4-27-11 Emily Maddison Enters SuperKarts USA Pro Tour

"Rookie Senior will continue to run with Phil Giebler Racing"

Maddison set to contend the SKUSA Pro Tour with PGR.

With a jam-packed schedule in 2011, female pilot Emily Maddison will begin her national racing campaign this weekend as she heads to Tucson, Arizona for the opening round in the Superkarts! USA (SKUSA) Pro Tour. Dubbed the Honda Racing/HPD SpringNationals and taking place at the Musselman Honda Circuit, Maddison will join forces with Phil Giebler Racing aboard an FA Kart for her challenge in the TaG Senior category.

"The Pro Tour is one of the major series that we looked to focus on," expressed Maddison after her last on track action in California a few weeks ago. "I have competed a few races with Phil Giebler and we really form a nice team. We have been fast at almost every event, just had some bad racing luck."

Maddison is referring to her last round of the Pro Kart challenge program where the up-and-coming female driver was one of the quickest of the weekend. Nearly topping the charts in the dry sessions, weather would hit the Buttonwillow Raceway and force competitors to compete in wet weather action in the final testing on Friday afternoon. Having not raced in the rain a lot in previous years, Maddison chose to skip the session and work with Giebler from the sidelines as they prepared for the upcoming wheel-to-wheel weekend action. Taking in invaluable information, Maddison learned from the former IndyCar driver.

"I listened to everything Phil had to say. I definitely learned a lot and will put that to good use in the next rain action. When the weekend was finally over and with all the help from Phil Giebler Racing, I was able to secure a solid top five result."

Working with multi-time champion Phil Giebler and his Phil Giebler Racing squad has been a great program for the Canadian pilot. The 2007 Indianapolis 500 Rookie-of-the-Year has worked with multiple drivers in the previous few seasons and has taken Maddison under his wing in 2011.

"Emily proves to be a very quick study," expressed Giebler from his California shop. "She and her family are committed to learning and competing whenever possible. This is a great combination for future success and I cannot wait to help her get there."

The first round of the Superkarts! USA Pro Tour kicks off April 29to May 2in Tucson, Arizona with the second round taking place mid-July at the Grand Junction Motor Speedway in Grand Junction, Colorado. Maddison and Phil Giebler Racing will then travel to the series finale and the most prestigious race in all of North America, the SKUSA SuperNationals in Las Vegas, Nevada mid-November. When the last checkered flag falls in Vegas, Maddison will look to stand atop the podium as the SKUSA Pro Tour champion.

For more information on Emily Maddison, please visit www.EmilyMaddison.com or contact David Maddison at 403.850.0419. For press release and media information, please contact Mike Maurini of Race Tech Development at 317.270.8723 or via e-mail at Info@RaceTechDevelopment.com.

4-26-11 Rounds 3 & 4 Preview: Skip Barber National at Virginia International Raceway

Last month, the 14th season of the BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National presented by Mazda kicked off at the legendary 12 Hours of Sebring in March with a new generation of young racers. Following the racing line of drivers like Ryan Hunter-Reay, A.J. Allmendiner, Scott Speed and Raphael Matos, the twelve young Skip Barber National competitors raced hard and clean throughout the double-header weekend. Nineteen year old Thomas McGregor and eighteen year old Brandon Newey were the winners of the weekend, with Newey currently leading the championship by two points.

Now the series heads to Virginia International Raceway for Rounds 3 and 4. Also racing this weekend at VIR will be the Skip Barber Formula Summer Series and Skip Barber MAZDASPEED Challenge. Session times will not be time certain, so keep up with all the action on twitter.com/skipbarbernatl. The first lapping session will take place Thursday, April 28th, and the first official practice session will be Friday, April 29th.

