MSOKC Race No. 8 - July 24, 2004

Originally sent: Tuesday, July 27, 2004 4:28 PM

Perfect weather greeted central Ohio karters Saturday evening for MSOKC Race No. 8. Practice was reduced from three sessions to two, there were no problems with the lighting system, and the program was run much more efficiently than two weeks ago, so we actually got home before midnight! There wasn't a whole lot to cheer about, however, as mechanical gremlins haunted both Conor and Henry.

Conor started Heat 1 from the fifth position (of six). He worked his way up to fourth and was working on third with a brave outside pass in Turn 4 on the first lap. The kart on the inside went wide and pushed Conor out onto the grass. He did a quick '360' and rejoined at the back of the pack. He was able to make up one position, but his lap times were off by about a second. He started Heat 2 from outside the front row and tucked in behind the pole sitter at the green flag. The pole sitter, who Conor can usually keep up with, quickly began pulling away. Conor was able to maintain second position, but just barely as his lap times were again just a tick off. While lubricating Conor's chain during the intermission, I discovered his right rear wheel bearing was not turning with the axle. The axle was turning inside the bearing instead. Time was short, but I decided that I had just enough time to replace it with a slightly used one. When I got it back together, I discovered that the slightly used one was even worse that the original! With the help of a friend, I was able to replace it with a different slightly used one just in time for the feature. Finishing positions of fifth and second put him in the fourth starting position for the feature. The pole sitter again checked out, and even the second and third place karts began to pull away from Conor. Conor reeled the second and third place karts in by mid distance (Lap 4 of 8), but could not get by. He recorded his first non-podium finish in a feature race in over a year of competition. After the race, Conor informed me that the reason he fell back at the beginning was that he had no brakes. In my haste to get things back together, I had neglected to clean the dirt and oil off of his disk brake rotor, and it took a couple of laps for it to burn off. After we got home, I also discovered that the second slightly used axle bearing was the worst of the three!

One of the eight starters in Henry's class was a national-level guy who would eventually be disqualified for using non-spec tires. He was there to test the not-yet-released 2005 Bandit chassis. Henry started his first heat race from the seventh starting position. The inside row got a good run at the green flag and Henry found himself in fourth by Turn 4. While chasing down the third place kart, Henry recorded his fastest lap ever (48.88 seconds), but eventually settled for fourth. He started from pole position in Heat 2 with the national-level guy to his outside. I told Henry on the grid, that if the national-level guy got a jump at the start, to let him go since he was not running for championship points. The start was fairly even at the front and Henry raced the national-level guy through the first few turns. He finally conceded the position in Turn 4 and just about let the third place kart through with him. He stuck right with the national-level guy for the next few laps and even appeared to be held up at one point. The pace of the first two drew them away from the rest of the field and Henry appeared to be headed for maximum points. It was not to be, however. As he was exiting Turn 8 on the fourth lap (of six), his chain inexplicably derailed leaving him stranded and dropping him from maximum points to minimum points. The wayward chain had wrapped itself around the axle at one point, so we decided to replace it during the intermission as a precautionary measure. Henry started the feature from the fifth position. He gained two spots when one of his competitors spun in front of him. One of the spots had belonged to the national-level guy, however, who reclaimed it by mid distance. He was again able to pressure for third, but could not get by. When the national-level guy was disqualified, this elevated Henry's feature race finish to third. When I asked him how he managed to avoid the spinning kart in front of him, he indicated that he had employed a technique that I had mentioned to him at one time. When someone spins in front of you, you head straight for them because, by the time you get there, they'll be gone!

Overall it was not the best of outings, but we did learn a few things. I have since replaced the rear axle bearing hangers on Conor's kart, which seemed to be the source of his problem. I have also ordered new bearings for Conor and chain guides for both karts, which are supposed to prevent the type of problem Henry experienced. We'll see how all this works at our next race, which is another Saturday evening affair on August 7, 2004.

Bill