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Dana |
28 January - Speeds Farewell Bash
Dana (#38) prepares for the Fastest Time of Night shoot-out against birthday guy Brent (L)
With Speeds closing on January 31 a group of our MSOKC friends gathered there for one last Saturday night of racing. Eric & Dave Creech, Randy Kilbarger, Dale Bethel, MaShawn Jones, Rocky Johnson, Todd Mees, Tracy and I were all registered early. Dana came in from a friend's party just in time to get in the first heat.
That first heat was cool - a Conlin SpeedSports sweep with Tracy winning, beating Dad and Dad beating Dana by only .014. That run actually put Tracy third fastest for the day and ninth fastest for the month. Fourth was Eric and then Randy. In the second heat things changed around a bit. Eric and Randy were P1 & P2 with Todd third & Dana fourth. Dave and Dale followed her. Tracy and I were bogged down in 7th & 8th with poor excuses for go-karts. None of 'em pushed Tracy out of the Fastest Time of Day and Month positions but Eric's performance moved him right behind her in both.
Dana was on top of the results sheet for heat #3 with Eric turning in another good run for second. I managed third with some interloper inserting himself between me and the rest: Tracy, Randy Rocky, Dave and Todd. Her time was good enough for 3rd FTD and 9th FTM. It was in this heat that I thought I had again incurred the wrath of Rocky. About mid-way through the heat I closed in on Rocky and a guy not from our group. The closer I got to their battle, the clearer I could see that this guy had been watching too much NASCAR and was of the "rubbing is racing" school. Well, actually, at Speeds rubbing is racing but this guy's theory had evolved into "crashing is racing". As I was trying to figure out how I could get him so I could take on Rocky, he launched a Bonsai attack going into the last hairpin before the pit straight. He hit Rocky so hard that as they bounce apart in different directions I was able to slip between them. As I passed Rocky all I could think of was that Rocky would think I did that to him. And it has been reported here before what happens when Rocky goes into retaliatory mode.
(I should clear something up: Although Rocky is a fierce competitor he's not really a rogue tough guy always looking to start trouble. He only looks that way. And although I'm sure Rocky would have no trouble protecting the people and things he loves, he's really a pretty docile guy. He's the first to jump up and lend a hand, he almost always has a smile on his face, is a great story-teller [ask him about his run-in with a billy goat sometime] and a great friend to have.)
So I figured my best defense from a Rocky offense was to put that other guy between us. I wasn't able to get past him in the left-right S but when he got sideways coming out of the right I saw my chance. It was a drag race down to turn 1 which I won but I knew with the shallow angle going into that turn I'd have to get it way whoa'd down and keep a tight line on the exit in case he was still there. It seemed like I did my part but we still got together and instantly I was nose first into the wall and T-boned generously. A moment later Eric piled in. A moment after that Rocky arrived and had to spin to miss our dogpile. Waiting for the track crew to come untangle us it was amusing to see driver after driver's eyes get big as saucers and hands get busy on the wheel dealing with the surprise chicane.
We were all eventually sent on our way but the separation made the rest of the race pretty boring. Afterwards I was relieved to find out that Rocky knew I wasn't the guy that clobbered him. It was good laughs all around though.
In the fourth and final heat, it was Dana at the top of the charts again. Two-tenths behind was Randy then Eric and Rocky. Tracy could only manage 6th with Todd, Dave behind and with yours truly bringing up the rear driving a kart with a spindle arm bent enough to actually see about 1/2" of toe out.
Dana's 52.588 was the fastest of our group. A 52.597 was posted by a guy named Brent celebrating his birthday with a group of his friends. Unbeknownst to us, that meant the two of them would have to race a sudden death shoot-out between the two Fastest Drivers of the Night. The winner would take home a giant 6 foot trophy. Each driver could chose his or her kart and there would be intentional separation so each driver could just concentrate on quick laps. Dana chose kart 38 in which she set her fastest time and Brent chose kart 14 which was one of the quickest karts all night.
It could have been that Brent's kart had sustained some damage in one of the last heats because it didn't seem to be turning as well as it had earlier in the evening. Brent's times, consequently, didn't come up to his earlier performances either. Tough break. Dana, on the other hand, continued to adapt to her #38 and improved on her best time clicking off a 52 flat and winning the shoot out by about 1 second (I think). It also put her 2nd fastest of the night and 8th fastest of the month.
At the awards ceremony Dana asked that the trophy be awarded to Brent. After all, it was his birthday and it would be a fitting commemoration of his accomplishment at Speeds that night: With no experience in any other type of racing, he took on a group of folks that race karts every other weekend and nearly beat them all. That's something to commemorate.
So Dana was on fire all night. It was her fourth or fifth visit to Speeds and she hadn't overly impressed on those other visits. What had changed? Well, apparently, she had raised her blood octane level a little at her friend's party (if you know what I mean) and kept it boosted with a layered shot of something compliments of Speeds manager Elton. Not that she was walking crooked or anything but we figure the layered concoction must have been Liquid Courage because she was fast everywhere, including all the tricky places.
My coaching doesn't do that.
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