7-20-10 Leesmann and Koyen Emerge from SKUSA SummerNationals Sunday Battles

After enjoying three days of beautiful sunny skies and mid-80s temperatures, Shawano, WI’s USA International Raceway was hit with rain and wind on Saturday evening, and this precipitation continued into the Sunday morning qualifying sessions for the inaugural Superkarts! USA SummerNationals. The morning rains did not dampen the enthusiasm of the participants, as once the storm cell cleared the area, the MG slicks were back on and the hard racing continued. A pair of new weekend winners was crowned at the end of the day, as Fritz Leesmann recovered from a tough Saturday to outrun Alex Speed for the S1 win, while TJ Koyen was masterful in his Sunday performance as he topped a strong TaG Senior grid to score the victory.

The S1 Pro Stock Moto class took center stage on Sunday as the feature race of the day, and being positioned as the final class in the rotation presented them with a drying track during qualifying. The racing surface was starting to clear up, but wet weather rubber was still necessary. Aluminos’ Fritz Leesmann struggled on Saturday, but regrouped overnight and came out swinging, laying down the fastest lap of the wet session with a 1:21.477. NASCAR star and Daytona 500 winner Jamie McMurray impressed in the tough conditions by posting the second quickest lap, out-pacing Syar Motorsports’ Nick LeDuc and the STA Racing duo of Alex Speed and Jason Toft. Richard Petty Motorsports driver AJ Allmendinger qualified eighth, but he knew that he had competitive pace in the dry thanks to his solid third place finish on Saturday.

Leesmann would go onto sweep both heat races, getting solid launches from the grid to run away from the rest of the field with Speed hot on his rear bumper. Speed had the measure of his competition on Saturday, but motivated by the dissatisfaction of running mid-pack, Leesmann had come alive and was certainly Speed’s equal. McMurray maintained his spot in the lead group in the opening eight-lap moto, taking third ahead of LeDuc and Allmendinger, as AJ was back on pace with the MG slicks installed. In the second heat, which set the grid for the main, McMurray did not get a good start from the inside of the second row and would get shuffled to the tail of the 12-kart grid, allowing LeDuc to slip by into third, a position he would hold to the finish. Leesmann pulled away to a 2.5-second cushion over Speed, while Allmendinger advanced one more position to sit fourth behind LeDuc. Rocky Mountain Kartworks Daniel Bray capped the top-five after a good dice with Toft for position.

The 20-lap final featured a head-to-head battle between Leesmann and Speed, with the former heading the field from start-to-finish. Speed kept up the pressure all race, but only a big moment in the ‘Elevator Shaft’ corner kept him from sticking with the leader. Speed was able to save the aggressive ‘tank-slapper’, keeping the kart on the track after drilling the start of the apex curbing, but his shot at gunning for the win was long gone, as Leesmann drove a superb error-free race to win by 2.271 seconds. Allmendinger completed a stellar weekend by slipping past LeDuc for third, his second podium of the weekend. Speed would take the overall weekend win and the $1000 first place check, while Leesmann and Allmendinger would take home $500 and $250, respectively. On the podium, Allmendinger was pleased to finally enjoy the payoff of being a team owner. The former SKUSA star was gracious in his podium speech, as he thanked Tom and Patti Kutscher for putting on a great event and the paddock for making him feel welcomed on his off-weekend.

The remainder of the order in S1 saw McMurray lay down a great performance in recovering back to fourth after his start-line miscue, while LeDuc capped the weekend with a top-five finish.

Like S1, the S2 Semi-Pro Stock Moto class was a barnburner. Point leader Matt Alcorn battled set-up on Saturday and needed to come back big on Sunday, so he attacked the wet qualifying session like a man who knew that he needed to step up. With his primary title competition standing on the Saturday podium as he watched from the fence following a tough ninth place finish, the Energy pilot took control of the timed session to win the pole and the 10 available bonus points with a time of 1:24.086. The session was halted at the halfway point when the rained accelerated, accompanied by some lightning. Once things let up, race officials deemed the session complete, which left Saturday winner Derek Crockett at the tail of the field as he was on his out-lap when the red flag appeared. With the times from the first six minutes standing, Evan Batt was second quick in the rain session, ahead of Connor Iseli, Lukas Johnson and Eric Batt.