Entry list for Rounds 3 and 4 at Virginia International Raceway, April 29-May 1
Virginia International Raceway, 3.27-mile, 20-turn road course
Name, Age, Hometown, Sponsors
Scott Anderson, 22, Fort Collins, CO, Laser Nail Centers/Neuropathy Testing Centers
Franco Aragones, 14, Cancun, Mexico
Shelby Blackstock, 21, Nashville, TN, Starstruck Entertainment
Brian Cook, 41, Northhampton, MA
Danilo Estrela, 17, Goiania, Brazil, MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development, Skip Barber Racing School
Trent Hindman, 15, Wayside, NJ, MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development, Skip Barber Racing School/Sparco/Racelite Protection/Premier Woodcraft
Devin Jones, 17, Mooresville, NC, Social Distortion/Impact Racing/Racing Electronics
Brandon Newey, 18, Carmel, IN, Bryan Herta Autosport/Sparco/Bell
Thomas McGregor, 19, Saskastoon, Canada, Exclusive Management, Inc./Dairy Queen
Sebastian Ordonez, 17, Deerfield Beach, FL, RDD Motorsports/John Pew/Micheal Auriema/Auto Craze/Oakley
Remo Ruscitti, 17, Burnaby, Canada
Greg Strelzoff, 41, Playa Vista, CA

 

4-20-11 Leading Edge’s Bell Reunites with Wilson for SKUSA Pro Tour Title Run

An extremely potent combination from the Superkarts! USA history books has been reformed and the results are expected to be exciting. Leading Edge Motorsports’ Greg Bell and ’00 SKUSA ProMoto Tour champion Bobby Wilson will re-unite this month to begin a charge at the organization’s Pro Tour title, launching this campaign at the SKUSA SpringNationals in Tucson, Arizona at the end of the month. Wilson will pilot a Leading Edge Intrepid in the headline S1 class on the 2011 SKUSA Pro Tour. Wilson and Bell were last paired during 2000 season, scoring multiple poles en route to a come-from-behind win at the SKUSA Moto World Finals in Oklahoma to claim the S1 National Championship.

“I’m thrilled to have Bobby back on the team,” said Bell from his Lodi, CA, where he is busy prepping the karts of his 2011 squad. “We worked really well together in 2000 and had some really strong runs, eventually winning the title and the #1 plate. Bobby will add a lot to our team, bringing experience, knowledge and coaching abilities to the line-up. I’m really excited to have him in Leading Edge colors.”

Through the early part of last decade, Wilson was one of the top shifterkart drivers in the country. After leaving Leading Edge in 2001, Wilson did a brief stint in F2000 racing before coming back to karting full time in 2001. For the next three years, Wilson was one of dominant forces in the 125cc gearbox category, winning in both the moto and ICC formulas. Bobby’s on-track battles with Ron White were among the best in the sport. After winning the Stars of Karting ICC National Championship in 2003 and the Jim Truman Scholarship in the process, Wilson again headed to open wheel cars where he won the Cooper Tires Formula Ford 2000 Zetec championship in 2004. A subsequent move to the Firestone Indy Lights resulted in a trio of wins with victories at Watkins Glen, Indianapolis and Milwaukee between 2005-2008. Since that time, he’s become one of the sport’s top young driver development specialists.

“I’m really excited to be getting back together with Greg,” said Wilson from his home base in Indianapolis. “We had a lot of success together in the past and I won my first National Championship with him. Now, the goal is to repeat that achievement and work with the younger drivers on the team.”

Along with being blindingly fast, Wilson is widely regarded as one of the most technically-gifted drivers in the sport. Those who have worked with him have always marveled at his feel for the kart, as well as his ability to provide feedback to his mechanic to address set-up issues. Wilson’s post-session debriefs have always been long and detailed, allowing his mechanic to dial this chassis in to near perfection.

“I think Bobby is going to be a great resource for the younger kids on the team,” Bell added. “He’ll be able to study the data with them and teach them to provide the feedback their tuners need to improve their cars. Wilson’s always been very detailed and specific in his feedback, that’s one of the many reasons he’s so good. As a team leader, I’ll be looking for him to step up and act as a mentor to the guys coming up. If they can spend some time learning from him, the team will be just that much stronger.”

The reunited Wilson/ Bell pairing will make its debut in Tucson at the SKUSA SpringNationals during the final weekend of April. The opening round of the three-weekend, five-race championship runs at the Musselman Honda Circuit (formerly P1 Kart Circuit) from April 29-May and for there, the team will look forward to the SummerNationals in Grand Junction in July and the SuperNationals in Las Vegas in November. There are still arrive-and-drive seats available under the Leading Edge tent for the SKUSA SpringNationals, and any interested drivers should contact Greg Bell directly at 209-369-0921




 

4-8-11 Important Information for RLOKC Race #1

There is another racing event at Infineon Raceway this weekend. To get through the main gate, all racers, crew and spectators will have to stop at the old Russell building just before the main gate on the right and buy a $10 pit pass.

