On a totally different subject!

My son and I are pretty much gearheads by nature. He likes building things and tinkering with stuff about as much as I do. Our tastes in all things mechanical are very similar. We both like Hot Rods, Choppers, Semi Trucks, and Airplanes. We both enjoy racing on many different levels as well. We obviously love Karting, and we rarely miss a chance to watch F1 and European Rallying when it comes to the Speed Channel.

The difference between us is in our views on Drag Racing. I'm a freak when it comes to IHRA and NHRA Drag Racing. I've been so pretty much all my life. He's just kind of so-so on it. I've gone to countless amateur races at a local track but until recently, never to an NHRA event. I even competed once on a motorcycle but that came to a crashing end when I lined up on the oil strip, came out of the box sideways at the green light, and got myself thrown 25 feet through the air. That pro event drought all changed last year when I took him to the Chicagoland Speedway. Aside from the weather being lousy (a high of about 50) I had a blast. I couldn't sleep for about a week knowing that I was finally going to experience the sounds, the smells, and the whole circus that is the NHRA Powerade Drag Racing series.

I plucked him out of bed at 4:30am and off we drove. Well, I drove. He slept all the way there. We arrived early enough to watch a few teams set up their equipment, build engines, and basically get themselves ready for the day. Shortly after, we took our seats high up in the grandstand and sat through a mind numbing assortment of amateur and low end bracket racing. As my luck is, The first Top Fuel Dragster started up and took to it's first burn-out
as we were both standing in line for the bathroom. Just the sound of that thing alone made the hair on the back of my neck stand straight up. I've attended many different types of auto, cycle, and boat racing events in my life and nothing has ever had that effect on me. That engine meant business! We returned to our seats to watch the rest of the T/F guys and could not believe what we were seeing. TV does no justice to just how fast and how powerful these things are. They would do their burn-out, which was pretty loud even with earplugs or headsets on, but the real feeling comes from the run. Remember the phrase "The calm before the storm"? That's what happens in a T/F FC or Dragster run. I never found out if they lean or richen the thing out, but just as they get the car staged, the engine tone goes down a notch. But once that light turns green, and before you really hear this thing scream, there's a compression that forces out from that car so hard that it made the grandstand actually sway! Your chest literally feels like someone is pushing on you. Picture the old tv footage of that house blowing over in a nuclear bomb strike and you'll get the idea.


I obviously walked away from that day with a new found respect for the technical end of things. How teams like that can build these things to make so much power, blow itself to pieces, and be rebuilt before the next run, is completely amazing. I've also collected some technical aspects of Top Fuel racing that is mind boggling that I'd like to share with you. Don't get me wrong, I'm still a Road Racer at heart. With stats like these I wish there was a way I could strap myself to one of these things just once.

FUN FACTS REGARDING FUEL CARS

• One Top Fuel Dragster’s 500 cubic inch Hemi engine makes more horsepower than the first 4 rows of the Daytona 500.
• Under full throttle, a dragster engine consumes 1 gallon of nitro methane per second; a fully loaded 747 consumes jet fuel at the same rate with 25% less energy being produced.
• A stock Dodge Hemi V8 engine cannot produce enough power to drive the dragster’s supercharger alone. It takes nearly 1500 horsepower to do this!
• With 3000cfm of air being rammed into the dragster’s engine by the supercharger on overdrive, the fuel mixture is compressed into a near-solid form before ignition. Cylinders run on the verge of hydraulic lock at full throttle. At the stoichiometric 1.7:1 air/fuel mixture for nitro methane, the flame front temperature measures 7050 degrees F.
• Nitro methane burns yellow. The spectacular white flame seen above the stacks at night is raw burning hydrogen, dissociated from atmospheric water vapor by the searing exhaust gases.
• Dual Magnetos supply 44 amps to each spark plug. This is the output of an Arc Welder in each cylinder.
• Spark Plug electrodes are totally consumed during a pass. After about ½ way, the engine is dieseling from compression plus the glow of exhaust valves at 1400 degrees F. The engine can only be shut down by cutting the fuel flow.
• A dragster can reach 300 mph before you have completed reading this sentence.
• The engine’s redline is quite high at 9500 RPM.
• In order to exceed 300 mph in 4.5 seconds dragsters must accelerate at an average of 4Gs. In order to reach 200 mph well before half track, the launch acceleration approaches 8Gs.
• If spark momentarily fails early in the run, unburned Nitro Builds up in the affected cylinder(s) and then explodes with sufficient force to blow cylinder heads off the block in pieces or split the block in half.
• The pressure coming out of the headers can provide as much as 1000 lbs of down force. When a cylinder is lost it can actually steer the car due to the loss of down force on one side.
• There is so much torsional twist in the crankshaft (up to 20 degrees) that sometimes cam lobes are ground offset from front to rear to try and re-phase the valve timing closer to synchronization with the pistons.
• A Top Fuel Dragster can reach over 60 mph before the rear wheels cross the start line (300 inches).
• Assuming all equipment is paid for, the crew worked for free, and for once NOTHING BREAKS, each run costs an estimated $3000 per second.

PUTTING ALL OF THIS INTO PERSPECTIVE:

There you are, driving your $140,000 Lingenfelter twin-turbo powered Corvette Z06, (or your blown Viper). Over a mile up the road ahead of you, a Top Fuel Dragster is staged and ready to launch down a quarter mile strip as you pass.

You run your car hard through the gears and blast across the starting line at an honest 200 mph, and the “tree” goes green for the dragster and he launches at that same moment. You keep your foot down hard, but you hear an incredibly brutal whine that hurts your ears and, within 3 seconds the dragster catches and passes you. He beats you to the finish line, a quarter of a mile away from where you just passed him going 200 mph.

Think about it! From a standing start, the dragster has spotted you 200 mph and not only caught you but nearly blew you off the road when it passed you within a mere 1320 feet!

2006 Tentative Race Schedule

Well it was just released! The tentative '06 racing schedule. We're looking at combining a couple of series this year, so we might have to juggle the Badger Kart Club Bridgestone Point Series with some others. We are also very excited about possibly competing at the Rock Island Grand Prix this year as well. It's become quite apparent that it's going to be one busy season for us. If you're looking to join us at any of these venues, the list below will give you an idea of where we'll be at.

