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Mike and Mike,
Thank you!!! Without the efforts of teams like yourselves, this would not be nearly as cool. The ideas, designs, thinking games that all go into this are so cool.Here is my short list, with a full story soon…
1) Bad news karters: The names says it all. Showed up with an old chassis, as it looked “in a box” and a motor “in a box” and 5 guys with a bunch of tools and a table. They lost the equipment they planned on last minute, and were putting together their “Plan B”. I had Josh prep. a corp kart just in case with new chain, motor, tires, for them to race. All day friday, mass assembly for the “new” but old Vampire!!! Frustration set in early as it would not start by 9:00pm. Sat morn, 6:30 start the drill again and trouble shoot. 9:00am “Fire in the hole” It runs! Time for last minute check-over. Motor – Vampire2) Dog House Racing: Last year, it was all about the “young guns.” The kids (drivers) all working together, helping with all maintenance, staying up all night to do their jobs, and really working together. Same principals this year, but reverse roles. Good/best equipment, different enough that needed special care on/off track. Whoops, learned that early. Late delivery of new type clutches for the rotary, types of chain issues put the kids sleeping and the dad’s wrenching all night to figure it out.
Murphy’s law somehow showed up un-invited and stayed all day… “Next year.” Motor – Axiro XR-503) The “Coyote-Ugly” team. Race equipment this year, good shifter kart. Short story, 80cc Honda shifter. Ran great, until driven hard, and bad. Sorry guys, great effort again, but need to smooth everything down a lot for the stuff to last. I saw many miss shifts, high revs, one gear for full laps, etc… more practice on the track to get everyone comfortable with how to drive a shifter… Motor – Honda 80cc Shifter
4) Dangerous Karters. Katie and her Broncos Cheerleader friends supporting us to support them. Corp. kart. Raced from start till time to go. Came back at 9:00 am to finish. All bruised up and know what its all about now!!! Building excitement for the charity race in August for the kids… Motor – Corp kart Honda 390GX
5) Mobile View – Team Sweeny. John and family, plus some real Supercross experts giving it their all. Corp kart. Great showing, got faster all sessions and really had a great game plan. Bad news when upon exit late at night, hit the fence post of the exit lane, bent the axle and was down a “good, race ready, corp. kart.” Grabbed a back-up, (The cheerleaders kart) broke the steering column attachment, found another one, clutch popped, found another, bad tires, but ran and they finished the event… Great first year. Many thanks for the HUGE big screen once again. That is AWESOME to have at any event!!!
Motor – Corp kart Honda 390GX6) Batman and Robin. Josh (the tech guy) and Ben (“A” license holder) in for “Ironman” (he, he, Roger and I are laughing that they have no idea how hard this is…) They were having a great time “hiding” their stuff from everyone (including their team name) right up till qualifying. Rules – all corp karts had to be EQUAL! Period! Josh and Ben did a great job of really pulling all 4 together and even for this years race. We laughed our butts off when Batman and Robin flew around the corner in full costume ready for qualifying!!!
Great, great effort. 5 laps into the race, Josh, right on my bumper pits…. One little piece of grit. Just one little piece of grit was all it took for them to be 10 laps down for 24 hours!!! Motor – Corp kart Honda GX3907) Iron Maniacs. Jim and Roger, second year ironman. With more corp karts in the field, pressure was on. No driving around the track, we had to race every lap!!! New pit strategy, same great pit boss (Matt), and off and running. No issues this year at all. Motor – Corp kart Honda GX 390
8) Team Karting Coach – Mike Weatherman. “This Year!!!” Lessons learned last year, applied this year! Fantastic job!!! Roger and I, plus Ben and Josh were secretly hoping for a blown motor at 9:30am when we saw you in the in-field. Tired as all get out, we drove as fast as we could trying to make up the 30+ laps we were down. Darn, just a chain fell off!!! That’s what made you the champion! Everything worked as it should! Lots of prep. smart driving, care of the equipment, 24 hour pace for 24 hours!!! Job Well Done!!!
