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March 30, 2006
Chad Brackens To Tie The Knot!
Chad Brackens, my long time and best employee dropped a bombshell last week early one day when the confirmed bachelor and man about town announced he and his beautiful girlfriend of one week Carrie Webster are going to get married. The big date is May 19th at the Bojangles in Virginia Beach where guests will be treated to an all you can eat fried chicken buffet. The couple plan a honeymoon in the infield at the next Nascar race where they will be joined by close to 80,000 of their screaming relatives cheering on the likes of Jeff, Dale and Kyle. From what I understand both Chads mom and sister are heartbroken at the news.
MyChron Mike
Posted by MyChron Mike at 01:26 PM | Comments (8)
A New Addition
AiM Sports SE would like to announce our newest employee Aaron Byrd. Aaron comes with an extensive background in IT and amongst other things worked with data acquisition on Virginia Tech's Smart Road project. Aaron's duites will be focused in the Auto Racing market but you will also see him at a few Kart and Motorcycle events.
Mike
Posted by MyChron Mike at 01:20 PM | Comments (2)
March 29, 2006
Lap Timer Holders for the TG Light
Contributed by Erik Nielsen,
Director of Marketing
We now have nice aluminum mounts in stock for the MyChron Light TG. These are designed to mount to motorcycle forks and are available in a wide range of sizes and colors. Price is $30 and you can order them in our on-line store.
Posted by aimsports || erik at 08:42 PM | Comments (0)
March 24, 2006
AiM Sports at 2006 IMSA Season Opener in Sebring
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Contributed by Joe Hullet The 2006 IMSA series looked strong as ever with over 50 cars entered in the exciting Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge at the season opener in Sebring, FL. Over 30 of the new 997 GT3 Cup race cars and 20+ 996 GT3 Cup race cars. AIM customers Kevin Roush and Nathan Schwarzbaugh of Southern California finish 1-2 in the race using the DaVid Stand-Alone video system in their new 2006 Porsche 997 GT3 Cup cars. Providing data and video, the Wheel Enhancement team utilized their systems by overlays and video to match each others driving styles and speeds. Kevin Roush started from the pole position and led flag to flag with Nathan hard on his heels. Neither of these guys had ever driven at Sebring before so the video was crucial to the development of their efforts. A sincere congratulations to team managers John Brown and Jim Schwarzbaugh and their drivers on an outstanding performance. AIM also picks up a strong second place finish in the Star Mazda series from team AIM Autosport out of Canada. This team runs 3 of the Star Mazda entries all using AIM MXL data systems. Congratulations to all the over 50 AIM customers that ran at the 54th running of the 12 Hours of Sebring event in SCCA World Challenge, IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge and the Star Mazda Series. |
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Over 50 cars ran AiM systems at Sebring. |
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MXL installation. |
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MyChron3 Visor display. |
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Reviewing the DaVid video in the trailer. |
Posted by aimsports || erik at 06:08 AM | Comments (0)
March 23, 2006
NCKRA
The North Carolina Dirt Series race number 2 has been moved to Liberty Raceway. Both Chad and myself will be in attendance along with Erik who will be shooting some pictures.
I am personally looking forrward to the event as I have never been to Liberty.
MyChron Mike
Posted by MyChron Mike at 12:46 PM | Comments (0)
MyChron4
As many of you are aware the release of the MyChron4 has been delayed several times. This has been due mainly to our desire to give our customers exactly what they deserve and that's the best product on the market. The hardware is ready and waiting for the firmware which is the key to everything. There is only so much that can be done with hardware but when it come to firmware the sky is the limit.
In some early testing with both 2 cycle sprint and 4 cycle oval racers the response has been overwhelming. It has been next to impossible to get the test gauges back from the racers who have been lucky enough to use them for a few days. And honestly these gauges which we have been testing have limited functionality in comparison to whats going to be released in the final version.
Something to remember when I say final is that this means final version prior to release for as many of you know we are always improving the firmware in our gauges. Our exclusive "Oval" only firmware was a result of our many trips to the race track and seeing exactly what info the racer was looking to get from their gauge, and this was over 2 years into the production cycle of the MyChron3. Because of this flash programmable firmware, anyone with a 4 year old MyChron3 can have the same fuctionality as a customer who just purchased a brand new M3. No need to keep buying new gauges just update them.
I will be at Margrettsville this Saturday March the 25th for support and to test what is hopefully the final firmware version before the M4 is released. I will have a few M4's with the new firmware and will be happy to show you the amazing features available.