• April 9th BKC Non-Points Race, Dousman
• April 23rd BKC Points Race #1, Dousman
• April 30th BKC Points Race #2, Dousman
• May 7th BKC Points Race #3, Dousman
• May 14th BKC Points Race #4, Dousman
• May 21st BKC Points Race #5, Dousman
• June 4th BKC Points Race #6, Dousman
• June 18th BKC Points Race #7, Dousman
• June 25th BKC Points Race #8, Dousman
• July 2nd BKC Points Race #9, Dousman
• July 23rd BKC Points Race #10, Dousman
• July 28-30 MWSS @ Dousman
• Aug 11-13 WKA Mfr's Cup @ Dousman
• Aug 20th BKC Points Race #11, Dousman
• Aug 27th BKC Points Race #12, Dousman
• Sept 2-3 Rock Island Grand Prix ?
• Sept 10th BKC Points Race #13, Dousman
• Sept 17th BKC Points Race #14, Dousman
• Oct 1st BKC Points Race #15, Dousman
• Oct 8th BKC Points Race #16, Dousman
• Oct 15th BKC Points Race #17, Dousman

There is one last date at Dousman on Oct. 22nd which is their Backwards Race/ Fun Day. This has sometimes coincided with a race at Shawano that we have wanted to attend. The track there really looks like a nice facility and if there is the annual year-end event there in '06, we'll be there.

Until Then............

Happy Holidays

From all of us to all of you, we wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and fantastic New Year. The holiday season gives us time to reflect on all that we have and the people that we share this with. It gives us a chance to put down the wrenches and be thankful for the things that really matter in our lives: our family and friends. If just for one brief moment, we stop brainstorming over set-ups and the newest trick part that MUST be on the kart for next season and focus on others.

And a brief moment it was.

Moving on to other things, the '06 schedule hasn't been printed yet and we're counting the days to the next race season. I figure around 160 more days until it will be safe to get out and practice without the fear of frostbite. Leaving the track at a high rate of speed in cold weather is another concern of ours, so it goes without saying that it could be longer.

We're almost certain that we will be going with a brand new Margay chassis next year for Sam. Pegasus Auto Racing Supplies was in negotiations with several manufacturers for some time now but couldn't ink a deal with any of them for assorted reasons. Margay was always on our minds, but certain restrictions from the manufacturer made it nearly impossible for us to become a dealer with them for several years. I'm proud to say that these obstacles are no longer a concern since I had a lengthy discussion with Keith Freber at the Performance Racing Industry trade show in Orlando this year. We've pretty much sewn up a deal of becoming one of the newest Margay dealers in the country, and can't express how proud we are to be a part of their family. Absolutely everyone that represented that company was extremely professional, and just plain easy to talk to. Their level of knowledge combined with their enthusiasm for this sport assures me that this was the right decision to make.

That leaves one used CRG chassis to ponder. Do we sell it? or do I roll the dice on my daughter taking over the driving duties with this one? We've put her behind the wheel a couple of times last year on Dousman's practice track and have mixed emotions on what we've seen. Yeah, Sam was dirt slow the first few times in it himself. I can remember when he was scared stiff to finally go on the big track and drive with other people around him. No more than a couple of times out and he was right in the groove of things. My Daughter on the other hand is telling me that she needs a larger track to drive on so she can "stretch her legs" a bit. Pretty reassuring, but I told her it's a whole different ballgame when there's other people out there with you from many different classes. All we can do is try her out. If she does well and wants to do it, she gets the seat. If not, I sell it and I also get my tire person back for the season.

Well, unless something earth shattering happens with us like me getting a call from the Renault F1 team looking for a test driver, or my son signs on as the youngest driver in history to race for a Formula BMW team, this should be my last post for a while. Thank you again, goes out to everyone who has helped us and showed up at the track to lend support in this first season. We can't wait to see you all again in '06.

The sum of it all... a recap of our first season and what we've learned

God I'm glad it's over! Something that a self-proclaimed race fanatic like myself would never dream of saying. It's just been a long season and I'm happy that it's finally finished. My lawn and my house, (both being in sad states of disrepair) are more than thankful too.

With 18 championship point races and 1 race outside of the series, we've spent a lot of time at the track this past summer and have met a lot of great people along the way. We've had some frustration in our first few times out, and worked very hard to get to where we finished today. Without the help of people like Willie and Pete Kootstra we would have never excelled as quickly as we did. And the days were a lot more fun when you had people like Tom and Alex Rosenquist, and Brian and Kathya Lundy racing with you. Being involved in this sport, as well as spending time with these people and others, have taught us a few valuable lessons.

You can't take anything for granted. That's what my son and I did as we were reeling in the 5th place driver in points and pulling away from 7th. We knew that fifth was going to be a stretch, but we also knew that at the pace we were going, and the fact that we were beating him easily over the past few weeks, it would only be a matter of time before we'd catch him. It ended up being too little, too late. All it took was one bad finish on our end and one great weekend for them to drop us out of contention.

We also felt pretty confident in our 6th place spot. Our lead was mounting on his friend Kathya and with all of the bad luck they had been experiencing we pretty much thought it was in the bag. Well it was, that was until the last race when they pulled a rabbit out of their hat and were running like they were on rails. Nothing that we could do would allow us to catch them. With 30 points between the two of them, all she had to do was finish 3 karts ahead of us and the championship spot was hers. Seeing that she had done that easily in the two heat races before the feature we knew we had some work, and good old fashioned praying to do. Lady luck was on our side as she did finish ahead of us but Sam managed to only allow 1 kart to get between them. She finished fourth with us in sixth place giving us 6th spot in the points out of 16 total drivers. Not bad for his first time behind the wheel. I truly couldn't be more proud of him.

A good time is what you make of it. It's alright to be very competitive, but at this level with this young of a driver you can't expect everything from them. And in this day and age of people being as busy as they are and never being able to find time to do anything as a family, Isn't just being involved in something that brings all of you together enough? Some people that I've come to know this season either didn't know this, or lost all comprehension of it. I've got an axe to grind on this one and will explain more of this later.

