http://www.ekartingnews.com/news_info.php?n=18164
This sounds like too much fun to pass up and the price isn't too bad and it's in Vegas....
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
Long, Hot Test Day at Rimrock Raceway
Our Paddock Setup for SundayI had fuel pump issues that plagued me all day so I only turned about 15 laps with reduced power. A quick fuel pump rebuild back at the shop should fix this. The point of the day was to help Joe and Stuart get up to speed and they did a great job for their first day driving shifter karts. Any time you get a bunch of test drivers together in shifter karts it is sure to get competitive!
Thanks to Takahisa Yamaoka for taking some great photos and driving the truck when we were too tired to make the 2 hour drive back to San Angelo.
Joe and Stuart getting racy on track
Joe and I coming though Turn 7
Carlos on track in his 80cc ShifterPhoto Credits: Takahisa Yamaoka
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Shifter Kart Test Day at Rimrock Tomorrow
Karts loaded up for practice day at Rimrock Raceway in Midland, Texas. My friends Joe and Stuart just bought Stock Moto shifter karts so this will be their first track time in their karts. Should be a fun day!
Friday, May 20, 2011
Put another shifter kart together last night
My friend Joe in San Angelo bought my 2008 Birel M31 chassis that I ran last year. We spent most of the night on Tuesday getting the kart together and only have to shore up a few items before the kart is race ready. The motor runs strong and it looks like it will be a fast package for him. We are planning on running up to Rimrock Raceway in Midland, TX for a test day this Sunday.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
SWRC Rounds 3&4 at NTK Recap
About to load my kart last Thursday nightThis 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.
New Radiator Hose Layout - big ergo improvementPractice 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 walkOn 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.
Friday, May 13, 2011
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.
Monday, May 2, 2011
For Sale: Freeline DF130 / DF210 Magnesium Wheels
Set of 4 good condition Freeline Mag wheels with bead locks included. I've only raced on these wheels once. Off of a Spirit SP32 shifter kart. $300 shipped. Contact me at dogburn at gmail.com if interested.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
EKN Stock Moto Driver Rankings
EKN Driver Rankings (4/15/2011 updated)
The first eKartingNews.com Driver Rankings of 2011 came out last week. 2011 will be the first year I am included in the rankings because I am running the Southwest Regional Cup. My points in this series will count for the EKN national ranking. The EKN ranking counts your best 6 National/Regional events (see below for more details), but I only have two events counting for me so far. Currently, I'm in 100th place in the Stock Moto class but hopefully I can climb the ranks this year as I get more events under my belt and continue to improve.
About the eKartingNews.com Driver Rankings:
EKN Driver Rankings Calculation Process
The EKN Driver Rankings are calculated using a driver’s best finishes in major North American races. Assembled using events from the previous 12 months from the current date, we use a driver’s best seven finishes in TaG and six in Stock Moto to determine their overall current point total. With each new release, results posted from more than one year ago are discarded. To deliver our ranking list, we tabulate the results of all the national programs and selected regional programs. We have included the results for the major one-off events such as the SKUSA SuperNationals, the US Rotax Max Challenge Grand Nationals, the Rock Island Grand Prix and the Streets of Lancaster Grand Prix.
Each race is initially weighted based on the prestige and history of the event or series with a score of ten (10) being the highest attainable base ranking. For 2011, the SKUSA SuperNationals and US Rotax Max Challenge Grand Nationals receive a score of 10 in their initial weighting in the TaG category while the SuperNats is the lone event in the Stock Moto division. The SKUSA Pro Tour and Rotax Pan American Challenge national series events draw a base ranking of nine (9), while the WKA Manufacturer’s Cup, Florida Winter Tour, Challenge of the Americas, IKF 2-Cycle Sprint Grand Nationals and other regional program races were given a base ranking of either eight (8) or nine (9).
The EKN staff reserves the right to adjust the rankings of each event throughout the year. Continuing for 2011 is a minimum entry total for any events considered for the Driver Rankings program. If an event does not have at least five (5) drivers starting the race, those results will not be tabulated toward the Driver Rankings.
Added to these initial rankings are two variables that help confirm the true importance of an event to the ranking process – field size and field strength. A percentage of one weighting point is added for the size of the field, while the number of existing top 50 drivers entered offers another full point or fraction of a point. The sum of these numbers becomes the overall ranking for any race. Following a race, drivers receive points based on their finishing positions with 100 points earned for a win. Each subsequent position drops by one point with 99 points given to the second place driver and so on throughout the field. These points are then multiplied by the overall ranking to produce a driver’s final point total from each event. Using a driver’s best seven races in TaG, six for Stock Moto, we calculate each driver’s overall score and subsequent ranking.
