** As supplied from SwedeTech customer, Ken Schilling. Ken drives a GP kart powered by a SwedeTech Stock Honda. Warning, Ken’s PR is longer than the actual Supernationals event **
Hello family, friends, business associates and fellow kart racers.
All I can say is, WOW!!!
I say “David vs Goliath” tongue-in-cheek because I showed up at the SuperNats in my Honda Odyssey minivan towing my teeny-tiny trailer and in the pits are huge tractor trailer rigs with multi-kart teams, tuners, mechanics, drivers coaches, data collection evaluators, hospitality areas with tables, food & drinks, etc… One of the many things I enjoy about karting is that with the rules for the Stock Honda engine classes it really takes away the “I spend more money than you” and boils it down to driver and chassis tuning talent (a little bit of luck sure doesn’t hurt…).
The SuperNats is a once a year event bringing together the finest karters from around the world to race each other to see who’s the best in their class from all different racing organizations and sanctioning bodies. As a karter, you hear about these drivers by word of mouth and read about them in the various karting magazines and online, but now you get to put a face to the name (not just a helmet paint job) and race head to head to see who is truly the best and hopefully make some new friends in the process. While yes it’s extremely competitive, there is a great sense of camaraderie and love for the sport shared by all who participate.
As a karter for the last six years, this being my second SuperNats as a driver and two previous SuperNats as a corner worker, this was almost a solid week of karting nirvana. Over 425 drivers from 25 countries, professional drivers from different car racing series, etc…
Auto racing
- Seven time Formula 1 champion Michael Schumacher
- Current Formula 1 drivers Sebastien Buemi and Nelson Piquet, Jr.
- Buddy Rice (2004 Indy 500 winner and current Grand Am Daytona Prototype driver)
- Michael Valiente (current Grand Am Daytona Prototype driver)
- Phil Giebler (2007 Indy 500 rookie of the year)
- Dan Wheldon (2005 Indy 500 winner & 2005 IRL champion)
- Raphael Matos (current Indy car driver)
- etc…
Karting
- Jonathan Thonon (multiple & current KZ1 World Champion and 2008 SuperNats SuperPro winner)
- Arnaud Kozlinski (current Super KF World Champion)
- David Fore’ (4x’s KZ1 World Champion)
- Gary Carlton (multiple United States Champion)
- Marco Ardigo (previous KZ1 World Champion & 2007 SuperNats SuperPro winner)
- etc…
OK, you get the idea… Before this year the annual SuperNats was the largest and most prestigious karting event in North America and arguably the world. Not any more, without question it IS the most prestigious karting event in the world. Racing with/against the best in your class in the sport, finishing in the top ten and especially getting on the podium with a top five finish is the epitome of anyone’s karting career. Keep in mind that the majority of professional auto racers get their start in karts and the majority of Formula 1 drivers race karts in the off season to stay sharp.
This year as well as last year, the SuperNats was held on a temporary track in the back parking lot of the Rio Hotel & Suites in Las Vegas, NV the week before Thanksgiving. This location is fantastic, affording plenty of room for the track (which changes each year), pits and is just a short walk from the hotel and picture perfect weather with sunny mid 60 to low 70 deg temps. The SKUSA gang arrives the previous week (!!!) to start setting up the track, pits, timing & scoring, etc… This is a culmination of almost 12 months of work to put this event together; in fact they’ve already begun preparations for next year.
First, let me explain the class that I race in, S4. S4 is a Stock Honda shifter kart class that uses a Honda CR125 two stroke engine off of a motocross motorcycle that has very tight rules where you can do very little to the engine. About the only things that you can do are; a couple of different intake manifolds, reed cages, reeds & carburetors (you can change the jetting for varying atmospheric conditions), adjust the timing, exhaust pipes & silencers. Other than that it’s “no touchy”!!! This helps to keep costs down by increasing reliability as well as eliminating any engine modifications keeping the class a “drivers” class and not how deep your pockets are. In fact for 2010 SKUSA is tightening the rules even further mandating only one intake manifold & reed cage as well as tightening up the timing making it even better. There is also an S3 class which uses the same engine but is a “younger & lighter” driver class. S3 is 15 + yrs old and 385+ lbs overall weight (you are scaled each time you come off the track so you have to compensate for fuel usage). S4 is 30 + yrs old and 415+ lbs or the driver can be 15 + yrs old but must weigh 200 + lbs.
