Yaw Moment Racing

Tires Tires Tires.....

2012-02-09T19:58:00.000-08:00

I will be running Goodyear Eagle RS tires on my ESP Camaro Z28 this year. I just a received a shipment of 315/35ZR17 tires that should last me the full season. Hopefully, I can help put Goodyear on the top step at this year's Solo Nationals in Lincoln, Nebraska. I can't wait to put some laps on the fresh sneakers!

2011 Racing Season in Review

2012-01-24T17:58:00.000-08:00

To start off, here is a highlight clip reel from the season...

2011 was an interesting year....it started off with plans of selling all of my karting gear to go Spec Miata road racing, then I decided my plan was to stick with shifter kart racing for a while longer while also trying to compete in the Skip Barber and Bondurant driver shootouts in addition to some open-wheel road races. Well, the Skip Barber Shootout changed their rules which basically made me ineligible this year and the Bondurant shootout was a one-and-done, so that left kart racing in the SWRC and local events.

I decided to kick it up a notch with some last minute plans to attend the 2011 SCCA Solo Nationals in Lincoln, NE. Thanks to Lane, some help from my Dad, and late nights in Lane's garage, the Solo Nationals went from maybe to definitely, and that's when 2011 went from good to awesome. I finished 2011 undefeated in Solo events (3 for 3 incl. Solo Nats) with 2 feature race karting victories and 4th place in Stock Moto Senior points in the Southwest Regional Cup.

Season Summary:

Proposed to my now-fiance Ali (not racing, but still important I'd say)
SCCA Solo National Championship in A-Stock Class
100% win ratio in Solo events
2 Pro Class wins and Overall Top PAX wins with Equipe Rapide Autocross Club
2 Feature Race victories in Stock Moto Senior with North Texas Karters
4th place in Stock Moto Senior points in Southwest Regional Cup
Completed first full season of Regional-level karting
Raced at 3 new kart tracks (GCKI, OMC, DKC)
Completed a 3-day Bondurant Advanced Road Racing School
Drove a 305 Sprint Car for the first time (thanks Gary!)

However, one of the things that made the 2011 racing season the most enjoyable was getting to do it with friends and family. My fiance Ali was quite the trooper and attended almost all of my races this year including co-piloting with me on trips to Oklahoma and Houston. I started autocrossing with Lane and got to continue racing with my Dad. Joe and Stuart bought shifter karts so now we have our very own karting team in San Angelo. This was a big step up from being the lone West Texas karter in 2010 and I look forward to keeping it going in 2012.

Porsches and Rental Karts in San Antonio

2012-01-23T16:10:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday, Yama and I made a quick day trip to San Antonio to pick his car up from Porsche of San Antonio. They have a fantastic new facility off of 1-10 and had a quite a collection of fine Porsches including a GT2 RS, GT3 RS, several GT3s, several hardtop and droptop 911 Turbos, and also had some new 991 911s.

Here are some photos of the GTRS:

After grabbing some Japanese food for lunch, Yama and I hit up Alamo Karts on our way back to San Angelo which is an outdoor rental karting facility that uses unique propane powered karts. This also the home of Alamo Powersports and Alamo Sportscars . Clearly, the owners of this business are my kind of people - they were motorcycles, racecars, street kit cars, shifter karts, and their own go-kart track. Here are some pictures of their facility:

Here is some onboard video from Alamo Karts:

5 Cars I Love

2012-01-21T06:00:00.000-08:00

Road and Track had a cool article this past episode where each editor listed 5 cars they love.....here is my list.

Here are 5 cars I love in no particular order:

1. Ferrari F40

2. Acura NSX

3. Crossle 50F Formula Ford

4. 2004 Yellow C5 Chevy Corvette

5. Chaparral 2J

The Ferrari F40 is my favorite Ferrari of all time and will be the first thing I buy if I hit the lotto. The F40 is a no-compromise supercar and I you can't beat 3.0L of mid-engine twin-turbo V8. The Acura NSX is my Dad's current toy and an absolute blast to drive. It also has the greatest gearbox ever installed in a production car. The Crossle 50F was a great learning tool and I have special memories racing this car with my Dad. The '04 Corvette has to make the list because it (along with Lane's tuning, thanks buddy) helped me win my first SCCA National Championship. The Chaparral 2J is a truly innovative racecar made right up the road from where I live in Midland, TX. Also, it is one of my favorite cars to drive in Gran Turismo.

I posted the link to my Twitter account and got a nice shoutout from R&T:

Link to the Road & Track Article: http://www.roadandtrack.com/column/cars-we-love

Simon Says...No Driving Style

2012-01-20T07:07:00.000-08:00

I came across a very interesting interview with Honda Factory driver Simon Pagenaud done by SimRaceway. The article is basically his description of how to set blistering lap times around Mid-Ohio for which he is the overall lap record holder in a Panoz Champ Car pictures below.

The most interesting part of the article is when Simon describes his philosophy on "driving style." Here is the quote:

One would think that the techniques required to steer 800bhp of open wheel fury like the Panoz DP-01 simply would have no correlation with a rear wheel or all wheel drive production car. Simon begs to differ. “It is important to have a car that is the same on entry, mid-corner and exit”. He went on to explain that the car “needs to be predictable from entry to exit. I want the car to drive into the corner by itself, I never want to force it with the steering. I want to transfer enough weight to the front of the car with my braking or by lifting but I don’t want to have to turn the wheel too much. My belief is there is no ‘driving style’, you need to be able to adapt at every corner.”

I am a big fan of this philosophy. I think it is a very common "paddock myth" for drivers to blame a lack of pace on their "driving style" not matching a certain racecar. I think this is more due to the driver not being able to adapt to what the racecar needs....in the end it's the driver not the racecar. The same basic fundamentals of weight transfer apply to any given racecar, but the method to achieve the end result of perfect corner entry, mid-corner balance, and exit velocity will be different. This is why drivers with good fundamentals can hop into any car and be on pace with in a few laps.

Link to the article: http://blog.simraceway.com/2012/01/simon-says-a-lap-around-mid-ohio-with-the-track-record-holder-simon-pagenaud/

Mr. Yama's Cayman R

2012-01-19T18:36:00.000-08:00

My buddy Yama recently purchased a new automobile....

It is a 2012 Porsche Cayman R with 6-speed MT, Sports Chrono package, Carbon fiber sport bucket seat, and a really nice Alcantara steering wheel. It puts out 330 HP at 7,400 while making it's trademark Porsche flat-six engine note. I was lucky enough to get to drive into work a few days ago....and I truly understand why there are so many Porsche fanatics out there. It is his dream car and all of our friends are happy to bum rides in his fancy Yellow Taxi anyday!

Here is an interior shot:

New owner with Cayman R:

Yama and I will be installing a hitch on his Cayman R soon so he can bring some Goodyear R-Compound tires with him on his track day adventures at Harris Hill Road in San Marcos, TX. Yama's current personal best of around a 1:29s lap will be in danger when he brings the new whip to HHR next month!

The Jacket

2011-12-20T07:08:00.001-08:00

I finally received my SCCA Solo Nationals Championship jacket from the SCCA and SPS. 2.5 months was a little longer than I expected to wait, but it was well worth it. My first jacket is very special and this will be something that hangs in my office for a long time. Now time to get to business and work on adding a second one to my collection.....

Here are a few more photos of the jacket's embroidery:

SCCA Solo Nats Logo on the Left Sleeve

Left Pocket Logo

Final 2011 EKN Stock Moto Driver Ranking

2011-12-17T07:15:00.000-08:00

I dropped back a few spots since the last ranking was published, but will finish the season 40th overall. There are 6 Texas shifter kart pilots ranked in the top 25 (incl. #5 and #9) and several more highly ranked drivers who raced in the Southwest Regional Cup. I still have lots to improve on for next season, but it definitely helps to have great competition in TX to motivate me to get faster. Given that 2011 was my first full season of regional-level karting and with the driving talent in TX, I'm pleased to finished the season in the top 40.

Here is a link to the EKN driver rankings and the season wrap-up article.

Introducing the E Street Prepared Camaro - "Thrillbilly"

2011-11-21T19:37:00.000-08:00

My Dad and I will be running a new car in 2012 for the Solo Nationals and select National Tour and Divisional SCCA Solo events - a 2001 Chevrolet Camaro Z28. We purchased the car about two months ago and as you could probably tell from my last event results, it is race-ready and fast out of the box. I owe that to 15-time SCCA National Champion Sam Strano who happens to be handy behind the wheel and with a wrench. As owner of Strano Performance Parts, Sam purchased this car brand-new back in 2000 and had quite a bit of success with it through 2006 when he switched to F-Stock Mustangs (and reeled off another 4 straight titles....). In 2007 the Camaro was featured on the cover of GM High-Tech Performance.

Earlier this year, my Dad and I decided that the STX Mini was not the car for us to run a National competition, but we wanted to start driving together again for 2012. We both like the Street Prepared class for it's level of prep and use of race rubber so we narrowed our search down to CSP, DSP, or ESP cars. Our goal was to purchase a well-sorted car and if we couldn't find one, then we would start from scratch and build a CSP Miata. A few days after we hatched our plan, Sam listed his Camaro on SCCA Forums and we bought it that night.

Now for a bit more about the car; Sam prepped it for E Street Prepared class and won National Championships with it in 2004 and 2006. It has a 5.7L LS1 V8 and transfers power to a T56 6-speed transmission courtesy of a Spec Stage 2+ clutch. Power is transferred to the ground by very wide 315/35ZR17 race tires. Engine modifications include aftermarket headers, Y-Pipe, and an SLP Loudmouth system from the cats back. A bit more power is squeezed out through an racing intake, Fluidampr harmonic balancer (with underdrive), and a custom tune by Phil Knowles. It cranks out well-over 300HP at the wheels.

Despite weight in at over 3,300 pounds, the Camaro carves the corners and has great balance in slaloms. The front suspension is a dual-control arm setup with custom Koni coilovers, stiffer springs, and a Strano performance ARB. The rear suspension is a live axle with a Fays2 Watts link, Koni dampers, Strano performance ARB, and stiffer springs. Axle hop is controlled with a UMI performance torque arm. Braking performance is improved through HPS pads and Brembo rotors working with the stock calipers.

Since 2006 when Sam last campaigned this car, there have a been a few rules updates that will allow me to eek a bit more time out of the Camaro. I have a set of subframe connectors waiting to be bolted up and may be swapping out front control arms in the future to net some more static camber. The interior is still stock except for a Sparco racing seat and the car still has a working A/C and radio. I'll pull these items out to reduce some weight before the 2012 season, but for now is still bad-fast with them. Right now, the battery is located in the stock location, but I can swap in a lightweight racing battery and place it in the rear for further weight reduction before next season. After weight reduction, the newer SP class rules allowances for aerodynamic aids (splitter and spoiler) is the other open area of development for me.

My Dad will be traveling to San Antonio in two weeks for our first event in the car together so stay tuned for more fast laps from the ESP Camaro.

Photoshoot for my Mazdaspeed Miata Tonight

2011-11-16T20:50:00.000-08:00

I got my car detailed today (thanks Ali!) by Longhorn Motors and wanted to take some photos while the car still looks immaculate.

There is an abandoned K-Mart near my house which I thought would make a cool spot to take photos and provide a consistent background. I started out with some basic shots like this:

After about twenty minutes of me taking so-so photos, my buddy Vu (his blog here) showed up and turned my photoshoot into a magazine cover quality shoot.

Here is Vu in action:

And the result:

Thanks for the great photos Vu! My Mazdaspeed Miata is for sale so comment or email me if you are interested.

Videos from the Bondurant Trip

2011-11-16T16:15:00.000-08:00

I made two video compilations from the Bondurant trip two weeks ago. First is in-car video from each track we drove and the second is of my racing buddies and I trying to kill each other at the local indoor kart track.

Bondurant In-Car Video:

Indoor Karting Video:

Texas Lone Star Grand Prix on Jalopnik

2011-11-15T15:16:00.000-08:00

The Texas Lone Star Grand Prix was featured on Jalopnik.com today with TX shifter kart racer Michael Ryan Johnson shown doing donuts at the TX Fairgrounds. Pretty entertaining video and great to see karting make it onto a popular site like Jalopnik.

Texas Lone Star Grand Prix

Promo Video for the race:

LoneStar GP Promo from John Shofner on Vimeo.

My Onboard Video featured on Stranoparts.com

2011-11-08T23:12:00.000-08:00

Sam Strano put one of my onboard videos from this past weekend's autocross on his website. Getting compliments from an 8-time Solo National Champion means a lot and I look forward to working with Sam to put the car at the top of the E Street-Prepared Class.

Link: www.stranoparts.com/videos.php

Equipe Rapide Challenge Cup # 10 Autocross Today - Top PAX'n Again

2011-11-06T17:50:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, Lane, Yama, and I returned to Mineral Wells Airpark for the Equipe Rapide Challenge Cup #10 autocross. The course was different from Saturday's but they shared some similar elements which helped the course walking learning curve. Also, the two day's were scored separately unlike a National event so the slates were wiped clean for Sunday's event.

Again, I ran first heat and the first run was a throw-away as the tires gained heat and the track was cleaned off. I was able to get to pace pretty quickly with 50.6 and 50.5s runs on the 2nd and 3rd runs respectively but nicked cones on both. On my 4th run, I dropped in a cone-free 50.3s time which was what I needed considering it proved to be my last run of the day. On my 5th run, I hit a cone on the 2nd half of the course and instantly felt my LF tire go down. In a freak occurrence, I hit the cone just right to break the metal valve stem on my Forgeline 17x11 race wheels. I did not have time to get it fixed in town so it ended my day. On the bright side, my 4th run turned out to be quite fast and earned my 1st place in Pro Class and Top PAX overall for the event.

