I am pleased to announce that Loctite®, the world leader in the development and manufacture of high-performance adhesives, sealants, and chemical products, is now an official associate sponsor of Bruce Brothers Racing. Loctite® is best known in the motorsports industry for their line of thread-locking products, which are used to secure threaded connections.
Henry met the local representative of the Henkel Corporation (manufacturer of the Loctite® family of products) at the candy store several weeks ago and brokered the deal himself. We have since received a package containing a wide variety of Loctite® products, which we are finding extremely useful. These include thread-locker, adhesives, lubricants, sealer, and hand wipes.
In some of the recently-posted pictures, you may have noticed Loctite® logos prominently displayed on our karts. Knowing how useful these products are, we are proud to be "spokespeople" for the Loctite® brand.
Bill
Friday, May 2, 2008
Friday, April 25, 2008
Video Clip from MSOKC Race No. 1
A video clip from the mid-way point of the feature race in Conor’s class from MSOKC Race No. 1 is shown below. Conor’s is the silver/black kart out front. He is being followed closely by Angel Wilkinson (orange kart) and Zach Veach (green/white kart). This is about as far apart as they got.
Bill
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
MSOKC Race No. 1 – April 20, 2008
NEWS – The 2008 Mid-State of Ohio Kart Club season got off to a good start this past weekend with MSOKC Race No. 1 at Circleville Raceway Park. The weatherman had predicted a 50-percent chance of rain, but thankfully it held off until the early evening. Bruce Brother Racing managed to squeeze in one complete practice session two weeks before this event, and another one just for Conor the day before, so we were feeling at least somewhat prepared for the season opener. Henry and Peter re-acclimated easily during their single practice session. The only significant change for Henry was a rebuilt top end on his Honda CR 80 engine, so there was no drama there. We stepped Peter up a class for 2008, which involved a new engine with a bit more power than last year and a few chassis adjustments. He took his time coming to grips with these changes, which is Peter’s style. 
The big question was how Conor would adapt to a new kart after having been idle for nearly 18 months. His new kart is much faster than anything he has previously raced, and we would also have to overcome teething problems associated with unfamiliar equipment. On his first practice lap, he was ‘flat’ (didn’t lift the throttle) through Turn 1. So much for re-acclimation! We made some minor adjustments throughout the day, and Conor had a few spins, but he was able to work his way down to some reasonable lap times by the end. This was encouraging for a race track with little grip so early in the season. In Conor’s second practice session the day before Race No. 1, we broke in some new tires and worked on his stamina (see video clip below).
PRACTICE – The first race of the season is always the first chance to see how many competitors there will be in each class. Henry’s class and Conor’s new class were as strong as ever with nine and 11 karts, respectively. We are hoping that the threat of inclement weather was the reason for the poor turnout for Peter’s new class – he was the only one. We scrambled a bit Sunday morning with our preparations, mainly because of unfamiliarity with Conor’s new equipment. Fortunately, as per usual with our friendly club, there was plenty of help close at hand. Henry used the early open practice session to break in his new tires. By the time class practices started, we were pretty much ready to go. Henry and Conor both ran competitive lap times in practice, but we had no reference with which to compare Peter’s lap times.
BRIGGS JUNIOR – A decision was made to combine Peter’s class with the class that he ran last year, which also had a disappointing turn out (only one kart). At the start of both heat races and the feature, Peter pulled away and ran laps by himself to the end. His best lap time was a 51.301 seconds, which I’m sure he can improve upon substantially. It’s a bit difficult to push with no competition, especially for Peter who tends to do better when he has something to chase down. We can only hope for a better turnout for Race No. 2. I’m not sure what we’re going to do if this doesn’t improve.
