|
Pence Jr. shakes demons at Fernley and brings
home WIN! Where did the time go? All the plans I had for improvements I was going to make to the race trailer and Motorhome during the off-season have seemed to evaporate as the time is gone and the new season is upon us.
After the wreck last year we have been scrambling to rebuild and replace all of our racing equipment – every thing was lost, what wasn’t destroyed in the wreck was destroyed soon after by the medics cutting all the safety gear off of John in preparation for transport.
The new chassis arrived about a month ago and a new motor was soon to follow. A new custom drivers suit was ordered, and a helmet secured. We thought we were in great shape. Then…..
The motor arrived needing work, and parts were missing. No fault of anyone, just one of those things. The company making his new suit called me and asked if I had sent the special heat shield material for the right leg – I hadn’t. So here we were a week from the race with no motor, or drivers suit - but I had a thought. A call to a friend that sells karts, and a cautious question – “May John race your demo kart this weekend?” - The answer was yes!!! The only problem was that the demo kart was set up for a class we had never raced before – so John and I were both on a steep learning curve. Then I remembered that John and his boss were about the same height and size, so I suggested to my son that he ask to borrow his boss’s suit because Terry wouldn’t be racing this event – again the answer was “shouldn’t be a problem.”
Thursday morning was a mad dash to Stockton to pick up the kart then for John’s safety and comfort I had to mount his seat in the borrowed kart and to make room for his long legs I had to move the peddles forward to give him leg room. Friday was spent getting everything loaded, hooked up, tied down and ready for the road – leaving at 7:00 pm for Reno / Fernley raceway.
The trip started out great – the old motorhome was running like a top and the weather looked good – until about 6500 feet – it started snowing, I don’t even own chains for this rig, but the road was warm (34 F) so the snow wasn’t sticking and we got through with out incident, except maybe for the new finger grips that were formed from my white knuckle death grip in the wheel <GRIN> we arrived in Fernley 3 minutes before midnight. ;-)
Saturday morning we arrived at the track and unloaded – and John went out for his first practice – it took him a few laps to shake off the “demons” but I could see his confidence coming back and by his 4th or 5th lap he was as fast as anything on the track. I asked if the Kart needed any adjustments, He said it was fine don’t change a thing. What a nice surprise – we were fast out of the trailer for a change!
The first heat he started on pole, and lead the whole way – building a 14 second lead on the second place kart, he was walking away for a sure win - then about 12 minutes into a 20-minute race, a 50-cent throttle clamp broke ending his race – he still ended up in 5th place because several karts had already pulled off.
The second heat John had to start on the 3rd row because of his first heat finish. Again he pulled away working his way to the lead. In road racing there are several classes on the track at the same time so it is harder for us to tell where our driver is running in his class. John continued to pass karts working his way to the front of the race. About 9 minutes into the race a couple of karts got together and flipped creating a red flag situation - John was not involved, and the drivers that were are both ok – bruised but OK. The race was called due to time; John was in the lead for his class. When the points were tallied there was a 3-way tie for first place. The rules state that in the event of a tie the finish of the second race is used to break the tie - John was awarded 1st place.
A borrowed kart, and drivers suit in a class he had never raced before, on a track he doesn’t remember – A WIN to start the 2004 season – not to shabby J
Special
thanks to: |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
