December 4, 2008 received
Photos by Susan Taylor Walls and Bruce Walls
Two Double at Maxxis Turkey Trot
By Bruce C. Walls
Photos by
Bruce C. Walls
Susan Taylor-Walls
ASHLAND, VA-Zach Bullis and Connor Ezzell were double winners Saturday November
22 at Capital City Speedway during the Ashland, VA track’s first annual Maxxis
Tires Turkey Trot. Bullis bested both Junior Sportsman 1 classes while Ezzell
earned 2-cycle wins in Yamaha and Tag Sprint.
Bullis bagged his wins in perfect style. The 9-year-old Millsboro, DE based P&P
Speed Shop powered Phantom Icon kart pilot posted pole lap times of
13.972-seconds in Heavy and 13.942-seconds in Lite on the ¼-mile clay oval. From
there he led the eight-racer fields wire-to-wire. Blaine Sharpe trailed him
across Heavy’s stripe. Dylan Jackson was third across the stripe followed by
Reese White and Kayla Hart in fourth and fifth. “It was my dad who did the tires
and P&P Speed Shop,” Bullis credited for his first win.
In Lite Troy Doggett finished a distant second. Doggett failed to show at post
race tech and was disqualified advancing Jackson to second, Sharpe to third,
White to fourth and Hart to fifth.
“Winning two feels good!” Bullis beamed after his second win adding, “I got two
poles and won two races. The kart handled good this time and the motor was
fast.”
Ezzell, of Bumpass, VA, shared Yamaha’s front row with Dan Longfellow who earned
the pole in 12.588-seconds trip that was 0.142-seconds faster than Ezzell’s
12.730-seconds best effort. When the green flag waved Ezzell roared into the
early lead with John Decker trailing him from a distant second. Nick Hall,
Longfellow and Jonathan Wharton completed the top five.
“I had a blast. The track is smooth and we had the tires perfect,” Ezzell said.
“The Phantom kart handled awesome. It entered the corners like a charm it didn’t
take much at all.”
Ezzell turned a 12.819-seconds lap for TAG Sprint’s pole. George Clark cranked
out a 13.052-seconds run for the outside pole. Ezzell shot into the early lead
and never looked back. When he crossed the stripe for the final time Clark was
still trailing him. Nick Hall was third across the stripe trailed in the top
five by Wharton and Michael Flagg.
David Puckett dominated the other 2-cycle offering Open. Puckett produced the
pole lap in 12.930-seconds. Puckett’s Rim Tech Motors powered Trick/Olimpic Apex
Kart rocketed into the early lead. While Puckett was enjoying a brief
comfortable lead Bubba Carter was working his way from an eighth place start to
the front. Carter closed the gap after several laps and began challenging
Puckett for the lead. Puckett held on as Carter worked high and low behind him
waiting for the right moment. That moment may have come, but Carter’s kart
developed problems and he dropped back into the pack. David Dill took over
second and began offering his own challenges, but Puckett prevailed at the
stripe.
“I could feel him (Bubba Carter) back there,” described Puckett, of King George,
VA. “I didn’t know who it was. It was pretty slick out there and I was trying to
not over drive it. I was waiting for somebody challenge me, but it never
happened. The kart was good. It was a little loose, but it was good everything
ran fine.”
Mechanicsville, VA based Dougie Young was the day’s first winner. Starting Stock
Heavy from sixth place Young battled his way to the front before mid-race. Ahead
of him pole winner Steven Adams (12.868-seconds) and third fastest qualifier
Brandon McGee were fighting side-by-side for the lead. McGee led a freight train
by Adams as Young continued climbing through the field. When he reached second
Dagan Bowdion was behind him pushing him into the lead. Once he was in the lead
Young fought off challenges from Bowdoin and Kevin Elliott. In the final laps
Young distanced himself from his pursuers taking the final flag with a
comfortable cushion over Bowdoin. Behind Bowdoin in the top five of 23-entries
were Elliott, McGee and Kyle Ezzell.
An exciting Junior Champ race followed. Gilson Fearnow and Dylan Brockwell
clocked the top two fast time laps. Fearnow was fastest at 13.508-seconds.
Brockwell’s best effort of 13.884-seconds was 0.376-seconds off that pace.
When the initial green flag waved Fearnow and Brockwell battled side-by-side
into turn one and out of turn two. Down the back straight they traded the lead.
The lead swapping fight continued through turns three and four and down the
front straight. Brockwell finally got a solid grip on the lead before they
entered turn three the second time. Fourth fastest qualifier Bailey Moore made
his way to third and then stole second from Fearnow. After securing second Moore
closed in on Brockwell. Caution waved before Moore got to offer Brockwell a
serious challenge.
Brockwell, of Smithfield, VA, led the restart with Moore nipping at his heels.
They stayed locked nose-to-tail with Fearnow, Tyler Davis and Sydney Johnson
following while fighting their own battles. As the lead pack exited turn three
for the final time you could have tossed a blanket over them. Less then a second
later the rest of the field followed.
“I had pretty tough competition. It wasn’t easy,” Brockwell said adding, “The
Rage kart handled pretty good and the Comet motor had plenty of power.”
Sean Keith Stanley showed the Junior Sportsman 2 field from start to finish. The
Amelia, VA based Tod Miller Racing Engines powered Prowler kart pilot produced
the pole time lap in 14.168-seconds. He quickly broke into the early lead and
was on his way to a comfortable cushion when, after two laps, caution waved.
“Actually yea, that caution worried me,” Stanley admitted adding, “I didn’t know
because immediately after the caution if my tires would come in or if I’d be
doing good and they would wear away. They were good in the first part of the
race. So it worried me a little bit, but the tires by Andy Murray worked great.”
Kevin Hart tried to get a jump on Stanley, but Stanley was quicker on the
throttle. Hart was forced to settle for second while Stanley stole the show
building a huge lead. In the final laps Van Davis drove by Hart for second.
Angelamarie Steele and Chris Wiseman crossed fourth and fifth.
“Compared to my Joker the Prowler kart is a lot tighter, but if will win that’s
good for me,” Stanley said with a smile.
Brandon Comer clocked Senior Champ-Flat Head’s pole lap in 13.733-seconds. From
there he commanded the field decisively quickly opening the lead stretching it
out further with every lap. Outside pole winner Matthew Ridgeway ran second, and
third fastest qualifier JD Eversole also finished where he started. Jeff Davis
was fourth across the stripe followed by Linwood Folds in fifth.
“The kart was good. I don’t know if they got bunched up behind me or whatever,”
described the Shenandoah, VA based winner. “I started on the pole and I turned
around after a couple of laps and we had a nice little lead. So I just got lucky
and was able to coast it the rest of the way. I want to thank the guy from TKS
that’s a bad fast kart there and C&T Motors they run.”
Rob Matthews ruled Stock Super Heavy’s qualifying with a 13.008-seconds run.
Billy Tweeden was second fastest. Tweeden took off at the initial green flag. He
rocketed into a huge early lead. Then on the third circuit caution waved cutting
his advantage. Tweeden led the restart and quickly escaped his pursuers.
Then in the final laps Mike Matthews closed in on Tweeden with Mark Gromovsky in
tow. Things heated up when Matthews grabbed the lead. Tweeden quickly took it
back. Matthews tried to get back by him, but ended up wheel hopping him and
spinning off. Gromovsky inherited second. Matthews gathered it back in time to
take third. Stephen Caton and Rob Matthews rounded out the top five.
Dylan Jackson spun a 15.302-seconds fast time lap for Junior Sportsman Champ’s
pole. Camden Testerman was second fastest of 13-qualifiers with a 15.347-seconds
lap. Jackson jumped into the early lead with fourth fastest qualifier Blaine
Sharpe glued to his tailpipe. Next time around Sharpe stole the lead from
Jackson. Jackson recaptured it on the following lap and began opening the lead
as Sharpe and Testerman fought over second. Sharpe secured second and went after
Jackson who was approaching traffic. Jackson put a lapper between he and Sharpe.
Suddenly karts ahead of them started spinning bringing out the race’s second and
final caution flag.
Lucky not to be in the melee Jackson led the restart with Sharpe now close
behind him. In just a few laps Jackson opened another comfortable cushion over
Sharpe who trailed him across the stripe. Testerman trailed in third, Matthew
Knighton followed in fourth with Chris Doggett behind him in fifth.
“The Rage Kart handled good and Tod Miller’s motor was fast,” credited the
9-year-old Lakeside, VA based winner who added, “I just tried my best and ran my
hardest.”
Chase Williams and Nicolas Ogles split the Restricted Junior classes. Williams
won Lite, Ogles won Heavy. Ogles, of King Williams, VA, earned both poles with
lap times of 13.093 and 12.856-seconds. Lite’s third fastest qualifier Bradley
Scara scampered into the early lead with outside pole winner Gilson Fearnow
following close behind. Near half way the race’s only caution flag waved. Scara
led the restart, but surrendered it to Williams who took it from there.
Scara was third across the stripe followed by Brandon Brown and Fearnow for the
top five.
Williams and Scara scrapped over Heavy’s early lead. Ogles saw an opening
between them for the lead. From there the 13-year-old racer ruled the 14-racer
field. Following across the stripe in the top five were Sacra, Fearnow, Tim
O’Connor and Richard Parks, Jr.
“ It was great. The track’s a bit dusty, but I intended to hang onto it
surprisingly. The kart was the best it could be. Dad’s motors are unbelievable,
they don’t compare to anyone else’s I would say.”
From Stock Medium’s front row Steven Adams and Dougie Young put on quite a show.
Fast time laps of 13.003 and 13.010-seconds earned them those starting
positions. Spinners on the opening lap forced a single file restart led by
Adams. Adams tried to use it to his advantage, but Young got the jump on him
entering turn one. Adams pressured Young who finally surrendered the lead near
mid-race.
In the second half Adams stuffed a lapper between them, but the race’s second
caution flag, that turned red, took that advantage from him. Adams led the
restart and once again Young got the initial jump on him. Two laps later Young
was leading another restart with Adams breathing down his neck. Young shot out
in front of the field. Next time around he took the five to go signal. Then,
with just two laps remaining, Adams completed a final charge for the lead. Young
crossed less than a second later followed in the top five by Brandon McGee, JD
Eversole and Kevin Elliott.
“It was a close race. That red flag really killed me,” described Adams of Fore
Oaks, N.C. “The racetrack got a little slick and my tires went away a little
bit, but after the restart it came on back in and I was able to move around Doug
(Young). He drove me clean it was a good race. I really want to thank Bryan
Bradford for letting me drive his kart and P&P Speed Shop, Harrill Wiggins and
Phantom Racing Chassis and all of my help for a great weekend and I hope to be
back here in Victory Lane again tonight.”
Three early race caution flags kept Animal Medium’s 23-racer field bunched up
during the feature’s first half. Thomas Underwood and Brandon McGee were the top
qualifiers turning laps of 12.544 and 12.572-seconds. After a failed first
attempt to get the field started Underwood led them single file back to the
green flag. McGee pulled alongside of Underwood as they exited turn two and beat
him out of the lead entering turn three. Two circuits later caution waved for a
second time. McGee led them back to the green flag again for another two laps
before caution returned for a third time.
When racing resumed McGee rocketed away from the field on his way to a
comfortable cushion. Behind him Colton Cox got by Adams for second in the final
laps. Adams held onto third across the stripe followed in the top five by Josh
Ayers and Simon Jones, Jr.
“The kart was good. It got a little tight towards the end. But we were able to
get out there,” said the Powhatan, VA based winner. “The caution worried me that
late in the race. I want to thank Tod Miller Racing Engines and Bajer Kart
Shop.”
Later that evening 27-racers entered Animal Heavy for a chance to win $1,000.
Once again McGee and Underwood were on front row in opposite starting spots.
McGee grabbed the pole with a blistering 12.443-seconds run that was
0.122-seconds faster than Underwood’s 12.565-seconds lap time.
While McGee and Underwood scrapped over the early lead karts behind them tangled
in turns three and four for the race’s only caution flag. McGee led the restart.
Behind him Kevin Elliott began threading his way through the field. Along the
way he picked up fifth fastest qualifier Brian Fallen and seventh place starter
Chris Beazley. Working together they reached the front with only a few laps
remaining in the 20-lap feature. Any of the top four could have taken in as they
exited turn three. But when the dust settled South Boston, VA based Elliott was
the winner by a nose.
“Man to tell you the truth I didn’t even know I’d won it,” laughed Elliott, of
South Boston, VA. “The kart was so fast my head was hanging back I didn’t even
know I’d won it. I came off the scales and everybody was hooping and hollering
and I didn’t know a thing about it. I don’t know what happened up front. I
didn’t know what went on, but I got the money and that’s all that matters. It’s
going back into my karting program. I’m going to buy a couple of tires. The kart
was alright, but it was still a little loose in the race, but I think everybody
was like that so it wasn’t much of a big deal.”
Fallen followed Elliott. Beazley was third across the stripe and Yancey and
Adams rounded out the top five.
Starting 11th in a field of 28-Senior Champ Animal racers Dagan Bowdoin, of Glen
Allen, VA, battled his way to the front pack in time to be part of a three-wide
battle for the checkered flag. Chris Johnson and Troy Martin lined up on front
row. Johnson’s 13.150-seconds best qualifying lap was just 0.041-seconds faster
then Troy Martin’s fastest lap time of 13.191-seconds.
From there the fight was on. Johnson and Martin banged into each other battling
down the back straight on the first lap. The collision took out both drivers
demanding a complete restart single file. Johnson led the restart with Martin
lining up friends for a freight train. Working together they put Martin up
front. Several laps later Brandon Comer got a little help from Tanner Aman
sending him to the front.
The lead pack reached the field’s tail as they took the white flag tightly
bunched together. They stayed tightly packed exiting turn four heading for the
checkered flag. Suddenly a lapped kart appeared in front of them. Leaders
scrambled in different directions avoiding a collision. When the dust settled
Bowdoin was first across the stripe. Close behind in the top five were Scott
Heath, Kevin Chavers, Mark Claytor and Jason Lineweaver.
“The kart was pretty good. A lapped kart got in the way on the last lap. Luckily
it didn’t cost us the win,” Bowdoin explained. “I want to thank Ellis Racing
Engines, Brandon Brown, and all of my help, Kent Lewis, my dad, Jimmy Ogles, my
girlfriend and her mom for their support and thank God for keeping us safe.
Taylor Doggett produced Stock Lite’s pole lap in 12.659-seconds. Colton Cox
clocked the outside pole lap just 0.012-seconds slower at 12.659-seconds.
Doggett and Cox battled for the early lead. From third, South Boston, VA, based
P&P Speed Shop powered Phantom Icon pilot Simon Jones, Jr. made a charge for the
front past Cox and Doggett. Once in charge of the eight-racer field Jones, Jr.
continued building on his lead while Josh Ayer and Shane Forrest advanced to
second and third in the final laps. Rob Robinette and David Dill rounded out the
top five.
“It was a very good race. I couldn’t have done it without Brian doing the
tires,” Jones, Jr. credited. “It handled great because of him. It was Cadillac .
Tod’s motor was great; it was a hoss off the corners. I couldn’t have asked for
a better motor.”
Blaine Sharpe and DJ Cunningham were Junior Sportsman 2 Champ’s slowest
qualifiers, but fastest racers. While pole winners Andy Reeves (14.402-seconds)
and Mason Bailey (14.547-seconds) battled for the lead Sharpe and Cunningham
climbed through the field. They and Logan Willis went three-wide into turn one
with Reeves emerging as the leader when they exited turn two. Reeves stretched
out his lead until mid-race when the caution flag cut all he’d gained.
When racing resumed Sharpe pressured Reeves pushing him to overdrive turn four.
Reeves spun out, Sharpe assumed the lead as the caution flag waved again. Sharpe
led the restart. The caution flag would be a final factor waving with just two
laps left. Sharpe led the two-lap shootout. D.J. Cunningham challenged Sharpe
down to the stripe where Sharpe scored the narrow win.
“That last caution worried me a little because I thought people would catch me
and get by me, described the 11-year-old Oilville, VA based winner. “Who knows
what they could do. The Falcon Kart handled good. It stuck to the ground and it
was like it was on a rail.”
Mike Mitchell and David Knighton shared Champ Over 35-Flathead front row. Lap
times of 13.890 and 14.146-seconds got them there. Mitchell quickly assumed the
early led building on that advantage every lap. Jeff Davis drove by Knighton
closing the gap on Mitchell for an exciting finish.
“The kart was a little tight. I’d say we had too soft a tire on there,” Mitchell
said adding, “The P&P Speed Shop motor was good, if it weren’t for I wouldn’t
have been where I was.”
That concludes Capital City Speedway’s 2008 race season. A January awards
banquet is being planned. The 2009 season starts in March. Highlighting their
early season will be an American Kart Racing Association (AKRA) national
scheduled for the first weekend in April. For more information visit the
speedway’s website at:
www.capitalcityspeedway.net.
Delaware Dirt Track Association
DDTA Harrington, DE Track
Majeski Masters Delaware Dirt Track Association
By Bruce C. Walls
HARRINGTON, DE NOV 16
HARRINGTON, DE-Six current or former AMA Grand National riders lined up for the
450 A final at the Delaware Dirt Track Association short track race last Sunday
(No. 16th) in Harrington, DE. Less than an inch separated Blackwood, N.J. rider
Tom Majeski (Rotax), from fellow National #57a rider Kenny Yoder (Suz) when the
checkered flag waved. Winning the heat race earned Majeski the pole from where
he fought of challenges from Yoder, former national rider Chris Klinefelter
(Hon) and fourth place finisher Mike Poe (Hon) on his way to a wire-to-wire win.
“I knew he (Yoder) was there the whole time,” Majeski described. “I ran low and
made him work the outside. Every time I saw a wheel I turned the throttle a
little more and held him off for the whole 10-laps. The Rotax bike handled great
so I was looking to get out in the lead as fast as I could. The track was nice,
really nice.”
According to Yoder; “I was kind of stuck at the bottom and with (Mike) Poe
running the outside it wasn’t possible to go up and have two of us up there. So
I stuck to the bottom and then on the last lap I tried to go to the high side
and came up a little bit short. The bike’s been good all day long. The track’s
wetter than normal so I think it was a little better for the frame bikes, but
the moto-crossers are coming around, we’re good.”
Majeski also led the way in Vet A. In that feature he beat Cambridge, MD based
Bill Boram (Yam) and Henry Mangels. Boram soloed the 70’s Singles feature as did
Milford, DE based Jeff Webb in Vet B.
“I had a good race, the bike was hooking up good,” Webb explained. “The track
was pretty good today. I want to thank Miller Motors, Hertrich Toyota, Shawnee
Scooters and Dickerson Painting for sponsoring me.”
With Poe pressuring him most of the way Klinefelter, of Reisterstown, MD, roared
away from the field on his way to capturing Sportsman A’s feature win.
Klinefelter grabbed the hole shot and scooted around the 1/8-mile dirt oval
fighting off several other challengers before Poe reached second. Yoder was
third across the stripe followed in the top five by Cory Texter and Tyler
Kidwell (Yam).
After dropping his bike in turn one during 450 B’s opening lap,18-year old
Milford, DE native Kade Keily (Rotax) battled back to win that feature over Jeff
Salevan (KTM).
“On the first lap I went into turn one went down,” Keily described. “On the
restart I was at the very tail end of it. I got a good start on the restart and
just rode it out from there. The Rotax bike handled real good. Me and dad have
been working on it all afternoon grooving the tires out and dropped a tooth,
then it worked real good. She was more mellow and not so torquey in the corners
and faster down the straights.”
Nine-year-old Kyle McGrane (Kawa), of Gap, PA, captured 85cc and finished second
in 65cc to Ryan Varnes. “I didn’t get the hole shot, but I got off the line
pretty good and I went around one of the singles,” McGrane described. “I ended
up second and I ended up just staying there. But they were running several
separated classes so technically I won the 60 class. The track was pretty good.
When I got on the gas it would come around on me and I’d go on the inside line
to make it stick in the corners. Sometimes it wouldn’t work and I’d have to go
around on the high line in turn three. I ended up first so it was a pretty good
race.”
Sparrowspoint, MD rider Rebecca Zofia soloed Sportsman B and 250 B races.
Delaware Dirt Track Association will be racing at their home track in
Harrington, DE through November. Promoter Mark Miller hinted that he might hold
a flat track race at one of the nearby dirt tracks before the season’s over. He
also said the Association’s awards banquet is tentatively scheduled for January
24th. For more information about Delaware Dirt Track Association call the office
at 302.422.0644, the track 302.242.6016 or the media center at 302.537.RACE
(7223). More photos can be viewed at
www.actionpicsandpromos.com.
Delaware Dirt Track Association
11/16/08
RESULTS
Results:
65cc: 1.Ryan Varnes (Suz); 2. Kyle McGrane (Kaw).
85cc: 1.Kyle McGrane (Kaw)
70’s Singles: 1. Bill Boram (Yam); 2. Ron Pfahler (Yam).
Vet A: 1. Tom Majeski (Rotax); 2. Bill Boram (Yam); 3. Henry Mangels (Hon).
250 B: 1.Rebecca Zofia (Kaw)
Sportsman A: 1. Chris Klinefelter (Hon); 2. Mike Poe (Hon); 3.Ken Yoder (Suz);
4. Cory Texter (Kaw); 5. Tyler Kidwell (Yam); 6. Kevin Varnes (Suz); Travis Diem
(Suz).
Sportsman B: 1.Zofia
450 A: 1. Tom Majeski (Rotax); 2. Ken Yoder (Suz); 3. Chris Klinefelter (Yam);
4. Mike Poe (Hon); 5. Tyler Kidwel (Yam); 6. Kevin Varnes (Suz); 7.Travis Diem (Suz).
450 B: 1. Kade Keily (Rotax); 2. Jeff Salevan (KTM)
Vet B: Jeff Webb (Suz)
|
|
|
|||
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|||
|
October 22, 2008
He’s The Big Kahuna Again
Story by Bruce C. Walls
Photos by Bruce C. Walls
And Susan Taylor-Walls
MARGARETTSVILLE, N.C.9/28/08 - His name is in the Big Kahuna Dirt Championship
Series history book for a second time. He’s the only driver to achieve that
goal. He wouldn’t have it any other way. Two hundred and 50 kart invited racers
came to Margarettsville Speedway in Margarettsville, N.C. Sunday September 28th
to compete in the 7th annual Big Kahuna Dirt Championships. Eleven support
classes competed before the Big Kahuna feature fans came to see.
This year’s Big Kahuna was part of a duel event weekend. Saturday AKRA American
Speedway Championship Dirt Series competed on the big ¼-mile clay oval at
Margarettsville Speedway.
JL Furrow, of Rocky Mount, VA, was Sunday’s only multi winner. He found victory
lane three times that Sunday starting with a surprise win in the day’s third
feature Stock Medium. After a grueling duel with Jamie Knopf, of Lancaster, S.
C. Furrow was forced to settle for second temporarily. Tech officials found
clouds in Knopf’s fuel and disqualified him awarding Furrow the win. Knopf’s DQ
moved Mechanicsville, VA based Avis Electric backed Scotty Bajer to second,
Jeremy Martin advanced to third and was followed by Andy Forsyth and Paul Whaley
in fourth and fifth out of 11-entries.
