In spite of the forecast from earlier in the week, which had called for remnants of Hurricane Ivan throughout the weekend, MSOKC karters were greeted with clear skies on Sunday for the make-up race for rained-out Race No. 1. Conor celebrated his birthday at
the race track and Peter made his racing debut. Henry unveiled some new graphics on his kart (pink stripes!), which were intended to offset the good-natured teasing he received last week from the family of the driver chasing him for third place in the championship.We acquired a used chassis for Peter a couple of months ago from a colleague who was moving to Houston. Using spare parts and Conor’s 'Rookie Box' motor from last year, we were able to get him going without too much expense. I had taken him to the track to practice with Conor several times, but transportation during race weekends has been our main problem, since out trailer only holds two karts. On Sunday, my dad agreed to take Peter in his pick-up truck. Our objective for Peter was to get him some experience under race conditions. He started all of his races from the back of the grid, as is required for rookie drivers. He worked his way up to speed throughout the day, and by the feature race, he was keeping up with the back of the pack. He even made his first pass – a brave outside maneuver going into Turn 9. Way to go, Peter!
The newly-crowned champion in Conor’s class had moved up to Henry’s class, so we had hopes for a possible win for Conor. He started his first heat race from the fourth position (of five). He made a reasonable start and made two passes by about mid distance. He was then passed by the driver he is chasing for second in the championship, who went on to win the heat. Conor was unable to pass his main rival from last year, who has been getting faster as the season winds down, and finished third. Starting from outside the front row in the second heat, he tucked inside the driver in second in the championship, who had started on the pole, and had to watch as she (yes, she) checked out. Conor had beaten her pretty soundly just over a week ago, when she was lapping in the mid-52 second range. On Sunday, she was lapping in the mid-49 second range – faster than anyone has lapped all year in this class. Someone is going to have to explain to me how you pick up 3 seconds per lap in 8 days… Conor ran a relatively lonely second to the end in the second heat. Conor lined up third for the feature and made a great pass in Turn 1. There was a scary incident behind him, however, which brought out the red flag. After the pieces were cleared up, everyone made it back to the grid for the restart. The two karts involved in the red flag incident were moved to the back of the grid, which put Conor on the outside of the front row. He didn't have as much luck with the restart and was passed in Turn 1. We had made some fairly dramatic changes to his kart prior to the feature, and it became apparent fairly quickly that the set-up we ended up with was not ideal. His lap times were good, but just a tick slower than his heat race times. He was able to hold on to third to the finish, however. Post-race tech inspection varies from race to race. Several times this year they have inspected restrictor plates to make sure the diameter is to specification. This was not the case on Sunday, and while this probably sounds like 'sour grapes', I sure would like to have seen somebody have a look at the restrictor plate in the winning kart… So, with one race to go, Conor’s third place in the championship is now sealed. He is too far back from second but sufficiently ahead of fourth. Way to go Conor!
From the moment we unloaded the trailer, Henry’s pink stripes seemed to be having the desired effect. If nothing else, they let the driver chasing Henry for third place in the championship know that we had been thinking about him during the week between races. Henry started the first heat from pole position and led fairly handily through Lap 4 (of 6). By that time, Adam, the
newly-crowned champion in Conor’s class, had caught up and passed Henry, who finished second. Adam went on to win both heats and the feature in his first official outing in this class – wow! Starting from last (7th) in the second heat, he made one pass but then got stuck behind the driver who everyone has trouble passing and finished sixth. His heat race finishes were on par with his rival for third place in the championship, so the feature would be the decider. Henry lined up on the inside of row two with his rival to the outside. At the start, Henry was squeezed to the inside but held his line. On the outside, there was contact and his rival did a half spin and fell to last. The contact also allowed Henry to gain a position to second, where he ran to the finish. His rival caught up to the pack by mid-distance but could not pass and finished last. Only the best nine finishes count for the championship, however, so Henry’s rival will use this as a 'drop' race. His next best race is a reasonable one, but Henry still gained four valuable points, extending his lead to 10. Henry is running as fast as he has all season - his fast lap on Sunday was sub-49 seconds, just a tenth off of his best ever - so we are optimistic that he can hang in there.Thanks to everyone who helped out with getting and keeping three karts on the track on Sunday - my dad, the boy's uncle Rick, and particularly my lovely wife Laura, whose loving and constant support does not get mentioned nearly enough in these reports. The season finale is this Sunday, September 26.
Bill
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