Overall, the new car and I are quickly becoming friends! I now have 12 competitive runs in the new ESP Camaro Z28 and I am really excited with how it has performed. I am 2 for 2 for overall wins so far and can't wait to see how the pace picks up as I continue to learn the new racecar.

Thanks to Equipe Rapide for welcoming us into the club especially to the guys who tried to help my fix my valve stem at the track! We look forward to running with your club again.

Results here: http://www.autocross.com/er/equiperapide/modules/content/index.php?id=101

Here is onboard video from my fastest run:

Top Pax in the Camaro Today

2011-11-05T19:34:00.000-07:00

My first event in the ESP Camaro was a success. I finshed 1st in the Pro Class, 1st in the Rapide Pax Class (Pax class based on 2-lap shootout for each driver), got top PAX overall for the event, and won $40 for my Rapide PAX win (nice!). I won the Pro class by 0.6s and the Rapide PAX class by 0.1s. New tires certainly helped versus some of the National-level drivers who were running on old rubber...but they were the only tires I had for the car. We shall see if I inspired some guys to bring fresh sneakers tomorrow for a showdown....

The rear differential is starting to slip causing me to get inside wheel-spin in some of the higher-lateral-G corners which definitely affected my times. If it gets worse tomorrow, I may be in trouble for repeating this result tomorrow. A diff rebuilt will be in the works soon! Either way, Equipe Rapide is a great club to run with with many talented drivers who are fun to hang out with as well.

Results from today: http://www.autocross.com/er/equiperapide/modules/content/index.php?id=100

Here is onboard video from my fastest run:

First Autocross in the ESP Camaro This Weekend

2011-11-04T22:36:00.000-07:00

Lane, Yama, and I pulled into Mineral Wells, TX tonight to compete in a 2-day autocross with the Equipe Rapide Sports Car Club this weekend. The event is taking place at the Mineral Wells Airpark which is frequently used as an SCCA National Tour site. The event will take place over Saturday and Sunday (6 runs per day) and includes some fierce competition including Mark Madarash who has won the past 5 ESP National Championships.

Gotta get up early in the morning so I'm signing off. Tomorrow should be fun and I can't wait to try out the new Camaro!

Day 3 of the Bondurant Adv. Road Racing Course

2011-11-02T17:18:00.000-07:00

Group Photo from the Bondo Trip
(credit Vu Banh...it was his camera but he's in the photo)

I finished up the Bondurant 3-Day Advaned Road Racing class today. I'm tired so we are going to try something new....this is the day's summary in bullets:

Woke up at 7:30
Drove tons of laps on the Firebird East Course in C6 Grand Sports Corvettes
Worked with Bondurant Instructors Pete Miller and Austin Robison on fine-tuning my light brake input trail-braking to maximize entry speed
Pete said I was good at driving
Got passed by Nick and Yama
Graduated from the class with a 3.9 rating (not too bad)
Went to Octane Raceway for some indoor karting action for the 3rd day in a row
Ran 60 laps
Got my butt kicked by dorky 90lb local kids wearing driving suits and rib vests (here's a tip...this isn't cool at indoor kart tracks...just wear normal clothes and still be fast)
Going to sleep

Overall, I the Bondurant school is a great learning environment and it was extremely benefincial to improving my driving, especially with course recognition on new road coarses. Their school cars, instructors, and overall experience is top-notch. I would highly recommend this school to all my racing buddies.

Here are some photos taken by Bondurant talented photographer, John Dowd:

Day 2 of the Bondurant Adv. Road Racing Course

2011-11-01T23:39:00.001-07:00

Day 2 of the Bondurant Advanced Road Racing course is in the books. The course today was mainly open track sessions on the Firebird West Course and our Bondurant instructors, Pete Miller and Austin Robison, did a great job of helping us fine tune our skills. With a combination of riding, driving, practice laps, and lead/follow they helped us dial in to the new course. The West Course is a small 1.1 mile road course with one main straightaway and a good balance of steady state and transient mid-speed corners. As the tires degraded during the on-track sessions, maintaining the car and adapting to the changing tire/track conditions was key to getting the most our of the Corvette Grand Sport Corvettes.

For Day 3, we will head to the Firebird East course for more on-track work. The weather looks great for tomorrow so it should be a fun day of road course driving!

Day 1 of the Bondurant Adv. Road Racing School

2011-10-31T23:09:00.001-07:00

I made it through Day 1 of the Bondurant 3-Day Advanced Road Racing class today with no incidents and lots of quality seat time. Our instructors for the 6-person class were Pete Miller and Austin Robison. Both were great instructors who gave proper in-car feedback and were pretty handy behind the wheel as well. Today, we ran the newly-liveried Corvette C6 Grand Sport Corvettes around the Bondurant School course. The Bondo 'Vettes held up really well to the abuse and were a blast to drive. They have enough power to be a good throttle-maintenance training tool and the Goodyear rubber provided enough grip and good balance. Also, the brake package was very durable and we didn't have any brake fade issues all day despite the 90 degree ambient temperatures.

We got lucky as we will be running 3 different tracks during the class. Tomorrow, we head to the Firebird West Course and we get to rip up the Firebird East track on Wednesday. This should really help with course recognition and to help us learn how to get pace on new tracks quickly. Can't wait for tomorrow!

I took some video from the on-track driving with my GoPro HD camera so I post that later when I have a chance to edit. After the school, we hit up Octane Raceway for some indoor karting shenanigans from which I also have some good HD video of our "no bumping" and "rule following."

Our Bondo Classroom during the Lunch Break...nice man cave!

Nick Crashing Excessively in a Porsche Cup Car on the Forza Simulator

Headed off to Bondo this morning

2011-10-31T07:13:00.001-07:00

We are about leave the hotel this morning to start a 3-Day Advanced Road Racing class at the Bondurant School. Today should be more basic, but the real fun tomorrow with track-time in the Vettes starts on Day 2 and 3. As you see below, we couldn't ask for better weather so should be a great week!

Leaving for a Bondurant 3-Day Advanced Road Racing Class Today

2011-10-28T19:36:00.001-07:00

I'm flying out to Phoenix today for a 3-Day Advanced Road Racing class with several of my friends. Flight leaves in about two hours so I'm all packed up with driving gear, cameras, etc. The Advanced Road Racing class is the next step for my driving education after completing the 4-Day Grand Prix Road Racing class (more basic techniques and fundamentals) last July. Here is the salesman-pitch description of the class on the Bondurant School website:

Features: Personalized instruction, real world race scenarios, nearly 5 hours seat time per day
Vehicles: 2008 Corvette Coupe (Formula Mazda upgrade available)

What do professional racers Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, Elliot Sadler, Brian Vickers, and Dale Jarrett, and Rusty Wallace all have in common? They are all graduates of the Bondurant Advanced Road Racing Course. Even seasoned professionals can learn and improve well into their career. All pro athletes have coaches and pro racers use the knowledge and skill of Bondurant Instructors to help them hone their skills. Stock car racers frequently do refresher courses before their road races to brush up on road racing techniques strategies and skills.

Any current racer or graduate of the Bondurant 4-Day Grand Prix or other accredited racing school is qualified to apply for this advanced course. Advanced Road Racing students will improve in all areas of race technique. The curriculum includes off-line passing, qualifying techniques, reading multiple track configurations and late braking. Your lap times will tell the tale!

Each Advanced student can look forward to individualized instruction. The course will be customized in areas that focus attention and time on personal areas of improvement. Class size is kept to an absolute minimum.

There is no limit on what you can do! How fast you go depends on your talent.

I have my GoPro camera with me and will be taking some video from the school driving as well as our battles at the Phoenix indoor karting tracks. Should be a great learning opportunity and loads of fun as well!

Got My Picture in Sportscar!

2011-10-27T18:17:00.000-07:00

The latest issue of SportsCar magazine had a full feature article on the 2011 Solo Nationals results. With my A-stock class win, I have a portrait photo and a driving photo in the magazine with a short article on A-stock class action from both courses. Thanks to my hometown friend Donna Marx for writing a great summary of the class.

A-Stock Class Summary in SportsCar

Article continued on the next page

Final Results from the 2011 SCCA Solo Nationals Relased

2011-10-26T18:02:00.000-07:00

SCCA published their final results from the 2011 SCCA Solo Nationals after all protests were settled(only 2 this year surprisingly). I got the results book in the mail today and I didn't get protested so still on top in A-Stock....good news.

The SWRC S2 Stock Shifter Points Championship

2011-10-17T17:19:00.000-07:00

I was able to (barely) maintain 4th place in the points after my disappointing finishes at DKC a few weeks ago. Here is the final points tally for the 2011 season...lots of work to catch the top guys!

Shoutout on 3G Kart Racing's Website

2011-10-17T17:15:00.000-07:00

I got a mention on team 3G's website today for my points finish in the Southwest Regional Cup (http://www.3gkartracing.com/).

Thanks to Mark, Dave, Abe, Dallas, and all the other 3G Kart Racing guys for a great season. I learned a lot and will be looking for better results next year!

Garage Setup for the ESP Camaro

2011-10-11T19:13:00.000-07:00

My Mom and Dad made the 1,300 miles trek to Texas in our new ESP Camaro. After sitting outside for a week or so, I setup my garage to accommodate our new racecar. I plan on running my first event in the Camaro in a few weeks so more updates to come shortly.

Free Tires!

2011-10-11T19:07:00.000-07:00

I received four 315/35ZR17 Hoosier A6 tires in the mail a few days ago as part of my National Championship winning contingency package from Hoosier. These tires are for the ESP Camaro...you know a race tire is proper sized when your fiance can fit inside of it!

Race Recap: Southwest Regional Cup Finale at DKC

2011-10-10T21:03:00.001-07:00

Joe, Stuart, and I made the trek to Caddo Mills, TX for rounds 9 and 10 of the Southwest Regional Cup at the newly built Dallas Karting Complex. My parents were also in Dallas for the weekend so we had a big crew of family and friend out at the racetrack which always makes for a great race weekend!

The DKC crew did a great job of promoting the event with many more spectators watching from the view deck than at most regional kart races. In addition to the crowd, they was plenty of "talent" to look at from the DKC Girls to the 105.3 the FAN Fantasy Girls, a spectacular paratrooper entry for the American Flag, and the largest field of karters this year in TX. However, the event did not go on without it's growing pains. The schedule changed every ten minutes and the program took much longer than previous SWRC races which made it tough on the racers especially those traveling long distances to race at DKC. I expected to get back before 10PM on Sunday, but didn't get back into well after 1 AM after schedule changes and delays. Also, their scoring system works great for rental racing, but is not so fine-tuned for competitive kart racing. But I'm sure the DKC will get these items figured out as they host most big-time kart races in the future. Now for the track, it was very challenging and physically demanding. The entrance to two parallel corners quite bumpy probably due to some groundwater (or lack thereof) issues. Other than these two corners, the pavement has good grip and rubbers in nicely throughout a race weekend and the curbing is excellent for kart racing. Overall, it drove more like a road coarse than a sprint kart track with long stretches of full throttle to run the kart fully through 3rd and 4th gear and a long 85mph straightaway.

Despite the great weather and atmosphere at DKC, I did not have a great weekend on track. I was plagued by brake issues all weekend and really did not get the brakes working properly until Sunday. Thanks to the 3G Kart Racing crew for helping me work through these issues! This was my first time at the track so I was at a disadvantage to the many Dallas-area racers who had put in some practice laps at DKC. I used Friday's practice sessions to learn the new track, but luckily my base setup and gearing worked very well here. This helped me to focus on my driving without too much kart tuning. Up to this point, I had not missed a single racing or qualifying lap in the SWRC, but I had my first two DNFs of the season in both features. I was fighting for top-ten spots in both races, but had a engine mount come loose in Saturday's 15-Lap feature and then had a coil wire break during Sunday's 16-lap feature race. I finished the weekend with disappointing 14th and 11th place finishes respectively. The 6-week layoff between kart races did not do me any favors so for future, I need to do a better job of staying in karting shape between big races. It's all uphill from here!

I have a few more NTK club races planned for the remainder of 2011 in my shifter kart and will hopefully be running our new E-Street Prepared Camaro Z28 in some TX autocrosses to begin my run for the 2012 ESP Solo National Championship so the racing season is not-at-all finished!

Here are some onboard video from the SWRC DKC races:

Here are some great photos from the race weekend taken by my Father and Father-in-Law. It's always great to have them at the track supporting me, especially when they have their high-dollar cameras!

Sky Diver presenting the American Flag

Cool panning shot taken by my Dad

Discussing seating position with one of 3G mechanics

My Dad caught me off-roading after getting a little too aggressive with the kerbs in practice

Lots o' Shifter Karts in the pre-grid

On-Track action from Sunday's feature race

Battling with Joe and Stuart

Battling with Joe and Stuart II

Several Pro Tour drivers racing in a pack

Link to my Dad's photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ogburn/sets/72157627857634250/

Photo Credits: Charles Rutherford and David Ogburn

Killer Video from SWRC Shifter Kart Racing at DKC

2011-10-06T06:24:00.000-07:00

This cool film was made by John Shofner with clips from the pits, on-track action, and some cool music. I made it into a couple of clips and you will see my buddy Joe doing a nice burnout in the dirt when his throttle stuck on Sunday's feature race.

DKC SWRC S2 Shifter Kart Final from John Shofner on Vimeo.

video credit: John Shofner

Latest eKartingNews.com Driver Rankings

2011-10-03T00:02:00.000-07:00

I moved up a couple spots to 34th in the latest EKN Stock Moto Driver Rankings that were published on September 26th...

