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Never having raced or practiced at a track is always intimidating, but we can never predict what Sean can do. Other than looking at an overhead map of the track, Sean had no idea of what Willow Springs Raceway would be like. On Friday, the pit crew worked on the setups and Sean worked on the track. On Saturday, it was time to race.

Sean turned some good qualifing laps to get him started in 9th for the Junior 1 class against 33 other drivers. The weather got warmer and the track got sticky rubber on it. The hot weather didn't bother the Phoenix, Arizona native, but it bothered the karts. When Sean went out for the next event, his kart was too tight in the turns and made it very difficult to manuever. He lost 3 positions and fell to 12th. The pit crew changed the setup anticipating more hot track conditions. The changes seemed to help, but they weren't enough to help Sean better his position, so he did his best to hold his position in the Main in 12th.

Sunday morning came the same way as Saturday, bright and sunny. Sean did very well to qualify his HPV 1 Cadet into 6th position. The heat came to the track and again the kart stiffened up in the next event. The pit crew made adjustments prior, but it didn't seem to be enough. Again, the pit crew changed the setup to help free the kart in the sticky turns before the Main event. Sean lost a couple more positions but managed to hold onto 13th at the drop of the checkered.

"I had a good time here. This is a neat little track and I know I can do much better if we come back here." Sean stated. "We'll have the setups figured out, and I expect to take home a top-five here someday."

Seans next IKF Region 7 event will be in Fontana, California at CalSpeed Kart Track on Oct 5 - 7.

Sean always thanks his race team, Mom and Dad, his Engine Builder, Ron Hall, and his great sponsors, Hazardous Sports, Amsoil Lubricants, Proclean 1000 and Tekbolt. And Curtis Ruth at Innovative Karting, for supplying him with the fast Intrepid karts and racing supplies.

August 11, 2007. Formula K Raceway in Phoenix, AZ.

In a blistering afternoon in the bright, cruel sunshine, Sean Conyers and many other committed kart racers barely managed to suit up and run laps on a track that was pushing surface temperatures into the 150's. Why... in the Phoenix desert sun... in August? Do I really need to answer that? Sean wouldn't back out if it were twice that hot. It's racin man!!

Sean had his karts ready and setup from Thursday night practice, so he didn't bother with the practice in the afternoon sun. He was ready. He was hydrated and cooled off. Although our first events took place in the sun, around 115 degrees, it cooled down to a brisk 108 after the sun dropped. Sean did well in the first 2 events finishing 1st and 2nd in both. Then in the 2nd 2 heats Sean takes away both wins and this would put him in the pole position for both Main Events.

No one was thinking about the hot night air when we got ready for the Main Events, we were totally focused on winning. In the first Main event, the Rookie Sportsman (Yamaha), Sean traded places with Beau Briske and Pete Yerkovich. But we all know it comes down to where you are on the last lap. The three drivers go past the white flag with Beau in front, followed by Pete and then followed by Sean. The outcome would be decided, as most of our races are, on the last pass in the backstretch. They go down the stretch in order, Beau, Pete and Sean, maxxing out there little 100cc engines and tucking behind their fairings to create as little wind resistance as they could. Pete is gaining on Beau and he begins to make his pass. They are half way down the back stretch and it looks like Pete is going to easily make the pass for the win as he comes wheel to wheel with Beau. But, from behind Pete, comes Sean looking like he just got a nitrous boost. Sean performs a sling-shot maneuver in the draft, drops the hammer and gets beside the two karts and they are all side by side going into the turn. Don't close your eyes, cause out comes Sean on the bottom of the turn in first place followed by Pete in second. Around the last two turns and across the finish line. High fives to all the drivers for driving so well in a 3-wide situation.

One win in Sean's pocket and he was ready to grab another one in the HPV cadet class. This time Sean raced with Pete and Scott Phillips from Tucson. Sean traded places with Scott until the last 3 laps when Scott stopped passing and they all stayed single file with Sean as the sitting duck in the front. They take the white flag with Sean in first, Scott in second and Petie in third. Can Sean hold off the charge that will be coming in the backstretch? They get on the backstretch and they mash the gas and hide from the wind. Scott gains on Sean and makes an easy pass to take the lead from Sean. Pete stays in third. They go around the Daytona turn with 2 more turns left in the race, and Sean makes his move. Keeping his momentum through the Daytona turn, Sean gets to the inside of Scott before they reach the next turn. Now, Sean has to make a perfect turn by out-braking Scott and holding his kart down on the inside of the turn keeping it from sliding into Scott on the outside. It works, and Sean just took back the lead with only a few feet left to get the checkered flag and his second win of the night..

