIFTER – Once again, Conor’s first heat was almost a carbon copy of Peter’s. He started from the fourth position (of nine) and gained two positions at the start. He passed the leader at the end of the long straightaway on Lap 2 and went on for a comfortable heat race win. Conor was fortunate to end up where he did in his second heat race. He made a great start from the sixth position, but the lead kart missed a shift in the second turn (the normal Turn 9) on the first lap, which caused an accordion effect. Conor hit the kart in front of him rather hard, and while this deranged his nose slightly, it did not slow him down. He actually gained several positions on this lap, which put him up to third. On Lap 8, the second place kart got a bit sideways in final turn (the normal Turn 1) and Conor was able to muscle his way past in the next two corners. A first and a second earned Conor the pole position for his feature race. His start wasn’t his best of the day, and the second place kart was able to go side-by-side with Conor through the first turn, which put the other kart on the inside for the following turn. Conor wisely conceded the position and latched onto the tail of the leader. He was able to keep pace with the leader for the first few laps but then seemed to back off a bit then it became apparent that there was no way he was going to retake the lead. This was fine until the third place kart began to catch him in the late stages. After fending off several passing attempts, Conor also recorded another second place feature race finish.

NEXT RACE – After another three week break, which includes the Memorial Day holiday, MSOKC Race No. 4 is Sunday, June 6, 2010.

Bill
p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found at http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=536499.

Pictures from MSOKC Race No. 3 - May 16, 2010

2010-05-17T15:45:00.001-07:00

Peter on the podium again...

...and Conor, too!

MSOKC Race No. 2 – April 25, 2010 – Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

2010-05-08T04:00:00.000-07:00

NEWS – April showers have brought May flowers to Central Ohio, and showers are exactly what we had two weeks ago for Mid State of Ohio Kart Club (MSOKC) Race No. 2 at Circleville Raceway Park (CRP), which featured standing starts for all classes (like the 80cc Shifter class). We did manage to squeeze in two heat races, which is all it takes to make an official race day. As with Race No. 1, Peter again won a heat race and both boys ended up on the podium.

PRACTICE – When we unloaded after Race No. 1, I noticed that a significant chunk of Peter’s clutch was missing. This has since been repaired, but because the track was damp when we arrived for Race No. 2, we weren’t able to test the repairs prior to the scheduled practice sessions. Once these did start, we were able to successfully do the fine tuning on the fly. Conor’s practice sessions were less busy, as we are trying to minimize the number of laps on his race tires. The skies looked ominous again by this time, and because of the impending rain, a decision was made to shorten the heat races from eight laps to six.

YAMAHA JUNIOR – The random draw for starting positions had Peter starting from pole position in his first heat race. He timed the standing start perfectly and was comfortably in the lead going into Turn 1. He maintained a gap over the rest for the first lap or so, but once the second and third place positions were established, these two began to catch Peter. The second place kart made a dive to the inside on the last corner of the last lap but came up short, which gave Peter a heat race win in each of the two events this season. Peter started from the back (sixth of six) in his second heat. The third place kart jumped the start but the flagman must have been looking the other way, as no penalty was given. Peter advanced one position at the start and another on Lap 3. With only six laps to work with, that’s all the further he was able to advance. A first and a fourth earned Peter the third starting position for the feature. When the rain finally did come, points for the feature were awarded based on earned starting positions, which resulted in another podium finish for Peter.

80cc SHIFTER – Conor also drew starting positions for his heat races at each end of the field, although he started his first heat from the rear (eighth of eight). He got away well and made two passes on the first lap. Another pass on Lap 2 brought him to fifth, which is where he finished. Conor also made an excellent start from pole position in his second heat race. He led for the first half lap or so before he was passed by the eventual winner (and winner of every heat/feature so far this season). Conor was able to keep the leader in his sights for a comfortable second place finish. A fifth and a second were good enough for the second starting position for the feature. This class was actually lined up on the grid when the rain finally came to stay. Conor also recorded another podium finish as the result of points for the feature being awarded based on earned starting positions.

NEXT RACE – MSOKC Race No. 3, which is the first of several reverse-direction (clockwise) events at CRP, is Sunday, May 16, 2010. We expect that we might see Pilgrims there, because everyone knows that Mayflowers bring Pilgrims…

Bill

p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found at http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=525786

MSOKC Race No. 1 – April 11, 2010 – An Excellent Start to the Season

2010-04-19T18:14:00.000-07:00

NEWS – Bruce Brothers Racing had an excellent season debut for Mid State of Ohio Kart Club (MSOKC) Race No. 1 at Circleville Raceway Park (CRP) a week ago Sunday. We qualified both karts on the front row, Peter won a heat race, and both boys ended up on the podium.

PRACTICE – We managed to get in two practice days prior to Race No. 1 – one to shake out the cobwebs and the other to do some fine tuning. Off-season changes included a complete engine rebuild on our Yamaha SuperCan kart (Peter) and a significant reconfiguration of our 8Occ shifter kart (Conor). MSOKC also has a new club spec tire for 2010 – MG “Reds” instead of Bridgestone YJCs. We used old tires for our first practice day and scrubbed in and tested the new MG Reds on the second practice day. On Sunday morning, we did a bit of fine tuning and were feeling in pretty good shape.

YAMAHA JUNIOR – Race No. 1 was a qualifying format race, which means that starting positions for the subsequent heat race would be determined by best lap times during a three-lap qualifying session. Peter’s lap times had been good during practice, so we were optimistic for qualifying. There were nine karts in Peter’s class, so they split the session into two groups. Peter went out in the second group and posted the second fastest overall time (46.650 seconds). In his heat race, he timed the start perfectly from outside the front row and lead easily into Turn 1. Just about the time he began to receive pressure from behind, there was an incident involving two karts running towards the end of the field and the race was red flagged. Everyone was okay, but since the leaders had completed half of the laps (four of eight), the race was not restarted, which gave the win to Peter. A second and a first earned Peter pole position for the start of his feature race. As Peter demonstrated in the heat race, the outside starting position on the front row is sometimes a better place to be. At the start of the feature, he had to concede Turn 1 and dropped in behind the new leader. Except for one retirement, the first four ran nose to tail for 10 laps. Peter finished second but did record the fastest lap of the race in the process. The outlook for the season is looking bright for Peter.

8Occ SHIFTER – Our 8Occ shifter kart got front brakes over the winter, a rear axle upgrade, and a top-end engine rebuild. Conor seemed to have liked the changes during our practice days, so we were optimistic on Sunday for him as well. His qualifying session was also split into two groups – five karts in each. Conor also posted the second fastest qualifying time – he and one other kart were the only ones to break into the 44 second range (44.992 for Conor). While he had done well with his standing starts during practice, he muffed the one for his heat race. He got away immediately, but bogged the engine down and dropped to fifth. While the leaders got away, it took Conor seven laps to get around the fourth place kart. A second and a fourth was good enough for a third place start for the feature. He made an excellent start in the feature, but had to back off a bit to avoid the pole-sitter in Turn 1 (see video below). He settled into third and pressured the second place kart all the way to the end for a third place finish. The outlook for the season is also looking bright for Conor. We were particularly pleased with the reliability of his kart in light of all the changes that were made over the winter.

NEXT RACE – MSOKC Race No. 2, which will feature standing starts for all classes (like the 8Occ Shifter class), is Sunday, April 25, 2010 at CRP.

Bill

p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found at http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=520354

Video from MSOKC Race No. 1 - April 11, 2010

2010-04-19T18:06:00.000-07:00

This video is from the start of Conor's feature race a week ago Sunday. He is the black and yellow kart on the inside of the second row.

Bill

Pictures from MSOKC Race No. 1 - April 11, 2010

2010-04-19T17:56:00.000-07:00

Peter lines up for his pole position start in his heat race.

Conor prepares himself for his heat race.

A full race report will follow.

Bill

Bruce Brothers Racing – 2010 Season Preview

2010-04-09T19:04:00.000-07:00

It seems like Christmas was only a month or so ago, but somehow, Easter has come and gone. Since Christmas, Laura and Peter have been to Peru for a tournament with Peter’s soccer team and Conor and I have been to Australia for the Australian Grand Prix. Henry was home for a few days of Spring Break with some of his Brown University friends.

The racing season for Bruce Brothers Racing gets underway this Sunday with Mid-State of Ohio Kart Club (MSOKC) Race No. 1 at Circleville Raceway Park. Peter will contest the Yamaha Jr. SuperCan class again in 2010 and Conor will contest the 80cc Shifter class again. Both karts have fresh engines and we have made some significant updates to our 80cc Shifter kart – some cosmetic (new bodywork - see earlier post) and some more significant (larger diameter rear axle and front brakes).

Our race schedule for 2010, which once again includes the MSOKC series and the Commercial Point Grand Prix (CPGP), is as follows:

Race No. 1 – Sunday, April 11 – Qualifying, 20 bonus points
Race No. 2 – Sunday, April 25 – Standing start
Race No. 3 – Sunday, May 16 – Clockwise
Race No. 4 – Sunday, June 6 – Normal
Race No. 5 – Saturday, June 26 – Night Race
Race No. 6 – Saturday, July 17 – Night Race, qualifying, standing start
Race No. 7 – Sunday, July 25 – Normal
Race No. 8 – Sunday, August 1 – Qualifying, standing start
CPGP – August 14-15 – Non-points event – street race fund raiser
Race No. 9 – Sunday, August 22 – Clockwise
Race No. 10 – Saturday, September 4 – Sunday schedule, qualifying, Hog Roast
Rain Date 1 – Sunday, September 5 – Rain Date No. 1
Race No. 11 – Sunday, September 26 – Normal, qualifying, 20 bonus points
Race No. 12 – Sunday, October 3 – Clockwise, standing start, 40 bonus points
Rain Date 2 – Sunday, October 17 – Rain Date No. 2

CRP is located on U.S. Route 23 just north of Circleville (click here).

Bill

New Livery

2010-04-09T17:32:00.000-07:00

Our 8Occ shifter kart has a new look:

Both karts have new tires (MG "Reds") and our Yamaha SuperCan kart also has a new nose:

Bill

Video from 2009 Season

2010-02-23T17:56:00.000-08:00

I just happened to stumble across this YouTube video from one of the MSOKC reverse direction events at Circleville Raceway Park in 2009:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-U08tyLTkU&feature=related

There is quite a bit of footage of Peter (silver No. 2 kart with a red stripe on the nose). He first appears at about 15 seconds in.

Bill

Season’s Greetings from Bruce Brothers Racing and 2009 Season Review

2009-12-30T13:23:00.000-08:00

NEWS – Bruce Brothers Racing hopes that you and your families had a Merry Christmas and we extend our best wishes for a Happy New Year.

