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Some additional insight into the future plans and direction of the track:
EKN One-on-One: Scott Sutton – Summit Motorsports Management
@jdavis-403 wrote:
Yes, Greg, that is awesome news! Congrats! This is going to be a great track! I can’t wait!!!! Really happy this track is coming back. I see rentals are coming in 2017 based on what I read. Any chance to allow Test and Tunes sooner? Also maybe even a race for either CSC or CKT? Would love to see any or all of those happen this year but understand if you can’t due to insurance reasons or something.
From the article: “the track will be open to customers with their own karts and equipment on or before July 1, 2016”
Haven’t talked to Greg specifically about it so don’t know anymore detail than that. But I know they want to open for test and tune as soon as possible.
@David Fedler wrote:
Second, I would like to see an absolute elimination of any type of motorized vehicle except for karts being on a hot race track.
I wasn’t at the CSC race unfortunately, so can’t comment on it specifically.
However, as a general rule, IMO, this is an absolutely crucial safety procedure, and is non-negotiable for any karting event. We already know the potential consequences of allowing motorized vehicles to cross or operate near a kart track while the track is hot, and I think that everyone can agree that repeating the circumstances that allowed that tragedy to occur is not acceptable at any track or any event.
I have no direct experience with Reds but if you’re doing something like running the rear end super narrow to get grip with Duros, you’ll likely want to bump back out to the 54.5-55″ that most manufacturers recommend when you switch to Reds. They have enough grip to make the chassis actually work as designed.
FWIW two LO206 classes make more sense to me than three, though I’m not racing so my opinion doesn’t count. Unless someone wants to lend me a motor and tires for the last two CSCs 🙂
Bummer to hear, Richard! I really enjoyed working with you and Steph this year.
I worked with Blake Craig a ton in Vegas and he’s a great dude, definitely look him up.
@wacomme wrote:
Wow! IMI also sounds like an interesting option. OK. so out of the three choices, which one would be the best “first” track option? Keep in mind that we’ll be using the track’s rental karts. I want a track that will test my driving limits. I’ve done a little auto racing in the past, so I don’t want a kart where I hold the throttle to the floor for the entire lap. I really want a driving challenge. Thanks.
I guarantee that you’ll find any of the 3 tracks plenty challenging enough.
@Doug Haner wrote:
Jeff, I fully understand what you mean about practicing vs racing at a big track. But I think for the powers that be at HPR it’s all the same in their mind. We need to get karts allowed out there first before any regional program is going to want to even attempt to run a race out there, so I think this is definately the way to start.
Agreed that they probably aren’t going to let anyone hold a race until they’ve had a successful test day or two. But I think the focus should be on getting a race there eventually.
@Doug Haner wrote:
That being said, I think that you are right about WKA being the best option for a national sanctioning body to possibly help. Although I was thinking SKUSA might be able to due to their re-entry into Colorado regional racing. The question remains though, does anybody have any contacts in either organization that may be willing to lend a hand here?
The SKUSA regional program coming to CO would be the ideal group to hold a race at HPR. However, if HPR is just looking for input from a national sanctioning body, SKUSA (under the current national leadership) has run very few if any races on road courses. WKA makes little sense as a sanctioning body to hold a race here right now, but they do have a lot of experience running karts on road courses and probably cen best provide the HPR folks with the reassurance they seem to be looking for.
Simply driving on big tracks is boring in a kart. They’re really easy to drive and you never get tired.
However, racing on a big track is really really fun. The draft is a great equalizer, and you end up having these absurdly awesome drafting battles that go on for the entire race. To give you an example, I once raced in a SKUSA regional race at Gingerman Raceway in Michigan, a track that was much bigger than Second Creek. I qualified on pole by a second and a half, but the draft allowed two of the other guys to keep up when we went wheel to wheel. In the 30 minute main event, we had 6+ lead changes per lap every lap (sometimes multiple lead changes in a single straightaway), and crossed the finish line 3 wide at the end. I finished 3rd because I got outsmarted in using the draft. But it was fun as hell. So I would be personally be more interested in running there as a stop on a regional level series rather than just a practice day.
As far as safety goes, from what Greg was telling me about the track after driving a Formula Ford out there, I think it would be fine. Apparently there is a lot of runoff room – enough so that most full-size cars can get slowed down before hitting anything. Although a kart may very well be cornering faster, they are also a lot lighter. A 400lb kart requires a LOT less space to slow down than a 2000lb car. Also, the risk of wheel-to-wheel contact goes down because pulling wild moves down the inside to make a pass is pointless on a big track; it’s so much easier to use the draft to pass. Second Creek was dangerous for karts because it relied on walls to stop errant cars instead of runoff room. Greg might be able to chime in more.
WKA would be the best contact if they want a national sanctioning body’s input, as WKA has a strong road race program in several parts of the country.
Those look like SKM brakes to me, which makes sense as that’s what KGB chassis came with up until 2004 or so, when they switched to Wilwood. They’re not too hard to bleed.
Having a gravity brake bleeder tool like this is very helpful with those since they don’t have an attached reservoir: http://shockwavekarting.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=SK&Product_Code=BR-Bleeder&Category_Code=BR-Bleeder. Pretty sure we have them in stock, IMI probably does too.
The procedure is pretty much how Garrick described. Don’t remember which screw on those is the actual bleed screw, but you should be able to figure it out fairly easily, as it’ll be the one that has fluid coming out of it when you crack it loose while pressing the brake pedal!
1) attach gravity bleeder to master cylinder.
2) fill cylinder with fluid if not full already; leave valve from gravity bleeder open
3) pump brakes several times
4) push and hold brake pedal
5) crack bleeder screw, keep pushing brake pedal, then close bleeder screw
6) release brake pedal
7) repeat 3 through 6 until you only get fluid coming out of the bleed screw, no airAlways start with the caliper furthest away from the master cylinder. On most karts, this means bleeding the right front before the left front. Looks like yours needs to have both halves of the rear caliper bled separately; bleed the one with the longer hose first, then the shorter one. As Garrick said, it’s helpful to have a second person, although if you have some armspan you probably can do it yourself. You can rig up a catch bottle for the bleed screws using some tubing and a water bottle if you want; this makes it easier to see the air bubbles and keeps things cleaner, but isn’t required.
A KGB with a 125cc Honda shifter (built?) on it… its’ entirely possible that’s one of my old karts!
I thought the race was well run and organized. Good announcing, officiating, everything on time, great TV work, etc. The track layout was fun, challenging, and had a lot of excellent passing opportunities.
I second Rick on changing up the layout to keep things interesting for the drivers and tuners. Plus, I would like to see a few of the corners re-routed to avoid the worst of the bumps. The blind corner going onto the straight was a bit scary ’cause you couldn’t see where the wrecks were, and the final turn had nothing to stop you if you lost your brakes. Other than that, I thought the barriers were intelligently placed to keep people from using too much track but also allow lots of runoff room and keep people safe.
Fun race!