YAMAHA JR. SUPERCAN – For the past few years, Conor’s new class has grown steadily and is now one of the most hotly contested MSOKC classes. Very few participants graduated out of this class from last year and Conor’s wasn’t the only new face. Having sat out all last year, I think that many had forgotten how competitive Conor can be. If so, they would be reminded by the end of the day. Conor started both heats from the middle of the pack (fifth of 11). In the first heat, be got a good start and gained a position in Turn 1 when a kart in front of him got sideways. There was another spin in front of him in Turn 3 of the same lap, which allowed him to move up to third. He had to maneuver around both incidents, so I was relieved to see him get through the first lap unscathed. The leader got away while the kart in front of Conor seemed to be holding him up. He was also receiving pressure from behind. These three ran in that order to the finish. The scariest moment of the day for Conor came after the checkered flag flew. Everyone seemed to have seen the checkered flag except Conor. He went through Turn 1 right on the tail of the kart in front of him and moved to the inside in Turn 2. The two karts in front of him went straight for the cut-off that is used when the races are over. Conor realized his mistake just in time to avoid significant contact, but did produce an embarrassing cloud of tire smoke when he had to lock the brakes. In the second heat, the inside row was a bit slower getting started than the outside row. Conor lost a position as the result and another going into Turn 5 on Lap 1. From seventh place, he began picking them off one by one beginning with a bold outside move in Turn 5 on Lap 2. He got by two more karts on Lap 3 and chased down another in the next few laps, setting the fastest lap time (46.243) in the process. On Lap 5, he made another pass in Turn 1. The leaders had gotten away by that time, so Conor once again finished third. Two thirds were good enough for a front row starting position for the feature, however. During the intermission, I reminded Conor that the outside of the front row was his favorite starting position. In the feature, Conor timed the start perfectly and went to the lead on the exit of Turn 1. The first three were nose to tail for the first three laps (of 10). With Conor setting a blistering pace out front, the third place kart dropped back a bit at about Lap 5, but then made up the distance and moved into second on Lap 8. By that time, the gap to Conor was only about 2 seconds. Conor’s fastest lap was on Lap 9, however (46.091). Conor did see the checkered flag this time, and more significantly, he was the first one to see it. A convincing win is not a bad way to return to action for someone who had major surgery less than 12 months ago. I’m glad I had my dark sunglasses on that day…
80cc SHIFTER – Henry also started both of his heat races from the middle of the pack (fifth of nine). His first heat was a bit of a melee. At the start, a fast kart that had started from the rear tried to fit through a gap that wasn’t big enough by the time he got there. There was wheel-to-wheel contact and two karts got up on two wheels. One spun to a stop but the other headed toward the fence at an alarming rate. There was only light contact with the fence however, but the race was red-flagged as a precautionary measure. This ended up being a good thing for Henry. He received some light damage from the Turn 1 incident, but he and the remainder of the field proceeded obliviously on their way. On the exit of Turn 5, before the red flag flew, the kart in front of Henry spun and Henry hit him and then got hit by the kart behind him. Henry managed to get going again, but proceeded to the track exit instead to lining up for the restart. He was dragging a side pod and pointing under his right knee in the process. A little muscle was enough to fix the side pod, but his right steering arm, which is supposed to be straight, was shaped like a boomerang. After a little (okay, a lot) of hammering, he made it to the grid just in time for the restart The two karts involved in the Turn 1 incident did not restart, but there were no injuries. I would have been content to see Henry just take the green flag in the first heat, but after running as high as fourth at one time, he managed to finish fifth. Henry’s second heat was much more civilized. He made a good start to maintain his position. He inherited a position on Lap 2 and made a nice pass on Lap 3 to finish third. He also made a good start in the feature to maintain his third starting position. Henry’s feature was much like Conor’s first heat. The leader got away while the kart in front of Henry seemed to be holding him up and the kart behind him was applying pressure. Henry got an excellent run through Turn 4 on Lap 8, however, and was able to make a pass going into Turn 5. He pulled out a gap over the last few laps and eventually finished second to last year’s champion in this class, equalling his personal best in this class. Not a bad return either.
NEXT RACE – MSOKC Race No. 2 is Sunday, May 4, 2008. In the mean time, Great Lakes Sprint Series, which is a regional event that enables points to be transferred to the World Karting Association national championship, visits Circleville Raceway Park next weekend. The father of a competitor in Conor’s class, who we have befriended and who have been competing on the national level, encouraged us to enter Conor next weekend. It seems serendipitous so we may decide to give that a try.
