The SWRC S2 Stock Shifter Points Championship

I was able to (barely) maintain 4th place in the points after my disappointing finishes at DKC a few weeks ago. Here is the final points tally for the 2011 season...lots of work to catch the top guys!

Shoutout on 3G Kart Racing's Website

I got a mention on team 3G's website today for my points finish in the Southwest Regional Cup (http://www.3gkartracing.com/).

Thanks to Mark, Dave, Abe, Dallas, and all the other 3G Kart Racing guys for a great season. I learned a lot and will be looking for better results next year!

Race Recap: Southwest Regional Cup Finale at DKC

Joe, Stuart, and I made the trek to Caddo Mills, TX for rounds 9 and 10 of the Southwest Regional Cup at the newly built Dallas Karting Complex. My parents were also in Dallas for the weekend so we had a big crew of family and friend out at the racetrack which always makes for a great race weekend!

The DKC crew did a great job of promoting the event with many more spectators watching from the view deck than at most regional kart races. In addition to the crowd, they was plenty of "talent" to look at from the DKC Girls to the 105.3 the FAN Fantasy Girls, a spectacular paratrooper entry for the American Flag, and the largest field of karters this year in TX. However, the event did not go on without it's growing pains. The schedule changed every ten minutes and the program took much longer than previous SWRC races which made it tough on the racers especially those traveling long distances to race at DKC. I expected to get back before 10PM on Sunday, but didn't get back into well after 1 AM after schedule changes and delays. Also, their scoring system works great for rental racing, but is not so fine-tuned for competitive kart racing. But I'm sure the DKC will get these items figured out as they host most big-time kart races in the future. Now for the track, it was very challenging and physically demanding. The entrance to two parallel corners quite bumpy probably due to some groundwater (or lack thereof) issues. Other than these two corners, the pavement has good grip and rubbers in nicely throughout a race weekend and the curbing is excellent for kart racing. Overall, it drove more like a road coarse than a sprint kart track with long stretches of full throttle to run the kart fully through 3rd and 4th gear and a long 85mph straightaway.

Despite the great weather and atmosphere at DKC, I did not have a great weekend on track. I was plagued by brake issues all weekend and really did not get the brakes working properly until Sunday. Thanks to the 3G Kart Racing crew for helping me work through these issues! This was my first time at the track so I was at a disadvantage to the many Dallas-area racers who had put in some practice laps at DKC. I used Friday's practice sessions to learn the new track, but luckily my base setup and gearing worked very well here. This helped me to focus on my driving without too much kart tuning. Up to this point, I had not missed a single racing or qualifying lap in the SWRC, but I had my first two DNFs of the season in both features. I was fighting for top-ten spots in both races, but had a engine mount come loose in Saturday's 15-Lap feature and then had a coil wire break during Sunday's 16-lap feature race. I finished the weekend with disappointing 14th and 11th place finishes respectively. The 6-week layoff between kart races did not do me any favors so for future, I need to do a better job of staying in karting shape between big races. It's all uphill from here!

I have a few more NTK club races planned for the remainder of 2011 in my shifter kart and will hopefully be running our new E-Street Prepared Camaro Z28 in some TX autocrosses to begin my run for the 2012 ESP Solo National Championship so the racing season is not-at-all finished!

Here are some onboard video from the SWRC DKC races:

Here are some great photos from the race weekend taken by my Father and Father-in-Law. It's always great to have them at the track supporting me, especially when they have their high-dollar cameras!

Sky Diver presenting the American Flag

Cool panning shot taken by my Dad

Discussing seating position with one of 3G mechanics

My Dad caught me off-roading after getting a little too aggressive with the kerbs in practice

Lots o' Shifter Karts in the pre-grid

On-Track action from Sunday's feature race

Battling with Joe and Stuart

Battling with Joe and Stuart II

Several Pro Tour drivers racing in a pack

Link to my Dad's photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ogburn/sets/72157627857634250/

Photo Credits: Charles Rutherford and David Ogburn

SWRC Finale at the Dallas Karting Complex This Weekend

The Southwest Regional Cup will conclude this weekend with Rounds 9 and 10 of the championship being run at the newly built Dallas Karting Complex in Caddo Mills, TX. DKC has been open for rental kart racing since April, but this will be the inaugural competition kart race at the facility. The track was built by Mike Jones and Kevin Adds of The Kart Shop and looks to be a first-class facility. From all reports I've heard from the lucky few who have driven a shifter at DKC, it is a fun but tight track with 17 corners jammed into 0.8 miles. This makes it the longest track on the SWRC circuit.

eKartingNew.com recently published an article about the race this weekend seen HERE.

