Third Place after three Regionals

The third event of the IKF Region 7 Championship series came to our home Phoenix Kart Racing Association track on March 3 and 4.  Our confidence heading into the event was very high after strong runs at Perris and El Cajon and a good tune-up practice at PKRA.   As usual, however, Murphy was lurking in the wings.  Having run with the leaders during the morning practice, the kart pulled up mysteriously lame during qualifying and Carl was only able to manage an eighth position, a full second off Caleb Sandens pole time.

Long faces and no solutions, so we ran the kart with just chassis adjustments in the heat.  The results confirmed that we were still off the pace with Carl barely able to cling to 7th - no power to pass.   A real shame since he pulled off a great hole shot at the start.

After consultation with Pete, we decided to change the engine configuration and we tore into it.  While removing the pipe, we noticed a crack in our Prototype Superdyne pipe and upon further examination, the crack turned out to be two cracks almost severing the pipe.  Eureka, now we know what the problem was.  Putting the thing back together and bolting on our old pipe, we went off the the main with some new confidence.

At the end of the first lap, Carl was holding down 8th place and then he started to move.  Next lap was 7th, then 6th and then came a three lap tussle with Alex Pruett.   Always tough, Carl took two tries to get around Alex and then had to hang on for two more laps as Alex clung stubbornly to the rear bumper.  Finally, a few quick corners and little Superdyne horsepower got Carl a run on fifth place David Thompson.   Recall that the first three regional races had Carl finishing just behind David and you can picture the determination not to let it happen again.  About lap 15, Superdyne power once again got the job done with a nice sling shot drafting move and fourth place in hand.  Sadly, our Superdyne team member Chris Spreitzer slowed dramatically and quickly faded from the second spot, giving everybody a bump up.   Finishing third behind Eric Humphries and Wade moved Carl solidly into third place in the region after three of the six races.

We are looking forward to Santa Maria next month where we have traditionally done well racing as well as enjoying the Santa Maria ladies of the Moose barbecue.