Driving for Josh Philpott Racing Furrow was fastest of 21 Animal Heavy
qualifiers. Furrow turned a track blistering 13.932-second lap that was
0.058-seconds faster than Stephen Adams fastest time. The caution flag waved
before the first lap was in the book. Furrow led them single file back to the
green flag. Adams saw an opening and took the lead before another lap was
booked. Still on the same lap, Furrow fought his way to the front. He was still
there when the caution flag waved again just five laps into it. Furrow led the
restart. Haire quickly moved up to second. Furrow burst open a comfortable lead
that Haire slowly reeled him in. The race’s third caution helped Haire. Haire
led the restart and would do it again before another lap was booked.
In the final laps Kevin Turner took second from Haire who fell deep into the
field. Turner was all over Furrow’s tailpipe looking high and low for away
around him. As Furrow and Turner exited turn three Turner pulled along side
Furrow. They drag raced to the stripe. Furrow was fastest by 0.096-seconds for
his second win of the day and the day’s second closest finish. Four and a half
seconds later Bobby McCarty crossed the stripe in third. Nose-to-tail behind him
in fourth and fifth were Jonathan Hickman and Bryan Voncannon.
“We didn’t do well in qualifying, but we ended up getting the win,” Furrow said
through a big grin. “I want to thank Josh Philpott he does my tires and it’s all
his stuff, I’m just tickled to death to be able ride for him and get him a win.
The kart wasn’t bad. I’ve got a Phantom Icon and it’s pretty good. I want to
thank Harrill Wiggins and CKI.”
Furrow’s next win was four years in the making. After winning the 2004 Big
Kahuna, that race has eluded him. Stephen Adams was fastest of 26-racers
attempting to qualify for the 24-racer Big Kahuna field. His pole-winning lap
took him 13.934-seconds to complete. In 14-seconds flat Justin McDonald earned
the other front row starting position. Starting behind them in row two were
Jonathan Hickman and J.L. Furrow. Adam Beville and Brandon McGee were in row
three. Starting in row four were ‘Flat’ Matt Bowling and Lancaster, S.C.
competitor Jamie Knopf. Behind them were Voncannon and Jared Jackson. Turner and
John Yancey occupied row six. Nick Scott and 16-year-old Lewes, DE driver
Brandon White shared Row seven.
Danny Alphin and Josh Haire were in row eight. Behind them in row nine were Brad
Pittman and Bobby McCarty. Kyle Craft and bill Mashburn made up row 10.
Adams and McDonald led the 26-racer field to the initial green flag. The
excitement started early. Adams took the initial lead with McDonald challenging
him. Then McDonald had Furrow knocking on his back door. The scrap for second
was short. Securely in second Furrow went after Adams. Before the first lap was
recorded Furrow found the front. Just as things were getting interesting caution
waved. Furrow led the restart with McDonald right behind him.
They just began battling for positions when caution waved again. Two laps were
complete. This time Adams was leading when the caution flag flew. Adams led the
restart and tried holding onto the lead. Furrow flew by McDonald again for
second, grabbed the lead from Adams and rocketed way ahead of the field spread
out behind him. Furrow built a huge lead that was cut by the race’s fourth
caution.
Racing resumed with Furrow building another comfortable cushion he took to the
end of the first segment. Karts stopped on the front straight for a brief
five-minute pit stop. Two crewmembers were permitted to work on the kart.
“The kart’s handling pretty good. I don’t know what it’s going to take to win
it’s getting crazy out there,” Furrow said at mid-race while his crew made
adjustments to his machine.
While Furrow’s crew quickly made mid race adjustments promoters Chester Hester
of Maxxis Gold Speed USA and James Moore offered him $100 per spot to move back
10 spots. Furrow wasn’t budging. He wanted his name on that trophy as the only
double Kahuna winner. Moore had his eye on the clock and ordered crews to stop
working on their karts.
Furrow brought them to the green flag with Josh Haire behind him trying to steal
the lead. Haire tries an inside pass. His effort failed sending him spinning.
That left Furrow with a huge lead. Brandon McGee and Jamie Knopf were working
together trying to cut that lead. In the final laps McDonald moved his Hi Tech
Racing Engines powered Vector Kart by them. His momentum carried forward and he
closed in on Furrow.
Knopf took second and began battling with McDonald for second. McDonald closed
that door and once again went after Furrow. With the pressure on him Furrow
floored it turning some of his fastest laps. McDonald hung with him. When they
reached the stripe Furrow was first by just 0.103-seconds.
“The second half was pretty good. We won!” Furrow beamed. “We lead about every
lap in the second half and l had a few fans talk nice to me when I came off the
track. I can’t thank Josh Philspot enough. If it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t be
here racing. The Phantom kart was great and the CKI motor was super. I had super
good tires by Select Cuts.”
Knopf crossed a close third followed in the top five by McGee and Turner. Taking
sixth through 10th were Beville, Haire, Pittman, White and John Yancy.
“It’s awesome having JL Furrow come here and win for the second time,” Hester
said. “I’m glad to see a top quality driver come in here. He’s the best of the
best. He comes in with a different chassis, crew chief, different motor builder
and the same outcome. JL and Maxxis have always worked good together. It was
just an awesome job from him.”
Before handing Furrow his check co- promoter James Moore said, “JL’s a class
act. JL won our Kahuna back in 2004. We offered him $100 per spot to start
backing up at the half waypoint. JL’s the only man whose sat on the pole, led
the halfway mark and led all 50 of the 50-lap races. We asked him not to do the
same thing. I offered him $100 per spot to back up. He said it wasn’t about the
money it’s all about me. He wanted his name on that trophy again. What a lot of
people haven’t looked at is this trophy is our original trophy we present to the
winner and each year they bring it back and presents it to the new winner and
their names are all over the trophy, but on the bottom of the trophy they’ve all
signed it. So at one point in time you won’t be able to replace it. We’re here,
we appreciate the people who came here and we’re glad to have JL as a part of
it. We thank JL for coming.”
In other support classes Haire handled Super Heavy cruising across the finish
line with a comfortable 3.062-seconds advantage over pole winner Brandon Watson.
Watson won the pole with a 15.429. Haire was the outside pole winner. Watson
shot into the early lead with Haire keeping him busy defending his lead. Next
time around Haire hustled past Watson taking a never surrendered lead to the
end.
“The kart setup was a little off. We haven’t been good all day, not as good as
we were yesterday,” Haire explained. “The track’s a lot different than it was
yesterday, the track’s dried out a lot more. We’ll just have to see how we do in
the other ones today. We’re going to have to change everything.”
Timothy O’Connor clocked Junior Sportsman Champ’s pole lap in 17.029-seconds,
but when the checkered flag waved it was for his brother Ryan O ‘Connor who
clinched the closest win of the day. Only 0.042-seconds separated the O’Connor
brothers. Dylan Jackson and Bailey Moore rounded out the field.
Brandon McGee struggled in Animal Medium’s qualifying, but when it was time to
race his machine turned out to be the one to beat. McGee’s 14.301-seconds best
qualifying lap earned him an eighth place. His time was 0.206-seconds off Adams
pole winning 14.095-seconds pole winning lap. Adam Beville, of Stony Creek, VA
was second fastest qualifier. The first attempt fizzled with karts colliding
behind them. Adams led them single file back to the green flag. This time Adams
opened a small lead only to watch it shrink as ‘Flat’ Matt Bowling closed the
gap and passed Adams. Bowling barely led a lap when a racer behind him lost a
tire. Bowling lead the restart, but surrendered the lead to McGee who slipped by
him for the lead. McGee ended the 20-lap ride 0.399-seconds ahead of Bowling.
Behind Bowling in the top five of 19-were Adams, Jonathan Hickman and John Yancy.
“I just worked my way up through there,” McGee described. “I started eighth. I
got up to second behind Matt Bowling he’s a good racer. He just slipped up a
little bit and I was just fortunate to get by him and I was able to hold him
off. The Icon kart handled good it’s been running good all day. Tod Miller’s
motor has been good, real good.”
Dylan Brockwell, of Smithfield, VA, dominated Junior Champ. He earned the pole
in 15.828-second then dominated his only competition Timothy O’Connor. Brockwell,
a 14-year-old Comet Racing Engines powered Rage kart pilot rocketed into the
early lead. O’Conner never had a chance. On lap 11 O’Connor’s machine quit. He
rolled it into the infield, sat back and watched Brockwell round the track solo
for a couple laps. “The Rage kart got tight about halfway, but it came back and
ended up strong,” Brockwell explained.
Avis Electric backed Scotty Bajer, of Mechanicsville, VA, earned two poles that
Sunday. One of them, a 14.448-seconds effort, earned him Stock Heavy’s pole.
Adams was second fastest turning a 14.627-seconds top time. After a failed first
start Bajer led them single file back to the green flag. Bajer fought off
serious challenges from several competitors and held the lead. Then, just before
the halfway flag flew, Stephen Adams charged to the front and took the lead.
Bajer stayed glued to Adams tailpipe. Before Adams could lead a lap caution
waved again returning Bajer to the front.
When racing resumed the top four ganged up on Bajer who ended up outside looking
for a place to fit in. While Bajer was struggling to get back in the hunt Dougie
Young took over. He barely led a lap before Kevin Turner took it from him.
Turner surrendered it to Knopf. Furrow flew by Turner for second and then took
the lead from Knopf. Turner tried to move back up to second and spun out in
third collecting some of the field behind him.
Furrow led the restart with three laps left. Knopf kept the pressure on. Two
laps later Furrow was leading another restart. Knopf started behind him. The
pressure was too much and Furrow found himself spinning into the high side of
turn three. The field stayed green with Knopf leading.
In the final laps Bajer battled his way back to second and then brought his
machine door-to-door with Knopf. As they headed for the checkered flag Knopf got
a push from behind keeping him in the lead. When they reached the stripe Knopf
beat Bajer by a mere 0.089-seconds. Adams was third across the stripe just
0.158-seconds off pace. Turner followed in fourth trailed by Young who capped
the top-five of 13.
“I ain’t counting my chickens before they hatch,” Knopf laughed adding, “I ran
out of gas coming to take the white flag. After my first win they said my fuel
was cloudy before so come talk to me in about five minutes.”
Buzz Moore turned the fastest Senior Champ’s fastest qualifying lap in
15.092-seconds. J.D. Eversole was second fastest at 15.463-seconds. When the
green flag waved Moore grabbed the early lead with Eversole challenging him high
and low. The battle between them raged until the final lap. As they were heading
for the checkered flag Eversole got along side Moore. They tangled causing them
to spin off to the high side of turn three. Suddenly third fastest qualifier,
17-year-old Chris Fahed, found himself leading the race.
“Words can’t describe it,” Fahed said. “I saw they two of them sitting up there,
I saw the checkered flag ahead of me and a big smile came across my face.”
Eversole gathered it back up and 2.963-seconds later he crossed second. Moore
finished third, Greg Aycock followed in fourth and Joshua Edwards rounded out
the top five.
“Oh man I don’t know what to say, you’ve just got to be there, hang in there,”
said Fahed a Brenel Racing Engines powered Rage Nitro kart pilot. “The more you
race somehow you’ll come out with a win. The kart was pretty tight when we
started. The kart kind of loosened up on me and I figured out how to drive the
track a little better. She just started coming around to me.”
Trey Tarlton and Sean Keith Stanley shared Pro Blue’s front row with lap times
of 15.346 and 15.442-seconds. Tarlton took the early lead and showed the
nine-racer field just past the halfway mark. As they started the second half the
top two tangled opening the lead for Austin Babb. Stanley, of Emporia, VA,
gathered it back and marched back to the front. Stanley shot by J.B. Loomis
recapturing the lead with five laps left. In those five laps Stanley built a
6.014-seconds advantage over Loomis.
“I got a little break on this one,” Stanley admitted. “I was running with four
people drafting and two people went to the outside and they all spun out and I
thought one of them was coming down on me so I stuck my nose down and made it
through. The rest of the race I just ran my hardest.”
Trevor Brightwell was third across the stripe followed in the top five by Austin
Capps and Austin Babb.
Turning a 14.848-seconds lap earned David Walker Pro Gold’s pole. Austin Wyatt’s
14.864-seconds lap earned him the outside pole. When the green flag waved the
top four went for the lead. Wyatt won that fight and was trying to escape his
pursuers when the race’s only caution flag waved with five laps completed. Wyatt
led the restart with Bradley Sacra and Sam Lilly behind him. Further back Hunter
Colson was climbing through the field from a sixth place start.
Wyatt led the restart. Behind him Colson, Lilly and David Walker were forming a
freight train. Once they were nose-to-tail they drafted by Wyatt who dropped to
sixth before he could get back in line. Colson cruised into a comfortable lead.
Then in the final laps Lilly closed in on Colson and began challenging him for
the lead. As they exited turn four for the final time Lilly got along side of
Colson, but he couldn’t get by him trailing by 0.055-seconds. Sacra, Brandon
Brown and Richard Parks rounded out the top five.
“I have no idea how I won. Sam Lilly almost caught me on the last lap,” said the
12-year-old South Mills, N.C. based winner. “I knew somebody was back there so I
drove as hard as I could. The Icon kart was perfect and the Hedgepeth motor had
plenty of power.”
AKRA, Maxxis Tires and James Moore Promotions are making plans for another
double header weekend for AKRA’s American Speedway Championship Dirt Series
season finale’ and 8th Annual Big Kahuna.
|
|||
|
|||
|
October 16, 2008
Two Double at AKRA Dirt Season Finale’
Story by Bruce C. Walls
Photos by Bruce C. Walls
And Susan Taylor-Walls
MARGARETTSVILLE, VA-9/28/08 - Racers in the AKRA American Speedway Championship
Dirt Series concluded their 2008 season at Margarettsville Speedway in
Margarettsville, N.C. Saturday September 27th as part of a double show that
included the 7th Annual Maxxis Moore Money Pro Series Big Kahuna. Two AKRA
racers were double winners that Saturday. Josh Haire won Super Heavy and Stock
Heavy and Chase Rawlings topped both Junior 1 Purple Plate offerings.
Piloting a Mishue Motorsports powered Galaxy kart; Haire earned both poles with
times of 15.937 and 15.524-seconds on the ¼-mile clay track. Super Heavy was a
two-racer battle between Haire and Brandon Watson. Watson’s machine gave up on
lap nine of 15 leaving Haire the sole competitor. Two laps later Haire took his
first checkered flag of the day.
Stock Heavy was more competitive with six vying for the win. David Meade was
second fastest qualifier turning a 15.710-seconds lap. Walt Barnes, of Monroe,
N.C. and Nick Scott, of Myrtle Beach, S.C. shared row two. Flagman Lee Bob
Waltrip showed them the green flag. Haire and Barnes pulled ahead of the field
battling for the lead. Haire held on as Barnes challenged him at every corner.
With just three laps left a lapped kart got sideways in the middle of the track.
Haire spotted the lapped kart and maneuvered past him. Barnes didn’t see the
lapped kart as fast and spun out to avoid hitting him. Barnes gathered his kart
back and ran down Haire in time to trail him by just 0.319-seconds.
“We had a good kart all night,” said Haire, of Erwin, N.C. “We ended up with two
wins in two classes. I saw the lapped kart pull across the racetrack. I lifted a
little bit, but I don’t think Walt (Barnes) caught it in time and he slid up the
racetrack a little bit. Me and him were about tit for tat. I want to thank the
Lord, my dad and mom, my girlfriend and everybody here helping me today. Walt
and I had some good runs this year in the AKRA series. This is a great series to
run with.”
Meade followed Barnes across the stripe four seconds later in third. Scott
scored a fourth place finish followed by Paul Whaley who rounded out the top
five.
Barnes blasted around the tack in 15.438-seconds for Stock Medium’s pole. Scott
started next to him and hustled into the early lead. He quickly pulled away from
Barnes on his way to a 4.793-seconds advantage over Barnes at the stripe. Meade
made third, Cain crossed fourth and Forsyth followed in fifth.
“We got the kart hooked up pretty good that time,” said the winning Schu Powered
Phantom Icon pilot. “It was a little bit loose, but we’ll see if we can pick it
up a little bit in the next race.”
Rawlings, of Emporia, VA ruled the first Junior 1 Purple Plate class from start
to finish with Millsboro, DE driver Zach Bullis behind him the whole ride.
Bullis threatened in the early laps then fell back a little in the final laps.
“I was nervous because I felt him (Zach Bullis) behind me and then I couldn’t
feel him anymore,” described 10-year-old Rawlings. Bullis trailed Rawlings by
1.024-seconds. Trailing in the top five behind Bullis were Zachary Taylor,
Trevor Brightwell and Millsboro, DE driver Jace Darling.
“The kart was just fast.” Rawlings reported after his first win. “I want to
thank my dad and Nathan and Tom,”
Justin Kirby clocked the Junior 1 Purple Plate Race 2 pole with a 16.603-seconds
rounding. Bullis turned the second fastest qualifying lap at 16.756-seconds.
Kirby captured the early lead with Bullis battling him from behind. Further back
Rawlings was closing in on the leaders from a third place start. Several laps
into it Rawlings engineered a freight train by Kirby for the lead bringing
Brightwell with him. When they reached the stripe for the final time Brightwell
was 0.291-seconds behind Rawlings. Bullis was third under the checkered flag
followed by Darling and Kirby for the top five.
“The kart was same as last time-fast.” Rawlings said. “I want to thank Tom, my
daddy, Mason and P&P Speed Shop. The kart was same as last time-fast.”
Jason Cain started on Stock Lite’s outside pole. He and pole winner Andy Forsyth
battled side-by-side through turns one and two. As they battled down the
backstretch Cain slipped into the lead when they approached turn three. Cain
continued leading from there until the end where he was 2.012-seconds ahead of
Forsyth at the end.
“We finally got our tires right and it finally hooked up for us,” said Cain of
Roanoke Rapids, N.C. “The Desperado Chassis was running real good Desperado is
the way to go. My daddy builds the fastest motors around.”
Lewes, DE led foot Brandon White blistered the track with a 15.084-seconds top
qualifying lap. It was the 16-year-old’s first Animal race at Margarettsville.
Kevin Turner was second quickest with a 15.146-seconds. White led the field
three times around before Haire took it from him with Turner tailing closed
behind. Haire and Turner battled nose-to-tail leaving the rest of the
eight-racer field in their dust. When they got the three to go signal Turner got
going and took the lead. Turner was out front for the white then the checkered
flag which he captured just 0.088-seconds head of Haire for the day’s second
closest finish. Stony Creek, VA racer Adam Beville was third across the striped
followed by White and Justin McDonald in fourth and fifth.
“His (Josh Haire) kart came in quicker than mine did,” Turner of Raleigh, N.C.
offered. “But mine got better and better the longer we ran until we were able to
get by him there with three to go. The Icon kart was a little loose, but it
started coming around there towards the end. The P&P Speed Shop motor was
awesome. The track’s a little wet here before the sun went down so we’ll have to
make some changes for the next race.”
Those changes didn’t work. Beville earned Animal Heavy Race 2’s pole with a
track record setting 14.770- seconds. White’s best lap of 14.819-seconds also
broke the 15-seconds barrier. When the green flag dropped White and Beville
battled side-by-side until they got between turns three and four. Haire, Turner
and Scott freight trained by Beville heading for White. White dove low blocking
off their charge while Beville forced his way in at sixth. Haire hounded White
trying to get by him. In the final laps White pulled away from Haire building a
1.088-seconds finish line advantage over Haire. Turner trailed in third followed
by Scott and McDonald.
“That was fun, it was a good deal,” White said in victory lane. “The Eclipse
kart handled like a dream. It was rolling through the turns and down the
straight-aways. It was pulling it was good. Eddie Mishue’s motor was amazing.
Mishue Motorsports all the way! That was an amazing race.”
White’s younger brother Alex won the first Junior 3 Gold Plate race. Alex
struggled in qualifying producing a fast time of 15.885-seconds lap that had him
starting fourth. Austin Wyatt clocked the pole time in 15.526-seconds. Wyatt was
enjoying leading the early laps while White worked his way through the field.
White reached second when they got the mid-race signal. Two more laps and White
was leading.
Wyatt stayed glued to White’s tailpipe crossing just 0.105-seconds later.
“This is my first time running Gold here,” White said. “The kart handled really
good it stuck everywhere I went and drove good. The Mishue motor was awesome,
the best I’ve ever seen. I want to thank Mishue Motorsports, my dad, and my tire
man Jamie.” Bradley Sacra was third across the stripe. Richard Parks was fourth
followed by Sam Lilly in fifth.
Sacra scored Junior 3 Gold Race 2’s win from a seventh place start. Wyatt was
the fastest qualifier with a 15.381-seconds lap. Hunter Colson hustled into the
early lead. Sacra stuck to his tailpipe. As they were breaking from the pack
Sacra saw an opportunity and took it. Colson tried to recapture the lead, but
got tangled up in scrap for second with Brett Heatherly. Colson secured second
setting his sites on Sacra who had put a lapper between them. Sacra kept the
petal to the metal building a 2.790-seconds over Colson at the finish line.
Heatherly held onto third and was followed in the top five by Richard Parks, Jr,
and Wyatt.
“I’m not sure if passing that lapper at the end helped or not, but I sure was
fast,” said the 14-year-old Spotsylvania, VA based Moon Power South powered
Phantom Icon pilot. “The kart handled very good and the Moon Power South motor
was great. I’d like to thank my dad, Dougie and Murray.”
Trey Tarlton and Sean Keith Stanley split the Junior 2 Blue Plate races.
Stanley, an Amelia, VA based 12-year-old piloted his Tod Miller Racing Engines
powered Olimpic Joker kart around the circuit in 16.185-seconds for Race 1’s
pole. After a first lap caution Stanley led them single file back to the green
flag. Stanley shot into the early lead with outside pole winner Houston Smith
glued to his tailpipe and Tarlton trying to get to him from third. Tarlton took
second and then the lead as Stanley slipped back to sixth. Meanwhile, J.B.
Loomis was going in the other direction from a sixth place start. Loomis nearly
reached Tarlton. He needed a few more laps. When Tarlton reached the stripe for
the final time, Loomis was 1.385-seconds behind him.
“It started sliding a little bit at the end, but it was pretty good,” Tarlton
explained. “The Ultramax EL handled pretty good and Mike Schumacher’s motor was
great it pulled me around the corners and down the straights and everything. I
want to thank Mike Schumacher, my mom and my dad, Chris and Shelby Statton.”
A 16.020-seconds lap put Smith on Race 2’s pole. Stanley turned a 16.072-seconds
lap for the outside pole from where he charged to the front. He stayed there
taking the checkered flag with a 0.999-seconds advantage over Tarlton. Grayson
Brightwell grabbed third, Smith was fourth across the stripe followed by Loomis
who rounded out the top five.
“The kart was the best I’ve ever driven,” the 12-year-old winner said. “The
first race the spark-plug wire fell off, but it didn’t do anything. This race it
was a whole different kart. She flew through one and two. That motor’s always
been good. Of all the motors I’ve had I think that one’s the best.”
Ryan O’Connor and Justin Kirby won the Junior Sportsman Champ classes. Kirby
clocked both pole times traveling the circuit in 17.057-seconds for the first
and cracking the 17-second margin with a 16.896-seconds lap for the second pole.
When the first green flag waved Kirby captured the early lead with the field
nose-to-tail behind him. Ryan O’Connor, of Chesterfield, VA, piloted his Tod
Miller Racing Engines powered Rage Nitro kart through the field from a third
place start. O’Connor took second and then engineered a freight train past Kirby
for the lead. On their way to the front O’Connor’s brother Timothy got under a
competitor sending them spinning. Ryan O’Connor took the lead with his brother
trailing, Bailey Moore in third followed by Kirby in fourth. The field stayed
lock in those positions for the rest of the race with Ryan ruling his brother by
0.843-seconds.
