Summer Stretch

The early summer stretch of our 2021 race schedule has been incredibly busy. From late May through early July, we had seven race events stretched over just eight weeks. That schedule included road racing in the F1600 car, and midget races on both dirt and pavement. This intense dual path development is what our program is all about, and it has been an awesome test of both driver and team. In this stretch alone, Ayrton has claimed 4 wins, 6 pole positions, 7 podium finishes, and 2 track records! Here is how it all went down…

MAY 21-23: MID OHIO - SCCA MAJORS

The summer stretch started at Mid Ohio for the SCCA Majors. In qualifying, Ayrton would secure pole position by just over a full second. While the race final results were not completely satisfying with a 2nd and a 3rd, the pace of the car and driver were evident. Ayrton would take fast lap in both races, and set a new official track record at 1:33.381 in race #1.

JUNE 5: INDIANAPOLIS SPEEDROME - KENYON MIDGET RACE #2

After a short break for the Memorial Day weekend, it was time to jump back in the midget at the legendary Indianapolis Speedrome. As it was the team’s first trip to the flat quarter mile, we had to learn quickly with only two short hot lap sessions before qualifying. The night started out tough as we were the slowest car in the first hot lap session. With only a short time for adjustments, the car was only slightly better in the second hot lap session with a best lap of 12.573. From there, the team went to work making wholesale changes to the car setup before qualifying. And those changes paid off. Ayrton laid down a great lap of 12.341 to be 2nd quick in qualifying. He would start from the pole in heat race #2. From there he would run out to a quick win in the heat race. With the feature lineup inverting the first 4 cars, Ayrton would start 3rd, inside of row two. At the green flag Ayrton took advantage of his inside starting position to move in to 2nd position. And by the end of lap 2 he had passed for the lead. He then immediately pulled away from the field opening up a huge lead….until a late race caution would bunch the field back up. On the restart with 3 laps to go, Ayrton pulled a gap and finished off a dominant victory!

JUNE 12: ANDERSON SPEEDWAY - KENYON MIDGET RACE #3

One week later it was back to Anderson Speedway where Ayrton had taken his first Kenyon Midget series win back in April. In qualifying, Ayrton once again pulled out a pole position in a tight field, with the top 6 cars all within 1/10th of a second. He also took the win in the heat race. This night was special, as Ayrton and the team were raising money for the Little Red Door Cancer Agency. All winnings were being donated, and with a chance to win some extra money, Ayrton chose to start from the back in the feature for a chance to capture the Scudder Performance Award bonus money. Anderson is a fast high banked track which is typically tough to pass on, so starting from the rear was going to be a huge challenge. At the green flag, Ayrton immediately went to work, picking his way through the filed. By the midway point of the 30 lap feature, Ayrton was up to 3rd, and closing in on reigning series champion Colin Grissom. The final 10 laps were a real battle. Ayrton trying different lines looking for a way around, and Colin fighting to hold him off. At the checkered flag, Kameron Gladish would take the win, and Colin Grissom would hold off Ayrton by just 5/100ths of a second for 2nd place. Great racing. And while we didn’t get the win, it was good experience and we still raised some money and awareness for the Little Red Door Cancer Agency.

JUNE 18-20: WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY RACEWAY - SCCA MAJORS

After two straight oval races, it was time to go back road racing. While the turnout at this race was disappointing, it was a chance for Ayrton and the BHR team to test some setup changes to the Piper DL7. And it was a race we needed to complete in order to get qualified for the end of season SCCA Runoffs. It was a hot weekend, with temps in the 90’s, and heat index well over 100°F. Even though we were the only FF car entered, we took full advantage of the track time, and also got to race with some other class cars. In the end the official results show 2 poles, 2 wins, and we also established the FF class track record for the new 2.0 mile track configuration. The weekend was also a success off the track, as we were able to spend some time with a couple of Ayrton’s partners/sponsors who are based in the St Louis area.

