The Bench Racers Journal

[Terry Bentley]

Chapter 64

Can it really be possible? After all this time we are finally on the way to Fabens Speedway right now? No that isnt right. I must have dozed off and been wishfully dreaming again. But after discussing everything with dad earlier, he agreed to let mom drive us to the track.

Dads work just isnt allowing much free time right now. Especially for a Friday afternoon. All of the window signs and price cards had to be delivered by Friday afternoon, so they can get distributed to all of the Safeway stores in the area and surrounding states over the weekend.

But tomorrow we are headed out to the track for our first practice day. Mom is not really excited about sitting out there all afternoon in the summer heat with nothing to do. She needs to get some shopping done and the usual stuff moms take care of during the week to keep a family alive and well.

She knows how much effort me and Steve have put in to everything just to get this far. So she has agreed to set aside a couple of hours for us. I told Frank that we were planning to make it out to the track this Friday for practice. You know just in case he wanted to meet up with us out there. I wasnt too sure about this tho. My first time out for a practice day and driving the karts on the track, compounded with the presence of the unknown, known only as a Frank.

From the few times hanging out in Franks garage, I dont remember seeing him actually do anything. He could be a total screw up or worse. Some people are naturally accident prone, even without lifting a finger. He did manage to push the electric garage door opener button without causing any collateral damage. I dont know anything else about Frank, except that he barks at people.

There is still half the summer left and now we have both the karts and equipment loaded into the back of the Ranchero. Mom seems to be a little bit more stressed than usual. She is concerned about other things that need to get done today.

But we are headed out to the track. Finally, after all this time, I will get to drive my own kart for the first time on a real racing track. Even tho before I have been on the same track with most of the same kart. But this time it is completely different. It will be the first time out with my own kart. This is so way over the top.

Me and Steve are rambling on about anything related to karts on the way out to the track. We are going over everything in our heads about what should have loaded and if we forgot something that might be needed. One thing I didnt even think of until we were leaving, is a tire pump. I grabbed the bicycle pump and tossed it in with all of the other stuff we thought might be necessary for out first debut on the track.

As we pull in to the parking lot of the track, I look around and see there are several other vehicles out here today. Checking out each of the different vehicles here, I spot a Volkswagen at one end of the parking lot where there is another access to the pits. Oh crap, Frank actually decided to show up. We unload all of our stuff and start carrying it in to the pit area. There is a 55 gallon trash drum we snag up for sitting a kart on, just in case any work is needing to be done. If for nothing else, we can put our trash in the barrel.

I take a look around the pits to see if Frank is anywhere to be seen. Standing up against the fence, there is someone with stringy hair and a white towel on top of his head. Nobody else looks familiar, so that must be him. I am a little bit nervous about hollering at him to come over right now. Just need to stay focused on our stuff so we can get on the track.

We have checked over both of the karts plenty of times before todays outing and even again right before loading everything up. All we need to do is top off the tank with gas. Then oil the chain really good, so it doesnt start kinking up anytime soon. Might as well check tires and write down the pressures in a notebook. My plan is to keep a record on everything we change out and try to accomplish today. Right now the tires are set at 16 psi on front and 20 psi on rear. That should be a good starting point.

Both engines fire right up and almost idle smooth with a slightly chuggy lope. Maybe just a little rich, which I think is about right for a cold engine. When warmed up, should be close to perfect out there running on the track. I am ready for this now. We push the karts up to the gridding area and put our helmets on. My ugly Buco could just as well be brand new right now from the way I am feeling about today.

Steve slaps the back of this ugly Buco helmet to get my attention. I am going to follow you around for a while. Is that OK with you? Sure Steve, that makes sense. Just keep a little distance at first going thru the turns. That way you wont run in to the back of me. Some of the turns you brake early and might not catch on at first.

Both of us pull on to the track at the same time. Steve immediately nails it and jumps out in front of me running full speed down the short straight. In the first turn, he taps the brake a little too hard and spins off the pavement, then stops. OK that wasnt too smart. I drive my kart down to him at the tracks edge. He gives me a thumbs up. I pat the back of my helmet. So now he pulls back on the track and right behind me this time. Then follows my kart like he first said was going to do.

We spend what seems like a good half hour just making laps. Not trying to do anything but get time on the track and a good feel for how the karts run. My kart seems close to what I remember before it was wrecked. Except it is steering in way to fast in some turns and not really responding so good in other turns. Hope it isnt anything critical to fix. Maybe it is something we can adjust here today.

Steve managed to stay on the track this whole time and only bumped me twice in one of the tighter turns. By the end of our first practice session, I was more comfortable running with him at a faster pace now. I hold up my hand and slow down as we approach the exit. Then pull off the track and in to the pits.

I drive back to where we are pitted and get out of the kart. Looks like Steve decided to stay on the track by himself for some solo laps. So now is a good time to try out the stop watch. Just like getting laps on the kart, I need to practice timing laps to be accurate as possible. Not that is will make so much difference right now. But when we run more laps and get up to speed, might eventually be a really big help. With the watch in my hand I head up to the fence where Steve can see me when he goes by in a few seconds. I hold the watch out for him to know what I want to do.

As he passes, give me the thumbs up and I wait until the start finish line for a marker to start the watch. He is now on the clock for his very first timed lap. After the one completed lap I signal at him to come in. The small gas tank should be about empty by now. Or at least getting very close. Mine is way down low.

Steve comes in a little too hot and slammed the brakes on, skidding to a stop. Jumps out of the kart and just starts rambling about how much fun that was. While he is going on and on about everything without catching a breath, I see the track attendant is on his way over and pointing at us. Hey Steve, that guy is coming over here. Sure doesnt look very happy. Guess he wants to talk to us. I wonder what is up?