This year at the SuperNats in S4 there were five younger drivers that choose to pit their “youth and enthusiasm” against our “old age and treachery”. Next year S4 will be 30 + yrs old and 405 lbs with no younger driver exceptions. The engine puts out ~35 hp, revs to ~12,600+ rpm with about a 3,000 usable rpm range to keep it “on the pipe”, has a six speed sequential manual gearbox and you can change the overall gearing by changing the engine output shaft sprocket and/or rear axle sprocket. The chassis has four wheel disc brakes; one on each front wheel and one on the rear axle (there is no differential). The only time we use the clutch is for getting the kart moving from a standing start or to quickly grab in case of a spin so the engine doesn’t stall. We shift with a lever just to the right of the steering wheel, pull to upshift and push to downshift. We don’t use the clutch for shifting; just a little lift off the throttle will do the trick. The kart is capable of 0 ? 60 mph in ~3.5 seconds, over 100 mph top speed which I’ve done personally (I’ve been told close to 125 mph in a draft on a long enough straight), can pull ~3 G’s in the corners and stop on a dime and give you nine cents change!!! Many compare them to a Formula 1 car just on a smaller scale. All of this is happening with your butt ~1″ off the ground so you have an extremely high sensation of speed. With the high G loads, most drivers wear rib vests to help prevent a fairly common karting injury, broken ribs. Broken ribs can be sustained without even being in a crash and just during normal racing conditions. I wear a carbon fiber reinforced rib vest in conjunction with a specially designed carbon fiber seat which really locks me in place. Oh, and by the way, there are no seat belts. In fact, you don’t want them because in a worst case scenario of a kart flip you want to be ejected from the kart, not have it land on top of you.
Second, let me explain the chassis. Kart chassis are completely different than cars in that they have no active suspension such as springs, shocks, etc… The only suspension to speak of is the chassis itself, tires and the driver’s butt (hee-hee). The chassis is made up of tubular steel that is designed to flex and twist. While they may look extremely simple, there are many adjustments that can be made to suit different track conditions and driver preferences; front & rear track width & ride height, front end castor/camber/toe, different axle stiffness’s, different front & rear wheel hub lengths, aluminum vs magnesium wheels, install/remove seat struts, different seats, seat materials & stiffness’s (fiberglass vs carbon fiber), install/remove front/rear torsion bars, change seat position, tire pressures, etc…hundreds of different combinations to suit the track and weather conditions, driving style, etc… OK, so you get the idea that it’s not as simple as it looks.
Third, let me explain the tires and how we need to manage them. For the SuperNats we are issued two new sets of race tires that we have to manage for qualifying, three heat races and the main. The tires are marked & numbered for each individual driver. You can use as many new/used tires as you wish for practice.
Fourth, let me explain the fuel/oil. SKUSA has a “fuel farm” which is just before you enter the grid area to go onto the track. There are two reasons for this; first, for fire marshal safety regulations that limit any extra fuel in the pit area other than what’s in the kart fuel tank. Second, it helps control the fuel/oil to minimize any chances of “hanky panky” with fuel additives. You must bring your fuel voucher card to the fuel farm to retrieve your fuel jug, fill your kart then return your fuel jug to get your voucher back.
Fifth & last, let me explain the track. While usually kart races are held on purpose built kart tracks, the SuperNats is held on a temporary track in the middle of a parking lot. This eliminates the possibility of anyone renting the track prior to the event for practice and having an unfair advantage. It also stresses the tuning & driving capabilities of the driver & mechanic (if the driver has one) starting out on a slippery track and adjusting to the track changes as rubber is laid down and the grip level increases (sometimes very dramatically). This slipperiness really stresses throttle control and putting the kart on the knife edge of the loss of traction as much as possible. In the videos you’ll notice what might look like light throttle application but I’m right on the edge of wheel spin.
This year SKUSA (www.superkartsusa.com), the sanctioning body of the SuperNats and the nationally growing ProKart Challenge (PKC /www.prokartchallenge.com) regional race series in which I’ve raced the last two years, changed the schedule to morning and afternoon groups.
By the way, PKC is nationally recognized as having the largest and most competitive Stock Honda racing fields in the country. S4 is in the afternoon group and I really enjoyed being able to sleep in and not having to get to the track at dawn each day. With this year’s schedule it was great being able to sleep in, take my time eating breakfast and have plenty of time to do any work needed on the kart or just walk around the pits talking with fellow drivers and generally just taking in the experience before our first track session of the day. The only drawback to this schedule was if you had any on track or mechanical issues that there wasn’t much time between sessions allowing for extensive work on the kart. So, let’s say you have a close encounter with a barrier or another kart and you need to change out some bent parts. You will probably miss at least one practice session which is critical because we have so few. In the past, the schedule was just having all of the classes run in order throughout the day which made for long waits, especially if there was any on track incident(s).
Last year’s SuperNats was cut down by one day to a Thursday through Sunday schedule. Due to this the days were extremely long and meant getting to the track at dawn and not leaving until sometime in the late evening. This year they returned to a Wednesday through Sunday schedule, while it meant taking an extra day away from family & work, it worked much better for the competitors and SKUSA team alike.
