MSOKC Race No. 12 – October 3, 2010 – Rain Delay

NEWS – The weather cooperated for the first 11 races of the Mid State of Ohio Kart Club season, but that streak came to an end for Race No. 12, which was supposed to be the season finale a week ago Sunday. The day dawned cool and partly cloudy, which necessitated more warm clothing than we had brought.

PRACTICE – Race No. 12 was a reverse direction event at Circleville Raceway Park in which all classes would have standing starts like the shifter karts. The weather was such that neither Peter nor Conor wanted to do extra laps in the morning – both spent a significant part of the morning in the cab of the truck “doing homework”. While preparing for Race No. 12, I noticed that Conor’s throttle cable had stretched a bit to the point where it was questionable whether or not he was getting full throttle with the pedal all the way down. After this was adjusted, I decided to check Peter’s kart. With the pedal all the way down, his throttle was only three-fourths of the way open. This has certainly contributed to the fall-off in performance Peter has experienced in the later part of the season. When they finally did go out for class practice, both boys recorded some excellent lap times.

YAMAHA JUNIOR – From the second starting position in his first heat race, Peter got away well and settled into second in the first few corners. He got a good run through Turn 5 on the second lap and managed to out-brake the leader going into Turn 4 (the following corner going in the reverse direction). He extended his lead over the next few laps but began to come under some pressure at about mid distance (Lap 4 of 8). Peter responded to the pressure and led to the end for his first MSOKC heat race win since Race No. 3 on May 16. Peter started his second heat race from the sixth position (of seven in his class on Sunday). He gained a position at the start and another on Lap 3. The top five karts or so in Peter’s class have become very closely matched as the season had progressed, so further progress through the field was not possible. A first and a fourth place finish would have earned Peter the second starting position for his feature race, but a steady drizzle started before that could happen and the events of the day were suspended.

80cc SHIFTER – Conor’s first heat race was much like Peter’s except that the random draw for starting positions had him starting from pole position. He made an excellent start and led easily through the first few corners. The second place kart – Conor’s rival for second place in the championship – had started on new tires. Conor also had new tires, but we had him scrub them in with a few easy laps during his second practice session. New or “sticker” tires perform best on the second or third lap, but can be dicey on the first lap. They’re okay for qualifying sessions where only one lap counts, but are not ideal for heat races. This difference in tire strategy allowed Conor to develop a fairly healthy lead on the first lap. The advantage went the other way for Laps 2 and 3, which brought the first two, and the championship leader who was in third, nose-to tail. Conor was adamant in defending his position over his rival, who tried twice to out-brake him going into Turn 4. On the second attempt, Conor had to go wide on the exit to avoid contact. These two went side-by-side through Turns 3 and 2. Conor had the better line going into Turn 1, which allowed him to reestablish the lead. Over the next few laps, the championship leader began to pressure the second place kart. These two swapped places on Lap 5, which was promising for Conor from a championship-points perspective. Conor went on to win with a buffer between himself and his rival, which would have been ideal had it not been for the drizzle that started before Conor’s second heat race. Conor’s heat race win was the first time anyone has beaten the championship leader since Race No. 5 on June 26 when Conor did it.

NEXT RACE – If the final three classes could have finished their heat races either before the rain came or after it dried up (which it did eventually but after a decision had been made to suspend the events of the day), the season would have been complete (points for rained-out feature races are awarded based on earned starting positions). All Conor would have needed to do was finish one or two places behind (or ahead of) his rival to secure second place in the championship. By showing up for Race No. 12, Peter has secured his position in the championship. Because the heat races were not completed, the slate is wiped clean and a rain make-up date comes into effect, which is next Sunday, October 17. Unfortunately, my work requires me to be out of the country that day (Berlin, Germany). Friends and family have come to the rescue, however, and will see that Conor gets the support he needs during the rain make-up date. It’s going to be hard to top the way the day was going before the rain came.

Bill