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The Latest -
01 July - Team Race Report Hits Ekartingnews
Ekartingnews wasted no time publishing Julie's press release on the National Kart News/Circleville Raceway Park team's performance in the Ironman 150 endurance race at New Castle Motorsports Park. Read it here for yourself.
We assembled yet another awesome crew for the inaugural Ironman 150 endurance race. Photo by Julie
29 June - Ironman & Ironcrew
Conlin SpeedSports teamed up with Mike Unger's Kartworks to form the National Kart News/Circleville Raceway Park team in the Ironman 150 endurance race at New Castle Motorsports Park capitalizing on Mike's skill and fitness as a driver and our team's experience as a long distance race crew in the first annual Ironman endurance race for a single driver. The weekend was a long one with flexibility required to accommodate the fickle weather. As a last, cruel statement that Mother Nature was really in charge, there was a last minute scramble for rain tires as the skies opened and soaked the track 5 minutes before the green flag. After that one short, shower the the track dried rapidly and placed more emphasis on tire management by the driver and pit strategy by the crew.
Our team, consisting of Philip, Jodi & Noah Unger, Julie, Tracy, Dana & Todd Mees, Daniel Legg, Rocky Johnson, Greg Wilkinson and Greyson Eves, worked like a professional race team all weekend and that was especially true during the pits stops, playing a large part in Mike's progress up the lap charts gaining 17 positions through the race. The other part was Mike's consistent lap times and traffic management that put us into 12th place with something like 20 laps to go. But with enough fuel to finish and with karts ahead of us needing to make a final stop before the end of the race the drive gear stripped and Mike coasted into the pits. We replaced the gear and got back out but fell to 23rd in the final standings.
Although a paying finishing position slipped through our grasp in the final laps it was a satisfying run with everyone having fun. We also learned more about endurance TaG racing (I'm not sure you can ever stop learning in this type of racing) that we will apply to other long distance races we're involved in. Many, many thanks to Mike for the opportunity to crew for this event and to the entire team for being such knowledgeable, hard-core racers. Every person (and I mean everyone) played a crucial role in making this a great experience. Special appreciation also goes out to National Kart News and Circleville Raceway Park for their support.
Jim Ward leads Jim Martin and Brian Hottle through CRP's Turn One, backwards. Photo by Julie
22 June - Fast Learners
We had the pleasure and privilege to work with a couple of intense racers and great folks at Mid State Ohio Kart Club's Race #5 at Circleville Raceway Park giving our home track an international flavor along the way. Jim Ward and son Travis shared our kart as guest drivers in TaG Masters and TaG Senior respectively and both did a very respectable job on what was for all intents and purposes an brand new track for them, turning competitive laps times all day. Both drivers had racked up about 50 laps each at CRP earlier this year but those were on the regular counterclockwise rotation. So Sunday's clockwise or "backwards" race presented the father-son team a brand new challenge. But both gained confidence with each session and progressed well.
Unfortunately, the TaG attendance was the lowest its been in all the races we've attended this year (and if it wasn't for the bonehead decision I made for the last MSOKC race we'd have made them all!). Had the club's TaG usual suspects shown up our newest members of the "Rok Posse" would have had their hands full and everyone would have had some heavy traffic time. As it was, both drivers were all grins even without constant wheel-to-whell action. Jim is a seasoned open wheel racer having worked his way up to Toyota Formula Atlantic and has been karting to keep in shape for a couple of years, mainly at Infineon Raceway near his home. Son Travis is summering here from Amsterdam, Holland, where he had notched up some karting experience.
16 year old Travis Ward came a long way to race with the Mid State Ohio Kart Club TaG racers . Photo by Julie
In TaG Senior Brian O'Hara had us all covered with Mike Unger filling our the 3 kart field. For the first heat Travis decided move from pole to the final starting spot looking to gain more laps on the backwards layout before he gets out in front of the class' regulars. But with each lap we could see Travis getting more comfortable with the kart and finding speed, his best lap within a one-hundredth of Mike's in the first race. By the final he had gained enough speed to post the second fastest lap of the race and was gaining on Mike as the race wound down. And as anyone that has raced against Mike will tell you, that's no small feat. Very, very impressive and we can only hope Travis continues to hone his skills behind the wheel of a kart here in the states or back in his native Holland.
Jim was on pole for the four kart (we've supplied a TaG Masters driver in 3 of the 4 races we've attended this year - where'd everyone go?) and challenged Matt Milless all the way to the apex of the first turn (Turn 10 for those of you playing along at home) but as they approached Turn Nine from the wrong direction for the first time it was Matt that was ahead. In fact it was Matt that was ahead all day. Matt has taken his Hasse/Sonik and has become the Brian O'Hara of the Masters class, finishing 8 to 10 seconds ahead of 2nd place in each race. Jim finished the first heat second, hounded by MSOKC TaG regular Jim Martin right to the end. On the warm-up lap of the second heat Jim wasn't happy with the brakes and decided to play it safe and not jeopardize our kart of the other competitors. We found that the pedal stroke was long and took action to restore it but his second heat was a DNS. In the final Jim was gridded 4th and it wasn't until lap 4 of 8 that he was able to get around Brian Hottle (who is also coming on strong since his first kart laps earlier this year) and began chasing Jim Martin. Martin was having a good day and although our kart would gain some laps, Martin's hung onto a second or so lead all the way to the checkered flag.
Considering that both drivers only had 4 or 5 laps of practice each in the morning warm-up on the new track before being thrown into their races, Jim and Travis should feel very good about their accomplishments. If they thought this was fun, I hope they can join us again soon to race on a familiar track with a larger field of competitors. Either way, we were glad to have the opportunity to work with both of them.