"I am not going to lose this." Sean recalled after he was passed by Scott Philips. "I knew I could make one more pass there, I've done it before. I really wanted to start the season with 2 wins."

Anybody that was anybody in Sprint Karting was at this awesome facility in Tooele, Utah. This was our first Stars of Karting event and we were all impressed about the Miller Motorsports facility and the caliber of drivers at this event. The only bad thing about it was the hot weather, and it was hot. Over 100'F degrees with track temps at more than 140'F all weekend. The rubber built up on the track and built up on the tires. This created a very bad understeer condition that Sean and his pit crew fought with all weekend. Sean spent Friday learning the track and the pitcrew worked on the setups.

On Saturday morning, Sean qualified 16th, but almost 2 seconds behind the leaders. Things went worse when Sean got tangled up with another kart in the Heat race and found himself finishing 22nd. In the Main event, Sean moved to 20th in 4 laps, but the kart developed an understeer again and Sean went slower each lap but maintained 20th position at the finish.

Lots of work went into Seans kart Saturday night and it looked like it didn't make much difference. Sean qualified in 20th, but he did like the way the kart handled, it seemed that the understeer problem was gone. Sean managed to gain a couple of positions in the Heat Race and was running laps about .5 seconds faster than the day before. We had our hopes up for a good finish in the Main. Five laps into the Main and a rolled black flag comes out, then another lap later, a black flag comes out. Sean was DQed for pushing the kart he was following. He thought he was legally drafting. He recieved a 24th place finish... and a lot more experience.

"The officials thought I was pushing the kart in front of me. I was close, but I thought I was legal." answered Sean when asked about the penalty. "I'll remember to be more careful next time.

"We're going to have a break coming up, our next regional event is in September, so it'll be nice to run some club races in August."

Seans next regional IKF Region 7 event will be in Willow Springs, California on Sept 7 - 9.

Sean will be back in Stars of Karting at Beaumont, California on Sept 14 - 16.

Sean is always thankful for his race team (Mom and Dad), his Engine Builders (Ron Hall, Doug Fleming) and his sponsors, Hazardous Sports, Amsoil Lubricants, Proclean 1000 and Tekbolt, will be there with him.

Special thanks to Curtis Ruth, owner of Innovative Karting, for his help and experience, and for supplying us with the new Intrepid karts.

Hazardous Pro-AM Support Kart Racer Sean Conyers hits some bumps in Buttonwillow.

June 2 - 3, 2007. Buttonwillow Raceway Park in Buttonwillow, California.

Sean Conyers makes a long haul from Phoenix, AZ. to Buttonwillow California looking to improve on his top-ten positions in the 2007 season. Practice on Friday didn't look good though as Sean discovers this is a highly technical track. Observing other drivers and trying different entrys and exits brings Sean into the fast laps by the end of Friday. Saturday started out rough and continued rough. Sean qualified in 26th and gets spun off the track in the first turn. He doesn't get down about it though, he gets back on the track and works his way from last (32nd) to finish the heat race in 19th. The Saturday Main Event didn't get better. Sean runs in 19th for 4 laps then went off the track to avoid wrecked cars on turn 2. This put Sean in 32nd again and he worked hard to finish the event in 24th.

Sunday was looking better with our experiences from Saturday behind us. Hopes were high when Sean qualified his HPV Cadet in 14th of 38 drivers. The heat race went smooth and Sean climbed up to 11th place. The Main Event, however, would bite Sean again, when Sean was caught in a pile-up in the first turn. Sean came out of the carnage with a bent tie-rod and spindle and slowly went backwards lap after lap. Unable to stay with the leaders, Sean stayed in the race and did his best. We were very proud of his determination. He finished in 18th, still beating almost half the field.

"It wasn't a good weekend, this is a tough track." Sean Conyers stated. "I learned a lot and I will come back for the Nationals. All this racing, good or bad, makes me better for the next race."

