It has been over three months since the last blog entry for J&D2 Racing so we will get you caught up on all of the racing action from the last entry through the end of the season at Stafford Motor Speedway.
8/17/09 at Stafford Motor Speedway
This was the annual Family Fun Night event for the Wild Thing Kart Series. We were able to get free passes for some of the local families. If you came, we hope you and your family had a good time. It was a hot day, but the racing was good. D started 4th of 6 in his heat race, but finished 6th. He started 2nd of 6 in the second feature race and finished there. It was a nice recovery from the heat race. Because of all of the games and action on the midway after the Tiger B heat races, racing was stopped so all could join in on the fun.
So, J & S didn’t have heat races, instead the features for both were lined up by the overall point standings with the top 5 positions inverted. J started 4th of 8 and finished 5th. Not a great night for the #95 Tiger A driver.
S started 14th of 15 in his feature, got spun down the back stretch and backed the kart up against the wall. This flat-spotted the left rear rim, but the tire was still holding air so he was able to stay in the race. A few laps later, S got into another kart in turns 3&4. This bent the right front spindle. After the track workers stepped on it to bend it back into shape a little, the race continued. The kart ran like junk, but it was good enough for a 10th place finish. Not a great night for J&D2 Racing, but it was fun.
8/24/09 at Stafford Motor Speedway
D started 2nd of 7 in the first heat and finished in 6th, so he started 3rd of 7 in the second feature race. D finished 5th. J started 4th of 10 and finished 7th in his heat, so after starting 7th in the feature, he was only able to pickup one spot to finish 6th. S started 3rd of eight in the first heat. The kart was tight coming out of the turns and S got to watch karts pass him one-by -one in the eight lap heat and end up finishing 7th. This put him in the 13th starting spot of 15 karts in the 15 lap feature. S ended up finishing where he started. This was probably the worst night across the board for J&D2 Racing this season, but things get better.
8/29/09 at 106 Racepark, Pembroke, NH
This was suppose to be the 4th race in the Saturday Night Live series, however, rain caused this race to be cancelled and rescheduled on 10/25. Grandma & Grandpa from North Dakota were with us for the next 4 races.
8/30/09 at Sugar Hill Speedway, Weare, NH
We hadn’t raced at Sugar Hill yet this year and since one of the Triple Crown events was to be held here, we wanted to get some time at this track. J started and finished 4th of four for his heat race. J contended for the lead, but fell back in the last two laps for some unknown reason. Starting 4th, it only took about 4 laps to before J pulled his kart to the infield as he kept loosing ground to the pack and was barely moving. We found after the race that J’s rear gear was worn out and the teeth had been stripped off by the chain. This was the first time this has happened so we learned something new.
D started 3rd of three in the 10 lap heat race and finished 2nd. So starting 2nd in the 25 lap feature, D stayed there for the first few laps. D was on the tail of the leader and was able to take the lead in turn 2 after the leader went wide. D held the lead for the remainder of the race to take down his first ever feature win. Congratulations D on a job well done!!
8/31/09 at Stafford Motor Speedway
For the last Monday night at SMS, D started 2nd of eight for his 6 lap heat race and ended up finishing 3rd. He started 5th in the first feature and finished a strong 4th place. J started and finished third in both the heat and feature race. S started 2nd of 7 in the heat race and finished 6th. S then started 11th and finished 12th of 14 karts. It was good for J to have podium finish and bring some hardware home.
9/4/09 at Woodstock Fair, Pomfret, CT
This was the opening day at the Fair, so practice was in the afternoon and features in the evening. J’s kart was loose coming out of the turns, especially turn 2, while D was running good for his skill level. We made many adjustments to J’s kart, but nothing worked. J stuffed his kart into the turn 2 tires on the final practice before the feature race. We had to change the right front spindle and realign the front end after the crash, but we had plenty of time so we didn’t have to rush. D drew the pole position and J second starting spot. There was only one other kart in the race. J took the lead after the green flag dropped. We’ll let you watch the rest on video.
9/5/09 at Woodstock Fair, Pomfret, CT
There were enough karts to have a Tiger “A” class and a “B” class. D started and finished 4th out of 5 karts in his 15 lap heat. Starting 4th of five in the 20 lap feature, D moved to 2nd on the first lap when two karts got together in turn two on the opening lap. D held 2nd for about the first half of the race and dropped to third. A caution flag came out and he restarted in third. He did well on the restart, but dropped to forth with two to go. A pretty good run overall. J started 1st and finished 3rd of three in his 15 lap heat. He led the first 4 laps, but the kart was still loose and hopping, especially coming out of turn 2. He couldn’t do much other than hang on. Starting third of 3 in the feature, the loose condition continued and he didn’t have much for the other karts. He finished about a half of a lap behind the other two karts. The Woodstock Fair is fun and one we look forward to. J was too loose for this track and we have made a note of it and will adjust accordingly next year.
9/13/09 at Stafford Motor Speedway
This was the final race at Stafford for the year and the first race of the Triple Crown Series. It was a nice sunny Sunday afternoon. D started 4th of eight for his 8 lap heat race. D fell to the back going into turn one because he went wide. He stayed their through the remainder of the race but picked up one spot coming out of turn 4 on the final lap to finish 7th.
S started 2nd of 8 karts in his 8 lap heat race. S took the lead after the green flag fell and held it through the half way point. The kart got tight in turn 2 and pushed out letting another kart by. S would finish comfortably in the 2nd spot.
J didn’t have a heat race as they did time trial qualifying for the feature race. J qualified 4th out of 10 karts based on time. A good strong run considering there has never been time trial qualifying for the karts at Stafford before. The Tiger Sprint class for the Triple Crown Series would run as one group made up of the “A” class and the top 6 karts from the “B” class. There were two more qualifying races for the “B” class to see who would transfer into the “A” class feature. D started 3rd of 8 in this 10 lap qualifier. D dropped back to the 7th position on the first lap, but fought back and was able to pick two karts off coming out of turn 4 on lap 5 and was able to move up to the fourth spot two laps later. D would finish in fourth which was the last transfer spot into the last qualifying race. The top four finishers from the first race stayed on the track and lined up and the tailend of the pack, so D started 12th of 12. He was able to move up and finish 8th, just two positions shy of making the “A” class feature. This finished his season at Stafford. Good Job D, you’ve improved a lot this season!! Can’t wait to see you race next year!!
So the Tiger “A” class feature was set for 30 laps instead of the normal 12 or 15 laps. J started 4th, but fell to 6th early on, but moved back up to 5th about 5 laps into the race. The caution flag fell around lap 12, so J restarted there, but fell to 6th when the kart in front of him scraped the wall and almost lost control. J moved up to 4th within the next couple of laps and the top 4 broke away from the pack. As the lead 4 karts started to lap the field, J moved into third and threaded the needle in the middle of turns 3 & 4 to take 2nd spot with two laps to go. J caught the leader as the checkered flag fell. He needed another lap or two to pass, but it was too late. A great run nonetheless to finish the year at Stafford.
S was up next in a 30 lap feature. He started 3rd of 16 and led a few laps in the beginning of the race. He ended up finishing 5th with his best race and finish of the year, but we will let you watch how it all unfolded. Enjoy!!
There was still plenty of racing action in the remainder of Sep & Oct. We'll put an update together to close out the season, so stay tuned.
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