Team History
The very first event that the team would run in was the 2006 Red Bull F1 Driver Challenge at Sykart in the spring. It was an autocross styled event with open qualifying held the month prior, the top 8 qualifiers moving on the the final. Lon and teammate Jerry Hudson would make the field solidly, and show very strong in the early going. Showing his ability to adjust to a new course and a different kart each of his four runs, Lon looked very smooth and fast, eventually picking up the second spot, though missing the top spot by a very close margin.
To prepare for the '06 IKWC, Lon and Mike went down to Phoenix early for a testing weekend in June, which consisted of an Arizona Indoor Karting Championship (AZIKC) race, and the local track's Sport League event. Lon and Mike would start 2nd and 3rd to last in the 1 hour AZIKC race (grid was based on previous round times), but would work thier way through the field to capture an 11th and 3rd respectively with Mike getting the fastest lap of the race. Later that day they competed in the Sport League race and after a couple of podiums in their heat races, would charge through the pack to finish 2nd and 3rd in the A-Feature. After this strong showing in the first visit to the track, spirits were high for the IKWC in July.
Just prior to the IKWC event, Mike would get a chance to run with the Black Flag Racing Products/Sodikart North America team in a club event at Pat's Acres in Canby, OR. Looking to go regional racing with the team full time in '07, it was a great opportunity for Mike to see what it was going to be all about. Qualifying third, and ending up fifth overall at the end of the event, it was a great learning experience, and a lot of fun, though he went away with slightly injured ribs.
The 2006 IKWC started out very well as Mike would grab pole, the win, and fastest lap in the first race of the event. The rest of the event would be marked with less than great luck, with Lon getting the worst end of the stick. Kart selection would turn out to play a huge part in the outcome of the event, and at least for Lon's IKWC, it spelled doom. Though with consistent bad kart draws, and horrible in race luck (inlcding broken seatbelts and getting airborne), he still would fight his way through the field for respectable finishes. Then team driver Jerry Hudson would have a solid start to the event, but with a few rookie mistakes, and a couple on track incidents would miss the 1.5 hr final race. With decent karts all weekend, Mike was able to string together enough solid finishes to rank him 14th in points and a transfer spot to the final. At the start of the final, Mike would get a big jump and move up to 4th before a huge wreck that red flagged the race, eventually restarting it from original starting spots. Not getting nearly as good a jump the second time through, Mike would make his pitstop early, trying to get a solid finish with pit strategy. He would later be caught out by a red flag just after going a lap down, and knowing he had a middle of the road kart (he had just driven the same one for an hour in the previous race), it would just be about clicking off the laps. Eventually ending the race in a spectacular battle with a local hotshoe and eventual world champ, the final wasn't all for naught.
Upon return from the IKWC, both Lon and Mike competed in the Ferrari Karting Challenge at Portland International Raceway (P.I.R.) the very next weekend. An autocross styled event, you needed to set a fast time during open qualifying to make it to the run-off event. Setting a very solid qualifying time on his first attempt, Lon looked good going into the final, while it took Mike two runs to make his way in, although he did set fastest overall open qualifying time on his second run. Mike would better his time from open qualifying, setting a new fast time for the eligible portland drivers, and eventually winning the event. Also improving and even setting 2nd fast time for the run-offs was Lon, but after a weight/time adjustment would just miss the podium. BSH Racing had once again shown their strength.
At the end of August the driver roster changed from three, to two drivers as Jerry Hudson and the team went seperate ways, making Lon the only BSH Racing driver in the Fall season of the Sykart Indoor Racing Series (S.I.R.S.). After fighting back from his bad luck and narrowly missing the Winter season championship (finished 3rd, 16 points from 1st), and his recent hard times at the IKWC, Lon had a new determination going into the Fall. In one of the best showings from Lon ever, he clinched the Fall season with one round remaining, also becoming the winningest driver in series history in the process. It was his third championship in his past four trys, marking and unbelievable 75% championship winning percentage in the S.I.R.S.
Going into the '06-'07 off season, BSH Racing has signed on a new driver, Trevor Rice from Ireland. An auto cross driver here in the states, his racing experience across the pond is immense, and he has even run a couple of seasons in the S.I.R.S. as well. Also his training expertise will help the team tremendously in all there racing endevours. Trevor also brings BSH Racing to the autocross market, piloting his porsche 914 in both SCCA and PCA competition.
Lon and Trevor would contest the Winter S.I.R.S. championship, with Lon going for his 4th title and two in a row for the second time. For Trevor, it was the perfect way for him to start preparing for the 2007 IKWC, as it was his first time back in indoor karts in about 2 years. He would end up narrowly missing the top ten, in what was one of the toughest S.I.R.S. championships to date. Lon however, would compete in classic fashion, nearly matching his stats from the fall, but included an amazing 3 'Night's Fastest' honors, and a 'Perfect Night' on his way to the championship.
In the off season between the winter and spring S.I.R.S. seasons, BSH Racing expanded by two more drivers, picking up consistent S.I.R.S. event winners and podium points finishers Eric Oyague, and returning to the team Jerry Hudson. Eric, originally from Peru, is from a rally racing background, and has a S.I.R.S. heavy class championship, as well as finished 31st overall at the '06 IKWC running for Team Sykart. Growing immensley from last year, Jerry was welcomed back to the BSH Racing Team, and will look to make a big impact for the team in 2007.
2007 also marks the rookie season for Mike Smith in proffesional karting, as he pilots a Sodi chassis for the Black Flag Racing Products / Sodi Racing Team at the regional level. This is the focus for Mike's racing future, and also is the goal for some of BSH Racing's other drivers.
The Spring SIRS championship would see three BSH Racing drivers in it, as Lon, Eric, and Jerry all fought for the title. Lon would start the season with his 3rd consecutive pole position (the series only has qualifying for the 1st round each season), but it would be Jerry striking first with a sweep in the first round. Eric would sweep the second round and hold on to the point lead until the the 5th round where Lon would earn the sweep and take with it the top spot in points going into the final round. In the season finale, Lon would earn his 5th SIRS championship with a B-Feature victory, while Eric would finish a mere 8 points back in 2nd place. Unfortuantely, hard luck in the finale would see Jerry drop out of the podium for the first time in three seasons. Overall, it was a solid season for the team, earning a 1-2 in the points and on the heels of Lon's 3rd championship in a row.
Now in the summer, BSH Racing is looking towards the IKWC, and has added two more drivers to the roster: Steve Pepka, and Tony Hana. These two drivers will accompany Lon and Mike in thier bid for the Indoor Karting World Team Championship in Phoenix, Az this August.