MSOKC Race No. 1 - April 10, 2005

Originally sent: Friday, April 15, 2005 4:22 PM

First of all, if you'd like to discontinue receiving these updates (or if you never wanted to receive them in the first place), just let me know by return email. No hard feelings - I promise.

NEWS - The 2005 Mid State of Ohio Kart Club season got off to a great start this past Sundays with clear skies and unseasonably warm temperatures. During the off-season, we performed routine maintenance (chassis rebuilds and a much-needed engine rebuild for Henry), and Henry and Conor got new bodywork and seats installed. I also had to do some adjusting of pedal positions - these boys just won't stop growing! We didn't change a whole lot other than that, as both were running well at the end of last season. Since Peter was still coming to terms with active competition, we made few changes to his kart also. A new club-spec tire was also mandated during the off-season, but we decided to take advantage of the three-race transition period to make use of the rubber we had left over from last season. With my travels, our Spring Break trip, and typical Spring weather in Ohio, we only had one opportunity to practice prior to the season opener.

PRACTICE - During the practice sessions on Sunday, all three boys recorded competitive lap times. This was comforting given our decision to start the season on old tires. In the second practice session, Peter had a half spin in Turn 10 and was clobbered by one of his competitors, which broke the nose of his bodywork. About half a roll of duct tape later, we had him back in business.

PETER - ROOKIE BOX - Peter's class had several return competitors and several new faces. He drew the 7th starting position (of 7) for Heat 1, but was moved up a spot when one of the rookies elected to start from the rear. At the start, he was able to move up another position going into Turn 2. He ran comfortably in fifth place for most of the heat and took advantage of several off-course excursions by his competitors. The first of these moved him up to fourth, and then on the same lap, two other competitors became entangled (literally). They were stationary long enough for Peter to get by, which put him into second, which is where he finished! He started the second heat on the pole, which was a new thing for him. He did well leading the pack around for the start, but when the green flag flew and he mashed the gas, the engine bogged. Several karts got around him, but he settled in at about mid pack. One of the faster karts, who started behind Peter also got past on Lap 2 (of 6). By now, Peter was running laps consistently in the mid 59 second range and ended up finishing fifth. His heat races finishes earned him the third starting position for the feature. He maintained his position at the start but was passed on Lap 1. He kept the bit between his teeth, recording his fastest lap time ever (59.13), and hung on to finish fourth in spite of some stiff pressure from one of the return competitors. An excellent result - one spot off of the rostrum - in just his third race. Way to go Peter!

CONOR - JR. SPORTSMAN II - Conor's main competitor from last season (Adam Roberts) had to move up a class because of his age. There were quite a few return competitors, however, and one new face. Like Peter, Conor drew the last starting position (6 of 6) for Heat 1, but was moved up a spot. He got a great start and was up to fourth by Turn 2. He made a nice pass at the end of the back straight-away on Lap 2, which put him into third. Recording a lap of 51.18 along the way, he then began to apply pressure to the second place kart. She responded by making a mistake in Turn 7 on Lap 4 and Conor got past. The lead kart had gotten away by that point, so Conor ended up second. In Heat 2, he started on the pole, made a great start, and motored off into the distance. The winning margin was about the length of the back straight-away, in spite of me giving him signals to slow down. Starting on the pole for the feature, Conor was passed going into Turn 1. He ran most of the feature in a close second place while receiving a bit of pressure from behind. On the penultimate lap, I looked away as Conor approached the end of the back straight-away. When I looked up again, the leader was in the grass and Conor was into the lead. When he crossed the start/finish line at the end of that lap, the flagman pointed a furled black flag at him, which indicates a warning of some type. He received quite a bit of pressure on the last lap, but crossed the finish line first. I was a bit concerned about the furled black flag, and then became more concerned when the flagman waived the black flag at him, which indicates a disqualification, along with the checkered flag at the finish. When he came off of the track, I asked Conor what had happened. He indicated that he and the leader did come together in Turn 6 after the leader had made a mistake, but that they were side-by-side when the contact occurred. The rules state that when the front wheels of a passing kart are up to the steering wheel of the leading kart, the leading kart must give the passing kart room. Conor indicated that the leading kart tried to close the door, which is when the contact occurred. Evidently, the corner worker reported that the contact was avoidable. By the time we got to the scoring tower to discuss the matter, the head race official had already over-ruled the corner worker, so Conor got by with a win and a warning. Conor felt bad about the incident, so much so that he never did collect his trophy, but that's the way racing goes sometimes. Like they say in NASCAR, "it's just one of them racin' deals." Unlike the 2003 season, when Conor won five of the nine races he entered, he went the whole season last year without a feature win. A win on Sunday, even if it was a bit tainted, was a nice way for him to start the season. During post race inspection, his kart passed without incident, but the race official did inform me that all three screws that hold his fuel tank to the carburetor were missing, which might explain Conor's complaint about a sputtering engine in the closing laps. Prior to the penultimate lap, he ran his fastest lap of the day (51.14). His last two laps were in the high 51 second range. I suppose that we should be happy that he finished the feature at all!

