EKN Driver Blog: Howie Idelson - Pro Kart Challenge R2

[Howie Idelson]

So I’m up here at the beautiful Devonshire Motor Inn in the desert north of LA for the second round of the Pro Kart Challenge at Willow Springs. Anyone who’s been to Willow knows this motel because it’s really the only game in town but it’s got sort of a dumpish charm to it – Uh, and there really is no town, I mean, this is the desert - just like in the westerns. Don’t get me wrong I love it up here. It can be a really beautiful place – like when the sun is going behind the mountains or in the summer when the big thunderheads roll in and it’s friggn hotter than a witches teet – but it’s a dry heat. Ok so now I’ve set the mood for you. Oh, one more thing so you get the complete picture is the stench of cigarettes in this room – I think it’s seeping into my pores. Anyway, just got back from the track and had a burger before sitting down to write. I do quite love this track. I wish I had a nickel for every lap I’ve run here. It’s a great layout and the surface is one of the best in karting. Willow is not a hard track to learn, however, it is a track that is really tough to find that last tenth or two. It really rewards smoothness and momentum. I’ve run here for many years and each time I come here I learn something new; A little nuance in a corner where I find that if I get off the brakes a little earlier here my exit was oh so much better. Or, a discovery that if I turn-in a bit more forcefully in that corner at the top of the hill, the kart takes a better set.

I’m running with Mike Manning who I have run with for the last several years. We always go to win but we never forget to have fun. I feel very lucky. I have a sweet deal. He does all the work and I go out and bend it all up. He and I have been friends for many years and we have way too much fun racing together. Mike is a guy who wants to win more than anyone I have ever met. He’s been in this sport longer then most and his knowledge of motors is beyond comprehension. So there’s that, then add an incredible work ethic and Macgiver-like creativity and you have the best guy you could ever want in your tent and Oh – I’m driving his kart and he’s tuning for me. Someone pinch me – now!

I’m running the MMK chassis which is made in the Parolin factory to Mike’s specs. I’ve been on this chassis as long as I’ve been driving for Mike. It’s a solid piece and it has evolved over the years into a top-notch, winning kart. Mike is also the importer of the Motori7 and so Surprise! That’s the motor we run. The Motori is also very good. It delivers power very much like a Rotax and revs to around 15k so it’s a very different animal from a Leopard or Rok. It does the heavy lifting in the mid range and that makes a very forgiving motor to drive. Since I’ve been with Mike for so long I’ve had the opportunity to be very involved, from a driving standpoint, in the development of the motor. When we first started racing it, let’s see how do I say this politely….It was a turd pile. We got our asses handed to us a couple of times and Mike does not like to loose. We tested and he went back to his “lab” and we tested some more and made that turd pile into a very competitive tag motor that actually is very reliable.

The other really cool thing about Willow is that MMK (Mike’s shop) is right at the track. Did I mention I got a-lotta’ laps here? Anyway I met Mike at the shop this morning and we put the finishing touches the kart and loaded it into the box-van and drove the 200 yards or so to our pit spot, unloaded the kart etc. and hit the track. PKC has open practice on Friday before each race so it’s a good time to see what falls off and size up the competition at the same time. Good news, nothing fell off. Bad news we weren’t too swift right off the bat. We worked on the chassis most of the day. I’d go out, drive 8-10 laps, come in and talk with mike (in our own form of code language as my wife calls it. Chicks, ha!) go back out Mike eats a hotdog while he looks at the sparkplug then go back out again. The motor really didn’t need much adjustment. By the end of the day we were pretty good.

So, pitted across from us is Tonykart and they have two new KF2 karts and they are letting any joe-blow drive them. I have been jonesing to drive one of them bad-boys. Did I just talk like a redneck? Anyway, Cliff didn’t say no to me when I asked and much to his regert I was drivin that sucka. I left the pits, mashed the gas and my first thought was “holy mother of god!” and my second was “so-friggin-fast yet so-much-fun”. I was in go-kart heaven. I giggled like a little girl for six laps. When I came in, Cliff asked “ so, how was it”? and I said “mmmmmm-sokay” -had to maintain my track cred. I thanked Cliff and ran back to our pit to tell mike how I just drove the most awesomest thing ever. I got the impression he didn’t share in my excitement when he looked at me and told me to mount up some new tires.

Well tomorrow will come early and there’s racing and whining to be done so I will follow this up with a race report probably on Sunday morning -you know, kids and all at home and of course, they’ll be all happy to see me and stuff.
_________________
Howie Idelson
howieidelson@mac.com
www.coroflot.com/howieidelson

[Howie Idelson]

Here's a few pix from my weekend.