IKF Grand Nationals will be June 19 - 23 at Buttonwillow Raceway Park. Sean will be there looking for a win in 3 classes: HPV cadet, Junior 1 cadet, and Yamaha Rookie Sportsman.

Sean will also be entering his first Stars of Karting event in July. Sponsored by Snap-on tools and presented by the Indy Racing League, Sean and his family will be proud to be representing his sponsors in these prestigious events. Our first Stars of Karting event will be at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah on July 6 - 8, 2007.

Hazardous Pro-AM Support Kart Racer Sean Conyers reaches the Top Ten again.

March 31, April 1, 2007. Moran Raceway in Beaumont, California.

Sean Conyers comes to Moran Raceway currently in 9th place in the point standings and seeking to reach higher goals. Saturday race day started out very bad as the pit crew worked furiously on Sean's motor to get it running. Something went bad in the carburator and was flooding. The carb was switched and the motor still wouldn't run. Missing the first practice that morning gave Sean's pit crew time to replace the motor and get him into the second practice and then qualify. Sean's backup "B" motor didn't run real well and he managed a 17th place starting position in a field of 38 drivers. In the first race, Sean took his kart from 17th to 14th. Then the fun started in the Main event. On the 1st lap, Sean managed to get to 11th, then on the 2nd lap, he found his way to 9th. For the next few laps he paced himself with the other karts and on the 7th lap he made a move to get to 8th place, and on the following lap, he made another pass to reach 7th position. Then on the following lap, the #25 and #28 team up and drafted past Sean to put him back to 9th. Sean stayed with this group of 3 karts for the rest of the race and managed to pass each one individually to get back to 7th place. It wasn't going to stick because the other 2 karts did the same thing and worked together to draft past Sean and put him back into 9th on the last lap. A bad day turned to a good day, cause Sean did it all with his backup motor.

The HPV motor on Sunday was ready to go without problems. Sean qualified in 10th with 35 entries, and found himself starting the Heat race with some friends around him, namely, Petie Yerkovich (#03), starting in 9th, and JA Junior (#56), starting in 11th. Throughout the Heat race, Sean was trading places with Petie Yerkovich for 9th and 10th but they couldn't gain on anyone. In the Main event, Sean started 10th again but gets to 9th on the first lap. On lap 5, 3 karts drafted together and ran by Sean to put Sean in 12th place. Sean wasn't going to settle with that, and he worked his way back up to 9th in the next 3 laps and then trades 9th and 10th place with JA Junior for the next 5 laps. From behind, the #74 kart, driven by Luis Tyrell, makes his way into the 9th position and puts Sean into 11th place on lap 15. With one to go, Sean makes one more move to get his 10th position back at the finish line with only .22 seconds between 9th and 11th.

"I wish I had my best motor to race on Saturday, but I still did well with what I had." Sean Conyers stated. "I had fun and Moran is still my favorite track. Grange is a fun track too and I feel good about having a good backup motor if I need it. Thanks to all my sponsors and to my Mom and Dad too."

At home, in Phoenix, Sean found a 1st and 2nd place finish in March 11th and two first place finishes on March 25th. He is still leading the PKRA Junior 1 class and is running in second place, but gaining on first, in the HPV1 class behind his buddy Pete Yerkovich.

Seans next IKF Region 7 event is May 5, 6 at Grange Motor Circuit in Apple Valley, Calif.

The second event of the IKF Region 7 season comes to the border town of Primm, Nevada where the unknown track layouts even the odds. The Arizona native, Sean Conyers, was still on a high from the last IKF race event in Calspeed where he had his best IKF finish so far at 14th. 38 drivers were in this one and the track configuration was new for Sean and most others. One day for practice to learn the track and setup the karts, and Sean makes an impressive 9th place qualify run. At the start of the Heat race, Sean gets shuffled back to 12th place. Unhappy with the cars handling, Sean is unable to advance and ends the heat in 12th. The pit goes to work to adjust for the tight conditions and gets Sean ready for the Main event. A great start for Sean gets him past 3 cars on the first lap. Sean makes a couple more passes and gets passed a couple of times throughout the 24 lap Main, but he gains enough positions to get the Junior 1 Intrepid kart to an 8th place finish.