HENRY - JR. UNRESTRICTED - Adam's departure from Conor's class was good news for Conor, but bad news for Henry, as Adam is now in Henry's class. Adam, who won the WKA Grand National race at Lowes Motor Speedway in Rockingham in September last year, won both heats and the feature on Sunday. Henry and the other competitors in his class (6 in all) were left to fight it out for second place. Henry started Heat 1 from the third position. He maintained his position at the start and made a pass into second on Lap 1. Adam got past and then into the lead on Lap 2. Henry was on the bumper of the second place kart until Turn 10 of Lap 4, when he was able to draw up along side on the inside. He had set up this pass going into Turn 9 and it was a beautiful thing to watch. They went side-by-side through Turns 10 and 1, Henry had a slight margin by the time they got to Turn 2, and he completed the pass in Turn 3. He was able to pull away a bit and finished second. He also started Heat 2 from the third position, and ran third through most of the heat. When he and the second place kart came up to lap a slower kart, the second place kart went one way and Henry went the other. Henry got the best of that deal and went through to second, which is where he finished. Starting from outside the front row in the feature, he made a good start and ran in second for the first few laps. Even though he turned his fastest lap of the day on Lap 3 (48.83), the third and fourth place karts were right on his tail. On Lap 6 (of 8), he bobbled going through Turn 6 (he would later tell me that he got up on two wheels), and both karts got through. I had made a small tire pressure adjustment prior to the feature, which was obviously too small to compensate for the rising track temperatures. Henry backed off a bit, as he was comfortably ahead of the next kart, and finished fourth. He is just two points out of second place in the championship race, however.

NEXT RACE - The next race is Sunday, April 24, 2005, at Circleville Raceway Park. Prior to that, Peter will get Conor's old bodywork and a clutch rebuild, and I'll make sure that Conor's fuel tank is secure! The entire schedule for the 2005 season is shown below.

Bill

2005 MSOKC Schedule

April 10 - Sunday
April 24 - Sunday
May 7 - Saturday (Sunday schedule)
May 22 - Sunday
June 4 - Saturday
June 19 - Sunday
July 17 - Sunday
July 30 - Saturday
August 7 - Sunday
August 20 - Saturday - Bonus Points
September 11 - Sunday - Bonus Points
September 18 - Sunday - Rain Date
September 24 - Saturday - Bonus Points
October 2 - Sunday - Rain Date

Saturday Schedule (unless noted otherwise)
Gates: 2:00 p.m.
Practice: 3:30 p.m.
Driver's Meeting: 5:30 p.m.
Green Flag: 6:00 p.m.
Sunday Schedule
Gates: 8:00 a.m.
Practice: 9:30 a.m.
Driver's Meeting: 11:30 a.m.
Green Flag: Noon

SCCA OVR Points Event No. 9 and 10 (2004)

Originally sent: Tuesday, November 02, 2004 9:58 AM

Not content to put all of the karting equipment away after the MSOKC season finale, Bruce Brothers Racing decided to give another form of racing a try. The Ohio Valley Region (OVR) of the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) has a very popular Solo II program, which involves timed runs through a parking lot course full of pylons (a.k.a. autocross). It's mostly for cars, but they do have kart classes for both kids and adults. Conor gave it a try two weeks ago, and this past Sunday, both Henry and Conor participated in the final OVR points event of the season.

