https://www.dropbox.com/sh/4ma8stu6vju5cey/AADCRKIfYI67NYPzIcAxmWYya?dl=0

Racing on the track at Lennard High School for the first time was a huge success. Lennard’s Team had their cars back on the track after an extended absence and took 3rd in the High School Class against some tough competition.

The track at Lennard is in great shape. It is 8 lanes wide and seal coated which made for some fast lap times and minimum tire wear. Thank you Team Sponsor Jim Reve for making sure we had a great race day and a special thank you to his wife and volunteers for doing their fundraiser that had great food and drinks for all.

In the Advanced Battery Class it was USF in their 48 car running a perfect race and setting a record of 230 laps on the 1/4 mile track over two races with the best lap time of 26.914. USF Team sold one of their cars, the 132 car, to Ryan Norden formerly of Middleton High and Duck car infamy. He did very well for his first time out in the Lithium powered car. Everything was doing well in the first race until he had a flat tire late in the race and had to withdraw. In the second race he put up an impressive 103 laps finishing second for the day with 196 laps.

In the Open Class it was Silver Bullet/Robinson Racing car 94 and Tiger Racing car 4 going at it again. Silver Bullet/Robinson had a total of 195 laps for the day with a best lap time of 32.213 and Tiger Racing had back to back 94 lap races for a total of 188 laps and a second place in the Open Class.

Jim Robinson designed cars filled the track (9 of the 10 cars). Jim must be doing something right with his designs. His personal car has a suspension integrated into the design. Something about making racing easier on his old bones.

In the High School Class it was Mulberry High School car 38 leading the pack AGAIN. They even took a 3rd in total laps in the second race with 99 laps, beating the open class cars by 3-5 laps. They finished first in the High School Class for the day with 187 laps.
Simmons car 35 had a good day taking 2nd in class with 174 laps for the day. They are working on a new car and should be highly competitive with it. Simmons cars (35 and 53) are running on some old batteries or they would be finishing higher in the standings.
Lennard had both their cars out for this one and did well with their 86 car taking 3rd with 157 laps in the High School Class with a best lap time of 31.151. Their car 78 had battery problems and did not have a good day. It was good to see them back on the track.
The team from Brooks DeBartolo High School had the events of the day in their 55 car. In the first race they did a beautiful spin out on the turn by the start finish line when the driver got the inside wheel into the sand. The car spun and then got going again all in one motion. In the second race we saw something never before seen in a local race. The driver only weighs 105lbs causing the car to require A LOT of ballast, installed and bolted down by the nose of the car, the drivers boots were getting in the way of her working the throttle. Part way thru the race we see the car pull into the grass infield on the far side of the track and we see a shoe being thrown out of the car and an infield crew member giving her another shoe. A few laps later we see the car pull into the grass in the same area and here come the shoes being thrown out of the car again and more shoes being handed to the driver. After the second pit stop for shoes the 55 car ran well for the rest of the race right up till the batteries died and they had to withdraw. Now that is real teamwork.
Brooks like most of the teams in the High School Class are battling a problem with old batteries. Batteries are the single most expensive item in these cars and at $400 + per set times two sets per car, High Schools have a hard time replacing them when needed.

As Seen In The Pits Most teams now have the proper type of battery chargers and some are loaning other teams chargers to help out. Some of the teams are switching to moped tires. They are bigger than the BMX bicycle tires most teams use but will last most of a season instead of a few races. Even saw one team give another team a Master Power Cut Off Switch so they could pass inspection and race.

Our next race is going to be at Brandon High School on April 6th. This will be our DASH EVENT. Multiple 20 minute races and a Sponsors Race. Come out and see us try to fit into these cars.

Charlie already has tentative dates for the 2019/2020 races and is working to finalize one of them at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa another one at DAYTONA SPEEDWAY and a third one at an Airfield in Ft. Myers. Stand by for more info as it becomes available.

STAND BY FOR INFO FROM CHARLIE
Our short timers, Fredi and Tom are packing for their retirement move to Indiana. PLEAS DON’T GO. Isn’t that opposite of what most people do? They are waiting till after the area thaws. We will be having a Going Away event for them as soon as we get a definite get out of town date.

In case you missed it we were on TV Channel 28, they had a short clip of the start of our race on the 11 P.M. news on Saturday night, clip is at the beginning of this write up.

Vic