Mike Manning


Da Unit


Motori-7


Mike's magic box


Sign me up


Me and "danger" Dane


Dane, Darla, and laura


Billy and Dane


Rayn Pfau in da house.
_________________
Howie Idelson
howieidelson@mac.com
www.coroflot.com/howieidelson

[Howie Idelson]

Another beautiful day at willow, for the race. PKC and Tom put on awesome events. They really make an effort to make it fun to come to the races. Some of the other series in this region forget that we do this sport because it’s fun. They create an environment in the pits where you feel like you’re in elementary school you’re always worried about being scolded. Tom treats the competitors as adults and customers. The race schedule runs like clockwork and everyone seems like they are having a good time yet it’s always very competitive.

Here’s a report on my day.

Qualifying: Everyone on new MG tires, it was close. The top 6 within .2sec and I qualified off-pole behind Larry Fraiser who is always fast.

Heat1: This track demands you have your chassis spot-on. The surface will punish the tires of a poorly set-up kart or a driver that drives too hard. Tires and chassis both are put to a real test. Larry got the Jump on the start and I pulled into second. We had a bumper-to-bumper train of 4 or 5 karts. My kart felt really good Following Larry and I noticed a couple of spots where he was using a bit too much of the track. I snuck inside of him at turn 7 and held on to win the heat.

Heat2: On the grid, I took a peek at the tires of the karts in the first few rows and I could see that some had hurt their chances already. Their tires were not happy. When the green dropped, Larry got the jump and the battle was on. We traded the lead 5 times in the first 6 laps. It was really fun racing with him - he races very clean. From what I was told there were other intense battles behind us also. I got by Larry again on lap 7 (I think) and held on for the win. I was feeling really good about things because my tires looked really good - not so much for some of the main challengers. The only one I was worried about was Billy Clevelan. He had an MMK Motori-7 also, and he finished right behind me. He had been fast all day on Friday and I know how good he is and how much he knows about this track. His tires looked as good as mine.

Main: When we lined up, I looked at everyone’s tires again. It was clear that Billy was going to be the challenger. The others had already used up their tires. When we fired the motor on the stand the carb flooded and mike quickly changed the plug. At the green I got the jump and right away I knew something was wrong. The needle & seat were sticking causing a bad hesitation off the corner. Around lap 5, it bogged bad and Billy got by me. I was forced to drive around the problem and had my hands full trying to blip the throttle mid corner without upsetting the kart. It was really tough to drive. Billy drove a perfect race and won. I came in second, which was very lucky considering the carb problem. I think I set fast lap on the last lap of the race and my tires looked really good at the end. I looked at everyone else’s at the scales and their fronts were gone. We had really done a good job with the chassis and I felt like we had a winning kart. Oh well.


Side note:
After the race, Billy’s motor was impounded by PKC because some of our competitors were complaining that we were too fast. It’s really sad because we have really good parity with the SKUSA tag rules. We just did a better job with our chassis and the Motori was first and second. Seems like when we do well everyone thinks it’s the motor. They can’t believe a couple of old guys can be competitive. We had a tight field at the start of the day across all the motors. By the end of the day the others fell off due to tire mismanagement.


Me and the trophy girl on the podium
_________________
Howie Idelson
howieidelson@mac.com
www.coroflot.com/howieidelson

[David Cole]

Congrats Howie. Thanks for the updates on the weekend.
_________________
David Cole
News Desk Manager
eKartingNews.com
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[Michael Maroney]

Howie ... Great fun watching Miles run with you cagey veterans ...I want you to know we have NO problem with Mike Manning and his program. We were plenty fast and just got outsmarted and out "prepared" for sure. In fact, Mike Manning is a great guy and actually helped Miles a bit with dialing in the TAG Sr. stuff a couple weeks back. Believe me, he didn't give away any big secrets, just helped me with understanding how the fast Josh Robertson PITTS Leopard motor should run ... But, no one told me about managing the tires, the correct tire pressure for sure and I did my best to make sure Miles killed his "fronts" long before the final. So, congrats to you guys and we had a blast. See you guys at Grange and Pro Kart is the BOMB.

[John Denman]

Nice job Howie.

I noticed you mentioned old guys, was that your daughter and grandkids?

You've always impressed me, glad to see you've got your priorities 100% right. I can't wait to see Dane in a shifter kart.
_________________
John Denman
Producer for RTMP
http://www.kartweb.com

[Howie Idelson]

Thank John. I think he's leaning KF.........kids.
_________________
Howie Idelson
howieidelson@mac.com
www.coroflot.com/howieidelson

[Ryan Pfau]

Highlight of the weekend for sure was little Darla and Howie on the podium together. The kids are just awesome, what a great family, I just wish I had more time to catch up with everyone.

On the racing side of things, tire management is certainly the key at Willow. It's a shame to hear about the impound, one thing comes with experience and Howie and Bill certainly know when and when not to push.

I still see that Superpro aggresiveness in Howie's driving, caught some guys napping a time or two as well.

[Howie Idelson]

Thanks Ry
_________________
Howie Idelson
howieidelson@mac.com
www.coroflot.com/howieidelson