MSOKC Race No. 4 - June 9, 2007

Originally sent: Monday, June 18, 2007 11:45 PM

NEWS – After a long five week break, Bruce Brother Racing was back in action last weekend for Mid-State of Ohio Kart Club Race No. 4, which was the first night race of the season. These night races are intended to provide some relief to the summer heat, but after a hot spell during the preceding week, last Saturday ended up being a beautiful day. We had done absolutely nothing with our equipment since our last race – hadn't even taken it out of the trailer – as our weekends recently have been filled with road trips to Iowa City. Conor and Laura's return not only enabled Henry and Peter to participate on Saturday, it meant that Conor could return to his duties as a member of the MSOKC timing and scoring crew. That Conor was willing to give this a go just one day after his return home from a month-long hospital stay is a testament to how well his recovery is going. All of the MSOKC community, who have been very supportive throughout his ordeal, were glad to have Conor back in their midst.

PRACTICE – Five weeks is a long time. Fortunately, we only missed one MSOKC race during this time. I scoured my notes for where we left off after Race No. 2 and decided not to make too many changes since both Henry and Peter had run well, Henry in particular. Henry's tires were on the verge of needing to be replaced, and instead of discovering this after practice with little time to change them, we replaced them straight away. Peter was on the pace right away in practice while Henry took it easy at first to break in his new tires.

JUNIOR SPORTSMAN 2 – There were only three karts in Peter's class on Saturday. Peter lined up at the rear for the start of the first heat but was promoted to the outside of the front row when one of the karts in front of him sputtered to a stop on the formation lap. Peter timed the start perfectly, led into Turn 1, and won handily. Heat 2 was much like Heat 1 except that Peter got started from pole position and all three made the start. Peter lined up on the pole for the feature but did not get the green flag the first time around because the other two were lagging behind. The next time around, it was Peter who was being too conservative, and as the green flag flew, the other two went around him. He made up one position in Turn 4 on the first lap and was on the tail of the leader by the end of the first lap. He followed the leader for another lap and set up a pass beginning in Turn 2. He backed off a bit and then got a head of steam going through Turns 3 and 4. This allowed him to draw along side down the long back straightaway and make the pass in Turn 5. He motored on to the checkered flag for his first-ever perfect 1-1-1 finish.

80cc SHIFTER – In contrast to Peter's class, there were 14 karts in Henry's class. He drew mid-pack starting positions for both of his heat races. In the first, he got away well but dropped a position at the start. He lost another position while trying to pass on Lap 3 and another on Lap 5 when he dropped two wheels into the dirt between Turns 6 and 7, eventually finishing 9th. Henry got a great start in the second heat when the pole sitter got away slowly. From mid-pack, Henry was challenging for second in Turn 2. One of the karts starting towards the rear got pushed into the grass between Turns 2 and 3 and took a shortcut right into Henry's path as he rounded Turn 3. Several karts were immobilized temporarily, including Henry. He had to get out and push to get going again, loosing more than half a lap in the process. He soldiered around with the nose of his kart dragging the ground to a 12th place finish. Henry was not looking forward to his 11th place starting position for the feature. Lots can go wrong starting from that far back. He got another great start, however, and made up two positions right away. He dispatched another kart on Lap 3 and another on Lap 5. On Lap 7, he made another excellent pass on the entry of Turn 10 bringing him up to 6th place. With a bit of clear track in front of him, his lap times dropped into the 44 second range and he began to reel in the next group who were scraping amongst themselves. He closed the gap to within a few kart lengths as the checkered flag flew.

NEXT RACE – Peter had his first perfect day but it was a day with a disappointing turnout for his class. Henry struggled during his heat races but redeemed himself in the feature. Most significantly, Conor is BACK! He seemed to thoroughly enjoy himself on Saturday. The next race is Sunday, June 24, 2007, which is the first of three races that will be run in the clock-wise direction at Circleville Raceway Park this season.

Bill

p.s., Lap times and results can be found at http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=216783