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| May 29, 2008 News |
| EKN Trackside: Mazda Race of the Americas Preview |
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The first big event on the year for the Snap-on Stars of Karting presented by IndyCar Series will take place this weekend with the fourth running of the Mazda Race of the Americas at the New Castle Motorsports Park in New Castle, IN. After three straight years at the Oklahoma Motorsports Complex in Norman, OK, the Stars officials have moved the event to the New Castle facility, located just 45 minutes from downtown Indianapolis. While moving the location, the series also moved it to the second round of both divisional schedules rather than the opening event of the year.
Built in 2003, NCMP began hosting races in 2004. The 1-mile circuit has hosted many events throughout the four seasons, including a Stars of Karting race each year. The series will make its fifth straight visit to the facility that was built and is owned by former IndyCar Series driver and Comet Kart Sales owner Mark Dismore.
The event format will be slightly different from the two opening rounds. Friday will be a full day of practice as is the norm with qualifying and heat races will all take place Saturday for all classes. Following qualifying, the Stars TaG and JICA divisions will be broken up into three groups due to the high entry counts. Each group will run two 12-lap heat races and the top 32 in JICA and top 36 in Stars TaG in heat race points will directly transfer to the Features with the remaining drivers to run the Last Chance Qualifiers Sunday morning for six transfer spots. ICC, TaG ICC and Cadet will run three heats (different lengths for each division) Saturday to determine their lineups for the two finals Sunday afternoon.
 | | New Castle Motorsports Park |
Two-time defending national champion Gary Carlton (PCH Motorsports/SSC East) heads into the Mazda Race of the Americas as the overall ICC championship leader following his two victories at the Western Division opener in Utah. He overtook the championship lead from current Eastern Division point leader Jordy Vorrath (Champion Racing/Intrepid USA) - who also sits second in the West following four straight runner-up finishes to start out the 2008 season. Carlton has been juggling his Euro schedule very well as well, earning championship points in his first KZ1 outing. Both have been fast at the facility in the past, Vorrath took both victories in 2006 while Carlton stood on top of the podium two times last year. The current track record is held by Matt Jaskol, who in 2006 put down a 1:00.387 lap time. The question is, will either Carlton or Vorrath, break that record and dip below the one-minute mark?
Chasing them will be a pair of Canadian CRGs with Fritz Leesmann and Michael Vincec at the controls. Leesmann, a Californian driving for the Canadian team PSL Racing, is the only driver aside from Carlton to earn a win thus far with his opening final victory in Ocala. Brake issues took him out in final two but out West he sits third behind Carlton and Vorrath. Though he will be visiting the New Castle facility for the first time, he adapts well to new surroundings, proved by winning the Florida Winter Tour Pro Shifter championship in his first year. Vincec - driving for Cameron Motorsports - is coming off a solid debut at the European Championships in the competitive KZ2 division. The Canadian currently sits third in the East standings, behind Vorrath and Danilo Dirani (Tony Kart USA).
Sitting fourth in both the East and West is Texan Cody Jolly. After starting the year out with Cameron Motorsports aboard a CRG and earning a podium, Jolly switched to an Intrepid under the Champion Racing/Intrepid USA tent, running seventh and fourth in his first weekend in the seat. With one weekend under his belt, Jolly will be more familiar with the Intrepid and should be up front again.
 | Gary Carlton will look to extend his 2008 winning streak this weekend in New Castle
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
A few wild cards on the weekend include the return of David Jurca, Alex Speed making his first New Castle start, and the performance of the ICC rookies. Jurca will be back under the Italian Motors tent after competing in the VW Jetta TDI Cup during the first two Stars weekends. The Washington resident earned a victory at the Mosport round and sits atop the series standings. Jurca was fast last year, giving Carlton trouble early on and should be confident heading into the weekend. