October 19, 2005

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.

October 12, 2005

"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.

October 03, 2005

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.