G&J KARTWAY PRACTICE 12.4.2021

Saturday ended up being a sunny 49 degree day, so we decided to venture out to G&J Kartway in Camden, OH for some practice time with my teammate Addison to prep for Daytona here in a few weeks.

I got to test out my X30 in my OTK Neos chassis, it was super fast. My dad even got to try out Addison's shifter kart, which I was able to keep up with. My dad was a little rusty, but that's okay we still had fun.

Next up will be me testing my Miata at Kershaw SC, racing my 206 Jr & KA100 Jr kart with WKA at Daytona International Speedway and then Jacksonville with CKNA in my 206 Junior kart.

Check out my latest video of my test session.

I'M BACK!!

Last weekend we ventured back out to GoPro Motorplex in Mooresville NC, where if you remember I had my bad accident and couldn’t finish the race due to my ribs being bruised. I took 4 weeks off racing to let them heal but I was so ready to get on the track again, so we decided to venture back down to NC to race their double header club race.

Friday, I got some on track coaching by Nitro’s drivers coach, Ashley Rogero. She helped me learn my lines and braking points in the KA Jr, which I felt pretty good about after the day ended.

Saturday was race day in the Briggs class only, which we wake up to 40-degree weather, which was about 20 degrees colder than Friday was, so you knew the track was going to change tremendously. In qualifying something was wrong with my motor, so I qualified 22nd(last) due to motor change. In the first prefinal I was able to make up some spots and finish 12th. In final #1 I got up to 9th by lap 7, but fell back to 12th by the end of the race. In prefinal #2 I again started 22nd and worked my way to 11th. In the final 2 I got pushed back to almost last but was able to salvage 11th by the end of the race.

Sunday was race day #2 but in the KA100 Junior class, which again we wake up to 20-degrees outside, which made the track slick cold and just off. With the track being slick and with us not having the right tire pressure, I qualified 23rd out of 25. In prefinal #1, I worked my way up to 12th but still 7 tenths off the draft. In final #1, I got down as low as 9th but kept getting passed back and forth, which led me to finish the race in 10th. In prefinal #2, I had to start 23rd again (based on qualifying), but only made it up to 18th, my kart and I were just struggling the entire race. In final #2, I started 18th and within 7 laps I was already up to 10th. My kart felt great and was in the whole time. The 7 kart draft ahead of me was too far gone and was 4 tenths faster than me being alone, which led me to finish 10th. If I had a few more laps I could have been racing with the kids in the 7 kart train, with only being less than 2 seconds away from them.

Video clip of my prefinal #2 start!

I was proud of my performance overall. I had to work my way from the back of the pack, back up through the field in every race. By the end of the weekend, I had learned a lot about my racing, braking points and passing in the big kart.

I am ready for WKA, which will be at the Daytona International Speedway 12/27 to the 12/30 where I will race my KA Jr and Briggs Jr kart, then off to Jacksonville Fl with CKNA to race my Briggs Kart,12/31-1/2.

USPKS GOPRO WAS A BUST!

We came, we saw and we did NOT conquer GoPro Motorplex this weekend

We made the last minute decision to go to USPKS for my first national KA100 Junior race, lets just say it didn't go so well, except I did get to hang out with Kevin Harvick and meet Will Power, Josef Newgarden and Kyle Larson, so that was pretty cool.

Thursday and Friday I showed great speed in the practice sessions till everyone put their race motors on in Happy Hour, then I was about .8 tenths off.

Saturday qualifying came around and my kart was still not right and not very fast. We qualified 25th out of 44, which isn't too bad but I knew I could do better.

My dad adjusted the kart some more for the final and it felt great up till turn 4 & 5(S turns), when kids decided to pass each other 2 wide, which caused several people to spin out right in front of me. With nowhere to go I slide to not hit the kid that spun out head on, by the time my kart came to a stop, someone hit me going 50+ mph on my left side pod, which caused me to get hurt bad. I ended up getting the wind knocked out of me and a very bruised rib. My parents took me to the hospital to get checked out and I have no broken ribs, thank goodness.

(Video below of my accident)

My dad John Grim & Tiffin Willareth were able to put the kart back together and

I tried to go out for morning practice, but the pain was too much when I hit the bumps, so we all decided it was not a good idea to push it and started to head back home.

I am proud of my progress thus far in the Junior ranks and know I have more to learn to be better. I am looking forward to the 2022 year.

Thank you to Nick Tucker for the support, Tiffin Willareth for helping my dad with the go kart this weekend, Ashley Rogero for the coaching and Comet Racing Engines for the power.

Thank you to my sponsors as always for all the support and what you do to keep me on the track. Crp Racing, Rock's Trailer Sales, Precision Karting Technologies, Mason Motorsports, Alissa Grim Photography, OGIO and Team EVS.