2009 Jr Microsprint Karting

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2009-2010 Tillsonburg Outlaws

October 3 2010 - The Big 100 Lap race


Certainly Fall has arrived as the skies brought overcast and rain all morning. Luckily the track surface was unaffected other then the cooler temps meant the track stayed fairly consistent over the day but still finished dry after 2800 kart laps at race speed.
The 100 lap fun day is as much about the season ending socializing party as it is about the racing so let me lead into the festivities first.
It would be absolutely impossible to pull this off without the participation and assistance of everyone involved. From actually bringing the food, helping to set up BBQ's & tables, to flipping burgers, and cleaning up afterwards, everyone pitched in when needed. There are way too many to name but I noticed again Brad Perrott flipped a lot of burgers and looked quite happy to be in charge of a grill. I was the last through the food line and there was still so many food choices that I walked away stuffed. The event is like a family reunion except you all have a common interest----racing. Picnic highlights would be: Maddie Moo's sponsoring the burgers for all to eat, the teams, families and spectators that had the food in place and ready for serving actually 5 minutes early, the fun socializing with the very same people we have competed against all season and the almost complete lack of garbage anywhere afterwards. This is a terrific conscientious group of racers, parents, grandparents, neighbours and spectators in general.
Thank You all for your participation making the day and season a resounding success.
As for the races. Most every driver came off the track exhausted after running many more laps in one sitting than they are used too. Kudos to the pit crews who had karts ready to go the distance. Only one or two were unable to finish due to contact with a wall, not poor kart maintenance. That would have to be a finish rate that any track would envy. The drivers did a great job of staying out of trouble that could take them out of the race and yet they still ran inches away from each other making for exciting action.
In the Beginners # 77 Johnny Miller and # 55 Scott Hall both ran at the front and both had set backs as they were involved in cautions and sent to the rear. It did not hold these racers back much and they were able to claw their way back into the action. # 9 Kassy Streng took the smart way to the front by staying out of the aforementioned penalties. A slight 7 seconds separated 1st from 3rd after 75 laps that took 19 minutes to complete. Final results were 1. 77x Johnny Miller, 2. # 9 Kassy Streng, 3. # 55 Scott Hall, 4. # 01 Jamie Hall, 5. 57 Bryson Green, 6.# 66 Colby Bennett. Although they spend the whole season racing, this class is all about learning to race and over the coarse of the year most things they needed to learn popped up opne way or another. It has certainly been fun watching this group of kids progress to the point that they can race well for 75 laps almost caution free.
The Junior Division took the longest as they managed to run over tire markers, tangle with other racers and just spin out trying to pass but there was never a dull moment as the group raced to win. Checkers or wreckers seemed to be the moto. There was a false start as the pack ran so wide on the first corner that they ran two karts right up into the wall. # 77 Alex Hill took the brunt of that one but was able to rejoin the group in the restart. This group has gotten so proficient at lining up and starting tight that the race got underway quickly, only to have another caution after one lap was complete but they regrouped in double formation before we even had the order wrote down. Problem is after one lap we go to single file restarts and we had to get them in line. Even that went quickly as they knew what to do and all followed suit. With this being the last time this group of young racers will be together there were no less than 7 teams that wanted to prove they were THE ONES this year and although this was a fun race, for some crew chief's there is no such thing as "fun". Hannah Ferrell, Dylan Westbrook, DJ McRae, Brad Perrott, Alex Hill, Cole MacDonald and Jacob Sheridan have all been beating on one another all season. The drivers, for the most part all come off the track and hang out between the races. But the parents, well, lets just say some deal with the stress of trying to win better than others. This week all but one parent had a great time and that team ended up missing out on a good meal as a result. I can't say it enough. It's about the kids, about the kids, about the kids.
On the track, it looked like it was going be # 8 Hannah Ferrell and # 37 Dylan Westbrook, as they traded the lead enough times that I lost count. Every time they would catch traffic, the leader would get passed. For some time it looked like # 20 DJ McRae in 3rd was going to inherit the lead after the front two took each other out but it was McRae who was the first to drag a tire on the track as he struggled with a loose set up and was sent to the rear. About the time McRae was making his way up, Westbrook got involved in a wreck and was sent to the rear. Low and behold, there was McRae sitting in second with only Ferrell in his way. The expectant battle never materialized though as McRae got loose on a restart and spun causing another caution as the race started to wind down. Westbrook was in the process of working his way back up to the front but had to contend with Perrott and Sheridan who had no intentions of letting the glory slip away in their 100 lap race. Hill was always tough to pass and in the thick of things but was not able to make a charge. By race end, Westbrook was able to get back up into second but not make a charge on first. Even on the last lap the action was wild as # 0 Cole MacDonald ended up on his side after attempting just one more pass on the final corner thus making the race one lap short. 37 minutes to put in the race with only 9 seconds from first to sixth. Final results, 1. # 8 Hannah Ferrell, 2. #47 Dylan Westbrook, 3. # 87 Brad Perrott, 4 # 52 Jacob Sheridan, 5. # 20 DJ McRae, 6. # 77x Alex Hill, 7. # 0 Cole MacDonald, 8. # 17 Brandon Norris, 9. # 73 Cody Adcock
The Senior's were the opposite as they pulled off their 100 laps in only 18 minutes with 8 seconds separating 1st from 5th. There was some question whether the small tank Subaru's could run 100 laps but in the end fuel never played into the race results and one the small tanks actually won the race with a 1/3 left. # 51 Matt Anderson set fast time in Sr Qualifying and was able to run strong for 100 laps to put in his best performance (3rd) since moving to SR. This week however, it was # 37 Scott Kelly and # 10 Blake Westman that chased one another up front making for a result that was not decided until lap 100. The last Senior race of 2010 went down as 1. # 37 Scott Kelly, 2. # 10 Blake Westman, 3. # 51 Matt Anderson, 4 # 5 Conor Mahoney, 5. # 39 Kate Courtnage, 6. # 79 Bea Courtnage, 7. # 30 Josh Beecroft
The Experts had a serious question about just how far the BIG 500 cc motors would run on a tank of fuel and elected to make for a 55 lap final. All I can say is a RH headrest would have been an asset as fighting the G force of these karts for even 55 laps was a challenge. Eight karts turned up for the race and it was on. # 19 Cody Coburn ran up front for 38 laps and was no doubt already hoping for a victory but # 34 Scott Chesterman had other ideas as he tried HI, LO and through Coburn until there was finally an opportunity to slip under and take the lead. Coburn returned the pressure trying to get Chesterman to bobble and get the lead back. Only a couple seconds behind this battle # 88 Devin Jarvis and # 7 Dave Chesterman had their own going. Jarvis stuck it out and staying in front of # 7 for one of his best races in the division. 55 laps in 9 minutes with 4 seconds between 1st and 4th. Results 1. # 34 Scott Chesterman, 2. # Cody Coburn, 3. # 88 Devin Jarvis, 4. # 7 Dave Chesterman, 5. # 34d Dylan Chesterman, 6. # 1 Holly Porter, 7. # 81 Cassidy March, 8. # 63 Lawrence Chesterman
At the end of each epic battle there were excited kids that have been waiting all year to do victory donuts on the infield. They took the chance to celebrate completing the big race. The infield looked like aliens had landed in our building with all the round dirt circles. I doubt it will tide them over until next May but after yesterday I am sure they will have the driving bug out of their system for at least a day or two.
Next big event is the 2010 Tillsonburg Mini Outlaws Banquet.
To be held Saturday November 20th, at the Tillsonburg Soccer Club. Doors open at 5, Supper at 6, Awards presentation about 7
If you have any stories that would be relevant when we introduce the drivers, please forward them. This helps to keep our group tight knit and associate some personality to the kids that are up to stuff off the track which is interesting to the spectators and parents. There is already an office full of Trophies to give out and stories to tell over the night so be sure to attend. Always a good meal with lots of bench racing and a photo display of the season.
A wise old racer once told me. " Deal with the stuff you can change and Don't Stress over what you can't"
See you in November
The reality of Life is preventing the timely completion of this weeks race updates. A full day of training at Gopher Dunes riding Atv's manufactured by not only Polaris but also the competition made yesterday busy and a meeting today in Toronto will mean the newsletter will have to wait until sometime Friday. ( I know, it's a rough life) Don't fret though because the results are posted on MY LAPS and yes the adjustment has been made by removing everyones worst score so the results for the summer series should be complete and correct.
Well, there you have it. The Summers Series is concluded. What a great series it has been. The competition has gotten so tight that each week we have had a variety of drivers winning the events. There were no forgone conclusions each night who would win and it took a bit of luck and a lot of skill to do well each week. So....
Without further ado...
The Beginners now look more like the Juniors back in May and certainly have learned a lot this summer. This week # 77 Johnny Miller managed to win both mains and finish his last beginner race in first place. # 01Jamie Hall and # 9 Kassy Streng also had good nights trading 2nds and 3rds but Hall's better 10 lap sprint broke the tie and put her in 2nd for the night. Goes to show how stiff the competition is when Summer Series winner # 55 Scott Hall, never made the top three. He was close in 4th. No longer really Beginners, these 4 drivers are ready to make their mark in the Junior Division. All that is in their way is 100 laps of racing Sunday afternoon.
In the Junior division we had a repeat of the Beginners with the Summer Series Champion, # 20 DJ McRae, finishing 4th for the night. This is a very tough group as well. Leading the way was # 8 Hannah Ferrell who despite not doing well in the 10 lap sprint managed to take both mains, which this week was enough to win the night. Often up on two wheels in the corners, Hannah set some fast laps on the tacky track, certainly driving on the edge of what is possible. Winning the sprint was # 48 Andrew Marshall which together with a 2nd in the last main was able to tie # 47 Dylan Westbrook for the night who finished 3rd in each race and tying points with Marshall making it a two way tie for 2nd this week.
Senior Series Champ # 30 Josh Beecroft ran strong this week but was bridesmaid to # 37 Scott Kelly by a mere point as Kelly was able to keep his kart on the track this week for all three races. Rounding out the top three was # 5 Connor Mahoney. Again this group was all business on the track and their final race of the series has made it to You Tube for all to see.
The final Expert points race of the year marked # 19 Cody Coburn's first earnest win as he laid it to the largest field of the season. Coburn Celebrated with a dust up in the infield after his main win and forever will be embedded on You Tube as proof he won it fair and square. Wrapping up the night in 2nd were # 7 Dave Chesterman and 3rd# 34 Scott Chesterman who also managed to win a Summer Series for the first time. Showing notable speed this week were both # 88 Devin Jarvis and # 34d Dylan Chesterman. This pair should be able to carry the speed into 2011 and take on any new entries. Anyone up to the challenge?
So with that out of the way we have a 100 lap race to look after.
Oct 3, Gates open at 11:30am, Practice at 1pm, Qualifying at 2 pm, racing at 2:30, Pot luck supper at 5pm
The BBQ's are looked after, Racers and spectators to bring Pot Luck. Should be a great time racing and bench racing as we re-live some of the great fun we have had this year.
Now I better go out and have a look at my Kart. See you tomorrow.
2010 Summer Series -12 races

