2009 Race to Race Recap

FINAL OUTDOOR RACE

On Saturday the 24th of October, Wellington's Wordan Park Raceway held it's final race for 2009. The race was a "Regular Club Race". With nothing to do, Bob loaded up his kart and traveled over to Wellington to compete on his own. After arriving and having his kart # 12$ just about ready to take to the track, Bill and Jared Davis arrived to the track. After hving a few moments of discussion, it was finally decided that Bill was also going to race. And what was he going to race you ask? Well, Bob offered his Econo kart for Bill and Bob unloaded Kris's kart and drove it. And the out come was? Bob chased Bill all night long. Heats and Feature! in the Feature race, Bill finished 2nd while Bob finished 4th. After running his first heat race, Bob stated, " I feal bad by finishing 3rd, but feal good in having to chase my own kart and not be able to catch it!" Sunday, October3th

Yesterday, (Saturday, October 3rd), the final part of our race team's puzzle came to fall in place. First Kris made it three in a row to claim the 2009 Wellington Wordan Park Raceway Championship, the Winfield Fairgrounds Speedway Championship, and the first ever Southern Kansas Karting Series Points Championship in the Adult Econo Class. And then there is Eyan. After finishing 2nd place in the Southern Kansas Karting Series, the driver of the number 22 Jr Champ Kart, finished the season off by not just winning the Wordan Park Raceway title, but he too, won the track Championship at the Winfield Fairgrounds Speedway. Bob and Travis finished the season at Winfield on a good note, with Bob taking the Econo Feature win, with Travis placing 2nd. 

 Again, our team's future plans are to make a couple of races either at Chanute, and/or travel down in to Oklahoma. So besure to keep checking back. S

unday September 20th

 Yesterday was the final race for the 2009 Southern Kansas Kart Series. The evening was beatiful with starry skis and calm winds and the temp was in the 60's. 

 First up was Eyan. For some reason Grandpa and Dad just could'nt get the kart hooked up right. We thought we had it close after his 2nd Heat race, but for the Feature race we just took off to many teeth on the rear gear and it cost us. Eyan finished 3rd out of 3 karts. But that is the bad news. The good news is, because of his 2 Feature wins and his 3 seconds he recorded earlier in the season, Eyan finished in the runner-up spot and took home 2nd place in the Point Series. And to add to that, he also crowned the track Champion for the Wordan park Raceway. (Wellington, Ks) There is still one more race at Winfield's Fairgrounds Speedway to be held next Saturday, october 3rd. Eyan trails Cody Kretchmar by 3 points for the Track Championship there.

 As for the Adult Econo kart class, it was another wild and exciting race. A record 12 entries were on hand for the final points race with only 4 drivers actually racing for points. When the 20 lap Feature got ready to run our line up consisted with Kris starting on the front row outside. Travis started 5th and I had to start 8th, but that did'nt last long. By the halfway mark at lap 10, I had worked my way up to the 3rd position with Kris directly behind me and Travis on Kris's bumper. For the next 5 laps we continued in the same order. With 5 laps to go I tried to make a slid job (pass) on the 2nd place kart going into turn 1. With a little banging into his side I managed to pass the #69 kart, but when that happed Kris checked up moved to the outside. in doing so Travis came straight though and rammed into the kart i passed and spun him out. Then my worse nightmare happened, the yellow flag waved, slowing the race for a single file restart. Travis and I were sent to the rear of the field for causing the wreck. By then I also had lost my breaks completely. When the race was restarted, Kris was 2nd, Travis 10th and i was in 12th. Only 3 laps remained. At the checkard it was Kris 2nd, Travis 6th and I finished 7th. But, boy was that fun racing! Great news here as well. Kris was crowned the Points Champion of the series and the Wordan Park Raceway Champion. As like Eyan, Kris also has a good chance to claim the Winfield Championship as he leads the pionts there too.

 Right now our teams racing plans are to continue to race off and on atleast until Christmas, so besure to keep checking back. 