Hey, you boys. We have rules out here for a reason. This is your first warning. No excessive speeding thru the pits. If it happens again, you can load up and go home. I just give him my innocent wave and apologize. No need to make any excuses. I thanked him for being so observant and understand his safety concerns. Please let us know anything we are doing immediately, so no one gets hurt because of our negligence.

He mellowed out and his demeanor changed a lot. OK boys, just so you know. I will be keeping my eyes on you today. I thanked him again and told him we were new and this is our first time to finally get to a track with our karts. You boys just use your heads and everything will be OK. If there are any questions, dont hesitate to ask me. Then he quickly left when there was a small mishap out there on the track.

Sorry, man I wasnt thinking. But this is so bad to the bones. I didnt realize how much fun it would be driving on the track. When can we get back out there? Just chill out Steve, we need to gas back up first. Hey my kart is having some steering issues. I need to look it over and try to figure out what isnt right about it.

OK, man I can wait a few minutes. Anything I can do to help? Yea Steve, sit in my kart and compare how it feels to yours. See what you think. Tell me if there is any difference. Steve sits down and moves the wheel back and forth. Heck yea, it feels real heavy when I turn it this way. But almost nothing when I turn it the other way.

When Steve said the it feels heavy, then something made sense now. Steve you are a genius! Yea man, tell me something I dont know. Oh, by the way what did I do? You know just for the record. Hey Steve push your kart over there where it is flat, on the concrete pad. Sit down, and hold the steering wheel straight and rigid.

I grab the right front tire with my hand and try to lift it just off the ground. Then do the same to the left tire. OK, Steve now get in my kart and do the same thing again. On Steves kart both front wheels felt almost equal trying to pick up one at a time. On my kart there is a huge difference. The right tire is very heavy and left tire takes almost no effort to lift up. I got it Steve! Here is the problem. Now just need to figure out what to do about it.

Steve I need a way to twist the frame a little bit. The front tires are not equal like on yours. If I can get the frame twisted a little bit then it should handle a lot better. After a few useless attempts that were complete failures, I figured out what we could try that might work.

Using a concrete cinder block under the right front tire, I got Steve to stand on the right rear tire. Then we both pushed our body weight down at the same time while I was on the left front tire. It took a few attempts to get the rhythm right, but we managed to both push down together and the frame actually twisted, instead one of us loosing our ba1ance or getting launched off the kart.

This small amount of commotion got the attention of the track attendant again. He came over and wanted to know why we were out here horsing around this time and making such a scene? I explained what we had done to fix the frame. He shook his head and told us to please be very careful. If we needed some help, just give him a holler. He didnt want anyone to get hurt out here today. Not on his watch.

So me and Steve are pushing the karts back over to our pit and there is someone with a white towel over his head looking at us. The towel is wet and laying down over most of his face. This is the first time I have actually seen two monkeys try to phuk a football. You punks usually make such a big hoop-de-doo when you go places? Steve points to me and asks if I know who this person is? Wait a minute. Is he that Frank guy?

Hey Frank, thought that was you earlier covering up your ugly face. Whats up? Funny kid, but not really. I dont want to burn the top of my head, if you just have to know. I didnt think Texas would be so much hotter than Ohio in the summer. How do you punks stand it?

Heck thats easy Frank, just let some hair grow back on the top of your head. Then you will be insulated from the Texas summer. About this time Steve just busts out laughing. Franks gets mad and starts to walk off. Gee Frank, I thought I was the one who could dish it out but not take it. Frank turns back around. Touche`

Well, it seems to be two against one right now. Thats not really fair.

Life isnt fair Frank.

So it isnt, Barry.

Besides Frank, you are more than twice as old as we are. That means you have more than double the experience anyway. So Frank, how is your kart running? Do you like the track? Oh by the way Frank, this is Steve. I think I might have mentioned about him once or twice.

Yea I figured as such. He looks at Steve and goes all WOOF, WOOF, WOOF at him. Now I got two punks to deal with today. Steve just looked over at Frank with a blank stare and nodded his head, but kept a safe distance.

Nope the kart is almost set up and ready. Just about to take it for a spin in a little while. I can already tell by just looking, this is a 10-84 track. Tell it without even taking my first lap.

Me and Steve just look over at each other and hunch our shoulders at the same time. OK Frank, I give. Whats a 10-84 track? Call me stupid, but I dont really have a clue what you mean.

Its simple kid, that is what gears you should be running. One look and I knew. Call it instinct or experience. I got it. You should change over if that isnt what you guys have on your karts already. Save you a bunch of time trying to figure it out for yourselves.

Well thanks Frank, for that insight. I will see what we have that will get us there.

So what is the hold up getting your kart on the track? Do you need some help or a spare hand to start it up? How does that new helmet feel? I need to make a few adjustments before we can get back out there. Steve, why dont you give Frank a hand?

Uh, well,.....I was just thinking about some stuff needing to be done on my kart. How about I get started on that and you give him a hand right now. Hey Steve, are you scared of Frank? I am fairly certain he has all of his shots. Then started laughing. Frank just looked over and goes WOOF, WOOF, WOOF.

Alright Frank lets get your kart on the track. Since you are here, no reason not to. Be back in a few Steve. Fill up the tanks, oil chains and check tires. I want to find out if my kart is handling better now. So its over to Franks pit area and I notice the engine is bolted on his Super experimental prototype Dart kart, but nothing is attached yet. Just exactly like it was when I saw the kart in the his garage last time.

Frank, didnt you bother to get your kart ready before now?

Yea I thought about it. But really not that much to do. Just figured I would get it all finished out here instead.

Well I can help if you want. Where is your fuel line? The throttle linkage needs to be hooked up too.

