For the record, Mother's Day is not a day to hold a race if you want a full turn out. But a scheduling conflict had the 3rd MSOKC race of the season moved to May 13. We too, in fact, had decided to skip this race early on so as to not abandon Lynn on Mom's Day. But with valuable points on the line, Lynn (who has lived with racing almost as long as I have) convinced us she'd be okay with us going.

Preparations

It is several evening's work to do the regular maintenance to the chassis, engine and clutch. Add to that our now regular routine of repainting the nose and removing the rubber smears from the other racers I manage to run into. After the race two weeks ago we had to pull the head off the engine for technical inspection so replacing the head gasket and re-torquing the head was in order. We also replaced the air vane in the blower housing while we were at it - vibration tends to crack it and it has been known to fall down into the flywheel. I don't mind the extra drag on the engine or even the damage when that happens as much as the awful scraping sound it makes until you can shut the motor down.

At the last race we also had strayed way off our normal set up trying to get the kart to handle. Each day should start with the same base settings to work from so all the changes made on April 29 were set back. And based on some observations last time out we decided to change to a different gear.

We had heard from Sean Wilson that Wilson Racing would be racing at an Ohio Sprint Series event in Camden, Ohio and not attending the MSOKC event on Mother's Day. Our rematch would have to wait until May 20th. We had also heard from his father Larry that they were planning to replace the dead box-stock motor they beat us with last time with a racing motor. Yeah, well, we might just have to fix the bodywork so it isn't rubbing on the tires constantly. Maybe get it so the front wheels can actually change direction and I can steer with more than just body english.

Jim's Practice

Same kart, same track, pretty similar conditions, almost perfect handling. Go figure. Last time out the kart wanted to swap ends at every corner and right off the trailer this Sunday it was calm and predictable. Engine temp was a little high but we had restricted air flow a bit for the cool morning air and that was easily corrected. On the couple clear laps I had, we were turning mid-52s without trying too hard.

There was no need to go out for the second practice session - there was really no changes to test. And there is something very satisfying about being able to go out for your first practice, pronounce the vehicle ready to race and just sit out the other session. It's like playing draw poker and keeping the hand you were dealt. It also can be a terrible psychological weight on your competitors to see such confidence. Too bad there weren't any competitors there to be psyched out. I was the only entry in Briggs Super Heavy.

Dana's Practice

Dana's McCall Motorsports kart was ready and well turned-out. It even had her name on it. Very cool. Unfortunately, Dana's work schedule seems to be synchronized with Circleville Raceway Park's open practice schedule so when she drove the kart out onto the track for the first practice session Sunday morning it was the first time she'd ever been in the kart while it was moving. It was also the day after her Senior Prom and although she wasn't out all night, she only had a few short hours of sleep. How much a lack of sleep would affect her stamina and reaction time was to be seen.

Briggs Medium and Super Heavy go out for the morning practice sessions together and the idea was for Dana to follow me and note my lines. But immediately she found that she couldn't get comfortable in the seat to the point where she wouldn't be able to get up to speed. After a couple laps, she came in.

After modifications to the seat padding she went out for the second practice session and while she was more comfortable in the seat she wasn't with the handling. She spun on her out lap which is very unusual for her. And then about four laps in, spun again in Eight, knocking off the chain in the process. Afterward, she confirmed that the kart was super loose and a handful to drive.

Heat 1

Since I was the only entrant in Briggs Super Heavy, Vicki Childers (for registration) came over and asked if I minded running with the Briggs Medium class. I was hoping for that. Not only would I feel silly running around the track by myself like some sort of sad exhibition run but this could be an opportunity to run with Dana and see up close and personal how the new kart was handling and see exactly what she's doing in each corner.

The procedure when two classes are combined into one race like this is for a "split grid", the slower class spaced back on the pace lap so as to take the green flag many seconds after the first group. So I had my work cut out for me if I were to catch up to Dana. Shawn Hulit, the solitary entry in Spec 100 Super Can Heavy was also slid into our group.

Dana was gridded on the outside of row two with John Fox on the inside. Bryan Rose and Jason Karr made up the first two positions respectively. New kart racer Jeremiah Clegg started in fifth position.

At the green flag, I set out to run quick, consistent laps to catch Dana. From where I was on the track I could see her hounding Rose everywhere but she never had an adequate run on him and finished fourth. It is a strange thing to be watching your kid race from within the race. At one point I remember thinking, "Hmmm, this must be how Mario felt all those years he and Michael were racing together." It was very weird, almost surreal. Like watching your favorite driver from the on-board camera perspective of a driver you don't much care about.

Heat 2

Without competition we had the freedom to try a few changes on our kart that ordinarily we wouldn't have gambled on with points-paying positions at stake. Butch was concentrating on making the McCall Motorsports kart less loose and was chasing a bearing problem with the clutch.

Dana drew the first starting position for Heat 2. Fox was starting next to her again, with Rose starting third, Karr fourth and Clegg fifth. This was the first time she'd started from the pole since the Powder Puff last August but she did a good job. I don't think anyone could have complained of the start being too fast or too slow. If anything, it seemed like she waited until they were practically under the flag before she got on the throttle. Not that there's anything wrong with that, the pole driver controls the start of the race. John Fox, knowing, I think, that it was her first real race pole start, was careful not to rush or intimidate her.

She had a nose on Fox going into One but he was pulling away on the way down to Two. Dana may have feathered back on the throttle just a bit heading into One what with being on the inside line with Fox on the outside of her. Karr followed Fox through into Second and Dana slotted into Third place. She held third confidently until about three laps in when she spun at Seven. She returned to the race behind me and I slowed just a little in the hopes she could catch up and follow me a bit, like we had hoped to do in the practice session. But at Turn Three her kart threw the chain and she was done. I just motored on and collected my points.

