Fall Classic Sugar hill speedway 1/11/09

This weekend we raced at Sugar hill speedway. This weekend it was the Fall Classic so it was a huge race people all the way from Connecticut come to race and watch this race!! About one hundred and four Karts were at the track so it was jammed packed with Thirty foot trailers when the time for the Fall Classic people don't mess around!! Our first practice went as well as it could have ever it was so far the best practice with awesome times!! Our second practice went more awesome I was humming ( to see what I mean by humming watch Driven the movie)!! Then as I was getting out of my car I heard a crashing sound I looked over and saw a tiger sprint go kart go nose over tail three times and then hit the wall with extreme force. I was amazed by the damage on that car amazingly there was Only a few dents and spots where paint chipped. Then we had our drivers meeting which went pretty good. Followed by our drivers meeting we had our time trials so we got ready and went out for time trials. Once they posted the times on the board we found out we qualified second to the #99 car the same guy I won to last year it was like a blast from the past!! Pretty soon we were getting ready and we were ready to go green flag racing. I got out onto the track and we lined up then the green flag waved and we went underway immediately the #60 jumped out in front followed by the #99 we ran third till lap nine when I dived underneath the #99 and took second back!! We went single file as the #60 and I pulled away. Then out of no where a car spun and was taken off the track that brought the cation out after we were all lined up we went green and immediately again the #60 pulled away to half a track. As I came around the corner we received five to go and boy did I fly I made up half a track in four laps then on white flag going into three I dived down low and took the lead but then the #60 made the same move on me as we got closer to the checkered he pulled a little bit a head and boy it was close we came in second by less than a car length!!! It was the best finish we ever had that we were competitive in!! It was an spectacular finish. Special thanks to Meme, Bubba, Uncle Ron, Aunt Julie, and Aunt Margaret who came and supported us. Another special thanks to our other sponsors who sponcered us all year Office Environments, E and S Insurance, Gamens Outdoor Property Services, New England Karting Center, Meme and Bubba, Nana and Papa, the Frenches and my pit crew and back up pit crew (Uncle Kirk). Thank you all for a spectacular season we will see you next season!!

Route 106 raceway 10/10/09

This weekend we raced at Route 106 raceway. My Dad couldn't come because he had to go to a wedding so My Uncle Kirk voulentered to be my back up crew chief. This race was not a normal race because we had two practices then a feature race and then time trials then another race. The reason for it is because we were making up one race that got rained out then we were also doing a tripple crown race. Our first practice went pretty good no accidents. Our second practice went good to but the car was a little loose. Then we got ready Uncle Kurk pushed me up to the grid and we went racing everybody was pretty loose because of cold and because we were running hard tires. So we kept racing and I finished third. Then we did time trials and I qualiffied fourth not very bad I guess. And then had a very very long break till it was 10:30 PM when we finnally got started there was frost on my front pannel and I was writing smilley faces on it. Finally we started up and got the green flag and from that point on every body was sliding every where in every direction. Pretty much everybody had a little damage. We finished fourth because of a bent spindle. But racing with hard tires in 38 degree weather your going to slide a lot so we really shouldn't of raced but we did and finished in the top five. Special thanks to Uncle Kirk!!!

Route 106 raceway 9/26/09

Last weekend we raced at Route 106 raceway. In the first practice we did absolutly awesome beating our own personal record by one whole second, we were running 8.7 seconds!!!! The second practice we did even better than before and I think we beat our new record!! After all the practices were finished we started up for time trials. We did okay I guess in the time trial considering I was sliding every where, we finished fourth but I had to hold back a ton so I wouldn't spin so we still had a very fast car. So my Dad dropped a pound around and we waited to go green flag racing. Soon my division was up so I suited up and waited at the grid. Finally we went out onto the track and went green flag, pretty much immediatly I moved up to third place and I held my possision. The leaders were pretty far a head but as the race went on I reeled them in. And soon I was right on the second place persons bumper!! Then right when I was going to make my move cation goes out. Once we were all lined up again we went green and again I held onto third as the leaders pulled a head but then six laps later I am right up with them trying to get around I went high then low trying to get around them!! Just then another cation goes out. And again we lined up and went green and again I held my possission as the leaders pulled ahead finally we receved two to go and boy did I put the petal to the metal I closed like five car lengths and recieved third by only a car length!! An outstanding finish for us!!

Route 106 Raceway 9/20/09

This weekend we raced at Route 106 Raceway. The track was green this weekend which means there wasn't a lot of grip on the track, so everybody was sliding today. The first and second practice went really well today; yeah we were sliding a little, but other than that we just stayed out of all the other spinnouts. This weekend we did time trials which me and my Dad hate so we strapped in and prepared for the worse, but we did really well we qualified third, and I was holding back so the car wouldn't spin!!! Finally when it came the time to have the feature I thought I was going to get hypothermia in my racecar. But we moved up onto the grid and then the #15 (my friend) had a flat tire so they had to change tires to race but there is this rule that you can't change tires before a race. So they moved him to the back of the pack and I was moved into second place! Once the race started somebody spun comming into turn one. Then, on the next restart we held a good second until somebody spun me on the back straight away. After that, we had a good strong second place for pretty much half the race. But then we were approaching on lap trafic and one car wouldn't move up to the top of the race track where they are supposed to go when the leaders are going to put them a lap down. So I had hard time getting around him and that allowed the person in third to get on my back bumper and spun me which made me hit the lapped car so there was a big wreck. So they put me to the back of the pack, which was a real bummer but I was able to battle back to third place. A pretty good finish but we were good enough for a strong second if thet guy hadn't taken me out!!