Sean's rookie season ended on a high note and he started the new 2007 season right where he left off. The first IKF Region 7 event at Calspeed had more entries than Sean has ever seen in his class before. 41 drivers came with fast cars and determination. This was Sean's 3rd visit to Calspeed and he was more prepared than ever. His new Intrepid cars were very fast but in Saturdays qualify event, Sean was put into the tire barrier on turn 15. This would give Sean a 19th place start. The kart was repaired and Sean had a couple of bruises, but he made it to the heat race. Sean struggled with a little pain and some slower karts, and managed to gain another position to start the Main Event in 18th. After 16 fast laps in the Main, Sean worked his way to a 14th place finish. His best finish in IKF to date.

Racing against the best cadet kart racers in the Southwest region, Sean Conyers shows he's here to make some noise. Sean gets to Adams Kart Track a week before the event to get used to the track, then a week later, on race day, the practice pays off as he runs the track as fast as the local So-Cal drivers. On Saturday, Sean starts his HPV1 cadet kart race from 9th and works his way to finish 7th, running his best lap only .6 seconds behind the race winners best lap. In the Cadet Jr Sptmn Final 1, Sean gets a bad start on the outside row, starting 6th, and gets pushed up the track and loses many positions to the 10th position. With determination and great driving, he works back to 7th place only to lose one more spot on a last lap pass.

Sean Conyers makes good on his home track in Phoenix, AZ., racing against the best Southwestern region cadet drivers like Raquel Martinez, Devon Jones and Adrian Starrintino. On Saturday, Sean runs good qualify times to get him started in 5th. In the first heat race, Sean finds his way up to 4th, and in the Main Event, it's a battle throughout the race with each driver trading places from 1st to 6th position. With two laps to go, Sean makes a pass to get into 2nd place, then with one to go, Sean makes a last chance effort to pass for 1st, but Trevor Zindars, in 3rd, wants to pass and he makes it 3 wide going into turn 10. Sean's in the middle and wisely backs out. Trevor takes the lead but the other car wiggles and Sean sneaks by in turn 11 to get back into 2nd place. He then makes a hard dash to the finish, almost taking 1st away from Trevor.

Sean Conyers goes to a new kart for 2007 Season. Innovative Racing Supply has helped Sean into a new set of wheels. Our special thanks to Curtis Ruth of Innovative Racing Supply in Glendale, AZ.

We welcome our newest sponsor to the Sean Conyers Race Team, Tekbolt. Tekbolt supplies bolts and fasteners for dirt-biking and karting. Thank you Tekbolt for your generous support.

This time Sean qualifies in 1st place, but only by a hair. A mere .03 seconds, faster than Trevor Zindars, #8. Trevor got past Sean at the drop of the green flag in the heat race, but Sean uses expert technique and lots of patience to stay up with the #8 car and waited until the final lap to make his move on the back straight, drafting Trevor, to get the momentum to pass and win the Heat race.

The Main event starts with Sean in front and this time Trevor does the following. For 10 laps Trevor stays on the back of Sean and we expect him to try the same "last lap pass" that Sean did to him on the Heat race. But somehow, Sean begins to pull away, spreading the distance between him and Trevor with 2 laps to go. The white flag come out and Sean is still putting a few more inches between himself and Trevor. Down the back straight they go and Trevor can't seem to get the draft to pull him closer to Sean. Suddenly, it looks like disaster for Sean when he gets loose on turn 11. One more turn to the checkered and Trevor takes advantage of Seans slip on turn 11. They are both side by side at the finish line and Sean just eeks this one out by .09 seconds. (whew)

We welcome our newest sponsor to the Sean Conyers Race Team, Amsoil Lubricants. Thank you Amsoil for your generous support.

Sean qualified in 2nd place, then got into a spin with Clay Armstrong, #6, in the Heat race to finish the Heat 3rd. In the Main Event, Sean used patience and skill to work his way from 3rd to the front and finish in 1st place ahead of Tanner Bissell, #0.

We practiced Friday and raced Sat and Sunday. Sean qualified his 80cc Junior 1 kart Saturday in 27th of 36 drivers even though he ran better laps in practice the day before. The heat race never got started for Sean. The green flag came out and at the end of the front straight Sean slowed for the many other karts squeezing through the first turn, and a rookie driver behind Sean didn't. The next thing Sean sees is the bottom of another kart sitting on the front of his kart. The kid behind Sean didn't use much brake when everyone else had to check up. He ran over the right side of Seans kart and stopped on the front of Seans kart at a 45 degree angle. That ended the heat race for the both of them. Sean started the Main in 34th but finished with a respectable 26th after 20 laps. Sean made the best of the situation and didn't panic.