Sunday - August 23rd - 2009

 Last night's Adult Econo class Feature was one wild barn burner of a race, and Bob, Travis, and Kris was right in the middle of it all. But first lets begin with Eyan's day. Going into this race, Eyan only trailed Cody Kretchmar by 25 points in the Championship points of the SKKS racing series. In his Feature race Eyan started 3rd. The number 14 of Victoria White took the lead right at the start, eyan followed then Cody and the rest of the 6 kart field. Throughout the entire race Eyan stayed with in 30 yards of Victoria's kart. As for Cody, he would close up and then drop back. It looked like for sure that Eyan had 2nd place in the bag and gain 20 points on Cody, but then another kart spun out and the caution flag came out and of course the intire field was bunched up for the restart. The green flag wavied and the three leaders took off again, but after a few laps, Eyan's tires began to go away and as they took the White flag for one lap to go, Cody passed he Eyan to take the 2nd place position. With one point race left Eyan trails Cody by 45 points and leads Victoria by 56.

 Now for the wild Econo class. In their first Heat race, Travis finished 2nd, Bob 3rd, and Kris 4th. In the second heat, it was Kris then Travis. Bob did not race because of throttle problems. As the green flag wavied in the Feature, Tory Keller's 21 took the lead followed by Kris - 7, Travis - 189, the 66, 30, and Bob's 12$. Coming out of turn 2 and down the back straight, Bob passed number 66 & 30. Entering turn 1 one the next lap, Bob passed travis to take over third place. The next lap Kris took the lead from Tory and Bob followed right behind him. For the next 4 to 5 laps Kris lead the race followed closely by Bob, then Travis, Tory the 66 and the 30. After putting pressure on him lap after lap, Bob finally made the move in turn 1 to take the lead from Kris and a few laps later Travis passed Kris for second. It looked as Bob was on his way to take the win, when all of a sudden, he was passed by a "freight train", as Kris, Travis, Tory, and the 66 all flew by him down the back straight. By then there were only a couple of laps left. At the Checkard flag it was: Kris - 1st, Travis - 2nd, #66 - 3rd, Bob - 4th, Tory and then Jared. The race was a real wild one, but also very fun!    

Sunday - August 9th - 2009

 RACE DAY - Saturday, August 8th - Winfield (SKKS Point Race #6)

 What a super night of racing for our team. We will begin in the with the Adult Encono Class. A record 8 entries were on hand for this race. Kris has been on a roll with having 3 wins and 1 second. Travis had been gaing more experince race after race, and finally the ol' man Grandpa Bob, was making his first race after sitting out for 2 years. In the first heat race, Travis started 1st, Bob started 5th, and Kris 7th. Bob and Tory Keller raced side by side and changed the point for the lead several times before Tk, finally pulled ahead and took the win, Bob took 2nd. Kris got shoved off the track mid-way through the race , but charged back up to Bob's rear bumper to finish 3rd. Travis finished 5th. In the 2nd Heat. TK started 1st, Kris 2nd, Bob 4th. All three drivers ran 1, 2, 3 for the first 2 laps. Then Bob made an inside move to pass Kris for 2nd. Then the two drivers ran side by side for a couple of laps, until Bob finally took the spot. After that TK continued to lead, but slowly Bob's # 12$, lap after lap slowly closed in on TK's kart. TK won the 2nd Heat, with Bob only less than two kart length's behind for 2nd. Kris again finshed 3rd, with Travis 4th. TK's 21x took the lead at the green flag, followed by Kris and then Bob. After a couple of laps Bob challanged Kris for several laps, having more rubbing/side by side racing. After several laps, again Bob took the 2nd position and then set his sight's towards the 21X kart. After a couple of yellow flags, the racing restarted and the pursuit continued. With about 5 laps to go in the 20 lap Feature race, Bob closed with-in one kart length of the leader. He only needed one more lap to reach his rear bumper to make his move for what could be the winning pass, but before he got there, Bob got too high entering turn 3 and slid high exiting turn 4 and lost some space between he and TK. Bob slowing begain to close again, but ran out of laps and had to settle for 2nd. Kris again finshed 3rd. The big suprised was Travis, as earlier he had fallen back to mid-pack, but made a fierce move to the front to race with the leaders, making many attemps to pass Kris and finshed 4th directly behing Kris's rear bumper. By finshing 3rd, Kris streched his Point lead over Delaney's 2nd position by another 25 points. He now leads the Econo class by 103 points with 2 races to go. 

