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Let’s just say I took this advice to heart. A running leap into the kart and we were off to start our race.
Me piloting the #26 kart into the first turn, hoping to keep it on the track. Only 24 hours to go!
Sam (pictured) and my wife Ainsley were the only two female drivers in the event. They were also two of the smallest adult drivers. Drivers had to weigh in at 200lb total, which meant that weight had to be added to the karts – in any way possible. A miscalculation on our part had us carrying a little too much weight for the girls. They both needed 68 pounds of ballast. We had a 33lb lead panel underneath the 5lb rubber seat insert, but the blue weights (you can see the handles) were actually 10 kilograms and not 10 lbs. This meant each lady was actually ~22lbs OVER her required weight. Oops.
We had six total drivers on our team. This is Jonny. He had never really done any competitive driving before, and yet was turning dry times right around mine. This guy will be seriously good with some more seat time! I am very jealous.
Here’s our team captain, Nick, at the wheel. I was really digging the superman look. Somehow I did not get any pictures of Chris driving. This rounds out our team. Two married couples and two other gentleman, all essentially strangers. But we got it together and made a great showing.
Teams took their pit areas seriously. As this was a 24-hour race, sleeping arrangements needed to be taken into consideration. Teams got quite creative, including this tri-hammock setup.
For those who were willing to go the extra mile (or spend a few bucks to rent one), an RV provided the ultimate sanctuary away from the action. And also served as a good place to hang and dry a wet racing suit.