Sunday we took a qualify of 33rd because dad forgot to attach the transponder to the kart. I really let him down because he was running laps earlier that would have qualified him in the mid-20 positions. Anyway, Sean did his best in the heat race and finished 30th. Sean had to make his way through many incidents on the track during the heat race. We weren't running the same lap times in the Main, still not sure why, but we sent the engine to get overhauled. Seans best lap time in the Main was pitiful, had he run his usual times he would have made it to the low 20th positions.

We're running some local events through April, doing well, running in top 5. Then in May 5, 6, and 7th we head to Beaumont, Cal, at Adams kart track. Again, like most California tracks, the local L.A. kids will always be at the advantage with track experience. We'll get in Friday practice, adjust the karts, and always have fun and do our best.

Our latest IKF Region 7 race was in Fontana, Cal. at the CalSpeed kart track, Feb. 4th and 5th. This track is in the west parking lot of the California Speedway. Nice layout with good passing zones. Sean had lots of trouble with looseness, this track was slick. I made lots of changes to his setup to tighten it up, and of course, had gear changes to make to keep his engines at peak HP.

Sean had half a day Friday to get used to the track, we arrived about 1pm, a bit later than I wanted, and then we had another practice session Sat morning before the Comer Jr1 qualify. He qualified 28th out of 35 drivers, very good for his little experience on their home track. The Heat race went well he finished 27th. he followed a slower car for too many laps and he couldn't catch the others after he finally made the pass. I needed to make another gear change to give him more torque coming out of the turns to help him make more passes.

In the main he was passing well and found himself in 20th position when he was clipped from behind and crashed into the tires. He came out with a slightly sore wrist but that was it. The kart had some bent steering parts, but was done for the day.

On Sunday, Sean raced the HPV1 class and qualified 25th out of 34. He finished 26th in the Heat race, again having trouble passing slower cars. I went to work on the gears for the main. Sean finished 27th, but this time he came off the track with 3 laps to go while he was in 25th place because his wrist was hurting. 20 laps in these main events is something Sean needs to train for. Our club races are 15 laps at the most.

Overall, Sean did a great job, and you must consider his lack of seat time on the tracks that are only an hours drive from where these other kids live. These other kids are a "who's who" in IKF region 7. They've got tons of money and support and the tracks we race in the IKF are virtually in their backyard.

Our next IKF regional event is at Primm, Nevada in the parking lot of Buffalo Bills Casino. This track is gonna be real good because no one knows the layout yet so it should even the challenge for everyone.

Wow, what a big day!! Sean did a lot of practicing since our last race while the pit crew did a lot of tuning and adjusting. It was clear that this new/used kart had not been very well maintained when we opened up the engine and found lots of carbon. A lot of nasty carbon was scraped from the exhaust port and a thick layer was removed from the top of the piston. Some mechanics would think that the extra carbon on the piston would help raise the compression, that's true but, it also adds weight to the piston and that drops the rpms. In this game you want high rpms.

I tore the clutch down again, didn't find anything I could do. Then, I decided to try the richest jet they allow in the carburetor and crossed my fingers, it was all I could do. Sean started 4th, didn't get a good start, but it was better, did a great job of driving again, and finished 3rd. He avoided 3 more incidents on the track from other kids spinning around and picked his way through it all untouched. Awesome driving on Seans part. We'll have to do some more work on the start problem before the next event on Nov. 21. Our summer schedule has ended and now we get ready for the winter.

Our stolen kart still hasn't turned up and we have no hope of retrieving it. I had serious doubts of retrieval since it was taken, so I immediately went shopping for a used kart. I managed to find one for $750. It wasn't a very good deal. I knew it needed tires cause it was easy to see the "Dunlop" marking on the sides, we have to run a specific Bridgestone brand in IKF, but I didn't realize the wheels were "split-rims", which are very difficult to dismount and remount new tires, and I didn't know that the old version Comer 50 would need to be replaced with a new version Comer 50 by January 1, 2005. The 4 new tires and a new motor will run about $550. Not good. I bought the tires, still thinking about the motor.