MSOKC RACE NO. 11 – The 2009 Mid-State of Ohio Kart Club season ended on October 11, 2009, with a make-up race for the rained out Race No. 11. Peter’s position in the championship had already been decided, so he elected to attend an organizational meeting for a trip that he and Laura are taking to Peru in January with his soccer team. Conor’s position was less secure, so we put everything together one last time in 2009. The rained out race was a qualifying format event in the reverse direction at Circleville Raceway Park, so the make up was the same. Conor qualified fourth and finished third in the heat race. He started from the third position in the feature, made a pass for second on the first lap, and ran in second on the tail of the eventual winner to the finish. This easily secured his position in the championship.

2009 SEASON REVIEW – Both Peter and Conor moved up a class for the start of the 2009 MSOKC season – Peter from Briggs Sportsman to Yamaha Jr. SuperCan and Conor from Yamaha Jr. SuperCan to 80cc Shifter. Henry was away for the majority of the season finishing his first year and starting his second year at Brown University, but he did get to participate in two events over his summer break.

The move to Yamaha Jr. SuperCan was a big jump for Peter – nearly three times as much horsepower as he was used to. His lap times improved continuously as the season progressed, but so did those of his competitors in this highly competitive class. The highlight of the season for Peter was the Commercial Point Grand Prix, where he quickly came up to speed on this very fast street circuit and, after starting third in the feature event, went on to finish second after a close battle that went right down to the wire. Peter finished sixth in the MSOKC championship in this class, which was contested regularly by as many as 10 karts.

Conor’s move to the 80cc Shifter class was also a big jump (nearly twice as much horsepower), which included having to learn to shift gears and master standing starts. He managed a feature race win in only his second start in this highly competitive class. He also recorded second place finishes three times and numerous fastest laps of the race. His Commercial Point Grand Prix results were respectable considering he was in the only kart in this class without front brakes. Conor, who was by far the youngest participant in this class that was contested regularly by as many as 12 karts, finished third in the MSOKC championship.

Henry made only two starts in 2009, but made the best of both of them. He earned a pole position and recorded a feature race win in our Yamaha SuperCan kart in MSOKC Race No. 5 while Peter was away at camp. He and Peter shared this kart for the Commercial Point Grand Prix, and after a heat race incident that resulted in a 25th place starting position for the feature, he passed 17 karts on the way to an eighth place finish.

Peter will contest the Yamaha Jr. SuperCan class again in 2010 and Conor will contest the 80cc Shifter class again, although we have some updates planned for our 80cc Shifter kart (including the addition of front brakes). We have no specific plans for Henry in 2010, but I suspect he will again get to participate in several events. The MSOKC season begins on April 11, 2010, and the Commercial Point Grand Prix is August 14-15, 2010. In the mean time, the MSOKC season ending banquet, where trophies and prizes will be awarded, is January 9, 2010.

Bruce Brothers Racing would like to thank everyone who provided support and encouragement during the 2009 season and we look forward to continued success 2010.

Bill

p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results for MSOKC Race No. 11 can be found at http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=484852

MSOKC Race No. 12 – October 4, 2009 – Well Used YHCs

2009-10-08T18:24:00.000-07:00

NEWS – Bruce Brothers Racing was back in action for Mid-State of Ohio Kart Club Race No. 12 at Circleville Raceway Park this past Sunday. Most everything was still ready to go from Race No. 11, which was postponed because of rain. Laura missed this event, as she was spending time with family in Kansas City. The weather was typical for central Ohio in October – cool and crisp in the morning with periods of clouds and warm sunshine in the afternoon.

PRACTICE – After a quick spin in Turn 2 on the first lap, Peter’s practice sessions went as planned. Conor complained about a lack of front-end grip in his second session. For the optional third session, we decided to replace his one-race-old Bridgestone YKC tires with some well-used Bridgestone YHCs. He was immediately 0.4 seconds per lap faster, so we decided to leave them on for the rest of the day.

YAMAHA JR. SUPERCAN – Peter started his first heat from pole position. He got a great start, but got pinched down on the exit of Turn 1, which resulted in a lazy spin. He somehow managed to avoid being collected by the rest of the field and rolled off the track backwards into the infield. He was high-centered, and when he got out to give himself a push, the engine died leaving him stranded. He got another great start from the rear in his second heat, gaining two positions in the process. He made a nice pass on Lap 2 and ran in fourth to the finish. There was a lot of confusion at the start of Peter’s feature race, where he was lined up in fifth. The head flagman was not happy with how fast the front row starters brought the field around. After several unsuccessful attempts to slow them down, he sent them back to the starting grid for a talking to. The pole sitter was quite angry, but should have known better. The penalty involved inverting the front two rows for the restart, which came off without a hitch on the first try. Peter maintained his position at the start but dropped to sixth on Lap 2. His lap times were up and down for the first few laps, after which they stabilized in the high 46-second range. He ran on the tail of the lead pack to the finish.

80cc SHIFTER – I’m always glad when the random draw for heat race starting positions has Conor in the front and the back instead of two in the middle. He can usually make up a few positions when starting from the back and stay towards the front when starting from the front. Such was the case on Sunday. Starting from the ninth position in his first heat race, Conor worked his way to fifth by the end of Lap 1. He got bottled up behind a slower kart for a few laps, but managed to get around on Lap 6 for a fourth place finish. From the outside of the front row in his second heat, Conor got a flyer of a start and was in the lead by the apex of Turn 1. He pulled out a bit of a gap over the next few laps but got reeled in at about mid distance. He got a little loose coming out of Turn 10 on Lap 6 but managed to hold his position and held on for the heat race win. A forth and a first earned Conor the second starting position for the feature. He made another flyer of a start, but had to back off and settle for second in the first turn. He latched onto the rear bumper of the lead kart and kept him honest for 10 long laps. Conor finished second but recorded the fastest lap of the race (44.822 seconds) along the way.

NEXT RACE – The make-up date for the rained out MSOKC Race No. 11 is next Sunday, October 11, 2009. The rained out race was a qualifying format event in the reverse direction at CRP, so the make up will be the same. Peter is pretty well fixed with his position in the championship, but Conor is hanging on to a slim margin for third place. We’re going to have to dig through our pile for another set of those well used YHCs for Conor…

Bill

p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found at http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=482508

MSOKC Race No. 12 – October 4, 2009

2009-10-08T18:12:00.000-07:00

Here are come pictures from MSOKC Race No. 12 on October 4, 2009 (click to enlarge).

Bill

MSOKC Race No. 11 – September 20, 2009 – Rained Out

2009-10-01T09:00:00.000-07:00

NEWS – Mid-State of Ohio Kart Club Race No. 11 was supposed to be another qualifying format event a week ago Sunday, but was interrupted by a slow and stead drizzle that began during the qualifying sessions. We had made a number of improvements in preparation for this event, including new axle bearings for both karts, and were looking forward to a competitive showing. Peter’s class managed to complete their qualifying session, but the drizzle came just prior to Conor’s qualifying session. Conor’s class was to be split into two groups for qualifying and, in an effort to take advantage of the driest conditions possible if it did start to drizzle, we lined him up to go out in the first group. We were trying to figure out how to nonchalantly move him back into the second group to take advantage of what would be a drying track if the drizzle were to stop when it was announced that the day’s activities would be called off., so this became a moot point. The make-up date for Race No. 11 is Sunday, October 11, 2009. In the mean time, MSOKC Race No. 12 is Sunday, October 4, 2009 at Circleville Raceway Park.

Bill

MSOKC Race No. 10 – September 5, 2009 – Hog Roast!

2009-09-19T06:05:00.000-07:00

NEWS – The annual Mid-State of Ohio Kart Club Race Hog Roast event was preceded by Race No. 10 a week ago Saturday. To allow plenty of time for food and fun in the evening, the race was a qualifying format event at CRP that followed the normal Sunday (non-night race) schedule. Peter attended a driving clinic the weekend before and logged a massive 84 laps in our Yamaha SuperCan kart. We also took this opportunity to do some back-to-back tire testing for Conor in our 8Occ shifter kart. Both Peter and Conor had new tires for Race No. 10 – Bridgestone YHCs for Peter and YKCs for Conor – and Conor had new extended front wheel hubs to help with his understeer problem.

PRACTICE – Conor went out during open practice to give his new hubs a try and to scuff in his new tires. Peter practiced initially on old tires before scuffing in his new tires in the second practice session. Conor was content with his set-up during his first class practice session and elected not to go out for his second session.

YAMAHA JR. SUPERCAN – The combination of new tires and applying what he learned during his driving clinic resulted in a new personal-best lap time for Peter during his qualifying session (46.449 seconds). Unfortunately, the other karts in his class have also been getting faster throughout the season and many of the slower karts have stopped coming, which resulted in a fifth place starting position (out of seven) for Peter. With the starting order determined by qualifying times, qualifying format races tend to be a follow-the leader affair. Except for a great start in his heat race, which netted him a promotion to fourth place for the first three laps in his heat race, that was exactly the case for Peter’s day. After finishing fifth in his heat race, he started and finished fifth in his feature race. He did manage to improve on his personal-best lap time in both his heat race and his feature, however (46.204 and 46.042, respectively). He is knocking on the door of a sub-46 second lap.

8Occ SHIFTER – Conor put a nice series of laps together during his three-lap qualifying session, which resulted in the third place starting position for his heat race (out of nine). He lost one position but gained another at the start. He dropped a position on Lap 3 and finished fourth. Conor got away reasonably well from the fourth position at the start of his feature race, but the kart that started in third jumped the start which impeded Conor’s progress somewhat and allowed the fifth place starter to get around Conor in Turn 1. The next 10 laps were frustrating for Conor. While he was quite a bit faster than the kart in front of him, he could not find a way to get by and finished fifth. Conor’s best lap time for the day was only 0.2 seconds slower that his personal best, so we seem to be going in the right direction on the new YKC tires.

NEXT RACE – The penultimate race of the season is another qualifying format event on Sunday, September 20, 2009 at Circleville Raceway Park. It is also a reverse direction event, which both boys seem to enjoy. The day prior to this (today!) is Conor’s 17th birthday. Happy Birthday Conor!

Bill

p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found at http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=468804.

Ghetto Engineering

2009-09-13T18:06:00.000-07:00

The braking performance on Conor’s 8Occ shifter kart has improved significantly since we installed a cooling duct fabricated in part from a piece of downspout (click to enlarge).

