Riker Racing #00

This past Saturday after two weeks off of racing we went to race at Greenwood Valley Action Tracks. The last time we had raced the car ran good and we got second place so I was happy to get back and do just as well or even better. When I signed in I picked a #4 and that got me the first place starting position. In rookie practice the car was too loose and felt like it was going to spin out every corner. We made some small changes and went out to practice with the regulars and the car was getting better.

The first start of the heat was called off because of a caution. The second however was much better and I took the lead from there on. I ended up leading the whole heat race and won it. The feature came and I knew if I did exactly what I did in the heat I could have a good chance of winning the feature. When the feature started the first start was called off because of a caution. On the second start, the car in second place got a good jump and passed me. For three of four laps the car sounded weird and it was nearly as fast as it was in the heat. On top of that, the leader had probably a straightaway lead on me. I knew that this had happened before a long time ago and it was because I was in the wrong gears. So I shifted again and it went. This means I was in 3rd and 4th gears instead of 4th and 5th. After a couple of laps of shifting correctly I started catching back up to the leader but not by much. I knew I had just ruined my chances of winning and it would take a caution to get me back up to the leader. All of the sudden I started catching up to the leader really quickly and noticed she was slowing down. She was in the middle of the track so I went around her on the inside, still in 5th gear going full speed. Then she started turning up to exit the track and we almost collided. We were probably within 2 or 3 feet of having a major crash that would have demolished both of our cars. Luckily I was able to keep up my speed and get around her before any of that happened. From there on there were two more cautions and I lead every other lap of the race to finally get our first micro feature win! It felt really great to finally see all of our hard work finally pay off!

Thank you to all of our sponsors, friends, family, and fans that helped us get to where we are today! Hopefully there will be more in the future!

On Saturday we made our way up to GVAT once again. The weather was looking pretty good and the track looked great as well. I picked a #9 when I signed in and that got me a 3rd place start for the heat out of 7 cars. We have yet to have a field bigger than 10 or 11 cars and it seems to be decreasing ever week with people moving out of the rookie class and up to regulars. Once again we didnt get many practice laps like last week. The rookie class always has to run the track in so we did. Before the track was even close to be completely dry, they gave us the green to start practice but no one could truly drive their cars because it was so slick and everyone was spinning out everywhere. So when we finished with that we went back out to practice with the regulars to get a better feel for the car and track that day. The car was handling okay but it just did not feel fast at all. We made some small adjustments and went out for the heat.

In the heat I started 3rd behind a car that just would not go. After one restart that was called off we finally went but the first place car didnt. So I dove under on the inside of the car and got behind the second place car who was now in first place. The track was actually very smooth but I felt like the car was still loosing so much speed through the corners and it still didnt feel fast. I ended up finishing in 3rd place right where I started.

For the feature we made some different changes to see if it would help with the corner speed. On the start I got a good jump on the second place car and I stayed right behind the leader. I was within 3-5 car lengths behind him the whole race and sometimes I even got closer. Before our race of course they watered the track again so it was extremely slick during our race. I would be driving down the back stretch and the car would be turning sideways and almost hitting the wall. As the race went on though I figured out a different line to run through the corners and to the back stretch that helped a lot. We had two single file restarts. The first one the leader had a great jump on my and I fell back a couple car lengths from him but I stayed in my second place position. The next restart was better and I stayed right up with him for the first couple laps. From that restart on, the motor sounded kinda funny at times and I could definitely tell that the car was loosing speed because I was dropping back from the leader even more. I didnt want the motor to blow, but there was only two laps to go so I decided to stick it out. I ended up finishing in 2nd place which is a pretty good finish! After the race my dad looked over the motor because I told him about it not sounding right and he found that part of the spark plug was not attached and fell off when he touched it. He said that this is why the motor sounded funny and why I started to slow down in the end. I was happy to hear that it was only a minor thing and nothing that was going to ruin the motor in anyway.

My dad changed spark plugs and when all the races were over with, we went back out for practice because we finished the races so early. While I was out practicing I was moving the pan hard bar around to change the wing's position to see what worked and felt better on the track. We got a lot of good practice time but the track was pretty black and had tons of bite which is the complete opposite of what the rookies get most every night. It was still beneficial because now I know which ways help and hurt the car by moving the bar. We will not be racing for the next week or possibly two weeks so this will be the last race for us for a couple weeks. It was a good one to end on too. We are getting closer to that win every week! Thanks for all the continued support!

