This weekend was the biggest 206 race of the year. It was an event of the year that brought in tons of drivers from different tracks all over the US in the 4 cycle classes. The weather was terrible, racing was okay and I am going home with a go kart in one piece. I would say, that is a plus.
Friday, we had dry perfect weather all day long with 3 practice sessions and qualifying. I showed great speed every practice session, top 5 overall. Qualifying came around and some kids on the track were blocking, which caused me to not get the best lap I could, but I still qualified 8th out of 62 drivers.
Saturday the bad weather came about, and we had 2 heat races and split groups.
I was in the group B class in both races, which meant we raced the same kids each time.
In the first heat it started to rain hard, I started 4th and was running 2nd with 1st and 3rd, till 3rd place accidentally hit me too hard from behind and it made me spin around. Luckily, I only fell back to 6th place but since the driver got a penalty, I finished up the race in 5th. Heat 2 comes along, and the track was wet but starting to dry out a little, which sucked for rain tires that you had to use for 2 days. I started in 5th and was able to finish out the final in 3rd. For the feature Sunday I would have to line up in 8th, which is determined by points from your heat 1 and heat 2 finishes.
Sunday was feature day and we wake up to once again rain. We had a long time till our feature race, so we were hoping the rain would miss us. 2 classes before our final what does the weather decide to do? It decides to down pour and get the track wet once again for our final. The problem is when the final was coming around to us, the rain stopped, and the sun was poking out. Now this time the mechanics(dads) are all struggling to make sure they have the right setup for the track conditions now that they have changed, they could possibly change again when the drivers were out there, so pretty much it was luck of the draw.
I lined up in my spot in 8th and turn 1 went fine, but right before turn 2 the 2nd & 4th place kart bobbled in the grass which caused me to have to checkup. I tried to go around in the middle but there so many karts, I couldn’t get around, so I got stuck. I was pushed back to 11th place, but since my kart went away, I kept getting slower and the track was getting dryer so I finished out the race in 14th place.
I am happy with my overall weekend results after some bad luck throughout the weekend and even if I didn’t reach my goal to be in the top 10. I showed I was fast and that I could contend for the win, but in the rain and with that many karts, it is the luck of the draw and who chose the right kart setup. I have more room to grow in this class, and looking forward to some great racing in 2022. One mistake from another driver can also ruin your entire race, but that is the life of racing.
2022 is a new season and I will have a little more experience under my belt, I am hoping I grow as a driver in the Junior division to get back up on that podium step one day!
Thank you to Comet Racing Engines for the fast motors and to Nick with Nitro Kart for the fast chassis(as always) and all the support this weekend.
Thank you to my sponsors for no matter what results I get, you continue to believe in me to represent you. CRP Racing, Rock's Trailer Sales, PKT Axles, Mason Motorsports, Alissa Grim Photography, OGIO and EVS.
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