7-27-11 Licata Brings Home Third in NASCAR Modifieds at Roseville

Joey Licata, Jr. made the most of his first start in the NASCAR Modifieds in 2011, bringing the #7 Royal Purple Modified to a third place finish at All American Speedway in Roseville, Calif. Licata, a member of Ron Sutton’s Winner’s Circle, had been out of a race car since April when he made a pair of starts for Cunningham Motorsports in the ARCA Racing Series.

Ron Sutton’s Winner’s Circle is a nationally-renowned driver development program that prepares racers for a career in motorsports. Licata joined the team in 2009 before winning back-to-back ASA Truck Series championships. The ASA championships brought Licata much attention and landed him in ARCA for the Daytona and Talladega races this spring.

Licata’s sixth place performance at Daytona brought the rookie many accolades but the 19 year-old is still looking for sponsorship to continue his ARCA career. With a long-break, Licata debuted new sponsor Royal Purple at the highly competitive All American Speedway.

Licata qualified eighth out of the 13 car field and started eighth in the 40 lap feature on the one-third mile asphalt oval. Licata passed rookie teammate Steve Cote on the opening lap and continued to move forward carefully. By lap 12, Licata was up to fourth challenging teammate Bobby Runyan, Jr.

After a long battle, Licata finally got the best of Runyan on lap 31 to take the third position. The patient effort by Licata paid off and allowed him to defend third place from another competitor to the finish line.

“The crew worked really hard and this finish is a tribute to them,” Licata said. “We made a huge turnaround from the heat race to the main event and ran pretty well. The cars at Roseville are really close together but everyone races hard and clean!”

Details of Joey’s next race will be available on his website www.joeylicata.com when available. Potential sponsors can contact Joey through that website for details on how to join his driver development program.

“Joey displayed some of his new skills from racing at a national level, using great patience while battling with Bobby,” Driver Coach Ron Sutton said. “Joey definitely deserves another shot in the ARCA Racing Series and we are working hard to find him the sponsorship he needs.”

Joey Licata, Jr. Racing and Ron Sutton’s Winner’s Circle thank partners: Royal Purple, W.R.O.N.G. Clothing, K&N Filters, Scribner Plastics, Allstar Performance, Sunoco Race Fuels, and Star Racing Supply.

For more information on Ron Sutton’s Winner’s Circle, log on to www.winners-circle-racing.com

 

7-27-11 SwedeTech Customers Filled the Podiums in Grand Junction

SKUSA has done it again by putting together a great racing event at the very nice Grand Junction Motorsports Park. This was the second stop for the SKUSA ProTour, and leading up to the event, there was excitement in the air.

A number of SwedeTech customers made the trip to Colorado for this event and many of our customers walked away with new hardware for the trophy collection. Great results come from a combination of items including race preparation, driver ability, chassis tuning, and SwedeTech is proud to supply the fast and reliable power plants for these drivers.

Saturday’s event schedule started off with qualifying. In the Tag Jr class, Jim McKinney put in a very nice qualifying effort and put his Jr Leopard package off pole. The Honda Stock Moto S4 class was next to hit the track, and the 38 year old from Visalia, Jimmy McNeil, put his SwedeTech Honda on pole. Nick Firestone put in a great effort to place his machine off pole. Not a bad way to start the weekend for these two SwedeTech drivers. The TaG Sr drivers would have their shot at qualifying, and Martin Plowman placed his Iame Parilla Leopard off pole.

After the qualifying sessions, the heat races rolled off. Jim McKinney backed up his qualifying effort with a strong second place finish. Our S4 guys dominated the heat one with a 1-2-3 sweep, with McNeil, Robert Marks, and Firestone securing the spots. Heat 2 produced the same results in the S4, with the same three drivers finishing in the same order. Martin Plowman had to fight his way back after a bad Tag Sr heat 1 result, finishing 3rd in Heat 2.
Qualifying and the heat races set you up for the big show, the Main Event. Jimmy McNeil continued his streak of wins in the S4 class. Robert Marks and Nick Firestone worked hard to make sure it wasn’t easy for Jimmy. Saturday was a SwedeTech sweep in the S4 Main Event. Tag Sr driver Martin Plowman put his heat 1 woes behind him and drove a great race to finish second overall.

As Saturday wrapped up, the action in the pits was the focus on Sunday’s event. Some drivers had a big bullseye on the back of their machines, and others were gunning from them.

Some S2 drivers worked hard on Saturday night to make sure they were a part of the conversation on Sunday. Arie Luyendyk Jr placed his Zanardi chassis on pole, with his SwedeTech Honda package. Right next to him was teammate, and the reigning SuperNationals S5 Champion, Daniel Langon. In the S4 class, Jimmy McNeil captured another pole position and Nick Firestone qualified third. In the Tag Sr class, Martin Plowman placed his SwedeTech Leopard powered Zanardi chassis in the top spot.

After qualifying, the heat race action began to take shape. In the S2 class, Daniel Langon held on to the second position while teammate Arie Luyendyk Jr finished 3rd. In the S4 class, McNeil drove on to another victory and Nick Firestone finished a strong third, with Robert Marks in fourth. Tag Sr Heat 1 results noted Martin Plowman with a second place finish.

Heat 2 racing action in the S2, Arie was able to pick up a spot to finish 2nd. In the S4 class, McNeil won with Robert Marks and Nick Firestone finishing fourth and fifth. Martin Plowman maintained a second place finish in the Tag Sr heat.

Sunday’s Main Events would have some of the same names upfront. McNeil continued his domination of the S4 class with a Main Event win. Robert Marks tried hard to chase is Team Visalia teammate down, but didn’t have enough. Nick Firestone rounded out the top 5. The top two Tag Sr drivers put on a display of driving talent and a good show for the crowd. At the checkered, Martin Plowman would take the victory. In the S1 main event, Nic Leduc overcame his weekend gremlins and managed to drive his SwedeTech powered Team MKP kart to a strong 2nd place finish. This was a very nice drive to salvage the weekend for Nic.

The next round of SKUSA ProKart action will take place in Buttonwillow, CA. Here is a call out to ALL SwedeTech S4 engine customers within driving distance to Buttonwillow. If you finish in front of Jimmy McNeil, there will be a special prize heading your direction. I am working on the details. I have a few ideas that I am throwing around. I will start a thread on EKartingNews.com with more information. Tom Kutscher and a few others have also sweetened the pot and have opened up prize money to anyone that beats Jimmy.
 

7-20-11Red Line Oil Karting Championship Drivers off to Rotax Grand National

With the Rotax Grand National taking place in the West this year, several drivers from Red Line Oil Karting Championship's Northern California Rotax Challenge will be making the trip to compete against some of the best karters in the nation. Miller Motorsports Park near Salt Lake City, Utah, is the site for the 2011 Rotax Grand National which will be held July 19th to July 23rd. Unlike past years where the Grand Nationals were held in the Mid-West where rain becomes part of the event, this year's event should hot and dry.

Drivers that will be making the journey are:

Rotax Mini Max: Current points leader Michael Michoff, 2010 Red Line Oil Karting Championship class champ Michael Avansino, Scott, Huffaker, Annie Breidinger, Toni Breidinger and Corrie Hiatt.

Junior Rotax: This will be the third Junior Rotax Grand National for Brody Zink and he wants to make the past two years of experience pay off in a good showing this year.

Senior Rotax: Former national champ Wes Phillips will be making the trip. Kiel Spaulding has been dominating the senior class the last couple of races and he wants to do the same in Utah. Also running in Senior Rotax will be Andrew Colombini, Bronson Eggert and TJ Fischer.

