Starting in the Senior Animal class

We are back.  Again I am behind in updates but I have struggled to fit everything in and get this blog updated.  Let me try to catch everyone up.

I took the driver and kart to our tuner - Gary this spring and he performed his magic.  As usual, he dialed-in the front end settings and figured out where to mount the seat and where to put the 40+ pounds of lead ballast to get the right balance.

I wanted to help Lian decorate the bodywork and experimented with coatings but never found a sure fire combination before the car show.  In the end, we settled on using the Krylon "Fusion" spray paint which supposedly bonds well to plastics.  It looked pretty good at the show.  Here it is just before I mounted the seat...

The Senior Animal class has had as many as 12 or 13 racers show up on any given race.  This season has not had those numbers.  The dad on this team is not sorry to see no more than 7 or 8 each race which translates into less beating and banging on the track.  Here she is lining up for practice next to her buddy Anthony.

Here are Lian's results for races 1 through 5:

Race 1 - 4th
Race 2 - 2nd
Race 3 - 4th
Race 4 - 2nd
Race 5 - 5th

Race 6 was going to be interesting.  Rain was in the forecast and our club has the policy that we will run in the rain from 15 May until 15 Sep (not in thunder or lightning).  Rain tires were in order for the  feature race.  Lian was cold and wet from the time she line-up on the grid for the start.  Things got even wetter as you can see in this video of the race.

Finishing second out of 5 was not a great feat.  One of those was a rookie (number 7).  One of the guys dropped out during the first warm-up lap and the second dropped out in the first lap.  Both due to water-soaked ignition systems (when the puddle is deep enough, it will stop the engine).  It was a feat just to finish the race under power!

Stay tuned for more adventures...

Fun race with a different kart

After the win the week before, it was no rest for the weary crew chief who worked to assemble a kart for the next season early enough to get Lian on the track for the fun race.  This is a non-points race where the drivers that are planning to run the next class-up are allowed to do so.  There is also no weigh-in or tech inspection. Lian wants to run Senior Animal class next year so here was her chance to try it out.

Arrow chassis with bodywork.  Lots of work to do!

We purchased a used Arrow chassis without engine, hubs or wheels but with bodywork, seat and fuel tank.  I decided to add brand new parts to this kart for the next season, including a new engine.  There was much to do.  My good friend Doug and Rocketech Motorsports not only gave me a good price on all that I needed but also did some short-fused machine work and gave lots of advice on setting up this new-to-me kart.

Unfortunately, due to my work schedule and the delivery date of the engine, most of the work had to be done in two days.  With Diana's help and support, I made it and got the engine properly broken-in and track ready in time.

Engine installed - finally.

While loading the trailer, we discovered the door opening is too narrow for the kart!  Not wanting to tilt the heavy kart to load it, we opted to remove the rear bumper, one rear wheel and a side pod to get it in.  Anyone know a good deal on an enclosed trailer?

I was rather nervous to send Lian on the track the first time with a kart that had been assembled entirely by me in a mad rush.  Not only that, she was running with no restrictor plate and with a older crowd of competitors.  I needn't have worried because aside from some minor adjustments, she was mostly ready to go and go hard.

Lian (third place) mixing it up with the fast guys in the Senior Animal class.

The race format was adjusted to make it fun and different this week.  There was a chicane added to the long straight and the turn entry on another turn was altered with some more cones.  Additionally, instead of a rolling start the race director set-up a shifter kart style start (standing start from your grid position).  You can hear them rev against the clutch lockup rpm in anticipation!

Lian kept up with the quickest in the group and really showed what she was made of.  The kart was not scaled properly, nor was the front end set-up.  She and the kart weighed 325 lbs. with the weights I had initially installed. I added about 15 more pounds at the track between practices.  This puts her close to the required 345 lbs. for her new class but it was placed without the benefit of scales.  She also did this without the larger tire size most are running.

Enjoy this helmet camera footage of the Feature race.

Long story short, Lian finished second in her very first feature!  She was complemented by many at the track for her confidence and skill.  She kept her cool in some tight situations and passed some spinning karts in the grass to get to that place so - I'm very proud!  Shouldn't have worried, eh?

Pretty high on the podium for a rookie in Senior Animal!

2014 Season Wrap-up of Points Races

Okay, you regular readers know that I have not been regular at writing.  The last post was for a race in mid August and I just got it out in late October.  No excuses, just been more intent on other things and kinda busy with work.  We were able to fix the issues I found with the kart in race 10.  I repaired the header threads and sent the head to a engine builder to fix the intake valve leak.  Unfortunately, the head was beyond repair and I ended-up buying a new one (it comes with valves installed).