This past weekend, I was racing against #5, 9, 10, 11, 21, 22, 25, and 33 on this list plus talented drivers like Nick Lucido and Mike Jones who have not run enough races this year to be near the top in the EKN ranking. It was a competitive field to say the least! Race report coming soon from the SWRC Finale at DKC.

Link: www.ekartingnews.com/news_info.php?n=19126

(source: www.ekartingnews.com)

SWRC Finale at the Dallas Karting Complex This Weekend

2011-09-29T06:41:00.000-07:00

The Southwest Regional Cup will conclude this weekend with Rounds 9 and 10 of the championship being run at the newly built Dallas Karting Complex in Caddo Mills, TX. DKC has been open for rental kart racing since April, but this will be the inaugural competition kart race at the facility. The track was built by Mike Jones and Kevin Adds of The Kart Shop and looks to be a first-class facility. From all reports I've heard from the lucky few who have driven a shifter at DKC, it is a fun but tight track with 17 corners jammed into 0.8 miles. This makes it the longest track on the SWRC circuit.

eKartingNew.com recently published an article about the race this weekend seen HERE.

"DKC is pulling out all the extras to welcome racers from the Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and other parts of the country. Red Bull has signed on as an event sponsor with plenty of free beverages and products available for attendees. A performance by First Flight Tandems Parachute Team will be part of the opening ceremonies. Helicopter rides will be available to see the facility from a different perspective. Local radio station 105.3 The Fan will be on hand with there ‘Fantasy Girls’ along with Rockwall Honda/Yamaha. For the younger race fans, plenty of activities - including a bounce-house - will keep them busy."

The new track plus the off-track activities and large grids should make this the best regional shifter kart race in Texas this year. There are 16 drivers pre-registered now for S2 Stock Moto class but I know of a few more who will be racing which should push the shifter kart total to between 20 and 25! A bunch of these guys are also top racers on the SKUSA Pro Tour so the competition will be fierce.

If you are in the Dallas area, come out to the Dallas Karting Complex to watch some first-class shifter kart racing.

Das Nurburgring gets a Visit from Hawk Yama

2011-09-29T06:31:00.000-07:00

My friend Yama recently took a dream trip to the Nurburgring. He ripped it up in a Suzuki Swift and a 3-series BMW from Rent-4-Ring and Rent-a-Racecar. He had a blast and took some awesome GoPro videos which I embedded below...

Here is Yama practicing on Gran Turismo 5. He said the realism was fantastic and it really helped him learn the track except for how bumpy the braking zones were.

New Whip for 2012 Season

2011-09-28T23:54:00.000-07:00

More details to come....

2011 Solo Nationals PAX Index Ranking Released

2011-09-19T18:41:00.000-07:00

An SCCA members calculated the overall PAX rankings for the 2011 SCCA Solo Nationals. Out of a total 1,106 drivers, I finished 161st. I was hoping for a bit better considering I won my class, but this is a big improvement considering I finished in the mid-400s last year.

In case you are not familiar, the PAX ranking is an a multiplier applied to the times of each class. It is based on results from previous national level SCCA Solo events and is meant to equalize the classes and give an overall ranking of who is the "best driver." There are many flaws to this system especially at a 4-day event like the Solo Nationals due to different weather conditions, track temperatures, car/drive development in a class compared to previous years, etc. However, it is still an interesting statistic to look at and always good for bragging rights among friends in different classes!

Snapshot of the Overall PAX Rankings

Link to the PAX Results: www.sccaforums.com/forums/forumid/9/threadid/412889/scope/posts

National Champ! Winning A-Stock Class at the 2011 Solo Nationals

2011-09-04T08:21:00.001-07:00

Well, this will certainly be the most fun blog post I have ever written. Ever since I started to autocross at age 16 and watch the SCCA Runoffs on Speed TV, I have dreamed of winning an SCCA National Championship. I can now proudly say that I can cross winning a Solo National Championship off of my bucket list! Winning the Runoffs will still be a future goal, but I am going to enjoy this one for now. Lane and I decided to prep his 2004 Chevrolet Corvette for A-Stock class Solo Competition in Mid-July so only about 1 and a half months ago. Since then, we have taken it from bone-stock to a National front-runner in the A-Stock class. All the late nights working in his garage and hours spent researching A-Stock legal suspension and engine modifications was totally worth it.

After our test and tune sessions last Wednesday, Lane and I had a good base setup dialed in despite the limited testing time. We ran in the 5th and final heat for both of our race days on Thursday and Friday. The A-Stock class featured 17 drivers including National trophy winners, a past Solo National Champion and a very talented Evolution School driving instructor all driving either C5 Chevrolet Corvettes or Porsche Caymans. For Day 1 of our competition runs on the West Course, I ran a class-leading 68.1 but hit one of the last cones on the course. The West Course was a very challenging and tight autocross course featuring more slaloms than I have every seen on a course. On my 2nd and 3rd runs, I was able to run cone-free and clock in with a 69.2 and a 68.9 respectively. This was good enough for 4th place after Day 1. Carl Vanderschuit took the lead on Day 1 running a 68.6s lap which put me 0.3s out of 1st place heading into Day 2 on the more open and Corvette-friendly East Course.

Lined up on the starting line on the West Course

For Day 2, my strategy was to stay within myself and run a solid, clean lap on for my first run. As I crossed the finish line for my first run, I saw my Dad and Lane explode as I topped the Day 1 leader by 1.3s and moved into 1st place overall with a 65.6s lap. Right after my run, Junior Johnson came over to me, gave me a high five, and said to me, "there are only small improvements from here, go get a few tenths on your last two runs and you will win." Well, I took his advice and came home with the championship. I improved to a 65.3 on my 2nd run which gave a me a 0.5s lead going into the 3rd runs as Carl Vanderschuit improved to a 66.2s lap on his 2nd run. As I lined up for Run 3, I knew that Carl needed a 0.5s improvement to catch me but that if I could drop in a high 64s or lower 65s run the championship would be mine. Well, that is exactly how it worked out. Carl ran a monster lap under pressure on his 3rd run to take the lead by less than one tenth of a second. Because Carl was #96 and I was #99, I had already started my 3rd lap when Carl crossed the finish line to take the lead, but about 20 seconds later I came across the finish line with a 65.171s lap and the announcer exploded with "and Dave Ogburn re-takes the lead in A-Stock with a clean 65.171." At the time, I didn't know I had lost the lead, but it didn't end up mattering because my 3rd run was good enough to take the lead and the A-Stock National Championship by 0.077 over Carl Vanderschuit and the rest of the 17-car field. Carl is a great driver, especially under pressure. We had a good chat afterwards and he was incredibly gracious despite having his win snatched from him on my last lap. Congrats to him on a great 2nd place finish in such a competitive field.

The Moment I crossed the finish line on Run 3 to re-take the A-Stock Class Lead

After a few more anxious moments waiting for the final drivers to complete their runs, I was declared the 2011 A-Stock Solo National Champion. Junior Johnson interviewed me on the radio broadcast which was followed by a barrage of congratulatory phone calls, text messages, and Facebook wall posts from friends and family. It was totally overwhelming and incredibly rewarding to win in such dramatic fashion. It made it even more special to have my Dad their with me to share the win with. Later that day, I was fitted for my SCCA National Championship jacket and received my huge SCCA trophy at the Solo Nationals banquet.

Receiving my 1st Place Trophy at the 2011 Solo Nationals Banquet

Here is onboard video from my fastest runs from the East and West Course:

West Course Day 1

East Course Day 2

In the end, Lane had a tough first Solo Nationals, but showed the he has the speed and talent to win in the future. If you take away cones, he had the 2nd fastest raw time over both days and finished with the 2nd quickest time on the Day 2 East Course. Due to his trouble hitting cones on Day 1, he finished in 9th place, but look for him to be the favorite in A-Stock next year when he returns to Lincoln with his #199 Yellow Corvette.

Especially given how the 2011 Solo Nats turned out, I need to give a big-time THANK YOU to the following people: Lane Borg for doing a great job building and designing the concept for this A-Stock racecar, my Parents and my fiance Ali Rutherford for always supporting me, and Junior Johnson and Courtney Cormier for being great hometown friends and giving the right advice when I needed it!

I posted a link to the overall results and my Dad's photos below:

Results: http://www.scca.com/popup/raceresult.aspx?event=17058&file=1353

Race Day 2 Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ogburn/sets/72157627459206757/
Race Day 1 Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ogburn/sets/72157627572787452/
Pre-Race Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ogburn/sets/72157627566797052/

Post-Testing Update from the Solo Nationals

2011-08-31T20:48:00.001-07:00

Well, Lane and I finally made it to Lincoln after two months of prepping his car and some serious bench racing. On Monday night, we decided to drive all the way to Lincoln so here has been our schedule:

1. Leave Monday at 4:30 PM from San Angelo and drive to Lincoln
2. Arrive at 6:15 AM at our hotel in Lincoln
3. Sleep 6 hours and get to track by 12:30 pm
4. Set up pit and run two test and tune sessions. Modify tire pressures trying to work on balance and get used to the car.
5. Install harness bar and 6-pt. harness after the test and tune sessions
6. Arrive at track early today for two one-hour test and tune sessions before lunch.
7. Evolution school test and tune from 12-2PM.
8. Two more test and tune sessions in the afternoon.
9. After the test and tunes, we walked the East Course twice and the West Course four times (we run here tomorrow)
10. Steak and beer....then some sleep soon

Needless to say, we are tired, but very pleased with our progress over the past two days. We went from never having driven the car to setting very competitive (and possibly the fastest ) A-stock times around the Solo Nationals test and tune course. I dropped in a 29.4s time this morning and we heard that the odds-on favorite in A-Stock ran a 29.5 around the test and tune track. We started out with low 30s times but picked up pace after front ARB, damping, and tire pressure changes. Now this may just be bench racing fuel, but it means we are in the ball park. Tomorrow we run on our first competition runs on the West Course and will finally see how all of our bench racing pans out....

Here are a few photos from the test and tunes:

Headed off to Lincoln for the 2011 Solo Nationals Today

2011-08-29T06:32:00.000-07:00

Lane and I loaded up yesterday for the 2011 SCCA Solo Nationals in Lincoln, NE and leave today after work. We plan to get up to LAP for some test and tune action Tuesday afternoon, followed by more testing on Wednesday, and then our competition on Thursday and Friday afternoons.

The weather is looking good except for maybe some rain on Friday afternoon which could shake things up. I will keep updating my blog throughout the race week as Lane and I battle for tenths on the Lincoln concrete.

New eKartingNews.com Stock Moto Driver Rankings

2011-08-23T05:28:00.000-07:00

Up to 5 spots from the last ranking to 36th....

(credit: ekartingnews.com)

Link to the article: http://ekartingnews.com/news_info.php?n=18845&sid=31505548ee7fde2cce49921bcd9a0279

Shifter Kart versus A-Stock Corvette Comparo

2011-08-19T06:24:00.000-07:00

My normal ride is a 2010 Spirit SP32 Stock Moto Shifter kart that I run on sprint kart tracks, but for the 2011 SCCA Solo Nationals I will be driving my friend's 2004 C5 Corvette in A-stock class. These are obviously very different vehicles so here is a look at the differences between these two types of racecars by the numbers:

2004 Chevrolet Corvette

(photo credit: Vu Banh)

Class: SCCA Solo A-Stock
Engine: 5.7L V8
Drivetrain: Front-engine, RWD. 6-speed H-pattern transmission to a rear differential
Suspension: Double control arm w/ ride-height adjustable leaf spring and w/Anti-roll bars
Steering: Hydraulic rack and pinion
Brakes: Front and Rear vented disc brakes (all four corners)
Wheels: 17x8.5 (front), 18x9.5 (rear)
Tires: 275/40ZR17 (front), 295/30ZR18 (rear)
Modifications from stock: Adjustable front ARB, Adjustable dampers, R-compound tires, 6-point harness, titanium cat-back exhaust
HP: 350 hp @ 5600 rpm
Torque: 375 ft-lbs. @ 4000 rpm
Fuel: Premium Pump Gas
Weight (w/ 200 lb driver): 3375lbs
0-60 MPH (est.): 5.0s
Top Speed: 175MPH
Max. Lateral G's: 1.4 g's

2010 Spirit SP32 / Honda CR125 Shifter Kart

Class: SKUSA S2 Senior Stock Moto
Engine: 125cc Honda CR125 (2-stroke)
Drivetrain: Mid-engine, RWD. 6-speed sequential transmission chain-drive to a solid rear axle
Suspension: None
Steering: Pitman arm with adjustable Ackermann setting
Brakes: 2 front disc brakes, 1 rear disc brake
Wheels: 5in x 132mm (front), 5in x 212mm (rear)
Tires: 10x4.6-5 (front), 11x7.1-5 (rear)
Modifications from stock: Porch extension kit to move pedals farther from seat
HP: 40 @ 12,500 RPM
Torque: 25 @ 10,200 RPM
Fuel: VP MS98
Weight (w/ 200 lb driver): 405 lbs
0-60 MPH (est.): 3.5s
Top Speed: 125 MPH
Max. Lateral G's: 3.5 g's

Video Comparison:

Corvette AutoX video from last years solo nationals (random video I found on YT):

Shifter kart (video from my last race):

Clearly from the numbers, photos, and videos, it is clear that these vehicle are the opposite of similar. However, both vehicles are fun in their own way and will both put a smile on your face....unless you are driving the Corvette and get smoked by a 400lb "toy."

Updated SWRC Points After Rounds 7 & 8

2011-08-18T09:47:00.000-07:00

Moved past Chris Jennings for 4th overall after he missed the last round in Katy. There are two more races left to decide the 10-race championship. I will need a strong showing at the Dallas Karting Complex to move into 3rd place but should be able to hold 4th barring a mishap.

