While most drivers at BRKC Round 5 focused on a single class, Ashlyn Taylor ran two—competing in both 206 Mini/Cadet and T4 Junior across every session from first practice to last final. Twelve on-track sessions spanning from 9:18 AM to nearly 5:00 PM, constantly switching karts, switching mindsets, and racing against two completely different fields. It’s the kind of workload that tests fitness, focus, and the ability to adapt—and the data tells the story of a driver who never stopped improving even as the day wore on.
Morning: Finding the Pace
Taylor’s day started at 9:18 AM in Mini/Cadet Practice 2, where she posted a 1:12.012—good for fifth, but 1.888 seconds off Aiden Harbaugh’s pace at the top. The gap was significant. Among the 206 Mini/Cadet regulars, she was the slowest of the five, separated from the sharp end by nearly two seconds.
Twenty-six minutes later she was back on track in a different kart for Junior Practice 2. The switch was instant—and the results were different. Taylor topped the T4 Junior field with a 1:08.000, 0.529 seconds clear of Anna McCrone. In the Junior kart, she looked comfortable from the first lap.
Back in the Mini/Cadet for Practice 3 at 10:10 AM, Taylor trimmed her best to 1:11.973—an improvement of just 0.039 seconds, but she actually dropped to sixth as everyone around her found more time. Pollack, Ciofani, and Panico were all within a tenth of each other at the front. Taylor was over a second away. Ten minutes later, she was in the Junior kart again for Practice 3, posting a 1:07.631—a significant 0.369-second improvement—and once again topped the T4 Junior field by more than half a second over Lucas McCrone.
The pattern was clear early: Taylor was fast in Junior but struggling to match the front-runners in Mini/Cadet.
Qualifying: The Split
Mini/Cadet Qualifying at 11:04 AM put the gap in stark terms. Taylor posted a 1:11.730—her best Mini/Cadet lap of the morning—but it was only good for sixth, 1.231 seconds off Joseph Panico’s pole time of 1:10.499. The top four were separated by just 0.114 seconds. Taylor was in a different race.
In Junior Qualifying sixteen minutes later, the story flipped. Taylor set a 1:07.625 to qualify second in the T4 Junior class, just 0.194 seconds behind Lucas McCrone (1:07.431). She was right in the fight, separated from pole by less than two tenths.
The Heats: Building Through Adversity
After a lunch break, the heats began. Mini/Cadet Heat 1 at 1:21 PM saw Taylor finish sixth with a 1:11.467—actually her fastest Mini/Cadet lap so far, a 0.263-second improvement over qualifying. She was getting quicker even as the pack pulled away, finishing 5.114 seconds behind Panico. The progress was real but the field was strong.
Thirty-two minutes later she was in Junior Heat 1, where she finished a strong second to Lucas McCrone by just 0.977 seconds with a best of 1:07.906. In this class, she belonged at the front.
Mini/Cadet Heat 2 at 2:43 PM was her sixth session of the day. Taylor slipped slightly to a 1:11.558 best—not quite matching her Heat 1 pace—and finished sixth again, 7.067 seconds behind Ciofani who won the heat. After six sessions and hours of racing, the fatigue of constant kart-swapping was becoming a factor.
But then came Junior Heat 2 at 3:14 PM, and Taylor showed she still had speed in the tank. She posted a 1:07.440—her fastest Junior lap outside of the final—but the story of this heat belonged to Anna McCrone, who stormed to victory with a stunning 1:06.938. Taylor finished third, 10.144 seconds back. Anna’s rise from fourth-place qualifier to heat winner was the beginning of the performance that would define the Junior finals.
The Finals: Empty Tank, Full Effort
Mini/Cadet Finals rolled off at 4:09 PM—Taylor’s eleventh session. She finished fifth with a 1:11.644 best on lap 8, gaining a position over her heat finishes. Panico and Grayson Miller had both DNS’d the final, but Taylor had also pushed past the field on pace, holding 13.679 seconds clear of Borelli behind her. After a full day of racing, she was still finding tenths—and still moving forward.
The Junior Final at 4:46 PM was the last act of a twelve-session day. And despite everything, Taylor saved her fastest Junior lap for when it mattered most: a 1:07.250 on lap 5. It was her quickest Junior time of the entire day, posted in her twelfth session while most of her competitors were running their fourth or fifth. She finished third, 12.623 seconds behind Anna McCrone’s dominant performance, but firmly on the podium.
The Numbers Tell the Story
| Session | Time | Class | Pos | Best Lap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MC Practice 2 | 9:18 AM | Mini/Cadet | P5 | 1:12.012 |
| Jr Practice 2 | 9:44 AM | T4 Junior | P1 | 1:08.000 |
| MC Practice 3 | 10:10 AM | Mini/Cadet | P6 | 1:11.973 |
| Jr Practice 3 | 10:20 AM | T4 Junior | P1 | 1:07.631 |
| MC Qualifying | 11:04 AM | Mini/Cadet | P6 | 1:11.730 |
| Jr Qualifying | 11:20 AM | T4 Junior | P2 | 1:07.625 |
| MC Heat 1 | 1:21 PM | Mini/Cadet | P6 | 1:11.467 |
| Jr Heat 1 | 1:53 PM | T4 Junior | P2 | 1:07.906 |
| MC Heat 2 | 2:43 PM | Mini/Cadet | P6 | 1:11.558 |
| Jr Heat 2 | 3:14 PM | T4 Junior | P3 | 1:07.440 |
| MC Finals | 4:09 PM | Mini/Cadet | P5 | 1:11.644 |
| Jr Finals | 4:46 PM | T4 Junior | P3 | 1:07.250 |
In Mini/Cadet, Taylor shaved 0.545 seconds off her best from first practice to final (1:12.012 → 1:11.467), with her absolute quickest coming in Heat 1—her seventh session. In Junior, she improved by 0.750 seconds (1:08.000 → 1:07.250), and her fastest lap came in her twelfth and final session of the day. Most drivers slow down as a race day drags on. Taylor got faster.
Twelve sessions. Two classes. Two different karts. A podium in Junior, a top-five in Mini/Cadet, and a personal-best lap posted in the very last race of a seven-hour day. That’s not just endurance—it’s the kind of competitive resilience that stands out at any level of racing.
For the full Round 5 race report covering all classes, see BRKC Round 5: Quinn’s Dominance, Taylor’s Double Duty, and McCrone’s Rise.
Full results and lap-by-lap timing data are available on Alpha Timing.