Bill
p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found at http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=295060
The big question was how Conor would adapt to a new kart after having been idle for nearly 18 months. His new kart is much faster than anything he has previously raced, and we would also have to overcome teething problems associated with unfamiliar equipment. On his first practice lap, he was ‘flat’ (didn’t lift the throttle) through Turn 1. So much for re-acclimation! We made some minor adjustments throughout the day, and Conor had a few spins, but he was able to work his way down to some reasonable lap times by the end. This was encouraging for a race track with little grip so early in the season. In Conor’s second practice session the day before Race No. 1, we broke in some new tires and worked on his stamina (see video clip below).PRACTICE – The first race of the season is always the first chance to see how many competitors there will be in each class. Henry’s class and Conor’s new class were as strong as ever with nine and 11 karts, respectively. We are hoping that the threat of inclement weather was the reason for the poor turnout for Peter’s new class – he was the only one. We scrambled a bit Sunday morning with our preparations, mainly because of unfamiliarity with Conor’s new equipment. Fortunately, as per usual with our friendly club, there was plenty of help close at hand. Henry used the early open practice session to break in his new tires. By the time class practices started, we were pretty much ready to go. Henry and Conor both ran competitive lap times in practice, but we had no reference with which to compare Peter’s lap times.
BRIGGS JUNIOR – A decision was made to combine Peter’s class with the class that he ran last year, which also had a disappointing turn out (only one kart). At the start of both heat races and the feature, Peter pulled away and ran laps by himself to the end. His best lap time was a 51.301 seconds, which I’m sure he can improve upon substantially. It’s a bit difficult to push with no competition, especially for Peter who tends to do better when he has something to chase down. We can only hope for a better turnout for Race No. 2. I’m not sure what we’re going to do if this doesn’t improve.
YAMAHA JR. SUPERCAN – For the past few years, Conor’s new class has grown steadily and is now one of the most hotly contested MSOKC classes. Very few participants graduated out of this class from last year and Conor’s wasn’t the only new face. Having sat out all last year, I think that many had forgotten how competitive Conor can be. If so, they would be reminded by the end of the day. Conor started both heats from the middle of the pack (fifth of 11). In the first heat, be got a good start and gained a position in Turn 1 when a kart in front of him got sideways. There was another spin in front of him in Turn 3 of the same lap, which allowed him to move up to third. He had to maneuver around both incidents, so I was relieved to see him get through the first lap unscathed. The leader got away while the kart in front of Conor seemed to be holding him up. He was also receiving pressure from behind. These three ran in that order to the finish. The scariest moment of the day for Conor came after the checkered flag flew. Everyone seemed to have seen the checkered flag except Conor. He went through Turn 1 right on the tail of the kart in front of him and moved to the inside in Turn 2. The two karts in front of him went straight for the cut-off that is used when the races are over. Conor realized his mistake just in time to avoid significant contact, but did produce an embarrassing cloud of tire smoke when he had to lock the brakes. In the second heat, the inside row was a bit slower getting started than the outside row. Conor lost a position as the result and another going into Turn 5 on Lap 1. From seventh place, he began picking them off one by one beginning with a bold outside move in Turn 5 on Lap 2. He got by two more karts on Lap 3 and chased down another in the next few laps, setting the fastest lap time (46.243) in the process. On Lap 5, he made another pass in Turn 1. The leaders had gotten away by that time, so Conor once again finished third. Two thirds were good enough for a front row starting position for the feature, however. During the intermission, I reminded Conor that the outside of the front row was his favorite starting position. In the feature, Conor timed the start perfectly and went to the lead on the exit of Turn 1. The first three were nose to tail for the first three laps (of 10). With Conor setting a blistering pace out front, the third place kart dropped back a bit at about Lap 5, but then made up the distance and moved into second on Lap 8. By that time, the gap to Conor was only about 2 seconds. Conor’s fastest lap was on Lap 9, however (46.091). Conor did see the checkered flag this time, and more significantly, he was the first one to see it. A convincing win is not a bad way to return to action for someone who had major surgery less than 12 months ago. I’m glad I had my dark sunglasses on that day…