Route 106 raceway 9/5/09

This weekend we raced at Route 106 raceway. In the first practice we were so loose we would be drifting coming out of turn four. A lot of people were loose too, because the track was green. Which means there isn't a lot of rubber on the track which makes it harder for the tires to grip. In the second practice, the car was as loose as the first practice. So my Dad did every thing he could think of -to tighten the car. We went back out for time trials and didn't do very well. I spun out once we got on the track. I guess we had a pretty fast time even though we spun out. We finished fourth. In the feature we moved right up to second and held on for a little, but then the #83 got on the inside and we battled him for a while. Then we fell back to third and then a little past half way we fell back to fourth and finished the race fourth battling loose and tight car. Okay for us, but not great.

Sugar hill speedway

This weekend we raced at Sugar Hill Speedway. But this time we had new tires, the same engine as everyone else and a new set of gears and a new float sprocket, so we were ready to go. Once we got to Sugar Hill Speedway we unloaded and we were ready to go. The first practice went pretty bad because once we got onto the track the chain immediatly fell off for some reason so I pulled into the infield and waited for the track official to fix it. But then once I got back on the track it fell off again! Which was pretty annoying. So this time I pulled off the track so my Dad could fix it. So once my Dad fixed it and I went out for my second practice which went really well. In the heat race we did pretty well too, we were pretty compettitve and finished third out of four cars!!! Finally in the feature race we started third and moved up a spot immediatly and actually held onto second spot from lap one to lap five or ten. But then we got passed and finished the race third not to bad considering the fact that I was up against two kids who had three more years of experience and one kid who had the same amount of experience as me.

Sugar hill speedway 8/23/09

Last weekend we raced at Sugar Hill Speedway. We were at the disadvantage from the start because we were running a totally different engine (Box Stock instead of WKA Blueprinted) which wasn't as fast as all the other engines people had there. The first practice went pretty good because we set our fastest lap and I think that really encouraged us. The second practice went even better because we got even faster. Then, in the heat race we got even faster but came in fourth because our engine disadvantage. Finally, in the feature we were pretty fast but weren't fast enough for the leaders so we finished fourth. But pretty good for our engine disadvantage.

7/24/09 Route 106 raceway Engine trouble

This weekend we raced at Route 106 raceway. The first practice went great handling wise. It was awesome, but we didn't have a whole lot of power. So me and my Dad decided to switch to a gear that would give us more power, and then we went out for the second practice. The car handled all right and had a little more power than before but still not enough. So my Dad went over and asked one of our competitors what they were running for RPM's they said they were running 5600. So then we did the math and figured out they were running 200 more RPM's than we were. So then at that point on we knew it was our engine and that’s why we weren't being competitive. So the rest of the day dragged along and we finished third in the heat race and third out of four cars in the feature, not bad for engine trouble. Later that day my Dad said we are going to buy a new engine so we can be

Competitive.

Thoughts from the Crew Chief

We did better this week than in the last few weeks. That is pretty good considering we are now racing in the "A" division (we started in the "B" division earlier this year).

A small change to the set up made a big difference in the afternoon. We finished the Heat race competitively and led some laps. By the time the feature was run, night had fallen and there was a noticable temperature drop. Also, multiple cautions and restarts kept us from ever really getting warmed up. Jack drove great and I am very proud of him.

Route 106 7/18/09

This weekend we raced at Route 106 in Pembroke, NH. Our first practice went great but the car didn't have a whole lot of power so me and my Dad debated on putting on a different gear. But in the end we decided to keep the gear we had. So we went out for our second practice and didn't do so well still no power so my Dad put on a different gear. In the heat race we were starting on the pole. So we had a good start until this kid in the #49 hit me! But we ended up getting our spot back. So I kept leading for a while but then he gave me a huge bump and the #49 passed me along with two other guys. So I had dropped to fourth and then a couple laps later the heat race was over and I finished fourth.  In the feature we had a lot of cautions and we were running a gear that worked best when you had lots of momentum so we couldn't get up to speed so we finished fifth place out of eight cars.

7/12/09 Sugar hill speedway

Last weekend we went to Sugar hill speedway. We had serious engine trouble and came in last. We are giving our engine to Archie to refresh the engine.

Route106 raceway 7/11/09

Today we raced at Route 106. Our first practice went great no complients from me everything went smooth. Then, in the second practice I passed the 95J but right when I was starting to pull away he hit me!! But I was able to keep the car from spinning out. Ever since the 95J hit me my racecar hasn't been the same so we didn't finish the practice quite as we pleased. Then in the heat race we came in fourth out of seven cars not bad but not awesome either. Next, in the feature on the first lap there was an accident in front of me but I avoided it an that boosted me up to second but for some weird reason they made me start back in fourth. For the rest of the race every body was pretty much all spread out so we walked away with a fourth place finish out of seven cars not bad but not good. We think it was the car but aren't sure what part on the car wasn't working right.

Me practicing at Route 106

This is me practicing in my new car, we just started to race it this year. We race my new car at Route 106 and Sugar hill speedway. We have won once so far but there is still a lot races left.

July 8 Update

We have been away from the track for more than two weeks. A week ago, Tuesday, we tore Jack's Kart down and rebuilt it with a completely new set up. Now we are just waiting for Saturday night to test things out.