October 2002 Reports

21 October - Putting Things In Perspective
First of all, when we pull out of our neighborhood at 7:00 Sunday mornings, we're the only upright beings moving. That aside, when we do see friends and neighbors setting out on their hobbies, they're throwing golf clubs into the trunk or lashing a bicycle or two the their SUV or, the really ambitious ones, packing up a picnic basket, cooler and folding chairs. Our next door neighbor, Bill Richards, loads his model airplane, some tools and supplies into his pick-up and sets off for the RC field.

Us, on the other hand, pack up the entire garage and half the kitchen and drag it all 30 miles south just to unpack it all and set up a temporary garage and kitchen. Kinda like a M*A*S*H unit except we're only there one day. Then, in the dead of summer, we dress Dana up like she's going out to play in the snow and have her operate a dangerous machine under heavy mental stress and physical exertion. At the end of the day, dehydrated and mentally and physically exhausted, we then pack it all up again and drag it home.

Which begs the question, "What's wrong with us?"

Nothing other than the belief that if something is worth doing, it's worth doing right. And racing as a family makes it worth it. As I have been telling people lately, how many 43 year old fathers can say they still play with their kids on a regular basis?

As a team, we have a lot to be proud of in our 2002 season. We raised over $500 for the Scott Wolfe Moving Forward Fund. We were able to introduce many, many people to the sport of karting through the karting promos we organized and manned for the club at area Advance Auto Parts and the Mill Run Damon's Grill. A feature article was published in the Hilliard Northwest News about our unique racing team.

With God's grace we had another safe season (if being a racer doesn't enhance your faith system, being the father of a racer will). Dana finished 5th in the MSOKC Briggs Stock Medium championship. That's not as good as 2001 but the BSM class was much, much more fiercely contended this year. She continued to learn and develop throughout the year and earned the respect of many people who have been around karting for a long time.

She also continued to get better at telling us what the kart was doing under her and Tracy and I got better at tuning the kart for conditions. We enjoyed tremendous reliability, finishing 35 of 36 races. This was due to very good maintenance routines we've devised both between race weekends and at the track between races. In fact, the one race we failed to finish was on the only day Tracy wasn't there to help. The fact that Dana never seems to lose concentration or do boneheaded things definitely added to our great finishing record.

Julie captured much of the action on film which made the task of keeping this site readable much easier. She also often backed me up on timing Dana's laps which came in handy many times. Julie was also our eyes and ears when some crisis had us oblivious to anything outside out pit area.

Dana always drove a little better when Mom could make it out to the races. But even when she couldn't she was there in spirit. Mom also did a great job of managing family matters to accommodate racing and test days and supporting the whole endeavor. Nana and Granddad also came out to support us every chance they could and that meant a lot. Granddad was also a silent sponsor in the form of the new steering wheel and seat when we recognized a lower center of gravity might mean a tenth or two.

McCall Motorsports took care of us almost too well. Butch is a racer through and through and to have a guy like that on your side is priceless. It was great to have INFONETICS supporting us again this year and it was great fun to have everyone out to watch the races the the second annual INFONETICS Day At The Races.

That leads to a round of thanks to Steve Tatman and Circleville Raceway Park for making it so easy to have the INFONETICS folks out for a company outing. Steve gets an awful lot of "advice" on how to run CRP but, let's face it, he's the only one who's been able to build a track in central Ohio and keep it running for ten years. I'm pretty sure there wouldn't be a Conlin SpeedSports if there was no CRP.

We also tip our hats to Mike Unger, Daryl Dillon, Rick Rees, Larry Wilson, John Gearhart, Bob Strawser and John Fox for valuable advice and assistance at various times this season. And thanks to everyone who dropped what they were doing to come watch the Briggs Medium race to see which guys the girl could beat that day. Karting with all of you has been Big Fun and we're looking forward to next year already!

12 October - Hilliard Northwest News Article
We finally had the time to get the Hilliard Northwest News article about Conlin SpeedSports from back in July scanned and coded up. It's posted here for your review.

5 & 6 October - Ending The Season On A High Note
I've got a good memory, it's just that it is too dang short. The problem with a double race weekend like we had is that so much happens in a regular race day that when there are two in a row, I have trouble remembering what happened when.

What I remember of Saturday was that a more aggressive Dana Conlin was at the controls of our kart. She and I had been "discussing" her need for more aggression on the track at our last race and in the intervening week we had analyzed our in-kart video for passing opportunities and as usual, she was able to go out and apply what she had learned. In one case she applied it a little too forcefully - but more on that later.

