Justin Braves Extreme Heat, Wheels No. 18 Team to Hard-earned Sixth Place Finish for Tri-C Karters R

Date: September 2, 2017 Event: Junior LO206 (Race 7 of 8) Series: Tri-C Karters Location: CalSpeed Karting Center, Auto Club Speedway Layout: Classico CCW (0.551-mile 14-turn sprint course) Format: Five Stages; 5 min prac/5 min qual/8 lap heat/8 lap heat/12 lap main Finishes: 9th / 8th / 7th / 9th / 6th Winner: Dakota Tate (TonyKart #14c)

Justin Blumenfeld and the No. 18 JBR team braved the 115-degree heat, the hottest he's ever raced in, with temperatures inside his suit surpassing the 130-degree mark. While almost succumbing to heat stroke, Justin was able to push on in a race day filled with kart flips, crashes, and some extreme conditions to make a last-lap pass and walk away with a well earned sixth place finish in an experienced field of twelve, besting more than half the field. Holding onto the third place season Championship spot by only eight points, everything will come down to the last race of the season next month, where hopefully he can run well enough to walk away with the hardware and accolades he has worked so hard for.

Practice Recap:

Justin's morning began with the temperatures at the track already passing the 100-degree mark by 6:45am, driving through the smoke-filled I-5 corridor with brush fires along the way. Sporting a brand new LO-206 engine, “Betty”, along with a mated Hilliard Inferno Fire clutch and new Streeter Fatty Big Foot stand, Justin took to the track to warm up the tires and put in his first laptimes. Unfortunately, the MyLaps X2 Transponder on his kart was not sending a signal to race control, and he was not scored for his session. Despite running a 9th fastest time, he would start Qualifying at the tail of the 12-driver field because of it, having to rent a transponder instead.

Qualifying Recap:

With the temperatures still climbing, Justin took to the track for qualifying, and was able to shave 0.648 seconds off his laptime in warm-up, earning him an 8th place starting position for Heat 1.

Heat 1 & 2 Recap:

In Heat 1, the team opted for a major gear change to give better straightaway acceleration at the expense of corner exit speed. While Justin was able to improve his laptimes, this didn't provide the snappy drive off he was after, so the team would make another change before Heat 2 to get some of that back. In the middle of Heat 1, one of his competitors and friend, Daniel Eaton in the #17, was struck while entering turn 12 of the Contino Carousel, sending his kart airborne and flipping into the tire barrier. The heat was red-flagged while the ambulance EMTs recovered Daniel from the track, who was fortunate to only suffer a possible broken arm. Daniel was one of four drivers that day who would eventually end up flipping and requiring EMT recovery. Fortunately, none of them were seriously injured, but this definitely put the team on edge for the remainder of the day. The below image is of another driver in TAG 125cc class going airborne and flipping during a race in the same corner where Daniel flipped.

After the red flag was lifted, Justin finished his Heat, making up a spot into 7th place, but came off the track suffering from signs of heat stroke. In addition, the rear right pneumatic tire of the new kart stand blew out at the metal valve stem, which was irreparable at the track, but the team lucked out and was able to borrow another rolling stand from the generous owner of Empire Karts, Francois Doran. Fortunately, this would be the last of the mechanical issues for the day. Justin was able to cool down inside an air conditioned lounge and recover in time for his second heat.

For Heat 2, with gearing at an optimal ratio, Justin was able to lay down his fastest time of the day, only 0.718 seconds off pace of the leader, but a few drivers were able to pass him on the straightaways and he dropped back to 9th place at the end of that race.

Main Recap:

Feeling like he was being passed coming out of the turns, the team elected to change their gearing one tooth shorter, giving him better drive off at the expense of some straightaway speed. This proved to be a good change for Justin, who would gain multiple spots over the course of the shortened Main, which was reduced to 12 laps from 16 because of the extreme heat. In the first lap of the race, Justin gained three positions very quickly, when one of Justin's competitors, Nigel Fuentes in the #24, drove it wide going into turn 9 (Silk), so Justin took the opportunity to fill the gap and drive it fast and inside. At the last moment, Nigel decided to brake and correct his trajectory and dive low, but with Justin moving at a higher rate of speed and no time to lift, he unintentionally caught the rear bumper of Nigel who ended up spinning out in front of him.

For the next nine laps, Justin was able to hold off veteran driver Logan Lewis in the #77 with some great defensive driving and carefully executed turns. Logan eventually passed him in the eleventh lap, but not one to give up, Justin was able to outdrive him in the turns and eventually catch him in the final lap, waiting for Logan to make a mistake and go wide in turn 4 (Kornakurva). Justin dove the inside, completed the pass, and was able to hold him off for the final three turns, taking the checkered flag in a respectable 6th place and finishing the day strong!

Tri-C Karters 2017 Season Championship Standings:

Justin currently sits in 3rd place overall, trailing 1st place Jalen Mack and 2nd place Sophia Storey by a significant amount. The points spread is likely insurmountable unless either of them end their day quite early in the last race and are unable to get back in. With 1st and 2nd place essentially off the table, the team's current goal is to grow the small eight point lead over 4th place Nigel Fuentes and defend the current position to walk away with a 3rd place season championship trophy. Luckily, there are two available dates for the team to practice and test for gearing before the race, which they will definitely take advantage of. With a lot of hard work and some luck, the team can get the result they are after in the final race and bring home the Championship hardware.

Special thanks goes out to the various partners who support the team, most notably Galpin Ford and Pit Posse Motorsports. Without your continued support, we wouldn't be where we are today, and regardless of the final race's outcome, we thank you for rallying behind Justin and the JBR team for the 2017 season.

Next Race:

Blumenfeld's next race will take place on Saturday, October 7th at CalSpeed at the Auto Club Speedway for the final round eight of Tri-C Karters, where he will be running the long 15-turn 0.720-mile Grande layout in the counter-clockwise direction. He's eager to finish off the year strong, and hopes to win a 3rd place Championship in his first full outdoor racing season.