Later on, we decided to have the kart scaled again to ensure it was not tweaked after she backed into the tire barrier during a wet track condition.  Her times were way down and I was not sure why.  Turns out her chassis had a cracked weld near the seat mount and that allowed it to flex too much and not transfer weight properly in the corners.  That has also been repaired and we re-scaled it before race 14.

Through it all we been able to continue racing all the club races so I'll recap briefly races 11-16:

Race 11 - placed 2nd

Race 12 - placed 2nd

Race 13 - placed 5th

Race 14 - placed 3rd

Race 15 - placed 7th

Race 16 - placed 6th

Race 17 was the final points race of the season and Lian was really hoping to end on a high note.  Races 15 and 16 saw circumstances conspire against her so she was hungry to get a finish that reflected her true speed out there.

Lian started 5th in Heat 1 and finished 3rd.  She started 3rd in Heat 2 and finished second.  This put her 3rd for the start of the Feature.  She was feeling confident because she had beaten both the first and second place starters in the past.  Likewise, both of those drivers wanted a win to cap their season so the start was going to be interesting.

This is probably my favorite helmet camera footage ever.  I purposely added no music so you could hear her voice (though it was breaking up from a recent cold).  Click here and you will see why.

Lian managed to take her first Feature win!  Can you tell it she was happy?!?

Here is a very proud mom and dad at the start/finish line where Lian got her checkered flag for a parade lap.

Getting the checkers for her first Feature win.  Notice the "stitched" nose bodywork after hard contact in Race 15

The celebration continued most of the drive home until her voice gave out.  Lian made me promise to keep the battered nose bodywork on display in our garage.  Now she feels like she has really accomplished something in this sport and is looking forward to the challenge of next season.

Thanks for reading and sharing the fun with us!

Race #10

The week leading-up to this race revealed some issues that I had to take care of.  Some big, some small.

A small issue was a crack in the bodywork.  It was about 7 inches long.  The impact loosened the edge of the old patch so I had some work to do to fix it.  Because the graphic decal was in such bad shape, I decided to peel it back and patch the outer part as well as the inside.  Here it is after my patch (before trimming).

Another issue that was a little bigger deal was that one of the header bolts snapped off just before the feature race.  I couldn't do anything to fix it at the track.  There was no way I was going to keep her off the track for the feature.  So she ran 16 intense laps with the header pipe rattling and banging, making the other bolt looser and eventually stripping the threads in the engine head.  The fix is one you can look up from an earlier post in this blog and a common job for Animal engine users.  In a word - Helicoil.  This replaced the damaged aluminum metric thread with a steel insert with American threads (1/4-20 size).

Third issue - I had to put off for another race.  I bought a compression tester to check the condition of the engine.  It seemed to make good numbers (around 47 psi) but I was still suspicious.  I bought some plumbing parts and converted the compression tester into a leakdown tester (sort-of).  This allowed me to pressurize the cylinder and investigate where any leaks might be.  The results of the test: intake valve leak.  Yeah, air was hissing out of the carburetor during the test so it needed to be re-machined to seal.  I'll put this off until next week when I can get it to an engine builder with the right tools.

Anyway, race conditions were a little warmer than average but nothing extreme.  Lian started fourth out of seven in Heat 1 and finished second.  She started fourth in Heat 2 and finished third.  This was a great effort and allowed her to start second in the feature!

In the Feature, Lian really had a shot at the lead on the start but was going to have to run hard for the first lap to stay next to the pole sitter to the right-hander.  Then, maybe, she could pass and get clear.  As it played-out, she just couldn't hold on the outside that long and had to concede the position.  Here is a video of the first lap of the race.  She finished in second going away from third but falling away from the winner.

Still proud of her because she had to work hard in the heats to start on the front row.

Race #9

I realized I numbered the last race incorrectly.  It was race 7 for us but Race 8 on the club schedule.  I apologize for those of you who have been cross checking this with the kart racing club website.

This race Lian was excited for.  She really felt like she had a shot at the win because she had shown strength - even against the fastest in the class.  In the heats, Lian finished second and third.  She nearly beat her personal best lap time of 21.04 sec as you can see below.

Best three lap times during first heat race.

Rain was threatening and the club was concerned that lightning would come with it.  As I have said before, we run in the rain this time of year but not with lightning in the area.  With this in mind, everyone rallied to get the races in quickly so everyone would have a chance to run.  Her heat race achievements were good enough for her to start second in the feature.

