"A KGB Agent's First Year in S1: The Stories of Jesse Lemel" FEBRUARY 23, 2002 - As the plane was taking off I had a cheese-head in my hand and racing on my mind. I was off to the first race of the season, the SKUSA Mission region race at Perris, California. I took a good look at the cheese-head hat and I grew even more excited for the upcoming race weekend. I had to fly all the way down to California from Wisconsin to get in some practice before the first Promoto race in Phoenix. After a thorough examination of the cheese-head I put it back in my bag, where it would await it's presentation to Dan Ruth, who would frequently asks his own sort of questions about Wisconsin. Now it was time to pull out the necessary materials, what else, karting magazines and a CD player. Upon arrival to LAX we picked up our Mustang Convertible rental car and started our cruise to Perris. As this was my first time in California we decided to take a round about way there so we proceeded to cruise down Santa Monica Boulevard. About 5 hours later we arrived at the hotel in Perris, at which point I realized I could never live in a city with that amount of traffic. The next morning I made my way out to Dan Ruth's motorhome where the KGB team was waiting and we all proceeded to breakfast. Upon arrival at the restaurant it was time for my father and I to present Dan with his honorary cheese-head. Dan was thrilled! He wore his new hat during the entire meal. When we finally made our way to the track everything suddenly became much faster paced as we realized we were running late; however, luck was on our side as due to the slow rate of registration the whole event was now running behind schedule. I started to feel a little nervous as I knew I would only have two practice sessions to get ready for my first race since my introductory race with the KGB team back in November at the Las Vegas Supernationals. Which was also my first race as an S1 driver. I examined the track, which I had never driven and I started to really get excited to hit the track. Ryan Ruth, my tuner and mechanic for the event, helped me get my KGB started as it was time for the first practice session. I went out on the track and made it about a lap before spinning off due to a flat tire, Oh well, who needs practice anyway!?!? We made a tire change and awaited my second and final practice before qualifying. The second practice went pretty good, I learned a lot about the track and I got ready to go qualify, or so I thought. In Qualifying I really worked on smoothing out my driving only I slowed myself down a little bit in the process, but I still picked up a couple tenths from the practice. I ended up qualifying towards the back of the pack, but I knew that smart driving would make this problem go away. Then it came time for the heat race, and this went very well. I moved way up and ended up finishing the race in fourth place. This was mainly due to some heads up, foot down driving at the start. I was pretty pleased with my finishing position but I knew I still had a lot of time to pick up. After a short wait it came time for the Feature race, and I was very excited, as I knew a podium finish was well within my grasp. Unfortunately I made a common mistake one makes after not being in the kart for a while. I stalled it at the start! That sucked, but I got restarted and took off after the pack, in the end I made my way up to eight place and truly learned a lot from this experience. And most importantly I had a lot of fun even with a dumb mistake. Also after the races we all went over to World of Outlaws race which was going on next door. I had previously only seen these races on TV and I was in for an awesome time, as those things are so incredible to watch in person. I truly recommend going to one of the Outlaw races if you are ever presented with the opportunity; however, be sure to wear clothes you donšt mind getting dirty and bring some clear glasses. Next Stop, Irwindale! Jesse Lemel Agent 017 KGB, Factory S1