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Listened to Chase Elliot win the All Star Race last night on the drive back from Georgia. In Dawsonville they had a legendary bar that pays tribute to Bill Elliot. We were going to stop in for a beer but they were remodeling and it wasn’t open. Million bucks for Chase, not a bad evening of work.

Back in Ohio today. We got a good portion of the rental fleet at AMP back running before we left Georgia. The service manager was appreciative of our help. He let us run the rental kart several times. We also both got some time on a prototype rental that they were building. It had different clutch, no muffler and was much faster that standard rental karts. It was a blast.

We also worked a deal with him to comeback in winter months and exchange mechanic work for track time on our own karts. Can’t wait to get my kart on that track.

Loading up toy hauler today to head to Buckeye Challenge race number 2 this weekend in eastern Ohio. After week off from competition I’m ready to race.
 
2 days of practice at Adkin Raceway preparing for today’s race. Found some good speed and figured out this track pretty quickly. Running consistent 34 second laps. The favorite is about a 1/10 second faster so we have some work to do today.

I have big bruise welt on my right elbow from banging on the engine through rough turns. It’s an abrasive track that will beat the Hell out of you. Has banked 180 degree Monza turn You hit at Full speed that creates 3g’s Of lateral force. Got my elbow pad on for rest of event. 100 degree heat index today so it going to be brutal.
 
2 days of practice at Adkin Raceway preparing for today’s race. Found some good speed and figured out this track pretty quickly. Running consistent 34 second laps. The favorite is about a 1/10 second faster so we have some work to do today.

I have big bruise welt on my right elbow from banging on the engine through rough turns. It’s an abrasive track that will beat the Hell out of you. Has banked 180 degree Monza turn You hit at Full speed that creates 3g’s Of lateral force. Got my elbow pad on for rest of event. 100 degree heat index today so it going to be brutal.

Keep hydrated bro. That heat is a killer
 
Took 3rd in first heat race and 2nd in second heat race. The 2 finishes put me on the first row outside starting 2nd in the feature race. Been there once before about a year ago and wasn’t able get the win. It took a year of hard work to get that opportunity again.

The track has 7 turns to negotiate and the feature race was 12 laps. 84 turns to navigate. I had the fastest lap time in the feature but made mistakes on 2 of the 84 turns. Those mistakes cost me 2 spots (finished 4th) and never really had a chance to challenge the winner of race.

To win you need a fast kart but you also have to drive a nearly flawless race. I’ll learn from my mistakes and keep trying till I reach that near perfection. I learned a lot this weekend.
 


Feature race 5 karts in a line with one lap to go. Kart in 2nd tries to make the pass but it doesn't work out. We were all so close all day long in heat races and feature turned out the same. I finish 4th with my brother right in front of me.
 


Qualified 6th out of 22 at Whiteland on Sunday. My kart was fast. In pre-final the 2 lead karts made contact and I had to drive off the track to avoid contact. The Orange Cones stopped my kart and I finished 16th after getting it back going. I recovered in feature and finished right behind my brother (7th and 8th) nose to tail once again. I'll take a top half finish after suffering some bad luck in pre-final.
 


Made a bad mistake in the first heat race yesterday. Over braked trying to avoid contact with kart in front of me. I spun around in front of a pack of karts and got clobbered. Luckily no one was hurt. Sorry that my mistake tore up one of the Racing for Vets karts. His great reaction lessened the impact and saved us both some possible injuries.

Busted up my kart pretty bad. Spindle, tie rod, steering shaft and kingpin. I was ready to call it quits and pack up. Then a fellow karter that I had never met before gave me HOPE. Ray Brown told me that we could fix the kart. He took time out of his racing to straighten my spindle and steering shaft and gave me the tie rod parts to get my kart back together. Got it back together for heat 2 race and ran my fastest time of the day.

Finished the feature in 6th place and was less than 6 seconds behind winner which was the closest I have ever been to leaders at finish of race at G&J. Was a very rewarding day after a bad start. Also have to thank Markus Hall for helping me put my kart back together in time for heat 2 race. Would have never made it without his help.

When things look bleak HOPE can inspire you to do things you don't think are possible. Ray Brown provided that and I will always remember how he changed my day with some simple words and a helping hand.

In life you will get many chances to inspire others to do better. Never miss out on that chance to inspire.
 
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Dan and I are heading to the Ceraland Grand Prix this weekend. Its the only kart road race this season that hasn't been cancelled due to covid-19. The event happens in a private pay park in Columbus, IN so they don't have to deal with getting approval to shut a city square down. Should be lots of fun. The track is very fast and has 30ft elevation drop at one point. My brother took 6th place last year. I got my rear tires on a sealer section of turn 2 and hit the wall. Pulled off after one lap with rear damage to kart. In Saturday's pre-final last year my kart was doing well. Made several passes and moved up my position for Sundays race. Then it all went down the drain on the first lap. Been waiting a year for a chance to make up for my mistake. Birel dealer is having a fellow racer deliver spare parts to track on Friday so I can change out the stuff I bent up last week. That little spin last week cost me $400. It could have been much worse.
 
Started out as tough weekend for me at Ceraland. My spare parts didn’t arrive on Friday night so I had to run the first practice On Saturday with the wrecked parts from last weekend. I didn’t have much confidence in kart and it was just a learn the track session. Then parts arrived and we replaced it all in time for second practice session. After that I was still slow and too cautious. Took 9th with my brother right behind out of field of 14 in heat race.
We also entered a food drive race on Saturday after heat races. 30 lap race. In that race I regained some confidence In my kart and ran my fastest lap time of day.
Today starting 9th I avoided carnage several times During race. At the end my brother was Pushing me in the draft trying to Push me into 5th place from long time SIRA member that smoked us last year. We took 6th and 7th in a field of 14 karts. made my day after blowing it last year. In the draft of 3 karts with my brother pushing me my lap times dropped 3/4 second at end of race. It was awesome. Great weekend for us. Videos to follow after I get some rest from long weekend.
 


Start and finish of race with a few middle parts to keep it short. Picked up 3 spots on first lap when I avoided a pileup in last turn. Let Troy get by me on lap 3 but then buckled down and kept him in my sight for the rest of the race. He just made no mistakes and didn't give me a chance to pass despite being right on his bumper and having my brother pushing me from behind. Very fast fun track with little margin for error. Going over the hill you take an off camber chicane in excess of 50 mph on someone's bumper. You can't make a mistake there.
 
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