It took over 30 minutes helping Frank get his kart together. I was not surprised to find the motor mount bolts were loose either. For my own piece of mind I started looking over everything on his new super duper proto Dart kart. Checked all of the bolts to make sure nothing is loose. I set things up just like dad had gone over with me on the more critical stuff that can make a difference.

Steve had motioned to me back over at our pit. Whats up? Man that guy is a wack job. Maybe I will just keep my distance for a while. Sure Steve, Frank is a little strange. But remember he is a yankee. You gotta take that into consideration. So you wanna get some more track time while I finish helping Frank? Yea man, that sounds like a good plan.

So while my kart just sits there in the pits, Steve is out getting some valuable track time, and I am now stuck working on Franks one of a kind super Dart kart. There are so many little things that were just not right. Front wheel bolts were way too snug. Enough to cause noticeable rolling resistance on those little sealed ball bearings. Me and Frank ended up arguing about several things I knew were just not right.

I wanted Frank to get on the track, but his kart was no where near ready to do that just yet. Finally I convinced Frank to suit up. I had this. Just to trust me. I pointed out to Steve on the track. That guy is on the kart made from scrap pieces of tubing. Everything was put together by me and him. Do you see any problem with his kart running out there right now Frank? Do you?

There are some things that need done on your kart before you go out. I want to get everything right. So you dont have any mishaps. Please just let me get this done. Do you have your fuel already mixed up? Frank looked over at me. Well double damn, I knew there was something I was forgetting.

I just stopped working and dropped Franks tools on the ground where I was standing. Dang it Frank, just get in your kart.

After filling up his tank with my mixed gas, Frank is squirming around in his kart getting comfortable. Is the carburetor set close enough Frank?

Yea of course it is. I havent touched the motor since the last time it was raced in Ohio.

Frank, what do you usually set the needles at? Heck just forget that, never mind. I decided to set them where I thought they should be to start with. The low speed was open just about 1/2 of a turn. The high was almost closed off.

Frank, do these normally start about 1 turn open? Uh yea something like that.

OK, that is where they are right now. Can you adjust these while driving?

Yea sure no problem. Its not like I havent been already racing for the last couple of years, you know.

I grabbed the handle to the engines recoil starter and pulled on the rope. It looked like Frank just went into some kind of seizure fit. He is sitting there pumping the gas pedal back and forth just as fast as his foot can move. Frank what the heck are you doing?

This is what it takes to get the engine started kid. Been there done that.

Frank, get your foot off the gas pedal. Now hold your hand over the carburetor to choke it.

Fine whatever. It wont start that way.

Now the engine fires up on the next pull. Except Frank didnt bother to take his hand off the carburetor. This is starting to get frustrating. Frank, are you ready now?

Yea, hurry and start me up.

He does the gas pedal pumping again before I even pull the rope again. Frank! Stop that! So I pull the rope and the motor is now running. Then immediately I step in front of Franks kart and drop down to the ground. I grab the brake pedal and swat his right foot out of the way. Just hold on a second, Frank.

I push the brake down and rev the engine a couple of times. It starts to rev up but is trying to nose over. Frank, turn the low speed needle out just a hair. No Frank, the other low speed needle. No Frank, turn it out, not in. Dang it Frank, move your hand. So I tweak the needle out just a hair. Then rev it up again. OK, that sounds a lot better.

Frank, take it out for a spin. Stay away from Steve. OK? Just run it around a few laps. If I wave my hands at you, then come back in. GOT IT? He waves at me then nails it out of the pits on to the track. All the way down to the end of the front straightaway Frank never lets off. Then at the end he just parks it. I mean slams on the brake hard. Almost to a complete stop. I thought for sure he was going to spin off the end. But instead the kart is slightly pitched and barely even rolling forward.

Frank makes a slow move thru the turn, then just nails it after straightening the steering wheel. Again he is full bore until the next turn. Then slams on the brake to nearly a stop, negotiating the turn then back on the gas. OK this guys driving is really scary looking out there. I need to keep him and Steve away from each other. Someone is going to get hurt. And it aint gonna be me this time.

For several more laps, Franks driving style has not changed. Gotta hand it to him, if nothing else he is consistent. Sure not actually driving to make for a fast lap time. He is just drag racing from turn to turn. Kind of weird to watch. Either he is a major screw up or I still got a whole lot more to learn out here about driving.

This is nothing even close to any of the other drivers I watched back during spring break when we first came out here. There were some serious professional drivers that night too. Franks driving style is nothing I have ever witnessed before. Not sure what to think. So far everything I know about Frank is completely different from what is rational or even makes any sense.

During this time I had not payed any attention to Steve driving on the track. His lines look really smooth. He still seems a little bit cautious in the faster turns. But the tight ones you shut down for, he is carrying good speed out of them. Now Frank is just repeating the same thing on every turn. Not much difference on a fast sweeping turn or a slower tight turn.

Franks engine is just on and off four cycling at the very end of the longest straight. It pulls hard out of the turns. Plenty of smoke, so the carburetor is close enough for now. Maybe pinch it down just a little bit more when he comes back in from the track.

I motion for Steve to get off the track. He was starting to close in behind Frank. I dont want to see any altercation between them. Frank doesnt seem much aware of other drivers behind him at all. Steves kart looks like it is handling very well. I dont want to be fixing it because of an incident with Frank.

Man this kart is awesome! So what did you bring me in for? Isnt there still plenty of gas in the tank? Oh yea Steve probably is. Just wanted to check everything over real well since enough laps have been put on it now. You can use a rest anyway. You know, kinda like to pace yourself. Man I dont need no rest. Get me back out there.

Let me look it over first, then you can go.