 As for Eyan, his first heat was a barn burner as his #22, Victoria's #14, and Cody's #6, were all racing very close, nose to bumper through out the Whole race. At the checkard it was Cody, Eyan, and Victoria. in the 2nd Heat, Eyan got loose in a corner and loss a lot of ground. Running third of a field of 5 karts, Eyan slowed and pulled into the pit with 2 laps to go. Before the Feature began, Eyan was trailing Cody by 95 points. With a difference of 25 points between 1st place and second in the Feature, the look towards the Championship looked pretty dim. But, Grandpa Bob had a cheer talk with his driver and Dad. "We can't just give up. we got to keep trying our best, as in racing, you never know what can and will happen" . The Jr Champ Feature started with Cody taking the lead followed by Eyan and Victoria. After about 4 laps Eyan made a move to the inside to take the lead. A lap later #14 passed # 6 for second. 3 laps later Victoria passed Eyan. But, the "Red Rooster" did'nt give up and passed her back around lap 8. At about the same time, Cody slows down the back straight and then pulls into the pit. (Out of fuel!) Exiting turn 4 on lap 10 a slower kart spins out of controll facing the wrong way. Eyan and Victoria makes great moves in missing the sitting kart. After the yellow for the spun kart, Eyan leads Victoria into turn 3. Victoria try's to make a pass on Eyan, but instead gets into the back of his 22 and spins them both out, bringing out another yellow flag. After the restart, Eyans takes controll of the race and get's the win. It was the 3rd Feature win for the 22 this season. But more importantly, with Cody dropping out and finshing 5th, Eyan gained 70 points on Cody towards the season Points Championship. Now, instead of trialing by 95 points, the margin is only 25 points. We now are back in the Championship fight!

 Two races remain in the Southern Kansas Karting Series. Both races will be run at Wellington's, Wordan Park Raceway. The first is in 2 weeks, on Saturday, August 22nd. The Final race will be on Saturday, Sept 19th. Kris is pretty will in commaned for his Championship. He just needs to show up and finish. Eyan, Tj, and Bob have their work cut out for them, but with team work, we know we can get the job done. Besure to check back to see how we come out! 

 Sunday - July 19th - 2009 

 RACE DAY - Saturday, July 18th

 The fifth of eight Point Race of the Southern Kansas Kart Series was ran last evening. Eyan, Kris, and Travis raced. Kris recorded 1st and 2nd in his heats and Travis had 5th and 6th place finishes. In their Feature Race, Travis dropped out because of an empty fuel tank. Kris started on the outside of row one, and dropped back to 3rd. About half way through the 20 lap race, Kris passed to overtake 2nd. From there Kris could not close in on the number 21 of Tory Keller. With his 2nd place finish, and three races to go, Kris still holds on to the top spot in the Adult Econo Class.

 As for Eyan, the field of Jr Champ Karts was very small with only 3 entries on hand, and during "Hot Laps" the field dropped to two as Walter's engine expired ending his day before it hardley started. In Eyan's first heat, Cody took the lead going into turn one. Eyan tried to make a pass on the outside, but slid real high, and finished about a 1/2 straight behind. The second heat found Eyan taking the lead right away. He held first place for two laps, then his engine began to mis-fire. Cody passed him and again the finsh to the cheard flag was Cody and then Eyan. Grandpa & Dad looked the kart engine over and found that the spark plug wire had came loose. It was replaced and the kart was readied for the Feature. At the start of the Feature Race, Eyan let Cody take the lead entering turn one. As they exit turn 2 and headed down the back straight, Eyan's Champ took off like a rocket and blew by Cody's number 6. Eyan pulled out to a 6 kart length lead. But then as in the second heat race, Eyan's engine began to miss, Cody took the lead and Eyan pulled his kart in to the pit area. After doing some work on the engine's carbuator and the completion of the evening races (at about 12:45 Sunday morning), Eyan took to the track for a few practice laps, but as before, the engine ran fine for 3 to 4 laps and then again began to mis-fire.  After discussing the problem with our engine builder , Virgil Harvey, it was decided to have the engine go to his shop to see what the problem is. If Eyan had of won the Feature he would of only trialed Cody by 40 points, but by finishing second he now trails 95 points and leads Victoria by 58 points for 2nd.

 The next Points race will be the 8th of August again at Winfield. 

Sunday - July 12th - 2009

RACE DAY - Saturday, July 11th

 The fourth race of the Southern Kansas Point Series took place at Wellington's Wordan Park Raceway. Our whole race team was on hand, including Kris (Adult Econo), Gavin ( Rookie Go Kart), and Eyan (Jr Champ) as well as another new family member, that being Travis Bellew. Travis is Kris's cousin and has joined our racing group. Travis is competiting in the Econo Class with Kris.

 Gavin's night started out with a 2nd place run in his first heat. In his second heat, his engine kept mis-firing and just would'nt hardley run. We later found out his spark plug was hitting the top of a valve. Kris got that fixed for his Feature, but Gavin was involved in a wreck and had to watch the remainder of his race inside the track's in field. 