Bill

MSOKC Race No. 9 – August 15, 2009 – Hot August Night

2009-08-31T19:24:00.000-07:00

NEWS – Mid-State of Ohio Kart Club Race No. 9 was a Saturday night event under the lights at Circleville Raceway Park and another event that featured standing starts for all classes. Thank goodness that most of the activity took place after the hottest part of the day because it was hot – and humid. Many repairs were required prior to this event following the Commercial Point Grand Prix. The one repair I saved for the day before – installing a new spindle on our Yamaha SuperCan cart – is the only one that didn’t go well. The spindle I ordered had the wrong size bearing, so I straightened the old one out for the third time and reused it. We also devised and installed a brake cooling duct on our 8Occ shifter kart – using a piece of downspout that was left over from when we had new gutters put on the house…

PRACTICE – We arrived at the track a bit early for shake-down runs to test all of the repairs we made. Peter felt comfortable in his kart, but Conor complained of massive understeer in his – in spite of using Bridgestone YKC tires that are only one race old. We tried increasing tire pressure in his first class practice, which didn’t help. We have his front end as wide as it will go using his standard wheels, so we went narrower for his second class practice to see if that would help. It didn’t. For the last-chance practice prior to the driver’s meeting, we decided to try the front wheels, hubs, and tires from Peter’s kart, which allow the front end on Conor’s kart to be about an inch wider per side than with his own wheels. This was a massive improvement – partly because of the width and partly because Peter is still using Bridgestone YHC tires. We put Peter’s practice tires on the front of his kart, which felt fine to him, and decided to go with this swap and some heavily used YHC rears for Conor for the race.

YAMAHA JR. SUPERCAN – Peter started his first heat race from the third position (of six karts in his class). We obviously have a good clutch setup on this kart because, like Henry at the CPGP, Peter had good starts all day. He gained a position at the start and ran in third until Lap 4 (of 8) when he dropped one position. He held on to finish fourth. He also gained a position from third at the start of his second heat and ran in second until Turn 1 of the last lap. He had a wiggle coming out of the previous corner and the kart behind made an aggressive move up the inside from quite a ways back. The contact allowed two karts to get by, which resulted in another fourth place finish. The offending driver received a rolled black flag warning for the infraction. Peter made another great start in his feature but had another incident in Turn 1 of the first lap with the same kart. Peter had to recover from being completely sideways, which put him at the tail end of the field. Just as he was beginning to find his groove, he experienced a rare mechanical failure that put him out of the race – the same clutch that had provided him with such good starts all day lost the gear off of the drive basket.

8Occ SHIFTER – Conor started his first heat race from the fourth position (of seven karts in his class). He maintained his position at the start, made one pass on Lap 2, and another on Lap 3. He ran in second to the finish but, on the last lap, the lead kart lost an exhaust silencer and was disqualified, which gave the win to Conor. In his second heat race, Conor started fourth again but dropped a position on Lap 2. He caught up to the new fourth place kart on Lap 4 and followed closely for two laps. Conor was setting up for a pass when the kart in front slowed dramatically. Conor could not back off quickly enough and hit the other kart from behind. After another momentary airborne adventure, Conor landed hard on his right rear wheel, which bent a wheel and flattened the tire. A first and a last were good enough for a third place feature race starting position. He maintained his position at the start and set out after the second place kart. He got a good run through Turn 4 on Lap 7 (of 10) and made the pass in Turn 5. He then set out after the leader, and while he came up a bit short in the end, he did set the fastest lap of the race (44.733 seconds) in the process. In addition to the other changes we made, the downspout-based brake cooling duct seemed to help, too.

NEXT RACE – The annual MSOKC Hog Roast is Saturday, September 5, 2009. This event is preceded by MSOKC Race No. 10, which is a qualifying format event at CRP that follows the normal Sunday (non-night race) schedule. There will be plenty of food for all and all are welcome to attend. Laura will be taking Henry back to Providence for the start of his sophomore year at Brown University that weekend, so they will miss the fun (we'll miss them, too). In the mean time, Peter has attended a driving clinic given by a club member/racer/parent who is also a test driver for Honda Research and Development in Marysville, Ohio. Peter is looking forward to putting what he learned into practice. We also did some back-to-back tire testing with Conor that day and clawed back most of the time we lost when we switched from YHCs to YKCs. Peter’s clutch has been repaired and his new spindle has been installed, Conor will have new wheels and extended front hubs, and both boys will have new tires – YHCs for Peter and YKCs for Conor.

Bill

p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found at http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=461520.

Commercial Point Grand Prix of Karting – August 1-2, 2009 – Lots of Destruction, but Lots of Fun

2009-08-11T18:42:00.000-07:00

NEWS – Always the highlight of our season, this year’s Commercial Point Grand Prix, which is a street race through the town of Commercial Point, Ohio, that benefits the Jackson Township Fireman's Association, did not disappoint (see pictures and video clip below). We are only running two karts this season, but we had three drivers for the CPGP. The schedule was such that Peter’s class was directly opposite a class in which Henry could compete in the same kart, so we offered him the opportunity and he gladly took us up on it. It would mean some extra work, however, and Peter agreed to share this responsibility with Henry (teamwork!). The minimum weight in our Yamaha SuperCan kart for Peter’s class is 305 lbs and 360 lbs for Henry’s class. Since Henry weighs only 10 lbs or so more than Peter, this meant adding or removing about 45 lbs of lead weight during each changeover. The gear ratio also needed to be changed to accommodate the weight difference. I was a bit apprehensive about this, and while this ended up going rather smoothly during the course of the weekend, there are always surprises at the CPGP that keep you on your toes. There is an open tire rule for the CPGP, so we elected to run the relatively sticky Vega SL4 tires we used last year on both karts. Our freshly rebuilt Yamaha SuperCan kart got a new clutch disk prior to this event and our 8Occ shifter kart got a gear change and some additional attentions to the rear axle that we hoped would further improve the braking performance. Since 2007, the CPGP has consisted of a six-turn street course lined with an incredible number of hay bales and 55-gallon plastic drums. The longest straightaway is 900 feet, on which the 8Occ shifter karts approach 75 mph at the entrance to Turn 1. The second of two practice sessions on Saturday morning determine starting positions for the Merchandise races on Saturday afternoon. Finishing positions from the Merchandise races determine starting positions for the Trophy races on Sunday. As in years past, there are also Pro races on Sunday, including one for Conor’s class, in which he was entered.

PRACTICE – Peter has never participated in the CPGP, so the first practice session on Saturday was his first experience on a street circuit. He seemed to catch on rather quickly. As he was making his way around a slower kart on about the third lap of practice, he went wide at the exit of Turn 1 the clipped a hay bale. While sitting sideways on the track, he was broadsided by another kart. Not only did he loose precious practice time, the collision resulted in a bent a front spindle, tie rod, and side pod (‘nerf’ bar) bracket. So, our first surprise for the weekend involved lots of pounding, straightening, and welding in order to get Henry out in time for his practice. Fortunately, practice sessions for both Conor and Henry went smoothly.

QUALIFYING – Peter was the first of our three to take to the track for the qualifying session. Peter’s lack of practice, and his apprehension after finding the hay bales, resulted in a disappointing tail-end qualifying position for his Merchandise race. Fortunately , there were only four karts in his class and he was only 0.1 second behind the third place kart. Before Henry’s session was called to the grid, the skies opened up and doused the track with water. Unlike our Mid-State of Ohio Kart Club races, the CPGP proceeds rain or shine. After a relatively long delay, Henry’s class was called to the grid under “wet” conditions, which means that treaded rain tires were required. Some of the competitors either didn’t have rain tires or elected not to go out in the rain. Fortunately, we have a set of old rain tires that I had mounted on spare rims in the event of such a surprise (there wasn’t supposed to be chance of rain until Sunday). Because of the number of karts entered in Henry’s class (28), it was split into two groups. Henry was in the first group and posted one of the faster qualifying times. The track was significantly drier for the second group, so Henry’s time ended up bring ninth fastest overall. The extra time that resulted from Henry’s class being split into two groups allowed us to get our rain tires onto Conor’s kart in plenty of time for his qualifying session. He received some advice from Henry and posted the third fastest qualifying time in his class. Because of the rain delay, and an extended delay that resulted from an incident with a corner worker being hit by a kart, the Merchandise races were postponed until Sunday morning.

YAMAHA JR. SUPERCAN – The postponement of the Merchandise races to Sunday morning meant that Peter would get even fewer much-needed practice laps. He responded nicely in his Merchandise race, however, by sticking with the pack, shaving over a second off of his qualifying time, and making a nice pass on Lap 5 (of 10) to finish third. Starting from third in his Trophy race, he maintained his position at the start and again latched onto the tail of the group in front of him. At one point, he actually recorded the fastest lap time of the race. As the result of the gear choice we had made and Peter’s ability to make himself aerodynamic when he needed to, he had a lot of speed at the end of the long straightaway. He used this to his advantage on Lap 12 (of 15) by going up the inside on the approach to Turn 1 and making the pass stick. Having made his way into the second position, and with the leader having checked out, Peter seemed to have backed off a bit. With his superior top speed, he had the third place kart covered in the best passing zone, and in spite of several passing attempts, Peter went on to finish a well-deserved second place.

YAMAHA SUPERCAN HEAVY – Henry got a great start from the ninth position in his Merchandise race. At the end of Lap 1, he had made his way up to the sixth position. On the exit of Turn 6 on Lap 3, it all went wrong, however. The kart in front of him clipped a hay bake and ricocheted into Henry’s path. Henry not only hit this kart, but also got hit hard by the kart behind him. This sent Henry into the hay bales himself. He was unable to continue and finished 25th. The damage included another bent spindle, a bent axle, and a destroyed rear bumper. Again, we were able to make the repairs with time to spare, but Henry was not looking forward to starting 25th for his Trophy race. I told him I'd give him a dollar if he finished in the top 10. Laura matched this offer. During the aborted first start of his Trophy race, he made a great start up the inside but got bumped as he crossed the starting line and took out the hay bale that the head flagman was standing on. He continued without delay and made up about six positions on the first lap. During the red flag period that followed, we realized that he had bent another axle – that replacement axle lasted an entire 40 feet before being bent! After gaining six positions at the start, Henry was disappointed about having to restart. This disappointment was short-lived however, as during the restart, he made up nine positions on the first lap. He was really hooked up because he made another pass on Lap 2, four more on Lap 3, two on Lap 4 and another on lap 8. This brought him up to the eighth position and clear of the majority of the field. There was a group of four karts in front of him, and while he caught up with them in the end, he ran out of time to pass. He ended up with the fifth fastest lap time of the race, which included some of the best racers in the Mid-West. With Henry’s eighth place finish, both Laura and I are now a dollar poorer.

