It got bumpy, towards the end of the race.
The fella in red ahead of me at the beginning of the video is also a silverhair and one of the 2 racers I shared the podium with, ultimately. We happened to both be pitted when the flags waved. He came out worse for wear from the first restart, as he came in before me and ended up being held longer than 2 mins. The director filed all 3 of us in the pits out to the back of the line, simultaneously. I had only just come in so I wasn’t held as long, comparatively.
In the first restart, we are put in at the back of the field and I am 2nd from last and our friend is 3rd from last. We then have to make our way through. I have raced this gentleman before and I know him to be a very skilled driver and an equal adversary.
We are both, as are many others in our circle of racers, at the level of skill and race experience where kart draw determines who is faster, but, only for that one slice of racing. Today, I had the better karts, but, not by much.
Anyways, as you can see, I try to work with him up the yellow brick road. We hit some turbulence. Being grizzled old vets we survived and got to see a bunch of people fall off the track, which was cool. Which brings us to the 2nd restart…
This time, I was in the lead and I just had to survive the inevitable, incoming lunges to pull off the win. Despite a spirited challenge, I managed to hold position, and I finished with 135 laps, at least 1 lap up on P2. (For reasons unknown, the timesheet stopped at lap 134, but I averaged .2 a lap faster over the 134 recorded laps, which works out to a little over a lap, at race pace. So, no question I won, I suppose).
It was a really good race, for me. I nailed it technically and decision-making wise. No regrets. I think staying in kart 1 for the first 30 minutes was a good call. I was lucky that none of the subsequent 3 karts were weak, so I pulled off a commanding lead and held it. It was my day, my turn, and I nailed it, which is nice and makes me feel good about myself as a driver.
At the end of this one, I felt that surge of yeeeeeah that is rare and rather special and the experience really kicked my butt. It doesn’t seem like it but it was a pretty physical hour of racing and one that offered me a chance to really be on it, so it was mentally taxing as well. In the cool down I pulled over exhausted, and was blessed to be met by a parade of congratulatory fist bumps, which meant a lot, in that moment. Thanks folks. 
Since the race is long and the first 50 minutes are less desperate, I thought you guys might enjoy the final bumper car laps. Enjoy!