“When my brother got under that one guy I know he didn’t mean to,” said the
11-year-old winner. “He (Timothy O’Connor) was trying to race him and he thought
he had him and he got into the side of him and I just went on past them and
drove on the rest of the race. I would like to thank my dad, Gill McCauley, my
sister and all of my family, my brother and all of my race opponents, Tod Miller
for the motor and Rage karts. The kart handled phenomenally, it was awesome.”
Kirby was back at the front when the green flag waved for the start of the
second Junior Sportsman Champ race. He wasn’t about to let another race get away
from him. Kirby hustled into the early lead and tried building on it. As
determined as Kirby was Timothy O’Connor was equally determined to stop him.
O’Connor stayed glued to Kirby’s tailpipe for all 15-laps ending in the day’s
closest finish. Just 0.082-seconds separated them at the stripe.
AKRA racers, both dirt and asphalt will meet next during the 4th Annual
‘Christmas in Dixie’ being held December 27-30 at the dual track Cross Roads
Motorsports Complex in Jasper, FL. For more information on ‘Christmas in Dixie’
and entry forms visit AKRA’s website at
www.akrainc.com or call the AKRA office at 704-764-8138.
|
|||
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|||
|
September 25, 2008
Trio Double at AKRA Asphalt National
Story by Bruce C. Walls
Photos by:
Bruce C. Walls
Susan Taylor-Walls
Bruce C. Walls Images Orange County Raceway
September 20, 2008
ROUGEMONT, N.C.-Three racers entered in the AKRA American Speedway Championship
Asphalt Series season finale at Orange County Kartway in Rougemont, N.C.
September 20th were double winners on the 3/8-mile asphalt oval. Justus Williams
won both Junior 3 Gold classes, Tyler Robertson ruled the Senior Champ offerings
as did his younger brother Patrick in Junior Sportsman Champ.
Williams clocked Junior 3 Gold’s pole time with a 13.719-seconds rounding. From
there the 13-year-old Roxboro, N.C. based racer piloted his P&P Speed Shop
powered Illusion kart with perfection taking the final flag with a 0.227-seconds
advantage over outside pole winner Tyler Gauthier.
“I felt the pressure coming,” Williams described. “I saw my grand paw’s signal
they were coming and they were telling me to go on. I felt him (Tyler Gautheir)
hit me in the back on the last lap. The Illusion Kart handled real good and the
P&P Motor was real good.” The second feature was another perfect race for
Williams who beat Guathier to the strip with just 0.794-seconds to spare.
Tyler Robertson topped the Senior Champ classes from their poles with 5.245 and
6.859-seconds cushions over outside pole winner Shane Ixos. Robertson clocked
the fastest qualifying lap in 14.112-seconds. “My clutch locked up at the
beginning. I had to wait for it to engage before I took off,” Robertson said. “I
want to thank my dad for driving all night to get here after football practice.
I also want to thank Wayne, my brother and my mom.”
After his second win Robertson added, “The kart felt better this time. It was a
little bit closer, but it ran good this time. It takes good help to win two
races in a day. I want to thank Wayne, Mark, my dad, Kenny Powell, my mom and my
brother.”
Following in his older brother’s tire tracks Patrick Robertson took both Junior
Sportsman Champ races over pole winner Cole Timm who spun a 15.244-seconds lap
for the preferred starting spot. When the first green flag flew Timm and
Robertson battled wheel-to-wheel into turn one. They continued battling
side-by-side trading the lead back and forth until the halfway signal was shown.
Robertson was leading by a nose when the race’s only caution waved. Robertson
led the restart and the battle continued.
In the final laps they were still battling for the lead. As they exited turn
three for the final time Timm’s wheel hopped the back wheel of Robertson.
Robertson held on as Timm hung with him down to a 0.359-seconds difference at
the stripe. Nose-to-tail behind Timm in the top five were Derek Fry, Camden
Gullie and Justin Mitchell.
“I just hung on. I knew they were there, so I drove down low and just hung on.
The Vendetta kart handled great. It was perfect when I needed it,” described the
12-year-old Katonah, N.Y. based winner.
The second feature was another nail bitter from start to finish with Robertson
leading Timm across the stripe with a 0.226-seconds advantage. After a failed
first start Timm took them back to the green flag single file. Timm showed the
filed around five times when the second of three caution flags flew. He tried to
run away from the field on the restart, but Robertson stayed right behind him
grabbing the lead for the first time as they battled down the front straight.
Timm retook the lead just in time for the third caution. He got them started
again and Robertson shot by him for the lead again, this time for good. Fry
finished third again this time followed by Justin Mitchell and Steven Ford for
the top five.
“On the last lap he just kind of went down low then slid up just enough for me
to go under him and I took it,” Robertson said adding, “The kart hooked up when
I needed it and the Capps motor had power all the way.”
Inside and outside Junior 1 Purple plate pole winners Joseph Everett and Chase
Hawkins split the feature wins. Everett turned the pole lap in 15.263-seconds,
Hawkins was second fastest at 15.612-seconds. On the first lap they were
side-by-side until heading into turn three. Everett went into the turn low
taking the lead as they rounded the apex. Everett exited four and rocketed down
the front straight opening up the lead. Hawkins chased him down closing in on
him in turns one and two. Everett kept Hawkins behind him. They had just pasted
under the halfway signal when the race’s only caution flag waved.
Everett led the restart with Hawkins threatening from close behind. The top four
were glued nose-to-tail for the rest of the race. Hawkins trailed Everett by
just 0.166-seconds. Donovan Holt crossed third, Brandon Williams followed in
fourth and Preston Cope crossed fifth.
“My dad worked on the kart for a month now and he set it up great for me,”
credited the 11-year-old Henderson, N.C. based P&P Speed Shop powered Phantom
kart pilot. “All I had to do was hop in and drive. It’s been an awesome day so
far.”
In the second feature Hawkins grabbed the initial lead as they exited turn two.
Hawkins, a nine-year-old P&P Speed Shop powered Titan Kart pilot from Manassas,
VA, pulled away from his nearest pursuers. Everett closed the gap as they near
halfway. As the mid-race signal was shown Everett snatched the lead from
Hawkins. Hawkins stole it back next time around and held to the end. Everett
crossed 0.229-seconds later followed in the top five by Holt, Cope and Williams.
“It was hard,” Hawkins described. “He was blocking and everything. I can never
keep up with the 00 in the AKRA. I can never keep up with him. This time I just
kept my line and then I held it. I held on and then I didn’t go up on the high
side when I saw him coming and I just kept him there.”
Justin Fulmer’s fifth qualifying attempt was his and the qualifying session’s
fastest lap, 13.636-seconds. Thomas Hawkins shared front row with him. Hawkins
hustled into the early lead with Fulmer following close behind. Hawkins opened
the lead while Fulmer waited on his to come in. It didn’t before he spun off
turn three scattering the tire protection barrier bringing out the caution flag.
Hawkins KSR Engines powered Riddler Kart led the restart. Fulmer followed.
Hawkins held on to the stripe where he was 0.497-seconds ahead of Fulmer.
“The kart handled pretty good,” said the Manassas, VA based winner. “We had to
switch over to the back up motor, but everything turned out good. I want to
thank my family. I appreciate all of their help and support.”
“Dad gave me a great setup to take with me, I brought it down here. I got more
help from my cousins with the setup here. I put it in it, that’s what I ran and
she’s been running good. I want to thank the Lord for giving us a good safe
race, my dad for building a heck of a kart under me, Uncle Shorty putting one
heck of a motor under me, Tim Cope for helping me get down here and doing up my
tires for me and Jackie at Checkered Flag for getting me the supplies I needed
to win.”
Stock Heavy competitors Kenneth Komray and Wesley Poole produced those wins.
Komray clocked the fastest qualifying lap in 13.787-seconds. Poole posted the
second fastest lap turning a 13.903-seconds lap. Races were heated battles
between Komray, a Shorty’s Automotive powered Phantom kart pilot and Poole
driving a P&P Speed Shop powered CKI Laser kart. Komray captured the first
checkered flag with a 0.195-seconds advantage.
“Dad gave me a great setup to take with me, I brought it down here. I got more
help from my cousins with the setup here. I put it in it, that’s what I ran and
she’s been running good,” said Komray “I want to thank the Lord for giving us a
good safe race, my dad for building a heck of a kart under me, Uncle Shorty
putting one heck of a motor under me, Tim Cope for helping me get down here and
doing up my tires for me and Jackie at Checkered Flag for getting me the
supplies I needed to win.”
Poole shot into the second feature’s early lead with Komray close behind. Komray
kept the pressure on to the end where he trailed by 0.308-seconds. “The kart
felt better this time than last time. I got good starts. I want to thank, The
Kart Shoppe, Art’s County Vittles CFI Racing products, OCR Sports and Karts, my
parents, my grand mom and grand paw Justine, Kevin, my whole family, Fast Eddie
and all those people out there who helped me.”
Four Maxxis EL Tire classes competed. The new Maxxis EL tire is a hard long life
tire gaining popularity with pavement racers who like being able to get a lot of
mileage out of their tires. Offered were two Junior Sportsman Champ classes,
Junior Purple and Stock Medium. Six-year-old Dust Walters won the pole with a
17.181-seconds lap. He and outside pole winner Austin Powell battled
side-by-side the first time around with Powell getting a nose on Walters for the
lead. Powell pulled away, but Walters closed the gap and recaptured the lead.
“It took me a long time to get under him. He was driving on the high side then
he’d go low,” Walters described. “That’s why it took me a long time to get under
him. The Titan T-7 kart handled good and Tod Miller’s motor was really great,
really great.”
At mid-race Walters spun out into the infield bringing out the race’s only
caution flag. He got the jump on Powell when racing resumed. During the second
half Walters amassed a 14.764-seconds advantage over
Walters spun out into the infield bringing out the caution at mid-race. He got
the jump on Powell on the restart and ruled to the end where he amassed a
14.764-seconds lead in the race’s second half.
The second feature had them battling side-by-side nearly the whole first lap. As
they battled down the back straight heading for turn three Powell pinched
Walters entering the turn and took the lead. Walters spent the rest of the race
chasing Powell who won with a 2.003-seconds advantage. “The kart ran good and
Frank Bondatti’s motor was fast,” said the seven-year-old Concord, N.C. based
Titan Kart pilot.”
Turning a 14.794-seconds qualifying lap earned Kipp Loubl Stock Medium’s pole.
From there Loubl built a comfortable lead. After eight of 15-laps his only
competitor Tyler Gilmore left the track with motor troubles. Three laps later
Loubl took the checkered flag four laps short of the scheduled distance.
Trick/Olimpic kart pilot Donavan Holt, of Semora, N.C., dominated Junior Purple
EL from state to finish. The eight-year-old spun a 15.957-seconds pole-winning
lap. He blasted into the early lead with Chase Hawkins behind him challenging
his lead. Holt held on. Once he reached the field’s tail he began putting lapped
karts between him and Hawkins. Hawkins passed every kart Holt did, but working
through the field gave Holt a chance to put some distance between them. When he
reached the stripe for the final time Holt held a 10.629-seconds lead over
Hawkins. Trevor Hawkins followed his brother and hand Brandon Williams following
in fourth.
AKRA asphalt racers will celebrate their 2008 season at an awards banquet. The
date, time and location of that banquet will be announced soon as will the 2009
race schedule.
August 21, 2008
WETZEL WINS FOUR
Story by Bruce C. Walls
Digital Images by
Bruce C. Walls and
Susan Taylor-Walls
WAMPUM, PA-Craig Wetzel won four American Kart Racing Association American
Speedway Championship Asphalt Series nationals at BeaveRun Motorsports Complex
Saturday August 16th. The Pittsburgh, PA based, Turner Racing Engines powered
Phantom Phenom kart pilot posted wins in both Animal Heavy and Stock Medium
offerings. Wetzel was among a record number of racers entered in round three of
four in AKRA’s growing Asphalt Series.
Racers and fans couldn’t have asked for better race weather. AKRA owner Bill
McCutcheon described it as, “ a Chamber of Commerce kind of day.” Temperatures
were in the mid 70’s with a slight breeze.
BeaveRun Motorsports Complex offered racers a practice day that Friday from 10
am to 3 pm for just $20. Many competitors took them up on that offer. Among
those practicing and racing were five members of Ted Swiontek’s TS Max Racecraft
team. They were there testing several of Swiontek’s new oval chassis. All five
were asphalt virgins who adapted quickly to the challenges of asphalt
competition. (see sidebar on TS Max Racecraft) “This has been a good opportunity
for my drivers to get asphalt experience. They seem to be adapting pretty well,”
said Swiontek.
Racers qualified for the first feature round. Starting positions for the second
round of feature races were based on moto-cross scoring. Wetzel started on both
Animal Heavy poles. He earned the initial pole with a 19.213-seconds rounding on
the ¼-mile, 26 foot wide asphalt tri-oval.
Wetzel rocketed away from Animal Heavy’s first feature field with outside pole
winner Jon Chapman threatening in the early going. Wetzel shook off Chapman’s
early challenges cruising to a comfortable 3.290-seconds cushion over Chapman at
the checkered flag. Further back in for the top five were Hank Branham, Thomas
Hawkins and Joey Maruca.
“We’ve been struggling with this chassis for awhile. It’s mainly a dirt chassis.
We’ve been working hard trying to figure it out for asphalt,” Wetzel said. “New
York (Chapel Hill Raceway) wasn’t too friendly to us, so coming here is like a
home track for us. I want to thank my dad most of all. He does all the work; I
just sit down and drive. It’s been a good day. The track came to us this
morning. So we’ve been lucky to be lucky. Everything’s working out for us.”
Chapman shot by Wetzel for the second Animal Heavy feature’s early lead. Behind
him Wetzel was locked in a three-way fight for second. After several laps Wetzel
secured second, set his sights on Chapman, closed the gap, set him up and passed
him for the lead. Once in charge Wetzel built the lead into a 6.449-seconds
finish line advantage over Chapman. This time Maruca, Branham and Hawkins filled
third through fifth.
Wetzel whipped around the track in 20.189-seconds for Stock Medium’s pole. From
there he held off Keith Fink who finished second. Wetzel earned his fourth win
in round two’s Stock Heavy. Kenneth Komray captured Stock Heavy’s pole with a
20.399-seconds lap. In the first feature Rougemont, N.C. racer Wesley Poole
roared into the early lead with Komray trailing a distant second. Komray closed
that gap and at mid race was back on Poole’s back bumper. But Poole prevailed to
the end where he owned a 0.109-seconds advantage over Komray.
“That was a tough one there. Kenneth (Komray) ran a good race. He qualified on
the pole and I didn’t know if I had anything for him, but this Laser kart took
off quick and we held it off at the end,” Poole described. “I want to thank P&P
Speed Shop for the great engines. I want to thank Jim Crone for all of his help,
Laser Racing Chassis, my dad for giving us the cash to get up here. I also want
to thank my wife for scraping tires all day. It was a great race and a great
run. We got a win in the book and I hope we can go for two.”
Later that day Wetzel and Poole fought for the second Stock Heavy feature’s
early lead. Poole grabbed the lead. Wetzel, Komray and John Smith were locked
nose-to-tail behind him. With five laps to go Wetzel got going and without
drafting assistance he powered past Poole for the lead. The top three stayed
lined up tight. They crossed the stripe with Wetzel grabbing his forth win of
the day.
“This track’s been good to us,” said Wetzel. “We didn’t change anything between
races. I’m just trying to figure out this Phenom kart and it’s finally coming
together. Again I give it all to my daddy. He does all the work. I sit down and
drive. It’s worked good so far.”
Four racers scored double wins that Saturday. Aaron Easler who topped the Stock
Lite offerings. Piloting a Turner Racing Engines powered TS Max Racecraft
prototype chassis, Easler earned the pole with a 20.590-seconds rounding. His
brother Ben, driving a similarly prepared machine, was second fastest at
20.717-seconds. The Easler brothers battled back and forth during the early
laps. After three laps of heated racing Aaron secured the lead and began pulling
away from his brother. At the halfway mark Easler was way ahead of his brother
Ben and the rest of the field. When he crossed the stripe the final time Aaron
was comfortably 6.047-seconds ahead of Ben. Behind Ben were Sylvan Easler and
Dave Primrose.
“Since this is all of our first time on asphalt it was nice just to be able to
run with them because they have a lite class,” Easler described. “It’s a lot
more fun to do that than get our butts kicked by some of these guys who do this
all the time. But it’s just been fun trying to figure out different ways to
adjust ourselves to the track and get better and better each time we go out. So
it’s been a neat experience.”
The second Stock Lite feature had Aaron hustling into the early lead with Ben
close behind. Aaron opened it up a little this time, but Ben stayed on his
tailpipe eventually stealing part of the lead. The battle continued down to the
day’s closest finish with Ben trailing by just 0.052-seconds in a side-by-side
photo finish across the stripe. As were in the first feature, Sylvan and
Primrose finished third and fourth.
“Given how the last one went he had some problems with his kart, the side
protector came off and that slowed him down a lot. I didn’t see him the whole
race once I got by him, so I thought I had a pretty comfortable gap, but he
passed me there,” Aaron explained. “I was able to kind of pinch him down in one.
Down in three I tried to make sure I stayed at the bottom and I finally got in
the grass at the bottom there. It was interesting. I had a problem trying to
block him there. It was fun.”
From qualifying through both features, 15-year-old Katonah, NY racer Tyler
Robertson ruled Junior Champ. Robertson rounded the track in 20.976-seconds for
the pole. Nick Giachetti and Ryan Douglas offered Robertson early challenges.
Robertson shook them off and opened the lead. Giachetti and Douglas began
battling for second giving Robertson a chance to run away with the lead. Chance
Wright fought his way from the rear to third and joined the fight for second.
Back at the front Robertson continued building on his lead. When the checkered
flag waved for Robertson he was comfortably 7.446-seconds ahead of Giachetti.
Wright ran third followed by Douglas.
“The kart was handling very well. It was excellent the whole race and the Turner
Racing Engine was very impressive,” said Robertson who pocketed $250 for the
win. “I just want to thank Freddie, Wayne, my dad, my brother and my mom.”
Robertson ran away with the second Junior Champ feature. Giachetti offered him
early challenges, but when the halfway signal was shown Robertson was long gone.
This time the finish line difference between Robertson and Giachetti was
7.619-seconds. Douglas and Wright were third and fourth.
“I was really trying hard this time. I didn’t know where they were on the
track,” Robertson said after his second win. “I would just like to thank Turner
Racing Engines, everyone from Laser, Freddy and Wayne.”
Following in his older brother’s tire tracks 12-year-old Patrick Robertson
posted both Junior Sportsman Champ feature wins. Robertson earned the pole with
a 22.307-seconds rounding. He and Mikey Giachetti scrapped side-by-side over the
first feature’s early lead. Robertson secured the lead after several laps.
Giachetti kept the pressure on until they got the mid-race signal. Derek Fry
challenged Giachetti for second. That gave Robertson a chance to open the lead
further. Fry secured second and went after Robertson. Fry tried to close the gap
but when it was over Robertson ruled by 0.365-seconds. Nose-to-tail behind Fry
in the top five were, Timm Brothers Cole and Ryan followed by fifth place
finisher Shawn Fry.
Fry flew into the second Junior Sportsman Champ’s early lead with Robertson
right behind him. Two laps later Fry bobbled in turn three. Robertson seized the
moment and the lead. Robertson had barely led a full lap when the day’s only
full course caution waved. Robertson led the restart and went back to work
building on his lead. Giachetti tried to keep up with Robertson who crossed the
stripe for the final time with a 1.303-seconds lead over Giachetti. Derek Fry
trailed in third, Cole Timm finished fourth followed by Jacob Thompson who
rounded out the top five.
“They were about to catch me,” Robertson admitted I just held on and went a
little lower. The kart was still handling great. Up the hill they were catching
me, but I just hung on. The motor was fine, I think the kart setup was a little
off and that’s why they were catching me. I’m proud of myself for what I did
today.”
Wayne Winters won both Senior Champ features from their poles. The Durham, N.C.
based CKI Racing Engines powered Laser kart pilot posted the pole time in
20.557-seconds. Outside pole winner Joey Maruca was right behind him each time.
In the first feature Maruca was 0.506-seconds late. He lost the second feature
by just 0.278-seconds.
“Joey’s a tough old character,” Winter’s described after his first win. “He just
moved up to champ karts this year and he’s one of the guys you’ve got to put the
stopwatch on when he comes out here. He’s really good on this track. I could
feel him behind me the whole race out there. I just figured he was setting me
up. He had on stickers and we were on used tires. I think he had a better choice
then we did. Again I want to add special thanks Dwayne Browning for taking care
of us with the CKI for the engine. We had plenty of horsepower and that helped
us off these corners we weren’t handling too good on.”
Fourth and final double winner Justin Haden soloed both Junior 2 Blue Plate
features.
Manassas, VA based Hawkins brothers, Chase and Trevor, topped the Junior 1
Purple Plate classes. Trevor led qualifying with a 22.933-seconds trip. Chase
was second fastest at 23.643-seconds. Trevor took the early lead with his
brother on his bumper. They were heading down the back straight for the third
time when Chase successfully challenged his brother. Chase, piloting a KSR
Racing Engines powered Titan kart, quickly built a comfortable gap over his
brother and the rest of the field. Behind him racers were battling for
positions. Brandon Abbott and Preston Cope drafted by Trevor dropping him to
fourth which is how they finished. Chase took the checkered flag. 6.029-seconds
later, it waved for Abbott.
“It was fun,” described the nine-year-old winner. “It’s a hard track, but it’s
fun because it’s got a dogleg and because you have to get on the breaks and all
the other tracks you don’t have to. The kart handled pretty good cause we got a
lot of grip out there. It’s a fast track because there’s a lot of rubber on the
track so you get a lot of grip here.”
Trevor took the second feature’s early lead and continued building on it to the
end. When it was over seven-year-old Trevor beat his brother by 1.802-seconds.
“I beat my brother off the start. The Mongoose kart handled good and the P&P
Speed Shop motor was strong,” Trevor credited.
AKRA asphalt racers have one more date on their 2008 national schedule,
September 19-20 at Orange County Raceway in Rougemont, N.C. That weekend event
will include the second annual “Firestone 500.” Sock Heavy racers will battle
for 300 laps, Senior Champ karts compete for 75-laps as will Junior 3 racers.
Junior Sportsman Champ racers will compete for 50-laps. For more information
visit the AKRA website at
www.americankarting.us.
August 8, 2008
Five Racers Take Double Wins at the Capital City Speedway VDKA Event
By Bruce C. Walls
ASHLAND, VA - Racers started entering Capital City Speedway in Ashland, Va.,
Friday night, July 25, 2008. By Saturday morning 290 racers were entered
in round five of seven 2008 Virginia Dirt Karting Association’s (VDKA)
races scheduled this season. Forecasters predicted a hot steamy day for
that Saturday - and it was. Temperatures neared triple digits and the heat
index was in the triple digits. Despite the heat, a crowd of spectators
filled the stands lining three-quarters of the track. They got to watch
five of those entries earn double wins.
