How to (nearly) win the Supernats: Super Sunday

It’s the biggest race of the year.

SKUSA SuperNats Super Sunday in all it’s glory. Drivers from around the World have descended into America all vying for their chance to etch their name in history!

From Formula 1, to IndyCar, Nascar and GT Racing, the who’s who of Motor Racing have raced & (some have) conquered the SuperNats.

It's an event that even in his prime, Michael Schumacher came back to race! Verstappen, Leclerc, George Russell, Will Power, AJ Allmendinger, Scott Speed and more have all been competitive and built the prestige of the SuperNats.

But what does it take to win in Vegas?

Good question, as I never worked it out!

Ideally come Super Sunday, your kart is dialled in. But for many (this has caught me out numerous times) the extra laps, second set of tires and track conditions have evolved!

Having podiumed the TAG/X30 Senior category on three occasions, I’ve come awfully close to winning what I think is the most prestigious race in the World.

2011 was my closest to winning the SuperNats, and also the closest finish in the 28 year history of any class.

Starting the final in 29^th, (having won an earlier heat but being DQ’d for an airbox clamp falling off) I went into the main event with a ‘nothing to lose mentality’.

When a driver races in this state of mind, free of anything, it’s remarkable what you can achieve. As you’re not tense, not under pressure, just driving naturally with nothing to lose.

As the 25 lap main got underway, I had superior speed in my Australian made Arrow Chassis and was passing karts at will.

Nearing the halfway point I could finally see the leaders on the same straight as me, as I made my way inside the top 10. Lapping up to 0.3 faster than most drivers in the race, and with the leaders starting to jostle for positions and losing time as the laps were counting down, I got within reach of the top 5 karts.

Having previously battled a few of the drivers from the same team, I knew I had to get passed swiftly and get out of there fast as they weren’t going to make life easy for me.

A quick pass into 3^rd and then squeezing them out gave me a couple of karts buffer as I entered the final lap in P3. I made a move on second and hunted down P1 as we rounded the final turn.

With a better exit, I was confident I could drag the leader to the line. As he switched line from the inside to outside, I went the opposite direction. As he then tried to cover that side I had to swiftly manoeuvre the other way.

We crossed the line making contact, and my kart in the air, I wasn’t sure who’d taken the win.

As we came into the pit lane, I could see the other drivers team celebrating, which left a hollow feeling having made the biggest comeback the SuperNats had seen to fall agonisingly short by 0.001 (1 thousandth of a second) at the line.

It was hard to be happy at the time, as I was only set on winning.

But now looking back on the race, it was a huge achievement in itself, making up 27 spots and coming within the width of a cable tie of victory against the Worlds best drivers.

But what it taught me was to win the SuperNats, firstly you need kart speed the back half of the race.

Racing 12 lap heats, then going to a 25 lap main event, karts can have superior time advantage over their competitors late in the race.

Secondly you need track position. Simply put, if your further back than say 10^th, you’re relying on a lot of things going your way, to avoid accidents, avoid drop down penalties, the leaders getting away etc.

Thirdly, you need to solely focus on winning. Yes getting a podium is a huge achievement, but this race is a one off, no championship points type of event. You need to go for moves that are barely possible, risk it all to give yourself a shot.

Unless you’re graced with superior speed over your competition, you’re going to have to fight for the WIN!

One day, I might just take home the SuperNats, as I always told myself I wouldn’t be bringing back any podium trophies to Australia.

So somewhere in the USA lies 3 SuperNats podium trophies (which I now regret) that I need to change for one race winning one!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this diary on how to nearly win the SuperNats. I’ve been fortunate enough to coach drivers to victory, which I’m hoping to be able to achieve again next week in Las Vegas!