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WHEW! What a weekend full of lots of highs and lows! Kaylin and her dad went Friday for
the first official day of practice. Kaylin did well but seemed to be trying to take everything in and was not quite
sure about the thought of 17 boys in her class! On Saturday, she qualified 13 and I think she was very intimidated...Saturday
was not the best of days! She left that day feeling upset and felt she did not do as well as she could have. Sunday
was a different story! I think she was tired of the "boys" and when she went out , I would have thought there was a
different driver in there! She was flying! Taking corners sideways and passing drivers like they were standing
still! She was driving so hard and playing the intimidation game like they do to her by tapping the back of them, passing
where she could make them back off! It was amazing to watch...until...one boy that she passed got mad and decided to
take her out in the corner and bent her tire rod, her kart had to be brought in on a "stretcher" :) Dad to the rescue!
She came in and said "thats it, I've had enough!" and she was'nt kidding! She went back out in the next race,
started in 13th position and finished 3rd...1st place was DQ so she ended up in 2nd! WOOHOO! Usually at a big race,
where you finish one race is where you start the next but they did not do that here. She started her last race
in 16th position :( She worked herself all the way up into 7th position and was going for the 6th position pass when
guess who...yep, the same kid rammed her in the side and took her clean off the track! (he was only warned with the
black flag and he had already taken 2 others out of the race, how is that fair?) Well, Kaylin went all the way down
the ditch and all you saw was dirt and dust everywhere. We thought she was done but here comes Kaylin! Usually,
it is such a steep ditch that when a driver goes off there, they usually don't come out of it so we have no idea how
she managed to save it but she said she never took her foot off of the gas and flew back out of it, grass, dirt and all!
(one person said she should have received the "John Deere" award for that move!) And after all of that, she only
lost 4 positions but the race was almost over and never had a chance to gain it back! She was really upset but we explained
to her that the way she drove was amazing! She raced aganist racers from Miami to South America to Canada and showed
that she was every bit as good as them! The boy that won had spent $4000.00 on a mechanic and she was able to come in
2nd on one of the races and in the feature started almost last and was able to come from the back! A great racer can
start in the back and come through the pack! We are so proud of her and are very impressed with her accomplishments.
She is truly an inspiration to me! She had several people come up to her to shake her hand and tell her what a great
driver she is and how impressed they were. It is truly a proud feeling to hear people say, "Wow, that was a girl!" when
she takes off her helmet! I was also very proud of her for after the race, shaking everyone's hand and telling them
good job...except for the kid that took her out twice but I can't blame her for that! Not only did she race an amazing
race but she had the sportsmanship to go along with it! We also want to thank you for signing her guest book!
I know it seems so petty but it really did help her to know that so many people were supporting her! Thank you!
We will have pictures up soon!
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