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Dana |
18 September - Another Good Outing
The Conlin SpeedSports ladies didn't rack up any Feature Race wins this time (although Dana came awfully close) but both Dana and Tracy had good results earning good points as the Championship winds down. Tracy posted a strong 2nd in a heat race and a very respectable 4th in the feature while Dana picked up two 2nds and a heat race win.
Practice revealed an unsettling problem - the front tires had gone off again after only one race. This could indicate that our set up was off but I have to think if we were off that far, in this case understeering enough to consume the front tires, we wouldn't have been able to do so well in both classes the week before. The track has undoubtedly gotten grippier as the year has wore on but I'm disappointed to see that they now only last a day for us at most. Not sure if other racers are getting better mileage from theirs, I haven't really asked. But we've spent about 3 times as much on tires this year and to have the need for fresh rubber increase late in the season makes things tough. I was never one of those complaining about the SL5s - I was not bothered by the odd wear pattern on the tires and had accepted that the SL5s needed a moderate heat cycle before being used in anger once we realized that. And when heat cycled like that they would last 4 or 5 racedays. I think the MSOKC Board of Directors will have to consider staying with these NordAm tires through the second half of the contract with Grand Prix Distributing, accommodating the same wear rates as we saw this year or go to the SL6 tire which should give greater life but will also force our racers to learn yet another compound, making it the third in three years. Going back to the SL5 is not an option, unfortunately, because it is no longer available. A case of "be careful what you wish (whine) for", I guess.
We had new fronts on for the first heats and Spec 100 was out before TaG. Tracy, for the second week in a row drew the last starting position, in this case 10th. She was up to ninth before Turn 4 and was breathing down Mike Yoerger's neck right away. After a lap or two of that, she tried climbing onto Mike's neck. Coming out of Turn 8 she had a run on Mike and saw an opening on the inside going into 9. No sooner had she committed though, the opening closed and with brakes locked, she ran up over Mike's rear wheel and came awfully close to getting to him with the nose of her kart. She may have. But by the time she bounced back off and gathered her kart back up, she was back down to 10th again. But it was the kind of aggressive move you have to make in that class for any hope to improve position. Before the end of the race she was back up to ninth.
The fact that Dana was even on the grid for the first TaG heat Sunday morning was a tribute to the lengths our friends will go to help us out when we get ourselves into jams. When our motor suddenly went quiet during testing at Newcastle Motorsports Park Saturday, Mike Unger offered to bring by Roger Schoer's PRD Fireball in case we needed a coil or wire or something to make Sunday's race. Roger had long ago said we were welcome to anything we needed in the way of parts (provided, we presume, we replaced whatever we used) and we've had to take him up that offer several times since. But this time it turned out to be a reed and we were able to make due with the originals we still had after the recent rebuild.
For the first TaG heat Dana had the 2nd starting position and at the green she fell in behind Tim Bussen and Chris Tatman fell in behind her. While Tim more or less drove off into the sunset, Dana and Chris had a pretty good race with Dana locking up her brakes several times trying to stay ahead of him. Chris stuck to her bumper and even showed her the nose going into Turn 4 once but she was able to hold him off to the finish line.
Tracy had the pole for the second Spec 100 heat but it was Jason Stukey from the outside that had the advantage when they got to Turn 2. Once out front, he drove off to a commanding lead. Tracy held off all others for the six laps to claim a satisfying second. It was in this second heat that she again improved on her personal best CRP time, to a 45.58.
TaG Heat 2, Dana was again outside row one but this time it was Chris that surged into the lead. As they clicked off fast laps, Dana stayed right with Chris, looking for any chance. About halfway through the race she saw a chance to run down the inside going into 9. It was bound to be close but Chris cooperated to avoid contact and to continue the fight to the next corner. A lap or two later Chris found himself under attack from Tim and this gave Dana a little margin of comfort and led to the checkered flag. But that race ended early when Tim dropped a wheel off and bent the sprocket and threw the chain stopping between Turns 8 and 9.
The combination of an eighth and a second in the heats put Tracy in a tie for the fourth starting position for the Spec 100 Feature. But her bad first heat draw, which is used as a tie-breaker in these cases, made her the big loser in that contest and she was relegated to sixth. Smack in the middle of a wild start, the nose of her kart was once again getting personal with Mike Yoerger's bumper. Pieces of kart flying through the air at Turn 1 not withstanding, she kept out of trouble and picked up a position by Turn Four. By the end of the race she had improved again to finish a respectable 4th. However, she was worried most of the race by Randy Ridder right behind her looking to gain some points on his nearest championship rival. Keeping him behind she was able to protect her 4th place in the championship.
The TaG Feature saw Dana on pole the result of being the most consistent finisher for the day. She got a good start but Tim got a better once and he quickly pulled out a fair lead. That left Dana and Chris to joust over who would be second. It was looking like one of Dana's mistake free runs giving Chris no opportunities. Then, about 3 laps in, Tim's header broke and he began slowing immediately. Knowing it was futile he got out of the power, drove off line going into Two and singled a problem. It still caught Dana a little by surprise causing her to lift and signal to Chris a problem ahead. She got by cleanly but the incident put her off her rhythm through Turns Two, Three & Four. She dumped out onto the backstraight down on revs because of it and that was all Chris needed. He was by and, although she stayed close, he was never really bothered by the 13 kart again.
Aside from the disappointment of losing the TaG Feature lead moments after inheriting it, it was another good night. Another win for Dana, strong finishes for Tracy in a deep field... our mission to put the frustrations of earlier in the year behind us and finish the season on top of our game seems to be on schedule. Two more races to go and then the 200 Mile endurance race. We'll see if we can keep it up.
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