The season is almost complete with one points race remaining and yet there are still positions to be decided in the Series Standings. Non the less the race action has been exiting as every racer seems to be willing to risk their position in hopes of rising a spot. The fans benefit with a great show and I know the racers are having fun holding nothing back.
The Sunday October 3rd 100 lapper schedule was distributed this week and is listed again further down this email. Everyone is welcome, Bring your Pot luck dish and join in the fun.
On another note, this time in the season we start looking and forecasting how our classes are going to shape up for next year. Just for fun, a predicted class list for 2011 follows. For sure there will be a team or two move on to follow other opportunities but just as surely there will be some new racers that discover us over the winter. Again, we have almost cleaned house in the beginner class as the graduates move on to Junior but just as last year, there will be multiple Beginners come out of the woodwork to refill the class. I must say that each season the quality of racing for both the fans and the racers moves up a notch. Outsiders who have made the trip to see our races have all been impressed and are surprised by the fact that this is only our 3rd full year of racing. Considering we started from scratch 3 years ago, everyone should be proud of what they have accomplished both on and off the track. Perfect? Likely not, but great motorsport racing for all ages. Let's hope that ALL of the current teams will come to the same realization and return for 2011.
Here is the 2011 forcast. (before adding new teams who join over the winter.)
Beginners. 57, 66, 93, 32
Juniors 9, 77xj, 77xa, 48, 52, 8, 93, 55, 01, 0
Senior 47, 87, 20, 10, 51, 17, 39, 79, 73
Expert 7, 34, 1, 34d, 19, 88, 5, 37, 30, 4, 15
With 10 racers or more per division, it won't be just the Juniors with the crazy racing. It will be every group on the track. The best part? With home grown experienced drivers the action just gets hotter each year. What used to pass as competitive speed in Senior two years ago would get destroyed by the Juniors at their current level. Not just in speed but in on track smarts and passing skills. With that pre-amble, here's what happened this week.
The Beginners are looking more like Juniors. No longer oblivious to what is going on around them, able to slow down when prudent as well as shoot through a gap when possible these kids are racing like Pro's. # 93 Rayse Meyer got tired of waiting for a victory to do victory donuts on the infield and had a fun time of it this week pulling donuts, a couple times almost wiping out # 57 Bryson Green who was not sure the race was over and had to use his driving skills to avoid the action. No doubt Rayse is going to be a personality next year. # 66 Colby Bennett learned some driving skills this week. Running low on the track to stay out of the way seemed like a good idea except last night the track was greasy down there and that meant lots of counter steering trying to hold on to his kart. With more experience Colby would have just changed lines but by sticking it out he learned more about saving a spin than months of running up high racing for glory. Just another skill to tuck into his bucket. As for the results for the night. After 3 races # 77x Johnny Miller and # 55 Scott Hall ended up tied for first with # 01 Jamie Hall taking 3rd.
The Juniors continue to impress with not only the most crazy and competitive racing, but also the best crashes. Mid race in the 2nd main # 77x Alex Hill and #17 Brandon Norris hooked a wheel and neither backed out of it but when the time came to throw the kart sideways the tangled karts ran straight up into the wall where I was standing. Certainly a test of the wall as two karts piled in at speed. The result? Separate the karts and check the drivers. Both were ready to go. Were it not for a broken throttle on the 77x both would have rejoined the action right then and there. Crash number two was # 87 Brad Perrott trying to pass leader # 0 Cole MacDonald, got his kart sideways and completed a nice barrel role and landed back on his wheels and on the gas to keep right on racing with only a lost position or two but a speedy caution/red light brought the field to a stop so Brad drove to the infield. With a wing looking a little flatter, the track crew asked "are you okay?", Brad replied, "ya, lets go", Dad pulled the wing upright (somewhat) and Brad rejoined the field. Watching the video after, the # 77x Alex Hill and # 8 Hannah Ferrell, who were both following at the time of the flip merely adjusted their lines and passed the barrel rolling kart on the gas without so much as a close call. Interesting to see some sharp racers take a potential crash and make it look easy to avoid. # 48 Andrew Marshall, # 87 Brad Perrott and # 8 Hannah Ferrell each won individual races but it was only Hannah Ferrell who was consistent enough make the top three taking first over # 20 DJ McRae who ran strong all night to finish 2nd. Finishing in a tie for 3rd were # 47 Dylan Westbrook and # 0 Cole MacDonald.
This week in the Seniors it was the Courtnage girls taking the wins one way or another as they battled for Supreme sister rights. This week it was the younger # 79 Bea Courtnage that came out on top twice plus the overall nights win over # 39 Kate Courtnage. # 10 Blake Westman had a strong night and actually ended up tied for 2nd with Kate. His kart works much better with the carburetor attached. Most interesting incident this week had to be # 5 Conor Mahoney and # 30 Josh Beecroft when they managed to get their front and rear bumpers hooked and ran nose to tail for several laps. Now I must admit that these two regularly run with bumpers rubbing during the night and so it actually took awhile to notice that they were locked together. At the time I believe they were running 1st and 2nd and to bring out the caution would have moved them to the rear for the restart. About the time the starter decided they were not coming apart and reached for the yellow, Beecroft cranked it hard, putting both karts sideways opposite one another and broke them free. Able to keep going after quick donuts, they each rejoined the action without actually causing a caution. Wondering how the karts hooked so nicely I scanned the other karts in the field and noticed the # 5 kart is the only one in the club with a 2" stub sticking down from the rear bumper. Don't think we need a rule about it but it would be a good idea to cut that off to avoid a repeat occurrence.
This week in the Experts, # 63 Lawrence Chesterman's engine finally won a race and tied for 1st for the night. Only thing is, it was in # 1 Holly Porters kart when it did it, so I don't think it really counts. That said, # 34 Scott Chesterman won time trials, # 19 Cody Coburn won the 10 lap sprint and # 1 Holly Porter won the 30 Lap main. That left Coburn and Porter tied for first this week. Is this the start of mix em up racing in the Experts. I think it is a good sign.
I would like to point out some typical close racing that occurs in this group. Somewhere in the main when my tongue was dragging on the ground I messed up a corner enough to lose some speed. Wham! # 19 Coburn slammed into me and rattled my fillings. My best soIution was to get on the gas, drive the kart and get to heck outa there. No wreck. I am using this example because it happens in the Beginners and Juniors and Seniors except my parents were not here to blame Coburn. When trying to pass a kart a driver must run inches away from that kart and attempt to time the pass to perfection. However, the assumption is that the lead kart will not momentarily slow. When slow it does, the lead kart should expect to get run into. In the younger age groups it often can appear that the rear kart rammed into the front kart when actually it was the lead kart doing something unexpected. From my point of view looking (through the steering wheel), I have run into karts I was trying to pass cleanly and I have been run into by karts trying to pass me. It is part of the expected action. Pressure to do well, try not to screw up because you know a slam from behind is possible if you change your speed slightly. Heck, at times I am surprised when my kart goes where it does, how can you be upset at anyone behind you that also gets surprised? Good fun aggressive racing with the kids and I am still able to be at work in the morning. I love it. And the best part is for Coburn to hit me from behind means I was out front. Big Grin of Satisfaction!
Next regular points race Sept 28 2010
October 3 2010 non points 100 lap race below.
Sept 14 2010
Here it is Friday and I barely remember starting the drivers meeting on Tuesday. I swear the older I get the faster weeks go by with the seasons changing faster than I can keep up. On my drive in the Fall foliage is starting to show some reds and oranges and I just got into Summer mode. Anyway....
First, let me wish Cody Coburn my condolences as he lost a good friend Monday. Not many details are known on my part but two sisters, a car on a gravel road and a tree ended in tragedy for a Mt Brydges family. At some point it will be decided that besides some bad luck, someone's judgement underestimated a circumstance. Unfortunately it has terrible results when played out with heavy cars in the real world.
Which brings me to our racing club. While we are all attending because it is fun to race; what are our racers learning from the experience? As parents, we are having a good time being with our children and look forward to the weekly event. The kids though are learning things that will likely be remembered their whole lives, some good and some bad. On the track they are getting to practice judgement, when to push (win or crash trying) and when to hold up (2nd is better than DNF). They get to drive on the edge and see what happens when they go past their limits. On the track a disaster usually involves not getting a ribbon that week. My hope is that these learned reaction and judgement skills will carry them through their whole lives and keep them safe out in the real world. In the meantime it is fun to watch a good race.
But what are the bad things they are learning? Kids likely see more than you realize. They see parents who blame someone else when things don't go their way. All too often, openly blaming the "other" racer for something that happens on the track. While the parent might or might not be correct in that instance, what about the time before and what about the opinion of someone that has a different point of view? It takes two to tango. It also takes two to test your limits on the track. Without a track full of co-racers, how can any of us race and participate in this great sport?
Before placing blame and trying to convince everyone else that they should stay home, think about how boring a race with one kart competing would be. Where was I going with this? Oh yes, kids watching what their parents are doing. In general a young racer's opinion starts to be the same as their parents and having a group of kids all running around blaming others for their misfortune would be a sad thing. Don't think your kids are watching? We would have some embarrassing results if at the drivers meeting I asked the kids "who has witnessed their parents drink a few beers and then deem themselves "okay" to drive the family home" ? The kids learn more from what you do than what you tell them.
Here is a great on track example of blaming someone when it is not so easy to know for sure. Midway through the 2nd main in the Juniors # 17 Brandon Norris was leading #20 DJ McRae who was trying to get past. On the back corner McRae got into Norris who then went up on two wheels, saved it and then coasted to a stop. At first I thought McRae caused the almost wreck. The radio chatter starts to see what anyone else saw. The incident happened in a particularly rough part of the corner and the two were running very close. Derailing a chain causes an immediate slow down and any kart following inches away will surely hit the lead kart that slowed unexpectedly. In the 15 seconds that we have to make a decision it was deemed the lead kart likely broke causing the caution and McRae kept his spot. Were we right? Does it really matter? Every night there are multiple calls that may or may not go your way. Anyone getting too hung up on any one call is missing the point. Overall the racing is great, our racers are learning with every lap and on a whole they are having a lot of fun. Try not to focus, dwell or complain about another competitor because you are missing all the good stuff that is going on.
So what else happened this week?
The beginners saw # 55 Scott Hall tangle with #57 Bryson Green while leading the race, cause a caution, get sent to the rear and then regain the lead within several laps. Scott certainly has this go fast thing down pretty good at this point and is ready to tackle the Juniors next year. Representing our female racers well were the dynamic dual of # 01 Jamie Hall and # 9 Kassy Streng who were never more than two positions apart at race end and although not able to win the night, put the rest of the boys in there place by taking 2nd and 3rd in that order. Of special note, # 93 Rayse Meyer found enough speed this week to actually match some of the mid pack racers. Also interesting was watching the kids mud in the track after a quick grading when they were able to hold starting grid formation for multiple laps. That sounds like a simple thing but it is a very big advancement in this groups "learn to race" journey. Being able to control their speed and hold a spot with karts all around them is like watching a light come on as they understand what is expected of them. A significant step.
The Juniors? Every time I type that I have to smile as various on track moments come to mind. This group is capable of driving faster than what seems possible as they all push one another's limits. At one point the group picked up a faster and faster pace until something had to give. The track had some rough spots and there were karts on their back wheels and side wheels, all the time running and racing so close that it just had to end with a crash. Kind of like putting a ball on a string and swinging it around until you just can't hold it anymore. The lucky racer who got to be the ball was # 48 Andrew Marshall who after a 3 kart chain reaction was sitting on his side against the wall. Andrews reaction?, "put me on my wheels so I can get going again". Not one to miss any of the on track fun, he was back in the pack on the restart. #8 Hannah Ferrell proved once again that she is able to get through traffic and was able to keep her kart rubber side down this week on the rough but tacky track long enough to take the overall with two wins. Only 1 point off the pace though was no other than # 87 Brad Perrott who has shown repeatedly the ability to run with the leaders even when it gets a bit hairy. Absolutely a solid 2nd for the night. Again, another female racer making sure the podium is weighted with more girls than boys, # 77x Alex Hill stayed in the action with 3 solid runs, one being a win to take 3rd overall. Looking at the series points, # 20 DJ McRae and #47 Dylan Westbrook have 1st and 2nd wrapped up by just showing up the next two weeks but 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th are yet to be determined. That means for Hill, Ferrell, Perrott and Sheridan, the next two weeks determines how they finish the year. Certainly an exciting series.
Indicitive of the racing in the Seniors, with only two races to go, no one in the top 4 have locked in their series order. A bad night by the leader and a good night by 4th could flip the whole standings. That said, this week it was # 5 Conor Mahoney who decided it was easier to do well when not trying to wreck his kart and took the overall with two wins. # 39 Kate Courtnage proved again that if her sister doesn't slow her progress she can run up front and her pair of 2nd's was enough to finish 2nd this week. Kate is only 3 points away from sister Bea in the series. # 30 Josh Beecroft was a close 3rd and is the current series points leader. Looking at it realistically, the Seniors standings are going to be affected more by who has bad luck than who wins the next couple of weeks. It is just that close.
This week it looked like # 19 Cody Coburn may grab is first win in the Experts as he was running up front with only a few laps to go but a last minute charge by # 34 Scott Chesterman in one of those win or crash trying moves put Coburn back to 2nd. In the process they lapped up to 3rd. # 1 Holly Porter seems to have taken over the honors of worst motor luck this year with break down again this week. Easily destroying the track, the powereful Expert karts put on a good show with # 34, # 19, # 7 and # 34d taking the top 4. The series standings in this group is anyones to lose as the only way for positions to change is for a no show by one of the competitors. Lets hope everyone can run to the end to keep the standings honest.
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Youngest Rayse Meyer,oldest Dave Chesterman Andrew Marshall just wishing and dreaming
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Happiness is everywhere if you look for it.
Sept. 7 2010
Yahoo, the kids are back to school.
Even though I no longer have any kids going back to school, it still gets me excited. There was still lots of energy in these youngsters despite having gotten up earlier than normal to meet their new teachers. The drivers meeting was short and sweet with the racing getting underway thereafter.
The beginners this week had some great action both on and off the track. Always interesting that in any sport, the parents range from "out for a good time" to "this is not good enough for my child". This is always most polarized in the youngest age categories. It is a free country, however and we will keep the good attitude parents and the ones with negative attitudes that cannot be "converted" will have to go by the wayside. After drawing for start positions, the on track action was as close as ever, # 77x Johnny Miller/Ohsweken, # 01 Jamie Hall/Wilsonville and # 55 Scott Hall all took individual race wins. I believe this would be the first overall win for # 77 Johnny Miller who has adapted to the tight racing quickly. Scott Hall and Jamie Hall took 2nd and third in that order. A few parents wondered where #93 Rayse Meyer was? The 4 year old was home after getting a tooth pulled, Ouch
Again the Juniors showed they had a class full of potential winners with overall results that are very close. #47 Dylan Westbrook/Scotland was able to turn pole starts in two of the three races into victory for the night. #52 Jacob Sheridan/Mt Brydges did the same with outside pole to take 2nd for night. Starting from the rear two out of 3 races, # 8 Hannah Ferrell/Windham Center was able to pass enough racers to get the job done for 3rd overall. Good starting position has gone from no significance to being a major factor in the results with this group. Everyone of them has had a shot of running up front at some point in time. Good thing the karts are painted different so we can tell who is winning.
The Seniors again were strong. #51 Matt Anderson/ Ridgetown showed some new speed after starting on the pole and was able to run traffic free at a very good clip. Passing proved to be a bit more difficult but a very good night out for the new Senior. Starting outside pole was #37 Scott Kelly/Stratford who was able to win on the night without actually winning a main. # 51 Matt Anderson and # 30 Josh Beecroft/Ridgetown won the mains and finished the night 2nd and 3rd in that order.
After looking at the finish results compared to the starting order for this weeks Juniors and Seniors it is plain to see the competition level has developed to the point that starting position plays into the results more than it did at the beginning of the year. We will be giving this some thought on how to give all racers an equal shot at a nights win without draw position being the deciding factor. Again, if we ignore the development and progression of the racers and never adapt our procedures to accommodate the changes, we are missing the boat. The racers skills are developing and so to must the program.
The Experts this week put on a great 4 kart show after a couple racers either had running issues or crashed themselves out of action. #19 Cody Coburn/ Mt Brydges was able to run faster times after the track was watered before the final 30 main and together with # 34 Scott Chesterman/Langton exchanged the lead multiple times, often within a lap. Not to be outdone, # 1 Holly Porter/Dorchester and # 7 Dave Chesterman/Langton were often trading paint and pushing the leaders as they battled to better their positions. Father son team # 34D Dylan and #63 Lawrence Chesterman had their own battle going on as they attempted to prove who is faster with the resulting carnage being great entertainment for the spectators. #1 Holly Porter would like to remind all the other racers that if your fuel pump pulse line is full of oil your engine will not run and you will get last place. Sorry Holly, would you check mine next week?
3 regular races to go as the series winds down.
1 100 lap fun day/picnic Oct 3 and a November banquet will conclude the season.
Next race Sept 14 2010
So there you have it. The last race of August, 31st in sweltering heat. The race action was just as hot though and we came so close to a caution free night that even without rushing, the final Expert Main was wrapped up by 9 pm. Ironically this was the first trial of having designated staff to right any spun out karts and basically they had nothing to do all night. I love it.
The starts were some of the prettiest I could imagine with racers crossing the start line two by two in tight formation. All the racers that have been with us the whole season are past the point of being afraid of contact with other karts and yet have the precise driving skills that permit close aggressive driving without hardly any contact. When it does happen, the drivers drive the kart, drive the kart, and drive the kart and generally nothing else happens.
Now this is where as an official I would like to point out where we are compared to where we started the 2010 journey with a "team" of racers. Holding back the fast "experienced" drivers and pushing, living with, and encouraging the newer drivers. Telling them it is okay to bump other karts and then when they do, saying "okay, now lets try it without bumping karts." Living with sloppy starts and then when the skill and equality is there, start insisting on tight formation starts. Handicapping racers in starting position most of the season and then letting it be more random when all the racers are up to speed. I would have to say that the group this year is at a very high level and they are displaying some of the best racing you are likely to see anywhere. Would this level of racing have been achieved at this point without the "coaching" style of running the club? Maybe, but not likely. Is this strikingly different than many "win at all costs" type of race clubs where every racer is against every other racer both on the track and in the pits? Absolutely. If we ever start to take on this mentality, just shoot me. NO, not really but you know what I mean. I really like where the club is at this point and hope to be able to duplicate it yearly.
So the series race is on to the championship. Racing amongst equals in each division. And the kids? Having fun all the way along.
The 100 lap fun day is set for Sunday October 3rd 2010 and although the schedule is not set yet, expect it to take the better part of the day and will be followed with a Pot Luck BBQ to wrap up the Summer Series. Yes, I have some banquet planning to do as well and that will be mid November sometime.
On with the racing.
Not only did rookie # 66 Colby Bennett/Port Dover win the best crash this week, he had about the only crash all night. True to pattern, Colby in his second week was feeling really brave up high near the wall and just ran out of track when he got to the side wall. With that out of the way, Colby came back for the final main and ran much lower on the track. It is amazing how fast these kids learn when sudden stoppage is the penalty for messing with the wall. This week #55 Scott Hall/Wilsonville returned to top place with only two points separating him from 2nd place # 77x Johnny Miller/Ohsweken who got a transponder so he was no longer invisible. # 9 Kassy Streng/Tillsonburg took third, back a mere point from 2nd. Special mention goes out to #93 Rayse Meyer who is adjusting his speed threshold upwards a fair bit. Keep it up Rayse. Again this group is looking more seasoned with every race. Amazing what they can accomplish in just one season.
Best battle of the Juniors had to be #47 Dylan Westbrook/Scotland and # 87 Brad Perrott/Strathroy in the final main while running 1-2. Brad actually made the pass for the lead but while navigating through traffic got re-passed by Dylan who hung on for the win. Brad showed up wearing his race face this week and made good for third overall on the night. By one point Dylan Westbrook was in 2nd overall but neither were able to out do # 77x Alex Hill/Wilsonville as she proved she means business. Alex drew a great start position but when the field got inverted her start from the back was bettered all the way to 4th as she picked off racers one by one while running a really high line. She has been watching the 360 Sprints running the top of the cushion at Ohsweken. It seemed to work this week. This group has made 3 wide a common site in Tillsonburg, providing some very exiting racing for the spectators. Our nights points are based on a three race average. Each race had a different winner this week.
Senior action saw #37 Scott Kelly/Stratford rise to the top, again with a great starting position for two races but managed 3rd after starting from the rear. # 5 Conor Mahoney/Hamilton ran strong all night to take 2nd overall followed closely by # 30 Josh Beecroft/Ridgetown in 3rd. What else can I say about the Seniors? No muss, no fuss, just hard core racing. Good job group!
The Experts? # 1 Holly Porter/Dorchester laid down fast time in Qualifying, # 7 Dave Chesterman/ Langton and # 34 Scott Chesterman/Langton split wins but both got beat by Porter for the night. #19 Cody Coburn/Mt Brydges is holding onto 2nd place in the series by his fingernails and # 88 Devin Jarvis/London is racing to win and beat 1/2 the field this week.
That's all for this week. Have a safe long weekend, look out for drivers that have not attended the "Racing by Chesterman" School and remember ---The kids go back to school really soon.
Next race Tues. Sept. 7th 2010 7pm
Membership Race report from Aug. 24 2010 races in Tillsonburg
Right off the top I will mention that next week, Tues. Aug 31 is the night Jamie Westman is gathering donations of Tooth brushes, tooth paste, hotel size soaps and shampoos, reading and sun glasses. Glasses can be used but I think the tooth brushes should be new. Grin ;) Again , Jamie is traveling to Nicaragua with a group of doctors and nurses to give aid to the people of a very poor country. Certainly a nice thing to do and I know Jamie would appreciate any of the listed items you can donate.
On to the racing.
This week emphasis was put on making our starts professional looking just like the big boys. This is not the easiest thing to do with a group of kids but after enduring several false starts, things started to shape up in each division. I am sure this is a great example of short term pain for long term gain.
The cooler weather certainly was a relief and I would have to say we had a record crowd.
Welcome new members Johnny Miller and Colby Bennett. Both drivers are currently in the Beginner Division learning the ropes. Other then working on their starts, the beginners are doing a very nice job during the race night, giving the spectators some thrills without too much delay. As the season has progressed, this group has improved the most. When the points were added up, # 9 Kassy Streng/Tillsonburg took first 1-1-1, # 01 Jamie Hall/Wilsonville took 2nd 2-3-2 and # 57 Bryson Green/ Ingersoll was 3rd 3-4-3
The Juniors were up for another great night of racing. Best crash in this group had to be # 52 Jacob Sheridan after winning the first heat. In the 25 lap main Jacob was mid pack in a start when the caution came out after a botched start, and went outside a little too far trying to avoid the slowing kart in front of him. His right front rim grabbed the plywood sending the rear of his kart around in a clockwise spin that was quick enough that he landed facing the correct direction after doing a full 360. It looked like he was going to drive away but after a quick check of kart and driver, decided to call it a night. Expert Cody Coburn decided a couple weeks ago to take # 48 Andrew Marshall/Dorchester 5-1-1 under his wing and gave him some tips on the fastest lines around the track. Andrew must be a quick study because he was able to win both mains in a very competitive group. It was # 8 Hannah Ferrell's/Windham Center 2-2-2 and
better result in the 10 lap sprint that was Andrew's undoing though as he was dropped to second by points. Third place goes to # 20 DJ McRae/London 4-3-3.
I took a lot of flak for how we brought these kids to the level they are currently at but the kids had a lot of fun along the way. They are all driving like accomplished seasoned racers at this point. It just drove the parents nuts along the way. Sorry about that but remember this when we start all over again next year.
The Senior's had Junior #51 Matt Anderson/Ridgetown graduate this week. He finally wrapped up his Baseball Championship season (All Ontario I heard) and came back to racing. Matt kind of got the fast track to the Seniors but has proven to be a calm competent driver and will do fine with this group. A few weeks running the more consistent pace and he will be in the thick of things. Oddly, the Seniors don't run much faster than the Juniors but during a race they just never seem to make a mistake so passing amongst this group can be a real test of a drivers skill. # 37 Scott Kelly had a rough start to the night as his engine fell off for the 2nd time in as many weeks but they scrambled and got the mount fixed better this time and it held together for third overall going 7-2-2. # 30 Josh Beecroft/Ridgetown has been on a tear lately and actually won the final 35 lap race after starting at the rear of the field. This was enough to take second with 4-3-1. #10 Blake Westman/Aylmer who has had an up and down year had his act together this week and walked away champ for the night with 1-1-3. I believe 6 of the 8 racers have stood on the top block this year. Certainly a good sign of the depth of skill in the Senior Division.
The 2nd best crash for the night was in the Expert class, but had nothing to do with the karts. We had a family friend who has drove ATV's a lot and even participated in a national magazine quad test, but was not prepared for a failed start and ended up hooking a kart and flipping the quad on its side. Can't say he was too happy with himself but the Quad can be fixed and other than some stiffness he will be fine. Funny how the racers tend to be the safest people in the building. This week # 19 Cody Coburn/Mt Brydges busted up the Scott and Holly show and took 2nd with 3-2-3. # 1 Holly Porter/Dorchester had fastest qualifiying time but finished 3rd after going 1-6-3. # 34 Scott Chesterman/Langton found a fast way around the track that no one else discovered as he lapped most of the field and even found the time to wave as he past the 19 car on the back straight just to rub it in. Oh well, we will just have to go faster. #88 Devin Jarvis made a nice pass on me in the 30 lap main but left the door open for me to cut back under him. He is up to speed and in time will be another racer I can't catch. I can handle growing old but this growing slow stuff is bugging me. Even # 34D Dylan Chesterman layed down a faster time in trials than myself, in just his 2nd race. Hmmmmm
Two pictures this week
# 52 Jacob Sheridan , best crash winner
Group shot of our weight rule, Jr = little, Sr = Medium, Expert = Large
In order of size, Andrew Marshall, Josh Beecroft, Dave Chesterman
Thanks to Christine Ferrell for taking a bunch more great pictures that will surface at the banquet.
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Next race August 31 2010, 7pm, see you there

