Tillsonburg Outlaws wrap up Summer Series 2012
It seems like just last weekend we kicked off the season and here we are winding the summer down. Each competitor has worked his or her way through 33 individual races in the Summer Series alone. Totaling points from each night has determined what drivers were most consistent with top results. We have watched drivers develop and improve all season and often the ones that were clearly superior at the beginning of a series were less noticeable by the end as the group improved with each night’s racing. So how did this week go?
The Beginners continued to learn new things this week as the two new drivers that joined late in the season created two new situations for the kids to adapt to. First, with more karts on the track, there was more “racing” to be done with more traffic to deal with. Also with two new drivers, the status quo of who is fastest is up in the air. This is a great late season lesson for the kids as a couple prepare to move to Junior next year. As for the night, #45 Nick Sheridan was able to claim top spot with three wins with # 5 Tom Pellizzari taking second. As for third place, Rayse Meyer and Paige Smith were Oh so close but # 8 Tristan McClay took the position. Next up for this group is the 75 Lap Thanksgiving race. With this group normally going 20 laps at a time, it will be a long and tiring end to the season.
# 52 Jacob Sheridan continued to dominate the Juniors this week. Despite the track having some rough spots this week the whole group took it in stride and adjusted their lines as needed. No surprise as the majority of this group is poised to get an extra 3 horsepower next year. This week it was #66 Colby Bennett that grabbed second with #0j Johnny Miller solidly in third. Great racing from a group of great kids. Hardly a caution all night from this division.
As for the Seniors, it took them a long time to sort things out. This group had the closest standings in the series and this weeks racing showed it. No one was willing to give an inch but each knew they had to do well in each race and a DNS would drop them totally out of contention for the series. The final 35 lap race was indicative of how hard this group runs. # 93 Austin Giles spun in the first start and was sent to the rear for the restart. Attempted start number two was foiled when the same fate fell onto # 26 being driven by Kassy Streng this week. # 77 Alex Hill, who was hoping to move up a couple positions in the standings was able to win the race but was hounded to the end by #39 Kate Courtnage and # 79 Bea Courtnage. Both wanted past but neither was willing to risk a spin. Earlier in the night Hill’s luck was different though as the team tried a new gear ratio. Part way through the 15 lap sprint Hill’s chain derailed after or before being bumped from behind by Kate Courtnage. While the drivers likely know what happened first, it is hard for the officials to know whether the chain coming off caused the bump from the rear driver or the bump from behind caused the chain to derail. When in doubt, both drivers went to the rear for the restart to attempt to work their way back up through the group. Not mentioned to this point is # 87 Brad Perrott who needed a great night to get back into the top three for the series. He finished second this week behind Bea Courtnage but in front of Kate Courtnage.
The Experts had a rough start in their 10 lap sprint as a first corner pile up caused a delay after # 34 Scott Chesterman’s front wheel got jammed into the #47 kart of Joe Kelly after # 1 Holly Porter tangled with #47 and blocked the track putting #81 kart of Bob Townsend up and over on his lid. A broken spindle took the # 34 out which opened up the night for anyone brave enough to go for the win. With two wins and a second in Qualifying, # 1 Holly Porter finished first overall with # 37 Scott Kelly taking second following last weeks win and starting from the rear this week. # 19 Cody Coburn was looking to take second but after a mid race spin moved him back two spots, he had to settle for third. It took Scott Kelly and Cody Coburn most of the year to get consistency to match speed, but with that behind them, we have a lot of close racing coming up. 1st up is the Thanksgiving 100.
Next race is on Saturday October 6. Sign in starts at Noon. This is a stand alone non point’s race but all rules apply for various classes. Potluck Supper follows the racing action. All spectators and families welcome to participate. See you there.
Race takes place at Chesterman Power Products just west of Tillsonburg
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