All drivers can get a refund for the pit pass at the Pro Shop when they sign up for practice on Saturday or for the race event on Sunday.

Spectator and crew pit pass wrist bands purchased on Saturday are valid for the entire weekend. DO NOT REMOVE your wrist band until the end of the weekend.

Please pass this notice along to all people you who are coming to the kart track this weekend.

The old Russell building is on the right side as you turn into Infineon Raceway behind the chain link fence. Look for the Red Line Oil Karting Championship sign and follow the arrow.

Hello Racers:
First off, we would like to apologize for the Hi-Gear website, currently we are undergoing some challenges in updating, we have attached the points from the first race and the 2011 Registration form.

Our second club race is this Saturday, April 9th, the weather prediction is lots of sunshine. Again, coffee and donuts will be available in the morning (free). We'll continue with the schedule below:

• Gates will open at 7:30 a.m.
• Registration will start at 8:00 a.m. (Stockton racers seems to like the later start) and end promptly at 9:00 a.m.
• Tech 8:00 a.m. - 9:15 a.m.
• Drivers meeting will start at 9:15 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
• Practice starts at 9:45 a.m., 2 rounds of practice this year
• We will take a lunch break and provide desert!

Some other information......

#1 Pea Picking - we will pea pick for the 1st heat, totaled accumulated points will determine the line-up for the Main Event. We will continue to use transponders to insure accurate scoring and for posting results to MyLaps after each race. Transponder rental has been slashed to 1/2 price this year($10), helping everyone's racing budget.

#2 New Classes:
Clone Cadet (8-12)
Clone Jr (11-16)
Clones gone wild (16 and older) anything goes)

#3 Helmets - All helmets must be a M2005 or S2005 or newer to be legal. Check the sticker inside the helmet lining for this sticker, not on the back of the helmet

#4 Rear Bumpers - New for this year, all karts must have full length plastic reach bumpers.

#5 Kart Weights - The weights for the 2 new Clone classes are not carved in stone. Entry form weights reflect guidelines.

#6 Tires - all classes will be running YKC tires. Clone classes may not run new tires. Clone SR class may run either size rear tire but the larger tire will slow you down.

Thanks everyone, appreciate your business and see you tomorrow!
Stockton Motorplex Park
 

4-6-11 Red Line Oil Karting Championship set to Kick Off 2011 on April 10th

After a long, wet, and cold winter, the 2011 Red Line Oil Karting Championship (RLOKC) will get under way on Sunday, April 10th on the National track configuration at the Jim Russell International Karting Center at Infineon Raceway. With more classes, more Saturday practice and expected larger Rotax fields, 2011 looks to be a return to large fields and great racing at one the west coast's premier kart tracks. Ric Shaw will be returning for his 10th year of event coordination and race directing. "I am looking forward to 2011 with an expanded race day program and an overall better race weekend", says Shaw.

With most of last year's sponsors returning and some exciting new ones on board, the series is looking to offer racers not only valuable products, but career development opportunities. Just added to the sponsor lineup is World Speed Motorsports. Along with fellow sponsor Molecule Racing, World Speed Motorsports is providing a race car test at the end of the season. GoPro will again return as a sponsor awarding GoPro HD cameras at each event. The GoPro featured class for the first race is the Rotax Masters/Rotax Masters Light race group. Look for details on this and the other sponsor news early next week.

The 2011 season brings a number of changes with more classes being offered to fill out the complete line of the best classes in Northern California. Three new junior classes have been added: KPV1, KPV2 and TaG Junior. Also new are TaG Senior, TaG Masters, and Stock Moto. These classes join the 2010 line up of IAME TaG, the popular 80 Masters class and eight Rotax classes.

The new classes will bring a number of new drivers to the Jim Russell International Karting Center along with the many regulars who will return to run the TaG classes as well as the 125 Stock Moto classes. The eight race RLOKC gives multi-engine TaG and 125 Stock Moto drivers more races to run in Northern California, and of course where better to get more race time than at the beautiful and fast track at the Jim Russell International Karting Center. The addition of the three new junior classes is a statement by promoter Steve Cameron that he wants to see the RLOKC become a strong junior driver development series.

In the 2010 returning classes, expect to see three or four drivers challenge the three time 80 Masters Champ, Tom Nelson. The Parilla only IAME TaG class returns for 2011 with its continued focus on keeping the overall racing cost down by using a spec gear formula to keep the engine revs around 16,000.

