Gingerman Raceway

Let me start off by saying that Gingerman was a real eye-opener for me with the new kart. Going from a KT100 last season to a 125 Shifter this season is a huge difference.  Just looking at the kart I knew it would be fast but I was not ready for the heart pounding acceleration the first time out and ended up putting it the sand bar on turn 3. For those of you who don’t know the sand bar is about 20’ – 25’ off the track through the grass.  Let’s just say it made for an interesting time trying to get all the sand out of the kart.

Team Nigro did not make the practice sessions on Friday due to some horrible traffic on the way to the event. What would normally take about 5 hours for Ron from Team Nigro HQ took almost 9 hours. Melissa and Loryn ran into that same traffic and did not get there until almost midnight Friday night. Good thing I left on Thursday night. J Friday I spent most of the day hanging out at the track taking some video, talking with Joe Sturm about the new kart and getting pretty decent sunburn.

On Friday night when Ron arrived at the track he was tired but there was still some work to be done. Ronni Jo’s kart needed to have its new motor installed that night before the race. Joe Sturm, Greg Yocum, Ron and I had less than 2 hours to get the new motor on the kart before they locked the gates at Gingerman for the night. It was a frantic work pace with Joe, Greg and Ron working on the assembly and me working as tool monkey. We got 90% done prior to being shut in and could only hope that things would be ready to go in the morning.

Saturday morning was a flurry of events in the Team Nigro paddock area. Ronni Jo’s kart was getting some last minute touches prior to getting her out to practice. Loryn was suiting up for the first time this year and asking a ton of questions about the track. Ron was busy trying to make sure everything was ready for the girls. I was working on getting my kart ready for practice.

Loryn and Ronni Jo were the first out on the track. Ronni Jo was able to get out for some practice time but her motor was not quite right and had to come back in to the pits. Loryn’s kart never made it out to the track because the motor flooded prior to heading out. No big deal as they both would get another practice.  During the next session both Loryn and Ronni Jo got a few laps in but things still needed to be done before the races. Both girls were really excited to get out on the track again and could not wait until race time.

When it was time for me to get out practicing Ron and Joe got the kart ready and I got behind the wheel for the first time this year. Joe had warned John to break in the motor before opening it up but the kart was still extremely fast.  I was not ready for the sheer speed of the kart and like I said above I ended up putting it in the sand. Oh well live and learn while I cleaned the sand out of my kart. I did better during the next practice but we got the red flag due to someone hitting a tire wall in turn 11. I am sure the race will go better.

Now it was time for the races…..

Loryn and Ronni Jo were out of the pits and on the course for what looked to be a great race. Loryn was still getting used to driving the kart but Ronni Jo was out there burning up the track. About 3 laps into the race Loryn came into turn 1 a little hot and slid off the track. After some “coaching” from the side lines she got her kart far enough away from the track and waited until the trailer came to pick her up. Ronni Jo made a good showing but still had some issues with her new motor that would need to be worked on during the breaks. Oh well Sunday would be another day for the girls.

Now it was time for me to get out on the track to race. Being in the G-class put all of us at the back of the starting grid. I did not mind at all because I am still the “rookie” out there. The warm up lap went well and when we came around we got the green flag. I was still heeding Joe’s advice and not jamming on the motor too much. Right around the 4th lap I started to get into the motor a little bit when I blew a left front tire coming into turn two. With the tire blown I could not steer that well and went off the track at a good rate of speed. Since I was out of the race I sat out on the grassy knoll and watch some very skilled drivers run an excellent race.  When I got back in after the scales Ron and I shared some good laughs at my misfortune and figured Sunday had to be a better day.

Sunday did not turn out to be a better day at all. Mother Nature decided that we did not have enough rain and needed a ton more. Right as the girls were getting out for the first race the sky opened up. Loryn did a complete spin out in the center of the track and Ronni Jo sped past right as they called the race.  The rest of the races were given rain points for those drivers not crazy enough to get out on the track.  We decided around 10am to pack up and just head back home.

More to come after the next race.

John