WKA Briggs & Stratton / Twister Kart Nationals Waynesfield Motorsports Park, Waynesfield, OH July 19 - 20, 2003     Photos load one after the other. Depending on your modem speed, there maybe a short delay between images.

Race Report

You wouldn't believe what we had to do to go to this race! We decided to get a bigger trailer that we could sleep in so that we didn't have to leave the track at night. We picked up the new trailer on Friday and spent the whole weekend working on it to get it ready for the race. On Tuesday the trailer was ready so we hooked up to the truck to see how it towed. We made it about 4 miles before we went in the median and rolled it! Turned out that there wasn't that much damage to the trailer but we tore the rear end out of the truck. Fortunately, we have a good friend who loaned us a truck to go to the race so we made some minor repairs to the trailer and pulled out on Wednesday morning to drive to Waynesfield, Ohio.

This is the farthest we have ever driven to a race. We went through Atlanta where I was born. Then we went through the mountains in Tennessee and stopped for the night in Murphysboro. The next morning we got up early and drove to Rohn Moon's shop just outside of Indianapolis, Indiana. It was good to see Rohn and his new race car. He showed us around and we talked a little but he had a lot of engines to finish so we got our stuff, said good bye, and headed for the track.

We pulled into the track on Thursday evening before the sun set so I got a chance to look at the track. It looked really different. It was shaped like a "D" and it was dark brown. Everything else was pretty much the same as the tracks in Florida and the Carolinas. We put our motors on the karts and went to bed.

The next morning we got ready for practice. At around 1:00 pm they let us out on the track and I really liked it. It was fast like the other tracks but this track you had to drive! Each corner was different and hitting my marks was more important than ever. We are still working on the champ, trying to get it to roll through the corners a little bit better. All year we have pretty much run the same set up as the sprint kart but we wanted to try something different. Actually, we almost changed everything and it worked! The kart felt faster than it had ever felt before. The sprint kart was good too so we put things away and settled in for a good nights sleep before the races.

On Saturday morning we went out for practice and the kart was perfect. We thought we were as fast as anybody. When it came to qualifying, we did what we always do. We went up on the air pressure. Well, the kart was loose off the corners and I qualified 14th. The difference was that this track was dirt not clay. Seems the dirt doesn't come in like clay does.

During the race It was pretty much follow the leader. I passed a few and got passed too but couldn't really move up much. It was a great race thought and I had fun even though I finished in the 12th spot.

On Sunday we thought we had it figured out. We made a few minor changes in the gear but the crew chief just didn't want to get off the air pressure. In qualifying the sprint kart we did better than on Saturday but the kart still wanted to slip off the corner in turn 2 so I wound up 8th fastest. Finally, before we went out to qualify the champ kart, he let out a little bit more air and I qualified 3rd. That's the best I've done in the champ all year!

When the sprint kart race started I got a great start but, as usual, someone spun and we had to start in single file. I raced up to 4th and held my own for pretty much the whole race but as the race wore on the other racers got more and more aggressive and I lost 3 positions to finish in 7th. I'm learning! It's just so hard to hold your position. I think next race I'll be better.

In the champ race I was starting second row on the inside and I wound up in second on the start and ran with the leader in a tight draft for the first 15 laps. I even passed him and lead the race for a few laps but he was faster and passed me back. Then on the 15th lap they threw a caution for a kart that had spun and was sitting in front of the flag stand. When we re-started the race, the leader and I checked out while the 3rd and 4th place karts got to racing side by side. It looked like I was going to finish in second and maybe with a little luck pass the leader for a win but then the caution came out on the 17th lap. When we restarted the race I got popped hard from behind and slid up the track. The 3rd place kart who was closely followed by the 4th place kart got under me but I raced them on the outside trying everything I could to get back around. The track had a groove up high but I just couldn't pull ahead and at the checkered flag I was in 4th. I wasn't disappointed though, 4th is the best I have ever done in a National race and that meant that I got to get my picture taken on the podium for the WKA magazine. My first podium finish!

Well, we made it home fine and I put my new plaque on the wall and it looks great! My next race is the last National in Neeses, SC at the end of next month. I've got to figure out how to keep those karts behind me at the end of the race. I'll be think about that a lot believe me!