The Saturday Heats saw Dana make several good, assertive passes and had some good races with John Fox and Joe Fagan, again fighting with Joe wheel to wheel for several corners. For the Feature Dana found herself in fifth, chasing Fox in the early stages of the race. John was having a little motor trouble but he was still pretty fast. At Turn 9 Dana got a run and attacked to the inside. The pass looked a little desperate but she pulled it off and later John even complimented her on it.

Up ahead it was Jason Karr, Jacob Gearhart and Joe but with a couple laps to go Karr suddenly slowed. Gearhart and Fagan were by quickly and it was obvious Dana and John were catching him too. Coming past the pits, Jason signaled his frustration to his father, Roger, pointing to the left rear wheel. Going through Turn Three Karr nearly stopped in the middle of the track and Dana really had to check up to avoid crashing into him. Fox saw what was happening and very nearly got by before Dana recovered. But she did and stayed ahead taking her second podium finish of the season.

For Sunday Dana had extra incentive to do well. Aunt Debbie, Uncle John and cousins Christina and Steven made the trip from Indianapolis just to see Dana's last race. They keep up with our progress through the year via this website but they've wanted to come out to a race for some time. We were thrilled that they made it and it meant a lot to Dana. Thanks guys and gals.

Sunday's heats were similar to Saturday's - noting particularly notable other than Dana being in attack mode all day. Sometimes it worked out, sometimes it didn't. Sometimes a failed attempt caused her to drop back but she always managed to claw her way back up. Starting sixth in the feature, she was in fifth at Turn Four benefiting from Jacob spinning out of the lead on the exit of Three first time through. Jacob continued but he was not happy having thrown away first place.

From there Dana was looking for a way past Matt Rice. Going into Turn Seven on lap two or three, she shot down the inside on a "I hope this works" pass. It didn't really. She and Matt came together pretty hard and I was very surprised neither went off. Even so, I felt the need to apologize to Tom Rice, Matt's dad who was watching from the observation stand too. I wouldn't have blamed him if he were mad about it, but he wasn't.

But getting by Matt when she did allowed her to set her sites on Fox for third. But when Joe Fagan lost a wheel in Turn Nine, Fox became the second place man. Each lap she got closer. And closer. And closer. With two to go she was on his bumper and going into nine she took a look down the inside but couldn't do it. White flag lap she tried at Three, John shut the door and she lost some ground. At Seven she looked again, not close enough. With only two corners left in the race, she forced our kart down the inside of Fox's. John years of experience kept him from overreacting and he gave her just enough room to race while also keeping his momentum up. Exiting Nine Dana was just ahead but John had the better line going into Ten. Again they were side-by-side but John's shorter line through Ten made the difference and he crossed the line for second not more than a kart length ahead. Whatta race. And by all the hollerin' in the stands, I wasn't the only person that thought so.

Sean won his race and barely beat out his dad Mike for second in the championship. Mike Long finished second in the race and seweds up the 80cc Shifter Championship. Congrats guys. But most importantly of all, Sean finally got those freakin' donuts figured out. Awesome donuts Peanut.

Then it was my turn. A hastily announced Mechanics Race meant one of our mechanics would be able to go out for an informal race. Tracy declined as she would be too sore for a planned big workout for her Cross Country Team the next day so I was it. Through the year we've tailored the kart more and more for Dana and when I settled in behind the wheel I felt I was more "on" the kart than in it. It was fun but I was so out of practice my lines were horrible. I couldn't get through Four cleanly to save my life. Mike Fagan, Eric's dad won in their Yamaha kart and I came second. In the closing laps I noticed that Sean was out by the start/finish line and even though I was only second, I stopped right in front of Sean and did a few donuts myself. The silliest, dopiest, lamest donuts ever but I just wanted to show Sean that an old guy like me could celebrate too. (The dizziness passed in a few minutes.)

Sean took our kart out for a few laps, just for old times' sake. He started out in Briggs seven years ago before moving to Shifters with his dad. As we all expected, the Shifters had "unlearned" him a few things about economizing speed in the corners and carrying momentum. The power of the Shifters demand a much different driving style.

Lastly, Dana took Mike Unger's Biesse/HPV out again and liked it even better. As is often the case, she feels more comfortable each time she drives it. She wasn't really driving for a low time, just getting used to the different handling but she still managed to get down to a 47.3. Everyone we talk to tells us we should get Dana into an HPV to continue developing her skills. There are a number things to consider in such a move so some team meetings are in order to see if a move to HPV is possible.

It was a long season but we made tons of progress. We continued to get better as a team all year long and that's really what it's all about. We'll post our thoughts on the overall season in a few weeks. In the meanwhile, I'll just say I'm proud of our little team.

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