"DKC is pulling out all the extras to welcome racers from the Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and other parts of the country. Red Bull has signed on as an event sponsor with plenty of free beverages and products available for attendees. A performance by First Flight Tandems Parachute Team will be part of the opening ceremonies. Helicopter rides will be available to see the facility from a different perspective. Local radio station 105.3 The Fan will be on hand with there ‘Fantasy Girls’ along with Rockwall Honda/Yamaha. For the younger race fans, plenty of activities - including a bounce-house - will keep them busy."

The new track plus the off-track activities and large grids should make this the best regional shifter kart race in Texas this year. There are 16 drivers pre-registered now for S2 Stock Moto class but I know of a few more who will be racing which should push the shifter kart total to between 20 and 25! A bunch of these guys are also top racers on the SKUSA Pro Tour so the competition will be fierce.

If you are in the Dallas area, come out to the Dallas Karting Complex to watch some first-class shifter kart racing.

New eKartingNews.com Stock Moto Driver Rankings

Up to 5 spots from the last ranking to 36th....

(credit: ekartingnews.com)

Link to the article: http://ekartingnews.com/news_info.php?n=18845&sid=31505548ee7fde2cce49921bcd9a0279

Updated SWRC Points After Rounds 7 & 8

Moved past Chris Jennings for 4th overall after he missed the last round in Katy. There are two more races left to decide the 10-race championship. I will need a strong showing at the Dallas Karting Complex to move into 3rd place but should be able to hold 4th barring a mishap.

Hot and Humid for SWRC Rounds 7 & 8 Races in Katy, TX

Getting Ready before Saturday's Feature Race

After getting into Katy at around midnight Thursday night, Ali and I pulled into the paddock Friday morning when the gate opened to unload my kart and equipment into 3G Kart Racing's nice tent setup. I ran out of fuel line in the shop so I had to properly install SRS Engine's new Hybrid Float Carb System to get it ready for testing in practice. After about an hour, I had the kart ready to go for the 10-minute controlled practice sessions. I was running on my races tires from the last SWRC race in Katy, and they were shot. My times were about 0.5s slower than my fastest lap from the previous race, but I was still able to tune the new carb and get it jetted properly for the hot and humid conditions in Katy. In my 2nd to last session, I bolted on some fresh sneakers and went out for some mock qualifying laps. The kart was tight and I was getting some front hopping occasionally mid-corner to exit so I adjusted the front camber, caster, and toe setting for Saturday's practice sessions.

Saturday morning, I ran on my practice tires from the day before and set my personal best lap time in the 2nd session at a 39.8. This was a 0.4s improvement over my previous best from the last SWRC round. The new fuel system along with better jetting allowed me to get a better pull out of the hairpins. I also improved my driving in several different areas around the track. Gulf Coast Kartway is a really fun 0.7 mile track with a good mix of technical corners that you have to link together properly for a quick lap time. We had 13 karts on the grid in the Stock Moto Shifter class and I lined up 10th for the Saturday Heat Race. I moved up to 9th in the Heat Race which sets the grid for the 16-lap feature race. In the near 100 degree and humid conditions, 16 laps can be quite tiring, but my stamina is improving with every race in the shifter. After a good start in the feature, I came across the line in 7th place after 16 laps. It was a very competitive field of racers mainly comprised of fast local drivers and 6 SKUSA Pro Tour drivers. Being only my first full season of shifter kart racing, I have quite the learning curve to catch the fastest Pro Tour drivers.