Rotax Masters: This is Bob Hurst's first year in Rotax, but his years of TaG experience should help him be ready for the tough competition.

Rotax DD2: The two-speed class will have Bronson Eggert and TJ Fischer running DD2 in addition to Senior Rotax.

Rotax DD2 Masters/Heavy Driver: Michael Ostrowski, Andre Eriksen and Bob Olson are entered. The eighteen year old Ostrowski will be running as a heavy driver. Eriksen was last year's RLOKC Rotax Masters champ. He was running as high as tenth at the 2010 Rotax Grand National when he got involved in a race ending incident.

The top two drivers from the Junior, Senior, DD2 and DD2 Masters classes will then move on to the Rotax World Finals.

You can follow all the results of the Rotax Grand National by checking www.mylaps.com each night of the event to see how our Norcal drivers did during each day.

Also, a live streaming video broadcast of this year's event will be available online. Go to www.gorotax.com for more details. The broadcast will start July 21st and continue through the main events on July 23rd.

For more information about the Red Line Oil Karting Championship, please visit: www.redlineoilkarting.com .

 

7-20-11Phil Giebler Racing’s Daughters 2nd, 3rd in TaG Junior at SKUSA Pro Tour SummerNationals

Phil Giebler Racing’s Mason Daughters finished second Sunday (July 17) and third Saturday (July 16) in the TaG Junior main events in the Superkarts! USA Pro Tour’s Mothers Polish SummerNationals at Grand Junction Motor Speedway.

“Mason Daughters had two podiums in a very competitive TaG Junior field,” Giebler said. “I'm extremely proud of his results. All his hard work is paying off and our development program for Level 5 Motorsports is proving to be successful. This is the beginning of a lot more to come. We have all the right ingredients and Mason is eager to learn.”

PGR also had a solid performance from Noah Grey, of Dana Point, Calif., in TaG Cadet. Grey was third Saturday and fourth Sunday in the main events. The team had main event top-10s from Joe Ruch, of Frankfort, Ind., eighth in S2 on Saturday, Andrew Wiener, of Chula Vista, Calif., ninth and Jess Peterson, of Sparks, Nev., 10th in TaG Senior on Sunday.

Daughters, of Polo, Mo., was leading Saturday on the final lapin the first heat when his FA Kart was hit from behind and knocked off the .9-mile track. Daughters salvaged seventh place. He drove up to second in the second heat and started on the outside pole for the 16-lap main. Daughters fell back early, but when his MG Tires and 125cc Vortex engine reached full race
temperatures, he rallied back to finish third.

“It was a huge success for a rookie, but Sunday Mason proved it was no fluke,” Giebler, of Huntington Beach, Calif., said.

Daughters was involved in an accident on the first lap of the first heat, falling to the back of the 15-kart field. He rallied to take seventh. Daughters finished second in the second heat and started on the outside pole for the main. He took the lead on the fourth lap and held it through the 15th.
Austin Dement passed him on the 16th and final lap to win by .266-second.

Ruch had difficulties early on Saturday, 28th in the first heat and 14th in the second. He was challenging for a top-five in the main when he went off the track and finished eighth. He was eighth and ninth in his heats on Sunday and was knocked out in the first corner of the main, finishing 24th.

“Joe was short on luck,” Giebler said. “He showed a lot of speed (setting the second fastest lap of the race) and it looked like a podium was in his grasp but he dropped off the track in the Saturday final. On Sunday, he was knocked out on the first corner after getting a great start.”

Wiener was also 12th in the TaG Senior main event on Saturday.

“Andrew was looking great on Sunday,” Giebler said. “He really improved all weekend and had an impressive race. He drove up to fifth in the main and had a podium finish in his sights. He was hit from behind and lost a lot of positions late in the race. Andrew did a great job and learned so much. He held his own against some of the best drivers in the country.”

Peterson was in contention for a top-five in Sunday’s TaG Senior final until his seat broke and he had to hold himself up for the remainder of the race.

PGR’s Emily Madison, of Calgary, Canada, was 14th Saturday and 13th Sunday, Rory Mackey, of Basalt, Colo., was 15th Saturday and 12th Sunday and Peterson was 21st Saturday in TaG Senior main events; Vatche Tatikian, of North Hollywood, Calif., was 14th Saturday and 14th Sunday in S4 mains; and Steve Wiener, of Chula Vista, Calif., was 15th Saturday and 13th Sunday in TaG Master mains.

Phil Giebler Racing, based in Orange, Calif., races with FA Karts and on MG Tires. Daughters, Andrew Wiener and Steve Wiener have 125cc water-cooled Vortex engines built by Daniel Patino’s D-Power, Maddison has a 125cc Iame Leopard from D-Power, Peterson has a 125cc Iame Leopard by Adkins, Mackey has 125cc Iame Leopard and Grey has a 60cc Vortex MiniRok.

For more information, go to www.Philgieblerracing.com.


 

7-18-11 NNKC Track Update

NNKC has completed it's maintenance of Desert Park Raceway in Reno, NV. The entire track was crack sealed by First Tracks Snow Removal and Striping's Matt Dixon. The the track had Speed Grip Seal Coat installed by California Pavement Maintenance by contract with California Carbonyte's Bill Coe. Then after the track was cured, the entire track was re-striped and all curbing was re-painted by Matt Dixon. The track is absolutely fabulous. It looks amazing. NNKC would like to thank all these people mentioned and Track Manager Bill DeMent for all the hard work and effort put into making this happen. Our next race is the IKF R11 Elite Series July 29-31. The track will be fresh and we hope most of you will take the time and drive over the hill to participate. The weather will be beautiful. See you then.....

Northern Nevada Kart Club

7-18-1 Northwest Gold Cup Round 5 Report

July 8-10 Spanaway, WA- The NW Gold Cup/RotaxMax Challenge Series made its annual stop to the Historic Mountain High Raceway for round 5 of the 8 race regional touring karting series. Hosted by the Puget Sound Go Karting Association, the unique and technical “Rollercoaster” race track which offers elevation change and off camber turn backs within a high 30 to 31 second per lap size, was spic and span with a newly revamped pit area for trailer pitting and trackside grass that was groomed like a fresh haircut. The weather was perfect with high 60 to low 70 temperatures and nothing but sunshine all weekend. Return, redemption, and first wins would ultimately be the words of the weekend after some great racing & unbelievable finishes & this is how round 5 played out starting first with……

Rotax MicroMax- Like a run-a-way locomotive, Conner Robustelli continued his domination by taking fast time, heat one, the pre-final, and the final while tuning up for the Rotax Grands. Basically untouched and unchallenged all season chief tuner Mark Robustelli says it’s all about racing the clock the “We race the clock and the race track not the other competitors. For us it’s about challenging ourselves, getting better on the watch each and EVERY time we hit the race track.” The real story however was the performance of up and comer Jacob Hudson. Hudson who runs out of the Black Flag Racing racing stable had his best performance of the season. His bold end of the straight away pass of Conner Wick, (who by the way is one of the top MicroMax drivers in the NW) caught everyone by surprise and the attention of race officials who signaled Hudson to allow Wick his spot back….Wick and Hudson battled until on the last lap Hudson re-tried the same ”Banzai end of the straight late brake” move again…this time without a touch giving Hudson second & relegating Wick to third. Elle Musgrave continued her solid improvement finishing fourth and the flashy and stylish newcomer Parker Robb (nephew of now IKF Expert Sting Ray Robb) finished fifth. FT- Robustelli 34.704 62.604mph SUMMARY- 1. Robustelli 2. Hudson 3. Wick 4. Musgrave 5. Robb

