Mike Jansen

[Mike Jansen]

Kirk,

You could have said something in poor taste to spicen things up such as:
Michael Jackson had vapour lock due to seeing a woman nekkid.

Or you could have said the obvious:
Nationalized Health care doesn’t work.

You bring your slow gin fizz foo foo drink. I’m bringing the gas grill for a saturday night grillin’ Brats and beer, how’s that? You might want to keep that polyester jumpsuit away from the open flames. I’d hate to see your overflowing chest hairs get singed… 😆

Redheads… Sandi’s a red head. I best be nice…. 😀

[Mike Jansen]

Jeff I completely agree.
I won’t be there this weekend. My daily mantra is along the lines of this: Don’t be stupid by doing something stupid. If I get near the track I have a good chance of being both!

[Mike Jansen]

That’s too bad about the clutch :boo:

But keep pushing them tired bodies and karts!

[Mike Jansen]

Jim,

Would you have Matt stay closer to the RED BULL start finish arch.
He makes me nervous when he comes towards the final turn…

8)

[Mike Jansen]

Ladies and Gentlemen:

LET’S GET REAL HERE! I hear a lot of sidestepping the issue and until we address the White Elephant in the room we’re all just flogging a dead horse and wasting our time.

That said; let me lay down some background here in this post. This isn’t a knee jerk reaction but a genuine effort at trying to do the right thing and I’d like to think I’ve got the stones to call it like I see it. I’m not trying to say X is a butt head or Z is a jerk or live in the past. Let’s work on TODAY so we DO have a future.

FACTS about me:
-Mike Jansen is a passionate karter and businessman who has “no dog in this hunt” but wants to see 25+ fields in TaG Masters and in other classes like there used to be. I used to get excited coming down the dirt road to IMI and seeing the parking lot overflowing and 160 was the max entrants I’ve seen excluding Rmax Nationals @ Centennial
-Mike Jansen has been Karting for over 5 years and has seen many racers and families come into this sport and leave this sport for various reasons good and bad
-I saw Rick Schmidt and Roman STRUGGLE behind me and in the true sense of the sport would tell them EXACTLY what I was running (we both ran rotax) to help them get their game up to MY level. I wanted to kick Roman’s butt and I did each and every race but I wanted to beat them from a gladiator standpoint (I’m a better driver and your second best) and not from a “my engine and gearing is better than yours” standpoint. Same thing with Ron Reed and Rich Vito and Lee Gagna (for those of you who remember him) Jack Warrington too for that matter in his quest for #1

FACTS as I see them about Jim Keesling (since K comes before L)
-Jim is the new track owner and in a SHORT period of time has rocked Karting here in Colorado. Cases in point: Rotax Grand Nationals in his 2nd year of existence; Television coverage of said race; Television coverage in the local news of his track and Gas station promotion. Track sponsorship I’ve only seen at a European Kart level, Formula One level or Indy racing level.
-I knew of Jim when I lived in Southern California by name because of his organization of J class sailing regattas. So when I met him and put that together he had my respect from the get go.
-Jim’s pockets are (in my opinion) deep and he has a LEGITIMATE concern towards safety and preventing lawsuits against himself and his family. Do you blame him in this litigious society?
-Jim (at times can be a little abrasive in his reactions to situations. I experienced his wrath 2 years ago and I consider Jim a friend. I was breaking in a piston and had my nose glued to my Mychron and not watching him flag me to say my session was done two laps earlier! He had words with me once I came off and I took it like a man and said nothing. I went back to him 20 minutes later and told him of my inattentiveness towards flaggers and was more concerned about my engine being broke in and I was at fault and sorry. He’s always treated me fairly and even in this case he might have been excessive but he called it like he saw it at the time and there are no hard feelings.
-I always get a “thanks for coming out, we appreciate you being here” when I leave from Jim’s. It’s corny but it ALWAYS makes me feel good going home.

FACTS as I see them about Brad Linkus (because L comes AFTER K)
– Brad is the Horatio Alger story in that you look at what he started YEARS AGO and what he’s accomplished to this point. For that he has my respect and he’s always treated me fairly
– Brad used to race and he’s experienced the pain of losing to someone who’s cheated and if you look at the actions he took to start the kid class with the HONDA engine you see that he’s vowed to not let cheating happen if he can help it. He practically GAVE kids the engines to race with. A racers racer. Nuff said…
– Brad is innovative, thank him for bringing 4 stroke engines here to America and improving the product. A few years from now we all might be racing them just like they do in MX.
– Brad’s got the shop that carries everything and he’s willing to help you if it’s appreciated. I can’t tell you how many times I was at his shop after hours while his crew worked on my engine or he was putting a weld on my seat stay that broke from racing at Bandimere. He’s probably forgotten more than many shop owners KNOW. I brought with me several times beer to say I appreciate your dedication to being here and helping my butt out. A little goes a long way and it was always the least I could do.