The rules for Conor's class (FJ1) allow unrestricted Briggs and Stratton engines, but for his first event two weeks ago, we decided to run him with his existing restrictor plate set up. There are no practice runs and the course layout is not known until the morning of the event. After registration, the participants are allowed to walk the course. Junior drivers get the benefit of walking the course with the Youth Steward, who gives them guidance and tips on how to memorize the course. The kart classes made their four runs in the third and final group of the day. In the first two groups, we saw everything from race-prepared Corvettes to Formula Fords to Subaru WRXs to stock Honda Civics. Good times were in the 40 to 50 second range. Conor's first run was 49.644 seconds. He improved on that in each of his next three runs and ended up with a best time of 46.101 seconds, which was the second best time in his class and just 0.464 seconds slower than the winner, who was running an unrestricted engine. The best time for a stock Corvette was 44.450 seconds.

This past Sunday, Henry, who has been recovering from a dislocated shoulder (fell off of Peter's stunt bike), decided he also wanted to give Solo II a try. His class (FJ2) also allows unrestricted engines, but requires an additional 25 lbs of weight. For Conor, we removed his restrictor plate and made what we hoped would be the necessary carburetor jetting and gear ratio changes to increase his competitiveness. The kart classes again made their runs in the third and final group of the day and good times for the cars were again in the 40 to 50 second range. Henry was a bit tentative in his first run, but improved his time significantly in his second and third runs. Conor was fast immediately, and also improved in his second and third runs. Both boys, having set good times in their previous runs, 'over-cooked it' a bit in their fourth runs. Henry won his class with a time of 43.026 and Conor won his class with a time of 42.287 seconds. The best time for a stock Corvette was 42.194 seconds. Henry's best time was 2.901 seconds better than the second place kart in his class. Conor's best time was 3.529 seconds better than the second place kart in his class, who had not lost an event this year. SCCA has a handicapping system called PAX for comparing times of entries which are not in the same class. The index is composed of data from across the country and tries to take the cars out of the equation and compare only the drivers. Conor got a trophy for the 8th best PAX score out of 154 entries! Henry's PAX score was 38th best in his first try at Solo II.

We certainly enjoyed the experience, and if time permits, we hope to run a few more Solo II events next year.

Bill

MSOKC Race No. 13 - September 26, 2004

Originally sent: Tuesday, October 12, 2004 2:05 PM

The MSOKC season finale several weeks ago was a good one for Bruce Brothers Racing – personal-best lap times, secured championship positions, and more beautiful weather.

Peter again started all of his races from the back of the grid in his class, which consisted of seven karts. In the first heat, he worked his way to fourth by the end, taking advantage of mostly off-course excursions by his competitors. This result seemed to really charge him up, and at the drop of the green flag for the second heat, he had the bit between his teeth. He made a couple of well timed passes and finished fourth again, recording a personal-best lap time of 59.85 seconds in the process. With the psychological one minute barrier broken, he had high expectations for the feature. There were a few first lap tangles, but by using good sense and his quickened pace, Peter made his way to fourth by the end of the first lap. He was doing everything he could to hold on to his position, but one of his competitors was impatient and clobbered him in the rear in Turn 7 on the second lap. This sent him and several others into the grass. Quite a bit of time was lost, but this did not appear to discourage Peter, as he again lowered his personal-best lap time twice in the remaining laps (59.37 and 59.29). When approached after the race (in a friendly way), the dad of the clobberer denied the whole thing. The clobberer was quick to admit his mistake and apologized, however, while the dad remained in denial. Apparently, maturity does not always come with age…