8Occ SHIFTER – A third place starting position for Conor’s Merchandise race was a promising way to start his day on Sunday, but unfortunately he had difficulty getting off of the line and dropped to last in the process. He made up one position on the first lap and another on Lap 4. He caught up with the next kart on Lap 6. On Lap 8, he got a good run down the front straightaway and made the pass going into Turn 1. Unfortunately, he was carrying a bit too much speed and clipped a hay bale on the exit of Turn 1 – all three boys had now sampled the hay bales. Conor had his work cut out for him starting from the seventh position for his Trophy race. He got a great start however and made up two positions on the first lap. He pushed hard over the next few laps, recording the second fastest lap of the race. Conor made another pass on Lap 8, which resulted in a fourth place finish. The second fastest lap in his Trophy race was a promising sign for his Pro race. He maintained his fourth starting position at the start and immediately put pressure on the two karts in front of him. On lap 4, he brushed the hay bale on the inside of Turn 4, loosing two positions in the process. He made up one position on Lap 6 only to loose it again on Lap 7. He regained it again on Lap 8 and ran in fifth for the next 10 laps (of 20). During this time, he was much faster than the fourth place kart, but the lack of front brakes on his kart prevented him from making a pass in Turn 1. He would draw up along side down the front straightaway, only to have to brake earlier than the leading kart. Both benefited from the retirement of the second place kart on Lap 18, which moved Conor up to the fourth position. At the beginning of the last lap, Conor went into Turn 1 a bit deeper that he had been going. The kart in front responded by doing the same but got sideways in the process. I didn’t see this but was told that wheel-to-wheel contact sent Conor vertical for a moment to the point that you could see the whole kart above the hay bales. Conor made a last-ditch effort at the end of the last lap but came up about six inches short (0.025 seconds). Conor’s fourth place finish did earn him $50 in prize money, however.

NEXT RACE – In spite of all of the damage, a good time was had by all. Just about all of the damage has since been repaired in preparation for MSOKC Race No. 9 on August 16, 2009, which is another Saturday night race under the lights at Circleville Raceway Park.

Bill

p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found at http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=454508

Video Clip from 2009 CPGP

2009-08-04T19:49:00.000-07:00

Here is a video clip from the start of Henry's Trophy race on Sunday (courtesy of Julie Conlin - http://www.conlinss.com/css/). He Started 25th (of 28 karts) and is already up to 16th in Turn 1 (Kart No. 2H on the inside at about mid-pack - the camera pretty much follows him through Turn 1).

I just noticed that the guy in the black hat holding a water bottle is Dave Fisher - the dad of IndyCar driver Sarah (http://www.sarahfisher.com/). He had some nice things to say about the boys on Sunday.

Bill

Pictures from 2009 Commercial Point Grand Prix

2009-08-04T18:47:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures from the 2009 Commercial Point Grand Prix of Karting (click to enlarge). The full race report will follow.

Peter prepares himself for qualifying on Saturday - before the rain.

Peter mixes it up in traffic during his Merchandice race on Sunday.

Conor gets some advice from Henry before qualifying in wet conditions on Saturday while Bill Willis from PowerSports looks on.

Conor crosses it up on the exit of Turn 1 during qualifying in the wet on Saturday.

The start of Conor's Pro race on Sunday.

Conor exits Turn 1 during his Pro race on Sunday.

Henry enters the braking zone for Turn 1 after breaking away during his Trophy race on Sunday. He and Peter shared our Yamaha SuperCan kart.

After moving up from 25th to 8th position, Henry chases down the next group in front of him (photo courtesy of Julie Conlin).

Henry learns that he earned $2 ($1 from me and $1 from Laura) for finishing in the top 10.

The lap chart for the first 10 laps from Henry's Trophy race. After starting from 25th, he made up nine places on the first lap and eight more over the next seven laps...

Conor's winnings from the 8Occ Pro Race (photo courtesy of Greg Wilkinson).

Bill

MSOKC Race No. 8 – July 26, 2009 – Tire Testing and Exhaustion

2009-07-29T20:13:00.000-07:00

NEWS – After a month-long break, Bruce Brothers Racing was back in action last Sunday for Mid-State of Ohio Kart Club Race No. 8, which was a qualifying format event at Circleville Raceway Park. Peter’s engine got a top-end rebuild while we were away on vacation and Conor’s rear axle was completely disassembled and reassembled before we left. Conor also got new tires for Race No. 8. The Bridgestone YHC that as been the club-spec tire for the past few years was recently discontinued by Bridgestone and replaced with the new YKC tire. It has a different construction and is supposed to last longer. Some have reported that it is faster, but many more have complained that it is slower. Either way, it is different, and a change usually requires testing to adapt. Our club elected to allow both tires for the remainder of the season following the introduction of the YKC. I collected all the information I could from forum postings, etc., and we headed to the track for Race No. 8 on Sunday hoping for the best. Conor and I returned from Kansas City on the Wednesday prior to the race. Laura, Henry, and Peter did not leave until Saturday afternoon and did not get home until after 2:00 AM on Sunday. Needless to say, they were not in the best of shape when the sun came up on Sunday morning. Laura stayed home to take care of business there, Henry slept in, and Peter did his best to get moving for our 7:30 AM departure. When the regular head flagman did not show up on Sunday, Henry was called in to replace him. He arrived at the track and took over about 30 minutes after qualifying started.

PRACTICE – Both Peter and Conor went out for some practice laps prior to the regular class practices – Peter to break in his rebuilt engine and Conor to try his new tires. Conor reported that the front-end grip seemed to be good, which was promising since this is something we struggle with getting enough of in our 8Occ shifter kart. During the regular class practices, both seemed to be down on speed a bit. Conor’s brake problem seemed to be taken care of with the rear axle work, and the new tires seemed to suit him well. Later in the day, we turned our attention to the engine, which seemed to help but not until the day was well underway, which is not a good scenario for a qualifying format race. While it didn’t become clear until later in the day, Peter’s performance was affected by exhaustion from the hectic pace of the events preceding the race.

YAMAHA JR. SUPERCAN – During race days that follow a qualifying format (as opposed to heat races with starting position determined by random draw), the outcome is pretty much decided during qualifying. During the single heat race, the results of which combine with qualifying results to determine starting position for the feature, and the feature itself, there is usually little passing. Unfortunately, Peter could manage no better than sixth position during qualifying. He ran in sixth all through his heat race, started sixth in the feature, and ran in sixth all through it, too. As the day wore on, it became apparent that he was not feeling well. Instead of being his usual helpful self when it came time to pack things up, he elected to head home immediately with Henry. He has since recovered fully after a few nights of good sleep.

8Occ SHIFTER – We didn’t have things on Conor’s kart quite sorted out prior to his qualifying session, which put him a bit behind the eight ball, too. There were 12 karts in Conor’s class and he qualified sixth. Except for a couple of karts at the front, the majority were separated by only a few tenths of a second. Had he qualified ahead of these karts, he might have stayed in front of them during the heat race. He lost a position at the start but made it back up on Lap 2. He ran on the tail of the group in front of him to the finish. I still haven’t quite figured this out, but somehow a pair of sixth place finishes earned him a lowly ninth place starting position for the feature. One of the karts in front of him bogged down at the start, but Conor had gotten away well and maneuvered around this and one other kart in the process. He made a nice pass on Lap 2 and ran in sixth, again on the tail of the group in front of him, to the finish. With tire pressure, chassis, and carburetor jetting adjustments, we did manage to knock half a second off his qualifying time during the day, which is promising for the remainder of the season.

NEXT RACE – Next up for Bruce Brothers Racing on August 1-2, 2009, is the Commercial Point Grand Prix of Karting (http://www.cpgrandprix.com/), which is a street race through the village of Commercial Point, Ohio (the picture featured on the main page of the CPGP website is of Conor leading the way in 2008). Conor will have his first try at a street race in an 8Occ shifter kart and Peter will get his first taste of a street race ever. Both boys will race on both Saturday and Sunday and Conor will race twice on Sunday. Admission is free, but passes are required to access the pits. There are food vendors, beer wagons, etc., and all proceeds benefit the Scioto Township Firemen’s Association. Commercial Point is located about 13.5 miles south-southwest of Columbus, just south of Grove City.

Bill

p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found at http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=451362

Schedule for 2009 Commercial Point Grand Prix of Karting

2009-07-28T09:34:00.000-07:00

A detailed schedule for the 2009 Commercial Point Grand Prix of Karting, which is this coming weekend (August 1-2), is shown below.

SATURDAY
7:00 AM - Gates Open
8:00 AM - Registration opens
10:15 AM - Drivers Meeting/ Registration Closes
11:00 AM-2:30 PM - Open Practice by class. Two rounds - second round as qualifier
2:30-3:30 PM - Lunch
3:30 PM - Merchandise Races Start
1. Kid Karts
2. Briggs Animal Med.
3. T.A.G
4. Yamaha Super Can Lite
5. Yamaha Jr.
6. 125 Shifter
7. Briggs Animal Hvy
8. Yamaha Jr. Sportsman
9. Yamaha Can Hvy
10. 80cc Shifter
Merchandise awards to follow
Flags of Honor to follow at Turn 5

SUNDAY
7:00 AM - Gates Open
8:00 AM - Registration Opens
8:30 AM - Drivers briefing/ Registration closes
9:00-11:00 AM - Open Practice by Class, one round
12:00 PM - Trophy Races
1. Kid Karts
2. Briggs Animal Med.
3. T.A.G
4. Yamaha Super Can Lite
5. Yamaha Jr.
6. 125 Shifter
7. Briggs Animal Hvy
8. Yamaha Jr. Sportsman
9. Yamaha Can Hvy
10. 80cc Shifter
1/2 hour break following Trophy Races - Pro Races to follow
1. T.A.G Pro Race
2. Yamaha Can Hvy Pro Race
3. 80cc Shifter Pro Race
4. Briggs Animal Hvy Pro Race
Awards ceremony to follow Pro Races

Bill

Pictures from Laura's Bi-Plane Ride in Iowa

2009-07-21T16:10:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from Laura's bi-plane ride with her cousin Greg in Iowa (click to enlarge):

Laura and her cousin Greg taxi in Greg's award-winning 1941 Meyers OTW bi-plane

Laura and Greg buzz the runway at Greenfield Municipal Airport as Conor looks on

She seems to have enjoyed her ride

From www.russellaire.com/meyers.html - "The Meyers OTW aircraft was designed as a primary trainer in the late 1930s by Allen H. Meyers. These two-place, tandem-seat biplanes were of all-metal construction (except for the fabric covering on the wings), and powered by radial engines of from 125 to 160 horsepower. Production of the Meyers OTW ("Out To Win") ran from 1939 to 1942. It has a maximum speed of 120 mph, and cruises about 90. The Meyers OTW has a wingspan of 33 feet and is 22 feet long."

Bill

MSOKC Race No. 6 – June 27, 2009 – Better Late than Never

2009-07-21T07:33:00.000-07:00

NEWS – It’s been several weeks since Mid-State of Ohio Kart Club Race No. 6, which was the first of several Saturday night races under the lights at Circleville Raceway Park. Since then, we’ve had the Fourth of July weekend and a much-needed vacation to the family cabin in Iowa, where we lounged, fished, and Laura got to go for a ride in a vintage bi-plane with her cousin Greg (pictures to follow). On our way, we stopped off in Iowa City for a check-up for Conor at University of Iowa Children’s Hospital with Dr. Menezes. From the cabin, we moved on to an extended visit with family in Kansas City, which is where we still are. While we’ve been away, we missed MSOKC Race No. 7, which was this past Saturday. We did get to do some indoor kart racing in Kansas City, however, along with the boys’ cousin Jack from California. For MSOKC Race No. 6, Peter was back with us after his two-week adventure through the Eastern U.S. Conor’s kart got new brake pads and some necessary maintenance and repairs. The club was a bit short-handed last Saturday, so Henry was promoted from corner worker to head flagman (see pictures).