We intended to celebrate Eric's departure for California with Tracy racing his number and body work and a wish of good luck
07 June - Boy Did We Screw Up
"Can't trust weather forecasts or even modern weather radar. Have to go back to showing up, waiting it out, hoping for the best, and making a decision at the track. Or, go back to racing in the rain and then not worry about it. Its a shame it looked so bad at 10:45, it turned out to be a perfect night for racing."
That was a post I made to the MSOKC Forum on June 11, 2006. Too bad I didn't listen to my own advice. Instead, almost two years to the day, as the huge green blob crept crossed Indiana and over Dayton and Springfield on various weather radar we considered whether it was worth even going out to the track with such certain impending meteorological doom. We watched the radar, discussed, got reports from Richmond, Indiana where it had been raining steadily for four hours, discussed, watched the radar, discussed, listened to forecasts, discussed, watched the radar, discussed. At 1pm Tracy, Daniel, Jason, Lynn and I were all convinced there was no way huge green blob could miss Circleville where MSOKC was holding its 4th race of the season. I made the final decision that it was not a race day but a rainy weekend day for which we'd been waiting to do some indoor house projects.
By 3:30 we were regretting the decision as the radar showed the huge green blob using up all its moisture by the time it got to London. But it was too late to change the plans.
Not that we weren't ready. Daniel and I were working on the karts until midnight Friday and everything was packed and ready to go at 10am. In fact, he and I had been prepping for the June 7 race off and on for several weeks. The Conlin SpeedSports kart was even outfitted with Eric Creech's Robo Pong bodywork graphics and Tracy was going to race under Eric's number 14 in celebration of his heading off to the Jim Russell racing mechanics school in Sonoma, California. We thought it might make part of the 3500+ mile drive a little more bearable knowing his racing colors were circulating Circleville in his absence and saw it as fitting to send Eric off with a message of good luck on the nose of Tracy's kart. We were looking forward to the first night race for all the right reasons. And then the huge green blob...
So we need to brush up on our meteorological skills. We cheated ourselves out of a great night of racing and the chance to celebrate Eric's exciting new endeavor. In the worst part is, the carpets really don't look that much better.
24 May - Memorial Day Weekend Diversifies Our Team
The holiday weekend was a busy one. For the first time since forming our team in late 1999, Conlin SpeedSports personnel found itself at two different racing events on the same day.
While the core team were managing the karting team effort at Circleville Raceway Park for MSOKC's Race 3, Julie was at Indianapolis Motor Speedway working with Michael Crawford Motorsports who were competing in the Firestone Indy Lights 100 mile race. The opportunity to work with Mike Crawford's crew isn't planned to go beyond the IMS round of the schedule but it still provided Julie with some real-world experience and a further look into the world she hopes to become a part of. Mainly an extra set of eyes, feet and hands for the team but Julie did get to practice a little PR work in the four days she was at the speedway with the team, mainly with Wisconsin driver Jake Slotten. Julie had been introduced to Mr. Crawford, who races a shifter kart during the off weekends, by Terry Riggins at one of last year's Great Lakes SKUSA races. Julie is extremely grateful for the chance to work with MCM at one of the most important Firestone Indy Lights races of the season at the most famous track in the world. Not bad for someone just 2 weeks out of college but now the work comes in making the most of the experience and finding the next opportunity.
Meanwhile back in Circleville, Dana made her long awaited return to the drivers seat by leading 5 of the 6 laps of the first TaG Senior heat. Unfortunately, the one lap she didn't lead was the one that counted. Pledging to herself she'd take it easy and work herself back up to speed she found herself in the lead of the first heat racing hard to keep Mike Unger behind her. But Turn Five got exciting on the last lap when both Mike and Dana locked up their brakes in a fight for the lead with half a lap to go. Both were lucky to get through the corner but Mike recovered better and moved into the lead. The sliding around make Dana vulnerable to James Pham lurking in 3rd place and he got though the opportunity that was presented.
In the second heat Mike was super hooked-up and checked out - his fastest lap nearly 1.5 seconds faster than Dana's and James' who fought over second place for the whole race. Dana managed to hold him off despite the pressure. James is new to the TaG ranks, having bought a new Kosmic kart from Kart Works and Eric Creech's old engine, but having raced in MSOKC's 80cc shifter class, he's not a newbie to what it takes to be fast around Circleville Raceway Park. A fast and clean driver, it looks like the TaG Senior class has picked up another racer to make the season exciting and entertaining.
The Feature had Dana gridded outside row one and a little team monetary incentive was offered to Dana to make it even more fun to take advantage of that position and get ahead of Mike by the exit of Turn One. But you'd think it was Mike's money I was offering as the incentive as he nailed the start and fought off Dana's attempt to get ahead in the first 200 feet or so. With Mike out front, Dana then had her hands full with James inches from her rear bumper for several laps. Three or four laps in he was able to get inside Dana at Turn Four and although there was light contact on the exit, it was a clean pass otherwise and he moved ahead on the back straight. Dana soldiered on to finish 3rd, one second behind James.
In Masters guest driver Bob McConnell made quite an impression on us and everyone else that watched him make the jump from Yamaha Super Can to TaG. Having registered after registration had closed because he was working safety tech for the club Bob had to start each heat from last place (I sense a new proposal to the Board coming on: "Workers who register late do to their duties will not be penalized"). The schedule couldn't have been worse though, he Super Can class was running right before TaG Masters. He literally had to run from the scalehouse to the grid and jump in our kart.
In the first heat he got a great start and simply drove around the field and was third going into Turn 3 on the first lap. Up there he was flirting with second when on lap four he ran wide at Turn 8 and fell to fifth. Back on the track he worked back up to 4th and set the race's fastest lap doing it. In his second race he did the same thing, going around the outside of the other Masters drivers and arriving at Turn 3 in third place. By the end of the first lap he was in second. No mistakes this time and second was where he finished, all grins at the scalehouse.