Hey man, you havent been back out in your kart yet, why not?

Well I just got Frank running, so no I havent.

Terry, I will check over my kart. Why dont you get back out there and see if it now handles like you want it to?

Thanks Steve, that I can do.

Back out on the track I find out the kart is steering almost good as I remember from the first time getting to drive it. Still not perfect. Maybe find some waaaaaaay.YES, if I can weigh the front end and adjust until they are both equal? Perfect, I am getting this stuff figured out. Awesome!

A few more laps, and I see Frank just ahead of me. My kart is running very good. Maybe not quite fast as it did with the original engine, but is still running very strong thru the turns. Even without that little bit of extra speed at the end of the straightaway it is running what feels to be really fast. I am cautious about approaching Frank, and not sure if I should try to over take him or not.

Well, there is no way I can follow his line or the way he is driving thru these turns. I am all over him going into the turns, and it takes everything I can control myself from passing him on exiting them. I decide just going for it. Frank parks it at the end of the longest straight, I dive down under him and make a clean break for it. There are several more tight turns ahead. This should give me a chance at getting some distance on him.

Franks kart seems to have a lot more speed, but he wastes all of that when going thru the turns. I am making up all the difference everywhere except on the long straight. If I can get enough distance before the end of the long straight, then should be able to stay far enough ahead where he wont be able to pass me back.

On the first try, I let Frank back around me before the end of the long straight, then passed him right back on the sweeper. Carrying my speed well in that turn, I gained a lot more distance going thru the back side of track. Then he didnt have enough time to run me down and make a pass again. This worked out fairly well. Didnt take much effort to stay ahead and pull away quickly.

After a few more laps there was no sign of Frank behind me. I was satisfied with what I had experienced and learned from it. Frank is starting to become a useful tool out here today. That time I spent helping get his kart together has just paid off. Not the fact that my puny little Clinton beat him here today. But the chance to drive with a complete unknown that was anything but predictable.

I pulled off the track and then watched Frank just buzz on by. He has been out there plenty of laps. Guess about time to wave him in or he might just stay out until the tank is empty. Steve, can you roll my kart back? I am gonna get Frank off the track. Sure no prob. I am ready to get back out there anyway.

I go out to the edge of the track and motion for Frank to come in. It took about two laps before he finally responded back. Hum, what is up with that? I go back over and get Steves kart fired up so he can continue with some more time out there today. He zips on the track just like doing it for years. This is going to work out great. Both of us may finally start racing soon.

Mom is waving her hands and hollering at me across the track in the stands under the shade trees. She says time is about up. There are things she needs to get done today. Now I am totally bummed out from what she just told me. But an idea has just popped in my head. Mom, how much time do you need? She says a couple of hours at least.

Why not go ahead and do everything, then come back and pick us up? No way, I am going to leave you two boys out here by yourselves. God forbid, what is something happened to one of you, then what? Mom, Frank is out here with us today. If it is alright with him can we stay? Who is Frank?

Mom, just a fellow racer in the neighborhood. He is also a responsible adult. Well, if its no trouble then maybe. But I want to meet this Frank person first before I agree. Oh crap, that isnt what I was hoping for. This might just be a complete wash out. OK mom I will go talk it over with him and then you two can meet.

So Frank, how was it?

Hey kid, what did I tell you. Definitely a 10-84 track. Did you get your gears changed over already? Want to go out and run with me next time? There is one guy out there that is pretty fast. Didnt get a good look at who it was tho. It is likely someone that runs in a much faster class than I race. Must be burning alky. Sure smokes like it. Did you see who it was?

Oh sorry Frank, I got busy helping Steve so he could get back out on the track. I will keep watch next time. How long are you staying here today Frank?

Oh I dont know just whenever.

My mom wants to get some shopping done and I have to leave now. Unless you dont mind keeping that watchful eagle eye of yours on a couple of useless punks for a while. Do you mind?

Sure kid I can babysit you guys for a few more hours.

Great Frank. You didnt even refer to us a punks this time. There is hope for you after all. But you gotta meet my mom before she leaves. Can you put on your poker face? And please Frank, dont bark at her, please?

No way, there is no way I am going to leave you here with that strange man. What do you even know about him anyway? Ah mom, come on. He is just a guy that his wife divorced him and then moved down here to work at Texas Instruments. He is completely harmless. Besides the track attendant is out here too.

If something happened, I could not deal with it. Are you sure you trust him? Yes mom, everything is good. Besides I got Steve to back me up. Frank is strange, but completely harmless. Not so bad for a yankee. A yankee? Hes a yankee? Then no way at all. You know what they say about them. Mom please, it is alright. We will be fine for a couple of hours. Just like the last couple. Please go ahead and dont worry about anything.

Well ok then. I will be back in two hours. You better be here safe and sound when I return. No funny business either. I am taking your word about this Frank guy. I better not be making a mistake leaving. If anything happens, and he is to blame, I wont feel sorry for what I might do to him.

Geez that was a headache, but mom let us stay here while she had some errands to make. So how is the kart running Steve? It feels fine to me. But I dont have anything to compare to. You seem to be doing everything else but getting out on the track and run with me. What gives?

Sorry, but Franks kart was not even close to ready when we got here. I wanted you to get all the track time you could. I also did not want you to get tangled up out there with Frank. So just trying to keep you two separated on the track. His driving style is a little different than anything I have ever seen before.

Hey Frank! do you mind starting us? Me and Steve want to get some time out on the track together. Yea, I can do. Hop on in guys. Frank grabs the rope with both hands and jerks it through really hard. So hard that it lifted the back of my kart off the ground and caused the rope to break. Dang it. Well at least the engine is running. Frank be a little easier on Steves engine. Right! I gotcha. So me and Steve are back on the track together again.

