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"Spare Parts"
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My Office
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Staged
Driver's Seat
Season Finale
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Well folks, it has been a little while since we gave you an update. We have been busy here at PoFoK Racing getting ready to wrap up the season. As we have progressed this year in our performance, driver's ability, and race results, we have inched our way up the points standings. With our win in September we leapfrogged our way up to 5th in points out of 37 other members (and countless non-members racing to win which does affect points). October, we actually had our first breakout with going under our 12.0 dial by two tenths of a second. Not sure what happened there but it happens.
For the season finale, we saw two nights of racing. The first night was a non-points race so we decided to try out the tunnel rams with dual 750 carbs instead of our normal single carb setup. We wanted to see what the car would do all out and test it's performance. Well, that night didn't go so well as we fought issues all night with the carbs, needle-seats, and more. However, despite a poorly performing car we managed to make it to the semi-finals in the Pro-Sportsman class. We did learn a lot that night and found some stuff we can do that will apply to our Sportsman class setup for next year.
Next up was Saturday night, the final points race of the season. We came into the race in third place with the top 5 in points capable of taking the championship. We were only 50 points out of first place and had a chance. We tested the car during test-n-tune and found some issues with the ignition and managed to repair those issues which woke the car up even more than before. Going into qualifying we were only shooting to get into the top half of the ladder and managed to eek our way in qualifying 7th out of 16 cars. First round we drew a car that we haven't seen before and laid down a good run and won that round. Next round saw us go up against a seasoned veteran and we managed to take the stripe with a .0095 second margin of victory. This set us up for a semi-final round against the #1 qualifier and the driver that was second in points. Opposite us was the #1 and #4 drivers in points so it was setting up to be an interesting round.
With that said, what stood out for the night in my mind was even though the top 4 in points were lining up for what could be an upset of the season, and precious points were on the line, all four of us and our crews stood around joking and just having fun. That is what I love about this class and it's drivers and teams. Despite a healthy level of competition, we are all there just to have fun.
So, back to the racing. Again lined up against a past track champion and a driver that is deadly on the tree, we were in for a race. Mind you, he had a 16.60 dial in to my 12.0 dial so I had to wait on my light for 4.6 seconds which seemed like 5 minutes. I managed to tree him with a .51 light and as I am leaving the line he is already halfway down the track. As we reached the stripe I thought I had a fender on him but I didn't and it seemed like forever until the win light came on for either of us. Just as I was about to pass the light it came on in my lane. We did it, we made it into the finals.
For the final round, the driver that was nipping my heels at 4th in the points managed to take down the points leader. This driver and I all year have been joking about making it to the finals and making it a race for the ages. Well, here we were in the final round on the final night. Points on the line, bragging rights for the winter break, and a lot of teams looking on. He had a 12.39 dial which means I really had to focus on my light because as he was getting his green light, mine would be coming down the tree. Again, I cut a better light than him and managed to run him down. Both of us were working the big end and he managed to take the stripe by .0519 but in doing so, he broke out by two-hundredths of a second and I got the win.
With the final round win, that tied us for second in points and since I had more wins than the other driver, we got second in points for the year and rookie of the year. Not too bad for our first year running a brand new car that still had wet primer on our first race. This is highly unusual for this or any class at our track or any other track. Add to that, we are the only team in our class to get two final round wins this year. The good thing is that we came out in our first year with a strong showing. The bad thing is that we didn't leave much room to improve as now we have to back this up next year.
I want to send some very special thanks out first to the Lord above, Jesus Christ, and especially to my wife, Kathy; To the man who made this possible, Howard; And my crew Cody, Greg, Dana, Tony, David, Clutch, & Denny. I would also like to thank our sponsors, Lahaina Divers, Tony's Auto Repair & Performance, Maui Tech Solutions, e-Sign & Design, Joe's Upholstery & Detailing, Snap-On Tools, & Ultra Hawaii.
If you are interested in sponsorship opportunities, please contact us using the link above. We have a comprehensive sponsorship package and would love to discuss opportunities to showcase your business with our team.