In the feature Bob couldn't get the now-expected bonsai run around the outside at Turns One and Two. In fact he found himself stuck in fifth for the first three of the ten laps. But on lap four he managed to get by Pat Boice and Mike Brannon and set his sites on Matt Miless and Layman Cobb. He eventually got around Layman but couldn't get past Matt before the checkered flag flew, finishing about 1.5 behind Matt.
We knew Bob was a heck of a driver based on decades of karting, which is why we were happy to have him slip behind the wheel of our Biesse. And he certainly knows CRP. And the fact that he was back in a familiar Biesse Kart helped. But Bob's first experience in a TaG kart was still very surprising and hugely impressive. It looked like Bob thoroughly enjoyed the power and speed of the TaG category and even though he was reporting new aches and pains in places he forgot he had, I would not bet against Bob becoming a regular in the TaG ranks next year.
10 May - Julie Has Her Day
We certainly didn't have anything to do with it but should thank the MSOKC BoD for not scheduling a race on May 10 because we would have had to miss it.
That's because there is nothing that would have kept us from being in Ashland, Ohio, to attend the 2008 Ashland University Spring Commencement in which daughter Julie was being honored along with about 650 other graduates and undergraduates. Over four long years Julie has worked tirelessly to earn a Bachelor Of Science In Business Administration degree with a major in Marketing and a minor in Religion, graduating Cum Laude and having been on the Dean's List numerous times during her academic career. Julie intends to use her marketing degree to work for a professional race team, organization or track. Julie was responsible for distributing our media packs at the RoboPong 200 mile endurance races, getting our drivers on the live RaceFanRadio.com broadcasts and can take credit for our brief appearance at the beginning of the 2007 RoboPong coverage on SpeedTV.
Having been an open-wheel and road racing fan all of her life, she would naturally like to find a position on an Indy Racing League team, Firestone Indy Lights team, ALMS team or Grand Am team. But she understands there may be opportunities and challenges in Sprint Cup, Nationwide Series and Craftsman Truck Series and may become a Southern Belle at some point.
In addition to the work she did for us in the RoboPong, Julie has acquired experience as an assistant to the Events Operations Manager at Miami-Homestead Speedway at this year's IndyCar season opener, the Public Relations Assistant for Great Lakes Superkarts! USA in 2007 and was the key marketing and hospitality contact for Conlin SpeedSports visitor for years. Many, many people have been providing leads and contacts throughout the motorsports community as she looks to gain more experience and knowledge in motorsports marketing, public relations and hospitality. As of this writing she has an offer from Michael Crawford Motorsports to assist his Firestone Indy Lights team at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway towards the end of the month. She's hoping other offers to fill in time on either side of that assignment will be coming shortly.
Needless to say, we're all very proud of "the sister that doesn't race," as she's been called, and everything she has accomplished so far. For all our dedication to racing, either as karting participants or auto racing fanatics, it may be Julie whose dedication takes her into a career in motor racing. Go get 'em Jooge.
04 May - Another Raceday, Another Win
Eric & Tracy continued to have spirited races - but Hell hath no fury like a woman passed (badlly). - 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. More...
20 April - Tracy Starts The Season With A Win
Perhaps inspired by Danica Patrick's historic win in Motegi, Japan, earlier in the day, the first race of the MSOKC TaG Senior season fell to Tracy as she took the checkered flag in front of Brian O'Hara with boyfriend Eric Creech a close third. Not bad for a gal that hadn't turned a wheel in her kart at Circleville Raceway Park since last July. More surprising was that she was able stay ahead of Brian - a case of the student schooling the teacher. But it should be noted that Brian was racing on Bridgestone YHC compound tires which will be the MSOKC spec tire as of June while Tracy was running the former spec Vega tires grandfathered in until then. The Bridgestones are one second slower than the Vegas and that turned out to be the perfect handicap for someone of Brian's skill and experience.
In the second heat Eric was a DNS with electrical problems keeping his Rok TT from running more than a few seconds. Tracy had another strong run finishing behind Brian this time.
In the TaG Senior feature it was Brian and Tracy on the front row and Tracy timed the flag perfectly, chopping across Brian's bow to take the lead at Turn One. She wasn't happy though because it was soon apparent that a change we made went the wrong way and she was saddled with a severe push. Brian had a couple looks but it wasn't until the halfway mark that he was able to get past. That's when Tracy mucked up Turn 4 and both Brian and Eric (who'd been lurking just behind since lap three) got by her. A few laps later Eric got by Brian and went on to another Feature win.
The TaG Masters class was my return to competitive driving sharing Tracy's kart (it even still had the "Less Testosterone, More Determination" logo on it). Because it had been so many moons since I had taken a karting green flag I volunteered to go to the back of the grid for heats one and two out of respect for the other drivers (a shocking number of which had gained 30 or more pounds since last season). It was satisfying to see that the instincts were still there, the starts being a lot of fun and in one I was able to pick up two or three spots. But otherwise the only other notable thing in my day was running Pat Boice off the road at Turn 5. I wouldn't have blamed him if he figured I was just a idiot cowboy wildman trying a kamikaze pass. But, as I explained later in way of apology, the brake pedal felt a little squishy earlier in the lap and when I needed them at the end of the backstraight when along side Pat, they just wouldn't slow my 423 lbs. Both races were won convincingly by Mike Unger with his Rok TT/Kosmic.
We had the brake problem solved for the TaG Masters feature but rain canceled the event leaving me 6th for the day out of 10 or 11. Again, not bad for a guy that hadn't turned a competitive wheel in a kart since 2003 and started in the rear both races. But it may be a short-lived return to the driver's seat as an active campaign to recruit drivers into the Masters class has left the Senior class a little sparse. Now that we understand that under-aged, underweight drivers are encouraged to race in TaG Masters we'll likely have Dana and Tracy take turns competing there. After all, we just wanna race.
