08-25-2023, 01:26 AM
(This post was last modified: 08-30-2023, 05:52 PM by Terry Bentley.)
Chapter 139
So back at the track we spent most of the early morning mowing, sweeping and picking up trash. More sweeping on the track and again special attention focused on the faster corners. Then chasing more trash as mowing was done across the pits.
Pulling weeds in the pits really sucked the enjoyment out of being out here at the track. But this is part of what it takes to run a successful race every weekend. We endured and managed to make the pits look mostly presentable.
It is late enough in the year that mosquitoes are not so fierce this time of day. But that didnt keep the ants and other bugs from showing their defiance while we were trying to remove the mounds, burrows and nests.
By the time we finished cleaning up the track I thought it had to be pushing late afternoon when controlled practice starts. I was ready to make some track time before the races to shake out any problems we still might have.
Man was I surprised to find out it wasnt even noon o'clock yet. Then realized how really hungry I was. That is to say we were all very hungry. Paul was pleased with the good job we did, so now was time to hit the local drive-in and grab some burgers.
After a well deserved and filling lunch we headed back to the track. Paul immediately noticed a lot of drivers had managed to help themselves to the track. Even after he had set out the Track Closed sign and had a black flag hanging at the entrance, they failed to yield.
It took about 10 minutes for Paul to finally clear all of the karts off the track. Then he got a lot of flack when informing everyone that on work days the track is only available to the volunteers that showed up this morning. Otherwise the track will open at 4pm when this weeks race program officially starts.
I was told by Paul that most times only a couple of people show up for work day. That is why they held off open practice until 4:00 in the afternoon. The old geezers that normally volunteered usually took their time cleaning up. It was mid to late afternoon for them to be finished with the work.
Since the three of us were the only drivers that worked today and had our equipment, the track was all ours for the afternoon. That is until 4:00 pm. So we had some free time to test everything before more drivers would later join in.
Another nice thing about volunteers is they get membership privilege's for that day. This even means I dont have to pay non-member entry fee either. The year end points are accumulated for members only. But from week to week is scored the same for everyone.
We got some evil looks from the other drivers that showed up to practice today. But the club rules were strict about this. Even tho we are not members, it still applied to anyone that showed up for the scheduled work day. If this only applied to members there were be no workers here today cleaning up the track.
It wasnt very long before some of the members got into a heated discussion with Paul. He was really regretting stepping in as a temporary board member until the position could be later filled at the next election cycle. He had mentioned looking forward to when his term was up and finally get out of this mess.
We are payed up members and allowed on the track anytime a scheduled event is not on the calendar. And besides those guys there are not even members out here. Why do they get special privileges and have more rights than we do today?
Paul then made it clear that today was scheduled on the calendar as a work day until 4:00pm. Then according to the rules, limited practice to those volunteers that showed up to work if everything was finished before then. The rules did not restrict volunteers to only be members.
If you dont like the rules that you the members voted in to the bylaws, then attend the meetings and change them. But until this happens the existing rules stand as they are. You work, you have practice today. Otherwise, open practice starts at 4:00pm.
For the next few hours, we spent the time on the track just as much as possible. Our plan was to keep at least two of our karts out there together the whole time on the track.
It is amazing how fast time flies by. I focused on gear changes, tire pressure adjustments and tweaked the carburetor on my kart for the most part. I was hoping at the end of our controlled practice, all three karts were still running.
But overall the three of us were running very closely together. My kart did have a slight advantage given the extra modifications that were made. What almost turned into a complete disaster is when Chris had to learn how to drive a live axle kart.
When we first got the karts up and running, Steve wanted Chris to go out there with him. Initially to compare the two engines, and get an idea of how they were both running together. It didnt take the first lap for Chris to come barreling in slamming on his brakes skidding sideways to a hard stop.
Something it terrible wrong with my kart. It does not handle at all. I cant get it to turn. The kart just wants to drive right off the track. It is so messed up, I dont know what can be done to fix it.
Chris gets more frustrated and nearly throws his helmet down into the seat. I stared at him hard as he was lifting up his arm holding the helmet. Right then he backed down and just kicked the tire really hard. Dang it that hurt!
Hey Chris, get a drink of water, then chill out for a few. I want you to take my kart out for a quick spin after you settle down. Right now I am going to run some laps with Steve while he is still out there. Then make sure the carburetor is set close enough for today. Be ready for when I come pull off the track.
Chris was acting hot like as in temper tantrum mode and stomped off to get a drink. He was still holding his helmet walking away from our pit area. My engine fired right up and I hopped down in the seat then tore out on to the track. With just the three of us using the track, there was no one overseeing the pits.
