Kart racing – Richmond, VA – March 10, 2007

[HowardBJr]

The VA/MD VCA and the Corvette Club of Virginia will have a joint indoor kart event at 11:00 AM March 10, 2007 at the G-Force Kart track at 4245 Carolina Ave., Building B, Richmond, VA 23222 (804) 228-0188. It’s located across the street from the Richmond International Raceway.

For more information about the track go to:
http://www.gforcekarts.com/

This will be a rain or shine event. In the event of rain or snow just drive your Corvette or other daily driver. One of the Corvette Club members from Maryland will allegedly give a ride to a Maryland Viper owner who is too afraid to drive their Viper in the rain or snow.

We will each do two races. If we have enough participants to get the group rate the cost will be about $34. After the racing we will go to a local restaurant to eat together.

The karts have a transponder on them for tracking lap times. What are your ideas for awards? For example, we could determine the “fastest club” by averaging each member’s fastest lap. It would be fun to give an award to the club with the coolest cars but I’m afraid that wouldn’t be fair to the Corvette club.

Please PM me or call (804) 745-3255 if you will be able to participate.

Howard

 

[ViperJohn]

Good job Howard. I went to the facility in Sterling and it was going to be about $85.00/person. I thought that was a little bit much for 5 races over a two hour period. Perhaps I'm wrong. If there is any other information, send it to Lee or myself so that we can send out a group email to our members. Lee will probably also send out a post card.

John

 

[Batboy]

Ha! I was just there Howard! I went to the gun show across the street at the fairgrounds. I saw that place and immediately thought of you and our discussions on cart races. March is going to be a busy month for me at work but perhaps I will be able to make it.

 

[HowardBJr]

I would like to get your feedback on where you would like to eat after we race the go carts. Please list the five restaurants below in order from the one you would most like to eat at to the least. You can PM me or post your input in this thread. These five are close to the track and have easy access to the interstate for those traveling north after the event.

1. Golden Corral
2. Outback
3. Ruby Tuesday
4. Joe’s Inn (it’s an Italian restaurant)
5. Mexico

Thanks.

 

[ViperJohn]

I think Mexico might be a little too far to go to eat.

Do 2, 3 or 4. In case the weather is nice, I would choose the one with the best parking.

 

[HowardBJr]

I think Mexico might be a little too far to go to eat.

Do 2, 3 or 4. In case the weather is nice, I would choose the one with the best parking.

I’m not from that side of town but here’s what I’ve found out about the parking situation. I’ll list them from the best to the worse as far as parking.
1. Joe’s Inn – there is a separate parking lot about 50 feet from the restaurant that would give us virtually “private parking”
2. Mexico – they have a very large lot for the size of the restaurant
3. Outback
4. Golden Corral
5. Ruby Tuesday
We should be arriving after the lunch rush hour so parking shouldn’t be a major issue at any of these restaurants.

 

[Batboy]

That settles it Joe's Inn! Private Parking! WooHooo!!

Howard, I believe I got 4 (including myself) from Fredericksburg so far.

BTW, I will be arranging a caravan down to the event for all of the northerners. We will meet at the Park N Ride off Rt 17 exit 133B heading south on I 95.

Directions to Park and Ride:

From points north:
Take I-95 south to exit 133B towards Warrenton (Rt17 west)
Go through 2 stop lights
Take left at third stop light across from East Coast gas station.

From points south:
Since we're going to be going south, it's best if you just meet us there.

From points east or west:
It’s best to find your quickest route to I-95 and head north or south to exit 133 (exit numbers go down to the south, up to the north).

Matt

 

[ViperJohn]

Count me in Howard.

 

[Batboy]

I forgot to mention that the caravan south will be leaving at 9:30am. I should be there by 9am. Pass the word John if any of you want to join us.

I will be arranging a caravan down to the event for all of the northerners. We will meet at the Park N Ride off Rt 17 exit 133B heading south on I 95.

Directions to Park and Ride:

From points north:
Take I-95 south to exit 133B towards Warrenton (Rt17 west)
Go through 2 stop lights
Take left at third stop light across from East Coast gas station.

From points south:
Since we're going to be going south, it's best if you just meet us there. But if you still want to join us it's exit 133 Warrenton Rd.
Go through 2 stop lights
Take left at third stop light across from East Coast gas station.

From points east or west:
It’s best to find your quickest route to I-95 and head north or south to exit 133 (exit numbers go down to the south, up to the north).

Matt

 

[HowardBJr]

Here is the weather forcast for Saturday for Richmond:

Partly cloudy skies. High 66F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph.

This is top down weather.

 

[HowardBJr]

It was close but the VA/MD VCA was the winner. We won by only .016 seconds! We were presented the "Fastest Car Club Award" by the president of the Corvette Club of Virginia. See the photo of the presentation below.

So we are two events ahead of the Corvette Club of Virginia. We smoked them (pun intended if you've read about the Horsepower Challenge in Driven) in the Horsepower Challenge at the Veterans Hospital last September and just barely pulled this one out for the team.

Below are some photos of the event:

R. J. Hrapsky, President Corvette Club of Virginia, presents "Fastest Car Club Award" to VA/MD VCA. Howard Burnette, event coordinator, accepts on behalf of the club.

Corvette Club of Virginia members

We all went out to eat together at Joe's Inn after the racing.

 

[Batboy]

Nice pics Howard and thanks for another great event. I'd say some fellas missed out on a good one this time. We definitely need to do that one again!

 

[HowardBJr]

Matt, it sure was a lot of fun. Thanks for coming.

I cannot believe I was black flagged twice. I guess I'm a little ******* the karts. I lost the steering column on the first race when someone hit me ******* the front wheel. It was a good kart and I was just getting used to the steering column flopping around when I was black flagged. If they would have let me keep running I might have gotten a few more good laps in.

Kathy said I had sparks coming out of the engine when the muffler worked loose during the second race. I noticed that I had picked up a little extra power with the open exhaust.

I t-boned someone when we had the 2 or 3 kart pile up in one of the turns. I was right behind them and there was no where for me to go and I t-boned someone.

I enjoyed being with the Corvette guys. I think everyone had a good time.

 

[George Murray]

That was a great time!

Howard, many thanks to you and your wife for setting that up. That was a great track, and well-run. The same owners have a track near me in the Tidewater area. We used to go as much as once per week.

The 'Vette club folks were great. I always enjoy meeting car enthusiasts who are also nice folks!

It was the start of a driving-intensive weekend for me, Wendy and Dale. The following day we did the SRT TRack Experience at Summit Point, WV. John Mavridis of our club was also there. Another outstanding D-C/SRT event! Anyone who hasn't attended the SRT Track Day should look into it!

ATotal burnout set in during the drive back last night, but it was well worth it.

The weekend was a good way to warm up for my first track event this year, a NASA event at VIR at the end of the month.