I've always loved racing. Everything about it. The thing that I love the most about it now is that at this level there is something for everyone to do. It can be something as small as cleaning tires after every session out on the track. A job my 9 year-old daughter has taken very seriously. You don't find this type of value in Soccer, Baseball, or Football. Like I've said before, if you're not part of the coaching staff you'll sit on the sidelines with no real involvement. While this may be perfectly fine with some parents, it doesn't sit well with me. I've always been a hands-on person, and I want to have an active role in my kids interests. I say that tongue-in-cheek because I know there's probably never going to be a day when you see me execute a perfect back handspring, or Tap Dance my way into the history books with my daughter. She's voiced her interest in driving, and I'll have plenty of help and support for her should she want to race. I just think that multiple cartwheels at my age is not such a good idea.

Getting back to the fun part. Years of racing on my own has given us an advantage in this first year. It's helped us avoid a lot of the learning curve problems that are normally associated with being new to the sport. This I feel has saved us a lot of anguish, allowing us more time to just have a blast. We set out this year to just have fun. Anything else was gravy as they say. With the exception of a few tough moments, there were never any times that he got out of the kart without a smile on his face. And regardless of how he did on the track, I was usually beaming myself. There's a 2-cycle class that usually races a few classes before us that I watched almost every chance I'd get. The kids ranged in age from about 12 to 15 years old. Before every race they ALL would knock fists or shake each other's hand, wishing each other good luck. A little friendly smack talk would occur sometimes too. After each race they would come in and be smiling from ear to ear, laughing it up and shaking hands in congratulation with each other. It did'nt matter if you were first or last, they ALL got together and did this. Race after race. Weekend after weekend. I had as much fun watching this as they had doing it. I can only hope that my son is involved with a group like this, and can show this type of sportsmanship as he gets a little older.

For the most part, everyone is willing to help. The racing community as a whole is made up of many different types of people. There are people that have money and all the right equipment, and there are others scraping by with what little they have. Regardless of what demographic they fall into, the one thing that they have in common is a love for the sport and a willingness to help anyone who needs it. If you would break down or crash, there would most likely be someone there to help you get it back together or loan you the parts to do it. This is something that I came to realize years ago when I drove Formula Ford and had my share of teething problems. It was also apparent when my son had his big crash this season. I was overwhelmed with the outpouring of generosity from people in his own class that volunteered their help, parts, and even an entire kart! That's right, one of the fathers of a driver in our class actually offered to have his child sit out the day so we could drive their kart and chase after the points. How's that for generosity?

This looks like too much fun to be on this side of the fence! I thought I had it out of me, but the bug must still be there. I thought that wrenching on Sam's kart was going to be enough for me but it just isn't. I gotta' get back in this thing myself. Dont get me wrong, I learned a lot. Had a ton of fun doing it. But a return to the driver's seat would be nice. I don't know how I'd do it. Aside from the financial commitment, the time needed to prepare two if not three karts could make it impossible. The only shot I may have is that Pegasus Auto Racing Supplies is close to inking a distributorship deal with Reynard Karts. If this happens, I might just have to get one. I mean, how can we succesfully market and sell something if you don't have first hand knowledge of it. I'd be taking one for the team here. I'd be the sole person in the newly formed R&D department conducting crucial information gathering sessions to determine the viability of this chassis' success. Or at least that's what I need my wife to believe!

Whatever you do, never live through your children. You'll just flat out look like a fool when things don't go your way and you have one of your hissy fits! Yes, hissy fit. A childish phrase for childish people.

If you got the snot kicked out of you as a kid. If you finished in last place in everything you did. Don't be a drill sargeant and get up in your kid's grille every time they don't live up to YOUR standards. This is the section about those people that I told you I would explain more about. I'm firmly planted on my soap box and some of this may not be pretty, so have the kids leave the room and if you can't handle brutal honesty, hit the escape button. This is also the time when I must say the opinions expressed here are my own and in no way reflect the opinions of my son, my family, Pegasus Auto Racing Supplies, or any Firefighter or Fire Department in the country.

We've all seen it. Mothers and Fathers at little league games getting way too into things. A hockey dad kicking the teeth out of the coach because he benched his kid. Soccer parents attacking the referee for a bad call. These are all real good ways to teach your kid that it's ok to just go up and floor someone who you feel did you wrong. And we blame video games for this?. What get's real disturbing to me is when the aggression is directed at your own child for not performing to YOUR standards. I had very high hopes for Sam this year, and I'm proud to say he met them. But I never forced him into it. We had many occassions when he did'nt perform as we'd expected. And I knew that he was dissappointed enough himself so what would I gain by riding him? I'm not implying that I'm a psychologist or anything. It's just common sense to think that if someone comes down on their kid time after time, regardless of how well or poor they did, in due time they'll just give up! I mean if you're getting crucified either way, why try? I hope this doesn't happen to one driver from our class who seems to go through this more than usual. He's a great kid. all the other kid's seem to like him too. I just get the idea that his dad is all business and doesn't allow him to horse around with any of the others. You know, just being a kid. And look out if something goes wrong for them! It doesn't even have to be his son's fault. He could be a product of circumstance and have no real way to avoid it and the guy would literally bring his son to tears. I've seen it week in and week out. Most of what this guy did this season really angered me and drove me to this tangent.

I remember one time his son had gotten tagged on the start of a race and spun the kart. This relegated him to last place and he never really could recover. I had been one of the first people down pit road when the race ended and noticed that he was crying before his dad even got there! He knew what was coming, and I didn't catch everything, but his father's first words were "What the hell did you do!" Not, what happened? or anything like that. What did YOU do. This happened all too often. It all culminated into one event last weekend where for the first time I had a hard time minding my own business and not wanting to just break this guy's jaw. His son tangled with another kart that was pretty much off the pace of the rest of us. A backmarker if you will. I'm standing on the infield at turn one when I heard the contact and went running to see if they were ok. His son's kart had a seriously bent spindle which prohibited his turning the wheels so nonetheless his session was over. When Mr. Personality arrived he proceeded to verbally assault the other father shouting profanity right in front of both kids! He was screaming so loud I was sure the people down pit road could hear him over the karts. In his own charming way he was telling them that if they couldn't drive faster they should get the #U@! off the track. This is the kind of stuff that real men and strong families are made of. A definite role model I'm sure.

