June 8th, BKC at Fremont


Results

Saturday night we ran the BKC race at Fremont Raceway Park which show-cased only the oval and pocket bike classes. This was the 2nd BKC race run due to the in-climate weather earlier in the year. We didn't have to worry about that Saturday though because it was hot and sticky all day. The rest of the BKC classes ran on Sunday. We only had 3 karts signed-in our class, but due the overwhelming turn-out of pocket bikes we only got one 4 minute practice session. We went out in practice to try our new set-up with the Burris tires, and I got about 10 laps in before I hit the bumps in 3 and 4 a little awkward and threw the chain. Well, I brought it in and we thought no big deal, just get everything back together and we're ready to go. We lined-up 2nd for the first heat race, and on the 2nd warm-up lap before the race, the chain came off again. Well, ok, we didn't fix it the first time. We figured the rear sprocket was chewed up so much that the chain just jumped again. So, we put on a new sprocket and got ready for the 2nd heat race. Well, we started 2nd again since there were only 3 karts, and before I even made it through the 2nd turn on the warm-up lap, the chain was off again! Now, this was getting frustrating. But, since everything else had been ruled out, it had to be the chain guard. Every time, the chain came off the sprocket on the left side, and disformed the plastic chain guard. Sure enough, when we got it off, there were two holes that were elongated that allowed the guard to roll over, causing the chain to jump. So, we installed a new chain guard. We started 3rd in the feature with basically no time on the track. The last we were on the track was about 7:15 with sun. Now, it was 10:30 and dark. We weren't sure what was going to happen. Well, that track was slick for the 20 lap feature. I had some problems with the 2nd place kart for the first five laps. It seems he didn't want to give me room when I was beside him. Ultimately, he ended up sending me off the track in the 2nd turn where I spun and then stopped the kart. They threw the caution and we lined-up 3rd again. Well, off the restart I had a much better run, and completed the pass on the 2nd place kart a lap later. By this time though, Rex had opened up about a straight-away lead. I did my best to run him down, but couldn't. The good thing was, he didn't open up any more of a lead either. So, after a very frustrating and eventful night we finished 2nd, which puts us 2nd in the points behind Rex. Our next race is this Sunday at Fremont again. It's track record day, so we'll see how much speed we can find this week. I have to thank Andy Miller for coming out to help and putting up with dad and I, and also a special thanks to Dave Mumaw for giving us a helping hand all night as well.
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