MyChron Mike
Posted by MyChron Mike at 12:28 PM | Comments (1)
March 20, 2006
NC Kart Racing Asssociation
Contributed by Erik Nielsen, Director of Marketing
As some of you probably know, AiM Sports is once again the title sponsor for the NC Kart Racing Assocation series. I was out to the track at Liberty on Saturday for a few hours and had a nice time meeting some racers. The wind was a little brisk but the sun was out and you didn't notice the weather much once the engines were runnin! See the results here. Here are some photos.
Posted by aimsports || erik at 02:45 PM | Comments (0)
March 14, 2006
MyChron4 Spotted in the Wild
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Contributed by Erik Nielsen, The AiM team was at Lowe's Motor Speedway this past weekend for the WKA Manufacturer's Cup races. In addition to our normal support work we also installed a few MyChron4 test units and the response was amazing. Everything is working well and the guys were thrilled to have them on their karts. Thanks to everyone for their patience in awaiting the release of this awesome product. Check out these photos from Rick Boake's ICC kart (#6 on the S3 Racing team). Keep in mind these are testing units, the final screens may be a bit different. The first shot shows the Race Summary screen, which will come up with one key press as soon as the race/session ends. It shows the best 3 laps with the high and low RPMs, the RPM drops and the temps. Hit another key and see the next screen, a lap time graph. No bars are the laps with the fastest lap times, the taller the bar, the slower you were. Easy to see where you were coming in and out. The drivers also commented on the Predicted Lap Time feature, an AiM Sports exclusive feature. Predictive (or forecast) Lap Timing is a feature that analyzes your driving and shows you early in each lap what it anticipates your lap time will be for the current lap. Very helpful for qualifying as you can see if it's worthwhile to burn up the tires on a fast lap or better to hold off until next lap. How was the racing? Awesome. Over 600 entries for the weekend meant lots of action on the track. Some delays on Saturday due to rain caused the mains to be shortened but Sunday seemed to go smoothly. |
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Notice how easy it is to read the display, even in the bright sunlight. |
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Race Summary screen, showing best 3 laps. Essential information at your fingertips. |
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Lap time graph. Best lap indicated with the arrow and vertical line. The taller the bar, the slower the lap was in relation to the fastest lap. |
Posted by aimsports || erik at 04:45 PM | Comments (2)
March 09, 2006
A Few Good Women
Or men are still needed in our Roanoke Virginia Southeast World Headquarters. The ideal applicant will have some data acquisition and/or racing experience, some knowledge of the Windows operating system, posess a good driving record, enjoy travel to exotic locations, be able to work weekends, good phone skills, an outgoing personality is a deifinite plus. Duties will include technical support on the phone and in the field, repairs and service in the office and phone sales. This is a great position to the right candidate and offers the possibility for a long term career in an exciting field. Please give me a call at 540.342.9680 with any questions or to submit a resume.
MyChron Mike
Posted by MyChron Mike at 11:52 AM | Comments (1)
March 08, 2006
Hows This For Appreciation?
As some of you know we have been involved in the Junior Drag Racing market for a couple of years not only with product offering but as a 2 year running series title sponsor. We were actually the first title sponsor of the 330 series and basically agreed to back it with the hope it would take off. It wasnt like we gave sonsorship to a viable series but to one which was trying to get off the ground and make some headway towards becoming a Pro type series for Juniors. We supported this series for 2 solid years with cash, technical support and prizes. Thus it was with amazement that we found out not through a phone call or letter of thanks but through the grapevine that we had been replaced by another company as the title sponsor for the series. We were never given the opportunity to continue our association and to this day Kim and Rowland Woods who began the series have neither phoned or thanked anyone from AiM Sports for our participation in their series the prior 2 years.
Posted by MyChron Mike at 11:37 AM | Comments (1)
Lowes
After almost a three month break the World Karting Association Manufacturers Cup returns to action at the newly repaved Lowes Motor Speedway. The first race of the season started off in Daytona with record entries and lots of competition. Expect to see more of the same on the challenging 14 turn track inside Nascar turn 3 and 4 at Lowes. WKA has taken a 2 year hiatus from competition here and I know many of the racers are looking forward to this event and with the weather forecast almost perfect we should see huge crowds. Chad and myself will be in attendance for support and we will also have several of the powerful new M4's for demo so if anyone reads this and has an interest give me a call at the shop and we will get youi hooked up.
MyChron Mike
Posted by MyChron Mike at 11:07 AM | Comments (0)
March 02, 2006
It Gets Better
After more testing with the 4 one feature which is absolutely fantastic is the predictive lap feature. It is so awesome. Imagine being able to look down coming off your final turn heading to the stripe and knowing that you are going to run your fastest lap even before its over! Oh man its good.
More later.