The Rotax entry numbers are expected to reach another record high for the sixth year in a row. With the Rotax Grand National being held this year at near by Miller Motorsports Park in Utah, there should be additional interest in the regional Northern California Rotax Challenge program this year. Mini Max looks to be one of the most competitive classes this year with Michael Avansino returning to defend his crown with lots of competition from main rival Michael Michoff as well as Annie and Toni Breidinger, Gino Gigliotti and possibly So Cal's Nicky Hays. Sanzaru Games will again sponsor the Mini Max class this year with a cash payout of $50/$30/$20 going to the top three finishers in each race this year. Brody Zink returns for the first half of the season in Junior Rotax as be prepares for his assault on the Rotax Grand National, but he will have more competition this year in the likes of Junior TaG karts, which will be racing with Junior Rotax in the same race group. Expect to see Brody move up to Senior Rotax after the Nationals. Carlos Calderon will return to defend his Senior Rotax crown, but will not have it easy with strong competition coming from Raymund Bustamante, Jr., Sean McDonald, and So Cal's Niki Luna. Andre Eriksen will run only one class in 2011, that being the Rotax DD2 Masters class. He will also wrench on his eight year old son's, kart this year, Valdemar Eriksen who will be competing in Micro Max. With Andre not defending his Rotax Masters crown, the class is open for a new champion, with veteran Jerry Pretti possibly looking at filling the void, but Cameron Evans may have something to say about that. Mary Beth Wilson will also return to defend her Rotax Masters Light crown with Mert Solis bound and determined to take the class championship away in 2011. Also expect to see veteran DD2 Masters driver January Grove return and defend her crown in 2011.

Saturday practice will be run by the RLOKC promoter, Cameron Karting. Practice is available from 10:30 am to 5:30 pm for a fee of $50 which includes insurance and an EMT on site. $10 pit passes for crew and spectators will be required on both Saturday and Sunday. Pit passes purchased on Saturday will also be valid for Sunday. This is an insurance requirement. Race pre-registration and pre-tech will be available on Saturday.

The Sunday race day starts at 8:20 am with one round of practice for all classes, a five lap group qualifying session, two eight lap heat races and a fifteen lap main event. The race entry fee is $100. There is a $10 transponder rental fee and $10 pit pass fee for crew and spectators.

Plan to come out and see some of the best racing at one of the best tracks to watch kart racing. For more information about the Red Line Oil Karting Championship or the Northern California Rotax Challenge, visit www.norcalrotax.com, or contact race director Ric Shaw at racedirector-ric@hotmail.com.
 

4-21-11 Mike Botelho Jr and his New Life Interview

Name: Mike Botelho Jr

Age: 31

How Long in Karting: 15 Years

Championships: 4 Regional Championships, 6 NNKC Championships

Chassis: Tony Kart

Motor Builder: Adkins

Classes Running for 2011: Tag Sr

How Do You Like Your Coffee: with lots of Chocolate and Creamer

Favorite Track Food: Cheese Burger and Fries

Favorite Food: Wife's Tacos

Home Track: Northern Nevada Kart Club

Favorite Track: Buttonwillow Karting Center

Favorite Sandwich: Hot Turkey and Ham

Biggest Race Ever Raced: Super Nationals

Favorite Driver: Tony Stewart

West Coast Karters FYI: We would  like to congratulate Mike & Michelle on their Marriage and becoming parents to their first little bundle of joy in Late September or early October! Congratulations! 

4-6-11Cambrian Go Karts Dixon Xover Report
Photos By RMG RaceMediaGroup.com

Michael Harvey on the pole, Garret Dixon wins big, Justin Yanez 2 for 2, Bob Hurst big Rotax Win.

Cambrian Go Karts was at the Kinsmen Kart Club Xover race this weekend and the weather was perfect and the karts were out in full force. With 27 birels prepared and ready to race under management from the team everyone was focused on the task at hand.

5 year old Jadyn Durbin, daughter on Cambrian's Donald Durbin made her debut in kid kart 1 and was a proud little racer, with her younger sister Jorja Durbin being one of her biggest fans it was also very rewarding for Donald to see all the support his young one had on the fence. " I thought it was so cool how every single jr. driver came up to her and wished her luck, you could tell she felt very special....as she should. " joked Donald. Her Trophy is at school with her right now.

