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Archives June 2010
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6-28-10 IKF 2 Cycle Grand Nationals Day 4 Action
Story & Photos By RaceMediaGroup.com
After three
great days of racing, the Final day of the 2010 2-cycle
Grand Nationals at Willow Springs Kart Club proved to be a
true finale hosted by Willow Springs and TiMi Promotions.
Drivers working towards Duffy’s all weekend knew it was the
last opportunity to grab the prestigious trophy and some
karters had entered three classes to raise their odds.
Additionally the most special trophy offered by IKF, the
Lake Speed award, would be handed out and all eyes were
awaiting the presentation following the week’s events.
First
up was the Sr. Super Sportsman Heavy category sponsored by
BKS Racing Engines and Scott Saunders got fast time and the
Screaming eagle with a flying lap of 47.883. In the heat
race Felkins got hung out on the start allowing Saunders to
jump out to a big lead. Around Halfway second through fifth
all got together sidelining Bryan Eady and Leland Holden.
Felkins lost several positions allowing Saunders to cruise
to victory. With two fast drivers coming from the back, the
anticipation for great racing was strong. On the opening
turn Saunders jumped out to the lead. Eady got to sixth by
turn 2 got together with Felkins ending both their races.
Leland Holden made a stellar run through the pack to take
over the second place late. Saunders got the win but was
removed from Post race tech giving the win to Holden.
Bronson Eggert finished second with Colby Wright, Brian
Gallagher and Ryan Casner finishing the top five.
The
Kartel Motorsports Jr 1 Comer took to the track and Parker
Thompson grabbed the Screaming Eagle and fast time with a
50.209. In the heat Race Colton Herta and Curt Paul Jumped
out to an early lead. Paul made a mistake and got fed to the
Wolves fighting for second and dropped back. Herta got the
win with Thompson second for the front row in the Main. On
the start of the Final Herta jumped out once again with Paul
on his tail after getting through traffic. The two worked
together to pull away from the field. With 6 laps to go
Herta had spindle issues causing him to drive off the track.
This allowed Curt Paul to pull away to an uncontested
victory and his first IKF Duffy. Parker Thompson was second
with Zane Smith winning the battle for third. Blaine Rocha
and Davey Manthei Jr were the rest of the top five.
IKF
TAG Sr. sponsored by Russell Karting was the fastest class
of the weekend and Bobby Kelley set fast time for the
Screaming Eagle with a 44.602 lap. Bobby Kelley got the jump
on the start with Felkins in tow. The two ran away from the
field with Felkins staying close to his bumper looking like
what would setup a close race to the Duffy. The start of the
Final looked the same with both jumping out to a big lead.
As laps wound down Kelley began pulling away and he cruised
to a 1.5 second lead and the Duffy.
The
Jr 2 KPV category sponsored by TNR Motorsports had one
driver looking for his fifth Duffy of the weekend. Driver
Jake Craig had won four Duffy’s already on the weekend and
was looking for his fifth. He was off to a good start with
winning the screaming Eagle with a fast time of 46.116. On
the start of the Final David Vasquez jumped out to the lead.
Vasquez paced the field running fast laps with Craig right
with him. Vasquez got sideways and let Craig by but
pushed him across the line for the two to start together on
the front row of the Duffy race. On the start of the Final
Vasquez went spinning and Craig inherited the lead. Austin
Elliott stayed close and put the pressure on the leader but
as the checkered flew Craig worked himself a 1.271 second
victory. Elliott was a solid second with Brandon Reed, Jason
Hannegan and Sonny Cervelli the top five.
Last
race on the weekend was KPV-4 Sponsored by Pro Kart Shop and
Nick Johnston set fast time for the Screaming Eagle with a
46.354. In the heat Johnston looked like he had the race in
hand with an easy victory. On the start of the Final
Johnston again got the jump and began to pull away. Five
laps in Kolby Araki found Johnston’s bumper and the two
began working together. As laps wound down the battle became
a four kart battle with Robby Harryman and Matt Johnson
joining the train. Last lap Araki pulled the trigger in turn
eight leaving one hairpin left before the checkered.
Johnston dove back to the inside with Araki crossing him up
with a drag race to the line. Araki got his second Duffy of
the weekend and Harryman followed through to second.
Johnston fell to third with Johnson and Felkins finishing
the top five.
After the
last trophy presentations of the night, previous Lake Speed
award winners Matt Johnson, Jesus Vasquez, and Nick Johnston
presented the award to the 2010 winner. A real heartfelt
speech by Matt Johnson reminded how important Karting was
for the development of young drivers, but the amount of Fun
as well. Johnson the first winner of the award, happily
named the 2010 Lake Speed Achievement award to five time
Duffy winner of the 2010 Grand Nationals Jake Craig, then
stated the importance of sportsmanship for prerequisites to
be chosen for the award.
In closing
the Willow Springs Kart Club and TiMi Promotions did a
perfected job at hosting the 2-cycle grand nationals. The
track itself lends itself to passing and close racing,
however adding the extra allure of “under the lights racing”
brought cooler weather and less wind. The cooler
temperatures provided more grip on the track and the racing
became even closer. The 2011 2-Cycle Grand Nationals are at
CalSpeed by Karting Ventures and the bar was set high by
TiMi Promotions.
Videos and pictures by Race
Media Group will be uploaded and can be seen on
WestCoastKarters.com
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6-30-10
Schoombee and Giebler Extend Prokart Challenge South Point
Leads With Victories at Buttonwillow
Southern California series visits Buttonwillow Raceway Park
as title chases heat up
With the summer season now in full swing, the Superkarts!
USA ProKart Challenge South is reaching the final few legs
of the 2010 season. Started back in January, the six-race
championship series hosted the fifth round of the tour at
the Buttonwillow Raceway Park kart track in Southern
California. The turnout brought together the solid core of
top-notch drivers and teams that make up the PKC program.
Showing the way in the headline divisions were the point
leaders heading into the weekend Clinton Schoombee and Phil
Giebler as both took home the feature victories in the S1
Pro Stock Moto and TaG Senior categories.
Schoombee
was untouchable on the day in S1 as he swept the events
activities. From qualifying, where he posted a fast lap of
47.097, Schoombee was the class of the field. Tommy Thompson
was the only driver to stay within reach throughout the day,
coming in just over a tenth back of Schoombees qualifying
pace. Schoombee would lead green-to-checkered in both heat
races, with Thompson running in tow. Clean off the line,
Schoombee continued his run at the point to lead all 20 laps
of the main event for his second-straight feature win and
third of the year. Unable to attack early, Thompson held his
ground in the runner-up spot for a third straight race with
Brad Dunford posting his third podium finish of the season.
Giebler
found himself in the chase role to begin the days action in
TaG Senior. Former series champion and third in the title
chase Billy Cleavelin posted the quick lap of the qualifying
session 48.753 with Giebler back over two tenths in the
second spot. Cleavelin kept the advantage through the first
heat by taking the win, despite Giebler posting the fast
lap. Giebler, however, took over the point near the halfway
mark of the second heat, cruising to the win. From there,
Giebler went unchallenged to lead all 20 laps of the feature
for win number two of the year. Cleavelin fought off early
challenges from Adam Zeen for the second step on the podium
and moved himself to the same position in the standings
heading to the series finale.
Aside
from the headline divisions, the S4 Master Stock Moto class
has provided great drama at each and every event.
Buttonwillow was no different, as it crowned a first time
series winner Phil Dunford. Out front early was three-time
SKUSA SuperNationals winner Jeff Littrell, as he posted a
monster lap in qualifying 48.059 to clear the field by
nearly half a second. Littrell continued to hold the point
through the first heat race. Dunford fell from second to
third in the opening moto, as he and Phil Conte swapped
positions after the first eight-lap battle. In the second
heat, Littrell was leading until a spin on track from gravel
caused heavy contact with Jonathan Allen, taking them both
out of the race. From there, Dunford assumed the point and
ran to the win. Starting from P1 in the feature, Dunford was
challenged by Steve Donia. Taking the lead for the opening
circuit, Donia was overtaken by Dunford on the following
lap. Posting the fast laps of the race early, Dunford was
able to establish a solid lead, going on to take the victory
and place himself into the championship chase heading to the
series finale. Donia came under attack from Doug Hayashi and
Colorado driver Mike McDonough, who would complete the
podium with Donia in fourth. Littrell came up from the tail
of the field to fifth by the halfway mark until contact with
Conte put them at the back of the field.
The
S2 Semi-Pro Stock Moto championship chase may come down to
the final lap in August following the action this past
weekend. Ryon Beachner was best in qualifying, with Vivek
Tandon and Colorado driver Christian Bird filling out the
top-three. Tandon pulled off the line quickest and went on
to win the opening heat race. Beachner fought with the rest
of the field for the second spot and was able to hold off
Bryce Miller for the position in the end. For the second
heat, Beachner was able to get off the line better to show
the way early on. Tandon, however, would come through in the
end to take over the lead and the win, with Miller once
again in third. The main event was all Tandon as he cruised
to his second straight feature win by over 12 seconds.
Beachner was second until lap eight, when he pulled off with
heat exhaustion. Corey Neveau was able to get around Miller
for the second step of the podium.
G1 witnessed a great show at the front of the field thanks
to point leader PP Mastro, Robert Marks and Fernando Diaz.
Mastro struck first with the top time in qualifying, while
Marks was able to better him in both heat races with Diaz
giving chase in third both times. From the pole position at
the start of the main, Marks led early on before Mastro took
over the top position. Diaz then began to challenge Marks
for second, allowing Mastro to build up a solid lead. In the
end, Mastro won by 1.5-seconds over Diaz with Marks
completing the podium.
Jason Attwood continues to reign in the S3 Novice Stock Moto
category with his fourth straight feature win. Surely to
move up to the S2 division for 2011, Attwood swept the days
action over Jessica Sollberger and Todd Wilson. Matias
Podboj was able to match the same results to extend his
point lead in the growing S5 Junior Stock Moto. Augie Lerch
was second in the main event with Micah Hendricks filling
out the third step of the podium. Ron Rossetti was the
driver to beat throughout the day in TaG Masters until the
end, when Rob Soares snuck by for the feature win. Rossetti
was best in qualifying and won both heat races, with Soares
matching his pace to that point. In the final, however,
Soares picked up the pace before the halfway mark to take
over the point. Posting fast lap of the race, Soares went on
to win by three-seconds over Rossetti with Steve Wiener in
third.
Luke Bianco was on his way to his fourth feature win of the
season in S4 Magnum Stock Moto until his motor let go on lap
10 of the main event. This put Marc Lewis in the number one
spot, as he went on to earn his first series victory of the
season and gain ground on Biancos point lead. Larry Metter
was second in the order, with Bianco classified third.
Andrew Wiener was the lone TaG Junior of the event, going
unchallenged to the victory and moving himself to the top
spot in the standings.
The series will take the month of July off as the second
round of the SKUSA North American Pro Tour will take place
on July 16-18 for the Mothers Polish SummerNationals at the
USA International Raceway in Shawano, Wisconsin. The sixth
and final round of the ProKart Challenge South program will
take place at the PKC West Coast Shootout at the Santa Maria
Karting Association facility, pitting the South series
against the North on August 13-14. For more information on
anything related to SKUSA or the ProKart Challenge, visit
the www.superkartsusa.com website or call the SKUSA head
office at 951-491-0808.
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6-26-10 IKF 2
Cycle Grand Nationals Day 3 Action
Story & Photos By RaceMediaGroup.com
The first two days of the 2010 IKF
2-Cycle Grand Nationals from Willow Springs Kart Club was in
the books and competitors were back for day three. Many
competitors had run well all week but hadn’t yet gotten the
luck needed to come away with the IKF Duffy. The third day
was by far the windiest day creating a high number of
damaged tents and playing havoc with the Live Audio podcast
reception. The wind also created a different environment for
the racers in that the head and tail winds played a key role
in gearing and setup. Tech ran late and into the early
morning with several DQ’s jumbling the original on track
results.
First up was the Tony Kart West Jr 1
KPV and Zane Smith grabbed his third Screaming Eagle of the
weekend with a fast time of 48.982. In the heat race Smith
jumped out to a huge lead early and continued throughout the
race. With the green flag waving to begin the 18 lap final,
Smith immediately tried to jump out to a big lead, however
this time Colton Herta was in position to stay with him and
the two sped away. Herta stayed perfectly content with
running second for the entire race while the train of 8
karts all battled for the third position. As laps wound down
the question was when Herta was going to pull the trigger
and make the pass on Smith to go to the top spot. The white
flag was in the air and Smith hit his marks to perfection to
pull a two kart length gap over Herta to win another Duffy.
Herta stayed second with Christian Brooks winning the race
for third followed by Jake Drew and Brenden Baker.
One of the first announcements of the
day was that the RLV sponsored Jr 2 PRD was in jeopardy of
not having enough Karts to be eligible for a Duffy. Once the
announcement was made that the class needed more entries the
competitors got together and filled the field. Jason
Hannegen made his first appearance felt by capturing the
Screaming Eagle with running a fast time of 45.545 in
qualifying. Hannegan got the early lead in the heat race but
Jake Craig continued his dominance in the JR 2 classes and
took over the lead before halfway. Hannegan stayed close
until the end. On the start of the Final Hannegan got
shuffled back and Craig once again jumped out to a huge
lead. Craig went on to win his fourth Duffy of the weekend
with ease. Juan Esteban had a great run to finish second,
however he was removed from post race technical inspection
for the wrong reeds. Hannegan bumped up the second position
with Slater Stowell, Luis Tyrrell and Haley Jenni finishing
the podium positions.
PRD Spec Sr Heavy Division sponsored by
PRD USA took to the track and Nick Johnston grabbed fast
time with a 45.722 capturing the Screaming Eagle. Johnston
and Brett Felkins were the class of the field pulling away
from the rest of the karts. In the Final the two pulled away
again. Felkins sat in second for almost the whole race
awaiting the right time to pull the trigger. With around
five laps to go Johnston’s handling went away and Felkins
pulled the trigger to pass Johnston. The two went back and
forth until Felkins made the pass in the turn four and five
combination to deny Johnston the opportunity to cross him up
and get the position back. Felkins pulled 10 kart lengths on
Nick in the last few laps to win his first IKF Duffy of the
weekend. Felkins got DQ’d in post race tech and Johnston
was bumped to the Duffy winner. Erik Jackson was second
with Luis Martinez Jr., Justin Coplen and Max Freyebend the
top five.
Jr 2 Super Sportsman sponsored by K&P
Manufacturing and Margay products was on track and Jake
Craig once again looked to capitalize on his track
performance and grabbed the Screaming Eagle with a fast time
of 46.748. Jake Craig continued to dominate the Jr 2
divisions with the heat race win. There was a close battle
for the second position between several drivers setting up
quite the race for the Main. On the start of the Final Craig
opened up a big lead. Austin Elliott and David Vasquez
battled hard for most of the race for the second position
and with five laps to go Austin took the position over for
good. Jake Craig got his fourth Duffy of the weekend with
Elliott coming home second. Vasquez finished third with
Brandon reed and Luis Tyrrell finishing the top five.
Last of the day was the BKS Racing
Engines Sr Super Sportsman Heavy and Brett Felkins grabbed
the fast time and Screaming Eagle with a 46.621 0.724 over
second place. Felkins was dominating in the heat race while
there were several great races throughout the field. On the
start of the Final Bryan Eady got spun in the third starting
position and this collected several drivers from upfront.
While Felkins checked out, many fast drivers worked their
way up through the field. Bronson Eggert made a great run
up to the second position. Felkins got the win but was
removed from technical inspection and this handed the win
over to Eggert for his first Duffy. Leland Holden came
second with Bryan Eady made a nice run through the field to
third. Colby Wright and Kyle Vallarino finished off the top
five.
There are one more days left of
the IKF 2 Cycle Grand National racing. Tune in to Live audio
of the event at WestCoastKarters.com with Chris Scribner on
the Microphone bringing the play by play. Videos and
pictures by Race Media Group will be uploaded and can be
seen on WestCoastKarters.com |
|
6-25-10 IKF 2
Cycle Grand Nationals Day 2 Action
Day one of the 2010 IKF 2-cycle
Grand Nationals was in the books and Willow Springs Kart
Club was poised to make Day Two of the four day event as
organized and successful as Day One. The wind once again
came up early in the day as the competitors hit the track
for practice. The sun shined bright into the eyes of the
racers but finally slipped behind the mountain, the weather
cooled, the wind died down and Willow Springs Kart track
once again proved the race ability with its layout. The
spectators were anxiously awaiting on the front straight
fence line the last turn and the drag race to the line in
every race.