80cc SHIFTER – Henry also started both of his heat races from the middle of the pack (fifth of nine). His first heat was a bit of a melee. At the start, a fast kart that had started from the rear tried to fit through a gap that wasn’t big enough by the time he got there. There was wheel-to-wheel contact and two karts got up on two wheels. One spun to a stop but the other headed toward the fence at an alarming rate. There was only light contact with the fence however, but the race was red-flagged as a precautionary measure. This ended up being a good thing for Henry. He received some light damage from the Turn 1 incident, but he and the remainder of the field proceeded obliviously on their way. On the exit of Turn 5, before the red flag flew, the kart in front of Henry spun and Henry hit him and then got hit by the kart behind him. Henry managed to get going again, but proceeded to the track exit instead to lining up for the restart. He was dragging a side pod and pointing under his right knee in the process. A little muscle was enough to fix the side pod, but his right steering arm, which is supposed to be straight, was shaped like a boomerang. After a little (okay, a lot) of hammering, he made it to the grid just in time for the restart The two karts involved in the Turn 1 incident did not restart, but there were no injuries. I would have been content to see Henry just take the green flag in the first heat, but after running as high as fourth at one time, he managed to finish fifth. Henry’s second heat was much more civilized. He made a good start to maintain his position. He inherited a position on Lap 2 and made a nice pass on Lap 3 to finish third. He also made a good start in the feature to maintain his third starting position. Henry’s feature was much like Conor’s first heat. The leader got away while the kart in front of Henry seemed to be holding him up and the kart behind him was applying pressure. Henry got an excellent run through Turn 4 on Lap 8, however, and was able to make a pass going into Turn 5. He pulled out a gap over the last few laps and eventually finished second to last year’s champion in this class, equalling his personal best in this class. Not a bad return either.
NEXT RACE – MSOKC Race No. 2 is Sunday, May 4, 2008. In the mean time, Great Lakes Sprint Series, which is a regional event that enables points to be transferred to the World Karting Association national championship, visits Circleville Raceway Park next weekend. The father of a competitor in Conor’s class, who we have befriended and who have been competing on the national level, encouraged us to enter Conor next weekend. It seems serendipitous so we may decide to give that a try.
Bill
p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found at http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=295060
Another Video Clip
A short video clip of Conor in his new kart after an 18 month wait is shown below. This is from his second practice session, the day before the first race of the 2008 season.
Bill
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Bruce Brothers Racing – 2008 Season Preview
The annual Ohio Valley Karting Association Swap Meet was February 2, 2008, at Clark County Fairgrounds near Springfield, Ohio. This event marks the unofficial beginning of the season for many kart racers in central Ohio, including us. Our race schedule for the 2008 season will again include the entire Mid-State of Ohio Kart Club (MSOKC) series and the Commercial Point Grand Prix (CPGP). The dates for these events are as follows:
Race No. 1 – Sunday, April 20
Race No. 2 – Sunday, May 4
Race No. 3 – Saturday, May 24
Race No. 4 – Saturday, June 7
Race No. 5 – Sunday, June 22
Race No. 6 – Saturday, July 12
Race No. 7 – Sunday, July 13
Race No. 8 – Saturday, July 26
CPGP – Saturday and Sunday, August 8-9
Race No. 9 – Saturday, August 23
Race No. 10 – Sunday, September 7
Race No. 11 – Sunday, September 21
Race No. 12 – Sunday, October 5
Rain Date – Sunday, October 12
Peter will move up to the Briggs Junior (unrestricted) class for the 2008 season. In January, we purchased a slightly used championship-winning engine for him to use with his existing chassis. His chassis will require a few minor modifications for this new class, but we have quite a bit of set-up data from when Henry ran this class in 2004 and Conor in 2006. I’m sure that Peter will acclimate easily to the additional horsepower. Our biggest concern is that this class may be light on participants in 2008. Hopefully, some new faces will appear.
