Commercial Point Grand Prix of Karting – August 1-2, 2009 – Lots of Destruction, but Lots of Fun

NEWS – Always the highlight of our season, this year’s Commercial Point Grand Prix, which is a street race through the town of Commercial Point, Ohio, that benefits the Jackson Township Fireman's Association, did not disappoint (see pictures and video clip below). We are only running two karts this season, but we had three drivers for the CPGP. The schedule was such that Peter’s class was directly opposite a class in which Henry could compete in the same kart, so we offered him the opportunity and he gladly took us up on it. It would mean some extra work, however, and Peter agreed to share this responsibility with Henry (teamwork!). The minimum weight in our Yamaha SuperCan kart for Peter’s class is 305 lbs and 360 lbs for Henry’s class. Since Henry weighs only 10 lbs or so more than Peter, this meant adding or removing about 45 lbs of lead weight during each changeover. The gear ratio also needed to be changed to accommodate the weight difference. I was a bit apprehensive about this, and while this ended up going rather smoothly during the course of the weekend, there are always surprises at the CPGP that keep you on your toes. There is an open tire rule for the CPGP, so we elected to run the relatively sticky Vega SL4 tires we used last year on both karts. Our freshly rebuilt Yamaha SuperCan kart got a new clutch disk prior to this event and our 8Occ shifter kart got a gear change and some additional attentions to the rear axle that we hoped would further improve the braking performance. Since 2007, the CPGP has consisted of a six-turn street course lined with an incredible number of hay bales and 55-gallon plastic drums. The longest straightaway is 900 feet, on which the 8Occ shifter karts approach 75 mph at the entrance to Turn 1. The second of two practice sessions on Saturday morning determine starting positions for the Merchandise races on Saturday afternoon. Finishing positions from the Merchandise races determine starting positions for the Trophy races on Sunday. As in years past, there are also Pro races on Sunday, including one for Conor’s class, in which he was entered.

PRACTICE – Peter has never participated in the CPGP, so the first practice session on Saturday was his first experience on a street circuit. He seemed to catch on rather quickly. As he was making his way around a slower kart on about the third lap of practice, he went wide at the exit of Turn 1 the clipped a hay bale. While sitting sideways on the track, he was broadsided by another kart. Not only did he loose precious practice time, the collision resulted in a bent a front spindle, tie rod, and side pod (‘nerf’ bar) bracket. So, our first surprise for the weekend involved lots of pounding, straightening, and welding in order to get Henry out in time for his practice. Fortunately, practice sessions for both Conor and Henry went smoothly.

QUALIFYING – Peter was the first of our three to take to the track for the qualifying session. Peter’s lack of practice, and his apprehension after finding the hay bales, resulted in a disappointing tail-end qualifying position for his Merchandise race. Fortunately , there were only four karts in his class and he was only 0.1 second behind the third place kart. Before Henry’s session was called to the grid, the skies opened up and doused the track with water. Unlike our Mid-State of Ohio Kart Club races, the CPGP proceeds rain or shine. After a relatively long delay, Henry’s class was called to the grid under “wet” conditions, which means that treaded rain tires were required. Some of the competitors either didn’t have rain tires or elected not to go out in the rain. Fortunately, we have a set of old rain tires that I had mounted on spare rims in the event of such a surprise (there wasn’t supposed to be chance of rain until Sunday). Because of the number of karts entered in Henry’s class (28), it was split into two groups. Henry was in the first group and posted one of the faster qualifying times. The track was significantly drier for the second group, so Henry’s time ended up bring ninth fastest overall. The extra time that resulted from Henry’s class being split into two groups allowed us to get our rain tires onto Conor’s kart in plenty of time for his qualifying session. He received some advice from Henry and posted the third fastest qualifying time in his class. Because of the rain delay, and an extended delay that resulted from an incident with a corner worker being hit by a kart, the Merchandise races were postponed until Sunday morning.