For Sunday, the conditions were similar and by the SWRC rules, we race on the same tires from Saturdays races. This adds a different element to the full weekend of racing as tire management is critical to performing well on Sunday. I improved my qualifying pace from the day before even on the used tires while the rest of the field slowed down around 0.5s so I closed the overall pace gap to the leaders. This tells me that I did not get enough pace out of new tires on Saturday which is something I will work on for the next SWRC race. I raced better in the Heat race on Sunday and moved up a spot at the start. Coming into Turn 2, I got into the back of Michael Jones' rear bumper which lifted my front tires off the ground and sent me off-track. This shuffled me to the back of the pack, but I was able to salvage a 7th place finish after passing 1 driver and then having several guys retire for mechanical issues. For the Sunday Feature race, I lined up 7th and had a rocket start moving up the inside line into 5th place by Turn 1. Coming out of Turn 3 on the opening lap, one driver flew into the grass and I was able to slot into 4th place. I held onto 4th place for a few laps, but dropped back a few positions as some of the faster drivers who got poor starts moved up through the field. I finished in 7th place again. I will work hard to improve my qualifying and race pace for next SWRC race so I can move closer to the championship leaders and fight for podium finishes.

Overall, I was pleased with my weekend of racing as I had no mechanical issues, I was able to tune the engine and chassis to help improve my pace, and I was lapping faster by several tenths every session compared to my last race in Katy. Thanks to 3G Kart Racing and SRS Engines for their help in getting my shifter kart faster and faster every race. The next SWRC round is at the Dallas Karting Complex in early October. This is a brand new track so it will be a steep learning curve for every driver in the field to tune the chassis and gearing for the new track.

Here is some onboard video and more pictures from the race weekend:

Coming into Turn 2 in one of the Heat Races with Michael Jones Right Behind

Apex of Turn 5 During Qualifying

Foot to the floor, 2.5g's in Turn 6 during Qualifying

Photo Credits: Ali Rutherford...thanks!

Kart Prep for SWRC Race in Katy, TX this Weekend

The 7th and 8th rounds of the Southwest Regional Cup are this weekend in Katy, TX. Weather.com is saying around 100 degrees and Sunny for each day. Ali and I drive to Katy tomorrow night and I'll hit the track first thing Friday morning for practice. I'm going to try and get most of my runs in on Friday morning before it gets too hot....I need to save something for Sunday afternoon.

For this race, I made a couple changes to the kart: 1. Top end rebuild 2. New carb and fuel system from SRS Engines 3. Lightened bodywork mounts (steel -> aluminum). Hopefully, these changes plus some experience at the Katy track will help me pick up some time around the 0.7mi course.

Old Piston with the cylinder off

Shiny New Piston with the Cylinder Back On

Updated SWRC Points After Round 5&6

After the June 4th and 5th Southwest Regional Cup races in Katy, TX, I've moved up into 5th in the SWRC S2 Stock Moto championship. I have some work to do if I want to improve my championship position with plenty of tough competitors sure to make the trek to the Gulf Coast Kartway and Dallas Karting Complex for the last 4 races. Here is the updated points list below:

Latest eKartingNews.com Stock Moto Driver Ranking

Since the last EKN Driver Rankings were issued, I have run four more qualifying races so I now have six qualifying races under my belt, all from the Southwest Regional Cup. Six races is the maximum number of races that can count for your national points, so I made a huge jump in the ranking accordingly. I now rank 41st after moving up 66 positions from the last ranking. Hopefully I can move up even higher with some better finished in the last 4 rounds of the SWRC.

Link to the EKN article on the latest rankings: http://ekartingnews.com/news_info.php?n=18509

Link to the latest rankings: http://www.ekartingnews.com/news_info.php?n=18508

Here is a snapshot of the rankings:

New Karting Videos Posted to YouTube

I posted four videos to YouTube last week from the last two Southwest Regional Cup races including several qualifying laps and a rear view of one of the heat races from the NTK SWRC round. I embedded them below so enjoy!

SWRC Round 5 and 6 at GCKI Recap

Joe, Stuart, Ali and I traveled to Katy, TX this past weekend for round 5 and 6 of the Southwest Regional Cup. This would be Joe and Stuart's first race in a shifter and a new track for me so there was lots to learn all around for our new karting team. The conditions in Katy were brutal for the race - intense sun, 95+ degree heat, and 50+ percent humidity all weekend. Fatigue and fitness were critical this weekend and it got tougher throughout the weekend. For this weekend, I was under the tent with 3G Kart Racing for Friday practice, Round 5 on Saturday, and Round 6 on Sunday.