Jr-1 2cylce saw a new face on the top of the leader board in practice and Qualifying as fast learning Michael Harvey put his birel C28 on the pole for the first time at Dixon and impressed everyone. " Michael is doing so well, just this time last year we were getting his first kart built and now he is outdriving some of the best around, watching him race this weekend showed how much he as learned in such a short period of time. His team mates in the class Holly Dixon ( sister of hot shoe Garret Dixon ) and Kyle Rossi finished their very first race this weekend and made their parents proud. Great job you guys.

Hpv-1 Garret Dixon had the pace all weekend, he and his talented team mates Michael Harvey, Alec Hudson, Scott Huffaker and Andre Hall all took the track in their birel c28 chassis and looked strong. Utilizing the teams networking ability to share notes and move forward all were in the front of the field, but Garret Dixon had something to prove this weekend as he never missed a mark. With a front row starting spot he took the green and won the first heat but suffered some pressure in the closing laps while maintaining the lead. When the main came the Cambrian Team had made some changes to the chassis and Garret pulled away to a huge lead showing that he was the man for the job and scored another win for the team. " when we were lucky enough to start working with Garret not to long ago, he suffered like everyone can by being a single operation. The learning curve in this sport is steep and no one should give up, but by pulling him and his family in close we have had the pleasure of calling him one of our own while producing a winner, and we have only just begun. " says a proud Donald Durbin.

Hpv 2- Justin Yanez has become an HPV2 Sensation overnight. His recent move up from Hpv1 to Hpv2 has been filled with success and his presence is known in the class. Justin and his team mates Jaden Conwright and Grayson Browne consumed the stacked field's front two rows. " I am proud of all of them, but this weekend I was very happy about Jaden's qualifying efforts. " " This is his second kart race ( he is also a quarter midget phenomenon ) and he looks like its what he has been made to do. " says the teams Donald Durbin Jr. " I saw him pass in some places this weekend that shocked me, he never made contact with a single kart and proved he can race with anyone. "

Justin lined up on the grid for qualifying and was notified by his mechanic Donald Durbin what the fast time was so far set by his competitors. " Justin didn't listen to me! " I told him to run a 9, and he ran a 6 " Joked Donald. " All kidding aside, their is an amazing amount of talent sitting in that 00 seat and we are Lucky to be able to call him one of ours, his growth has been with us and we have helped each other. I am very excited to start spreading his wings in the coming years to find out where we land. There is a very good chance we will be watching Justin in professional racing in the future if he continues on this path. Congratulations to Grayson Browne on another top five finish, he did a outstanding job in the main event in traffic and pulled off another great finish.

Tag Masters

Chris Rossi and Bob Hurst bolted on some Cambrian Go Karts Rotax power and proved they were the ones to beat, with team mates Dave Moody Ben Schriener, Stan Dutrow, and Mike Kittermen in the class as well, nothing was set in stone yet as any one of these drivers could take home the win. In the early laps of the main Rossi over shot his break zone with cold tires and retired his birel chassis earlier than he wanted, Mike Kittermen was in the lead and connected with a competitor and ended his day as well, but Dave Moody and Bob Hurst pulled away and put themselves in position to finish 1-2 for the team as well as Stan Dutrow in the 5th spot.

" What a great weekend! With Dixon, PC. and Davis's best all showing up for this xover Our team showed our strength and unity and came out on top. Congratulation's to Tony Brioso and Blake Richards for their top spots in the 80 masters class as well, those are two other great guys that we are lucky enough to continue to help and race with. "

Up next is the rotax race at Infineon Raceway this Sat. and Sunday as Cambrian Go Karts is preparing a full trailer of Karts and Parts to depart friday morning to support their customers and fellow racers. Look for a report on the weekend next week as its sure to be a successful one.

 

4-6-11 P1 Engines Continues To Raise The Bar Across the United States

"Multiple race wins for P1 Engines"

P1 Engines continues to raise the bar for success in North America as the California-based company had a great outing at the CalState Championship Round #2. Taking home multiple race wins and podiums in several different classes, P1 Engines powered drivers continue to show the way to the top step of the podium.

P1 Engines dominated the PRD divisions as they took top honors in PRD Senior, Junior and Junior 1. Looking untouchable throughout the race weekend, P1 Engines powered drivers in the PRD divisions swept the action at the technical California facility.