A-Stock Corvette Starting to Look Like a Racecar

2011-08-18T06:36:00.001-07:00

Decals are on the car and the A-Stock Corvette is starting to look a littl. Lane got the car cleaned up last weekend and we finished up the decals this week in between suspension work and packing spares/tools for the Solo Nationals. We had some issues with the aftermarket dampers and bushings we purchased, but those issues have been sorted and we should have the car back on ground and running tonight. The main items left are a sounds check, corner weighting, and alignment which will get taken care of next week.

There are now 17 cars registered for A-Stock so the class has grown stronger than expected for this year. We leave in less than two weeks to make the trip to Lincoln!

Hot and Humid for SWRC Rounds 7 & 8 Races in Katy, TX

2011-08-16T06:51:00.000-07:00

Getting Ready before Saturday's Feature Race

After getting into Katy at around midnight Thursday night, Ali and I pulled into the paddock Friday morning when the gate opened to unload my kart and equipment into 3G Kart Racing's nice tent setup. I ran out of fuel line in the shop so I had to properly install SRS Engine's new Hybrid Float Carb System to get it ready for testing in practice. After about an hour, I had the kart ready to go for the 10-minute controlled practice sessions. I was running on my races tires from the last SWRC race in Katy, and they were shot. My times were about 0.5s slower than my fastest lap from the previous race, but I was still able to tune the new carb and get it jetted properly for the hot and humid conditions in Katy. In my 2nd to last session, I bolted on some fresh sneakers and went out for some mock qualifying laps. The kart was tight and I was getting some front hopping occasionally mid-corner to exit so I adjusted the front camber, caster, and toe setting for Saturday's practice sessions.

Saturday morning, I ran on my practice tires from the day before and set my personal best lap time in the 2nd session at a 39.8. This was a 0.4s improvement over my previous best from the last SWRC round. The new fuel system along with better jetting allowed me to get a better pull out of the hairpins. I also improved my driving in several different areas around the track. Gulf Coast Kartway is a really fun 0.7 mile track with a good mix of technical corners that you have to link together properly for a quick lap time. We had 13 karts on the grid in the Stock Moto Shifter class and I lined up 10th for the Saturday Heat Race. I moved up to 9th in the Heat Race which sets the grid for the 16-lap feature race. In the near 100 degree and humid conditions, 16 laps can be quite tiring, but my stamina is improving with every race in the shifter. After a good start in the feature, I came across the line in 7th place after 16 laps. It was a very competitive field of racers mainly comprised of fast local drivers and 6 SKUSA Pro Tour drivers. Being only my first full season of shifter kart racing, I have quite the learning curve to catch the fastest Pro Tour drivers.

For Sunday, the conditions were similar and by the SWRC rules, we race on the same tires from Saturdays races. This adds a different element to the full weekend of racing as tire management is critical to performing well on Sunday. I improved my qualifying pace from the day before even on the used tires while the rest of the field slowed down around 0.5s so I closed the overall pace gap to the leaders. This tells me that I did not get enough pace out of new tires on Saturday which is something I will work on for the next SWRC race. I raced better in the Heat race on Sunday and moved up a spot at the start. Coming into Turn 2, I got into the back of Michael Jones' rear bumper which lifted my front tires off the ground and sent me off-track. This shuffled me to the back of the pack, but I was able to salvage a 7th place finish after passing 1 driver and then having several guys retire for mechanical issues. For the Sunday Feature race, I lined up 7th and had a rocket start moving up the inside line into 5th place by Turn 1. Coming out of Turn 3 on the opening lap, one driver flew into the grass and I was able to slot into 4th place. I held onto 4th place for a few laps, but dropped back a few positions as some of the faster drivers who got poor starts moved up through the field. I finished in 7th place again. I will work hard to improve my qualifying and race pace for next SWRC race so I can move closer to the championship leaders and fight for podium finishes.

Overall, I was pleased with my weekend of racing as I had no mechanical issues, I was able to tune the engine and chassis to help improve my pace, and I was lapping faster by several tenths every session compared to my last race in Katy. Thanks to 3G Kart Racing and SRS Engines for their help in getting my shifter kart faster and faster every race. The next SWRC round is at the Dallas Karting Complex in early October. This is a brand new track so it will be a steep learning curve for every driver in the field to tune the chassis and gearing for the new track.

Here is some onboard video and more pictures from the race weekend:

Coming into Turn 2 in one of the Heat Races with Michael Jones Right Behind

Apex of Turn 5 During Qualifying

Foot to the floor, 2.5g's in Turn 6 during Qualifying

Photo Credits: Ali Rutherford...thanks!

Kart Prep for SWRC Race in Katy, TX this Weekend

2011-08-09T05:20:00.001-07:00

The 7th and 8th rounds of the Southwest Regional Cup are this weekend in Katy, TX. Weather.com is saying around 100 degrees and Sunny for each day. Ali and I drive to Katy tomorrow night and I'll hit the track first thing Friday morning for practice. I'm going to try and get most of my runs in on Friday morning before it gets too hot....I need to save something for Sunday afternoon.

For this race, I made a couple changes to the kart: 1. Top end rebuild 2. New carb and fuel system from SRS Engines 3. Lightened bodywork mounts (steel -> aluminum). Hopefully, these changes plus some experience at the Katy track will help me pick up some time around the 0.7mi course.

Old Piston with the cylinder off

Shiny New Piston with the Cylinder Back On

A-Stock Corvette Solo Nats Prep Update

2011-08-05T09:29:00.000-07:00

Lane and I are still spending a few nights a week in his garage prepping his car for the 2011 SCCA Solo Nationals. After waiting for some OE flex brake lines in the mail, we finally got the brakes finished and bled Wednesday night. On Thursday, we indexed and installed new spark plugs, installed some hot plug wires, and then put the OE ignition coils back on the car. We quickly put the wheels back on, got it on the ground and took it for a test drive.

This is the first time we've driven the car since we put it up in the air to start the suspension mods. To start with we followed the Hawk method to bed our new brake pads/rotors in the local abandoned K-Mart parking lot. Luckily, no cops were around the we were able to continue with the test drive. Despite some clunking from the new rod-end ARB end links, the suspension felt very tight and controlled and the car had a nice stance overall compared to other stock C5 Vettes I've driven. The engine ran well and felt very smooth.

We are installing the cat-back exhaust tonight and then we will be close to race ready!

Pimp Parking Garage in Austin, TX

2011-08-05T09:25:00.000-07:00

I spent last weekend with Ali and some college friends at the Hilton in Austin, TX and I spotted this nice collection in a private section of the parking garage. Looks like they have some wealthy residents....

Photos from A-Stock Corvette Prep

2011-08-01T06:02:00.001-07:00

Last week, we spend a few nights in Lane's garage prepping his Corvette for Nationals. After finishing up the suspension work the previous week (damper install, Front ARB, inspection, torque check), we moved to the brakes and installed some new flex lines, more aggressive pads, and new OE rotors. Lane worked over the weekend and we are close to getting the car back on the ground. After installing a cat-back exhaust and putting on a base autocross setup, we will be ready for the big show in early September.

Here are some photos from Lane's not-so-well-lit garage:

New Go-Fast-Parts Arrived in the Mail

2011-08-01T05:35:00.000-07:00

I ordered new fuel system parts for my Stock Moto Shifter kart. I've been wanting to upgrade from the Keihn PWK carburetor that I am running now to the PWM for a while now. They are both 38mm carbs, but engine builders and top drivers claim the PWM provides better throttle response on corner exit. While I was ordering the new carb, I decided to go ahead and try the SRS Engines new Hybrid-Float carb system. This new fuel method from SRS uses an extra float in addition to twin fuel pumps to keep the fuel level constant under high G loading that you see in shifter karts. Supposed to be good for 0.3s on the bigger tracks and it makes more power on the dyno...we shall see. I'll never turn down more power especially for a reasonable price!

Here is the technical release from SRS

Registered in A-Stock Class for the SCCA Solo Nationals!

2011-07-28T21:32:00.001-07:00

Today, Lane and I registered his 2004 Corvette in A-Stock class at this year's Solo Nationals. Unfortunately, due to work conflicts my Dad will likely not be able to make the big show this week so I wrangled my buddy Lane into prepping his Vette for this years Solo Nats.

We have the suspension basically finished, almost done on the brakes, some exhaust work and then his Vette will be A-Stock ready. We both can't wait to get to Lincoln this year and fight for a National Champ Jacket! A-Stock has 14 entries so far and will likely get a few more before the race so should be some good competition on the Lincoln concrete. Entry list below:

ASCS 360 Sprint Car Race in Abilene

2011-07-25T05:30:00.001-07:00

View from the pushstart ATV

I traveled to Abilene for an ASCS 360 Spring car race with Gary, Mike, and Steven this Friday night. Abilene Speedway is a 1/4 mile medium-banked short track and seems to be pretty well maintained. They also have a pretty cool water truck with monster truck tires that they use to pack the dirt before each race. The thing could run over a Sprint Car! Unfortunately, I forgot to snap a photo though...

It was hot hot hot in Abilene and the sun didn't set until about 9:00 which made the track very tricky to predict as the night went on. During hot laps, the track was very slick and had a lot of moisture in it and it dried out significantly for the A Main later that night. 17 cars entered the show. Gary worked his way up to 8th place in the A Main after a poor starting spot, but Steven had to pull out with fuel flow problems.

Here are some video clips from hot laps, Gary's heat race, and the A-Main:

Here are some more photos from the race:

#58 Spring car out during hot laps

The view looking though the paddock

Random Dirt Modified car in the pits

Updated SWRC Points After Round 5&6

2011-07-20T16:36:00.000-07:00

After the June 4th and 5th Southwest Regional Cup races in Katy, TX, I've moved up into 5th in the SWRC S2 Stock Moto championship. I have some work to do if I want to improve my championship position with plenty of tough competitors sure to make the trek to the Gulf Coast Kartway and Dallas Karting Complex for the last 4 races. Here is the updated points list below:

Night Race at North Texas Kartway this Past Saturday

2011-07-20T05:50:00.000-07:00

The North Texas Karters ran the third race in the Sidewinder Series this past Saturday. Joe, Stuart, and I made the trek up to Denton to race under the lights at NTK. The Sidewinder Series is a 4-race money series over the summer with payouts for class wins ranging from $100 to $300 which is pretty good for some local karting action.

I got to the track around 3 in the afternoon and setup camp for the other guys who showed up a bit later. I did 1 practice session before the 6:30PM driver's meeting and the track was extremely slick. With temps well over 100 degrees, the track conditions were nothing like they would be for the races later that night. At around 8, we took the track for a 5-minute qualifying sessions and I was able to grab pole by 0.1s despite being well behind my pace from the previous NTK SWRC races. The kart was understeering terribly and I could hardly turn the thing on entry.

I switched to a different set of tires, changed the cold pressures, and widened the front track to help the front grip issues and it worked for the 8-lap heat race. I picked up about a 1 second from the my quali pace was able to take the heat race win after an initial charge from Stuart at the start. Joe and Stuart picked up their pace each session and we ran very similar lap times all night. With the conditions now very different and it being pitch-black outside, I started from pole for the 12-lap feature race. Joe got a good jump from the outside pole and almost got by me in Turn 1. I was able to duck under him as we went two-wide through the first corner and settle into the lead by Turn 2. After some contact between Stuart and Joe for 2nd place, I was able to come home comfortably with the win by 8s.

Getting the 1st Place Check!

On the Podium with Joe and Stuart

My next race will be the mid-August Southwest Regional Cup race in Katy, TX. This will be a three-day race just like the ones before and is sure to be brutally hot once again!

Here are some video clips from the Stock Moto class feature race:

Latest eKartingNews.com Stock Moto Driver Ranking

2011-07-08T05:56:00.000-07:00

Since the last EKN Driver Rankings were issued, I have run four more qualifying races so I now have six qualifying races under my belt, all from the Southwest Regional Cup. Six races is the maximum number of races that can count for your national points, so I made a huge jump in the ranking accordingly. I now rank 41st after moving up 66 positions from the last ranking. Hopefully I can move up even higher with some better finished in the last 4 rounds of the SWRC.

Link to the EKN article on the latest rankings: http://ekartingnews.com/news_info.php?n=18509

Link to the latest rankings: http://www.ekartingnews.com/news_info.php?n=18508

Here is a snapshot of the rankings:

Finally Getting the Baja Car Project Started

2011-06-28T21:22:00.001-07:00

Got some rolling stands made for the Baja car. Now time to take it apart. The big hurdle will be getting longer half-shafts made. Can't wait to run this thing on the West Texas dirt trails!

Shifter Kart Racing at Rimrock Raceway this past Sunday

2011-06-27T21:50:00.000-07:00

Rimrock Raceway

This past Sunday, Joe, Stuart, Ali, and I trekked up to Midland, TX for a day of shifter kart and pitbike racing at Rimrock Raceway. The afternoon temperature was well above 100 degrees so we left at 6AM to get some early track time. Instead of just running practice laps, we decided to run our own race day. We started off with one practice session, then ran a 2-lap qualifying session and 4 5-lap heat races. We kept the races short to help keep our engines cool in the brutal West Texas heat. It was good practice for each of us as we all got faster around the 0.4 mile sprint track. Joe set the pace with a blazing 34.02 lap in qualifying. I reset my personal best around Rimrock with a 34.7 lap and Stuart was running competitively with high 34s lap times. The races helped each of us hone our passing and "not getting passed" skills as well as working on our standing starts.

