The outdoor track at Gateway International Speedway has closed for the season.  The three amigos of Jeff Sona, Jeff Govro and I tried a new indoor place that has electric cars and a very tight and twisty track.

What do you get when you add a new go kart venue with touchier electric cars and a much tighter track to getting further along in progression?   A mental workout.

The first race felt like a sh** show.  I could step on the gas and brake with enough force, but I could not pull my feet off of either of the pedals.  Add to that, the cars are programmed to shut down if you ride the brake at all.  I found myself going from turn to turn pulling my left leg off the brake with my left hand, pulling my right foot off the gas with my right hand while trying to steer with whichever hand I could get free at the moment.  My driving was so sloppy.  I managed to get around the track reasonably quickly and not hit anything but I was thinking ‘boy, this is not exactly fun’.  Something had to change.  I went into  brainstorming mode between our two races of the night.  Jeff Sona kindly went out to his van and retrieved two bungee cords.  We hooked each one from my shoes to the seat belt to pull my feet backwards.   Vou La!   Not completely fixed but I’m driving hard and well again, only having to reposition my feet occasionally.  I’m not sure if Mr. Sona was being nice, but I won the race by one one thousandths of a second.  I’d like to say it wasn’t even close.

Getting these things figured out is mentally taxing, in a good way.  It’s also good to have cohorts to figure it out with.  Luckily, the track guy found it all rather entertaining.