I pulled in behind Steve and then we ran some hard laps. I felt like my engine definitely had some power over his. But it was mostly mid and upper rpm range. I could stay right with him on the tightest turn leading on the longer straightaway, then just barely edge him out at the end.
If Steve held his line, made it difficult for me to pull off a clean pass. But with the pressure I put on him, he would usually make a mistake. He might choke down on a corner, or run on the inside of the long straight. Several things he was doing that made it easy for me to set him up at the next turn.
Once I pulled slightly ahead, he would give up his position. There was no reason to cause either one of us to test our limits in practice. That would wait until the races. And probably not even test the limits until the final heat race for the night.
Nobody wants to get taken out trying to win a heat race. At least not the first two of them. For the third and final race its all or nothing. That is if winning is the only thing that matters. If second place isnt good enough then you gotta take the risk.
After a few good laps I am happy with how my kart is running. What I didnt even think about is how much better my kart handles with the new tires. During our last race I was having to guess how early to start steering in on every turn. The kart would be very slow in responding when I tried turning the wheel.
What was even worse is the unpredictable way the kart would loose traction in the rear after the front end finally took hold. It was a never ending battle to see if I could keep from loosing control until the race was over. Or even to the next turn ahead.
Back in the pits, Chris looked like the pits. He was not too happy about things right now. OK Chris suit up, and take my kart out there. I will check your kart over now that it has almost a full lap on it. I was trying not to be too sarcastic, but failed to do so. After all he did make most of a single lap before coming in.
Chris wait until Steve comes around, and just follow his line. Dont try to race him. Stay back and watch what he does. If I am right, you only need to adjust your driving style to a live axle. It is not anywhere close to what you have been used to. Just follow him and dont make any stupid moves. Chris gave me a scowl that would catch an igloo on fire.
With the weight difference between the two if us, my kart should feel loose and fast to him. It would not be too difficult for Chris to get impatient and try to make a pass after falling in behind Steve. But he will find out my kart does not handle like his old dead axle kart did either. Hope he uses his head and not end up doing something stupid that lands him on his head.
Not a surprise at all when Chris pulled in behind Steve. I could tell Chris wanted nothing more than make a quick pass to see how fast my kart would go. When he ran up behind Steve, Chris kept the pedal down and went flying around him. Unfortunately there was a turn coming up and Chris missed it completely.
After a big dust storm settled, Chris was sitting in my kart facing traffic. fortunately the only other driver on the track was Steve. Chris slammed his hands on the steering wheel seemingly frustrated with himself.
He eased my kart back on the track and just slowly making it around to complete his first disappointing lap. I was surprised to see him pass the entrance to the pits and keep on going. About this time Steve caught back up behind him, slowing down and gave Chris a little tap on the rear bumper.
Then Steve went around Chris and patted the back of his helmet. I didnt know if Chris was willing to follow him or wanting to burn off some steam. Steve sped on up and I was glad to see Chris pull in behind and this time follow him around.
So far, I managed a whopping 15 laps including the entrance on to and off the track. Not much time like I was really wanting. But we had the track for a little while longer before open practice started. This is better than no track time at all.
Steve has managed to spend most of our private practice session just making laps. After some initial adjustments and fine tuning, his kart has been exceptional so far. I should be able to just copy his setup if my track time ends up being so limited.
Right now I have to put a certain someones head back on straight and get him to focus on learning how to drive. Going from a dead axle, changing his kart to a live axle, Chris is basically driving a different kart all together. He was so used to adjusting his driving to how the kart handled. Or really didnt handle.
After taking his kart apart and seeing just how bad of shape it was in, Chris had been adapting to it all this time. But for some reason he is not able to do the same on a kart with live axle.
I am hoping after he follows Steve for enough laps then may be able to realize how to drive my kart. Then I thought about taking his kart out, since there is nothing keeping it in the pits. Why not all three of us out there running together and getting some experience with up close and fast racing.
After checking over his kart I fired it up and headed out on the track. I was not impressed with how it handled. But is was not difficult to get around the track. Just not positive handling like mine and Steves karts feel.
I did notice the need to steer slightly earlier than I would normally do on my kart. But the rear end stayed planted and did not want to break free at all. Maybe if I loosen up the rear, his kart will be easier for him to drive. There is enough weight difference between us that the rear end might not be so hooked up with him behind the wheel.
We finally managed running together with Steve still in the lead. I got brave and dropped down to the inside when Steve was not expecting anything to happen. I kept my foot planted firm. While the kart was very predictable, still a bit tight for my likes.
I managed to make the clean pass, but didnt expect to hold my position very long. I scrubbed off too much speed driving outside the groove. So Steves kart will easily be faster coming out of this section I passed him in. No surprise in the next turn, Steve was making a pass back around me. I also noticed Chris was right on his tail. I did a dirty move and forced Chris off his line and pulled in behind Steve.