In the heat races, I had good starts and was able to jump in the lead and win the first 2 races. In race 1, Joe and Stuart running 2nd and 3rd had some contact which sent Joe into a spin, but luckily everybody and their karts we unscathed. In Race 3, I got the lead at the start, but Joe got under me in Turn 2 on Lap 4. He slid up the track right after the pass and we both almost went off, but we kept going and had a good scrap for a few corners before I had a big slide trying to avoid contact and lost all of my momentum. Joe got the jump at the start of Race 4 and stayed their for the victory.

Ali on the Front Straight During our PitBike Challenge

After the we packed up the shifter karts, we had a fun lap-time battle in the pitbike and learned that I need to pick up the pace on 70cc race bikes! All in all, it was a fun day and we got out of Midland before the heat got unbearable. See below for some GoPro video action from the shifter kart races:

New Karting Videos Posted to YouTube

2011-06-13T07:09:00.000-07:00

I posted four videos to YouTube last week from the last two Southwest Regional Cup races including several qualifying laps and a rear view of one of the heat races from the NTK SWRC round. I embedded them below so enjoy!

SWRC Round 5 and 6 at GCKI Recap

2011-06-07T19:52:00.000-07:00

Joe, Stuart, Ali and I traveled to Katy, TX this past weekend for round 5 and 6 of the Southwest Regional Cup. This would be Joe and Stuart's first race in a shifter and a new track for me so there was lots to learn all around for our new karting team. The conditions in Katy were brutal for the race - intense sun, 95+ degree heat, and 50+ percent humidity all weekend. Fatigue and fitness were critical this weekend and it got tougher throughout the weekend. For this weekend, I was under the tent with 3G Kart Racing for Friday practice, Round 5 on Saturday, and Round 6 on Sunday.

We got in late Thursday night to our hotel in Katy and had a frustrating "extended wait" for someone to check us in at 1AM, but we made it safe and sound to the track Friday morning with 3 shifter karts stuffed into my 6x12 trailer. My goal for Friday was to learn the new track, get a decent base setup for the weekend, and run at least one 40s laps. I had watched several onboard videos from previous races coupled with going over my AIM data and having karting expert Dallas Patterson watching me in several different corners, I was able to get comfortable with the new track fairly quickly. After 5 sessions, I was running comfortably in the 40s range with a tight, but driveable setup.

For Saturday, I switched to softer axle which freed the kart up and allowed me to get quicker as the track rubbered in. For qualifying, I ran a 40.1 which put me in 8th position for the heat race. In the heat race, there was some attrition in the first few laps which helped me move into 7th place despite pulling off after 4 laps. On Lap 3, Jim Garvin tried to get under me in Turn 9 and I turned in before seeing him under me so we got together damaging his steering and bending my axle. I lined up on the grid in P7 for the 16 lap feature race. I got a great start moving up to 4th place as Jordon Musser and Chris Jennings made contact slowing both karts. During the race, I moved back two positions and came home in 6th place.

For Sunday, I tried to limit my practice laps to avoid fatigue at the end of the day. With a 10:30 AM start for qualifying, the feature race would be during the heat of the afternoon and I wanted to be fresh for a 16 lap battle. After 1 practice session, I removed the front bar to soften the kart overall and reduce the tightness and hopping I was getting in Turn 1 and Turn 4. This helped for qualifying and I ran a 40.4 which put me 7th on the grid for the heat race. I had a terrible start in the heat race as I let the clutch completely out to early and bogged in 1st gear. Once I got up through the gears on main straight I had dropped back into the middle of the Stock Moto Masters (S4) class field which started behind the Senior Stock Moto (S2) drivers. I finished the heat in P8 which is where I would start the feature race. At the start of Sunday's 16 lap feature race, I had a quick start and moved into P7 where I would stay for the remainder of the race. However, my overall race pace was improved over Saturday and I was able to run mid-40s laps all day and actually ran my 2nd fastest lap on lap 15 which bodes well for my fitness in long, hot summer races in the shifter.

I have a two month break for the next SWRC race which is back at Gulf Coast Kartway on August 13 and 14th. I may run a few club races at North Texas Kartway in between to keep practicing, but we shall see what the budget allows.

Here is some onboard video from the weekend:

Saturday Qualifying Lap

Southwest Regional Cup in Katy, TX This Weekend

2011-06-02T07:01:00.000-07:00

Gulf Coast Kartway in Katy, TX

I am racing in the Southwest Regional Cup Rounds 5 & 6 this weekend at Gulf Coast Kartway (GCKI) in Katy, TX. GCKI is a 12-turn 0.6mi sprint track outside of Houston. This will be my first time racing here so tomorrow's practice sessions will be very important. Being near Houston, it is sure to be hot and humid all weekend so racing conditions will be tough.

Joe and Stuart are making the trek with me to Houston for their first race in a shifter kart so it should be a fun weekend.

I need to run this race....

2011-05-25T18:52:00.000-07:00

http://www.ekartingnews.com/news_info.php?n=18164

This sounds like too much fun to pass up and the price isn't too bad and it's in Vegas....

Long, Hot Test Day at Rimrock Raceway

2011-05-23T20:28:00.000-07:00

Our Paddock Setup for Sunday

On Sunday, I made the trek to Midland, TX with my friends Joe, Stuart, and Yama to do some testing in our shifter karts at Rimrock Raceway. Joe and Stuart recently bought and put together Birel stock moto shifters so this was their first day driving their karts. My friend Carlos from Odessa also joined us at the track in his 80cc Honda shifter kart. Initially, we had some issues with Joe's kart when the axle sprocket started to slip on the axle and then his front master cylinder locked up in the 100 degree Texas heat. With these items fixed, he got some good laps in and got up to pace quickly turning some high 34s lap times. Stuart's 2011 Birel shifter ran well all day and, despite getting a little dehydrated, he had some fun ripping up the track in his quick kart.

I had fuel pump issues that plagued me all day so I only turned about 15 laps with reduced power. A quick fuel pump rebuild back at the shop should fix this. The point of the day was to help Joe and Stuart get up to speed and they did a great job for their first day driving shifter karts. Any time you get a bunch of test drivers together in shifter karts it is sure to get competitive!

Thanks to Takahisa Yamaoka for taking some great photos and driving the truck when we were too tired to make the 2 hour drive back to San Angelo.

Joe and Stuart getting racy on track

Joe and I coming though Turn 7

Carlos on track in his 80cc Shifter

Photo Credits: Takahisa Yamaoka

Shifter Kart Test Day at Rimrock Tomorrow

2011-05-22T00:42:00.000-07:00

Karts loaded up for practice day at Rimrock Raceway in Midland, Texas. My friends Joe and Stuart just bought Stock Moto shifter karts so this will be their first track time in their karts. Should be a fun day!

Put another shifter kart together last night

2011-05-20T06:50:00.001-07:00

My friend Joe in San Angelo bought my 2008 Birel M31 chassis that I ran last year. We spent most of the night on Tuesday getting the kart together and only have to shore up a few items before the kart is race ready. The motor runs strong and it looks like it will be a fast package for him. We are planning on running up to Rimrock Raceway in Midland, TX for a test day this Sunday.

SWRC Rounds 3&4 at NTK Recap

2011-05-18T07:25:00.000-07:00

About to load my kart last Thursday night

This past weekend, Ali and I traveled to Dallas for Rounds 3 and 4 of the Southwest Regional Cup. Entries were slightly down overall from Round 1 in Norman, but we still had 10 drivers in S2, 4 in S4, and 1 in S5 making for 15 shifter karts on track for each of our sessions. On Friday, I ran 5 practice sessions and 3G's shifter kart tuner Dallas Patterson did one session in my kart to confirm it's handling and give me some different data to compare with. Prior to this weekend, my personal best at NTK was a 37.52. With newer tires, some chassis tuning, and driving improvements, I dropped this to a 37.22 on Friday and was able to run this pace very consistently.

New Radiator Hose Layout - big ergo improvement

Practice started at 8:30 Saturday and I ran all four sessions to get accustomed to and test a new gearing setup. This new final drive worked very well and it improved my pace and consistency. The qualifying session was 8 minutes and I was able to improve my personal best to a 36.63 which is a huge improvement for me and put me 6th on the grid for the heat race. Also, during this lap I pulled my highest lateral G level ever in a kart at a rib-breaking 3.18 g's in Turn 2.

Starting 6th on the grid for the heat race, I got a terrible start and dropped to the rear of the field. For the first time since I started racing shifters, I dumped the clutch when the green flag waved and bogged for several seconds as the whole field rocketed by me. Unfortunately, Matt Stephenson did not have quite enough room to get around me and hit me pretty hard in the right rear damaging his kart pretty badly. I felt pretty bad about that and apologized afterwards, but these things happen in wheel to wheel racing. During the heat, I was able to claw my way back to 8th place. For the final, I lined up 8th on the grid. I moved into P7 at the start and then gained one position during the race to come home in 6th place. I am about 0.5 to 1s off the pace of the top 5 karts who are all national level shifter kart racers so this is about where I expected to finish. Despite only finishing in 6th place, I was pleased with the way the kart ran and with my lap time improvements. My only other mistake during the day was running too many laps in practice....I know this sounds backwards. I ran 84 laps on Saturday and after 50 or so on Friday, I was pretty wiped at the start of the final. Next time, I need to conserve myself a little better over the 3-day race weekends.

View from Turn 1 during my 7AM Sunday track walk

On Sunday, I ran one practice session in the morning to check the balance and pace again before qualifying. As the track rubbered in and tires wore over the weekend, my kart got tighter and tighter and I struggled with hopping in Sunday's qualifying session. I was only able to run a 36.9 in quali which was disappointing. However, a quick axle change before the heat race allowed me to drop right back down to mid 36s in the heat where I finished a disappointing 8th again. Starting 8th for the final, I moved up to 7th at the start and stayed their for the whole race. I should have gone to an even softer axle as I started to get bad hopping on exit again about halfway through the race which slowed my pace down from the heat race.

The next SWRC race is at Gulf Coast Kartway in Katy, TX in three weeks. I am going to run one practice day in Midland before the Katy race with my two friends in San Angelo who just bought Birel shifter karts. I'll post some in-kart videos from this past weekend once I edit them this week.

SWRC Race 3&4 This Weekend at North Texas Kartway

2011-05-13T20:07:00.000-07:00

I'm looking over my AIM data from today's practice sessions at North Texas Kartway. This weekend is Race 3 and 4 of the Southwest Regional Cup. I am racing in the S2 Senior Stock Moto Shifter class and there looks to be atleast 8-10 karters in my class with several others in the Junior and Masters categories. I ran 6 sessions today in preparation for Race 3 tomorrow and Race 4 on Sunday.

NTK is basically my home track (even though I live 4 hours away) so I am hoping to be more competitive than I was in Norman last month. I'll have some photos and video to post through out the weekend and next week when I get back home to San Angelo.

For Sale: Freeline DF130 / DF210 Magnesium Wheels

2011-05-02T20:33:00.000-07:00

Set of 4 good condition Freeline Mag wheels with bead locks included. I've only raced on these wheels once. Off of a Spirit SP32 shifter kart. $300 shipped. Contact me at dogburn at gmail.com if interested.

EKN Stock Moto Driver Rankings

2011-04-26T10:52:00.000-07:00

EKN Driver Rankings (4/15/2011 updated)

The first eKartingNews.com Driver Rankings of 2011 came out last week. 2011 will be the first year I am included in the rankings because I am running the Southwest Regional Cup. My points in this series will count for the EKN national ranking. The EKN ranking counts your best 6 National/Regional events (see below for more details), but I only have two events counting for me so far. Currently, I'm in 100th place in the Stock Moto class but hopefully I can climb the ranks this year as I get more events under my belt and continue to improve.

About the eKartingNews.com Driver Rankings:

EKN Driver Rankings Calculation Process
The EKN Driver Rankings are calculated using a driver’s best finishes in major North American races. Assembled using events from the previous 12 months from the current date, we use a driver’s best seven finishes in TaG and six in Stock Moto to determine their overall current point total. With each new release, results posted from more than one year ago are discarded. To deliver our ranking list, we tabulate the results of all the national programs and selected regional programs. We have included the results for the major one-off events such as the SKUSA SuperNationals, the US Rotax Max Challenge Grand Nationals, the Rock Island Grand Prix and the Streets of Lancaster Grand Prix.

Each race is initially weighted based on the prestige and history of the event or series with a score of ten (10) being the highest attainable base ranking. For 2011, the SKUSA SuperNationals and US Rotax Max Challenge Grand Nationals receive a score of 10 in their initial weighting in the TaG category while the SuperNats is the lone event in the Stock Moto division. The SKUSA Pro Tour and Rotax Pan American Challenge national series events draw a base ranking of nine (9), while the WKA Manufacturer’s Cup, Florida Winter Tour, Challenge of the Americas, IKF 2-Cycle Sprint Grand Nationals and other regional program races were given a base ranking of either eight (8) or nine (9).

The EKN staff reserves the right to adjust the rankings of each event throughout the year. Continuing for 2011 is a minimum entry total for any events considered for the Driver Rankings program. If an event does not have at least five (5) drivers starting the race, those results will not be tabulated toward the Driver Rankings.

Added to these initial rankings are two variables that help confirm the true importance of an event to the ranking process – field size and field strength. A percentage of one weighting point is added for the size of the field, while the number of existing top 50 drivers entered offers another full point or fraction of a point. The sum of these numbers becomes the overall ranking for any race. Following a race, drivers receive points based on their finishing positions with 100 points earned for a win. Each subsequent position drops by one point with 99 points given to the second place driver and so on throughout the field. These points are then multiplied by the overall ranking to produce a driver’s final point total from each event. Using a driver’s best seven races in TaG, six for Stock Moto, we calculate each driver’s overall score and subsequent ranking.