PRACTICE – During the practice sessions, Peter’s old tires seemed to be grippy enough so we thought about leaving them on for the rest of the day. After his second session, we decided against this and sent him out for the optional third practice session on new tires. He was faster, but still a bit off of the pace for some reason. Even though Henry had done well with it in the race before, our Yamaha SuperCan engine is due for a freshen-up. Conor used old tires for his first practice session before switching to his race tires. He reported that the handling was good (due mostly to the caster adjustment we had made for Race No. 5), but the pesky brake problem that developed as the result of a broken seat strut bolt he experienced during Race No. 5 seems to be persisting. It seems to be either a warped rotor or a bent rotor hub. Our 8Occ shifter kart has a non-standard 35 mm diameter rear axle, so finding parts is difficult. Conor went on to say that “…the handling’s good, but it’s just slow.” Several others reported that the track conditions were less than ideal, however.

YAMAHA JR. SUPERCAN – I didn’t take a lot of notes, and it’s been quite a while ago now, so I’ll try to recreate this the best that I can from memory and the data on MyLaps.com. Peter started his first heat race from the fifth position (of eight karts in his class). He dropped two positions at the start but made both of them back up on Lap 2. He lost another position on Lap 4 and finished fifth. From the third starting position in his second heat, he maintained his position at the start, lost a position on Lap 2 and finished fourth. His heat race starting positions earned him a fourth place starting position for the feature. He lost a position at the start and another on Lap 6 for a sixth place finish. His lap times all day were not as good as they should have been on new tires, so we concluded that his engine is indeed due for a freshen-up.

8Occ SHIFTER – Conor started his first heat race from the fourth position (of eight karts in his class). He dropped a position at the start and ran in fifth to the finish. Conor got a great start from the fifth starting position in his second heat, gaining a position in the process. While approaching Turn 5 at the end of the long straightaway on the first lap, he locked the rear brakes and spun into the grass. By the time he got the engine started and got going again, he was almost a lap down. We had worked on his brakes between heats, and whatever we did seemed to have caught him by surprise. His heat race starting positions earned him a lowly seventh place starting position for the feature. He maintained his position at the start, gained a position on Lap 1 and another on Lap 7, and eventually finished fifth. His last lap was the third fastest lap of the race (45.208 seconds), but well off of his personal best (44.571). We seem to be headed in the right direction with his brakes, but we still have a ways to go.

NEXT RACE – MSOKC Race No. 8 is a qualifying format event at CRP on Sunday July 26, 2009, which is just a few days after we return from our vacation. Fortunately, most of the needed preparations are complete. Peter’s engine should be back from the engine builder by the time that we return and Conor’s rear axle was completely disassembled and reassembled before we left. We also have new tires for Conor for Race No. 8.

Bill

p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found at http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=437955

2009 Commercial Point Grand Prix

2009-07-02T16:12:00.000-07:00

This site seems to get a lot of hits from people looking for information about the Commercial Point Grand Prix. As a public service, the CPGP website is http://www.cpgrandprix.com/. The No. 7 kart in the banner picture at the top of the main page is Conor leading the Yamaha Jr. SuperCan class at the 2008 event, which he went on to win. The 2009 event is scheduled for August 1 and 2.

Bill

MSOKC Race No. 6 – June 27, 2009

2009-06-28T14:46:00.000-07:00

The full report for MSOKC Race No. 6 will follow. In the mean time, here are some pictures (click to enlarge):

Henry was promoted from corner worker to head flagman for Race No. 6.

It's all in the wrist...

Peter chomps on a Twizzler Pull 'n Peel.

You have to peel it first...

What Conor's hair looks like on a hot sweaty day - Phase 1.

What Conor's hair looks like on a hot sweaty day - Phase 2

What Conor's hair looks like on a hot sweaty day - Phase 3

Bill

MSOKC Race No. 5 – June 14, 2009 – Henry Gets a Win!

2009-06-19T10:57:00.000-07:00

NEWS – Mid-State of Ohio Kart Club Race No. 5 was another reverse direction event (clockwise) at Circleville Raceway Park last Sunday. Peter was still off touring the Eastern U.S. with a group of teachers and friends from school, so we bolted some additional weight onto our Yamaha SuperCan kart so that Henry could have what may be his only opportunity to race this season. Peter needs very little weight to make the minimum requirement for the junior version of this class (305 lbs), but Henry needed an additional 25 lbs or so for the adult version (360 lbs). Conor did very well in our shifter kart during the previous reverse direction event this year, so except for installing the new bodywork that we’ve had for quite some time, we made very few changes for him in preparation for Race No. 5.

PRACTICE – Most of the karts in the adult SuperCan class run on the wider of the two available rear tire sizes. We thought about having Henry use Conor’s practice tires, but it turned out that Peter’s well-used race tires suited Henry just fine. He had not been in a kart since last October and had only driven this kart once before for about half a dozen laps. In spite of this, he seemed to be near a competitive pace during his two practice sessions. Conor’s practice tires are nearing the end of their useful life – he complained of a serious lack of grip at both ends in his first practice session. Even with his lightly used race tires on, he complained of a lack of front-end grip in the second session. We made a chassis adjustment after practice (increased caster), which we hoped would help.

YAMAHA SUPERCAN HEAVY – This class has been very competitive at MSOKC for the past few years, but seems to be even more so this year. Twelve karts in this class on Sunday meant that the heat races would be eight laps instead of six. Henry started his first heat race from the 11th position. There was a bit of a pile-up in the first turn at the start (Turn 10 going backwards), but Henry was able to sneak by on the inside. There was another off-track event by two karts later on Lap 1, which put Henry all the way up to fourth position. He benefited from another off-course excursion on Lap 6 and finished third, not too far behind the leaders. The supposed pole sitter for the second heat lined up on the outside for some reason, which gave the pole position to Henry. The outside is often the place to be, however, and two karts got ahead of Henry in Turn 9 at the start. Henry ran right on the tail of the leaders and was finally able to make a well-executed pass in Turn 9 on Lap 6 for second, which is where he finished. A third and a second resulted in a pole position for the start of the feature. Henry did a bit better at the start this time (after some coaching from Conor), but still lost one position. This turned out to be okay, however – the leader checked out and would have passed Henry anyway, possibly taking another kart with him. Henry was able to open up a bit of a gap over the third place kart initially, but then came under a lot of pressure at about mid distance. The third place kart made several passing attempts going into Turn 10, the last of which ended up costing him a position or two. The new third place kart couldn’t quite get close enough to attempt a pass, so Henry finished in a relatively comfortable second place. At the post-race technical inspection, the winning kart was disqualified for a minor infraction (ignition timing too far advanced), which gave the win to Henry.

8Occ SHIFTER – Our 8Occ shifter kart has been remarkably reliable since we acquired it used prior to the 2006 season, but it began to show its age on Sunday. In spite of this, Conor did remarkably well. His first heat was one of the most exciting I’ve ever seen in this class. Conor started from the third position of the eight karts in his class on Sunday. He made the first of his three great starts on Sunday to maintain his position through the first few turns. He lost a position in the braking zone going into Turn 4 at the end of the long straightaway on Lap 1. The leaders were bunched up and Conor was able to make a pass to regain third position on Lap 3. On Lap 4, Conor was able to move up to second with another great pass, only to be passed again in Turn 4. I didn’t know it at the time, but sometime during the last few laps, a seat support bolt broke, which allowed Conor’s seat to drag on the ground and altered the weight transfer characteristics of his kart significantly. This cost him two more positions on Lap 6, which resulted in a fifth place finish. Back in the pits, I noticed that the seat support problem also caused one of Conor’s brake lines to become partially detached. Conor seemed to like the chassis adjustment we made, so after replacing the broken bolt and bleeding the brakes, we decided to add a bit more caster. When I started to change the eccentric spacer at the bottom of the king pin, I ended up with a handful of ball bearings and various broken bits and pieces. This was not a good thing as Conor’s class was beginning to line up for their second heat. I didn’t have a new bearing handy, so I just stuffed it all back up there and hoped for the best. The left front wheel had about a 3/4 inch of vertical movement to it, so I told Conor to take the green flag and come straight back into the pits (to get last place points instead of no points). He suggested that, if it felt okay, he’d stick it out to the end. I reluctantly agreed. Starting from sixth, he again maintained his position at the start (and showed no signs of coming straight back in – who would have guessed that!). He improved to fifth on Lap 3, to fourth on Lap 4, and to second on Lap 6, which is where he finished. Most of these were due to retirements and incidents, but you never would have guessed that the left front corner was askew. Like his older brother, Conor’s heat race finishes earned him a starting spot on the front row for the feature. From the second position, Conor got the hole-shot and moved into the lead. In the first few laps, he would pull away a bit only to be reeled back in in the hard braking zone going into Turn 4 at the end of the long straightaway. Our shifter kart has only rear brakes, whereas nearly everyone else in this class has front and rear brakes. While this does not affect overall lap times greatly, Conor was a sitting duck going into Turn 4. When the second place kart got by Conor on Lap 4, so did the third place kart. He ran with these two for a few laps, and after it became apparent that he was not going to get back by, Conor eased up a bit and finished in a comfortable third place.

NEXT RACE – Peter will be back with us for MSOKC Race No. 6 on June 27, 2009, which is the first of several Saturday night races under the lights at Circleville Raceway Park. While he did do double duty on Sunday (drove and worked a corner), Henry will be back to being a corner worker only next Saturday. His performance did attract several substitute driving offers, however, so he may get some additional seat time yet this season. Peter will be on new tires for Race No. 6. For Conor, he will get some necessary maintenance and repairs, and we are also looking into several options for improved braking performance.

Bill

p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found by clicking here.

MSOKC Race No. 5 – June 14, 2009

2009-06-15T13:20:00.000-07:00

Some pictures from Race No. 5 are shown below (click to enlarge). Peter was still off touring the Eastern U.S. with a group of teachers and friends from school, so Henry took the opportunity to test his skills in the SuperCan Heavy class. The full report will follow.

Bill

MSOKC Race No. 4 – May 31, 2009 – One to Grow On

2009-06-07T20:14:00.000-07:00

NEWS – Mid-State of Ohio Kart Club Race No. 4 featured standing starts, like the 8Occ Shifter class, for all the classes a week ago Sunday. There was a lot of apprehension expressed before the race about clutch wear, stalling engines, and first-turn pile-ups. None of these turned out to be well founded. In fact, this format turned out to be a huge hit. Preparations for us included new tires for Conor and rearranged tires for Peter. Henry is home from college for the summer and decided to be a corner worker on Sunday – his first bit of gainful employment for the summer. I hope that there will be much more to follow!