Rotax Senior- In his first appearance of the season in NWGRMCS action, Brandon Cusack aboard his USKarting News CRG took the win. The buzz was all about Johnny “The Sliver” Blair making his first appearance in NWGCRMCS competition in his new Seattle Kart Supply/Rotax powered machine at his home track..and in normal Johnny Blair style he did not disappoint qualifying second quick behind defending champ & Black Flag house driver Andrew Zimmer and taking heat one and the pre-final, tipping the odds in his favor. In the final, it was Cusack leading the first two circuits until Blair in a game of chicken out broke Cusack at the end of the of the rollercoaster and slipped underneath with Zimmer following suit. Blair lead the next five laps with all kinds of pressure from the defending champ Zimmer & Cusack, until late in lap seven Zimmer tried a deep brake on Blair at the end of the straight, and the two got together & spun giving the lead back to Cusack who drove the wheels off his US Karting News machine in hopes of trying to put the win away….Zimmer got going as did Blair only well back in the field. Zimmer catches and passes Cusack with 2 to go and takes the checkers, with Blair now in charge mode making up enough ground to salvage a top 5. The race finished under protest & Zimmer was docked a spot because of the earlier altercation with Blair, giving the win to Cusack. Also in a his first appearance of the season in Regional action, Marshall Peterson quietly slid under the checkers 3rd in an awesome first appearance drive. Another notable was the performance of 30 year veteran Doug Huggler who was a solid third in both the heat race and pre-final aboard his Huggler Racing Engines Top Kart and looked to have a shot until a broken Chain sent him out early in the final. Black Flag Racing owner, Luke Vasquez made his re-return finishing fourth. FT- Zimmer,31.082 69.889mph SUMMARY- 1. Brandon Cusack 2. Zimmer3.Marshall Peterson 4. Vasquez 5. Blair

JR 1 Animal LT & HVY- In Saturdays light action it was newly crowned GrandNational Champion and IKF Expert Sting Ray Robb once again piloting his Red Apple Racing Express to the win in both light and heavy. This is Robb’s fifth straight JR 1 light & heavy win. Canadian Kyle Adams who has cinderella’d to Robb most of the five events this season was closer than ever to Robb in his Interior Kart Center K&K machine, Adams has been solid all season while learning the brand new K&K chassis. Newcomer and most improved driver thus far Trey “Treydawg” Manker drove the wheels of all day long qualifying third quick and capturing third behind Adams. Jacob Gullick aboard his CMC swiss hutless finished fourth, and in their recent return after a season layoff, twins Blake & Austin Portalski finished fifth and sixth respectively in light and fourth and fifth in heavy after Manker drove the right rear wheel studs right off early in the heavy final and finished in the sixth postion FT- Robb 34.295 63.351mph, FT Hvy- Robb 34.593 62.803 mph SUMMARY- LIGHT: 1. Robb 2. Adams3. Manker 4. Gulick 5. B. Portalski 6. A. Portalski HEAVY: 1. Robb 2.Adams 3. Gulick 4. B. Portalski 5. A. Portalski 6. Manker

IAME CUP/IAME CUP JR./ TAG MSTRS- Iame Cup action without Michael Valiante who was back east campaigning with his ROLEX roadracing team, saw the Scott Hargrove take the pole and the win in his Italian Motors/Ital Kart. The smooth and charismatic Hargrove who is also is competing in the Skip Barber Racing Series was flawless and when buckled down was virtually untouchable. The Iame Cup in its second season on the NWGCRMCS circuit is nobodies slouch with competitors such as David Jurca, Adam Isman, Remo Ruscitti, Paige Wallin & Valliante running regularly when their schedules allow. Isman followed Hargrove under the checkers for second, who was amazing all weekend & was rocket quick all weekend, followed by Rucitti, Jurca, McCallister, O’Farrell & Wallin. Paige Wallin the Northwest’s female phenomenon, fought chassis woes all weekend and never did find the combination that she liked. In Iame Cup Junior 3 it was Portland, Oregon’s Laura Freeman taking the the win in another fine display of sheer determination to improve. An independent, Freeman and her family are some of the hardest working competitors on the circuit and do a lot with a little, it will be neat to see Freeman start reaping the fruits of the teams hard work. It was the ”ActionMan” Tim Moss taking the win in his Black Flag Racing Tony kart in the TAG Masters division. FT- Hargrove 31.244 69.537mph SUMMARY- 1. Hargrove2. Adam Isman 3. Ruscitti 4. Jurca 5. McCallister 6. O’Farrell 7. Wallin Iame Cup Jr- 1. Laura Freeman TAG MASTERS- 1. Tim Moss

Rotax MiniMax- This was one of the best races of the weekend, exciting and heartbreaking all at the same time. Quick qualifier Sting Ray Robb captured heat 1 with “Wicked Quick” Kyle Wick second and without a doubt the most improved driver in MiniMax Matt Morgan third. In the Pre-Final Robb in a rare sight got in to hot in turn nine and looped his Red Apple Express and from there it was all Kyle WIck in his gorgeous green familiar Wicked Fabrication #9, Robb finished 11th. In the final it was Wick leading the way and Robb in pursuit after getting tangled up in a turn one start incident. Wick led every click of the final until Robb caught him and in a bold and daring move in the final turn, over drove the corner and got into the side of Wick taking them both to the very edge of the race track allowing third place Matt Morgan much to the delight of the capacity crowd to take the checkers in his first ever Rotax MiniMax win. Cole Franchini, Matt’s twin brother Mason, Rayce Spoor, and Seth Appel followed Morgan across the stripe. Wick and Robb finished ninth & tenth. Devin Smith who qualified third quick and was outstanding early on finished a dissapointing 11 after mechanical issues sidelined him early in the final. FT- Robb 32.349 67.162 mph SUMMARY- 1. Matt Morgan2. Cole Franchini 3. Mason Morgan 4. Rayce Spoor 5. Seth Appel

JR 2 Animal Light & Heavy- It was David Schorn versus Myles pederson in light competition, with Schorn & Pederson taking turns exchanging the lead while Hailey Groff watch from the third spot “Catbird” spot. Groff had an excellent view as she watch Schorn and Pederson go at it like a UFC title bout, but at the stripe it was Schorn coming off a big runner-up finish at the IKF GrandNationals taking the win in the Pre-Final followed by Pederson, Groff, Michael Guttenberger who was really struggling after running some tires won at the GrandNationals that ended up being the wrong compound and Bryce Peterson who had 4 stroke ace Ricky Worley tuning up the #17 hoping to rid that team of its black cloud string of bad luck. In the final it was Schorn and Pederson back at it and Groff in third in almost a deja-vu feel of the pre-final…Schorn led laps 1 thru 4, Pederson led lap 5 until Schorn out broke Pederson to regain the lead and lead laps 6-7…Pederson with a “Two can play this game” late brake move on Schorn recaptured the lead and led laps 8-10 with Schorn getting back by to led lap 11 until Pederson re-took the lead for good on lap 12 but got a scare late from Schorn who did a back from the dead last gasp try for the lead coming out of turn four just before the rollercoaster, but Pederson held off the attempt & took the win with Groff in the third spot…again, followed by IKF Grand National Champ Guttenberger in fourth, and never did quite find the handle…until later finding the tire issue and Bryce Peterson who was a bit better, but still in struggle mode finishing 5th. In HEAVY action on Sunday it was ALL newly crowned Champ Michael Guttenberger as he set fast time and swept everything to take the win..It was Schorn who inherited Guttenbergers Saturday luck and struggled most of the day with an unknown at the time broken seat strut. Bryce Peterson improved and shook some of his poor luck to finish fourth in the Heavy final, the “You always know what you’re gonna get” Myles Pederson finished behind Guttenberger in the runner-up spot. FT Light- Schorn 34.111 63.692mph SUMMARY LT- 1. Pederson 2. Schorn 3. Groff 4. Guttenberger 5. Peterson FTHeavy- Guttenberger 34.215 63.499mph SUMMARY HVY-1. Guttenberger 2. Pederson 3. Schorn 4. Peterson 5. Groff