So back at the track we spent most of the early morning mowing, sweeping and picking up trash. More sweeping on the track and again special attention focused on the faster corners. Then chasing more trash as mowing was done across the pits.
Pulling weeds in the pits really sucked the enjoyment out of being out here at the track. But this is part of what it takes to run a successful race every weekend. We endured and managed to make the pits look mostly presentable.
It is late enough in the year that mosquitoes are not so fierce this time of day. But that didnt keep the ants and other bugs from showing their defiance while we were trying to remove the mounds, burrows and nests.
By the time we finished cleaning up the track I thought it had to be pushing late afternoon when controlled practice starts. I was ready to make some track time before the races to shake out any problems we still might have.
Man was I surprised to find out it wasnt even noon o'clock yet. Then realized how really hungry I was. That is to say we were all very hungry. Paul was pleased with the good job we did, so now was time to hit the local drive-in and grab some burgers.
After a well deserved and filling lunch we headed back to the track. Paul immediately noticed a lot of drivers had managed to help themselves to the track. Even after he had set out the Track Closed sign and had a black flag hanging at the entrance, they failed to yield.
It took about 10 minutes for Paul to finally clear all of the karts off the track. Then he got a lot of flack when informing everyone that on work days the track is only available to the volunteers that showed up this morning. Otherwise the track will open at 4pm when this weeks race program officially starts.
I was told by Paul that most times only a couple of people show up for work day. That is why they held off open practice until 4:00 in the afternoon. The old geezers that normally volunteered usually took their time cleaning up. It was mid to late afternoon for them to be finished with the work.
Since the three of us were the only drivers that worked today and had our equipment, the track was all ours for the afternoon. That is until 4:00 pm. So we had some free time to test everything before more drivers would later join in.
Another nice thing about volunteers is they get membership privilege's for that day. This even means I dont have to pay non-member entry fee either. The year end points are accumulated for members only. But from week to week is scored the same for everyone.
We got some evil looks from the other drivers that showed up to practice today. But the club rules were strict about this. Even tho we are not members, it still applied to anyone that showed up for the scheduled work day. If this only applied to members there were be no workers here today cleaning up the track.
It wasnt very long before some of the members got into a heated discussion with Paul. He was really regretting stepping in as a temporary board member until the position could be later filled at the next election cycle. He had mentioned looking forward to when his term was up and finally get out of this mess.
We are payed up members and allowed on the track anytime a scheduled event is not on the calendar. And besides those guys there are not even members out here. Why do they get special privileges and have more rights than we do today?
Paul then made it clear that today was scheduled on the calendar as a work day until 4:00pm. Then according to the rules, limited practice to those volunteers that showed up to work if everything was finished before then. The rules did not restrict volunteers to only be members.
If you dont like the rules that you the members voted in to the bylaws, then attend the meetings and change them. But until this happens the existing rules stand as they are. You work, you have practice today. Otherwise, open practice starts at 4:00pm.
For the next few hours, we spent the time on the track just as much as possible. Our plan was to keep at least two of our karts out there together the whole time on the track.
It is amazing how fast time flies by. I focused on gear changes, tire pressure adjustments and tweaked the carburetor on my kart for the most part. I was hoping at the end of our controlled practice, all three karts were still running.
But overall the three of us were running very closely together. My kart did have a slight advantage given the extra modifications that were made. What almost turned into a complete disaster is when Chris had to learn how to drive a live axle kart.
When we first got the karts up and running, Steve wanted Chris to go out there with him. Initially to compare the two engines, and get an idea of how they were both running together. It didnt take the first lap for Chris to come barreling in slamming on his brakes skidding sideways to a hard stop.
Something it terrible wrong with my kart. It does not handle at all. I cant get it to turn. The kart just wants to drive right off the track. It is so messed up, I dont know what can be done to fix it.
Chris gets more frustrated and nearly throws his helmet down into the seat. I stared at him hard as he was lifting up his arm holding the helmet. Right then he backed down and just kicked the tire really hard. Dang it that hurt!
Hey Chris, get a drink of water, then chill out for a few. I want you to take my kart out for a quick spin after you settle down. Right now I am going to run some laps with Steve while he is still out there. Then make sure the carburetor is set close enough for today. Be ready for when I come pull off the track.
Chris was acting hot like as in temper tantrum mode and stomped off to get a drink. He was still holding his helmet walking away from our pit area. My engine fired right up and I hopped down in the seat then tore out on to the track. With just the three of us using the track, there was no one overseeing the pits.
I pulled in behind Steve and then we ran some hard laps. I felt like my engine definitely had some power over his. But it was mostly mid and upper rpm range. I could stay right with him on the tightest turn leading on the longer straightaway, then just barely edge him out at the end.
