MSOKC Race No. 12 - Saturday, September 24, 2005

Originally sent: Wednesday, September 28, 2005 2:28 PM

NEWS – Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later, but we finally had what might be considered a mediocre race day this past Saturday, which was the final MSOKC night race of the season. I suppose that it was mostly my fault, as I’m the one who agreed to bite off what turned out to be a bit more that we could chew. About mid-week last week, Henry received an invitation to fill in for a friend of ours, Jack Reall, in one of the adult classes (16 and up, which Henry qualifies for now). Jack and his son Bryce make up a class of their own – Briggs Animal Medium. This is the class we are considering for Henry next year, so it made sense to let him give it a try. Jack, who is President of the Columbus Firefighters Union and Leader of Ohio Task Force 1 Urban Search and Rescue Team (part of FEMA), had been called up for Hurricane Rita duty, and this would have left Bryce on his own in that class on Saturday. Henry of course wanted to race in his regular class, too, so we had our hands full.

PRACTICE – We made very few changes to the boy’s karts in preparation for Saturday, and when it came time for practice, we spent some of our available time setting Jack’s kart up for Henry. We also had four karts to practice instead of three, so we had little time for fine tuning. Conor and Peter practiced well, none-the-less, but we are still having trouble getting Henry up to speed in his kart. Henry did enjoy is first experience in a kart powered by the more powerful Briggs Animal engine, however. In practice, Henry and Bryce traded fastest laps several times.

ROOKIE BOX – Peter started his first heat from the rear (fifth of five). He made a good start and was into third by the exit of Turn 4. Although he was passed by a new-comer towards the end, this kart was later disqualified for being under weight (65 lbs under weight!), so Peter was credited with a third place finish. In the second heat, starting from pole position, he again made a good start. He held the lead for four long laps, which is a personal best for Peter. Two of the faster karts got around him at the beginning of Lap 5, so he again finished third. In the feature, starting from third, he held his position at the start and ran in third until about Lap 4 when he was again passed by the under-weight new-comer who would eventually be disqualified. Peters third place finish was his third podium finish in a row.

JUNIOR SPORTSMAN II – Conor started his first heat race from the pole (of five). He held the lead at the start and the first two pulled out a bit of a lead during the first lap. Conor didn’t get through Turn 4 very well on the next lap and was passed going into Turn 5. He held on to the leader but had no opportunity to pass and finished second. Starting from the rear in the second heat, he was patient going through Turn 1. The head of steam that he was able to build up allowed him to make a pass going into Turn 2. He passed two other karts on the long run to Turn 5, bringing him to second. He was on the leader’s tail and got through Turn 4 well on the second lap. He drew up along side and a little past going into Turn 5, but the leader did not back off. The two went through Turn 5 side-by side. There was contact, however, and both went into the grass. Conor took a while to get going and finished where he had started. In the feature, starting from the third position, Conor held his position at the start, but had an uncharacteristic spin in Turn 8 on the first lap. He benefited by one off-course excursion, and caught another kart at the end, but finished fourth – his first non-podium finish of the year. One of the usually-mid-pack competitors in Conor’s class, who was giving the chassis that Henry drove last week a try, went on to take his first win of the year, however, so we were glad to see that.

JUNIOR UNRESTRICTED – There were only three karts in Henry’s regular class on Saturday. In the first heat, starting from the pole he held the lead until Turn 5 on the first lap. He ran second until about mid-way when the kart behind him found a way past. On the last lap, it became apparent that the leader had a problem when he made a mess of the right hand Turn 3. On the next right hander (Turn 7), his right rear wheel went sailing through the infield. As a result, Henry inherited second place, which is where he finished. In the second heat, starting from the rear, he followed the pole-sitter through Turn 1 into second. He was unable to hold on, however, and finished third. We made a few adjustments for the feature during the limited time we had, and while he was able to run a bit closer to the other two, he still finished third.

BRIGGS ANIMAL MEDIUM – Since there are only two karts in the Briggs Animal Medium class, they run together with the Yamaha Super Can class, which consisted of about 15 karts on Saturday. They start separately, however, so the Animal class is initially about a half a lap behind the Yamaha class. At the start, Henry, who started on the outside, got the better of Bryce in Turn 1. During the first lap, it became apparent that Bryce had an engine problem. He ran a couple of laps before retiring with a sputtering engine. Towards the end, Henry caught and passed a couple of the Yamaha karts before having a scary moment on the last lap. Both types of karts run similar lap times, but what the Animal karts lack in straight line speed, they make up for in the corners. When he approached a group of the Yamaha karts at the entrance to Turn 3 on the last lap, Henry had to check way up and got sideways. The kart behind him got sideways also, went up on two wheels, and did a gentle roll on top of him. Henry calmly got out of the kart and rolled him off, and after checking to make sure he was okay, proceeded on his way. The second heat was much like the first except for the scary moment. Even though Bryce had had their engine builder look at his engine, the problem persisted. They gave it another try in the feature, but Bryce again had an engine problem. Henry enjoyed his experience, but would have enjoyed it more had Bryce been able to race with him.

NEXT RACE – Between all of the extra work we made for ourselves and the fact that I have been hoping to make Henry’s and Conor’s rear tires last the remainder of the season, it is no wonder that we had a less-than spectacular day on Saturday. Even with Laura’s ever-present help and the help of some visiting friends, it was a handful. With only the best nine of twelve finishes counting, all three of the boys’ positions in the championship have been decided now (Conor having clinched the championship), so no harm was done. I will think seriously next time about letting anyone run two classes on top of what is already a busy day for us on race days. The next race, which is next Sunday, October 2, would be our fourth on four consecutive weekends. Because of this, our tire situation, and the poor handling on Saturday of some poor sportsmanship issues between some of the other parents in Conor’s class, we are thinking about giving it a miss (Peter also has a soccer game on Sunday and his team is short-handed). Watch this space…

Bill