Friday, March 19, 2010
Causeyville Practice Day
We had a great day of practice on March 6th! Johnny even got in one to test it out. Ellie quickly showed him how to pass! ;)
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Brandon, MS-Indoor Thunder #3
Life's kinda busy right now with non-racing stuff. Strange, I know, that we dare to have other things going on beside racing. ;) I'll try to get Johnny to update you on what all happened. Until then, here's the still shots I was able to take. If you need larger images for printing purposes, send me an email and I'll see what I can do.
Thanks - Jennifer
Well of course the coldest weather in 20 years rolled in for the Brandon Race. After hoping and praying it would be called off we (Spencer and I) decided that if they were having it we would be there. When Spencer got ready to go out for practice Friday night it was so cold the little bit of moisture inside his throttle cable housing froze and we had to replace the throttle cable before he could go out. Thankfully Ellie decided not to practice and 1 round was enough for Spencer.
We arrived back at the track bright and early Saturday morning with temps in the lower teens and 15 to 20 MPH winds. It really was not too bad since we had heaters and cold weather clothes but it was cold enough to make me swear off any future winter racing plans. There's a reason racing is supposed to be a summertime sport ;)
Ellie qualified on the pole and led every lap of the Beginner Boxstock $100 to win shootout race! Woo Hoo go Ellie.
Spencer qualified 2nd in Jr Purple and he was in the lead by lap 3 and led the rest of the race. Spencer didn't have quite as much luck in the Jr Pro shootout. He qualified 9th and was able to move up to 6th.
Jennifer ordered a professional video from Kato Video Productions so as soon as it comes in the mail we will try to post it.
See ya'll when it warms up,
Johnny
Thanks - Jennifer
Well of course the coldest weather in 20 years rolled in for the Brandon Race. After hoping and praying it would be called off we (Spencer and I) decided that if they were having it we would be there. When Spencer got ready to go out for practice Friday night it was so cold the little bit of moisture inside his throttle cable housing froze and we had to replace the throttle cable before he could go out. Thankfully Ellie decided not to practice and 1 round was enough for Spencer.
We arrived back at the track bright and early Saturday morning with temps in the lower teens and 15 to 20 MPH winds. It really was not too bad since we had heaters and cold weather clothes but it was cold enough to make me swear off any future winter racing plans. There's a reason racing is supposed to be a summertime sport ;)
Ellie qualified on the pole and led every lap of the Beginner Boxstock $100 to win shootout race! Woo Hoo go Ellie.
Spencer qualified 2nd in Jr Purple and he was in the lead by lap 3 and led the rest of the race. Spencer didn't have quite as much luck in the Jr Pro shootout. He qualified 9th and was able to move up to 6th.
Jennifer ordered a professional video from Kato Video Productions so as soon as it comes in the mail we will try to post it.
See ya'll when it warms up,
Johnny
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
3rd Annual Maxxis National Championship
So, this past weekend was the 3rd Annual Maxxis National Championship in Neeses, SC at the Thundervalley Motorplex. This is an invitation-only event and only the top 20 qualifiers in the purple class could race in the feature. At the first drivers meeting, the event staff reported that 19 states were represented there to race.
Here are the photos from this weekend. I'm going to apologize now for the quality of photos and the soon to be uploaded video. I don't feel either are up to my usual standard. I'm also not going to go into detail about the racing results as I find Johnny does a much better job writing that up. :)
If you want quality photos, I strongly suggest you check out Rowdy's site!
The Race Report
We arrived on Friday afternoon but the track was just too wet. They had rain for I think they said 12 out of the past 13 days. We got everything unloaded and the karts registered and run through safety tech then we enjoyed a free barbeque dinner provided by Chester Hester and Maxxis Tires.
Saturday we arrived bright and early only to find that the track was still too wet. Practice was delayed and we finaly were able to get on the track around lunch time. They would get the track rolled in and looking good but every time the karts got up to speed it would start breaking apart. Finaly Mr James Moore got back on the motor grader and cut it about 2 foot deep until he found some drier dirt. Qualifying finaly got started around 5:00 PM. Spencer qualified 19th out of 30 karts and made it into the feature race.
Next it was Ms Ellie's turn to make her debut at a National event. She ran in the Chase'n Race'n Kids class. They drew for starting position and she started 5th. She was able to move up one spot and bring home a 4th place finish.
