2014 Results

 The 2014 racing year starts with a rebuilt motor and clutch and a good attitude.

September 20, Shimek Speedway

Heat 1 – 4 karts – Started 4th – Finished 3rd
Heat 2 – 4 karts – Started 1st – Finished 3rd
Feature – 4 karts – Started 3rd – Finished 2nd

Last race of the year and all I had to do to the win the championship was run one lap of the feature. My setup again caused a struggle in both heats. I wanted to be cautious, but I didn’t have a choice. My kart was pushing badly. I made some adjustments in Heat 2 that were a little better so I made more for the feature. I had the fastest kart but couldn’t get by the kart ahead of me. I passed him once but a caution put him back in the lead. After that there wasn’t enough time to make another pass. It was a fun year.

This was the best year I’ve ever had racing. Also the hardest and most grueling. And the most fun. I’m glad it’s over but I’ll really miss seeing the people every week. My Faster Motors Animal engine was constantly the fastest on the track. It would pull everyone down the straights. What a pleasure having that much power. The only problems I had were self-induced; either my driving ability/setup skills or worn out tires I tried to get more out of than they were capable of producing. Thanks to my great wife for putting up with my annoying hobby. But no matter what anyone says, kart racing is the best way to turn money into noise.

September 6, Shimek Speedway

Heat 1 – 3 karts – Started 3rd – Finished 3rd
Heat 2 – 3 karts – Started 1st – Finished 2nd
Feature – 3 karts – Started 2nd – Finished 1st

I messed up in both heats again this week. After making a bunch of adjustments to get rid of a bad push, I won the feature in spite of myself. Only two races left this year, but I’m missing the next one. It’s our 23rd anniversary. I asked my wife if she wanted to go to the races to celebrate. My sweetie said sure, but it would be the last anniversary I would celebrate. I’m not sure where we’re going, but I’m guessing we aren’t going racing. I’m still first in points. My buddy Ronnie Taylor had motor problems that spoiled his night. The points will be very close at the last race. Good luck Ronnie!

Points
15- Jon Lehman- 1871
7- Ronnie Taylor- 1539
526- Danny Kirby- 991

August 31, Shimek Speedway

Heat 1 – 4 karts – Started 2nd – Finished 4th
Heat 2 – 3 karts – Started 3nd – Finished 3rd
Feature – 3 karts – Started 3rd – Finished 2nd

Again, I struggled through hot laps and both heats. In hot laps I spun in Turn 4 and backed into the hay bales. In Heat 1 the kart was very squirmy and hard to drive. I ended up hitting the hay bales sideways in Turn 4. When I hit, the motor died and I coasted up to the flag stand and stopped. As I sat there, I looked up at Ron Taylor, the starter. He leaned over and looked down at me and said, “You know, we can talk later, if you want.” The second heat was similar except for the hay bales and comic remarks. It makes for a long day when you struggle with handling. For the feature, I made a couple changes and put new tires on the kart. What a difference! Unfortunately, I spent too much time trying to get around the kart in second. The pole sitting kart took off. By the time I was in second, the first place kart was a straight ahead. I made up about half of that but ran out of time. It would have been a fun race for first if I was closer. I’m still first in points with three races left. I’m going to miss one of those for our anniversary. The guy in second agreed to take that week off too, which is a pretty cool thing to do. Thanks Ronnie Taylor!

Points
15- Jon Lehman- 1668
7- Ronnie Taylor- 1381
526- Danny Kirby- 813
34- Ben Smith- 526
199- Dustin Westercamp- 409

August 24, Shimek Speedway

Heat 1 – 3 karts – Started 2nd – Finished 2nd
Heat 2 – 3 karts – Started 2nd – Finished 3rd
Feature – 3 karts – Started 3rd – Finished 1st

Both heats were nothing to brag about. I only hit one guy in the first heat and one guy in the second heat, but I hit him twice. The feature went much better. I’m still first in points with a 267 point lead and only four races left.

August 2, Shimek Speedway

Heat 1 – 4 karts – Started 4th – Finished 2nd
Heat 2 – 4 karts – Started 1st – Finished 4th
Feature – 4 karts – Started 4th – Finished 3rd

After a good start it turned into a frustrating evening of racing. The first heat was a blast. Going from fourth to second in a quarter lap was fun. Then the first place kart and I were nose to tail the rest of the way. I almost passed him a couple times but two cautions stopped the momentum.

The second heat is where it turned sour. I was leading on the first lap coming out of Turn 4 when my kart swerved off to the right. I made one more lap but thought I had a flat so I pulled off. I got it into the pits, put the kart stand and noticed the left front wheel at a strange angle. As soon as I touched it, the wheel fell on the ground. Good timing but bad luck. A friend had a spare spindle so I worked like an over-stimulated Usain Bolt to get it changed in time for the feature. In my haste (some smart ass said that makes waste) I dropped all of my alignment washers into one pile instead of keeping the top and bottom separate. No, I didn’t have it written down about what went where. I have everything else written down but that. Next time. But I finally got it together just as everyone was in their karts on the grid. No time to check the air pressure or anything. Usually air is a critical adjustment for the feature but I was just glad to have made the start.

Starting last and moving into second wasn’t bad. I stayed there for a few laps but the not-checked air pressure made the handling difficult. I was passed and stayed in third for the rest of the feature. Because I was able to run the feature I’m still first in points. But the guy in second is gaining.

