"Too Fast To Live, Too Young To Die
July 11, 2002
The Road America Supernationals
This line from the old Eagles hit "James Dean" somehow seemed to fit the bill for this years Supernationals at Road America. Huge competitive fields in every race with total entries rumored to be in the 1200+ range.
Arriving at Road America on Thursday evening the mysterious Gooseman (?) and I unveiled (Launched in the parlance of F1) our new secret weapon (OK maybe not so secret!!). Team Rapid Racing has switched to a new and shiny TonyKart Mitox replete with a new graphics package.
Friday morning practice opened on schedule in spite of the huge crowd of competitors. The Badger Kart Club group while not seamless should be commended on the way they handled the event. Practice session one involved shaking down the new Mitox (mee-tox), that we have jokingly named "Lucille" and what a sweet machine this is. Light to handle, stable as a house, and with what I consider to be great brakes. Nothing fell off which is always a good sign with a new racecar. Session number two we upped the ante and began to look for speed. While not the quickest we were in the hunt and since "Lucille" had yet to put a wheel wrong the Gooseman (?) just kept topping up the gas tank and sending me back out. Indeed most of the improvements in lap times resulted in this gnarly veteran exploring the edges of the envelope trying to get "Lucille" to misbehave. A quick readjustment of the now bedded in brakes and back out again. Quicker again! Things were beginning to look up.
The seemingly mandatory rainstorm washed out the last round of practice and we prepared for race day.
Saturday morning dawned brightly and the two crowded rounds of practice went smoothly with "Lucille" turning in a personal best time each time out.
When the 125 race was called to pregrid a total of 99 (!) 125s rolled up 26 WKA streamliners and 73 CIK warriors crowded the pit lane. Despite the kudos given to the Badger folks earlier in this article the grid procedure was muddy and confusing. Class 11, Block 15, position 6 we were told. HUH? We said. Blocks of 6 cars each were supposed to start their engines and pull out one at a time and line up two by two. Last minute arrivals on the grid, muddy instructions and confused crews caused a long delay before we were mercifully waved out of the pit gate to begin our warm up lap using the cut through at turn five. Well most of us used the cut through, all except one driver who turned up the hill. (No names Jeff) The split start between the WKA and the CIK cars just didn't work. The 2nd gear start discussed in the drivers meeting went out the window when the front row in CIK probably realized that the flagman had to throw the green no matter what since the WKA drivers had already begun their race. 2nd gear heck! I had just grabbed 6th as we passed the flag.
The first lap featured some of the wildest driving that I have ever witnessed and when on the run towards turn 5 drivers went five wide with the two outside drivers having two wheels in the dirt I decided that discretion was once again the better part of valor and bided my time waiting for things to settle down. Big mistake! By the time everyone had regained their senses the front of the pack had disappeared into the distance. The Mitox performed great once again setting a personal best time but it was all for naught and 15th was our reward. The rest of the afternoon was used up fine tuning and polishing "Lucille" as the Gooseman (?) and I prepared for battle again on Sunday.
Sunday morning we were once again blessed with good weather and morning practice went smoothly producing yet more speed.
Race time rolled around and the organizers attempt at reducing the start line confusion only reduced the size of the debacle slightly. (Very slightly!) The start did go somewhat smoother but there does not seem to be an equitable method of employing a split start with this many machines. Old Buddy David Clift from the great Pacific Northwest and the only driver in the field older than yours truly flat checked out on the field. This driver became embroiled in a five way battle for 5th through 9th. The intensity of our battle allowed 2nd through 4th to get away but a three abreast drag race from the last corner garnered Team Rapid Racing and "Lucille" a 7th place finish. We would have preferred a better result but the racing was great. The new TonyKart ran flawlessly all weekend and overall we have no major complaints. Notice this we actually finished both races!
The next stop will be a home race at Putnam Park and we are ready! We are intent in breaking our duck for this season and getting that first win of 2002.
|
