Bird sprints to kart racing title

He snuck up on the competition in his first year, but this time Christian Bird had to work for the Colorado Sprint Championship Series points title.

The Grand Junction 14-year-old, who won the TaG Junior (ages 13-16) state title last year, had to battle wet conditions and a competitive field to win his second consecutive kart racing title a week ago at the Track at Centennial.

Bird came into the final weekend of the series in first place, but led by only eight points. The first race was postponed a day because of rain. The next day, it was still raining, but the track was ruled drivable.

“We were sitting on the grid with a dry setup when it started raining,” Bird said. “We had 30 minutes to switch to a wet setup.”

Bird had trouble in the qualifying run with a constricted airbox, causing him to lose speed on the straightaways.

“I thought it would cost us the championship,” Bird said. “When it’s wet, it is so hard to feel what’s going on with the kart.

“The kart is totally different in those conditions. You can spin out easier and it’s hard to turn the kart.”

Bird still managed to take third in the main event and remain in first place, but Sabrè Cook moved into a tie with Bird. Jesse Runkel of Denver was one point behind in third.

Bird started the last race in third place, but the weather cleared and his chances increased.

“I felt I had to win the last race,” Bird said. “We discovered later if I would’ve got second I still would’ve won the championship.

“It was really big to win (the points title). The first one was nice, but it meant a lot more to win it a second time because of how competitive the field got. Everyone’s times were faster this year.”

Another Grand Junction driver, Sabrè Cook placed third.

Grand Junction’s Beau Cook won the TaG Mini Max points title and Jake Snider took second in the 125 Shifter Light class.

Now, Bird hopes to follow his CSC title with a World Championship. The World Championships take place Sept. 18-21 at Grand Junction Motor Speedway.

“It would be really cool to be a state champ and win the world championship,” Bird said. “It will be more difficult, but being on the home track should give us a leg up on everybody.”

There were more than 20 competitors in the class last year.

Bird placed third in the TaG Junior World Championships and Sabrè Cook won it last year.