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| November 13, 2012 |
| Driver News: Jordan Heffner - 2012 Season Review |
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 | Jordan Heffner showed huge improvement throughout the 2012 racing season
(Photo: Jason Heffner) |
Entering the 2012 racing season, Jordan Heffner, daughter of Florida Winter Tour RotaxMasters champion Jason Heffner, would make the move to the Sportsman ranks after graduating through the Kid Kart class. Competing in multiple series throughout the state of Florida, Heffner would start the season off near the tail of the filed. Learning and gaining experience with each and every race weekend, the young female driver began to make a name for herself as she moved her way up the results order.
Competing in the Florida Karting Championship Series (FKCS), North Florida Rotax Max Challenge (NFRMC), Ocala Gran Prix local series and other select karting events throughout Florida, Heffner turned the corner mid-season as she started to see her name at the top of the time sheets. Starting the FKCS program off at Homestead early in the year, Heffner would qualify and compete towards the tail of the field. Timid to be around other drivers and unsure of her equipment, Heffner would be lapped in her first event and a slight incident would be a disappointing end to the weekend. March would see her compete at her home track of Ocala Gran Prix where she gained more experience in the Micro Max category and claimed the Yamaha Rookie Sportsman victory on a race that would see two drivers start, but only one finish.
"The start of the season was a bit rough for Jordan but it was expected with the move to a new class," explained Jason Heffner. "We kept giving Jordan encouragement with each and every session and tried to keep her spirits up. She always wanted to race and asked to go to the track all the time. It was a perfect way to spend the time with my kids."
Trailing the rest of the field in the Rotax Micro Max division in Fort Myers but gaining more comfort being around other drivers, Heffner would begin to work her way forward in the field. Also seeing action in the Yamaha Sportsman class, Heffner was involved in major incident in the prefinal that would result in major damage to her Tony Kart. With a bent chassis, steering column and tie rods, it looked as if Heffner's day would be over.
Heffner continued, "When I saw Jordan's kart, I was prepared for her to tell me that she was done. Instead, she hopped off of the golf kart and asked me if I could fix it because she wanted to get out for the final. After hitting the barrier as hard as she did, we fixed it and she went out in the final and turned her quickest laps of the day."
Much of the same results would continue through the Andersen Race Park round of the FKCS, but the fourth event at the Orlando Kart Center was a good one. After doing some driver coaching with members of Ocala Gran Prix, Heffner would score her best results of her rookie season with a solid tenth place result. Passing karts throughout the day, Heffner was beginning to increase her comfort level in the faster kart. Sunday would see Heffner score her first podium result with at least five drivers on the track. Standing in the third position after the Yamaha Sportsman final on Sunday, Heffner was glowing on the podium as her name was called and people clapped and cheered for her.
After finishing 11th in Micro Max during the final round of the series, Heffner would then shift her focus to the Ocala Gran Prix local series working her way closer to the front of the field with each passing race weekend.
Determined to learn and motivated to be on the podium, Jordan made a deal with her dad to not take a weekend off from the final round of the Florida Karting Championship Series to the start of the fall local program. Practicing every weekend, Heffner was often one of the only drivers on the track as she turned lap after lap.
When the Ocala Gran Prix local program got under way, Heffner was primed and ready to go. Starting the series off with a second place result in Rotax Micro Max, the up and coming talent would claim the win in the Yamaha Sportsman division. Race two of the series would see the first night event of the program and Heffner opted to compete in only one class. Looking to conserve energy due to racing late in the night, Heffner would claim another podium result, coming home third in Rotax Micro Max.
Round three would see another third place finish in the Rotax powered division and a win in the Yamaha Sportsman class before round four and the second night race of the series would be upon them. Improving her speed in Micro Max and battling at the front of the field, Heffner narrowly missed the win in both clases, coming home with a pair of second place results.
In the fifth and final round of the Ocala Gran Prix fall program, Heffner ended with more solid results, adding to her 2012 resume. When the final series points were calculated, Heffner claimed the Yamaha Sportsman crown, her first career championship, as well as an impressive third plcae finish in the end of the year Rotax Micro Max standings.
2013 will see an increase in events for the young Jordan Heffner as she will continue to see action in the FKCS program as well as the Ocala Gran Prix local series and the North Florida Rotax Max Challenge. Adding the final round of the Florida Winter Tour to her schedule, Heffner will also make the trek to the United States Rotax Grand Nationals in her first attempt at a national championship.
Jordan Heffner and the entire Heffner family would like to thank Ocala Gran Prix and all of their employees for a successful 2012 season. With even greater hopes to improve more in 2013, Heffner will continue to compete in multiple different racing divisions aboard the championship renowed Tony Kart chassis.
For more information or sponsorship opportunites on Jordan Heffner, please contact Jason Heffner via e-mail at jsnhf@aol.com |
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