First off the feature grid was 19 Restricted Junior Lite racers led by pole
winner ‘Flat’ Matt Bowling who rounded the ¼-mile clay oval in 14.290
seconds for that starting spot. The 14-year-old Ridgeway, Va., racer
hustled into the early lead. Before he could lead a lap the first of four
caution flags flew. With outside pole winner Nicolas Ogles behind
him, Bowling brought the field back to the green flag. Bowling blasted
away from the field leaving them to battle over the remaining
positions. He built a very comfortable lead in the first five laps before
caution waved again.
Bowling scrambled away from the field when racing resumed. Ogles secured second
and started reeling Bowling in. The third caution flag helped that effort.
Bowling rocketed away from Ogles and the rest of the field again only to
have another huge lead cut by the caution flag. “Those cautions
worried me a little bit because it took a couple of laps for the kart to
come in after each caution, but once it came in we were plenty good right
there,” Bowling said.
In the final laps, Bowling built a 2.200 second advantage over Ogles.
Lewes, Del., driver Brandon White was third across the stripe followed by
Brandon Brown and David Walker for the top five. “I want to thank my Mom
and Dad, Andy Murray, Eddie Mishue, and J.T.,” said Bowling.
Bradley Sacra spun Restricted Junior Heavy’s pole lap with a 13.566 second
trip. Bowling’s Mishue Motorsports-powered Eclipse chassis was second
fastest. This time 20 racers took the green flag. Bowling blasted by Sacra
and into the early lead. Five laps into it the first of two cautions
waved. Bowling led the restart. Before he could get back to the stripe
caution returned.
After the restart Sam Lilly challenged Bowling for the lead. Lilly looked
high and low for an opening then dropped back deep into the field. Brandon
Brown took second and offered a few challenges of his own before trailing
Bowling across the stripe 0.466 seconds later. Sacra, Ogles, and
Walker followed in third, fourth, and fifth.
Veteran kart racer Charles Vanlandingham took two champ class checkered flags.
Piloting a P&P Speed Shop-powered Trick/Olimpic chassis, the
Mechanicsville, MD-based double winner won Senior Champ Over 35’s pole in
13.784 seconds. After showing the field through two cautions,
Vanlandingham scampered away leaving Mark Sullivan and David Knighton
scrapping over second. Sullivan secured the position trailing
Vanlandingham by 1.367 seconds. Knighton was 1.690 seconds off the pace
followed in the top five by Wes Simmons and Mike Mitchell.
Chris Shepard spun Senior Champ Lite’s pole-winning lap in 13.475 seconds
while Troy Martin joined him on front row. Starting behind them in row two
were Matt Ridgeway and Vanlandingham. Shepard shot into the early lead
while Vanlandingham worked his way through the field. Vanlandingham
reached a distant second and began reeling in Shepard. The first of four
caution flags helped him close the gap. Shepard led the restart with
Vanlandingham and Ridgeway poised to take the lead from him. Vanlandingham
quickly took control of the field and led just long enough to take them
through the next one. Caution waved once more before it was over. In
the final laps, Wood challenged Vanlandingham’s lead several times and then
trailed him across the stripe 1.069 seconds later. Daniel Ryder,
Ridgeway, and Christopher Fahed followed in third through fifth.
“The restarts kind of worried me,” Vanlandingham said. “We had a lot of guys
behind us, a lot of really good competitors behind us. I knew I could get
away from them if they didn’t get by me on the restart. Carl Works Racing
has had us up front everywhere we go.”
Tanner Aman, of Caroline, Va., topped Senior Champ Heavy’s 20-racer field
nipping Vanlandingham by mere 0.098 seconds at the stripe. Buzz Moore
blistered the track with a 14.531 second pole-winning lap as Aman shared
front row with him. Vanlandingham quickly vaulted from fourth to the front
as he and Aman battled back and forth. Heading for the checkered flag,
they were door–to- oor as Aman got a nose on Vanlandingham at the stripe
for the photo finish. Four seconds later, Moore made it to the stripe followed
by Daniel Ryder and Troy Martin.
“I was going for the ride. I tried something several times to set me back up and
it finally did,” explained Aman who pilots an Ogles Racing Engines-powered
Olimpic Riddler chassis. The kart was a little tight but it was definitely
fast.”
Troy Doggett and Sean Keith Stanley swept the Junior Sportsman 1 and 2
offerings. Troy Schill spun Sportsman 1 Lite’s pole lap in15.045 seconds.
From the outside pole Doggett’s Moon Power South-powered Phantom shot into
the early lead leaving Schill and Zach Bullis, of Millsboro, Del., in a
dicey battle for second. Schill and Bullis surrendered their positions as
Chase Rawlings and Justin Kirby drafted by them taking over second and
third but in the final laps Dylan Jackson got by Bullis for fourth. At the
stripe, Doggett owned a very comfortable 4.750 second lead over Rawlings.
“Man, I can’t believe it. I had a straightaway and it started to flutter and I
can’t believe I made it,” beamed the 10-year-old Ruther Glenn, Va., based
winner. “The kart felt all right. I want to thank my parents, my crew and
my family.”
Joe Hall turned a 14.444 second top Heavy qualifying lap. Doggett was
second fastest again this time turning a 14.554 second lap. This time Hall
hustled into the early lead with Doggett threatening him at every corner.
Further back Rawlings was threading his way through the field heading for
the front. A caution flag on lap five halted the action. Hall led
them back to the green flag as battles forpositions resumed behind him.
Several laps later, caution returned for the final time. Hall led at the
restart. With Rawlings, Bullis, and Jackson behind him Doggett engineered
a freight train by Hall for the lead. Hall battled back to second and
tried to recapture the lead. His efforts fell short and he fell back
into the field. Rawlings retook second and offered Doggett several
challenges before trailing him across the stripe 0.277 seconds
later. Bullis, Jackson and Trevor Brightwell followed in third, fourth, and
fifth.
“Man, I can’t believe it that’s two times in a row,” Doggett beamed. “That
thing was loose. I don’t know who was right behind me, but I could feel
them in the crossover. I can’t believe I did it.”
With lap times of 14.392 and 13.597 seconds Stanley secured Junior
Sportsman 2 Lite and Heavy’s poles from where he mounted campaigns to the
checkered flags. In Lite’s opening laps Ryan Montgomery, Dallas Cosby and
outside pole winner Grayson Brightwell each threatened Stanley’s lead. On
lap five, the race’s only caution flag flew. Stanley led the restart with
Montgomery glued to his tailpipe. Montgomery got a piece of the lead, but
Stanley shot back by him recapturing it.
Stanley shook off Montgomery’s final challenges. Montgomery slipped back
to fourth as Dallas and Dustin Cosby worked together to draft by him.
Austin Babb battled his way to fourth and Van Davis followed him across the
stripe in fifth.
“He (Ryan Montgomery) passed me maybe halfway and he started blocking on
the last lap and I went on the inside of him and I spun him out,”
described the 11-year-old Amelia, VA based double winner. “I don’t know
what happened I just went down and I was thinking ‘Oh, please don’t let
anybody pass me’. I want to say a special thanks to my Mom and Dad, my
grandma, Trick Olimpic and Tod Miller Racing Engines; they all helped me.”
Babb was Heavy’s outside pole winner. After a failed first attempt to get
the 13-racer field started Stanley led them single file back to the green
flag. Stanley escaped from the field. In the final laps Babb reeled him
in. But behind Babb, Dustin Cosby was leading a freight train that
was coming fast. They got by Babb, but couldn’t continue the momentum past
Stanley who took the checkered flagwith a 0.813 second advantage over
Cosby. Montgomery, Brightwell, and Babb filled the rest of the podium.
“Oh, my gosh! Two in a row! I can’t believe it. I thought they had me,”
Stanley said. “They were coming up behind me. I looked behind me and I
just pulled away and I held on to the end. I don’t know what happened -
the kart was just fast today.”
Joey Mahanes clinched both Stock Raptor offerings, Medium and Heavy
(Raptor) from their poles he earned with lap times of 13.503 and 13.200
seconds. Mahanes was perfect in both. Dougie Young trailed him each time.
In Medium, he rocketed into the initial lead and built on it every lap. At
the end, he owned a very comfortable 4.6878 second cushion over Young.
Trailing Young in the top five of 10 were David Meade, Larry Phipps, and
Brad Foy.
“The kart was perfect. It was great! Jimmy (Ogles) did a great job with
the kart and helped me with the motors. He had it good all day. It was
fast,” Mahanes beamed after his first win.
Heavy was similar except his lead was cut by a late race caution that
tightened up the field. With just three laps left Mahanes led the restart.
Young stayed glued to his tailpipe battling side-by-side as they exited
turn four. It was a drag race to the stripe from there and a photo finish
when they got there with Young a mere 0.028 seconds late for the night’s
closest finish. This time Young was trailed across the stripe by Aaron
Markham, Foy, and Meade.
Three Briggs Animal classes competed that Saturday. Thomas Underwood
topped Animal Lite’s qualifying. Outside pole winner John Cunningham
captured the early lead as the field spread out evenly behind him. Third
fastest qualifier Josh Ayer whipped around Underwood for second crossing
1.766 seconds late. Underwood held onto third followed by Stephen Price
and Cody Jones in fourth and fifth.
Cunningham clocked Animal Medium’s pole lap blistering the track in 12.672
seconds for a new track record. Midlothian, Va., racer Jason “Higgy”
Higginbotham was second fastest at 12.951 seconds. Still under the 13
second mark were Chris Beazley and Josh Ayer as they lined up in row two.
After a failed first start Cunningham led them back to the green flag. Two
laps later the race’s only caution flag waved for the 17-racer field with
Cunningham still in the lead. Cunningham fought off challenges from Higgy
and Ayer holding onto the lead until the final lap. As he and
Beazley were battling for the lead they got together sending Cunningham
spinning. When Higgy came back around he was in the lead heading for the
checkered flag. Ayer trailed him 1.244 seconds later and was followed in
the top five were Beazley, Scott Bajer, of Mechanicsville, Va., and Stony Creek,
Va., racer Adam Beville.
“I’m not sure what happened on the last lap. I guess those guys got to
racing a little bit. It was a heck of a race. The kart started out real, real,
real loose. It came in and we got to battling on the last lap and I got a
good run off of turn two and got around him (Cunningham) on the outside.
When I came back around he was spun out and I don’t know what happened,”
Higginbotham, who pilots a TKS Racing Engines-powered Illusion Racing
Chassis, described. “It was a little bit loose in the beginning. I don’t
know why it was dancing all over the place. Then she started coming in I
started throwing into it in one and two after it got a little better.”
John Yancey fought his way from a fifth place start in Animal Heavy to a
first place finish. Mike Brightwell blasted out the pole winning lap in
13.578 seconds. Brightwell rocketed into the early lead with Yancey
jumping in behind him. Several laps later Yancey worked by Brightwell for
the lead bringing Bajer with him. Yancey and Bajer battled side-by-side
down the frontstretch heading for the checkered flag. They reached the
stripe with Yancey’s Lu Lu Motorsports-powered Phantom edging out Bajer by
0.047 seconds for the night’s closest finish. Brightwell was behind Bajer
in third, Higgy followed in fourth, Beville in fifth.
“I just tried to be patient. It was all I could do. I knew the tires would
come in about halfway through and they did and I lucked out,” They battled
a little bit when I got up there. I made some mistakes, but I just tried to be
patient and work my way up.”
Ryan Montgomery and Kyle Rigg ruled the Sportsman 2 Champ Lite and Heavy
classes. G. R. Waldrop was the fastest Lite qualifier. His 15.603 second
lap was 0.080 seconds faster than outside pole winner Montgomery. Rigg was
third fastest - as he would be in the Heavy class. Ryan Fisher joined him
on Lite’s second row. Waldrop had to start them off single file. Rigg
grabbed the early lead. Next time around 12-year-old Montgomery, of
Fairmont, W.V., stole the lead. Rigg rallied back the third time around.
They diced it up several more times before Rigg took the halfway signal.
The battle continued throughout the second half. Montgomery took it and
opened a 1.697 second lead over Rigg at the stripe. Fisher finished third,
Timothy O’Conner followed in fourth, and Ryan O’Conner crossed fifth.
“I just drove the race how I could and came home with the win,” said the
MC Motorsports-powered Phantom Icon pilot. “The Icon kart ran good, but it
was pushing a little in turns three and four. The MC Motorsports motor ran
good the whole race.”
Montgomery turned Sportsman 2 Champ Heavy’s fastest qualifying lap in
14.513 seconds. After a failed first start, Montgomery led the 11-racer
field single file out of turn four heading for the green flag. Montgomery
shot into the early lead with Rigg threatening to take it from him. Next
time around Rigg, of Ladysmith, Va., took it and showed the field for one
lap before Montgomery recaptured it. Rigg returned to the lead on lap four, but
before he could lead them back around caution waved for a second time.
Montgomery led the restart.
While Montgomery and Timothy O’Connor engaged in a lead swapping battle at
the front things were heating up behind them as racers battled for
positions. Two laps later Montgomery was leading when the caution flag
waved for the final time. Montgomery led the restart and next time around
Rigg led a freight train by him. Montgomery scrambled back to second and
tried to steal the lead from Rigg. Coming out of turn four for the final
they battled side-by-side for the checkered flag waving ahead of them.
Rigg’s Williams Motorsports-powered Phantom Phenom was first to the stripe
by a nose. Just 0.091 seconds separated them in the night’s second closest
finish. O’Connor crossed third, Ryan Fisher followed in fourth and
Christian Williams capped the top five.
“It was all the kart. That’s what I’d say,” credited the 13-year-old
winner, “The kart was good. I want to thank my Dad and Kerry Brown for the
kart.”
Two TaG (touch and go) classes competed, TaG Sprint and TaG Champ. Ernest
Jones earned TaG Sprint’s pole with a 13.640 second run. When the green
flag flew third fastest qualifier Conner Ezzell quickly glued his machine
to Jones’ Lee Williams Motorsports- owered Phantom chassis. They stayed
nose-to-tail for 20 laps crossing the stripe with Jones just 0.086 seconds
ahead for the night’s closest finish. Trailing Ezzell in the top five of
10 were George Powers, Justin Clark, and Nick Hall.
“I have no clue how I stayed in front of him (Ezzell). I just drove,”
Jones shrugged. “The kart was pretty good, but it started tightening up at
the end. She got really tight at the very end.”
John Testerman was fastest of four TaG Champ qualifiers spinning a 13.700
second lap. Greg Flagg was second fastest at 13.885 seconds. Rodney Heath
and Carter Sipe made up row two. When the green flag flew so did
Testerman. Behind him Flagg was glued to his tailpipe finishing just 0.448
seconds late at the stripe. Heath and Sipe followed in third and fourth.
In other 2-cycle action, Matt Tapman topped Yamaha with a 1.620 second
advantage over third fastest qualifier Nick Hall. Ezzell lapped the track
in 12.677 seconds for the pole. Billy Tapman shared front row with him.
Behind them, Hall and Stuart McCullough filled row two. Following a
fizzled first start, Ezzell led the 10-racer field back to the green flag
and zoomed into the early lead with Billy Tapman trailing a distant
second. Behind Billy Tapman, Hall was leading a freight train through the
field. At the halfway mark Hall engineered that freight train by Ezzell.
Hall barely led a lap when the race’s second caution flag flew. Hall
led the restart but Matt Tapman got a run on Hall after the restart and
zoomed into the lead, which he took to the stripe. Stuart McCullough was third
across the stripe followed by Ezzell and Justin Groome.
Jeff Bavaro clocked Senior Stock’s fastest qualifying lap in 13.071 seconds, but
when the checkered flag flew it was for third fastest qualifier Mike
Brightwell. Bavaro was second by 0.655 seconds followed in the top five by
Charlie Mizelle, Richard Taylor, and Jimmy Clarke.
Lap times of 13.186 and 13.382 seconds earned Jason Manes and Jimbo
Ackerman Stock Super Heavy’s top two starting positions. Behind them in
row two were Michael Alderman and Daniel Terry. Ackerman hustled into the
initial lead with Manes poised to take it from him. After a little lead
dicing, Manes secured the lead and built a comfortable cushion to take it
across the stripe with Ackerman trailing 2.140 seconds later. Filling
third through fifth were Michael Alderman, Billy Tweeden, and Timmy Hall.
“The kart was perfect. It was great! Jimmy (Ogles) did a great job with
the kart and helped me with the motors. He had it good all day. It was
fast,” credited the Powhatan, Va., based Moon Power South-powered Phantom
kart pilot.
Piloting a Cline Motorsports-powered Millenium kart, Chris Beasley, of
Bowling Green, Va., performed perfectly in Limited. After earning the pole
with a 12.943 second lap, Beasley beat Charlie Mizelle to the stripe by
2.720 seconds. Trailing in the top five were Kyle Ezzell, Cunningham, and
Beville.
“Ever since a few weeks ago I’ve been working really hard and Millenium
Karts has been helping me a lot. Paul Michaels, Higgy, and everybody
helped me,” Beazley explained. “We’re racing again and that’s what we
needed to do. I also want to thank and appreciate my wife - she just had
our little baby girl the first of the week - and I’ve been working hard
trying to get ready for this weekend. This win’s for them. They’re at home
waiting on me while I’m racing.”
Dylan Jackson, of Kernersville, N.C., fought his way from a fifth place
start to a first place finish in Sportsman 1 Champ. Cale Overstreet
clocked the pole time in 15.693 seconds. Overstreet and DJ Cunningham
fought hard in the early laps trading the lead back and forth. In the
final laps, Jackson joined the battle for the lead powering his Tod Miller
Racing Engines-powered Rage Kart into the lead with five laps left.
Jackson and Overstreet battled side-by-side heading for the checkered
flag. In a photo finish, Jackson nipped Overstreet at the stripe by just
0.083 seconds. Cunningham captured third and was followed in the top five
by Testerman and Doggett.
“The number 11 (Cale Overstreet) and T. J. Cunningham got together and I
went under them,” described the 8-year-old Richmond,Va., racer. “The kart
handled good. I want to thank Rage Karts, Scotty Bajer, my Dad, my Grandpa and
Tod Miller.”
Spencer Malick spun Junior Champs fastest qualifying lap in 14.483seconds.
Sixteen-year-old Derrick Rice, of Kernersville, N.C., was second fastest
at 14.493 seconds. After two fizzled attempts to start the 10-racer field,
Malick finally got them going single file. Rice and Brandon Brown were
behind him working together. They drafted by Malick dropping him to third.
Rice powered his way into a huge lead by mid-race. Behind him the battle
was for second. Malick wrestled his way back to second, but by then Rice
was at the stripe with a 4.002 second advantage. Sam Hunt, J. D. Eversole
and Temie Bottoms completed the top five.
“The reason we didn’t start off first is because we forgot to turn the
fuel on, but once we did that everything kind of just fell into place,”
explained the Mishue Motorsports-powered Eclipse kart pilot. “I figured I
might as well get out there and lead while we had a chance to see what we
could do and sure enough turned out for the better for it. I’m just glad.
I wanted to win here last time, but I had more problems then. I was just
lucky enough to pull out a second here last time so this is a really
special win.”
VDKA racers have two more dates remaining on their 2008 schedule. On
September 20th, they return to Amelia Motor Speedway then on October 4th
they end their season at Margarettsville Speedway in Margarettsville, N.C.
--
Bruce C. Walls
Action Enterprises, Inc.
Action Sports Photos/Action Sports Promotions
P.O. Box 914 Bethany Beach, De 19930
Phone/Fax 302.537.7223
E-mail bwalls@fast.net or
sportsshooter@verizon.net
www.actionpicsandpromos.com
www.kartingkomments.com
www.thebruceblog-news.blogspot.com
June 30, 2008
Local Racers Earn Super National Wins
Words and Images by:
Bruce C. Walls
AYDEN, N.C.-Zachary Bullis of Millsboro, DE and Alex White, of Lewes, DE, earned national kart racing wins last Saturday (June 28th) at Southern Pitt Raceway in Ayden, N.C. during the American Kart Racing Association’s (AKRA) Super Nationals. Bullis was a double winner topping both Sportsman 1 Purple Plate and White won the first Sportsman 2 feature.
Piloting a Phantom Racing Chassis powered by a P&P Speed Shop prepared motor,
Bullis produced pole times of 15.629 and 15.797-seconds on the ¼-mile clay oval. When the first green flag flew Bullis blasted away from the field battling for positions behind him. Bullis extend his lead every lap. Before ending the 20-lap feature with a 12.332-seconds advantage over second place Austin Smith, Bullis lapped the field.
“The kart was a little loose and I thought they would be on my bumper so I just drove it as hard as I could,” Bullis explained in Victory Lane. “I wasn’t worried about traffic, I can go through traffic ok. The kart was good and P&P Speed Shop gave me plenty of power.”
Bullis repeated his perfect performance in the second feature. This time Brayton Haws trailed him under the checkered flag 9.302-seconds later. As a Super National winner Bullis earned 50-bonus points towards his season tally. Bullis entered Saturday’s race ranked fourth nationally 394-points behind national leader Spencer Davis. His weekend wins strengthen his quest for the national championship.
White’s 0.079-seconds victory margin over Trey Tarlton on the ¼-mile clay oval was the event’s closest finish. White hustled into the early lead with Tarlton trying to take it from him. Tarlton challenged White’s Mishue Motorsports powered Galaxy Kart at every corner. White held on out powering Tarlton down the speedway’s long straights. “The kart handled good and Eddie Mishue gave me a powerful motor,” credited 11-year-old White. Tarlton keep the pressure on him down to the stripe. Crossing behind Tarlton in the top five were Austin Babb, Matthew Brown and Sean Keith Stanley.
“I don’t know how I stayed in the lead. I just drove it they way I wanted to,” White explained. White and the other Super National competitors earned 50- bonus points towards their national ranking. . White entered Saturday’s race ranked ninth. White’s win will help him close in on the top five national competitors.
White’s older brother Brandon competed in Sportsman 3 Gold. He posted finishes of fourth and third respectively. Labor Day Weekend the Whites will rejoin hundreds of kart racers for the next American Speedway Dirt Championship Series national this one hosted by the Georgia Karting Komplex in Carnesville, GA. The series season finale’ will be held October 10-11 at the Myrtle Beach Motor Sports Complex in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
For more information about the American Kart Racing Association visit their website at www.akrainc.com or call the office in Monroe, N.C. at 704.764.8138.
June 17, 2008
|
|||
|
|||
|
June 9, 2008
Tyler Walker Triples At Chapel Hill AKRA National
Story by Bruce C. Walls
Photos by:
Susan Taylor –Walls
Bruce C. Walls
CHAPEL HILL, N.Y.-At a time when other national touring series are seeing
entries decline the American Kart Racing Association (AKRA) is
experiencing just the opposite-growth. Even with the threat of rain, this
year’s American Championship Speedway Asphalt Series witnessed an
impressive 45% entry increase over last year’s event.
Forecasters were predicting a 70% chance of rain that Saturday May 31st
Racers got two hours of practice before their driver’s meeting where AKRA
officials offered them two choices for qualifying: The usual group
qualifying or allowing a computer to do a random pick for the first race
with fields inverted for the start of the second round of features. Racers
voted for the second option giving them a better chance of getting to do
what they traveled to Humphrey, N.Y. to do-race.
Fifteen-year-old Tyler Walker of North Tonawanda, N.Y was the day’s
standout. Walker was a triple winner. His hat trick started with a win in
the first Junior 2 Blue main where he beat Braeden Bilinsky to the stripe
by a comfortable 6.565-seconds. The computer selected Bilinsky for the
pole and he quickly hustled into the early lead with Walker threatening
from behind. On their third trip around the 1/7th-mile high banked oval
Walker blasted by Bilinsky for a never surrendered lead to the finish.
