Looking forward to 2017

As a racer, the offseason is always super long. Thankfully, I filled most of the time with schooling and work, but I am looking forward to getting back in the seat. This year, we are competing at more tracks than last year. If all goes well, we will race in 6 different states (Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Florida, North Carolina) and compete in three different championships (I-55 Challenge, Gateway Kartplex Ignite Series, Margay Ignite Challenge Series). It is a dream come true to be competing at many different racetracks around the country, and to say I competed in races at Daytona International Speedway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway is truly a dream come true. Hopefully, we have better things happen this year and I end up getting a victory or two this year! Competing at Daytona was the steepest learning curve I've had so far in my racing career. If I'm being honest, I wasn't too confident in my ability to compete and I felt I did not belong there. Going back to all the races I did at Gateway and while I raced more last year, I tended to give up on myself and ended up riding around in the back of the pack. Another issue was I used really old tires in my Ignite races, and that affected my performance more than anything. However, I performed better when the year ended, I was able to get my confidence up, and it showed on the track. Most of the men and women in my class at Daytona have raced for years, while I was just getting started. I was able to get everything together (even though I was in the grass many times), and I placed 17th out of 32 karts (20 running at the finish) in the final day at Daytona. My goal of a top 20 was completed, and I was happy to see improvement! Margay Racing's President Keith Freber saw my great performance, and I was awarded the "Persistence Pays" award at the Gateway Kartplex Awards this year. I love being able to race at many different racetracks, and I am so thankful for Margay Racing and them giving us "grassroots" racers an opportunity to compete at many different tracks across the United States. I am hoping to compete in more events in karting and outside of karting as well, such as in ChumpCar, or Legends cars! I also can't thank everyone at Gateway for the help, when it comes to people there aren't nicer people you will meet outside of Gateway. Jon & Traci Vernier, the Stamer's, the Baltz's the Palmer's, the whole Scharf family, and all the competitors I race against (too many to name!). I also have to thank Keith Scharf and Keith Freber for all they do for Kartplex and to make it better. Finally, I gotta thank Royce Payton for keeping me in the sport when I didn't know that much coming in! 2017 is looking more and more positive as time goes on and I can't wait to get the season started! P.S. Special thanks to all of the people who donated to my GoFundMe at Daytona (John Noto, Eric West, Zac Taylor, Matt Kemp, Jon & Traci Vernier, Joey Aycock, Mark Sebetka, and I apologize if I forgot anyone!) and my sponsors Elliott Henderson Graphics, Simply Thai Restaurant (Florissant, MO), and Thai Express Restaurant (Columbia, MO). Without your support, I wouldn't have made it in racing!