With 29 karts in the PRD Senior field, it was P1 driver Matt Johnson that bested the rest as he turned his second place qualifying effort into a race win when the dust had settled. In the PRD Junior 1 class it was Adam Iavelli that swept the class by taking the pole position, heat race win and main event victory with a pass on the penultimate lap. Following in the footsteps of Johnson and Iavelli it was Canadian pilot Parker Thompson who swept the action in PRD Junior. Fellow P1 Engines driver Jason Hannegan would challenge Thompson throughout the day but a bad start in the main event relegated him down the running order.

Thompson would not be done on the podium quite yet as he would also do battle in the KPV category scoring similar results. After taking the pole position and heat race win, Thompson went on to claim a dominating race win.

"The P1 Engines drivers are all having great seasons so far," expressed Jesus Vasquez, Owner of P1 Engines. "The drivers are on multiple different chassis brands in several different classes with the only common item being the engine builder. It is a good feeling to have."

Noah Garza would be one of the drivers to beat in the Comer division as a pole position in qualifying and a heat race win would set him up for a front row starting spot in the main event. Garza's only falter on the day would come in the final as he narrowly missed the top spot but did manage to claim a second place podium result.

A few drivers would see battle in Komet as Skylar Estrada, Andrew Muruwatz and Royal McKee would utilize P1 Engines power. Estrada would have a very strong run in the main event to jump to the third and final podium position while McKee, who was a late entry, would eventually come home sixth. Andrew was able to make the podium with a fifth place result in both qualifying and the main event.

Vasquez continued, "While this weekend is over, we will begin to work hard towards the next one and continue the P1 Engines successes."

Next on the docket for P1 Engines is the Pro Kart Challenge North/South Shootout at Buttonwillow Raceway in Buttonwillow, California. The event will take place this coming Friday and Saturday with the Los Angeles Kart Club wrapping up with a club race on Sunday.

For more information on P1 Engines or to book one of their national level engines for testing or event weekend use, please visit them online at www.P1Engines.com or contact P1 owner Jesus Vasquez at 951.662.3464 or via e-mail at Champions@P1Engines.com.


 

4-6-11 Austin Elliott Scores A Pair Of Podiums In Wet Weather Action
Photo By RMG RaceMediaGroup.com

"Two races and two podiums for young talent"


Elliott scores race win and podium in wet weather action

Californian pilot Austin Elliott was back on track the past two weekends and was back to his winning ways scoring a pair of podium results including a main event victory in California karting action. Though the weather was not up to most racers' standards, Elliott took advantage of the constant rain to hone his skills and run at the front of the pack.

The first event would take place at the All Star Karting track in Prairie City, CA as the NorCal Outlaw Race #2 was on the docket. With heavy downpours and consistent rain throughout the race weekend, Elliott and his crew used the Saturday test sessions to get up to speed. Struggling slightly, the Top Kart pilot would be off the pace in the morning sessions but as the track continued to deteriorate, Elliott stepped up his game to run some of the quickest times of the day.

"Saturday was a bit of a struggle for us," expressed Elliott. "It was cold and windy and the rain didn't stop which made it challenging, but we managed to tough through everything and turn some very competitive lap times."

After a strong morning warm up session clocking fast times, Elliott would see himself positioned in the front of the grid for qualifying. Knowing what was needed for the pole position, the P1 Engines powered Top Kart driver turned only two timed laps in his run to take the pole position by nearly a second.

While pole position is one thing, Elliott would have to survive a heat race and main event with fifteen other hungry drivers. Making it look easy in the pre-final, Elliott steered his Top Kart to a five second victory and claimed the pole position for the main event later that day.

With the main event now upon them and the rain all but stopped, the track would begin to dry as the KPV2 drivers hit the racing surface. Understanding the importance of his rain tires, Elliott took the lead at the drop of the green flag and instantly started to conserve his tires. Looking for puddles on the drying track to keep his treads cool, Elliott continued to pull away from the field taking a commanding eight-second victory to stand atop the #1 spot on the Podium.

Next on the schedule for Austin Elliott was the Pro Kart Challenge North Race #2 in Prairie City, California. Having dominated the weekend prior, Elliott was looking for the same sort of results in his second ever Senior event. Just like the previous weekend, rain would fall throughout the weekend competition providing Elliott with a sense of confidence as they worked on refining their race winning setup.