Aside from his obvious chemical imbalance, the other thing that bothered me was the fact that he had worn a "Proud to be a Firefighter" T-shirt once or twice to the track. Not a "Proud to know a..." or "Proud to be related to..." But suggesting that he was proud to be one. I don't know. With a personality like that I feel moved to paraphrase Senator Lloyd Bentsen's comment to Dan Quayle when I say "I know Firefighters. I serve with Firefighters. You sir, are no Firefighter." Yeah we aren't perfect either. I've known a few who lack some moral fiber but for the most part they're real good people. None of the guys in my house would ever treat people, much less their own kids that way. And yes we talk like sailors but never in front of children. I just bring this up because I take this job and this lifestyle very seriously and I hate to see shmucks like him screw it up. What he does to his family is his business. I'll give him that. It's when he's a bad representation of something important to me that he really rubs me the wrong way.

He's just a bad sport. A rotten individual who is obviously more concerned with what he's getting out of this than his son. I've been involved in racing for over 20 years now and never have I met a person who embodies the lack of sportsmanship and integrity that this guy has. He's kind of like the Bill Romanowski of the karting world.

I've wasted enough breath on this topic. I've now stepped down, My rant is over.

In Closing. The biggest lesson I've learned is you never really have any control over the outcome. The best of set-ups can be washed away in a bad start. As smooth as your driver is, there's always an erratic driver who could take him out. You just have to let the chips lay where they fall. Some days you're on, some you're off. If you can't always finish the day saying you had a good time, maybe it's time to move on.

What I want and don't want? I want us to do better next year in whatever class we decide to run in. I think Sam has earned it and deserves it. He's definitely proven that he can run with kids who have been driving much longer than him. I really think he has the talent to go further and can't wait to see what next season brings. What I don't want is to ever be so consumed with winning that I turn into Mr. Personality or anything resembling him. If anyone ever sees a trace of that emerging in me just beat me with a brick. I'll forgive you.

I want to thank alot of people for this season. Mainly my wife Lori who reluctantly went ahead with this idea. At first it was the investment, then safety issues, but ultimately she agreed to allow us to give it a try. She was also my timer, bookkeeper, scheduler, and the only person I could rely on to help me get the kart on and off the stand. My daughter Abi who put up with Sam, Sam, Sam, and karting, karting, karting, for 7 months. She also did a great job of cleaning the tires after every session and truly showed interest in learning how to work on other ends of the kart as well. Chris and Carla Heitman and Pegasus Auto Racing Supplies for helping us do this and do it right. John Haydon Jr. for his insight into many technical issues as well as his help in driver development. Reagan Vehring of 4-Cycle Central for his engines and all of the little things that he takes for granted that were of such value to us. And to all my friends and family who have shown their support by stopping by and cheering him on. This really motivated him. We hope to see you all again next year.

Mike Marmurowicz

We did it!

Last Sunday my race season came to an end. The final count is in, and I finished 6th in the standings with just 11 points over my friend Kathya. Let me tell you it wasn't easy.

We arrived at the track with the same settings that we had used a couple of weeks earlier. My dad said everything was identical to what we had used the weekend that I got my 4th place finish. Aside from the weather being just a bit cooler, we had thought the kart would perform the same way. Not only were we wrong, but bad luck had followed us to the track from last weekend. First we missed our opening practice round, and then my dad forgot to put my transponder* in the kart so we finished last in the first heat race. No matter what we tried we could not get in front of Kathya or Taylor, two drivers that I normally battle with. At the finish of the second heat race, Kathya finished 3 karts ahead of me. My dad told me that if we finished in the same order in the feature, she would take 6th place in the points away from me. Going into this weekend we only held a 30 point lead on her.

We changed gears on the kart and went one tooth lower hoping it would get us off the corners quicker. We stayed with the jet and setting on the carb and just hoped that we could either beat her, or not let more than 2 karts seperate us at the finish. We had one more problem that we couldn't fix. My friend Sam who comes to our track to race every once in a while was here this weekend. He's not running in the points like most of us are, but he is pretty fast himself. In the morning, he was always ahead of me in practice and in the heat races. If I was to ever catch Kathya or stay with her, I needed to get by Sam.

I was gridded 7th for the Feature right behind Sam, with Kathya gridded 4th. When my dad and I talk before every race, he tells me how important the start is. This time it was VERY important. He told me to relax, think, find an opportunity, and then take it. With only 8 laps in the feature, and all of the karts being so close in power, you can't wait too long to make a move. My lucky break came right after the green flag. We were all scrambling for position into turn 1 when Sam got spun out by our friend Kodiak. This put him far behind so I could concentrate on Kathya.

The gear seemed to help as I could stay pretty close to Taylor who was in front of me, and Kathya who was in front of him. We were running 4, 5, and 6, nose-to-tail the entire race but I never had any real chance to pass either one of them. My dad told me no more than 2 karts could be in between Kathya and me so I was happy just where I was. The checkered flag fell and we were still in that order. Although it looked like we had done it, the first 4 karts had to go to tech** to be torn down. If everyone came out legal, we would have 6th. If anyone other than Kathya was found illegal, and she moved up as far as second place, she would have us by 5 points. It ended up with everyone legal, and us taking 6th place in the championship.

I had a lot of fun this season. I made a lot of new friends and I can't wait for next season to start already. We aren't sure what class we will compete in next year. Most of my friends from this class are moving up to Briggs Animal***. My dad is thinking that we should go to a 2-cycle class but we haven't decided for sure yet. We'll probably have to get a new kart since it looks like my frame is bent from the accident that I had this year so we have our work cut out for us.

I want to thank my Mom, Dad, and sister who have helped me this year. Chris and Carla Heitman of Pegasus Auto Racing Supplies for all of my parts. Regan Vehring of 4-Cycle Central who builds my engines. Frank from OMP, and all of my friends and family who have been to the track to see me. We had a lot of fun and I can't wait for next year. See you then.

Sam


* A Transponder is a timing device that is attached to your kart and sends a signal back to timing & scoring. A number is assigned to the unit that is yours. When it goes past the tape at the start/finish line you are then scored.

** Tech is a place that the top finishing karts go to when a race is finished. Not always are they karts torn down. Sometimes they just go there for a few minutes after the race to give someone an opportunity to protest them if they feel they may have something illegal in them. When they tear them down they may check cylinder heads, carbs, or restrictor plates.

*** Briggs Animal is an overhead valve engine. This is one of the newest racing engines that Briggs and Stratton make. This is the engine that is taking the place of the "Flathead" motor that we use. In a few years you will not see this engine at the track anymore, it will be all Animals.

