Current news
August 26, 2008
Here is what has been going on, August 8th we raced at Texoma and had finished in 7th, the carb had dirt in it which caused it to flood and foul out the spark plug during the 2nd Heat race. Because of this we had to start in last (7th), Mike did a good job moving up through the field but ended up getting tangled with the 4th place kart which put them on the back again but with only 2 laps to go so he finished last. He came off the track and said he had a blast trying to pass everyone.
August 15, 2008 we went on a kick butt vacation down to Corpus Christi and missed the race which cost Mike the track Championship, he wasn't sad about it at all and is excited just to get to race each week. He showed me what racing is all about at a young age, we got caught up in the points as do a lot of parents, but the true meaning of young racing is for the kids to develop thier skills and most of all HAVE FUN each week racing and playing with friends. All-in-all Mike has accomplished that this year and I wouldn't change it for the world. Seeing Mike racing and smiling is worth more than any trophy any day.
August 22, 2008 we returned to the track and had a great night winning the feature. It was his Uncle Kevins Birthday and all he asked for was a win. Well Happy Birthday Uncle Kev trophy is on its way. lol It was exciting to be back hanging out and doing what we love. Next week is the final points night for Texoma, wish us luck.
August 5, 2008
It's been a while since my last update but here is what has been going on. Jul 18, 2008, Mike won the feature at TMS and on Jul 19, 2008 Mike finally got his first feature win ever at Seymour Speedway. Jul 25, 2008 Kelsey Baggett won the feature and Mike came in 3rd. It was a good race Mike was on the bumper of Kelsey the whole race when he had to check up which spun him side ways and opened the door for the hard charging Patrick Knight. Jul 26, 2008 Mike started in the back and moved up to 6th for the feature finish at Seymour Speedway. August 1, 2008 at TMS I changed gearing and setup to play a little and maybe find something, this was the first time I changed anything in 10 weeks. To our amazement Mike had the kart to beat this night where he won the feature. On 2 August, 2008 we kept the kart the same at Seymour but changed the gearing from our normal setup and the kart seemed to like it where he again won his second feature ever at Seymour. As you can see Mike has been doing very well this year, keep up the good work, mom and dad are proud of you.
July 15, 2008
Mike had a clean sweep this past weekend where he won the feature race on Friday on the small track and won the feature Saturday night on the big track at TMS. Mike is having so much fun out there and has turned out to be a great decision maker on the track moving his lines up and down the track until he finds where he is fastest, this is stuff I can't teach him and I am proud of how well he has adapted in only his 2nd year of racing. We look forward to next weekend where we will hit both TMS and Seymour tracks.
June 29, 2008
The past 2 Fridays at TMS Mike has won each of the features. He continues to amaze me with the decissions he makes on the track, he says he learns it from NASCAR....lol I am a very proud dad.
Last night we raced at Seymour Speedway where we started in 4th and finished 2nd. This race was one of the best races all season. Patrick Knight won the race but he had Mike all over him the whole race, one mistake and Mike could have won. Patrick kept his nerves in check and hit his marks the whole race, Mike tried to come off turn 4 on the final lap and get a run but fell just short at the finish line. Great job and race by both the kids.
June 18, 2008
Friday June 6, 2008, Well I spent a few days this week rebuilding Mike's kart after the floor pan issue. I moved the weight off the front of the kart and to my surprise Mike said the kart handled so much better. He ended up winning both heat races and took 1st in the feature. The feature was a great race, Mike was in the lead and hit some lap traffic, he took his time to make the right passes and Berkley Hoff was all over his back bumper, the race ended with Mike ahead by half a kart length. Great racing...
Friday June 13, 2008, Patrick Knight won the feature, it was a great battle the whole race with Mike making a good pass on Patrick after he got loose up high. The race was on and they hit lap traffic, where they raced hard for a few laps and Mike decided to go to the outside in turn 1 and 2 for the pass where he got loose and Patrick got under him for the win. The kids are really racing well this year. Congrats to Patrick on his win. Mike and Patrick are tied for the points lead at TMS. Stay tuned for this weeks battle.
