RACE SEASON 2013... The Downward Spiral

 Racin’ Mason’s 2013 season has come to an end and I’ve been reflecting on the events that transpired during this time.  I haven’t created a blog in awhile due to short posts that are easier to update on facebook.  It might be nice in the future to be able to view the blog posts to remember what we went through during our journey to pursue Mason’s racing career, so here we are.  In 2012 we realized that we attempted to do too much.  We raced locally in two classes and one class on the Burris Thunder Tour.  Even though Mason ended up with a 2^nd place points championship at Arthur Raceway, it was too much and we weren’t able to give our full attention to any one direction.  We made the decision for 2013 to primarily focus on the Burris Thunder Tour, running two classes and pop in here and there at the local shows when we could.   

We started this year with all the stars aligned, so we thought.  We had a new kart, new engine, a tire specialist with new tires, a chassis specialist and a full fresh season ahead of us.  Before our first Tour race, our chassis specialist quit the Tour so we were left on our own to figure out how to make the “Freight Train” fast at each particular race.  Our tire specialist helped out a lot with this, but he didn't have much experience with our brand/make of chassis, 2012 Epic Evolution.   He promised he’d get us to the front and it happened on several occasions and for that we are thankful.    Things weren't looking too bad.  Mason raced Ambush Weekend in Owosso, MI and took a first place finish cashing in on $500.  We were ecstatic and really thought things were going great.  The second big event was the Summer Shootout.  We struggled and struggled trying to get his chassis to make some speed.  Finally we hit the numbers just right and Mason was bad fast.  He even pulled off a 2^nd place finish.  Unfortunately, this was a non-points event so it didn’t really help us on the tour.  A few local shows later, we ended up having to purchase a new body, even before the 2^nd round of the tour.  The local shows are tough on the equipment.  We have a theory on that but I won’t get into that now.  We ran a couple more rounds of the Burris Thunder Tour and seen some things go down that we speculated would eventually hurt the Tour.  We went into round 4 of the tour completely on our own.  Our tire specialist ended up changing “real” jobs and was unable to make it to this race.  He did his best to make sure we had the tires we needed but he wasn’t there to see the track.  Mason drove his heart out and he had 1^st place during every race, even if it was just for a few seconds.  The turnout was very low for this event and rumors were swirling that the Tour was going to be cancelled.  We were furious.  If the Tour was cancelled, we just fork out $900 for an engine refresh and a set of new tires for absolutely no reason.  Well, it turns out the promoter clarified those rumors and said the final race will take place due to it being a points series.  Ok good, right?  Wrong!  The Monday prior to the Friday of the last event, the promoter did, in fact, cancel the show due to low entries.  Not only did he cancel the show, he cancelled the Tour altogether.  As of right now, there will no longer be a Burris Thunder Tour.  .  As of right now, Mason is 6^th in points.  The points are supposed to be recalculated to throw out the worst race but we aren't holding our breath for that to actually happen.  Karting is not in a good place right now in general.  One of the local tracks, Owosso Kart Speedway is having a hard time with it right now too, and it appears they won't even be running a full season next year.  Where does this leave us? 

I don't have an answer for that question.  I have never seen such a group of quitters in my life.  When we say we are going to do something, we do it.  We gave 110% to our karting program.  I can tell you that we are one of the hardest working teams out there.  I can tell you that we put our blood, sweat and tears into this racing program.  And what do we have to show for it at the end of 2013?  Nothing.  Why?  Because karting quit on us.

We could stay and race back at Arthur Raceway and everyone keeps asking why we don’t.  Remember a little while back when I told you we had a theory on local racing?  Yeah that’s the reason but I’m still not going to get into that.  Just remember, we are trying to advance Mason’s racing career.  He is only ever going to be as good as him competition.  He will become a better driver the more he is challenged.  Our goal is to keep him advancing and find him a racing platform that will allow him to grow and advance.  Unfortunately, karting at this point in time, doesn’t appear to be the answer.