I let Steve take the lead and followed him around for several laps. Just wanted to find out where my kart has any advantage. Steve is running really well. Just a little too tight in the turns. He is loosing some speed, but not bad if trying to hold his line against a competitor. Going down the long straight he brakes just a little before I normally like to. I dive underneath and pull ahead thru the turns.

I can feel Steves presence right behind me going thru this section of the track. But coming up on the short straight, he doesnt try to pass or pull up along side me. Another lap and I still can feel his kart right on my bumper. But he is not hitting me. Just the sound of another engine running extremely close.

On the long straight, I pull over for a second and let him by. He buzzes on past and heads into the turn. I pull back behind him and stay on his bumper all the way around. Another lap and I can still easily take him at the end of the long straight. But that is the only place I can do it. Otherwise we are very close to each other. I think it is time to start making some changes and see how it affects the karts are running against each other. Hopefully might be able to drop our lap times a little bit.

After we return to the pits, Frank comes over and tells us we are turning 33 to 34 second lap times. Wow, and accurate down to within a full second. What did you time us with Frank? A sun dial? He shows me his wrist watch. It is one of those military styles capable of just almost everything. He then tells me this watch can do just about anything but wipe his butt.

How about giving me a start if one of you guys dont mind. Think I am going to speed things up a bit. Oh, sorry about the starter rope. I wasnt expecting the engine to start up that easily. You probably just had a bad rope. Yea Frank, thats alright. Things happen. No big deal. I brought an extra one just in case.

Man that starter had brand new rope. The real heavy stuff too. Frank just yanked on it way too hard. Yea I know Steve. But if that is all we break today, I can live with it. We could still be at home working on the karts, not ever knowing if today would even come. But instead, we are here.

But since we are here, Frank has kept us from all the track time we could be getting. Why did you invite him anyway? You were stuck over there for half an hour working on his kart. Doesnt he even know how to do anything for himself? Steve, chill out. We would already be back home right now if not for him being out here. Besides he is good entertainment.

Go watch the way he drives out there. Here take the stop watch and try to get a decent time on him. Just dont say anything when we comes in, k? Yea whatever you want. I would really like some more track time. We will get there Steve. Dont fret about it. Anyway I want to make some adjustments first.

While Frank might have 10-84 gearing, he also has a lot taller tires. His kart has 6 inch wheels on the rear and looks like the tires are 12 inches tall. Both of our karts have 5 inch wheels and 11 tires. I put the same gear that the Cates originally had on Steves. Then I bolted a smaller one on mine.

We dont have a lot of gear changes. And they are only a few teeth different. Steve has the 78 tooth and mine is 76. Steves tires are almost brand new, mine are nearly worn out. I changed out the gears to the 76 on his and now I dropped down to a 74. I want to see how much difference it makes in Steves driving and mine when we are out there together again.

Steve comes back over and is laughing big time. He shows me the stop watch. Franks times had all been consistent. All consistently slower than 33.5 seconds. Man that guy cant drive. Or am I clueless about something? You sure dont drive anything like him. Do I look that bad out there? It sure dont feel like it.

Nope, I dont know what the deal is with his driving, Steve. Franks driving sucks tho. He is just drag racing between the turns. I am impressed, your driving is very smooth. That is why when you were ahead of me I wanted to find out how close you could be followed. I would seriously not recommend trying that behind Frank today.

Gee Terry, when I was following behind you, its like I could almost pass you anywhere. I was right there on your bumper most of time too. You brake just a little bit later than I am comfortable with yet. But following you, that gives me a better idea on how deep I can actually go in the turn before braking. It seems more difficult when I am in front. Does that even make any sense? Or just babbling too much?

Yea Steve, I know exactly what you are talking about. That is one reason I followed you so much after you chased me around all those laps at first. After a couple of laps being ahead, you start to choke up the turns a little bit tighter. But should be able to get better with nothing but more track time. Speaking of, lets get it.

Frank is coming off the track. We already fired up our engines and head back out again. I take the lead for the first few laps. Just want to get an idea of how the different gear feels. I would like to have our lap times out here together, but Frank doesnt seem reliable enough to get that. Definitely not from using his magic military watch.

This time around, Steve is now pulling up next to me in several places, he wasnt able to before. But again, if I didnt mess up the turn coming on the long straight, my kart would have a little more top speed. Just enough to pull ahead and go in to the next turn a little faster.

It would take all of the back section of the track for Steve to make the little bit of distance I gained. So we are really close in actual lap times. Just Steves kart has more advantage in the turns and mine of the straight. I think the gap has even closed up a little between us from before the gear change. But hard to tell without a stop watch and someone that can use it reliably.

We pull off again and coast to the pits. Now when exiting the track, if no one is in front of us, we just kill the engine and coast our way back to the pit. The track attendant doesnt seem to mind this way. Maybe it is because there is no noise or maybe we are keeping it slow and safe.

Frank is there waiting. He said we improved a little bit this time out. We are now running about 32-33 times. What ever I changed must have worked he says. So what did you change anyway? Frank, I took your advice and changed gears. Yea, that sounds right. I told you this is a 10-84 track. It sure did work.

Actually Frank, I went the other way. I took more teeth off from what was on there. So you are running 10-82 or something? Maybe I should drop a tooth just to make sure. No Frank, I am running a 10-74 on mine. We dont have doubles of anything, so Steve has a 76 on his right now. In heavy traffic, my gear might be too small, but with just me and him, we are really running close with each other.

Well I wonder what that other kart was geared earlier? Did you ever see him again. Steve then blurts out, You mean when Terry was out there running all over your rear bump.....I quickly nudged Steve hard in the ribs, so he would shut up. Then gave him a strong death stare, until he understood not to say anything else.