Rotax Junior- Once again, the guy to beat was Artie Carpenter in this Black Flag Racing backed Tony Kart house car. There was a time when people said that Carpenter was only fast at his Tri-Cities home track…Now the critics have been silent as Carpenter has proven time and time again, that he IS the guy to beat, and it was no different in round five as Carpenter was the class of the field putting his kart on the pole and sweeping heat one, the pre-final, and the final. It really makes you wonder what it is that this kid has because he truly does not LOOK that much faster, but his when he crosses the stripe almost a half a lap ahead of the field, you know there is some magic in this talented young driver. From the drop of the green in heat one, it was ALL Carpenter with Guttenberger second and Carpenters teammate Marco Eakins third but the surprises were Kale Kunicki taking the fourth spot with a solid run and Tony Sisco rounding out the top five in his first regional race of the season, both drivers put in very impressive drives throughout the weekend…(Race Note: 2nd place Guttenberger was DQ’d for a rules infraction and relegated to last in heat one). In the pre-final it was once again Carpenter in command from the wave of the green, teammate Marco Eakins finished second Kale Kunicki once again was awesome finishing third, female sensation Brittany Zamora fourth and Tony Sisco again taking home fifth place honors. In the final, no surprise as Carpenter ran away and hid, Eakins trying to find his teammate finished second, proving that she is no fluke and can run with the boys, Brittany Zamora turned in one of her best performances of the year finished a strong third, with another female standout Hailey Groff starting to find her way around finished a respectable fourth, and Tyler Brown finally shook the luck gremlins and drove his way to the fifth spot….Kunicki and Guttenberger tangled while dicing for position with Kunicki finishing last and Guttenberger working his way back to salvage 7th. Job Kandris in his first outing in the series, struggled bit, but still managed a top 10 finishing tenth. FT- Carpenter 31.445, 69.092mph SUMMARY- 1. Carpenter 2. Eakins 3. Zamora 4. Groff 5. Brown

Shifters- Remo Ruscitti set his Italian Motors/ Ital Kart on the pole, captured heat one, the pre-final, and the final in route to a clean sweep in shifter competition. All three events were carbon copies with the exception of heat one, with Mike McGowan taking home fourth place honors…in the following events it was Meridian Idaho’s Myles Pederson on his 80cc machine capturing fourth place. Sensation Scott Hargrove and driver of the weekend Adam Isman followed Ruscitti under the checkers in second and third sport respectively in all 3 events. Ruscitti’s 30.565 qualifying time was the events quickest effort at an average speed of 71.082mph. FT- Ruscitti 30.565 71.082mph SUMMARY- 1. Ruscitti 2. Hargrove 3. Isman 4.Pederson 5. McGowan

World Formula Hvy, Masters, Medium- Vancouver BC’s Scott Barlee added two more to his win column by winning both Heavy and Masters. Turn-out was on the side of very poor with only Three racers in Heavy competition on Saturday, on Sunday it was down to two in Masters as the other entry ran medium…Where oh where have the all the four strokes gone?….But if your going to beat someone, you want it to be Brian Green from Portland, Oregon who captured the pole in both Heavy and Masters…. But it was the race gremlins that Green could not figure out as in the pre-final he lost a chain in the late going and coasted to pit road, Barlee coasted by to take the checkers….Thomas Wilson of Spokane and Elmer Patterson of Boise, Idaho followed Barlee’s #88 across the stripe. You NW karting history buffs may remember Patterson, as he was a former standout NW Gold Cup competitor and series champion. In the final it appeared as though Green might have things figured out and something for Barlee, until in almost a completely perfect “FlashBack” Green broke coming out the same turn, same spot, and coasted almost to the tire print to pit road, once again allowing Barlee to coast by to pick up his second Gold Cup win..Wilson played cinderella again finishing second and the wiley verteran Patterson wound up third. In Masters action on Sunday it was Brian Green again capturing the pole, the veteran IKF GrandNational Champ has fought of last years second half race gremlins and has been solid so far this year both regionally and locally….However, Green followed Barlee across the stripe in the pre-final with Thomas Wilson, Patterson, and Keith Land finishing third, fourth, and fifth. In the Final, Green and Barlee were nose to tail out of the gate and stayed that way until Barlee stuck a nose in at the end of the front chute and tangled with Green, both spun but it was Barlee who got going first and went on to win his second feature of the weekend giving him three notches in the win column. Thomas Wilson once again followed Barlee across in second and Green gathered and dusted himself off to salvage a third, Elmer Patterson brought his Race Inc. machine across fourth and Keith Land fifth. An FYI, Wenatchee’s Steve Adkins and Bellevue, Washington’s Jeremy Boldstad each won their Classes even though combined with the World Formula Heavy group on Saturday. Adkins took Yamaha “Supersport” while Bolstad captured the F-200 title. In Sunday’s action, runner up Thomas Wilson actually won World Formula Medium and fifth place finisher Keith Land captured the Gas Animal crown….due to the numbers or lack there of, all 4 four classes were combined and scored separately. FT WF HVY-Green 35.215 61.696mph SUMMARY- 1.Barlee 2. Wilson 3.Patterson 4. Green F-200- 1. Jeremy Bolstad Supersport- 1.Steve Adkins FT WF MASTERS- Green 35.527 61.154mph SUMMARY- 1. Barlee 2. Green 3. Patterson WF MED.- 1. Thomas Wilson GAS ANIMAL- 1. Keith Land

ROTAX/IAME CHALLENGE-Round #2…..”Zimmer redeems, takes round 2!”
Spokane, Washington’s Andrew Zimmer put his Black Flag Racing/ Tony Kart on the pole for the second straight time,with Italian Motors wheelman Scott Hargrove joining Zimmer on the outside of row 1. Row two had the ”Silky Speedster” Remo Ruscitti and weekend standout Adam Isman. Row three was veteran David Jurca (Who by the way just graduated with his Business Finance degree from the University of Washington) and the hard charging independent Kory Estell. Row 4 was made up of Italian Motors drivers Scott O’Farrell and young gun Jaime McCallister. Row 5 was a surprise entry…..with “Mr. Excitement” Brandon Schreiber sitting in for Paige Wallin……Right out of the gate it was Zimmer taking the point and control early with Hargrove and Ruscitti taking turns trying their hand at wearing down ZImmer who is proving to critic’s that he is deserving of the hoopla given to him, as he led all but one lap, when on the last lap, Ruscitti tried a “Hero or Zero” move on Zimmer at the end of the straight, and oh boy was it close, but ended up to close as the two got together allowing Hargrove to snatch the lead and the win….Upon reveiw, drivers Scott Hargrove and Remo Ruscitti both agreed that they really had nothing for Zimmer and would not have gotten by without the contact. So in a class act, they gave Zimmer the well deserved win, with Hargrove second and Ruscitti third. During trophy ceremonies Zimmer thanked his team and then thanked drivers Hargrove and Ruscitti for “Making things right”….Round 3 of the Rotax/Iame Challenge is scheduled for August 7th as the Northwest Gold Cup RotaxMax Challenge Series makes its swing back north to visit the SIMA Motorsports Complex in Sumas, Washington for round six in the series on August 5-7th.