Now the White Elephant as I see it and I’m not going to name names but many of you already know the cast of characters:
The uneasy alliance between track owners. One has a “we’ve done it this way and it’s always been good enough” vs. a “this is great but we can do better”. That progresses to the infamous meeting last year that got out of hand and was pathetic at best. Nuff said, the marriage is broken now let the divorce begin. I’ve always been of the opinion that if you’re at fault then man up and say you’re sorry so you can move forward. REMOVE THE “E” OUT OF EGO AND WE ALL GO FORWARD. Am I getting through? Helloooo…

The arrogance of the opinion that we the kart racers are stupid and will put up with your crap is nonsense and it shows in the attendance of both series. Prior to the season I heard numerous people saying that they were siding with X’s series because of (fill in the reason). I heard a few teams say that they were taking their team to Y series and then bad mouth the other series. I heard innuendos that Y series didn’t have their insurance; leases signed; race directors, etc. That makes me saddest of all because we are grown men and not teenaged kids. What ARE we teaching our kids? PATHETIC and you know who you are. You have contributed to this mess. I hope you’re proud of yourselves. Let’s Look in the mirror and honestly ask the reflection, “Did I contribute to this mess?” Glad I run my business opposite of that and NEVER badmouth my opposition. It’s called professionalism.

You all laughed and snickered when the numbers came out for the Race the Rockies #1 race. Now we’re all snickering about the numbers of the CSC’s initial race. Bottom line is we all should see it for what it is and that’s a reincarnation of the Indy Racing League vs. Champ Cars. DIDN’T WE LEARN ANYTHING FROM THAT? Or were people too arrogant to say, we’re different that doesn’t apply to us. Reality checks now that we’ve had round ones of both series wouldn’t you agree?

Some say economics and I say you’re kidding yourselves. Fess up and be honest: I’m not racing 2 series because that’s what we had a few years back when we had 9 races at the state level. I have a job and other responsibilities and I don’t want to win the alphabet soup but I do want to win at the PEPSI center and if anyone can pull that off its Jim. So there’s my reason to race RACE THE ROCKIES. CSC, I know what I get and I have the “been there, done that” attitude and if I’m going to drive at a track several times due to the lack of usage of Colorado tracks then I’m driving the track that has more of a challenge (only my opinion) and I love the bus stop and the first and last corners. PERIOD.

Kiss and make up and someone needs to swallow a little bit of humility. I feel grateful and blessed to know that I’m not fighting for my life in an intensive care unit like my fellow Masters karter Rich Vito. HOWEVER I do feel used when a post is made that says I’m a loser because I didn’t race in CSC and support Rich Vito. I also felt angry to have it played that way. RV51, how much has been raised by that? T-shirts, how much in that? CSC how much in that? Every little bit helps but don’t EVER place us (actually me) in the category of loser because we elected to race in one series and not the other.

I’m still dissapointed with the sponsorship money raised last year vs. the return to the karters. That was suspect at best. There it’s been put out there. Did the CSC ever say thank you in written form to the sponsors? Did they feel appreciated?

The other white elephant in the room that needs to be squelched: Have either series “sponsored or paid entry” for certain drivers to show to ruin the other series. If that’s true, that’s the track owner’s prerogative and has NOTHING to do with us common racers. If it is true I think it’s a pathetic and desperate ploy. And my entry fee was paid by myself thank you for asking.

In closing I’d like to bring to attention the reasons why we race and why we put ourselves in harms way when we drop the visor on our helmets: We love the camaraderie; the competition, the quality time we spend with our family as a family. I’ve seen Tate and Lauren Holleran grow up, David Zippie go from average student to honour student with a passion for life and school. I’ve drank beers with the best of the bunch and those who just love this sport. I’ve got memories of my first P1 result; my first accident; being locked in a port a john an everyone thought it was funny but me; had a zip tie attached to my drive shaft and pulled over only to say, “I’m going to get that Schmidt if it’s the last thing I do”. If this can’t be fixed then I hope one series wins and wins quickly or perhaps EVERY track owner in Colorado come to their senses and realize a symbiotic relationship is best and only brings more kart buyers off the spectating sidelines and into the fray of kart RACING. If I wasn’t passionate about this and trying to get things resolved it wouldn’t be 1:50am and here I am writing this message.

Hopefully the white elephants have been identified and we can move forward to resolve this MESS to get back to 150+ fields and 20 lap mains with a straightaway full of TaG Masters competing to beat each other on the track and swapping stories and laughs afterwards.

[Mike Jansen]

Man and my neighbours complain about my outdoor speakers whilst I do yard work?

It appears to me that there was contact with the tree trunk about riders head level. Is this another accident you haven’t disclosed? 8)

[Mike Jansen]

The benevolent dictator has arrived! This is a good move and Rick pretty much says it all. Curt is blunt and has the racers best interests at heart with Safety in the general picture.