Tuesday (arrival & check in):
The big teams with their huge tractor trailer rigs began moving in the Sunday prior to the race with smaller teams the next day or so. I’m used to arriving at a race and seeing about 75-100 drivers pitted in everything from karts in the bed of small pickup trucks to large enclosed trailers behind 30′ + diesel pusher motor homes. When I show up at the SuperNats I’m amazed looking at the paddock with million dollar big rigs, huge hospitality tents, multiple sponsor and vendor tents, etc… it’s incredible!!! Even though with this being my second time as a driver and fourth overall at the SuperNats, I still was awestruck when I arrived. After a four hour drive from SoCal I arrived late Tuesday, made my way through the pits and dropped off my trailer and other “stuff” at the Rocky Mountain Kartworks tent who is the North American importer for the GP kart chassis that I use (www.rmkartworks.com). There were ten of us sharing the tent which was off the side of a transporter. It provided shade, a clean place to pit, work benches, lights and plenty of camaraderie. My little trailer is extremely easy to get around and I was able to store it just outside the tent for easy access. I made my way to the registration desk where Tom & Patti Kutscher, the owners of SKUSA, excitedly pulled me aside and showed me the SuperNats program. Let me explain that Tom & Patti allow me to help behind the scenes by having me be SKUSA’s “Data Administrator” which is a fancy title for someone who types a lot… In my spare time I process all of the SKUSA memberships, SuperNats/PKC/NKC race entries, championship points spreadsheets, etc… Unbeknownst to them, SKUSA’s marketing company had chosen a picture of me to plaster all over the 2010 PKC schedule page in the SuperNats program. I think they chose my picture because I look like a rolling SKUSA/PKC billboard!!! They asked me to autograph a copy that they will also have all of the high profile driver’s autograph as well which was very cool!!! (it must be my 15 seconds of fame! hee-hee).
I went back to the team tent, showed off my picture in the program of course(!!!), unpacked, set up my pit area and was ready for Wednesday.
Wednesday (practice):
We had four practice sessions on both Wednesday & Thursday. Shortly before the race SKUSA posted the track map online. I studied it, compared it to last year’s SuperNats track as well as other tracks that I race on with PKC and chose a gear ratio that I thought would be close. My first session on track was just to get used to the track and see if my gearing was close. I placed myself at the very back of the grid for all of the practice sessions and a few of the other “fast guys” did the same (there was one woman in our class). Last year there were a lot of on track incidents, both single kart and karts getting together, during the practice sessions so my strategy was to just lay back and get up to speed without “racing” anyone. My initial impressions were that my gearing was really close but I would know more as the sessions went by especially as the track was still really slippery and would grip up as rubber got laid down. Second session I was faster; I was getting to know the nuances of the track, braking & shifting points, etc… For the third session I tried changing to a slightly taller gear (smaller numerical) but found that I actually showed up with what turns out to be what I think is the right gearing to begin with so I quickly changed it back. During all of this I made a number of chassis adjustments and felt confident that I was going in the right direction. For the fourth session I decided to go out on brand new tires for a pseudo qualifying session being that it’s about the same time of day as our qualifying session will be on Friday. This may seem early to do this but I wasn’t the only one with this idea as some of the other “fast guys” did the same. I later get a phone call from my friend Bill Cox, who will be coming out on Thursday night to help me throughout the racing weekend; he excitedly told me that I was 5th quick out of 40 in my class!!! Wow, what a pleasant surprise!!!
I was unaware of this until he called because the timing sheets weren’t posted yet. This gave me some additional confidence going into our second day of practice. That evening I went out to dinner with Doug Sorensen who owns Extreme Karting kart shop
(www.extreme-karting.com) and is my kart shop of choice. We discussed the day’s results and strategized for Thursday.
Thursday (practice):
Thursday’s practice sessions went smoothly and so far I hadn’t touched a barrier, another kart or even spun out (knock on wood, but then again maybe I wasn’t trying hard enough?…). In fact, after the 3rd session and running my fastest time of the week so far, I chose to sit out the fourth session to try and save some energy. Like Wednesday, I find that I had the 5th fastest time of the day and looked forward to Friday’s qualifying with earnest.
Friday (qualifying & Heat 1):
Qualifying:
Unlike racing with PKC where you qualify and you can move up for each of the two heats (you start heat 2 where you finished in heat 1 and you start the main where you finished in heat 2), at the SuperNats you start each of the three heats where you qualify regardless of your heat results. This makes qualifying that much more critical!!!