Racers line-up for start of Feature race #9.

Lian was determined to get a great start and show the guy in the #6 kart the back of her kart.  She couldn't wait to get going because she felt like she could really make it happen and take her first win. The fight for positions during the race start was like we have never seen.  It sure made mom and dad anxious to watch.

See for yourself with this helmet camera footage of the first few laps.

Lian ended up finishing third after all that.  She was animated and frustrated when she got off the track.  I was proud of her though because she was aggressive but ran a clean race and did her best.

Someday soon she will win one of these!

Race 7 - Night race

This race is one of the few that are run on Saturday night instead of Sunday afternoon.  Everyone likes running under the lights once in a while and the kids like to put lights on their karts to add to the excitement.  Lian didn't want to do too much so I just restored the LED lights that we ran on her kart last year and called it good.

As the weekend approached, we anticipated the chance for rain.  The club policy is to run in the rain only in the months June, July and August.  The exception is the night races - water droplets on the helmet visor are tough to see through under the lights.  With that concern and the radar picture, the club pushed to get the feature races done before sunset.

Rain pushed through the area before practice so the track was wet.  Practice with the rain setup was a little comical as the group was not able to make a complete lap without someone spinning out.  I watched the track dry significantly though during practice so I hoped that we would be okay without rain tires (we don't have any).  Lian started second out of six in the first heat.  She managed a good start and the track was dry enough that the guys on rain tires (2 racers) didn't have an advantage over her.  She finished second and I was hopeful that the rest of the day would be try.

The second heat was a different story.  Lian started 5th this time.  About three laps in, the rain started and became heavy very quickly.  Everyone was anticipating dry conditions so we had quite a horror show on-track with the sliding and spinning.  One of the parents was yelling at the officials to stop the race - which they did and flagged everyone off-track.

In the minutes that followed, the officials realized the error and offered to let us run our heat again.  Next thing you know, we are gridded again and ready for racing in wet conditions.  I sent Lian out with a change to her rear track - the wrong way.  I made the mistake of not consulting the chassis guide before grabbing the wrenches.  When Lian went out, the kart pushed so badly she could barely get it around the track.  She finished sixth.

The feature started in dry conditions.  Lian benefitted from a low pill draw and started third.  She slid back to fourth in the first turn.  One of the leaders - inexplicably - elected to run on rain tires and suffered for it.  Lian caught up to him in the video linked here.

She went on to pass the second place kart with about two laps to go.  I was thrilled that she salvaged a great result after my error.

WE ARE BACK!

For those of you who missed us, I'm very sorry for the absence.  For those of you that are new, well, I took a multi-month break from blogging due to some family circumstances.  We did not actually stop racing though so I'm going to have to catch, you up.

Here is a synopsis: Lian is still running in the  "Briggs Restricted Junior" class as she did last year.  Same weight limit and same restrictor plate.  Preparation for this season was focused on some minor work on the body and general maintenance.  A few fiberglass patches on some cracks and some fresh graphics took care of the body.  I was happy with the good looks of the kart and we featured it in front of our club display at the auto show.

New club rules added a lower bar to the rear bumper so I fabricated that and installed, it.  Our driver changed the size of her helmet and seat so new were purchased.  I elected to have Gary Lawson install the seat as he is an expert and could do it more quickly and accurately.  While he worked on it, he set the front end alignment and set the weights so we would have the proper balance and cross weights.

The club had hoped to pave the extensions in the fall but was unable to drain, dry and prepare the road bed in the wet weather.  Plan "B" was to try to get on the paving company's schedule in the spring or summer.  Track preparations this spring spent extra time cleaning up from the failed paving attempts from the fall.

As I write this, we just completed race 7.  We were able to get Lian to all but one of these races.  Here are her results:

Race 1: 4th                               Race 5: 2nd
Race 2: 3rd                               Race 6: 3rd
Race 3: (missed)                       Race 7: 3rd
Race 4: 4th

Races 5 and 6 she did without her regular crew chief (me) and obviously, she managed very well.  Race 5 was assisted by my younger brother and he clearly was a positive influence!

Race 7 was in very nice weather.  Lian was confident enough with the set-up that she only ran one practice.  Looks like her attitude was justified as she set a personal best time!

She started 4th in the feature and managed this pass at the start for 3rd.  She held on for the rest of the rest of the race.  Here is a link to the start of the race.

Next race is the first Saturday night race of the season.  Looking forward to running under the lights!