Racing with Pros at Kart Klash IV at F1 Boston

By Mark Chavous

You know, they really should do things like this more often.

I’ve been into motor sports since conception, and if there is one thing I am positive about, it’s that racers in various other series always would like to see how they would do against other racers from other series on an even playing field. Racers are aware of successful drivers and champions in different branches of racing, and while they all say the right things, they also talk some smack, so there’s no question they’d like mix it up with those other drivers.

Racing fans are the same way. Racing is nothing without the fans and this group is among the most loyal and devoted of any sport on the planet, following their favorite series and drivers as doggedly as a reporter follows Washington politics. They won’t hesitate to compare drivers from completely different forms of racing, forgetting about apples to apples.

These are the types of fans who are passionate enough to take racing classes, compete in auto cross, try the amateur circuit, or karting, just to get a taste of the real thing. Most have enough common sense to know despite whatever skill level they might get, it’s unlikely NASCAR teams are going to come calling. But while baseball fans understand they will never hit a 100 mph pitched baseball into the rafters like Henry Aaron did, racing fans, almost to a person, can look at some drivers on the track and say to themselves, “I could beat that guy, he’s a bum.”

Well, it’s one thing to say it, another thing entirely to actually do it. So if the opportunity comes, you better be ready to put your money where your mouth is. Imagine this: a group of about 90 drivers, From all walks of New England racing life, all clutched together in Braintree, Mass.at F1 to compete in the annual Kart Klash IV, put on by NEMA Midget racer Bobby Seymour and Seymour Enterprises as part of his Racer‘s Expo (http://www.theracersexpo.com), to settle once and for all who’s the best at F1 Boston, the karting facility brainchild of sportscar racer RJ Valentine of Hingham.

The group included short track racers, kart racers, fans, and members of the media who would race in qualifying heats and decide the champion though 15 lap features. Everyone was in the same karts with no set up tweaking, all on the same page technically. No prize money per se, but there were some trophies and gifts for the winner. But the lack of money didn’t matter. This was about bragging rights, pure and simple.

So here we all were, gathered together. First thing was a driver’s meeting to go over the ground rules and what’s to be expected. These are usually very simple in purpose, just track officials letting the drivers know what they can expect and the need for everyone to respect each other on the racetrack. At one point, the man giving instructions made a point of saying that drivers should not expect scouts from the Hendrick, Penske, and Roush racing organizations to be looking for new talent! Just have fun and be safe. If people did not act accordingly they will be given warnings and pulled into the penalty box if necessary.

With that, we went to the race track to prepare for the heat races. That’s when everyone got into their suits and helmets (either their own or ones provided by F1 Boston), and waited for their heat race. I was in heat race 6, lucky enough to compete with New England legend Russ Wood, ISMA Super Modified ace.

It’s important to make note of a couple of things. F1 Boston karting tracks feature 2 road courses. We were on the one that gets the most use, Track 1. Being a road course, as you might expect with a facility with F1 (for Formula 1) in the name, there is a certain gentleman’s protocol of respectful racetrack behavior that is normally expected, since road course racing is demanding in that it turns both right and left.

While American racing is predominantly an oval tradition, road course racing is the most popular the world over, with Formula 1 being the top of the food chain, and the most hi tech form of racing anywhere. Road course racing demands respect for the track as well as the drivers because of its very technical nature.

Short track oval racers work in a different reality. Not that it’s better or worse, just different. Contact isn’t the exception, it’s the norm. So why would they treat a kart road course any differently? It’s about bragging rights, remember? Think you’ve seen drivers trading paint and using the bump & run in NASCAR Sprint Cup?

Kid stuff.

Go to a short track race and you will see the real thing. Drivers won’t think twice about giving you a “love tap” from behind if you are in their way keeping them from advancing, or — winning. Reality check: NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers don’t have to worry about much relatively speaking; most teams are sponsored well enough to have a competitive car every week. The short track racer, like those who compete on tracks common here in New England, struggle to get enough sponsorship money every week, and they agonize on how they are going to buy another set of tires, springs & shocks, and engine parts for the next race.

So if someone bumps a competitor out of the way to get past, putting him in the wall while the passing driver goes to victory lane, the victim will look at that as literally taking money out of their pocket. That ticks everyone off, even though everyone does it just the same. Well, there’s always payback, and you know what they say about that…

So such as it was when the racing got going in Bobby Seymour’s Racer’s Expo Kart Klash IV. Everyone listened to the pre-race instructions and probably had good intentions to behave during the race. But most people don’t, can’t, or won’t, throw away their battle hardened competitive instincts once they are in the moment. At this point in many of their careers, bump and run tactics are as natural and instinctive as breathing. Doesn’t matter what kind of track you’re on, road course or oval, short or long. This is literally the environment they work in, and everyone expects it. For those of us in the media who got invited to compete, that’s still a bit of a learning curve in terms of participation as opposed to just observing.

These guys mean business from the drop of the green flag. The first few laps of my heat race, while getting up to speed, I got punted from behind at least 3-4 times. That was a major wake up call. Suddenly, I realized who I was racing with and had to adjust my game quickly. I started getting aggressive. I continued to get punted, but now I expected it and I wouldn’t budge from my spot. I saw Russ Wood in front of me and I gave chase. I was catching him and saw an opening to get around him, but I got punted again and I got pushed into him, so of course I got nabbed for aggressive driving and went to the penalty box. That’s OK, I thought, I just learned a ton, and I would have an opportunity to apply it in the feature race.

Feature race begins and I start in LAST place. But at least now no one would punt me from behind (yet), and I can move up through the field. This time, I “raced the race track”, and for the first time I really came to understand what that means. How this works is that you worry more about getting down the track as smooth as possible without trouble as opposed to being just obsessed about passing the next guy. When I saw two guys battling hard in front of me and hitting each other, this time I waited for them to settle it (one way or the other), and when they hit each other and went into the wall together, I could pass them both.

I passed 4 karts much in this way. I finished 8th, in the top ten. I was trying to chase Russ Wood like I did in the heat race, but he was too far ahead of me. The Kart Klash IV was won by Bobby Bouchard, beating some very tough competition, with drivers from all over New England who hailed from stock cars, modifieds, street stocks, midgets, and karts.

I’m glad I came. This whole experience was a real eye opener. It’s one thing to race against a top tier NASCAR driver in a race training class and have fun as he lets you pass him once or twice before he blows by you. It’s another thing all together to race against a group of racers who make part of their living at it, where success can mean going on to race another day, or losing could mean giving it up for good.

The instincts that drive them to race hard don’t just disappear because they are racing on a karting track; this is who they are and there is no “lifting” of effort. This is what cynics of the sport should see up close and personal, so they could better understand how serious the competitors are even on this level, and how people have built their lives around it.

For those of us who participated in the Kart Klash IV, it’s enough to have competed against real passionate pros of the sport, and having fun in doing so. My respect for all of them, which was considerable, just doubled. Thanks to Bobby Seymour, Racer’s Expo, and the folks at F1 Boston for providing the opportunity.