In the first S2 heat race, which was run in dry conditions, Evan Walters (Intrepid) turned up his game in coming from seventh on the grid, taking over the lead from Johnson as the top four checked out on the field. Alcorn maintained his pace up from to finish third on the track, only to get moved back a spot for creeping on the start line. Crockett was on the move from the back and finished second in the heat to move to the front row for the start of the second moto, while Johnson was eventually advanced to third when Alcorn received his one-position penalty for jumping the start. Alcorn showed now negative affects, as he knew that he had made major gains from the opening day and was ready to fight for a podium finish.

Johnson would move to the front in the second heat race to take the pole for the main, finishing ahead of Crockett and Walters. Clint Korte and Jack Bradley completed the top-five, while Alcorn slipped back to seventh behind Iseli.

The S2 final featured some interesting strategy, which was not popular with everyone in the paddock. Energy driver Josh Lane had sat out the two heat races, essentially conserving his dry tires, and with the relatively short 14-kart field, he was able to attack quick from the seventh row. At the start, Walters would power to the lead over Johnson and Crockett, but Lane had fresh rubber, which was worth about a second per lap over the opening circuits. Lane quickly worked to the lead group, getting past Crockett and then Johnson as he closed on Walters. Crockett would follow suit, moving into third and closing on the lead duo as Walters worked hard to hold Lane at bay, his newer rubber giving him a distinct advantage. Things came to a head on the penultimate lap, when Lane took over the top spot. Walters would fight back heading into the final hairpin, making a solid move to the inside to steal the position. However, in trying to get his kart to rotate as he slid past the apex, Walters’ looped his Intrepid right in front of Lane, locking the two together. As Crockett ducked underneath to steal the lead, Lane jumped from his kart to separate the chassis, and then they both re-fired and got back underway. Crockett would go on unchallenged to his second victory of the weekend, while Lane recovered for seventh and Walters 11th. The incident also allowed Alcorn to advance to second and Johnson to third, putting the top-three in S2 Pro Tour points together on the podium. Korte and Bradley will cap the top-five.

The S4 class provided some of the best action of the weekend, and once again, Aluminos’ Jonathan Allen topped the qualifying run. The S4s kicked off the morning on full wets, with the rain falling lightly, and Allen was impressive in topping Saturday race winner Phil Conte by just under two tenths of a second to win the pole and the 10 bonus points. Phil Dunford was third in the order ahead of Christiaan Bouhuys and Peter Workum. Things got interesting in the first heat race as a dry line was beginning to develop during the final qualifying runs. Only Mike McDonough would take the risk of heading out on slicks, but it would be the right call. With the race line drying, McDonough slowly brought his MGs up to temp and then powered through the field, eventually closing on Dunford, who had taken the lead from Allen. McDonough pushed hard over the final laps to reach the leader, but he would come up just short at the line. Conte, Workum and Bouhuys capped the top-five.

The track was completely dry when the second S4 heat came around, allowing the field the ability to re-sort itself to similar positions as Saturday. Dunford pulled away at the start and maintained the point all the way to the checkered, chased closely by Workum and Conte. Allen and Bouhuys completed the top five.

The S4 final was a thriller, even though the lead group was without Conte, who was forced to the sidelines early when he lost his air filter on the opening lap. It was a rough blow to the Californian as he would have been simply padding his point lead with another podium run. Conte’s departure left Dunford to roll out to a comfortable cushion at the start of the 16-lapper, that is, until Workum and Allen reeled him in. Over the final laps, Workum kept the pressure on the leader but just couldn’t find a way by. The climax would hold off until the final lap in the final corners, when Dunford had trouble getting out of the hairpin as his kart bogged slightly on the exit. Workum jumped on the opening and stuck his GP inside his Aluminos teammate and they would run side-by-side for a few yards. Dunford realized that he was hung out to dry and that his only chance at the win would be to cross-cross inside Workum as they exited the left-hand sweeper heading to the stripe. The move came up just short as Workum had enough forward bite to edge his challenger by 0.055 seconds at the line to score his first national win. Dunford was close to losing second as well, as Allen had tucked up behind Workum heading to the line, but he was able to maintain the runner-up position. Mark Cleppe finished fourth while Luke Bianco capped a strong weekend in fifth.

