Karting 2010

While I was busy this morning, feeling sorry for myself, telling Jenna I had nothing here to post because my Kart was mostly broken all year, she pointed out that this was G-Fab, that's pretty much what happens when you're in G-Fab. So, welcome to me being a REAL official member of G-Fab, where something broke down on my kart every event except one. Yaaaay.

After getting smoked at the end of last season by Eric Krueger (and Ian) and Paul Bowin, I came back this year with the misapprehension that this season was going to be different. Again, aside from one event, I pretty much got smoked by everyone this season too! You know things aren't going well when your idea of doing awesome is beating a 15-year-old girl at an event (hey, it was a challenge!) However, I'm going to totally blame my kart for almost EVERYTHING bad that happened this year.

The season started out pretty well, with Mr. Awesome Paul Klein delivering some Road Racing take-offs for my use, which improved my traction about elevently-billion percent. Paul also proceeded to bolt on various things, and remove other various things from my kart, thereby changing the handling entirely from "Meh", to "Meh++." We experimented the first two events with camber, castor, seat angle (and by "We," I mean that I handed Paul tools while he did all the work) and got it to where he pronounced it "Pretty OK." I think he was just being charitable.

While Paul did useful things like that, I drained all of the WATER out of the brake lines, thereby giving the Kart a reliable brake system. Hey, brakes work now, maybe that's why I'm slow. Before I couldn't stop if I had to, now maybe I'm stopping too much? MORE GO PEDAL.

The first event at Devens started off promising, only to have the kart go from full power to "Jingle jingle crunch" no power. Investigation revealed I had somehow broken the drive gear on the back of the clutch basket, something that both Eric K and Paul B assured me they'd never seen before. At least the clutch itself was OK. A quick visit to TSRacing.com, some clutch rebuilding by Paul B, and I was back in business. NHMS event went OK, no major problems. No major results either, but, hey, I'm still learning, right?

Someone told me last year that the only real expensive things to replace on a Kart were the engine and the clutch. Guess what? Yup, roasted the clutch during the July Devens event. It felt kinda slippy on launch from the start, and as I proceeded around the course, I found I was proceeding slower and slower, until I finally just pulled off the course since I was going about 8mph at full throttle, and even I can eventually tell when something's broken. Disassembling the clutch down at Paul Bowin's place later that week found two totally destroyed discs inside, and that the key that holds the clutch in place had sheared, allowing the clutch to wiggle all over the place and "make bad stuff happen." One clutch rebuild later (thanks Paul B) and it was back to NHMS for RAL weekend! I had high hopes! Ha. Ha ha ha ha.

Good news: The "new" DXL clutch worked great! No more leaks, more grab on launch, good power transfer. Bad news? I had no full-power at various times of the day. I picked up an intermittent power cut-out at full throttle part way through the first day of runs at NHMS. I checked the fuel pickup, spark plug, coil wires. Cleaned various bits. No good, still had power issues. No full power in a Kart is kind of bad. However, PJ seemed to have no issues, as he took my Kart out for a buncha runs, and set the FTD for Saturday. Nice to know the Kart is fast, and it's ME that's slow.... I have GOT to lose 25lb somewhere. I could cut off a leg maybe...

Still, RAL Saturday night was totally awesome, hanging out in the "Karting Pavillion", playing Forza on my 360 and the Bowin's little TV (with steering wheel and pedals and everything) being shushed and threatened with eviction from the site by NHMS site security, playing Beer Pong, playing Beer pong with KATHY, and finally partying with the NHMS site director who essentially told security to STFU. Top that off with taking one for the team for Jenna and PJ by making sure *I* got stopped by the police on the way back to the hotel instead of them (which was really a good thing) and not getting a ticket. RAL Saturday certainly lived up to expectations.
RAL Sunday? Grrrrrr. Kart still had power issues. Top that off with having to wait until MUCH later in the day than I would have liked to run, which meant that, yup, we got to Kart in the RAIN. A Lot of Rain. On Slicks. No, I did not have a set of rims to mount my rain tires on yet, shut up! I started off the runs pissed by all the rain, and the power issues, and FuckTheWorldThisSucks, and ended up having a lot of fun. I couldn't use full power in the rain at NHMS anyway, and I could power-brake and gas and get the kart to turn a lot better than I expected in the wet conditions. Sure, I was wet. Sure, I came through the Carousel turn and a WAVE of water landed in my lap. WTF, I didn't care at that point. I finished off the day with a (wet) smile. Driving home with a pile of flapping tarps and covers on the trailer behind me? I'm sure the other drivers thought it was hilarious.

September 26th, 2010 - A day that will live... in INFAMY. Attack of the Cones. Weather was nice. Loaded up Karts and trailered out to Devens. Had done some with carbs on the assumption that the power issues were fuel-related, so I cleaned filters, blew out lines, got it all back together with no parts left over. By my second run, it was clear that it hadn't made any difference. That and the most kart-unfriendly course did wonders for my mood, but whatever, I pushed on trying to fix various things. No luck. I was losing probably 1-2 seconds on a lap on stuttering, coasting, and not having power where I needed it, only to have it BLAST BACK ON mid-corner or some stupid crap like that. Well, fine, I was just gonna drive it out and pack it up. And then... IT happened. I launch on a run, and 1/4 of the way into the run, my STUPID PROSTHETIC EYE jumps out of my face. Yeah, there, I said it. I thought it was still in my helmet, but really, I had no idea where it was, so you can imagine my time wasn't great when I couldn't concentrate too well at all. Stopping briefly after the finish line confirmed I did not have said eye in my possession, which meant it was ON COURSE somewhere.

I can't even begin to explain the look on Paul Bowin's face when I pulled back into the Kart grid, with one hand over the miss eye-socket, and said, "You need to stop the event, I lost my eye." You can probably picture the look he had, since he didn't realize I had a PROSTHETIC eye, and probably saw the Kart program going down the tubes and the story by-line in the paper, "Competitor loses eye in Go-Kart race." I will also say I've never seen Paul Bowin run faster, ever. The looks on the faces of Stacey, Brian L and a lot of other people were, in hindsight, pretty hilarious. Bob Lang had the privilege of getting on the course radio, and telling corner workers to go out and walk the course to look for a prosthetic eye on course somewhere.

I had the mishap at corner 1. The stupid eye was found at the OTHER END of the course, by someone with some prosthetic eye experience in his circle of friends, was recovered, and was back where it's supposed to be shortly after. When I returned to the pits, Paul Bowin was looking much more human than he had been before he knew what really happened.

I apologized to a lot of people, accepted a lot of good-natured jokes at my expense, and found a new use for duct-tape.

So, yeah, that was my season. Never had a well-running kart, and lost pieces of my body on course. How's your season?