Aug 17th race report

2 years ago our humble little club had a group of about 12 racers. We were pretty low key. If you had a kart that ran it was good enough. The group spent it's time keeping each other going and the racers were happy just finishing a race and driving with others. As the teams learned new skills, they got faster, the karts got more reliable, and the competition got closer. Word got out about a fun entry level grassroots racing club and the membership started to grow. This created some excitement and more effort started getting put on winning rather that just finishing. New rules and processes had to develop, not only to keep the racing fair and safe, put we had to get more organized just to make sure we got in the maximum amount of race time in a given nights program. The group took the new systems in stride and the nights program runs through so efficiently that we hardly even think about the rules that were developed to ensure timely races since it is not a problem at this time. And the club grew. More racers entering that are back 2 years behind in skill level. Just happy to finish a race. Having fun learning how to drive/race and generally having a good time. The difference today is they are mixed in with teams that have almost 3 years experience having fun. This makes it easier because the new teams can just follow in line. It makes it difficult because new drivers go on the track with drivers that are ready to go. In the end we are a grass roots club with a small town atmosphere where a driver can race and grow and play. There will always be a mix of skill levels and personalities that keep it interesting. There will be things that were okay 2 years ago that just cannot happen with the larger club. Just as the drivers have and will evolve, so to does the club. What am I talking about.? Come to next weeks drivers meeting.
So this week I got to do what I like best. Work with the kids to help them improve what they are doing. It is very rewarding to watch something getting done incorrectly, do some coaching and then watch it get done 1000% better. Plus, I get to see their smiling faces as they come off the track and I can give them a thumbs up knowing they accomplished their task. This is what our club is about.
The Beginners are at the point that most of them have almost a season of racing under their belts. The really fast ones have moved up and the really slow ones are not that slow anymore. As their basic driving/racing skills improve, we expect more out of them. This week it was time for little 4 year old Rayse Meyer/Tillsonburg and 5 year old Carter Adcock/Simcoe to get some of the lime light as they were deemed ready to learn how to start the field. Both kids grasped the concept quickly and by their third try had it down better than some of our Seniors. Another skill accomplished. Next week we will practice it some more.
The Juniors by shear number of entries is always exiting. Good starts, good racing and a variety of passing and leaders keeps it fresh. Most exiting moment was # 77x Alex Hill/Wilsonville who while running high got up into the marbles and against the wall. Dad's hands went from over his eyes to over his head as the girl never lifted. Full throttle all the way around the steel perimeter banging every panel on the way by. Not so much as a single position dropped. About 1 year ago Alex came to join our club. Alex learned to race in Tillsonburg. I am proud to say that.( But Alex, take it easy on our wall)
The Seniors started the night out with the officials expecting more out of one of the first year racers. # 37 Scott Kelly got his chain yanked for leading some terrible starts and was sent to the rear. Wouldn't you know, the rest of the night he got a handle on it. Not to be out done by Alex Hills Rim shot, # 39 Kate Courtnage/Harley tried the same manoeuvre around the pit end but added a hard hit off the plywood side wall that truly should have ended her night. Again, barely lifting off the gas she deflected off the wall and stayed on it. Not so much as causing a caution and managing to drive hard enough to take 3rd in the final main. If you have yet to witness the Courtnage girls take on the field, you have been missing some great action. Good neighbour award to the teams that got #10 Blake Westman's kart repaired before Dad could decide what to do.(Remember the small club atmosphere I was talking about earlier?) I know they were very happy about being able to finish the night.
The Expert's are starting to show their potentional as the numbers are getting to the entries I thought we would be at this year (just a little later than hoped). Highlights were having #81Cassidy March/London on the track for every race this week. Next week should be his coming out party as his team has enough bugs worked out to start racing. Dylan Chesterman has already passed his Dad in speed and race results. We will see if Dad can keep up ( I know the feeling on this one). Holly Porter Qualified fastest with her freshly rebuilt motor and had the night in the bag until she got loose in a corner with a lap to go in a 30 lap main and got passed by Scott Chesterman who took the main and the nights points.
This weeks secret photographers were Paige Mahoney and Kate Courtnage.
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Next event for the Juniors and Seniors is the Ohsweken Speedway night this Friday Aug. 20th . Racing starts at 7:45pm. Be sure to attend this first ever event as the Tillsonburg Outlaws show their stuff in front of the big boys. We will be racing on the front straight under the lights. How cool is that?
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Next Tillsonburg Race Tuesday Aug. 24 2010 at 7 pm
Another hot night behind Chesterman Power Products as the Outlaw club competed in the 6th race of the 13 race series in Tillsonburg
I must compliment the club on how smoothly and organized things are running without much prompting on our part. Teams are ready and on the track in a timely manner and it is rare that we have to hold things up. The track this week got totally dug up and smoothed again and was likely the smoothest track we have seen this year. Good job Lawrence and Dylan
The Beginners had a new prospect this week as Johny Miller made his racing debut at Tillsonburg and did a fine job looking more like an experienced beginner than a first timer. We hope to see Johny back as a regular next week. #55 Scott Hall/Wilsonville didn't like taking a back seat to the girls last week and did a fine job distancing himself for first overall with a 1-1-1. Scott's sister, #01 Jamie Hall showed some new speed this week and landing in 2nd with 2-3-2 followed very closely by # 9 Kassy Hall/Tillsonburg in third. # 57 Bryson Green is getting a handle on this racing thing and by years end will be up on the podium.
The Juniors provided a ton of action with 11 karts and we have been working on their starts. It is something to see them cross the start line two by two , six deep just like the big boys. Pride swells in me everytime I think how we have worked with these drivers from the age of 5 or 6 and now at the ripe old age of 8 and 9 they are racing faster than their parents are capable of. Don't laugh, some of the parents have gave it try with embarrassing results. #48 Andrew Marshall/ Dorchester (one of the most feisty little guys you will meet) took it to the Juniors and put in a 1-2-1 for first overall. If he keeps this up we could have a horse race to the cup. #20 DJ McRae/London (current points leader) can always be counted on to be there at the finish and was only a point behind with 2-1-2. I know DJ has been bummed about having his motor more restricted than some of his competitors but it has made for some great to the wire races. Maybe the next move will be to tie one hand behind his back. 3rd was up for grabs this week and by a hair #47 Dylan Westbrook/Scotland took the honour going 5-3-6. The gossip in the pits the last few weeks has been over speedster # 8 Hannah Ferrell who has been able to trounce the field so constantly that her competitors figure she must have some illegal advantage. Problem is she has a different motor than the majority of the field which is fuelling the fire. It has been tested for horsepower limits and is within the rules and yet when she wins the gossip starts again. This week Hannah appeared to be just cruising around happy to just be on the track. That is no way to have a 10 year old treated, afraid to try hard because her friends will turn on her. I have a trick up my sleeve for next week that I hope will let her race her hardest and feel good about it. Come out Tuesday night to see what it is.
The Seniors saw the return of #5 Conor Mahoney/Hamilton to the top spot as he went 1-1-4. #30 Josh Beecroft/Ridgetown ran a good night and actually won the final race taking 2nd for the night with 2-5-1. Recent winner #10 Blake Westman/Aylmer held in there for 3rd with 4-4-2. I would be remiss if I did not mention that junior #8 Hannah Ferrell ran an exhibition run in the final Sr main and showed them why the Juniors don't like running against her. If you were not there to see it, too bad.
So with #34 Scott Chesterman away from the experts this week, #19 Cody Coburn/Mt Brydges was smacking his lips looking forward to his first win. Although I finished 2nd 2-2-2 behind Cody in each run I would like to point out that I set fast lap time in the 30 lap main. Look out, I am coming to get you. ;') Other notable excitement was #63 Lawrence Chesterman blowing water all over the track which just about put me through the wall as a result. He also found out hot water is very hot and a racer should make sure their hose clamps are on properly.
Ohsweken update.
Don't forget our August 20th appearance during the Friday night races. The Junior and Senior divisions will be running an exhibition race on the front straight in front of the grand stand under the lights. We will be laying out the same markers from our track in the same size layout so leave your karts geared the same. The major difference will be the lack of banking on the corners. Hopefully we can put on a good show and have a good time in the process. No Points and all racers will receive something for their attendance. We are working on letting us participate in the autograph session with our karts as well. Will let you know final details later but for sure keep the night open. Their race time starts at 7:45 and I am sure we are to be there before that.
So what was the record pace? The meeting was short, the racing was fast, hardly a caution all night, and even the Experts were done by 9 pm and for the 1st time this year I was home on the couch by 10:30 pm. That's a record pace.
Next race August 17th at Chesterman's in Tillsonburg
Aug 3
This week was a perfect example of what happens when you get a rough track. The night started out well enough but extra moisture and a soft base made for a night of awesome racing to watch but it was a rough ride for the drivers. Very high and very low were not too bad but the middle groove had some bumps that if hit in a slide made for some interesting moments.
At the beginning of the season someone promised # 9 Kassy Streng/Tillsonburg that if she won a night see could get a Pink race suit. Well Kassy is going to be in the pink with this weeks sweep of the Beginner class. The rough track may have played into Kassy's hand as her QRC handled the bumps better than the rigid kart of last weeks winner #55 Scott Hall/Wilsonville. It wasn't all bad news for Hall who was able to hold off his sister # 01 Jamie Hall and # 57 Bryson Green/Ingersoll who were also both in the QRC chassis.
We are going to have to pull out each Juniors worst night to do some point comparisons because the Summer Series is insanely close. This group is so close that every single pass for every point is important because it could mean the difference between. This week #17 Brandon Norris/Brantford turned his Pole Position start into 1st overall for the night by winning the 10 and 25 lap races. It was #20 DJ McRae/London who managed to work his way through the field in the longer 30 lap final to grab the last main but had a mechanical take him out of the 25 lap. The real story was he was working on passing #77x Alex Hill/Wilsonville when she two wheeled it right in front and in the process of jamming on the brakes, DJ broke his pedal mount. Now I must admit that I am used to watching a couple of races and guessing who took the overall win for the night but this week I would not have been even close. 2nd place went to #87 Brad Perrott/Strathroy who ran consistently well in the 10, 25 and 30 lap races going 3-3-2. #0 Cole MacDonald/Mississauga also had a strong night and took a 3rd with 2-2-7. This group put on one heck of a show all night from their near perfect formation starts to the racing right down to the final lap holding out their noses as they crossed the finish line.
The Seniors were all about the Courtnage girls as #39 Kate Courtnage came out on top this week as sister Bea took 2nd by merely a point. There must be something in the water in Harley because these girls are fast. Doing his best to represent the guys was #30 Josh Beecroft/Ridgetown as he worked his way around the rough track with sheer determination. One of the Senior races was running on borrowed time as we picked up a motor mount plate this morning that likely belongs to Kate, Bea or Scott judging by the style of it. Better have a look racers to see what is holding on your engines?
The Experts were prepped to put on a great show with the tacky and rough track, and they did but not in the way you would think. The time trials took out the #7 kart when the main sprocket bolts backed out and launched the sprocket. #81 Cassidy March/London has yet to figure out his Honda CR250 engine running issues and left the final main before it even started. (If any teams are good with those engines they could use some help on this one ) #88 Devin Jarvis/London and #63 Dylan Chesterman started the race but left midway with fatigue. #1 Holly Porter who has been running a borrowed Kart was the next to drop which left #19 Cody Coburn/Mount Brydges and #34 Scott Chesterman to battle it out in a last man standing grudge match for 15 laps. Chesterman had ran the 1st half of the race up high against the wall where it was smooth but Coburn was able to finally able to get by running the rougher but faster mid groove. This forced Chesterman to drop down and take his beating to get the lead back but Coburn answered with a similar move. Looking for all the world like these two were going to crash each other out, they battled to 3 laps to go when a bounce put Coburn back several kart length's and figuring he could not close the gap, backed out of it and took 2nd. Both racers almost needed help to get out of the karts afterwards when their noodle arms were not strong enough to pull themselves up. Amazingly both drivers set a fast lap time that was the same down to 1/1000 of a second.
That's a wrap for this week.
Next Race Aug 10 2010 at Chesterman Power Products/ Home of the Tillsonburg Outlaws
July 27 race
Just for something different and since I do not have a corrected copy of the score sheets until Lawrence gets back from the Polaris Dealer meeting in Florida Friday night, this weeks report will be more about the races and less about the results.
The beginner class seems to have a power struggle going on between # 55 Scott Hall/ Wilsonville and # 9 Kassy Streng/ Tillsonburg. Kassy seems to have a bit more speed but manages to always have some drama during the night that costs some points and Scott is always right there and has been more consistent. While leading and well out front, Kassy spun herself and brought out the caution. To the back she went and never fully recovered during that run. The pair traded wins in the mains so until I get the corrected results from the sprint I cannot say for sure who won last night. #01 Jamie Hall is almost up to speed but # 57 Bryson Green is keeping her honest and are usually not far apart either. Speaking of not far apart, off the track Jamie and Kassy are usually side by side having a great old time. We will see what happens when the two start to be that close on the track as well. Will their friendship be stronger than some bent karts?
The Juniors skipped the 10 lap sprint and ran a time trial in it's place. 3 racers at a time entered the track and did their best to set fast time. After all nine racers had their crack at it, # 8 Hannah Ferrell/ Windham Center set down a blistering 9.059 sec lap which gave her bragging rights for the night. Oddly, there are several racers that can run faster race laps mixed in with a group of karts than they can on a wide open track with no traffic conflicts. Interesting. # 0 Cole MacDonald/Mississauga and 77x Alex Hill/Wilsonville were the next fastest to round out the top three. The next story within is #48 Andrew Marshall/Dorchester who had a favourable starting grid position this week and was determined to make it pay off. Running a strong 25 lap main, the only racer able to reel him in was #8 Hannah Ferrell who started mid pack. In the 30 lap main he looked poised to repeat but while running way out front managed to take himself out while trying to over take the lappers he approached and ended up sitting on top of another kart. To the rear he went but before the checkered fell he had worked his way up to 4th which is very respectable. Man this week is going to be close because series contender #20 DJ McRae is never far off the mark and although he did not have much luck in the time trials he repeatedly lays down times in the races that would put him at or near the top in trials. Having finished 3rd in the 25 lap main, McRae was out for better in the final 30 lapper. Better he got as his outpaced the field with consistency and speed. Championships are won this way. #47 Dylan Westbrook/Scotland and #77x Alex Hill toughed out the last main for 2nd and 3rd. As mentioned earlier, # 8 Hannah Ferrell/Windham Center is fast and always capable of winning. She took the 25 lap main after winning top spot in the time trials and was looking for a repeat in the 30. There seems to be lots of pressure on the kids to get good starts and we had several spins before we could even get a lap in. Moving the offenders to the rear each time we were hoping the single file restart would be a go and had the field going green as Hannah got a little exited and pulled up beside the lead kart before the line. Not really a big deal but not acceptable and the race was cautioned to move her to the rear for another restart. Now at this point I fully expected to see Hannah recover and be very close or at the front by the end of the race but Dad didn't really like the call by the officials and rather then kick the dirt and bite his tongue, saw fit to pull over his daughter and then go argue the call with the officials. Well I am not sure you have ever been to a hockey game but surely you know how that is going to end. Hannah didn't get to do what she loves and Dad and Daughter got to load up early. That effectively gives her last in the final race but with two wins earlier I am not so sure she won't be in the top three anyway. When the computer adds things up we could have a 5 way tie for first. Anyway, it was all very entertaining and if anyone was wondering what happens when you hold up a race to argue a call, they saw it in action. I am still kind laughing because at the time I was juggling the PA system for the spectators and also the headset to the starter stand and I am not so sure which button I had pushed when I said "Get him Off the Track." Anyway, getting a tripping penalty in a hockey game is no reason to quit the game and getting sent to the rear of a race is no reason to get all exited. I am impressed though , the passion most of our teams have to do well and expend considerable energy to do so. That's what makes racing so great.
So out next were the Seniors and again they put on some fast racing but could use a few more drivers to cause a bit more chaos. This week # 10 Blake Westman/Aylmer got the revenge he was looking for and turned front row starts into what surely has to be the nights win with 1-2-1. Westman has had his issues this year but it all came together this week as he was able to hold off early challenges from # 39 Kate Courtnage/Harley 2-1-3 and a late dash from # 30 Josh Beecroft/Ridgetown who after last weeks win was seeded at the rear of the field. # 5 Conor Mahoney/Hamilton was the one to watch as he usually has to drive very aggressively to keep his custom chassis in the thick of things. Overall he was successful with a 3-3-6 but it was in the final race that trouble started as he rubbed someone and got turned around and was passed by the field but as expected from the Seniors if you can join back in you are expected to do so and Conor did as needed. This lack of a caution certainly helped Westman who had a big lead but being left at the back of the field, Mahoney was not able to make up any ground. This must have caused Mahoney to snap in some way and when the race was over the karts exited the chute. Thinking he was going to teach someone a lesson Mahoney came plowing into the stopped karts and then continued to push them down the exit. Well it was not acceptable last year, nor is it this year. Points will be deducted for such behaviour.
The Experts had 6 competitive karts this week and the challenge was laid for the field to step it up to knock the 'home team drivers" from podium. #19 Cody Coburn/Mount Brydges took the challenge seriously and timed in 2nd fastest with a sub 8 sec lap. He followed that up immediatly with a first in the 10 lap sprint but while running the 30 lap main lost a drive chain and his night was over. I can't comment for sure on #88 Devin Jarvis/London until we get his transponder tied to his name as he seemed to have forgotten his own but I will say he ran very strong and if I am not mistaken was in front of me more than he was behind. #1 Holly Porter/Dorchester ran her last year 250F engine after seizing up her crankshaft last week in her KX500 engine. Although doing well she took a bit to get used to the smoother motor but was top 3 in the final. #81 Cassidy March appears to be getting the hang of things but with no transponder his lap times are unknown as are his races positions but I do know that in the final it would not start. Seems he needs to get a better pit crew.
Overall it was a fun night of racing despite the heat. Again we had a spectator from NY just out to see the action. No winner pictures this week because honestly the competitors are too close to say who is the winner so I will try to slip them into the web site next week.
Our display at Ohsweken Speedway is on Saturday July 31st. Racers should be there between 11 am and noon to get their karts on site. If you don't want to see the world of outlaw racing I believe you do not need any tickets but the World of Outlaws is just too good of show to miss. Racers and those that paid us can find me in our display after lunch to pick their tickets up. Drivers willing to wear their driving suits will certainly ad to the coolness factor when talking to the fans. Again, experienced spectators will bring glasses, a hat and some ear plugs of some kind to truely enjoy the night.
July 20 2010 race
If I were driving a kart that looked just like the # 0 Sprint Car of Glenn Styres from Ohsweken I would be a bit nervous as it has been doing a lot of flipping lately. flip one, flip two.
So far the Tillsonburg look-a-likes have been able to keep the rubber side down but the same could not be said of # 9 Kassy Streng/Tillsonburg as she did a beautiful balancing job on her front bumper without actually going over. Several others were up on two wheels as well but all the wings stayed in good shape so no harm done. Kassy Looked to have the Beginners looked after this week as she was on board for a perfect night 1-1-6 when she cut under # 57 Bryson Green/Ingersoll before she was clear and the result put her in the air as everyone held their breath to see if she was going over but the kart fell back down the correct way up but the flat tire took her out of the action which dropped her to 3rd for the night. # 0 Cole Macdonald/Mississauga benefited and with a 2-3-1 won overall for the night for the last time in the Beginners as he moves up to the Juniors. Only a point behind was #55 Scott Hall/Wilsonville who had a good night himself going 3-2-2 the grab 2nd.
Last week I hinted that having #20 DJ McRae starting up front in the Juniors was going to be tough to beat. Going 1-2-2 was enough to land him squarely in first for the night but it was not without challenge. #8 Hannah Ferrell who missed last week was relegated to starting from the rear but was determined to make her presence felt as she managed to work her way up to win the 2nd main but the bold passing manoeuvres caught up with her in the final 30 lap race and she got sent to the rear after tangling with a kart and bringing out the caution. Hannah seems to have some speed that had me questioning the engine she was running but a quick check after the race confirmed that indeed the seals were in tack and it was the same motor that was dynoed legal 2 races previous. #47 Dylan Westbrook/Scotland finished with solid 2nd by putting down a 4-3-1 with #17 Brandon Norris/Brantford in third with 2-5-3. Next week the start order inverts. Will this weeks front 3 be able to get on the podium next week? Time will tell as we line them up to see what they have up their sleeves.
#30 Josh Beecroft took it to the Seniors this week with two wins in the mains and 3rd in the time trials. This week the Seniors ran time trials instead of the 10 lap sprint. Without excess traffic, the time trials show who can get around the track fastest and wouldn't you know, it was last weeks top two. Kate and Bea Courtnage/Harley stomped the field again by taking one-two in the trials. One on slicks and one on treads. different styles but getting the job done. #79 Bea Courtnage had more success coming through the field and was able to take 2nd behind Beecroft with 1-4-4. #37 Scott Kelly who was not able to get as fast a time in qualifying was better at staying near the front with a 6-2-2. The race for 2nd to 4th in the mains was insane as Kelly, Mahoney, Westman and both Courtnages were running so close that surely there was some paint trading going on. This group does not rattle merely from having someone breathing down their backs and it makes for more fun than a barrel of monkeys (am I dating myself or what?)
Finally this week saw the return of # 81 Cassidy March/London with his new Expert Outlaw after missing the Spring Series. Still working out some running issues, Cassidy looks ready to run in this group. To quote Cassidy "I am tired of talking about racing" and is happy to be back in the drivers seat actually racing. Once again the time trials showed why #34 Scott Chesterman/Langton and #1 Holly Porter keep getting on the winners stand as they went 1-2 in trials but # 7 Dave Chesterman/Langton managed to hold on to 2nd in the 10 lap sprint as #34 decided it was better to take 3rd than to crash trying. #1 Porter has been struggling with some engine quitting problems and we found out the last main what was up as the crank seized for the final time. That opened the Door for # 7 and #19 Cody Coburn/Mt Brydges to move up to 2nd and 3rd. Somehow with a 2-1-4 Porter was able to tie for 2nd with # 7. 3-2-2
I will try to get some pictures up of the winners on the website but Friday I am deliverying a Polaris Sportsman ATV to Windsor and then coming back to deliver two more Sportsman's top the Brantford OPP so time is running kind of short. Yes I do have a job besides racing. lOL
Next week I will fill you in on Jamie Westman's medical mission trip to Nicaragua in September. Also next Tuesday I will have more final details on the Ohsweken Display and race July 31st.For now just keep Saturday 31st open for some socializing and spectating. Remember for the World of Outlaws you need glasses/ goggles and a hat and earplugs if you want to enjoy the races and be able to see with all the dirt flying. Kind of like our Expert class times 10.
This weeks winners
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Next race July 27 2010
I would hate to Jinx it but the racing has been running very smoothly. Emphasis was put on tidy starts and restarts and it is always impressive to see the results on the track afterwards. It started out a bit sloppy but after sending a couple of karts to the rear for doing a poor job of it, things went much better.
The Beginners had a guest driver this week that livened things up a bit as the 10 year old drove like he was in a demolition derby. The end result after colliding with multiple karts was #93 Rayce Meyer had his carburetor broke off and had to retire for the night. That's the unknown with very young drivers. You cannot forecast how they will drive until they get out there. By the third time on the track the "Rookie" had figured things out and drove much better. Every driver goes through it. Hot shoe this week was # 55 Scott Hall/Wilsonville who ran a very strong 1-1-2. Battling with Hall was #9 Kassy Streng who was either right behind or in front of Hall every time the crossed the finish line going 2-2-1. If I am not mistaken that would be "First" wins for both. Not far off was another Hall, older sister # 01 Jamie Hall/ Wilsonville finishing 3-3-3 for third which may be her first trip to the podium.
The Juniors have gotten to the point that a good starting position is key with the entire group capable of winning. Case in Point is the results after a nights racing. A tie for 2nd and a 3 way tie for third. How much closer can you get? # 48 Andrew Marshall/Dorchester started the night out with his first win after starting Pole in the 10 lap sprint. After being sent to the rear with #52 Jacob Sheridan for poor pace setting on the start, managed to claw his way back up to third in the 25 lap race. That is pretty impressive but his last race was even better. Marshall, after spinning out in the back turn all by himself was sent to the rear for the restart. Not having much luck moving up from the back he tried a manoeuvre that did not work out and ended up on two wheels and about a 45 degree angle and looking to be in the process of rolling his kart when it came back down on two wheels. The mini HELL DRIVER trick was too much for the starter who already had the caution and red light on thinking he knew what was coming next. Once back under green #20 DJ McRae/London and #47 Dylan Westbrook/Scotland continued their battle over 2nd with McRae being held up while trying to find a way around leader # 52 Jacob Sheridan/London who showed no interest in relinquishing his lead position. Westbrook, not interested in staying in 3rd was trying everything to get around McRae. On the inside a few laps and then on the outside for a few laps. It was on one of his outside attempts that both racers were running side by side in the back turn when the two touched just enough to send McRae up high which collected Westbrook and took them both to the wall. That put #87 Brad Perrott/Strathroy into 2nd and # 77 Alex Hill who was having a good night herself into 3rd. But wait, remember Andrew Marshall who was at the back a while ago? He was now sitting in 4th and on the restart was able to work past Hill and get up to Perrott in hopes of working into 2nd. On the last lap Marshall made a move on the inside of the back turn and got into the mud and almost into the infield in an attempt to pass but managed to get it straightened out and across the line before being past back by Hill. Staying out front with all the chaos behind him was # 52 Sheridan who took his first Junior race win. For the night it was #48 Andrew Marshall, #52 Jacob Sheridan and #87 Brad Perrott. All new names on the Podium. That's the last time I can say that for these three. Next week will see a very fast racer starting front row. Will anyone be able to catch him?