The driver is allowed up to two mechanics on the grid for qualifying, heat races and the main. The mechanic(s) can stand along the fence just before the kink to give their driver hand signals to show the gap to the kart(s) behind. This is very helpful as it keeps you from having to look behind you and helps you decide on your strategy of either being able to attack the driver in front or having to defend from the driver(s) behind (or both!!!). Sometimes as a driver you can hear the engine of the kart behind you and/or take a peek behind you as you go around a tight turn. I normally don’t look behind me too often because I don’t want to let the driver behind me think that I’m rattled by them being there.
To show you how much tougher/deeper the class is this year vs last year: in 2008 the top 19 drivers were within 1 second of each other, this year there are 29!!! Wow, ~ three quarters of the whole 40 kart field, within 1 second!!! (last year, my first as a driver, I qualified 18th out of 40 drivers) I made a few chassis adjustments, slapped on new tires and like the practice sessions, parked myself at the back of the grid. My strategy was to allow the rest of the field to get ~ ½ lap ahead then go out and find a clear piece of track. I usually find that my third lap is my “golden” lap; the tires & engine have come up to temp and I’m ready to rock & roll. On my 3rd lap I laid down an OK lap but I knew that I left at least a couple of “tenths” “on the table” due to a small error, so I put my head down and really went for it. I was on a really fast lap but as I came flying through the “kink”, which was a really fast 6th gear left hander where you are on the verge of spinning out (see the track map on Flickr with all of my other pictures), yellow flags were flying and the mechanics along the grid fence were frantically waving at us to slow down. There was a bad wreck between two karts just after the kink which also threw some barriers into the middle of the track and obviously slowed us down. The yellow flag continued for a couple of laps but the karts & barriers were unable to be removed. Finally, a red flag was thrown and we stopped on track to allow for the track to be cleared. By this time my tire’s best laps were behind them but I still thought that I had to at least try to better my time. We got a push start from the track workers and off we went. I gave myself a gap, put my head down but was unable to better my time so I pulled off track to keep from using up more of my tires (I had already put 11 laps on them). Afterwards, I came to find out that I qualified 12th. I was a little disappointed knowing that the 2-3 tenths that I ?left on the table? would have meant 5-7 spots closer to the front, especially with my results from Wednesday & Thursday practice. I qualified with a 43.790, averaged just under 55 mph, with a top speed between 75-80 mph and I was right at .4 second off the pace, maybe next year I’ll be even closer to the front (?!).
Heat 1 (12 laps):
Our first heat started late in the afternoon, just before 5:00pm, with the sun dipping behind the Rio Hotel. The track got dark quickly and lost a significant amount of grip due to the lower ambient temperature so Bill & I agreed to make some chassis changes to compensate. I usually race with a dark smoke face shield but with the darkness I needed something much lighter. I looked in my helmet bag only to find that my only clear face shield was badly scratched up. Luckily Andre Consorte, who is the Bell Helmet factory representative, was around and had an amber face shield which was perfect for the lighting conditions. He changed out the face shield at the last minute as I was already on the grid waiting to go on track. Great service!!! Right after I put on my helmet the assistant race director called a quick drivers meeting at the front of the grid. He reminded us that we had three heats and to just take it a little easy so we can all make it through safely. This little talk helped to calm my nerves and seemed to help the other drivers as well. We made our way back to our karts with many of us wishing each other well.
I was qualified 12th so I was on the sixth row on the outside (driver’s left) just behind Jamie Wilson (#140y) who won the PKC NorCal 2009 championship. We got 1-1/2 laps as a warm-up, did a couple of practice starts and pulled into our spots on the starting grid.
After a few moments the grid was set, or so we thought, but something was wrong so we were sent around again for a do over (I guess someone was in the wrong grid position). We came back around and tried to set the grid again, but Greg Jewett (#12x) mistakenly took my spot and had to be relocated. Finally the lights came on, revs came up and “green, green, green!!!” off we went in a cloud of two stroke engine smoke. I barely jumped the start but was able to stop just in time because if I didn’t stop, I would?ve probably gotten docked a couple of positions.
The starts are challenging to get just right as the combination of engine revs and clutch slip is tricky. The first couple of laps of any race are especially tricky because the tires aren’t fully up to temp and are slippery. Each time I came by the grid fence I looked for Bill but I couldn’t see him even though he was wearing a bright blue shirt.
I came to find out afterwards that the amber face shield wreaked havoc with colors and I couldn’t see Bill. This made it extra challenging as I didn’t have the extra help of letting me know the gap to the kart(s) behind me which helps me decide when I can attack or have to defend. I worked my way up to 8th on lap 10 but lost a spot to Ryan Pool (#42u) and finished 9th. Ryan was on my butt from the 5th lap on and finally gave me a slight nudge at the infield hairpin, nice & square so as to not spin me out, but just enough to get by (this turned out to be only one of two times that I was passed during the whole event, starts not included). Not too bad, I made up three spots which is good for the points.