PRACTICE – We spent some time getting Peter’s clutch adjusted during his practice sessions. During Conor’s practice sessions, it became apparent that the gear change we made for Race No. 3 was not the hot ticket. With new tires and a return to his previous gear ratio, Conor set a personal best lap time of 44.57 seconds (56.54 mph average speed) in his second practice session.

YAMAHA JR. SUPERCAN – This was Peter’s fourth race on this set of tires. Many of the others in his class had new tires for this race. That was the bad news. The good news was that we seemed to have nailed the clutch adjustment on Peter’s kart, because in both of his heat races, he easily maintained his position during the standing starts. However, after the start of each, he lost two positions; in the first heat because of an oversteer condition and in the second heat because the two fastest karts in his class started behind him. Yamaha SuperCan karts scream when they are running, but they do not like to idle. Peter’s engine stalled during the lineup for his second heat. One of the other dads got to Peter before I did and got him going just in time for the drop of the green flag. Peter’s heat race finishes resulted in a lowly eighth place starting position for the feature. For the feature, we made a chassis adjustment to account for the oversteer condition. He got away well at the start and made two passes at the end of the long straightaway – one on Lap 6 and the other on Lap 8. The second pass appeared to be just as clean as the first, but he was given a pointed-black-flag warning by none other than his brother (someone else had made the call – Henry was just the messenger). Peter ended up finishing sixth, but did record a personal best lap time (46.56) while tracking down the fifth place kart.

8Occ SHIFTER – Conor had a bit more luck than Peter in his heat races, but not much. He lost two positions in his first heat race but gained two positions in his second. Like Peter, he got away well during both of the standing starts, which are the norm for the 8Occ shifter class. In his first heat, he lost one position at the start, but was much faster than the karts in front of him. While trying to find a way past, he left the back door open and lost a position on Lap 4, and finished fifth. In his second heat, he gained a position at the start and another on Lap 6. Like Peter, his heat race finishes resulted in a less than desirable starting position for the feature – sixth. He made up a position at the start and was in position to make up another one in Turn 9 at the end of Lap 1 when the kart in front of him did a lazy half spin. Unfortunately, Conor hit the sideways kart and damaged the nose of his kart (see picture below - click to enlarge). He didn’t loose a position initially, but it became apparent over the next lap or so that the dragging nose was slowing him down. He lost a position on Lap 2 but gained it back on Lap 5. He caught the fourth place kart on the last lap, which would normally be a good thing. He tried to go around the outside in Turn 9, but was pushed into the marbles and lost two positions.

NEXT RACE – MSOKC Race No. 5 is another reverse direction (clockwise) event at Circleville Raceway Park on Sunday, June 14, 2009. Peter will be touring the Eastern U.S. for two weeks, camping with a group of teachers and friends from school, so Conor will be our lone participant. During the last reverse direction event at CRP, Conor won easily and recorded the fastest lap time in each of his three races.

Bill

p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found at http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=425016

MSOKC Race No. 4 - Sunday, May 31, 2009

2009-06-02T13:45:00.000-07:00

Henry is home from Brown University for Summer Break. He decided to be a corner worker for MSOKC Race No. 4 on Sunday (his first bit of gainful employment for the summer; hopefully there will be much more to follow). He took his camera with him and got some great shots, some of which are posted below (click to enlarge). The full race report will follow.

Bill

MSOKC Race No. 3 – May 17, 2009 – We Remembered the Chairs!

2009-05-26T10:40:00.000-07:00

NEWS – After a qualifying format event and a reverse direction event to start the 2009 season, Mid-State of Ohio Kart Club Race No. 3 was a standard heat race event in the normal direction a week ago Sunday at Circleville Raceway Park. In the mean time, Conor, Peter, and I have been to Indianapolis and back for the Indy 500 and Laura has been to Providence and back to pick up Henry at Brown University. We have never been so prepared for a race weekend. In addition to a clutch rebuild for Peter and a gear change for Conor, we paid extra attention to not leaving anything at home – especially the chairs!

PRACTICE – As has become our normal practice these days, both boys practiced on older tires in their first practice session and then switched to their race tires for the remainder of the day. This has increased the longevity of a set of tires by about one race (to four for Peter and three for Conor). We chased the adjustment on Peter’s clutch all morning, but Conor seemed to like the new gear we had decided to try.

YAMAHA JR. SUPERCAN – Peter should get the “Lucky Dog” award for his performance in his first heat race, where he started from the outside of the front row. He maintained his position through the first few corners, but when he got to Turn 5 at the end on the back straightaway, he overshot the exit and went into the grass. Incredibly, the next five or so karts, who had been battling hard for position, all did the same thing. Four of these did not get going again. An off-course excursion on the first lap, when all of the karts are running together, is usually a recipe for disaster but only one kart got past Peter while he got up to speed again. He went on to finish third, dropping his personal best lap time to 46.972 seconds (53.649 mph average speed) in the process. While his first heat incident was of his own doing, this must have been Peter’s day for getting tangled up. In both his second heat race and his feature, Peter was forced to charge from the rear as the result of first turn incidents. The first was the result of the pole-sitter bringing the field around too quickly on the pace lap. There was contact in Turn 1 and Peter got turned around in the process. The second was the result of someone in the outside row having to check up to avoid going into the grass in Turn 1. Peter recovered to finish sixth in his heat race and fifth in his feature. In his feature, he further lowered his personal best lap time to 46.644 seconds (54.026 mph).

8Occ SHIFTER – Conor’s class had its biggest turnout of the year so far last Sunday – 11 karts – including two visitors from Northern Ohio, one of whose name is Connor! Conor (one “n”) got a good start from the ninth position in the first heat. He made several well-timed passes and finished fifth. While Conor’s standing starts have gotten better, he was not anticipating what happened in his second heat. The procedure is as follows; 1) the flag goes up, 2) after 10 to 15 seconds, the flag goes sideways, 3) after 2 to 5 seconds, the flag drops. In Conor’s second heat, the “2 to 5 seconds” was more like 1 second and Conor was still looking down when the flag dropped. He dropped from third to eight at the start. He gained a position on Lap 3 due to attrition but found himself behind a slower kart he was having trouble getting around. He tried several times, but couldn’t make it stick (the driver of the other kart would later tell Conor he was being way too kind). This caused Conor to slip into the clutches of the kart behind him. On Lap 5, the kart in front of this three-kart train got loose on the exit of Turn 10. Conor went to the inside in Turn 1, but the other kart went to the inside of Conor at the same time. These three went side-by-side through Turn 1. Conor kept his right foot planted and managed to come out in front and went on the finish fifth. A pair of fifth place heat race finishes netted Conor the fourth starting position for the feature. He got away well (see picture sequence below) and ran in fourth for the first few laps. He made a well-timed pass in Turn 3 on Lap 5 to move up to third. He quickly caught the second place kart, but could not find a way to pass. While he did not better his personal best lap time (44.896), he did manage to drop into the 44 second range on three-race-old tires on his way to a third place finish, which is his second podium finish in three starts in this class.

NEXT RACE – Peter improved his position in the championship from sixth to fifth in his class and Conor improved from fourth to third in his. MSOKC Race No. 4 is another regular direction at event at Circleville Raceway Park on Sunday, May 31, 2009. The “twist” for this event is that all classes will have a standing start like the 8Occ Shifter class. It should be interesting.

Bill

p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found at http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=418244

Standing Start Sequence from MSOKC Race No. 3 – May 17, 2009

2009-05-26T10:29:00.000-07:00

Conor is the yellow 07 kart on the outside of the second row (click to enlarge).

Bill

MSOKC Race No. 3 – May 17, 2009

2009-05-18T17:37:00.000-07:00

Some pictures from Race No. 3 are shown below (click to enlarge). The full report will follow.

This is the gismo we use to get Peter's Yamaha KT-100 engine started. It's as heavy as it looks.

Peter takes the checkered flag for his feature event.

Peter crosses the scales after the conclusion of his feature event.

This is the electric kart lift we have borrowed for the past two races for Conor's very heavy kart.

Conor pulls his gloves on. The gismo around his neck is one of the new-style head and neck supports that he and Peter got for Christmas.

Lining up for the standing start of Conor's 8Occ feature event.

Conor provides feedback after the conclusion of his feature event.

Bill

MSOKC Race No. 2 – May 9, 2009 – A Significant Improvement

2009-05-15T17:37:00.000-07:00

NEWS – MSOKC Race No. 2 was a reverse direction event at Circleville Raceway Park last Saturday. Preparations included a carburetor rebuild and new rear tires for Peter and a clutch adjustment for Conor. I had taken Conor to the track the previous Sunday so that he could practice and get his shift points down for the reverse (clock-wise) direction in our 80cc shifter kart. He also spent quite a bit of time practicing his standing starts. Peter’s Track and Field schedule once again prevented him for joining us for this between-race practice session (see http://brucebrothersracing.blogspot.com/2002/05/peter-throws-31-3-14-at-invitational.html for news about Peter’s Track and Field adventures). I had hoped we would be more organized on race day, but once again, we left the folding chairs at home and had nowhere to sit all day…

PRACTICE – Peter went out briefly during the open practice session Saturday morning to acclimate himself to the reverse direction in our Yamaha SuperCan kart. Both boys practiced on older tires in their first organized practice session and then switched to their race tires, which for Peter consisted of new rears, for the remainder of the day. The track was quite slippery from the morning dampness, which made assessing relative speed between the competitors a bit difficult. Conor did set another personal best lap time (45.22 seconds) in his second session, however, which was a good sign of things to come.

YAMAHA JR. SUPERCAN – Peter had a great day on Saturday, although he did grumble about it several times during the day. He got a great start from the third starting position in his first heat by following the pole-sitter past the second place kart through the first turn (Turn 10 in the reverse direction). These two made it through Turn 9 okay, although the track was still a bit slippery. Several karts behind them got sideways, which allowed Peter and the leader to open up a bit of a gap. Peter held on to second place (of nine karts in his class on Saturday) but began to receive significant pressure at about mid distance (Lap 3 of 6 for the heat races). I thought he was going to be able to hold on to the end, but the third place kart tried to muscle his way past on the outside of Turn 5, which sent them both into the grass. Peter recovered to finish fifth. He was not too happy about this (the source of his grumbling), but I was glad to see him running up front for most of the heat. In his second heat, he dropped from seventh position to eighth at the start. He made up one position on Lap 2 and another on Lap 4 to finish sixth, improving his personal best lap time to 47.29 in the process. Peter started sixth in the feature and made his way up to third on the first lap. He went around the first turn on the outside, which put him on the inside for Turn 9. Two karts on the outside of Turn 9 made contact, which allowed Peter to slide through. His other first lap promotion was the result of an off-course excursion by the kart in front of him. The kart that caused Peter problems in his first heat caught and passed him (cleanly this time) on Lap 6 (of 10 for the feature). He recorded another personal best lap time (47.23) on his way to a fourth place finish – his best yet in this class.