Last weekend we raced at Greenwood Valley Action Tracks. I pulled a #13 when I signed in and that got me a 4th starting place. We went out for rookie practice but only got 2 laps so I went back out to practice with the regulars and got some more laps in to figure out how the car felt. It was running pretty good as always but could definitely be better so we made some small adjustments and went out for the heat. In the heat I started 4th out of 9 starters. I had a pretty good start and got up to 2nd but eventually dropped back to 4th after a couple laps to cars who were faster than I was. At the end of the heat I ended up finishing in 4th place just where I started. The car still did not feel right so we changed gears and the shocks and went back out for the feature. In the feature I started in 4th place and on the start, I got a good jump on the 2nd place car who was in front of me on the double file start. I went to pass him on the outside but started to slide down the track and ended up running his right rear tire with my left front tire. This made the car jump up a couple feet in the air and I was riding my back tires. This slowed me down a ton and I dropped back to 9th place which was last place. I didnt stop the car to bring out the caution like other people may have, I just kept going because I felt that I could keep it going and Im glad that I did. So I had to race back up to catch the 8th place car and I did within 2 or 3 laps. I ended up passing them back and getting all the way up to 5th place and was right with 4th place. With two laps to go, I had a really great corner and the 4th place did not. I got under his left rear tire in turn 1 but was once again too low and ended up hitting a tire that edges the infield and again riding my back tires. This slowed me down and I wasnt able to catch back up to 4th place so I ended up placing in 5th out of 9. The car was much better than it was in the heat, which shows that were making the right moves to having a consistently fast and competitive car. Definitely not the finish or race I was hoping for, but hopefully next time we will come out strong from the beginning to bring home a better finish!

This weekend we were at Greenwood Valley Action Tracks. The weather was looking good and we were ready to go to the track after a week off the Saturday before. I picked a #7 and it got me a 3rd starting place for the heat out of 10 registered cars. Before our practice they soaked the track with tons of water and us Rookies get the privledge of running the track in every week. Our practice run was not very long and it was still pretty wet so it was hard to figure out if the car needed adjustments or not. We went into the heat starting in third place and never left that spot. The car was running pretty good but there were some major ruts and holes in the track in the corners. The worst was corners 1 and 2. Because of these, I lost a lot of speed in the corners and never got close enough to move up from third place. So the feature came and the track was looking a little better from the track crew rolling the bumps to try to smooth them out. I was starting out in 3rd place again out of 10 starters. On the start, I pulled in the back of the 1st and 2nd place cars and followed them for awhile. They were both in front the whole time and I was a couple car lengths behind. After a couple laps, the second place car spun himself but caught it so the caution came out and he dropped back leaving me in the second place position. I went on and followed the leader for the next few laps of the race but with two to go, the car that was in second place before he spun out raced his way back up and passed me. So i finished in 3rd place in the end. I think that was a pretty good finish for me especially because of the way the track was and I had to figure out what the best way was to get around the corners without loosing too much speed. Hopefully a win will be soon! 

Yesterday we ran up at Greenwood Valley Action Tracks for the fourth time this season. When we got to the track there was some lightning and some cracks of thunder but we just thought it was because of the heat that was to come. Well we were wrong. Within a matter of minutes it started down pouring along with tons of thunder and lightning and extremely strong winds. People were not expecting it so they pulled their cars and ez-ups of out the trailer just like any other raceday, and as soon as the storm came, ez-ups were flying all over the place and go-karts were being knocked over on their stands. Luckily we did not take anything out of our trailer so we ran for cover in our truck. The storm only lasted ten to fifteen minutes but it was a strong one! When the storm was over everyone started coming out of their trailers and trucks and getting ready to go racing. The sky cleared up and was sunny and blue which made for good racing conditions. If anything, the rain helped the track a little. The crew didnt have to water the track before the karts because all of the rain had just done that for us but the in-field was a mess. After about fifteen to twenty minutes later they were calling karts out onto the track to start their warm-ups and everything continued like nothing even happened.