(from eKartingNews.com)
The first eKartingNews.com Driver Rankings of 2011 came out last week. 2011 will be the first year I am included in the rankings because I am running the Southwest Regional Cup. My points in this series will count for the EKN national ranking. The EKN ranking counts your best 6 National/Regional events (see below for more details), but I only have two events counting for me so far. Currently, I'm in 100th place in the Stock Moto class but hopefully I can climb the ranks this year as I get more events under my belt and continue to improve.
About the eKartingNews.com Driver Rankings:
EKN Driver Rankings Calculation Process
The EKN Driver Rankings are calculated using a driver’s best finishes in major North American races. Assembled using events from the previous 12 months from the current date, we use a driver’s best seven finishes in TaG and six in Stock Moto to determine their overall current point total. With each new release, results posted from more than one year ago are discarded. To deliver our ranking list, we tabulate the results of all the national programs and selected regional programs. We have included the results for the major one-off events such as the SKUSA SuperNationals, the US Rotax Max Challenge Grand Nationals, the Rock Island Grand Prix and the Streets of Lancaster Grand Prix.
Each race is initially weighted based on the prestige and history of the event or series with a score of ten (10) being the highest attainable base ranking. For 2011, the SKUSA SuperNationals and US Rotax Max Challenge Grand Nationals receive a score of 10 in their initial weighting in the TaG category while the SuperNats is the lone event in the Stock Moto division. The SKUSA Pro Tour and Rotax Pan American Challenge national series events draw a base ranking of nine (9), while the WKA Manufacturer’s Cup, Florida Winter Tour, Challenge of the Americas, IKF 2-Cycle Sprint Grand Nationals and other regional program races were given a base ranking of either eight (8) or nine (9).
The EKN staff reserves the right to adjust the rankings of each event throughout the year. Continuing for 2011 is a minimum entry total for any events considered for the Driver Rankings program. If an event does not have at least five (5) drivers starting the race, those results will not be tabulated toward the Driver Rankings.
Added to these initial rankings are two variables that help confirm the true importance of an event to the ranking process – field size and field strength. A percentage of one weighting point is added for the size of the field, while the number of existing top 50 drivers entered offers another full point or fraction of a point. The sum of these numbers becomes the overall ranking for any race. Following a race, drivers receive points based on their finishing positions with 100 points earned for a win. Each subsequent position drops by one point with 99 points given to the second place driver and so on throughout the field. These points are then multiplied by the overall ranking to produce a driver’s final point total from each event. Using a driver’s best seven races in TaG, six for Stock Moto, we calculate each driver’s overall score and subsequent ranking.
(from eKartingNews.com)
Photo: Miata + Raging West Texas Wildfire
My friend Vu Banh snapped this cool photo of my Mazdaspeed Miata with the Wildcat Wildfire in the background. The photo was snapped on the outskirts of San Angelo, TX. The Wildcat fire is 80% contained as of this morning and has burned more than 150,000 acres.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
NTK Spring Race # 3 Recap
Using the Kerbs in the NTK ChicaneI ran about 45 laps during the day which will be good preparation for the SWRC race at NTK in May. Qualifying started at 1PM on Saturday and I was able to secure pole position for the heat race with a qualifying time of 37.74. This was a few tenths off of my fastest practice lap, but still got the job done. In the heat race, I was passed by Andrew Perkins in the CRG kart on Lap 2 of the 8 lap race and he checked out. With two karts directly behind me for the whole race, it was an exciting race and I was able to cross the line in 2nd place.
I lined up 2nd on the grid for the 12-lap feature race, but things went downhill from here. As I entered Turn 2 on the warm-up lap, I felt the rear-end start to walk out, and then I did a 360 off-track into the tire barrier. As I sat in the grass, it was immediately apparent what the
culprit was as I saw my right rear tire folded up in the center of the wheel. At mid-corner of a 2G 50mph corner, my right rear tire de-beaded causing me to lose all rear grip and lose control. Luckily, I was fine and the kart was not damaged, but my race was over. It was a disappointing end to a fun day these things happen in racing.
Right Rear Tire Failure during Feature RaceMore photos from the race:
photo credit: Charles Rutherford
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