Leslie, Austin, and I just returned from the Horn Rapids kart racing facility int he Tri-Cities where we spent the day racing.
The day started off a little rough. We were slow getting going and arrive at track with barely enough time to participate in one practice session before the qualifying round began.
Then things got worse. While preparing the kart for the practice session, we found that our brakes weren’t working properly. After much fussing and finally enlisting the assistance of other more mechanically inclined friends, we were able to get the cart out on the track for about 4 practice laps.
It was critical to get a few laps in before qualifying because we had just put a new set of tires on the kart and they need a few laps to cure before they are ready to be raced on.
Austin qualified third with a qualifying time 1/10th of a second slower than the top qualifier. He finished the first heat race in 3rd place in a race where the top 4 drivers raced bumper to bumper from start to finish with absolutely no passing. They were that close.
In the main event, Austin was determined to finish better than 3rd. He was all over the kart in front of him for 2/3rds of the race. There was quite a bit of bumping and rubbing between the two karts, however, parents of both kids considered the racing to be safe and clean. After Austin got past the other driver, he quickly put several kart lengths between them and finished in 2nd place.
This turned out to be one of the most exciting races that I’ve witnessed. All the kids had a great time (even the one that Austin passed).