The Raceology 101 class held Sat. June 2, 2012 was the largest to date with 12 students signed up to learn the ins and outs of how to safely maneuver an indoor Jr race kart at speed. Taught by longtime indoor/outdoor kart racer Steve “Kandyman” Lattanzi, who is also the Competition Director here at Octane Raceway. He was joined by his seasoned karting experts Chaz Baca Jr, who is on track to win his 7th league series in a row, Kyler Repella who is running second overall in the leagues and also races an outdoor kart and Keith Sears who is a longtime indoor kart racer and also is the grid master at the local outdoor kart track (PKRA).
Steve and his band of qualified instructors take the students from, what that flag means and what the green (throttle), red (brake) pedal do, to a flat out 20 lap race. All in the course of 2 hours. A brief intro to the flags, proper fitment of helmet and kart to a 1 lap track walk. Then into karts for a 2 lap stop and go exercise to introduce the students to the throttle & brake. Next up we go into a 3 lap qualifier with 2 or 3 students on the track at once. Then we reset the group based on fastest time on pole for the standing staggered start of the all out 20 lapper. Achievement Certificates are then handed out and a podium picture ceremony concludes the class. Pizza & soft drinks end a morning of learning and fast fun!
Amazing to watch most of the students go from shy and a bit nervous to fist pumping confident in such a short time.
This class had the baseball team and friends of Corwin Hemmingsen join him for his birthday celebration. Birthday Boy Corwin set fast time in the qualifier to start from pole position in the 20 lap race. Unfortunately during the race a slide and a bump from another competitor put racer “Birthday Boy” back to 4th place where he finished. Up to that time both he and racer Tony Stewart (Liam Lafferty) raced nose to tail, lap after exciting lap.
Lap times also went from 33 seconds to 40 seconds in the qualifier to 30 seconds to 34 seconds. In the race. Minimum lap time improvements of 3 to 6 seconds a lap. Great class and for the first time 100% of the class wore the new black Octane Raceway membership shirts. Bravo!
Big thanks goes to all the parents that took the time and resources to give their sons a taste of what indoor kart racing is all about and the trust they put in Octane Raceway and myself to do it safely.
Finish order of 20 lap Main Race:
Tony Stewart (Liam Lafferty)
Stealth Ninja (Aiden Barrett)
Mike 26 (Mikey Ford)
Birthday Boy (Corwin Hemmingsen)
Cade McCoy (Cade McCoy)
Whiplash (Matthew Gallegos)
Justin Upton (Thomas Rea)
Speedy (Augie Walters)
Dan Weldon (Jake Wright)
Kolt45 (Kolton Kurzman)
Lightening (John Lauinger)
Turbo (Andy Newman)
Congratulations one and all of the graduating class of Raceology 101… June 2, 2012.
‘Til we meet again I will be,
Steve "Kandyman" Lattanzi
Team Titanium of Octane Raceway
Competition Director
Offsite Specialty Events Coordinator
Lead Instructor for the Raceology 101 Jr Kart Racing School
317 S. 48th Street . Phoenix, AZ 85034
(d) 602-427-4416 / 602-302-7223 (t) 602-321-2035(m)
Octane Raceway - Your Phoenix Destination For Adrenaline-Packed Outings
Arizona's Premier Indoor Karting & Entertainment Venue
Seasonal Leagues, High Level Competition Events, Public Racing 363 Days A Year
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