Saturday June 14, 2008, because we didn't get any points at Seymour after our floor pan issue we decided to move up a class to the limitted mods. I was pretty nervous but Mike drove like a seasoned vet. The 1st heat Mike won and the 2nd heat after the invert and Mike starting in last he worked his way up to 2nd place. The feature was setup up with Mike again starting in last because we were new to the class, he made a pass for 4th and was all over the 3rd place kart until a storm with high winds rolled in and grabbed his wig in turn 3 and 4 which pushed him up the track (Mike said that was fun), he came back and again passed for 4th place but ended up finishing in last. All in all it was a fun night and we definitely look forward to the next time we can race that class..
June 4, 2008
Friday night at TMS went great. We had a good kart all night and the track was setup nice. Mike finished the race in 2nd behind the 5K kart of Kelsey Baggett.
Saturday night was a different story at Seymour. We had a really fast kart and track conditions weren't very good, if you missed your mark you would get loose coming out of turn 4. Mike had issues but managed to win both heat races. We were looking forward to a good run in the feature but at the beginning of the race Mike's floor pan broke and he couldn't race. We still had a good time.
Video is coming soon, been really busy at work.
May 27,2008
Last week we had another good night, Mike came in 1st by holding off the awesome driving of Andrew Downs. This weekend was a different story, the track was very wet and the kart was pushing straight through the corners, Mike finished last in both Heats and started 6th in the feature. I worked on the kart trying to figure out what direction to go, it wasn't till intermission when I walked the track that I figured out what to do. I learned a LOT that night, Mike was upset that the kart wouldn't turn but we decided to learn from this and have fun. In the feature he ran the way we had talked about and it seemed to boost his confidence, now he will run anywhere on the track. He was excited after the race which made the whole night great. Mike ended up in 5th but we learned a whole lot for our upcoming races. Stay tuned.....
I will start taping again for all our family and friends that watch.
May 10, 2008
We raced at TMS on Friday night and had a great time. Mike was hooked up all night long, it was fun to watch. He started on the pole in the first race and finished 1st, he then started in the last position in the second heat and finished 2nd. Patrick Knight had chain problems in the second heat and there were a lot of karts wrecking which helped us to get that position. He started on the pole in the feature and hit his lines perfectly which helped him to a 3rd win of the season. Mike is having a great season as is Wesley and Patrick. Kelsey Bagget has moved up to our class and is starting to figure it all out and will soon be a big threat to everyone in the class. Congrats to her on a 2nd place finish. We look forward to next weeks racing. Stay tuned......
Friday nights video has been posted.
May 4, 2008
Seymours race went well last night we had 8 karts in our class so it is starting to get interesting. Mike won the first Heat and came in 2nd in the second Heat. We strated 3rd in the Feature because of the way Seymour does the line-ups and ultimately finished in 3rd. I had changed the gearing this week to try something new but it didn't work, plus Mike wouldn't let me take the blame, he said his arms hurt in the feature. It was a very long weekend for Mike and us; he had a soccer game Friday night, then right after raced, then he had to get up early Saturday for another soccer game, then raced last night, plus waiting for the 45 minute Red plate class to finish. I give him a lot of credit, I know I sure was tired...lol Everyone at Seymour drove great last night, especially Patrick Knight who won the feature. Congrats on the win, you sure did drive awesome... I will post videos soon.
A special Congrats to Jayce Hudson (Gold plate)and Casey Pitts (limitted Mod) on their victories, you both drove great.
Stay tuned for next weeks racing, where the three Amigos (Mike, Wesley, and Patrick) will battle each other again at TMS...
May 3, 2008
Last night was a great night, probably the best night of racing that Mike has done all year. For a father, I couldn't be more prouder of Mike, what he did was awesome. He started in 6th position on the first Heat race and made the right moves at the right time to ultimately making the pass for the lead and taking the checkered flag in 1st. He also finished the 2nd Heat race in 1st and finished the Feature in 2nd place. All in all we had a great time watching Mike and all the other talented drivers out there. Congrats to Wesley on his win and to Patrick who finished 3rd. We will be racing at Seymour tonight. Stay tuned.......