"You have to learn to take the bad with the good" by Mike Marmurowicz

That's what I had to explain to him as we drove home on Sunday. He was pretty disappointed and he had every right to be. For the past few weeks we have been enjoying a very good streak of success. He's managed to keep his two closest rivals behind him, and make a steady gain on the 5th place spot in the championship run. And the kart could do no wrong. It seemed like all set-ups were working fantastic. Not even a twitch in any corner. But when you're on top we all know you can't stay there forever, and then there's only one place you can go.

This was one of the coldest race days we've had since the season began in April. Partly cloudy all day and a stiff breeze made it feel much cooler than the 55 degrees that it was. Days like this do not compliment the already hard tires that we are required to run on.

From the start, he was sliding around like no other time I've seen. Albeit everyone else was skating around corners too, we looked to have been experiencing more than our share. I loosened up the kart to the point of nearly having the rear bumper fall off and had some results, but not to what I'd like. I'd go up and down with tire pressures and find some relief but I'd still watch him "dirt track" through turn one when everyone else seemed to be handling much better. It was even pondered that the crash he had last week may have bent the frame.

Unlike an automobile, a kart's steering geometry is designed to lower the inside front spindle stub (pushing this wheel down), and to raise the outside front spindle stub and raise this wheel when it is steered into a corner. This "jacking effect" contributes to the inside rear tire lifting off the track in turns. Since karts have a solid rear axle, if this did not happen, there would be too much speed scrubbed off when you would make turns. We found that when we turned the wheel to the left as opposed to the right, both front tires remained on the ground which suggests either a bent spindle, or a "tweaked" frame. Since I had no spares with me, we had to continue with what we had.

Our share of good and bad moments came in the heat races, but the real heartbreak happened in the feature. He was gridded seventh of eight starters, inside of the last row, and he was not very happy to say the least. That changed when about 4 karts spun in turn two of the first lap and he slipped through the mess to claim 4th spot. He looked strong and held the spot for a couple of laps but when his friend Zach snapped a spindle, lost his wheel and crashed, Sam spun right behind him. It took a minute for it to register that the engine had stalled and he was parked in the middle of the turn. While he tried to push himself out of harm's way, I was high tailin' it over to him to try and restart the kart. It was too little too late as he had already gone down a lap to the leaders. Luckily for us one other kart bowed out and gave us 6th place in the end. The hard part was that the team we had hoped to chase down 5th place in the points had now secured this spot in the standings with a 3rd place finish. His friend Kathya who occupies 7th spot in the points finished 5th so now our lead going into the last race (3 toss-out finishes included) is now just 31 points over her.

What was also disappointing for us was the fact that we had a crowd of employees, and the owners themselves, of Pegasus Auto Racing Supplies on hand. It really would have been nice to share a little better experience with them. No big deal though as fun was had by all who came regardless of what went on out on the track. Being surrounded with people who have been involved in auto racing for many years also helps when it comes to brainstorming little ideas of advantages that might be conjured up. Chassis settings, airflow, you name it. All of this was discussed and some of them were applied. I know that I learned something. I just hope we can use it to our advantage next week.

What a Roller Coaster Ride!

From personal bests to very disappointing lows, this weekend was one heck of a roller coaster ride. What started out as a fantastic test day on Friday, turned into a bad morning's worth of practice on Sunday.

We couldn't believe it. All Friday we were in the low 48's and ended with a couple of solid 48:00 laps. Deciding to do nothing other than put fuel in it for Sunday, we found ourselves back in the 49 second range. We were losing ground to a couple of drivers that I had to stay in front of if I was ever going to finish this season where I'd like to. Although I told my dad to leave the gears and everything else alone on the kart, he had his work cut out for him trying to find another 3 or 4 tenths of a second at least.

Once we got to the heat races everything started to work out for us. I was running up with my friend Alex and doing real good. My times were coming down and it looked like we were headed in the right direction. Things looked to be going our way again finally. That was until the second heat race.

All I can remember is spinning around in the air real fast and stopping even faster when I hit the hay bales. That's right, I finally had that "big one" that my dad told me I would eventually have. He told me that no one goes through a racing career without having a spin, or a crash or two. He's had them and I was bound to have one too. I remember beating Taylor, who drives the number 7 kart, onto the front straight. When I went to line myself up for turn one, we touched and both of us crashed at full speed. My dad said that even with my neck collar on, my head had been snapped in so many directions that he thought I had broke my neck. They red-flagged the race and had to take about 10 minutes to clean the track up, remove the karts, and get me off the track after they checked me out.

We went back to our pit and I sat down to rest. My neck was a little sore and I had a headache but I still felt ok to race. My dad said if I didn't feel good we could pack it up and head home. The kart was pretty messed up so it didn't matter too much to him. He either had a lot of work to do here or at home, and him and my mom were worried that I had hurt myself more seriously. I told them that I felt fine and we chose to stay.

Several broken or bent parts later we had something that looked pretty close to the kart that we started this day out with. The only thing that we couldn't touch was my rear bumper. It was bent so bad that to even loosen it might snap the bolts and end our day. After all you can't run without a bumper. Those are the rules.

We had so much hay, grass, dirt, and stones packed into every corner of the kart we thought we were going to be spilling things all over the track if we made it out for our feature. My sister and mom went to work on the wheels and tires, and my dad and I pulled everything we could reach out of the bodywork. With minutes to spare until we had to get to the grid, we were done. Off to the pump-around and then to find out where I'm gridded in the field.

We started seventh out of nine karts in my class. I was gridded on the inside of row 4 with a slower kart in front of me and a fast line of karts on the outside. I decided to follow the kart on the outside through turn one since I might lose too much time trying to find a way around the driver in front of me. It worked, and I was in 5th place by the next turn. I was right on Taylor's rear bumper for the entire race and was having a real hard time getting around him. He's faster than me on the straights but he's much slower on the inside of the track where all of the turns are. The problem is that he's always in my way and never leaves me much room to try and pass. That changed when we came up on back traffic. I went to the inside of the kart in front of us and Taylor went to the outside. The slower kart had moved over a bit when I came through and then slowed Taylor, giving me 4th place. This happened on the white flag lap and all that I had to do was not make a mistake and my first 4th place finish was mine. He never caught up with me and that's how we finished.