Kid
Karts get two days of racing at the IKF Grand Nationals and
Kid Kart Heavy sponsored by Mike Manning Karting was on
track for their second day of racing. Hudson Morrow bounced
back from his runner up finish the day before by grabbing
the Screaming Eagle in Qualifying with a lap of 1:02.446. In
the Pre Final Morrow led most of the race but was challenged
by Norcal Hotshoe Zach Corbitt. On the start of the final
Corbitt got shuffled back and began to endure engine
troubles while Morrow sped away to a quick lead. As laps
wound down the Day One’s Duffy winner Anthony Willis and
Luis Ortiz began putting the pressure on the leader. With
two laps to go the two got together losing several positions
and this allowed Morrow to run the last few laps uncontested
to victory. Myles Farhan came home second with Hayden
Wagner, Derek Deslauriers and Tomas Mejia round out the top
five.
Jr 1 Comer sponsored by Pitts Performance was on track and
Colton Herta grabbed the Screaming Eagle with a quick lap of
50.336. Herta was quick in the heat race but on the last lap
coming to the checkered flag, the top three karts of Herta,
Parker Thompson and Zane Smith all made contact sending
Herta off track and Thompson the win. Herta would have to
start from the back for the Final and Jake Drew inherited
the pole starting position. From the drop of the green it
was apparent the race would have several karts in the
running for the Duffy. The lead pack had seven karts all in
tow with many lead changes. Around halfway Davey Manthei
took over the lead and began to show his strength. While all
the racing was going on no one seemed to notice the drive
put in by Day One’s Duffy winner Colton Herta. Herta started
21st on the field. Herta broke into the top ten
by lap 9 and with six laps to go he was running fourth. Once
he caught the leaders the young pilot backed off and ran
with the leaders pace which it was believed the driver was
saving his tires. When the white flag flew Herta pulled the
trigger on Brenden Baker for third. In the final Turn Parker
Thompson dove to the inside of Manthei. The two went
side-by-side drag racing to the line. As they touched they
lost a bit of momentum and this allowed Herta to join the
race to the line. With video and three sets of eyes it was
still too close to call. Scoring rewarded the Duffy to
Colton Herta by .006 over Thompson. Manthei came home third
with Brenden Baker and Jake Drew capping off the podium.
KPV-2
sponsored by TiMi Promotions was next up and Jake Craig was
fresh off his Day One performance which included a Duffy and
set fast time with a 46.472. In the heat Race Austin Elliott
could stay with Craig as he set fast time nearly every lap.
On the start of the Final Craig found himself in second
position for the first time on the weekend after Elliott
made a stellar move on the outside of turn one to take the
lead. As the drivers began to settle in Craig got passed
Elliott. By halfway Craig had opened up a big lead over the
field and the race once again became for second. The driver
on the move was Halet Jenni who started 12th.
Jenni made late braking maneuvers on every driver she came
across and moved into a commanding second place with just a
few laps to go. Craig rolled to another easy victory for his
second Duffy on the weekend with Jenni securing second.
Austin Elliott came home third with Luis Tyrrell and Carlee
Taylor finishing off the top five.
IAME
Cup sponsored by Italian Motors was up next and Dylan Nobile
grabbed fast time with a 45.145. In the heat race the
drivers could stay close to Nobile in the early laps, but as
tires got hot and setups came in Nobile would pull away.
Scary moment halfway through the heat when TJ Fischer lost
brakes and went steaming through two sets of Crash Bales and
into chain link fence brought out the red. Nobile got the
win and the pole for the Duffy race. On the start of the
Final Nobile once again pulled away to a commanding lead.
The karts started to drop off as attrition began to play a
major part leaving only two karts left running at the
Checkered. Nobile got the Duffy with Jon Ban finishing
second. Cory Gwin finished third, TJ Fischer fourth and
Scott Saunders.
The
last class up on the night was the Haddock LTD KPV-3 Sr.
and Brett Felkins set fast time with a lap of 46.213 half a
second over the 2nd place qualifier. In the
pre-final Felkins cruised to an uncontested win. On the
start of the Final however as Felkins pulled away he had the
company of Nick Johnston. The two pulled out to a big lead
with only swapping the lead a few times. With three laps to
go Johnston pulled the trigger in the downhill hairpin. Nick
over shot the turn and Brett crossed him back up to take the
position back. This dropped Johnston nearly a second behind
Felkins. In the last two laps Johnston got up on the wheel
and as the two ran down the downhill back shoot they were
nose to tail. In the last hairpin Johnston dove to the
inside. Felkins again crossed him up and made a drag race to
the line. Johnston edged out Brett by 0.104 for the Duffy.
Matt Johnson was third with Robby Harryman fourth, CJ
Mooneyham had a great run to fifth.
There are two more days left of
the IKF 2 Cycle Grand National racing. Tune in to Live audio
of the event at WestCoastKarters.com with Chris Scribner on
the Microphone bringing the play by play. Videos and
pictures by Race Media Group will be uploaded and can be
seen on WestCoastKarters.com |
|
6-24-10 IKF 2 Cycle Grand
Nationals Day 1 Action
Source RaceMediaGroup.com
The 2010 IKF Grand Nationals
kicked off their first day of racing action at Willow
Springs Kart club in Rosamond Ca and five drivers came home
with Duffy’s and a National Championship in IKF Competition.
Willow Springs Kart track is one that lends itself to close
side-by-side racing and rewards the smoothest of drivers and
the best in the business in Kart Chassis setup.
The
AIM Sports Kid Kart category was first up on Wednesday and
Carson Enright grabbed the Screaming Eagle with a time of
1:01.023. In the PreFinal, Enright went to the top spot
right from the drop of the green flag. He had company up
front as the top four all were nose to tail battling for the
lead. As laps wound down there was no change for position as
the front pack stayed in draft. As the white flag flew Myles
Farhan made a run at the lead. Enright and Farhan traded
tire marks which slowed the two and allowed Anthony Willis
to take advantage coming to the flag. Willis got the win and
would start pole for the Final with Farhan alongside. As the
green flag flew for the start of the final, the inside line
got the jump and as they completed a lap there was already a
three kart breakaway with Willis leading and Hudson Morrow
and Enright in tow. The race upfront stayed single file for
most of the race, with four laps to go Morrow attempted to
pass for the lead, but Willis closed the door and caused
Morrow to check up which allowed Willis to build a gap. As
the White Flag flew the leader Willis had looked to be good
enough to secure the Victory, however Morrow made a great
run to catch Willis. Morrow again went to make the pass on
Willis, and the result was the same. Anthony Willis held on
to the Checkered for the Win and the First Duffy of 2010.
Morrow was second with Wyatt Wyllie third. Cody Dempster and
Tomas Mejia capped the top five.
Second
up was the Courtney Concepts Rookie Sportsman and Zane Smith
grabbed the Screaming Eagle with a fast time of 49.479. In
the PreFinal the battle upfront was with the top four karts.
There were several lead changes with the top four all taking
their turn at the lead. As the checkered flew Jake Drew was
the winner and would start pole for the Final. The green
flag was waving for the start of the Main and five drivers
pulled away in a hurry. Once again the top five all took
their turns at leading. Parker Thompson worked his way up
after a Qualifying DQ and was able to take his turn at the
lead. As laps wound down Davey Manthei was the driver
leading the pack and was doing a good job keeping the rest
of the drivers at bay. Last turn Zane Smith dove to the
inside of Manthei with the two rubbing tires heavily. This
slowed the two and allowed Colton Herda to outrun both
drivers to the line for the win and the IKF Duffy. Manthei
came home second with Smith, Thompson and Jake Drew
finishing the top five.
The
Leatt Brace Jr Super Sportsman Heavy was on track and Jake
Craig got the Screaming Eagle with a fast time of 46.694. In
the heat race Craig walked the field and proved to be the
driver to beat. On the start of the Final Craig jumped out
the lead with Brandon Reed in tow. It looked as if Reed may
have had something for Craig, but as the race progressed,
Craig opened up a huge lead putting on an absolutely
dominate Driving clinic. The battle was for fourth. Last lap
a few drivers went spinning shaking things up. Jake Craig
drove to the Duffy with Brandon Reed second. David Vasquez,
Sonny Cervelli and Jarred Campbell finished the top five.
The
Brochelle Vineyards Jr 1 KPV Heavy was up next and Zane
Smith grabbed his second Screaming Eagle of the day with a
time of 48.834. In the Heat Race Smith flexed his muscles
driving to an easy victory while the race for second was
getting heated with seven karts all swapping the position.
On the start of the Final Smith jumped out to a big lead
right from the get go leaving the battle once again for
second. Parker Thompson, Brenden Baker and Davey Manthei
all battled for second. This battle raged on with positions
swapping for the entire 18 lap race. Zane Smith ran to an 8
second victory and the prestigious Duffy. Parker Thompson
won the battle for second, Brenden Baker, Davey Manthei, and
Lindsey Frier capped the top five.
Last
up on the day was the Scribner Plastics PRD Sr and Kolby
Araki got fast time and the Screaming Eagle with a time of
45.393. Araki jumped out to an early lead at the beginning
of the Pre Final, however the driver on the move was Brett
Felkins. Felkins made quick work of the top five karts and
began to run down Araki. As the white flag flew Felkins was
close enough to smell the exhaust of the Araki. As they
crossed the line for the checkered the two were nose to tail
setting up a great battle in the Main. On the start of the
Final Felkins made a great outside move on Araki to lead lap
one. Araki got shuffled back and Felkins was able to open up
a 7 second lead on the field. Araki worked his way back to
second and set his sights on the Leader Felkins. With four
laps to go Araki found the rear bumper of Felkins. Brett
then lost a throttle cable and began working the throttle by
hand. This allowed Araki to roll to the victory. Both Dylan
Nobile and Nick Johnston made runs through the field to
finish second and third, Felkins held on to fourth after his
throttle troubles while Matt Johnson finished fifth.
There are three more days left
of the IKF 2 Cycle Grand National racing. Tune in to Live
audio of the event at WestCoastKarters.com with Chris
Scribner on the Microphone bringing the play by play. Videos
and pictures by Race Media Group will be uploaded and can be
seen on WestCoastKarters.com
|
|
6-28-10
Menezes Ready for Inaugural WSK World Series Event in
Portugal
Californian to tackle the world at opening round of new
world championship series
Next week will mark a new era for international karting with
the inaugural event of the WSK World Series. American
karting star Gustavo Menezes will travel to the Algarve
International Karting Circuit in Portimao, Portugal for the
first round of the three-race world championship. Menezes
will make his third start as member of the prestigious Tony
Kart Racing Team and will challenge to claim the first world
title in the KF2 category.
To prepare for the opening round of the WSK World Series -
set for June 30-July 3 - Menezes ran the final two WSK Euro
Series events aboard his Tony Kart chassis powered by
Vortex. The two races would be the 15-year olds first KF2
starts in Europe, having run the KF3 division in the
previous three seasons.
The last race in Sarno, Italy was Menezes best showing.
Starting out classified 21st in qualifying out of 56
drivers, Menezes posted top-10 results in his four heat
races to earn the 20th grid spot for the Prefinal. Menezes
was involved in an incident to fall back to the tail of the
field. From there, he advanced back forward to finish 18th
in the difficult 12-lap run. Top cap off the solid weekend,
Menezes was moving forward in the main event, up to 12th
only to be hit again and dropped to 22nd. In the end,
Menezes managed to cross the line 16th in the final tally,
just one spot out from earning a championship point.
Sarno was a great weekend for me and the Tony Kart Racing
Team, commented Menezes. I was able to overcome some
adversity and produce my best results in KF2 thus far. The
Genk and Sarno weekends were a great warm-up for the World
Series. Im looking to racing on the new circuit in Portugal
and begin battling for the world championship.
The event is set to begin Wednesday, June 30 with practice.
Qualifying will be conducted on July 1 with the heat races
to take place on July 2. The Prefinal and Final races will
run on July 3. A complete schedule of the event can be view
at the series website - wskarting.it. You can follow Menezes
progress throughout the weekend live with the series scoring
feed: www.wskarting.it/livetime.asp
Gustavo is able to compete at this level thanks to his many
sponsors, including Tony Kart USA, Red Bull, UP Racing,
Safety Park Inc., K1 Speed, K1 Race Gear, Tony Kart Racing
Team, On Track Promotions and Oakley. Additional information
on Gustavo Menezes can be obtained from his personal
website, www.gustavomenezes.com or follow him on Twitter at
twitter.com/gustavom28
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6-23-10
Stockton Club Race Cancelled
We apologize
for any inconvenience to your schedules but we will be
cancelling the Stockton Club Race on Saturday, June 26th.
Many of our key dedicated staff are not available to work.
The track will be open for practice on Saturday from 10:00
a.m. – 5:00 p.m. This will be complimentary for all (club
member of not) with a “free” bar-b-que from 11:30 a.m. –
1:00 p.m. The predication for weather is in the 80’s so
bring your lawn chairs, kick up your feet and have a
relaxing day in the sun.
This cancelled race will be rescheduled in November, date to
follow shortly.
Stockton Motorplex Park |
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7-22-10
Speed and Giebler Emerge as Skusa Summer Nationals Champs
NASCARs
Allmendinger and McMurray enjoy return to roots at fantastic
facility
For any competitive kart racer, USA International Raceway in
Shawano, Wisconsin is an absolute must on any bucket list of
race tracks. A combination of high-speed corners, tight
hairpins, undulations and wild elevation changes makes the
track one of the best in the country and the structural
facilities at the venue only help to further complete the
package. This past weekend, the Superkarts! USA organization
brought its top drivers to the track for the inaugural
SummerNationals, and with blue skies and warm temperatures
being the order of the weekend, the racers were treated to a
special experience. There was a little rain on Sunday
morning that turned the qualifying rounds into a wet weather
circus, but things eventually cleared and the afternoon was
perfect. A total of 85 competitors hit the track over the
weekend as SKUSA continued its new national Pro Tour
program, and when the dust had settled, the big winners in
the two headline classes were veterans Alex Speed and Phil
Giebler. Each driver raced hard in both the Saturday and
Sunday events, taking a win a piece and podiums in both
mains, earning themselves their respective $1000 first place
check in the process. The addition of NASCAR stars AJ
Allmendinger and Jamie McMurray brought the event to a new
level, and both drivers showed well in their return to their
karting roots.
Speed was certainly the man to beat in S1 Pro Stock Moto on
Saturday, dominating the main event to post a 5.054-second
win over his STA Racing teammate Jason Toft. Allmendinger
rebounded after a tough day of practice on Friday when
nothing seemed to work, settling in with long-time tuner Tim
Pappas to find the sweet spot of his chassis. The Richard
Petty Motorsports driver battled into the top-five in the
heats and eventually slipped through for an impressive
podium run into third in the main. Absent from the head of
the class was S1 stud Fritz Leesmann, who struggled all day
Saturday in his Aluminos CRG. The veteran shifter pilot
exploded back on the scene on Sunday and dominated the
proceedings, out-running Speed in the 20-lap main to take
the win and second overall for the weekend, although Speeds
pair of podium finishes gave him the crown and the money.
Allmendinger capped a great weekend with another third place
finish, taking third overall in the tally. To his credit,
McMurray drove his butt off all weekend, taking fifth on
Saturday and fourth on Sunday. With his Sunday win, Leesmann
now takes control of the points heading into the SKUSA Pro
Tour finale the SuperNationals in November. The Californian
leads SpringNationals race winner Clinton Schoombee by 283
points in the chase for the #1 plate.
Like Speed and Leesmann, St. Louis, MO shop owner/driver
Derek Crockett enjoyed an impressive weekend at the
SummerNationals, sweeping the main events in the S2 class.
Crockett steered his way to the win on Saturday over Lukas
Johnson and Evan Batt, but he needed some luck on Sunday as
he looked locked into a third place finish behind Evan
Walters and Josh Lane. Lane was leading heading to the white
flag when Walters made a bid to re-take the point as they
drove into the tight hairpin a track addition laid out by
SKUSAs Tom Kutscher as the second-to- last corner on the
track. After completing the move, Walters looped his ride as
he put down the power to rotate the kart, collecting Lane in
the process. Crockett had tucked underneath them both to get
the best run he could out of the corner, and found himself
exiting the turn alone with a full lap standing between him
and his second win of the weekend. Syar Motorsports Matt
Alcorn took over second, which helped him maintain the
overall S2 point lead that he had gained after sweeping the
SpringNationals, while Johnson completed the podium in third
to advance to second in the standings. Alcorns lead in the
championship tally is now a healthy 125 markers heading to
Las Vegas.