We got in late Thursday night to our hotel in Katy and had a frustrating "extended wait" for someone to check us in at 1AM, but we made it safe and sound to the track Friday morning with 3 shifter karts stuffed into my 6x12 trailer. My goal for Friday was to learn the new track, get a decent base setup for the weekend, and run at least one 40s laps. I had watched several onboard videos from previous races coupled with going over my AIM data and having karting expert Dallas Patterson watching me in several different corners, I was able to get comfortable with the new track fairly quickly. After 5 sessions, I was running comfortably in the 40s range with a tight, but driveable setup.

For Saturday, I switched to softer axle which freed the kart up and allowed me to get quicker as the track rubbered in. For qualifying, I ran a 40.1 which put me in 8th position for the heat race. In the heat race, there was some attrition in the first few laps which helped me move into 7th place despite pulling off after 4 laps. On Lap 3, Jim Garvin tried to get under me in Turn 9 and I turned in before seeing him under me so we got together damaging his steering and bending my axle. I lined up on the grid in P7 for the 16 lap feature race. I got a great start moving up to 4th place as Jordon Musser and Chris Jennings made contact slowing both karts. During the race, I moved back two positions and came home in 6th place.

For Sunday, I tried to limit my practice laps to avoid fatigue at the end of the day. With a 10:30 AM start for qualifying, the feature race would be during the heat of the afternoon and I wanted to be fresh for a 16 lap battle. After 1 practice session, I removed the front bar to soften the kart overall and reduce the tightness and hopping I was getting in Turn 1 and Turn 4. This helped for qualifying and I ran a 40.4 which put me 7th on the grid for the heat race. I had a terrible start in the heat race as I let the clutch completely out to early and bogged in 1st gear. Once I got up through the gears on main straight I had dropped back into the middle of the Stock Moto Masters (S4) class field which started behind the Senior Stock Moto (S2) drivers. I finished the heat in P8 which is where I would start the feature race. At the start of Sunday's 16 lap feature race, I had a quick start and moved into P7 where I would stay for the remainder of the race. However, my overall race pace was improved over Saturday and I was able to run mid-40s laps all day and actually ran my 2nd fastest lap on lap 15 which bodes well for my fitness in long, hot summer races in the shifter.

I have a two month break for the next SWRC race which is back at Gulf Coast Kartway on August 13 and 14th. I may run a few club races at North Texas Kartway in between to keep practicing, but we shall see what the budget allows.

Here is some onboard video from the weekend:

Saturday Qualifying Lap

Southwest Regional Cup in Katy, TX This Weekend

Gulf Coast Kartway in Katy, TX

I am racing in the Southwest Regional Cup Rounds 5 & 6 this weekend at Gulf Coast Kartway (GCKI) in Katy, TX. GCKI is a 12-turn 0.6mi sprint track outside of Houston. This will be my first time racing here so tomorrow's practice sessions will be very important. Being near Houston, it is sure to be hot and humid all weekend so racing conditions will be tough.

Joe and Stuart are making the trek with me to Houston for their first race in a shifter kart so it should be a fun weekend.

SWRC Rounds 3&4 at NTK Recap

About to load my kart last Thursday night

This past weekend, Ali and I traveled to Dallas for Rounds 3 and 4 of the Southwest Regional Cup. Entries were slightly down overall from Round 1 in Norman, but we still had 10 drivers in S2, 4 in S4, and 1 in S5 making for 15 shifter karts on track for each of our sessions. On Friday, I ran 5 practice sessions and 3G's shifter kart tuner Dallas Patterson did one session in my kart to confirm it's handling and give me some different data to compare with. Prior to this weekend, my personal best at NTK was a 37.52. With newer tires, some chassis tuning, and driving improvements, I dropped this to a 37.22 on Friday and was able to run this pace very consistently.

