It has has been nice to finally see a few days where the temperature tops 60 and the sun is shining. I've never been one to give much credence to the whole 'seasonal depression' phenomenom, but I'll have to admit this winter was definately tougher than most in the recent past. It seemed like the snow on the ground would never melt away. While I was looking forward to some of the winter time racing options that were available to the mini sprints, personal comittments were a priority and we ended up missing out on all of them. I'm really looking forward to our first few visits to the track as an opportunity to shake off those winter 'blahs'.
Although I definately didn't keep up on the blogg'n the way I had hoped over the winter, we did make a few significant changes to the site. One change that I am hopeful will catch on is a MESSAGE BOARD just for upright mini sprint racing. I know there are several good message boards out there, but there don't seem to be any that are strictly focused on upright mini sprint racing. I would encourage supporters of this form of racing to make use of the message board so that we can turn it into something of value. Also if there are businesses that are interested in advertising on the message board, please let us know. I have also created a few tools that should make it easier for organizations to post their results more quickly - with applications that will easily work from any Smart Phone. This should even allow updates to be done right from the track. If your organization is interested, drop me an e-mail at sfasse-at-fozmarketing.com.
Racers in the Ohio, Indiana area should once again be fortunate to have plenty of options when it comes to opportunities to race in 2011. I apologize, I am on the road and don't have them in a great format. I will try to put together a nicer downloadable version soon. This is a snapshot from available information a few weeks ago. I know that some of the groups still had a few TBAs on their schedules. We'll try to go back through and update when we have the chance. Good news is that all and all it looks like a great season with plenty of opportunities to go race your mini sprint.
April
16 Sat AMSA Law
23 Sat MMSA Brownstown
29 Fri AMSA Moler
30 Sat AMSA Law / Unsanc. Twin Cities
May
7 Sat MMSA Brownstown / Unsanc. Wayne
14 Sat MMSA Paragon / AMSA KC Raceway / Unsanc. Twin / Unsanc. Wayne
20 Fri MMSA Bloomington
21 Sat MMSA Brownstown / AMSA Law / Unsanc. Wayne
28 Sat Unsanc. Wayne
29 Sun
June
4 Sat AMSA Law / Unsanc. Wayne
5 Sun MMSA Kokomo
11 Sat Unsanc. Wayne
18 Sat AMSA Waynesfield
25 Sat MMSA Brownstown / Unsanc. Wayne
27
July
2 Sat Unsanc. Wayne
9 Sat Unsanc. Wayne
12 Tue
13 Wed
14 Thur MMSA Brownstown
15 Fri MMSA Bloomington
22 Fri AMSA Moler
23 Sat AMSA Waynesfield
28 Thur MMSA Brownstown
30 Sat MMSA Paragon / AMSA Law / Unsanc. Twin / Unsanc. Wayne
August
6 Sat MMSA Brownstown / Unsanc. Wayne
13 Sat AMSA US 24 / Unsanc. Wayne
19 Fri
20 Sat AMSA Law / Unsanc. Wayne
27 Sat MMSA Brownstown / AMSA Law / Unsanc. Wayne
September
4 Sun
24 Sat AMSA KC
October
1 Sat AMSA LaW
I have posted some photos from the Speed Partz race shop. It has definately been busier this year than any time over the past two years. This not only includes the old familiar faces getting ready for the new season, but many new ones. In the past month alone we have seen six new cars and four used cars sold. The sport still continues to pick up steem. I was recently at the shop on a Friday afternoon when a fellow rolled in with a Bailey with an old GSXR 1100 strapped on board. He was bringing the car in to figure out what updating he needed to do to get ready to race. His story was like so many others we hear. He had raced a multitude of different cars from go-karts to late models. He said he loved racing and the current economy had made the mini sprints look even more attractive--so he decided to take the leap. We'll look forward to seeing him and many others like him at the track this year.
As I've said before one of the things I enjoy the most about being associated with the shop is some of the product development tasks that I get to work on, two of our biggest successes in the most recent past have been the new digital tachometer and ultra-lightweight lithium battery. I've just started working on another one that shows early promise. It is a set of headphones that easily mount inside of your helmet--to stay. They have a quick disconnect tht hangs out the bottom of the helmet making it even easier to get in and out of the car. They should be economically priced at somewhere in the $30 range. I am currently doing some testing to see if they will provide enough volume for our application. Stay tuned.
One area that has been a point of struggle over the past year and a half since TP Wings exited the market, has been wings. We were lucky to find Aero Wings who builds an exceptionally nice product that is well priced for our market. Even with a strong supplier they continue to be a hot commodity in our area. My dad recently made a trip to pick up 12 wings and was down to 3 before he ever made it back to the shop. Aero Wings allows us to offer conventional wings and internal slider wings (special order). Another batch is due on its way, but I would caution if you are going to need a wing that you reserve yours early.
I am always getting myself into things that I really shouldn't. My latest purchase is a go-kart. Karting is where I got my start and something I really enjoyed. While I don't have any plans to race it, I do know that karting is one of the few forms of racing that offers the opportunity for easily accessible track time. With the ever collapsing amount of time I have available - there is a certain appeal to something that might let me go practice when I have the time. I know locally that tracks like Camden Ohio's G&J Kartway still let you show up pretty much whenever you would like, throw down a few bucks and turn laps til your hearts content. Now we'll see if I really find any spare time to make good on the promise.
We still have one used car in our shop that is looking for a good home. For the right person, it should be a great deal. It is a 1999 Henchcraft. It currently has a 600cc engine in it, but could easily be updated to take a 1000cc engine. It would be a great buy for someone wanting to get into the sport cheap.
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