Yea Frank, I was out there running behind you earlier. I didnt get a good look at that driver you are talking about either. Maybe they already loaded up and left. Frank says that guy was probably running a modified engine. He swears it was running alky. Had to be or he would have been running right up there with it. Franks then shakes his head confirming this to himself.

Hey Steve, you had enough for the day? Yea man. I would like to go out for some more laps, but happy with what we done already so far today. You good? Yep, I think we did good today. Hope we can make a few more practice sessions out here, Then maybe start racing soon. Time to drink about a gallon of water and chill out for a while.

Frank, I think we are done for the day. What about you? Nope I want to do some experimenting then go back out. You can give me a hand if you want to? Or not. It should not take too long either way. Sure Frank, lets do it. What do you want to work on?

Well you got me to thinking about the gears. Maybe I will try a smaller one just to confirm things. This track is a lot different than what I am accustomed to. And the weather is nothing like what I am comfortable driving in at all. How much do you think I should change?

Frank, if you think you are close, I would not change more than two teeth at a time. Why not just drop down to an 82 and find out what difference it makes? Sure kid that sounds solid enough. You got one I could use? I didnt think to bring any extras today.

Oh sorry Frank, All I have is a couple of much smaller ones. You would have to shorten your chain to even use the largest I have. Maybe you should take advantage of the remaining time and just get used to this type of track. It sure cant hurt. There are a couple of turns you might try to drive a different line thru. Maybe I can go out to that turn and place a marker for you to try.

Hey Steve, I forgot about something. Remember the muffler that fell off the kart last spring? Oh heck yea, I totally forgot about it. Man I know right where it should be, too I will run over there and see if it is still around. Might get lucky. Or snake bit. Time for a hike out to the back forty. I am out of here.

Frank is back on the track doing exactly the same as his very first lap. Consistently awful in my opinion. He is consistent tho. Gotta hand that one to him. But not anything that could help short of real driving lessons. I sure dont know enough to be showing him how to drive. But anything would be an improvement. I will start at his worst turn.

At the end of the long straight Frank never turns in until the kart is so slow I could walk faster thru it. He seems to be all or none on that brake pedal. I dont know how to help change that either. He also wants to drive right in the middle of the track. He never deviates from this, even when there is another kart around him.

I have an idea. By standing at his current braking spot, he will become accustomed to using me for the marker after a couple of laps. Sort of what Steve was explaining earlier when following me around. If I can tell that is what Frank is doing, then will move just slightly farther down. Now see if his braking point changes. If nothing else this will be enough to believe I might be able to help him improve his driving eventually. Right now, anything is possible.

So it appears to me that Frank did take the bait. I moved back a couple of feet after he ran several laps. His braking changed like I was hoping. I did this on some of his worst turns to confirm it. So far so good. I motion at Frank to get off the track.

Back in the pits, Frank was not real happy with me. He thought I was going to actually do something out there. He says nothing changed by just me standing and looking at him drive by. I didnt want to argue and let slip out what I was trying.

Sorry Frank. I just wanted to get up and close how a kart actually makes it thru those turns. Then compare with what it looks like when I am doing the driving myself. Maybe see something that might help. I think you just need to get used to driving a different style track right now. If something looks very wrong, then we can work on that.

He seemed to be more agreeable now with what I told him. OK kid, that makes sense. I could always use some extra input when out on the track. Hard to do everything by myself all the time. Sometimes the only way to improve is having to rely on someone elses input. I am starting to trust you. Hope I aint making a mistake. My instinct isnt usually wrong. Dont want this time to be a first.

Frank, after a couple more practice days, I know you can get even faster that you are running right now. I sure plan to improve. It takes more than one time on any track to get really competitive. I dont have a problem putting in whatever it takes to get there either. If you plan on racing anytime soon I know you think the same way.

Hey kid, I dont need a lot of track time to get up to speed. This kart is fast. I mean really fast. Should have bought one of these a long time ago. Mic knows his chit. But it was fun out here today. I dont have a problem making a few more practice days before starting to race again.

I hear Steve yelling for all it is worth. I FOUND IT I FOUND IT. Then he comes back running just fast as his legs will carry him. What he found was nothing I was expecting. It was all rusted and looked sort of like a tin can. There was a small piece of tubing sticking out one end. A hose clamp that looks like holds the small pipe in place. Sort of weird. I guess it is a muffler of some kind. Odd looking for sure.

This muffler looks about 10 inches long. The diameter might be right at 4 inches. One end has a large opening that fits a 1 1/2 inch pipe which was still on the Clinton when we tore it apart. The small piece of tubing on the other end is about an inch in diameter.

A regular screw type hose clamp is tightened at the base of muffler. It must keep the small tube in place. I wonder if it is actually adjustable. Mr Cates did say something like a tuned exhaust. Is that what is does?

Hey Steve, lets hit the track one more time before calling it quits for the day. I want to swap over one of the intake manifolds. Help me put your kart up on the trash barrel and I will change it over. Right then, Steve made it abundantly clear about swapping out any parts was going to be on my engine, not his. Considering all the time we have spent to just now getting out on the track, I could understand why he didnt want anything altered on his kart just yet.

You can do whatever you want to do on your engine, but leave mine alone. Nothing personal, but for now I am happy with the way it is running. At least there will be one kart still running when we leave today. Hopefully two of them will still be running. But one for sure when we are finally done for the day.

Steve, you been out in the sun too long, You sure aint no fun. OK, I will just make my kart faster, and yours will still be slow. Got it.

Hey wait a minute, if you are going to make one faster, then no reason not to make both of them faster, right?