If Steve held his line, made it difficult for me to pull off a clean pass. But with the pressure I put on him, he would usually make a mistake. He might choke down on a corner, or run on the inside of the long straight. Several things he was doing that made it easy for me to set him up at the next turn.
Once I pulled slightly ahead, he would give up his position. There was no reason to cause either one of us to test our limits in practice. That would wait until the races. And probably not even test the limits until the final heat race for the night.
Nobody wants to get taken out trying to win a heat race. At least not the first two of them. For the third and final race its all or nothing. That is if winning is the only thing that matters. If second place isnt good enough then you gotta take the risk.
After a few good laps I am happy with how my kart is running. What I didnt even think about is how much better my kart handles with the new tires. During our last race I was having to guess how early to start steering in on every turn. The kart would be very slow in responding when I tried turning the wheel.
What was even worse is the unpredictable way the kart would loose traction in the rear after the front end finally took hold. It was a never ending battle to see if I could keep from loosing control until the race was over. Or even to the next turn ahead.
Back in the pits, Chris looked like the pits. He was not too happy about things right now. OK Chris suit up, and take my kart out there. I will check your kart over now that it has almost a full lap on it. I was trying not to be too sarcastic, but failed to do so. After all he did make most of a single lap before coming in.
Chris wait until Steve comes around, and just follow his line. Dont try to race him. Stay back and watch what he does. If I am right, you only need to adjust your driving style to a live axle. It is not anywhere close to what you have been used to. Just follow him and dont make any stupid moves. Chris gave me a scowl that would catch an igloo on fire.
With the weight difference between the two if us, my kart should feel loose and fast to him. It would not be too difficult for Chris to get impatient and try to make a pass after falling in behind Steve. But he will find out my kart does not handle like his old dead axle kart did either. Hope he uses his head and not end up doing something stupid that lands him on his head.
Not a surprise at all when Chris pulled in behind Steve. I could tell Chris wanted nothing more than make a quick pass to see how fast my kart would go. When he ran up behind Steve, Chris kept the pedal down and went flying around him. Unfortunately there was a turn coming up and Chris missed it completely.
After a big dust storm settled, Chris was sitting in my kart facing traffic. fortunately the only other driver on the track was Steve. Chris slammed his hands on the steering wheel seemingly frustrated with himself.
He eased my kart back on the track and just slowly making it around to complete his first disappointing lap. I was surprised to see him pass the entrance to the pits and keep on going. About this time Steve caught back up behind him, slowing down and gave Chris a little tap on the rear bumper.
Then Steve went around Chris and patted the back of his helmet. I didnt know if Chris was willing to follow him or wanting to burn off some steam. Steve sped on up and I was glad to see Chris pull in behind and this time follow him around.
So far, I managed a whopping 15 laps including the entrance on to and off the track. Not much time like I was really wanting. But we had the track for a little while longer before open practice started. This is better than no track time at all.
Steve has managed to spend most of our private practice session just making laps. After some initial adjustments and fine tuning, his kart has been exceptional so far. I should be able to just copy his setup if my track time ends up being so limited.
Right now I have to put a certain someones head back on straight and get him to focus on learning how to drive. Going from a dead axle, changing his kart to a live axle, Chris is basically driving a different kart all together. He was so used to adjusting his driving to how the kart handled. Or really didnt handle.
After taking his kart apart and seeing just how bad of shape it was in, Chris had been adapting to it all this time. But for some reason he is not able to do the same on a kart with live axle.
I am hoping after he follows Steve for enough laps then may be able to realize how to drive my kart. Then I thought about taking his kart out, since there is nothing keeping it in the pits. Why not all three of us out there running together and getting some experience with up close and fast racing.
After checking over his kart I fired it up and headed out on the track. I was not impressed with how it handled. But is was not difficult to get around the track. Just not positive handling like mine and Steves karts feel.
I did notice the need to steer slightly earlier than I would normally do on my kart. But the rear end stayed planted and did not want to break free at all. Maybe if I loosen up the rear, his kart will be easier for him to drive. There is enough weight difference between us that the rear end might not be so hooked up with him behind the wheel.
We finally managed running together with Steve still in the lead. I got brave and dropped down to the inside when Steve was not expecting anything to happen. I kept my foot planted firm. While the kart was very predictable, still a bit tight for my likes.
I managed to make the clean pass, but didnt expect to hold my position very long. I scrubbed off too much speed driving outside the groove. So Steves kart will easily be faster coming out of this section I passed him in. No surprise in the next turn, Steve was making a pass back around me. I also noticed Chris was right on his tail. I did a dirty move and forced Chris off his line and pulled in behind Steve.