Just as it was at the SpringNationals at Infineon back in April, the G1 class was dominated by Aluminos’ Fernando Diaz. After winning on Saturday, Diaz posted the fastest qualifying time in the wet, exactly a tenth of a second quicker than Eduardo Martins. Colorado’s David Conyers was enjoying a great weekend in Shawano and was third in the order, ahead of Evolution Karting’s Kurt Mathewson and PP Mastro. In the first wheel-to-wheel run of the day for G1, Diaz once again ran his set program of pulling away quickly at the start of the opening heat race and then pacing his speed to maintain the lead while conserving tires. Mastro, his main competition, retired right after the start and would have the added edge of better rubber for the remainder of the day as his MGs would have run eight less laps. In Mastro’s absence, Conyers took up the charge and ran to an impressive second ahead of Martins. Roy Montgomery and Mathewson had a coming together late in the race when the latter attempted an optimistic move in the second corner that resulted in heavy contact. Montgomery would loop his CRG off the track, while Mathewson would be hit with a penalty for avoidable contact. This allowed Darrell Tunnell to slip through for fourth as Montgomery recovered to hold onto fifth. Armed with fresh MG slicks, Mastro was able to get a great start and eventually reel in and pass Diaz for the lead early in the second heat race, winning by 0.668 seconds. Martins, Conyers and Mathewson were third through fifth, respectively.

In the main, Mastro took full advantage of his pole position and his fresher tires to stretch away to a 3.804-second win over Diaz. To his credit, Mastro never put a wheel wrong in his run to the checker, scoring his first SKUSA Pro Tour win. Conyers would join the lead duo on the podium, his first trip to a SKUSA award celebration after many years of competing with the organization. The veteran stepped up for the SummerNationals and was certainly rewarded for his impressive efforts.

The paddock was still buzzing on Sunday morning after the amazing finale from the day before, as the TaG Senior put on an incredible show. Phil Giebler had scored an impressive win following some last lap excitement, and he rolled with the momentum in the wet qualifying run, posting the fastest time of the session. Benny Moon was again in the hunt in his Allmendinger-owned entry, qualifying second ahead of Robby Seward, Jamie Sieracki and Larry Fraser.

Giebler was masterful at the front of the opening heat race, again having to deal with the relentless pressure of Moon. The lead duo pulled away cleanly from the field as Moon didn’t press the issue, understanding the need to stay at the head of the class all day if he wanted to fight for the win in the main. Sixth place qualifier TJ Koyen (Merlin) hooked up with Fraser to advance up the field to sit third and fourth at the checker, right ahead of Franklin Motorsports pilot Tommy Andersen. In the second eight-lap heat race, Moon would take the point when Giebler encountered trouble, forced to hold his airbox on his carburetor with his right hand as it had worked loose. Amazing the paddock, Giebler went almost the entire distance using just his left arm to pilot his kart, in fact passing a couple of drivers in the process. He was running eighth when the motor finally failed, leaving him dead-last on the grid for the main. This would only set up a stunning drive to the front.

Back up front, Moon was eventually joined by Koyen in their charge to the checker, as Koyen never left Moon’s bumper. The margin at the line was just 0.234 seconds, putting the two drivers on the front row for the main event. National Kart Supply’s Mark Vielgut was third, having advanced from sixth, while Fraser and Sieracki completed the top-five after late-race contact for an aggressive move by Andersen resulted in a penalty that dropped his to eighth.

In the 16-lap main, Koyen and Moon put on a show up front, while Giebler wowed the crowd by driving from 19th to third. The lead duo was never separated by more than two kart lengths, as Koyen held the point after getting past Moon on the start. Koyen was forced to run every lap at 100% in an effort to hold back the visiting driver, and in the end, he completed the day with a big victory. Moon was forced to settle for second, but it was an impressive return for the multi-time SKUSA ProMoto Tour winner. Giebler’s drive from the back was equally impressive, as he charged hard to the podium, using the result to back up his Saturday victory to take the overall weekend win and the $1000 first place check. Sieracki was fourth in the Sunday order ahead of Andersen, putting three Merlins in the top five. Second overall for the weekend was Vielgut, who was second on Saturday and seventh on Sunday, receiving $500 for his effort. Koyen’s win also paid off with some cash, as he advanced to third in the final tally to take $250 from SKUSA’s Tom Kutscher on the podium.