Afer Ellie's race it was Spencer's turn again. He started 19th and was up to 12th but the race was caution filled and we ran out of fuel and had to pull in. He wound up with a 17th place finish in the Jr 1 Lite class. During the next race of the night the rain came and the rest of the features had to be postponed until Sunday.
Sunday morning they finished the remaining classes from Saturday then had a brief drivers meeting and a church service led by Brett Miller of Kerting Crusaders. Spencer qualified 17th out of 30 and again made the feature. We struggled all weekend with the setup on that slick South Carolina clay but he was on the move in the feature until a nudge from behind sent him off the track on the back straight away. Knowing that he had gone a lap down and would not have a chance at the win Spencer elected to pull off the track. While I was disappointed he didn't finish it may have been the best move because they had a big pile up on the next lap and even red flaged the race so the officials could have a talk with the kids about rough driving. Congratulations to Brody Pope for his win in the Jr 1 Heavy class Sunday. We first met Brody at the Mid West Jr Kahuna in Warrensburg, MO and he is a super nice kid!
Chester and crew did a great job of keeping the program moving along and after collecting Ellie's plaque we were on the road by 9:30 PM.
All in all we had a really good time, met a lot of great people, and learned a lot. We plan to go back next year and hopefully bring home that leather jacket.
Johnny
Here are the photos from this weekend. I'm going to apologize now for the quality of photos and the soon to be uploaded video. I don't feel either are up to my usual standard. I'm also not going to go into detail about the racing results as I find Johnny does a much better job writing that up. :)
If you want quality photos, I strongly suggest you check out Rowdy's site!
The Race Report
We arrived on Friday afternoon but the track was just too wet. They had rain for I think they said 12 out of the past 13 days. We got everything unloaded and the karts registered and run through safety tech then we enjoyed a free barbeque dinner provided by Chester Hester and Maxxis Tires.
Saturday we arrived bright and early only to find that the track was still too wet. Practice was delayed and we finaly were able to get on the track around lunch time. They would get the track rolled in and looking good but every time the karts got up to speed it would start breaking apart. Finaly Mr James Moore got back on the motor grader and cut it about 2 foot deep until he found some drier dirt. Qualifying finaly got started around 5:00 PM. Spencer qualified 19th out of 30 karts and made it into the feature race.
Next it was Ms Ellie's turn to make her debut at a National event. She ran in the Chase'n Race'n Kids class. They drew for starting position and she started 5th. She was able to move up one spot and bring home a 4th place finish.
Afer Ellie's race it was Spencer's turn again. He started 19th and was up to 12th but the race was caution filled and we ran out of fuel and had to pull in. He wound up with a 17th place finish in the Jr 1 Lite class. During the next race of the night the rain came and the rest of the features had to be postponed until Sunday.
Sunday morning they finished the remaining classes from Saturday then had a brief drivers meeting and a church service led by Brett Miller of Kerting Crusaders. Spencer qualified 17th out of 30 and again made the feature. We struggled all weekend with the setup on that slick South Carolina clay but he was on the move in the feature until a nudge from behind sent him off the track on the back straight away. Knowing that he had gone a lap down and would not have a chance at the win Spencer elected to pull off the track. While I was disappointed he didn't finish it may have been the best move because they had a big pile up on the next lap and even red flaged the race so the officials could have a talk with the kids about rough driving. Congratulations to Brody Pope for his win in the Jr 1 Heavy class Sunday. We first met Brody at the Mid West Jr Kahuna in Warrensburg, MO and he is a super nice kid!
Chester and crew did a great job of keeping the program moving along and after collecting Ellie's plaque we were on the road by 9:30 PM.
All in all we had a really good time, met a lot of great people, and learned a lot. We plan to go back next year and hopefully bring home that leather jacket.
Johnny
Monday, October 5, 2009
MS Dirt Track Series @ Pontotoc Kart Speedway 10-3-09
We went into the final race knowing that to win the Series championship we would have to finish ahead of 03 Cole Brown. Unfortunately for us Cole did an outstanding job, qualifying on the pole and leading every lap to secure the win and the championship. Congratulations to Cole for an awesome season! We had 6 races and 4 different winners with Spencer and Cole picking up 2 wins each and Konner Copeland and Jacob Pender with one win each.