Wins two and three came in round two starting again with Junior 2 Blue
where this time Blinsky was 5.817-seconds behind Walker. “I’m a good driver and
I have experience,” Walker said. “The kart was smooth, really smooth. I
barely had to turn the steering wheel at all.”
Walker completed his hat trick with a win in Junior Sportsman Champ round
two. Patrick Robertson and Walker started in the rear of the inverted
field. They quickly battled through the field taking their battle back to
the front where Robertson grabbed the lead. He and Walker swapped the lead
on the second and third times around. Robertson recaptured the lead, held
it under the halfway signal and took the five to go signal.
Walker was all over Robertson’s back bumper. With time and distance closing fast
Walker made a charge for the lead and took it. Robertson tried to take the
lead back at every corner. Walker held on crossing the stripe with a
0.254-second. Derek Fry, Taylor Shaw and Shawn Fry filled the top five.
“It was exciting. Patrick (Robertson) was really fast,” Walker described.
“The kart was a little bit tighter this time,” he said adding, “It’s been
fun here today winning three races. I want to thank my sponsors Pizza Logg,
Valvoline and Torco Racing Fuels for all of their support.”
Robertson, of Katonah, N.Y., turned the tables on Walker in Junior
Sportsman Champ’s second main. He and Taylor Shaw shared front row.
Robertson rocketed away with Walker desperately trying to close the gap.
He wouldn’t as Robertson’s Capps Racing Engines powered Vendetta Kart
narrowly beat him to the finish line by just 0.123-second. Derek Fry
finished third, Mickey Giachetti followed in fourth and Shawn Fry was
fifth.
“I don’t know how I beat him (Tyler Walker). A lapped kart messed me up. He
(Walker) was fast and it was just great competition on the last lap. He
stayed up a little bit and I got underneath him. The Vendetta Kart handled
great. Freddie, Wayne and my dad setup the kart and they really made it a great
kart.”
Double winner Wesley Poole proclaimed, “This was an incredible weekend.
We, me and Bob Stanley’s son Joseph Everett, drove 10- ours from North
Carolina started four classes and won four races.” Poole and Everett were two of
four double winners that Saturday.
Everett swept the Junior 1 Purple Plate offerings; Poole produced both Stock
Heavy wins. Trevor and Chase Hawkins shared the first Junior 1’s front
row. When the green flag flew Everett quickly advanced from third to first
taking the lead from Chase Hawkins on the second circuit. After grabbing
the lead Everett expanded on it every lap. Under the halfway signal he was
nearly four seconds ahead of his closest pursuer Chase Hawkins. When
Everett reached the stripe his P&P Speed Shop powered Phantom kart was
comfortably 5.791-seconds ahead of Hawkins.
“It was an awesome race,” described the 11-year-old winner from Henderson, N.C.
“I’m really lucky to come up here from North Carolina and win my first
time on the track. I’m just pumped right now.”
Poole was on the first Stock Heavy’s pole from where he commanded the field
flag-to-flag. Behind him Kenneth Komray and Dan Spilker scrapped over
second. Komray secured second trailing Poole by 5.687-seconds at the
stripe.
“We’ve been chasing this thing for a long time and everything came together
today. The Laser Kart was working awesome. It was a rocket ship out of the
corners and down the straight-aways,” described Poole of Rougemont, N.C.
“Jeffery builds awesome engines. He’s kept me going for six or seven years
now and I get awesome motors every time. I also want to thank my fiancée
Christen she works hard as always on the kart. We’re getting married in two
weeks. We’ve been dating for eight-years and she’s been with me at the
track ever since. She’s the love of my life and we’re to get married and
raise some kids who are going to be racers someday. I want to thank my dad
for his support over the years, Jim Crone, Stan Oliver, my buddies who are
here racing with me, Bob Stanley, Joseph Everett he won his class too so
right now we’re two races and two wins. I’d like to see two more.”
He did. Battling his way from the field’s rear Everett quickly passed
pole winner Chase Hawkins for the lead. Everett expanded on his lead
building a 9.801-seconds finish line advantage over Hawkins for his
second win of the day.
Poole started in the second Stock Heavy race’s rear. Pouring on the power Poole
passed his way back into the lead. Once there he built a full lap
advantage over Spilker before taking the checkered flag. In victory lane
Poole proclaimed. “You can’t beat that. It’s been a great weekend. You
can’t beat it. It’ll be a short ride home.”
Thomas Hawkins, of Manassas, VA, topped the Animal Heavy races beating
Brandon Shaw both times. The first time Shaw was 2.048- econds late and in
the second race he trailed Hawkins by 4.806-seconds.
“I got real lucky on the last lap,” Hawkins, who pilots a KSR Racing Engines
powered Mongoose Chassis, said of his second win. “The front guy spun out
and I went around him. I’ll take it obviously. I want to thank my wife and
kids for supporting me. The first win was good, real good. The kart came
around and we brought it home, it was real good.”
Slickville, PA Laser Kart pilot Joey Maruca swept the Senior Champ classes
narrowly beating defending AKRA national champion Wayne Winters of Durham, N.C.
both times. In the first race Winters and Maruca battled for the early
lead with Winters taking it. On the third trip around Maruca muscled by
Winters for the lead. Winters kept the pressure on trailing Maruca by just
0.825-second. Filling out the field behind Winters were Shane Ixos and
Emily Flaim.
Maruca and Winters started in the back of the pack when Senior Champ
racers took their second initial green flag. Battling side-by- ide the two
Laser pilots threaded their way to the front with Maruca leading. Winters
threatened at every corner, but Maruca revailed to the finish leading
Winters by 1.223-seconds.
“We just had a pretty decent kart and a lot of help from Freddy and Wayne
to get where we’re at today,” Maruca stated adding, “I’m just glad we had
two Lasers in the top two today.”
Tyler Robertson and Chelsey Friel won the Junior Champ mains. The computer
selected Robertson for the pole and he quickly took advantage of that
starting position. A light rain began falling as Robertson rounded the
circuit the third time. Friel was right behind him challenging him for the
lead. Robertson held it as Tyler Strickland closed in on Friel and battled
by her. Strickland set his sites on Robertson. They were just beginning to
battle for the lead when the race’s only caution flag flew.
“The caution didn’t worry me. I was confident in my Laser kart. The kart handled
very well the whole race,” said Robertson a 14-year- ld Katonah, N.Y.
Capps Racing Engines powered Laser kart pilot.
Robertson led the restart. After shaking off challenges from Strickland
Robertson rallied on to take the checkered flag with a narrow 0.145-second
victory margin over Strickland. Friel finished third, Nick Giachetti
followed in fourth and Hayden Newcomb completed
the top five.
“It got a little rough at the end, but that was about it,” Robertson said.
“The Capps Racing Engine was awesome as always. I want to thank Freddie, Wayne
and my folks.”
Friel, daughter of track co-owner Mike Friel, rocketed away from the field
in the second feature. She raced untouched to a very comfortable
2.159-seconds victory margin over Strickland. Robertson ran third and was
followed in the top five by Nick Giachetti and Newcomb.
According to Friel, a 15-year-old based X-Caliber Racing Engines powered
Rage kart pilot “I had a little pressure from behind. I hit my marks every
time. The chassis handled good really good and the motor was strong.”
Piloting a New Concept by Ivers chassis powered by an X-Caliber racing
engine, Fletcher Macomb hustled into Junior 3 Gold’s early lead. Behind
him Tyler Gauthier and Hayden Newcomb were scrapping over second. In the
final laps Gauthier tried close the gap. When Macomb reached the stripe
Gauthier was 0.592-seconds behind. Newcomb and Brandon Yuhouse completed
the field.
According to 13-year-old Macomb, “The new chassis was awesome, it was
hooked up and the X-Caliber motor was pulling strong. They got wide enough
for me to get in there and take the lead.”
Newcomb, of Warsaw, N.Y, broke into the second Junior 3 Gold main’s early
lead with the rest of the field locked nose-to-tail behind him. Fighting
an ill steering machine Newcomb held onto the lead as Gauthier tried to
grab it from him. It took less than a second for the field to cross the
finish line. Gauthier was 0.310-seconds behind Newcomb. Further back
Yuhouse was 0.788-second late and Macomb was 0.968-second later.
“I have no clue how I won this race. I honestly don’t,” Newcomb said
shaking his head in disbelief. “The Phantom Icon kart was horrible it was
terrible. Shorty’s motor ran good, but they changed something that made it
20 times harder to steer.”
National AKRA asphalt racers are now halfway through their 2008 tour. Next
they travel to BeaveRun Motorsports Complex in Wampum, PA August 15th
followed by their season finale’ at Orange County Kartway in Rougemont,
N.C. September 15-16 which will also be the dates for the Firestone 500.
For more information on AKRA’s National American Speedway Asphalt Series
can visit the AKRA website at www.akrainc.com
or by calling the office at 704-764-8138.
Bruce C. Walls
Media/Marketing Director
American Kart Racing Association
e-mail-bruce.walls@akrainc.com
Phone (302) 537.RACE (7223)
www.americankarting.us
For Immediate Release:
April 16, 2008
THE MONEY’S AT MARGARETTSVILLE
By Bruce C. Walls
MARGARETTSVILLE, N.C.-Bud and Brenda Byrum, owners of Margarettsville Speedway
in Margarettsville, N.C. are offering racers a money series this season. The
five race N.C./VA Money series runs from March 15th through August 16th with a
September 27th rain date scheduled if needed. Competitors must run four of the
five races to qualify for year-end awards. Seventeen classes will be offered,
nine flathead and eight Animal.
Stock Medium and Animal Heavy winners will earn $1,000 guaranteed, no kart
minimum, $60 entry fee. Stock Lite and Heavy will pay $1,000 with 20-kart
minimums, $500 is guaranteed in each class. Junior Sportsman 2 Heavy’s winner
pockets $500. Entry fees for those classes are $60 and $40. Also offered with a
$40 entry fee and offering $300 to win will be Junior Sportsman 1 Lite, with a
20-kart minimum, and Heavy with no minimum entries. Junior Restricted Lite and
Heavy are guaranted $300. If 20-karts enter Heavy the purse climbs to $500. The
Junior Restricted classes have a 20-kart minimum. All other classes are $500 to
win with 20-kart minimums.
Maxxis will be the spec tire for flat karts any compound. Champ kart tires will
be the racer’s choice of Maxxis or Burris. Mufflers will be required. Engine
tech will follow WKA rules and all classes will be teched.
Gates open at 7 am, practice starts at 9 am with drivers meeting, qualifying and
races to follow. There will be a $15 gate fee, $5 per driver for insurance to be
paid at registration. Reserved parking is $15.
The first race, March 15th had 284 entries. A total purse of $15,000 was paid
out. The next race is May 10th. For more information visit Margarettsville
Speedway’s website at
www.magarettsvillespeedway.com or call Bud and Brenda Byrum at 252-589
1004, the track phone is 252-589-2750.
AKRA championship Eagle trophies and leather racing jackets
Photo by Susan
Taylor-Walls
April 15, 2008
AKRA Asphalt Racers Recognized at Awards Banquet
Story by Bruce C. Walls
Photos by Susan Taylor-Walls
BURLINGTON, N.C.-More than $10,000 in trophies, plaques and prizes were handed
out to American Kart Racing Association 2007 American Speedway Championship
Asphalt Series Friday April 11th during a dinner awards banquet held at the
Cutting Board Restaurant in Burlington, N.C. Prizes handed out that weekend
included a 55-gallon drum of racing fuel, valued at $450, donated by Torco
Racing Fuels and Vickery’s Speed Shop.
AKRA President/C.E.O. opened his association’s first asphalt awards banquet
thanking drivers for competing and his staff for making it all possible. He
thanked WMS Products, Vickery’s Speed Shop, Torco Fuels, ATKPA Event Insurance,
Lucas Oil, Mark Hall Motors, ARC Racing, My-Chron Systems, Race/Tech, Inc.,
Larry Jones Motorsports and G-Man Kart Works for sponsoring the pole awards.
McCutcheon also told those in attendance that sponsorship deals with Lucas Oil
and the new www.myracelife.com and Bridgestone/Firestone were in the works.
Ward, S.C. competitor Mark Hall took top honors. Hall was crowned champion in
four classes; Stock Lite, Medium, Heavy and Animal Heavy. Hall and the other
Class Champions received platinum rings, leather championship jackets and a $450
gift certificate to Vickery’s Speed Shop.
Tyler Walker of Tonawanda, N.Y., who won the 55-gallon drum of fuel, was crowned
Junior Sportsman 2 Champion. “I had a lot of fun last season in this class,”
said Walker who added his most memorable race of the season was winning two
races at BeaveRun Motorsports Complex national.
According to Chance Wright, of Marietta, OH, winning Junior Sportsman Champ’s
title “took a lot of work,” Wright also said, “The last race of the season is
the one I’ll remember most when Tyler and I were close, really close and it came
right down to the end.”
Winning Junior 3 Gold’s Race 2 title took, “Dedication and support from my
family,” said Champion Cody Fairchok. John Blacker, of Neffs, OH, won the Junior
3 Gold’s Race one title.
Rage Karts factory pilot Tyler Strickland, of Medina, OH, topped Junior Champ
points chase. John Blacker was runner up and Fairchok finished the season third
overall.
Durham, N.C. driver Wayne Winters won Senior Champ’s title.
Now that Champions in the 2007 season have be recognized it’s time to look ahead
to the 2008 schedule. The first race of 2008 witnessed record entries that
Saturday at Orange County Raceway. May 31st AKRA Asphalt racers will be
competing at Chapel Hill Raceway in Humphrey, N.Y. From there they travel to
BeaveRun Motorsports Complex for round three August 16th. Their final race of
the 2008 season is scheduled for September 19-20 which will also include the
newly reformatted Firestone ‘500.’
April 15, 2008
Walker Wins Four At AKRA ORC Asphalt National
Story by Bruce C. Walls
Photos by:
Photos
Bruce C. Walls
Susan Taylor-Walls
ROUGEMONT, N.C.-American Kart Racing Association (AKRA) President/C.E.O Bill
McCutcheon vowed if entries in round one of the 2008 American Speedway
Championship Asphalt Series raced at Orange County Raceway April 12 reached 150,
for their one day format, he would flood the infield and do a mud dive belly
flop.
He almost had to! While many karting groups and associations are experiencing
declining kart counts, AKRA’s Asphalt Series season opener saw entries climb 60%
over last year’s inaugural race. If just 12 more racers had entered, there would
have been a Kodak moment.
After a total rain out the week before for their Dirt Series opener at
Margarettsville Speedway in Margarettsville, N.C., AKRA officials kept a nervous
eye to the sky. All week forecasters predicted the same for that weekend over
Orange County Raceway in Rougemont, N.C. Saturday morning racers woke to thick
gray skies. Race officials decided to get the features in several changes had to
be made. Practice was limited to a couple of quick rounds. Qualifying was
replaced by a random computer pick for the first round and fields were inverted
for the start of their second feature race.
A 45-minute shower that started just after Senior Champ’s checkered flag flew
interrupted round one. Track owner Ollie Spain and his crew had their ¼-mile
asphalt oval dry in less than an hour. Racing resumed and was completed before
sunset.
That Saturday Tyler Walker, of Tonawanda, N.Y., went four for four. Walker, the
reigning Junior Sportsman 2 champion defended his title winning both features
along with sweeping the Junior Sportsman Champ offerings. “It’s pretty cool
winning four races here today,” said the 12-year-old quadruple winner. Dylan
Izzo trailed him in both Junior Sportsman 2 races. Izzo was 0.188-second late in
photo finish first feature and by 3.840-seconds in the second feature. Rage
Karts owner Jeff Hoisington offered any double champ class winner a $50 bonus,
which Walker pocketed.
Laser kart pilot Wayne Winters also pocketed $50 from Rage Karts for winning
both Senior Champ contests. Winters, of Durham, N.C., dominated the eight racer
fields with Joe Maruca, of Slickville, PA, following by 3.961 and 3.767-seconds.
“I don’t know where they were behind me,” Winters said after his first win. “The
Laser Kart was pretty good. Freddy put some new tires on the kart and it ran
close to what we thought it would run today. I was glad to see at the end of
20-laps it was still turning about the same times. That’s what we got. If they
out run us, they out run us, that’s all we got today.”
Three others were also double winners. Creedmoor, N.C. competitor Brandon Warren
bagged both Junior 3 Gold races. Warren, piloting an X-Caliber Racing Engines
powered Phantom kart, had Tyler Gauthier trailing him both times. The first
feature was a nail bitter to the finish where after swapping the front several
times Warren edged Gauthier out by just 0.131-second.
“We had a good race,” said the 14-year-old double winner after his first win. “I
appreciate him racing me clean. He was getting me coming off turn two, but it
seemed like coming off three and four I just got a run on him going into one. I
just want to thank him for running me clean. I appreciate all of these guys
coming out here to race. I want to thank Dunamis Clutches, X-Caliber Racing
Engines, my Uncle Wayne for all the help he does, my Uncle Jason and just
everybody that helps us.”
Kenneth Jones, of Albemarle, N.C. was also a double winner. Jones, piloting a
Todd Miller Racing Engines powered Phantom Icon chassis won both Stock Heavy
Features earning him $1,000. The first Stock Heavy feature went down to the
wire. Maruca quickly put his CKI powered Laser chassis out front early. He held
the lead with Jones threatening for 19-laps. On the final lap Jones saw an
opening, pulled along side Maruca and powered past him. Maruca fought back
getting beside Jones as they headed for the checkered flag down the front
straight. When they reached the stripe Jones took it with only 0.005-of a second
advantage. Kyle Appel, Wesley Poole and Kyle Long completed the top five as they
would again in the second race where Kirby Howe took second following Jones by
just 0.264-of a second.
“I just got a good run on the very last lap,” Jones explained. I got a run and I
had to take it for $500 bucks. You don’t get to race for that very often, so
you’ve got to go for races like this one. Truly I didn’t think I had anything
for him until that last lap. I got a good run on him and made the pass. I just
lucked out and got it. The kart was excellent. We’ve been working on it all day
and it came through and won the race.”
Donovan Holt, of Semora, N.C., dominated the day’s first feature Junior 1 Purple
Plate. Holt quickly shot by pole winner Trevor Hawkins for the early lead. He
never looked back as racers battled for positions behind him. The Hawkins
brothers scrapped over second. Finally Chase secured it as Holt threaded his way
through the field. Holt put the field down a second lap with Chase desperately
trying to close the gap. On lap 18 Holt turned the race’s fastest lap in
15.747-seconds. When he took the checkered flag Hawkins was 6.633-seconds
behind. Trevor crossed third followed by Taylor Stone and Trey Fegrt in fourth
and fifth.
“I just go fast,” boasted 8-year-old Holt. “The Olimpic kart handled good and
the C&T motor had plenty of power,” Holt added with thanks to his parents.
Holt also won one of two local option EL Tire Classes, Junior 1 Purple EL Tire.
He took the final flag with a full lap advantage over second place Brandon
Williams.
Kirby Howe of nearby Butner, N.C. captured the other local option class Stock
Heavy EL. “We got lucky and started out front,” Howe said. “I didn’t really know
how the kart was going to be. It wasn’t that great at the beginning,”
Howe and DJ Beverly pulled ahead of the field for a lead swapping battle. After
a few laps Howe secured the lead and pulled ahead of the field spreading out
evenly behind him. Kyle Appel began challenging Beverly for second taking the
position before the checkered flag flew. When it did Howe was 1.555-seconds
ahead of Appel. Beverly held onto third followed by Drew Fegat and Jerry Goss
for the top five.
“Towards the end it came around and we got to lead the race and just kept it
there,” Howe explained. “I just want to thank G-Man Kart Works, MY-Chron Mike,
Tod Miller Racing Engines, my family, my mom and dad, Kenneth Jones, Wayne
Tilley he couldn’t be here today and everybody else that helped me.”
Round two’s features started with Chase Hawkins, of Manassas, VA, wining Junior
1 Purple Plate followed by his father, Thomas, winning Animal Heavy. Chase
rocketed into the early lead with his brother Trevor trailing. Trevor turned the
race’s fastest lap time rounding the ¼-mile asphalt oval in 16.231-seconds on
the third lap. But it wasn’t enough for him to reel in his brother who took the
checkered flag with a 10.207-seconds advantage.
“ It was a good race,” described 8-year-old Chase as he kept an eye on his dad
in Animal Heavy. “The Mongoose kart handled pretty good and the P&P Motor was
strong. It’s been really good for us we’ve been winning with it at a lot of
other tracks. I want to thank my dad for helping me out with the kart and buying
all the engines and all of that.”
Thomas crossed Animal Heavy’s stripe with a 7.867-seconds edge over Brandon
Shaw. “It was great. The kart was a little loose in the first race. We tightened
it up and it was flying, no question about it. I also want to thank KSR Racing
Engines, they’re the best motor builder around here that I know of,” Thomas said
in victory lane.
Akin, S.C. competitor Justin Fulmer won the first Animal Heavy feature. Brandon
Shaw started on the pole, but quickly surrendered the lead to Fulmer who
engineered a freight train by him. Hawkins and William Munro followed Fulmer
taking second and third dropping Shaw to fourth, which is how they would finish.
“I knew if I got a good start and got away from them I could do good and I did
it on the first lap,” Fulmer explained adding, “ About mid way the kart
tightened up a little bit so we’ll make some adjustments for the next race.”
Tyler Robertson, of Katonah, N.Y. and Tyler Strickland, of Medina, OH, split the
Junior Champ features finishing second to each other. Strickland trailed
Robertson by 1.557-seconds in the first feature and in turn Robertson followed
Strickland by 0.867-of a second in the second feature.
“It was the Laser chassis and Capps Engine,” credited 14-year-old Robertson.
“The Kart handled good it was very consistent. I want to thank Wayne, my dad, my
mom and my brother.”
Robertson roared into a big early lead with Strickland and Humphrey, N.Y.
competitor Chesley Friel scrapping over second behind him. Friel finished third
and was followed by Cody Fairchock and Brandon Meeks for the top five.
Meeks was on the pole for the second feature. After a failed first attempt to
get started Meeks led the field single file back to the green flag. Strickland
and Robertson quickly raced by Meeks for the top two positions. It stayed that
way to the end where Strickland crossed the stripe 0.867-second ahead of
Robertson. Friel and Fairchock finished fourth and fifth.
“I had a great kart all day,” described Strickland, a 14-year-old Rage Karts
factory pilot powered by Turner Racing Engines. “In the first race we got into a
little competition over there. We got a little banged up during the start of the
first race. We came back strong, had a good kart and had a great day. I want to
thank all of my sponsors and everyone that helped.”
Kevin Nobley of Ashland, N.H. and Keith Fink, of Canton, OH, won stock Medium’s
features. Dusty Long drew the pole position. When the green flag flew Fink and
Nobley quickly got by Long. Two laps into it Nobley piloted his New England Kart
Center powered Riddler kart by Fink. They race around nose-to-tail for several
laps before Fink recaptured the lead. Nobley kept the pressure on to the end. As
they exited turn four a lapped kart got between them causing Nobley to get into
Fink who spun out.
“I feel terrible about it. We were going by a lapped kart. He (Fink) lifted and
I got into him. He should have won the race, but I got into him,” said Nobley.
“It was my fault, but there’s not much I can do about it. I apologize to him,
but I’ll take the win. The kart was handling pretty good. I’ve got one more race
coming up. I’ll make some changes and see if I can get it a little bit better so
we can win some money.”