My Grandparents and my Aunts were there to see this. Everyone was very happy and proud. This was a great way to end a weekend that started out good, got bad, and then got even worse. Of all the places that I had to crash, I had to do it right in front of my mom. My dad had seen the whole thing too but it was my mom that really got shaken up. My dad said it takes a lot of courage to bounce back from something like this. To do it AND take 4th place is just great!

One last thing that my dad and I have to say is Congratulations to Pete and Willie Kootstra. Pete locked up the championship on Sunday with his win over Zach Hawley. With two races left my friends Zach and Alex are looking like the next close battle. We're all pretty close to one another in points so it can be anybody's guess where we will finish.

9/11/2005 Points Race #15

(Dad's filling in on this one)

With the start of the school year, and the amount of homework already being sent home with our kids, the last thing I wanted to do was make Sam sit down and do a paper on this last race weekend. To be honest, he's been fighting me every Sunday night when we return home on this one. This website originated out of two ideas that I had. The first and foremost reason was to have a conduit for Sam to tell his story on all of our experiences in this first year of karting. The second reason was to help him understand the PR end of things. I know he's only a kid but you've got to start somewhere right? It would also help him hone his writing skills. His mother and I have been trying to work with him on that for some time now and I thought if he had something pretty cool to write about he'd enjoy doing it. Not exactly. Well enjoy the vacation son, you get a hall pass this week. I've got it covered for now but I expect you'll be back behind the pen next time.

It figures with my luck that the last two weeks we were off the weather would be just beautiful. Seventies, no humidity, just perfect. But the day we would return to the track it would be in the nineties, and humid! Our day started out fantastic. No real additions or demon tweaks were performed, so to go out in the first practice session and rattle off a 47.40 lap amazed us all. And when I say all, I mean not only us but the father of our class points leader. See we don't spend a lot of time up front running with the guys who consistently finish first through third. But with Sam beating one of our faster guys two weeks ago at Road America, and him nipping at the heels of Pete in this session, those days may not be very far away. He is definitely showing that he's much more in control and comfortable with kart. Now if we can work on our starts and our consistency, we'll have it made.

All practice sessions and heat races went well. Consistently in the 47 second range and ahead of who he needs to beat to stay in 6th place in points and possibly take 5th. He was gridded 5th for the feature and had just a lousy start. By the time they all got through the first turn Sam was in last place. He tells me that everyone just chops you off, bumps and pushes you, and pretty much man handles you once that flag drops. I'd tell him to start dealing it back to them but with our class being under probation and certain individuals who whine for just about every minor infraction that one could commit, I think we'll take the passive route. At least for this season. Once back in his stride again he regained 6th position and pretty much stayed there for the whole race. The driver in 5th made it a point to make himself as wide as possible, and the 4th place driver was so erratic all over the course that he had his work cut out to try and pass them. The 5th place driver was also the one that we are chasing in the points. To get past him was our objective but when the checkered fell, we were inches short. Sam was dissapointed to say the least. He worked so hard all day at staying ahead of this kid that to finish so close behind him was heartbreaking. I reassured him that the race looked pretty exciting from where I was standing and there was no shame in 6th place. He drove the wheels off that thing to make up from his start and he broadend his lead on the 7th place driver in the process.

Back to the drawing board. We have a new carb that's going on this week and alot of testing to follow. With two weeks off until our next points race we need to get out there and get some seat time so we can jump right back in the 47's and give them all a run for their money. Some of our best weekends were preceeded by test days at the track so we're going to fully take advantage of this down time.

In closing, it's obvious to all that today is the anniversary of the terrorist attacks that happened four years ago right here on our home soil. Although it almost felt sacrilegious to be at a race track enjoying ourselves on a day like today, the realization hit me that not a single person that died on that day would want us to do anything other than that. We must never forget, nor will we ever forget what happened to our country on that day. We also have to keep in our hearts and prayers the victims and families that were affected by this cowardly attack, and be thankful to the men and women who are off defending this great country and who allow us these freedoms. What we do not need to do is alter our lifestyles and eventually live in fear. Once we do that, they've won. I'm an ultra competitive person in alot of things I do but in no way will any of them ever defeat me in this. God Bless America.

Road America: Aug. 27th & 28th

I thought this time at Road America was much better than the first time we visited the track in May. My dad kept pretty good notes from the last time here and we knew what to do and what not to do. It saved us a lot of time.

The first practice that we had went well. The second time that I went out I got sideways in a real scary part of the track and got hit by another kart. It through me off the track and my kart got stuck. It seems that the guy who crashed into me bent my side bar so bad that it stuck in the ground and would not let my kart roll. My dad had run all the way from the pits and up the hill to help me. He had a lot of work to do to repair the kart so I missed a few practice sessions waiting for him. While I waited I hung out with another driver from my class, Alex. We rode bikes and just horsed around for a while until it was time to go back out on the track again. When we finally got the kart fixed I went back out and found another kid from my class was on the track. Eliott doesn't come to a lot of our races but when he does he's usually pretty fast. My kart must have been working right because I was sticking right with him. I actually got in front of him and stayed there for an entire practice session too. This changed when Sunday came.

Sunday morning we went out and practiced and found ourselves running pretty strong. I was clearly ahead of both of the drivers that I'm battling with for 5th, 6th, and 7th place. Going into this race I was 1 point ahead of my friend Kathya, and about 70 points behind the 5th place driver, Taylor. I finished in 5th spot in both morning heat races. The second heat race I actually finished in front of my friend Alex! This doesn't happen very often as Alex is one of the fastest drivers in our class. I was really happy and very excited to get to the Feature. While we all waited for the Feature I played baseball with a bunch of the other drivers that I race with. My dad got a little angry at me for not changing first. I got my driver suit all full of grass and mud, and this was after I got my pant leg stuck in my bike's sprocket.

Finally the Feature Race! I was really excited to start this race. I was gridded 6th and I knew that we could do good. For the first couple of laps I was following Taylor and couldn't find a way to get around him. I tried on the outside of the last turn and he moved over and we touched. I finally got close enough on the next lap to race him up the straight and got in front of him before turn one. With him behind me I set my sights on Kodiak. He's another quick driver in my class that I was giving a run for his money and this weekend I was pretty close to him in my lap times. I almost caught him before the checkered flag fell. If there was another lap or two I might have passed him, but I was happy with a 6th place finish. (and ahead of Kathya and Taylor). Kathya finished 7th and Taylor finished 8th. This now puts me into 6th place in the points. I'm ahead of Kathya by 21 points and behind Taylor by 49 points. If we all finish this way for the next 4 races left in the season, I can catch him for 5th!