(from eKartingNews.com)

Photo: Miata + Raging West Texas Wildfire

2011-04-26T05:30:00.000-07:00

My friend Vu Banh snapped this cool photo of my Mazdaspeed Miata with the Wildcat Wildfire in the background. The photo was snapped on the outskirts of San Angelo, TX. The Wildcat fire is 80% contained as of this morning and has burned more than 150,000 acres.

NTK Spring Race # 3 Recap

2011-04-21T11:35:00.000-07:00

Using the Kerbs in the NTK Chicane

I raced with the North Texas Karters this past Saturday in Denton, TX. It was great karting weather and Ali and her family joined me for the day which was a huge help. To keep the budget down, I am trying to save all of my used SWRC tires to use for NTK club races. Oklahoma Motorsports Complex has high tire wear, so my tires were close to the wear bars at the start of my event. This worked OK, but I could have used some new tires as I had to keep mounting and swapping tires to keep four decent ones on the kart. Despite this, I was able to lower my personal best time around NTK by 0.2s.

I ran about 45 laps during the day which will be good preparation for the SWRC race at NTK in May. Qualifying started at 1PM on Saturday and I was able to secure pole position for the heat race with a qualifying time of 37.74. This was a few tenths off of my fastest practice lap, but still got the job done. In the heat race, I was passed by Andrew Perkins in the CRG kart on Lap 2 of the 8 lap race and he checked out. With two karts directly behind me for the whole race, it was an exciting race and I was able to cross the line in 2nd place.

I lined up 2nd on the grid for the 12-lap feature race, but things went downhill from here. As I entered Turn 2 on the warm-up lap, I felt the rear-end start to walk out, and then I did a 360 off-track into the tire barrier. As I sat in the grass, it was immediately apparent what the
culprit was as I saw my right rear tire folded up in the center of the wheel. At mid-corner of a 2G 50mph corner, my right rear tire de-beaded causing me to lose all rear grip and lose control. Luckily, I was fine and the kart was not damaged, but my race was over. It was a disappointing end to a fun day these things happen in racing.

Right Rear Tire Failure during Feature Race

More photos from the race:

photo credit: Charles Rutherford

SWRC Shifter Kart Videos Added to YouTube

2011-04-15T17:44:00.000-07:00

Spring Race #3 at North Texas Kartway on Saturday

2011-04-15T08:59:00.000-07:00

North Texas Kartway Aerial Photo (credit: ntkarters.com)

I got the kart prepped over the past few nights and am loaded up for NTK Spring Race #3 at North Texas Kartway in Denton, TX. I will be racing my #106 Spirit SP32 Stock Moto Shifter kart. Practice starts at 9AM with qualifying and races starting at 1PM on Saturday.

Weather is looking good so should be a fun weekend of karting:

SWRC Points Update After Rounds 1&2

2011-04-12T07:54:00.000-07:00

My two 6th place finishes in Norman put me in a tie for 5th place overall in the S2 class.

http://www.southwestregionalcup.com/2011-Series-Points.html

(ranking is out of order, but points totals are right)

My old 1976 Honda XL125 Lives!

2011-04-11T22:13:00.004-07:00

One of my two best friends from high school, Aaron , gave me this old 1976 Honda XL125 dirt bike back when I was a senior in high school. One of his Dad's friends gave it to him because he couldn't get it to run, then Aaron had no luck, and then I fiddled with it every once in a while without success getting life to the engine. After dragging this Honda to Ohio, then Texas, Ali and I decided to make an art project for her out of it. She was going to clean it up, paint it crazy colors, make a stand, and put it in our house as a decoration...but this never panned out.

Finally, I decided to give it to one of my buddies at work who is great at getting old POS's back to life, and he got my old Honda to rumble. He got it running with a hot wheels battery and some other junkyard parts and it now runs like a champ for him. We went out riding at the Twin Buttes Resevoir this weekend and it ran well until he put it down which caused an oil leak around the gear shifter. Once he gets this fixed along with a few other minor issues, this bike should be a great dirt bike for Shawn. I'm just really happy to finally see the thing run.

Busy Day of Dirt Racing this past Saturday

2011-04-11T22:13:00.003-07:00

Dirt Bikes Loaded up for Texana Off-Road Ranch

Ali and I made the trek with a few friends to Blackwell, TX for the Blackwell 250 which is the first round of the Baja Racing Texas series at Texana Off-Road Ranch. I've been into Baja and off-road racing since my Baja SAE adventures in college so the chance to check out this race less than an hour from my house was too hard to pass up. We loaded up the dirt bikes in the truck, but this was futile as we weren't allowed to roam the 38 mile course without being a "crew-member" so we were confined to the large paddock area...so only the pitbike was really needed. Anyway, there were about 50 cars running the race and the start was fun to watch as all 50 cars rocketed off the line at 30s to 60s intervals. We watched for several hours and roamed the pits talking to racers and peering into crashed racecars. Before the 9 hours Blackwell 250, there was a two-hour UTV race the paddock had approximately 80 to 100 cars in it....so there were many different types of racecars to snap photos of.

Buggy on the starting line

Bugs and Buggies and Trucks on the Starting Line

Huge "Truggie" lined up before the start

Victim from the Texana UTV Race

The most exciting part of the race was talking to several drivers who run 1989 Honda Pilot FL400s in the Formula Desert Lights class which is meant for small buggies with less than 1200cc engines that compete against the brand-new UTVs like the Polaris Razor. I need to keep investigating the rules, but there is a chance I could prep "Gnarly Garbage" my 2008 UVa Baja car to race in this class. I would need to swap in a 500cc or less 2-stroke motors and get my chassis approved...but there is a chance I could be racing my homebuilt Baja car in the Texas desert next year. Here are the class rules: Formula Desert Lights Class Rules

Here are is a video from the Blackwell 250:

We left the ranch around noon, and after a quick lunch and workout, I went to the shop and hopped into Gary's truck headed for Odessa. Gary and I left around 4PM for his Saturday night Sprint Car race in Odessa, TX. During the two-hour drive to Odessa, we saw a huge wildfire that filled the sky with white and black smoke. I later read that it has consumed over 4,000 acres and destroyed 34 homes...scary stuff.

4,000 Acre Wildfire WAY too close to Midland

The track conditions in Odessa were pretty terrible as the temperature reached 100 degress before sunset, with 30mph winds, and a very dry dusty track. We tried some different setup options during the hot laps but we were struggling with rear grip center off. After the pill pick for the heat race, we started 6th out of 6 for the heat, but Gary made several nice passes and moved into 3rd place. After another pill pick to jumble up the top 6 for the Final, Gary drew P4 so we lined up on the 2nd row for the 20 lap final. Being his only crew-member, I bump-started him with the ATV and quickly moved to the infield to watch the 20 lap battle. The track was terribly dry and the windy conditions made the track a dust bowl. Visibility was non-existent but Gary was able to stay clean and move up to 3rd place by the checkered flag. Garry took home $250 in prize money and we got home at 3AM.

Photo from the Infield of Gary's Heat Race in Odessa

After 6 hours in the car, and watching dirt track racing from 8AM Saturday to 3AM Sunday, I was exhausted and fell asleep on the couch watching F1 live....fun Saturday.

SWRC Races 1 and 2 in Norman, Oklahoma

2011-04-11T22:13:00.001-07:00

Under the Tent with 3G Kart Racing

Sorry for the delay in getting this post out, but I finished up a successful first round of Southwest Regional Cup on April 2nd and 3rd. It was a long, but fun weekend and I logged over 140 laps around the Oklahoma Motorsports Complex 0.7 miles sprint kart track. Compared to my test day at OMC in February, I improved by 1.4s during Friday's 6 practice sessions. I worked mainly with 3G's track expert and tuner Dallas Patterson to get my shifter to handle the tricky OMC track. We started with an axle change which made a huge difference on corner exit as the previous unit was WAY too stiff and causing excess rear hopping as I got to the throttle. After a few more changes to the front end, rear width, tire pressure, and some failed gearing experimentation, I was 0.7s faster than my February test day, and a new set of MG sneakers dropped than another 0.8s. I ran about 55 laps in the 6 sessions including a mock qualifying session where we verified my pace and setup with new tires to prepare for Race 1 qualifying on Saturday.

Fresh Tires and Softer Axle During my Mock Qualifying Session

My Cubicle in the 3G Tent

With 6+ SKUSA Pro Tour shifter kart pilots in the S2 class, I knew that I was going to be qualifying near the back of the field. My pace in the shifter kart is not there yet, so I was mainly focused on improving my kart and my driving to slowly chip away at my pace delta. After two practice sessions on Saturday morning, we bolted on a new set of tires for qualifying. I ran a 46.7 which put me in 11th out of 12 karts in the class and well back of the Jake French who got the pole, but still a huge improvement over the 48.2s laps I was turning back in February. In the Saturday heat race, I had a decent start and was able to hang with the field for a few laps and move up to 8th place after several drivers dropped out due to accidents and mechanical issues. This put me in P8 to start the 16 lap Race 1 Final. I had a slow start and dropped back two spots but was able to get back inside of these karts in Turn 1. Running an inside lines proved to be in my favor as a mid-pack kart got turned sideways at the Turn 1 apex causing a 5-6 kart pileup on the outside of Turn 1. I escaped without having to slow down much which put in 5th place. I stayed in 5th place for about 10 laps before Chris Jennings in the Jimmy John's kart caught me. I finished in P6 which I was pleased with considering my qualifying position.

Ali with kart Covered up to keep out the Oklahoma dust storm Saturday night

All the times were reset for Sunday's races, and after some debate, we stuck with the SWRC mandate that all Shifter Karts must run 1 set of tires for both Race 1 and Race 2. The big change for Sunday other than starting with worn tires was that we were joined by the S4 (Stock Moto Master's) and S5 (Stock Moto Junior) classes which put the field at 19 karts in our group. I again qualified 11th in S2 class and moved up to 8th in the heat race. Similar to Saturday, I was able to claw my way up to 6th place in Sunday's final after a good race start and a lot more traffic to deal with due to the multiple classes on track.

19 Shifter Karts Taking the Green Flag on Sunday (photo credit: Galen Kurth)

Overall, I was pleased with the weekend. I had no mechanical issues, no accidents, improved the kart's handling, improved my pace, and had a blast racing for three days. This was my first non-local and multi-day kart race in the shifter and it was great to get so much track time. I need to continue to learn the Texas and Oklahoma kart tracks, work on my fitness, and practice practice practice driving the shifter kart to improve my pace. OMC was a very physical track and I was absolutely wiped when we got back to San Angelo at 2AM on Sunday. Thanks to Ali and the 3G team for helping me throughout the weekend.

My next race is a club race at NTK on April 16th and the next SWRC round is at NTK on May 13th and 14th. It will be fun to race in the ultra-competitive SWRC series at a track I am familiar with.

SWRC Race 1 Recap

2011-04-02T20:42:00.001-07:00

Race 1 of the Southwest Regional Cup is in the books. We had a solid field of S2 Stock Moto Senior shifter pilots out today with many national caliber karters in the class. I qualified back in the field in 11th place, but worked my way up to 8th place in the Pre-Final and 6th in the Final. This is a solid points start to my season as I learn and get quicker throughout the season.

My kart has held up well with no major issues. This has allowed me to tune the kart and focus on my racing. Race 2 will be tomorrow afternoon and then the best part of the weekend...my 6 hours tow back to San Angelo.

I'll post Sunday's recap next week once I get back home. Not looking forward to the long drive home tomorrow after racing....Monday's going to be rough at the office.

First Round of the SWRC this Weekend

2011-03-31T09:09:00.001-07:00

The Southwest Regional Cup kicks off this weekend in Norman, OK at Oklahoma Motorsports Complex. The SWRC is a 10 races series visiting 4 different tracks over 5 weekends in 2011. I'll be running in S2 Senior Stock Moto Shifter class for the full season. We have 8 pre-registered for Norman in S2 so far so hopefully the class will be 10+ on race day.

I spent the last few nights prepping the kart and it is loaded up and ready to go. Ali and make the 6-hour trek to Norman tonight because there is open practice all day Friday with races on Saturday and Sunday. The weather is looking good so wish me luck for my first regional race in the shifter.

Feature Win at NTK this Past Weekend

2011-03-29T08:27:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my friends Joe and Stuart for the help

I raced in the North Texas Karters Spring Series this past weekend. This was my first race on my new Spirit SP32 chassis and only my second time driving the new kart. Since my first drive was at Oklahoma Motorsports Park (a new track for me), I was looking at this weekend for a good comparison between the old and new chassis. Also, racing at a track I am familiar with would give the opportunity to do some tuning and try to improve the handling before the SWRC season starts next weekend.

I started off at about the same pace as last Fall in the older Birel chassis, but was getting bad hopping on corner exit in the two left-hand hairpins which was hurting my lap times. The kart has a very stiff axle in it right now, so this was not surprising. During the practice sessions, I adjusted the rear width to the max within the rules, removed seat struts, and adjusted tire pressures and it mostly cured the exit hopping which allowed me to pick up a few tenths. After the adjustment, the kart was not hopping, but was balanced towards understeer pretty much everywhere. I was racing on old MG tires from last season, so we will see where the balance is on new tires at OMC next weekend. In the end, I qualified on pole by 0.2s, won my heat race, and won the 12 lap feature race by 4s over P2. It was a small field of shifter karts, but a win is a win in my book.

First place sticker for the kart

Overall, I was pleased with the race and had a good time. I set my personal best lap time around NTK by 0.3s and did not have any mechanical issues. Stuart and Joe were a big help throughout the day and I think I may have convinced them to start racing shifter karts.....we shall see on that one.

