Race 5 was Kyle’s best race since he started with Rotax six months ago. Saturday practice was really awesome since many drivers had practiced on Friday, which meant the crew at Cameron Karting had fewer drivers to support and Kyle was able to get a lot more 1-on-1 time. This was also the first time we really started tweaking the kart setup. Up until this race, most of the time had been spent “tuning the driver” so he could learn to be as consistent as possible. Using the MyChron and EBox the past few practices has also really helped to pin-point exact spots on the track for him to focus on to improve his time. It still bothers me that I have to use a Windows tablet to run the software, but it’s definitely paying dividends.

Since he was beginning to be more consistent, we decided it was time to start customizing. Josh tuned his carburetor, Brett helped identify the ride height and weight distribution could be altered. The rear was adjusted to be higher, putting more weight into the front of the kart. A 5 pound weight that was previously on the seat was moved to the front, again to shift some weight distribution, and all of this resulted in better balance, easier steering and higher speeds out of the corners without sacrificing the top end.

By the end of practice on Saturday, Kyle had steadily improved with each session and hit :52.880, setting his best time on the National configuration. On race day, he qualified a full half second faster at :52.263 (and a full second and half better than the first race on this same configuration) putting him 6th on the grid (out of 11 drivers). His highest start ever! This knocked off another one of his early season goals of qualifying in the top 75%. There are 4 more races and 2 more goals to go: Finish in the top 50% and score a podium.

Unfortunately, he didn’t fare as well during the two heat races. In the first heat race, Kyle had a decent start, keeping P6 through the first few turns, but he dropped a couple positions in the early laps due to some contact by other drivers and he wasn't able to recover. In the second heat race, he got rear-ended, t-boned, and ended up with a small injury to his elbow so he pulled out after 3 laps and did not finish the second heat. Due to those results, his starting position for the main race got dropped back from P6 to P9.

The good news, however, was that Kyle was able to keep his 9th position through 7 laps, and passed a driver in lap 8 (of 15) to move up 1 position to finish in P8 out of 11 drivers for the weekend. By the time he got into P8, the top drivers had separated enough where it was impossible for Kyle to move up any more spots. This is the highest finish he has had, and against a very competitive field. Any of the drivers behind him could have easily finished ahead of him if he had made any minor mistakes.

All-in-all this was a really positive weekend. Great practice, big improvements, best qualify position, times and finish position. It was also special that his grandparents visiting from Taiwan were able to watch him race for the first time. He is now in 9th overall in the point standings, out of 20 total drivers who have participated in this series.

Final Results:

Point Standings:

Here are the full results from the day:

• Practice
• Qualifying
• Heat Race 1
• Heat Race 2
• Main Race