Bailey has solid weekend in Phoenix
The first weekend of May saw the Superkarts! USA Pro Tour arrive in the southwest desert of Phoenix, Arizona. The 0.9 mile circuit that held the first SKUSA Pro Tour back in April of 1999 is very demanding from year to year with a technical layout and high ambient temperatures. This year would be no exception for Kol as this would be his second race in the S1 Pro-Stock Moto category. A win, let-alone a god finish would be the goal at his home track.
After showing speed through-out practice, Kol and the Leading Edge Motorsports team had high hopes going-into the first race of the weekend for a great result. On Saturday, Kol laid-down a lap that was good enough for P6 on the grid. In the Pre-Final, he leap-frogged the TB Kart of AJ Myers and the Aluminos couple of Billy Musgrave and Kolton Griffin, which allowed him to have a good starting position of P4 on the grid for a Final.
Starting the final, Kol showed pace to match the leaders, but would unfortunately fall back to 5th, and stay there.
On Sunday, Kol qualified 7th on the grid, as he and the team were struggling to adapt to the different track conditions that day. In the Pre-Final, Kol fell back to 8th and was involved in a crash with another driver and not finishing. This would mean he would start last for the Final.
After getting a good start, Kol had good pace early-on in the Final until he got caught-up in a large accident. This put him well down the field, but he would recover to finish 7th.
“It was a bit disappointing this weekend to race at home and come away with no hardware.” Remarks Bailey.
“But, there are many positives to take away from this weekend. 1. I’m safe, and 2. this was my highest finish in S1 so far. The Leading Edge Motorsports Praga was reliable all weekend, and the SwedeTech Honda power plant was flawless as always. There are just a few things we need to work on before the next one. I’m so blessed from the man upstairs because I am here racing…God is so good. We learned a lot, and we just have to keep pushing. Just a huge thank-you to all of my hometown fans for coming out, you’re awesome. On to the next one…”
