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.
Monday, July 21, 2014
Sunday, July 6, 2014
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!
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!
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