29 May - Meet & Greet #3
We will be doing another "Meet & Greet" karting display this weekend, this time at the Advance Auto Parts in Grove City on Sunday. We're hoping the weather will be cooperative and that the location, Hoover and Stringtown Roads, will give us plenty of exposure for the club. We'll be talking to aspiring racers about the fun and competitiveness of karting with brochures, videos and other racers to back us up. Come on out between noon and 4:00pm to see the various type of karts we'll have on display and get your vehicle a few early summer treats to keep it happy. Thanks to store manager Carolyn for her hospitality.

26 May - Driving Over The Competition
The long Memorial Day weekend finally gave us some good weather to race under and plenty of competition to race with. Dana's class, Briggs Stock Medium is becoming one of the biggest in our growing club and one of the most fiercely fought. There are several very, very strong racers in that class and they're forcing us to be better racers ourselves.

In practice we made a change (the same change we wanted to check out at our rained-out test session a couple weeks ago - see the 17 May entry below) that seems to have made a significant impact on lap times. We're finding that Dana is also getting the hang of giving us the feedback we need to make changes and then learn what works.

Dana's first heat was almost over before it started. Not wanting to loose ground on the start, Dana found herself accelerating when the rest of the field was slowing for some reason on the approach to the green flag. The result was Dana "Monster Trucking" over Jacob Gearhart and not until starter Bob Strawser could get over to untangle them did either of them get their race started. With everyone else getting a quarter lap head start we were happy that Dana was able to recover and pick up two positions finishing 7th. Damage was minor to both karts and although Dana was quick to apologize to Jacob after the race, he felt it was no big deal and that it was just part of racing.

On the grid for heat 2 we discovered that the fuel tank had worked loose and would very likely not last the race. A flurry of panicked, sudden activity followed but with Tracy and I working together we were able to get everything secured with about a minute or two to spare. In heat two Dana raced well to finish 5th.

With a gear borrowed from always friendly and helpful Rees Racing, Dana turned her best laps of the day in the Final and in fact stayed in contact with the group racing for second through fifth. That battle up ahead of her was a really good one and another couple of tenths out of our kart would have had Dana up there in it. As it was she had to settle for 6th earning 116 points for the day. But overall, we were encouraged with the way the day went and have some new ideas for getting those couple of tenth by the next race which is June 9. Stay tuned.

18 May - The Chill At The Grill
Whatever we did to get on the weatherman's wrong side, it must have been awful. His wrath followed us to Damon's Mill Run Saturday night where we set up to promote the Mid State of Ohio Kart Club and karting in general here in Central Ohio. Cold temperatures - cold enough to have a frost warning issued - and a cutting wind put a real damper on the event keeping visitors away and rushing those who did come by. Nevertheless, several interested prospective racers stopped by to pick up literature and info on getting started in karting.

We also had good company to commiserate with in the persons of Mike and Erin Dillion who spiced up our display with Mike's shifter kart. We also had the pleasure of Ron Kadylac and his son Matthew stop out and keep us company for a while. Matthew is in his second year of karting and they're both eager to promote the club and enhance the competition. With any luck, Ron may be able to arrange another meet & greet up towards his New Albany neighborhood. If that works out, you'll read it here first! Pics from the event are here (hey, we looked good).

17 May - Exactly What We Didn't Need
Well, we tried. The quest for a few more tenths of a second had us out at the track for a serious test session once again but once again the weather refused to cooperate. The result was Dana spending her 19th birthday sloshing around working on her rain lines and the rest of us trying to stay dry while we reviewed our luck.

We arrived at the track with two test schedules: a dry test in which we had set list of set ups to try on a dry track and a wet test with a list of options for the wet track. Unfortunately, we had only gotten to the first major dry set up change when the rain started and denied us any chance to value the results. We switched the kart over to a full rain set up but with the evening's birthday festivities bearing down on us, the remaining time at the track gave us little opportunity make any significant progress in finding a wet set up that works for Dana.

Had the day remained dry or been wet the entire time, we would have been able to work a plan that would have provided good information. As it was, the weather changed at exactly the wrong time and left us wondering if we've somehow angered the speed gods or the weather gods. Or both. But, as I've always said, a bad day at the track is still better than a good day at work.

14 May - Meet & Greet #2: Treat Yourself To A Rack and Visit A While
This Saturday night we'll be pitching our tent - literally - at Damon's Grill at Mill Run (Interstate 270 and Fishinger Road) in Hilliard. Just as at our last promotional outing, we'll have karts on display, drivers to talk to, video to watch, info on karting to take home - and let's not forget about the vittles! The aroma of Damon's famous ribs cooking inside will be torturous as it wafts out over the parking lot. Not in the mood for ribs? We recommend the stacked meat loaf or any of the steaks, fish, sandwiches or salads on the Damon's menu. The Winston(tm) NASCAR(tm) race will be on the big screen completing the evening's racing theme. So come on out, visit with us a while, then tuck in for some exceptional eats and enjoy the race.

06 May - Another Karting Promo Scheduled
Sunday, June 2 will be our second karting display at an Advance Auto Parts store, this time in Grove City at the intersection of Hoover and Stringtown Roads. We hope to have four karts there and plenty of info and advice for folks that would like to get into karting. Store manager Carolyn has provided us with yet another dynamic site to attract aspiring racers. Her store is on one of the busiest intersections in INFONETICS' hometown. And Advance Auto is the place we go for our automotive maintenance and appearance needs so come on out and visit with us and pick up everything you need to keep your vehicles running smooth and looking great.

01 May - INFONETICS Continues Support
We are very happy to announce that INFONETICS, Inc. will be supporting Conlin SpeedSports again for 2002. As in 2001, a company outing will be the rally point with all its employees invited to a day at the races on September 15th.

For the past 18 years INFONETICS has specialized in designing business management software, systems and devices for welding supply and compressed gas distributors. With over 200 companies using their software nationwide, they are a leader in the that marketplace and are reknown for their customer service. INFONETICS is currently recruiting new personel for several technical and non-technical positions. Interested persons are encouraged to call 614-875-2006 for details.


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