The S4 Stock Moto Master drivers put on a great show in
Shawano. The star of the opening day of action was Phil
Conte, who held off the consistent advances of Evolution
Kartings Kurt Mathewson for the win. Aluminos Jonathan Allen
started the day as the driver to beat by qualifying on pole,
but he slipped back in the opening heat race. Allen would
claw his way back to the front in the second heat and then
maintained his position in the final to complete the podium.
On Sunday, Conte was again expected to fight for the win,
but after losing his air filter on the opening lap, he was
sent to pit lane. This opened the door for the Aluminos team
to take control, as Allen was joined by teammates Phil
Dunford and Peter Workum at the head of the pack. The trio
would battle all race with Dunford setting the pace, but the
leader would lose the position on the final exit from the
hairpin on the last lap, his engine gasping just enough to
allow Workum to dive to the bottom of the track and seize
the opportunity, winning his first national event. The
margin of victory was a slim 0.055 seconds, with Workum,
Dunford and Allen finishing in that order. In the S4 point
standings, Conte still holds onto the lead by 188 points
over Workum. In the other Master shifter class in the SKUSA
line-up G1 Fernando Diaz and PP Mastro split the victories,
keeping Diaz well out front in the championship tally.
As always, the TaG Senior race was great entertainment,
pitting some of the best drivers from the West Coast against
a strong contingent from the Great Lakes area. Veteran
karter and former Indy 500 Rookie of the Year Phil Giebler
stole the show on Saturday, keeping long-time SKUSA racer
Benny Moon at bay. Moon is currently working on putting
together a Late Model stock car deal in North Carolina and
traveled up to Shawano with Allmendinger, who put his friend
in the seat of his own TaG entry. Moon looked like hed never
been away, challenging Giebler at every corner. National
Kart Supplys Mark Vielgut joined the duo in the fight,
sitting just off Moons bumper to keep him honest. On the
final lap, Moon forced the issue during the exit from the
hairpin and was able to pull alongside Giebler, but that was
it. Vielgut slid low to push Giebler through, stealing
second as Moon went off track and hard into the barrier
cushions in front of the flag tower, just a yard away from
the finish line. He would be classified in 14th, as Tommy
Andersen (Merlin) came through to take the final rung on the
podium. In the TaG Masters class, Steve Wiener was awarded
the victory.
On Sunday, Moon was back at it again and was joined by
Franklin Motorsports TJ Koyen up front in the TaG Senior
class, as they ran away together to fight it out for the
win. Koyen took over the top spot early, and while Moon was
again able to mount a consistent challenge, he did not have
what he needed to control the lead. Koyen would stand on top
of the podium beside Moon, while Giebler again astounded the
paddock by driving from dead last to third after a DNF in
the second heat. This performance earned him the $1000 first
place prize for the overall weekend victory in the class
and, maybe more importantly, an almost insurmountable
340-point lead in the standings in the race for the national
championship. Vielgut and Koyen were second and third in the
overall chase. In TaG Masters, Brian McHattie topped the
order to win the day.
In the Junior categories, Colorados Austin Schimmel was the
class of the field in S5, although he encountered trouble in
the waning stages of the Saturday main and was chased down
by teammate Christian Schureman (for the win. Schimmels
mount would be stranded on-track during the final lap,
leaving him with a DNF as Texan Alex Tartaglia and Grant
Prejean passed by his crippled entry to complete the podium.
Schimmel would rebound on Sunday to score the victory in
dominant fashion over Tartaglia and Schureman, who posted
his third straight podium finish. In TaG Junior, Californian
Luis Tyrrell dominated the weekend with a pair of main event
victories to run his season total to three, taking a
commanding lead in the points heading to the SKUSA
SuperNationals in November. Emmanuel Mestre and Austin
Thomas were second and third on Saturday, while Tyrrell and
Mestre were joined by the impressive Karl Weber on the
Sunday podium. To cap this Junior review, Colton Herta and
Parker Thompson split the TaG Cadet main events, as the five
drivers in the field were locked all weekend long. Herta
outran Noah Grey and Thompson on Saturday, while Thompson
stepped up and stretched away from the field on Sunday to
take the win, leaving Herta to battle with teammate
Christian Brooks. Herta won the scrap to take a solid lead
in the championship hunt.
All in all, the inaugural SKUSA SuperNationals should be
considered a big success. The race was missing a large
number of entries it could likely have counted on should the
Rotax Grand Nationals not have been scheduled on top of
their date, but the end result was a paddock full of smiling
faces. SKUSAs approach to customer service was a talking
point, as Friday and Saturday night BBQs were enjoyed by the
racers and with the focus on fun and enjoyable racing, they
certainly gained some new fans. The addition of Jamie
McMurray and AJ Allmendinger to the paddock added to the
excitement, as both drivers enjoyed strong outings during
their weekend off. Theyll both be back in the office this
coming weekend as the NASCAR Sprint Cup series heads to the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Brickyard 400.
The SKUSA staff will now turn their focus on both the
upcoming ProKart Challenge North-South Shootout at Santa
Maria on August 13-14 and the continuing preparations for
the SuperNationals in November in Las Vegas. Online
registration for the sports biggest race was opened on June
1 and the entries are coming in on a regular basis. The
special SKUSA hotel code for the Rio is also now available
so that teams and drivers can get their discounted room
rates. All the necessary information is available at their
website www.superkartsusa.com
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6-17-10
Race Media Group - 2-Cycle IKF Grand Nationals
Race Media Group is poised to cover the IKF 2-Cycle Grand
Nationals at Willow Springs Raceway next week hosted by Timi
Promotions. RMG will be on hand providing Live coverage of
the event through WestCoastKarters.com with live sound and
results of the event as it takes place.
RMG is no stranger to Kart Racing and live media, as the
Media team has covered several highly attended races with
Live video and sound in years past as the team has been put
at the forefront of Race Media with several different
avenues for Racers Promotional and Media obligations. In
addition, to the exclusive media provider, RMG is also the
exclusive Photographer of the event. The group will be on
hand all week providing top of the line coverage of the
event with daily updates as the action takes place. RMG will
also be offering numerous discounts on products to the
racers as the race week progresses through the National
Event.
Daily updates on the racing action and the results will be
available on WestCoastKarters.com and Ekartingnews.com. Live
coverage of the event through Sound Podcast will be
exclusive on WestCoastKarters.com. For more information on
Race Media Group please visit
www.RaceMediaGroup.com . The National Event Photos will
be posted to
http://scribnerracingpromotions.zenfolio.com/
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6-21-10 Brett Felkins challenge on the IKF
2-Cycle Grand Nationals
Source
Noesis-factor Photo by Race Media Group
NorCal
Driver Brett Felkins readies for the IKF Grand Nationals and
plans to carry his successful 2010 momentum on his quest for
national championship glory! In 2009 Felkins won a
Screaming Eagle and wants to top that off with the same and
more – a prized Duffy.
Felkins
Intrepid Chassis with Leading Edge Motorsports (LEM) engine
power and sponsors Diede Construction; Champion Racing
Felkins have teamed up with Noesis-factor
and RMG - Race Media Group to provide exclusive image
coverage of Brett Felkins at the event.
Race Media
Group is also poised to cover the IKF 2-Cycle Grand
Nationals at Willow Springs Raceway hosted by Timi
Promotions. RMG will be on hand providing live coverage of
the event through WestCoastKarters.com with live sound and
results of the event as it takes place. Daily updates on the
racing action and the results will be available on
www.westcoastkarters.com.
Kevin
Felkins understands that,
"In kart racing, there is nowhere to hide and
the stop watch never lies” - that's what makes our sport so
demanding and yet so endlessly fascinating.
Kevin
Felkins (a.k.a. The Professor) made his name not only as a
skilled and disciplined boat racing driver/designer and
world record holder builder with his company
www.canyonboatstm.com - but also as a pragmatic kart team
manager with the inspiration, vision and determination to
take on and beat the greatest teams in Karting.
Nonetheless, Felkins began the IKF Region 11
season with huge determination to assert ourselves at the
forefront of our racing events and we will not rest for a
moment until we have done that. Most importantly, we haven't
forgotten how to win – capturing 5 podiums with 4 wins in a
row in Sr. Sportsman".
For
additional information on “Brett Felkins” visit our recently
hosted Noesis-factor website presence at
www.brettfelkins.com for all the latest updates,
partnerships, synergies, images and stories |
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6-22-10
RLOKC Karting Championship Race Preview
Race #4 of
the Red Line Oil Karting Championship (RLOKC) returns to the
Jim Russell International Karting Center at Infineon Raceway
on Sunday, June 27th with the new race day format introduced
last month consisting of one practice session, Qualifying,
two Pre-Mains a final Main event. The new format went over
well with the racers last month and will remain the race day
format for the remainder of the year. This month's track
configuration will be the tough Reverse Sprint track.
New for this month will be the addition of a new class, 125
Stock Moto Masters for drivers thirty-five and older. This
class will run in the same race group with the Rotax DD2
class but will be scored separately with separate awards.
The class minimum weight is 400 pounds. Other spec items are
MOJO D3 tires, VP98 fuel and Red Line 2 Cycle Kart Oil.
The GoPro featured class this month is the Rotax
Masters/Masters Light race group. GoPro is sponsoring a
featured class each month with a GoPro Hero mini onboard
camera. The overall winner of the featured class takes home
the GoPro Hero camera. The Rotax Masters/Masters Light races
have produced large fields and tight racing all year. After
taking a month off, Masters driver Andre Eriksen has his
work cut out for him to take the win over the top Lights
drivers including the May overall class winner Mary Beth
Wilson.
Look for another battle royal in Senior Rotax with May
winner Jordan Jadallah expecting a tough challenge from May
runner-up Carlos Calderon. There are some strong challenges
developing right behind these two top competitors with
Donavon Wheeler, Amber Friedberg and Matt Weiss all showing
improved speed. Jadallah is coming off a June ProKart North
TaG win where he demonstrated the competitiveness of Rotax
power.
The Italian Motors IAME TaG class will have new spec gear
ratios for this race on the Reverse Sprint track
configuration:
370# minimum weight 10-77 or 11-84
385# minimum weight 10-78 or 11-86
400# minimum weight 10-80 or 11-88
With nine competitors last month, the TaG class is shaping
up to be one of the better classes to watch.
A strong and competitive field is expected again this month
in the Mini Max class (ages 9 to 12 years). The May race had
four different drivers taking the lead in the races with six
drivers in the mix all race day long. May race winner Gino
Gigliotti is expected to return and challenge points leaders
Cole Davis, Michael Michoff and Michael Avansino. Micro Max
and Junior Rotax continue to draw young, up and coming
drivers to the national Rotax Challenge program.
Practice starts at 8:30 AM on Sunday with qualifying at 9:30
AM and racing at 10:45 AM. Entry fee is $100; Pit Passes are
$10, kids eleven and under are $5. Practice,
Pre-Registration, and Pre-Tech are available from 12:00 PM
to 6:00 PM on Saturday. Click these links to download the
race registration form and race day schedule.
For more information about the Red Line Oil Karting
Championship, go to www.cameronkarting.com ,
www.norcalrotax.com or contact race director Ric Shaw at
racedirector-ric@hotmail.com.
The Red Line Oil Karting Championship is supported with over
$20,000 of prizes and awards from the sponsors below.
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6-19-10
Prokart Challenge South Coming Down to the Wire
Series enters fifth round of six-race championship chase at
Buttonwillow on June 25-26
The chase for the 2010 ProKart Challenge South titles are heating up as
the series prepares for the fifth round of the six-event
series. On June 25-26, the Superkarts! USA Southern
California regional program will head to the Buttonwillow
Raceway Park to compete on the challenging 7/10-mile kart
track. The fifth round will be important for those looking
to establish themselves as the championship leader, with the
program counting all six rounds toward the title standings.
With points counted each time the drivers hit the track,
Buttonwillow will sort out the contenders from the
pretenders.
As it should be, the headline category S1 Pro Stock Moto has
the closest battle heading into Buttonwillow. SKUSA
SpringNationals race winner Clinton Schoombee holds the
point lead by a slim five points over Tommy Thompson.
Schoombee has two feature wins to his credit, while Thompson
has yet to taste victory but has been the more consistent
driver over the first four rounds. Lurking behind are Brad
Dunford and Peter Abba, waiting for the top two to make any
mistakes and capitalize on them. TaG Senior has been just as
close, with the veteran leading the young rising star. SKUSA
Pro Tour championship leader Phil Giebler holds the top spot
in the PKC South chase as well, holding a 28 point advantage
over Kyle Shriver. Giebler has one win along two other
podium finishes, while Shriver has yet to score a victory.
Billy Musgrave has a slight stranglehold on the S2 Semi-Pro
Stock Moto, with a lead of 115 markers after the first four
rounds. He will have to make sure not to slip up at
Buttonwillow, with Bryce Miller and Ryon Beachner giving
chase. Three drivers are in contention in the S4 Master
Stock Moto category with Wayne Mello, Willy Musgrave and
Jeff Littrell separated by just 12 points. Mello has zero
wins thus far, while both Musgrave and Littrell have tasted
victory once each. Looking for his fifth series title, PP
Mastro holds the advantage going into round five in G1.
Coming from behind in the final stages of the season last
year, Mastro needs to be aware of Roy Montgomery who may
return the favor come the final round.
With two wins on the year, Ron Rossetti is showing the way
in TaG Master. He holds a respectable lead over Allan Svela
and Kim Ryan. Luke Bianco and Marc Lewis will continue their
battle in the S4 Magnum division. Bianco has shown to be the
driver to beat; however, Lewis has shown great speed thus
far on the season. In S3 Novice Stock Moto, Jason Attwood is
leading the point chase with Tristen Orear and Jessica
Sollberger still in the hunt. In Junior competition, Matias
Podboj is the one to beat in S5 Junior Stock Moto with Scott
Phillips in the challenger position, while Chris Cricca and
Andrew Wiener will continue to fight for the top spot in TaG
Junior.
The fifth round of the six-race PKC South championship will
begin on June 25 with a practice day, as on-track activities
will take place from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. Race
pre-registration is currently being accepted, with racers
able to save $35 on their entry fees and also guarantee
their fuel and tires by submitting an entry prior to
midnight on Wednesday, June 23. SKUSA memberships are
mandatory for the event, and forms are available on the
SKUSA or ProKart Challenge websites. Trailer parking is
available starting Thursday afternoon. Pit spot reservations
are available for $30, and those interested are encouraged
to contact the SKUSA office. Camping on site will be
permitted starting Thursday night at $50. A tentative
schedule for race day, host hotel information along with
more information on the event can be found at the PKC event
page: http://www.superkartsusa.com/regional/pkc-north/round-5-2010.html.
The Buttonwillow event will be the last PKC round before the
next stop on the SKUSA North American Pro Tour, the SKUSA
SummerNationals set for July 16-18 at the USA International
Raceway in Shawano, Wisconsin. Following the Pro Tour date,
the regional programs will return to action at the famed
ProKart Challenge West Coast Shootout, which will host the
fifth round of the North Program and the final round of the
South program at one facility. The North vs. South shootout
will take place August 13-14 at the Santa Maria Kart Track.
For more information on anything related to SKUSA and the
ProKart Challenge, visit the redesigned and updated
www.superkartsusa.com website or call the SKUSA head office
at 951-491-0808.
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6-17-10 Northern Nevada Kart
Club Championship Points Race #3 Action is in the Books
Championship point’s race #3 is
in the books, as Desert Park Raceway in Reno, NV was the
spot to be last weekend. The weather was a spectacular
76-degree all day long with little wind. The club saw it’s
biggest turnout in close to 10 years with a whopping
91 total entries!!!
Up on the A grid and ready to
hit the track were the Kid Karts.
5 drivers came out for this. Santino Gigliotti
grabbed fast time with a blistering lap of 1:15 sec followed
closely by Nolan Wyman’s 1:19. The first heat would see all
the kids racing around. Gigliotti and Wyman would have a
terrific battle all day. Gavin Van Cott, Bank Sombatsiri
and Greg Kennedy would also throw down some good times as
well throughout the day. In the main, Gigliotti would cross
the finish line ahead of Wyman, Van Cott, Sombatsiri and
Kennedy. Great day of racing for these little guys as they
all walked away with big trophies!
It was a special day for the
Formula 80 Senior gang.
