COTO DE CAZA, California -- Austin Reed, racing in his first race Saturday night at the M4SX Trophy Kart 6 race series at Hesperia did better than expected. He proved to be a quick study of all the input and direction he received throughout the day. During his first practice in the Junior 2 Class he was running with the fast kids out on the track.

Up next would be the Heat Races which would determine qualifying positions for the Main Event scheduled to run later in the evening. Based upon the number of registered competitors, the Junior 2 Class had two Heat Races.

Wanting to do well, Austin was admittedly very nervous prior to the race. With his truck prepped, Dad (Dave Reed) and Troy Karakas got him and to the starting gate. On the start Austin’s motor loaded up causing his kart to sit on the starting line for what seemed like an eternity while the rest of the field roared into the first turn 100 yards away. Once he got going and into his rhythm he began to reel in his competitors. Following the second lap he had passed the first few karts and the leaders were in sight. With two laps remaining he made a pass taking over the second place position and was running down Cole Baldwin for the win. Austin and Cole raced each other hard and in the end Austin was two truck lengths back in 2nd at the checkered flag. He was quite happy with his finish commenting that he “just drove hard the entire race and had a blast.”

In the main event the #14 Ringers Gloves, Approved Memory, DeJong Off-Road Cars racing truck was ready for the race with a starting position of third at the gate. Prior to the race, the team spoke with Austin about being easy on the throttle at the start as that may have caused the truck to load up and not take off during his Heat Race. At the drop of the gate the same thing happened. With the bad start the rest of the trucks were soon a half a strait in front of him. However, that didn’t faze this new driver as he pulled away with the same aggressive and smooth driving as he did in the Heat Race. Austin was focused and worked towards catching the field and passing trucks one by one. With the white flag waving he was in 9th place and a three-way battle ensued. He passed one truck in the whoop-de-doos and another in a slide job in the second to last turn… commenting later that he “kind of roughed ‘em up.” Finishing up the day with a 7th place finish, Austin was tired but very excited to have run well and to have the truck intact.

The team and his family were extremely proud of his first run and are looking forward to the next event at Racetown in Hesperia, scheduled for August 18th. Austin will also be racing in the CORR Trophy Kart Series on September 15th and 16th at the Antelope Valley Fairgrounds in Lancaster, CA. For more info on the contact Dave Reed dreed@approvedmemory.com

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