I made many adjustments and did lots of cleaning to get the kart ready for a trial run on Tuesday night. Everything looked good except for some adjustments for the driver. Many things needed changed so that Sean could drive the car comfortably and efficiently. Seat padding was added, seat was moved 3 more times, gas and brake pedals were adjusted, and the carburetor was cleaned and rejetted.

Then, it was race night. Sean drove well in practice and looked to be a mid-field contender. I had a surprise for Sean, a new K&N race filter. I put on the new filter and the engine seemed to be real sluggish. I assumed it was lean because the new filter allowed more air flow. I didn't have time to rejet the carb, so I told Sean that he would need to squeeze the throttle not mash it when the green came out to keep from stalling the motor. Green flag came out and he seemed to get it moving, but he began to pump the throttle and killed the engine. Oh well, lost the heat race.

Before the next heat race, I rejetted the carb. Sean took off but the kart still seemed to bog before it got rolling. Everyone passed him on the first lap, but he was able to get around a pack of spun out drivers to get a 5th place finish. The Main event went about the same. Sean got another bad start, but managed to out drive a couple of other karts to finish 7th.

I'll tear the engine down this week and see what I can do to give Sean a better kart, at least as good as his original one.

No good news to report this time. Sean went to Tuesday practice, Sept. 14 and did well. He ran some very good laps and drove his kart smoothly. It looked like he was ready to get back to racing.

Race day, Sept 18, we got registered and tech inspected, then on the track to get in some practice laps. Sean ran well and stayed cautious. He knew this was only practice so he didn't need to drive hard. He followed the #77 kart for a few laps and 3 other karts caught up to Sean and followed. No one driving too hard, everyone showing respect and giving room. Then, on the front straight, another kart shut down and stalled near the start/finish line. Seans group of karts was coming to the front straight with the #77 kart still leading. The Dads on the corner waved for the karts to slow down because of the stalled kart. The signal was like putting your hands in front of your body, fingers extended outward and pushing your hands in a downward motion as if to push the air in front of you down. The #77 hit his brakes and spun sideways in front of Sean and the other oncoming karts. Sean "T-boned" the #77, then got slammed in the back by the following kart. Another kart following them got turned upside down. The Dads ran to the crash site. Seans back was hurting, but it turned out being only a couple of bruises on his back. We took him to get X-rays to be sure, but his racing, which never really got started, was over for the night. The other kids seemed to be alright, some karts were a little damaged, and we packed and left for the hospital.

So, we figured we were lucky this time that Sean wasn't hurt, but I have some concerns as to the training of the kid in the #77 kart, why he stopped on the track like that, and who approved him to be eligible to race.

Tonight, I looked forward to getting Seans kart straightened out and ready for some more racing, but when I went in the garage... there was no kart. No sign of it. It took a few seconds to sink in, and man did it sink, but I realized that our kart was undeniably stolen. Sean took it well, better than I.

Sean got back in his kart in June and we ran a few laps when we could to get used to the counter-clockwise direction we run for the summer. We were able to enter a race on June 19th, and we were surprised to see all the new kids out there. Seans old buddies were there, Zach (1), Beau (7), Makayla (15), and Aimee, and then some new faces. One of the new drivers was a friend that goes to school with Sean, Pete (8). Sean was happy to see him.

The racing went very well. Sean started in the back on the first heat, because Dad still draws high pill numbers, but he raced his way from 11th to 5th. Then, Sean got to start in the front in the second heat race. The 4 faster cars got around Sean and all he could do was race the track and take the 5th place finish. The same thing happened in the main event, started 5th, finished 5th. Now, of course, he wants a faster kart. Well, it's not always the kart. With more practice and dedication, Sean will get faster.

We bought a new truck and trailer this summer, so we can travel to other tracks in the future, and we can get in some traveling/camping too. We're also looking into buying a new kart for Sean to move up to the 80cc Junior 1 class next year. It's becoming expensive now, but we're going to continue to do our best for Sean.

Then, we missed the Aug. 21 event because Dad was scheduled to work and couldn't get out early enough to make the registration deadline. We'll miss the next event on Sept. 4th because we'll be at the NASCAR event in California. So, we are really hoping to get to the last 3 summer events.

Rain would threaten the racing on this weekend with gloomy skies and drizzles all morning. We lowered the air pressure in the tires to get as much rubber on the pavement as we could. The temps were very cold. Sean ran well and kept control while many of the other karts spun around.

