WORLD 100 Crossroads Motorplex Jasper, FL November 8th, 2003     Photos load one after the other. Depending on your modem speed, there maybe a short delay between images.

Race Report

Talk about a heart breaker! You won't believe what happened to me at the World 100!

We left home real early on Friday morning so that we could get to the track and finish the set up on my new Twister Cyclone kart. The Twister factory team was there when we got to the track and they gave us a few tips on the set up so we were ready when they called us to start practice. The kart felt good, not really that much different from the old Twister SS but everybody said that the kart appeared to just take off from the center of the turn out. It looked like we were going to be fine for the race on Saturday.

Come Saturday morning the fog was low and there was a lot of dew in the trees so it almost felt like it was raining. The officials decided to have the driver's meeting early while the fog lifted off the track. After the meeting we headed to the grid but the clouds were still kinda low. We went out on prepped tires and the kart stuck pretty good and I was as fast as anybody else out there.

At the last race in Margrettesvile the weather was pretty much the same and we made the mistake of not getting off the prepped tires for the race. So, we had 3 sets of tires ready to go, preps for a wet track, preps for a green track and fresh cut tires for a fast track when, or if, the sun came out and the track heated up. Then, we were running back and forth to the grid to see what other people and the track were doing.

When it came time to qualify it was still overcase and damp so we decided to go out on the tires that were prepped for a green track. We felt good about the tires but we just couldn't decide on the tire pressure. Our tire guy told us to go out on 9 and a half pounds but we had been running around 5 pounds all day so 9 seemed like a stretch. We decided on 7 and a half pounds. In qualifying the kart felt good and they say I looked really fast. On the last lap of qualifying I was able to hold the gas all the way down without touching the brake and that turned out to be my best lap. I qualified 3rd. I guess we should have listened and gone up a little bit more on the air pressure so the tires would have come in a little bit sooner.

It stayed cloudy all morning but just before the race the sun came out just a little bit. We were frantic because that could change the gear we needed and the tires. We were the first race so we didn't even have the opportunity to watch the other racers to see what they were doing. We had to guess right and go out on faith. We decided to wash the tires we already had on the kart and get as much of the prep off of them as we could. Then, we went up on air pressure a little and headed for the grid.

The race started as it usually does, 2 attempts at a double file start and then we went single file. I got a good start and got under the 2nd place kart falling in behind the pole sitter and ran 2 or 3 laps behind him. Each time we came off the corner I got a good run but he held his line down low and I had to go a liitle high to avoid hitting him without breaking my momentum. My crew chief had told me to get in behind and follow but he was just a little bit too slow to do that so after a few laps like this I got the chance to get around him so I went by for the lead.

On the 10th lap there was caution and they lined us up again. I got a great re-start which turned out even better because the 2nd and 3rd place karts got together and slid around giving me about a half a straight away lead on the field. I was just checking out but then the motor started to sputter. One after another they passed me until I had slipped back to 5th and then I ran out of fuel! About that time I got ran over and spun to the outside of the track with another kart on top of my head. They wound up red flagging the race while I sat along the fence in pain. After a few minutes I got out of the kart and was able to walk to the pits while my crew chief pushed the kart behind me. They re-started the race without me as I watched a good friend of mine win the race.

Man, I had the kart to beat! The new chassis is awesome through the turns. But, how did I run out of fuel? My crew chief seemed bewildered. He keep saying, "I know I checked the fuel!" We've run 6 races at this track this year and probably raced here 25 times all together and never have we run out of fuel. He finally decided that he must have been so concerned about the tires that he overlooked checking the fuel. I was really disapointed that I didn't finish the race and maybe even win it but, when I saw how upset my crew chief was, I realzed that it wasn't just about me. It sure would have been nice to win that race and the $300 prize money but I have to admit that I'm just glad that I get to race like we do.

The World 100 is the last race of the year but we tend to think of it like the beginning of our next season too. If that's the case, I can make sure we have the tank full from now on so, based on everything else, next year should be pretty good!