It doesn't get any closer than this...Championship decided by 1 pt

[n2racing2]

The last race of the NASKART Pro Racing Series powered by Royal Purple season is how all championships should come to be. With the championship being decided by less than a kart length!!

 

With tensions building up and the butterflies that come from stressing out, the NASKART Pro Racing Series had its final race of the season. This race was to be the Greg Biffle Challenge but due to other issues, it was changed to Thunderhill Raceway. Our home track.

 

With only 2 points separating the championship contenders, #07 Megan Smith and #21 Jason Marshall, tensions were high. Both knowing that they had to do well in both the heat race and in the main in order to be crowned champion.

 

The winner of the 10 lap heat race would get the bonus point and have momentum going into the Main. Whe n the time arrived to line up for the heat race. Everyone was getting ready...and started heading to the grid. Except for 1 key player. Megan. While trying to get her kart started as everyone pulled out to the grid, her starter rope broke. Butch Lake, her great uncle and Gary Bauhof immediately started to work feverishly on Megan's kart in order to get it started.

 

The field of karts started out onto the track with the starting order being set by points inverted. Thus putting the 2 championship contenders at the back of the field. Only, Megan was not beside Jason Marshall. With warm up laps in place...and everyone lined up for the start, Nathan Lavender let the green flag fly. Within a few laps as the race progressed, Jason started making his way up towards the front. With everyone racing hard for the bonus point and lots of jockeying for position the heat race soon was a full on war! With drivers nudging each other, bump drafting each other and forcing their way past each other like there was never going to be another race ever again. 1/2 way through the heat race, the #29 of Marty Kreis and #1 Mike Steinman were battling for position through turns 1 and 2, with Kreis on the inside and Steinman outside of Kreis, when Marty's kart seemed to push up the track and taking them both to the outside of turn 2. With Kreis going off track and spinning and Steinman just narrowly escaping going with him. This allowed Jason Marshall to get through traffic and find himself now battling for the lead with 4 laps to go. Megan Smith, after getting her kart started join the heat race, but was now laps down and just making laps. Knowing she did not have a shot at the bonus point. Jason though was driving hard and picked up a drafting partner in the #11 Lyndon Kirk. Who helped him to cross the finish line first and taking the bonus point!

 

So with Jason getting the bonus point, it was now a 1 point difference in the championship. Megan could still win the championship if she won the race or if she finished right behind Jason, as long as he didn't win the race. Because there is a 2 point difference from 1st to 2nd and 1 point difference between all other positions. And if they tied, the tie breaker would be the most wins. With Megan having 5 wins to Jason's 4 wins.

 

With a toss of a coin, the grid was determined to start as we finished the Heat race. No inversion. This meant that Jason would start on pole and Megan would start dead last! It was going to be a uphill battle for Megan from here on out. As the green flag dropped everyone was scrambling to find a drafting partner because up front, Jason Marshall and Lyndon Kirk were getting hooked up and going to start checking out from the field. Mike Steinman, Megan's teammate, knew she was in back and was going to need a drafting partner. He battled with Marty Kreis #29 again but moved high to let him by as he then hooked up with his son Kaleb Kreis #88. Reagan Garner was know in a draft with the #17 of Chris Birmingham and now Steinman and Megan were at the back of the field. But once they got hooked up they started going to the front. They went around the outside of Garner #10 and Birmingham #17 then procedded to run down Rockhard racing's Marty and Kaleb Kreis. When Marty saw them coming and realizing that Kaleb was having motor issues he went around Kaleb. And so doing left them both open to be passed. Steinman and Megans smith went around Kaleb and were getting ready to go around Marty on lap 15 when the competition Yellow came out. So up front in 1st was #21 Jason Marshall and 2nd was Lyndon Kirk, 3rd was Marty Kreis and Steinman 4th and Megan 5th. Reagan Garner was restarting in 6th and Birmingham and Kaleb Kreis were restarting 7th and 8th.