SKUSA ladder of Stock Moto classes continues to develop, and the S5 Stock Moto Junior drivers handled the wet qualifying nicely, with STA Racing’s Daniel Langon topping the charts with a lap of 1:26.429. Saturday winner Christian Schureman was second ahead of Crocket Motorsports’ Colton Brooks (GP). Langon was not able to fully capitalize on his qualifying effort in the open heat as Austin Schimmel eventually took the lead from seventh on the grid thanks to a great start at the lights. Langon stayed right with the leader through the short six-lapper, leaving Schureman to fight with Alex Tartaglia to fight for third and the inside of row two for the start of the second heat race. Schimmel would maintain his lead in the second moto, this time ahead of Tartaglia to set the front row for the main.

The final was all Austin Schimmel as he avoided the mechanical disappointment that left him one lap short of a podium finish on Saturday. Schimmel ran to a 4.671-second win, turning the fast lap in the process, to get his first career Pro Tour victory. Tartaglia ran a strong race to finish second ahead of Schureman, who performed well all weekend to take his third straight Pro Tour podium finish. Langon and Lerch completed the top-five.

In TaG Junior, Saturday race winner Luis Tyrrell avoided the mechanical issues that put him on the sidelines for the opening day’s qualifying run, instead pacing the field with a 1:25.201 that was three tenths quicker that Pennsylvania driver Trent Walko, who was making his SKUSA debut. ‘The Flying Farmer’ Karl Weber was third in the order, ahead of Emmanuel Mestre and Mason Daughters. Weber then posted the fastest lap of the first heat, but he would not be able to get in front of Tyrrell, as the California pilot would not be challenged again all day. Weber advanced to second ahead of Mestre, with Maxx Marian and Austin Thomas finishing fourth and fifth. In the second heat, Tyrrell would stretch his lead to 4.3 seconds at the stripe, with Weber again positioned as the primary challenger. Marian would improve to third in this six-lap sprint.

In the TaG Junior final, Tyrrell performed like a champion to score his third Pro Tour win of the year, his only non-victory being a second place finish to Kathryn Cornell in the Sunday final at the SpringNationals. Tyrrell won by 5.642 seconds from Mestre with Weber completing the podium. Marian was fourth in the final order ahead of Emily Maddison.

The young class in the SKUSA program – TaG Cadet – attracted just five drivers to Shawano, but the youngsters were the top-five in points following the SpringNationals and they all put on a good show as the racing was intense. The drafting was tight in this category, although SKUSA did a good job to separate them in qualifying. Colton Herta topped the timed run ahead of Tate Holleran and Christian Brooks, while Parker Thompson  and Noah Grey were fourth and fifth. Thompson would work his way to the front to win the opening heat over Herta, while they would swap positions in the second. The final saw the two drivers again hook up to pull away from Brooks and Grey, that is, until Thompson made the move for the lead mid-way through the race. Thompson was then able to pull away to score a 5.105-second triumph. Herta was eventually caught by Brooks, but held onto the position to finish first overall on the weekend, winning a full Vortex Mini Rok package in the process. Grey was fourth in the Sunday tally, while Holleran was finally able to get his kart rolling after DNFs in both heat races following some mysterious technical issue that kept his engine from spooling up to full revs. It was a disappointing end to a good weekend for Holleran, who is now looking forward to making his first appearance at the SuperNationals now that the organization has added the TaG Cadet class to the weekend line-up.

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 US Rotax Grand Nationals not have been scheduled on top of their date, but the end result was a paddock full of smiling faces. SKUSA’s 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’. They’ll 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 12-14 and the continuing preparations for the SuperNationals in November in Las Vegas. Online registration for the sport’s biggest race was opened on June 1 and the entries are coming in on a regular basis, and the special SKUSA hotel code for the Rio is now available so that teams and drivers can get their discounted room rates. All the necessary information is available at their website – http://www.superkartsusa.com.

SKUSA now has their first Pro Tour season all but in the books, with new traditions now launched in the form of the SpringNationals and SummerNationals. SKUSA president Tom Kutscher informed that he will be releasing next year’s Pro Tour schedule as soon as possible in an effort to side-step the chance for conflicting weekends in 2011. Keep an eye out on this website for this information as soon as it is released.