Cobra Motorsports is THE fastest rising motorsports team in the country. Our 2 and 4 stroke Grand Prix and SCCA Solo II competition karts are burning up the asphalt at race tracks like Beaverun, PA to Old Bridge, N.J. to Oakland Valley, NY to Westhampton, L.I. Begining in 1999, in Autocross competition, and through 5 championships, Cobra Motorsports has always reached for the top rung of the competition ladder. With our sponsors,  Brownhornet Racing Enterprises and VAS ENTERPRISES, INC., "The Racer's Tailor", supporting us, you can bet that Cobra Motorsports will be a competitive force to be reckoned with at tracks across the eastern seaboard.

NEWS!!!....NEWS!!!...NEWS!!!

2nd Outing With Margay Brings No Joy

After having a troubled 1st attempt with the new Margay Brava 1 TaG last year, the team ordered all of the parts and rebuilt the chassis and electronics that was destroyed over the rediculously bumpy surface of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in their first outing. The course was modified for 2006 and it appeared that most of the severe bumps had been avoided. The course was lengthened so the karts with bigger power could stretch their legs a bit so TCM was optimistic about a good showing.

First practice was primarily a shake down cruise just to make sure everything would stay tight and attatched and try to get a read on carb settings. Also to figure out which way the course went. Just a 4 minute session and everything looked to be A-OK. Just before the start of the second session we lubed the chain. Some how the excess lube managed to run off of the built in chain guard on the engine and get into the clutch bell. The resultant chattering and vibration caused us to dnf that session as we hunted down the problem. We managed to retrue the pitted and burned clutch, clean the bell, and verify that the bearings were good to go, and scaled the kart in preperation for the next session.

The warm up laps went fine and the green flew and the Margay was running a solid 2nd when at the completion of 3 laps Wes had the chain come off exiting a fast hairpin. He coasted to a stop off the course and we took him back to the trailer to see what happened. The chain was still intact but the sprocket showed some gouging on a few teeth. We replaced the gear, checked the alignment, did tire pressures and waited for qualifying.

Wes had noted that the kart wasn't coming of the corners as hard as he thought it would so we made a carb adjustment and went to watch from the troubled corner. At the start of the heat the cylinder loaded up and he bogged on the grid before readjusting for the start. The team could still see that he wasn't happy with the way the exit speed was but he did the best he could setting second fastest time before on lap 3...the chain comes off again!! Same spot. This time the sprocket and the pinion both showed some damage. But all the teeth remained and they were straight. For the final we made sure that the drive and sprocket gears were aligned, checked that there was proper chain tension, checked to see that the motor mounts were solid and secure. I made a final carb adjustment and we went to the grid.

In the warm up the Margay came alive! The exit speed was there and Wes gave a big thumbs up as he went by the pits on the formation lap. When the green came out he moved into the lead onto the long straight but left his braking a little to late and spun off. In chasing the leaders he lowered his lap time by 1 1/2 seconds and caught all except 1st and 2nd place, whom he was closing on until, on lap 3, the chain comes off again!!!

"I was confident that I could have caught 1st and 2nd in the remaining laps." said Henderson, "The kart was just a missile...better than it ever felt. But I guess not today. When we find out why it throws the chain every 3rd lap we'll really start to kick it. I'm positive."

So it's back to the shop and a complete investigation of the problem with the team's sights set on the next event in 3 weeks. We're dissappointed but optimistic toward the next meeting.

Wes Henderson Completes Bertil Roos 3 Day Competition School

This summer team driver Wes Henderson successfully completed all of the requirements and recieved his certificate from the Bertil Roos Indy Style Racing School held at the Pocono Speedway in Pennsylvania. The course, held over 3 days, teaches the finess of Grand Prix style racecraft that many of today's successfull competition drivers use in organizations such as ChampCar, SCCA, ALMS, Grand-Am and NASCAR.

18 students were put to the test on the demanding 1.3 mile Pocono North Course and came under the intense scrutiny of the Bertil Roos instructors. Henderson showed marked improvement and continued to get faster, smoother, and more confident as the course progressed and comfortably took nearly 20 seconds off of his lap times, all the while coming to grips with his first ever experience in using a clutch and gear shift!

Says Wes, "The instructors were great, forcing me to stay within the parameters of the school and learning the right way to do things. I was continually counsuled on not trying to go too fast too soon and to reduce the drama. In the end I was faster overall and ready to learn more! I wish we had the funds to just continue into the 2 Day Advanced Course but that'll have to wait until the next school."

Now Henderson is re-doing his team sponsor package and putting together a program that will give potential sponsors the best exsposure in both the TaGUSA karting championship and full sized cars.

Wes Henderson Wins Red Bull Invitational Mount Vernon Interdepartmental Grand Prix in the Streets of Mount Vernon, NY

TCM lead driver Wes Henderson made the trip to Mount Vernon, NY with the express purpose of redemption. Just 2 weeks earlier he was nipped for the final qualifying spot in the 2005 Red Bull Driver Search by just 3/1000ths of a second. The team gave him great support to let him know that while qualifying is one thing, racing is a totally different animal and the race is what it is about. With that firmly in mind Henderson went with a mission.

Originally scheduled to compete in the Red Bull Youth race, the event organizers quickly moved Henderson out of the group of similarly aged drivers and plopped him squarely in the middle of the adult racers chosen to contest the championship between the Department of Public works, the Fire Department, the Town Planning Board, and the Police Department. Negotiations were entered into to have Henderson possibly drive for the highest bidder of the departmental group. But try as hard as they could TCM couldn't convince the unknowing racers what they stood to loose. Everyone decided to hold the hands dealt to them.

In qualifying in blistering 98 degree heat Henderson saved his tires over the bumpy, tight street circuit and placed the CRG Honda PRO Kart of Island Go-Karts squarely on the front row in preperation of the 14 lap feature. This will prove to be a smart move due to later events. When the green flag flew for the start Henderson wisely surrendered the first turn to the more aggressive pole sitter then shrewdly worked the tight, twisty, early sections of the circuit and exiting the first of the 2 hairpins managed an over taking move that gave him better exit speed and the lead onto the long front straight, much to the delight of the huge crowd that had gathered around the course for the feature. Then it was a matter of settling into a rythmn and systematically picking off kart after kart to lap all except second place. With 4 laps to go there was a major incident exiting the Start/Finish chicane that caused on competitor to end up on his head but, thankfully, all were alright! On the re-start Henderson had a clear track ahead of him and again pulled away to a commanding victory of over 14 seconds to the rest of the field.

A few of the drivers took it all in good fun and actually came down to the victory celebration. But some just couldn't take the "agony of defeat" and chose to miss the festivities.

All in all, it was a self redeeming effort and a good show for all who attended.