ProSoundAudioServices is proud to be the official announcing service for the Northwest Gold Cup/RotaxMax Challenge Series, and would like to congratulate all of the newly crowned Grand National Champions from the past weeks IKF 4 Cycle GrandNationals held in Redding, California. ProSoundAudioServices would also like to give a “BIG SHOUT OUT” to all of the great and quality vendors that put up the prizes for the Iame/Rotax Challenge…The vendors wanted ALL of the champions that ran the event to not walk away empty handed and gave everything from cash to apparrel for each and every champion that started the Challenge… So thank you Blake Choquer-BBR racing, Don Holmboe-CMC inc., Bill & Debbie Hettick- Bam Race Tech, Mark Robustelli- Little Rocket racing, Larry Robb- Red Apple racing, Luke Vasquez & Ben Eakins- Black Flag racing, Roger Semro- Kart-O-Rama, & The Northwest Gold Cup/RotaxMax Challenge Series for your tried and true support of the NW Gold Cup as well as the sport of Karting. ProSoundAudioServices would also like to recognize USKN for the great “race shots”.See you in Sumas August 5th-7th.

 

7-18-11 Norcal Meeting for 2012 Racing Plans

On Saturday July 23 at Prairie City Kart track 5:30 PM, immediately following Gold Rush practice, there will be an open meeting to discuss the 2012 Racing Season in our area. This meeting will have each Club president present and will also be open for the clubs members to voice any of there concerns regarding the upcoming season.

All Star Karting Staff

 

7-20-11 Zachary Claman Demelo is The Champion

"ECKC title and trip to the Rotax World Finals"

Having already secured the Eastern Canadian Karting Championship Rotax Junior title, ZCD Autosports driver Zachary Claman DeMelo did not even need to compete in the final series event. With the threat of a disqualification being the only way to take away the title, Claman DeMelo and his crew decided to forgo the final round and watch from the sidelines as the champion.

"We are extremely happy with the results this year and I am certainly proud that Zach not only rose to the challenges presented to him, but has exceeded our expectations for the junior ranks this season," expressed driver coach Lee Bentham. "We set goals to run in the top five this season but realized after the first event, we could make a real run at the championship. Although his learning curve was quite steep, with hard work and perseverance, Zach came through with flying colors."

After claiming a race win at the Goodwood Kartways circuit earlier in the year, Claman DeMelo went on a consistent string of podium results and race wins to challenge the top of the standings. Following a great set of results at the next to last round at Mosport International Karting, Claman DeMelo had secured the title with ease before the final event in Mont Tremblant.

Bentham continued, "I am looking forward to training Zach for Europe as we look towards his first experiences on the international circuit. Racing at the Rotax World Finals is a feat in itself and we have high hopes as we head to Dubai."

ZCD Autosports has gelled together nicely and grown in the past year and has become one of Canada's top karting entities. Continuing to strive and aspire to improve each and every race weekend, ZCD Autosports has proven to all of karting that it is possible to reach such great heights within a short period of time.

ZCD Autosports would also like to congratulate Tyler Rapini in the Rotax Mini Max class. Rapini has shown great improvement throughout the season and scored a solid second place result under the ZCD Autosport banner.

For more information on Zachary Claman DeMelo and ZCD Autosports, please contact Lee Bentham at 480.353.7602 or via e-mail to Lee@LeeBentham.com.

 

7-20-1 Degrand Prepares to Battle For US Rotx Grand National Championship

J3 Competition/Kosmic driver set to contest Rotax Max Challenge United States Grand Nationals in Utah

 Fifteen year old Tristan DeGrand will look to become the youngest driver to be crowned national champion in American Rotax competition. Beginning July 20 through July 23, the 2011 United States Rotax Max Challenge Grand Nationals will take place at the Miller Motorsports Park facility in Tooele, Utah. The Missouri-native will be making his first start at the Grand Nationals although the nine-years of karting experience DeGrand has achieved both domestic and internationally includes his name among the contenders.

DeGrand is making the transition from Junior level racing to the Senior category (15 years and older), and doing quite well. Back in February due to a registration error, DeGrand moved up to the Senior category at the Florida Winter Tour Rotax Max Challenge event at the Palm Beach International Raceway. His debut results in two impressive performances, ending the feature races in eighth and sixth against a stacked international field. A month later, DeGrand returned to the series finale, this time at a familiar Ocala Gran Prix circuit - where he has recorded a number of victories. Among the lead pack throughout the weekend, DeGrand earned his first Senior podium finish, placing second in Saturday’s main event and an impressive fourth on Sunday.

“My first two weekends in Senior at the Florida Winter Tour helped to build my confidence even more, showing that I’m ready to move to the next level,” commented DeGrand while testing in Utah for the Grand Nationals. “After racing in the KF category for the last few years, the transition to the Rotax engine was not a shock. The speeds are similar, yet they act very different so I’ve had to adjust my driving. My approach however is the same, I’m racing to win.”

Working with the J3 Competition stable, the distributor of the OTK Kosmic chassis, DeGrand has been testing and racing to prepare for the US Grand Nationals. Racing at the two Pan American Challenge events in May and June, DeGrand left with a podium finish in South Bend, Indiana and a top five result at the Canadian event in Mosport. Last week, DeGrand returned to the Miller Motorsports Park where he last raced as a Cadet driver in the Stars of Karting program.

“While this will be my first Rotax Grand Nationals, large events such as this are nothing new to me,” continued DeGrand. “The international events that I have contested in the past few seasons will be similar to this, except it will be in the United States. I know many of the competitors and we have good respect for one another. The course here at the Miller Motorsports Park is challenging and the heat will come into play. I know my training over the last few months along with J3 Competition and my family behind me, we have a good shot at the victory.”

The 15-year old will formally start his bid for the national championship on Wednesday, July 20 when official practice begins. Qualifying will take place Thursday followed by the first round of heat races. Friday will host the final two heat runs, setting up for the Prefinal and Final on Saturday to decide the champions and who will join the prestigious Team USA for the Rotax Grand Finals in the United Arab Emirates. Tristan would like to thank his sponsors - J3 Competition, Supertune USA, Alpinestars, Pro Am Golf, Inc. and Thinkglobale Inc. - for their support. Additional information on Tristan DeGrand can be found on his personal website - degrandracing.com .
 

7-20-11 Leading Edge Motorsports Looks for Continued Success at SKUSA SummerNationals

This coming weekend, Greg Bell’s Leading Edge Motorsports squad will journey to Grand Junction, Colorado for the second stop on the Superkarts! USA Pro Tour - the Mothers® SummerNationals at the Grand Junction Motor Speedway. Two months have passed since the SpringNationals in Tucson, Arizona, where LEM drivers came away with solid results, including a race win and the point lead in the ultra-competitive TaG Senior class. The combination of quality Intrepid equipment and Leading Edge power was strong in Tucson, and with a good amount of testing and regional racing being logged in May and June, Bell and his LEM squad are ready to tackle the next step to Pro Tour glory.

Leading the way for LEM at the SummerNationals will be current TaG Senior championship point leader Brett Felkins. The Californian earned a victory and podium finish in the first two rounds of the SKUSA Pro Your, running his LEM-tuned Intrepid Cruiser with a Leading Edge-built Parilla Leopard. As a result, Felkins enjoys a small cushion in the championship chase heading into Colorado and will be fired up and ready to attack his competition to build on his advantage before the all-important SuperNationals.

“Tucson was a great way to kick off the season for Brett, and we’re looking forward to seeing him shine in Colorado as well,” stated Greg Bell, the Leading Edge team principle. “While we haven’t been racing him at some of the higher-profile regional events, he’s been preparing for Grand Junction both mentally and physically. With our Intrepid-LEM Parilla package as strong as it is right now, I have no doubt that we will come out of the trailer as one of the challengers for the event victory. I’m very pleased with the numbers that we’re seeing on the dyno for both our TaG and Stock Moto engine packages.”