Senior action was as hot as always with every driver getting close to mastering what it takes to get around the track fast.

2009 Outlaw Kart Racing


How fast did this season go? Seems like we were just building the track, putting up the wall, installing the caution light system ,and sending out reminders and the season has already come and gone. Championships have been won and planning has started for next year. Certainly life is going by in a blur.
Before we get into the season wrap up I would like to apologize to # 79 Bea Courtnage for messing up her very fine 2nd place 100 lap Junior results by inserting the name that went with # 9 instead #79. Am I bad. Sorry Bea. Once I made the mistake it carried onto the program and into the banquet. I must say she has way more cool than I do since she waited to have it nicely pointed out on Monday Instead of jumping all over me at the banquet. My hat off to you Bea.
Otherwise I think the Banquet was a tremendous success. The company was good. The slide show provided by Jamie Maudsley was fun to watch with lots of candid shots thrown in. It was interesting to see all the racers dressed up and I had a hard time putting names to some of them without their karts. I really got a charge when many of the competitors ditched their parents and set up their own racers only table. Seems there were some friendships formed this season. Again the food of Dave Beres was terrific.
Getting to introduce the racers is always a highlight for me and presenting the awards that the drivers and teams worked so hard to get just has to put a smile on your face. Having witnessed first hand the progression of this group of competitors from not having a clue about race track procedure to having the program down pat was an extreme pleasure. To the driver meeting on time. In the kart and staged in the pits on time. Out to the track in the correct order waiting for the light to go yellow. Double starts, single restarts, look out for karts or tires or cones on the track, caution speed, going fast without hitting their competition, watching for the flagman and the traffic lights and sometimes even enjoying the victory lap. When we had the out of town kart club attend it reminded me how far we had come in a very short time. In only two years we have progressed from having very fast drivers from other tracks come to our races to having our own home grown fast drivers going to other tracks and kicking butt. That is something I would have expected to take way longer to happen. Anyway, with the awards presented the night was almost done. Just to make it exiting we threw in a little controversy and then on to the door prizes. Night done and on our way we went. I would like to thank everyone who made it such a fun race season and am already looking forward to the next.
So next year.
The Beginners will be learning to drive, the Juniors will start working their way to Senior, and the Seniors may work towards the Expert class. Whichever way, the progression is such a blast to observe.
The vision of providing competitive fun economical racing in a controlled environment with equivalent roll cage equipped karts continues. Keeping this a grass roots fun for everyone club is the target. Having machine shops, welders, tube benders, engine dynos and hop-up parts must not only be not necessary, it must remain to be no advantage. On the track or at the bank. Engine building will remain low tech, reliable and equivalent. All racers will continue to have an equal chance to be competitive at a reasonable cost. If we do our job correctly, it will be driving experience and skill that determines the winner, not money, not trade secrets, not a different kart, not a better motor. Yes we are holding back and limiting the guy who 'knows' how to build a different kart or a faster motor. Isn't that the point? Equal karts, equal engines, equal chance to win.
Hang on to your seat. I sense another hotly contested season coming up. One with multiple winners, tight, exiting action and overall, a great time out with the family working towards the same goal-- to go as fast as you can and try to win. All the rest is just a bonus.
Keep your chain adjusted and your oil changed.----Just 5 weeks til Christmas
The gang at Chesterman's
PS if anyone got a got bright digital shot of the group of racers at nights end I would certainly appreciate a copy.


2009 Spring and Summer series Tuesday nights.

Entries $30 per class includes driver and two pit crew. Spectators $5, under 13 free with adult.

Spring Series May 5, 12, 19, 26  June 2, 9, 16, 23, 30(75 lap)

Summer Series July 14, 21, 28August 5(merritteville),11,18,25 Sept 1, 8, 27 (sunday)

October 4  100 lap season final race Pot Luck Picnic (Sunday)

Road trips BEG, JR & SR to Merrittville July 6 & Aug 5 2009

EX to Wonderland July 3 2009

November 14 2009 , 2nd Club Banquet at Tillsonburg Royal Canadian Legion

5 pm social hour, 6pm supper followed by awards presentation and general discussion.

($25 adults, $15 kids 12 and under)

Tillsonburg Indoor Speedway Results

Oct 4 2009 100 Lap Wrap up.

Get a coffee and a chair and settle in.

2009 Season races wrapped up on Oct 4 2009 at Chesterman Power Products, just west of Tillsonburg  with the summer series having been completed the week before, what was up for grabs was winter long bragging rights for winning the year end 100 lap feature for each division. We started the Sunday afternoon with individual pictures and an on track group shot. The club has grown so much this year that it will possibly be the last time we can put all divisions in one photo as the banked corner was full as we stacked the karts 5 wide and 7 or 8 deep . Definitely a good problem to deal with.

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Being the finale for the year we started with the Merritville Club practicing first which broke the track in nicely for the 1st ever time trials to determine starting order based on Qualifying times.

Each member took a turn to do a warm up lap, 2 timed laps and a cool down lap. The faster of the two laps was used to determine their starting position for the 100 lap features.

Before I get any further into the racing let me make a few comments about the terrific group of people that have made the weekly pilgrimage to Tillsonburg. Certainly first is the racers. Without them we have no races. Without a doubt every one of them has had a fun time trying to get to the front of any given race.  Without any trials and tribulations? Certainly not, that’s what makes the racing fun. It has been my pleasure to be the track Marshall for this fun loving group. So, once you have a race, someone needs to keep track of the on track chaos. This difficult task has been capably handled by no less then 4 scorers. Lisa Stafford, Connie and Sharron Christie and Helga Thompson who have done such a fantastic job of this that we were able to do without transponders for another year. Down at the track the flagman needs someone to count laps and watch for wrecks. Nicole Chesterman and Courtney Day were usually on the stand with the occasional substitute. These girls took the usual heat that most officials take and still did their jobs well. They both took a hand at flagging as well which took the pressure off myself or my brother( I am the better looking one) Lawrence Chesterman if we were not able to flag a race. Obviously when we were both driving someone else was flagging. Absolutely without Dennis Stafford the nights program would almost not run as Dennis looked after the pre race practice, pre race staging, race restart organization, crashed karts retrieval, Expert kart bump starting and end of night track shutdown. Does it sound like he is busy every night? You bet. Once all the action got so organized , spectators started attending in numbers and we had no way of keeping them informed during the race program. In stepped Jamie Maudsley   who took on the announcing job with incredible quickness as he memorized racers names, kept track of their seasons standings mid race and often announced points leader changes before they were even “official”and between races he ran up and down from the lobby to take pictures of race winners. Jamie's pictures from this year are all available on line at www.maudsleymotorsports.com

Keeping all these spectators and race teams fed was the fine doing of  Maddie Moes from Norwich who made the weekly trip to the track to make sure no one went without.

Several weeks ago we announced that all teams,parents and spectators were welcome to attend our year end Pot Luck race and everyone responded in amazing fashion with tremendous food and appetites. I know I was not the only one who over ate LOL  and there was still food left over. Thanks to Maddie Moes for supplying and cooking the pile of BBQ'd Hamburgers that I saw on peoples plates. Our little picnic easily had 200 people attend. My hat off to every one who made the day such a success.

Now where was I? Oh yes--- we had some 100 lap races too. The Merrittville group ran a pair of 40 lap features but the Tillsonburg Club ran for all the marbles in one big extended endurance race per division.

Fastest qualifying time for the beginners was #77 Alex Hill/Oshweken which gave her the coveted Pole position to start the 75 lap Beginner race with a 9.7 second lap. Although Alex and # 95 Jayven March/London were likely the fastest two karts on the track it was the consistency and crash free performance of #6 Derian Prout /Ridgetown taking first and #17 Brandon Norris/Brantford following in second. #95 Jayven March/London overcame several spinouts to finish third. #93 Amber Meyer/Tillsonburg drove a smooth consistent race to grab forth followed by #51 Paige Mahoney/Hamilton, #77 Alex Hill/Oshweken,#48 Andrew Marshall/Dorchester,#15 Alix Christie/Beachville, and #2 Dylan Watson.

Using a combination of skill and age guidelines as a measure, most of this group will make up a big part of the Junior division in 2010.

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Speaking of Juniors , this was one of the biggest Junior classes of the year as two of the faster Beginners already wanted to make the jump up. Fastest qualifiers were #20 DJ McRae/London and #9 Dustin Churcher/Tillsonburg, each with a 9.1 second lap time. Running the 100 laps #20 DJ McRae was able to hold off all challengers which pretty well made him King of the Junior class all year. DJ will have lots of challengers trying to knock him out of top spot next year so we will see what happens as DJ is not old enough to move up to the Seniors yet. In second place was #79 Bea Courtnage/Harley who just started racing this rear and she made her presence felt almost immediately. Running third was #34 Dylan Doer/London who ran a good race and stayed out of mischief. Making the jump to the Juniors for this race, #8 Hannah Ferrell/Windham Center followed in forth. Josh Beecroft, Brad Perrott, DJ Christie, Cody Day and Kate Courtnage rounded out the field in that order.

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The Seniors also put on a good show as we all forgot that they may not have enough fuel to make the full 100 laps. Although it was close the QRC’s  made it to the end with a very little to spare. Not a single kart bowed out due to fuel shortage.  Fastest qualifying in the group was 8.8 seconds, achieved by #40 Cody Coburn/Mt Brydges and #57 Chris Waters/Springfield. Finishing in that order as well they were followed by #5 Conor Mahoney/Hamilton and #88 Devin Jarvis/London. Rounding out the top 5 was #41 Mark Courtnage/Harley driving his daughters kart and even wearing her pink helmet. Sixth went to #8 Tim Ferrell/Windham Center , #75 Nicole Chesterman, Ron Parker, Copy Day and Dylan Chesterman. Indication has it that several of these racers are moving into the Expert class for 2010.

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We won’t mention that #1 Holly Porter/Dorchester won the Expert race again. For 2010 the Expert class will no longer be an exhibition class as the field will grow enough to thicken up the kart count. We used 2009 to prove what engines were competitive and how well drivers could adapt to 50-80 horsepower and a 1/11 mile dirt track. Sling shot racing would be a good way to describe the results. Other things proved---Holly showed maybe girls are the fastest and maybe having the least power is a good thing. Lawrence proved no matter how much power you have , if it won’t run you can’t race, Scott showed that even with a very heavy 4 stroke ATV engine you can be competitive but it is not the best choice and I proved that even a 200lb almost 50 year old can have fun with the “kids” with a 250cc crosser engine, (Oh ya, and maybe our walls could be a bit stronger)

That about wraps up our race report.

Did I mention that we all ate too much afterwards?

So what’s left? How about a Terrific Banquet with lots of bench racing, a bunch of trophies, a lot of food and some great story telling. I get to look after the story telling and I have lots of dirt on the racers but, I need more, so teams, this is your chance to get even with your drivers who got most of the lime light this year. Send me your stuff…..Age, schools, sports participated in , ambitions, you name it. Not too much is off limits . Hanna – did you find your pants yet??   LOL

Banquet--- Sat Nov 14 2009

Starts at 5 pm

Racers, teams, family and spectators all welcome.  – Advance tickets only.

