Seventy kilometers. That is the grand sum total that the new Beginners have driven, no, raced in their lives. Some of them barely old enough to attend school and yet they guide an Outlaw kart around the track with the skill and precision that some adults could not muster. Most of them have been in several wrecks, into the wall or even upside down. It is all part of the learning process that every racer goes through as they learn about the Law of Inertia which cannot be ignored. As they acquire skills both individually and as a group, each evolves. Last night�s racing was the product of this evolution.

First off, as a reward for doing well in the Spring Series, the Sprint race in each division was started in order of Series ranking. A victory race so to speak with the fastest drivers showing their skills when let loose up front. Any driver that wins a championship in Tillsonburg spends the majority of the season starting from the back and I witnessed several happy faces, excited about starting in the front. It was back to reality, however for both mains as the fastest the week before started at the back. In this way, drivers of different skill levels are each challenged. It also produces the most exiting racing.

This week # 8 Tristan McClay/Burgessville and # 52 Nick Sheridan/Mt Brydges started the series battling for the lead but it was # 14 Paige Smith/Woodstock who had a break out night to finish 3rd overall. I believe this is her first podium finish and she is one of our 70 km drivers I referred to above. Even more interesting, she lead almost half a race and in the pa race and in the process, lowered her lap times by almost a second and is now knocking on the door of busting into the 9 sec range that the leaders run.

The Juniors continue to showcase what racing in Tillsonburg is about. What am I talking about? Look at your watch(phone) and see how long 1 second is. In fact .832 of a second to be precise. In .832 seconds, 5 karts crossed the line, 1st to 5th in .832 seconds. Holy Cow. That was a close finish. Wait, not only did # 55s Scott Hall/Wilsonville get the win, up and comers # 66 Colby Bennett/Port Dover and # 62 Oscar McCormack/Burford were pressing right along with Sheridan and Marshall for the win. We witnessed some of the closest racing ever and hardly yellow flag was out all night. This is goinht. This is going to be an interesting series. A hint to all drivers in the club. If there is a close call like this and your transponder is on the side of your seat, you lose the decision. ALL transponders are to be on the back of the seat.

At the start of the night I told the boys in the Senior division that if they didn’t pull up their socks and start representing, I was going to change the name of the division. Well Brad Perrott took it to heart and guess who was sitting in the top spot at nights end? # 87 Brad Perrott showed the girls he still had the ‘stuff’ to run up front. BUT, he will not be going unchallenged as the top 5 each are just as likely to win on any given night. Besides the regular contenders, recent graduate, # 9 Kassey Streng/Courtland looked way more comfortable racing in Seniors who are more predictable in driving style (�read� you can trust them) and finished the night in third behind # 77x Alex Hill/Wilsonville. The most knock down aggressive battle of the night though has to go to #26 Katherine Summers and # 92 Austin Giles, both of Aylmer. These two spent most of the night trying to get in front of one another. A lot of paint swapping happened in the process. This is good news for both these drivers. Why? Because in the process of trying to out do one another they will push each other and in the process will soon be running the speeds the leaders do. Stay tuned on this one as the Senior division dynamics adjust with the new revised group.

Last night the Experts looked like their name suggests. This group has been a challenge to get all on the same page since in reality, there are not any drivers that are a graduate of the Tillsonburg Outlaw system. In fact there are only two, Holly Porter and Cody Coburn who have been racing since they were little Tim Bits. That leaves the rest to have started in their teens or later, so really what we have been dealing with is a group of Beginner Experts. And beginners make beginner mistakes. Unassisted spins, karts that won�t run, crashes on the start and just out of control driving. All things that make one wonder when it is going to come together. Well last night was the night. A darn fine 10 lap sprint race without the yellow being needed and followed by a 30 lap main with only a couple cautions. Not bad considering we have over 650 horsepower circling the track. The Summer series looks like it is going to have multiple winners in this group. Cody Coburn had the night won but while leading the final race at a pace no one was catching him, spun out unassisted. A lapper behind him and 2nd place behind the lapper. Chinese proverb. (When Cody Coburn quites getting beat by Cody Coburn, Cody Coburn is going to be tough to beat.) Despite making his way back up to third, it was not enough to beat Chesterman or Porter for the night. It was also mentioned last night that all the divisions do a better job of the starts then the Experts but I will point out that unlike all the other groups, the Experts starting line is one full straight BEFORE the finish line and therefore the group is not required to hold formatit towards the flagman.

During the nights racing I know it started to rain and lightening because the racers all started bringing their karts to the inside pits. Despite my best efforts I am not able to add a picture but will add it to our website at http://CHESTERMAN.us5.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=5d3119c851b1301266769f4c1&id=2db42b98fe&e=5302608ec0

That�s all for this week.
Next race July 10 2012