15- Jon Lehman- 1286
7- Ronnie Taylor- 1064
526- Danny Kirby- 669
34- Ben Smith- 348
199- Jeremy Marshall 206
199- Dustin Westercamp- 205
199- Ron Taylor- 179
22- Maurice Huff- 158
90- Mike Smith-146
22- Bryan Huff- 144
43- Derrick Stewart- 136
45 Nathan Shaffer-126

July 19, Shimek Speedway

Heat 1 – 6 karts – Started 3rd – Finished 2nd
Heat 2 – 6 karts – Started 4th – Finished 3rd
Feature – 6 karts – Started 3rd – Finished 2nd

I finished second in the first heat and third in the second heat. I started the feature in third. I don’t know how but I finished second Saturday with six karts in the Animal class. I started with a bad push then it got really loose as the night went on. I probably went the wrong way when adjusting the air pressure for the feature. The kart in third place was bumping me the whole way, so I knew he was right there. It must have been tense because I was still tired the next day.

July 6, Shimek Speedway

Heat 1 – 3 karts – Started 1st – Finished 1st
Heat 2 – 3 karts – Started 3rd – Finished 2nd
Feature – 3 karts – Started 1st – Finished 3rd

Well, that didn’t work. Note to self: When your tires look like they may be too worn out to run, don’t run them. I thought I could get one more week out of them. NO, I couldn’t. The worn tires resulted in a poor handling kart. The first heat was wild. One kart dropped out and I hit the other one while passing him. No damage but an apology was due. Then instead of waving the checked flag when I won, the flagman waved the move over flag at me. He grabbed the wrong flag but it confused the heck out of me.

In the second heat I started in the back and stayed there. Luckily, one kart dropped out so I finished second with a bad push.

I started on the pole for the feature and actually led for a couple laps before the kart started pushing again. Both of the other guys got around me. Then an opening appeared, so I ducked inside the second place kart on turn three. Sorry to say it wasn’t a clean pass and we both spun out. After the restart my tires were completely done and so was I.

I’m still first in points but I lost some ground. Next race is in two weeks. One of my goals is to not hit all the karts on the track. Oh yeah, I have new tires, too.

June 21, Shimek Speedway

Heat 1 – 3 karts – Started 1st – Finished 1st
Heat 2 – 3 karts – Started 3rd – Finished 1st
Feature – 3 karts – Started 1st – Finished 1st

There weren’t as many karts as I was hoping for but it was still fun. I posted a bumper cam video of one of the heat races on my Facebook page. With the feature win, I padded my points lead.

June 14, Shimek Speedway

Heat 1 – 5 karts – Started 1st – Finished 1st
Heat 2 – 5 karts – Started 5th – Finished 2nd
Feature – 5 karts – Started 1st – Finished 1st

My kart was very fast again. New tires helped a lot with the handling. Lap times were in the 10.8 second range for both heats and the feature, which is pretty quick. There was some close racing, too. Pretty soon I’m going to stop helping the guy who is running right behind me most of the time. It’s only his second year, so he is still learning, but he is learning quickly. I’ve been giving him some setup and gearing information to make him more competitive. Better competitors make the racing more fun…up to a point.

Starting the first heat on the pole was pretty easy. The second heat and starting in the back was a lot harder. It took a while to get into second. But there wasn’t enough time to pass for first. We did have some bumping and banging while going flat out but a caution by someone else put an end to that. I started on the pole in the feature and lead the whole way. Unfortunately, my new camera mount was not sturdy enough. There was too much vibration to get a good video. After the win, I’m first in points again.

May 24, Shimek Speedway

Heat 1 – 5 karts – Started 4th – Finished 2nd
Heat 2 – 5 karts – Started 2nd – Finished 2nd
Feature – 5 karts – Started 2nd – Finished 2nd

I had an exceptionally fast kart and turned some of the fastest times I’ve ever run at Shimek Speedway. Unfortunately, there was one kart faster. The first heat was the most exciting since I started next to last, got pushed outside to the back, then raced back to second, picking them off one at a time. There is a video of the race on my Facebook page. I’m back to being second in points, about 100 out of first. Not bad for missing a week.

May 3, Shimek Speedway

Heat 1 – 3 karts – Started 3rd – Finished 1st
Heat 2 – 3 karts – Started 1st – Finished 1st
Feature – 3 karts – Started 1st – Finished 1st

The KartLift Special was handling great! I led all the laps in both heats and the feature. My Faster Motors Animal had lots of power, and my John Ivers Jr. clutch worked flawlessly. The start of the first heat was the most fun since I started in the back. By the first turn I was in first. That scene played out about three times because of restarts. Love the rubbing!

Eventually, I’ll have some videos of my races, but first the GoPro camera needs to be figured out. I forgot to turn it off after the second heat, so there were about 30 minutes of pit time recorded, which will amuse no one at all. I told my wife that since I installed the camera I wouldn’t be able to lie to her about what I’ve been doing while I was gone.

April 26, Shimek Speedway

Heat 1 – 2 karts – Started 2nd – Finished 2nd
Heat 2 – 2 karts – Started 1st – Finished 1st
Feature – Rained out

For being the first race of the year, things went as expected…meaning not as well as they should. I was leading the first heat when my chain broke a couple laps from the end. It didn’t actually break, but it somehow came off and left me with no power. After installing a new chain for the second heat, I lead all the laps. It started raining part way through that race, which forced the track to cancel the rest of the show.

Having the fastest kart did me no good. With no feature, they paid out on the first heat because only two classes ran the second heat. So with nothing left to do because of the rain, I was forced to drink beer with my friends. Next week should be more fun because more karts are expected in my class.

Having my new electric KartLift made it less tiring for this old guy. It was nice not having to struggle getting the kart lifted after the race. What was really neat was both of us racing in the Animal class had electric kart stands. Those young folks in the other classes haven’t figured it out yet.