Today, Lane and I registered his 2004 Corvette in A-Stock class at this year's Solo Nationals. Unfortunately, due to work conflicts my Dad will likely not be able to make the big show this week so I wrangled my buddy Lane into prepping his Vette for this years Solo Nats.
We have the suspension basically finished, almost done on the brakes, some exhaust work and then his Vette will be A-Stock ready. We both can't wait to get to Lincoln this year and fight for a National Champ Jacket! A-Stock has 14 entries so far and will likely get a few more before the race so should be some good competition on the Lincoln concrete. Entry list below:
I traveled to Abilene for an ASCS 360 Spring car race with Gary, Mike, and Steven this Friday night. Abilene Speedway is a 1/4 mile medium-banked short track and seems to be pretty well maintained. They also have a pretty cool water truck with monster truck tires that they use to pack the dirt before each race. The thing could run over a Sprint Car! Unfortunately, I forgot to snap a photo though...
It was hot hot hot in Abilene and the sun didn't set until about 9:00 which made the track very tricky to predict as the night went on. During hot laps, the track was very slick and had a lot of moisture in it and it dried out significantly for the A Main later that night. 17 cars entered the show. Gary worked his way up to 8th place in the A Main after a poor starting spot, but Steven had to pull out with fuel flow problems.
Here are some video clips from hot laps, Gary's heat race, and the A-Main:
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:
The North Texas Karters ran the third race in the Sidewinder Series this past Saturday. Joe, Stuart, and I made the trek up to Denton to race under the lights at NTK. The Sidewinder Series is a 4-race money series over the summer with payouts for class wins ranging from $100 to $300 which is pretty good for some local karting action.
I got to the track around 3 in the afternoon and setup camp for the other guys who showed up a bit later. I did 1 practice session before the 6:30PM driver's meeting and the track was extremely slick. With temps well over 100 degrees, the track conditions were nothing like they would be for the races later that night. At around 8, we took the track for a 5-minute qualifying sessions and I was able to grab pole by 0.1s despite being well behind my pace from the previous NTKSWRC races. The kart was understeering terribly and I could hardly turn the thing on entry.
I switched to a different set of tires, changed the cold pressures, and widened the front track to help the front grip issues and it worked for the 8-lap heat race. I picked up about a 1 second from the my quali pace was able to take the heat race win after an initial charge from Stuart at the start. Joe and Stuart picked up their pace each session and we ran very similar lap times all night. With the conditions now very different and it being pitch-black outside, I started from pole for the 12-lap feature race. Joe got a good jump from the outside pole and almost got by me in Turn 1. I was able to duck under him as we went two-wide through the first corner and settle into the lead by Turn 2. After some contact between Stuart and Joe for 2nd place, I was able to come home comfortably with the win by 8s.
Getting the 1st Place Check!
On the Podium with Joe and Stuart
My next race will be the mid-August Southwest Regional Cup race in Katy, TX. This will be a three-day race just like the ones before and is sure to be brutally hot once again!
Here are some video clips from the Stock Moto class feature race:
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.
Got some rolling stands made for the Baja car. Now time to take it apart. The big hurdle will be getting longer half-shafts made. Can't wait to run this thing on the West Texas dirt trails!
This past Sunday, Joe, Stuart, Ali, and I trekked up to Midland, TX for a day of shifter kart and pitbike racing at Rimrock Raceway. The afternoon temperature was well above 100 degrees so we left at 6AM to get some early track time. Instead of just running practice laps, we decided to run our own race day. We started off with one practice session, then ran a 2-lap qualifying session and 4 5-lap heat races. We kept the races short to help keep our engines cool in the brutal West Texas heat. It was good practice for each of us as we all got faster around the 0.4 mile sprint track. Joe set the pace with a blazing 34.02 lap in qualifying. I reset my personal best around Rimrock with a 34.7 lap and Stuart was running competitively with high 34s lap times. The races helped each of us hone our passing and "not getting passed" skills as well as working on our standing starts.
In the heat races, I had good starts and was able to jump in the lead and win the first 2 races. In race 1, Joe and Stuart running 2nd and 3rd had some contact which sent Joe into a spin, but luckily everybody and their karts we unscathed. In Race 3, I got the lead at the start, but Joe got under me in Turn 2 on Lap 4. He slid up the track right after the pass and we both almost went off, but we kept going and had a good scrap for a few corners before I had a big slide trying to avoid contact and lost all of my momentum. Joe got the jump at the start of Race 4 and stayed their for the victory.
Ali on the Front Straight During our PitBike Challenge
After the we packed up the shifter karts, we had a fun lap-time battle in the pitbike and learned that I need to pick up the pace on 70cc race bikes! All in all, it was a fun day and we got out of Midland before the heat got unbearable. See below for some GoPro video action from the shifter kart races:
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!
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.
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.