It was a pretty good weekend for us. The new bodywork is working fine, and my dad just installed an aluminum axle that he says helped my engine spin up faster and also lighten the kart a little more. He wasn't kidding. I went from 229lbs to 225lbs (my class minimum). We have to be very careful now so we do not come in under weight. If he doesn't put enough fuel in my tank I could actually weigh in too light and be disqualified. I think we're putting a couple of pounds of lead in it just to be safe. Luck was on our side this weekend too. After I crossed the finish line my kart sputtered and died. I rolled to the side of the track and had to get picked up by the tow truck. When my dad got the kart back he noticed that my gas tank was falling off the kart and it had spilled all of my fuel out. He said that a bolt had worked it's way out and caused this to happen. I hope we can get it fixed and not have this problem again when we return to our home track at Dousman in two weeks.

Aug. 21st: Things are changing!

New Bodywork! We were told that it was only going to make a difference on the larger tracks but something good came from using it at Dousman. I'm chasing down the 5th place guy in the point standings now that I am ahead of my friend Kathya who is in 7th place.

We came to the track on Sunday after practicing on Friday night. My dad wanted to make sure all of the new bodywork was in place and not going anywhere. I must have done 40 laps and my hands were killing me but it helped get me ready for Sunday.

In the morning practice we got off to a good start. I was comfortable with the track and got up to speed real quick. The day pretty much worked out in my favor. I had finished ahead of the two people that I'm battling in points and now took over the 6th place spot with 5th place in my sights. With only 5 points races to go it will be tough. The three of us have to finish the same way in every race for me to have a shot and it is not going to come easy.

Blackhawk Farms August 7th

Friday: When we got to the track on Friday we had 4 practice sessions. In the first session I was braking on alot of the turns, but by the second time out I was doing O.K. Now I was able to go flat out in all of the turns except for turn 4, that one I had to lift a little when I would go into it. The third and fourth sessions were fun, but nothing special. I had no one from my class there to practice with. Our dog Liz came to the track with us. She had a very hard time relaxing at the track with all of the noise going on. It was only her second time to a race track and she was upset with all of the excitement. At the end of the day we all went back to our hotel. This was liz's first time sleeping in a hotel and she slept all night. This was my first time on that track and I really enjoyed this day.

Saturday: That morning when we got to the track we were told there was only one practice session and then a race. This race by the way, was not under Badger rules, it was under CES rules and we were told that we could use a blue restrictor plate in place of our purple plate. The blue plate is much faster and I was excited to see how it would feel. When it came time to race I was running twelve seconds faster than my average time with the purple plate, Boy was I going fast! The acceleration and speed was much better. I was right up there with our club's point leader but on the last lap of the race we were side by side and our karts came together on the last turn. My kart hit the rumble strips and I spun across the track, through the grass, and came to rest near a field that had alot of bugs that were bothering me while I waited for the tow truck to pick me up. I ended up in 5th place out of 7 people in my class.

Sunday: Today we had two practice sessions and one race scheduled for us. It was a bummer knowing that I had to change back to the purple plate that I run, since today's race was under Badger's rules. Blue plates are not allowed in my class. The first time out I was back to my two minute lap times. In the second practice session I finally broke the two minute mark and got all 1.59's. During my race the times were pretty much the same. Even though we went out on the track at about 10am it was very hot already. This made the track a little slower than the past two days but I still managed to drive fast and safe, and I got my first 3rd place finish. I was still a long way away from the first and second place guys but I had alot of fun anyway. This was a good weekend for us. We learned that with the right equipment I CAN drive as quick as the front runners. I look forward to coming back here again.

July 24, 2005

Today was very hot! Over 105 degrees. The Race Director said "if the wind dies down today, we will cancel the race" I was hoping the wind would die down. It was too hot to race and I really wanted to go home.

Practice started and I did pretty good. Times were a little slow, but consistent. The track was very greasy and slippery. I had to work hard each session. My dad and I got talked to by one of the race officials because someone complained that I cut him off in a corner. He was very nice and explained the rules of passing, but I felt I did nothing wrong. The driver of the other kart said that he was along side of me going into a turn, but I did not see or hear him. I dont think he was that far up on me but it does'nt matter what I think. What happened is over. I learned my lesson. The next time he needs room to pass me, I will give him 3 kart spaces so he has plenty of room.

After my second heat I needed some rest. I was tired and had to lay down so I slept for about an hour in my dad's truck. I woke up with 2 minutes till my race, and wasn't even totally awake when we left the grid. I didn't race as good as I could have. I finished 7th and felt horrible at the end. My dad said I may of had heat exhaustion. I was hot, dizzy and my stomach hurt. I was glad this day was over and I hope my luck changes at Blackhawk in 2 weeks. Until then.

Dad's Perspective, by Mike Marmurowicz

When we started out on this little adventure of ours my family had already gone through Cub Scouts, Brownies, 4-H, Soccer, and a few other activities that you can involve your child in. All of them lasting much shorter than my memory these days. We still have to juggle the occasional 4-H meeting, Tae Kwon Do, and Gymnastics practice so combine that with your average work week and you run into a major time crisis real fast.

Enter karting. Yet another thing on our plate was not easily welcomed by my wife and I didn't blame her. First off it wasn't my son who wished to start doing this, it was me. I did take him out to Sugar River Raceway to test one afternoon in a rented kart and he did quite well and showed some enthusiasm. But we're still talking about a 10-year old child and we all know the attention spans that we're dealing with here. Still many things fed this decision to press on. Mainly the fact that I myself raced Formula Fords for years and truly wanted my son (or daughter) to be involved in motorsports. After all, we parents sit on the sidelines and watch other people coach our kids in just about everything and are relegated to spectators most of the time. We have no working knowledge of the sport or activity that they're part of so we must entrust them to others who do. What other sport could I get my family involved in where I could be the coach, and where I would have the experience to help them? Ice Hockey was the other choice but aside from equipment being spendy, teeth and stitches are pretty expensive too.

