July 12th, OSPDS Race #3-BeaveRun
Results
This week-end we made the 3 hour haul to Wampum, PA for the third and fourth races of the Ohio Speedway Pavement Divisional Series, and which provided two days of fun and exciting racing at the BeaveRun Motorsports Complex. It was our first time even seeing the track, and after hearing some good things and also reading the repeated bashings of it on the internet, we went in not really knowing what to expect. However, after seeing and walking the track, I didn't see anything wrong with the place. This week-end was also the first time we had the new hauler at the track. We were very happy with it's functionality, but we still have to tweak a few things so it'll be the most efficient. I have to say that the coolest thing of the week-end though was the transponder scoring system that the track used. We were able to get everyone of our lap-times down to the thousandth of a second on a print-out we could analyze. Very helpful in the grand scheme of things. Anyway, on to the racing action.
Briggs Lite:
We arrived at the track early on Saturday morning because we still had to get the kart ready to race. The motor, tires, and gearing we used at Barberton were still on it, so we had to get everything switched over before practice. We made our best guess on the gearing and got everything ready in time. The first practice we quickly realized we were a little off on the gear. The track is a tri-oval, well I wouldn't even call it that. It's more like a Pocono for those of you familiar with Winston Cup racing. Anyway, the second straight had a pretty good uphill to it we definitely need more gear to get make the climb. After the gear change, the kart felt pretty good. It was a little loose, but we new as the day went on the track would probably tighten up. Our qualifying run went pretty well, but we didn't have quite enough to better the other two. I have to congratulate Jason Onger for getting the pole over Jeremy Roberts. Jeremy has been tough all year, but Jason definitely showed he had something for him. At the start of the race, Jeremy jumped out the early lead with Jason and I closely in tow. After about the second lap though, I quickly realized we should have made another gear change. They were able to get off the tight 3rd turn much than I was, and they slowly crept away each lap. About half-way through though, Jason spun coming off of 3 which caused a caution. He was able to get by on the restart though because, once again, we were a tiny bit off on the gear. I was able to stay pretty close to him the rest of the race though. I couldn't get by him though as Jeremy won it, Jason was 2nd, and I was 3rd. We knew the changes we wanted to make for Sunday though.
Animal:
In our first practice session with the Animal, we were off on the gear as well. We needed much more to get up the hill. The Animal also had a 4 wheel drift in the first turn. I ended up spinning it off of the track and gettin' it a little muddy. The kart was fine though after I got the tires a little more warmed up. As usual, it was a blast to drive around that place. We ended up posting the fastest practice time of the day, out of everyone, after we got the gear more where we wanted it. In qualifying, the kart handled very well, and I was able to put the kart on the pole with a lap that was a tenth better than Jeff Leeke Jr's. At the start of the race, Jeff was able to get a little bit of the down the front-stretch, and he started to drift over. He ended up bumping my nose which upset the kart a little, but no big deal. I fell in-line behind him and looked for when I could make my move. I wanted to get him coming off of turn 3 because I knew from practice he wasn't very good there. I got a great run off of 3 and came up right on his bumper, and ultimately bumped him. Being so close to him though, I really could see the edge of the track. I steered to the left to make the move around him, but dropped the right rear tire off the track and ended spinning the kart. I was able to get it corrected right away though, and started my pursuit to run him down. I had 14 laps to do it in, and I wasn't sure if I would have enough time. I guess the next time by the line, the announcer said there was a 3 sec deficit I had to make up. As the laps went by though, I could tell I was reeling him in. Later we found out off of the time sheets, it was at least 2 tenths a lap and sometimes 5 or 6. With about 3 to go he did make a mistake coming off 3, and ended up going through the grass a little bit. This let me close right back in. I was ready to make the pass in three again because I was closing on him fast. Well, he was much more cautious going into the turn due to the previous lap, and slowed up considerably. This made my rate of closure even faster, and I had to really jump on the brakes so I didn't run over him. The kart got squirrelly, and I missed the entrance to the turn. That allowed him to pull out a little again. I was able to get back up to him by the end of the race, but wasn't able to get past. I was happy knowing we ran him down though, and ended up posting the fastest time of the day in that race.
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