In the first heat Sean started at the pole position thanks to Dad drawing the #11 pill this time. An early jump on the start got Sean in the lead for a couple of laps, but 3 other karts got around him before the checkered flag fell. It was obvious to all that the other 3 karts were modified and clearly had more horse power.

In the second heat race, Sean had to start in the back as the field was inverted. Again, Sean jumped the start and passed 2 karts before reaching the first turn. After the race, he was reprimanded for the jumped start and warned that he would get black-flagged if it happens again. Regardless of the start, Sean was again able to gain more positions until he reached 4th where he was unable to gain on the faster modified karts. Sean did a great job of driving. Many of the other karts spun and allowed Sean to race past them.

The rains finally came before the Main Event, and we packed it up and went home looking forward to our next event.

They added some changes to the track this week which always makes things interesting. The club officials blocked out the #2 turn, so that gave us a straight line from turn 1 to turn 3. Some of the regular kid drivers were absent on this weekend, only 8 kids in the field this time. During practice, it looked like Sean was one of the fastest karts on the track except for Jordan in the #18 kart. Jordan was very fast with a new motor and some legal modifications his dad added. So, it looked like the good racing was going to be for 2nd place.

Dad did well drawing the #22 pill this time and that gave Sean the #2 spot to start the first heat. Sean got off the line a bit slow and was in 4th when they reached turn 4. Never giving up tho, Sean managed to make one more pass to finish 3rd.

The second heat started with the field inverted and Sean started 6th. One rookie driver had to stay in the back on the start. This time, Sean hit the gas pedal hard and Dad made sure the kart engine was warmed up, so Sean got a great launch and passed 2 karts before reaching turn 3. On the 2nd lap, Sean was making another pass around Zack in the #1 kart for 3rd place in turn 4. Just as the two karts came out of the turn side by side, the #0 kart, in second place, got loose. Sean made a smart move to avoid "T-boning" the #0 kart but ended up pushing the left side of his kart into the #1 kart that he was passing, and that got Seans kart to spin around and off the track. Sean chased the pack for the rest of the heat and made one more pass to keep from finishing dead last...and nobody got hurt.

The main event started with Sean in the 4th position, and again, he made a great start and moved to 3nd place on the first lap. Sean chased the #91 kart and stayed up with him while Jordan (#18) dominated the field, as we expected. On lap 2, Sean got loose on turn 3, but kept the kart straight, trying to make a pass. This allowed the 91 kart to spread the gap. It took Sean 4 laps to catch the 91 kart and try to find another passing lane. 3 laps to go, and Sean trys another pass on the inside of turn 4. Going into the turn too fast made the kart very wide coming off the turn and Sean lost some ground to the 91 kart again. Not enough laps in the race to get another try, so Sean ended this day in 3rd place. His best finish yet, and more races to come.

We had a special treat for Sean today. He was allowed to remove the rookie "X" from his rear number plate. Sean was now a qualified "veteran" Kid-karter. This also allowed the bonus of letting Dad draw a pill for position. Well, Dad needs to work on his pill-drawing. We drew a number 68 which put Sean in the 9th position for the first heat.

Sean did great. With 12 kids in the field, he moved from 9th to finish 7th in the first heat and he kept the Kart from spinning around. We were worried about the cold temps and the cold tires because on our practice session, Sean was losing some traction and getting a bit loose around turns 2 and 3. Dad tried lowering the rear tire pressures to 8 psi and left the fronts at 18 psi to keep the speeds up in the straights. It seemed to be the right move in the pits.

In the second heat, they invert the field, so Sean started 3rd. At the green flag, Sean made a quick pass to take second pos. away. For 2 laps Sean chased the 1st place kart, which began pulling away. The 3rd place kart caught up to Sean in the 3rd lap, and it looked like Sean could finish 3rd in this heat. Then, in turn 3, the rear tires let go, or Sean may have turned the wheel too hard, but around he went and 5 more karts went flying past him. Sean did a good job of getting the kart back on the track quickly and, without mishap, continued the race. Sean made one more pass and finished 6th.

Seans finishes gave him a 7th place start for the Main Event. The track temps went up with the bright sunshine, so Dad increased tire pressures assuming the high temps would make the tires more sticky. Sean had a great race and made a respectable 5th place finish. Darn good out of 12 other karters.