Drivers Meeting

The weekend of November 9th was the final race of the 2018 Season for the team. The WKA/KART-MARRS Road Racing Grand Nationals was held at the National Corvette Museum Motorsports Park in Bowling Green, KY. This was a first race at this track and with the World Karting Association and with this years success in road racing our confidence was high.  However, we still needed to keep honest with ourselves. we still have a load to pull for more wins and anything could happen.  On the upside, we did not have any pressure from a series stand point, so really the plan for the weekend was to have fun. 

Part of the fun was leaving Wednesday night with the plan to arrive Thursday and visit the corvette museum.   Before that the first stopping point was Indianapolis and spend some time with some of the Xona Software team, providers of automation software and sponsor for some personal thanks for supporting the team.  Thanks!  Dave and Mike.  Then off to Walmart for a cold night.  The weather for the weekend was expected to be very cold, below freezing over night and low 40 for most of the day, in the 50s by Sunday.  The worst weather looks to be on Friday with some morning rain, at least snow was not expected. 

After a stop for some extra propane to heat the trailer, Thursday morning, we drove on to Bowling Green, KY to the National Corvette Museum.  We last visited the museum a few weeks after the sinkhole had opened up and swallowed a few of the rarest cars the museum had.  Jason was very excited to see the all of the Corvettes but now with the eye that appreciated a finely crafted racing machine.  The new exhibit for the sinkhole story was great but also really sad because they could only restore 3 of the cars the rest were too badly damaged or were so unique that the parts are unavailable and it was better to retain the cars history.  Jason even got a turn in the race corvette simulator, which he of coursed grinned through.

Friday morning brought the first of the weather tests for the weekend, it was raining.  Thankfully,  it let up around noon and we were able to take to the track for a few hours and learn and tune.  Jason started around a 1:55 and by the end of the night was down to a low 1:53.  The day was not with out challenge, we had to replace the motor due another blown gasket, the good news is the new motor was fresh and strong.  We did do some scoping out of the other drivers and Jason seemed faster but race day can be another animal when it comes to speed.  After practice we went out to dinner with some other drivers including Mid-Life Karting Crisis host and Wild Duck Racing supporter T.J. Hollingsworth.  This was great change of pace for us and had a blast swapping stories. 

The weekend was cold.  Cold is good for the motor give us a little more horse power but hard to use that power because the tires and track are hard and slippy.  We adjusted the kart and Jason put painters tape on his gloves in an attempt to block the icy wind.  The feels like temperature at 70 mph is always colder just like a blustery day.  The days schedule was compressed because of the cold and Jason’s race was moved to the second of the day.  He started on the pole for his class and would be taking the 4th of 5 starting flags to add to stress of the start.   At the drop of the flag he was off and #110 managed to pull in front but Jason was ready and took the lead in the first corner.   #110 dropped back and Jason was pursed by #71 who was a few seconds behind.   Jason pushed on for the 25 minute race and didn’t give any ground running fast and clean.  Still in the lead he in the closing laps he extended his gap and sealed the win at the checked flag.  We wrapped up the day with some quality time in the trailer keeping warm and discussing possible kart changes for Sundays race. 

Sunday started cold but warmed nicely by race time.  We decided to change the rear gearing for a bit more power on exits and adjust the front end to find some more grip.  Since is was so cold during practice his lap times were low but did show improvement with the changes.  His race was moved to the first of the day and he started on the 2nd flag.   Again on the poll, he had a great start but the #110 kart jumped to the lead and pulled away until the 5th corner where Jason made up ground thought the technical part of the track eventually making the pass a few corners into the lap.   As they came down the front straight, #110 caught and passed Jason just before turn one but well past the start finish line, this was a good omen for a win.  This repeated until Jason made a single move to block the #110 pass, but the next lap #110 passed on the other side.  Jason remained behind for 2 laps but close until he passed #110 as their kart succumbed to mechanical issues.   At that point Jason was able to continue on completing the final two laps cleanly winning again.   See Speed Hive Results for lap times other interesting statistics. 

Stay tuned for the karitng silly season and we wait for the 2019 schedules to come out.  Thanks, to my Dad who would have loved this trip so we took extra enjoyment in his memory.   Dave and Mike at Xona Software for a great product and supporting us.  T.J. at Mid Life Karting Crisis for the videos, Amsoil, and Hoosier Tires.  Reagan at 4 Cycle Central for some powerful and consistent Briggs Animal motors. 

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Thanks to our 2018 Partners for their continuing support:
Atomic Decals, Alex Ross Art, Amsoil, Christian Lantry Photographer, C&M Auto Service, EVS Sports, The Greenwood Restaurant, GoPro, Hoosier Tires, InTech Trailers, Jegs Performance, NVUS Images, OGIO Bags, Slick Products, Shorai Power, Winning Synthetics, Stardust Memorials, Jennings Chevrolet, Xona Software, Wicked Audio