Thanks again for all the teams efforts. It is a lot of work! Thanks to Roger, Ben and Josh for trying this as you did! I’m still sore and tired. Now I really feel to old!!!
Thanks to Carolyn for staying with us and scoring all 24 hours, Andrea for keeping watch and still working all day Sunday, and all the behind the scenes efforts that don’t go unnoticed. Ok, back to bed…. wait! I have to get ready for NEXT YEAR!!!!Jim
Tom,
Easy answer… you have ten minutes. The checkered flag is waved exactly at ten min. It doesn’t matter where you are on the track. The timing shuts off at 10 min.
Thanks,
Now keep RACING till the checker…..
JimCris,
Its a private event run by the Track at Centennial for the firm hosting Centennial Airport, RMMA (Jefco), Montana, DIA and invited guests. 3rd year running.
Just one of the many GP events here at The Track at Centennial. 3 more next week, 2 Sat. morn. prior to the start of the 24 Hours at The Track this weekend.
All leading up to “Keep Kids on Track” Denver Broncos Cheerleaders race and Calendar release party in August. Busy, busy, busy…You should take a look at Micro Max. Great path for development.
Thanks
JimHello Colorado Karters,
There is a lot of information related to the events being discussed in this thread that no one but a select number of people are aware of, with good reason. I am happy to speak with anyone who has questions, whether at The Track or by phone.
There is no split in Colorado karting. A true split would be different equipment requirements, same day races at different tracks, and truly forcing a choice of one versus the other.
You, the karter can race with your kart at any of the tracks in Colorado. I picked the same weekends I had last year – no more, no less.
Racing the Rockies is a new series that we are excited about. The series dates are not on the same dates as any of the other Colorado series. It was planned that way on purpose. It is growing, and you the karter have a choice to do ALL races!!!
In reality, there are two less races this year than last year, if you did all of them. You have that choice to do all of them.
And for the record, I think you all are winners, and all of us at The Track appreciate your business.
Best,
Jim
Doug,
You should call Mike Weatherman and see his expense list. The DD2 motor we used had been raced all year, and started with no updates. I’m surprised it lasted as long as it did. Once the clutch was fixed and the trans. gear, it worked like a charm.
In fact, the last 4 hours, it was run full out, 54 second lap times till the end with no failure! That is what this race is all about. I don’t think one team in the 24 hours of LeMans is worried about what it costs, its about the experience…
Stop on down and check it out, watch a movie on the huge Mobile-view screen, listen to some tunes, play “rock-band”, and have some fun.Thanks,
JimKody,
It needs to be a motor made for karting. Does that help???
Last year, Mr. Rein and friends won with an ICC left over from the state series three years ago!!!
Only other rule, you can not alter the kart in a major way ( 25 gal gas tank, etc…)
Call me if you have any questions. This event is a total blast.
It really teaches you a lot in regards to the long haul, and not the “Quick” result some look for.Min of 4 drivers, max of 7. Ironman… 2 only!
2 motors, one chassis.
