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Tracy |
04 May - Another Raceday, Another Win
Eric & Tracy continued to have spirited races - but Hell hath no fury like a woman passed (badly). - photo by Julie
Before we get on with the race report I need to apologize to the Dolbys and the Veeches one more time for taking their reserved pit spots at Mid State Ohio Kart Club Race #2. Sorry folks, there was a lot on my mind rolling into Circleville Raceway Park Sunday morning and just wasn't thinking. Thanks for being so gracious and not booting us out. Even with no signs I shoulda figured someone would have had claimed that spot.
Okay, now that my conscience is clearer, I'm happy to report here that Tracy racked up another win for Conlin SpeedSports by somehow keeping Eric Creech, Paul Millman and Brian O'Hara behind her when her kart was not a happy kart at all. Mid-corner and exit oversteer was holding her up and she, in turn, was holding those guys up. Eric tried the tricky but sometimes heroic pass on entry to Turn 4 on lap 3 but this time it wasn't heroic, it was just tricky and the compromised exit speed for both of them nearly gave Paul clear passage into first place. Tracy recovered well enough to win the Millman-Conlin drag race to Turn 5 but Eric had to slot in behind Paul. The pressure wasn't relieved, only the order had changed. Tracy was well aware of the snarling traffic behind her and knew one mistake would let Paul and maybe more by. And, it should be noted that she never resorted to a defensive line until Turn 7 on the last lap.
After the race poor Eric had to endure what must have seemed like hours of lecture from the race winner (and girlfriend, don't forget) on the hazards of the dreaded Turn Four Entry Pass. In the classic example of hero or zero, had he pulled it off and stayed in the lead he'd be the hero and she'd have nothing to say about it. I give the guy huge points for the attempt - whether it worked or not - and especially since, in this particular case there was more at stake than just a position on the track. Nice work Eric and I feel for ya.
Brian O'Hara edges ahead of Paul Millman, both top-notch kart drivers.. - photo by Julie
Having started on pole for Heat 1, Tracy was gridded seventh and last place for the second heat but when first time TaG racer Brian Hottle and returning TaGster Donnie Gaddis elected to fall back to the rear Tracy found herself starting 5th. Chetan Sharaf got bogged down a bit at the start giving Tracy an edge in to fourth place. We still hadn't gotten the kart under her and we were about .3 - .4 off Paul's and Eric's pace. Brian was in there shadowing those guys too. Theirs was a good race with the margin between the First Kart and the Biesse only .3 seconds at the finish line. In fact, Paul's best lap was 44.031 to Eric's 44.083. That's good racin'.
Her first and fourth in the heats earned her the third position on the grid for the feature with Eric next to her and Paul and Brian in first and second, respectively. Eric got the better start and slotted into third. Any promise of an entertaining Millman/O'Hara shoot out was dashed when Paul diverted into pit lane at the end of lap one with a fuel tank problem. Our Biesse fell back a bit from the Creech Biesse the first three laps and worryingly into Chetan's clutches for a while. But Tracy gained significantly on Eric in the last few laps turning a best lap 43.996 on lap 7 to Eric's lap four 43.926. Donnie came home in fourth with Brian Hottle finishing fifth. Chetan, who was jumping out of his TaG kart to jump into his 80cc shifter immediately after the TaG race, retired out at Turn six and likely had to make a mad dash back to the grid for the 80cc start!
My day in Masters was forgettable on the whole. It was a last minute decision to race at all since I was planning to work with Jason Barfield on his first race with MSOKC. But when Dr. Barfield was summoned to the hospital unexpectedly Sunday morning it left me with some extra time. Supporting the Masters class seemed like a good idea (at the time at least).
TaG Masters Heat 2 start with Tim Bussen (L) and Mike Unger dead even on their way to Turn 1. - photo by Julie
Starting on the pole next to Pat Boice (I assured him we had the brakes fixed and I wouldn't take him off Turn 5 with me this week) for Heat 1, and held the lead until Turn Three where I was passed, very briefly by a backwards Layman Cobb, just barely clipping me as I went around him. I knew that a kart pointing the wrong way there was going to cause a mess and I knew I had some breathing room. But it wasn't much. By the end of lap one Chris Tatman was looking to get by and going into turn one I saw his nose just come into my peripheral view then fell back. But the very next lap Chris set me up at 10 and got by at the exit. Next Tim Bussen was was looking for a way by, close enough that when I did a gut-check lift at Turn Two, he got into me just enough to make it a little loose and interesting but no harm done. I screwed up some corner somewhere and Tim was by.
I held third right up to the white flag but it was there that I saw Tracy giving me the signal that a medium-sized gap was shrinking. At this I decided to turn it up a little. Now, "turning it up a little" is a good thing to do provided you're not already overdriving the kart. Like I was. In my case turning it up just meant arriving at Turn Three with more speed than I knew what to do with so I used it to drive off the road at the exit of Three and through the grass to Four, across Four and making a tight U-turn to get going the right way again. Mike Unger was careful not to drive through me while I was feeling my way back onto the racing line and waved (a little femininely, I might add) as he went by. A fourth was still pretty good for someone driving like I was.
A rare snapshop of Jim still on the pavement - photo by Julie
Starting last in the second heat, I managed to work up to fifth place through attrition and mystery. The biggest mystery was how I got out in the dandelions at the exit of Turn Nine. The best I can figure it was another one of those lost-time episodes. Seems like one second I was drifting nicely through the corner and the next second I had a veil of dandelions stalks shooting up off the nose and over my helmet. It was quite the view.
We were joined by Daniel Legg (L) who is on a fast track to know everything about karting. - photo by Julie
Bizarre as it seems, my performances earned me a third starting spot for the Feature. Pat Boice got a better start and took my third place and before the lap was finished Unger got around too. I held on to fifth for a couple laps before the hemorrhaging began. Going into Turn 5 Cobb got inside and then Chris Carmen followed through at six. Arriving at six off line I managed to loop it on the marbles and into the grass again. Given the choice between sitting in the weeds and talking to myself or getting back on track and doing some deliberately controlled laps I decided on the latter. What I found is that I need a lot more of those but in hindsight I might have been better off meditating out at Turn Six because about lap seven I was reminded why I stopped karting in the first place. Sliding sideways through Six or Eight I hit one of the bumps and with everything aligned just right, I felt the seat strut pop the cartilage in my ribs. We'll see how long it takes to heal this time.
With the arrival of Paul Millman, Chetan Sharaf and Brian Hottle, MSOKC's TaG Senior division is shaping up nicely. If the three gentlemen that chose to race Masters even though they didn't meet the TAGUSA Masters requirements chose instead to race the Senior division, that class would have been the all-important class with the most karts. Now, wouldn't that be cool? And had the four Senior drivers that migrated to Masters this year stayed in Senior that would have had 14 karts starting the Senior races. Now that would have been something. We lose Eric after this race to the Jim Russell Race Mechanics School but fortunately, 80cc shifter driver James Pham has purchased Eric's engine to compete in the Senior class. We're glad to have James race with us for the rest of the year and glad to have a TaG Senior class to offer him.
We were happy to to have the Creech Racing Team sharing our pit area (well, the Dolby's pit area) - good to get caught up with Dave and Joann after a long winter. We were also privileged to have Daniel Legg on our team for this race. Daniel was part of a recent arrive and drive program we held and he was eager to learn as much as he could about karting. He was only getting his feet this weekend but already he jumped in and been a big help. Thank you Daniel!
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