03/22/2021
Team 29J Race Report: I44 Winter Shootout
We traveled to the outdoor arena area of the Cowan Civic Center in Lebanon, MO for the rescheduled I44 Winter Shootout. A week of heavy rains gave the track crew a hard time, but once they got it ironed out the track was fantastic. Fantastic weather for the weekend set a great stage for 2 great days of racing.
We made the trip up Friday morning to get a good parking spot, and to setup for practice. The goal for practice was to determine the gearing that we would need for the weekend. After 4 quick runs, we figured we were close enough. The kart was very tight on the exit of both corners, but especially turn 2. We made a few adjustments that made it a little better, but we would fight being tight all weekend. With roughly 20 laps under our belt, we cleaned and prepped everything, and put the kart to bed for the evening.
Up early Saturday to be prepared for an 11AM start, we arrived to the track around 8:15AM. We got the kart out and went to work on tires. The track crew had ripped the track up early that morning, and ended up over watering. With the wet track surface we aimed for a softer tire, and this worked well throughout the day. Roughly 120 entries were lined up for 2 rounds of heats and A features. The start was a bit later than scheduled but the track crew did a great job of keeping the show moving. Heats went well, I won the first, and got 2nd in the second. Features rolled around and I started on the pole, and drove to the WIN! It felt great to start the 2021 season with a win.
For the Sunday show, we were up early again for a 10:30AM start. We got to the track around 7:30 and got the kart ready for the day’s racing action. For the first heat, there were a couple new competitors, they were quick, and drove rough. I started third, fell to fourth, beat and banged my way back to 3rd, and coming to the checkered the guy in 2nd spun, so I ended up second. In the second heat, I started 3rd, and again, got beat on, bounced around, and fought my way back to 2nd. Unfortunately, the new competitors had absolutely no intention of running anywhere near clean.
Lining up for the feature I was on the pole. I got a bad start and immediately fell to second. I had gotten the tires too soft, got super tight, and fell to third. Then I finally got enough heat in the tires to get them to work again, and started working to catch back up to the top 2. The leader got loose, and second went for it. They made contact and the leader went around. This put us in second, with two laps to go. I got a good start and had a chance to move the leader into turn one. I decided avoided making contact and gave up a kart length. I didn’t have the time to reel him back in, so we finished a strong second place.
Overall, we had a very solid weekend to start 2021. The kart was decent, we just couldn’t get around being tight on exit. I went into the Sunday feature knowing my tires were too soft. I didn’t make the choice to swap them to a harder tire, which now I wish I had. Definitely a strong showing to start the year!
Enjoy the video, it is the Sunday feature, and the only video that I know of from the weekend. We will be back in action at Twister Alley on the 10th of April!