Racing the Shifter at NTK this Weekend

2011-03-25T07:13:00.001-07:00

North Texas Kartway

I am racing in the 125cc Stock Shifter class this weekend with the North Texas Karters (http://www.ntkarters.com/) in Denton, TX. The races start tomorrow afternoon with practice all morning. Not sure how many will be in my class, but this should be a good warmup for the Southwest Regional Cup that starts next weekend. Also, it should give me some data on the pace of the new Spirit chassis vs. the Birel I raced at NTK last year. Hopefully, I can improve my personal fast time around NTK by a significant amount.

Ali and I made the trek to Dallas after work today. The kart is ready to go and the trailer is loaded so I'm pumped for my first race of 2011.

Moved into a New Shop

2011-03-22T12:37:00.000-07:00

I am officially moved out of my small single-car garage and am sharing a much bigger shop with 3 Sprint Car racers in San Angelo. The new shop will give me much more space to work on my shifter kart, rebuild the Baja car, and work on any other fab projects. Plus, I get along really well with the Sprint Car drivers and it's a much better work environment than wrenching by myself in my small garage. I'm still setting up my work area now, but the shop already has a fabrication area and plenty of shelving so it should work out well.

New Toy Delivered....

2011-03-22T12:30:00.000-07:00

Since I graduated from UVa in 2008, I still keep in touch with some of the Baja team members and help the team whenever I can. As the years have passed since I helped designed and build the 2008 Baja car affectionately named "Gnarly Garbage ," the team's small shop has begun to fill up and they don't have room for all the cars that were built since the team was founded in 2004. I decided to give the team some help and take Gnarly Garbage off their hands. It arrived safely in this large crate and I now have a fun project to work on when not busy racing. It should be perfect for the off-road trails and sand dunes of West Texas....especially with a bigger engine.

Pictures of Gnarly Garbage from 2008 Competition year:

Freshly Built Baja Car at out our Car Launch Event

Getting Ready to Drive in the 2008 Baja Montreal Endurance Event

Mud-Covered Gnarly Garbage in 2008 Montreal Endurance Race

New Fanatec Porsche GT3RS Wheel for iRacing

2011-03-13T10:56:00.000-07:00

I just purchased a new steering wheel for iRacing from Fanatec and it is a massive improvement over the old Logitech Momo wheel I was using. The feedback and response is much more precise and linear with the new wheel allowing for quicker and much more consistent lap times. I've found that it is especially helpful on ovals where you need to be running inches from the outside wall to lay down quick lap times.

Whoa...tons of features: (from Fanatec website)

Full Features Porsche 911 GT3 RS Wheel:

Original Porsche 911 GT3 RS steering wheel design
Licensed by Porsche Lizenz- und Handelsgesellschaft mbH
Authentic metal Porsche logo on wheel
Hand stitched leather wheel manufactured according to Porsche quality standards using original ALCANTARA® leather made in Italy.
Compatible with PC and all PlayStation®3 (NEW) games which support Force Feedback
3 x adjustable paddle shifter styles including Clubsport paddle shifters made of aluminum (NEW)
Optional Clubsport paddle shifters Carbon (NEW)
Extra large wheel rim diameter (300 mm)
Turning angle can be adjusted in the wheel to 90° to 900° in steps of 10° independent from the game (NEW)
Play with table: Strong table clamps with quick release, special non-slip rubber pads, and Velcro strips on the pedals keep everything in place. Integrated screw inserts allows a strong fixation on a gaming cockpit
Play without table: Fully compatible with the RennSport Wheel Stand which is available optional
Powerful Mabuchi RS 550 Motor as used in RC cars delivers extra strong Force Feedback effects
Additional 2 Force Feedback actuators in the wheel simulates motor vibrations.
Extra smooth and silent belt drive without mechanical dead zone
High resolution wheel sensor
TUNING functions with LED display
Saves up to 5 wheel set-ups
Adjust ForceFeedback strength during game play (IMPROVED)
Adjust steering angle independent from the game (NEW and IMPROVED)
Adjust damper strength (Driftmode) (NEW)
Add deadzone to the steering axis (great for GT5:P) (NEW)
Adjust linearity of the steering axis for high precision around the center but ability to make turns very quickly. (NEW)

Test Day in a 305 Sprint Car Last Weekend

2011-03-09T20:52:00.001-08:00

Last Saturday, I made the trek to Lady Luck Speedway in Lubbock, TX with Gary Floyd. Gary owns and races a winged Sprint Car in the 305ci (500hp) and the 360ci (750hp) classes at dirt tracks all over the Southwest. I've been helping him get his car prepped for the season and he was gracious enough to let me drive his car in two sessions this past Saturday.

It was an unreal experience and was my first time for many things...first time on an oval track paved or dirt, first time driving any dirt track racecar, etc. Weighing in at only 1,550 lbs and packing 500 horsepower from it's Chevy V8, the acceleration is wicked and carrying large yaw angles through the corners was ridiculous fun. The seating position in a Sprint Car was very different as you are seated like in a regular table chair instead of reclined like most racecars and the throttle operates basically straight down instead of at an angle. Each session was a about 5-8 laps (at 14s per lap this goes by very quick) so it was a difficult to get a feel for such a different racecar in such a short amount of time, but I was able to improve drastically from Lap 1 to Lap 10. Overall the test was success. Gary shook the car down, I got to experience a new form of racing, and we all made it back in one piece without having to write big checks.

Thanks to Gary Floyd for letting me hustle his toy around!

Here is a clip from my 2nd session:

Added 2011 Racing Schedule Page to my Blog

2011-03-03T22:38:00.000-08:00

Here is the link or you can click on the toolbar above:

http://yawmomentracing.blogspot.com/p/2011-racing-schedule.html

Should be a fun year!

Posted a Funny Indoor Karting Clip to Youtube

2011-03-03T10:02:00.000-08:00

(video credit: my Dad)

In this video, I make a pass, avoid the dive bomb, re-pass...indoor karting is good fun.

2008 Birel M31 Rolling Chassis for Sale + Other parts

2011-02-28T07:45:00.000-08:00

For Sale: 2008 Birel M31 Rolling Chassis (update: SOLD)

I have 2008 Birel M31 rolling chassis for sale. I am the second owner. The previous owner was a kart shop owner in Dallas so the kart has been well taken care of. Low usage - only 9 races on the chassis. Chassis has front brakes and was used for 125cc Stock Moto shifter class, but could also be used for TAG/Rotax racing. Comes with radiator, full bodywork kit, and 1 set of wheels. Just add seat and motor and go racing.

Price: $1700 OBO. Located in San Angelo, TX. Willing to ship at buyer's expense.

Mychron 4 Gold Expansion Box - SOLD

Mychron Wheel Speed Sensor & axle collar - $30

-Outside surface of metal connector is damaged, but wire/sensor are in good condition and function properly

Coleman Self-Contained Gear Reduction Starter - SOLD

Good condition. Functions well.

Flex Holder Tool for 50mm Flex (TaG) - $35

Allows you to clamp down the flex to cut it properly

2001-2005 Mazda Miata Cobalt XR3 Front Brake Pads - $100 (

Cobalt Friction CRB.XR3.D890 brake pads for sale. These are XR3 compound front brake pads for a 2001-2005 Mazda Miata. Brand new, never opened.

New Price is $180. I will sell for $100.

Feel free to contact me (dogburn at gmail dot com) with questions. Thanks.

Shifter Kart Testing in Oklahoma Last Weekend

2011-02-27T08:34:00.000-08:00

Last weekend was a whirlwind, but provided a great start to my 2011 racing season. I spend all day Saturday at the 3G Karting Dallas shop prepping my 2010 Birel Spirit SP32 chassis. The chassis is immaculate having only one prior race weekend on it back in 2010. The SP32 is a 32mm chassis which should be much stiffer than my previous chassis and be much better suited to my weight and the shifter class. Spirit is an Italian company founded in 2007 by 5-time karting World Champion Gianluca Beggio. The Spirit chassis are virtually identical to Birel chassis and are manufactured by Birel as well. The morning started with a basically bare chassis and after mounting the seat, radiator, engine, AIM Mychron, adding fluids, and routing all the wires and hydraulic lines, it was a ready for a test fire. The engine fired up quickly after its off-season refresh by SRS Engines. After quickly setting the pedals for my height, my new kart was basically race ready.

On Sunday, I travelled 3 hours of North of Dallas with the 3G Karting team to Oklahoma Motorsports Park.
It drizzled the whole ride to OMC, but luckily stopped shorty after we arrived. My goal for the day was to break in my engine, get comfortable with the new kart, adjust any ergonomic problems, and learn the new track. I was able to squeeze 5 sessions in before I had to head back to San Angelo for a total of about 45 laps. My first regional race of the year is at OMC on April 2 and 3rd, so it was extremely beneficial to get some track time, data, and video at OMC before my first big race of 2011. I cured some ergo problems by changing up the radiator mounting as it was interfering with my left arm and shoulder and discovered some interference between my right leg and the exhaust pipe...not good. I will be a making a guard for that soon.

Overall, I was pleased with the practice. My new 32mm chassis feels much stiffer and higher grip than my previous Birel chassis. On the old VEGA tires I was running, the kart was reasonably balanced with some slight corner entry understeer and slight power-on oversteer on the exit which should be a great starting point for tuning when I switch to new MGs for the race season.

Here is a lap around OMC in my new kart:

Got some kart parts in the mail....

2011-02-15T22:41:00.001-08:00

I got some kart parts in the mail today fom Shark Shifter and Acceleration Karting to prep my Birel M31 chassis that I am selling and for the new shifter chassis that I am picking up this weekend. I received a new radiator mount for the M31 chassis and a CDI isolator, ignition cover for the CR125 engine, an extra master link, a kart cover, and a heel stops for my new chassis.

Look for a for sale ad soon for my 2008 Birel M31 chassis.

Special Weekend in Austin....

2011-02-15T22:16:00.000-08:00

I don't make many non-racing posts, but this one is important. This past weekend I took my girlfriend to Austin, TX for a getaway weekend and asked her to marry me on Saturday 2/12. Being the great guy that I am (cough..cough), she said yes and I couldn't be happier.

Ali and I met at the University of Virginia and have been dating for a little over 3 and half years (yes yes I know it took me a while...) and now live together in sunny San Angelo, Texas. She is the best girlfriend a racer could ask for. She helps me in the garage when needed, travels and even takes vacation days to come to the track with me, bought a pitbike (best purchase ever), and instead of complaining that I race too much, she encourages me to go after my dreams. Most importantly, she is always there to remind me that racing (aka my hobby) is supposed to be fun and shouldn't stress me out. When you are learning to maintain your own racecars, drive, and race, you lose a lot. It's part of the learning process...but it a lot easier to handle losing when you go home with the prettiest girl in the paddock.

Off-season Refresh for my Honda CR125

2011-01-31T21:54:00.000-08:00

I pulled my motor off this weekend, cleaned it up, and packaged it up to ship to SRS Engines in Hawkins, TX. John Sefcik at SRS is one of the top shifter kart engine builders in the country and will be giving my engine a quick inspection, top end refresh, and changes to the reed cage and timing for SKUSA rules changes.

Now that the motor is off, my Birel M31 chassis will be up for sale soon and ready to accept your Shifter, Rotax or TAG engine!

Turning on old kart chassis into an iRacing Cockpit

2011-01-29T19:13:00.000-08:00

I've had a 1999 MBA shifter kart chassis laying around the garage collecting dust for the past three years, and I finally found a use for it...

I built it over a few nights after work with spare wood and metal laying around the garage. I need to work on the seating position, but it has worked well so far for sim racing battles with my co-workers. The steering wheel is tilt adjustable and the pedal mount is adjustable to accommodate different size drivers.

Pictures of my new shifter kart chassis

2011-01-29T13:28:00.000-08:00

Got some photos of the Birel Spirit SP32 Chassis from 3G karting. I'll be picking it up and hopefully running my first practice with it in 3 weeks. Can't wait!

2011 Racing Plans for Ogburn Motorsport

2011-01-16T21:35:00.000-08:00

After a few months of number crunching and tough decision making, I've made my final plans for the 2011 season. Here are the basics:

-Run the Southwest Regional Cup (10-race regional karting series) with 3G Kart Racing in Stock Moto shifter class
- Run 2 Bondurant Championship Race Series races in the Bondo Formula Mazdas
- Compete for the 2011 Bondurant Driver Search Shootout

I will be upgrading my kart chassis to a 2010 Birel Spirit SP32 that was used for 1 race day in 2010 by 3G Kart Racing based out of Katy, Texas. The SWRC runs 10 races over 5 weekends at 5 different tracks throughout Texas and Oklahoma. I will join 3G's tent program for the full SWRC series which will help me to focus on my driving and racecraft and get me access to the 3G team's extensive experience for setup, gearing, engine tuning, etc. for all of the SWRC tracks. This will be huge advantage over my previous karting endeavors especially considering I have not driven 4 out of the 5 SWRC tracks. For each race weekend, there is a Friday practice day that I will use to learn the new tracks and dial in my Birel's setup. 3G Kart Racing is a top-notch National karting team and I am very excited to be partnered with them for 2011. Thanks to Mark French at 3G for helping me over the off-season.

I will be picking the new chassis up in late February after I get my Stock Honda CR125 back from it's off-season refresh by SRS Engines in Hawkins, TX. To keep in practice, I will be testing often at Rimrock Raceway in Midland, TX and running club races with North Texas Karters throughout 2011.

Here is a link to 3G's website: www.3gkartracing.com

Photo of the new chassis: My Dad and I will be taking a year off from National Level SCCA Autocross so I can focus my budget and energy on kart racing and road racing the Bondurant Formula Mazdas. At this point, we are targeting 2012 for a return to the SCCA Solo Nationals in our STX Mini Cooper. My Dad will still be autocrossing the Mini locally and may contest an SCCA Divisional or National Solo event to keep in practice for the 2012 Solo Nats so I will post his autocross results and videos throughout the season.