Sept 27 2009

Well, here we are starring at October and once again we were blessed with good weather for race day.
After the brief break in the schedule the race season once again went into action with the first of two Sunday dates for the year. As part of our year end race program we had members of the Merritville and Windsor Clubs attend to try out our great little track. Both these clubs run regular looking go karts without the roll cage. They quickly adapted to the slightly tighter track then they are used to and we had 15 racers on the track for their race. Very exiting but I am sure the lap scorers who do a wonderful job are ready to hang us. When we merged the two clubs we ended up duplicate numbers with two #1's, three #4's, two #24's. How in the world they scored and got through that I will never know but they were able to keep track of things close enough for us to determine first was #90 Shawn Smith/Windsor, second #11 George Newman/Windsor and third #23 Larry Gineger JR/Merrittville.
So on to the Beginner class. Other than a couple of jumped starts this group ran a good race night. Athough we adjusted for this it really had no outcome on the nights results or the season standings so no sense in even mentioning names. When the 3 races were averaged #77 Alex Hill/Osweken stood in first. Tied for second were #8 Hannah Ferrell/Windham Center and #5 DJ Christie/Beachville. It was mearly 5 months ago that the majority of this class was truely a bunch of green rookie kids learning how to drive and race their new karts. This is the group that I am always most proud of as you can see every week an improvement in not only their speed but in their alertness and ability to follow the race program over the night. When the season starts you wonder if you will ever get the race completed and at the conclussion of the season they have advanced enough that most of them no longer qualify as Beginners. Congratulations group. I look forward to seeing most of you in the Junior Division next year where you can apply your newly developed racing skills. Although for the Mom's and Dad's this sounds like a scary proposition for their 8, 9 and 10 year olds, ultimately they will mainly be racing against the same drivers as they all advance through their levels. Every year will bring a new group of rookie beginner drivers ready to try this Outlaw Kart racing thing and the circle of racing (great pun) begins again. Can you believe that #2 Dylan Watson will be one of the experianced racers in the beginners next year. Hopefully he will grow enough to look over the steering wheel instead of through it. (I am not kidding )
The Juniors also had some close action this week with a tie for first and Third only being one point behind. The second race had some excitement when #10 Blake Westman cut down the track thinking he was clear of #34 Dylan Doerr. Dylan made out fine but Blake cartwheeled is kart several times. Other than showing his fuel tank was not really mounted that well, no harm done and he was back for the final feature ready to go. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the decision to race karts with roll cages when the club formed was the right decision. When the points were averaged, series champ #5 DJ McRae/ London shared first with #30 Josh Beecroft/Ridgetown for the night. That left newcomer #9 Dustin Churcher/Tillsonburg settling for third.
Senior Division also had a tie for first overall when #40 Cody Coburn/Mt Bridges and #5 Connor Mahoney/Hamilton could not decide who was the fastest this week. Cody became a front runner when he stepped into a fully competitive kart some weeks ago and Conor has done it the hard way trying to get his one off kart to the front. It took him all Summer but he did get there. Now come on Dad and put him in a kart that can stay there.(Sorry, the business side of me came out for a minute. LOL) Last weeks winner #57 Chris Watters/Springfield followed up with a third. This group will have a pretty full field next year as a few of the Juniors move up. The handy capping system makes it hard for the points leaders to win many races when there are lots of fast drivers in the group. Having competitive karts(read QRC) will soon be a necessity if a driver wants to have a chance to be at the front most weeks. It also makes for racing that is driver dependant(rather then money dependant) when everyone is on equal equipment. We will be discussing this more at the November Banquet.
The Experts decided to take the week off which leaves me in first place for the summer season. HA HA as I would have likely lost it to Scott had we raced this week.
A reminder goes out for Jamie Maudsley who took a lot of pictures this week. You can see all the shots he has taken this year on his web site at www.maudsleymotorsports.com
So that leaves the 100 lap challange/ Pot luck Picnic next week Sunday October 4 2009. Sign in starts at Noon. Madie Moes will be looking after the burgers and hotdogs and BBQing duties. Bring a desert or a side dish to put on the table. The food booth will be open during the races as normal and will close 1/2 hour before the picnic starts around 4:30 pm.
Don't forget to come prepared to get your Banquet Tickets this week as this will be the most convienient time for anyone out of town. Besides a great supper and throphy presentation we will also be discussing the past and future season so be sure to put it on your calender--- November 14 2009. Also I will be doing a driver presentation (the more embaressing the better) so it would be good if you could submit any juicy stories you have on what your racers have been up to. (McRae's - I promise not to loose yours two years in a row) Email them to me at this address.
Complete Summer series points can be viewed at www.chesterman.ca/microsprintscores.htm
That's all for now. See you Sunday
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Sept 8 2009

Well I am going to be short and sweet as I am writing while you are driving home from the race.
Welcome new beginner Connor Adcock #32 from Simcoe
The beginner class had a lot of action as there are a LOT of drivers that can run at the front and there is a lot of traffic to get there. It sure looks like fun.
# 8 Hannah Ferrell narrowly averaged better than #5 DJ Christie for the overall.
Juniors also produced a lot of racing as new comer #9 Dustin Churcher is putting it to the class with a good kart and good starting positions.The points leaders are left starting at the back and there are a lot of fast mid pack racers to get through. In the end this will make the fast drivers even faster as they learn the art of moving through the pack.
Seniors had a good night of racing which in the end saw #57 Chris Watters win for the first time this season. Although he missed the 10 lap sprint his up front starts were too much for the points leaders to overcome and took both feature wins. With such a fast pack of racers the ability to go from back to front is slim and again making for good races.
And I would just like to point out that with this weeks win #7 Dave Chesterman moved into first place for the summer series in the Experts. Only by 1 point over #34 Scott Chesterman so I will have to lay off the German beer the next couple of weeks to stay in racing trim. Next race will be the deciding race for this group.
The other divisions have their winners settled but the same cannot be said for mid field. Keep up the great racing and start planning for the 100 lap final.
Don't bother building any elaborate fuel tanks as we will include a refueling pit stop mid race.
Thats all for now. See you in a few weeks.

Sept 1 2009

Can you believe a night with only a bit of drama?

First off a gentle reminder to start working on your family and friends to come have a good meal at the Oct 4 Pot Luck race & dinner at the track and also the Awards Banquet on November 14 in Tillsonburg.

So here we go. Race 8 of the Tillsonburg Indoor Outlaw Kart summer race series held weekly at Chesterman Power Products just west of Tillsonburg. See how nicely I slid that little plug in there?

The Beginners provided their usual entertainment with some great race action and enough wheel to wheel action to keep every one on their toes. This week #48 Andrew Marshall/ Dorchester finally caught a break and had 3 good runs. Andrew has had his share of bad luck and wrecked karts. Right with him for the night was #17 Brandon Norris/Brantford who had to work his way through a bad clutch and the minor setback of getting sent to the rear of a restart for not going slow enough(we were trying to get the race back under green) while leading a race. The race gods also turned their back on #77 Alex Hill/Oshweken (last week’s winner) who found out that when you get your wheel jammed in someone’s nerf bar you may be buying a new tire. The series points leader #5 DJ Christie likely had the worst race karma of the night when he arrived late at a wreck but was unable to avoid a two car jamb and the resulting derailed chain. After rushing to get the kart mobile again the team decided the chain/clutch guard was an optional thing and sent the driver back on the track good to race. (Not a bad call when you are trying to win a championship but a terrible call if you are the track Marshall in charge of safety so after verifying that indeed the exposed chain and clutch was just too close to the drivers arm to risk injury in search of a few points, he got sent off the track to get things corrected.) There is a limit to just how long we can hold up a race waiting for repairs and things got underway before they were completed. DJ got sent onto the track under green which is a no-no and a caution resulted to pull him back off. You cannot cause a caution to get sent back on so he had to wait until the next caution. Certainly a frustrating situation but a common one in the race world to stop cars from pulling onto a track that is already up to race speed. When all was said and done it was #87 Hannah Ferrell/Windham Center and #95 Jayven March/London who ended the night tied for first overall. That was enough to leap frog them up a spot in the series as well. #6 Derion Prout/Ridgetown conquered the rest of the field finishing 3 rd for the night.

On to the Juniors. This group gets tighter every week. Some how #20 DJ McRae/London got from the rear of the field (his usual points leader starting position) to the front in the 10 lap sprint but was unable to repeat it in the two mains as #79 Bea Courtnage/Harley proved her time in the Juniors is limited and snuck by DJ in the final laps of both mains. Great racing kids. #30 Josh Beecroft/Ridgetown managed to put three decent runs together and bested the rest of the field for 3 rd overall. It’s getting harder to write stuff about this group. The teams know what they are doing. The drivers are racing like experienced racers and overall it’s just plain fun to watch. (Now watch next week blow up. LOL)

Again the Seniors had their acts together and provided some real action all night. The battle that caught my attention was somewhere mid pack and had to be one of the best duals of the season. #4 Cody Day/Tillsonburg and #5 Conor Mahoney/Hamilton looked like they had a bet that they could get 50 passes in a 30 lap race. Never more than a few inches apart they passed each other from low to high, front to back every corner. They gave each other room when they needed to and took it away when they could. Non-the- less they had to have 50 passes in only 30 laps. I really have no idea who was winning the race because it was just too exiting watching those two. Congratulations to them as it is one of the funnest experiences they will ever have while on the track. After checking the results to see who actually did win, #40 Cody Coburn/Mt Brydges tore it up again with 1 st overall but did get beat in the 2 nd main by #88 Devin Jarvis/London (who went 2nd on the night) and #57 Chris Watters/Aylmer who finished 3rd overall.

News flash---- #63 Lawrence Chesterman/Tillsonburg finally wins a race! Now it is true that he was the only one left running after 4 laps but since finishing races has been his biggest challenge this year we will still give him full points. #1 Holly Porter and #34 Scott Chesterman seem to have developed fuel issues late in the season and both had to leave the action early in the first main. That left guest driver #7 JR Fitzpatrick to beat out #63 but he ran out of gas while under caution. The cause?   No, not a sleeping pit crew but rather BIG feet. While climbing into the unfamiliar kart and being careful not to stick his foot into the radiator fins, he stood on the fuel pump and pulled off the carburetor return line. That let the fuel pump do its job and empty the tank in short order. So, Lawrence wins by default.  LOL  The next race was much better as everyone kept running for 30 laps. Again Holly Porter proved that she has no intentions of finishing the series in her current 3rd place position and took the win handily but Scott was wanting by bad. While trying to rope her in JR surprised him and cut underneath and stole 2nd. They stayed in those spots until someone drug a tire up onto the driving lane and a caution resulted. Not content to let the "wet behind the ears" rookie JR Fitzpatrick(yes the one you see on speed channel driving the Canadian Nascars and USA trucks) beat him, charged hard on the restart and took back his spot. Everyone dealt with the slick track and stayed out of trouble for the most part. (Well, we did have to beat JR’s rim back into shape with a big rock so it would hold air again )  

The points standings are on the web site at www.chesterman.ca/cartclub.htm

See you next week for our last Tuesday night of the series(still two Sunday races as well).  Don’t forget to send the kids to school. YAHOO  LOL

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Imagine if.

My Two Cents worth.

Pull up a chair and get a drink. I love scenarios and here is one for this week.

Picture a hockey game between two towns, yes one that had penalties, tripping and roughing and charging, one that had a long time rivalry between teams.

Sadly one team lost after a questionable goal and emotions were high. You might even say hot. Now picture all the fans and spectators and coaches forming a gauntlet which all the players and coaches from both teams must work their way through and then go to only one dressing room. Yes lets put everyone together. One where they also let the spectators and parents and coaches go into as well. Even better, lets make the referee’s accessible to the parents and coaches as well after the game.

See any potential for conflict?????

Ya, me too, Hockey parents couldn't handle it.

Instead they keep the parents behind glass. They keep the referee’s away from everyone(that was me). They keep the opponents as far from one another as possible. And they for sure don’t let the opposing fans/coaches/parents in each others dressing rooms. Occasionally they even call the police to bring the peace.

So substitute the hockey game with an Outlaw Kart race. The competition is just as fierce. There may or may not be penalties resulting after a race. And then everyone heads to the parking lot, mingles and hangs out afterwards.  Think about it for minute.

I feel it is a testament to our great club that this mingling is possible. There is no cool down time after a race. Just emotion and excitement. It  comes at you so fast it controls you. Possibly making you act in a way that would embarrass you if anyone viewed it on video afterwards. Certainly lots of opportunity to have things heat up.

My compliments to all the level headed participants who either take it in stride or are smart enough to take a breath and let it subside.

The rest of this message is for the 2% of our participants that feel they have a divine right to spew verbal diarrea (yes profanity) all over the place for everyone to slip in.  This is first and foremost a club existing mainly of kids and families. Kids that do not need to hear the ranting and raving (usually 90 % profanity) of someone who wants to share their views to anyone who likely does not want to listen.  Here is the simple guideline I would like you to go by. If you would not say it in church---- do not say it here. Always always always wait , the longer the better before you approach anyone. Hopefully after some time it won’t even seem that important or at least both of you will not be so hot and maybe, just maybe you can talk with out resorting to profanity. Kids are like sponges and soak up everything around them. Lets not fill them with words they are not supposed to be using.

I honestly feel we have way less of this then you see in a typical hockey arena but because everyone is close by, when it does happen you are more likely to witness it first hand.  Lets clean it up here and now and lets have some fun.

In regards to our restart procedure we found (had it pointed out to us) that when not a whole lap is recorded our double restarts often got messed up orders. We now have a handle on this and should be able to run through it quicker and more accurately in the future. Turns out I need to keep a copy of the nights starting order in my pocket. As for the results, I honestly don’t know how the lap scorers keep the scoring as accurate as they do with 11 or 12 karts and 9 second laps. Good job scorer’s. For anyone that thinks they can do better—the pay is zero and the thanks are few and far in between. If you see one of them maybe point out how much you appreciate them giving up their time so that your team can have fun racing.

On a totally unrelated note, the following members have lapsed memberships and they need to be renewed. Please remind us the next time you sign in.

Hannah Ferrell, Alix Christie, Cassidy March, and Kevin Norris

AUG 25 2009 Race highlights and recap

In the Beginner division we have another 1st time winner as #77 Alex Hill/Ohsweken made full use of a good starting postion and went 1-1-2 for the night for the overall this week. Current points leader #5 DJ Christie/ Beachville finished strong despite starting at the back and ran 3-4-1 giving him 2nd overall on the night. Not for lack of trying #95 Jayven March/London drove 100% better this week and finished out 3rd with a 6-2-3.  For anyone watching Jayven closely. Yes he jumped a restart in the last main, yes he was docked two positions and yes we are watching.

The Juniors also had a new winner this week. #9Dustin Churcher/Courtland also taking advantage of up front starts this week by getting the job done with a 2-1-3. Nice to see that kart works after you tested our wall a few weeks ago. #30 Josh Beecroft/Ridgetown took a mid field start and turned it into a 2nd overall after missing a week. #10Blake Westman/Aylmer had himself positioned to break out a win this week but a tangle with the wall took him out of the final main which dropped him to 3 rd on the night with a 1-2-8.

Lots of good racing action this week in the Senior division as mostly everyone on the track has an honest shot at the win. This balancing of power that has occured has made this the most interesting class to watch for some. For the second week in a row #40 Cody Coburn/Mt Bridges has taken his smooth and efficient driving style and turned it into an overall win. This time doing it in the same dominating style as the class elite have done going 1-1-1. We will see if he can keep it up since his points count is now second for the season meaning back row starts next week. Taking 2 nd this week was the quiet #88 Devin Jarvis/London who doesn’t seem to get much lime light but is always standing on the podium somewhere. Going 4-2-2 did the job. #75 Dylan Chesterman/Tillsonburg managed to squeak out a 3rd even after getting sent to the rear of the field late in the final main, narrowly over #5 Conor Mahoney/Hamilton by only one point. Currently Conor is in the mix being only 4 points out of   2nd for the summer series. #4 Cody Day and #44 Ron Parker had an end put to their fun in the second main for playing rough. #81 Cassidy March was penalized his nights points for intentionally ramming a kart after the completion of the last main.

The Expert division is setting up a party to celebrate the #63 Lawrence Chesterman kart actually finishing a race without being pushed off the track. #34 Scott Chesterman reclaimed the season lead this week and Holy smokes #1 Holly Porter has almost closed the points gap after missing the first week of the Summer series. I guess I better quite playing around .LOL

Team Spot-Light.

P1000400small.JPG #20 DJ McRae Hanging out

Several weeks ago there was a young racer and his team that were having a terrible time trying to get the hang of this racing and kart setup thing. It was getting bad enough that they were considering packing it in. Not doubt there were some signs of frustration in the pits which the #20 McRae team noticed. Rather than sitting back, the McRae’s stepped in and assisted the struggling team with the needed knowledge and assistance to sort out their handling issues. I only caught wind of this from the team that got the help after the fact. My hat goes off to the McRae team and all the others that have lent a hand to anyone that has needed the help. This truly is what our club is made of. Not the nonsense that happens once in a while that everyone wants to dwell on but rather teams helping teams and hopefully building some life skills in the process that our kids can use in the years ahead.

See you next week

Aug 18 Race

It was a Hot summer night as the Tillsonburg Outlaw members rolled into town with their Racing Karts in tow on August 18, 2009. Chesterman Power Products again hosted the weekly event with racing starting at 7 pm following the weekly club briefing. A review of how to right an overturned kart was the safety tip of the week. The racers have done an excellent job of presenting great fast and competitive racing the previous weeks so it was a short pre-race brief. We should have known the hot weather was going to change things.

Since last weeks point form was easy to roll through we will try it again.

Beginners

  1. 11 Entries in the Beginner class makes for a lot of  restarts
  2. #95 Jayven March/London proved that if you try to pass a Kart that is leaving the track-so are you.
  3. #6 Derion Prout/Ridgetown has improved so fast he is already a threat. 2nd overall
  4. #5 DJ Christie/Beachville and # 8 Hannah Ferrell/Windham Center became tied for 1st in the summer series this week.
  5. #48 Andrew Marshall/Dorchester proved that when you hit the wall with loose seat belts and a loose helmet your night is done.
  6. There are some drivers in this class that are ready for a better (QRC) kart and the Junior class.

Juniors

  1. All but one of the finishing karts were QRC’s
  2. The 10 lap sprint is producing new winners as everyone’s driving skill improves
  3. It’s taking much longer for #20 DJ McRae/London to work his way to the front in the mains but he is there at the end when it counts.
  4. Once everyone quit trying to win the race in the first lap we had some great racing.
  5. #81 Courtney Marche has gotten too fast to be doing exhibition runs in only two weeks.
  6. Three way tie for 4th shows just how close the racing is.

