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Dana |
20 August - Accentuate The Positive
We're happy to report that we completed six races and two practice sessions without losing a single wheel. And after the last two outings, we consider that progress. We were also lucky to have gotten a full race day in given the dire predictions made by every weatherman in Central Ohio. Although they were right for about 15 minutes, after the front blew through and canopies were untangled and the track dried, everyone enjoyed a full night of racing. Well, maybe not everyone. We were fighting handling problems due to exhausted tires with no replacements available at the track. Both ladies came in with cords showing. It was frustrating for them to drive on and frustrating for me to watch.
Dana sensed the tires going off as early as practice and though I at first dismissed it, having miscalculated the amount of laps we had on these sets, it really didn't matter since there were no club spec front tires to be bought anyway, And we soon realized that Tracy was in the same predicament. Lesson learned: Stock up on tires and hang onto them. Everyone was fighting the changing conditions throughout the day and evening and they were vast changes. Hot, sticky dry track; damp track; damp in places track; dry but green track - it kept everyone guessing and some guessed better than others.
Tracy started her heat races from mid-pack both times. In the first heat she was holding down fifth place but was under pressure from Eric Creech in the middle of the race. Eric managed to get under her at Turn 5 and although she thought she gave him enough racing room, it must not have been as his right rear tire pushed her off the track. While sliding around out in the grass she lost something like 3 positions. In heat race two her tires were beginning to betray her and it was all she could do to keep her kart on the track while falling down the lap chart. Those two poor finished gave her a poor grid position for the feature. When the green dropped on the feature she got a great start and picked up a couple places before Turn 2. But once everyone was up to speed she couldn't overcome the lack of grip and although driving as hard as she could, she kept drifting farther back from the lead pack.
Chris Tatman was back up to speed in TaG Senior and won all three races lengthening his lead in the championship. At the end of the heat races both Jim Martin and Dana had a second place and a third place each. His lower draw number gave Jim the advantage of the front row and at the start try as she might, she wasn't able to get inside in either One or Two. Once Jim was in front Dana trailed him closely for the entire race. Jim later said he had no brakes and what with Dana having no front tires it made for a tense race. The places where she could have passed him he had adjusted his line to make himself less vulnerable. In the end there was nothing we could do but follow.
All in all, a night we'd like to forget about. But I have to admit that the rain delay allowed me the unusual luxury of wandering around the pits and socializing some. But with three weeks until the next race we're going to be making some major changes (not the least of which will be new tires) which we hope will allow us to finish the season on an up beat.
07 August - A Good Day Nonetheless
Usually, when one of your drivers flies off the fastest point of the track backwards, you're having a bad day. All things considered, the team had a very good outing despite Dana losing another rear wheel at 60+ mph in the TaG Senior feature race and going for a wild ride. But before that Dana was able to rack up our third win of the season with a great run in the second heat race, Tracy also had a great day finishing a strong second in the 2nd Spec 100 heat and scoring a third in the feature.
Retiring on three wheels for the second TaG Senior feature in a row was a huge surprise since, after the July 30 indignation, we had put new procedures in place to keep it from happening again. Back then I had owned up to the possibility that I had overlooked tightening the right rear wheel after swapping tires between the two karts but this week we had agreed that neither kart would go out onto the track without at least two team members putting a wrench on the wheel nuts. And we did that. More...
05 August - CSS Fields Team For 200 Mile Race At New Castle
We are pleased and excited to announce that Conlin SpeedSports has entered the TaG/Yamaha Endurance Race, a 200 mile race to be held October 22 at New Castle Motorsports Park. The TaG 200, as we will be referring to it, will challenge us in ways our team has never been challenged before. Unlike our typical "sprint" race which has our karts and drivers on the track for no more than ten minutes per session, the TaG 200 will take approximately 3 3/4 hours to complete and will place unfamiliar demands on our drivers and equipment. Pit stops will be required for driver changes and kart servicing just like the long distance sports car races.
Additional support for this race is coming from INFONETICS and from Goodyear BW Tire in Grove City. INFONETICS has supported us for many years and provides much of the technology that helps us make a professional presentation. Goodyear BW Tire on Old Stringtown Road has been looking after our "fleet" of cars and tow vehicles for years. Having learned about this race only after our season was well under way and our 2005 budget set, it was necessary to look for additional funding for this project and were very fortunate to receive their support. We're hoping to add a few more partners to this list of supporters before the PR machine gets fully cranked up in late September.
Melissa "Velo" Court.
The Conlin SpeedSports driver line-up will consist of Dana, Tracy and Melissa Court of Duncan, British Columbia making our entry one of the few "international" teams and probably the only all-female driving team taking on this challenge. Dana, 22, has been driving our Biesse Viper/PRD Fireball in TaG Senior all year and will be the team's lead driver. Tracy, 19, will step up from the HPV ranks to TaG with nearly twice the horsepower. Any concern we had of Tracy being ready for the additional speed and acceleration of the 28 horsepower Fireball TaG motor were dispelled in a recent test when she lapped within .03 second of Dana's best time that day.
Melissa driving away from the field at the 2004 Port Alberni Street Race
Melissa, 18, has been karting since 1997 and immediately earned Rookie of the Year recognition, going on to be Capitol City Kart Club JICA champion in 2002 and then ICA champion in 2003. Along the way she was picked up by Claudio Valiante's (Champ Car driver Michael Valiante's father) Italian Motors, one of the most respected teams in karting. In 2004 she won the prestigious Port Alberni Street Race. Also in 2004 "Velo" (short for "velocity", a nickname given to her by the Italian Motors team) was invited to participate in the Lyn St. James Foundation, Driver Development Program along with Dana. Currently she works with startup kart manufacturer GT Race Karts.
It was at the Driver Development Program in Phoenix last year that we first met "Velo" and saw first hand her raw speed during the karting portion of the program. It was also there that we saw that, like us, she leaves the serious side of racing at the track and likes to laugh and enjoy friends and "family". We're looking forward to adding her to our team even if is only for a week.
We're also very fortunate to have the engineering mind of Brian O'Hara assisting us with chassis tuning and overall preparedness. Brian has years of karting experience in club racing, SKUSA, WKA Manufacturer's Cup and Stars of Karting series. As recently as July 2, he dominated the ICC class at the Circleville Raceway Park stop of the Great Lakes SKUSA tour. But Brian will not be giving us his undivided attention leading up to the race - two weeks after the race he'll be tying the knot with his lovely bride Emily.
Brian's expertise in chassis set up and tuning will come in handy for this project as we will be working with a new kart for this race. Through Melissa's association with GT Race Karts of Vancouver, British Columbia, we will be fielding a 2005 GT Karts Marauder. Results of factory testing and several west coast races have been very encouraging. GT Race Karts is eager to introduce their new line of karts to the American Midwest and see our effort in the TaG 200 as a good starting point. We're looking forward to rewarding their confidence with a good effort.
Watch this space for more exciting news about this fun, challenging event.
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