Nobley and Fink shared the second Stock Medium’s front row. Nobley hustled into
the initial lead with Fink’s Dark Side Racing Engines powered Millenium kart
following. Fink trailed for a couple of laps before taking the lead from Nobley.
Once in charge Fink kept a firm control over the lead to the finish.
“It was a good race. I just tried to stay out front, run smooth and hold my
position in the beginning,” Fink said adding, “The Millenium Kart handled great
and I want to thank JT and Benita, Alan Skeslocks of Dark Side Racing Engines
for the motor. Everything was running great.”
Now that round one is in the record book AKRA Speedway Asphalt Championship
racers are preparing for their second race of the season scheduled for May 31st
at Chapel Hill Speedway in Humphrey, N.Y. August 16th BeaveRun Motorsports
Complex in Wampum, P.A. will host round three followed by the 2008 season
finale’ which will be held September 19th and 20th at Orange County Raceway.
That weekend will include the newly reformatted Firestone 500.
For Sale
Champ Kart For Sale and it comes with eight mounted
tires, extra
gears and other stuff for $1,300. email
redbud69racing@aol.com or call 302-846-3621
Or Bruce Walls
bwalls@fast.net
March 19, 2008
AKRA Dirt Racers Celebrate 2007 Season
Story by Bruce C. Walls
Photos by Susan Taylor-Walls
Stock Medium’s top five. Center with Eagle trophy Jamie Knopf-
back row Shay Chavous, Brett Miller, Aaron Sapp and Walt Barnes
Stock Heavy’s top five. Jamie Knopf center with
Eagle
Trophy-back row left to right Brett Miller, Walt Barnes, Josh Haire and
Shane Bass.
Stock Medium’s top five. Center with Eagle trophy
Jamie
Knopf-back row Shay Chavous, Brett Miller, Aaron Sapp and Walt Barnes
All Photos by
Susan Taylor-Walls
DEXTER, GA-Competitors in the American Kart Racing Association 2007 American
Speedway Championship Dirt Series celebrated their accomplishments during a
dinner banquet held Friday February 29, 2008 at the Dexter Community Center in
Dexter, GA.
Class champions received a custom leather champion’s jacket valued at $400 and a
custom designed ring valued at $190 along with other products. In all more than
$20,000 in gift certificates and merchandise was distributed that evening.
Jamie Knopf, of Lancaster, S.C, earned a trio of titles. With Greer, S.C.
competitor Brett Miller trailing him in points, Knopf took titles in Stock Lite
Medium and Heavy. Brunswick, GA racer Aaron Sapp ended the season trailing
Miller in Lite and Medium. Double champion Josh Haire was third in Stock Heavy
“It took a Lot of hard work and a lot of luck” Knopf credited. “I had three
different engine builders. I want to thank them. JT Stillwagon for the chassis,
Richard Tarleton and his whole family, John and Randy Kicklighter and their
whole family and my company LA Motorsports.”
Georgians Shay Chavous and Tyler Burnette, of Hephzibah and Jefferson, were
fourth and fifth in the Stock Lite points chase. In Stock Medium Sapp was third
again this time followed by Walt Barnes, of Monroe, N.C. and Chavous. Barnes was
also fourth in Heavy with Shane Bass tailing him in fifth.
Haire handled Stock Super Heavy and Senior Champ. Zac Powell, of Hodges, S.C.
was runner up in Super Heavy and Zach Holcombe, of Easley, S.C. was Senior
Champ’s runner up.
“It takes a lot of good luck, that’s all,” Haire credited. “You’ve got to have
your stuff together when you get to the racetrack and be prepared before you get
there.”
Trey Tarlton, of Blackstock, S.C. collected the most Junior Sportsman 1 points.
Austin Smith, of Fayetteville, N.C., was second in the points chase followed by
Drew Jackson, of Lakeland, Fl and Hephzibah, GA racer Lee Justice.
“It’s very hard to do it,” Tarlton, who advances to Blue Plate this season, said
of winning the championship. “Every once in a while we went up to Columbia to
Michael Schumacher’s shop and I want to thank Jerry Edens for letting us do
that. I also want to thank Jamie Knopf for all of his help. He helps setup the
kart,” added Tarlton who predicted he would win that title.
“You can’t be rattled out there. If you fall back in the points position you’ve
got to keep digging and hope you get there,” explained Junior Sportsman 2 Blue
Plate Champion Gus Dean, of Bluffton, S.C. Cannon Ward, of Ocean Isle, N.C., was
the Junior 2 runner up. Jak Kicklighter of Savannah, GA was third; Austin Babb
or Jarrett, VA was fourth in points followed in the top five by Andy Forsyth or
Roanoke Rapids, N.C.
“I want to thank Millenium Racing Chasses, Hi Tech Racing Engines because I’ve
never driven a kart that strong. This championship is as much theirs as it is
mine,” Dean credited.
Kicklighter captured Junior Sportsman Champ’s title tailed by runner up Spencer
Malick, of Augusta, GA. “It feels good winning this championship. I had to work
hard for it all year and we did it,” Kicklighter described. Dean and Annabeth
Barnes, of Hiddenite, N.C., were third and fourth.
Chesterfield, VA competitor Colton Cox captured Junior 3 Gold Plate’s
championship. “Clean competitors, hard racing and lots of help from my dad,” are
what Cox credited. Sam Lilly, of Littleton, N.C. was second in points followed
by Wilson Keene, of Abbeville, GA, Woodbridge, VA racer Brandon Brown and Scotty
Phagan, of Asheboro, N.C. for the top five. “I’d like to thank my parents, my
grandparents, everybody from Mishue Motorsports, Andy Murray for doing my tires
and Eddie for the kart and motors,” Cox added.
Brown bagged Junior Champ’s title. “It was real competitive, especially at the
beginning of the year,” Brown explained. “I want to thank my dad for all of his
hard work on the kart at home. Sometimes he would work on the kart until three
or four o’clock in the morning. I want to thank my mom for her support and God,
for getting me here. I also want to thank David Meade for working on the kart
with my dad and coming to the track with us. I’d like to thank David Clark; he
really helped us this year. I want to dedicate this championship to my brother
because he’s gone through a lot recently.”
Walt Barnes won Senior Stock’s championship. According to Barnes, “It takes a
lot of luck and a lot of preparation. We actually got really lucky to end up
being here this year and we’re thankful to be here.”
Adam Beville earned Limited Modified’s Championship and Chavous did it in
Unlimited All-Stars. “It takes a lot of dedication,” Beville described. “You
can’t skimp on horsepower running in a class like this. I want to thank my
family they supported me and came with me week-in-and-week out. I couldn’t do it
without the horsepower and support of Illusion Racing Chassis and the GTS Racing
Engines, The Kart Shop, Lee Johnson and everybody who works with him I couldn’t
do it without them.” Chavous credited, “It was just the help from my mom and
dad. Jerry Evans and Millinuem Racing Chassis and Dee Paschal.”
Animal Heavy’s points chase was led by Shane Bass, of Farmville, N.C. Bass beat
Beville, Brandon Watson, of Comfort, N.C., Wentworth and Burnette who trailed
him in the top five.
“This wasn’t an easy class to win a championship in,” Bass described. “And this
is actually my first national championship. It’s kind of cool. I’ve raced with
Adam (Beville) and those guys forever and it was real fun. They beat me a lot in
other series and I happened to win this one, it was a lot of fun.”
Saturday morning AKRA American Speedway Championship Dirt Series competitors
headed out to Dexter Speedway in Dexter, GA. There more than 200 of them kicked
off their 2008 season at the Vickery Speed Shop Nationals. Next the Dirt Series
travels to Margarettsville Speedway in Margarettsville, N.C. April 4-5. From
there they travel to Southern Pitt Speedway in Ayden, N.C. June 27-28. Racers
return to the Georgia Karting Komplex in Carnesville, GA Labor Day weekend.
October 10-11 they finish out their season with another tradition at Myrtle
Beach Motor Sports Complex in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
For Immediate Release With Our Thanks
Bonnie Nibblett
Redbud69racing.com
Delmar, DE 19940
302.846.2646
www.redbud69racing.com
Contact Email: redbud69racing@aol.com
Outlaw Motorsports Grand Opening March 29, 2008 For Local Karters
Coming soon is the Grand Opening of New Outlaw Motorsports. Racing is just
getting ready to send off for the season. Richie Walls, Jr., owner, of Outlaw
Motorsports located in Georgetown has set aside Saturday, March 29, 2008 for the
first grand opening celebrations with specials all day.
The occasion kicks off 12:30 PM – 4 PM, Walls admits just opening now has put
stocking and shipments at a great demand to be ready. It will be fun once we get
going. We’re having a raffle for tires, no wheels. A pig roast to start the
opening, hot dogs, hamburgers and drinks are on the menu for the day.
Walls has vowed to be open all days from 12:30 PM to 9 PM, all the way up to the
last minute Walls, remarked, but I will be closed on Tuesday, and Sunday’s.
This is the year for Outlaw Motorsports, as an official dealer for Moon Power
Engines, Outlaw Chassis dealer, and all your kart needs.
Walls plans to hit all the local kart tracks on race night, Saturday nights at
Club Milton Speedway, Milton, DE; Club Milton is the official Outlaw track. Then
on Wednesday nights at the Delmarva Motorsports Park, Seaford, DE or any other
special upcoming dates. By April, Walls hopes to also attend US 13 Kart Club
Track in Delmar, DE and complete his circle of tracks.
The shop is located about a 1/2 mile south of Georgetown Speedway on the right.
The shop is directly behind Ad Art on Rt 113, directly behind their new
building. The shops phone will be 302-855-0190.
Walls closes saying he wishes all teams and drivers a safe racing season. Come
check us out Saturday, March 29, 2008.
Kicklighter and Haire Triple at Dexter Raceway Gerrells Pockets $2,000 At
AKRA Dirt National
By Bruce C. Walls
Photos by Bruce C. Walls
And Susan Taylor-Walls
DEXTER, GA-Jak Kicklighter and Josh Haire were triple winners during the opening
round of the American Kart Racing Association (AKRA)’s 2008 American Speedway
Championship Dirt Series hosted by Dexter Raceway Saturday March 1st in Dexter,
GA. Round one, The Vickery Speed Shop Spring Nationals had more than 200
competitors battling in 20-classes on Dexter Raceway’s fast fifth mile dirt
oval. “It’s very nice racing here with AKRA, real nice, and this is a super nice
place to race,” said double winner Bradley Gerrells a Southern Express Kart Shop
factory shoe, who swept the Animal Heavy classes. Gerrells pocketed $2,000 for
those wins, which was part of a total purse of $10,000 plus paid out that
Saturday.
Gerrells struggled in the first Animal Heavy group qualifying session. The Dahlonega, GA based Falcon Kart pilot who builds his own motors spun a disappointing 12.893-seconds best of three laps. Lancaster, S.C. competitor Jamie Knopf earned the pole with a 12.611-seconds lap. A pile up in turns one and two on the first attempt to go green brought out the race’s only caution flag. Knopf led the 23-racer field single file. He pulled away from the field as Gerrells began climbing through it. Knopf’s lead was soon challenged as Dustin McGraw and Haire headed to the front. They drafted by Knopf. Knopf dropped back to third and found himself scrapping with Gerrells over that position. Gerrells shot ahead into second with Knopf on his tail as he took the lead on the final lap. Gerrells and Knopf battled side-by-side down to the stripe where 0.130 separated them.
“We started bad and worked out way up there,” Gerrells described. “I just happened to get a good break there when Knopf went into them and I got by them both. It was just a luck move.”
Shay Chavous clocked the second Animal Heavy pole turning a 12.601-seconds lap. Knopf shared front row with him and Gerrells started third. Gerrells settled in behind Chavous until five laps were left. With time and distance running against him, Gerrells saw the break he needed to take the lead. Chavous stayed glued to Gerrells tailpipe finishing 0.174-second behind him. Knopf claimed third, Etha Nipper followed in fourth and McGraw made fifth.
“He just got loose at the end and I got under him. If I hadn’t gotten a good run on that one lap I’d have never got him,” Gerrells said after his second win.
Kicklighter captured both Junior 2 Blue Plate offerings. The defending national champion earned both wins from their poles which he earned with lap times of 13.350 and 13.254-seconds. In the first one Kicklighter grabbed the early lead and was building on it when the first of two caution flags flew. The green flag returned for another lap before the caution flag returned. This time Joseph Galloway and Steven Finch started behind him. After the second restart Finch closed the gap on Kicklighter, but slipped off the track attempting to take the lead. Finch gathered it back, held onto second, but by then Kicklighter was gone.
While fighting off challenges from Galloway, Finch tried to close back in on Kicklighter. Kicklighter held on fighting his own battle with a loose kart. On the final lap Kicklighter floored it for all the power his Tod Miller Racing Engines power plant had for his Phantom Icon kart. He persevered crossing the stripe with a 2.098-seconds advantage over Finch who was followed by Galloway who was 3.873-seconds off the pace. Trey Tarlton and Houston Smith completed the podium.
“I was driving hard and we’ve been good all day. Nothing like this has happened before. We got a little bit loose after each caution. Didn’t know if the tires were cold or what, but I held onto it,” said the 12-year-old Savannah, GA based double winner.
Later that afternoon in the second Blue Plate battle Kicklighter scrambled away from the field early on. At the stripe 3.357-seconds separated Kicklighter from second place Tarlton. Finch followed in third, Houston Smith was fourth and Galloway rounded out the top five.
Kicklighter also won both Junior Sportsman Champ poles. Lap times of 14.138 and 14.116-seconds earned him those poles. Battling from a third place start nine-year-old Spencer Davis of Dawsonville, GA quickly pulled up behind Kicklighter and began challenging him for the lead. After several laps Davis, a double event winner, pulled alongside Kicklighter and as they rounded turns three and four Davis dove low and passed Kicklighter. Kicklighter and Davis stayed nearly side-by-side until the photo finish. Davis edged out Kicklighter by just 0.081-second for the event’s closest finish. Four seconds later the remaining top five finishers crossed the stripe with Blake Cannon crossing third, Tarlton fourth and Taylor Wilkes fifth.
“It was a hard race. I thought I could lay back, but I saw an opening and it was time to go,” Davis described. “I want to thank Ultramax for the chassis and Tim Fishel for the engine.”
Davis grabbed the second Junior Sportsman Champ’s early lead showing the field to the race’s only caution flag that waved near mid-race on lap nine. Davis led the restart. Behind him Kicklighter and Tarlton were working together. They closed in on Davis with five laps left. Kicklighter worked by Davis bringing Tarlton with him. Davis fought back getting by Tarlton but not Kicklighter who crossed the stripe with Davis trailing by 0.138-seconds.
Davis dominated the first Junior 1 Purple Plate contest from the pole he earned with a 14.018-seconds run. Competitors crashed in turn one on the opening lap. Davis led them single file back to the green flag. Two laps later he surrendered the lead to Cannon who after two more laps was leading the second restart. The fourth lap was a heated battle between the two. Davis recaptured the lead as they exited turn two and held off Cannon’s challenges. Davis and Cannon were side-by-side most of the final lap. Davis got a run on Cannon down the back straightaway extending his lead as they crossed the stripe for the final time. Behind them Taylor Wilkes, James Upshaw and Daulton Harris rounded out the top five.
“I was a little worried on that last caution,” Davis admitted. “The kart was kind of loose and kind of tight, but Tim Fishel’s motor was good.”
Davis turned a 13.853-seconds lap for the second Junior 1 Purple race pole. Cannon, of Evans, GA shared front row with Davis. From the initial green flag’s waving to the checkered flag they battled fiercely to the finish with Cannon finally capturing the lead in turn three of the final lap. “I just got lucky and passed him,” Cannon said. “The kart handled pretty good. I thought I lost it, but I got lucky and passed him on the last lap.”
Cannon crossed the finish line 1.321-seconds ahead of Davis. Five seconds later Wilkes took the checkered flag followed by Seth Seckinger and Toby Upshaw for the top five.
Haire, of Erwin, N.C., swept the Senior Champ classes and added a win in Super Heavy for his trio. Leggs Leslie led Super Heavy’s qualifying with a 13.387-seconds rounding. Leslie broke into an early lead when the initial green flag waved. A first lap caution forced him to do it again. Leslie led them into turns three and four. As they headed for the back straight Haire’s Mischue Motorsports powered Galaxy Kart blasted by him for a never surrendered lead to the stripe. Leslie crossed 1.486-seconds later followed by Rob Peacock, Randy Moon and Joe Webb.
“I got Leggs (Leslie) on the inside at the start and got by him on the first lap and just maintained it,” Haire said before rushing off to Senior Champ’s grid. “The kart was plenty good and the track was a lot better than I figured it would be.”
Mike Mitchell won both Senior Champ poles with times of 13.473 and 13.276. He hustled into early leads only to have Haire rocket by him. Mitchell trailed Haire in the first one by 3.312-seconds and by2.742-seconds in the second. Forrestt Vaughn and David Henderson completed both fields.
“I’m tired I’ll tell you that,” Haire said between deep breaths, “I can’t say enough about this kart. It’s the first time we rode that buggy there. I want to thank my dad and mom for coming out here, Eddie Mishue for the awesome motors and karts and Andy Murray for the tires. It’s been a long day.”
Dustin McGraw was also a double winner. McGraw, of Okatie, S.C., put his mark on Stock Lite and Heavy from their poles. Lap times of 13.031 and 13.107-seconds earned him those poles. In Lite he shared front row with Knopf. Behind them in row two were Josh Nichols and Colton Cox. The green flag unfurled and McGraw broke into the early lead with Knopf and Nichols battling for second behind him. Nichols took the position, Knopf slipped back to third while McGraw ran away from the field on his way to a perfect win. McGraw reached the stripe 0.417-seconds ahead of Knopf. Greg Brandenburg trailed in third, Nichols followed in fourth and Aaron Sapp completed the top five.
“I got lucky on the start,” McGraw said after his first win, which earned him $500. “I got under him (Jamie Knopf) and he must have slipped up a little bit and that helped me. From there I just tried to stay away from him and not look back. The kart was pretty good, the motor was great and the tires were awesome.”
Later that Saturday McGraw roared away from Stock Heavy’s pole leaving the field trailing in the distance. “I thought somebody was behind me,” said McGraw who reached the stripe 3.510-seconds ahead of Walt Barnes. “I didn’t know what happened to Knopf. I thought he was right there, but he wasn’t. We changed tires from the first race and they seemed to work.”
Behind Barnes in the top five were Haire, Randy Moon and Chad Haithcock. Earlier in the day Barnes beat Leggs Leslie in Senior Stock. “Man it’s pretty tough out there,” Barnes, described, “We still haven’t quite got a hold on this place. I can’t quite figure it out. Somehow we got lucky and pulled it off.”
Knopf and Chad Graham shared Stock Medium’s front row. The sun had nearly set and the track lights began glowing when the green flag flew. Knopf hustled into the early lead with Blake O’Neal and Barnes battling for second. While Knopf stretched his lead O’Neal continued chasing him down. When they reached the stripe Knopf was 1.400-seocnds ahead of O’Neal. Graham grabbed third, McGraw crossed fourth followed by fifth place finisher Ashley Abernathy.
“I zig zagged back-and-forth on the parade lap and it stuck pretty good so I knew it ought to stick good,” said Knopf who pilots a Schu Powered Phantom Icon kart. “After a couple of laps lapped traffic was a big part of it. They were slow and running in the racing groove. But everything hooked up good. The motor was good the kart was good and all I did was drive it.”
According to Limited Modified winner Adam Beville, of Stoney Creek, VA,
“To make a long story short, I won the race, but had a tough weekend.” Clint Yon
clocked the pole winning lap blistering the track in 12.609-seconds. Beville was
second fastest at 12.679-seconds. Yon raced into the early lead with Beville
challenging at every corner. After several laps Beville found the advantage he
was looking for and took a never surrendered lead to the stripe. There he was
comfortably 2.602-seconds ahead of Yon.
“We struggled all day and finally found something that made us a little faster
and we got fast again,” Beville explained. “We’ve been racing the 61 (Clint Yon)
for a long time, he’s a good guy and we get along pretty good. I want to thank
Babs, my girlfriend, and all my family and the horsepower of TKS Racing Engines
and Illusion Racing Chassis, The Kart Shop and everyone back home, I couldn’t do
it without them.”
Kenny Baltzegar, Chris McKenzie and Dustin Snider completed the podium.
Pelzer, S.C. Jerry Dover Racing Engines powered Nemesis kart pilot Brett
Heatherly blasted around the track in 12.972-seconds for Junior 3 Gold’s pole.
From there Heatherly briefly surrendered the lead to Chesterfield, VA racer
Colton Cox on his way to the checkered flag. Cox challenged Heatherly’s lead at
every corner before trailing Heatherly by 0.445-second.
When I was leading after a few laps something came up off the front of my kart.
I thought it was my tire blown out. That’s the only reason he got by me,”
Heatherly explained. “The kart was a little tight I lost a little bit of ground
and I’m glad I got back up there for the win.”
Second Junior 3 Gold winner Wilson Keene crossed third and was followed in the top five by Brandon Brown, and Austin Scarboro.
Blake Mosley topped the second Junior 3 Gold’s qualifying with a 13.047-seconds lap. He went backwards from there while seventh fastest qualifier Wilson Keene headed forward. Heatherly lead most of the way. Keene and Cox drafted by him in the final laps. Heatherly made it back to second before the checkered flag fell, but he was 0.39-seconds late.
“The Ultramax chassis and Tim Fishel’s motor worked great,” credited the
14-year-old Abbeville, GA based winner.
Pro All-Stars have been with AKRA in growing numbers. Kenny Baltzegar’s Moore
Racing Engines powered Twister SS kart dominated both rounds of qualifying with
12.545 and 12.695-seconds laps. Robby Yow ruled the first race from the outside
pole. Yow broke from the field early and by mid-race he started lapping the
field. Behind tight battles for positions raged.
“It was awesome. Basically awesome. This is the first time I’ve ever done this and it was awesome that’s the one word that describes it-awesome,” beamed Yow who pilots a twin Charlie Stoffa powered Intimidator kart. “The kart handled pretty good. On the first couple of laps it was a little loose and then the tires got a little heat in them and it tightened up. The twins took off like a rocket. I’d like to thank my dad, Charlie, Leggs, Dale, my paw paw and I want to wish my mom a happy birthday.”
Kenny Baltzegar was second across the stripe followed in the top five by Brain Abell, Charles Stuffa and Bobby Leslie.
Next time out Baltzegar showed the field from start to finish. He took the early lead with Yow chasing him. Caution cut the lead he’d build near mid-race. Balzegar built another comfortable 7.104-seconds cushion between the restart and checkered flag. Abell was second followed by Michael Registar, Sutffa and Yow for the top five.
“The kart was perfect. We had a good sweet set of tires on it,” said Baltzegar, of Cordova, S.C. “I got a little tired and the Lord said I’ll help you out. Jesus Christ is my biggest hero. I got my strength back and started reeling him in again.”
Junior Champ defending champion Brandon Brown defended his title with a win over Chase Vaughn who trailed him across the stripe 4.036-seconds later.
“The kart was pretty fast. We kind of walked away with this one,” Brown described adding, “The Tod Miller Racing Engine was fast, the Icon Chassis was fast and we got the tires right. Andy Clark helped us and my dad took us down here and really worked hard for this win.”