Seniors

  1. Favourable starting positions and staying out of wrecks produces #40 Cody Coburn/Mt Bridges first 1st overall night win.
  2. Five weeks racing has produced four different overall winners.
  3. This group has the start lap procedure figured out and is very nice to watch.
  4. Inner Track tire markers give some racers more trouble than others.
  5. Not too many cautions but when you get sent to the back it is a long ways to the front.

Experts

  1. Scott, Dave and Holly prove you can run 2 and 3 wide with these very fast karts.
  2. Holly proves that when she gets out front she waits for no one.
  3. Dave shows when your steering wheel pulls off mid race you are going to hit something really soon.
  4. Dave also proved that with tight seat belts and fastened good fitting helmet and a rugged QRC chassis you can be ready to go right back on the track and join the rear for the restart. (not even a bent tie rod )
  5. Same cannot be said about the track exit curbing wall.

See everyone on Tuesday August 25 for the next race.

Aug 11 Race

After our Tuesday night races I went to man our week long display at the Walton National Trans Can Motocross Canadian Amateur event. Racers were there from BC to PEI and some from the USA. The racing ran non stop from Wednesday at noon to Sunday at 5PM.

It is the best of the best and the competition is fierce. The first moto start I watched 3 of the 42 racers run full speed through the banner wall and hit the fence. People were running everywhere. The rest of the week went better but for sure Motocross injuries make Outlaw Kart racing injuries look like a joke. I will take my chances in my Kart any day Thank You. By the end of the week there were crutches and casts and slings everywhere you looked. Now I know there were likely 700 racers but in Motocross there is for sure a greater assumed risk when you race.
Anyway, As I eluded to last newsletter I had to get some clarification on the Junior/Senior class at Merrittville. Finally I have seen the video of the race in question and why a racer was docked positions in the results. See if you can pick it up. You only have to watch a few seconds to see the jumped start. In fairness to the rest of the field we will go with the Merrittville track decision of only adjusting the results by two spots. Also I would like to point out that It was one of our Juniors that had the most consistant results that night and won the main fair and square(including the seniors) with less horsepower and starting at the back with all the Juniors..Kudos to #20 DJ McRae. When he is old enough the Seniors will need to deal with the young speedster.
Aug 5 2009 2nd heat of the Merrittville Sr/Jr class u tube link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwkU2Pr5duo
Back to our track. (What I can remember after a week of bike races.) This week I had to train the starter assistant who did not know it was his job to adjust the restart order based on who was involved in or caused a caution. A couple of questionalble restarts ensued but ultimately the fast drivers managed to get to the front anyway.
Since we have a race again tomarrow night I will just point out a few of the highlights that I recall and give you the individual race results.
1 #95 Jayven March found out you can't drive UP the wall.
2 #77 Alex Hill showed she is a tough cookie and finished her race even though a crash shook her up quite a bit.
3 #2 Five year old Dylan Watson showed us he means business by finishing all three races.
4 #20 DJ McRae can go through the 9 kart field even with a seeded Senior Kart.
5 #81 Courtney Marche passed the ritual of crashing her(cousins) kart after a couple of nights at our track. (She needs her own soon Dad)
6 #79 Bea Courtnage is one fast female. When she smoothes out her style the boys are not going to keep up.
7 #10 Blake Westman has gotta be the most improved racer over the last 3 weeks
8 #34 Dylan Doerr is going to get top 3 in the Juniors soon.
9 #57 Chris Waters keeps getting near the front.
10 #5 Conor Mahoney has no fear of losing his driving position to his Dad.
11 #75 Dylan Chesterman leads the series but misses the top three this week.
12 #40 Cody Coburn has a new QRC kart to adjust to.
13 The Senior class saw 3 different winners this week
14 #34 Scott Chesterman showed that if you scoop other peoples gas often enough some day your kart won't run.
15 #84 JR Fitzpatrick is proving it's not too easy to get an expert motor on your kart up and running.
16 #63 Lawrence Chesterman is proving the same thing.

Weekly Race Reports

Another fine night of racing was witnessed at Chesterman Power Products on Tuesday July 28 2009. Never was there a threat of rain but the high humidity made the track wonderfully tacky and dust free. I am thinking the new spectators at the back turn will attest that although dust free, it is certainly not dirt free as you can feel the karts going by, especially the experts that power slide the full corner.
This week the action was exiting to watch in all the classes and I think the Beginners likely had the most wheel on top of wheel action of all the divisions. Consistancy paid off this week for #95 Jayven March of London taking the overall with 1-2-3. Sharing a tie for 2nd were #5 DJ Christie/London 1-4-2 and #8 Hannah Ferrell/Windham Center 6-1-1. This group is quickly finding out that you don't want to get sent to the back too many times as there are getting to be a lot of mid pack drivers that are not easy to work your way past.
Once again #20 DJ McRae took the overall Junior group but not without working for it 1-3-1. In the 1st feature while leading, DJ clipped and got stuck on the marker tires resulting in a back of the pack restart. Siezing the opportunity was #10 Blake Westman of Aylmer who hung on to take the 30 lap feature. Blake has been struggling with kart setup but he sure looked like a new driver this week. Good job Blake! 2nd overall was another tie shared by #79 Bea Courtnage of Harley 3-2-3and #30 Josh Beecroft of Ridgetown 3-2-3. Rumour has it that there is another Junior coming out for the rest of the series that has some asphalt experiance. Should be fun to see how quickly he can adjust to the new QRC and the dirt.
Juniors--- does your motor make more thatn 8 horsepower? You might want to be concerned if it does.
Another first occured in the Senior division this week, (was it a full moon or something?) Another racer took the overall with a 3 race sweep. #88 Devin Jarvis/London 1-1-1 took full advantage of a favourable start postion and ran away from the others before they could get through the pack. Awesome. #75 Dylan Chesterman/Tillsonburg 3-2-2 ran very well for 2nd as did #5 Conor Mahoney/Hamilton 2-3-4 for 3rd. Last weeks sweep winner #81 Cassidy March had to settle for 4th. That's a good sign that the depth of field is getting way deeper. Put your hip waders on, the season is just starting.
After two races # 34, 1 and 7 ended the night tied for 1st. Scott got passed by his Dad in the 20 lap main and took it to heart the next race and made sure no one could catch him. #4 Mark Courtnage/Harley is getting everything his little 125cc motor has and is getting harder to catch because of it. The next home race should have all 6 karts running. If you get the chance, get yourself down to the spectator corner and feel the race in your face action. You might want to bring some goggles.

Tillsonburg Indoor Speedway ran the second race of the Summer Series on July 21, 2009 at Chesterman Power Products. Unlike events at other venues, the forecast rain storm was never a concern and as it turned out was one of the nicest nights we have had in a while.

The evening started with a BIG driver, crew and spectator pre race meeting and it was easy for everyone in attendance to see that our little club is growing in size---- a lot.

The Beginners this week had 11 drivers in attendance including #77 Alex Hill from Oshweken and #51 Paige Mahnoney from Hamilton. Both girls making their debut this week. Look out boys, with girls making up 5 of the 11 racers there will be a night the girls take a top 3 sweep. This is one sport the girls compete head to head with the boys.

With this large of group including some very green rookies you have to expect the unexpected but honestly things went pretty smoothly.  This group of mostly 5 to 7 year olds are doing a fantastic job of learning to race. Part of this learning is figuring out that during a season a driver is going to be on both ends of a call good and bad and no matter if the track Marshall is right or wrong, the driver has to do as told on the track. In the Senior class there is no problem as racers comprehend more fully what’s going on when told. The fun is helping the beginners and their teams to evolve to the same point. Thats why we call this the Beginner class. Please do not get too wrapped up in Beginner class championships. The goal of this class is to aclimate new racers into the world of competative racing without scaring the daylights out of them. If a team is starting to feel comfortable with the speeds and the on track action, with an eye on trying to "beat" everyone, it is likely time to graduate up a division. 

Anyway,when the non existent dust settled(track was nice and tacky this week) #8Hannah Ferrell/Windham Center took first with #48 Andrew Marshall/Dorchester taking 2nd. Tied for third were #5 DJ Chistie and #95 Jayven March both of London.

It was the Junior’s turn this week to get a lecture about racing etiquette and as the Seniors did the week before, followed up a race full of unnecessary contact with one of the best races of the season.  Good job turning it around group. # 20 DJ McRae/London did a good job of staying out of the wrecks and took overall with 1-1-1. Moving well up in the results this week was #30 Josh Beecroft /Ridgetown for 2 nd going 2-2-4. Down only by a point was #15 Mitchell Anderson/Ridgetown in third, 4-3-2. Testing the water this week was beginner Hannah Ferrell who looked very capable of running in this group. Next week will tell if she signs up for action in this faster class.

The Seniors appear to have turned the corner and presented the best race action to date. Although not without incident, these drivers are running incredibly quick lap times and doing so without crashing each other out (Usually LOL) Best crash award for the night has to go to #75 Dylan Chesterman/Tillsonburg who had his back end taken out when another driver tried to tuck in behind him. The resulting sideways kart at top speed down the straight resulted in a violent 2 ½ times roll. 10 out of 10 for being spectactuler to watch on the video afterwards. Really only a broken chain and a bent steering wheel prevented him from continueing on in the 10 lap sprint.  Good effort to those that helped get the kart back raceable again as he followed up in the next main with a 2nd. When the races were averaged #81 Cassidy March/London made certain he took the win with his first sweep going 1-1-1. Again #88 Devin Jarvis/London proved that consistency scores well with a 2 nd after racing to 2-3-2. Tied for 3rd were #4 Cody Day and # 75 Dylan Chesterman both of Tillsonburg. Most improved award this week has to go to #18 Jeremy Chatterson/Villa Nova as he and the Kart that he built over the winter went from getting lapped often to staying at lead group speed and staying with the pack the whole night. Good Job Jeremy. 

Expert action was fast and furious again this week as the 6 drivers are pushing their karts to the limit, as in a couple of track marker tire mashing incidents by myself #7 Dave Chesterman and a pair of locked together karts as #1 Holly Porter/Dorchester didn’t clear on a pass  when she swung out not expecting another kart (4 or 41)to still be right with her. The only upsetting part is she came back and passed me in the remaining 28 laps.  #34 Scott Chesterman and #1 Holly Porter tied for the night overall after trading wins. Rookie Experts( that sounds funny) have their own battle going as #4 Mark Courtnage/Harley bested his friend #41(get that number on your kart) Kevin Norris in both races. Will Kevin put up with that??? Only time will tell.

That about wraps up this weeks action. Next race is July 28, 2009

Awards presentations at 7pm- spectators and pit crew should attend. Racing starts right after.

Tillsonburg Indoor Speedway Summer Series kicks off with race one this past July 14 2009 at Chesterman Power Products. Your local Polaris power sports and Cub Cadet Lawn and garden products dealer.

First up the Beginners had some new racers out this week. #15 Alix Christie from Beachville was out with a fine looking kart in her 2nd ever race. Also out was #2 Dylan  Watson of St Thomas with a kart so new that they arrived at the track after the races started due to last minute details  Dylan did get a chance to do some test runs between races but after shaking the walls decided to practice a bit more before getting into the thick of things. We look forward to seeing Dylan in action soon. #6 Derian Prout from Ridgetown also made the first of many trips to the track this week and was competitive all night. After tying for the spring series, Co Champions #5 DJ Christie and #95 Jayven March were set to do battle. A little to set though as Jayven March tried to run way low and hooked a wheel on the track marker tire. When the kart turned in so abruptly over went Jayven and crumpled that nice looking wing. I always go have a chat with the kids that end up on their lid to see what is going on emotionally. Well, Jayven was so exited about how cool it was to flip his kart that I was concerned he was going to do it again on purpose. He was like a kid at Christmas and couldn’t wait to get going again, so on with the race. For the night #5 DJ Christie locked it up with 1-1-1 and #95 Jayven March going 6-2-2 for second and #93 Amber Meyer/Tillsonburg 2-3-6 tying for 3 rd with #48 Andrew Marshall/Dorchester 3-4-4.

The Junior class was a new shake this week as the #5 team moved up to the Seniors which opened up a spot for anyone willing to take it. #20 DJ McRae/London fresh off of a week of summer camp ran a perfect 1-1-1 for first with #15 Mitchell Anderson/Ridgetown going 2-2-2. #79 Bea Courtnage/Harley went you guessed it 3-3-3 despite having some handling troubles in the corners. Not too far off the pace though was Josh Beecroft, Cody Adcock and Beginner Graduate Dylan Doerr. This group is going to provide some great race action all summer.

The Seniors this week were all out to make a name for themselves and seemingly forgot how to race without crashing each other out but after a quick reality check between mains, came back with almost a caution free 30 lap Feature. Glad to see they can gather it up and race for real. Although #75 Dylan Chesterman had his act together despite his cousin trying to run him off the track went 1-1-1 the rest of the field all took turns getting top 3 finishes with 5 different drivers doing so. #57 Chris Watters/Aylmer has figured out that staying out of wrecks can give you good results took 2 nd with 2-5-4 , 3rd went to # 5 Conor Mahoney/Hamilton 4-6-2 in his first ever Senior race.

The Experts pace is starting to quicken and tighten as all the drivers are looking comfortable flying around the corners almost backwards just like the BIG World of Outlaw Cars. With Spring series champ Holly Porter missing, the action was just as tight up front as #63 Lawrence Chesterman finally stepped up and ran the pace most of the night. Fast fun and frenzied would best describe what goes on in this class. That’s all for this week. See you Tuesday.

July 2, 2009 Race and Springs Series recap for the Tillsonburg Outlaw Kart Club held weekly at Chesterman Power Products just west of town.

Triple AAA+ to all the racers fast and slow who came out to race this week and put on a heck of a show. For a change of pace the last race of the spring series was changed to a sprint followed by an endurance race instead of the double mains program.  A 75 lap race is not the easiest race to finish not only mechanically but lady luck has to be on your side as well. A race of this length is more often than not won by a team who normally runs mid pack. The sheer length of time that a racer must stay out of trouble is an obstacle in itself and the faster you run the more likely a lapper is going to mess you up. Definitely a different strategy is needed to win an endurance type race. That being said, even the best laid plans are prone to foul ups so just finishing can be considered an accomplishment. I have to say most of the teams grasped the concept as the passes were made with a bit more patience than normal. Certainly it was a great night of racing to watch. Word of the night must have got out as spectator attendance was double that of a regular Tuesday night. 

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So here we are the end of the Spring Outlaw Kart Series. Not only was the race action fast and furious but the whole series went by just as fast. Two of the divisions were not settled until the final race and in fact the Beginners ended the series with a tie for first overall. That’s as close as it gets in a 10 race series.

First off a welcome to new beginner racer #15 Alix Christie from Beachville who came out for her first night of racing this week. Apparently Alix could no longer stand seeing her brother DJ have all the fun. DJ went into the night with the points lead but without any cushion to spare. The 10 lap sprint saw the 3 points leaders get from the back of the grid to the front with #95 Jayven March of London managing to wiggle through for the win and gained 1 point over #5 DJ Christie from Beachville. #34 Dylan Doerr came in 3 rd  making the race between himself and #93 Amber Meyer of great importance for the year end standing as only 2 points than separated them. Next up the Beginners ran 60 laps which is 3 times their normal race length. There was a big question mark as to whether on not the 6 year olds would have the arm strength to complete the race. #95 Jayven March who arguably has the best handling kart in the field also likely has the stiffest steering one as well. Being the youngest driver this week he was up for the challenge. More than once it looked like he was going to get wrapped up in a wreck but somehow managed to stay out of the big ones. Not so lucky was #5 DJ Christie who was taking the fast line when it was blocked by his sister #15 Alix after contacting and spinning with another kart. #93 Amber Meyer was not able to capitalize on it though and with a 3rd place finish was left only one spot short of winning 3 rd for the season.  When the math was done #95 Jayven March/London and #5 DJ Christie/Beachville share the championship for the Spring Series. They are followed by #34 Dylan Doerr/London, #93 Amber Meyer/Tillsonburg, #8 Hannah Ferrell/Windham Center, #48 Andrew Marshall/Dorchester, #17 Brandon Norris/Brantford and #15 Alix Christie/Beachville. This group of racers has gone from green as spinach to seasoned veterans in one series and I look forward to watching them in the summer Series. Several of them are capable of moving up to the Junior division if they choose. 

The Junior division championship was not up for grabs as much but that didn’t make the racing any less exiting. The 75 lap final takes on a life of it’s own as the hot shoes in this class all wanted bragging rights for winning the BIG race of the series. We did not cut the points leaders any slack and again started them at the rear of the field. Normally this makes it tough enough but half way through the series we attracted a great little racer called Bea Courtnage running the #79 kart. She took to it like a duck to water and started running with the front runners almost immediately. Because she proved competent so quickly she no longer had to start at the rear of the grid and with the late start to her season she was basically in last place in points which let her start( you guessed it) on the pole. Not unexpectedly Bea managed to hold on in the 10 lap sprint for the win followed by points leader #20 DJ McRae, #15 Mitchell Anderson and #5 Conor Mahoney. For the 75 lap race McRae and Mahoney were out for revenge and wanted that win for themselves. Mahoney’s luck ran out when his kart which was already suffering from a practice incident finally threw the chain for good.  #15 Mitchell Anderson took up the chase himself and stayed out of trouble for 3rd. So back to #20 DJ McRae, he had the race covered and was comfortably out front after passing the #79 Bea Courtnage kart mid race. Well the race is not over until it’s over and there is lots of traffic in a race this long. As I have said before you are either passing or being passed and sometimes both at once. By this time in the race there were a couple of karts that missed the setup for the night and were struggling to just finish. This is where the racing gets interesting for the spectators. With only a few laps to go race leader McRae got forced up high and just barely got it under control as he was scrubbing the wall on the corner. Unfazed but definitely lost time which gave #79 Courtnage the chance to sneak by as #20 tried to build back his speed. Only a few laps remained and it looked like it was going to be a very close finish as Bea’s lead shrunk with every lap. At the checkered flag despite my watching exactly who won, I had no idea and we had to go upstairs to see just who had the 1” lead at the line. Just by a nose #79 Bea Courtnage took the win. Congratulations to all who ran. Whether fast or slow, every racer plays a part in the overall results and thus keeps the racing interesting. Spring Series Champioship goes to #20 DJ McRae/London followed by #5 Conor Mahoney/Hamilton, #15 Mitchell Anderson/Ridgetown, #30 Josh Beecroft/Ridgetown, #73 Cody Adcock/Simcoe, #87 Brad Perrott/Strathroy, #10 Blake Westman/Aylmer, #79 Bea Courtnage/Harley, and #81 Courtney Marche/London 

The Senior drivers still had not settled the championship by the last night and again made for intense action. No less than 3 drivers could have easily walked away with the series. The 10 lap sprint saw #75 Dylan Chesterman and #81 Cassidy March go one two which closed the series lead on #88 Devin Jarvis who was only able to work his way to 5th. #96 Scott Chesterman and # 4 Cody Day were 3 rd and 4th. Reset the field for the 75 lap and turn them loose. #75 Dylan Chesterman who has been off the pace a bit lately jumped to the front like he was shot out of a canon. Not far behind were 1st and 2nd in the series, March and Jarvis. Although these two are friends it is clear there are no freebies when it comes to racing. At the checkered flag the trio went 1, 2, 3 and we had to get out the calculators to see who our champion was. Spring Series Senior Champioship goes to #75 Cassidy March/London, followed by #88 Devin Jarvis/London, #75 Dylan Chesterman/Tillsonburg,#4 Cody Day/Tillsonburg, #57 Chris Waters/Aylmer,#44 Ron Parker/London,#40 Cody Coburn/Mount Brydges, #61 Nicole Chesterman/Tillsonburg, #79 Mark Courtnage/Harley, #18 Jeremy Chatterson/Villa Nova, #96 Mark Chesterman/Kitchener, #52 Mark Martineau/Walsingham, #8 Tim Ferrell/Windham Center. 

