The 8th round of Wednesday night CRKC at Goodwood Kartways began under sunny skies and high temperatures. Daniel and Chris set up in the shadow of the PRO trailer, keeping cool in the shade.
Practice sessions were a mixed bag. Daniel refers to these as the “Open Weight” sessions (referring to fights without weight categories) where he is sometimes racing against kids who are 69, 79 or 99 pounds…obviously lighter that Demaras.
With the end of the season approaching, many racers brought their summer cars out for one last spin. This included a mid 70s Corvette with a full Greenwood Daytona body kit, and an early 80s Pontiac Fiero sharing space in the parking lot. Also in attendance was old team boss James Treadwell, who was setting up his VRS paddock for the upcoming club race on the weekend. James made it clear to young Demaras; he expected Daniel to whip everyone tonight, or he’d have to hang his head in shame.
With smaller group of racers, everyone got at least 4 free practice sessions. Daniel felt confident, as he was able to pass his rivals on track.
Just before qualy started, the rain started to fall. One lonely rain cloud passed overhead and soaked the track. Demaras didn’t even bother with a rain suit (that’s for sissies).
Demaras put the kart on pole position and had a great battle for the lead. Daniel fought against teen driver Liam Corrigan-Ross throughout the race. Liam attempted inside passes on the drying turn 1, surprising some spectators. But Demaras was able to out-brake Corrifan-Ross into turn 4 on the final lap, holding the position through turn 5, then maintaining the inside line on turn 6, ending the challenge.
Stefanie Di Leo handed out the hardware as the sun had set on the track, and Demaras looked truly please on the podium, where he’s now had three wins in a row (including two from pole position) in his quest for the championship.
Chris was coming off a podium finish in the last CRKC event, and hoped to add to the hardware haul for the Demaras Auto Racing Team.
Demaras qualified fifth, and made up a position while racing under the lights, narrowly missing out on a podium.
Disappointed in his race, but proud of his son’s, Chris continues his CRKC out of the championship hunt, but looking forward to more competition.