I am wondering if we are in the 25 range for Quaker City or possibly more? Given the light turnout at the USPKS’ Wisconsin GP for Masters, maybe some guys were saving their money and are going to Quaker City instead.
bestkart will have 2 karts
Me
Eric Henig
It will be nice to have a teammate. It is my first time having a bestkart teammate in my class.
I know Bonanno will be there, and I suppose all the guys who made the first 2 rounds, as well as NE Ohio / Pitt Race locals.
I’m out for this one, but will be there to help Andy. Trying to privateer both myself and my son at these big events is challenging on many fronts. Karma seemed to agree with me as when we practiced there this past weekend I blew a bottom end on my motor, so my Stars money is going toward that expensive rebuild.
The masters number have been down for both USPKS and Rte66, yet number have been good for Stars. I would assume many of the drivers being adults with jobs/families/etc pick one series to race, and this year it’s stars.
I really like what stars has going for them, but being based in Wisconsin, and not being able to afford arrive and drive, that series is a long haul for us.
The Carapellati’s were both there last Sunday practicing which I’m assuming means they will be there. The QG3 guys were also there (Queen / Stiffler / Meise ) and I think Albright committed to the full series with them as well.
…that’s 10 already without even digging very deep which is a good start.
I think everythign Paul mentioned are driving factors to Stars being a very attractive place to race, esp for us guys looking to mix having a great time with having fun as well. Single set of tires is a HUGE driver for me to keep costs down, was disappointed to see USPKS go back to 2 sets as well. Really for me being a midwest guy, the schedule and tracks all seem to just “work” for me, I’m not really in a position to tow to TX or Florida for a weekend race and try to be back for work on a Monday.
@Bokeno_Racing and I want to join this group, but it’s not in the cards for us this year with him running our local club. Love what Stars is doing and really hoping their affiliated Apex series takes off. Hoping next year works out for us
A little bird told me it that it looks like 22-23 without perpetual late registrants Mardan, Mier, Nyiri. I suppose if Nyiri comes Peter Cook will come as well.
I am guessing 25-ish. Someone can tell Settles to come but I don’t want him beating me again.
Any of the testers gonna tell me what gear to put on the kart since I have not had the pleasure of driving 8hrs to test?
Completely agree. Most of the tracks work for me as well, and being able to take a half day on Thursday and still get to New Castle / Quaker / MCC / Pitt etc. before the gates close on Thursday is a huge plus. I would love to make Charlotte and Trackhouse feasible but with work, and now a family, those events are even tough. To Jon’s point, if the series were flipped and focused on Wisconsin / Western Indiana / Illinois / etc. I would likely be in the same shoes as him. It would have been cool to race at Road America with USPKS this past weekend, but I would have had to take an extra 1.5 days off of work and away from family given the distance. Plus four sets of tires between the test/practice days and race tires, just not feasible at this point.
I don’t really understand why a second set of Reds would be necessary for these weekends. I start Friday on a used set, throw on a new set mid day to get a good feel (which are then good for Sat / Sun warm ups), and qualify / race on the weekend tires. I then have two good sets of tires to beat on during various test days, which these days are more for staying in halfway decent driving shape than worrying about having the latest and freshest tires for testing. The extra ~$240 for a second set of MGs on the weekend is my meals, or a hotel night, or gas money, or replacing the toasted set of rains after choosing the wrong prefinal tire at New Castle
People vote with their pocket book and showing up on race weekends, and for the KA Masters fields, Stars has been the clear winner here.
The logic at the USPKS races this yr among the drivers was that with less than 20 karts - I think 13 at Daytona, someone can either intentionally or through mechanical issues miss 2-3 heats, start at the back and race to the front and win because of fresher tires.
At Daytona, I was the only one who did not put on new tires for the final. The older tires were differently slower than new gumballs. Or maybe it was the boozing and carousing til 2am. Not sure which.
At Trackhouse I was generously given a 2nd set of tires. It was fast. Also no boozing and carousing Saturday night before the final.
We need a consistent test here, Paul. I recommend at the next USPKS event you go boozing and carousing until 2am and throw on a new set for Sunday’s final. I’ve heard great things about the nightlife in Greenfield, IN. For accurate data purposes, of course.
If I understood correctly my now hopelessly addicted to 2-stroke pal, Andre Lourens, will be joining you guys in ka100 masters. Pretty sure this will be his first big regional race. He’ll be tenting with Jerry. He’s a good fellow so say “howdy”! He’s also South African and has a cool accent.
That logic would make sense if you’re just doing a 1-off event. If you’re running the whole series, you would lose out on the points from qualifying and heats.
Tires is the most aggravating part of racing KA at our club and regional events. Even though everything we run is MG red, its just SO MANY tires to be competitive. By the end of our 14 race club season with some Rte66 and RA club events, we have a stack of 10-15 sets of tires to try and get rid of somehow.
We raced Rte 66 a few weeks back at Road America in KA senior. We started Friday practice with used tires that had 1 event day on them. We were 2 seconds slower than pole all through practice. Put new tires on for qualifying and ended up 0.8 seconds off pole.
Depending a track, tire age, etc.. It can be as little as .3 from very good used tires to new. That is my delta at Trackhouse USPKS between by used “Happy Hour” tires from the prior Stars event to my qualifying sticker tires.
Day 1 went alright, aside from the cracked exhaust which basically took us out of our second practice right as it started. Also our last practice was pretty much entirely in traffic, so I don’t think our times there were very representative. Musser might still be in a league of his own, but I do think a front row qualifying run is potentially on the table.
The track is a lot of fun with lots of unique challenges. I wouldn’t say the whole thing is as bumpy as I was anticipating but there are definitely some rougher spots, with some big bumps in hard braking zones into fast corners which makes things extra spicy. There’s also some newly added rhino liner which gives you some major grip patches in some corners, so figuring out how to best approach those corners and hit those spots just right without unsettling the kart has been interesting.
and has a cool accent.