Spencer qualified 3rd and fell back a couple of spots early in the race. On the flatheads if you fill them too full of fuel it will cause the motor to stumble when they go through the corner. Although we filled it to the same point we always do, we had not been on a track where we turned 10 second lap times and the additional gforce must have caused the fuel to slosh up and block the vent. The 2nd place kart spun out and during the caution Spencer pulled into the pits because he thought his motor was messing up. I realized what was happening and sent him back out but the rule is that if a kart leaves the track for any reason they have to start in the rear. To complicate matters the transponder (scoring device) got knocked of the kart in the wreck and it came down to a photo finish between Spencer and Jacob for 3rd place. From our view as well as Spencer and Jacob's view it looked like Spencer passed him before the start finish line but Jacob was scored in 3rd place.
It was a heartbreaker for the #11 team but we were able to hang on to a 2nd place finish in the points and we are now looking forward to the Maxxis National Championships Oct 16-18 in Neeses, SC.
Big thanks to Russell Hunt with Outlaw Motorsports and Jeff White for all the setup help throughout the year!!
Here's the video from the feature.
Here are the photos from Saturday. I've gotten my camera back from surgery, but I think there may be some scar tissue. ;) I'm still trying to convince Johnny that a D300s would make the kids go faster.
Spencer qualified 3rd and fell back a couple of spots early in the race. On the flatheads if you fill them too full of fuel it will cause the motor to stumble when they go through the corner. Although we filled it to the same point we always do, we had not been on a track where we turned 10 second lap times and the additional gforce must have caused the fuel to slosh up and block the vent. The 2nd place kart spun out and during the caution Spencer pulled into the pits because he thought his motor was messing up. I realized what was happening and sent him back out but the rule is that if a kart leaves the track for any reason they have to start in the rear. To complicate matters the transponder (scoring device) got knocked of the kart in the wreck and it came down to a photo finish between Spencer and Jacob for 3rd place. From our view as well as Spencer and Jacob's view it looked like Spencer passed him before the start finish line but Jacob was scored in 3rd place.
It was a heartbreaker for the #11 team but we were able to hang on to a 2nd place finish in the points and we are now looking forward to the Maxxis National Championships Oct 16-18 in Neeses, SC.
Big thanks to Russell Hunt with Outlaw Motorsports and Jeff White for all the setup help throughout the year!!
Here's the video from the feature.
Here are the photos from Saturday. I've gotten my camera back from surgery, but I think there may be some scar tissue. ;) I'm still trying to convince Johnny that a D300s would make the kids go faster.
Monday, September 7, 2009
MS Dirt Track Series - Whynot Motorsports Park Sept 5, 2009
After a 3 hour rain delay we wound up chasing the setup all day. We were much better in the feature and wound up with a strong 3rd place finish. Congratulations to 1st place Konner Copeland and 2nd Cole Brown!!
Here's the video from the feature.
Here are the still shots that were taken that day. They were captured using the iPhone, the JVC camcorder and the Nikon Coolpix. My D80 had to be sent to the hospital for surgery. We're praying for a fast and effective (and not too expensive) recovery. Also, if you're thinking of getting the JVC Everio camcorder for recording racing - don't. We've actually returned that model to the store due to picture quality being so bad and image stabilization being nonexistent!
Here's the video from the feature.
Here are the still shots that were taken that day. They were captured using the iPhone, the JVC camcorder and the Nikon Coolpix. My D80 had to be sent to the hospital for surgery. We're praying for a fast and effective (and not too expensive) recovery. Also, if you're thinking of getting the JVC Everio camcorder for recording racing - don't. We've actually returned that model to the store due to picture quality being so bad and image stabilization being nonexistent!
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Jr Kahuna/MASN - Missouri
Here's one of the videos where Spencer is accepting his award from Mr. Rowdy Jordan of Chase'n Race'n Illustrated.
Jr Kahuna/MASN - Missouri
iPhone:
Coolpix:
Nikon D80 (before death):
edited: I would really like to thank my sister, Renea, for allowing me to use her camera, for taking most of the photos and for taking most of the videos! You're an awesome Aunt Nea!!
Coolpix:
Nikon D80 (before death):
edited: I would really like to thank my sister, Renea, for allowing me to use her camera, for taking most of the photos and for taking most of the videos! You're an awesome Aunt Nea!!
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