The Past

 

What is behind us is not of great concern, other than the lessons learned. Henry is focused on the future and where racing will take him. He is actively pursuing his next opportunities to drive for someone.

Here is a quick look back at the years since 2006.

2006—On average, Henry arrived on the actual racing scene about six years after most of his competitors. Henry was 11- years-old when we made a trip to The Jim Hall Karting School in California. Henry was the youngest student, but took to learning the line and handling the kart quickly.

2007-2009—Henry competed in the junior class against a number of top local drivers, most of whom had already been racing for several years. The upside of racing against experience drivers is that Henry learned very quickly how to “mix it up.” Henry was not afraid to go wheel-to-wheel with the more experienced drivers.

2010 – This was the year that Henry moved up to run with the senior class at the age of 15 in a TaG-powered Birel Kart. This circuit was a major adjustment for Henry, involving more speed, more power, and a larger field of experienced adult racers. Henry more than held his own that year, bringing home several top-5 finishes.

2011 – This is the year in which Henry demonstrated increased confidence and dramatically-improved skills. Our race team struggled to get our kart to work well for Henry, yet he did not get frustrated.  Then one day, my wife asked, “Is Henry’s kart holding him back?” To be honest, we had never considered this question…as we had always operated—and done our best—with a limited budget. Despite driving an inferior kart, Henry brought home second place in the annual memorial race, charging to the front with a daring pass on the next-to-last lap. We continued to struggle with the Birel kart. However, our local kart shop offered Henry the chance to drive the shop’s  Arrow X1 kart. On the first weekend he drove this new kart, he set the fastest lap of the day; he also placed second in the race. Henry would go on to finish in the top-5 in each remaining race on the schedule. He then participated in a special event, the 200-lap RoboPong race, finishing 12^th out of 38 karts.

2012 – This would be another year of transition. We allowed Henry to continue to pursue his dream—and enrolled him in seven-days of racing at the Bertil Roos Racing School…where he drove a Formula Car. Henry did quite well, finishing second in his rookie camp race. Henry also had an opportunity to be a part of a 24-hour team in ChumpCar endurance race. Although some people don’t call this real racing, participating in the ChumpCar allowed Henry to be on the track with 115 cars and race at night. Although the team nursed a fuel-system problem, Henry was in the car—a modified RX7 for more than three hours, and he set the fast lap for his team, despite being the least-experienced driver.