14 April - We're Pressing Forward
On the eve of the MSOKC Board Of Directors meeting in which they'll be deciding how to handle the latest absurdity to come out of the TAGUSA offices, we are happy to announce we have decided to race with MSOKC regardless of the decision. There are several options open tot he BoD the worst of which for our team will be to have them do nothing. That is to say, to stay with TAGUSA rules as they are at the moment (and go with any change from moment to moment throughout the season) and make the minimum weight for our karts with driver a disabling 390lbs. On the other end of the spectrum is the option we hope they will take which is to freeze the TAGUSA rules as they were on March 30th, 2008, before this latest episode of dementia took hold of the TAGUSA leadership. This would leave in place the restrictions that Stars of Karting shared with TAGUSA but not impose the additional 30 pound weight TAGUSA imposed under pressure from opposing engine manufacturer of the Parilla Leopard, IAME.
With the entire team gathered to celebrate Julie's and Tracy's 22nd birthday Saturday night it was agreed that we'd race even if the board decides not to freeze the TAGUSA rules and weights. If that is the case, we will simply race 30 pounds light and be relegated to the last row of the feature race each day. To reduce expenses this year we plan to begin the year only prepping one of our karts with Dana and Tracy racing alternate racedays. But because MSOKC has this year broken Senior and Masters TaG into two races, I will be entering the Masters races (despite being absolutely unprepared to race a kart) and one of the girls will enter Senior. We also plan to have several guest drivers in our TaG Masters kart throughout the season.
There is a popular motto in the MSOKC TaG class which goes, "I just wanna race". So do we, but we will not race a kart that weights 260 lbs without driver so we might have to play the role of the outlaws here. We just wanna keep our racecraft sharp and tuning skills honed. We just wanna hang out with our friends. We just wanna race.
07 April - We Suspend All Competition Plans For 2008
With less two weeks before our first race of the season we are forced to suspend our competition plans for 2008 until further notice.
It is with great regret and discouragement that we do so but after receiving personal assurances from TAGUSA President and CEO, Dave Larson at the KMI Kart Expo in Chicago February 24th that the Rok TT would not be assigned more weight for 2008, the sudden announcement last Sunday of a 30 pound weight penalty for the Vortex Rok TT has rendered us uncompetitive in all series we saw as an option to compete in. This announcement, which shocked the North American karting community, came only days after IAME, the manufacturer of the Parilla Leopard against which the Rok TT competes, sent a press release to key media outlets threatening to no longer support any organization that did not penalize the Rok TT severely.
The controversy surrounding the perceived performance advantages of the Vortex Rok TT have been going on since the 2007 RoboPong 200. We have been involved in presenting facts, data and opinion to the importer, dealers, the various governing bodies and on national discussion forums. Those contributions, along with many others', seemed to bring about an objective, deliberate reevaluation of the engine by both TAGUSA and Stars of Karting, the result of which were performance handicaps that, while still significant, were changes that would not require us to add an unsafe amount of additional lead. TAGUSA's astounding move blindsides many of the Rok TT owners in the US just as their racing seasons are about to start. Ironically, the TAGUSA's announcement came during Stars of Karting's opening weekend in which the Rok TT and Parilla Leopard were evenly matched in every session of Stars TAG category. Stars of Karting permits the Rok TT to compete at the same weight as the Leopard.
This is just the latest episode of wild mismanagement of the TaG concept by the principles at TAGUSA which have included assignment of weight penalties to the Biland in late 2006 (later rescinded as a "typo") and weight penalties assigned to the Rok TT in early 2007 which were rescinded by TAGUSA several weeks later as "a mistake". It is extraordinarily unfortunate that greed and the need for control by IAME and by association importer Russell Karting and the total lack of strong leadership will cause so much damage to a such a good, fun and promising category of racing.
In the coming weeks we will post the absolute facts and filter out the useless and biased misinformation that has been churning since October on this subject.
24 February - KMI, CIR & The Sponsor Most Likely To Do Us Good
In what is becoming an annual wintertime pilgrimage, Conlin SpeedSports headed to Chicago for the KMI Kart Expo trade show. Tracy, Julie, Eric and I pointed the Monster Truck NW in the early daylight and were in the show by 1pm. Immediately it seemed foot traffic was down from prior years but more notable was the absence of many kart importers. Missing were J3 Competition representing Kosmic, Champion racing rep'ing Intrepid, Grand Products/Top Kart, Italian Motors//Ital Kart, SSC/CRG(!). To be sure, these importers were busy with the Florida Winter Tour and who can blame them when they're making $10Ks & $10Ks servicing their customers but the fall-away of big names like that usually mean the beginning of the end for a trade show.
The other reason given for the absence of key players was that many put their money into the PRI show in Orlando in December. The problem there is that the PRI show is only open to motorsports businesses, not the general public. And if I were a dealer for one of these importers that declined the KMI show, I'd be a little disappointed to not have my product in front of the general public.
Tracy, Eric, Jim ready for action at Chicago Indoor Racing
- photo by JulieBut there were still plenty of stuff to look at, lots of aftermarket equipment and services. The big thing this year was the small video packages for mounting on your helmet with no less that four booths showing their video wares. Another booth gaining a lot of traffic was Leatt Braces, a new neck brace set to replace the foam neck collar kart racers are required to wear. It isn't mandated anywhere but is gaining a lot of interest as a way to make neck injuries almost impossible. It looks a lot like a Hans device but rather than only keeping the driver's head from snapping forward, it limits movement forward, backward and side-to-side. It will definitely prevent some potentially devastating injuries but at a cost of around $350 it will be slow in replacing the $34.95 foam collar unless it is mandated. If it is mandated it makes racing karts that much more expensive as it is like having to buy two helmets. Most interesting to us were the brake systems from Wild Kart and Kelgate as we continue to research the best brake solution for long distance sprint kart racing.