Tyler Wamre, who is newly enlisted into the United States
Marine Corps, will be leaving to boot camp at Marine Corps
Recruit Depot in sunny San Diego, Ca. Wamre wanted to make
sure he got one last hoorah in a Go-Kart so he put together
an 80 Shifter to come play with the big boys. The day
started off with the unstoppable Kevin Tanaka grabbing pole
with a blistering time of 49.1 followed by Mike Botelho’s
49.7. Heat 1 would see Tanaka grab point and lead from
start to finish. Botelho and Cody McKinney would both be
able to squeeze by Mark Nason by lap 6. That’s how they
would finish the heat. Heat 2 invert saw McKinney take the
holeshot and lead start to finish. Tanaka would come from
P6 to P2 in 6 laps. Botelho would settle into third
nicely. The top 3 of McKinney, Tanaka and Botelho would
finish less than 8/10’s of a second from one another. That
brought the main event to full circle. Tanaka would sit on
pole with McKinney along side. The green dropped and Tanaka
would take the point. Botelho would get by McKinney by the
laps end. Nason would then pass McKinney for 3rd.
McKinney would end up a DNF due to mechanical problems
shortly after. That’s how they would finish with Tanaka
taking the checkers for 1st, followed by Botelho
and Nason in 2nd and 3rd,
respectfully. Tyler Wamre would end up in 7th
and NNKC would like to say, OOHRAH DEVIL DOG!!! Go get em!
Jr 1-2 Cycle
was next up as 9 driver came out to
play in the sun. Leading things off were Cambrian driver
Gino Gigliotti. He would grab the pole at a fast 57.2
seconds. Cambrians other driver in the field, local Garrett
Dixon’s 57.5 was good enough for second best. The first
heat saw Gigliotti give up the lead to Dixon by Turn 2.
Dixon would lead from start to finish. Gigliotti would hold
onto 2nd followed closely by Jeremy Kay in 3rd.
That’s how the heat would end. The drivers were now ready
for the invert in heat 2. Scott Huffaker would start on
pole only to see Dixon come through the pack in a lap and
grab the P1 spot. Huffaker would settle in 2nd
nicely. That left the battle for 3rd between
Gigliotti and Kay. Gigliotti would pass Kay on lap 7 for
P3. Kay would finish in 4th. All the while in
the back, there was a great battle going on with Turbo
Sombatsiri, Richard Stock and Isaac Wyett. They would
finish the heat in that order. The main event rolled around
and the pressure to perform was on. The green flag dropped
and all the kids went barreling into turn 1-2. Gigliotti
would take the P1 followed by Dixon. Huffaker would hook
his outside rear wheel on the exit of Turn 2 and loop his
kart, stalling his motor. His race would end right there.
Then another pile up occurred on the same lap, same turn
sending Richard Stock out of the race with arm injuries.
Dean Andrews would be collected in the mess as well ending
his day too. Once the carnage was cleared out, the leaders
came roaring by with Dixon making the pass on Gigliotti for
the lead down the straightaway. Kay would see this as an
opportunity himself and power his way by Gigliotti on the
next lap. Kay was not through yet as he would waste no time
making a pass on Dixon down the straight the lap after
that. These two have been battling clean all year long.
Kay would hold off Dixon at the line by 1/10 of a second!!!
This would earn Kay his first victory at the club level in
Jr 1 racing. Congrats Jeremy! Dixon would take 2nd,
Gigliotti 3rd, followed by Sombatsiri in 4th
and Connor Van Cott in 5th.
The class of the day belonged to the
Box Stock Clones,
F-200’s and Jr Clones. 32
karts showed up for this jamboree. Scott Smith with an F200
would take a fast time of 56.2 followed by Brad Wunder with
a World Formula of 58.2. These 2 were out front every race
and finished 1-2 all day, every heat in that order.
The Jr Clones consisted of 3
drivers. Logan Wyman, Nicky Prichard and newcomer Nola
Vella would come out with their karts for this race. Wyman
would grab pole over Prichard by a full second. The first
heat would see Wyman and Prichard mixing and dicing with the
other Senior Clone drivers. Vella would gain some good
experience throughout the day in her first race. Heat 2 saw
the same as heat 1 for these three drivers as they would
finish in the same order, Wyman in 1st, Prichard
in 2nd and Vella in 3rd. The main
event was nothing different as Wyman would battle with 1st
place Senior driver Rich Huston for the overall trophy.
Wyman was unsuccessful but still did win the Jr Clone class,
followed by Prichard and Vella.
The Sr Clones were mixed in with the rest of these
groups. This was by far the largest group NNKC club has put
together maybe in its history. California driver Paul
Landry would kick things off with a blistering time of 59.2
followed by fellow friend Karl Cleeton’s 59.3. The first
heat would see Landry, Cleeton and Reno’s Terry West pull
away from the field easily. They would put 12 seconds on
the 4th place kart of Ray Andrews. That’s how
they would finish. Heat 2 shared the same racing, but this
time it was T. West piloting his Clone to the front.
Cleeton would follow closely in 2nd. These guys
were nearly making passes every other turn as you can
imagine what having 32 karts on the track is like:
Madness!! Landry would pass Andrews on lap 7 and take 3rd
place followed by Andrews in 4th. That set the
stage for the main. The karts roar could be heard a mile
away. All 31 karts took the green flag in crazy fashion
reminiscent of the huge Nationals race here last year. By
lap 1, Huston was in the lead and he would never look back.
T. West and Landry would have a battle for 2nd
with Landry finally overtaking T. West on lap 6. Cleeton
would move up in the field passing karts left and right to
finally make his way to 4th. He would eventually
get by T. West on lap 10 for 3rd position.
That’s how they would end: Huston 1st, Landry 2nd,
Cleeton 3rd, T. West 4th and Dave
Schilt 5th. We thank all the drivers for coming
over the hill; the NFRA gang and Reno’s fine Clone drivers
for making this a huge race. Most of them will be back
Saturday July 10, 2010 for the Da$h
for Ca$h event.
TaG Masters
set out to continue what has been a
very successful start to the season. The class is averaging
10 karts a race right now. Qualifying would see Brian
Rivera take pole with a blistering lap of 49.9 over Nick
Wadlow’s 50.8. The first heat saw Wadlow grab the lead out
of turn 2. His position was short lived, as Rivera would
take it from him on lap 2. Rivera would win the heat
followed by Wadlow and Dan Harris. Heat 2 invert brought
about some good racing with these guys. Derrick DeLong
would have pole at the start of the race only to see Harris
and Wadlow confiscate that from him by lap 2. DeLong would
DNF on lap 6. In the mean time, Rivera would start making
his way through the field and get past Redline Racing Oil’s
Cameron Evans for 3rd. He would then pick to off
Wadlow deep in turn two for 2nd. With one lap to
go, Rivera would try to squeeze his kart under Harris but
Harris would shut the door. That’s how they would finish
the heat: Harris 1st, Rivera 2nd and
Wadlow 3rd. The main event saw Rivera and Wadlow
on the front row. Wadlow again would power his Rotax to the
front for the holeshot. He would keep the lead for the
first lap until Rivera would pass him going into turn 1-2.
Harris would then get by Wadlow in the same corner on the
next lap as Wadlow went off the track. Wadlow’s day would
end prematurely. That left Curt Baker to take the P3 spot
and never look back. That’s how they would finish, Rivera
in 1st, Harris 2nd, Baker 3rd.
Evans 4th and Chris McCabe (another solid finish)
in 5th.
HPV-1’s
were next up. All 4 drivers in this
field are attached to the Cambrian Go-Kart Team. They
decided to come out and get some good testing in before the
IKF race in Reno next month. Leading it off was Garrett
Dixon posting a quick time of 54.9 over Mike Mitchoff’s
55.4. Dixon would lead from start to finish in the first
heat followed by Mitchoff, Gino Gigliotti and Scott Huffaker.
They would stay in this position the entire heat. The
second heat saw Gigliotti take the holeshot only to have
Mitchoff snatch the lead by lap 2. Dixon and Huffaker would
also get around Gigliotti for 2nd and 3rd
place respectively. As the heat wore on, Dixon would move
in closer to the leader Mitchoff and take the lead. It
wasn’t until the white flag lap when Mitchoff decided he
wanted his position back and overtook Dixon, taking the
checkered flags. That brought out the main event. The kids
were ready to race and it showed. Dixon came out strong,
grabbed the lead off the get-go and never turned back.
Mitchoff was right behind him in 2nd. Huffaker
would make the pass on Gigliotti for 3rd. Dixon
would beat Mitchoff to the line by 5+ seconds. Great racing
for all these kids.
Formula 80 Masters
had
7 drivers ready to race in this event. Starting it
off on the lead foot was Mark Nason with a bullet time of
49.6. Cody McKinney would position himself on the outside
of the front row with a fast time of 49.7. Nason would
start the first heat as the leader and never look back. The
fight early was between Gerry Williams and McKinney. The 2
would dice until McKinney finally had enough and went by
Williams before lap 2. Steve Dow would have a solid finish
coming in behind Williams in the 4th position.
Heat two saw Dow on the front row. However it was Ben
Fisher who would take the P1 spot and hold it until the last
lap, that’s when Gerry Williams would make his move and
steal the win on the white flag lap from Fisher. Nason
would be able to get around Dow for 3rd place.
The main event had the makings of a great finish with these
guys. Nason would take the holeshot with McKinney in tow.
It didn’t take McKinney long before he wanted a piece of the
lead. He would make his pass on Nason by lap 2. Meanwhile,
Fisher would do all he could to hold off Williams for 2nd.
The two would dice back and forth throughout the race. Dow
would then set his sights on Williams and over take him on
lap 12 much to the disgust of Williams. Up front, Nason was
setting up McKinney and made the pass on lap 10. McKinney
would go off the track and have to retire from the race.
That left Nason taking the checkers with Fisher holding on
for 2nd, followed by a strong performance by Dow
in 3rd.
TaG Novice
brought out it’s biggest showing of
the year with 10 Novice drivers coming out to play at the
track. Once again, and has been the normal, Matt Koerner
showed why he is being considered one of the youngest
talented drivers in the club. His pole time of 50.9 topped
Sean Doyle’s time of 51.9 by a full second. Both of these
drivers race with their fathers in the same class. But the
first heat belonged to M. Koerner as it has all year. His
father, Tom, would take second position and hold onto it
till the end. Doyle would come from the back (X) and fall
into 3rd place by the end of the heat himself.
The 2nd heat came along and these guys were
looking to race. T. Koerner would take the holeshot and be
followed by M. Koerner. M. Koerner would make the pass for
the lead on lap 4 only to DNF shortly there after. That
left T. Koerner with the lead followed by a surging S.
Doyle. Sean’s dad Rob Doyle would claim the P3 spot.
That’s how that heat would finish. Of course, that brought
along the main event with much anticipation. As the green
flag dropped, T. Koerner would grab the P1 spot and hold it
until lap 3. That’s when S. Doyle would make his pass on T.
Koerner. But immediately following that, M. Koerner would
slip by his father and make what would amount to be the
winning pass on S. Doyle. The race ended that way with Matt
Koerner taking the checkers for his 3rd straight
win over Tom Koerner by a mere kart length. Doyle would
finish 3rd followed by Javier Avila in 4th.
Many of these Novice drivers will be taking off their X for
the next race in August.
F-125’s
were the last karts on the track.
Mitch Kennedy powered his 125icc to a fast time of 48.0.
Rich Adams in his Stock-Moto would have a fast time of 49.5
followed by Chris McCabe’s 50.3. The first heat would see
Rich Adams have an out of body experience by battling with
Mitch Kennedy while both drivers ran around the 48.4 times.
Kennedy would win the icc race. McCabe would follow in 3rd
place while newcomer John Morgan would take 4th.
That brought out the main event, as John Morgan would take
the holeshot into turn 1-2. Adams would fight all the way
through with Morgan until he was able to pass him on lap 9.
But Morgan wasn’t done yet as he fought Adams all the way
down to Turn 3 where he was able to hold him off. McCabe
then would make a pass on Adams as well. The 3 would latch
onto each other bumper to bumper until McCabe would spin out
going into Turn 7. That gave the Stock-Moto win to Morgan
followed by Adams and a limping McCabe.
TaG Senior
saw Jess Peterson and Ray Andrews get
a little time in on the track. Peterson is testing for the
upcoming IKF race here in Reno.
What an effort by the Northern
Nevada Kart Club to pull off such a huge club race. It’s
staff of Shari Dow (Scoring), Sandy Diederich (Reg), Dave
Brant (Flagger) and Glenn McKinnon (RD) responded
exceptionally well with all the drivers coming through. We
could not have had a race day this big without the help from
the NFRA and the Jr 1 karters/dads. The members and racers
of NNKC are proud of the fact that we have one of the top
clubs in the Nation right here in Reno Nevada!! Next up is
the Reno IKF Race July 10-11, 2010. Saturday, July 10 after
IKF practice is over, we will have our big Clone Da$h
for Ca$h race. We hope to
see you all here.
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6-17-10 Country's top karters to converge on
Tri-Cities for IKF Grand Nationals
The Tri-Cities will welcome some of the
country's best kart drivers when the Tri-City Kart Club
plays host to the 2010 International Karting Federation
4-Cycle Sprint and Shifter Grand Nationals June 30 to July
3.
While final entries aren't completed yet,
Tri-City Kart Club president (TCKC) Corey Poynor said he
expects anywhere from 170-200 racers when the action begins
June 28, making the event one of the largest Grand Nationals
in recent history.
"This event is a great way for TCKC to
showcase the facility we have and are very proud of," Poynor
said. "It will bring in people from all over the U.S. and
let them see that the Northwest has some of the best
facilities and top-notch racers."
TCKC was awarded the race after a 24-month
process that began with a bid two years ago. Mike Schorn,
International Karting Federation board member, said the
Tri-City bid stood out thanks to its track and the
surrounding community.
"It's actually one of the better tracks in
the Northwest," said Schorn, who will also compete in the
event. "They have done a lot of things to make it better.
It's going to be a great place to host Grand Nationals."
The TCKC made several improvements to the
track in the past four years in preparation for such an
event. The club repaved the track, added electricity and
running water in the paved pit area, added a new restroom
with showers in the pit, revamped all the fencing around the
facility and moved it further away from the track as well as
added soft wall barriers that surround a large portion of
the course and even installed a new public announcement
system.
Poynor noted that the track's grandstand area
is free and fully shaded.
"We have one of the most spectator-friendly
tracks around," he said. "You will see some of the best
races ever during this event..."
Big Competition
The four-day event will feature 25 different
classes racing for coveted Duffy awards (or national title
trophies), named after karting legend Duffy Livingstone.
Racers such as Burt Gassaway, Roger and Alan Cathey, Bryan
Greene, Tristan Orear, Cory Gwin and more will be among the
field when action kicks off
"The competition at this event is going to be
very tough," Poynor said. "To win here or probably even get
a podium finish is going to be a very tough thing to do."
Also attending the event, although not
racing, will be Mike Burris, owner of Burris Racing in
Huntington Beach, Calif., a company that specializes in
manufacturing and selling karting parts and accessories.
Burris, who began racing karts in 1958, has been to "all the
big races" and has a good idea at what spectators and racers
alike can expect from the event.
"This one here is going to bring most of the
better drivers together that are in the United States," he
said. "You'll see bigger classes and closer racing."
Burris will be making the trip with three
drivers, including his grandson, 20-year-old Zach Burris.
Schorn said the track, one of the only
Northwest tracks to run clockwise, will play a big factor in
addition to the high skill of the drivers.
"The track is in really good shape and we'll
see some passes that you don't normally see," he said. "When
nationals hits, people make some moves that you wouldn't
think would happen and they execute them well. This track
will promote that."
Family First
Family ties are a common thread throughout
the karting community and this race will be no exception.
Several local families will boast entries including David
Dean and his 10-year-old son Kellen, just one pair of
father-son duos to race in the event.
"My kid just fell in love with it," said
Dean, who got back into karting four years ago after leaving
the sport in his later youth. "It's a real great experience
because the whole family can get involved."
It's not just father and sons either.
Poynor's 16-year-old daughter Brooke races alongside her dad
in many of the local races, and the Grand Nationals will be
no different.
"My dad's been racing for a lot of years and
being able to race against him means a lot to me," she said.
"He's my dad and I love him and I love racing against him."
The family aspect is a big part of TCKC,
Corey Poynor said, and visitors to the event will be sure to
notice.
"At TCKC, family is the main thing; it
doesn't matter if you are five or 75, we want you here and
to have a great time with your family and with all of us,"
Poynor said. "Racing against Brooke is a blast - to me, it's
some of the best racing I do. Racing with her in a Grand
National event is going to be a lot of fun, and if all goes
well, maybe we'll be fighting it out for the Duffy."
"It truly is a family sport," said Schorn,
whose 12-year-old son David will be competing as well. "The
young and old both get to enjoy it and have a good time."
Beyond the Track
The event will feature more than just racing,
Poynor said. The event unofficially kicks off June 25, and
each day following that will feature an opportunity for
drivers to pay to practice on the course. On June 29,
drivers and families can enjoy a wine tour that leaves from
the track at noon or enjoy one of the Tri-Cities many golf
courses.