Thanks to my sponsors and supporters for helping me make the 2011 racing season happen!

I want one of these.....

2011-01-15T21:54:00.000-08:00

Looks like a strong candidate for a future project car.

Indoor Karting in Richmond

2010-12-28T19:03:00.000-08:00

While back home in Richmond, VA for the holidays, I always like to hit up GForce Karts for some indoor kart racing with my Dad and some friends from high school. I blew tons of money (some mine and some my parents) at this place during high school while dreaming of owning and racing my own racecar or kart so it's fun to go back to one of the places that fueled my passion for racing. It's also nice to see how I've made progress on the driving front by comparing results now to results then. I used to struggle to make the Top 100 times, but today was able to run the 4th fastest time overall (26.721) on their reverse track - (www.gforcekarts.com/top100_adultreverse.htm). I will probably head back there so I can run the regular track before heading back to an indoor-kart-track-less city in Texas.

Check out this picture from back in the day. It is of my two best friends from high school, my Dad, and I standing on the podium after a 2-hour enduro at GForce:

If you a racer in the central VA area, I would highly recommend GForce Karts for some not-too-expensive fun. Here is their homepage with some onboard video - www.gforcekarts.com/index.htm.

ClubSport Pedals for iRacing

2010-12-19T16:11:00.000-08:00

I got an early Christmas present from Ali a few days ago because the UPS man came while she wasn't home and the product name was written all over the box...silly Germans. I've been iRacing more recently and my old Logitech Momo steering wheel is just not cutting it, especially the braking feel. With the Momo pedals, your braking in iRacing is based on pedal travel not pressure like it would be in a real racecar. This makes trailbraking and passing under braking very difficult to do consistently. I've been wanting the Fanatec Clubsport Pedals for a while now and was quite surprised when the Fanatec box arrived from Germany. The Fanatec pedals use a load cell on the brake pedal so braking is measured by force not travel which makes the sim racing much more accurate, easier to control, and ultimately leads to quicker lap times. I've tried the ClubSport Pedals for a few sessions now and have been very pleased. Thanks Ali!

The ClubSport Pedals are very sturdy and fully adjustable (pedal travel, pedal spring stiffness, braking linearity, pedal height, pedal spacing, and even color). Weighing in at about 11 pounds, they are made out of what looks to be laser-cut or CNC aluminum pieces. In typical German fasion, there is no slop whatsoever in the pedals and they have Porsche-like precision. If you are into sim racing, I would highly recommend these pedals. They will take some getting used to, but will be worth the money when you start lapping faster and dive-bombing people into Turn 1 without crashing.

Overall Victory in the WTKA 2-cycle Karting Enduro Race

2010-11-22T22:54:00.000-08:00

The West Texas Karting Association is based in Midland, TX with Rimrock Raceway as their home track. As you have probably seen in previous posts, I have practiced several times at Rimrock, but this would be my first race on the 10-turn 0.4 miles track. Despite it's small size, Rimrock is a blast to drive with a good mix of corners with top speeds reaching 61 mph. However, the surface is extremely coarse and rough on tires despite not having a ton of grip. I was worried this would factor into the enduro because my strategy was too stretch my tires and fuel to the end doing my best to avoid pit-lane.

I was hoping for more of the WTKA shifter kart drivers to show up, but only three 2-cycles entered the race. However, driving a 1-hour enduro in a demanding shifter kart is a challenge in itself so the race would still be interesting. We drew numbers for the starting grid and I started on pole against the two other 2-cycle karts which consisted of one other Honda-powered shifter kart and a Yamaha Pipe kart. Just like at NTK last weekend, I had a poor start which allowed the other shifter kart to pass me at the start. I passed him back entering turn 2 and opened up a comfortable lead as I pulled away from the P2 shifter and he started to encounter problems. He made three pit stops totaling 15-20 laps down and I was able to pass the Yamaha kart 3 times in the first 30 minutes. By this point, I knew I had a comfortable lead so I backed the pace down to save myself and the kart for the end of the race.

Despite the reduced pace, I started to pick up a violent vibration when shifting from 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd and my water temp started to creep up shortly thereafter. I was worried something catastrophic was happening, but it felt like one of my engine mounts had failed which didn't explain the water temp issue. I pulled into pitlane for damage assessment at the 35 minute mark with a 4-lap lead over the Yamaha. I was quickly apparent that the front engine mount bolt had sheared and my radiator mount had failed under the violent shaking caused by the engine mount failure. With the kart up on the stand and gloves off, I quickly found my spare engine mount bolt and replaced it while two of the local racers attacked my radiator mount. With good ol' duct-tape and zip ties, they fashioned a jerry-rigged mount that seemd pretty solid. Thanks guys! The repairs took about 5-6 minutes and I was back on track. At this point, I had no idea where I was in the order but I knew the most important thing was to run for the rest of the race problem-free. I dialed in a reasonable pace of 35.5 - 36s laps for the final 20 minutes. The Yamaha's clutch failed with 15 minutes to go so it was down to just the two shifter karts competing for the victory. Luckily, the "custom" radiator mounting held up and I was able to finish the 1-hour enduro with no other issues.

When we got the checkered flag, I still had no idea what the finishing order was. Whenever you are in the pits while cars are passing you, it feels like an eternity so I thought I finished several laps down to the other shifter because it felt like he passed me 40 times while I was in pitlane. After about twenty minutes, I was informed that I had won the race and the $60 in prize money with 84 laps completed with the other shifter kart completing 75 laps for 2nd place and the Yamaha finishing 3rd with 64 laps.

Here is a fast-forward video of the full 1-hour enduro:

North Texas Karters Fall Race # 6

2010-11-22T20:23:00.001-08:00

I travelled to Dallas again on November 13th and 14th to race in the final NTK kart race of the 2010 season. I ran 56 practice laps on Saturday in preparation for Sunday's race and it really paid off. The kart worked flawlessly which helped me to focus on tuning the kart and working on my shifter kart piloting. My fast lap at NTK before this weekend was a 39.22 which is a few seconds off the pace. The experienced NTK shifter kart drivers can lap NTK in the low 36 second range. These drivers like Nick Lucido, Jordan Musser, and Jake French are some of the top shifter kart drivers in the country so I have a lot to work up to. My goal for the weekend was to be able to run consistently in the 37s. I almost achieved my goal on Saturday and was able to click of a 38.14s lap with my 5 fastest laps all within a tenth. These time are still off the pace, but at least progress is being made. Thanks to Ali's Dad for making the trip out to Denton to take some photos. Here are a few photos from Saturday (credit - Charles Rutherford):

After Saturday's practice, we made the hour trek back to Denton for the last race of NTK's Fall race series. This was my 2nd race in the shifter kart and the first one with the kart working properly so I had high hopes of really improving my competitiveness in the new kart against the experienced NTK drivers. It was a sunny cool day with temperatures around 60 degrees. This made for treacherous conditions on the opening laps of each session until the tires came up to temperature. I started out with a 37.90s lap in the first practice which achieved my lap time goal for the weekend. I adjusted the seat rail and rear bar for the next two sessions trying to find some more rear grip, but ended up running exactly a 37.90 in the 2nd practice and in qualifying. If you can't make progress, at least you can be super consistent...

My 37.90 lap put me in 4th spot out of 6 shifters for the heat race with Andrew Perkins leading the way with a 36.2s lap. I bogged on the standing start as the P5 shifter kart rocketed past me into Turn 1. I knew from qualifying that I could run about 1 sec. faster than him so I needed to move back into P4 quickly to have any shot of keeping up with the top 3 karts. I made the move on the front straight and was able to duck into 4th place in Turn 6. After the poor start and getting passed, I had dropped about 5s back from P3, but was slowly reeling him in for the first 4 laps of the 8 lap race. My progress stopped on Lap 4 when I bicycled badly exiting Turn 8 leading on the front straight. I counter-steered sharply as I went up on two-wheels to avoid flipping, but had an off-track excursion as a result. I managed to hold onto 4th place as I merged back on track and stayed there for the final 4 laps. This put me 4th on the grid again for the 12-lap feature race. By this point, the sun was setting and the track was cooling off dramatically. We ran under the lights so after a quick setup change and visor swap, I was ready to go. I got a better start, but the P5 kart was able to dive under me in Turn 2. After the first lap, my water temperature climbed to above 140 degrees telling me I had covered too much of my radiator to compensate for the cooler temperatures. Pulling off radiator tape while steering, shifting, and trying to pass another kart is difficult. After two failed attempts, I took back 4th place on lap three in the same spot as the heat race. By this point, the top 3 had stretched out a sizable lead and I was not able catch up so I cruised home to a 4th place finish.

Overall it was a fun weekend and I made a lot of progress with my shifter. I have figured out a lot of the small problems that have been plaguing me and feel much more comfortable working on and driver the shifter. Now that I have a good baseline set, time to get to work on getting down to the 36s.

Here is a compilation of onboard footage from Sunday's race:

Lots of new Photos on Flickr

2010-11-22T20:15:00.000-08:00

Bondurant Schootout photos on my Dad's Flickr Account

Bondurant Formula Mazda Race, National Midget Auto Racing Museum, and MotoGP Indy on my Flickr Account

Here are a few examples:

All Sports All Weekend in Dallas

2010-11-09T20:26:00.000-08:00

I've recovered from a fun weekend in Dallas with Ali. We left straight after work on Friday with the trailer and hustled to Fort Worth to watch the NASCAR Camping World Trucks race to 147 laps under the lights at Texas Motor Speedway. Unfortunately, we had to listen to the start of the race on the radio as we rolled into the gigantic (everything's bigger in Texas right....so cliche) parking lot. All in all, we missed the first 20 laps and we arrived under caution starving and glad to not be driving. The race wasn't too exciting as Kyle Busch clicked off another victory, but it was still cool seeing race trucks average 180mph around the 1.5mi oval two-wide at night.

TMS on Friday night with Kyle Busch's burnout smoke lingering after 20 minutes

After a few hours of sleep, we trekked backed to TMS early the next morning to watch Sprint Cup practice, peruse the pits, and watch the Nationwide Series 200 lap race. Carl Edwards won an exciting afternoon race. Here are some pictures from Saturday:

Fried PB&J for Ali

Penske Racing Pitbox

The Great Clips Nationwide team getting their car to grid

NASCAR Spring Cup Garages and Haulers at TMS

Carl Edwards mid-backflip after the race

After the race Saturday, we went straight to The Kart Shop in Sachse, Texas to pick up some race fuel for the kart, grabbed dinner, and headed to the American Airlines Center to watch the Dallas Mavericks play the Denver Nuggets with Ali's sister and friend. Thanks for the tickets Brian! Sunday Morning we were up bright and early again to drive to North Texas Kartway in Denton, Texas for some testing in my Stock Moto Shifter Kart. I ran 40 laps over 4 sessions on the day but struggled with fuel pump issues. My fuel pump-around system which pumps fuel out of the carb and back into the tank was not pulling enough fuel causing me to run very rich and bog coming out corners with lower RPM exits. I ran new MG Yellow tires (SKUSA and NTK spec tire) on my kart for the first time to prepare for my race next weekend. I needed to get a feel for the kart on fresh rubber to start tuning and really lowering my lap times around NTK. After the 4 sessions, I was 1 second quicker than my last trip to NTK 5 months ago, so I was pleased with that. However, I still have lots of work to do to be competitive with the top NTK shifter kart pilots who happen to be some of the best in the country. For my next trip to NTK, I will be tuning the the chassis to be more balanced on corner exit. It's current setup too knife-edged and not very forgiving. I also need to work on smoothing out my inputs, slowing down my hands, and clicking off consistent laps so I can better tune the kart.

Shifter Kart with fresh MG Yellow sneakers

Video from Sunday's Shifter Kart Practice

NASCAR and Karting this Weekend

2010-11-05T10:29:00.001-07:00

My girlfriend and I are traveling to Dallas this weekend for a motorsports-filled weekend. First stop is Texas Motor Speedway for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race - The WinStar World Casino 350k. The truck series has always been my favorite NASCAR series, but I've never been to one so I am looking forward to tonight's 147 lap race. The race trucks are close to my heart from our LeMons build and the series produces some really close racing.

Qualifying Results for the Trucks: http://www.nascar.com/races/truck/2010/23/data/lineup.html

On Saturday, Ali and I head back to TMS for the NASCAR Nationwide Series race. We have good front-stretch (so we can see pit-lane) seats and pit passes so it should be a good time. Sunday, I am going to do a test and tune at North Texas Kartway in my stock moto shifter. I have some new MG tires mounted for the first time so hopefully I can make some big improvements to my lap times around NTK. I'm also 22lbs lighter than my last time at NTK so that should help also....

Weekend Schedule: http://www.texasmotorspeedway.com/Schedule/Event-Weekend-Schedule.aspx

New Dirt Biking Spot in San Angelo

2010-11-05T10:19:00.000-07:00

One of my co-workers introduced me to the off-roading trails around the Twin Buttes Reservoir in San Angelo, Texas. This a great spot for desert-landscape trail riding which I really enjoy, and it's only 5 minutes from my house. The site has miles of trails with different terrains (mud, loose dirt, packed mud, rocky, sand), elevation changes, wide-open beach sections, and tight, technical courses rutted and winding through the trees.

I've been out there a couple of times over the past few weeks with my 2-stroke Kawasaki. I'll take some pictures and video next time out. I've heard there are many more spots like this surrounding San Angelo so hopefully we will have more places to explore.