Of course it was good to run into some friends as we walked the aisles: Alex, Phil and Fran Kish were attending their first KMI show. Terry & Shirley Riggins were there promoting their new Great Lakes Pro Tour series that replaces Great Lakes Superkarts! USA. We crossed paths with Andy Stevensen who was browsing the room. And our friends from RaceFanRadio.com, Charlie Brown and Chris wheeler were manning the RFR booth and broadcasting live, interviewing karting's movers and shakers every hour.
In addition to reviewing karting's new products for our team, Julie was working an agenda of her own. Graduating this spring from Ashland University with a Bachelor of Business Administration and Marketing degree (and solidly on the Dean's List) she is determined to find a marketing position in motorsports and took the opportunity to look for contacts at the KMI show and seminars in addition to the direct contact she's had with racing teams and tracks so far. Her persistence may have paid off as she made what looks like a very valuable contact at the Sponsorship seminar. More on this as it develops.
That evening we drove the 10 miles or so to Chicago Indoor Racing, one of the best indoor karting facilities in the country. We'll review the place in detail more another time but for now we'll just assure our readers that a good time was had by all - except for Tracy in her last race in which she drew a kart that was cutting out and about 1.5 seconds off the pace. This was an exception to the equality of the karts at CIR and, in fact, in our second race Eric's and my best laps were only .03 apart. By the end of the night we had the 6th, 7th & 8th best times for the day and Eric had the 18th best time of the week. Not bad for a trio who'd not seen the track before suiting up.
Sunday was more of the same back at the convention center, tracking down a few booths that we missed or were too busy on Saturday. Most challenging was the TAGUSA booth which was abandoned every time I went by there. Of the seminars going on, the one presented by Chicago Indoor Racing's Tony Stewart (not the NASCAR one) on starting and running an indoor kart track was most fascinating. But as Julie and I soaked up the advice of Mr. Stewart, outside the seminar the rigorous pace of the weekend was catching up to our other team members.
Eric & Tracy lose the fight . Looks like we need an energy drink sponsor - photo by Fran Kish And it was upon receiving these (shall we say, "spy") photos of Tracy and Eric that we realized just which sponsors our team needs to focus on. As you can see, what our team needs most is an energy drink sponsor. Not for the funding, simply for the product since some of our team apparently so desperately need it. RedBull: Monster: RockStar: Conlin SpeedSports will race for drink.
23 February - After A Long, Uncertain Winter, There's Hope
The Vortex Rok TT - The engine that can strike fear and loathing into the hearts of 1000s of men
Frequent visitors to this humble web site are used to us announcing our racing plans for the new year in January or early February. Here it is nearly March and visitors have found the site almost abandoned, having had no changes since December. The reason was largely that we didn't know what we were doing. It wasn't indecisiveness on our part but due to a general insatiability in the TaG category.
Late last year there was a outright uprising due to the Vortex Rok TT's (the engine our team uses) performance by Buddy Rice (yes, the Indy Car driver), Joel Miller, John Zartarian and Victor Cabrera, Jr. at the SKUSA SuperNationals in Las Vegas. Despite an entire season of racing in which the Rok TT lap times were at best matching the Parilla Leopard's, people with a financial interest in maintaining the Leopard's market dominance in North American TaG racing began pressuring the governing groups to penalize the Rok TT based on the results of this one race. To understand the dynamics here, the Parilla Leopard is the category's standard, having gotten into the category very early. There have been approximately 9000 Leopards sold in the NA market in the last 7 years compared to 500 Rok TTs sold in the last year. So you can see how thousands of panicked voices can influence the people trying to run things. Leopard owners and dealers that felt threatened by the arrival of the Rok TT quickly formed an ugly mob calling for more handicapping weight to be added to karts using the Rok TT. Interestingly, when the same drivers that were in the top 5 in Las Vegas raced on a similar course (a temporary track set up in a parking lot - Stars All-stars in Orlando) two weeks later, they didn't dominate and had best laps on par with the Leopards and Rotaxes proving to the sensible people that the SuperNat results were a fluke or simply a reward for better preparation.
For us, adding more weight to our karts was not an option. Because our drivers are so light, healthy and fit we already have to add 30 - 40 pounds of lead and another 15 pounds (which the Leopard masses had been screaming for and which WKA in their endless ineptitude conceded to) would be just ridiculous. In addition to taking advice from Leopard dealers and engine builders on how to penalize the Rok TT threat, WKA decided to permit modifications to the Leopard and Rok TT that were contradictory to the original "box stock" concept of TaG racing. The problem is that a "box stock" anything doesn't do much for all the 2-cycle engine builders that are struggling to keep busy and look to WKA leadership to help them out. Further, WKA approved the use of front brakes in TaG, the only non-shifter class now to allow front brakes. The idea was presented nobly as a safety feature but for people that have been watching WKA's motives for years, the move was simply a way to allow karts shops to sell about $1000 worth of equipment to mount front brakes on existing karts. Or to sell new karts to racers replacing their "100cc" chassis for "125cc" chassis that come with front brakes.
We saw nothing but parity from the Rok TTs in a season of racing against Leopards, Rotaxes, Bilands and Motori 7s
So we crossed WKA (which sanctions the Midwest Sprint Series and the Great Lakes Sprint Series) off our list for 2008 but TAGUSA (which most other clubs thankfully use for TaG rules guidelines) was expected to do their own thinking and we could do nothing but wait for their '08 rules to be published in January. When the rules did come out in January every engine's rules were set except the Vortex Rok TT's which was listed as TBA. TAGUSA was going to re-test the Rok TT and set what it believes will be rules to retain parity with the other engines in the class.