This video of heat 1 is cool because we ran under the lights. The camera is mounted to the fairing just in front of the shifter.
Saturday (Heat 2 & Heat 3):
Heat 2 (12 laps):
Bill helped me to switch the tires from the left side of the kart to the right as this helped with tire management and evens out tire wear.
I got a good start and immediately jumped to the inside for turn one.
Doug Hayashi (#55c / PKC perennial fast guy & previous SuperNats podium finisher) got by me at the start but I got back by him after a couple of laps (this is the first time I’ve ever passed him in a race!!!). I followed Ryan Pool (#42u) and starting at ~ the 8:45 mark of the video it was clear that he was having some kind of problem on left hand turns. After the race at the scales I talked with Ryan (eventual 5th place finisher in the main) and found out that for the last part of the race his right rear tire had a slow leak which caused him issues in left hand turns. I just couldn’t find a way around him without forcing the issue or risking a crash. While some drivers may have chosen to purposely “punt” him out of the way, I pride myself in racing hard but clean. I have to admit though that I was tempted to return the favor he did to me in the 1st heat but I chose to play it safe/clean and played for the points. I finished right behind Ryan with Jared Woolf (#31y / eventual 3rd place finisher in the main) less than ½ sec behind me who was hounding me the whole time I was stuck behind Ryan.
Bill moved the camera mounting location to the cylinder head hoses (held in place with zip ties). The fairing mount for heat 1 was just a little blurry and you couldn’t see my throttle foot very well and you couldn’t see the steering wheel or shifter at all.
Heat 3 (12 laps):
Bill helped me “flip” the tires, meaning that the inside edge of the tire was now on the outside, again for tire management. I got a terrible start, immediately dropped positions like a rock which put me right in the middle of some crazy stuff!!! I got through turn 1 OK but Jack Kloeber’s (#10e) nose got under my rear bumper going into turn 2. This lifted the rear of my chassis off the ground which almost(!) spun me out but helped him get by me (this is the only other time I was passed during the event). Immediately after this, coming out of turn 2 at the 2:45 mark John Espinor’s (#42y) left front tire climbed up onto my right rear tire but fortunately we were both able to continue. I was 20th the first time by start/finish and I was in serious points “damage” control just trying to minimize the points lost (gained?…). Like Ryan Pool in the 2nd heat, I began to notice a slight issue with my chassis in left hand turns. After the heat I find that I had a low right rear tire caused by the incident with John Espinor (just like Ryan in heat 2). I was very lucky to be able to finish the heat without losing any additional positions, in fact I gained two. The bead lock was damaged when John’s kart climbed up on my tire causing a small leak through the tapped hole and luckily I was able to borrow a wheel from AJ Noud for the main. Bead locks are screws that go through the wheel helping to hold the tire in place during high G corners, without them the tire might come off the bead & deflate. Alex Keith (#24y / black kart / PKC NorCal 2009 3rd place in the championship) & Eric Batt (#5j / white kart) really put on a show behind me lap 1 through lap 4 until they took each other out at ~the 6:00 mark (whew that was close!!!). Karts are open wheel racing cars:
you DON’T want to touch wheels!!! Eric’s left front bumper, wheel, then chassis is “grabbed” by Alex’s right rear tire and launched into the air. All during this I was frantically trying to get back by Jack who was slowing me down (I was almost ½ second faster). I put my head down and at the 9:00 mark got back by Jack on lap 8 with a late braking maneuver going into the infield hairpin which put me in 18th which is where I finished. After passing Jack I quickly caught up to Jim Inglebright (#111y) but was unable to get by and finished just .2 sec behind him.
This one is facing backwards on the cylinder head hoses and is probably the most entertaining, along with the main.
After the race, Jason Berry from SwedeTech Racing Engines (my engine builder) looked inside my cylinder for a routine check and said in a serious voice, “Take the cylinder off”. Huh????!!!!! Mind you, Jason is a great guy and a kidder too, so I asked him if he was kidding and he said “Uh?, no”. Uh-oh???!!! He showed me the top of the piston where there was a large scratch of some kind right near the intake port. We went back and forth trying to figure out what might have caused it: part of the piston ring or circlip breaking off, part of the spark plug electrode but it was intact, etc… but we couldn’t diagnose what it might be unless we take the top end off. So Bill, Jason & I walked the kart down to tech and got permission to pull the top end off to inspect it and find out if any repair work was needed (we must get permission or I would get DQ’d). We get the OK but decide to do it first thing in the morning.