We un-did several changes that we had made to Conor’s kart prior to the feature of the previous race, and his practice times showed a significant improvement. Conor started the first heat from the sixth position (of seven). He spent the first few laps working his way through the field. By mid distance, he was up to third. With open track in front of him, he too lowered his personal-best lap time to 50.68. The leaders were too far out in front to catch however, and he settled for third. Conor started the second heat from the pole. He made a less than spectacular start, however and was passed in Turn 1. Conor was able to pressure the leader while the front three distanced themselves from the field. He could not get by, but was able to keep his primary competition from the previous race behind him to the checkered flag. His heat races finishes earned him the second starting position for the feature. He made a good start and was able to pressure the leader in the first few laps. Her new-found pace kicked in by about mid-distance, however, and Conor ran an uneventful second to the checkered flag. Conor’s third place position in the championship had been sealed during the previous race (too far back from second but sufficiently ahead of fourth), but it was encouraging to see him lower his personal-best lap time in the season finale.

Henry’s primary goal for the day was to maintain his second place position in the championship battle - he started the day with just a slim 10 point advantage over the third place kart. He started the first heat from the fourth position (of seven) with his rival in third. The fastest kart in the class from the previous week (Adam Roberts) started at the rear, and I told Henry to let him pass when he came up from behind so that he would have sufficient time to pass his rival, too. The first part of this happened as planned but not until about mid-distance. Several laps went by without the second part happening, however. On the last turn of the last lap, Adam was finally able to get by, allowing Henry to finish immediately behind his rival - only 2 championship points lost as opposed to 4. In the second heat, Henry started third with his rival in fourth. Adam started on pole and checked out. Henry and his rival spent the entire heat bottled up behind the notoriously difficult to pass kart in this class. The important thing is that they finished this way, with Henry immediately ahead of his rival - 2 championship points re-gained. During the intermission, we did the math for all of the possible scenarios. We figured that, for his rival to overtake Henry in the championship, he would have to win the feature and have Henry finish fourth or worse. His rival started the feature from the second position with Henry in third. At the start, Adam again checked out (good ol' Adam!). Henry maintained his position, but began to loose ground to his rival. Henry's lap times had begun to creep up in the last two races and it appears that it's now his turn to need a motor re-build. Henry had enough to maintain his position, however, and the first three ran the way they started to the finish. This result sealed second place in the championship for Henry with a 6 point margin over his rival.

So, the second season of racing comes to a close for Bruce Brothers Racing. Conor did an excellent job in his first year in the Junior Sportsman II class, securing third place in the championship in the face of some stiff competition. Henry's second place the in Junior Unrestricted championship, which included several heat race wins and a feature race win, is an awesome result for a true rookie (prior to this year, Henry had only taken practice laps in Conor's kart). Peter also got his first taste of competition in the Rookie Box class and appears to have what it takes to be a serious competitor. All three boys are eligible to compete in the same classes again next year, which is our plan at this point. In the mean time, we're looking forward to the off-season. Thanks again to everyone for all the help throughout the season and for all of the kind words of encouragement and support.

Bill

MSOKC Race No. 1 (rescheduled) - September 19, 2004

Originally sent: Wednesday, September 22, 2004 1:00 PM

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

MSOKC Race No. 12 – September 11, 2004

Originally sent: Thursday, September 16, 2004 9:02 AM

This past Saturday was the last MSOKC night race of the season. Henry had a 1:00 PM soccer game near Toledo, which is a 2-1/2 - 3 hour drive from the race track, so his participation in the first heat race was questionable. We knew that this would be the case, so we had previously asked Adam Roberts, who is the point’s leader in Conor’s class to fill in for Henry until he arrived, which he gladly agreed to do. Adam ran a bunch of practice laps in Henry’s kart and provided some valuable feedback. After implementing some changes, Adam was lapping in the mid-49 second range, which is just a few tenths better than what Henry was able to do in the previous race. We had also made some chassis adjustments to Conor’s kart in an effort to correct a worsening under-steer problem. His practice laps were immediately on par with what he was able to do in the previous race and got better as the day progressed.

