The final regular season race of 2016. One last opportunity to score much-needed points before the semi-finals. As the drivers put on their racing suits, the tension could be felt up and down the pit lane. Everyone was nervous…except Daniel. He just practiced doing wheelies with his R/C car, putting on a mini monster truck show.
Daniel Demaras is cooler than Kimi Raikkonen’s ice-cream bar.
In the practice sessions, Daniel easily pulled ahead of his competition, setting a lap 4 seconds faster than 2nd place. However, when he got into a different kart, that gap closed. The was chatter in the pits that kart #9 had a speed advantage, creating an unfair advantage.
Track manager Chris Lemme disagreed, believing that the gap was only two tenths of a second, not enough to pull kart #9 from the group. Daniel knew the advantage the kart possessed, and made sure to step into the right kart for qualifying, setting pole position.
Drivers #12 and #16 spoke before the race on how to deal with the race start. They were running the corporate loop, meaning that there was an extra long, uphill run to turn one, a disadvantage for Daniel. They discussed the possibility of sacrificing turn 1, and using Daniel’s superior driving ability through the turns to regain the position later in the lap, rather than risking a race ending collision.
This conversation would prove pointless. From the drop of the green flag, Daniel gunned it and never looked back. Daniel took turn 1 uncontested, lead the first lap, and stretched his lead to a 9 second gap by the end of the race. This driving display earned Demaras the maximum 11 points, the championship lead and his best result at Mosport.
The win gives Daniel a twelve point lead in the Sunday championship, and newfound confidence coming into the semi-finals. Daniel said “I’m not going crazy, there is still 37.5 points up for grabs, but if I can race like I did today, then I might come home with a championship.”