JUNE 27: MT LAWN SPEEDWAY - KENYON MIDGET RACE #4

Mt Lawn Speedway is a tricky trioval. It was the first appearance at the track for the Kenyon Midget series in several years. So it would pose a new challenge to most of the drivers and teams. Similar to the earlier event at the Speedrome, our car was simply not handling well in the first hot lap session. A big understeer meant that Ayrton was not able to carry speed through the long sweeping turns 1-2. But again the team went to work. With Ayrton’s feedback, Brad, Tony, and Kevin put their minds together, and continued working on the car setup through hot laps and the heat race. With no qualifying for this event, heat races were set by random draw, and heat results would set the feature starting lineup. A second place heat race finish would put Ayrton 4th for the start of the feature. This would end up being one of the most exciting races of the year so far. The battle at the front would see Trey Osborne, Colin Grissom, and Ayrton Houk all spend some time leading the pack. On a late restart, Ayrton would move in to second position behind Trey Osborne. Trey had been super fast all day. His car was working really well at Mt Lawn. But by the feature, the BHR team had Ayrton’s car working as well as anyone’s. Trey had suffered some damage to his engine, and was quickly losing oil in the closing laps. Ayrton was charging hard, and with 2 laps remaining he was able to get past Trey and continue on to take the win! His 3rd win in the 4 Kenyon Midget races so far this season.

JUNE 30: CIRCLE CITY RACEWAY - KENYON MIDGET RACE #5

It was a quick three day turnaround to get the BHR midget ready for the first dirt race of the season. The team was really looking forward to our first shot at the dirt. But mother nature had other plans. Steady rain would lead to this one getting canceled. At least the clean up after our first dirt race was minimal!

JULY 10: ANDERSON SPEEDWAY - KENYON MIDGET RACE #6

Next, the pavement setup went back on the car as we returned to Anderson for the 75 lap Mel and Don Kenyon Classic race. Rain was again in the forecast, but it held off at least long enough for us to get hot laps and qualifying in. Now back at Anderson for the third time this season, the team was really clicking and fine tuning what had already proven to be a fast setup at this track. First hot lap session proved we were quick, running a 12.406 second lap on used tires. For the second hot lap session, we needed to scrub some new tires, and the car was super fast with the fresh rubber. Ayrton laid down a lap of 12.294 (faster than the official track record of 12.328). We were all excited to see if we could grab the record in qualifying. As Ayrton pulled out to qualify, he was pushing for all the car would give him. A warm up lap of 12.388 was a good sign. The first official lap was a 12.358, and the second official lap was a nearly identical 12.356…..ohhh so close, but just a tick off of that track record. The car had picked up a bit of understeer, and just wasn’t quite there for Ayrton to fully capitalize. But the time was still good enough for pole, with Kameron Gladish just a tick behind with his fast lap of 12.383. Unfortunately, before we could start the feature the skies opened up. A steady rain would result in a second straight cancellation. We’ll back back at Anderson again on July 31, for another shot at that record, and more importantly, a shot at the 75 lap feature. On this night, Ayrton also had a bonus drive, with the honor of driving Don and Mel Kenyon’s national midget #16. It was awesome to see Ayrton on track chasing some of the best pavement racers of our time. Looking forward to seeing some more of that in the future! And remember that Fundraiser that we mentioned earlier…well the team from the Little Red Door Cancer Agency came out to Anderson Speedway to collect the big check. Ayrton was able to raise $2,330. This included Ayrton personally donating his winnings from the June 12 race, the team matching that donation, as well as additional donations from friends and family. Thanks to everyone who helped raise money and awareness for this special cause.

It has been an incredible start to the year for our whole program. We went in to 2021 expanding from our F1600 program to include the Kenyon Midget and really focus on a dual path development plan for Ayrton Houk. Our season stats so far….

5 wins

7 Poles

2 Track Records

133 Laps Led

Leading Kenyon Midget Series Points

Qualified for SCCA Runoffs

And while the results have been great to this point, we are not satisfied. We’ll keep pushing to improve in all areas, car prep, coaching, driver mental and physical fitness, communications, partner relationships, engineering, etc… We are just getting started!

Special thanks to Kevin and Anna Lynn Houk, my wife Nan, and Tony and Dustin Fox for all of their hard work to help make it all happen.

Also Thanks to all of our sponsors and partners who support Ayrton Houk and BHR. Horizon Equine, Upward Focus, Forum Credit Union, Redline Ace, PTH Racing Oil, Fast Forward Racing Components, Simpson Race Products, Stilo USA, Becky Risch The Alexander Group, Lamper Customs, Fortville Napa, Cortona’s Italian Cuisine and Wine Bar, Indie Asset Partners, Giraffe-X Graphics, PitFit, Corby Concepts, Kassie Kares, Jayson Swanson, Jacque and Jerry McNulty, Author Sutton Bishop, David Safarian, Mark and Judy Miller, Mike and Rosie Houk.