A Little of This and That...

The excitement of the Shootout and the Indy Circle Track Expo are now over and its time for the long haul between now and the first time we get to hit the track. Wasn't sure what to talk about this blog, but did make a commitment that I would try to blog more regularly...so here's to doing my best to keep my promise.

The Indy Circle Track Expo
We always enjoy going to the Indy Circle Track Expo. Its a good chance to catch up with some of our friends and customers that we haven't seen for a while. This year my dad pulled together a larger than usual collection of inventory for us to take to the show to move. Our decision to go up the morning of the show is never a popular one, especially when it comes to the 4:30 a.m. wake up call. Despite the ice, snow and rain, we did make it in time to setup our small booth. We were positioned right next to Jimmy Wood of US 24 Speedway fame. He told us that he is really looking forward to the mini sprints returning to his track this season. We also got to talk with several of the Illinois and Wisconsin lightning sprint racers that seem to make the trip to the show every year. Shane Morgan was the first by the booth. Again, it was nice to finally put a face with a name. I also always enjoy talking with Nick Sheridan and the Branhams. I have become quite a fan of Nick Sheridan's Facebook posts. His winter tales of trips on his snowmobile across the lake to his favorite watering hole and back are entertaining. I also ran into Nick Hale and his dad who are excited about continuing their progression into full size sprint cars. Ryan Broughton and his dad Tony also stopped by and chatted about their first year in a full-size sprinter. I finally got the chance to meet Dave Bender, one of my dad's customers and all around nice guys who has been working on assembling a mini sprint over the past year. Greg Watson and his son Alex were also by to say hello. Greg ran dwarf cars for several years but has now turned the steering wheel over to his oldest son Alex. They seem to be really enjoying the sport and are looking forward to the non wing races this season. It was encouraging the meet several more new faces to the mini sprint / lightning sprint scene. It appears that the class is definately growing. In between catching up with customers and friends, we did manage to sell a few things also.

Motorcycle Powered Cars Gain in Popularity - Although I would often like to think that the lightning sprint / mini sprint racers are the only ones who know the secret of the cheap, reliable horsepower represented in today's sport bike motors - the variety of vehicles being built by Speed Partz customers reminds us otherwise. One area that is experiencing strong growth is the mini buggy market. Basically these are sand rails that are powered by sport bike motors. Many of the cars are homebuilt. Below are pictures of a few of our customers rides that are either complete or in progress.

Above are photographs of Tut Cote's mini buggy. He races this vehicle in Southern California and has a cool website called www.minilites.com. Looks like fun.

Here is another mini buggy. This one is a work in progress by Kentucky's Danny Knott. Danny purchased a set of headers (from Viper Pipes - there's my shameless plug)for the buggy he is building that will be powered by a Honda CBR 1000. For more information on the mini buggy scene, be sure to visit www.minibuggy.net.

Motorcycle powered racing cars don't just go on dirt. They go on asphalt too. Here is another customer's vehicle - an Sports Car Club of America, D Sports Racer that is powered by a Suzuki GSXR 1000. Wayne Briggs of Fairfield, Ohio and his son campaign the car.

Indoor Kart Racing League Banquet - Props go out again to Josh Wagar and the guys at Full Throttle Karting. Their passion for racing and desire to create a first class customer experience are very evident. As I've detailed in previous posts, we participated in an indoor karting league over the past few months. Its been a real blast with both my daughter and I participating in seperate divisions. This past Monday evening they had a banquet that I wish every racing banquet could be just like. An informal banquet with great sandwiches from Jimmy Johns, a short award ceremony and then the best part of all a night of racing. Competitors from their various leagues came together for a good time on track. They put a record number of 15 karts on track. Although a little hairy at times, it was definately a lot of fun. We also got to try our hand at Full Throttle's new slot car track. It definately proved that not having your butt in the seat makes it hard to get around the track. It seemed like few of the cars even made a full lap. I also had the opportunity a few weeks ago to take a group of friends from work out to the track. I got a real kick out of hearing how much fun they had as they each climbed out of their karts. I still would really like to put together an event for all of the mini sprint / lightning sprint guys. I'll keep you posted.

