MSOKC Race No. 4 - May 22, 2005 - Postponed

Originally sent: Friday, May 27, 2005 11:35 AM

NEWS - The early morning weather last Sunday was cool and crisp, which suits our karts well, so we were looking forward to a good day of racing. As the day progressed, the weather got cooler and crisper, the wind picked up, and then it rained. The persistent nature of the rain resulted in the second event postponement of the season. The new date for Race No. 4 is October 2, 2005. We did get to practice and Henry and Conor got their first heat races in before the rain came however.

PRACTICE - Just after we unloaded the karts, we noticed that Henry had sustained a bent rear axle during his incident in the second heat of Race No. 3. I checked with a few other teams, but no one seemed to have a spare. While we were trying to decide whether to make due or to scratch his entry, the dad of the driver with whom Henry is tied for second place in the championship offered to have his wife drive home and bring back their spare. We gratefully accepted their offer and within an hour, we were making the switch. This made practice very hectic, however. We managed to get Conor and Peter on the track twice, change the axle, and get Henry on the track for one complete and one abbreviated practice session.

JUNIOR UNRESTRICTED - Henry started second (of eight) in the first heat race and both he and the pole-sitter held off Adam, who started from the rear, until Lap 5. A bit of a gap had developed between Henry and the kart in front of him (from whom we had borrowed the axle), but Henry reeled him in in the closing laps. The margin was less than a kart length at the finish. The bent rear axle must have been a factor in the feature of Race No. 3, because Henry recorded a personal best lap time of 48.44 sec on what would be his final lap on Sunday before the rain came.

JUNIOR SPORTSMAN II - Conor started sixth (of seven) in his first heat race. He made a good start and moved up a position by Turn 3. He made another pass and was up to fourth by the end of Lap 2. He then settled in behind the third place kart, who was having trouble getting around a slower kart in front of her. Conor waited patiently for an opportunity to arise, which it did at the end of Lap 4. The third place kart momentarily thought about making a pass on the outside in Turn 10, which left room for Conor to slip by on the inside. Conor was able to get around the second place kart between Turns 7 and 8 on the next lap. He then set out after the leader, and while he was able to make up a significant portion of the gap, he ran out of laps. He would have started on the front row for the second heat, which would have all but assured him of a good starting position for the feature, so when the rain came, it was a big disappointment for Conor.

ROOKIE BOX - The rain came as Peter's class, which consisted of seven karts, was sitting on the grid for their first heat. This was a disappointment for Peter, too, as the smaller rear tires we had switched to seemed to be working well for him. In practice, he also recorded a personal best lap time (58.52 sec) and is now consistently lapping in the 58 sec range.

NEXT RACE - The next race is MSOKC Race No. 5 on Saturday, June 4, 2005, which is the first night race of the season. In the mean time, Conor and Henry are going to participate in an SCCA Solo II event (OVR Points Event No. 3), which will be Sunday, May 29, 2005, at Cooper Stadium in Columbus.

Bill