One big draw for spectators and competitors
alike will be the exhibitions provided by the Vintage Kart
Club of America, an organization dedicated to preserving
karting history. President Ernie Fisher of Gualala, Calif.,
said the club will be bringing 12 hand-picked karts run
exhibitions each day with a race on the final day of
competition.
Most of us have been karting since the
1950s," Fisher said. "We picked these Karts because they
were fast. Everyone can see where karting came from and
where it all started."
All of the karts coming up are rear-engine,
including Fisher's own 1958 Hovey Hawk, powered by a Konig
250cc water-cooled engine, a kart that was once known as
"King of the Hill."
"It's the only Konig-powered kart in the
world that is still running to my knowledge," said Fisher,
who won the 1967 California State Championship. "It's very,
very fast."
Several other well-known karters will be
coming up with the vintage club, including Terry Ives, John
Grieves and Richard Kennedy, who will be performing his
famous "This Side Up" exhibition on Saturday, July 3. During
the run, Kennedy drives around the track on two wheels, with
one side up in the air. The demonstration has even landed
Kennedy in the Guinness Book of World Records.
"He's pretty amazing," Fisher said. "He can
navigate right-hand turns, or left turns, it doesn't matter.
He doesn't use ramps or artificial means; he just throws it
up and keeps the balance. It's pretty amazing to watch."
Several vintage karts will be on display
throughout the event, including the kart in which Fisher won
his state championship. The club will also sponsor a
barbecue after the racing on July 2.
For more information on the Grand National
event or the Tri-City Kart Club, visit www.tckc.net.
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6-17-10
Full Throttle Karting becomes American distributor of the
MaxJet and RaceJet line of Rotax jetting products
Full Throttle
Karting, recognized as one of the nation’s leading sources
for Rotax service, tuning, and racing, is proud to announce
that is now the sole American distributor for the MaxJet
jetting software and RaceJet weather station.
A staple at any Rotax competition, the MaxJet is the premier
jetting software that is used for Rotax engines the world
over. Available in versions for the Rotax FR125, Rotax DD2,
Vortex ROK, and EasyKart, it can be used with a
Windows-based computer, Palm, and Pocket PC. Additionally,
it can be used with the RaceJet Weather Pod.
The RaceJet Weather Pod integrates an Air Force grade
weather pod with the MaxJet for the most accurate jetting
possible, creating a system that will optimize the engine
settings of any Rotax Max engine in any class, with any
combination of jets, floats, needle, inserts and air box.
“We have used the MaxJet and RaceJet for a number of years
on our engines, and we’ve discovered that they make racing
the Rotax FR125 and DD2 much easier,” said Andy Seesemann,
owner of Full Throttle Karting. “They completely take the
guesswork out of tuning a Rotax carburetor, and they are
great for rookies, who are still on a learning curve, as
well as veterans, who can be confident that their engine is
properly tuned no matter the conditions. The MaxJet and
RaceJet eliminate all of that and provides for a safe tune
that is right on each time.”
Based in Southern California, Full Throttle Karting is the
home base for the Gatorz Challenge of the Americas and
Gatorz Karting Cup. The shop, owned by twenty-year karting
veteran and former Rotax Grand National champion Andy
Seesemann, builds engines that win locally, regionally, and
at national-level competitions such as the yearly Rotax
Grand Nationals.
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6-17-10
Gatorz Karting Cup responds to customer requests and
postpones June date at Grange Motor Circuit
In a move done to ease the financial and logistical burden on the drivers
and teams of the Gatorz Karting Cup, the series is
announcing the postponement of the planned June 19 race at
Grange Motor Circuit, the fifth round of the 2010 Gatorz
Karting Cup.
The Rotax Pan American date at Newcastle Motorsports Park,
which was held this past weekend one month before the Grand
Nationals at the same facility, saw a large number of Gatorz
Karting Cup drivers competing at the venue. To simplify
logistics, many of those teams and drivers inquired about a
date move for the Grange Motor Circuit to eliminate a
cross-country trek with trucks, trailers, and karts, which
would be necessary in order to answer the green flag this
coming Saturday.
Closer to home, the pending IKF Grand Nationals at Willow
Springs Kart Track led several local teams to ask the series
about the possibility as well, as the IKF Grand Nationals, a
hallmark event on the Southern California karting schedule,
was putting an extra strain on local teams and drivers as
well. This unique combination of circumstances led to the
postponement of Grange.
“It is not typical for us to move or postpone a date, but
our June 19 date at Grange was obviously going to be a
problem for many of our series drivers and teams who have
supported us throughout the year, and for several years,”
said series owner Andy Seesemann. “This year we have a
special circumstance with the Grange date being right in the
middle of Pan-Am and the Rotax Grand Nationals – which are
only a month apart – and that would put a lot of strain on
our drivers. In times like these, we are going to bend over
backwards to make sure that they are able to race and that’s
what we have done.”
The series will make an announcement on the make-up date for
round five of the Gatorz Karting Cup in the coming weeks.
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6-15-10 Region 11 Super Series-High Banks in
Atwater
Source RaceMediaGroup.com
The Norcal
Region 11 Super Series held round 5 of the six race series
at the high banks of Atwater Kart Club. Off highway 99 near
Merced Tom Dash memorial Speedway in Atwater California
holds one of the fastest tracks on the West Coast. The
facility is popular for its long straightaway leading into a
high banked flat-out sweeper and its drafting, which
provides for exciting racing throughout the fields for all
positions.
First
up on the weekend was Kid Karts and Tomas Mejia set fast for
the first time on the season with a 46.235. In the Heat race
Mejia jumped out to a quick lead and began pacing laps with
Zach Corbitt in tow. Around halfway Corbitt passed for the
lead and snuck away rather quickly into familiar territory,
out front. Corbitt got the win to start pole for the Final.
On the start of the Main Mejia once again assumed the lead
and pulled out to a big lead. As the race progressed Corbitt
ran down the leader. After a few laps of Putting the
pressure on Mejia, Corbitt jumped out front, and cruised to
a 2.9 second victory. Mejia came home second with Clayton
Williams third.
Next
up was Jr Comer and the Kartel's LaRosa Boys captured front
row with Joseph edging out his brother Kendall with a lap of
35.931. Kartel's Blaine Rocha and Joseph LaRosa broke away
in the Heat race for the teammates to start on the front row
with LaRosa once again on Pole. Rocha jumped out to a big
lead early on and left the other fighting for second.
Cambrian Gokart's Justin Yanez and Magnum's Tyler Burk got
together late dropping both out of the top three. Joseph
Runyan finished second with Joseph LaRosa third.
Jr
Superpipe took to the track and Kartel's Luis Tyrrell
grabbed fast time with a 33.441. In the heat race Brennen
Mankin jumped out to an early lead and cruised to the
victory. On the start of the Final the outside line got the
jump and Tyrrell made a daring pass into the Sweeper
grabbing the lead for Lap one. As the race progressed Mankin
took control and Tyrrell began to drop back, however the
driver lurking was Zach Maclean. Maclean took control of the
race with 5 laps left and drove to a big victory for his
first ever IKF Region 11 Super Series win. Mankin was second
and Tyrrell was third.
Sr
Superpipe was on track and local driver Ryan Garcia grabbed
pole with a 33.328. Garcia rolled to victory in the heat but
the action behind him proved that the real racing was yet to
come. On the start of the Final Extreme Motorsport's Bryan
Eady jumped out to a big lead while the rest of the drivers
battled for second. A red flag involving Ryan Casner in a
scary accident stopped the race 5 laps in which bunched up
the field including some charging drivers from the back. As
the racing resumed from the Red the racing action began to
get heavy. Lead changed sometime twice or three times a lap.
Leading Edge's Brett Felkins and Eady both took their turns
at leading but with five to go it was Bobby Runyan with the
point and Eady bringing the heat. On the last lap Eady went
to the inside of Runyan in the Hairpin, however Clayton Snow
wanted the inside as well and made it three wide for the
lead. Snow’s pass prevailed and contact between the other
karts behind him gave him the space he needed and Snow got
the win. Eady got second and Felkins third.
KPV-1
Jr was next and Kartel's Blaine Rocha grabbed fast time with
a 34.974. Rocha and Cambrian Gokart's Justin Yanez jumped
out to a quick lead in the Heat with Rocha bump drafting
Yanez for the two to finish 1-2 for the front row of the
main. In the early going of the Final both Rocha and Yanez
once again pulled away to a big lead. Yanez crossed the line
first for the victory with Rocha on his tail. Rocha was
removed from post race tech moving Kartel's Joseph LaRosa up
to second. Cambrian Gokart's Danny Rubino had a great run
through the field to finish third.
Tag
Sr took to the track and Kartel's TJ Fischer grabbed fast
time running a 31.977 lap. Fischer looked to be the driver
to beat as he opened up a big lead early in the Heat and
cruised to victory. The start of the Final looked like
Fischers teammate Kartel's Neil Alberico would have
something for TJ to battle, but as the raced progressed
Fischer opened up a big lead and swept the day for his first
IKF Region 11 Super Series win. Alberico surrendered the
second spot late to Cambrian Gokart's Bronson Eggert who
made a nice run through the field from the last starting
spot. Alberico finished third.
HPV-2
and the stellar lineup of drivers were next to battle and
Leading Edge's Jarred Campbell set fast time with a 33.004.
MMI's David Vasquez showed the way in the heat race to get
pole position in the Final. On the start of the Main
Campbell and Vasquez opened up a big lead as the rest of the
drivers battled for third. Great driving was put on display
by the young drivers. David Vasquez held on to get the win
in which later he announced at the trophy presentation, “The
Competition is in Norcal”. Campbell got second while Emmick
Cobra's Sonny Cervelli won the fight for third.
Leading
Edge's Jared Woolf won the 125 Stock Moto category while
Connor McNeil won the 4-cycle division after a post race
technical DQ took the win away from Cambrian Gokart's Chip
Mooneyham. MMI's Chuck Hastings won the Formula 80 Masters
after putting on a clinic with fast time, heat and Final
race wins.
Next race
for the IKF Region 11 Super Series is the Norcal Super
Series Nationals at Northern Nevada Kart Club in Reno Nevada
which held the 2009 IKF 2-Cycle grand nationals. For more
information or for series points visit the official Region
11 IKF website
www.NorcalKarters.com . For the series Photos visit
http://scribnerracingpromotions.zenfolio.com/
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6-15-10 Leading Edge Motorsports/Race Engine
Department
On
Saturday an Engine that was out of spec due to a new profile
tool SKUSA had implemented to profile the heads of the IAME.
In years past with NorCal TAG it was ok to clean up a
cylinder head after a bad motor failure to take the debris
out of the squish surface. The motor that Kathryn Cornell
was racing was ever so slightly cleaned up in 2007 to save
the customer money, not apparent to the eye, but after 2
years of being in TECH with SKUSA, STARS, CKI it was never
seen, this has been a motor with many top 3 finishes and the
tech guys without this tool have never seen this. However
with the addition of a new profile tool (that at present
time is not available to the motor builders or the public),
the Engine was found to be illegal.
We would
like to make every motor builder and consumer aware of this
new tool that after being in tech with IAME engines over the
last 6 years of SKUSA, STARS, IKF, WKA, and now CKI, I have
never seen this tool and am requesting that it be made
available for all builders by IAME to inspect every IAME
head that comes across there table from past or other
builders to insure none of the karters have this happen to
them. This head was a performance loss not a gain, and no
other aspect of the dimensions were altered when we put a
stock head on this motor it will most definitely create a
performance gain in compression and mid range, as we did not
do this as a performance enhancement; but merely to save the
customer money in the past when it was ok to do .
I would like
to apologize to Kathryn for the oversight and assure her
that this will only make her motor program stronger when LEM
fixes the oversight. It will improve her already dominate
motor package and LEM would like to thank her for a
wonderful drive on a motor that was down on power due to
loss of compression.
We strive to
conform to every aspect and have all the tech tools that are
available by the different organizations. Over the past 15
years we have been found illegal two other times. One with
an HPV Clutch spring height, and the other was with an ICC
motor at the KARTSPORT GP after all our motors were stolen
the night before the event, and I had to throw something
together the morning of the race and ran second. I believe
our almost clean record present that we are a top motor
builder and continue to provide fast reliable power to our
racers.
Leading Edge
Motorsports would like to say thank you, and give a warm
welcoming to those who have joined us in our search for
success in 2010. For more information about Leading Edge
Motorsports, feel free to contact Greg Bell at 209-369-0921
or
leadingedgeguy@sbcglobal.net
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6-16-10
Toft and Jadallah Score First Wins of Season at Round Four
of Prokart Challenge North
Former Stock
Moto series champion Toft becomes fourth different winner
with Jadallah scoring TaG Senior victory in only second
start of season
Event after event, the ProKart Challenge program continues
to provide excitement at tracks throughout the state of
California. With a month to prepare for this past weekends
fourth round of the ProKart Challenge North series, the
competitors stepped up to the plate to put on a great show
around the Reverse National circuit at the Jim Russell
International Karting Center at the Infineon Raceway
facility. Never a disappointment is the headline categories
of the S1 Pro Stock Moto and TaG Senior divisions. For a
fourth straight race, the S1 group produced a different
victor this time former series champ Jason Toft taking the
checkered flag, while young NorCal star Jordan Jadallah
stood on the podium for the first time at a PKC North event
in TaG Senior.
The
hot and windy race day unfolded with a newcomer to the S1
category, former national champion Alex Speed, taking the
pole position. Speeds lap of 47.858 put him just ahead of
point leader Fritz Leesmann and Toft on the time sheet. Once
the wheel-to-wheel action began, Speed was shuffled back
early with round two winner Nic LeDuc joining the fight.
After LeDuc led the opening three laps, Toft held the point
for two circuits before Leesmann secured the spot for the
first heat win. From the outside row one grid spot, LeDuc
once again showed the way to begin the second heat race.
Speed was better in the opening lap this time around and
challenged for the second spot with Leesmann. Once around
him, Speed took over the lead from LeDuc on lap six, going
on to take the win over Brett Felkins and Toft who came from
well back in the field after the first lap while Leesmann
fell to fourth in the order. The complexity of the main
event changed after the first lap, as Speed slowed and would
retire with a mechanical failure. This allowed Toft to
assume the point and he would go on to lead the entire
20-lap main event for his first victory of the season.
Leesmann was second with LeDuc outrunning Felkins for the
final podium spot.
Jadallah
has had a number of laps around the Sonoma circuit,
participating in a variety of local series as a Junior
driver and now at the Senior level. Out of the box Jadallah
was the quickest in TaG Senior, posting a 50.033 lap to
secure the pole position over Bobby Kelley, JP Cadoux and
point leader Larry Fraser. Jadallah and Kelley exchanged the
lead a number of times over the course of the first 8-lap
heat race, with Kelley getting to the line first. Kelley
went flag-to-flag in the second heat after Jadallah was
shuffled back to third behind Nick Johnston who advanced
forward from being disqualified in qualifying for a hot pit
violation. When the green waved for the feature race,
Johnston took the point for the first time on the day. He
would lead up until lap nine when Jadallah assumed the
point. The next lap, Johnston was putting the pressure on
Jadallah when the two hooked bumpers. Johnston got the worst
of the contact as he went off and damaged his machine,
unable to continue, moving Kelley into second. Jadallah
would be too quick with his Rotax power in the closing
stages, as he posted the fast laps of the race to outrun the
Motori 7 of Kelley to a three-second victory with Jess
Peterson (Rok TT) finishing a strong third and Fraser (Motori
7) in fourth.
Mr.
Perfect on the season in the PKC North program thus far has
been Jeff Smith. The S4 Masters Stock Moto championship
leader recorded his third perfect weekend with a sweep of
the days activities qualifying, heat 1, heat 2, feature and
fast lap. Smith will look to continue his season win streak,
which now sits at six feature victories (including
SpringNationals), at the SummerNationals. Keeping him honest
throughout the day was Alex Keith, who recorded his third
straight runner-up finish just ahead of Jim Inglebright.
Matt Alcorn jumped back on his winning ways, scoring victory
number two of the PKC North season in S2 Semi-Pro Stock Moto.
Round two winner Cameron Pringle led things to begin the
event, as he edged Alcorn by just 53-thousandths of a second
in qualifying. Alcorn, however, held the advantage through
both heat races and the feature, leading all three races
flag-to-flag. Pringle ran to second with round three winner
Neil Joseph ending up third.
The
TaG Junior category saw a shake up in the point standings
following round four, with Austin Dement coming away with
the feature victory after Kathryn Cornell was disqualified.