After qualifying in the third position, the Pro Kart Challenge would see a pair of heat races to set up the grid order for the main event. Having several setbacks in the heat races, Elliott would suffer a puncture in his right front tire but managed to hold onto the third position. In heat two, Elliott would come home in P2 with a clutch that had exploded on the final circuit due to a part failure earlier in the race.

Hoping that everything would stay together for the main event, Elliott would run in the front half of the field as he looked to score his second race win in as many weekends. Battling hard, Elliott would eventually run out of laps and be the bridesmaid on this weekend as he claimed the second step on the podium. With his solid results in Pro Kart action, Elliott remains on top of the point standings as they head to the third round of the program.

Elliott will waste no time heading back out to the track to begin testing for the upcoming race event in Arizona at the Superkarts! USA (SKUSA) Pro Tour in the ultra competitive TaG Senior category later this month.

Austin would like to thank his sponsors and the support from his team, family and friends who have helped him with his racing success so far. Special thank you to: The Sons of Stafford Plumbing, The Door & Window Stop, Fresno Tap Recyclers, Wesley Boswell, Grand Products, P1 Engines, Kartel Motorsports, SNAP Fitness, STAT Medical Billing, RDS Race Cars & Chassis, Race Karts! Inc., Fine Line CAD Services, and Race Media Group (RMG).

For more information on Austin Elliott and Austin Elliott Racing, please visit them online at www.AustinElliottRacing.com. For information on press releases or other media services offered by Race Tech Development, please contact Mike Maurini via e-mail at Info@RaceTechDevelopment.com or 317.270.8723.

 

4-4-11 IAME Bridgestone Winter Series Race 3 Report

 This past weekend marked the final race of the IAME Bridgestone Winter Series. The forecast heading into the event called for rain, but as the drivers rose Saturday morning the skies were clear providing a beautiful day for dry racing.

After a brief drivers meeting, practice kicked off and by 10:15 racing had commenced. Up for grabs this weekend was the P1 Fitness and Nutrition Program awarded to the top senior drivers in each category. Position 1 Fitness is a cutting edge motorsports fitness company who has emerged as a world leader in motorsports training, nutrition, supplementation and therapy products and services. Whether it be a weekend warrior or a professional, P1 Fitness has a program to fit any racers skill level, budget and area of motorsports. Also up for grabs was the Italkart chassis, which would be awarded by pulling a name of all drivers who participated in all three Winter Series events.

By noon, overflowing plates of homemade pasta and fresh salad was served out of SIMA café. After lunch the group of Weekend Warrior Racers (WWR) driving in SIMAs fleet of rental karts headed straight into their pre-final event. Karting veteran Brian Devries took both the pre-final and final event just holding off Serengeti Designs president Christopher Clark.

Jr. 1s Sara Brinkac clenched another win with Christian Newland following close in second. The junior 3 class saw brothers Kale and Syzo Kunicki finish one two and in Jr. 4 Cycle Kyle Adams crossed the finish line in first with Kaitlyn Henderson and Anthony Emmott rounding out the top three.

Tag Seniors Todd Jackson arrived late to the scene but still managed to take the win with Steve Bruns and Chris Barker in second and third. This weekend had a good showing in Senior 4 Cycle where Scott Barlee led the race to clench first place. Glen Blankers followed in second with Chris Genge in third.The shifter race ended with long time friends and teammates David Jurca and Michael Valiante on the top of the podium. Young Remo Ruscitti followed close behind in third.

The much anticipated draw for the use of an Italkart Chassis for the complete 2011 Region 6 Gold Cup Series season finally arrived. The first name to be drawn was Glen Blankers, who subsequently had to let go of the prize as he was unable to attend the full GoldCup circuit. The final draw landed Scott O'Farrell with the new Italkart chassis. Scott will be heading south this weekend as the first Gold Cup event kicks off in Tri-Ciites, Washington.

First and foremost, SIMA would like to thank all the participants who came out and supported the first series at the new race facility. A huge thank you to all the sponsors; Bridgestone Tires, VP Fuel, Douglas Wheels, Position 1 Fitness, Italkart and the Seattle Mariners. And lastly, thanks to all the volunteers who came out to lend a hand throughout the series. Collectively the series was a great success and SIMA looks forward to the first SIMA Summer Series race held on April 23rd.