Route 66 race at Rt 61 Kartway

[Rick]

I went to the Route 66 race at Rt 61 Kartway in Delmar, IA this weekend and I had a very fun filled, sporadically frustrating and overall exciting time! :clap: I went up with Dean and Keenan.

The track was extremely tight for TAG. Lots of elevation changes, blind turns and very sharp turns. It's a great track and extremely entertaining to drive.

Keenan was the fastest in either TAG (Senior or Senior Leopard only) class. In qualifying, Keenan posted a time of 44.537 which was 2/10ths off of Brian Jacobsen's recent track record. :jawdrop: Dean qualified 3rd in TAG Senior with a laptime of 45.059 (that's pretty good for someone who could be racing in TAG Masters :bugeye:). I qualified 11th out of 15 with a horrible time of 45.409.

On Sunday, Keenan checked out in the pre-final and final and won both races easily. Dean moved up to 2nd in the pre-final and then in an attempt to maximize his grid position, he lifted and tried to let one kart by so he could start 3rd. 2 went by and he ended up 4th and on the outside row which he tried to avoid. The pre-final was my best race of the weekend. I made up 2 positions on the start and passed 2 people on the track and inherited on position due to DNF. In the final, I tried to be aggressive on the start and touched wheels with another kart and spun off and was dead last for a while until people DNF'ed. Dean got punted and his exhaust came loose and he was black flagged.

Overall a good racing experience! I just wished that Dean and I would have had better results in the final. Congratulations to Keenan for kicking ass and taking names!

MyLaps Results (http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=321551)

[rct25]

Rick,

What happened from the prefinal to the final at Route 66 in Iowa?
It looked like you were in good shape for the final but something happened.

Roberto

[rct25]

it sounds like you guys had fun!

Congratulations.


Roberto

[Rick]

Rick,

What happened from the prefinal to the final at Route 66 in Iowa?
It looked like you were in good shape for the final but something happened.

Roberto

Well since I made two positions on the start in the prefinal, I thought I would try the same thing in the final. I tried to be too aggressive at the start and tried to go 2 wide through the esses. I was on the inside line and the guy on the outside and I touched wheels. That made my kart hop up and spin around into the grass. I was stuck in the grass until a corner worker came to help me push it out. So I was about 1/2 lap behind the entire field at that point. I just kept going because I knew that people would DNF. I never caught up with anyone, but I inherited a few positions. I think if I could have made that pass stick, I would have been 4th by turn 3. Luke Blazek, who started behind me, eventually finished 4th.

[Rick]

Thanks Roberto!

Now I know what you're talking about. Tuning is extremely important. After everyone saw that Keenan was the fastest, there were always people coming up to our trailers to ask him what he's doing. He taped up everything so no one could see any of his setup. I need to learn how to tune a kart chassis. My biggest change all weekend was just to remove the 4th rail. I didn't want to mess with anything else because I didn't know what it would do.

[rct25]

Thanks Roberto!

Now I know what you're talking about. Tuning is extremely important. After everyone saw that Keenan was the fastest, there were always people coming up to our trailers to ask him what he's doing. He taped up everything so no one could see any of his setup.


Rick,

Now the tape makes sense, right? :)
I am glad to hear you are enjoying karting.

I will be back at the track next weekend.

Regards,

Roberto

[Hornswoggler]

Sounds like a fun track. I need to check out this Route 61 Kartway!! Hope to make it up there a Sunday in October for A&D.. sometime before they close for the season.