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This is so neat going to different tracks. When we pulled into this place we couldn't believe our eyes! Southern Pitt is BIG! Over 1500 feet long with 5 degrees banking in the turns. I went 57 miles per hour, the fastest I have even gone!
We unloaded on Thursday and got our pits set up and the first thing my crew chief did after looking at that track was pull out the biggest driver we had and put it on. Then, on Friday they opened practice and I went out and ran so fast that I didn't want to ever get off the track. The kart was great and before I knew it practice was over but we were definitely ready for qualifying on Saturday morning.
Come Saturday we practiced again and tried a few little adjustments but decided to pretty much stick with what we had on Friday. When they called us up for qualifying I was first in line and went out in the first group with Jordan Dill and Scooter Blacker right behind me. My crew chief said that the track was so big it didn't really look like I was going that fast and I hardly had to turn the wheel because the kart was set up so well. After we came off the track they started calling out the times and I was the fastest in the first group! Next the second group went out and then the third but my time held and I got the pole! In the Nationals, can you believe it! Me! On the pole in the Nationals!
The rest of the afternoon I just thought about how to start the race and hold my line and not get too excited. Then, just before they called us up for the race they wet down the track. We weren't sure what to do. The sun was still out but it was about 6:00 pm. We decided to leave the kart alone and went to the grid. When the race started I found out that the track had cooled off from the water and my tires didn't stick like they did before. I ran off the track on the start but so did a few others so they restarted the race single file. I did my best to hold my line but I couldn't hold the kart down coming off the turns and the karts started to go by me one by one. Still, I stayed out of trouble at the end I was in 8th place which is the best finish I have ever had in a national race.
Then, Sunday came and we went out for practice and it seemed that the track was going to be about the same as the day before. We had to add some weight for heavy and changed the gear a little but we left everything else the same. Well, almost everything. It seems that the air felt a little more humid on Sunday and my crew chief noticed that the exhaust gas temperature was a little low so he decided to go down a jet size. We had never used this jet before but it was stamped the size that we thought we needed. I went out to qualify and the motor just wouldn't turn. I did my best but after everybody went out I was dead last! "From the penthouse to the outhouse", my crew chief said. Well, turns out that that jet was mismarked and it was about half the size that it should have been! So, I had to start the race in the 27th position.
When the race came, this time they didn't wet the track and my crew chief had checked everything 3 or more times to make sure that we had my kart just right. When the green flag fell I was already a third of a lap behind the leaders but I drove like I had nothing to lose and if anything got in my way I just pushed on by. I got a lucky break at about half way when someone spun and a yellow flag came out so I could catch back up to the pack. On the restart I passed several karts and then, with 2 laps to go, there was a major wreck in turn 4 and I picked up 3 or 4 more spots, then I lost a spot trying to get through the spun and wrecked karts and finally finished the race in 13th.
There is just nothing like the Nationals. The competition, the number of racers, the awards, the tracks, the excitement, everything is just the best. If you like kart racing, you gotta try this. It is so cool!