Austin Thomas was at the top of the charts following
qualifying, posting a time just 53-thousandths quicker than
Dement, while Cornell and point leader Niki Luna were fifth
and sixth. With the field nearly equal on-track, Deven
Sanchez was able to slide by from his fourth starting spot
on the opening circuit to lead all eight laps of the first
heat over Thomas and Dement. Sanchez and Dement battled for
the top spot in the second heat until Dement climbed the
bumper of Sanchez. This allowed Thomas and Cornell to slide
by for second and third with Sanchez taking the win, while
Dement fell back to fourth. Returning to battle for the 20
laps of the main event, each driver took a turn at the point
until Cornell took the reigns at the halfway mark. Getting
to the line first, Cornell was the provisional winner until
found incompliant in the technical inspection, taking away
her victory and points for the day. Dement was then promoted
to the top spot of the podium for the first time on the
season, with Sanchez and Thomas filling the other two steps.
Cornell, however, had better luck in HPV-2 Junior as she
swept the days action to extend her point lead. Daniel
Langon who also ran uncontested in the S5 category was
second with Jack Freese third.
TaG Master was a dual between former series winner Rob
Soares and championship contender Jeff Deehan. Soares struck
first with fast time in qualifying before Deehan took the
win in the first heat. Soares was able to prevail in the
second heat while Deehan fell back to fourth after some
trouble, putting Paul Hohlbein and newcomer Stephan Gaudreau
into second and third. At the start of the final, the two
drivers in the front row made contact. Soares received the
worst of it and bounced into Deehan, ending both their races
in the first turn. Gaudreau was able to slide by to assume
the lead and take his first series victory, while Hohlbein
continued on to finish second. In the S3 Novice Stock Moto
category, Todd Wilson ran uncontested for his first win of
the season.
The series will take the month of July off as the second
round of the SKUSA North American Pro Tour will take place
on July 16-18 for the Mothers Polish SummerNationals at the
USA International Raceway in Shawano, Wisconsin. The fifth
round of the ProKart Challenge North program will take place
at the PKC West Coast Shootout at the Santa Maria Karting
Association facility, pitting the South series against the
North on August 13-14. For more information on anything
related to SKUSA or the ProKart Challenge, visit the
www.superkartsusa.com website or call the SKUSA head office
at 951-491-0808.
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6-15-10
IAME TaG Class Taking Off at RLOKC
One of the
newest race classes in 2010 is the IAME TaG class at the Red
Line Oil Karting Championship (RLOKC). RLOKC runs at the Jim
Russell International Karting Center at Infineon Raceway,
Northern California's premier karting facility. This class
was created by series promoter Steve Cameron with the
objective of decreasing racing costs by increasing engine
life. The class uses a unique spec gear formula which limits
engine RPMs to approximately 16,000. This helps to prolong
engine life, lower overall expenses, and allows light and
heavy drivers to compete together in the same race, thus
allowing for larger class entries. After three races, the
turnout seems to indicate the formula is working. The May
23rd IAME TaG field had nine drivers with three different
drivers winning the two heat races and Main event.
The class sponsor, Italian Motors USA, has contributed a new
Parilla engine to be raffled off at the end of the year to
one of the top year end points earners in the championship.
Additionally, $50, $25 and $15 Italian Motors gift
certificates are also awarded at each race to the top three
drivers in the Main event.
Race #4 on Sunday, June 27th will be run onthe Reverse
Sprint track configuration. The spec gears for this race
are:
370# minimum weight - gears 10/77 or 11/84
385# minimum weight - gears 10/78 or 11/86
400# minimum weight - gears 10/80 or 11/88
Other class specifications: engines must be stock spec or
National Cup spec, tires are Bridgestone YKC, fuel is VP 98
and oil is Red Line 2 Cycle Kart Oil.
If you are one of the many Nor Cal racers with a perfectly
good Parilla engine in the garage, the IAME TaG class is a
great way to get back into some fun kart racing.
For more information, go to
www.cameronkarting.com or contact race director
Ric Shaw at racedirector-ric@hotmail.com.
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6-14-10
SKUSA Confirms Additional Plans for Summer Nationals at
Shawano
Organization
will reserve SuperNats entry position until mid-August for
SummerNationals drivers
With its new Pro Tour having been successfully launched back
in April at Infineon Raceway with a packed paddock of happy
customers, the Superkarts! USA staff has spent the last six
weeks putting together plans for the second round of their
national series the Mothers Polish SummerNationals. The next
event will be held at the wildly-popular USA International
Raceway in Shawano, WI, in July and following the release of
some interesting track news early last week, SKUSA was
prompted to handle a minor situation, one that has already
been rectified. Over the past 10 days, Superkarts! USA
president Tom Kutscher has been in constant contact with the
track management at USAIR after word hit the streets that
the facility had been put into receivership. Thanks to this
dedicated communication, SKUSA is happy to report that the
SummerNationals will continue on at Shawano as scheduled.
As we are with all of our venues, I have been in regular
contact with the track staff and ownership at USA
International Raceway, having visited the facility in May,
confirmed Kutscher. This situation is unfortunate, but the
receivership group is thrilled that we are coming to the
track in July and theyve pledged to welcome us with open
arms. Weve got a bunch of great things planned for the
weekend, and Im really happy that well be able to maintain
our program in Shawano. Its an incredible track, and I cant
wait to see our drivers attack it in July.
SKUSA has been re-assured that it will be business as usual
at the popular karting facility for the SummerNationals,
which are set to go for July 16-18. SKUSA will pack the
weekend with many additional components, as they remain
focused on making sure that their customers enjoy their trip
to the race. SKUSA will team with eKartingNews.com to kick
off SummerNationals Week with a new off-track event the
first-ever eKartingNews.com Golf Tournament which will take
place on Wednesday, July 14 at the Shawano Lakes Golf Club.
This will be a best ball tournament that will feature a
great package price of $45 for the round, complete with a
cart and lunch. A limited number of complimentary sets of
rental clubs will also be available. Any interested players
are asked to contact EKN Publisher Rob Howden (rhowden@howdenmediagroup.com)
to reserve a spot, as space is limited. An unofficial pool
party is being scheduled for Thursday evening at the host
hotel the Kiryat, and the SKUSA Friday Night BBQ will be
back, as it was extremely popular at the SpringNationals.
This grilling edition will remain true to the region with a
Johnsonville Brat Fry at the track, making sure that the
groups racers, families and hard-working staff and team
mechanics are kept fed and happy. J3 Competition will again
partner with Superkarts! USA in providing the beverages for
the evening.
With a stated desire to keep costs down, including those
connected to pre-event testing, the track will not allow
practice during the week heading into the SummerNationals.
The track layout for the event remains unconfirmed, and will
not be released until the Monday before the event. The SKUSA
Central States Challenge has a regional series race set for
the weekend prior to the Pro Tour stop (July 10-11), and
while they will run on a slightly different configuration,
teams and families who wish to turn this trip to Wisconsin
into a summer vacation will be able to enjoy two race
outings back-to-back. The surrounding area is a beautiful
vacation destination, and SKUSA expects many racers to make
a family experience out of the excursion.
While pre-entries are coming in on a regular basis, a new
issue was brought to the attention of the SKUSA staff in
early June when they opened the registration for this falls
SuperNationals in Las Vegas. In opening the registration for
both the SummerNationals and SuperNationals in the month of
June, a financial strain has been put on a number of
Superkarts! USA competitors. So, in an effort to support its
customers, Kutscher had confirmed that any driver who enters
the SummerNationals can have their spot in the
SuperNationals reserved until later in the summer. Payment
for the SuperNationals may be deferred until August 15 to
ease the burden by contacting the SKUSA office directly at
951-491-0808. This will be particularly important for
drivers in classes such as TaG Senior and S4, which will
sell out the available entry spots well before the race.
The debut of the new TaG Cadet class in Sonoma was a huge
success for SKUSA, and they are excited to continue its
growth within the organization. One of the keys to its
well-supported roll-out was the free Mini Rok engine rental
offer presented by Vortex. A total of 10 of the impressive
60cc Mini Roks that represent the base of the class were
made available to Cadet drivers who wanted to sample the
category, and now that a majority of them have purchased
their own engines, several of the no-charge packages are
still up for grabs for Shawano. One driver who will not need
the complimentary offer is Noah Grey, who was awarded a
complete motor package for winning the overall race weekend
at the SpringNationals. Another engine package will be on
the line when the TaG Cadet drivers hit the track in
Wisconsin, with the overall victor taking home a new Mini
Rok.
Registration for the SummerNationals is now open on SKUSAs
website www.superkartsusa.com and a pre-entry will save
racers a great deal off the regular weekend rate. The cutoff
for the pre-entry will be July 4. An influx of drivers from
the SKUSA Central States Challenge and the surrounding
Midwest regional series is expected to provide entry numbers
that will top the 100+ competitors enjoyed at Infineon
Raceway. If anyone is looking for shipping options for their
kart and equipment, there are still a number of teams from
both California and the Pacific Northwest who will be
traveling to Shawano and still have room in their trailers.
Interested competitors are asked to contact SKUSA
headquarters to be connected with the right team or you can
check out some available options listed on the website. Of
course, those in the class championship battles will
certainly be making the trek to Wisconsin, as they chase the
#1 plate, the sponsored SuperNationals entry and the 2011
SKUSA Pro Tour entry fee prize package. The host
accommodations for the SummerNationals will be the Kiryat
Hotel in Shawano, which features $79 room rates. Complete
information is available on www.superkartsusa.com.
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6-14-10 PRD USA offering FREE
Junior 2 PRD entry at IKF Grand Nationals
PRD USA is offering all
Junior 2 drivers entered in either Jr. Super Sportsman, Jr.
Super Sportsman Heavy, Jr. KPV-2, or Jr. KPV-2 Heavy at the
upcoming IKF Grand Nationals June 22-26 at Willow Springs
Kart Track a free entry in Friday's Junior 2 PRD class.
To receive the FREE Jr. 2 PRD
entry drivers must register and pay for the Jr. 2 PRD class
just like normal, but at registration they will be issued a
PRD USA voucher to refund their $90 entry fee. “It's
great to see such support from manufactures and sponsors”
commented Tim Holden of TiMi Promotions. “ PRD USA
has a commitment level like no other and truly support their
product, their customers and above all the sport of karting.
We are proud to have them as part of the 2010 IKF Grand
Nationals.”
All Grand Nationals information
and entry forms can be found at
www.timipromotions.com or contact Tim Holden
818-701-7151 or Mike Manning 661-256-7500.
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6-10-10
Willow Springs Kart Club and TiMi Promotions Release IKF
Grand Nationals Schedule
With the IKF
2-Cycle Sprint Grand Nationals only a short time away (June
23-26 at Willow Springs Kart Track), TiMi Promotions has
released their practice and race day schedules. Beginning on
Sunday, June 20, 2010, official practice for the event
opens. Official practice will continue from Sunday until
Tuesday from 3pm until 10pm each night. No one will be
allowed on track before 3pm, no exceptions.
Racing begins on Wednesday, June 23 and will continue until
Saturday June 26. Registration will open at 11am each day
with practice taking place on track from 3pm until 4:30pm.
Following the daily practice sessions will be the MANDATORY
drivers meeting at 4:30pm. Random roll will be taken and
drivers not in attendance will be reprimanded and lose their
qualifying times. Qualifying will commence at 5pm after the
drivers meeting. Heat racing will commence at 6:30pm
following a short break for dinner. Each day's main events
will start at 8pm and go until around 10pm. Tech will be
completed each night along with the awards presentations for
that day's set of classes.
Practice Nights: Sunday, Monday & Tuesday - 3pm to 10pm
Race Night Schedule: Wed. to Sat.
Registration: 11am open
Race Day Practice: 3pm to 4:30pm
Driver meeting: 4:30pm to 5pm
Qualifying: 5pm to 6pm
Dinner Break: 6pm to 6:30pm
Heat Races: 6:30pm to 8:00pm
Main Event Races: 8:00pm to 10:00pm
All Grand Nationals information and entry forms can be found
at http://www.timipromotions.com or contact Tim Holden
818-701-7151 or Mike Manning 661-256-7500.
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6-9-10 IKF Region 7 Championship
Series Willow Springs Report
Round 2 of the IKF Region 7
Championship Series presented by Bridgestone went off
without a hitch at the famed Willow Springs Kart Track. The
second episode of the Summer/Fall series was hosted by the
Willow Springs Kart Club and TiMi Promotions. With the IKF
2-Cycle Sprint Grand Nationals only a few weeks away it was
imperative that racers and crews got a little more track
time before the big event. The always unpredictable Willow
weather greeted us with highs in the 90s and a light breeze
to make it seem just a bit cooler than it was. The heat
shouldn't be a factor in a few weeks with the Grand
Nationals running under the lights.
First
out of the gate was the KPV4/Yamaha Pipe class. Carl Modoff
set the pace in qualifying with a time of 47.449, but it was
Kyle Wright who snagged the prefinal win. Attrition played a
big part of this race as one by one they seemed to drop like
flies. Wright and Cody Moss never completed a lap and Modoff
only went 7 laps before his day ended. Bradley Espinoza
managed to stay out of trouble on the start and took over
the lead on lap three. He enjoyed a sizable advantage but
the duo of John Wallace III and Scott Chohlis were in hot
pursuit. It took nearly the entire race for Wallace and
Cholo to bridge the gap, but once they did Espinoza was
toast. The three drivers battled it out for the last few
laps with Wallace getting a great win. After three years out
of the kart, Cholo took a while to get back rolling, but he
managed a great return for 2nd place. Espinoza finished in
3rd.
The
KPV1 class at the Grand Nationals is going to be one to
watch, in fact, all the Cadet classes should provide us with
our fair share of excitement. Parker Thompson was the man to
be Sunday right from the get go. With a pole and the win in
the prefinal he was in great shape to win the final too. The
only thing standing in his was twenty laps and sixteen other
drivers. Fortunately for Parker he was dialed in as usual
and hammered his way home for an uncontested win. Thompson
led from flag to flag as the field fought their way through
the laps for best in class. Colton Herta and Brenden Baker
went at it early for 2nd place while Troy Wesolowski, Chance
Skaufel, and Christian Brooks followed closely behind. Baker
brought it home for 2nd place and after tech had cleared
Brooks was scored in 3rd, completing a great run up from the
back to the front.
Jake Craig put 3 tenths on the
field in Junior PRD qualifying and carried that momentum
into the prefinal. Jason Hannegan and Christian Rochester
gave chase but the double zero of Craig was unstoppable.
Rochester's day ended early and by the checkered flag Craig
had two seconds on Hannegan at the finish.
The
Kid Kart class was anything but close all day long. Carson
Enright out qualified Hayden Wagner by 8 tenths and Myles
Farhan by more than 2 seconds. Enright's advantage
disappeared in the prefinal as Wagner found a little extra
speed. The final played out in a similar fashion as
qualifying with Enright in a world all his own. In a
grueling 12 lap final Enright went flag to flag for the win
with Wagner doing the same for 2nd place. Hudson Morrow
landed 3rd place after dicing nearly the entire race with
Luis Ortiz and Anthony Willis.
The
Sr. Spec PRD class was by far the best and largest of the
adult classes. Kolby Araki has proved time and time again
that this is his class and another pole position on Sunday
just added more proof. The familiar #17 driven by Matt
Johnson qualified P2 with Max Feyerabend and Erik Jackson
making up row two. The prefinal saw John Wallace III,
Johnson, and Scott Saunders all lead laps while Araki had to
work his way back to the front. With a late race move Araki
once again would start the final from the pole position.
Saunders had a great start and led Araki, Ty Matta, Johnson
and Lloyd Mack to the line for the first of 24 laps. His
lead didn't last long as Araki moved to the front and never
looked back. Once out front it was goodbye and thanks for
the memories as Araki's #30 drove off with the Willow wind
to a 6 second margin of victory. Saunders maintained 2nd
place for a while fending off charges from Matta, but the
guy on the move was Jackson. Back in 8th to start the first
lap, Jackson was right in the mix by lap six with Johnson,
Matta and Saunders. The Aussie Saunders put up a great fight
but eventually Jackson took 2nd and carried it to the
finish. Saunders finished in 3rd place with Johnson and Max
Feyerabend completing the top five.
Parker
Thompson was at it again in Junior 1 action grabbing the
pole from Colton Herta, Christian Brooks and Brenden Baker.
The prefinal saw that running order remain the same, but on
the grid for the final the chasers had high hope for ruining
Thompson's sweep of the Cadet classes. Despite attempts from
all challengers Thompson grabbed the hole-shot to start the
final. Dreaming of back to back Junior 1 wins Brooks slotted
into second with Noah Garza and Cooper Whitbread in tow.