Sunday (Main / 25 laps):
Bill, Jason & I show up at tech, Starbucks in hand, at the crack of dawn and quickly took the top end off. I love two stroke engines because they are so simple even I can do it!!! There was no damage to the head which was a good sign and the piston, ring and circlips were OK. Hmmmm, very strange… Puzzled, we put the engine back together and went back to our pit. After closer inspection we found a small hole in the K & N air filter where there were loose wires around the hole that hold the air filter media in place. Ah-ha!!! We found the culprit, the engine “swallowed” a small piece of the wire from around the hole, scratched the top of the piston on its way through the cylinder and merrily went on its way out through the exhaust. The scratch was very fresh being that there was no carbon build up on it and it probably happened near the end of the 3rd heat. I was extremely lucky, it could’ve been a lot worse…
I used the 7:30 am warm up just to check the engine and make sure everything else was OK. After the session, I walked over to registration to get my main starting position sticker and was elated to find out that I was starting 7th!!!
The main starting grid is set by the least amount of points earned during the three heats. Lowest number of points on pole, then the next highest number of points in 2nd, etc… (kinda like golf, you want the lowest score). In the heats you garner points: 1st place = 0 points, 2nd place = 2 pts, 3rd place = 3 points, etc… So, with my heat results: 1st heat = 9th, 2nd heat = 10th & 3rd heat = 18th I had a total of 37 points. I was really excited starting the main in 7th but I also realized that there were some really fast guys behind me who had some issue in the heats. I had to wait around for over 5 hours until our main. During this time Bill & I went over the kart top to bottom, front to back, checking every nut & bolt and everything else, at least twice. Throughout this time Bill was being my psychotherapist helping to keep me calm, giving me tips/advice all while helping me to keep my emotions in check. The minutes ticked by slowly as I tried to wait patiently… but it was really hard as this was going to be the biggest race of my karting “life” and visions of a top ten and maybe even a top five podium finish were dancing in my head. Don?t get me wrong, I?ve started on pole, won races and even a PKC championship, but this was the SuperNats!!! All during this time I’ve got “ants in my pants” and was constantly cleaning & checking the kart and probably driving Bill crazy. Bill & I had already mounted new tires for the main (remember the tire management), made a couple of chassis changes and deemed the kart ready for battle.
All during this time I also hydrated myself as much as possible for the 25 lap main. It wasn’t hot, but I still had to prepare my body for the ~25 minutes that the main would last. Many people are unaware how physically demanding kart racing is, especially aerobically. Your heart is pumping close to 180 beats per minute, you’re breathing is strained especially in the corners due to the high G’s, the ride is very bumpy, you’re trying to process thousands of decisions in fractions of a second all while traveling up to ~80 mph with your butt 1″ off the ground with other karts within inches of you (sometimes much less). On top of all this you’re making ~25 shifts per lap and trying not to squeeze the steering wheel so hard that you cause your forearms to cramp and the steering wheel itself to ooze between your fingers (notice in the videos that I stretch my hands & fingers on the main straight). Whew, it makes my heart start to pump faster just thinking about it… So far the heats were 12 laps, which is an average heat length but the main is 25 laps!!! I’m used to 20 lap mains and one turn on this track really challenged my neck muscles.
I’ve got a 4 lb helmet (I know because I weighed it) pulling ~2 G’s (8+ lbs) for ~3 sec every lap tends to wear your neck out.
During the wait for the main I started having to go to the porta potty more frequently which was a good sign that I’m getting fully hydrated, luckily there’s one just outside of our pit tent. As the time for the main got closer I started to get nervous, more nervous than I’ve ever gotten for a kart race. I was thinking too much about starting so close to the front (7th out of 40), my poor start in the 3rd heat, etc… all the while being cautiously optimistic about a top ten, maybe even a top five podium finish. I started having to go pee even more frequently… (I know, I know, too much information!!!). OK, it was finally(!) time to make our way to the grid. I told Bill that I would meet him at the fuel farm because I had to go to the porta potty again. We filled the kart with enough fuel for the main, watching all that liquid go into the fuel tank didn’t help me, and again I told Bill that I would meet him at the pre-grid while I “went” again… I came back to the pre-grid and we made our way onto the main grid. I went around to the drivers gridded around me and wished them luck. We still had my kart on the kart stand to be able to warm it up and during this time a lot of high clouds roll in overhead which dropped the ambient temperature significantly (you?ll see this in the video). I debated whether to make any last second chassis changes to account for the change in the weather but decided to go pee again instead!!! (hey, it?s better than having to pee in your driving suit!!!) I came back to the main grid and sat down next to the barriers and tried to calm down and clear my thoughts. It was clear that a lot of the drivers were skittish and trying to get into the “zone” as the engines were started on the stands to warm them up. Bill brought the engine up to about 100 deg F on the stand and we then put the kart on the ground. I finally got fully suited up and pulled on my helmet. I got in the kart and Bill gave me a push start so I could finish warming up the engine.
