Animal Sportsman Points Race #2

Points Race #2 - We had a gorgeous day to start. We left the house at 7:45a.m. I made sure we had a lot of drinks for the driver and the rest of the Bruce Racing crew for it was about to get really hot. We arrived at Badger Raceway earlier than usual and parked at our usual spot. Tom and Connor went to registration and had the tech check done right away for which the go kart passed. Then they both were called to the Driver's Meeting while Colin, Tommy and I stayed behind. We could hear the meeting over the loud speaker throughout the track so I did not miss anything. It was the usual going over the rules and information updates, etc...

   Before practice started, Tom and Connor had to go to the "Common Fuel Tank." Every kart is required to have its fuel emptied out into this big tank and then fill up from the same tank so that everyone shares the same fuel.

Tom & Connor having their turn at the fuel pump.

   When the Animal Sportsman class was called to line up on the grid, Bruce Racing go kart #21 had a problem with the clutch. So Connor was not able to run in the first practice. Luckily, Tom found someone who made a temporary fix on the clutch (that is, until we could buy the part that it needs) in time for Connor to run in the second practice.

   The Animal Sportsman ran with the Yamaha Junior during second practice. There were six in the Animal Sportsman while there were three in the Yamaha Junior class making a total of nine go karts running the track in Connor's second practice time. Connor finished third.

   During the 1st Heat, there were eight karts in the Animal Sporstman class. There was an accidental bumping and Connor spun. He ended up finishing fifth.

Animal Sportsman lining up before the green flag during 2nd Heat with Connor in the lead.

   In the 2nd Heat, Connor got a good start and led for almost three laps with seven go karts behind him. Soon after, #17, the fastest in his class, caught up to him to take the lead. A lap later, #18 passed Connor and Connor finished third.

   It rained shortly after the last class ran the 2nd Heat. It was windy for the most part of the day and the rain finally came. The red flag was thrown for about half an hour. When the rain passed, the Features were started right away with the hopes of getting all the classes in before it rained again.

   In the Features (final) race, Connor started fourth and that's how he finished.

   Go Connor!

#18 made a pass on Connor during 2nd Heat

The next race is on June 3rd at Blackhawk Farms Raceway in South Beloit, IL: http://www.blackhawkfarms.com/

Animal Sportsman Points Race #1 - Rained Out

We arrived at the Badger Raceway a little later than we did last Sunday. It was overcast and the weather did not look promising.

  Tom and Connor went to register and came back for the kart to take it for tech check. The kart did not pass although Tom did all the adjustments he thought he needed to make the day before. The weight, used to compensate for the required weight of kart and driver, (obviously, Connor and the kart were lighter than they're supposed to be) in the front only had one nut. It needed to be double-nutted. So Tom had to make that adjustment. After that, they both went to the Driver's Meeting.

   The Animal Sportsman class, the class Connor is in, was called to line up on grid B. Three different classes had already ran the track and a couple more were lined up to go before Animal Sportsman. By now, it had sprinkled for about a few minutes and I could see karts were still running on the track. As soon as Connor, Tom and my dad (he came with us) wheeled the kart away from our truck, the red flag was thrown. The guys wheeled the kart back to the truck and parked it under the tent that we had brought and set up. We huddled in the back of the truck while it rained with thunder and lightning. After several minutes, the race was called off. The drivers who came earned 200 points--equivalent to winning a race. Race #1 is checked off, everyone is tied in points and on to the next one on May 20th.