A nice montage of my p6 finish race weekend
Nick and I had another good race at United Karting albeit somewhat furry.
We had an odd start that created a tale of two packs also a reverse grid start.
The two fellows in front of me, 19 and yellow t-shirt guy kept fiddling with their engines as we were approaching start/finish in formation laps. Since they were focused on their engines and not the traffic we had repeated checking up and mis-starts. We finally get going third try but it was ugly, with the guy checking up then leaping off in the chaos. Oh well, we will catch him later.
Nick fared well in the starting chaos, jumping from 4th to 2nd in T1. He had an excellent race, battling for the lead with a couple other drivers. Unfortunately when passing lapped traffic, he didnāt give quite enough room to a newer racer who pushed wide, tapping Nicks tail. Nick lost the back end, was doing a good job of managing the mess, but got plowed into by someone not looking ahead. He got the wind knocked out of him, a bit, and called it DNF. Itās a pity because he drove really well!
Lesson learned, give the hesitant new guys plenty of room and watch out for people that only stare at the bumper ahead.
I had a really good race and made spots up, I started 2nd from last and did some good driving. Overall a good day for both of us, despite Nicks DNF.
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Read this in 2014 and live by it to this day. As I try to instill in my 7 year old, whatās going on behind you is not your problem. Whatās going on with your kart IS your problem.
You donāt have to read past hear if you want to stop.
Bolder take that not everyone will agree with: If you look over your shoulder to make a block into the next corner you are a crappy racer and a crappy person. As has been clear both on the track (ask @CrocIndy) and in previous threads, I will drive you into the next corner deeper than either of us can handle and neither of us will win.
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These are the words of a desperate man with nothing left to lose.
Derek, you ok?
Iām a 36 year old masters driver that would rather prove a point than win a raceā¦
So, no, not ok? 
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Whatever it takes. Send it!
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This seems like a pretty big over reaction to be honest. Do mirrors in auto racing make drivers ācrappy racers and crappy personsā? Defending effectively because I know where you are does not always equal blocking. As long as there is just one move per corner, that is racing. I agree blocking and weaving is, in your words, ācrappyā.
If your passing requires the driver ahead does not defend, what does that say about your passing? Retaliating against another driver on track is risky for both of you and is a worse offense than driving defensively in my book.
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I agree with your last statement. Never claimed to be the higher moral ground here, for sure. Also agree that two wrongs do not make a right. You are 100% right there.
And yes, I think mirror driving in real cars is also ācrappyā driving. It makes me cringe in NASCAR as I know thousands of young inspiring race car drivers are watching. For reference, the only racing I watch in real life is cars without mirrors.
As for your specific statement, I am reacting purely to your statement that you would change your line on the straightaway before turn 1 based on where the guy behind you is. To me, you have already picked your line on the straightaway and are not entitled to your āone moveā.
As I said, I dont think everyone does (or even should) agree with me on this viewpoint. Just that looking behind you any time before the last lap (which I dont even agree with) really has no place in karting. Focus forward and donāt make mistakes. Then no one will pass you (yes, I am over simplifying here).
Good luck and happy racing!
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This gives me the opportunity to post the real life adventures of mr. Swivelhead:
Iām pretty well with Derek. Donāt look back at me and then move. Pick a line immediately off the corner, cool. White line me more than the last lap, Iām gonna use a bumper.
I look around a lot, but rarely ever directly behind.
Edited to add:
If you look back at me, I know that you know Iām there and Iām probably going to send my kart sailing inside of you immediately.
I would rather look back and know youāre going to send it than be left surprised when you do.
If you guys donāt want me to defend, then we might as well hand out the trophies after qualifying. 
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I never said donāt defend. Running a defensive line is fine. By all means, drop to the inside before a corner. Itās fine, but it might get a little rough.
Looking at me and swerving where Iām going is going beyond defending and itās probably gonna end badly for everyone is all Iām saying.
Just donāt act all mad in the scale line when shit inevitably hits the fan on the track.
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TJ, I think with defending we should just pass out trophies after qualifying. Not hard to defend every lap at some of these clubs that only have 2-3 passing zones.
Again, just opinions on the friendliest forum on the internet.
We are splitting hairs here but to me there is a difference between swerving at someone when youāve seen they are there and checking over your shoulder to see if youāre under threat and adjusting your line accordingly. As long as you donāt move in reaction to another driverās move, itās all kosher on my end.
But next time I run 206 or you guys run KA, we can rumble at the scale line. 
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What I mean is at the end of the straight, will I swing wide to the outside of the track where the racing line is or will I stay more inside / mid track to not just open the door up to you? If I see that someone is right on my bumper going down the main straight, I may not go as wide for the corner entry than I would when just trying to put in the fastest laps for example.
I 100% agree with you that turning back to look, and then swerving down (or up) in front of someone could be blocking. However, that isnt what I was meaning. I just meant that if I knew someone was right on me, I might take a more defensive line through the next few corners instead of just driving the racing line leaving the door wide open for overtakes. That is pretty standard race craft as far as I am aware.
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Come down to the newly redone Whiteland and weāll have a 206 kart for you to run! Between me and @fatboy1dh, weāll get you hooked up.
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Youāll have to walk back a few karts at the scale line to find me. Iām a much better rumbler than I am racer!