When I signed in before the storm I picked #15 which I thought would get me a pretty good starting place. Later when I saw the line ups I was to start in 7th place out of 11. In practice the car was doing okay for just putting this new motor in to replace the other from two weeks ago, but the car didnt want to stay to the bottom of the track so it was loose and loosing speed. My dad made some changes and we went back out for the heat. I started 7th place of 11. The car was handling okay but it still wouldnt stay to the bottom. I ended up racing my way up to 4th place. During the time between the heat and the feature my dad made some other changes, which included changing the shock back to the way it was two weeks ago. We werent sure if this was the problem, but we were about to find out. In the feature, I started 4th out of 11. I could notice even just driving under caution, the car was back to how it drives the best. On the first lap, I got a run on the inside 3rd place car and was on the outside of it the whole lap until we got to the third corner. Since my car wanted to be at the bottom of the track I ended up hitting the 3rd place car and spinning out. So I got sent to the back because I was the only car that stopped on the track. It was another double file restart and I was starting 11th now. The green came and I passed two cars before we hit turn one. Now I had to catch back up to the leaders. I was passing cars here and there and I finally made it back up to 3rd. I was probably 4 or 5 car lengths away from the front two cars and we were catching up on lap traffic. With one lap to go, the second place car was trying to make a move on the first place car and spun himself out in turn two. This put me up to second place with one lap to go. It was a single file restart and the first place car had a great jump on the start. I fell back about two car lengths and ended up getting second place. So far that is my best finish in my micro career. It was also probably one of my best feature races to date. I was happy with that finish and hopefully a 1st place will be in our future soon!

Yesterday we went to Greenwood Valley Action Tracks for the third time this season. I was exctied to go back because we did not race last weeek. When I signed in I picked number 24 which got me a 6th starting place out of 8 rookies. There have not been high car counts for the rookie class this year. The most we have had so far was probably about 10 which is very small compared to the 18-20 we had every week last year. The heat went pretty well. The car felt pretty good except for some bogging down in the corners every once in a while. I raced my way up to finish in 3rd place. The feature came and I was starting in 3rd place out of 7 starters. I didnt get a good jump so I fell back to 4th but followed close behind. I kept falling back spots and didnt know what was going wrong. So I just tried shifting the car up another gear and it went! This meant I was running in 3 & 4th gear instead of 4 & 5th. I realized that mistake and was quick to catch it but later I downshifted when the car starting bogging from being too loose and I was back into 3rd instead of 4th again. I didnt realize until 3 or 4 laps later when I got back into 5th. But it was too late. The car stopped going and the motor started to sound weird so I pulled into the infield. My dad said he saw that the car wasnt smoking the last three of four laps which wasnt a good sign. My dad later figured out the problem which came from my mistakes shifting and the motor having so many races on it without being refreshened. So our night ended in a DNF. Definetly not the kind of night I was expecting but now we have a reason to try out a different motor we have!

On June 9, 2012 we went to GVAT. Coming off of a good first run last week, I was excited to get back into the car! I picked a good number, which I believe was #3, and started in 2nd place for the heat. As the green flag came out, I got a good jump on the first place car and we drag raced down the front stretch but when we got to the corner, I drove it in harder and made the pass. From there on I drove the best I could and the car was amazing! It was turning perfectly and was definitely the fastest car on the track! I went on to lead the whole race and ended up winning the heat. I was so excited and knew that if everything went as well in the feature, I would easily have the win. It came time for the feature and I started on the pole. When the green flag came, I jumped the start and we had a complete restart. This next restart did not go so well. I went to start and started shifting into gear and realized that the green light never came on. So I let off the gas and slowed down and before I knew it, I had two or three cars running me over! One on my right rear and two on my left rear! Obviously the people behind me were not paying attention and we all had to pay for it. This caused a big 4 or 5 car pile up. I was able to keep going but I knew right away something was not right with the car. The rear axle (which was brand new!) was bent, the left rear shock was bent, and some other parts were bent or broken too. This affected the steering so much. The car would not turn in the corners and was hopping instead of being smooth like it was in the heat. From here I fell back a couple spots and ended up getting 4th. It was definitely not the outcome I was hoping for but at least we now know what the car is really capable of and how fast it really can be. Hopefully the car will be just as fast this weekend and we can go back and hopefully have a winning car soon!

