A tough weekend at the HMSA Historics. It was pretty obvious early on that we were third fastest on the grid, and that didn’t improve.<\/p>\n
Hardware wasn’t to blame, it was the wetware.\u00a0Yellow jacket ran well. But I made some decisions on and off the track that didn’t work out.<\/p>\n
To begin with, I have not done any karting this year. In past seasons, I had a couple months of \u00a0karting by now to improve my reflexes, to get into the feel of speed, to get used to flowing with G-forces. Trying to finish “Chalice,” wrapping up some real estate work and personal matters, I decided to forgo that sharpening. It showed. Thinking I could jump into the cockpit after nearly ten months, and be the best I could be, was just stupid.<\/p>\n
I did not adequately think through a decision I made about tires. Not Hoosiers vs. Goodyears; Both work fine. But I chose tire sizes that were wrong. I don’t want to go into a lot of detail, but it mattered. Again, my error.<\/p>\n
Pre-race preparation was poor: My internal clock, always a little off-kilter during a race weekend, was running too slow. I let myself be distracted.\u00a0I did not leave myself time to adequately prepare for each session. Which meant \u00a0that by the time I got on the track, my head was not where it needed to be for precise shift points, turn-in markers, braking zones. When you are looking for one second in a two-minute lap, this matters.<\/p>\n
Previous problems with oiling caused me to make engine changes that should have been reversed after the oiling problem was solved. I didn’t do that.<\/p>\n
And it was hot. God, it was hot. 140 degrees on the asphalt, little or no relief even in the shade. Thinking was a chore. I did a few things to take care of myself, but should have done more.<\/p>\n
But Yellow Jacket, with engine prepared by John Sartelle, brakes by Jeff Taylor, was in fine form. Had I been able to bring my best game, it might have been a different story.<\/p>\n
Hopefully that will be the case in Seattle this next weekend<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A tough weekend at the HMSA Historics. It was pretty obvious early on that we were third fastest on the grid, and that didn’t improve.<\/p>\n Hardware wasn’t to blame, it was the wetware.\u00a0Yellow jacket ran well. But I made some decisions on and off the track that didn’t work out.<\/p>\n To begin with, I have not done any karting this year. In past seasons, I had a couple months of \u00a0karting by now to improve my reflexes, to get into the feel of speed, to get used to flowing with G-forces. Trying to finish “Chalice,” wrapping up some real estate \u2026 Read more\u2026