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07-27-03 |
Kid Kart Nationals |
| Qualifying - Brooks qualified in the 4th position on Saturday putting him solidly in the A-Main group. We picked up a problem in the heat that pulled down the power losing 8/10ths of a second. We had been running 55.17's to 55.30's all weekend but on Saturday it hit 102 degrees and wow did it kill our speed. We qualified with a 56.063 quit a bit slower than our normal times. After qualifying the top 6 cars were quarantined in tech and we could not go out and test for the HOT WEATHER set up. Heat Race - We lined up for the heat in 4th with an outside temp of 88 degrees. The group took the green after a pretty good pace lap where Brooks jumped to the outside to set up entry to turn 1 with some momentum. He stuck it and so did the rest of the field getting through turn 1 with no crashes! Brooks then made a strong move going by 2nd & 3rd at one time while they were side by side. Kind of a gutsy move but executed cleanly with no contact and no close calls. Brooks then ran down the leader, Jacob from Michigan, making a 2 car break-away! On lap 2 Brooks made a strong run to the outside of turn 5 going for the lead. Unfortunately the leader didn't see him on his outside and Brooks got knocked off the track throwing grass and dirt everywhere! He got back on the track but fell to 4th and then shortly to 5th while he tried to get his tires cleaned off. Brooks said he was slipping with all the dirt that had attached itself to his HOT & STICKY tires. Brooks regained his composure and started marching back to the front. He regained 4th shortly after his crash from his friend Anthony Maranto and then pulled to the bumper of 3rd place which is his other friend Conner Lynn. From here they ran 1-5 for about 3-4 laps until 1st and 2nd got tangled up in turn 6 similar to what happened to Brooks and 1st & 2nd got taken out. Shortly behind them was Conner and Brooks who instinctively spit the 2 cars sitting in the middle of the exit and got through as if it were choreographed on the grid! Then 2 turns later Brooks got a good run off the corner and pulled up along side of Conner crossing the start finish line side by side and held it till the entrance of turn 1 where Brooks had the preferred line and shot back into the lead. From there it was an Indiana parade to the end with the top 3 cars, Brooks, Conner, and Anthony on finishing 1st, 2nd, & 3rd. What a race with some ups and downs for many! Feature Race- We all lined up on the grid for the feature in the heat that equaled 107 degrees! Yes I said 107 degrees! The track temp was over 130! As we had experienced the day before in qualifying that our motor does not like the extreme heat and since we did not get to test in the 100+ temps the day before nor had we ever raced in such an oven, I was really concerned. Brooks carried a solid pace lap behind the pace car and brought the field to a good start. Right from the Green Brooks was done, 2 karts shot past like he wasn't there. Sure enough our worst performance fears had popped up. Brooks fell in line in 3rd and in the next couple laps would fall to 6th. Brooks drove the wheels off of it picking up 1 more spot but the Heat had robbed us of power and 5th was all we had. Brooks did make a last 2 lap run at the leaders running down the top 4 from about 100 feet back but had nothing to pass anyone. We were all very proud of Brooks for running a clean race not jeopardizing his or any other competitors safety. Was he upset? You bet, after being pretty much the class of the field the entire weekend then being robbed of power by the heat and test & practice time to find the speed in the heat, Brooks handled himself like a champion! Like they say, that's racing! Brooks will have his day soon!
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