80cc SHIFTER – Conor drew the last starting position (seventh) for his first heat race, which meant that he would have an opportunity to display his honed starting skills from the pole position in his second heat. During practice, I had encouraged him to be a bit more aggressive on the clutch. I used an analogy from golf – if you leave a putt short, you can be fairly certain that it’s not going in the hole. His start in the first heat wasn’t good – he bogged the engine down – but it didn’t matter because he was already at the rear. He caught the kart in front of him on the first lap and made several passing attempts over the next lap or so. Conor got a good run through the turn leading onto the back straightaway (Turn 5 going in the reverse direction) and tried an out-braking maneuver in Turn 4. He ended up out-braking himself, however, and went into the grass. He got going again after giving himself a push start, but with no attrition in this heat race, he finished where he started – last. I could tell that Conor was feeling a bit of pressure about starting on the pole for his second heat. He didn’t get away immediately when the green flag fell, but he got away well enough to maintain the lead. I’ve been waiting to see what Conor could do if he got out in front in this class, and he did not disappoint. He pulled away from the field at the rate of about a second per lap and won easily, improving his personal best lap time to 44.80 in the process – an improvement of 0.40 over his previous personal best. A seventh and a first were good enough for the third starting position for the feature (there was a three-way tie in heat race finishing points for the third starting position, but second-heat finishing position is the tie breaker). While Conor didn’t gain any positions at the start of his feature, he obviously had figured something out, because he got away like a rocket. It turned out that he didn’t need to gain any positions at the start – they were given to him over the next few laps. The second place kart slowed abruptly on Lap 1 (broken throttle cable), which caused a moment of panic but allowed Conor to move up one spot. Conor hounded the leader and was lining him up for a pass when he pulled off on Lap 3 (loose ignition coil). This put Conor in the lead, which is where he stayed to the finish, maintaining a comfortable gap in the process. For a day that didn’t start out too well for Conor, it ended with the most points scored in the class and fastest lap times in both heat races and the feature.

NEXT RACE – There is just a short one-week break to MSOKC Race No. 3 on Sunday, May 17, 2009, which will see a return to the regular direction at Circleville Raceway Park. In the mean time, Laura and I have been to Italy and back for a conference in Milan, where we also had a very enjoyable visit with family we scarcely knew we had (Laura’s sister’s husband’s [Uncle Howard’s] sister and her family). Fortunately, there is not a lot of preparation to do for Race No. 3. We borrowed an electric kart stand to use for last Saturday to cope with the massive weight of Conor’s kart, which must have 50 lbs of lead weight to meet the minimum-required weight requirement – it was a life saver. We hope to do that again on Sunday and we have once again vowed not to forget the chairs.

Bill

p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found at http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=413782

MSOKC Race No. 2 – Saturday, May 9, 2009

2009-05-09T17:52:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from Race No. 2. The full report will follow (click to enlarge).

The "pooch" joined us...

...and we had a pretty good day!

Bill

MSOKC Race No. 1 – April 26, 2009 – A Good Start to the Season

2009-05-01T17:00:00.000-07:00

NEWS – It’s been quite a while since we’ve had only two karts to prepare for the first race of the season and I can’t remember when we’ve been so disorganized. When we finished unloading at the track last Sunday for Mid-State of Ohio Kart Club Race No. 1, we soon realized we had nowhere to sit – we had left the folding chairs at home! We also ran short of food and beverages, and when we got home, we received a phone call indicating that we had left our battery-powered starter sitting on the starting grid. Fortunately, the preparations that mattered seemed to be adequate, as the racing went well on Sunday for Bruce Brothers Racing.

PRACTICE – With both Peter and Conor in new classes for 2009, we made it a point to get in several practice sessions prior to the season opener – two for Peter and three for Conor. While both Conor and Peter are on the track team at their respective schools (Peter throws discus and shot and Conor runs distance events), Peter’s track schedule prevented him from attending our final practice session. Last minute preparations for Race No. 1, which was a qualifying format event at Circleville Raceway Park, included bolting additional lead weight onto our 8Occ shifter kart for Conor to meet the minimum weight requirement. This kart is now a chore to lift. We were hoping that our Yamaha Jr. SuperCan kart didn’t need additional weight for Peter, which turned out to be the case – we actually had to remove 10 lbs or so on Sunday morning. Both boys practiced on older tires on Sunday morning and then switched to new (Conor) or slightly used (Peter) tires for the timed qualifying session. Conor has really gotten the hang of the shifter kart thing and seemed to be one of the faster karts in his practice sessions. Peter also recorded several personal best lap times in his practice sessions.

YAMAHA JR. SUPERCAN – Peter’s class consisted of 10 karts on Sunday. All but he and two others were return competitors from this class last year. Peter went out near the back of the pack for his qualifying session, which consists of a warm-up, three timed laps, and a cool-down. He had a big slide through Turn 4 on his first timed lap. His second lap was his best at a 47.506, which is almost a second faster that he had practiced during his previous outing and almost 4 seconds faster than his personal best time from last year in his Briggs Junior kart. While the top three were quite a bit faster than the rest, the next seven were very close together. Peter’s time was only 0.4 seconds slower than the fourth place qualifier but ninth fastest overall. At the start of his heat race, he gained a position by taking the inside line going into Turn 3. On lap 2, he gained two more by taking advantage of mistakes by others. He managed to keep the karts he had passed behind him and finished sixth. For the feature, in which Peter would start seventh, we made a tire pressure adjustment and a gear change, which seemed to help. He was able to gain two positions on the opening lap and latched onto the bumper of the fourth place kart. Lap 8 was his fastest (47.368), which was a further improvement on his personal best. He held on for a comfortable fifth place finish while continuing to pressure the fourth place kart.

8Occ SHIFTER – Conor’s class consisted of 7 karts on Sunday with him being by far the youngest and the only newcomer. One veteran in this class suggested that we might want to put an “X” on the back of Conor's helmet (indicating rookie status) and have him start from the rear for the first few races. At first, I thought he was joking. The joke turned out to be on him – Conor out-qualified him and ran faster lap times all day long! With new tires on for his qualifying session, I really thought that Conor could take pole position. He went out first in his qualifying session but came to a stop on the back straightaway so that he could screw the cap onto the fuel tank, which resides between his legs. It seems that I had forgotten to replace it when I added fuel after his second practice session – oops! When he rejoined at the rear of the group, he appeared to have sufficient room between himself and the kart in front of him, but this was not the case. His first lap in the clear was a reasonable one (45.683), but he soon caught up with the kart in front of him, ruining the next lap and his final one. His first lap was good enough for the fourth starting position, however. This is the part that we’re going to have to work on – his standing starts. In all the practice starts he’s done recently, he hasn’t stalled or even bogged the engine down. The urgency with which he gets away needs some work however. In his heat race and his feature he lost positions all the way to the rear at the start. In his heat race, he found himself in a battle with several karts that were being held up by a slower kart, and finished sixth. In the feature, he made one pass on Lap 1 and another on Lap 6. The lap 6 pass was a clean one on the inside of Turn 3. This turned out to be his only clean lap, as he caught up to the next group on the following lap. This lap (45.374) also turned out to be fastest lap of the race by all of the competitors – by nearly 0.4 seconds! Conor finished fifth, but once he gets his starts down pat, I anticipate that he’s going to be running at the front.

NEXT RACE – MSOKC Race No. 2 is a reverse direction event at Circleville Raceway Park on Saturday, May 9, 2009. It’s a bit early in the season for a night race, so this event will follow the normal Sunday race-day schedule (racing action begins at noon). We have vowed to be a bit more organized this time, too.

Bill

p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found at http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=407880

Pictures from MSOKC Race No. 1 – Sunday, April 26, 2009

2009-04-28T17:53:00.000-07:00

The race report for the 2009 MSOKC season opener will follow soon. In the meantime, here are a few pictures (click to enlarge):

Bill

Bruce Brothers Racing - 2009 Season Preview

2009-03-30T02:09:00.000-07:00

Bruce Brothers Racing had a remarkable year in 2008 - two Mid-State of Ohio Kart Club championships and several other significant achievements. We are certainly looking forward to the 2009 season.

In his return to kart racing after a one year absence, Conor won the championship in the most competitive class at MSOKC (Yamaha Jr. SuperCan) in 2008. Conor also had a perfect weekend at the Commercial Point Grand Prix street race in 2008. For 2009, Conor is moving up to our 80cc shifter kart that was previously driven by Henry.

Peter also won the championship in the MSOKC Briggs Jr. class in 2008 - his second consecutive championship in this class. For 2009, he is moving up to our SuperCan kart that was previously driven by Conor.

Henry also had an excellent season in 2008 - he held the early championship lead in the second most competitive class at MSOKC (8Occ shifter) and finished in the money at the CPGP. He is going miss both ends of the 2009 MSOKC season while he finishes up his first year and begins his second year at Brown University. We may find a seat for him for a few races in the middle part of the 2009 season, but we're going to play that by ear.

We had a few weekends of nice weather earlier this spring in central Ohio, which allowed us to squeeze in two much-needed practice days already for both Conor and Peter. Conor got used to nearly twice as much horsepower, shifting, and standing starts and Peter acclimated to nearly three times as much horsepower. Both got down to reasonable lap time in their second outing. Since then, all five of us have been to Florida for a much-needed Spring Break and the Honda CR8O engine on our shifter kart is currently being rebuilt by our good friend Bill Willis at POWERSports.

Our 2009 race season begins in just less than a month. Our race schedule, which once again includes the MSOKC series and the Commercial Point Grand Prix, is as follows:

Race No. 1 - Sunday, April 26 - Qualifying – 20 bonus points
Race No. 2 - Saturday, May 9 - Sunday schedule - Clockwise
Race No. 3 - Sunday, May 17 - Normal
Race No. 4 - Sunday, May 31 - Normal Direction – F1-style starts
Race No. 5 - Sunday, June 14 - Clockwise
Race No. 6 - Saturday, June 27 - Night Race
Race No. 7 - Saturday, July 18 - Night Race
Race No. 8 - Sunday, July 26 - Qualifying
Commercial Point Grand Prix - August 1 and 2
Race No. 9 - Saturday, August 15 - Night Race
Race No. 10 - Saturday, September 5 - Sunday Schedule – Qualifying – Hog Roast
Rain Date 1 - Sunday, September 6 - If needed (or fun race day)
Race No. 11 - Sunday, September 20 - Clockwise - Qualifying - 20 bonus points
Race No. 12 - Sunday, October 4 - Normal – 40 Bonus Points
Rain Date 2 - Sunday, October 11 - If needed

Bill

Clear the Roads!

