Atoka Raceway Park

May 14, 2016 - Atoka Raceway Park (ARP), Brighton, Tenn.

 

Not such a great weekend for us. But, hey! That's racing!

The track was dry despite the thousands of gallons put on it during the week and on raceday. The kart count was really low and the track never developed a groove or even gained much grip so the set-up we put into the karts at the shop never even came close to working. We race at a handicap sometimes - the team crew chief, Frank, is also the track promoter and race director so when the karts need more than the usual attention to get around the track, if Frank is busy operating the track, he can't devote time to the karts. This was one of those cases.

 

Qualifying
- Franklin won the pole by just .003 seconds over Baker Hillard who also had A2D Chassis Refinement (a division of Ashe Racing) set-up in the kart.

- Elliott's kart was off all day and never made grip it needed to be fast. Elliott finished second behind Tyler Pipkin in the heat race.

 

Feature races
- It was a 40-lap feature for Franklin as he led the first three laps until Hillard got by him down the backstretch and slowly pulled away until halfway through the race when Frankiln started to gain some ground. Franklin's tires never came in and Baker stayed out front to win with Franklin finishing second. That was Franklin's first loss in eight races in the class.

- Elliott's kart never got the grip he needed and when the green dropped, he dealt with a four-wheel drift the whole race and finished second behind Pipkin.

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We needed a different tire with a different chemical in it and didn't have the tire ready so we suffered. But we'll be ready next time!

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Our next event is June 4, 2016 at ARP and Eagle's Nest in Horn Lake, Miss. That's right! Two races in one day!

 

Stay tuned!