 

After everyone was lined up for the double file restart, the green flag flew again. The inside line With Jason, Marty and Megan started to pull out a lead over the outside line. But Steinman on the inside line, knowing that if Jason and Lyndon got hooked up again that it would be tough to beat them, and dropped down to the inside line leaving Lyndon hanging on the outside and getting trained going through turns 1 and 2. This allowed the inside line to pull away as everyone else behind started to battle for position again. after a couple of laps though, Lyndon found his way past Steinman and the others and set out to see if he could catch the leaders. Meanwhile the top 3 were lined up and clicking off the laps.with about 7 laps to go, Lyndon had caught up to the back of Megan Smith as she was looking for a way around Marty Kreis. Jason up front was trying desperately to just hang onto the lead.

5 laps to go and Lynsdon was looking for a way around Megan by going to the outside as she was trying to get to the inside of Marty going into turn 3. It was a NO GO for both and they fell back into position. But coming off of turn 2 the next lap...Megan tried the inside of Marty again with Lyndon now having to choose who he would try to draft with to make it back to the bumper of Jason Marshall. With laps clicking off quickly...Megan made her move and got to the inside of Marty Kreis and moved into 2nd onto the bumper of Jason Marshall. Jason Looking back to see if Marty Kreis #29 was still on his bumper, now saw the the pink, black and white kart of Megan Smith on his bumper and feeling her bump him hard to let him know, "I'm HERE!" Now down to 3 laps to go Jason had to start driving a defensive line as his motor was dropping off a little on power. The 2 of them pulled out a kart lead over Marty and Lyndon, who were now battling for 3rd place. With 2 laps to go Megan started making her move to the inside of Jason Down the Back stretch...Jason hung tight down to the inside of the track and left no room for Megan so she backed off and followed through with him thru turns 3 and 4. When they were coming to the white flag, people who came to see these 2 go for the championship were ALL up on their feet yelling and scream so loud...I even heard them over the motors! Nathan in the flag stand was even jumping up and down in the stand as he was wagging the white flag for 1 lap to go. Coming out of 2 again Megan made the move to the inside only to have Jason shut the door on her. Down into turn 3 they went and Megan got a drive going thru 3 and 4 and moved to the outside, Marty and Lyndon had drafted up to Megan and now as they were all coming off of turn 4 going 4-wide to the flag all of them pulling up almost along side each other....Megan urging her kart to get to the finish...Jason tucking as tight as he could to beat the headwind...Marty trying to power up to the line...and Lyndon tucked in a ball with his race face...They came to checked flag as Jason Marshall got there 1st with Megan up on his side...but coming up just a couple of feet short to finish 2nd. Marty just beat Lyndon to the line for 3rd and of course Lyndon finished 4th.

 

So...with the 2 point difference from 1st to 2nd, 20 points to 18 points. Jason Marshall came round on the cool off lap the 2011 NASKART Pro Racing Series CHAMPION!!

 

It doesn't get any closer than this...Championship decided by 1 pt!! Triumph for Jason...Heartbreak for Megan. But it was a GREAT race to watch from 5th on the track.

 

My first person opinion: I am so proud of both of these racers deciding the championship on the track, racing each other cleanly and that no matter who would win the championship, they both should hold their heads high. Jason will be a great CHAMPION for the series in 2012.

 

Its been a great year with lots of ups and downs for many of the racers. But Megan has learned much more about life from this racing season. How racing, like life, can and be a roller coaster ride with many highs and lows. And how that being a winner is not decided by how many races or championships you win, but how you act and compose yourself with the lows in life and racing. And learning how to be gracious in winning and in losing.

 

WE WILL SEE EVERYONE AT THE THUNDERHILL BANQUET ON JANUARY 28TH, WHERE WE WILL PASS OUT OUR END OF SEASON TROPHY'S AND THE TRADITIONAL PASSING OF THE NUMBER 1 PLATE TO THIS YEAR'S CHAMPION...

 

JASON MARSHALL

2011 NASKART Pro Racing Series Champion