Unlimited tiresWe should have the entry form on our web site now…
Thanks,
Jimhere is a break down from the DD2 last year…
Driver order:
Mattie Whitten (7 Shifts)
Sam Urban (8 shifts)
Matt Burton (7 shifts)
Jack Bradley (8 shifts)
Ben Schermerhorn (7 shifts)Average Driver laps/shift – 31.8
Total pit stops: 36
Starting Driver: Mattie Whitten
Finishing Driver: Sam Urban
Fastest Lap: Jack Bradley – lap 1149
Fastest Lap on three wheels: Ben Schermerhorn – lap 1125
Best target lap: Matt Burton 1:01.00 for 1:01 target – lap 89Battery changes – 3 – laps 280, 740, 820. Started with full charge
Tire changes – 8
Mycron battery changes – 1 – lap 280
Brake shimmed – 2 – lap 425 and 820
Brake pad changes – 2
New tire sets – 5
Used tire sets – 2Parts Failure:
2 x Flat tires at start ? wheel failure – lap 6
Battery failure – lap 280
Exhaust failure – lap 280
Seat repair – lap 280
Seat strut failure – 280
Starter failure – lap 390
Clutch failure – lap 325
Transmission failure – lap 325
Exhaust support failure – lap 845
Seat Strut failure – lap 820
Brake pads – lap 870
Steering wheel loose – lap 1005
Left Rear tire/bolt failure – lap 1125Maintenance:
Lowest battery voltage prior to exchange – 11.5 volts
Transmission gear oil changes – lap 105, 325, 460, 580, 660, 870, 1040, 1100
Brake pad change – lap 870Tire changes:
Used MG yellow – lap 6
Used MG yellow –replaced
New MOJO D1- lap 210
New MG yellow – lap 280
New MOJO D2 – lap 360 – Planned at dusk
New MG yellow – lap 660
Used MG yellow – lap 820
New MG yellow – lap 1125Extremes:
Max. track temp – 133
Max. front tire temp – 180
Max. rear tire temp – 153
Max. air temp – 90
Min. air temp – 55
Humidity – 12 @ start of race
Engine temp range – 140 to 175Track Position:
Lowest Place – 4th
Highest Place – 2nd
Lap 1: 3rd
Lap 2 – 54: 4th
Lap 55 – 115: 3rd
Lap 116 – 139: 2nd
Lap 140 – 167: 3rd
Lap 168 – 325: 2nd
Lap 326 – 360: 3rd
Lap 361 – 386: 4th
Lap 386 – 390: 3rd
Lap 391 – 404: 4th
Lap 405 – 426: 3rd
Lap 427 – 643: 4th
Lap 644 – 819: 3rd
Lap 820 – 853: 4th
Lap 854 – 872: 3rd
Lap 873 – 1106: 4th
Lap 1107 – finish: 3rdMike,
Glad to have you back…
So far we have two “ironman” teams, the shifters, 3-4 tags, another corp kart, and a bunch of calls, plus the rotary!
Mobile view big screen is back, as well as the improved sound system, live timing and scoring so your “drivers” don’t have to call to see how good or bad it is!!!
The rules are the same as last year, however, no more than 7 drivers per team. They need to be checked in prior to the start.
This year is a good year, the event growing, and is a total blast! I want to thank Roger for being dumb enough to do it again with me as the defending ironman team!!!
See you in a few weeks. (Now back to bed!!!)
Jim
Stacey,
Cool stuff… I will bring over the live timing/scoring and I think with a little help (from my geek squad), we should be up and running in an hour or so.
Also, we will have FM broadcast and as of now, FM 91.7 is the station. I plan to have all tested Friday Morning.
Thanks again for all your help.
Jimand just a side note, the traffic counts from our first race at The Track were 28500 hits for the weekend.
The whole “Dog House” will be in attendance
As this is the first race of Racing the Rockies, all entries have been sent to The Track, and pit spaces need to be arranged thru Grand Junction Motor Speedway.
If they tell you the list is open, its true! (not due to lack of entries, due to people getting ready for this weekend!!!) I will post an entry list soon. Call to set up your pit spots. (We have not even called yet!) (Sorry Stacy, and Marty)
We are very excited for the first round, and will start all the updates after this weekend.
Don’t miss the tire raffle Sunday morning, May 3 at The Track.
Hi Jason,
The first race of the season is usually a little crazy anyway. We have a lot of new racers, so I need to see how things are going.
My first thought is to run it the same way both days. If that is the case, we will give everyone ample time to practice whatever the direction.All updates will be posted on the Track’s website.
Thanks,
JimGood morning,
Big crowd early and afternoon. Lots of renters, new karters out with their new toys. Today should be a zoo as well.
Tunes crankin’ from the tower now, and the downhill culvert, before the Red Bull start/finish line is gone. That one was the most concern. All run-off edges will be backfilled prior to race one….See you at The Track (smooth style).
Jim
The full daily schedule and registration info is now live on The Track’s website.
http://www.thetrack.us
Thanks,
Jim