After dropping a few positions on the start, Herta fought
his way up to 3rd and challenged Brooks for 2nd. Brooks
finally had to yield the spot and Herta took up the duties
of chasing after Thompson. On fire once again, Thompson was
successful in completing the sweep of all the Cadet classes.
I don't think there was a lap he didn't lead all weekend
long. Herta kept Brooks at bay and they finished 2nd and
3rd. After getting tangled up on the start, Baker rebounded
with a superb drive from last to 4th. Wyatt May also turned
in a solid performance coming from deep in the field to
finish in 5th.
KPV
2 Junior was the final class on the docket and once again
Jake Craig led the way. With a pole and dominating prefinal
win under his belt, Craig was the clear favorite in the
final as well. On the line was of course another win, but
also the opportunity to match Parker Thompson by sweeping
the Junior classes. Although Slater Stowell and Jorge
Cevallos were best in class for the prefinal, the final
saw the running order make a slight shift. It didn't shift
much as Craig easily went flag to flag for his second win of
the weekend. Cevallos and Stowell started out as 2nd and 3rd
but Brandon Reed was quick to jump up into 3rd place. As
Cevallos and Reed settled in for the long haul, Haley Jenni
was climbing up through the field. The laps ticked by and
one by one Jenni was getting closer to the front. Reed had
retired by lap 14 but it took a few more laps to hunt down
Cevallos. With a last lap attack, Jenni made a move that
stuck and captured 2nd place to complete a wonderful effort.
Cevallos maintained a 3rd place finish as Reed and Stowell
completed the top five.
Regional competition will take
the rest of June off and all of July and return to action
August 7-8 with the Santa Maria Kart Club in lovely Santa
Maria, California. In the meantime the IKF 2-Cycle Sprint
Grand Nationals hosted by the Willow Springs Kart Club and
TiMi Promotions will take place under the lights June 23-26
at Willow Springs Kart Track. All Grand Nationals
information and entry forms can be found at
www.timipromotions.com or contact Tim Holden
818-701-7151 or Mike Manning 661-256-7500.
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6-9-10 Bordogna Racing Engines has Moved!
Danny Bordogna and Bordogna Racing Engines wants to reach
out to their Customers and let the Karting Community know
that they have moved. Bordogna was not in Attendance this
last weekend at the Atwater Region 11 Super Series race as
the Engine Builder was moving his shop to their new
location.
Bordogna Racing Engines will be back at the track soon to
once again provide the best Track Support possible to their
customers. Those interested in the location of the New
Bordogna Racing Engines facility ar urged to Call Danny at
916-853-1110 or email at
danielbordogna@hotmail.com. Customers can also visit
Bordogna Racing Engines online at
www.bordogna.us
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6-9-10 “Battle Royale” in
Spokane!
Article by Northwest Karting
News
Round three of the Ikf Region
six Northwest Gold Cup Series got underway this past weekend
in Spokane, Washington. Stormy skies and windy conditions
were waiting to greet those competitors who made the long
trip, determined to go racing.
The Spokane Kart Racing
Association had everything ready to go, Thursday’s move in
was well orchestrated, and went smoothly. Turnout was good,
among the many teams represented were notables such as: CMC,
Italian Motors USA, HRE, Revolution Kart Racing, Rolison
Performance Group, Collins Racing, and Kartsport Northwest.
At the driver’s meeting Sunday morning Artie Carpenter was
presented with the checkered flag that was used for his
Fathers tribute victory lap at the previous Gold Cup race.
The Track:
Spokane’s track is a real “racer’s track”. It’s both fast
and technical, with plenty of opportunities for passing if
the driver is willing to take some chances.
The Weather:
Thursday and Friday were cold, windy, with occasional
showers. Saturday began clearing, stayed dry and by Sunday
the Sun came out for the remainder of the event.
The Competitors:
With series points battles beginning to take shape many of
these racers were looking at this round to establish
momentum heading into mid season. This would play out
throughout the weekend as on track action was taken to a
whole new level of intensity, and competitors were much less
willing to concede those all important finishing positions.
Junior 1 Briggs Gas Animal Heavy
Brittney Zamora and Sting Ray Robb would meet again here at
Spokane to contest round 3 of the series. Sting Ray Robb
struck first taking the pole with a fast lap of
50.820, Zamora second and Justin Demars in
third. Zamora struck back quickly however by taking the lead
to win the pre final with Demars close behind. In the end it
was Sting Ray Robb who would take the lead on the start of
the final event and never look back securing first place for
the weekend, Zamora right there behind in second, and Demars
in third. Look for this battle to continue at round four.
Junior 2 Briggs Gas Animal Heavy
Nicole Behar and Colton Schultz fought hard for 1st place
through the two day event with the up and coming Payton
Manthei right behind them throughout the weekend. The #9 of
Taylor Overhoff would take the pole with a fast lap of
50.562, followed by Skylar Smith
outside row two, and Nicole Behar in third. Schultz would
soon find himself pushing hard to make his way to the first
place spot by the end of the pre final with Behar right
there in second. After a long hard battle with a determined
Behar, it was Schultz who would take the win, with Behar in
second, Overhoff in third, Smith in fourth, and Ferguson in
fifth.
World Formula Medium/ Masters
The second heat was the race of the
weekend as it was a constant change and battle with Chip
Cassaway, Luke Pascoe, Gabe Kajdy, Mike Schorn and Bryan
Green. Kajdy broke a throttle cable while in the lead in the
middle of the race and sent everyone else scurrying to find
a quick advance of position. It then became a 3 way battle
with Pascoe, Gasaway, and Schorn.
Pascoe had the engine but Gasaway had the home track
advantage and was quicker in the tight sections and could
get the jump on Pascoe on the exit of turn 2 to make the
pass into turn 3 not only once but 3 times making the third
time the charm as Pascoe couldn't get Gasaway back. Schorn
trying to take advantage of the Gasaway move couldn't make
it last more than a turn as Pascoe got back in second.
The main line up gave Schorn the pole with Gasaway in off
pole position, with Pasco and Green in the second row and
Mullins, Kajdy in the 3rd row.
Schorn was able to get a good start and jump to a 4 second
lead as it took Kajdy two laps to get through the pack to
put the chase on Schorn. Kajdy would simply run out of time
however leaving Schorn the win, Kajdy finished a solid
second place, with Pascoe, Gasaway, Green, Mullins, d
McDonald, Krassett, Wick and M McDonald Rounding out the top
10 positions.
Micro Max/ Gazelle
Connor Robustelli had the kart to beat Saturday taking the
pole with a fast lap of 51.628. It was
Mason Morgan and Jamie Enrique who would battle it out in
heat one as Enrique would take the second spot followed
closely by Morgan, Kandris, and Nino. Morgan then took the
win Sunday morning in heat 2. Robustelli would find himself
starting at the back for Sunday’s main event after a post
race infraction was handed him. He wouldn’t stay there long
however, when the checkered flag dropped Robustelli was
there to take the win with an impressive drive to the front.
Morgan secured second, followed by a very fast Seth Appel
who fought his way two third. Enrique finished fourth, with
Kandris in fifth.
Rotax Junior
Right out of the gate it was a very fast Mathew Moniz who
qualified on pole with a 45.049. Artie
Carpenter qualified outside row one, followed by Luke
Selliken in third, and Austin Hudson outside row two. It was
Selliken who took the win in the first heat followed by Kyle
Byers and Molly Helmuth battling it out for second, and a
very impressive Zac Bothell in fourth; not bad for his fist
race with the juniors. In Heat 2 it was the #32 of Austin
Hudson who made his way to the front finishing ahead of
Byers in second, Helmuth in third, and a disappointed Moniz
and Selliken who got tangled up on the start of the heat
race. There was nothing but impressive driving in the main
event as Carpenter and Hudson passed back and forth multiple
times for the lead, while Helmuth and Gannon battled it out
for the fourth place spot. Meanwhile Moniz fought his way
from the back of the pack straight up to the front. He took
home a very impressive win for the weekend, followed by
Carpenter in second, Hudson in third, Helmuth in fourth, and
Gannon rounding out the top five.
Rotax Senior
Andrew Zimmer left no doubt as to who had the kart to beat
on this weekend, qualifying on pole with a wicked fast lap
of 44.631. A very impressive Marshall
Peterson took the off pole position, running in just his
second ever Gold Cup race as a senior. Zimmer would lead and
win Heat one followed by a very fast Sam Jones in second.
Brandon Cusack was the man on the move however; after what
could only be described as a disappointing qualifying effort
left him in the last place spot, he quickly went to work on
the field in front of him finishing in the third spot right
behind Jones and Zimmer. Heat 2 would consist of another win
by Zimmer, with Jones second, Cusack third, and Peterson in
fourth. A disappointed McGuire was out for the weekend due
to motor problems. Sunday’s main event was without doubt a
race for the second place spot. Jones worked past Zimmer at
the start of the race while Cusack got mired in traffic,
Zimmer and Jones moved away to a substantial lead leaving
Cusack working to catch them. As Zimmer got by Jones, Cusack
would very quickly find himself in striking position as
well, from there it was game on as Jones and Cusack went
back and forth multiple times neither prepared to give up
the position. In the end it was Cusack who made the last
pass on the last lap to secure second place, following
Zimmer who took first place. Jones came in third with Estell
in fourth and Earle rounding out the top five.
Rotax Mini Max
Starting off the weekend in Mini Max was none other than
Davey Manthie talking the pole position with a fast lap of
46.552. Off pole was
the very fast Sing Ray Robb,
with Marco Eakins and Kyle Wick making up row two looking to
go to the front. With Davey Manthie dominating all three
heats, it was Marco Eakins and Sting Ray Robb who would
provide the show for the spectators. Eakins was able to get
past Sting Ray in Heat one for the second place spot,
however it was Sting Ray would come back to take second in
Heat two, with the #9 of Kyle Wick never far behind. A
disappointed Wick had to start the main event at the back of
the pack due to the loss of his side pod before the start.
Wick soon had his work cut out for him as he fought hard to
make his way up through the field. Meanwhile it was Eakins
and Sting Ray who continued to battle for second as they
both raced hard and caught Manthie. The three ran the last
four laps together with only inches between their karts. In
the end it was Manthie who took home the first place spot,
followed by Eakins in second, Sting Ray in third, Morgan in
fourth, and Kandris in fifth.
IAME Cup Senior
It was anyone's guess who was going to take the win as Team
Italian Motor's Scott Hargrove, Remo Ruscitti, Johnny Blair,
and David Jurca went back and forth for the lead throughout
the entire weekend. It was Remo Ruscitti who would return
for Round three of the Gold Cup series coming out of the
gates strong as he put his kart on pole with a fast time of
45.499. Next to him off pole was Scott
Hargrove, followed by Johnny Blair and David Jurca row two.
With Jurca making his way to the front in Heat one, it was
all about Hargrove in Heat two as he fought his way from the
back of the pack to the front getting by Ruscitti. The Main
event consisted of no less from Hargrove as he was able to
hold off Ruscitti for the win, leaving Jurca and Blair to
battle it out for third. In the end Hargrove came in first,
followed by Ruscitti in second, Blair in third, Jurca in
fourth, and Gallagher in fifth.
IAME Cup Junior 3
Artie Carpenter would dominate in
this class, leaving everyone else to their own battles.
Carpenter took pole effortlessly with a fast lap of 45.811,
putting Colton Schultz outside row one, with Nicole Behar
and Keegan Laithwaite on row two. As Schultz drove hard to
catch Carpenter,it was Laithwaite, Behar, and McAllister who
would fight for the third place spot in Heat's one and two.
The main event was the one not to be missed as Laithwaite
and McAllister fought for third, while Behar and Walter
passed back and forth fighting till the bitter end for the
fifth place spot. These two ladies refused to give an inch,
and in the end it was Walter who claimed fifth. Carpenter
crossed the checkered to take home first, with Schultz in
second, Laithwaite in third, McAllister in fourth, and
Walter rounding out the top five.
Shifter
Remo Ruscitti and David Jurca would meet yet again to fight
for first in the Shifter class and boy did the spectators
love it. Jurca came out of the gate strong qualifying with a
fast lap of 44.970, putting Ruscitti
off pole, with Scott Hargrove and Mike McGowan making up row
two. Jurca and Ruscitti fought for first place going back
and forth through Heat's one and two, with Hargrove always
close behind looking to get into the mix. By the main event,
Bob Kim had made his way up to fourth with his sights set on
third. There was some very close passing between Ruscitti,
Jurca, and Hargrove who were all hungry for first, and in
the end it was Ruscitti who took home the win. Jurca was
right behind in second, followed by Hargrove in third, Kim
in fourth, and McGowan in fifth.
That’s it for round 3. Next up, the series
heads north of the border where the Westwood Karting
Association will host round four at Mission Raceway Park.
NWKnews wishes to thank all theracers who show up to support
their series.
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6-21-10
RLOKC Adds 125 Stock Moto Masters to Racing Lineup
The Red Line
Oil Karting Championship (RLOKC) is adding yet another class
to the 2010 racing line up at the Jim Russell International
Karting Center at Infineon Raceway. The new class is a 125
Stock Moto Masters class for drivers 35 years and older. "We
have had requests for this class from current and former 125
Masters drivers", says series promoter Steve Cameron. "The
addition of this class broadens the scope of the RLOKC with
the national Rotax Challenge classes being highly
competitive classes and the 80 Shifter, IAME TaG and now 125
Stock Moto Masters for club racers. We want to make sure the
club racer has a great place to race and enjoy the sport of
karting by being able to compete on these high profile
weekends with the national Rotax Challenge classes."
The 125 Stock Moto Masters class will use the common stock
moto engine specs with the use of the 14" silencer and three
hole airbox (a requirement at the Jim Russell International
Karting Center).
Additional class specs:
Minimum weight: 400 pounds
Fuel: VP 98
Tire: MOJO D3
Oil: Red Line 2 Cycle Kart Oil
The 125 Stock Moto Masters class will run in the same race
group with the Rotax DD2 class karts. Both of these karts
are similar in speed and will both be on the same tire. 125
Stock Moto Masters and Rotax DD2 classes will run for
separate awards and points.
The next Red Line Oil Karting Championship race is Sunday,
June 27th on the Reverse Sprint track configuration.
Additional races are scheduled for July 25th, August 29th,
September 26th and October 24th. The RLOKC race entry fee is
$100, $10 transponder rental fee and $10 pit pass fee for
all other crew and spectators ($5 for kids eleven and
under). The Jim Russell International Karting Center offers
practice on the Saturday prior to each race from 12:00 PM to
6:00 PM for a fee of $50.
If you have questions or want to get pre-registration
material for the June 27th race, contact race director Ric
Shaw at: racedirector-ric@hotmail.com or go to
www.cameronkarting.com |
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6-3-10 Come see what all the buzz is about. LAKC Round 4
As the
season hits full stride LAKC is still in a private battle
with Mother Nature. Rain has played a small part in many of
the popular club's race weekends and the weekend of May 23rd
was no exception. Fortunately the rouge May storm dissipated
after qualifying and it was business as usual for the
southland's most popular karting club. As always All LAKC
events broadcast live timing and scoring online for their
race days at www.lakc.org.
The
race day started with drivers meeting and winners from last
month being awarded their Win Stickers. Steve Berg earned
himself a free entry to the June race for being the winner
of the LAKC Safety Test. Practice and qualifying soon
followed. The new 2010 LAKC implemented “No Kart Stands on
the Grid” rule and the self inspection pre tech continue to
be a great addition to the program, helping to speed up the
day. The “room of doom”, did slow things down for many
racers as violations of the rules kept tech and the driver’s
busy well into the evening. Strict post tech, and on track
enforcement of the rules handed down many penalties,
including some to be determined later by the fine members of
the LAKC board of directors.
With
nine race groups taking to the Grande Course clockwise it
was a full day of on track action.
Greg
Smith led the first half of the Rotax Masters final but
finally gave it up to Steve Dzurilla. Dzurilla never managed
to gain any great advantage as Smith stayed pretty glued to
his rear bumper. The lead duo crossed the finish line nearly
together and five seconds up the track from the battle for
3rd. David Busby (with a great run form behind) and Ron
Rossetti battled the entire 16 laps with Busby claiming 3rd
place in the end.
The
combined Jr. Rotax / Jr. PRD / Mini Max went off without a
hitch. The Mini Max and Junior classes had solid
participation and a continued fight for the win the entire
distance. Jeremy Kane led Jake Craig and Dakota Dickerson in
the opening laps, but with four to go Craig was able to get
by for the eventual Junior Rotax win. Kane remained a close
second. Double D held on for 3rd but it was close as Tim
DeSilva was just a few tenths back. Noah Grey got a great
start to lead the Mini Maxers for the first handful of laps.
