2003 & 2004 MSOKC HPV Champions
2004 MSOKC Super Can Runner Up

31 December - A Look Back At '04

As we look back at 2004 we first have to thank God for the blessing of another safe racing year. Beyond that we can enjoy the success of an extraordinary year. As we ramped up for the '04 season we were hoping Dana would be able to defend her '03 MSOKC HPV xhampionship with a new Biesse Viper kart and were anxious to see how Tracy would do in her first year of 2-cycle racing with the team's older Viper. After some pre-season testing we made the bold statement that we were going to try to win both the MSOKC Super Can and HPV championships. We came close.

Our season started early with pre-season testing in Florida courtesy of National Kart News. The highlight of that week at Cooper Motorsports Park in Palmetto was the invitation by Juan Montoya for Dana to try the Easykart there for testing and shown well. The rest of the week was effective in Dana and I learning the new kart and allowed us to focus on Tracy's program when we got back to Ohio.

We knew we had put together a good package for Tracy when Ed Kesse and Dave Neal hooked us up with a strong motor. Early testing had us very encouraged as Tracy seemed on pace right away. As the season progressed, we found we were right and Tracy was mixing it up with the front runners immediately. Before the season was finished our team had racked up 17 wins - 14 for Dana and 3 for Tracy.

Winning nearly 40% of her HPV starts boosted Dana to her second INFONETICS HPV championship in a row. John Fox kept us honest all season long despite some bad breaks mid-way through. The final margin in the championship was just four points: 1558 to 1554.

In addition to her three victories, Tracy scored in the top three 19 times out of 34 starts hoisting her to second in the Hume Performance Products Super Can class. The Super Can class is one of MSOKC's most popular and hotly contested classes and to finish second in her first year is both satisfying and encouraging. And second is really what we deserved. The championship was won by Brad Carroll and he and his dad Randy simply out tested, out practiced and out engineered us. They put in more effort and earned their second Super Can championship in a row. Nice job guys.

As if fielding two championship-contending karts wasn't gratifying enough, we had the good fortune to attract the attention of the local press no fewer than four times in 2004. The coverage made us local celebrities for a few minutes each time. As nice as the minor celebrity status was, the larger point of the exposure was to generate wider interest in our team, making us more appealing to potential marketing partners. As Dana's and Tracy's racing plans progress, we will eventually exceed the resources our family can provide and will need to rely on outside funding.

In October we had a hoot doing a personal appearance in support of a Dayton animal charity giving both ladies their first autograph session and radio interview. We also had more friends and family than ever before come out to the track to see us race. This too added to our fun, fleeting veil of stardom.

And finally, we had the tremendous honor of Dana being accepted to and participating in the Lyn St. James Foundation Driver Development Program this past month.

Whether you are an occasional or regular reader of this web site, we appreciate your interest and support. 2004 was by far our most successful year and our most exciting one and we're happy we could share it with you. It will be a tall order to top it in 2005 but as you can expect from us by now, we will do our best to do just that.

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