 Eyan's night was up and down like a roller coaster. During 'hot laps" his engine kept dying and he did'nt get to run one complete lap. Dad and Grandpa went to work on the engine and got it running. In his first heat, Eyan started third and finished third. The kart just did'nt have a lot of speed. Again TJ and Grandpa went back to work, and it paid off as Eyan went from his 2nd position starting spot to win his 2nd Heat Race. Eyan started 1st in the Feature Race, but slowly fell back to 3rd place. After 5 laps his tires began to come in and the kart was a rocket. Around lap 9 Eyan passed the #14 to take over 2nd place. Although he finished 2nd, Eyan was slowley closing in on the 1st place kart lap after lap. With 4 Point Races completed, Eyan sits in 4th place in Overall Points, but when counting throw-outs, he sits 2nd, and that is what counts.

 Last was Kris and Travis. Once again Kris struggled in his Heat Races finishing 2nd and 3rd. But, with determination and doing lots of work on his tires and gearing, Kris went out and won his 3rd Feature win in a row. As for Travis, he did very well for his first time out racing a kart. After his Heats we all got together and discussed for what Travis to do to get his kart faster. It must of worked as he went out and started 6th and finished 4th in his first ever Feature Race.

 Racing for points continues next Saturday, the 18th of July, as the Series returns to Winfield.      

RACE DAY - Saturday, June 13th

 Race was at Winfield and was the 3rd race of the Southern Kansas Point Series. Competiting this time around was Gavin, in the Rookie Champ Class and Kris in the Adult Econo Class.  Gavin showed much improvement as he Finished 3rd in his Feature race. Not only did he finish 3rd he also lapped 4th and 5th karts.

 As for Kris, he won his first Heat and finished 2nd in his second Heat Race. After making some ajustments to his kart, Kris started 2nd out of 5 in his Feature. He took the lead on lap 2 and from there laed all the way to the checkard flag.

 As for the Point Standings, driver's count their best 7 of 8 Race events. this means every one hasto throw-out one race or in some cases like Kris and Eyan, only race at 7 race events. In counting "total points", Kris is in 3rd Place. In counting throw-out points, Kris is 1st Place. For Eyan, in total points, he currently stands in 5th place. But in throw-out points, Eyan stands in 2nd place. He is 45 points behind 1st and 4 points a head of 3rd place.

 There is a Club race next Saturday at Wellington, but i think our team is going to take some time off and wait untill the next point Race, which will be held at Wellington, on Saturday, July 11th.    

RACE DAY - Saturday, June 6th

 Last evening's race was at Winfield and was the 2nd Points Race for the Southern Kansas Point Series. It was Hot (95*) and very windy (15 to 25 mph). Over 60 karts were on hand for the race. Eyan had 5 entries in his class and Kris had 4 in his. It was a tough day for Eyan, Tj, and Grandpa. When we unloaded we set the kart up just like it we had it when we ran two weeks earlier. Eyan went out and ran his first set of hot laps and turn laps just a little bit quicker than he had the last time we had run. We ran basically the same set up for the 2nd set of hot laps, but began to run a little slower lap times. The only difference was that our tachometer was showing a higher rpm than than before. To fix that problem we took 1 tooth off of the rear gear.  We also took a little air pressue out of the kart tires. From there on we struggled the rest of the night trying to get the kart right. Eyan finished 2nd and 3rd in his Heat Races and 3rd in his Feature race. If any thing Eyan, with his third place he still leads the Points Chase 40 points.  Between now and Eyan's next race Dad and Grandpa will be working to lossen Eyan's Champ Kart up.

 As for Kris, Saturday was "his day", as he swept his class. He dominated both Heat races, but come Feature time he had to drive his tail off to take the win. Starting first, Kris fell back to 3rd at the beginning of the race. He caught and passed for 2nd around lap 4, but by that time he was 8 to 10 kart lengths behind the leader. Lap after lap he slowly closed the distance between himself and the leader of the race. With 5 laps to go, it looked as if he was going to have to settle for a runner-up position. But with 3 to go the lead kart swung high coming out of turn 4 and that let Kris pull up within a kart. Then one lap to go the lead kart did the same again and got loose coming out of turn 4. Kris made a move to the inside and pulled up along side and then took the lead and went on to claim the win. Kris and the whole family was excited. This was the first time Kris had actually raced a kart in almost 10 years and to win on the last lap made it that much special.