Conor started his first heat race from the fifth position with his main rivals in front of him and one regular and two non-spec karts behind him. At the start, the starter threw a late green flag after most of the karts, including Conor, had backed off assuming that he would send them around again. This negated any advantage he had gained on the run up to the green flag. He arrived at Turn 3 just in time to have the kart in front of him check up to avoid a slower that had started on the front row. Conor tried to check up but was hit from behind, which drove him up onto the kart in front of him. Several seconds were lost, but only minimal damage was done. He pushed hard which allowed him to regain several positions, and eventually finished fourth. Starting from second in his second heat race, he got no help from the kart behind him and the third place starter got by in Turn 1. He was able to apply some pressure but could not get by and settled for third. The flagman inadvertently gave them an extra lap (7 instead of 6), and this turned out to be his fastest of the day (51.13). His heat race finishes earned him the second starting position for the feature. This time, he held his position and ran a relatively uncontested second to the checkered flag. Adam’s perfect score for the day clinched the championship for him, so we expect to see him move up to Henry’s class for the next race. Conor gained a few point on the second place kart in the championship, but the season is quickly winding down.

Henry arrived just as the driver’s meeting was concluding. His class was fifth in the order, which meant that he would have time to change clothes in plenty of time to make it to the grid. He started his first heat race from the fourth position (of five) with three Briggs Medium karts (same engine spec with adult drivers and a bit more weight) behind him. This is the first time in our experience that the club has combined these classes and it would prove to be a factor. He made a good start to maintain his position and on Lap 2 made a pass for third. Two of the Briggs Medium guys were every bit as fast as some of the karts in Henry’s class, and with the front of the pack bunched up, they were impatient to get through. While running third on the last lap, one the Briggs Medium guys punted Henry off in Turn 6. This was a big disappointment since the kart that is third behind Henry in the championship had also gone off and was running last. By the time Henry got going again, he was last and finished that way. In the second heat race, Henry lined up second. The pole sitter was a relative new-comer and must have missed the part of the drivers meeting where they discussed bringing the field around Turn 10 slowly at the start. After three attempts, one of which resulted in a scary pile-up (literally) in Turn 10, the flagman moved the pole sitter to the rear of the grid, which put Henry on the pole. It also put the kart that is third in the championship on the front row with Henry. As is often the case, the outside was a better place to be and Henry got passed going into Turn 1. He was able to stay in contact with the leader, but could not challenge and settled for second. For the feature, the Race Director decided start the Briggs Medium guys in front of the younger guys and separate them by a half lap or so. In retrospect, this would have been smart thing to do in the heat races, too. Henry started the feature from the fourth position. He got a good start and held his line through Turns 1 and 2, which allowed him to take advantage of being on the inside for Turn 3. The leader went wide in Turn 7 on Lap 3, which put Henry into second. Having adjusted to the changes we made to his kart, Henry ran off a string of mid-49 second laps, which brought him to the tail of his rival for second place in the championship. He was able to pull along side on the entry to Turn 10 at one point, but had to back off when the door was closed. On the next lap, he lost a bit of time then the back end nearly came around in Turn 10. He ran his fastest lap of the day (49.50) on the next lap, but by that time it was too late and he took the checkered flag second. Henry lost some points to the third place kart in the championship and will have his work cut out for him in the remaining two races.

The next race is Sunday, September 19 (Conor's Birthday!). This is a make-up race for Race No. 1, which was postponed because of rain. With the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan on the way, I have a feeling that rain might again be a factor.

Bill

MSOKC Race No. 11 – August 28, 2004

Originally sent: Friday, September 03, 2004 11:57 AM

After a three week layoff, Bruce Brothers Racing was back in action last Saturday evening. We were told that the race we missed (Race No. 10) was an uncomfortably hot and sweaty affair, and the weather again played a part on Saturday. During the layoff, we concentrated on getting Conor back up to the front of the pack in his class. We Originally sent his engine back to the engine builder for a freshen up and installed an early birthday present - new tires! During the first practice session, it became apparent that we were headed in the right direction with laps in the mid 52 second range. After implementing some suggestions for fine tuning that were provided by the dad of the points leader in Conor's class (how's that for sportsmanship!), Conor was lapping in the mid 51 second range during the second practice session. Henry had recorded a near-personal-best lap of 48.96 seconds his last time out, so we were fairly content to leave well enough alone on his kart. His practice times were in the mid to upper 49 second range.