New Radiator Hose Layout - big ergo improvement

Practice started at 8:30 Saturday and I ran all four sessions to get accustomed to and test a new gearing setup. This new final drive worked very well and it improved my pace and consistency. The qualifying session was 8 minutes and I was able to improve my personal best to a 36.63 which is a huge improvement for me and put me 6th on the grid for the heat race. Also, during this lap I pulled my highest lateral G level ever in a kart at a rib-breaking 3.18 g's in Turn 2.

Starting 6th on the grid for the heat race, I got a terrible start and dropped to the rear of the field. For the first time since I started racing shifters, I dumped the clutch when the green flag waved and bogged for several seconds as the whole field rocketed by me. Unfortunately, Matt Stephenson did not have quite enough room to get around me and hit me pretty hard in the right rear damaging his kart pretty badly. I felt pretty bad about that and apologized afterwards, but these things happen in wheel to wheel racing. During the heat, I was able to claw my way back to 8th place. For the final, I lined up 8th on the grid. I moved into P7 at the start and then gained one position during the race to come home in 6th place. I am about 0.5 to 1s off the pace of the top 5 karts who are all national level shifter kart racers so this is about where I expected to finish. Despite only finishing in 6th place, I was pleased with the way the kart ran and with my lap time improvements. My only other mistake during the day was running too many laps in practice....I know this sounds backwards. I ran 84 laps on Saturday and after 50 or so on Friday, I was pretty wiped at the start of the final. Next time, I need to conserve myself a little better over the 3-day race weekends.

View from Turn 1 during my 7AM Sunday track walk

On Sunday, I ran one practice session in the morning to check the balance and pace again before qualifying. As the track rubbered in and tires wore over the weekend, my kart got tighter and tighter and I struggled with hopping in Sunday's qualifying session. I was only able to run a 36.9 in quali which was disappointing. However, a quick axle change before the heat race allowed me to drop right back down to mid 36s in the heat where I finished a disappointing 8th again. Starting 8th for the final, I moved up to 7th at the start and stayed their for the whole race. I should have gone to an even softer axle as I started to get bad hopping on exit again about halfway through the race which slowed my pace down from the heat race.

The next SWRC race is at Gulf Coast Kartway in Katy, TX in three weeks. I am going to run one practice day in Midland before the Katy race with my two friends in San Angelo who just bought Birel shifter karts. I'll post some in-kart videos from this past weekend once I edit them this week.

SWRC Race 3&4 This Weekend at North Texas Kartway

I'm looking over my AIM data from today's practice sessions at North Texas Kartway. This weekend is Race 3 and 4 of the Southwest Regional Cup. I am racing in the S2 Senior Stock Moto Shifter class and there looks to be atleast 8-10 karters in my class with several others in the Junior and Masters categories. I ran 6 sessions today in preparation for Race 3 tomorrow and Race 4 on Sunday.

NTK is basically my home track (even though I live 4 hours away) so I am hoping to be more competitive than I was in Norman last month. I'll have some photos and video to post through out the weekend and next week when I get back home to San Angelo.

SWRC Points Update After Rounds 1&2

My two 6th place finishes in Norman put me in a tie for 5th place overall in the S2 class.

http://www.southwestregionalcup.com/2011-Series-Points.html

(ranking is out of order, but points totals are right)

SWRC Races 1 and 2 in Norman, Oklahoma

Under the Tent with 3G Kart Racing

Sorry for the delay in getting this post out, but I finished up a successful first round of Southwest Regional Cup on April 2nd and 3rd. It was a long, but fun weekend and I logged over 140 laps around the Oklahoma Motorsports Complex 0.7 miles sprint kart track. Compared to my test day at OMC in February, I improved by 1.4s during Friday's 6 practice sessions. I worked mainly with 3G's track expert and tuner Dallas Patterson to get my shifter to handle the tricky OMC track. We started with an axle change which made a huge difference on corner exit as the previous unit was WAY too stiff and causing excess rear hopping as I got to the throttle. After a few more changes to the front end, rear width, tire pressure, and some failed gearing experimentation, I was 0.7s faster than my February test day, and a new set of MG sneakers dropped than another 0.8s. I ran about 55 laps in the 6 sessions including a mock qualifying session where we verified my pace and setup with new tires to prepare for Race 1 qualifying on Saturday.