YAMAHA JR. SUPERCAN – The postponement of the Merchandise races to Sunday morning meant that Peter would get even fewer much-needed practice laps. He responded nicely in his Merchandise race, however, by sticking with the pack, shaving over a second off of his qualifying time, and making a nice pass on Lap 5 (of 10) to finish third. Starting from third in his Trophy race, he maintained his position at the start and again latched onto the tail of the group in front of him. At one point, he actually recorded the fastest lap time of the race. As the result of the gear choice we had made and Peter’s ability to make himself aerodynamic when he needed to, he had a lot of speed at the end of the long straightaway. He used this to his advantage on Lap 12 (of 15) by going up the inside on the approach to Turn 1 and making the pass stick. Having made his way into the second position, and with the leader having checked out, Peter seemed to have backed off a bit. With his superior top speed, he had the third place kart covered in the best passing zone, and in spite of several passing attempts, Peter went on to finish a well-deserved second place.

YAMAHA SUPERCAN HEAVY – Henry got a great start from the ninth position in his Merchandise race. At the end of Lap 1, he had made his way up to the sixth position. On the exit of Turn 6 on Lap 3, it all went wrong, however. The kart in front of him clipped a hay bake and ricocheted into Henry’s path. Henry not only hit this kart, but also got hit hard by the kart behind him. This sent Henry into the hay bales himself. He was unable to continue and finished 25th. The damage included another bent spindle, a bent axle, and a destroyed rear bumper. Again, we were able to make the repairs with time to spare, but Henry was not looking forward to starting 25th for his Trophy race. I told him I'd give him a dollar if he finished in the top 10. Laura matched this offer. During the aborted first start of his Trophy race, he made a great start up the inside but got bumped as he crossed the starting line and took out the hay bale that the head flagman was standing on. He continued without delay and made up about six positions on the first lap. During the red flag period that followed, we realized that he had bent another axle – that replacement axle lasted an entire 40 feet before being bent! After gaining six positions at the start, Henry was disappointed about having to restart. This disappointment was short-lived however, as during the restart, he made up nine positions on the first lap. He was really hooked up because he made another pass on Lap 2, four more on Lap 3, two on Lap 4 and another on lap 8. This brought him up to the eighth position and clear of the majority of the field. There was a group of four karts in front of him, and while he caught up with them in the end, he ran out of time to pass. He ended up with the fifth fastest lap time of the race, which included some of the best racers in the Mid-West. With Henry’s eighth place finish, both Laura and I are now a dollar poorer.

8Occ SHIFTER – A third place starting position for Conor’s Merchandise race was a promising way to start his day on Sunday, but unfortunately he had difficulty getting off of the line and dropped to last in the process. He made up one position on the first lap and another on Lap 4. He caught up with the next kart on Lap 6. On Lap 8, he got a good run down the front straightaway and made the pass going into Turn 1. Unfortunately, he was carrying a bit too much speed and clipped a hay bale on the exit of Turn 1 – all three boys had now sampled the hay bales. Conor had his work cut out for him starting from the seventh position for his Trophy race. He got a great start however and made up two positions on the first lap. He pushed hard over the next few laps, recording the second fastest lap of the race. Conor made another pass on Lap 8, which resulted in a fourth place finish. The second fastest lap in his Trophy race was a promising sign for his Pro race. He maintained his fourth starting position at the start and immediately put pressure on the two karts in front of him. On lap 4, he brushed the hay bale on the inside of Turn 4, loosing two positions in the process. He made up one position on Lap 6 only to loose it again on Lap 7. He regained it again on Lap 8 and ran in fifth for the next 10 laps (of 20). During this time, he was much faster than the fourth place kart, but the lack of front brakes on his kart prevented him from making a pass in Turn 1. He would draw up along side down the front straightaway, only to have to brake earlier than the leading kart. Both benefited from the retirement of the second place kart on Lap 18, which moved Conor up to the fourth position. At the beginning of the last lap, Conor went into Turn 1 a bit deeper that he had been going. The kart in front responded by doing the same but got sideways in the process. I didn’t see this but was told that wheel-to-wheel contact sent Conor vertical for a moment to the point that you could see the whole kart above the hay bales. Conor made a last-ditch effort at the end of the last lap but came up about six inches short (0.025 seconds). Conor’s fourth place finish did earn him $50 in prize money, however.

NEXT RACE – In spite of all of the damage, a good time was had by all. Just about all of the damage has since been repaired in preparation for MSOKC Race No. 9 on August 16, 2009, which is another Saturday night race under the lights at Circleville Raceway Park.

Bill

p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found at http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=454508