For the 2008 season, after a one year delay, Conor will get to make use of the highly competitive Yamaha Super Can kart that we acquired for him at the end of the 2006 season. We purchased an appropriately-sized new seat for him at the swap meet, which has since been installed. Other than that, installing weight to meet the class requirement, and continuing to improve his physical condition, Conor should be ready to go.
The last major bit of work that we have to get done is to have the engine on Henry’s 80cc Shifter kart freshened up. It had a top and bottom end rebuild this time last year, and it seemed to get stronger all last season, so we’re hoping that he can get away with just a top end rebuild this time. Henry ran strong and consistently all season last year. By the end of the season, his lap times were some of the fastest in his highly competitive class.
We hope to have all of the required preparations completed in time to undertake several weekend practice sessions prior to MSOKC Race No. 1, which is about a month away. We had a bit of a warm-up session last month during a four-day weekend trip we took to Greensboro, North Carolina. There is an indoor kart racing facility there (http://www.grandprixgreensboro.com/index-main.htm), and all five of us were able to get behind the wheel. Because of their age, Conor and Peter were restricted to the lower-powered junior karts, which I thought was rather ironic…
Watch this space for further updates.
Bill
Race No. 1 – Sunday, April 20
Race No. 2 – Sunday, May 4
Race No. 3 – Saturday, May 24
Race No. 4 – Saturday, June 7
Race No. 5 – Sunday, June 22
Race No. 6 – Saturday, July 12
Race No. 7 – Sunday, July 13
Race No. 8 – Saturday, July 26
CPGP – Saturday and Sunday, August 8-9
Race No. 9 – Saturday, August 23
Race No. 10 – Sunday, September 7
Race No. 11 – Sunday, September 21
Race No. 12 – Sunday, October 5
Rain Date – Sunday, October 12
Peter will move up to the Briggs Junior (unrestricted) class for the 2008 season. In January, we purchased a slightly used championship-winning engine for him to use with his existing chassis. His chassis will require a few minor modifications for this new class, but we have quite a bit of set-up data from when Henry ran this class in 2004 and Conor in 2006. I’m sure that Peter will acclimate easily to the additional horsepower. Our biggest concern is that this class may be light on participants in 2008. Hopefully, some new faces will appear.
For the 2008 season, after a one year delay, Conor will get to make use of the highly competitive Yamaha Super Can kart that we acquired for him at the end of the 2006 season. We purchased an appropriately-sized new seat for him at the swap meet, which has since been installed. Other than that, installing weight to meet the class requirement, and continuing to improve his physical condition, Conor should be ready to go.
The last major bit of work that we have to get done is to have the engine on Henry’s 80cc Shifter kart freshened up. It had a top and bottom end rebuild this time last year, and it seemed to get stronger all last season, so we’re hoping that he can get away with just a top end rebuild this time. Henry ran strong and consistently all season last year. By the end of the season, his lap times were some of the fastest in his highly competitive class.
We hope to have all of the required preparations completed in time to undertake several weekend practice sessions prior to MSOKC Race No. 1, which is about a month away. We had a bit of a warm-up session last month during a four-day weekend trip we took to Greensboro, North Carolina. There is an indoor kart racing facility there (http://www.grandprixgreensboro.com/index-main.htm), and all five of us were able to get behind the wheel. Because of their age, Conor and Peter were restricted to the lower-powered junior karts, which I thought was rather ironic…
Watch this space for further updates.
Bill
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Video Clips
In the picture of Henry in the right-hand column (taken at the 2007 Commercial Point Grand Prix), you can see a guy in a red hat and white shirt in the background shooting video. That would be me. The video clip is shown below. The picture on the right was snapped at about the half-way point of the clip. The race report for the 2007 Commercial Point Grand Prix was posted in August 2007. It can be accessed using the archive menu in the right-hand column.
A video clip of Conor taken at the 2006 Commercial Point Grand Prix (report posted in August 2006), is shown below. It corresponds to the picture of Conor in the right-hand column.