So karting it was! After all, the company that I work for just began carrying racing kart parts and was in need of someone to handle the new line and any technical questions that would come about. And what better way to become that person than to have frontline experience in racing them. I tried to sell this idea to my wife and she wasn't buyin' it. But that was my story and I was stickin' to it.

November 2004, the search begins. Just a week before Thanksgiving. We found a 6-year old CRG chassis with a Briggs & Stratton flat head engine on it. It was by far the best looking kart out of the three that the owner had for sale. The kart had a pretty decent history, looked well maintained, and came with a small assortment of spares, so home with us it went.

With winter comes the rebuilding season. One thing about being an ex-racer is that nobody else's work is ever as good as yours. Regardless of how much more experience or knowledge the previous owner had, no one can do it better than you. In addition to the brakes which needed help, I had to tear into just about everything I could, and replace alot of things that most people would have left alone. A few hundred dollars later and now my wife is having serious doubts about this. We now have another thing to take up our time and it appears it's going to take all of our money to boot.

Spring 2005, our first season. The season is almost on us and the frivolous spending is almost over. Or is it? The kart is finished but wait! no safety equipment! We need a helmet, suit, shoes, gloves, and this thing they call a rib protector. It not only helps reduce the strain imposed on one's torso from the amazing G forces that these things can generate, it also helps to protect my son from being snapped in half should he run into something and strike his steering wheel. Pretty much mandatory for junior drivers, not so much for larger soft-in the-middle guys like myself. We have nature's built-in rib protector, it's called fat!

The rubber meets the road. His first time out on the track with the new kart was a nail biter. Mixed classes for practice led to several occasions when he would pull into the pits because he was mortified of the faster traffic around him. This was unlike Sugar River where he had the track to himself. Up until now the only time he had other karts around him was at a concession track in the Wisconsin Dells and they were moving alot slower! Not more than 2 weeks later it didn't phase him anymore. His first couple of races were tough too. He didn't like the starts when everyone was bunched up, nor did he care for the amount of contact between karts on the track. Now he rubs and bumps along with the best of them. Obviously being a beginner, his times were a little erratic. It didn't matter if he was in traffic or not, he still needed to work on consistency. In just one half season he's within tenths of a second on every lap.

I can't say enough about how proud I am at his progress. He sure shows the focus and determination of someone that you would think had much more time in the seat. Just a little more polishing is all he needs right now, but I can honestly say he has already outperformed my expectations for him. I will still say it to this day that our main goal should not be the point standings or who we can beat. We're still too new to expect anything like that and I think it just leads to dissapointment. Our goal should be to go as fast as we can and maintain consistency. He's already pretty smooth. I can't recall a single race where he's spun from over driving a corner or any other self inflicted mistake for that matter. Some may say he's not going fast enough. Maybe so, maybe not. All that I expect from him is that he betters himself every time he sets foot on a track. So far he's doing just that.

The change of attitude: All bets are off! At the time of this writing I can tell you that I'm truly amazed in the change of attitude that my better half has taken. Where once I was spending too much money, We now can't spend enough to get him closer to the front. Where too much time was involved in yet another hobby, we are now planning EVERYTHING around the remaining events on the race schedule. I've never seen someone take such a wild turn before in my life. It's not just her though. I'm pretty excited too.

He is, after all, 7th place in the standings and doing better every time we go out. Can he catch the front runners? Maybe not first thru fourth, but 5th and 6th could be a possibility. It would be tough and those two might have to finish last or miss a race totally for it to happen. That's highly unlikely, but even if this rookie can ruffle the feathers of a couple of veterans I'd think that's worth the price of admission itself! We're just going to keep plugging away and be happy with what the results will bring. If we can make it through this season with much better times than when we started, keep the kart in one piece, make new friends, and learn a thing or two along the way, I'd consider us pretty successful. Upcoming posts will keep you up to date on our progress.

In closing. To anyone who might be reading this and pondering the thought of getting into karting themselves or for their children I say go for it! Don't stop. I may have said some things in this posting that would turn you off like the money I've spent or any safety issues with the sport. Forgive me if I've made you a little apprehensive, but there's no reason to be.

Pound for pound, dollar for dollar, you will not find any other form of motorsports that you and your family can enjoy for this type of investment. And the sport is very safe. Most incidents on the track involve bumps and scrapes, seldom anything more. How expensive it will be is what you make of it. You CAN be very competitive on a lower budget. There are always going to be competitors who will have every go-fast piece on their karts, have tons of spares, maybe even 3 or 4 spare motors, and will consistently be in the top five. You also have to realize that over 99% of the time it's driver effort that got them there, not the trick parts on their kart. At least in our club, things are so highly scrutinized it would be almost impossible to buy anything that will give that large of an advantage. Like our engine builder said, "about 5% of the mix is motor, 10% is chassis, and the rest is the driver". Karts for the most part do not have alot of power. The need to keep up your momentum and be as smooth as you can be around the track is critical. Tenths of seconds all add up when you take turns wrong and in your first season, you'll be taking plenty of them wrong. No go-fast gadget on the market is going to make you faster than plenty of seat time. So practice whenever you can, enter every race you can make, just keep driving and in no time you'll see improvements. Even if you paid to practice and race every weekend, and factored in all maintenance costs, you still won't be anywhere near my tire bill alone when I raced cars. So take that step, go to the Badger Kart Club's link on this page and read up on it. Check out Pegasus Auto Racing's link for good books on the subject, and to get an idea of what parts cost. Or just get out to your local track and see what all the excitement is about. I guarantee you won't be dissappionted.

July 10th

Although I've been racing for almost a half season already, Today was by far my best race all year. Make that, the best day all year.

I'm one of 5 new kids in this class and my dad and I have had a really tough time trying to get up front with the faster drivers. I always practice well, but when it comes to the heat and feature races I can only get 7th place. The next two drivers are real close but they both have more seat time than me and I can never seem to catch them. That was until this weekend.

We had the chassis set-up this morning by our engine builder and all around prep guy, Regan Vehring of 4-Cycle Central. He is great! As an engine builder, chassis set-up man, and driver coach. My dad said it had to be a whole lot of Regan and a little luck that got me my first 5th place finish in front of these two drivers. He's also very proud of how far I've come as a driver. Him and my mom were smiling for days. I hope our next race on the 24th is just as good. I'll let you know then.