December 6th, 3rd Annual Troy Woodbury Memorial Classic-Columbus
Results
1st Session, Stock Lite, 28 entries:
Heat 1 (8 laps)-Started 4th, Finished 6th
Heat 2 (8 laps)-Started 4th, Finished 6th
B Main (10 laps)-Started 5th, Finished 6th
2nd Session, Stock Medium, 36 entries:
Heat 1 (8 laps)-Started 3rd, Finished 4th
Heat 2 (8 laps)-Started 7th, Finished 4th
B Main (10 laps)-Started 2nd, Finished 5th
This week-end we tried our hand at indoor racing for the first time, and boy did we learn a lot. The
first thing we learned was that the track is flat, and I mean flat, so there is no banking helping to
turn the kart whatsoever. Therefore, a short track outdoor set-up still needs to be adjusted. Indoor
shows are also run a little different than your usual outdoor shows. Instead of having a whole bunch
of classes at once, they split the racing day into 3 different race sessions with only 4 or 5
classes. That makes the shows run a lot quicker, but that also means you don't have much time to be
making a lot of adjustments. They did provide an open practice session in the morning though, so we
did get some track time before actually having to race. Anyway, onto the racing action.
1st Session, Stock Lite:
In the first session, we entered in the stock lite class. I believe there were something around 28
entries which meant there were four separate heats of consisting of 7 karts. For the first heat, we
started 4th right behind John Ivy. In the driver's meeting, we were told that they would be cracking
down on the starts because they wanted the front row to come out of the 4th turn side-by-side. The
pole sitter was pretty anxious, so John just let him go which meant we had a complete restart. The
pole sitter did it a 2nd time and we had to have another restart, but this time he was penalized and
was forced to start 3rd which was dictated in the driver's meeting as well. The third time is always
a charm, and we finally got the race underway. Being on the outside is a big disadvantage indoors
because there is hardly any grip out there. We were quickly freight-trained off the start, and ended
up back in 7th. All day we had been trying to figure out how to get the kart to turn into the corner
better. The front-end was sliding and pushing big time, and everything we tried didn't help much. I
was able to get past another kart by the end of the heat race though. For the second heat race, we
were able to make some adjustments to try and help the pushing condition. We started 4th again, but
only dropped back to 6th this time. The kart was still pushing, but it was a little better. I also
started hitting the brakes hard on entry, which did help the kart turn. We weren't able to make up
much track position though, and ended up 6th. Only the top three points finishers from each heat race
were automatically in the feature, so we had to run the B Main to try and get in. Again, the
separated the class into two B-Mains with the top three finishers from each transferring to the
Feature. We started 5th in ours which turned out to be very chaotic. On the first start, 3 or 4
karts got together coming out of the 2nd turn. The track was pretty much blocked, but I was able to
make it around on the outside. Since a lap wasn't completed, we lined-up again for a complete
restart. On the restart, I saw the same thing happening as the first start. Again, 3 karts got
together, and were blocking the track. This time, I had to go low to avoid, and the guy behind me
jumped my left rear tire. The nose of his kart hit me in the shoulder and ended up breaking the
trailing edge of the side-panel. Other than that, we got through it unscathed. Well, since the first
two side-by-side starts were unsuccessful, the next restart was single-file. At the drop of the
green, everything seemed ok, but this time 2 or 3 karts got together in the 3rd and 4th turn, so we
had to restart AGAIN! Well, the fourth time was the charm this time, and we got a lap completed. The
guy behind me was able to get a run off the 4th turn, and pass me at the beginning of the second lap.
I was still having to tap the brakes a little on entry, which did hurt a little. A new problem was
arising as well. The track was taking a LOT of rubber, and the kart would want to bicycle coming out
of the turns. This caused me to exit the turns a lot higher, and if anyone could get underneath, they
could easily get passed. Luckily, no one else was able to in the race, and we ended up coming home in
6th. That wasn't too bad for our first indoor race session ever.
2nd Session, Stock Medium, $251 to win:
We had about 30-45 mins. in between the 1st and 2nd racing sessions, and we made some major changes to
the kart. We had been trying little things each time in the first session, but now we had time to
make some drastic changes. We found out they helped immensely in our practice sessions for the 2nd
race session. There were 36 karts entered in mediums for a chance to win the money and Troy Woodbury
Memorial Trophy. The previous 2 yrs. John Ivy came home with the win. There were 4 heats of 9 karts
this time with the top 2 point scorers from each heat going straight to the feature event. We started
3rd in our first heat, and had a great start. The guy outside of me did have a little advantage out
of the 4th turn, and tried to turn down in front of me. I wasn't letting that happen though, and held
my line on the inside into the first turn. We came out of the 2nd turn in 3rd and tried to stay up
with the 2 front-runners. I was still having very slight problems entering the turns, and that was
where the first 2 were able to get away. About halfway through the race, the guy behind me was able to
get past me going into the 1st turn. We were able to hold the 4th position to the finish though. For
the 2nd heat we started 7th which was a little ways back, but at least was on the inside. The start
was pretty clean, but ended up in 7th when everything shook-out. About the 2nd lap, I was in the
middle of turns 1 and 2 when all of a sudden I got hit in the left-side causing me to spin. They had
said in the driver's meeting they wouldn't tolerate any rough driving, and they told the truth because
they gave me my position back on the restart. So, we restarted 7th, but I wasn't able to gain any
positions on the restart. A few laps later 2 karts got together coming off of the 2nd turn. I went
high to avoid them, and expected the caution to be thrown, but it wasn't. I quickly jumped back on
the throttle. When I came around to the flag stand, they did throw the caution because one kart was
still disabled in the turn. We started 5th with only a few laps to go. When we received the white
flag karts were tangled coming out of the 2nd turn again. I quickly dove to the inside down the
backstretch was able to gain a position coming to the checkers. The kart was getting a lot better,
and so were our finishes, but we still had to go to the B-Main. This time they had 3 B-Mains with
only the top two transferring to the feature. Our finishes landed us 2nd starting position in the 3rd
B-Main. We had as well a start as you can have being on the outside, and lost one position early to
our friend Seth. I was able to keep in on the bottom coming out of 2 though to get the position back.
I stayed there for about a lap until the kart bicycled coming out of the 4th turn. This let Seth and
another kart get around. The kart was handling the best it did all day, aside from a very, very,
slight push on entry. The bicycling was becoming much more of a problem though. With about 4 laps to
go, another kart got by since the outside tires were biting so much. We were able to finish in the
5th position though, and unfortunately not transferring to the feature.
Well, that pretty much wraps up the indoor racing action from Dec. 6th. We definitely learned a lot
and have a whole new game plan for the next race, Dec. 20th. I think we did pretty well for our first
time being indoors, and only damaged a minimal amount of equipment. I have to thank Matt Kreager and
RJ Stoner for stopping by and helping us during the 1st session racing action. You guys don't know h
ow much we missed you during the 2nd session!
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