No Steve, you made a good point. No reason to take any chances. I will just change it out on my kart.

I do a quick swap out to a totally stock intake manifold. The reeds are very small and opening is so tiny. But I really want to find out how much if any real difference it makes compared to the ones with the larger reed petals. So now the kart is back down and both of us are ready to make a few more laps.

Frank, can you give us a start? Please be easy on the rope this time. I dont have any more starters with me today. After several attempts at pulling the rope, my kart finally starts up, but seems to be running really sluggish. I had to turn the low speed needle down a little bit just to get the kart to accelerate out of the pits.

After running down the short straight, I open it up expecting the kart to go, but it is still running way rich. By turning in the high speed needle, the kart finally clears out. Steve is running ahead and waiting for me to catch up with him. I have the gas pedal all the way down, but the engine just doesnt have that punch it did earlier. At full speed, there is no way I can run with Steve now. I am surprised how much difference there is in how the two intake manifolds perform.

With only a lap in, I call it quits. My expectations have been met. Tho I didnt expect this much difference, there is no other change made. So for my first real track proven test, it gives me the confidence to move ahead on other things that have been bouncing around in my noggin.

I motion for Steve to continue on the track. Now is the perfect opportunity to get a few lap times while he is still running out there. We need a decent baseline to improve on. I hurry up in the pits, grab the stopwatch and let him know what I am doing. The next few laps I get him on the clock. For each lap I clear and reset the watch on different points for reference, so he doesnt have to make a whole lap before getting the next one timed.

I am happy with what he is turning out there, especially by himself.. He isnt having as much trouble getting thru some of the faster turns now. His times should be nearly identical to mine. All three of the times I got for him were only a few tenths of a second apart. That is for some good consistent driving for us beginners today. Maybe he will work out well as I make the changes. This is turning out super good.

Frank comes over while Steve is still out making laps. Yea, he is running 33s. Obviously not nearly as fast as what I am getting along out there, but not too bad for the junior class. How long has he been driving anyway? Looks almost smooth as I am driving out there. Maybe a couple of things I can give him some pointers on. But otherwise not too bad.

Frank, please dont go offering him any driving advice. Today is the very first time for him to have ever driven a kart on any track. I like what I see and dont want anything to distract from how well he is doing out there. After a few more days practicing, then maybe work on something, if he starts picking up some bad habits. But for now, I think he is doing better than my first time out driving.

Frank, why dont you make a lap out there with Steve. He could use a good challenge by now. Just dont get too crazy with him. I dont want to end up fixing anything if you guys try to take each other out. Just let him know you are there and see how he responds to traffic when you buzz by him.

I motion to Steve to stay out there and get Franks kart ready while he suits up. After Steve passes the track entrance, Frank buzzes out there and runs Steve down. Steve lets him make the pass and then pulls in right behind. This is where I get really nervous. Will Steve be careful when Frank parks it in the next turn? Or will Steve be ready to take evasive action? Down the long straight Steve is staying almost up to Franks kart. Then he backs off a little before Frank does his signature style driving and parks it going into the turn.

Steve had just gone wide to the outside when Frank parked it. Steve is well back on the gas as Frank did his own thing. Frank is still driving right in the middle of the track. Steve barrels around on the outside and never lets up. By the time Frank gets back on the gas, Steve made an awesome move and covers good ground before setting up in the next turn.

Going thru the tight turns on the back side of track, Steve just pulls away from Frank. On the short front straight, Steve has enough ground covered that Frank has no chance of catching back up to him. Steve never lets off. He keeps the gas planted and now pulling on the long straight, Frank is still trying hard to catch up to the back of Steves kart. But there is too much ground for Frank to cover before the end of the straight. Steve is now gone. He hauls down the long straight and makes an even better run thru the fast sweeping turn where he overtook Frank on the previous lap.

I am literally jumping up and down, yelling at the top of my lungs. Go Steve, Go! GO! Wow this is awesome. OK settle down. Steve has just proven himself. I think he is more than ready to start racing fairly soon. Maybe I feel the same too. Time to move forward.

Steve pulls off the track while Frank zooms on by for a few more laps out there by himself. Steve coasts over to the pit and I can tell he has a big smile on his face. He gets out and just goes crazy. That was so awesome! Did you see me out there? Man when do we get to start racing for reals?. I am so ready right now!

Yea, that is what i was just thinking. If I can get enough money saved up then maybe start racing in a few weekends. That would be so cool. I feel like we are ready now. But still think we should make a couple more practice days out here first. We dont know what times our class is supposed to be running or if we would even be competitive yet.

Man I do not care about running up front. I sure dont expect we have much chance of that anyway. I just want to get out here and start racing soon as possible. But if you think a couple more days practicing might really help, I am willing to wait a little bit longer. At least we will be driving on the track. That is half the fun anyway.

Yea, I dont care if we are not that fast yet. It would be so cool if we were able to really competitive, but I would be happy just to try and keep up with the pack. We gotta start somewhere anyway. I would prefer to start at the back each heat and eventually work my way up. Learning how to drive in traffic is so much more intense than running away with it.

While me and Steve go around cleaning up the pit area and push our karts out to the parking lot, Frank is still on the track driving laps by himself. We are the only ones left out here today. Its about time mom should be finished with the shopping and headed back to pick us up.

We are sitting under a shade tree watching Frank making laps, and mom finally drives back in the parking lot. She suggests we hurry, so dinner wont be too late tonight. We get everything loaded up and Frank is still out there driving around. Mom is ready to go, like right now. I walk back in to the pits and try to flag Frank back in. He isnt bothering to acknowledge me tho.