Last but not least are the Experts. Defined by way too much power and a hang it out driving style this bunch is just plain fun to watch (even more fun to race but you have to earn your strips). Midway through the season this group caught a break when Kevin Norris and Mark Courtnage joined in the fun with a pair of 125’s that are surprising fast considering the drivers were thrown immediately into the fire so to speak. Although they did not jump to the front they made the racing way more fun to watch and even more so to drive. This weeks results are interesting as when the points were tallied, #1 Holly Porter/Dorchester, #34 Scott Chesterman/Langton,#7 Dave Chesterman/ Langton finished in a 3 way tie for 1 st. #63 Lawrence Chesterman/Tillsonburg, #4 Mark Courtnage/Harley, and #41 Kevin Norris/Brantford finished in a 3 way tie for 4th. The season ended in the order as above from 1 st to 6th. Holly Porter had the combination of a reliable kart and blazing consistent speed when needed to take the first ever Expert division title.

Congratulations to racers/spectators and teams who endured the action and I look forward to seeing you all for the Summer series to once again do battle on the track.

Merrittville Road trip .

For anyone wishing to see a big race on Sunday July 5th , get yourself to Merrittville Speedway in Thorald. You can find most needed details at http://www.merrittvillespeedway.com/burristire5025.htm

 Our outlaws will be running as well in our own divisions

Next Tillsonburg Race on July 14th

June 23 2009 Report

Welcome club members and visitors.  This week we will start out with some housekeeping before we get into the race action.

There are still some karts that are not clearly numbered and it is high time to get it done. Our lap scorers have the karts memorized but we are heading to a different track that will have their own scorers. In the Junior division we need big clear contrasting numbers on the hoods of #10 Blake Westman, #87 Brad Perrott, # 73 Cody Adcock as well as Seniors # 96 Mark Chesterman and #4 Cody Day and Expert #4 Mark Courtnage. #34 Expert Scott Chesterman also cannot be identified due to poor contrast of decals. It is the lap scorer’s privilege to say NO score and you are out of luck so don’t press the issue any longer. 

This week the senior class top 5 racers had their engines removed and dyno tested for maximum horsepower numbers. Someone thought they could not keep up with the rest without cheating. You will have to check out the season points to find out who lost the whole seasons scores.

And speaking of cheating, #10 in the junior class jumped the start and passed several karts in the 10 lap sprint. Back of the field points for that race. The track owner is a big bad man and if you get caught early passing expect a penalty of some description. Enough chit chat………..

The beginner division decided to entertain the spectators with the most messed up starts of the season. A double start just did not work out well this week. #48 Andrew Marshall of Dorchester had wing parts falling off and a bent up bumper but still made the green flag start. Eventually it was apparent that they just wanted to get racing so the starter turned them loose, sloppy start and all. #8 Hannah Ferrell turned her front row start into a dash win in convincing fashion. It looked to be all Hannah when see one the first main but the racing bogie boo got her in the final for a good night of 1-1-5. A little more patient was #5 DJ Christie who ended up 2-2-3 to tie overall for the night. This broke the series tie with #95 Jayven March who also was having an exceptional night until a last lap spin and stall took him out of contention while racing for first with Hannah. Still a good night though with 3-5-2. Not bad for a 6 year old. With 25 points up for grabs next week it is going to be a two man race for the championship. Stay tuned…… 

Finally this  week we saw some glimces of the old #5 Conor Mahoney 6-2-1 as he finally slowed down to go faster and absolutely killed the field in the last main as he patiently worked his way through traffic. One race doesn’t get you the overall though and the spoils  go to series leader #20 DJ McRae with a 1-1-2. Mathematically this series is done as Conor could only catch up for a tie with a 1-1-1 and DJ staying home. Pretty sure DJ will be here even if he had to push his kart around the track to get a point. #79 Bea Courtnage is settling into the action nicely with a 4-3-3 which was a tie for 3 rd on the night with #15 Mitch Anderson 2-4-4.

The Seniors were entertaining this week as Grampa Day filled in for his Grandson Cody driving the # 4 Kart. Even with a Saturday practice the team was not able to secure many points but I am sure there was some respect earned for the skills it takes to race in a tight pack. Once again we had some great battles  between #81 Cassidy March 1-2-3, #88 Devin Jarvis 3-3-2 and #75 Dylan Chesterman 2-1-1. These three are running virtually identical karts and the action is equally as close as they work their way from back to the front in every race.  At this point it is the same 3 way race for the championship with only a point separating the top two positions. Next week will decide the spring series in this division with a new Senior class champ regardless of which of the 3 wins. One more race…..

The Experts saw the sneaky #1 Holly Porter win both races again with #34 and #7 Scott and Dave Chesterman taking turns for 2nd.  I hate to say it but I think the first ever Expert division  champion is going to be Holly. (Maybe if I hide her kart so she can’t race). A reminder to the Experts, Friday the 26th we will be running an exhibition race at Wonderland Speedway in London. 

The Spring Series final race wrap up will feature 10 lap sprints followed by 1 main for each division that will be 60 laps for the beginners and 75 laps for the Junior and Senior groups. Yes there will be some tired arms and some low fuel tanks but I would point out that last year most of us made the 75 lap final race after doing the 70 laps from the normal night of racing. This would be a good time to check your karts over very well. The race to the end will be exiting! 

June 16 2009 the Tillsonburg Outlaws descended on Chesterman Power Products for the 7th race of the 9 race spring series. After a brief discussion on the upcoming July 5 2009 Merrittville Speedway Invasion we commenced with last weeks winners presentations. There were some very big smiles as #8 Beginner Hannah Ferrell and #4 Senior Cody Day accepted there first ever overall wins from the previous week. Not to let any secrets out early but Hannah did it again this week.
Beginner Division had lots of excitement this week. # 48 Brad Perrott from Strathroy tangled with the wall and ended his night early in the first main. #5 DJ Christie from Beachville must have been experimenting with low tire pressure and when hit popped there was tire slime/sealant all over the place. When it was done #8 Hannah Ferrell of Windham Center put together 1-1-3 for the overall but was followed very closely by #34 Dylan Doerr - London 2-3-2 and #95 Jayven March- London 5-2-1. Most of this class is capable of running in the Junior class but their young ages have them relegated to the beginners. Time will change that and soon we will see some very competitive young racers stepping up to the Juniors.
The Juniors had by far their largest field of the season with 9 entries challenging for the front position. After firing them up at the drivers meeting they were all ready to go out and win their race and what great action resulted. This is the group that can run very fast but is still learning what works and what doesn't when it comes to contact on the track. Other than a couple of drivers that need to worry more about trying to pass the kart in front of them rather than trying to block the kart behind them, the race action was awesome. Overall the points leaders are having a harder time moving from the rear of the grid which is a sure sign that the drivers lower in the points totals and starting from the front are getting faster. A shout out to Courtney Marche who borrowed her cousins kart for her first race in Tillsonburg. She ran a very respectable 5-2-3 but because she did not have a restricted engine she gets last place points. Now I know you had more fun in Tillsonburg than that "other" track you race at Courtney so keep bugging your Dad for a QRC to race with us full time(we have one here ready to go)grin. Surviving all the chaos was #20 DJ McRae of London with a perfect score for the night going 1-1-1 even with the occasional off track excursion. It really is something to see these kids get tangled up with a kart and never lift. Through the infield,over the tires, heck, DJ tried to kill the finish line cone not once but twice. (I just know his Dad will have a cone gift for me next week). When DJ is in race mode you don't want to be in his way. LOL Grabbing 2nd overall was #15 Mitch Anderson of Ridgetown who ran 2-3-4 which was enough to gain some points on #5 Conor Mahoney from Hamilton who went 9-4-2. Conor is always at the front when able but his team wanted the challenge of developing a new frame and for some reason the chain won't stay on when the kart gets a bump. Conor likes to be in the thick of things so bumps happen and this week it cost him some points in the 10 lap sprint. I saw Conor after the racing finished and he seemed quite happy and enjoying an ice cream. Keep up the good work Conor.
Out for a good time racing were the Seniors this week with some of the best racing yet. This group is getting so fast that the points leaders were not able to get from the rear of the field to the front this week in the 10 lap sprint. And so the stage was set for redemption in the 25 and 35 lap mains. #75 Dylan Chesterman of Tillsonburg managed to work his way to the front of the 1st main after "borrowing" his sisters engine to replace the poor running one he limped around with in the sprint. His luck ran out in the 35 lap main though when he underestimated his cousins drive to get back to the race leader after spinning out in traffic. #96 Mark Chesterman of Kitchener lost the lead when he lifted to get around a lapper and got a bump from #81 Jamie Marche (ho was filling in for his cousin Cassidy) The lapper survived and the #96 got back on the track after #75 passed him but the #81 was in the lead for good. Current points leader #88 Devin Jarvis of London was consistent all night but was a couple points out of 3rd on the night. When the dust settled it was #96 and #81 tied for first on the night with # 4 Cody Day of Tillsonburg in 3rd.
This week the Experts had two additional karts fresh from Iowa USA. The drivers were more local though and we gave them some extra practice time to make sure they knew which way to go around the track. #4 Mark Courtnage and #41 Kevin Norris set up the new (to them) karts pretty good for their first time (once they figured out there were carburetor jets missing) . This made for some action that was refreshing in the division. The extra karts brought the field to 6 for the first time and this made for a lot more passing even amongst the front runners as the Scott, Holly and Dave traded positions at least 10 times in the 30 lap final. Lawrence continues to struggle with running issues with the big 500cc Honda as he was beat by the two rookies with 125cc engines. At this point it seems that almost any motocross engine can run extremely fast and the driver who can tame the beast is going to win the most often. For now Holly Porter of Dorchester holds on to the season points lead but Scott Chesterman is closing the gap. Will she be able to hold on? We will have two more races to see.
Until next week

June 9 2009

Once again we ran without threat of rain, even the parking lot was dry this week. The night started out with nerf bar tech inspection to verify the legality each team kart. After seeing several “cheater” nerf bars at the first races and with the racing competitiveness getting very close it was time to reign in the rules so to speak. Last weeks warning was enough to get the job done as we had 100% compliance when checked. After a roll call at the drivers meeting to ensure all racers heard the news, start and restart procedures were reviewed. In short the pole leader sets the pace until the two orange cones are reached and grid formation is to remain until the same point. As a whole it cleaned up the starts very well but I will have my black flag out for the two that were stretching the limits next week (Conor and Scott), not to mention any names or anything. LOL

#8 Hannah Ferrell ran 3 excellent races with near perfect results, giving her the overall this week. Each with their own hard luck story in one of the nights program were #5 DJ Christie and #34 Dylan Doerr. The action in the beginner class was as good as any as the wheel to wheel action sometimes became even closer.

#20 DJ McRae is starting to pull a point's lead on the field and continued to do so this week in the Junior division with another overall win. He has a some tough competition though that is not going to lay over and give up with #15 Mitch Anderson coming in 2nd and #5 Conor Mahoney, 3rd  staying within reach. Also close in points is #30 Josh Beecroft. This group is still tight enough that with a bad night a racer could go from 1 st to 4th. Consistency wins championships and speed can win races. The goal is to put them both together.

Well I had to totally rewrite the Senior division after reviewing the 35 lap final race to figure out who and who was not down a lap. The resulting chances flipped the overall results around a fair bit so here goes. Taking his first overall of the season is #4 Cody Day after we found out his 4th place finish in the last run was really a 2nd behind #81 Cassidy March’s 1st which never was in contention. What did change though was #96 Mark Chesterman and #88 Devin Jarvis’ overall tie for 1 st changed to an overall tie for 2nd for the night. That then changed #81 March and # 75 Dylan Chesterman into a tie for 4th on the night. From there the confussion stopped and we had the correct scoring. Thank goodness for instant replay the next day. LOL

#63 Lawrence Chesterman finally got his motor back together and it made for some better racing in the Expert Division . It did not however stop #1 Holly Porter from running a repeat performance with 1-1 finishes. Can somebody check that kart for a NOS port or something? It seems Holly has figured out the high horsepower karts before anyone else and just goes about cleaning up. #34 Scott Chesterman is likely here closest competition at this point but some engine installation gremlins have been knocking him out of several runs. Not one to complain, that let #7 Dave Chesterman sneak into 2 nd for the night simply by keeping the wheels turning for both races.

As a reminder, the 1st Tillsonburg Invades Merrittville date is Sunday July 5 2009. Beginner, Junior and Seniors are expected to attend.  The Experts first Wonderland Invasion has been delayed a week due to the season opener rain out. (They should put a roof on their track)

Polish up those karts and we will see you all next week at Chesterman Power Products---Home of Tillsonburg Indoor Speedway


Tillsonburg Outlaws race at local Speedway

The 5th race of the season is in the history books as Chesterman Power Products hosted the Tillsonburg Outlaw Kart Club as we reached the ½ way point of the 9 race Spring Series.

This week’s action was on the wettest roughest track of the season but the race action was as intense as always. Before the racing got underway the membership decided to trash the “race to the yellow format by majority vote” but the last minute change messed up most of the beginner division. That’s okay because the beginners were due to get more write up time anyway. In brief, when the caution light comes on the drivers are now to slow to a non race speed while we get the kart order sorted out. I can just here the conversations on the way back to the pits after the drivers meeting.” Tonight Suzie when the caution light comes on, stop racing”. Well little Suzie must have heard “Caution – Stop” and that is exactly what they did the first two cautions. No harm done but it made for some interesting avoidance maneuvers when the back karts were faced with a stopped field under caution. We eventually got them going and finished the 10 lap sprint which #8 Hannah Ferrell from Windham Center won followed closely by #34 Dylan Doerr of London. The Dual 20 mains were another story though as #5 DJ Christie and #95 Jayven March took control in both for 1 st and 2nd. We had to watch the instant replay to determine the finish of one main as the #95 kart passed the #5 for a possible win but the video showed that the front two karts actually got a checkered flag twice as they went through the pack fast enough to get a second checkered flag. Sorry guy’s first flag is the one that counts.

The Junior drivers did not have the same problems but did not get the 10 lap sprint in much faster. #15 Mitchell Anderson/Ridgetown was the first across the finish line followed by #5 Conor Mahoney/Hamilton and #20 DJ McRae/London. And there goes this week’s dilemma as the student passes the Master. As has been our Policy, drivers can run in a division lower to get their feet wet so to speak but when they start getting on the Podium with class illegal engines it starts to mess up the season points. As we did last season the drivers that have declared that they want to get used to racing in a lower class without restricting their engines can do so but the points cannot count so as to not mess up the legal karts running for the championship. Sometimes the extra power has nothing to do with the driver’s improvement but fair is fair. Run legal or don’t expect to have top finishes count. A good example of this is #79 Kate Courtnage from Harley who did not want to jump right into the senior class her first time out and ran the Junior class this week. She improved with each race going 5-4-2 for the night. She was so exited with her 2 nd place finish that right after the checkered flag she waived at Dad and drove straight into the wall leaving a rather large mark on the wall. I’ll bet she won’t do that twice.

Don’t worry about the kart though. Dad hopped in it and drove to a 2nd in the following race.

The Senior class continues to grow and most of the racers have figured out you can’t win the race in the first lap but they sure have fun trying. The 10 lap sprint win went to #88 Devin Jarvis of London. His first win in the Seniors and I could see the grin through his helmet as he paraded around with the checkered flag. He finished the night well and although did not win the mains he grabbed his first overall of the season. Also very excited was #81 (I think that is his number- it is very hard to read- maybe you could do something about that?) Cassidy March who scored big with double wins in the mains. Honourable mention goes out to #57 Chris Waters of Aylmer,2-4-7 and #44 Ron Parker of London 3-6-6. Although lacking the consistency of champions yet, they are putting in some great finishes. #79 Mark Courtnage had a handle on it this week as he went 4-3-2 which gave him third overall but I have a feeling his daughter might be kicking him out of her kart soon to run the class and let sister Bea give the Juniors a try. Time will tell but I would say the racing bug has bit another family.

The Experts had a rough night but lets just say that arguably the 3 fastest drivers were on the track and #1 Holly Porter spanked the field by lapping them all in the 30 lap main. I just might have to let the air out of Holly's tires next week. LOL . Way to go Holly, I guess bigger motors don't always win. Also out for a visit was Canadian Tire Nascar driver JR Fitzpatrick who is intriqued by the fast little karts. After watching him on TV last weekend spin out in Dover during the Truck series I was not sure about letting him try out my kart. After about 20 fairly decent laps JR climbed out with a grin on his face and out of breath. " Man, am I tired" (This from a guy that races 400 mile races at 180 mph)

Hopefully we can get JR and his buddy to join in the fun when he is not racing with the big boys.

For Details on joining the fun---519-842-5977

June 2 2009 marks the ½ way point of the spring series.