 Our next race will be this upcoming Saturday, June the 13th, at Winfield. It will round 3 of the Southern Kansas Point Series. Eyan will not be competing as he has to be out of town. Kris and Gavin will however be racing.  As always, I will post how our young racer's do.

 Thank you for checking in on us. Have a Great Day !  

RACE DAY - Saturday, May 23rd

 Yesterday's race was held at Winfield. It was just a regular money payback type race. Eyan was the only driver from the C & H Racing team running. Actually, Eyan was the only Jr Champ driver who made to to the race this time around. But, Dad and Grandpa had already decided that our main purpose at this race was to change items and do some trail and error with the kart to get the kart set-up and running as fast as we could get, so we would be ready for the next two point races, which will be held here in Winfield. (Saturday, June 6th and 13th) We began the day with the same set-up that we used at Wellington the week before when Eyan won the Feature event. From the first of two practice sessions to the first heat, we lowed our lap times 3 tenth's of a second. After dialing it in more and working with Eyan in where to lift in the corner and where not, we dropped his lap time down another 4 tenth's of a second.  Overall we by working and racing the clock, we dropped his lap times down around 3/4 of a second. In a 15 lap race, that would be around 11 1/4 seconds. A lap is turned in around 16 seconds.

 All in all we we were very happy with our performance. Eyan went faster that he has ever at the Winfield track and offically he picked up another Feature win for 2009. Next up is the 2nd and third leg of the Southern Kansas Karting Series. Both races will be held at our home track, the Winfield Fairgrounds Speedway. ( Saturday, June 6th & 13th.

T J is busy working on a hopefull sponsorship deal. Wheather you are racing cars, motercycles, boats, or karts racing is expensive. If you have a bussiness and would be interested in becoming part of our team by being a sponsor, please contact us: Bob Curtis - 620-222-4046 or T J at 620-660-2640 

RACE DAY - Saturday, May 16th:

After many weeks of race cancellations because of rain, our team finally took to the track for a evening of racing. The race was at Wellington's Wordan Park Raceway. This race was also the 1st Points Race for the new Southern Kansas Point Series. All three of our driver's ( Gavin, Eyan, and Kris )were on hand to compete. The day, however started out kind of sour for Kris, as his engine exploded and broke in Hot Laps. Sadley Kris was through for the day before hardley began. Next up was Gavin. Gavin races in the Rookie Champ Kart class. There were 4 entries in his class. Gavin finished 3rd in one heat and 4th in the other and finished 4th in his feature. Our final driver was Eyan. Eyan runs in the Jr Champ Kart Class. Eyan's day was like riding a roller coaster, as it went from bad to good to bad to good. Eyan did not get to run the first set of Hot Laps because his fuel valve was not completly open. There were 4 entries in Eyan's class. In his first Heat Race he started 4th. Moved into  3rd after first lap. Took over 2nd at lap 5. After a yellow flag condition on the track, the race went back to green and Eyan closed up on the back of the race leaded. As the two karts came down the front straight to recieve the White flag to signal one more lap to go, Eyan made a move to the inside to take the lead and then pull away to take the win. Just as the karts began to take to the track for their 2nd Heat Race, we realilized the pin connecting the throttle pedal had came out. Grandpa hurried to the trailer to get a bolt & nut to fix it, but ran out of time and Eyan did not get to run in his 2nd Heat race. When Feature time came, once again, Eyan found himself starting 4th. As the karts entered the track, the lead kart, #20 (Victoria White) pulled to the infield, having no power. That left Eyan and two other karts. After taking the green flag, Eyan made a move to the inside intering turn 1, passed both karts and into the lead. For the next 14 1/2 laps Eyan lead the race and won the Jr Champ Kart Feature. The win was very special. Not only was it Eyan's first race for 2009, but it was his 2nd Feature race in a row. (Eyan won his first ever Feature at the final race he ran last season). But most important, Eyan had won the first Point's Race and is in 1st Place in the Point Standings. Eyan and his pit crew knows however, that this was only the first race of 8 Point Races and there is a lot of work and serious racing to do.

 Our next scheduled race will be this upcoming Saturday, May the 23rd. We will be racing a the Fairgrounds Speedway here in Winfield. The race will be a regular money payback type race. Eyan, will be the only one competing. We will be using this race as a tune up towards the next two Point Races, as they are scheduled to run at the Winfield track on Saturday, June 6th and June 13th.