MyChron Mike
Posted by MyChron Mike at 09:18 PM | Comments (0)
Woodbridge Kart Club
AiM Sports LLC is proud to announce MyChron4 as the official title sponsor for the 2006 Woodbridge Kart Club Championship Series. The Virginia based club is one of the older and largest in America. The series will hold its races at Summit Point and Virginia International Raceways beginning the end of March culminating with their year end awards banquet in November.
Posted by MyChron Mike at 01:21 PM | Comments (0)
March 01, 2006
Cool, Sweet, Awesome, Wow
In early testing with the powerful new MyChron4 all I can say is wow. Besides having the best display you could hope for, the on screen review is so awesome! Excuse my unfettered excitement but this thing is going to be so good that I wish I raced! Now that would be a sight.
MyChron Mike
Posted by MyChron Mike at 01:41 PM | Comments (1)
KMI
Whew! Trade Show season has finally come to an end and none too soon. Scott Jessup, Michael Jaynes, Roger Caddell and myself attended the show last weekend in St Charles Illinois. Everything went off without a hitch with the exception of my flight up to Chicago which I was bumped off and rerouted on a later flight. But it gave the guys time to find a White Castle burger joint and enjoy a late lunch. And they even found it in themselves to keep a few semi cold ones for me upon my arrival. Burgers that is!
All the big players were in attendance at KMI however the general public attendance seemed to be down from previous years. Im not sure if this is a sign of the state of the economy and karting in general or due in part that the weather though cold was beautiful so many may have found some other activity to occupy their weekend. We offered ongoing seminars throughout the weekend in our booth as well as one in the big room upstairs. It was standing room only as were most of the ones at our booth. We had the powerful new MyChron4 on display and spent most of the weekend explaining the innovative new features available in the gauge. The general consensus was overwhelmingly postive especially with regards to features such as the countdown and predictive lap timing function never before seen in a karting gauge. Gotta give those college kids lots of credit!
Well I have ranted enough for one day. We are facing the start of one of the busiest racing seasons ever and I need to get back to work.
See you soon!
MyChron Mike
Posted by MyChron Mike at 11:16 AM | Comments (0)
The Ides of March
If you've heard the warning, "Beware the Ides of March," then it's probably due to the works of William Shakespeare. The Roman ruler, Julius Caesar, was assassinated on the Ides of March - March 15, 44 B.C.E.
In Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar, an unknown soothsayer tells Caesar, who is already on his way to the Senate (and his death), "Beware the ides of March." Caesar replies, "He is a dreamer; let us leave him. Pass."
The Astrologer Spurinna
According to historical writer C.J.S. Thompson, Ph.D. in The Mystery and Romance of Astrology, 1929, the unidentified soothsayer from Shakespeare's play was a Roman astrologer by the name of Spurinna. According to Thompson - and confirmed in Plutarch's account of the story written in 75 A.D. and Suetonius in 110 A.D. - it was sometime prior to the fateful day of March 15 that Spurinna had first given Caesar the famous warning to "beware of the Ides of March."
The astrologer, Spurinna, had previously warned Caesar that on the Ides of March, he would be in great danger. If, however, Julius Caesar took care on that one day - then all would be well.
According to Plutarch's account, Caesar had previously made the wise decision to stay within the safety of his bedroom chambers on the 15th of March. However, Caesar's "friend" Decimus (Albinus) Brutus (not Marcus Brutus) managed to convince him that the astrologer's warnings were nothing more than superstitious foolishness.
So Julius Caesar decided to attend the Senate on the 15th of March. On his way to the Senate, Caesar "accidentally" met up with the astrologer. Upon seeing the Spurinna, Caesar confidently informed the astrologer: "The Ides of March are come."
Spurinna replied, "Yes, they are come, but they are not past."
Later that day - on March 15, 44 B.C.E - Caesar's enemies assassinated him in the Pompey theater, at the foot of Pompey's statue, where the Roman Senate was meeting that day in the temple of Venus.
What Are the Ides?
In the ancient Roman calendar, each of the 12 months of the year had an "ides." In March, May, July and October, the "ides" fell on the 15th day. In every other month, the "ides" fell on the 13th. The word "ides" was derived from the Latin "to divide." The "ides" were originally meant to mark the full moon - but since the solar calendar months and lunar months were of different lengths, the "ides" quickly lost their original intent and purpose.
So an alternative (albeit somewhat dubious) theory, as to why Caesar might have "seemingly" ignored the ominous warning of Spurinna, is that perhaps Julius Caesar got the dates of the warning mixed up. He may have been thinking that the Ides of March fell on the 13th.
Using this theory, forgetful Caesar would have been very careful and stayed home on the 13th of March, but on the 15th of March his guard was down.
Posted by MyChron Mike at 11:10 AM | Comments (0)