Jason Soudrette's Dusaki - Its always interesting to see what little projects are lurking in racer's garages. Here is an interesting one - Jason Soudrette's Dusaki. It is part Kawasaki, part Ducati. Jason's dad was recently at the shop and started telling us about some of the bikes he and Jason have been building. The Dusaki sounds very interesting including the Ducati suspension components that he has been modifying for this Kawasaki. Jason is a member of the Asphalt Junkies a group of local riders who tear it up on twisting country roads. Jason and has dad have also been at working chopping the bike pictured below up to turn it into a bobber.

Dash Designz - Be sure to check out my latest product, Dash Designz switch labels. I've been using them on my own car for a while. Dash panels are expensive - when most of the time you really don't need the panel or the switches, just something to dress it up. These are just stickers that come pre-cut and ready to place on your dash.

They are available for $12.95 a set through Speed Partz CLICK HERE

More Indoor Racing..I recently made a pair of custom Shox Skinz shock covers for Tim Buckwalter who will be competing this weekend at the indoor at Atlantic City, NJ. I visited his Facebook page and found this video of the event from a few years ago. Looks pretty interesting. Tim says that they built a car for this year's event from an old 270cc micro sprint chassis. Good luck to Tim this weekend.



Enough for now...be back soon.

Final thoughts on our trip to Tulsa

No story on the Shootout would be complete without at least one picture of the golden driller.

I have to start by thanking my family for allowing me to do what I enjoy. A special thanks to my mom and dad and daugther Sami for making the trip with me - its just not as fun without them along. Our trip to Tulsa will be something that I always remember. I remember my first trip to the SCCA Runoffs in Atlanta as a spectator. The circus atmosphere of a big event is electric and the Shootout was no different. I believe the final car count was 785. Put that many cars, trailers, drivers, mechanics and fans under one rough and you definately have a one of a kind event. It is neat to get be a part of something that big.

www.shoxskinz.com

The field of battle for the Tulsa Shootout

Having several days now to review video and replay things in my mind, there is a lot I would do different. As you might guess, the track was dry and slick yet racey.(not sure if that is how you spell that) Unfortunately based upon some of the carnage I witnessed early in the week I had slipped into safe mode and had resigned myself to just trying to put it in the feature and come home with a respectable finish. We ended up 7th out of the 40 cars that were there. In the feature I just played it safe driving around the bottom. After crossing the finish line I drove the car in high just out of curiousity and it seemed to work. This fact was cemented after I returned home and watched race video on You Tube that showed the front runners up high just below the cushion. The changes my dad made to the car prior to the feature were dead on. I believe the car was much, much better than the ride I gave it. Its always easy to say I would have, could have or should have...but I definately should have been more aggressive.

My dad and I on the grid waiting for our first practice session

www.viperpipes.com

I can say that running without the wing has me excited about the upcoming season. The Midwest Mini Sprint Association has several non wing races on its schedule this year and I hope to run at least a few of them. At the end of the week in Tulsa I felt like I was just barely starting to get a feel of what the car should do without a wing. I still have a long way to go before I am backing it in there like those with more non wing experience. I would really like to take the wing off and go practice at 35 Raceway early in the spring. I think it would be a great non wing track for our cars.

www.speedpartz.com

This shot gives you a better idea of just how big this place really is - thats 785 cars, associated trailers, drivers, fans and mechanics - all under one roof with room to spare