That concludes the first of five nationals. Up next on the ARKA 2008
American Speedway Dirt Series travels to Margarettsville Speedway in
Margarettsville, N.C. April 4-5. From Margarettsville the tour travels to
Southern Pitt Speedway in Ayden, N.C. August 29-30 they will be competing at the
Georgia Karting Komplex in Carnesville, GA and on October 10-11 they will wrap
up their season at the Myrtle Beach Motor Sports Complex in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
|
|
2008American Speedway Championship Dirt SeriesRACE/TECH,INC Nationals - Round #2 Margarettsville Speedway, Margarettsville, NC April 4 -5 , 2008 |
|
NO Divisional/State Points Transfer needed to win 2008 American Speedway Championship Title!The Race Format will consist of 24 classes competing Saturday. Some classes will compete twice (see schedule) below for classes. We will count the best 8 out of 10 finishes for those classes that compete twice, all others will count the best 4 out of 5. We will award and recognize the top finishers for their accomplishments at the year-end banquet. We will alternate the classes for the top 5 awards and purse money at each event. |
||
|
Friday Schedule (April 4th) |
||
Gates Open: 4 pm – 10pm Parking |
**We will have Saturday Devotional Service** |
|
Pre-Tech: 4 pm – 8 pmRegistration 4pm – 8 pm |
with Todd Shaw – On Track Ministries |
|
Sponsor Parking will be Reserved |
||
All other Parking Requests Must Call Track!! |
||
Gates Open: 7 am |
AKRA Championship Trophy , AKRA Championship |
|
Registration: 7 am – 9 am |
Ring, AKRA Championship Jacket, PLUS an |
|
Pre-Tech: 7 am – 9 am |
Additional Gift Certificate |
|
Practice: 8 am (Open / 2 rounds)Driver’s Meeting: to follow practice Qualifying: to follow D. Meeting |
WE WILL PAY MONEY IN ALL CLASSES!!!!
|
|
|
Saturday Class Order Fast Time Awards: G-Man Kart Works |
||
|
1. Stock Lite 2. Jr 1 Purple 3. Animal Heavy $1000 TO WIN!! 4. Jr. Champ 5. Senior Stock 6. Jr. 2 Blue 7. Stock Super Heavy 8. Sr. Champ 9. Stock Medium 10. Jr. 3 Gold $750 TO WIN!! 11. Box Stock Senior* 12. Jr. Sportsman Champ 13. Pro All-Stars 14. Stock Heavy $750 TO WIN!! 15. Jr 1 Purple 16. Animal Heavy $1000 TO WIN!! 17. Jr. Champ 18. Jr. 2 Blue 19. Sr. Champ 20. Jr. 3 Gold $750 TO WIN!! 21. Box Stock Senior* 22. Jr. Sportsman Champ 23. Pro All-Stars 24. Kid Karts 25. Limited Modified** |
Jr 3 & Stk Heavy , Payoff $750 to win!! ($65 entry fee / pays 5 places)*
Both Animal Hvy Races Payoff - $1,000 to win!! ($75 entry fee / pays 5 places)*
ALL OTHER CLASSES - $500 to win!! ($50 pre-entry, $55 at track / pays 5 places)* By popular demand, we will also have Bicycle races.*All Flat karts will use Maxxis HT-3, All Champ karts can use Burris or Maxxis HT-3. *See reverse side for entry form information. *Join Us for Round #3 at Southern Pitt Speedway Ayden, NC June 27-28, 2008. *For more information, visit us at www.arkainc.com, or call Bill McCutcheon (704) 764-8138. *(15 kart min. in all classes unless otherwise noted. 20 kart min in Jr3, Animal Heavy, & Stock Heavy) ** If entry counts warrants class to run. |
|
February 20, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
AKRA Joins NCMA
MONROE, N.C.-The American Kart Racing Association (AKRA) recently joined the
North Carolina Motorsports Association (NCMA). AKRA principal investor Bill
McCutcheon says North Carolina Motorsports Association membership will benefit
AKRA members and the karting community in a variety of ways.
“Membership in the NCMA offers us a chance to include karting in the North
Carolina motorsports community and makes that community aware of karting and its
presence in North Carolina. It will also keep us current of motorsports issues
some of which may affect us. Part of their mission is to implement programs to
promote motorsports in North Carolina. So joining them helps us in our effort to
promote karting,” McCutcheon pointed out.
“We welcome AKRA to the NCMA membership family and look forward to supporting
their organization as well as gaining knowledge and understanding from them of
the massive karting industry,” said Shawn Stewart, Director of
Marketing/Membership of the NCMA. “Karting is often the foundation for
tomorrow’s star drivers and crew members. It’s a great place for affordable fun,
but also provides an entry level for our industry’s workforce.”
The NCMA provides members with networking opportunities and industry
information. They work with the North Carolina Legislature and Department of
Commerce to increase members’ profitability and host events benefiting the
industry and the state. It offers members networking opportunities, exclusive
access to industry contacts, member benefits and special discounts, a ‘Voice’
for their specific industry area and key industry information and news. NCMA
members support North Carolina’s annual $5.9 billion dollar industry and receive
valuable returns and resources. They are also involved in workforce development
through educational institutions statewide, the business community and
motorsports organizations.
NCMA began as an association formed June 12, 2002 to perform a motorsports economic impact study. That study became well known and widely used. An updated 2006 version of the study reported motorsports adds 5.9 billion to North Carolina’s economy and provided 26,000 jobs. During the first two years NCMA members worked on organization and sought funds for the study from the Golden Leaf Foundation. To secure those funds a 501-C-3, not for profit, corporation called the NC Motorsports Foundation was formed.
To introduce the Association and Foundation they co-hosted the first Annual Bill France Tribute Dinner in October of 2004, which was a huge success raising nearly $90,000. That month the Association held it’s first Annual Membership Meeting where findings of the Economic Impact Study were released.
Led by Board of Trustees Chairman Richard Petty, members spent the remainder of 2004 and most of 2005 building membership, identifying issues relating to the industry and pursuing pro-motorsports legislation. In 2006 their efforts led to the passage of the Aviation Fuel Tax Rebate Bill and, during a short legislative session ending July 26, 2006, passage of legislation to provide job training for the motorsports industry.
Rich Hendrick is Vice-Chairman and Steve Earwood, owner of Rockingham Dragway, is Chairman of the Board of Directors. The remainder of the board consists of high-profile persons in the motorsports and business communities. Executive Director Andy (Papa) Papathanassiou, a 16-year industry veteran, leads the office staff.
Growing rapidly, NCMA currently has approximately 200 member companies/organizations. Their events and activities from membership meetings to committees, councils, golf tournaments and award banquets, are multi-faceted promoting the industry by providing industry information to the general public aimed at education and entertaining members and guests while providing member with networking opportunities.
AKRA was founded three-years ago by current principal owner Bill McCutcheon and another investor. Their purpose was to provide kart racers with an association dedicated to improving the sport, hosting quality national events and working with the media and others to make more people aware of the sport of kart racing. According to their mission and vision statement, “To create and establish an organization to manage, promote, and develop a healthy environment that effectively and proactively supports the Karting Industry. The sole purpose of such an organization will always be for the betterment and furtherance of the Sport of Karting and the Karting Industry.”
For more information about NCMA visit their website at
www.motorsportsnc.org. To find
out more about AKRA you can visit their website at
www.americankarting.us or call
the office at 704.764.8138.
2008 Club Milton Speedway Racing Schedule
(Schedule is subject to change and race start times to be announced. Check the website for the most
current information.)
March
Saturday 15th - Annual Awards Banquet
Saturday 29th - Practice Day
April
Friday 4th - Season Opener
Saturday 12th - Regular Race
Saturday 19th - Out law Kart Cup Series - Race One
May
Friday 2th - Regular Race
Saturday 10th - Regular Race
Sunday 25th - Outlaw Kart Cup Series - Race Two
June
Saturday 7th - Regular Race
Saturday 21st - Regular Race
Saturday 28th -Regular Race
July
Saturday 5th - Out law Kart Cup Series - Race Three
Saturday 19th - Regular Race
August
Friday 1st - Regular Race
Friday 15th - Regular Race
Sunday 31st - Outlaw Kart Cup Series - Race Four
September
Saturday 13th - Regular Race
Saturday 27th - Out law Kart Cup Series - Race Five
October
Saturday 11th - Regular Race
Saturday 25th - Out law Kart Cup Series - Race Six
November (Tentative)
Sunday 16th - Regular Race
Saturday 22nd - Season Finale
February 13, 2008
For Immediate Release:
#24-Mark Hall who won four class titles last season
#24-Mark Hall who won four class titles last season AKRA Crowns Asphalt Champions
All photos by
Bruce Walls
By Bruce C. Walls
MONROE, N.C-Oval asphalt kart racers kicked off the historic start to a new
sanctioning body’s series April 14th 2007 at Concord Motor Sports Park in
Concord, N.C. A small contingency of dedicated racers entered the first American
Kart Racing Association (AKRA) American Speedway Championship Asphalt Series
race. From those humble beginnings the new series grew traveling to Chapel Hill
Raceway in Humphrey, N.Y. then on to BeaveRun Motor Sports Complex and finally
Orange County Raceway Park in Rougemont, N.C. Entry numbers grew with each
national. Top east coast competitors battling for purses kept the competition
level high. Some of asphalt racing’s closest finishes were recorded over the
season.
Series Champions will be crowned and others recognized for their efforts over
the season Friday April 11th as part of the 2008 season kick off at Orange
County Raceway. The Championship dinner banquet will be held at the Cutting
Board 2699 Ramada Road, (Exit 143 [I-40/I85]) Burlington, N.C. at 7:00 p.m.
Tickets are $15 each. On the menu are Beef Tips and Rice/Chicken Tenders, green
beans, Macaroni and Cheese, Banana Pudding and Strawberry Shortcake.
“The Asphalt Series continually grew over the course of the season and it will
continue to grow this year,” said AKRA principal investor Bill McCutcheon. I
want to personally thank all of the asphalt racers who attended our races this
year and look forward to seeing those racers again this season and welcome all
asphalt competitors to come to one of our races to personally experience the
kind of racing you’ve hear we put on. I think the changes to our Firestone 500
will entice more racers to enter that event this year. I see continued growth
for this series especially with our new Box Stock Program.”
Taking top honors will be Ward, S.C. competitor Mark Hall. Hall campaigned in
four classes and swept all four. He was crowned Stock Lite, Medium and Heavy
champion along with taking the Animal Heavy title. Taking single titles were
Tyler Walker who topped Junior 2, John Blacker Junior 3’s champion and Tyler
Strickland the Junior Champ champion. Chance Wright collected the most points in
Junior Sportsman Champ. Wayne Winters did the same in Senior Champ.
After kicking off their 2008 season at Orange County the series travels to
Chapel Hill Raceway May30-13. Their next stop is BeaveRun Motorsports Complex
August 15-16. The season finale’ will happen October 3-4 at Orange County. That
weekend’s action will include the Firestone 500. The Firestone 500 will be
500-laps of exciting racing. Junior Champ racers will battle in a 75-lap
shootout. Senior Champ racers will compete in a 75-lap race setting the stage
for the evening’s highlight a 300-lap Stock Heavy race for the money. More
details about the Firestone 500 will be announced soon. For information about
AKRA visit the Association website at
www.akrainc.com.
-30-
#24-Mark Hall who won four class titles last season AKRA Crowns Asphalt Champions
All photos by Bruce Walls
# 38 Jason Easterling and #76-Bob Lawson battle side-by-side
in All-Stars during Christmas in Dixie
# 47 Chris Strickland passes under #11-Bobby Garland in Florida
All-Stars during the dirt racing portion of AKRA’s ‘Christmas in Dixie’
where 19-competitors entered the class
All Photos by Bruce Walls For More Photos by Bruce Check Out This Page
February 7, 2008
For Immediate
Release:
AKRA “Let’s the Dogs Out” on a National level Pro All- Stars Join AKRA
By Bruce C. Walls
MONROE, N.C.-This season Pro All-Star Karting Series racers will be campaigning
for a class championship in the American Kart Racing Association (AKRA) American
Speedway Championship Dirt Series. Pro-All Star racers compete in their own
unique karting division. They have a wide range of power plant choices both two
and four cycle. These modified power plants are highly customized, very
innovative and can vary in power from 25-80 hp. Racers can even balance two
power plants on these specialized race machines. Driving one these All-Star
karts on a dirt track is like climbing onto a rocket strapped to a skateboard.
Loads of horsepower, a short wide wheelbase, and snug driving quarters, make
even the good handling Karts feel “twitchy”. Sometimes they are often better
aimed than driven.
The Pro All-Star drivers are highly skilled individuals and have to be with speeds that can reach in excess of 100-mph on long straights that lead to tight turns. “It’s a tremendous adrenalin rush going down a long straightaway near 100 mph heading into a turn. When we’re on the track everybody’s at the fence,” described Pro All-Star promoter Terry ‘Hotdog’ Hall. “When other classes are racing people are working in the pits. When the Pro-All Stars fire up on the grid everything stops, people come out of their trailers and motor homes to watch. We always put on an exciting show.”
“The National champion will earn a leather racing jacket and a championship ring,” said AKRA owner Bill McCutcheon. “Having the Pro All-Star racers expands our membership and gives them a national showcase for their up and coming elite division of karting. They will add excitement to our Dirt Nationals. Their shows go from mild to wild real fast.”
“This is an opportunity to take the Pro All-Stars to a higher level. With the participation of already established Unlimited All-Star regions such as Florida, Tri-State, Georgia etc and of course the infamous ‘Dog Pound’ I feel that AKRA will bring us even more exposure and give us the opportunity to follow a national series. They’ll also give us a professional format to race under rather than the local Saturday night venue,” Hall described. “We need the media exposure AKRA can afford us to help us grow this series and bring it to national prominence. By joining forces with AKRA I feel we have reached a very exciting time in the growth of both series. We want to attract spectators as well as new participants. A lot of our racers come from some other forms of racing like motorcycles or sprint cars. When they come to see our show a lot of them want to get into it because it’s something new to them. They are fast, dangerous, and exciting. No matter if you are watching from the stands or sitting in the seat with your helmet on, the All-Stars will get your adrenaline pumping.”
Pro All-Star rules can be found on the AKRA website at www.americankarting.us or on the Pro All-Star website at: www.flallstars.com. Engine rules are simple, any type two-stroke cycle engine or engines with no limit to modifications or any four-stroke cycle engine or engines, no limit to modifications.
Rules regarding minimum weight/maximum displacement are also fairly simple. The formula for calculating displacement to declaring weight is Bore X Bore X stroke X .7854=CC of engine. Rules also state drivers must be 18-years old or older. There are no fuel restrictions other than no illegal substances may be used as fuel or a fuel additive.
“There’s nothing out there like these All-Star karts,” Hall described. They’re unique with the wedge bodies, nose wings and the speed, it is non-stop action.”
To find the closest show visit either the AKRA or Florida All-Stars website for The American Speedway Dirt Championship Series.
#911 Phillip
Jones leads a pack of All-Star racers at
‘Christmas in Dixie’
January 17, 2008
In Memory of Eric Garland a True Karter
Photos
Written by:
Bruce C. Walls
WASHINGTON, NJ-According to his father there was a special twinkle in Eric
Garland’s eyes the first time he saw a go-kart. That was in 1980.
In a few years karting would reach a plateau. During karting’s heyday one of the
top motor building shops in the country was Garland Racing Engines. His
custom-built motors powered top Horstman Gold Cup competitors and others for
many years. It wasn’t unusual then to see more than one Garland Powered pilot on
Gold Cup National podiums.
It was a friend of his father who first introduced karting to young Eric. “Gar
Frey got him started and he took to it right away. Eric got in that kart and was
hooked. We built a backyard track and Eric pounded out laps and he just kept
getting better and better,” John remembered.
“We started racing in a farmer’s field in our back yard,” Eric’s father
recalled. At 7-years old Eric was piloting a home made King enduro racing
chassis made into a sprinter racing against adults. The following year his
parents took him to Shellhammers Speedway in Shellhammer, PA. During his second
season at Shellhammers he hired Craig Wesner to build his motors. That’s when
the wins started coming.
“I remember his first win,” his mother Sharon recalled. “It was at Shellhammers.
A kid put him into the wall and after that he got aggressive. After the race he
didn’t even realize he’d won.”
“He (Eric) started winning and we decided to branch out,” John described. They
went to Orville raceway in Topton, PA and Island Dragway Kart Track in Great
Meadows, N.J. “Eric got tossed from Island Dragway Kart Track that year because
he was 10-years old racing as a 13-year-old,” John recalled with a chuckle.
“When the trophies started coming in we made a shop in the back of the house,”
Sharon said adding, “Eric was very private about winning. He never bragged about
it.
Booted from Island Dragway Kart Track Eric went back to Orville during 1984-85
seasons. According to John, “That year he raced 2 and 4-cycles earning trophies
taller then he was.” Eric also started racing with the World Karting Association
(WKA) that year. Eric was then competing as a Junior. “Eric was turning faster
lap times than Seniors with no restrictor plate, John proudly recalled adding,
“The more we traveled the better he got.”
As they traveled around the country competing against the best of the best Eric
made friends with every one he met. Eric had an aggressive driving style, but
that didn’t keep him from being friends with his competitors off the track.
Wins continued coming one after another. Trophies filled the shop. “You never
saw so many trophies,” his parents said. “We had trophies all over the house, in
his room, out in the garage and in the shop,” his mother Sharon added.
Eric started building motors in 1990. Once competitors found out that Eric was
building his own engines they began asking him to build theirs. “Eric started
fooling around with engines,” John said. “(Craig) Wesner was getting out of the
business. Eric worked by trial and error and started talking to other engine
builders and basically it grew from there.”
“We went to all of his races Rockingham, Charlotte, Shellhammers, Orville,
Herbine (Family Grand Pix Raceway called Herbine by racers for track owner
Dennis Herbine) or where ever he went,” Sharon recalled adding, “I remember
standing on a bridge one time. There were some kids up there talking and they
said they didn’t want to race with Eric in the field, but they did anyway.”
Long time friend and fellow competitor Randy Delp recalled racing against Eric
at Herbine. “It was Eric’s favorite track,” Delp explained adding Eric was
always one of the top five. When we were competitors we weren’t friends Eric was
known for his aggressive driving style.”
It was the first IKF race on the east coast. Herbine 1991. “Chuck Garafar was on
the pole and I was on the outside pole,” Delp said setting up the story. “ Eric
didn’t qualify as well and we didn’t see Eric in the first race. Chuck and I
were battling lap after lap. (IKF Nationals run three races for each class) I
have no idea where he (Eric) finished in the second race. Chuck and I were
battling back and forth in the third race. We were back-and-forth down the long
straightaway. Three quarters of the way down I was pushing Chuck getting ready
to hit the breaking point and here comes Garland. Eric had a head of steam. He
didn’t want just me he wanted both of us. He came into the corner passed me and
then was in over his head. He drove into the side of Chuck and was over his head
as usual.”
Delp says he met Eric through a mutual friend, Frank Kelleher. “ Eric won
Limited Modified Heavy’s Championship in 2000. It was his only National Gold Cup
Championship. The next year (2001) he wrenched for Michelle and Rowan Pennick.
“Going into 2003 Eric decided he wanted to drive in the Gold Cup Series again.
He asked me to go to Jacksonville and wrench for him at the Tomar Winter
Nationals. He won Stock Heavy at Jacksonville; it was his last Gold Cup win.
When we went to South Bend and Tony (Barton, former WKA official) dq’ed him.
That was the end. We were the kart to beat. Also that year Eric asked me to
wrench for him,” Delp explained.
“There are a lot of things people didn’t know about Eric,” Delp continued. “He
liked to read books mostly mystery and government conspiracy. He was very
interested in politics and was becoming more vocal about politics the last
couple of years. He didn’t have cable; he liked listening to CDs. He also loved
spending time with his nephew Brandon.”
Gary Mac Queen met Eric in 1996. “My son and I were just getting started in
karting. A fellow competitor told us to see Eric Garland. We went up there and
John was there. Eric was just a kid. He was going on vacation, but he’d heard of
my son Brian. They seemed to pick up on the red hair.”
MacQueen needed a motor dynoed. Eric’s dyno was broken. Mac Queen fixed the dyno
and Eric built Brian a motor. “That was the beginning of our relationship. We
invented stuff and dynoed motors all night. Eric and Brian hung out almost
everyday. What always impressed me about Eric was how inventive he was and how
he understood the geometry of front end. Everything Brian does in racing he
credits back to Eric. Eric took a lot of kids under his wing. He took it
seriously, but made it fun.
Two memorial races were held last year. One held at Shellhammers Speedway, the
other at Orville Raceway. MacQueen won the Shellhammers race. “Brian cut school
on the west side of Ohio,” his father explained. “He left at midnight, got home
an hour later. He drank a glass of orange juice and we went to Shellhammers.
“Kevin Colborn got the pole, but he flipped giving us the pole. Brain won the
race with a Garland Racing Engine. We haven’t raced it since. Brain couldn’t
take the checkered flag for a victory lap and couldn’t be interviewed because he
was crying so hard that he had help that night.”
Zach Linsell won the Orville race. Zach was also good friends with Eric. In a
letter to Linsell Eric opened up to his younger friend.
Zach,
First off, Happy Birthday. I think this letter and scrapbook idea is a really
good one. It’s important to hold onto your memories, the older you get the more
distant they become. Some of my fondest memories haven’t been captured on film
or in writing. As you can probably guess some of my favorite memories involve
racing duh, big surprise there right? Racing has been a huge part of my life,
other than my family and friends I would say it’s the biggest part of my life.
Some things about it I can’t say that I remember. I don’t recall my first win,
my first flip, or the first time I was in a go-kart. Some things I’ll never
forget…dodging a blown apart flywheel down the backstretch at Charlotte (I was
extremely lucky that day), riding to South Carolina in the back of a pickup
truck with another kid, 2 karts and everything that you needed to run a national
back in the day. I remember my first national win; it was at Adkins Raceway in
Ohio. I was a chubby 15-year-old kid from Jersey who all the southern guys
barely noticed. Back then, this was in 1989, all the fast guys were considered
to be from down south. If you lived north of the Mason-Dixon line you were
looked down on by the big teams. On Saturday, in Stock Lite, (Yeah I actually
made that weight at one time), I had a good run and almost won for the day. They
ran 3 heats back then and then averaged the 3 for the overall finish. Keith
Gutberlet was the hotshoe at the time, he ran for Piedmont Kart Shop, and won
just about every race he entered. He won the first heat in a pass back and
fourth all race kind of race. I won the second heat. So whoever won the third
heat was going to win for the day. The two of us pulled away and were passing
back and forth. On the last lap, I pulled to the inside and was going past him,
then my carb broke. I reached around and pushed the back of the tank forward and
kept going. Keith was gone and that was it. I finished second. It was a strange
feeling. It was the best that I had run up to that point, but it was still kind
of a bummer. Some of the big shots at the time noticed that I ran good and went
out of their way to say, “Great Race, we thought you had him.” It was just me
and my dad running against the biggest kart shops at the time, and for these
guys to tell me I did a good job really meant something to me. I went out the
next day for Super Stock, qualified on the pole and won by a straightaway. After
that weekend I won several races that year and consistently ran in the top 3.