Cody Diede’s Tucson weekend contrasted Felkin’s success, as he was plagued by bad luck in the S2 Semi-Pro Stock Moto category. Cody was unable to finish either of the main events in Tucson, but he showed the speed to be able to challenge the top-10. This weekend, Cody will concentrate on producing solid and consistent results aboard his LEM-tuned Intrepid Cruiser. “Cody will head into Grand Junction with one goal, and that is finishing the race and producing the best result possible,” Bell continued. “The S2 category is very competitive, much like TaG Senior, but with patience and speed, Cody is sure to be there in the end fighting for a top-10 finish. We know that he has the ability and the equipment, so we’ll also be hoping for a little luck this time around.”

Joining Cody in S2 will be his brother Troy, who will move to the Stock Moto class after running TaG Senior in Arizona. Overcoming troubles in the heat races on both days, Diede muscled his way to finishes of 17th and 14th to stand 16th in the championship chase. “Troy had an up and down weekend in Tucson,” commented Bell. “While he showed the speed to run inside the top-10, luck was not on his side through the heat races. For Colorado, we’re moving him to S2 so that he and Cody will be able to work together on set-ups.”

Mexican driver Carlos Ferdez continued to improve under the tutelage of Greg Bell and the Leading Edge Motorsports banner. Entered in the S4 Master category with a LEM Intrepid Cruiser, Ferdez improved throughout the weekend around a circuit he had never seen before. Qualifying 15th for Saturday’s action, Ferdez battled in the heat races in an effort to break into the top-10, finishing 12th in the 20-lap feature. Ferdez and Bell worked overnight in search of more speed for Sunday’s action, and it paid off. The right combination helped Ferdez qualifying in the ninth position. Ferdez held the spot through the first heat and gained two positions in the second heat, to start the main event in seventh. As the lights went out to begin the main event, Ferdez was on the move. Getting as high as fourth, Ferdez engaged in a fierce battle to remain in the top-five. When the checkered flag waved, Ferdez was classified sixth to record his best finish of the series thus far.

Leading Edge Motorsports fielded three drivers in the competitive S2 Semi-Pro category. The building block for the shifterkart stars of tomorrow, Bell is working with three rising pilots. The Diede brothers - Cody and Troy - have been making the transition from TaG to Stock Moto this season. After poor qualifying results, the duo race their way forward to start the main event inside the top-11. Cody started seventh, keeping safe and out of trouble to take the checkered flag in sixth - but a fraction of an inch too wide on the rear width removed him from the results. Troy was advancing into the top-10 when he was spun early on, dropping him to the rear of the field. He would drive on to finish 18th. Returning for more action on Sunday, Troy picked up the pace in qualifying to end up 12th in the session while Cody had a fuel supply issue to put him at the back of the grid. Both would end their first heat race early but rebounded with a great drive from the back of the grid to start the final 13th for Cody and 15th for Troy. The duo worked their way into the top-10 of the main event until Cody made a slight error, dropping off course and down outside the top-15. Troy continued on to place a solid seventh while Cody fought strong to place 15th. Mexican driver Mariana Ramirez joined the duo in the S2 class, leaving Colorado with an up-and-down weekend. Showing the pace to run strong, contact and bad luck hurt any chance of a top-10 both days. Mariana ended up placing 19th and 16th on the weekend.

Leading Edge Motorsports will be closing out the season with the remaining SKUSA regional dates left on the calendar - including the ProKart Challenge West Coast Shootout in August at Buttonwillow - and other Northern California events to prepare for the big show of the season - the Superkarts! USA SuperNationals. To learn more about Leading Edge Motorsports and working with Greg Bell, contact Bell directly at 209.369.0921 or e-mail leadingedgeguy@sbcglobal.net and be sure to visit www.leadingedgemotorsports.com

 

7-20-1 Alberico Gains Valuable Formula Ford Race Experience at Zolder

Talented American rookie battled top drivers from across Europe in third Formula Ford EuroCup event

Neil Alberico’s Belgian road trip continued this past weekend (July 16-17), with the talented American gaining valuable race experience at Circuit Zolder via two Formula Ford EuroCup races. The Cliff Dempsey Racing rookie once again showed good skill against the top FF racers in Europe, finishing 13th in both races on a track that has limited passing opportunities.

One week after racing at the famed Circuit Spa-Francorchamps, Alberico was back behind the wheel at the other Grand Prix track in Belgium…Zolder. The American, as in the previous Formula Ford EuroCup affair, once again went head-to-head against not only the majority of the Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain field, but top racers in the Benelux Formula Ford Championship as well. The Californian, having never seen the 4.0-km road course prior to the event, spent the Friday morning practice/test session getting acclimated to the 11-turn configuration, and working with his Cliff Dempsey Racing engineers and mechanics on car setup. When the session came to a close, the former karting standout had not only gathered a good deal of valuable data and information, but also posted the 11th best time.

Returning to the cockpit of his No. 22 Lohmann Tapes/Sparco USA/Kartel Motorsports/Murray Motorsport/Ray RaceCar/Cliff Dempsey Racing entry a short time later for the lone qualifying run, the goal was to not only post the best lap time possible, but also continue developing his Ray GR11 for the two 12-lap races. Alberico, in what proved to be a congested affair with all 25 cars looking for clear space on-track, ended the run with 13th quickest time, having improved his morning test time by close to two seconds.

Alberico, as expected, was excited to go racing on Saturday morning when the EuroCup field rolled back on-track for race one of the doubleheader. Confident he could work his way forward as the race progressed, the reigning Bondurant Championship Race Series champion promptly did just that early on, advancing up to 10th by lap five, despite the limited number of passing zones at Zolder. Alberico, in what was a highly-spirited five car duel, proceeded to trade positions virtually every lap, with his finish position only determined exiting the final corner. The Californian in the end crossed the stripe in the same place he had started, 13th, finishing the race as the top Ray chassis driver.

With a tricky drying track greeting Alberico and the rest of the field on Sunday morning, it was anyone’s guess how race two of the Zolder doubleheader would play out. For the highly-rated American, race two however proved to be a nearly identical affair to his opening run. While Alberico did not enjoy the same sort of early race charge up the order as in race one, he was again engaged in an entertaining battle for 10th through 15th. Dicing all the way to the checkered flag, the European racing rookie came home in 13th for a second consecutive race.

“The past two EuroCup events have been great learning opportunities for myself and the team, as we had to deal with very tricky track conditions each time,” stated Alberico. “Some of the races didn't swing in our favor, but it was a great experience none the less. On top of that, Belgium is a beautiful country and both Spa and Zolder are beautiful circuits. I’m looking forward to getting another shot at the podium next month at Zandvoort, but until then I'll be training hard and enjoying my time here in Europe.”

Alberico now has a month’s hiatus until he resumes his chase of an inaugural MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain podium finish on August 13-14, when Rounds 13, 14 and 15 will be contested at Circuit Park Zandvoort in the Netherlands. The Cliff Dempsey Racing rookie will once again be battling top racers from both the British and Benelux series during the tripleheader, as the event will mark the conclusion of the 2011 Formula Ford EuroCup. Alberico enters the Dutch races currently eighth in the Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain title chase, and as the top Ray chassis driver.