Sorry no video again, we will have the Seymour race on video tonight.
Aril 28, 2008
Well we had a good night on Friday, after taking 6th and 5th in the past 2 weeks we were able to pull off a win this week. I totally changed the setup on the kart and put brand new (NWOK) HOOSIERS on which seemed to make the difference. Mike said the kart handled so much better this way which was key. Wesley Smith finished a close second, Patrick Knight finshed 3rd, and Kassadi Witter in 4th. The track was dry which made the karts really fast on the track, we were fortunate to start on the pole and hold off the hard chargers. Congrats Mike!!!! We are looking forward to next week. Stay tuned.....
Sorry No Video this week, mom forgot the camcorder but don't tell her I said that...lol
April 24, 2008
It has been a hectic week but here is what has happened since my last weeks entry. Friday night we raced at TMS, everything went well during the heats and it was a 4 way tie for the pole so they had to redraw the line-up and as luck would have it we drew the 4th place start...lol I had Mike's kart setup to ride in front and by the time we new what the order was, it was too late. Anyway, Mike drove the line I asked him to and a few laps later he was pushed up the track a litlle where he got loose and then lost 2 positions. Mike finished 5th but he drove his butt off the whole race. I am a proud father that is enjoying every bit of watching Mike race.
PS. Congrats to Wesley Smith on his long awaited WIN!!! Way too go.
Saturday April 19, 2008, Mike raced at Seymour Speedway. We ran good there the whole night and just couldn't make any passes on the track. We ended up taking 3rd for the night but had fun. Congrats to Kassadi Witter on her first win of the season!!!! Good Job!
We are looking forward to this Friday nights race, we are chganging our set up so it should be interesting. Stay tuned.....
Seymour video is posted.......
April 13, 2008
After hearing that EVERY race at TMS counts toward the track championship and the fact that we will be heading to the Knoxville Nationals and taking a vacation, we have decided we are only going to worry about the NWOK series and travel to other tracks and build on our experiences. This is really going to be a fun year and we hope to meet more great people in our travels.
Apil 12, 2008
Friday night races really got intense this week. The NWOK karts were fast and flying, all were in the front for the feature race, #17 Patrick on pole, #16 Mike outside, and #44 Wesley in the third position. The track was in good shape for some fast racing, the green flag dropped and the Patrick beat Mike into turn 1 with Wesley right behind. After a few laps Mike was gaining on Patrick and Wesley's kart started to get tight. Mike and Patrick gained a few kart lengths on the rest of the field where Mike was pulling up on Patricks bumper. A few laps later Mike dove down coming out of turn 4 to make the pass on Patrick but to Mike's misfortune there was a kart spun out and he hit it head on. Mikes chain came off because of the crash and I had to put it back on, the rules state that if you work on the kart you go to the back of the field. Mike didn't know or understand why he was in the back when it wasn't his fault so he drove way too aggressive ultimately spinning out on the last lap after rubbing tires with another kart. This was a good learning night for Mike and he now understands how driving aggressive does affect the performance of the kart. It seemed that we had the kart to beat Friday night but do to some unfortunate events that didn't happen. We still had a great night and are looking forward to next weeks racing. It seems to get more intense each week. Stay tuned.......
No video this week.....Sorry
April 7, 2008
First off let me say thank you to Jay Hudson and his father-in-law. They are truly great people. Also, for everyone that helped my wife and son during Saturday nights race...Thank You.
Mike raced at Seymour Speedway Saturday night, which was the season opener. I was unable to attend do to going to the NASCAR race at Texas Motor Speedway. Mike wanted to race, so I set his kart up the best I could and let him know that he was just going to have to race with what he had. He didn't care, he just wanted to drive. The wife took him down there where we had plenty of support loading and unloading the kart. I did my best to tell her and Jay what air pressure to run and how to set the wing up and he did a great job, Mike looked pretty good out there, minus some rough driving. Anyway, Mike managed to pull a 2nd place finish, guess he really doesn't need me there...LOL
I posted the race video, enjoy....
