2003 MSOKC HPV Champions

13 June - Extremes

A 3 kart gap suddenly goes to 0...

...Tracy locks up the rear tires...

...is forced to run wide...

...and off the track.

After two disastrous heat races Tracy pulled herself together and made an impressive run up through the Super Can field finishing third from a tenth starting spot. HPV again suffered from low entries and Dana racked up three more wins. The extremes made for good fodder for Columbus Dispatch reporter Eileen Dempsey who was following our team through the day for an article about Dana and Tracy. Special thanks to Tom Rice who works with Eileen and suggested she do a story about the racing sisters.

For practice we were joined by Columbus Dispatch photographer Neil (sorry - didn't get his last name) who shot many, many photos as we were setting up, readying the karts and during practice. Eileen showed in time for the last practice sessions and was soon filling a note books with notes as we explained our hobby to her. We were a little (okay, a lot) disappointed by the low turn out for HPV since fewer karts make a good run look easy. Not sure why HPV suffers from this every year but it seems to be like clockwork. Someone joked that Dana had scared them all away. You need to be careful with what you say around reporters - hope she doesn't use that.

Super can, on the other hand, promised to be impressive with 15 karts entered and Tracy's recent good performances. We were trying a new clutch which we felt would make us even a bit more competitive but as it turned out, Tracy really didn't have a chance to show its potential.

15 karts in Super Can promised close racing.

For the first Super Can heat, Kart 99 was gridded 4th with Brad Carroll (class leader to Tracy's 2nd place rank) buried deep in the pack. In front of her was a unfamiliar kart and driver and we considered inquiring as to his experience and the possibility of having him moved to the back of the grid as is the custom for new drivers. But time was short and we were inclines to give the benefit of the doubt to him.

We were sorry we did almost immediately. The guy had plenty of motor for the straights but absolutely no confidence in the corners. After avoid crashing into him in the turns for half a lap, he finally caught Tracy out at Turn 8 slowing so much that she had to run wide trying to miss him and lost two positions. Recovering, she gained the spots back but then going into Turn 5 a three kart separation collapsed to zero in less than a second causing Tracy to take desperate measures to avoid him. With rear tires smoking this time, she had to steer off track to keep from hurting him and tearing up her kart. By the time she got back to the asphalt she had fallen to last place. In the little time that was left she worked herself back up to 9th In a race she looked capable of winning. And, it should be said, Brad looked to be just as furious after the race having been blocked by the same guy for laps.

HPV was down to 5 karts (again).

Needless to say, we were not a happy bunch. We try not to make a scene over these things in general but we were even more committed to staying cool in the presence of Ms. Dempsey. And, as I told Tracy even before she made it to the Scalehouse, at this level we have to be ready to deal with all levels of experience and expertise. This is where people find out if that can race and we need to be ready to deal with those folks.

Brake failure caused leader Steve to shake up the running order.

Roberto and Dana benefited most.

For the HPV heat, Dana drew the third starting position out of five karts. John Fox, Dana's 2003 championship rival was starting right behind her with Circleville Raceway Park owner Steve Tatman and Matt Rice on the front row. Roberto Zayas was next to her. After banging up her kart last time out trying to pass too many karts on the first lap, she played it cooler this time waiting and watching from her 4th place position for the field to string out a bit.

About the time she was thinking about making a move on Roberto, Steve had complete brake failure (again - we ought to pass around a hat and get Steve some new brakes) and nearly took Matt with him. By the time it all sorted out there in Turn 9, Roberto and Dana slipped into first & second, respectively. Later, Dana was able to find a a way by the #91 Biesse Kart, forcing Roberto to settle for second.

For the second time in as many races Tracy works her way up the field from DFL.

In Tracy's second heat race we at least wouldn't have to worry about the #10x kart as he would be starting behind us. Or would we? Going into Turn 2 the first time Tracy found herself out on the marbles and understeered right off the track. It was all she could do to whoa her kart down and keep it from entering the short chute between Turns 3 & 4 perpendicular to traffic. She did but again found herself DFL, adrift of the pack. She resumed the race but before long she was dealing with her nemesis from the first heat and it was the same story: very fast in a straight line (we've got a strong motor but he was pulling us on the backstraight) and then stopping in the corners. Tracy finished about 12th. Meanwhile Brad won handily and we officially declared the day a disaster for Tracy.

John Fox was running well - right up until the piston began melting.

HPV Heat 2 had Dana starting third again. This time John Fox was ahead and he was running good. Early in the race he gave Dana a run for her money but about mid-way, right on cue after telling Eileen that she likes to pass in Turn Nine, she swooped in there to take the lead and never looked back. On the last lap John stopped out at the end of the back straight and we later learned it was terminal. A lean condition in the intake system somewhere burned the piston pretty badly and scored the cylinder wall a bit. John would not report to the Feature.

Starting down the grid Tracy knew she had her work cut out for her in the Super Can Feature.

Considering her dismal finishes in the two heat races, at tenth starting position for Tracy in the Feature was better than we expected. Coming out of a pre-race strategy meeting was the agreement that this was a borderline drop day (club rules require that your three worst races of the season be dropped and only those remaining counted toward the championship) so that Tracy should be as aggressive as safely possible and take more chances than she normally would. The result was a steady, calculated march up the field from 10th to finish 3rd. Mike Unger made a special point to stop by to tell her that it was a indication of her maturity as a driver. She certainly redeemed her heat race foibles and closed her day with optimism for next week's race.

Matt Rice, Steve Tatman and Roberto Zayas provided the excitement in the HPV Feature.

Having won the two heat races, Dana was awarded the pole position with Matt lining up next to her, an indication of the good day he was having. In fact, if it wasn't for the race he, Steve and Roberto put on, the HPV Feature would have been a real yawner. Instead second place could have gone to any of them as the race progressed. As for Dana, she again scored maximum points for the day and racked up career wins #25, 26 and 27. And although I've spoken out against the club's more thorough tech inspections just in the name of convenience, the scrutiny verifies everything being on the up and up with our equipment as we have a very good year.

We were blessed and pleased to be able to share our day not only with Ms. Dempsey but also with Aunt Debbie (Lynn's sister) and cousin Kristina as well as Wade Pinkston and his daughter Alex. It was a day of extremes for our team as we enjoyed Dana's victories and endured Tracy's frustrations. But, as they say, "that's racing" and an example of why we never can tell how the raceday will go.

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