For direct contact, please contact Neil Alberico @ nalberico@comcast.net

 

7-18-11 Red Line Race #4 Recap - Near record turnout, strong Senior Rotax field

Another fantastic day at the Jim Russell Karting International Center where a near record turnout of eighty three drivers turned out for Round #4 of the Red Line Oil Karting Championship. The Senior Rotax, Rotax Masters and TaG race groups all had the largest fields. The Senior Rotax class may have had the deepest field of talented Rotax drivers that have run at the track in years. The racers had to deal with the very technical Reverse Sprint track configuration, a layout which some drivers love and others struggle to get the speed they need.

Feature Race: GoPro TaG race group

With two GoPro Hero HD cameras up for grabs, thirteen karts took the track for some competitive and exciting racing. The two Senior TaG karts and the two Junior TaG karts would battle to see who would win one of the GoPro HD cameras and the winner of the nine kart strong IAME TaG class would take home the second GoPro HD camera. In Qualifying, Larry Fraser (Sr TaG) took the pole ahead of JP Cadoux (Sr TaG) followed by the Jr TaGs, Mason Filippi and Austin Thomas along with the top IAME TaG drivers next with Don Rocci and Ben Schreiner in fifth and sixth . In the first Pre-Main, four drivers lost the race before the end of the first lap including Fraser and Filippi. JP Cadoux took the win ahead of Thomas with Rocci and Schreiner in third and fourth. In the second Pre-Main, Fraser took the win ahead of Cadoux followed by Filippi, Thomas, Rocci and Schreiner. In the Main, three strong drivers had to start deep in the pack due to problems in the heat races and this made for some exciting racing. Cadoux took the lead early but Fraser challenged hard and then took the lead. Ten laps into the race, Fraser spun after he ran through some on-track debris allowing Cadoux by for the overall win and Sr TaG class win. Thomas held third throughout the race with Filippi needing to get by four other karts before he could challenge for the Jr TaG win. Mason got up to fourth place and closed the gap on Thomas to just two tenths of a second but ran out of time to be able to make a pass attempt.

In the IAME Cup race features "spec" gearing to keep competition close and costs down. This class has seen a lot of growth and now, half way through the season, the field is becoming very strong. Don Rocci held the lead for most of the race to take his third class win of the year with Ben Schreiner taking a strong second with Bryce Guzman moving up two spots to take the third by the end of the tough fifteen lap race. The GoPro Hero HD Cameras went to JP Cadoux and Don Rocci for their efforts.

Rotax Masters

The Masters class had their largest turnout of the year with thirteen entries. Cameron Evans pulled off the hat trick by taking the pole and winning both the Pre-Mains and the Main. Like wise, Jerry Pretti was second to Evans in Qualify, along with all three races. The real battle during the day was for the third place positions. In qualifying, Ken Santos was third followed by Scott Ripslinger and Bob Hurst. In the first Pre-Main, first year racer Santos got shuffled back after the start with Ripslinger taking a solid third followed by Hurst and Chris Rossi. In the second Pre-Main, Ripslinger again took the third spot followed this time by Geoff Wise and Hurst. In the Main, Evans and Pretti quickly pulled away from the field with four karts battling for the third and last podium spot. Ripslinger, Hurst and Wise battled back and forth all race but a charging Berry Lee came up to challenge these three and picked them off on by one until he had the third place spot. In the end, Evans took the win followed by Pretti, Lee, Hurst and Ripslinger.

Rotax DD2 and DD2 Masters

The lone DD2 class was driven by series promoter Steve Cameron who ran his third different class in the series to see how the classes work and to help develop the series. Steve had to get used to the paddle shifting that is used on the DD2 karts, but soon adapted to the "formula car" feel. Taking the pole was Michael Ostrowski ahead of Andre Eriksen and David Palic. Cameron had transponder problems in qualifying and had to start sixth. In the first Pre-Main, Ostrowski pulled away from the field early with Cameron working his way through the field. Eriksen and Cameron battled late in the race with Cameron getting by but not having enough time to catch Ostrowski. In the second Pre-Main, again Ostrowski took the early lead with Cameron battling through the field to take second less than one second back with Eriksen third and Palic fourth. In the Main, Eriksen got into the lead early from his third place starting spot and held the position until Cameron made the pass for the lead. Ostrowski's power was not the same as in the Pre-Mains and he had to settle for the third spot. Dave Moody got by Palic and drove his tail off to stay in front of Palic. In the end, Cameron took the race win and the DD2 class win. Eriksen took the second overall and the DD2 Masters class win followed by Ostrowski with Moody coming in fourth overall, third in DD2 Masters.

80 Masters

With seven drivers in the field, Charles Hastings took the pole ahead of Tom Nelson and Roger Cornwall who was sporting a new chassis. In the first Pre-Main, Nelson took the lead early and held on for a narrow win ahead of Hastings and Cornwall. In the second Pre-Main, Hastings launched from the standing start taking the lead at the drop of the green and took the win with Nelson in close pursuit, Cornwall third. In the Main, Hastings again took the lead, Nelson started to have problems and had to finally drop out after six laps. Cornwall took over the second spot and stayed within sight of the leader but could not get any closer than two seconds of Hastings. In the end, Hastings took the win, Cornwall second and an inspired drive by Geoff Provo earned him the third place spot.

Senior Rotax

A field of fifteen karts gave Senior Rotax its largest field of the year. New additions to the field were Matt Meech from San Diego, former series drivers Jake Mottaz and Matt Powers along with TJ Fisher, Bronson Eggert and former Tag driver Eddie Johnson and a rare entry from 2005 national Senior Rotax champ, Wes Phillips. In qualifying, series regulars Kiel Spaulding, Niki Luna and Carlos Calderon took the first three spots on the Pre-Main grids followed by Powers, Meech and Phillips. In the first Pre-Main, Spaulding controlled the pace of the race right from the start and went on to a one second win. Behind Spaulding though was spectacular racing with Calderon, Luna, Meech, Eggert and Phillips all battling hard for position, but all finishing in the early order. In the second Pre-Main, Spaulding again pulled out to a convincing win with the battle behind heating up with Calderon taking second over Luna followed by Meech, Powers and Jake Mottaz. Mattaz having to start from the rear of both Pre-Mains due to no time in qualifying. In the Main, Spaulding took the lead at the start with Meech making a strong move in turn one to move from fourth to second, a position he would not give up for the fifteen laps of the race. Luna, Calderon and Powers all put the peddle to the metal for the third spot, Phillips had a problem on lap four and had to retire. Meanwhile Mottaz was moving through the field as if on a rail. In the end, Spaulding took the win, Meech second, Luna third and Mottaz made it up to fourth (Mottaz also took the fastest lap of the race) with Calderon taking the fifth spot.

Junior Rotax-KPV2-KPV1

In the Qualifying, four Jr Rotax karts lead the two KPV2 karts followed by the lone KPV1. Southern California's racer, Enzo Mestre took the pole position ahead of Zack Dante, Will Preston and Maxx Marian, the KPV2's of Jaden Conwright and Tommy McCarthy and the KPV1 of Alex Hudson. In the first Pre-Main, the veteran Mestre took the early lead and was never headed with Marion moving up to take the second spot followed by Dante, Preston, Conwright, McCarthy and Hudson. In the second Pre-Main, Dante swept around the outside of turn one to take the early lead but the experienced Mestre made a strong pass on lap three and went on to the win with Marian again moving up to take second, followed by Preston, Dante, Conwright, McCarthy and Hudson. In the Main, Enzo took the lead at the green and was never headed on his way to an eighth second win. Marian was in control of second for most of the race with Dante closely on his tail. Zack made his move with a couple of laps from the end to take over the runner up spot and held on to it all the way to the checkered flag. Marian had to settle for third and Preston in fourth. In KPV2, Conwright took the win over McCarthy with Alex Hudson taking the KPV1 win. Alex has been the lone KPV1 this year, but he is on a mission. He plans to run Mini-Max next year and is using the race track time to get to know each track configuration so he is better prepared for 2012.