April 5, 2008
First of all, a big thank you to Texoma Motor Speedway for a perfect/fast track Friday night.
As I stated in my last news BLOG, this week was going to be great. All night long the Winged Outlaws were flying and battling. The track was set up perfect and we were flying. Mike strated 3rd in the first heat and finished 2nd, then finished 1st in the second heat after starting 2nd. We had the pole for the feature with Wesley Smith on the outside and Patrick Knight behind us. The race started off great, Mike got up high coming off turn 2 and Wesley shot under hime for the lead. Mike stayed to the outside and they bumped coming out of turn 4 where Mike had enough momentum to take back the lead. The 4 Winged Outlaws were close the whole race, but Mike stayed up front and took the Win. Great job to all the karts, it really was an exciting race to watch.
April 3, 2008
We raced on Friday night the 28th of March and Mike came in 2nd and is in 2nd at Texoma and tied for 1st in the NWOK series, Mike is really driving well this year. The track was pretty good and we really had to battle Patrick Knight to stay in the 2nd position. The 1st place kart blew us away, how I do not know but Patrick and Mike were running pretty much the same speed. Wesley Smith had broken his chain on at the beginning of the feature and did not finish the race, otherwise Mike, Wesley, and Patrick would have been battling the whole race. I feel this week is going to be the best race of the season so far, we all have our karts tuned and are really fast. Stay tuned for results from this week.
No video this week, dad forgot to put a new tape in.....lol
March 24, 2008
National Winged Outlaw Karts (NWOK)
We have signed on to the NWOK program and will be racing for state and national points this year. Our first NWOK point’s race was on Friday night along with the Texoma Motor Speedway (
March 19, 2008
We practiced during the TMS playday and Mike did very well. His kart was hooked up and fast. We are now preparing for Friday nights season opener/ NWOK opener. Check back to see how things went.
March 14, 2008
We will being practicing at Texoma Motor Speedway, preparing for the new season which will start next week. This year we will be running in the National Winged Outlaw Karts (NWOK) program. We are looking forward to it, check out thier website should be a great year of racing. Good luck to all and may you all have FUN and be SAFE.
March 9, 2008
We raced at Jackson County Raceway Park during the Oklahoma Redneck Nationals yesterday. We were in the Gold Plate Animal class and raced some great competitors. Mike started 3rd in both heat races and finished in 2nd both times which put him on the outside front row. The race started off great, Mike darted down behind the pole sitter (Wesley Smith) and in front of 3rd place starter (Patrick Knight) on the start and they ran tight for a while until Patrick got loose and Kassadi Witter got under him for third place. After many laps Welsey started to pull away. Mike holding 2nd had 3rd place Kassadi Witter closing in, lap by lap the racing got more intense, you could just see the determination in the drivers face as they past by each lap. The white flag finally dropped and Wesley crossed the line taking the checkered flag, Mike in 2nd, Kassadi in 3rd, and Patrick in 4th. We had a great time, it was nice to be back at the track. Season racing begins in 2 weeks. Congratulations on a great win Wesley.
February 2, 2008
Well the World of Wheels has come and gone, we had a good time. Thanks to Larry and Steve from Trackside Karting for putting this together, you all did a great job and we thank you for the wonderful Plaque. See ya soon.
Our race day started off great we started the first Heat race in 3rd and finished 2nd, then started 2nd in the second Heat race and finished 1st which put us on the pole for the feature race. There were 9 karts in the stock animal class so we new we would have to do a great job of racing to stay up front against all those great drivers. The race started off good, Mike got a good jump off the start but things went down hill from there. Let's just say that we didn't end up finishing in the top 3...do to lack of patience... I think we finished in 4th or 5th but my son had a great time dispite his misfortune. He showed me the true meaning of sportsmanship today...GREAT JOB MIKE!!!!
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