Yesterday we started our 2012 racing season at Greenwood Valley Action Tracks. I picked a good number (#9), which landed me a 3rd starting place in the heat. The car was okay in the practice but it wasnt quite right so we made some changes before practice to help the car turn better through the corners. In practice my best lap time was a 12.25 which isnt bad but I knew it could be a lot better. In the heat the car was so much better. It was handeling perfectly and was really fast! I ended up getting 3rd place in the heat. My best lap time in the heat was a 11.75 so the car was definetly improving. I didnt want my dad to make any major changes for the feature because I was so happy with how it was running. There were only 11 cars total in the Rookie 270's this week, whereas we usually have around 20. I think only 10 cars started the feature. So I started 3rd and when the green came, I got a good jump on the car in second place and passed him by the time we got to turn one. But unfortuanetly a caution came out, so it was a complete restart and I had to go back to 3rd. This time the second place car got a better jump and I pulled in line behind him after the green. I was in 3rd place most of the time. I was passed by one car on a lap, but after two or three laps of working on it, I passed it back. The whole race I could see first and second place but they had a little more motor than me, so I was never able to get close enough to make a move. I ended up finished 3rd place and my best lap time was a 11.60. I was so happy until I found out that only three cars finished. I kind of killed my mood because it basicly means I got last, but atleast I finished unlike the other 7 or 8 cars. Overall it was a very successful night for us, especially because it was our first time out on a track since last season. Hopefully the car will be just as good next week! Thank you for your support!

We went to Greenwood Valley on this weekend for the last time since of the snow storm this passed weekend. This was the first week back since the crash so the car needed some touching up in places where it lacked from that. After practice I could tell that it wasnt right so my dad changed some things for the heat. We also had a smaller wing on the car this week because the one we had on the car is ruined from last week and this was our spare. The smaller wing was one reason why the car was handling differently so we adjusted some things to make up for it. In the heat it was better but still not good enough. For the feature I started 12th out of 14 starting cars. My car was fast and handling even better than I thought it would! I was making my way up into the field quickly and doing a good job of staying out of trouble. There were a few cars that didnt finish and that we lapped. I was battling back and fourth with one car for a long time. I was infront of him, then he passed me back, then with 3 or 4 laps to go I passed him back. So at the end I ended up getting 6th place which is not bad at all! That was one of the best races the car and I ran in my opinion. This was the last race of the season so we would like to thank everyone who has been apart of our 2011 racing season! You all have been a big part in why I am here today! We look foward to hearing from and being apart of your companies again next year!  

Yesterday we went to Greenwood Valley Action Tracks after not racing for 2 weeks because of weather. This weekend was the Blaze Alexander Memorial Race, so there were more cars in the all classes than usually. There were 24 cars signed up for the Rookie 270s. They split our class into 3 heat races each with 8 cars. I started 5th in the 2nd race and finished in 5t place. The car ran good in the heat so we didn't make any big changes in between the heat and feature.

When the feature came I started 17th out of 24. I was doing awesome on the start and in the beginning of the race. The car was probably the fastest it has been all year. I was passing cars every lap and on one lap I passed 3 in one corner! But unfortunate all that great racing started going downhill fast. I was going to pass a car going into the first corner and he got loose and turned down the track which left me with nowhere to go. I hit the side of the car and then I also got hit from the back from another car. Somehow I managed to keep going so I didn't loose any place from stopping on the track. That crash ended up being bigger than I thought. There were so many cars that were involved in it that we couldn't go around the first and second corner so we had to drive around the inside of the track. After that crash my steering was not right. I had to hold the steering wheel right just to make it go left. I was pretty sure I could still drive it like that so I kept going. Surprisingly I was still just as fast or even faster than other cars even with my steering not right! I continued to pass cars here and there.

When we were coming up on lap traffic, a car was almost at a complete stop in turns three and four. So the car in front of me was still going full throttle through the dusty marbles on the top of the corner, which was not a good idea, and started to slide and flip end over end. Of course I just happened to be there. The flipping car hit me while he was still going end over end. That scared me so much. That was the third time this season a car flipped right in front of me, but that was the first time one actually hit me. This made the damage to the car even worse. Now my steering was even worse and the wing it all smashed on the right side. My dad made it my choice if I wanted to finish the race or not. I wanted to still race but I knew it was going to be hard. Now it was even harder to keep the car going straight; it just wanted to go left! When the race restarted I was in seventh or eighth place running still pretty good. On the long green flag runs the car was okay but sometimes it would just push straight up into the wall. I dropped back 2 places. Another caution came out and I didn't feel comfortable driving the car this way anymore. From lap to lap the car was unpredictable on which way it was going to go or how it was going to steer. So I pulled off into the hot chute not realizing that there were only 2 laps left and they didn't even go green again. So I didn't finish the race.

After the race I was extremely upset because I know I should have stayed out and that it was my fault that I didn't finish. Sometimes I don't look at the good that I have done; I only look at the bad. Everyone was telling me how amazing I did because the car couldn't even be steered straight and parts of it were just in pieces. I can only hope that in two weeks when we go back the car will be just as fast as yesterday and that we will have better luck!