When I think back to my first win it’s not about Super Stock on Sunday, it’s
that Stock Lite race the day before, realizing that I could run with and beat
the best. I don’t have any pictures from that weekend, but I still remember that
feeling. Ever since I started building engines I’ve been pretty lucky. I’ve met
some great people and traveled to a lot of different places. I’ve had a moderate
amount of success at it, but the best part about doing what I did for a living
was the feeling I got from helping someone. When I helped people out at the
track and they did good I felt great. The absolute best though is when I would
help someone and they got their first big win. Standing at the fence and
watching someone get everything they can out of a kart and just wheel it to the
front. I like sharing the excitement and it feels like I just won for the first
time too. I remember all of those times. I was lucky enough to be a small part
of your first win and I keep that memory up there with some of my all time
racing favorites. Thanks for the great memory Zach, I’m proud to call you a
friend.
Eric Garland
While passionate about sprint racing Eric did tackle asphalt and dirt ovals once
in a while early on. Never a title contender in oval disciplines, he was always
capable of capturing their checkered flags.
“I pitted next to him (Eric) at Rockingham,” said long time friend Chip
Disharoon, of Salisbury, MD. That was in 1989 when the Gold Cup was the real
deal. He kicked everyone’s butt in three races. That’s when I first noticed him.
“I always looked up to Eric as a garage talent and driving talent,” Disharoon
added. “I won a national title in Controlled Stock Heavy with his motor in
2000.”
“Eric came over for Thanksgiving. He’d been having headaches,” Sharon recalled.
“I gave him some Tylenol and told him to call the doctor. That’s when they found
the tumor.”
Surrounded by family and friends Eric vowed to fight the cancer attacking his
brain. “He was very optimistic,” Sharon said. She and John were with him every
day for the next six months. Eric bravely fought with everything inside him. But
it was a race he wouldn’t win. “I was with him round the clock at the end,”
Sharon described. May 15th 2007 the karting family lost a true friend of the
sport. His passing was a crushing blow to everyone whose life he’d touched.
Hundreds attended the memorial service a testament to the friends he made in
this life.
--
Bruce C. Walls
Action Enterprises, Inc.
Action Sports Photos/Action Sports Promotions
P.O. Box 914 Bethany Beach, De 19930
Phone/Fax 302.537.7223
E-mailbwalls@fast.net or
sportsshooter@verizon.net
www.actionpicsandpromos.com
January 16, 2008 AKRA Dirt Racers Celebrate 2007 Season
By Bruce C. Walls
AKRA Media Director
DEXTER, GA-Racers in the American Kart Racing Association (AKRA) American
Speedway Dirt Championship Series will celebrate their 2007 season by
crowning champions during a dinner banquet Friday February 29th at the
Dexter, GA Community Center. Located on 303 Mill Street the Community
Center is less then five miles from Dexter Speedway. The banquet is being
held in Dexter, GA as part of the American Speedway Championship Dirt
Series 2008 season opener racing there that Saturday March 1st.
The top five champions in each class and guest must reserve advanced tickets.
While the banquet is open to all racers and fans wishing to attend,
seating will be limited. Tickets are $12 per person.
Catering will be done by "Miss Pat's World Famous Down South Country Cooking.”
Her menu will include Bar-B-Que, Chicken Pot Pie, Green Beans, Black Eyed
Peas, Brunswick Stew, potato salad and rolls. For drinks she’s offering
ice tea, lemonade, and coffee. For desert she’s fixing her famous
homemade peach cobbler and homemade banana pudding. Come hungry.
To reserve tickets call the AKRA office at 704.764.8138.
Bruce C. Walls
Action Enterprises, Inc.
Action Sports Photos/Action Sports Promotions
P.O. Box 914 Bethany Beach, De 19930
Phone/Fax 302.537.7223
E-mailbwalls@fast.net or
sportsshooter@verizon.net
www.actionpicsandpromos.com
Press Contact: Colin Smith
Jet-Tech Motorsport
Phone: +44 (0)20 8144 7040
email: info@rotaxjetting.com
For immediate release
Press Release
January 13, 2008
Jet-Tech Motorsport announce the immediate release of Jet-Tech PRO v17.4 now
incorporating Data Analyst©
The most popular carburettor jetting and setup application in the world now
includes a fully searchable chassis configuration database.
•
Jet-Tech Motorsport, developers of the most accurate Kart Jetting and Set-up
software in the world, announce Jet-Tech PRO v17.4.
Jet-Tech Data Analyst© is the latest unique and copyright feature of Jet-Tech
PRO. It brings the power of a fully searchable chassis configuration database to
the world’s most popular carburettor jetting and setup application. All your
Kart chassis setups can now be saved to their own individual records. Lap-time,
track location and free-text notes can also be added to any record as required.
The user can search all records for any chassis variable. So if you wanted to
find your best chassis setup, for a particular circuit on slick tyres, using a
hard axle, a specific engine and a soft seat, Jet-Tech Data Analyst© will find
it for you at the click of a button!
Chassis set-up configurations can be loaded directly into the Jet-Tech PRO setup
screen, from which you can produce a detailed chassis setup sheet. This can be
printed and then used to guide you or your mechanic through your chassis
configuration when you're in the pit garage or awning.
Jet-Tech PRO utilises the unique Jet-Tech Dynamic Simulation Model© to precisely
model the air and fuel flow characteristics of each carburettor and incorporates
an exclusive calibration facility to give unrivalled accuracy to within 0.299%
of absolute. Jet-Tech uses its Dynamic Simulation Model© to exactly match your
individual engine/carb combination providing unrivalled accuracy in predicting
exact jetting, needle clip position and plug type for all single-choke Dell'Orto
carburettors as used in Rotax, ICC, RoK, TKM 4/, etc and all 2 or 3 jet
Diaphragm carburettors used in Comer, WTP, TKM, KF1/2/3 etc. In addition
Jet-Tech PRO has a host of sophisticated but easy to use features such as the
Carburettor Flow Bench©, Needle Analysis, Tyre Temperature Analysis, Gearing and
Chassis Weight.
With the latest addition of a professional chassis configuration database,
Jet-Tech PRO is the ultimate carburettor jetting Kart and chassis setup
application.
Full information on the range of Jet-Tech products can be found at
www.rotaxjetting.com or watch
the video overview at
www.rotaxjetting.com/video_tutorials.htm
Ends.
Attachments: Jet-Tech Logo ( JetTech6.jpg ); Jet-Tech PRO Screen Shots (
JTPro174SCRshots.jpg )
Third Annual Christmas in Dixie-Bigger and Better Then Ever
Tarlton Tops Seven Classes at 3rd Annual ‘Christmas in Dixie
Story by Bruce C. Walls
Photos by:
Bruce C. Walls
Susan Taylor-Walls
JASPER, FL-Speedway Dirt and Asphalt racers from around the country came to
Cross Roads Motorplex in Jasper, FL for the third annual American Kart
Racing Association’s (AKRA) ‘Christmas in Dixie’ December 27-30. Thursday
and Friday racers competed on the ¼-mile dirt oval. Saturday, with
threatening skies above and storms on the way, asphalt racers voted to
pack two days of racing plus the first Asphalt World 100 into one fast
paced day on the 1/5-mile paved oval.
Together teammates Trey Tarlton, of Great Falls, S.C. and Jamie Knopf, of
Lancaster, S.C., tallied 11 wins from 10 poles. For his efforts, Knopf,
collected $2,000 of the $50,000 purse paid out. Tarlton, who turned
11-years-old December 28th, began his seven- in streak topping that Thursday’s
dirt Junior 2 Blue Plate class the first of two wins he scored that day.
Tarlton topped qualifying with a 15.942-seconds run that was 0.402-second
faster then outside pole winner Austin Berry’s 16.344- econds effort.
After showing the nine-racer field around twice the race’s only caution
flag waved. Tarlton led the restart. Before the first half was booked
Tarlton piloted his Schu-powered Millenium kart through the field back
into clean air. Behind him racers battled for positions. Jesse Foster and
Austin Slaggy scrapped over second in the final laps with Foster securing
the position before trailing Tarlton by 13.980-seconds at the stripe. Slaggy
held third across the stripe trailed in the top five by Nick Hebrank and
Zach Napoleon who completed the top five 19-seconds later than Tarlton.
“I had the pole, I had a good crew, a good kart, and I had the motor,”
Tarlton credited. “My kart handled great and the motor really pulled
strong down the straight-aways. It felt like I lapped the whole field a
couple of times, maybe three times. I want to thank Michael Schumacher,
Jamie Knopf, my daddy for the tires and my mom for cheering me on and
Brook Dorman. I want to dedicate this win to Jamie Knopf.”
A 16.730-seconds lap earned Tarlton Junior Sportsman Champ’s pole. Tarlton
rocketed into the early lead, threaded his was through the field, and then
took the checkered flag with a 6.600-seconds advantage over second place
Dylan Colding. Rounding out the top five behind Colding were Hebrank, Josh
Cobb and Carson Haulman.
That Friday Tarlton backed up his two earlier wins in the same classes. He
secured Junior 2 Blue’s pole in 15.079-seconds and started second in
Junior Sportsman Champ. He led Junior 2 wire-to-wire then battled his way
to Junior Sportsman Champ’s checkered where Hebrank trailed him by
8.598-seconds. Jesse Foster finished second in Junior 2 trailing Tarlton
by 1.333- econds. Steven Finch finished third and was followed by Clayton
Calloway and Napoleon in the top five.
“I could tell they were behind me. I looked back and didn’t see anybody, I
guess I couldn’t look far enough back, but I knew they were pretty close
because I could hear them every now and then,” Tarlton said after winning
Junior 2. “I thought I was going to hit that lapper. My kart-handled
fine. I want to thank Michael Schumacher, Jamie Knopf, my mom and dad and
the crowd for cheering me on. I want to win all of my races this weekend.”
Darrell Colding clocked a 16.260-seconds top-qualifying lap for Junior
Sportsman Champ’s pole. Tarlton turned a 16.317-seconds lap for the
outside pole. On the opening lap karts crashed in turn one. Colding led
them single file back to turn one. Before they exited turn two Tarlton
took charge leading them to the stripe where he owned an 8.598-seconds
advantage over Hebrank. Further back Colding, and Alex and Josh Cobb
completed the top five.
When the action moved from dirt to asphalt Tarlton and his team moved over
to the asphalt oval where they would record three more wins starting with
day one’s Junior 2 Blue. Tarlton struggled in Junior 2’s qualifying
turning a 15.061-seconds run that was third fastest of six qualifiers.
Matthew Anderson earned the pole with a 14.949-seconds run. Anderson
hustled into the early lead with Tarlton tacked to his tailpipe. On their
second rounding Tarlton got a run on Anderson down the back straight
slipped under him entering turn three with the lead.
Anderson and Jimmy Pope fought over second. After securing second Pope
tried to close in on Tarlton. Tarlton continued building on his lead as
the field behind him battled for positions. In the final laps Austin Berry
blew by Anderson and Pope for second dropping them to third and fourth.
Berry closed in on Tarlton and tried to take the lead. Tarlton held
on capturing the checkered flag with a mire
0.155-second edge over Berry. Behind Berry, Pope, Anderson and Bryce
Dulabhan completed the podium.
“I could feel them coming,” Tarlton described. “The kart handled really
good I just got tired on the last five laps and started sliding a little
bit. I was a little worried at the end.”
Racers got several rounds of practice before qualifying for day two’s
features. Tarlton turned in two pole-winning laps. Times of 14.729 and
15.418-seconds put him in Junior Sportsman 2 and Junior Sportsman Champ’s
poles. In Junior 2, Tarlton shook off early challenges from outside pole
winner Matt Anderson. After shaking off Anderson he threaded his way
through the field. erry, the third fastest qualifier, hung behind in
a distant second closing the gap to 1.429-seconds at the end.
According to Tarlton, “I didn’t know how far back they were I couldn’t
feel them. The kart handled pretty good. Asphalt is different; it’s
tougher then dirt. I’m learning something about it.”
Tarlton tore off from Junior Sportsman Champs pole with outside pole
winner Bryce Dulabhan (15.633-seconds) battling him side- y-side. They
stayed that way for the first lap and most of the second before Dulabhan
tucked in behind Tarlton. Dulabhan stayed there for 18-laps trailing
Tarlton across the stripe 1.479-seconds late.
Knopf collected four wins, three on asphalt and one on dirt. With Monroe,
N.C. based Walt Barnes beside him Knopf (15.198- econds) led 34-Stock
Heavy racers to the green flag. Knopf floored his Schu-Powered Millenium
kart and began running away from the field. Chad (Houdini) Haithcock was
his closest pursuer for the $2,000 purse waiting at the checkered flag.
When it flew Knopf was 2.917-seconds ahead. Wesley Leblanc, Barnes and
Allen Loper filled the podium.
“The kart was hooked up perfect. We saved these tires for this race and
they worked great. I’ve got to thank Michael Schumacher for building me an
awesome motor, JT Stillwagon for building me an awesome kart,” Knopf
credited. “I also want to thank Millenium Racing Chassis, my friend Trey
Tarlton for showing me how to do it, my friends Richard, Erica and Brook
and Mr. Jerry Eddins for letting me do this, he’s the one who
owns everything and lets me race. I want to dedicate this win to all of the #48
haters.”
Earlier that evening Knopf was first under Stock Lite’s checkered flag, but he
was disqualified for rough driving and forced to surrender the win to
Haithcock. Wyatt Carpenter, Kati Leonard, Derrick Powers and Andy
Megronigle completed the official top five.
Knopf clinched three asphalt wins, two the first day and one the second day. He
struggled in Stock Heavy’s qualifying turning in a fast time of
14.165-seconds that place him sixth out of 11-qualfiers. From humble
beginnings Knopf quickly climbed through the field. Robby Hammond ruled
qualifying with a 13.995-seconds run. Barnes started next to him. While
Barnes and Hammond battled over the early lead Knopf reached third. Under
the half way signal Barnes took the lead from Hammond. Knopf closed in on
Hammond as the top three battled nose-to-tail.
In the final laps Knopf passed Hammond and as they battled down the front
straight with three laps left Knopf blasted by Barnes for the lead. Barnes
was just 0.224-second behind Knopf at the stripe. Close behind Barnes,
Hammond, Jody Pierce and Aaron Musall crossed in the top five.
“I started sixth, but when you’re in line that far back you feel like
you’re dead last. I thought I could get back up to third half way and I
was still closing in a little bit so I thought I had a chance,” Knopf
described. “The kart was real good. I want to thank Michael Schumacher,
Custom Creations, Keith Bishop for the awesome decals, LM
Motorsports for the tires and everybody that helped me get ready to come
down here this weekend. And I want to thank everybody at AKRA for a great
racing series.”
Three races later Knopf was leading Stock Lite racers to the green flag.
He earned the pole with a track blistering 13.787-seconds lap. Knopf
rocketed away from the field leaving Tara Henderson and Aaron Sapp
scrapping over second. Knopf owned a huge lead at the halfway mark.
At the stripe he was comfortably 4.501-seconds ahead of Henderson. Behind
her in the top five were Sapp, Chris Chandler and Kayla Robbins.
“This time of year is special. It’s good to come run good anytime, but
especially during Christmas. The kart was real good. I got on it one time
and it was a little loose for a couple of laps. I’ve just got to keep it down
low.”
And that’s what he did in the event’s final feature Stock Medium. Knopf
clocked the fastest qualifying time in 13.995-seconds. From there he
hustled into the early lead. Two laps later the caution flag cut his
comfortable lead. When racing resumed Knopf went back to work building a
comfortable cushion. Behind him Henderson and Chandler were scrapping over
second. Henderson secured second in the final laps and tried to run down
Knopf. She closed the gap some, but was 2.415-seconds behind Knopf when
the checkered flag waved. Chandler was third across the stripe trailed in
the top five by Robbins and Hank Bunch.
“I knew they were after me so I drove as hard as I could,” Knopf
explained. “About five to go I looked back and didn’t see anybody, but I
was still driving hard. I wish we’d of run these tires in the World 100 we
might have been a little better. It’s been a great weekend. I think we’ve
got 10 poles and 13 wins between me and Trey (Tarlton) over four days. We
did pretty good.”
Multi-winners also included Pelzer, S.C. based, Foothills Ford backed,
and Brett Heatherly who bagged four wins two on each surface. The
12-year-old Dover Powered Laser kart pilot produced his first national win
taking Junior Champ from the pole he earned with a 15.419-seconds
rounding. At the stripe he was comfortably 3.411-seconds ahead of
Jessica Bohatka.
“It was rough. The kart handled good and the motor had plenty of power. I
want to thank my daddy, my papa Johnny Bartlett, Jay Vaughn and Jerry
Dover,” Heatherly credited.
Heatherly posted Junior 3 Gold’s pole time in 14.945-seconds. Third
fastest qualifier Mason Jordan challenged Heatherly for the early lead.
Jordan shot by Heatherly to lead the 14-racer-field the first two times
around. Heatherly fought back taking the lead back. Heatherly took the
lead into traffic as a three-way battle for second raged behind him. In
the final laps ninth fastest qualifier Jay Gnann grabbed second. But by
then Heatherly was comfortably 3.113-seconds ahead of him.
On the asphalt track Heatherly swept the Junior Champ classes. On day one
he secured the pole with a 14.759-seconds lap. He dominated the main from
there cruising under the checkered flag with a comfortable 4.993-seconds
cushion over Colby Robert.
“I thought I’d lost it the first few laps,” Heatherly described. “I
didn’t know what to think. The kart was ok it was off a little bit, but
the motor was awesome.”
Jessica Bohatka blasted around the asphalt oval in 14.759-seconds for day
two’s Junior Champ pole. Heatherly’s 14.819-seconds fast time earn him the
outside pole. Bohatka blasted into the early lead with Heatherly hanging
on to her tailpipe. Two laps into it Heatherly worked past Bohatka.
Bohatka stayed close behind him trailing by just 0.443-second.
“The kart handled great. Johnny Bartlett’s motor was just amazing. I
didn’t know what was going on behind me. I guess those guys battling for
second gave me a chance to run away from them.”
Sixteen-year-old Kyle Chappell of Jacksonville, FL scored wins in Super
Heavy and Animal Heavy. Dee Paschal, of Unadilla, GA swept the Florida
All-Stars on dirt and Garrett Stewart did the same in 100cc Outlaw.
Dustin McGraw and R.J. Murphy each earned two win. On dirt day two McGraw
topped Animal Heavy and Stock Medium. Murphy, son of track owner Wade
Murphy, ruled both asphalt Rookie Purple classes. The results and
additional photos can be seen on the AKRA website at
www.americankarting.com .
ASPHALT WORLD 100: HISTORY IN THE MAKING
JASPER, FL-For many years the World 100 raced on the ¼-mile dirt oval at Cross
Roads Motorplex in Jasper, FL has been one of the national dirt season’s
major fall event. This year, at the request of asphalt racers, an Asphalt
World 100 was included in the American Kart Racing Association’s
‘Christmas in Dixie’ event. A $1,500 purse was up for grabs when pole
winner Jamie Knopf led the field to the green flag for the first
50-lap segment. Contributing to the total purse were Vickery’s Speed Shop,
Johnny Bartlett of Dover Power, Schu Power, Steve Collins Racing, the AKRA
Insurance Program and Walt Barnes Vinyl Siding.
Just like the dirt World 100 racers competed in two 50-lap segments.
During a 15-minute pit stop between segments racers and crews were allowed
to work on the kart. Only two people were allowed to work on the kart.
Either the driver and a pit crewmember or two pit crewmembers. They could
change engine oil, adjust tire pressure and adjust them up and down.
Tires could be cleaned, but had to be dry when presented back at the grid.
Knopf spun a 13.795-seconds for the first Asphalt World 100 pole. Walt
Barnes blasted around the track in 13.985-seconds for the outside pole.
Knopf shot into the initial lead for the first two laps. Davey Hicken, of
Jacksonville, FL, worked by Barnes and then closed in on Knopf. Hicken
took the lead from Knopf who dropped back to seventh.
Hicken held on as Barnes began challenging his lead. Barnes saw an opening
and drove his kart through it. Before he could lead a full lap Jody
Pierce, of Prattville, AL, passed him. Pierce opened a small lead while
Barnes and Hicken battled for second. Meanwhile, Knopf climbed back into
the top five. A few laps later he was trying to steal second from Barnes.
Knopf moved up to second and quickly began reeling Pierce in. Pierce put a
couple of lapped karts between them cushioning him as the white then
checkered flags flew.
“We’ve been struggling all day,” Pierce said. “We worked on the kart all
day to be good for this race. We were really lucky and fortunate, the sun
came out and that really helped my kart tremendously. Hopefully we’ll
continue to be as dominate in the second half as we were in the first
segment. We’re tickled at this moment,” said Jody who builds his own
motors Pierce Performance.” “The biggest thing we have to do is be
consistent. We’re making a lot of adjustments here at the break. Jamie Knopf is
a great competitor and an awesome driver just keeping up with him
and maintaining a fast pace. I hope to wear him out.”
First segment payouts included a $100 bonus to the sixth place finisher
Chase Fitzgerald. Other money finishers received $20 each. They were Kayla
Robbins, Joe Coaxum, Jason Pyros, Matt Mattingly and Paul Cornelius.
Officials counted down the final 10-seconds of the pit stop. When time
expired the pits went from a loud mad rush to a quite still. Karts were
lined up and given a few warm-up laps. Pierce headed them through turn
three. The pace picked up as they reach the final apex. Pierce slammed
down on his throttle as they exited turn four. So did the drivers behind
him, as they roared down the front straight. Going into turn one Aaron
Musall, Pierce and Knopf went three-wide. The excitement continued as they
battled down the back straight. Barnes entered the battle making it a four-racer
fight for the front. When they reached turn three Barnes dove low exiting
the turn firmly in the lead.
Hicken powered past Barnes several laps later. Knopf started pressuring Barnes.
Barnes held off Knopf’s challenges. Knopf and Barnes started working
together drafting by Hicken. Musall joined them in the top three as Barnes
reached the field’s rear taking the lead into traffic.
Barnes quickly threads through the field back into clean air. Behind him
the rest of the top five battled through lapped traffic trading positions
as they did. Three laps were left. Aaron Musall closed in on Barnes and
passed him for the lead. Coming out of turn four for the white flag they
were side-by-side. They stayed that way into turn one and down the back
straight for the final time. Musall dove low in three putting him solidly
in the lead. Barnes had one more chance. Out powering Musall exiting turn
four. Barnes tried the high side as Musall held the lead down to the
wire. Barnes was a mire 0.158-second behind Musall.
“The World 100 on dirt is something I’ve read about for a long time, so
being able to win the first World 100 on Asphalt is awesome. My dad did an
awesome job with the kart. It was pretty bad when we got here. I don’t
know what my dad did, but it was right. The Moon Power motor was awesome.
I’ve got to thank Mike Burns, Tony Belk, Phantom, Rhon Moon and Wayne
Baker. I got together with Chase (Fitzgerald) a little bit and
thought it was over and I was hoping to salvage a second place out of it.
But the kart didn’t stop coming in. I didn’t know if I should pass
him (Walt Barnes) on the last lap or with two to go. Every time I got by
him today he got me back. It was pretty wild.”
Knopf crossed third, Hicken followed in fourth followed by Pierce in
fifth.
--
Bruce C. Walls
Media Director
American Kart Racing Association
e-mail-bruce.walls@akrainc.com
Phone (302) 537.RACE (7223)
www.americankarting.us
KARTING'S FUTURE DEPENDS ON WHO YOU SUPPORT TODAY.
Copyright © 2008 Redbud69 Web Designs. All Rights Reserved.
WD
Enterprises
WD
Enterprises
WD
Enterprises