2009-02-16T13:58:00.000-08:00

Conor received his Ohio Driver's License this past weekend, so watch out! The minimum required score on the driving test is 75 (out of 100). Conor had two points taken off for stalling the engine at the end of the maneuverability portion of the test (our Honda Civic SI has a manual transmission) and, during the road test portion, had five points taken off for taking the corners too fast. Go figure...

Bill

New Commercial Point Grand Prix Website

2009-02-04T18:52:00.000-08:00

There is a very nice picture of Conor featured on the main page of the new Commercial Point Grand Prix website:

http://www.cpgrandprix.com/index.html

He's the No. 7 kart in the lead...

Check out the video on the gallery page, too.

Bill

Additional Pictures from 2008 Season

2009-01-07T15:17:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of Conor and Peter that were shown during the slide show at the 2008 MSOKC season-ending banquet (click to enlarge):

Photos courtesy of Paul Lyda at Sign Effects (http://www.signaffects.com/).

Bill

2008 MSOKC Banquet

2008-11-16T19:17:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures from the 2008 MSOKC season-ending banquet (click to enlarge):

Peter receives his trophy and poster for being 2008 Champion of the Briggs Sportsman class.

Conor receives his trophy and poster for being 2008 Champion of the Yamaha Junior class.

Peter and Conor receive their 2008 Lap Record medals.

Conor receives his trophy and poster for the 2008 MSOKC Race of Champions.

Conor and Peter at home with their 'spoils', including personalized embroidered sweatshirts. What cannot be seen (and I missed getting a picture of it at the banquet) is the trophy Conor received for 'Comeback Driver of the Year'.

Bill

MSOKC Race of Champions – Sunday, October 19, 2008

2008-10-27T18:06:00.000-07:00

I thought that I was done writing race reports for this season, but Mid-State of Ohio Kart Club added a post-championship event to the end of the season this year – the Race of Champions. This event was a 20 lap race reserved for season champions in 11 of the 12 classes – adults and all but the youngest of the kids. Ten of the 11 eligible class champions participated. Each participant competed in 'identically prepared' rental karts that are owned by the proprietor of Circleville Raceway Park. This event was held a week ago Sunday, October 19, just prior to another post-championship event, the IronMan 225 endurance race for Yamaha SuperCan karts. Laura and I were out of the country at the time, enjoying some time in the Czech Republic (Prague) prior to some business I had there, so fellow champion-dad and MSOKC President Paul Lyda offered to transport the boys to the race and look after them for the day (along with my dad and mom).

I say 'identically prepared' because in theory, they are, but in reality, some are in better condition than others. Kart assignments and starting positions were determined by random draw. Conor drew the No. 3 kart and Peter drew No. 10. Conor's kart turned out to be one of the better ones, but Peter's turned out to be a 'dud'. Conor tells me that, from the third starting position, he motored around the front-row starters in the first two corners but overcooked it in Turn 3 and went into the grass, dropping to last in the process. From the lap chart posted on MyLaps.com, I can see that he made up three positions in the first lap and three more on Lap 2. In the mean time, Peter's kart never did get up to speed. He puttered around for two laps before the kart stopped working all together, ending his day – bummer. Conor made up another position on Lap 4 and ran in third until Lap 10 when he moved into second. On Lap 17, he made a pass for the lead. I understand that the pass didn't stick at first, but then did on the second try. Conor went on to win by a margin of 4.866 seconds while recording the fastest lap time (56.211 seconds on Lap 18) in the process.

By Conor's own admission, 'luck of the draw' played a big part in determining the results. When we spent a day at the track in the rental karts earlier this season (see pictures above), Peter edged Conor for the fastest lap time honors (56.123 to 56.194). Driver weight was definitely a factor, too, with lighter drivers (kids) having an advantage over heavier drivers (adults). None-the-less, Conor's result was one more feather for him to put in his increasingly-full cap this season.

Bill

p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found at http://www.mylaps.com/results/showrun.jsp?id=998724

MSOKC Race No. 12 – Sunday, October 5, 2008 – And The Winner Is…

2008-10-07T17:08:00.001-07:00

NEWS – The Mid-State of Ohio Kart Club season finale was Sunday, October 5, 2008, which was a qualifying format event at Circleville Raceway Park. Peter entered this event with a slim 13 point lead in the championship. Since there are only three karts in his class that are competing for the championship, he simply needed to avoid finishing last in at least two of his three points-paying segments (qualifying, heat race, and feature race) to defend his lead. Qualifying format races are all about speed (as opposed to passing ability), however, and Peter has been much quicker than the other two in recent events. Conor entered this event with a 17 point lead over one competitor and a 21 point lead over another. With an average of 12 karts in Conor’s class, a bad race day in a class of this size can be disastrous. Conor’s lap times have been good in recent events, but his two closest competitors have been a bit quicker. Conor doesn’t know this (well, he does now), but I had made a spreadsheet that contained all of the possible permutations that would be required for him to defend his lead (seconds and thirds at the very least if his closest competitors did well, but not all thirds). As the saying goes, however, the best defense is a good offense. Read on…

PRACTICE – With many class championships still to be decided, the atmosphere in the pits on Sunday was a bit chilly, which matched the morning temperature. Fall is definitely upon us in central Ohio. The skies on Sunday were crystal clear, the barometric pressure was high, and the humidity was low – the type of day that both pilots and small displacement kart engines love. Our first hiccup of the day came when Peter pulled back into the pits after only two practice laps in his first session. He thought that his tires were flat – such was the lack of grip from the low temperatures. After being reassured that this was to be expected, the remainder of this session and his second session were business-as-usual. Conor does well driving his kart in these conditions – he loves it when lots of steering input is required. In other words, he loves to ‘drive’. We, like about half of the karts in Conor’s class, had new tires in the trailer, but chose to practice on used tires. Conor’s times in his first session were about third or fourth fastest. In the second session, Conor’s two closest competitors chose to ‘scrub’ in their new tires with a single hot lap. One of these pushed too hard and went off on the exit of Turn 6. We chose to keep the new tires fresh for the qualifying session.

BRIGGS SPORTSMAN – Peter’s class consisted of the three regulars and one new visitor on non-spec tires, who would be disqualified at the end of the day, and two from another class, who would be scored separately. Our strategy for qualifying sessions, which consist of three timed laps, is to put one in the bag, push hard on the second one, and push really hard on the third (95, 100, and 105 percent, respectively). Peter executed this plan perfectly (52.051, 51.595, and 51.332 seconds) and earned the pole position by almost a full second. In his heat race, he timed the start perfectly and won easily. These two results earned him the pole position for the feature. By this point, all he needed to do was take the green flag to clinch the championship. I told Peter that, if he didn’t get the lead at the start, he should just follow the leader around to the checkered flag (i.e., stay out of trouble), which is easier said than done. He got snookered at the start and settled in to second place. The leader was trying awfully hard to stay in front, and was making many mistakes in the process. On Lap 1, he nearly came to a stop in Turn 9 after getting almost completely sideways. Peter dutifully maintained his position, but came under pressure from the kart behind. After the leader made another mistake in Turn 4, which again slowed Peter’s progress, the kart behind was able to overtake Peter. For me, it was nice to see a buffer between Peter and his closest competitor, the father of whom has complained about ‘rough’ driving recently. Peter had other ideas, however, and regained the position on the next lap. Two laps later (Lap 7 of 10), Peter was once again on the tail of the leader, who made another mistake in Turn 4. Peter pulled along side down the long back straightaway. The lead kart has been known to be reluctant to concede the position when getting passed, but Peter had enough of an advantage to come out ahead in Turn 6 after going side-by-side through Turn 5. Peter went on to win by almost three seconds, capping off another perfect race day (1-1-1) and clinching his second consecutive season championship in this class.

YAMAHA JR. SUPERCAN – Conor’s class (12 karts) was big enough that his qualifying session was split into two groups. It’s important that you don’t get baulked by a slower kart in front of you during a qualifying session, so the primary contenders in Conor’s class all scrambled for a position at the front of the first group. We elected to go out in the second group so that we would know what time we had to beat. Conor’s data acquisition system provides him with lap times on his ‘dashboard’ each time he crosses the start/finish line. The time to beat (45.385) was announced just as engines were being fired for the second group. I relayed this to Conor, who was lined up first for the second group. His first lap was a good one (45.760). The next lap was better (45.545), but still not good enough for pole position. Conor reached deep on the third one (45.359) and captured the pole by 0.026 seconds. The Ice Man strikes again. This was a huge development not only because it put Conor in an excellent position for the remainder of the day, but because it took possible points away from his two closest competitors, both of whom have the ability to have a perfect race day (although no one has done it in this class yet this season). I wasn’t sure if Conor knew he had done it when he pulled into the pits, so I gave him the ‘#1’ sign as he pulled in. Not only did he know his lap time from his on-board display, he had remembered the time to beat to three decimal places. In his heat race, he made a good start, but not as good as the kart on the outside of the front row. Conor settled into second but was given a gift when the lead kart went off on the first lap at the exit of Turn 6 (for the second time in two events). Conor received a bit of pressure from his other primary competitor, but went on to another heat race win, recording an all-time personal best lap time of 45.347 in the process. The start of Conor’s feature race was delayed by a kart that had mechanical difficulties on the formation lap. When they finally did get the green flag, Conor got a great start from pole position with the third place kart, who is a non-contender in the championship, coming along with him. Conor was able to pull out a bit in places, only to get reeled back in in others. On Lap 7, the second place kart experienced the consequences of pushing too hard and went off at the exit of Turn 6. Conor continued to push hard to the end, although he had amassed a reasonable lead by then, and won by a margin of almost two seconds. I’m glad that all of those spreadsheet calculations were unnecessary. Like Peter, Conor had a perfect race day, and clinched the season championship in this class.

NEXT RACE – That’s it for the 2008 season. There were some exciting developments in Henry’s 80cc Shifter class during Race No. 12, but he was oblivious to it all in the sanctuary of college life at Brown University in Providence. Peter ended up on top of the championship in spite of starting the season in another class, which basically spotted his closest competitor three perfect race days prior to his arrival. Peter also accomplished this with an engine that was less than fresh. It is normal to start a season in this class on a fresh engine and have it freshened up mid season. Peter’s engine has a total of 24 race days on it since it was freshened up. Towards the end of the season, I was anticipating a major ka-boom, which fortunately did not happen. And then there is Conor. This time last year, he was in a neck brace recovering from neurosurgery. At the beginning of the season, he had not been in a kart for over a year and had never raced anything as fast as a Yamaha SuperCan kart. You could easily argue that this was the most competitive MSOKC class in 2008. Several competitors have significantly more resources than we do, yet Conor was able to win the first two events of the year and go on to claim the season championship in this class. Enough said. The season ending banquet is November 15, 2008.

I want to express special thanks to our sponsors and supporters, to family and friends who came out to watch and support us this season, to those who support us from home, and once again to Laura, our most dedicated team member and fan.

Bill

p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found at http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=365592. Season ending championship points will eventually be posted at http://msokc.org/2008points.pdf.