Commercial Point Karting Classic | Page 3 | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Commercial Point Karting Classic

upload_2019-8-5_15-54-20.png

upload_2019-8-5_15-54-57.png

A couple pictures of the damaged kart. The impact of the wreck tore the spindle plate right off the frame. The impact shredded the German chrome molly like it was paper. Unreal.

Mychron racing data shows he was doing 46.2 mph when things went bad. At 32 Mph he impacted the barrier and sustained a 2G front to back force on impact. He was lucky he only bruised his shin badly.
 


Qualified 7 of 11 in the LO206 Heavy race. Held the last money spot for 5 laps. Finally dropped to 8th when I got passed. Had to run some of my best laps of the weekend at the end to hold the 8th spot. Had someone on my tail for 5 laps trying to pass me but was able to hold him off. Lots of fun.
 
upload_2019-8-6_21-26-1.jpeg

Found the cause that destroyed my brothers kart frame. Either a bad free tire or someone damaged it when mounting right before his accident.

A lot of lessons to be learned in this weekend. Troy was the fastest of all of us this weekend in my brothers kart. But he was still just under a second slower than the favorite. All the front runners were running Hoosier tires and we were running Bridgestone. Early Sunday Troy went looking for Hoosier tires. Someone gave him a slightly used set. As I was doing changes to my kart Troy had someone remove the Bridgestone tires and mount the Hoosiers. He aired them up and he was ready to go. But the damage to bead caused the air pressure to drop enough to cause a problem in one kart run.

In racing you have to constantly make changes to go faster. Sometimes they work and other times they don’t. The last minute tire change was a bit risky when you didn’t have known tires you were switching to.

Beyond that I re-checked the lug nuts after he mounted the Hoosiers but never rechecked the tire pressure a 2nd time after he set them when mounting. A simple double check of air pressure would have revealed the problem and prevented the accident.

When he started the practice run he was noticeably slower. My brother passed him. The tire was already going down. That was a sign to him to return to pits and recheck kart. When anything feels wrong you should always stop and check the kart. He didn’t and learned a valuable lesson the hard way.

We just have to keep working at it. Eventually we will learn from all of the mistakes and finally get it right. When we do it will be awesome.
 


Video of race from the kart that finished right behind me. The cool part about karting is the new friends you meet every week. We never met before. We raced each other hard and clean and at the end we are now friends sharing racing info.

Jarrad was slower than me all weekend and would always finish a bit behind me in earlier sessions. By the end of the weekend he caught me and was trying to figure a way to get by me. The last 5 laps are some pretty good racing. When I get passed on lap 5 for the last money spot I start to drive a bit slower after the 2 kart gaps me. My race strategy changes to a more conservative one. Hold the 8 spot and hope for some attrition up front. Since I was never challenged by Jarrad earlier in week I didn't think I had to worry about him. With 5 laps to go he catches me and tries to make his first pass. From that point on I have to speed up to protect the 8th spot. He almost got me a few times but I had just a bit more gear at the end of straight ways.

Look forward to racing against him in 2 weeks at the Buckeye Karting Challenge.
 
Just Registered for this race for the 4th year in row. They just announced they will Host the race despite virus. Small town overrun with spectators had to be approved by local people. Really didn’t think it would run this year because these Grand Prix races draw a lot more spectators than a normal club race. That’s why I love this race so much. The crowd and atmosphere is awesome.
 
They just cancelled the race this year with the uptick of virus in Ohio. Refunded my entry fee. I told my brother this weekends race might be our last for a while if they decide to lock things down again here.

They also cancelled the Quincy GrandPrix which we going to attend. Any of the big crowd races are bowing out this year.
 
Have to bump this thread. Just finished my 4th time racing at Commercial Point this weekend. What a blast racing through that town. There was a huge crowd. I finished 7th and took home the last money spot in a $2000 payout. $100. Got my race fee back and achieved a goal I have been try to do for years. Finishing strong was in doubt when I hit the barriers on Saturday during qualifying. Friend at the track helped me get my kart fixed and ready to finish in the money. It was a tough weekend but very rewarding.
 
Back
Top Bottom