A video clip of Conor taken at the 2006 Commercial Point Grand Prix (report posted in August 2006), is shown below. It corresponds to the picture of Conor in the right-hand column.
Bill
Bruce Brothers Racing - Mid-Winter Update
The 2007 Mid-State of Ohio Kart Club racing season came to a close back in October, but there have been a number of developments since then and we are already beginning to look forward to the 2008 season. The season-ending MSOKC banquet was held on November 16, 2007, where Peter and Henry received their championship trophies – 1st place for Peter in the Junior 
Sportsman 2 class and 3rd place for Henry in the 80cc Shifter class. Peter also received a set of tires and an embroidered sweatshirt for being class champion and a medal for setting the lap record for his class at Circleville Raceway Park in 2007. For his continued improvement throughout the season, Henry was awarded a trophy for Most Improved Senior Driver. An impressive assortment of door prizes was also collected.
Conor had a check-up in Iowa City just before Thanksgiving (November 9, 2007). Prior to that, he had been allowed to do away with the part of his brace that goes around his torso, so he was wearing just the neck brace itself. Dr. Menezes was so impressed by Conor's progress in November that he gave him instruction to wean himself off of the brace over the next few weeks.
He has been brace-free since early December. Dr. Menezes also indicated that there was no reason that he could not begin to return to his normal activities over the next few months, including kart racing(!), provided that this did not cause him discomfort. He has been slowly building up strength in his neck through his normal day-to-day activities. At this point, it appears that the Yamaha Super Can kart that we acquired for him at the end of the 2006 season will see action in 2008.
Henry has been busy with his final year of high school and with college applications. He will
continue in the 80cc Shifter class in 2008, although his participation in the latter part of the season will depend on what college he decides to attend. We have still not decided which class Peter will contend in 2008. If we knew that the Junior Unrestricted class was going to have better participation in 2008 than in 2007, we would go with that. Unfortunately, that is the sort of thing that doesn't become apparent until the first race of the season.
Another development that I am pleased to announce is that we now have a website. There are two ways to access the site. The direct link is http://brucebrothersracing.blogspot.com/. You can also use http://brucebrothersracing.com/, which will redirect you to the site. I would be interested in any comments or suggestions that you have regarding the site.
Bill
Sportsman 2 class and 3rd place for Henry in the 80cc Shifter class. Peter also received a set of tires and an embroidered sweatshirt for being class champion and a medal for setting the lap record for his class at Circleville Raceway Park in 2007. For his continued improvement throughout the season, Henry was awarded a trophy for Most Improved Senior Driver. An impressive assortment of door prizes was also collected.Conor had a check-up in Iowa City just before Thanksgiving (November 9, 2007). Prior to that, he had been allowed to do away with the part of his brace that goes around his torso, so he was wearing just the neck brace itself. Dr. Menezes was so impressed by Conor's progress in November that he gave him instruction to wean himself off of the brace over the next few weeks.
He has been brace-free since early December. Dr. Menezes also indicated that there was no reason that he could not begin to return to his normal activities over the next few months, including kart racing(!), provided that this did not cause him discomfort. He has been slowly building up strength in his neck through his normal day-to-day activities. At this point, it appears that the Yamaha Super Can kart that we acquired for him at the end of the 2006 season will see action in 2008.Henry has been busy with his final year of high school and with college applications. He will
continue in the 80cc Shifter class in 2008, although his participation in the latter part of the season will depend on what college he decides to attend. We have still not decided which class Peter will contend in 2008. If we knew that the Junior Unrestricted class was going to have better participation in 2008 than in 2007, we would go with that. Unfortunately, that is the sort of thing that doesn't become apparent until the first race of the season.Another development that I am pleased to announce is that we now have a website. There are two ways to access the site. The direct link is http://brucebrothersracing.blogspot.com/. You can also use http://brucebrothersracing.com/, which will redirect you to the site. I would be interested in any comments or suggestions that you have regarding the site.
Bill
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