In waiting for TAGUSA to do their testing and announce their findings we were completely prepared to sit out the 2008 season while we let the situation settle if necessary. Three different sets of rules; front brakes, no front brakes; 10 pounds more, 15 pounds more, 0 pounds more; engine mods, no engine mods... it was getting really stupid. Our argument in this debate was that if the engines were found to have an advantage (despite a year of race results that indicated there wasn't) additional weight shouldn't be the equalizing penalty because many, if not most, of the people that bought the 500 Rok TTs did so based on the weight the governing bodies set after initial testing. Suddenly many of those owners would have engines that no longer "fit" them and the values of those less-than-one-year-old engines would plummet (such a thing never occurs to WKA). Instead of adding weight, changes could be made to the engine to reduce perceived advantages: Specifying (exhaust pipe) flex length, restricting intake or exhaust, mandating base gasket thickness to change port timing. The one that made the most sense to us is the easiest: spec'ing head gasket thickness which would not only take compression out of the engine but would in turn reduce internal stress and give it improved longevity.
As we neared the end of February, neither TAGUSA or Stars of Karting had completed their testing of the Rok TT and neither had announced the medications they would impose, if any, to maintain parity to the Leopard. Press releases and industry forums could provide very little insight as to what is really going on behind the scenes so we made a last minute decision to attend the KMI Kart Expo in Chicago and try to get some answers.
The first glimmer of hope was from our old friend Curt Puluzzi owner and editor of National Kart News. He had been speaking with Marty Casey, the technical director of TAGUSA who had told Curt that they weren't sure they were going to do anything but if they did it would not be a weight penalty. Later we spoke to Andre Martin of TonyKart Florida who, as a Vortex importer or distributor, seemed to be able to speak with authority to the situation. He felt that an exhaust restrictor might be the solution and that a header exchange program could be in the works. While he could say for sure that would be the final solution, he also said that additional weight would not be imposed. Lastly, discouraged by the TAGUSA booth being empty every time we stopped by (which was about 4 times both days) I gave up on trying to get an official comment from TAGUSA. Eric however managed to run into Dave Larson of TAGUSA and in spite of what was described as Dave's uncooperative demeanor, Eric was able to get confirmation from him that the Rok TT would not receive additional weigh for 2008.
So while this news won't be good for the Leopard crowd waving their torches and beating on the castle door, we left the KMI show at least knowing that we were not going to have to sell our Rok TTs and reinvest in new engines yet again. Instead we can turn our attention to the usual concerns like race schedules that work for us and budget. Right now with the cost of fuel and the economy in general it looks like we'll return to our racing roots and run as many races as we can with our home club Mid State Ohio Kart Club as much as we can. There is even a notion floating around that this Old Man might run the club's Masters class. We're already stocking up on Advil.
"Earlier Latest" -
December '07:10 December - CSS Ladies Model For BTWRA
02 December - As Seen On TV (for about a second and a half)
1 December - Last Two RoboPong 200 GalleriesNovember '07:
18 November - RoboPong.com 200 Race Day Photo Gallery (Sunday)
03 November - Getting Back On The Horse X 2October '07:
31 October - Prayers Needed For A Teammate
30 October - RaceFanRadio.com Coverage
27 October - Last ever Great Lakes SKUSA Banquet
25 October - Ricart SuperCan 200 Lap Enduro Photos
21 October - A 200 Win With An *
18 October - Rebroadcast of RoboPong 200 Weekend
17 October- Mazda RoboPong 200 Photo Galleries #1 & #2
14 October - We Finished But It Wasn't Pretty
06 October - Dana, Todd Exchange Vows
05 October - Mazda RoboPong 200 presented by Bridgestone Press Release and Entry List
03 October - CSS Swag: Let Them Know What You're Made OfSeptember '07:
27 September - NCMP TaG 200 Secures Sponsors & TV Time
August '07:
30 August - Drivers Announced For NCMP TaG 200
24 - 26 August - CSS Supports 5:01 Motorsports In Longest Day Of Nelson
09 - 11 August - Went To A SKUSA Regional Race & A WKA National Broke Out
07 August - On-board With Tracy During Commecial Point Qualifying
04-05 August - Survival In The StreetsJuly '07:
13-15 July - Home Track Advantage
08 July - More Crashing, More Broken Stuff, Vortex Abuse... Good Warm Up For SKUSA
05 July - Ekartingnews.com Driver RankingsJune '07:
30 June - Concept Haulers Video
28 June - CSS To Continue With GLSKUSA And Some MSOKC
8-10 June - Injuries, Cannibalism & Gnashing Of Teeth Amid A Few Good RunsMay '07:
26 May - Formula One, Out Of The Box
21 May - Anderson Mayor's Cup Photo Gallery
11 May - On-board With Tracy
5-6 May - New And Strange, Old And FamiliarApril '07:
27 April - Opening Weekend Photo Gallery
15 April - Good Start To New SeasonMarch '07:
20 March - Full Report On RoboPong.com 200 Finally Posted
02 March - Our Drivers Featured At Racing Gear CompanyFebruary '07:
28 February - Marketing Partners Page Updated
15 February - Recent Press For CSS In Major MagazinesNovember '06:
18 November - RoboPong.com 200 Race Day Photo Gallery (Sunday)
06 November - RoboPong.com 200 Pre-Race Photo Gallery 2 (Saturday)October '06:
27 October - RoboPong.com 200 Pre-Race Photo Gallery 1 (Friday)
22 October - RoboPong.com 200 Race Photo Gallery
18 October - Post RoboPong.com 200 Press Release
17 October - RaceFanRadio.com Posts RoboPong.com 200 Webcast Archive
15 October - RoboPong.com 201
11 October - 75+ Entries for RoboPong.com 200; Race To Be Webcasted Live
06 October - Field Limited In RoboPong.com 200; Team Press Release
04 October - TaG 200... Ooops, RoboPong.com 200... To Be Televised!
03 October - Biland Powers CSS in TaG 200!September '06:
15 - 18 September- Karting With Egos
13 September - Our Family Team Grows!August '06:
11 - 13 August - War & Pieces
5 & 6 August - Fun & Frustration In The StreetsJuly '06:
23 July - The Misery Continues
21 July - New Photo Gallery
15 July - Long Day, Short Night
13 July - Clutch Problems Sideline Us From July 15 Race
10 July - New Tech Section StartedJune '06:
16 - 18 June - Four Podiums In Two Days
April '06:
21 - 23 April - Tracy Turns "Pro"
09 April - Tracy Impresses In First TaG StartMarch '06:
28 March - Bad Goat Good Bet
18 - 19 March - Three Tracks In Two Days
4 - 11 March - Spring Testing
01 March - NKN TaG 200 Article PostedFebruary '06:
27 February - March Kart Sport Photo
25 & 26 February - Mother Of All Kart Shows
23 February - Great Lakes SKUSA for 2006
10 February - CSS Endurance Drivers in Kart Sport
07 February - Help Catch The B******sJanuary '06:
28 January - Speeds Farewell Bash
28 January - Let Us Get You A Room
22 January - In Jan NKN
14 January - Rematches and Reprisals At SpeedsDecember '05:
31 December - 2005 In Review
15 December - Catching Up On Some Press
07 December - What? Do We Look Like Spam?
03 December - High Stakes At SpeedsNovember '05:
30 November - FINALLY, The Whole Story: The TaG 200
October '05:
22 October - TaG 200 Pics
22 October - The Most Fun We've Had In Karting
11 October - Racing With Indy 500 Winners
10 October - Be A Part Of Our Team For The Biggest Race Of The Year
07 October - We Lose One Star Driver, Gain Two
02 October - The Curse Of Racer XSeptember '05:
24 September - Two More Wins In A Night Of Excitement
18 September - Another Good Outing
11 September - A CSS First: Two Feature Wins In The Same DayAugust '05:
20 August - Accentuate The Positive
07 August - A Good Day Nonetheless
05 August - CSS Fields Team For 200 Mile Race At New CastleJuly '05:
30 July - Finally!
25 July - CSS To Support SICSA RDRCA Again
17 July - Dana Gains Much Needed Points, Tracy's Troubles Continue
10 July - A Busman's HolidayJune '05:
30 June - Leaving Your Mark
19 June - Can't Catch A Break
4 June - Still In A Slump
1 June - Professional-level ExcusesMay '05:
29 May - SHE ALMOST DID IT!
22 May - Not Our Finest Hour
19 May - Revised Where & When Of Conlin SpeedSports For 2005
15 May - NKN Feature: Dana Going Through LSJF DDP
13 May - Our Engines Silent For A Second Weekend
07 May - We Have To Sit One OutApril '05:
30 April, 1 May - New Castle Motorsports Park: The Way A Track Should Be
27 April - Thou Shalt Not Covet...
22 - 24 April - The Big Experiment , Part 2: Our First And Probably Last National Race
16 & 17 April - The Big Experiment , Part 1
10 April - Better Then We Expected
04 April - Dana In Phoenix Featured in NKN
03 April - First Laps Of The Year (And Not A Moment Too Soon)
01 April - Dana & Tracy To Race In EuropeMarch '05:
25 March - Final Schedule Changes
05 March - Both Ladies Move Up For '05
February '05:
26 - 27 February - 15 Minutes of Fame
23 February - Scheduled Schedule Tweaking
21 February - Family Racing Article Posted
14 February - We Mourn A Family Loss
January '05:
26 January - NKN Feature Article
23 January - Off-Season Activities
22 January - Preliminary '05 Schedule Released
14 January - Expected At The Expo
December '04:
31 December - A Look Back At '04
26 December - Dispatch Revisits Conlin SpeedSports
23 December - More Local Print
16 December - Short Story In Hometown Paper
11 December - The St. James Treatment, Day Four
10 December - The St. James Treatment, Day Three
09 December - The St. James Treatment, Day Two
08 December - The St. James Treatment, Day One
03 December - See What It's Like Out There
October & November '04:
20 November - Celebrating Our Season
24 October - We Go Out Of '04 With A Bang
23 October - Tracy & Dana Meet & Greet For The Animals
07 October - Conlin SpeedSports Drivers To Do Personal Appearance & Radio Show
September '04:
29 September - Dana Accepted To Lyn St. James Program
26 September - Tracy Finishes Out Season With Style, Dana Mixes It Up In Spec 100
19 September - Dana Clinches HPV Championship, Tracy Secures 2nd In Super Can
11 September - A Couple Of Wins For Tracy, A Big Scare For Dana
August '04:
28 August - A Short, Soggy Night
19 August - We Top 10k
17 August - Fastest Man On Batteries
15 August - Fear And Loathing In Circleville
09 August - Dispatch Article Published
07 August - Tire Test For NKN and Another Win
05 August - Late Thanks Yous
02 August - Roger That: Our (Slim) Connection To The Buckeye Bullet
July '04:
30 July - Dispatch Article Rescheduled
27 July - Go Ahead, Google Us
23 - 25 July - A Wild Weekend
11 July - Promoting Karting Again
10 July - A Long, Tough Night Ends Well
June '04:
26 June - Columbus Dispatch Article Postponed
21 June - Karting Promo July 11
20 June - No Wins But Good Points
19 June - Mid-Ohio Promotion Cancelled
13 June - Extremes
April - May '04:
30 May - All Podiums, All Day
16 May - Tracy's Turn For A Win!
08 May - Off To A Great Start!
25 April - Rained Out!
23 April - With a Little Help From Our Friends
21 April - Kids Learn About Karting
14 April - We Decide To Not Run GLSS
10 April - Just About Ready
06 April - Encore Presentation of Chassis Setup 101 Scheduled
03 April - Picking Up Speed
February - March '04:
27 March - First (Disgusting) Laps
21 March - I Stand Corrected, Sort Of
20 March - We Got Da Hizzle In Our MIzzles
13 March - Dana & Tracy Featured On Thunder Valley Racing
06 March - Chassis Setup 101 Seminar A Success
27 February - Florida Spring Training Day 7: Betrayed By The Weatherman, Emphasis Is On Fun
26 February - Florida Spring Training Day 6: Our Best Day Yet & Dana Impresses Montoya
25 February - Florida Spring Training Day 5: Rain Gives Us A Green Track
24 February - Florida Spring Training Day 4: Tire Work And Test Driving A New Package
23 February - Florida Spring Training Day 3: Learning & Gearing
22 February - Florida Spring Training Days 1 & 2: Nearly Uneventful Travel
20 February - A Week Of Karting In Sunny Florida
09 February - Conlin SpeedSports Takes To The Skies
07 February - It's Official, Tracy To Race Super Can
01 February - Instant Kart Team For Sale
December '03 - January '04:29 January - Our Busy 2004 Schedule Announced
06 January- Another Biesse Kart On Our Team
01 January - Conlin SpeedSports Helps With Seminar
17 December - A Little (And We Do Mean A Little) Local Exposure
05 December - Profiled on Thunder Valley
01 December - Instant Kart Team For Sale
November '03:29 November - "We Don't Mean To Toot Our Own Horn But...
22 November - Celebrating With Our Friends
22 November - Julie Wins Ashland Scholarship
16 November - Counting Our Blessings
15 November - Celebration in Fort Wayne
6 November - We're Almost Famous (Again)
2 November - Instant Kart Team For Sale
October '03:28 October - Instant Kart Team For Sale
22 October - I Hate Technology
12 October - Dana Is HPV Champ, Tracy Just Misses Top 5
11 October - We Have A Hand In Enduro Win
05 October - Tracy Gets a Big Break, Dana Wins, Subs and Samples
September '03:21 September - Best Team Finish So Far: Both Ladies Podium
12 - 14 September - We Learn A Lot At Final GLSS Race
06 September - We Do All Right Under The Lights
01 September - We're Famous!
August '03:24 August - A Tough Day For Those Conlin Girls
17 August - Another Good Day For Those Conlin Girls
03 August - Dana Wins (We Think) At BeaveRun
July '03:27 July - Clean Sweep For Dana, 3 Top 5s For Tracy
26 July - Good Testing At BeaveRun
20 July - No Testing Means Low Points For Great Lakes Race #4
13 July - Dana: 3 Races, 2 Wins - Tracy: 3 Races, 3 Engines
06 July - Brian O'Hara Is Not Human
05 July - Dana's First Win(s) and Tracy's Top Four Finish
June '03:29 June - 300+ Learn About Karting
22 June - Close For Dana, Too Close For Tracy
20 June - Karting Promo At Mid-Ohio
18 June - Prayers Needed For A Friend
01 June - Dana Shines, Tracy Struggles
May '03:25 May - Our Best CRP Laps Yet, Another 3rd With GLSS
16 May - Chassis Testing, Practice Starts
08 May - Guest Speaking At Hilliard 4-H Club
04 May - Interesting Lessons Learned
April '03:30 April - 5th Becomes 3rd
27 April - Great Fun With Great Lakes Sprint Series
22 April - Join Us In Norway
13 April - Tracy's Luck Doesn't Rub Off On Dana
05 April - Tracy Warms Up Despite The Cold
01 April - Lots Of Laps For Dana, More To Come For Tracy
January through March '03:
15 March - First Outing Encourages Us
02 March - Shivers In Charlotte
16 February - Getting Ready For New Season
15 January - Trailer For Sale
01 January - New Colors For 2003
November '02:
23 November - Awards, Prizes and Surprises
11 November - New Kart & New Driver For 2003
1 November - We Lose A Teammate and Our Biggest Fan
October '02:
21 October - Putting Things In Perspective
21 October - Hilliard Northwest News Article
5 & 6 October - Ending The Season On A High NoteSeptember '02:
29 September - INFONETICS Day At The Races 2002
22 September - Another Taste Of Something Faster
14 & 15 September - Long, Rough Weekend
12 September - Profiled On Women In Racing Website
07 September - Best Laps Of The YearAugust '02:
31 August - Who's Olga And What Is She Doing In Our Kart?
25 August - Getting Closer...
July '02:30 July - Remedial Math Needed
27 July - Our Strongest Showing Yet
14 July - Fighting With The Fast Guys
10 July - A Little Publicity
06 July - Mining For Tenths
01 July - The OppositionJune '02:
29 June - Correction
23 June - More Power & A Flying Karr
21 June - Newsworthy
16 June - The Streak Is Broken
09 June - A Day Of Frustration
02 June - Grove City Promo
May '02:
29 May - Meet & Greet #3
26 May - Driving Over The Competition
18 May - The Chill At The Grill
17 May - Exactly What We Didn't Need
14 May - Meet & Greet #2: Treat Yourself To A Rack and Visit A While
06 May - Another Karting Promo Scheduled
01 May - INFONETICS Continues SupportApril '02:
28 April - Searching For Speed
27 April - Meet & Greet #1: Good Turnout Under Threatening Skies
26 April - Taking On A Good Cause
23 April - Visit With Us, Learn About Karting
18 April - A Medalist
14 April - Rain, Rain, Go Away
09 April - Another Speed Sport
07 April - A Useful Test
02 April - Karting Show CanceledMarch '02:
29 March - Another Meet & Greet Planned
27 March - Hilliard Karting Promo
20 March - Karting Show At SpeedsJanuary & February '02:
17 February - Rule Changes To Our Favor?
02 February - Dana To Compete in MSOKC Races
20 January - Duty CallsArchives
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