Rotax Masters Light

Andrea Delfanti took the pole ahead in the six kart field, followed by Mary Beth Wilson and Stephan Gaudreau. In the first Pre-Main, Delfanti took a convincing win over Wilson and when Gaudreau and David Carlisle tangled, Michael Riyanto came home in the third spot in his first Rotax race. In the second Pre-Main, Delfanti took the early lead, but this time Wilson stayed close the entire distance. Delfanti took the win, Wilson second, less than a second back and David Carlisle working past Gaudreau for third. In the Main, Delfanti and Wilson again took off and left the field behind. The two past class champs drove fast and hard with Wilson putting intense pressure on Delfanti, hoping to force a mistake, but no mistakes by Delfanti! It gave him the win with Wilson less than three tenths of a second behind with David Carlisle again out dueling Gaudreau to take the third spot.

Sanzaru Games mini-Max

With the field at seven karts due to two regulars missing from this event, the day was still far from quiet for this class. In Qualifying, Michael Michoff took the pole ahead of visiting Illinois driver Ethan Tyler and Toni Breidinger. In the first Pre-Main, Tyler took the lead at the start followed by Michoff. But at the end of the first lap, Tyler threw a chain and the six karters right behind had to scatter to avoid him. This put Annie Breidinger into the lead with Michoff chasing to make that lead. On Lap seven, Michoff had problems and was forced to park it, leaving Annie in the lead with Wilson Skjerven just behind her and Horatio Fitz-Simon in the third spot place. In the second Pre-Main, Michoff was leading the field around for the start but when his brake rotor failed he was once again forced to park it. Tyler then assumed the pole and drove into the lead through turn one with Annie Breidinger right behind. Tyler could not be caught thus he went onto the win, with Annie in second and Sister Toni Breidinger third and Wilson fourth. As they lined up for the Main, it was Annie on pole, Wilson next to her, Tyler third, Michoff sixth. After the fall of the green a tight field of karts shuffled into turn one, Wilson and Tyler ended up hooked together at the exit as the rest of the field raced away. A very disappointed Wilson got going but was far behind and Tyler was broken down and had to be pushed to the fence. Annie took the lead for several laps with Michoff staying right behind and Horatio holding third. At mid race, Michoff made a pass on Annie and drove on to his third win in a row, Annie coming home second with Horatio fighting off a race long challenge from Toni Breidinger to take his first podium finish. Even though Wilson Skjerven was far back, he did leave everyone the fact that he had his best speed of the year and is a real challenger for the podium.

125 Stock Moto - SKUSA S2 and S4

With six of the ten karts being the quicker S2 karts, there was much anticipation for a good S2 battle by the end of the day. Brett Buckwalter continued his qualifying dominance by taking the pole ahead of Jason Toft with Daniel Langon in third. The top S4 again was Jim Inglebright in seventh followed by David Arnstein in eighth. In the first Pre-Main, Buckwalter took the lead at the drop of the flag and was never headed with Toft staying close, followed by Langon and Neil Joseph. In S4, Inglebright came home first with Arnstein in second and Nick Galante in third. In the second Pre-Main, Toft took the lead at the start but Buckwalter quickly got by going on to his second win of the day. Trying hard to stay up with Buckwalter, Toft spun and had to re-enter the track way back eventually coming home seventh overall. Langon took over second and made a charge coming home two seconds down on the leader while Joseph took third. In S4, Inglebright came home first, Galante second and Arnstein third. In the Main, Buckwalter again took the lead at the drop of the flag. Toft had to work his way up from fourth and made quick business of Joseph and Langon so he could put the pressure back on Buckwalter. The two top S2 drivers drove the wheels off their karts lap after lap but Toft just could find the extra speed he needed to challenge Buckwalter. In the end, Buckwalter took the win, Toft second and Langon a solid third. In S4, Inglebright completed a clean sweep of the class results with a fifth place overall finish and a four second class win over David Arnstein who came home sixth overall with Galante eighth overall.

All the results and championship point standings can be found at www.mylaps.com. The next RLOKC race will be August 14th, 2011 again at the Jim Russell Karting Center when the race will be run using the Sprint track configuration. Saturday, August 13th 2011 will be available for practice, pre-registration and pre-tech. For more information about the Red Line Oil Karting Championship, please visit www.redlineoilkarting.com 

 

7-18-11 Austin Elliott performs well in WKA action at BeaveRun

Traveling to the World Karting Association (WKA) George Kugler/Bridgestone Manufacturer's Cup event at the BeaveRun Motorsports Complex in Wampum, Pennsylvania, Californian driver Austin Elliott was excited to get a look at his competition. Having competed in the International Karting Federation (IKF) and Superkarts! USA (SKUSA) action on the West Coast, this would be the Top Kart driver's first visit to the WKA karting scene and to the challenging and technical circuit against drivers on the East Coast.

"I knew there would be some great drivers competing at this race and high numbers of drivers so I was excited to get to the track and start testing" expressed Elliott. "There were thirty-three drivers in the Parilla Leopard class on Saturday and forty drivers in TaG Senior on Sunday. More than half the field could win one of these races on any given weekend."

Rain, thunder and lightening would delay official practice on Friday morning. After many hours of solid downpours, the sun eventually came out and the track dried up to allow for a few test sessions that afternoon. Having only minimal time to learn the track, Elliott started Saturday morning strong, qualifying in a solid seventh position just two tenths off the leader in the stout Parilla Leopard field. In the eight-lap prefinal, the P1 Engines powered Top Kart driver would battle with the lead group to cross the stripe in eighth. Knowing that work was needed to stay inside the top ten, Elliott and his Top Kart crew went to work to make the necessary changes for the main event.

At the drop of the green flag, the Californian went on the offensive gaining several positions in the opening laps. Keeping pace with the lead quartet was tough but Elliott was up for the challenge. When the dust had finally settled, an impressive sixth place result was in store for Austin and his Team Top Kart.

Sunday would see the same kind of start as Saturday when Elliott would qualify just inside the top ten in the TaG Senior class. Utilizing a Parilla Leopard motor in a class that allows multiple engine brands and models was a slight disadvantage at the long BeaveRun track, but Elliott had a good kart and setup and was up for the challenge. Racing up to sixth in the pre-final had Austin feeling a podium result for the Main event. Starting in the sixth position and after two restarts, the green flag was granted for the forty hungry drivers and Austin quickly moved into the fifth spot. By turn two, disaster would strike as the Top Kart driver would suffer a mechanical issue and be forced to pull into the pits.

Elliott commented, "The mechanical issue in the start of the main event on Sunday was disheartening because I really felt I would see a finish worthy of a podium result. I enjoyed this race as it was both exhilarating and challenging. I learned a lot about driving and tuning. You really need to stay on top of your game in these classes both with your driving and tuning skills. I have to thank my Top Kart team and my competitors for helping me get things together so quickly on Friday. I hope to get the opportunity to race this level of competition again soon.

Austin would like to thank his Mom for working along side him at this race and for her support of reaching his racing goals. Mike Tetreault and Grand Products Inc., Wesley Boswell, Bridgestone Tires, Jesus of P1 Engines, Ron Winter of Avery Dennison, STAT Medical, Fresno Tap Recycling Auto Dismantler, Sons of Stafford Plumbing and RDS Race Cars & Chassis of Elk Grove.

For more information on Austin Elliott and Austin's racing sponsors, please visit them online at www.AustinElliottRacing.com.