Good move :clap:

[Mike Jansen]

@Justin Mueller wrote:

yo jansen that was you falcone otto and Myself at the sushi place remember duh with our gay waiter who we discarded after 10 min josh was busy building falcone’s kart and you guys took him something back… I am thinking you need some oil for that brain LOL see you sunday buddy oh yeah as far as girls I was not lookn I was being a good boy NOT……that place had talent

Yo Snapperhead, err Justin:
You think the Sushi place had talent you should have been around FRIDAY night at the pub.
Saturday was with you and Mr. Light in the Loafers (not that there’s anything wrong wid dat) abusing sushi. Like I said, the PUB had the rub…

Sunday it is…

[Mike Jansen]

Justin,

Ott, Falcone and Josh can attest to the fact that Grand Junction has talent. Nothing against the sushi den but We went to the pub near the Sushi place (who closes a sushi place at 9 on a friday?!) and God Bless Josh and Ott because their heads were on a constant swivel when Falcone and I said, PLATINUM BLONDE 11:00, Brunette 9:00… That went on till we left. If I’d have had some 10-30 synthetic I’d have oiled those two’s necks. I swore I was seeing smoke from the use and abuse!

Yup, sushi damage in minimal amount of time is a must for the next race I compete in!

[Mike Jansen]

@Mike Jansen wrote:

The pictorial is coming don’t get your panties in a wad.
Sorry but I’ve been a little “busy” with this funding for racing thing called work.

Kirk, my folks can attest to my boxing skills, I used to box with the old man and when he rang my bell a couple times I started shadowboxing in front of the full length mirror wall in the dining room (late 70’s style). My mom would get so bent because there was sweat on it and she thought I’d actually break it. And that photo of Cyd is okay. I’ve seen others that would make people take a second look. Kinda like the Martini Ad at Monaco.

Justin, a few cutting words works better and causes more pain and suffering than any punch I can throw. Plus, the damage is more lasting and (at times) can cause a retalitory punch that starts the “action”. Just my .02 worth.

Roger, healthy rib or not, I am not going anywhere near your 3 pushup regiment. No need to be embarrassed! You rock Marine! And I’ll buy your next barley pop since I didn’t see you memorial weekend. Thank you (and any other Armed Forces Member) for your service to this great country. :clap:

[Mike Jansen]

The pictorial is coming don’t get your panties in a wad.
Sorry but I’ve been a little “busy” with this funding for racing thing called work.

Kirk, my folks can attest to my boxing skills, I used to box with the old man and when he rang my bell a couple times I started shadowboxing in front of the full length mirror wall in the dining room (late 70’s style). My mom would get so bent because there was sweat on it and she thought I’d actually break it. And that photo of Cyd is okay. I’ve seen others that would make people take a second look. Kinda like the Martini Ad at Monaco.

Justin, a few cutting words works better and causes more pain and suffering than any punch I can throw. Plus, the damage is more lasting and (at times) can cause a retalitory punch that starts the “action”. Just my .02 worth.

Roger, healthy rib or not, I am not going anywhere near your 3 pushup regiment. No need to be embarrassed! You rock Marine! And I’ll buy your next barley pop since I didn’t see you memorial weekend. Thanks you (and any other Armed Forces Member) for your service to this great country. :clap:

[Mike Jansen]

I have yet to see a woman yell at their kid. It’s little league dad or worse.

Besides, I’m a lover and not a fighter. I might know AJ Foyt but that doesn’t mean I am LIKE AJ… 8)

But I’d stay outside of slapping distance just to be safe…

[Mike Jansen]

The sad thing about it Justin is that people (or parents) like this think they’re big stuff when they can shove and intimidate their kids and that always $#@%@ me off. Just once I’m going to come up to a parent doing the fear thing and ask them if they’d like to intimidate me instead.

And with your new Tat I’d be scared or stuupid to mess witchya so I have no idea what he was thinking. That’s right he wasn’t… 😆

[Mike Jansen]

I didn’t say or write this…. :usa:

Jerky has to ask himself this:

If you ran over his kid, the equipment was wrecked and then he came over to you with the same concern and you mirrored HIS comments. What do you think the outcome and feelings would be then?

I say you go look for the kid or the parent and tell him you’re going to have a repeat of the last incident, only you as the instigator. But tell race control prior to punting him off the track… Perhaps then he’ll realize he has Analcranalitis and he will pull his head out his butt…

The answers are simple. It’s the questions that are difficult :usa:

[Mike Jansen]

Like I’ve always said:

You can’t win a race in the first corner you can only lose it!
And I see waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much racing in warm ups. Unless there’s a trophy girl handing out trophies for the first crash, what’s the point?

Hope you like this story about Indy and trophy girls:

This was my Dad’s 60th year at Indy. He was telling us about the hottest race at Indy when his favourite driver won, Bill Vukovich 1953. In those days your driving equipment was a T shirt,pants, leather gardening gloves along with your helmet and goggles. And Hollywood would send a celebrity/starlet to the race to present the trophy. Anyway the “Mad Russian” wins the race and comes to the winner’s circle covered in oil and grime. When he took off his helmet and goggles it was the only part of his body clean! He then grabs Cyd Charrise (google her to find out if you don’t know who she was) plants a big kiss on her while she’s wrapped in his arms. She was (and I say was) in a white cotton dress that looked like she’d actually been in the race too since it was covered in oil! He got a big kick telling that story.

So when are we going to get trophy girls? Jim, you saving up for the Pepsi race?

Hope everyone had a good Memorial Weekend and Rich’s Fundraiser went well.

:clap:

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