May 10th and 17th at Badger Raceway netted us two fourth place finishes in HPV Junior. What sounds and looks good on paper though isn't always how it seems.
Sunday May 10th was virtually our first time out on a dry track so it took us some time to find our legs again. Several new drivers have found their way to our class this season and they are proving to be very fast right out of the box. A definite damper on the seasoned veterans that we feel we are. But like they say, you're only as good as your last race. There's always someone trying to knock you off the hill. The race was pretty uneventful with us taking our spot behind the top three, almost a half second off their pace.
Sunday May 17th was a particularly hard day on us as well. We struggled to find speed all morning. Compounded with the fact that an old nemesis in the form of a stubborn carburetor had reared its ugly head, we fought an uphill battle against our competition because of this. A rebuild proved fruitless as his low speed bobble was still prevalent. I think this is why the faster, smarter, and sometimes richer teams have multiple carburetors. I'm shopping for another as we speak.
If there was any reassurance that we still have plenty to keep our chin up about it was in Sam's driving. Smoothness and paying attention to detail is really beginning to show. He held off the fifth place finisher in his last race for several laps and this driver wasn't behind him, she was ON him. This driver's kart was clearly faster than us but what we gave up in performance he more than compensated for in skill, a cool head, and a reluctance to give an inch. On several occasions she would drive right up alongside him to only relinquish the line at the last minute. At the stripe, the difference between the two of them was two one-hundredths of a second. It was a great race in my book even if it wasn't for the win.
