July 21st, Barberton Regular Show
Results
Well, yesterday we went to race at Barberton, so we could get some track time
before the WKA Divisional show there next week. It was definitely a hot
one, but it was a fun one as well. This year, Barberton has only one weight
class for the ovals, 360 lbs. So, we had to add about 25 lbs to the kart.
Which made a little more work lifting the kart on and off the stand. There
were 8 karts that showed up in our class. For the first heat we started 5th
and our good friend Seth Schneider started beside us, 6th. With 8 karts, the
start was a little hairy, but everyone made it through fine. Out of the 2nd
turn, I found myself on the outside thinking I would be freight-trained, but
the pack pretty much stayed together. On the second lap, Seth went by on the
inside going into 1. I decided that looked good too, so I went from hi to low
and came off under the karts in front of us. Seth got passed them and went to
hunt down the leaders, but I battled with the #8 kart for a little while. I
got passed him with about 4 laps to go in the race, and I had no chance of
catching the 4 kart lead draft. So we ended up 5th. For the 2nd heat race, we
started 4th. The winner of the 1st heat race, Dave Mumaw, started ahead of
us, and he was fast. Off the start, I gave him a little bump down the
straight-away, and we both went around the other karts on the outside. He took
the lead out of 2, and I was a close 2nd. I didn't see many other karts after
that, although I know they were there. Mumaw won the heat by about 6 kart
lengths. Seth had some problems in that heat though, losing a right front in
the middle of turns 1 and 2. He almost hit the wall, but got it under control
with a great display of driving. So, with a 5th and 2nd in the heats I started
3rd for the feature. Seth started 7th because of the problems in the 2nd heat.
Again, we started behind Mumaw, and I followed him the best I could. The next
thing I knew, I was engaged in a 3 kart battle for the lead. Dave, me, and I
believe Bobby Gindlesperger raced back and forth for a good 8 laps of the 15
lap feature. My down-fall came when we went through 3 and 4 3-wide! Pretty
much unheard of, but we all made it through clean. The problem was, I was on
the bottom which caused the kart to bog a lot, and the other two were able to
pull away off the turn. It also allowed Seth to pull up alongside. We battled
for another couple laps. He'd go hi, I'd go low. He'd go low, I go hi as we
swapped position back and forth. It was during that the kart started to push.
Seth got a run going into 1 and then Shawn Middaugh followed him by. With the
push, I had to start driving the kart a little different, and I wasn't able to
catch up to them again in the remaining laps. So, we ended up 5th in the
feature. I believe Gindlesperger won it, Mumaw was 2nd, and Seth was 3rd. It
was a great and fun race though, and we learned a lot. I can't say enough about
the guys that race down there either. We were engaged in close, hard battles
all day, and I only have a wisp of tire marks on the body. A night and day
difference from Thursday night. Barberton racers are REAL, QUALITY racers, and
class acts on and off the track. Well, next Sunday, we'll be racing at
Barberton again with the WKA. It should be fun, since we'll be able to use
Dunlops again, and been in the medium weight class. I think we'll do pretty
well, but we'll just have to see what happens.
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