Conor started the first heat from pole position with his main competitors lined up in 6th and 7th. He made a great start and began to pull away by just less than a second a lap. By mid distance (Lap 3 of 6), the points leader in Conor's class, who just keeps getting faster and faster as the result of experience gained recently in regional and national level races, had worked his way from last to second. He caught and passed Conor with about a lap to go. Conor held on to finish a comfortable second. In the second heat, it was Conor's turn to start from the rear. He made a good start, gaining several positions on the first lap. He caught up with two karts that were battling for the third position by Lap 3. The kart in 4th tried to go through Turn 5 (end of the long straight-away) side-by-side with the kart in 3rd. They came together and both went into the grass. It's normally advantageous when two karts in front of you go into the grass, but this time they took Conor with them. By the time he got going again, everyone else had gotten by. He pushed hard for the remainder of the heat, recording another mid 51 second lap, but ended up finishing last (7th). Before all of the heat races were concluded, the skies finally decided to open up. The club decided to award points for the day based on heat race finishes and the order in which you would have started the feature. A 2nd and a 7th might have earned Conor a feature race starting position as low as 5th, but there were four karts whose heat race finishes equaled 9 (2nd and 7th, 3rd and 6th, 4th and 5th, and 5th and 4th). Because Conor drew the second starting position for the first heat, which is the tie-breaker in these cases, he was awarded points for 3rd place in the feature. That was a reasonable result for what was generally a disappointing day. The best aspect of the day for Conor, however, was that, except for the points leader in his class, who set the fastest lap time in the WKA National race on the previous weekend, he was the fastest kart in his class. He remains third in championship points and has just a glimmer of hope for catching the kart in second with three races remaining.

Henry started both of his heat races from the third position (out of five karts in his class). In the first heat, he made a great start and followed the pole-sitter through Turn 1 into 2nd. On Lap 3, he got a good run coming out of Turn 4 and made a pass for the lead at the end of the long straight-away. He held a comfortable lead to the checkered flag, adding another heat race win to the list of accomplishments for his short racing career. In the second heat race, one of the slower karts in Henry's class started from the pole. Henry made another great start, which was a carbon-copy of the first heat and was in 2nd by Turn 3. The kart that started on the pole drives a very defensive line that borders on blocking. It was very frustrating to see Henry and several others bottled up behind him, unable to get past. Henry made an attempt on Lap 3 that didn't quite work. To make matters worse, Henry's attempt allowed the kart in 3rd to get past. On the last lap while running in 3rd (which would have earned him the pole position/1st place points for the feature), he made a lunge up the inside going into Turn 9 in an attempt to gain back a position. The gap that he thought was there wasn't, contact was made, and all three of the front runners went into the grass. Frustration is a powerful thing, and I'm sure he wouldn't have attempted such a move under different circumstances. By the time he got going again - you guessed it - he was last (5th). After the rain began, Henry was also awarded 3rd place points for the feature. He remains second in championship points with a narrow gap to third and no real hope of catching the points leader, who ended up winning the second heat race because of the incident in Turn 9! Henry was mighty disappointed with himself, but he did learn a valuable lesson.

The next race is Saturday evening, September 11. Henry is on the Upper Arlington High School Junior Varsity soccer team, which has a game that day. The club rules allow for a substitute driver as long as the primary driver participates in at least one of the races (either of the heat races or the feature). We have recruited the points leader in Conor's class, who is about the same size as Henry, to fill in until Henry arrives. It will be an interesting day. I hope that the weather decided to participate, but it looks as if we might be under the influence of Hurricane Frances by then...

Bill