Fresh Tires and Softer Axle During my Mock Qualifying Session

My Cubicle in the 3G Tent

With 6+ SKUSA Pro Tour shifter kart pilots in the S2 class, I knew that I was going to be qualifying near the back of the field. My pace in the shifter kart is not there yet, so I was mainly focused on improving my kart and my driving to slowly chip away at my pace delta. After two practice sessions on Saturday morning, we bolted on a new set of tires for qualifying. I ran a 46.7 which put me in 11th out of 12 karts in the class and well back of the Jake French who got the pole, but still a huge improvement over the 48.2s laps I was turning back in February. In the Saturday heat race, I had a decent start and was able to hang with the field for a few laps and move up to 8th place after several drivers dropped out due to accidents and mechanical issues. This put me in P8 to start the 16 lap Race 1 Final. I had a slow start and dropped back two spots but was able to get back inside of these karts in Turn 1. Running an inside lines proved to be in my favor as a mid-pack kart got turned sideways at the Turn 1 apex causing a 5-6 kart pileup on the outside of Turn 1. I escaped without having to slow down much which put in 5th place. I stayed in 5th place for about 10 laps before Chris Jennings in the Jimmy John's kart caught me. I finished in P6 which I was pleased with considering my qualifying position.

Ali with kart Covered up to keep out the Oklahoma dust storm Saturday night

All the times were reset for Sunday's races, and after some debate, we stuck with the SWRC mandate that all Shifter Karts must run 1 set of tires for both Race 1 and Race 2. The big change for Sunday other than starting with worn tires was that we were joined by the S4 (Stock Moto Master's) and S5 (Stock Moto Junior) classes which put the field at 19 karts in our group. I again qualified 11th in S2 class and moved up to 8th in the heat race. Similar to Saturday, I was able to claw my way up to 6th place in Sunday's final after a good race start and a lot more traffic to deal with due to the multiple classes on track.

19 Shifter Karts Taking the Green Flag on Sunday (photo credit: Galen Kurth)

Overall, I was pleased with the weekend. I had no mechanical issues, no accidents, improved the kart's handling, improved my pace, and had a blast racing for three days. This was my first non-local and multi-day kart race in the shifter and it was great to get so much track time. I need to continue to learn the Texas and Oklahoma kart tracks, work on my fitness, and practice practice practice driving the shifter kart to improve my pace. OMC was a very physical track and I was absolutely wiped when we got back to San Angelo at 2AM on Sunday. Thanks to Ali and the 3G team for helping me throughout the weekend.

My next race is a club race at NTK on April 16th and the next SWRC round is at NTK on May 13th and 14th. It will be fun to race in the ultra-competitive SWRC series at a track I am familiar with.

SWRC Race 1 Recap

Race 1 of the Southwest Regional Cup is in the books. We had a solid field of S2 Stock Moto Senior shifter pilots out today with many national caliber karters in the class. I qualified back in the field in 11th place, but worked my way up to 8th place in the Pre-Final and 6th in the Final. This is a solid points start to my season as I learn and get quicker throughout the season.

My kart has held up well with no major issues. This has allowed me to tune the kart and focus on my racing. Race 2 will be tomorrow afternoon and then the best part of the weekend...my 6 hours tow back to San Angelo.

I'll post Sunday's recap next week once I get back home. Not looking forward to the long drive home tomorrow after racing....Monday's going to be rough at the office.

First Round of the SWRC this Weekend

The Southwest Regional Cup kicks off this weekend in Norman, OK at Oklahoma Motorsports Complex. The SWRC is a 10 races series visiting 4 different tracks over 5 weekends in 2011. I'll be running in S2 Senior Stock Moto Shifter class for the full season. We have 8 pre-registered for Norman in S2 so far so hopefully the class will be 10+ on race day.

I spent the last few nights prepping the kart and it is loaded up and ready to go. Ali and make the 6-hour trek to Norman tonight because there is open practice all day Friday with races on Saturday and Sunday. The weather is looking good so wish me luck for my first regional race in the shifter.