I was finally able to push aside any anxiety that I had and began to focus… It was strange how I got so nervous before but with my helmet on and the engine running, all my anxiousness and butterflies just melted away and I was totally calm. Bill came by one last time, turned on the video camera, gave me a thumbs up and a pat on the helmet for encouragement. We’re finally waved onto the track; I flipped my visor down, flicked the kart into 1st gear and off I went.
With brand new tires for the main I did my best to scrub them in and build up as much heat into them as possible, especially with the cooler than expected weather. We had our usual 1-1/2 laps for warm up, I came around the final turn before the grid and did two practice starts to get a final feel for the clutch & tire grip then pulled into my grid spot in the fourth row on the drivers right side. It was so cool to be this close to the front with no issues of seeing the lights, all the while hoping for a decent start and stay out of the mid pack craziness… It took a little longer for the grid to get set being that close to the front. I had plenty of time to flip up my visor and relax for a few final moments. The assistant starter came to the head of the grid with the red flag down, he raised the red flag with both hands which told us to prepare for the start, he lowered the red flag which told us to get ready for the lights, the lights came on (within 5 seconds they will go off), revs came up, lights went off and off we went!!! I didn’t get a very good start (again!…) and lost a couple of positions as two drivers got by me on the inside going into turn 1 which is usually a 2nd gear corner at racing speeds but is only a 1st gear corner at the start. Coming out of turn one I was right behind eventual race winner Jeff Littrell (#95) & heat pole qualifier Mike Jones (#4) and I quickly thought to myself, “OK, I didn’t get a very good start but I’ve got 25 laps. I’ll plant myself on their bumper and follow them through to the front. I’m in 1st gear then just after I shift into 2nd gear the whole world began to spin, “Noooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” I got spun out. Had I gotten a better
start I might not have been in a position to get nudged…(?!)
Luckily I got spun out to my right, out of the way of oncoming traffic and I quickly pulled in the clutch to keep the engine from stalling.
The whole 40 kart field flew by while I waited to get back on track.
Ah nuts!!!! All I could do then was put my head down and work my way forward as much as I could. This was now about honor”!!! After I came out of the esses for the first time I had already caught up to the tail of the field. I was on a mission now and started to pick off karts left and right. I was making some of my most aggressive moves of the whole event and passed three karts on the first lap (37th). By the end of lap two I was up to 31st. I was behind Levi Bennett (#51b) for a couple of laps all the while trying to stick my nose under him and get around him. ~6:30 mark of the video I accidentally nudged him in the infield hairpin and got by. After seeing the video I e-mailed him an apology, I pride myself on racing hard but clean. He returned my e-mail and let me know that he was having transmission issues and that he had either missed a shift or it slipped out of gear. At the end of the 6th lap I was 28th. There is no passing under a yellow flag so I was relegated to having to wait to make passes a number of times at some of the prime passing zones which limited my moving up the standings (perhaps I could’ve finished even higher?…). You may notice that while I was making my way forward that I may not have been using the absolute best “racing” line, I did this is to shorten the track as long as the driver in front of me was right behind another driver. I did this mainly under braking which allowed me to catch up to them quicker, this is all part of “race craft” which is changing what, where and when you do certain things (braking & shifting points, racing line, etc…) to help you improve your position. Do I want to try and outbrake this driver here or do I want to get a better drive out of the corner to be able to pass him at the end of the straight, etc… These decisions are affected by many things and have to be made in fractions of a second: are you at the beginning, middle or end of a race, what part of the track are you on now and what part of the track is coming up, etc… Of course, while moving forward, it also gets harder and harder to make passes because the farther forward you go, the faster the drivers are. A few laps later just after the 9:30 mark I get around Jonathon Allen (#14k) moving into 25th. Around the 10:30 mark I got side by side with Steve Randazzo (#88c) coming out of turn 1 but there was a yellow flag in turn 2 so I have to back off and try again and ½ a lap later I get by. Alex Raine (#108) is next and I made the pass with a hard barking maneuver going into turn 1 getting myself up to 20th. The last few positions I was able to move up were the hardest & most challenging. I quickly caught up to Phil Dunford (#32b) & Dave Van Gordon (#53c). Phil only raced I think 2 times this year and is really quick!!! After a few laps Phil gets by Dave with a nice outbraking move at the infield hairpin. From then on until the end of the race it was Phil, Dave & myself with me all over Dave. It was getting to the last couple of laps and I probably could’ve gotten around Dave but I decided to lay back a little not wanting to risk anything. After a few more laps we caught up to Mike McDonough (#84d) who was clearly struggling and looked to be physically worn out. Phil got around Mike with 2 laps to go and Dave & myself got around him on the last lap with 3 corners to go.
