|
9-19-11 Cornell
and Mankin Victorious, Woolf Crowned Champion
Young drivers put Intrepid and Leading Edge Power on top of
podium at PKC North finale in Atwater
Leading Edge Motorsports completed the final round of the 2011 Superkarts!
USA ProKart Challenge North program with a trip to Atwater,
California, competing at the Tom Dash Memorial Speedway on
September 9-10. The sixth stop of the series would decide the
final push for the championships with one LEM driver clinching
the title as two young guns under the tent scored their first
victories on the year. Kathryn Cornell capped off her first
regional season at the Senior level, earning the TaG Senior main
event victory while Brennen Mankin took his first checkered flag
in TaG Junior PKC North competition. S2 Semi-Pro Stock Moto
driver Jared Woolf clinched the series title with a runner-up
performance to end the year.
After switching to Leading Edge Power mid-way through the
season, Cornell has been able to focus more on driving and
chassis tuning then engine management in her first season in TaG
Senior. Posting fast laps at last month’s ProKart Challenge West
Coast Shootout, Cornell began the Atwater event just missing out
on the fast lap in qualifying. Her 31.523 around the 1/2-mile
circuit put her just 0.054-seconds out of the pole position
time. Despite the fast time, Cornell needed to switch engines
due to an issue with her primary powerplant. Starting second for
heat one, she posted the fast lap of the race and took the
checkered flag. That would be provisional as when she reported
to technical inspection, she was given a two-position penalty
for not reporting the engine change prior to the race,
classifying her third. In heat two, Cornell was running third
when she pulled off feeling physically ill. After getting
rehydrated, she returned to the grid for the main event. Once
the green flag waved, Cornell and her Intrepid were unstoppable.
By lap three, she was in the lead and drove away to a
1.290-second victory for her first TaG Senior PKC win. After
running the fast laps of the race midway, she was nipped for the
fast lap honor in the closing laps.
Brennen Mankin was the lone LEM driver in the TaG Junior
category for the Atwater round. The field was smaller but very
competitive with Mankin qualifying fourth, within two-tenths of
the pole time. During heat one, Mankin worked his way up to the
lead by the halfway mark, but was shuffled back to third by the
checkered flag after a hard-fought 12-lap run. Mankin would once
again find his way to the point during heat two, this time
holding strong to finish first with three competitors trailing.
The 20-lap feature race was a dual with the championship point
leader. Mankin, making his third PKC North start, led the
majority of the race until he was passed on the final circuit.
He crossed the line in the second position and earned the fast
lap honor thanks to his Leading Edge Power Parilla Leopard.
Following technical inspection, Mankin was moved up to the first
position due to a disqualification by the provisional winner.
The win gave him his first in the series and second in ProKart
Challenge competition, scoring a win at Buttonwillow during a
South series round.
Heading into Atwater, S2 Semi-Pro Stock Moto driver Jared Woolf
clinched the championship for the category. Woolf took to
Atwater in conservation mode aboard his Intrepid/Leading Edge
Power Stock Moto machine, taking part in qualifying and
concentrating his efforts in the main event. During the 20-lap
feature, Woolf drove second for his fourth podium result of the
season and bettered his point total that included the best five
finishes of the season. Two victories and two runner-up finishes
capped off Woolf’s season, helping him to score his first PKC
North championship.
Randy Froom and Paul Hohlbein closed out the PKC North season in
the TaG Master category in strong fashion. Not completely out of
the title chase, both battled tough against the championship
contenders. Froom qualified second while Hohlbein was fourth,
both aboard LEM Intrepids with Leading Edge Power Leopards.
Their positions remained unchanged through heat one, with the
top four separated by less than one-second at the checkered
flag. Froom challenged for the win once again in heat two, but
came up short once again while Hohlbein remained in fourth.
Contact at the beginning of the main event hurt both their
chances at the feature win. Froom was able to continue on to
finish third while Hohlbein retired on the opening lap.
Leading Edge Motorsports is currently accepting Arrive and Drive
programs for the October 8-9 Streets of Lancaster Grand Prix and
services for the SKUSA SuperNationals XV in Las Vegas in
November.
|