After several laps, mom is now honking the horn. She is ready to leave. I finally just wave good-bye at Frank as he passes one more time. He still doesnt make any gesture back. Oh well, I tried. So as we are leaving the parking lot, I turn around one last time and see Frank is still just going around and around. Wonder whats up with him now?

I was more or less quiet on the way back home. I was also very thirsty. We didnt bother to bring anything to drink out here today. So yes one more item to add to our must have list next time we come out to the track. Its hard to believe we didnt even think about that. Oh well, that is not why I am sort of bummed out right now.

We get back home and unload everything. I go and kiss my mom, telling her a big thanks for taking us to the track today. Steve followed up right behind me. She said it wasnt that big of a deal. Maybe we can do it again soon, if we liked to.

Sure mom that would be great. We need a couple more days out there practicing before starting to race. At least that is what I thought would be a good plan. She said, that is a possibility if dad was still tied up with work next time.

Back in the garage we have everything pushed in and now start cleaning up the karts. Steve asks what my deal is? We finally got to the track and had an awesome time. But for some reason he thought I wasnt very excited about it.

No Steve, today was totally fantastic. I cant wait to get out there again. It cant come soon enough. But I was curious about Frank and why he wouldnt pull in or wave me off. Something is up with him. I was afraid since you basically cleaning his clock out there today, he might be really mad at me or something.

Ah man, why are you so upset about him? He was a total headache to deal with out there today. That guy is weird. I mean like a left hand thread. I sure wouldnt be concerned about him. If anything he should be glad we were out there.

Otherwise he would have never gotten his kart put together and even make a single lap. The guy didnt even bring any gas with him. How stupid is that? He should be thanking you for all that help. Hopefully the next time he remembers what he should bring out to the track.

I know Steve, but I am afraid he might be mad at me about how well we did today. At least comparing to him driving out there. He kept telling me how fast his kart was and everything I should be doing to get my kart set up like his. I sure didnt take any of his advice.

If I had done any of the things he suggested, we would have gone backwards. At his gearing, our motors would have turned to shrapnel. I left everything like Mr Cates had the kart setup and only did some simple changes that really seemed to help a lot.

I dont know, with Franks driving style, if anything would have made a difference in his lap times. He kept telling me how fast his kart was running. I admit his motor is a lot faster than ours for sure. But how do you think he would take it if I told him how bad I thought his driving was out there?

I still dont really know anything about Frank. But I also dont think he would appreciate me telling him stuff like that. He has some real issues with kids anyway. He seemed to start trusting me, but now I dont know what to do.

His driving skills are not anywhere close to what he thinks they are and has been telling me this whole time. But that is just my opinion. Even if it is obvious to anyone else that races. But I dont have any experience racing yet, and it is not my place to tell him what I think about it either.

Steve pops me hard on my back and tells me to get over it. Like right now or he is going home. Quit worrying about a problem that might not even exist. Ok Steve, you are right. I wont worry myself over it.

Lets look over the karts. I need to figure out a way to check that front end, so there is no issues when we get to the track. I dont want to be working on something out there that should have been addressed here in the garage.

When we were just running down the street, I didnt notice anything obvious as it was on the track today. So didnt catch that much difference there was in how it was handling. Now I want to get the front end fixed before we do anything else. There is no way we could get anything set up accurately from the way I tried to twist my frame at the track.

Steve suggested that maybe checking the frame and make sure it is actually square. Or at least the front end geometry is correct. I thought about what Steve just said and figured out a simple way to do just that. I proceed to pull the front wheels off my kart and then C-clamp a straight piece of square tubing under the front axle.

First I adjusted the toe-in to zero. Also clamped the steering wheel in place so the spindles were straight and inline with each other. Then use my machinist square as a height gauge. A quick check and sure enough one spindle was higher than the other. It had more negative camber too. Looking at the wear on both front tires also confirmed this to be true.

At first i was hoping the front axle could just be bent down a little bit more like we tried at the track earlier today. But after checking the angles of the welded front axle frame stubs, there was too much difference to adjust by bending it any more. Dad came in shortly after that and confirmed this immediately. His suggestion was to cut thru the weld from the bottom. Cut almost all the way to top of the axle tubing. Then push it down. If it needed any thing more, then make another cut with the axle stub pushed down enough to close the gap shut.

With the first cut it was almost right. After a second cut then closing the gap made the front end camber the same as other side. So I got brave and welded it up this time by myself. No burn thru and weld looked decent enough.

We put the wheels back on and Steve sat down in the kart while I tried lifting the wheels like we had done at the track. Now the left side was way too heavy. Me and Steve set the frame up again and jumped a few times. It didnt take much to tweak it back straight. Now both wheels felt the same.

Steve thought it would be cool if we could just weigh both wheels and get it spot on. Then Steve asked if we had a bathroom scale? Heck yea! That is perfect Steve. I will go get the one from my parents bathroom. Mom was going one way while I was slipping out the other way with the bathroom scales in hand behind my back.

Back in the garage, I put the scale under one wheel while Steve sits in the kart and holds the steering wheel straight and rigid. This actually worked out perfect. There was about 5 pounds difference in both the front wheels. After a few more attempts of twisting the frame, we got both wheels down to just about the same weight.

We also checked Steves frame while the scale was out here. His frame was right at two pounds difference. We jumped on his frame just a little bit and then so close, it was hard to measure the difference. Wow, with what we have learned today from practicing at the track and making adjustments this evening, I am confident we are going in the right direction. Our second trip to the track for the next practice should be a lot better.

We called it quits and Steve left and went home. For the whole weekend I focused on nothing but catching up on some mowing that had gotten way behind schedule. Also there were several chores that had been neglected too many times. Using the karts as an excuse isnt going to go over very well with either of my parents. Its keep up with my responsibilities or quit playing with the karts. Just that simple.