TT race 3 - Kentucky Speedway

The third time trial in the series was held yesterday at the Kentucky speedway, down in Sparta. (Or was it Warsaw?) The race, being held on an actual Nascar track, was rather interesting. (Ignore the Strava climb data, it has issues.)

It was a "long" 2 hour drive down there, which is nothing compared to at least one racer from Pennsylvania that also made the trip. The mountains were lovely, and the areas where there was no shoulder nor guardrail overlooking some valleys were just insane. (Note to self, try not to take I-71 in Kentucky, unless necessary.)

Packed the night before,  spare clothes for after the race, tools for changing a tire, etc. For a lot of my races, I still the bike inside the Vue rather than on the bike rack.

It took a few minutes to find the entrance to the racetrack (gate 3, in hindsight. That was missed in the pre-race instructions) and then I got to drive under the track itself to the central area for parking. (I assume that would be the place spectators don't get to visit.)

 

It was a nice tunnel though.

 It was a somewhat fun race, a little different being on the track, especially compared to the road races that make up the rest of the time trial series. 7 laps on a NASCAR track, and no worry about pedal strike if I corner to hard, what isn't to like?

I might have enjoyed myself more than I should have...

 I got 5th place, and have a firm grasp of 4th for the point series. If I miss the final race, which I don't plan to miss, I will still be guaranteed 4th overall. I don't think one of the 3 above me will miss, the race is local to one, and the other two haven't missed a race either. (Certainly the guy who has a freaking Carbon framed fixie isn't going to start skipping now, and the other guy did RAIN the day before the race, as well as in the time between finishing RAIN, he picked up his daughter at the airport and still beat me at the race. (He came in at 353rd for RAIN, out of 1,086 riders. Showoff...)

During pre-race warmup, I stopped to get a pic of my bike leaning against the wall in turn 4, which was more difficult than I expected, due to the slope of the track.

It was a fun race overall, I do need to get more time riding in to place, but my times are getting better, and next year I think I will actually be able to beat someone in the fixed division. I don't know if I will do that on Glowie though, but maybe I will. Just because they have carbon or aluminum bikes don't make them the fastest. (Though the 50/15 ratios help them, by about 6% compared to my 44/14 ratio.)

I know what the bike needs to go faster. White tires. Or at least white walls. Yeah, that's it...

Seriously though, I enjoyed the race. It did get a bit hot out before the awards were done, and I did come home with another # of pasta. (After the first race, I think I have a lifetime supply.)

Hey, more pictures! (some by me, some from Good Times races, who did the timing.)