Race results for Tuesday May 26 2009 Tillsonburg Speedway and Outlaw Kart Club

WooooHooooo, what a difference a week can make as our racers are racing faster and faster trying to charge to the front. Sometimes at the expense of the previous winners, and so should it go. This was the 4th race of the spring series and the rivalries are heating up, not only on the track where they should be but some of the parents (mainly one) lost their composure when things did not go the way they hoped on the track for their team. Let’s just say that being called a Hockey Mom at a race track is not a complement. On the flip side there are no little kids out picking flowers in the middle of the soccer field. Good racing is an intense sport. Racers young and old want to try for a win but passing someone that wants to win just as bad as you do is not always pretty. Get over it. Do not expect for anyone to get out of the way so your little Johnny can win the race. When Johnny earns it, he will get to the front. If Johnny is already at the front, you can surely expect every racer wants to replace him. With out this challenge, racing would be boring as all get out. In fact we would have to change our name to the Tillsonburg Parade Organization. Ya right—not going to happen. For now we will keep turning up the pressure to provide great racing and a fun atmosphere and hopefully no parents self distruct in the process.  LOL

The Beginners races made some great entertainment as they are all convinced they can win and are going about trying to do so. #93 Amber Meyer of Tillsonburg got caught trying to pass on the outside when there was not room to do so and took one off the wildest hoops and bounce that I have seen this year. A bent axle was the result and a drop from being point’s leader to 3rd overall was the net result. #5 DJ Christie from Beachville looked to be the man to beat in the first heat and took the win but when a derailed chain took him out in the next main his results suffered. Never fear as he made the final and grabbed the checkers and moved into a 1 st place tie for the season. Holly smokes- #95 Lightning McQueen (Jayven March of London) drove not only a smart race but a very fast one as he won the 1st main and garnered 2nd in the last one. That was enough to grab overall for the night and move also into a tied for 1 st position for the season. Also looking sharp after some weekend practice was #17 Brandon Norris from Brantford finishing 2-3-4.  #48 Andrew Marshall of Dorchester got his Kart repaired after some dicing two weeks ago and finished well with a 4-2-5. Once these youngsters figure out just how fast they really can go we will see them at the front lots more.

The Junior Division was missing a couple racers this week but you can bet the racing was no less exiting. #5 Conor Mahoney of Hamilton is determined to prove the worth of his prototype racer and was successful in the 10 lap sprint but had to ultimately settle for a pair of 2nds in the mains 1-2-2. None the less, #30 Josh Beecroft of Ridgetown drove well all night with 3-3-5 but just could not stay with the Mahoney kart. #15 Mitch Anderson also from Ridgetown met a similar fate with a 5-4-3. Not held back however was the # 20 Kart of DJ McRae of London who was denied the win in the 10 lap sprint but the longer mains gave him enough time to make the pass and win both. 2-1-1. DJ ran most of the races glued to the back of Conor’s kart as he tried passing in multiple places and eventually got by just before the checkered flag.

Wow, the Seniors finally broke out and provided the action that 11 karts running in a pack just has to result. I was starting to worry that nobody was going to give the #75 kart of Dylan Chesterman of Tillsonburg the race action he deserves. Several capable racers seemed content to follow the leader around like the pied piper but this week the crap stopped and the race was on. As I said at the onset of the season we were going to handicap the point’s leaders and make it hard to win and the fully inverted starting grids is doing just that. #96 Mark Chesterman of (London, Langton, Kitchener- where do you live anyway?)  was out to show he could run a fast pace and managed a respectable 4th on the night. Also seeded into the field was the #61 kart that was guest driven by last year’s multi track champions Holly Porter and Scott Chesterman. Taking turns running the borrowed kart, they had no intentions of anything less than 1st and with mid pack starts were able to take the wins in each run. 1-1-1. Now I have to wonder how can #81 Cassidy March and #88 Devin Jarvis both of London run so fast in this star studded night and yet not pressure the current points leader more? Devin took 3 rd overall with Cassidy grabbing 2nd. I think these two got it figured out that they are capable of running faster than they have been. Also causing commotion this week on his first night out was #79 Mark Courtnage of Harley. This kart was meant to be driven by his daughter Kate but since she has yet to drive it the team decision (I know dad was dying to race it) was to make use of Kate’s Kart and Pink helmet and let Dad drive. Well ya gotta be tough to wear a Pink lid. Although Mark took a while to figure out where the slick spots on the track were, he drove some really fast laps and was not about to get out of anyone’s way. Can you imagine a racer coming to the track to race?  In the end it was awesome racing with traffic everywhere and a racer had to be on his/her toes to run fast and stay on the lead lap. Let’s see what next week brings.

The Expert class enjoyed the tacky track this week. The unbelievable pull down the straights just has to be experienced. Next week should see the return of the #63 kart which just might give us more entertainment as we beat him up now that we have 3 extra weeks racing under our belts. Time will tell.

May 19 2009

The action was fast and furious as the rookies are getting up to speed and the inverted starts make the fastest drivers come from the back. Running 3 and 4 wide is the norm for several laps as the action on the track comes to a boil early in every race.

The best pass of the night goes to Beginner  Hannah Ferrell, #8 from Windham Center in her 10 lap race. Only feet from the finish line after several previous attempts , Hannah was able to pass the #5 Kart driven by DJ Christie out of Beachville. DJ was able to hold her off in the 20 lap mains but not without collecting a lot of paint on his rear bumper. Amber Meyer did not threaten for the win but drove consistently which means that Amber, DJ and Jayven March are all within two points in their spring series championship point chase. Hannah is a bit back in points after missing a night but if she continues to run up front she just may close the gap.

Another DJ,  #20 DJ McRae managed to put together a perfect score but not without getting continual pressure from #5 Conor Mahoney in the Junior division. These two look as though their bumpers are hooked most of the night and I know Conor is not going to give up the win without a fight so we will surely see some paint trading soon. Stay tuned for more details.  # 10 Blake Westman /Aylmer was back after installing a replacement engine and ran  wheel to wheel with #73 Cody Adcock/Simcoe and #87 Brad Perrott/Strathroy. These drivers are looking pretty comfortable on the track after only 3 nights of racing. If the smiles on their faces are any indication, they are having lots of fun.

As for the Senior class,  the results are getting less predictable as the speeds are fast enough already that a small mistake can take out several of the usual front runners as almost happened when #75 Dylan Chesterman cut down on the track when the #96 kart was already running down low. The resulting mess did not cause a caution as both drivers managed to save things and drive out of the infield under their own power and join back in the race. Overall #75 Dylan Chesterman took 1st with #4 Cody Day in 2nd, also of Tillsonburg  running  a consistent 2-2-2 and #88 Devin Jarvis/London taking 3-5-3 for 3rd overall.

The Expert division was fast and  close as the photo below shows. Although it looks staged they were running to the mat when this shot was taken. #34 Scott Chesterman(the kart at the back) says he likely passed us both on this corner.  LOL- keep dreaming Scott. Unfortunatly he did get by the nice looking #7 Kart in both races. #1 Holly Porter from Dorchester remains in the lead for the season(just barely) but its not over yet. Keep watching.

Thanks to photographer/announcer Jamie Maudsley for the great shot during the Expert race.

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Friday, May 15, 2009

This is about as long as I can leave the newsletter without totally forgetting what happened in last weeks races.  LOL

The Victoria Day weekend is always a made rush for us as holiday travelers and home owners are either going north with their newly delivered Polaris ATV’s or are staying home and putting to work their Cub Cadet mowers and Stihl trimmers. Although this is a poorly hidden plug for our business, it really has been incredibly busy delivering products for the weekend and the poor Track update got shuffled to the bottom of the to-do list. So here I sit Friday night gathering up the info to report all the great race action from May the 12 th at Tilllsonburg Speedway.

The Beginner Outlaws are already starting to look experienced as they too have proven they can get all excited in practice and wreck their Karts just like in the Sr class. (Amber, what were you thinking?  Grin) Not to worry as Amber’s experienced pit crew got to work and had the kart ready to go for the first race. This weeks king was DJ Christie from Beachville who ran some consistant laps and finished the night with 1-2-1 results. After only his second night of racing, #34 Dylan Doerr/London proved he could run up front once his pit crew figured out that it was a sticking throttle that was causing all the troubles. Despite hitting the pit wall in practice, Dylan ran 3-1-2 for the night taking his first ever win. I am sure it won’t be long and we will see Dylan in the Jr class. Hopefully hi first baseball game gets rained out next week so he doesn’t skip a race. Last years terror, #95 Jayven March is showing what a year under the belt can make. No longer scaring the crap out of his Dad, Jayven coolly runs the race without spins or incident and quietly makes his way to the front runners without grabbing anyones attention. Finishing the night with 2-3-3 is a great result for the youngster as there are 3 other beginners that are coming on strong.

This week the Juniors had less controversy but Front runner #5 Conor Mahoney/Hamiton had some bad luck as he missed the first race with some bad fuel issues. #20 DJ McRae/London took full advantage by grabbing 1-2-1 for the night solidifying the points lead for the season. #73 Cody Adcock/Simcoe had a terrific first race ever holding on for 2nd but could not back it up in the two main events. Most consistant for the night had to be # 30 Josh Beecroft/Ridgetown 3-3-3 and #15 Mitch Anderson/Ridgetown 4-4-4. These two friends are already showing they can stay out of trouble and will be on the podium very soon. #10 Blake Westman/Aylmer had a frustrating night as his engine left aluminum casting pieces all over the track   after what could only be described as a total engine failure. Not to worry as the team as already located another motor and should be ready to go after the long weekend. #87 Brad Perrot/Strathroy is sorting out the handling issues that most rookies face but looks to be picking up the pace nicely.

In the Senior division #4 Cody Day/Tillsonburg is proving that a nice paint job can make you faster as he ran well all night including one of his first race wins, 1-2-4. Out to spoil the first overall was #75 Dylan Chesterman/Tillsonburg grabbing 2-1-1. Consistant as always #88 Devin Jarvis/London took advantage of his cousins #42 Cassidy March’s/ London bad luck and hung on with a 3-3-3. Proving that a poor paint job really does slow you down, Cassidy could not stay out of the way and lost a carburetor when another kart ran up on his rear wheel. Maybe next week with his newly painted hood and tail he will be right up front. Most noticeable new Outlaw this week had to be Grand Bend Speedway transplant #44 Ron Parker/London as he bested the remainder of the field with each outing and thus set the standard for the rest to follow.

Down to 3 karts, the Experts still put on a good show in the 30 lap main as Holly Porter and Scott Chesterman took it down to a photo finish as Scott dove underneath Holly on the final corner and looked to have the win only to spin out and cross the finish sideways which let Holly inch in front to take all the marbles for the night. After race entertainment consisted of Dave Chesterman doing some last place donuts showing you don’t have to win to have a good time.

May 7 2009
The First 2009 Tillsonburg Outlaw race of the season went without delay at Chesterman Power Products just west of Tillsonburg.
The opening event ran on time and we set a new high for karts raced. The drivers meeting informed the new and experienced racers how the 2009 program would run and what to expect from the recently installed green/amber/red track lights. Everyone adapted to the changed pre race staging area and this greatly assisted in keeping the program running. Dennis Stafford looked after the staging. If you don't know Dennis he operates Spit Shine Car Detailing out of Tillsonburg(519-842-5640)
The racing was underway by 7:15 pm and ran non stop til 9:45 pm when the Experts finished up.
The Beginners saw two new drivers (#34 Dylan Doerr/London and #48 Andrew Marshall/Dorchester) and both did a great job of fitting right in and mixing it up with our returning racers. #95 Jayven March/London looked much more comfortable in his smart looking #95 QRC that appeared over the winter but in the end it was #93 Amber Meyer/Tillsonburg schooling the group winning 2 of the 3 nights races. Winning the middle race was #20 DJ Christie/London, last years summer champion. DJ missed the practice last week when a trip to Florida took precedence over his racing carrier. Shame shame DJ, At least you made it back for the first race. I'll bet Florida was fun anyway. I am sure it won't take long for the champ to get his form back and contend for the top spot again.
The Junior division started the year out with some great racing but managed to end the night with a controversial call the ultimately left the two hotshoes tied in points. Rookie troubles hit as #15 Mitchell Anderson/Ridgetown and #73 Cody Adcock/Simcoe made the start but chain and engine troubles took both out almost immediately in the first of 3 races but both would return for with better results in the next two. #87 Brad Perrott/Strathroy who was still sporting a primer coloured hood managed to grab a 5th in his first race ever but a roll just after the finish line took him out of the 2nd run. His team had things going again by the start of the last race. Another pair of rookies had better results as they settled in to the race action. #10 Blake Westman/Aylmer and #30 Josh Beecroft/Ridgetown ran well and garnered 3rd and 4th in two of the three races. Remaining is the returning drivers, #20 DJ McRae/London and #5 Conor Mahoney/Hamilton who both had new karts for this year. #20 McRae running a nicely painted new QRC and #5 Mahoney a unique one off creation that looked different but ran very well with the experienced and smooth driver Mahoney behind the wheel. The 10 lap dash saw the #5 grab the win leading from green to checker. The results reversed for the 2nd 30 lap race when #20 got out front and led all but one lap including the only one that counts, the checkered. The next 30 lapper saw some incredible wheel to wheel action as this pair wanted to break the tie and show who was the man to beat. Midway through the race #20 McRae got loose and spun out and although he was able to rejoin the action just as two other karts got hung up in the infield causing a caution, unnoticed by the flagman McRae went down a lap just as the caution came out. Thinking the caution saved the spun out leader, #20 McRae restarted the race placed at the front of the pack and ultimately finished the race with a bit of a lead and took the checker after several more cautions. Here is where it gets dicey. Watching the slow-motion instant replay(the next day) it was clear the #20 kart got lapped and therefore should have started at the back of the field (which was not real big at this point in the race). Now the way racing works if #20 had got put to the back and managed to repass the #5 kart before another caution came out(there were several) he would have be back on the lead lap and put to the back of the restart again. From there is would have been a race to see who is fastest. Well that didn't happen so we will have to wait to next week. Once again two wrongs don't make a right,error one took away #5's chance to be put out front and the second error took away # 20's chance to get the lap back. Well in fairness to both racers the track will take the chickens way out and award them both 1st place points for that race which interestingly leaves them tied for the night as well. I guess we will have to settle it on the track next week to see who brought the stuff to win.
The best action of the night had to be the Senior division with 10 racers hitting the track with a good mix of returning racers and rookies to keep the action on the track chaotic at best. This group made reviewing every lap off the recorded races to ensure we had the correct scoring in the end. There are a couple karts that are poorly numbered making real time lap scoring almost impossible. I can see transponders will be forth coming with this many karts running at once. The top 4 racers were all consistant and not surprisingly were all running QRC Karts. #75 Dylan Chesterman/Tillsonburg started out on the wrong foot when his crew left on his choke and thus caused a delay in the start of the race. Dylan was on the pole but after getting the blame for the delay had to start at the rear of the large field and with only a 10 lap race was not able to climb any higher than 3rd. This left regulars #42 Cassidy March/London and #88 Devin Jarvis/London to grab one two. Devin looks to be right at home after moving up from the Junior class. Not far off the pace was the only female in this class #61 Nicole Chesterman/Tillsonburg. #4 Cody Day/Tillsonburg is another Jr graduate that ran well in all 3 races. Consistancy will be the key this year for the front runners as a slip in one of the 10 point classes will cause a big drop in points earned with the full field. Also putting in at least one good race were #18 Jeremy Chatterson/Villa Nova, #40 Cody Coburn/Mt Bridges, #57 Chris Waters/Aylmer, #52 Mark Martineau/Walsingham and #44 Ron Parker/London. This group never really were pushing the front group but you would never have known it wasn't racing for the lead as they made multiple passes with contact being the norm more than the exception. With the track being virtually covered in karts you are either passing or being passed. Either way it makes for one heck of a fun race for drivers and spectators. I forcast a real knock down battle in this group for the year end championship and the victor will have to be very consistant to get the brass ring.
Running 2009 for the first time are the Experts with their unlimited ridiculas horsepower racing karts. Rarly are they actually straight and often the front wheels are lofting for the ceiling as they round the corners. With only 3 karts managing to get started for the first race the drivers who were all new to the extra power put on a bit of a yawner in the 10 lap race as #1 Holly Porter/Dorchester got out front and #7 and #34 Dave and Scott Chesterman both of Langton could not get close enought to make a move. The speeds they reached though were awesome and as the drivers settle in to the faster speeds I am sure we will see some racing action. Case in point was the 30 final that ran at the conclusion of the kids program. All 4 karts got started this time as #63 Lawrence Chesterman/Tillsonburg got things fired up for his first race running the Honda CR500 two stroke motor. Not feeling comfortable starting up front he elected to start at the rear where he ran close but never managed a pass before seizing his big motor. (That explains the hard starting and shows just what can happen when you rebuild your own engine eh Lawrence. LOL) From there the lead changed hands no less than 10 times as the #34 and #7 kart swapped the lead sometimes twice a lap while cutting from the inside to the outside. Last years Senior champ #1 Holly Porter is learning how to handle the manual clutch in traffic but managed to get into second several times before getting pushed back to 3rd. With Dave and Holly trading wins and Scott a pair of seconds, we have a 3 way tie after the first race of the year. Looks like a small kart count can still provide some tight racing action.
April 29 2009
Can you believe the season opening event is here?
Saturday May 2nd 2009 is the Opening practice for the Tillsonburg Outlaws at the Tillsonburg Indoor Speedway. Memberships will be available from 9 am to 3pm at Chesterman Power Products. Practice time will run continually during those hours. Although mainly for our club, practice day is open to members of any Ontario clubs that would like to try running on the unique indoor layout.
Please have all your safety gear and Kart ready to go for this first date. 10 points will be given to every 2009 competitor that practices on Saturday. That's certainly a good way to get your season started.
The track progress is coming nicely. Tuesday night we watered heavily in preparation for the rolling it will get Friday night right before the practice. If you look closely at the flaggers view of the track, you will see the new caution lights we will be using this year. The track exit is changed slightly this year to clean things up in that area. Pre-race staging will be in the former pit area. All pits will be outside for 2009. 
Tuesday May 5 will be the first race of the season.
Season points and class list at 


Tillsonburg Indoor Speedway

2009 is underway and so is the Indoor Kart Racing season.

Tuesday night racing for 2009 

New this season,the track will be available for practice by appointment 6 days a week so that new drivers can get all the track time they need to feel ready to race. There will be optional practice sessions at the beginning of each race night. Ribbon presentations from the previous week will occur at the driver meeting at 7pm, with racing starting immediately after.

This year we have a food booth race nights so don't be shy, come have supper and take in the great race action.

Tuesday Race Nightly Schedule

Sign in 6pm to 7pm

6:30 optional beginner practice

6:40 optional junior practice

6:50 optional senior practice

7:00 Drivers meeting and Ribbon Presentation

7:10 Beginner 10 lap

7:20 Junior 10 lap

7:30 Senior 10 lap

7:40 Beginner 20 lap

7:55 Junior 25 lap

8:10 Senior 25 lap

8:25 Expert 20 lap

8:35 Beginner 20 lap

8:50 Junior 30 lap

9:05 Senior 35 lap

9:20 Expert 40 lap