In the end I decide one thing; I need to work on my starts!!!
Here’s a video of the main from my kart.
During the video Bill added some comments on how I’m waiving to the fans on the warm up lap (hee-hee). Of course I’m not… this is karting etiquette telling the drivers behind that I’m slowing down. We also waive to acknowledge a yellow flag and let the driver behind know as well.
Here’s another great helmet cam video of the main (Doug Hayashi / #55c / past SuperNats podium finisher). This one shows a perfect view of me getting spun out just after turn 1.
Here’s an S4 driver helmet cam video of the main (Alex Keith / #24y / finished 3rd in 2009 PKC NorCal championship).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bWu67J8t7w
See all of my SuperNats pictures on Flickr (I’m kart #21x in the yellow & green helmet & white drivers suit). Photos: on track, in the pits, track map, program, etc…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/37962185@N08/
Go to the “on demand” button on the bottom of the Livestream screen for recorded race calls of qualifying, all three heats and the main event. You’ll have to scroll through the menu to find S4 and the following are approximate start times of S4 in each group. Hint: give them a minute or so to load up before pressing the play button.
http://www.ekartingnews.com/live/
Heat 1 – starts at ~1:06:00
Heat 2 – starts at ~4:00
Heat 3 – starts at ~49:00
Main – starts at ~33:00 (I was mentioned a handful of times by the race announcer Rob Howden while I was making my way back up through the field)
Here’s a video of the SuperPro heat 1 race. Onboard with Anthony Abasse and around some of the best karters in the world. Pay close attention to the G meter in the lower left hand corner (they are pulling ~2 G’s). Karts are capable of 3+ G’s.
Here’s a fantastic professionally put together overview of the event focusing on a few of the highest profile drivers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAnXp_L6RjI&feature=related
Here’s a highlight video from Friday’s action by Pole Position Productions.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5H6ls2-_T8&feature=related
For those Michael Schumacher fans, here’s a video compilation of just highlights of him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrM12cLIFic&feature=related
Here’s an interview with Michael Schumacher at the SuperNats by Robin Miller of ESPN/Speed TV. He makes a very interesting comment during the interview that he feels there is not a large challenge to race at the Indy 500 but he chose to race at the SuperNats!!!
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid626910340?bctid=52587636001
Here’s a really nice video compilation of the whole event.
Here’s some excellent photos of the event.
http://www.kartcom.com/fr/news/2009/11/21/supernationals-en-images
Here’s a fantastic podcast of a number of interviews of some of the top drivers from Europe.
http://www.properkarting.com/karting1-podcast/supernats-2009.mp3
Follow this link to Go Racing Magazine’s website to read an online article of this year’s SuperNats starting on page 32.
http://www.myvirtualpaper.com/doc/Go-Racing/goracingmagazinenov09/2009113001/
Here’s a link to EKN, about 1/3 the way down there is a picture of my kart on my teeny tiny trailer.
http://www.ekartingnews.com/viewtopic.php?t=89392&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=30
I would like to thank all those who helped me. While the actual racing on track is an individual sport, there are many people along the way that help to get you there (in no particular order):
AJ Noud / owner of Rocky Mountain Kartworks Jon Romenesko / kart driver from Colorado who helped me on Wednesday & Thursday Doug Sorenson / Extreme Karting owner Andre Consorte / Bell Helmet factory representative Jason Berry / SwedeTech Racing Engines Pictures provided by: Bill Cox, Mike Goebel, Jon Romenesko and On Track Promotions
And most of all:
Bill Cox / fellow S4 driver: With Bill choosing not to drive in this year’s SuperNats for the first time in six years, he still chose to come out to the race. He took a vacation day from work and time away from his wife Marilyn to work as my mechanic/tuner, friend, confidant, encourager, driving coach, psychotherapist, etc… When I first moved from single speed karts to shifters, Bill & I became “fast”
friends (pun unintended!). He took me under his wing, mentored me through my transition and very openly shared & taught me everything he knows. All this, even when I would beat him and eventually win the
2008 S4 Heavy championship with him placing second!!! With his excellent example of sportsmanship and friendship, I have vowed to “pay it forward” and help anyone I possibly can.
I was extremely fortunate to have Bill bring his video equipment as well; he also edited and posted it. I feel that’s it’s a great opportunity to share the experience with my family, friends, business associates other drivers that couldn’t be there to be able to share in my racing experiences vicariously. I am incredibly blessed to be able to race karts, which has been a lifelong dream & passion and I love being able to share my experiences.
Ken Schilling
Tags: ProKart, SKUSA, Stock Moto, SuperNationals, SuperNats