If I've often complained about not having enough time--the Shootout does provide that. With so many races to run, the time between on track activities can be long. It did however provide a chance to meet some new folks and do some catching up with those I already knew. I can't say enough about how much I enjoyed meeting some of the people that until this time had just been names on Facebook and other website pages. Racing people really are good folk. We pitted right in the middle of several of the folks from Colorado. Guys like the Giegs remind you of why racing is such a great family sport. No matter the circumstances they always greeted us with a smile and were enjoying the weekend as a father and son team. I really enjoyed getting to spend some time with both Jeff and his dad. Merrill Lamb is a name that I have been familiar with only through the results pages on the internet. He and I raced side by side for several laps during the feature. I knew from the results pages that he was a fierce competitor - didn't guess that he would be such a nice guy. I also enjoyed meeting the infamous Wayne Davis and driver Scott Krueger. I wish them all the best with their event in Florida early this year. If my schedule works out I would definately enjoy making the trip. I also happened across Canada's Aaron Fell eating dinner in our hotel. He has been fast both years but also experienced trouble both years. A character of our sport but also a nice guy that talked pretty openly about setup. We pitted next to Colorado's Dale Johnston and enjoyed talking over setups most of the weeked. Like I started, a lot of super nice people. I hate to mention any names because I know I probably left someone out.

www.minisprintbook.com

Post session discussions - a special thanks to Don and Adam Waters of AFCO for their continued guidance and support

Traveling like this also gives you the opportunity to get to know some of the regulars much better too. There was a fairly small group from Ohio this year - myself, T.J. Heil, Trey Gustin and Eric Semple. T.J. and I shared transportation to the event. I have to thank both my dad and Phil Heil for driving the cars out. I was planning on driving, but last minute changes at work meant that I was unable to leave early enough to drive. I was really worried about my dad going that far solo and appreciate Phil's willingness to make the drive in my place. I could tell by the banter between my dad and Phil all weekend that they enjoyed their ride out - even if Phil wouldn't let my dad stop to eat as often as he might have liked. My daughter quickly figured out that Phil was the entertainment for the weekend and especially enjoyed his rendition of Jerry Seinfeld's popular Helllooo schtick from the third floor balcony of our hotel. T.J.'s mom Kathy also ensured that there was actually some photographic history of the weekend. Our cars for the weekend looked very similar. One of the side benefits was that Kathy mistaked my car for T.J.'s and recorded part of one of my races. My family is not real good at taking pictures. It was also nice to spend more time with Trey Gustin and his dad Spud. I still remember when Spud was just getting started in the mini sprints. His stable now includes a couple of sprint cars and the mini sprint that his son drives - I am not sure but think that might make us both old. With a teenage daughter of my own, I beginning to appreciate being around young people like Trey and T.J. (and many of the others I race with). Their parents should be proud of the way they respect others and also conduct themselves.

Having someone along that takes pictures actually means that there is some pohotographic proof that I was there

I also had the opportunity to put my marketing hat on for a while on Saturday and get out and promote our Viper Pipes venture. While things have gone well on the 1000cc mini sprint front, we've had little exposure to the 600cc market. I started out just passing out flyers, but found it was much more effective to carry around a couple of our mufflers. Nick has worked hard to manufacture a quality product and people were very receptive. I am hoping that maybe we can make a bigger splash in that market.

Putting two cars in one twenty foot trailer was a bit of a jigsaw puzzle - but it all worked out in the end.

Hoping to make it back the hotel early in ancticipation of an early travel day we decided to pull our trailer out into the parking lot before the racing was over



That's all for now. In closing, I would like to thank Lynsey Tilton and Kevin Greer for their coverage of the Rumble. Please be sure to visit the front page of www.minisprintracer.com and click on the Ft. Wayne Rumble link to read more. Best wishes to everyone in 2012. I hope to post more regularly on the blog this year so stay tuned.

We Made It Back

All in all a pretty successful outing. I finished 7th, TJ Heil finished 9th and Trey Gustin finished 10th. The track was dry, slick with not much room to pass. I hope to put more of my thoughts down later today. Headed over to the shop to unload.