Royal McKee coming off a Gatorz Mini Max win at Streets set
his sights on Grey. The two continued to battle with Holden
DelCoure thrown in for good measure. McKee brought it home
for the win with Grey just a kart length behind. Josh Kurtz
brought it home in the Junior PRD class.
KPV2
was another great class to watch. On paper Jake Craig went
flag to flag for his second win of the day, but under closer
inspection you see that Jorge Cevallos tuned the fastest lap
of the race. Cevallos gave chase for the 16 circuits of the
Grande course chasing Craig but he was unable to pull off a
pass for the win. The scrump for fourth between Slater
Stowell and Dane LaTorre was equally as exciting with
Stowell earning 3rd.
In the
combined TAG and PRD Sr. class it was less about winning
your class and more about being first over the finish line.
Devin Lindsey was the class of the PRD field but he was just
not quite fast enough to pull off the overall win ahead of
Jason Bunch. Last years Champion, Bunch was the pole sitter
and the heat race winner in TAG. He also blistered the
entire filed of TAG and PRD competitors in the final. Bunch
pulled out a 16 second win over the PRD winner Lindsey.
Pasha Mirihabi, Paul Grey and Craig Wright rounded out the
top five.
The
Spec Honda and KalGard Challenge has attracted a healthy
field and this weekend followed that trend. A pair of
Musgraves led the way in qualifying with Billy leading
Willy. They continued like that in the prefinal with an all
Musgrave front row in the final. The 125 open class ran with
the Spec guys and like TAG it is all about taking the
overall title. Troy Butts had to see the Spec boys out
qualify him but he was able to make things interesting in
the final. Billy and Butts traded the lead early before
settling into a rhythm that saw Butts go on to the overall
and class win. Billy never gave up but just came up short
for the overall. He still won Spec without any challengers.
John Chott, Corey Neveau and Willy went at it hard for 3rd
place with Chott gaining the final podium position.
Kid
Kart was a snoozer on track as Hudson Morrow sped off to the
provisional win. Morrow had some issues in the “room of
doom” and tech sent him packing. Justin Hodge originally
finished 2nd, but with the Morrow issue was moved up to 1st
place and the win. Hayden Wagner finished in 2nd and after
all the cards were played Brandon Eshom was 3rd.
Dylan
Stalker was the pole sitter in Rotax Sr., but it was Mason
Marotta who stepped up to win the prefinal. Marotta went 16
laps with Stalker too close for comfort in what was an
outstanding Rotax race. As the two leaders settled things up
front the fight for 3rd, 4th and 5th between Brett Sheffer,
Michael Graves , and Matthew J. Hart. The running order
wasn't decided until the last lap as Sheffer snuck in for
3rd.
The
Cadet classes of KPV 1 and Junior 1 were filled with
problems from the drop of the green to the post tech
inspection. Junior 1 saw a turn one pile up scatter the
field into pieces. A few laps later Chase McDaniel and
Christian Brooks got together up front causing the ambulance
to roll for the two drivers involved. Both were alright and
the red flag never flew. Jake Drew took over the point and
was in a great position for the win until the #24 driven by
Willy Axton made a late race move for the win. Axton was yet
another driver to fall to the scrutiny of the post race
officials. Drew was bumped back up once again to the
position he was in most of the day. Second through 5th was
up in the air as The Wesolowski brothers Ian and Troy tag
teamed Justice Lepe and Cooper Whitbread. Keeping the
brothers at bay, Whitbread and Lepe managed to hold their
own for 2nd and 3rd.
KPV1
saw its fair share of mayhem as Ian Wesolowski and Skylar
Estrada traded paint early in the race. Skylar would end up
needing 7 stitches from the altercation and neither
completed the race. Hannah Grisham, Chase McDaniel, Jake
Drew and Christian Brooks all took a turn or two leading the
eighteen kart train of KPV1 drivers. Unfortunately the story
of the class had little to do with Drew's great drive for
the win. Of the top five finishers three suffered DQ's in
post tech. Drew won it outright but Brooks, McDaniel and
Grisham did not pass go and did not collect anything. The
new top five after the dust settled was Drew, Troy
Wesolowski, Corrie Elsdon, Willy Axton and Andrew Murowatz.
“Come
see what all the buzz is about” and join LAKC for their
June 13th event at CalSpeed Kart Track in Fontana,CA. Like
the saying goes, “rain or shine, you are going to have a
good time”. For information on everything LAKC please click
on www.lakc.org.
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6-3-10
Prokart Challenge North Returns to Action in Sonoma June
11-12
Series
continues championship battle in Northern California after
six-week hiatus
After a six-week break, the Superkarts! USA ProKart Challenge North is set
to return to action on June 11-12 at the Jim Russell
International Karting Center. The event will be the fourth
round of the six-race championship with the fourth different
track configuration layout, utilizing the same reverse
national layout that was used in April for the SKUSA
SpringNationals. Nine categories will do battle on the track
with the championship battles heating up.
The headline S1 Pro Stock Moto category has seen three
different winners but the same name at the top of the
standings since the first green flag. SKUSA Pro Tour
championship leader Fritz Leesmann holds the advantage in
the PKC North standings, thanks to his victory in round one
and runner-up last month. Round two winner Nic LeDuc has
shown great potency in his first year aboard a shifterkart,
and holds the challenger role with veteran Brett Buckwalter
and young-gun Tommy Thompson in pursuit. The fight in S2
Semi-Pro Stock Moto remains close, as Matt Alcorn currently
holds the top spot. Jared Woolf and Neil Joseph sit in the
wings, waiting to overtake Alcorn. Both Alcorn and Joseph
have a feature win to their credit, while Woolf is striving
to claim his first trip to the top of the podium for the
year.
Veteran Larry Fraser swept round three in May to put a
slight stranglehold on the competitive TaG Senior
championship chase. With two wins on the year, Fraser holds
a solid advantage over Bobby Kelley, David Harwin and Jess
Peterson. As we have seen in TaG racing, anything is
possible, so Fraser will not be tentative heading into the
fourth round. With nearly a complete sweep over the course
of the first three rounds, Jeff Smith has things in his
favor in the S4 Master Stock Moto division. Going three for
three in feature wins has Smith leading by a large margin
over Alex Keith and Jim Inglebright, who will try to break
the streak next weekend. Ethan Wilson has nearly matched
Smiths records in the TaG Master category. Two feature wins
on the year have Wilson holding a sizable lead in the point
chase over Jeff Deehan and Peter Workum, with anything still
possible in the second half of the season.
The S3 Novice Stock Moto is still growing in its first year
in the PKC North program, and is expected to see new entries
in the final three rounds. Chris Yettito currently leads the
standings with his two victories. In Junior competition,
Kathryn Cornell is the only driver to score two wins in
HPV-2 Junior and TaG Junior. She heads into round four
leading the HPV-2 Junior standings over Jack Freese and
round three winner Daniel Langon. In TaG Junior, Niki Lunas
consistency has him at the top of the point order, with
Cornell and Deven Sanchez giving chase. Langon has been near
perfect in the S5 Junior Stock Moto, holding three wins on
the year and well on his way toward the season championship.
The fourth round of the six-race PKC North championship will
begin on June 11 with a practice day, as on-track activities
will take place from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. A Friday night
complimentary BBQ dinner at the track is tentatively
scheduled following practice (PKC is looking for a sponsor).
Race pre-registrations are currently being accepted, with
racers able to save $35 on their entry fees by submitting an
entry prior to midnight on Wednesday, June 9. SKUSA
memberships will be mandatory for the event, and forms are
available on the SKUSA or ProKart Challenge websites.
Trailer parking is available starting Thursday afternoon.
Pit spots will all be handled on a first-come, first-served
basis no reserved spots or extra fees necessary. Camping on
site will be permitted Friday and Saturday night at no
charge. A tentative schedule for race day, host hotel
information along with more information on the event can be
found at the PKC event page: http://www.superkartsusa.com/regional/pkc-north/round-4-2010.html.
The fourth round of the PKC North will be the last event
before the next stop on the SKUSA North American Pro Tour,
the SKUSA SummerNationals set for July 16-18 at the USA
International Raceway in Shawano, Wisconsin. ProKart
Challenge South will also hold one more event prior to the
SKUSA SummerNationals, on June 25-26 at Buttonwillow
Raceway. Following the Pro Tour date, the regional programs
return to action at the famed ProKart Challenge West Coast
Shootout, which will host the fifth round of the North
Program and the final round of the South program at one
facility. The North versus South shootout will take place
August 13-14 at the Santa Maria Kart Track. The North series
will then wrap up September 3-4, back at the Infineon
Raceway facility for the sixth and final round.
For more information on anything related to SKUSA and the
ProKart Challenge, visit the redesigned and updated
www.superkartsusa.com website or call the SKUSA head office
at 951-491-0808. |
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6-3-10
Menezes Ready For WSK Euro Series Finale in Italy
Californian
set for final round of WSK Euro Series in preparation for
WSK World Series attack
American karting star Gustavo Menezes is set to return to
Europe for the final round of the WSK Euro Series. The event
will be the second of the year overseas as the 15-year old
driver will travel to a familiar Napoli International
Circuit in Sarno, Italy, a place he has raced three times
previously. The Tony Kart Racing Team driver is looking
forward to the opportunity for more time in the KF2
division.
In April, Menezes signed on to compete with the Tony Kart
Racing Team for the WSK World Series, which will begin at
the end of June. To prepare for the upcoming three-race
world title chase, Menezes signed on to contest the final
two rounds of the WSK Euro Series. Menezes made his European
KF2 debut at the fourth round of the WSK Euro Series in Genk,
Belgium, on May 6-9.
Battling through changing weather conditions, Menezes
qualified 15th in his group to put him 44th overall. For the
four heat races, Menezes would start from the ninth row each
time. The first heat race was not a warm welcome party for
Gustavo as contact during the opening lap bent his steering
tie-rod to put him on the sidelines without completing a
lap. Menezes was making progress in the second heat,
reaching 12th place when he lost his bumper. With a quick
change in the hot pit lane, the Tony Kart Racing Team driver
rejoined the field at the tail of the field to finish 24th.
The final two heat races are where Menezes shined. In the
third 12-lap heat race, Gustavo advanced up to the sixth
place position. The final run witness him placing 12th in
another strong drive. With the tough results in the first
two heat races, he would not make the top-34 cut to continue
on during the weekend.
It was an up and down weekend in Genk, commented Menezes. I
certainly showed the speed capable to run up front, but much
like KF3 racing, getting through the heat races is a key
factor to a solid weekend. I am thankful to be running these
final two WSK Euro Series weekends to prepare for the real
goal - the WSK World Series.
Prior to traveling to Italy for the June 3-6 event, Menezes
spent time over Memorial weekend at the Indianapolis 500,
making connections with many in the motorsports industry.
Following the event in Italy, Menezes will return to Europe
for the first round of the new WSK World Series program, set
for June 30-July 3 at the new Portimao International Circuit
in Algarve, Portugal. The second round will see Menezes
defend his home turf as the series makes its debut in the
United States at the New Jersey Motorsports Park F1 New
Jersey karting circuit on July 29-August 1.
Gustavo is able to compete at this level thanks to his many
sponsors, including Tony Kart USA, Red Bull, UP Racing,
Safety Park Inc., K1 Speed, K1 Race Gear, Tony Kart Racing
Team, On Track Promotions and Oakley. |
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6-3-10
Another Strong Skip Barber National Outing For Pigot at Lime
Rock
MAZDASPEED
Motorsports Development driver scored two more podium
finishes and set a new lap record over Memorial Day weekend
A motorsports star in the making, Spencer Pigot continued
his pursuit of the 2010 BF Goodrich/Skip Barber National
Presented by Goodyear title in fine fashion over the
Memorial Day weekend (May 28-30) with two runner-up finishes
at Lime Rock Park. With these important podium finishes in
Rounds Seven and Eight of the 14-race series, the MAZDASPEED
Motorsports Development driver from Florida continues to
lead the championship fight after four events. This
particular outing tested Pigot’s resolve, as it was not
without incident, but the maturing driver showed impressive
poise and focus to fight back for two strong finishes.
As part of the traditional Memorial Day weekend event at
Lime Rock Park, which features a unique schedule due to
local sound restrictions, Pigot and the rest of the Skip
Barber National field got their first chance to sample the
high-speed road course on Wednesday (May 26). As expected,
Pigot quickly came to grips with the home track of the
series, posting the second quickest time in the two lapping
sessions in which he participated. Heading into the weekend,
Pigot knew that he would once again be a part of the lead
battle.
After a one-day hiatus from on-track action, it was time for
the fourth event of the Skip Barber National campaign to
officially get underway on Friday via a morning practice run
and an afternoon qualifying session. Pigot quickly
established himself as one of the favorites for the Round
Seven pole position during practice, once again turning the
second quickest time around the undulating 1.54-mile road
course in Connecticut.
Initially, it appeared that the 16 year-old standout was
poised to challenge for the top spot in qualifying, as he
was turning times that put him at the head of the speed
charts. Unfortunately, things took a dramatic turn in the
closing stages of the run, as Pigot was caught out by much
slower drivers heading into the downhill portion of the
high-speed track, which resulted in a multi-car collision.
Pigot was fortunate to walk away unhurt, but he suffered a
further setback after the incident, as he was penalized his
best time for bringing out the black flag during qualifying.
Utilizing his next best time from the session, the
MAZDASPEED Motorsports-backed driver earned a sixth place
starting position for race one of the doubleheader.
When Pigot returned to the track on Saturday, the Florida
teenager was confident that he could work his way forward
during the 26-lap race and challenge for the win. Once the
green flag waved, Pigot set about picking his places to pass
and was up to third as part of the lead pack by the midway
point of the race. Unfortunately, by that time, the
polesitter had established a sizeable lead on the rest of
the field. Unwilling to give up without a fight, Pigot took
over second place and closed the gap to the P1 car,
eventually coming home an impressive second after starting
sixth.
With no racing permitted on Sunday, Pigot next got back
behind the wheel on Memorial Day Monday (May 31). The
highly-rated teenager wasted little time getting back up to
speed in qualifying, once again challenging for the pole
position. In what was an entertaining session that featured
multiple drivers taking a turn at the top of the speed
charts, Pigot eventually ended fourth on scoring sheets.
While Pigot was disappointed to have not earned at least a
front-row starting position, he quickly put that behind him,
focusing on another charge to the front come race time.
Getting the green flag late in the afternoon, Pigot
immediately established himself among the lead pack battling
for the win. Overcoming a car spinning right in front of him
midway through the race, Pigot remained positioned to
challenge for the win, setting a new track record in the
process. In his bid for victory, Pigot made a surprise move
in turn three to take over the lead on the final lap. While
the Floridian was able to hold the advantage through the
final corner, he came up just short in the drag race to the
checkered flag, finishing second by a mere 0.021s.
“Overall it was a good weekend,” stated Pigot. “I scored
another two podiums finishes and set a new track record. It
was unfortunate to have been so close to the win and not get
it. I am really looking forward to New Jersey and continuing
the strong results.”
Pigot continues to lead the championship standings by five
points (251-246) and will resume his pursuit of the
BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda title on
July 17-18, with Rounds Nine and Ten at New Jersey
Motorsports Park. The young pilot is supported by many great
companies, including Mazda, Sparco, Skip Barber Racing,
Parathyroid.com, Silver Knight Racing, Lott-O-Lawyer.com and
California Scents. |
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6-1-10
Extreme Motorsports - SKUSA SummerNationals Transportation
Extreme Motorsports has two
openings available for transportation to the SKUSA
SummerNationals in Shawano, Wisconsin. The Northern
California based operation is looking to make it economical
for any and all racers in these hard economic times by
splitting traveling expenses between multiple drivers.
Extreme Motorsports is offering both transportation and
pitting arrangements for any racer interested in traveling
to the SummerNationals.
With strong showings at the SKUSA SpringNationals, Extreme
Motorsports drivers Kathryn Cornell, and Bryan Eady will
return to action in Shawano seeking more success. With over
40 years of combined experience in the karting industry,
Steve and Bryan Eady have put together one of the most
successful Junior programs on the market today.
Team manager Bryan Eady stated, “At Extreme Motorsports our
drivers determination and success is what we thrive on! It
takes a team effort in order to succeed!”
Feel free to contact Steve Eady today at 530-949-8975 for
more information on securing your spot with Extreme
Motorsports for the Summer Nationals. Extreme Motorsports
looks forward to another fun and successful weekend on the
Pro Tour. We look forward to providing you with the
knowledge and service you look for in a team environment.
Feel free to visit our new online store at
http://www.extremegokarts.com
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