Guests

This race was the first race of the season where Tracy and I didn't have to thrash for eight hours straight keeping the kart in top form for two drivers. What with the McCall Motorsports kart in service, she and I had half the work load. This gave us more social time to spend with guests. For the third straight race, Nana and Granddad (new Central Ohioans) came out to support the team. It was nice to be able to visit a bit with them for a change. Another special guest was Jim Frea, co-founder of INFONETICS. Jim's been a long time race fan and came out several times last year. This time he seemed to enjoy talking to Butch about his sprint car background as much as watching the racing out on the track.

Feature

For the Feature the line-up was Karr, Fox, Rose, Dana and Clegg in Briggs Medium. Me and Shawn Hulit were to bring up the rear but we didn't really agree how the split grid should have been split and the result was he had a straight-away head start at the green flag. Not a big deal since we weren't really racing against each other but it did mean he'd be another kart I'd have to pass to get up near Dana.

For her part, she was sticking close to Rose again. Fox and Karr kind of drove off into the sunset - she's got a little work ahead of her before she can challenge those guys. I was making up ground on Hulitand we were both making up ground on her and Rose. I was determined to get up behind her and help diagnose the handling issues and offer pointers on her techniques.

On lap two, still close to Rose, she lost it in Seven. Turn Seven has some sort of mystical demonic powers over her. Turn Seven is where she spun to last in the rainy Powder Puff race last year before racing back to second. As I came into the corner right on Hulit's bumper, I saw her pointed the wrong way out of the corner of my eye. It was one of those mad/sad mixed emotions but it was fleeting. Hulit got on the brakes and looped right in front of me, effectively blocking the road. I could do nothing but skid to a stop myself to avoid hitting him.

As soon as Dana got going and started to turn around, Hulit got straightened out and going down the road. As he moved away, I could see that Clegg had also gone around. Julie's video coverage revealed that in avoiding Dana, Clegg had put two wheels off and that spun him. So Dana's little 180 got four karts involved before she was done. Cool.

The way things worked out, it became a race between Dana and I as to who would get back up to speed first. My initial reaction, as that of a competitor, was "Go! Go! Go! Get ahead of that other kart!!". But then the sensibility as a teammate surfaced and I slotted in behind her. It was great fun to follow her those 6 laps. What I found was that she has good power and was doing Turn Four much better than the first race of the season. She was still not using all the road on the exit of Seven and Nine and entering Ten too high for my tastes. I was making up lots of ground on her from Five to Seven. It wasn't that she had bad lines through those corners but more, I think, a lack of confidence in her very loose set up. And she was very loose, having to catch the kart everywhere it seemed. The clincher was when she had a massive sideways moment in Turn Two, the simple kink to the left. At that point I thought, "this poor kid, no wonder she's been spinning like a top."

On Julie's tape you can hear Tracy say that I should be worried about Dana spinning out in front of me. The truth is, I was on the lookout for that. Especially at Seven. I'd follow her in there with an escape plan ready. But lap two was the only lap that caught her out. By the checkered flag, Dana had worked back up to fourth, where she finished.

At our debrief after the race I was able to give Butch some good input on Dana's kart's behavior. Until I saw for myself I was half wondering if the handling problems were driver induced - the result of Dana's minimal sleep or just unfamiliarity with the new kart. So sometimes things work out for the best.

Tracy's practice

Tech inspection involved only a check of the carb main jet and fuel passages so the kart was still drivable at the end of the day. Tracy had been in the kart once this season and we were eager to pay back all her hard work as Crew Chief with getting her out for a couple of lapping sessions.

As a matter of fact, the club was having another one of its Powder Puff races at this event and they were predictably a little light on entries. We tried to convince Tracy to enter, just for kicks. And other folks came by with the same suggestion and encouragement but her lack of seat time this year made her reluctant.

But she was eager after all the day's racing to get out there and try to find some new speed. She had been taking in Dana's and my conversations about lines in certain corners. In her first session she took a few laps to get up to speed.

In the break between sessions we talked about where she was braking. In short, it was in more corners then should be necessary. But it's hard to tell someone at this stage of their driving development, "Ah, naw, just keep it flat through there". You risk having them go off at high speed and not want to ever try it again. So instead, I suggested with the exception of 3, 4 and 5, to just get off the throttle instead of braking. I reminded her that the longer she stays of the gas, the more she'll slow down.

The new technique put her right back to the lap times she had worked up to in the first session and then she started finding a little more speed each lap. As the tenths position dropped within her 54 second laps, I was really hoping she'd be able to break into the 53 second mark. I was pretty sure she had never done a 53 second lap and that would make her happy if she could. So you can imagine my surprise when she found over half a second out there somewhere on lap eight and turned in a 53.41. She followed that up with a 52.82! So in two laps she found nearly a second and a half. Pretty amazing.

When she came into the pits, all I could say was "What did you do?" Her explanation was that in trying the new no-braking technique she was having trouble staying on her lines. She tried a few different lines and it all came together. Boy, did it. Welcome to The 52 Second Club!

When's the next Powder Puff race?

Dana's test session

With the next race the following Sunday and Dana's school and work schedule offering no opportunity to test before then, Butch decided to take advantage of the open track to dial in the handling a little more. He had made some chassis adjustments so Dana went out to demonstrate their effects. And although she did spin once (at Seven, naturally) she reported that overall the kart was tamer. The better handling wasn't reflected in her lap times but it was to be a seat-of-the-pants assessment anyway. As for her times, I think we were seeing the affects of her lack of sleep at the end of a long day. But I, for one, was looking forward to seeing her run next week with plenty of rest and a happier kart.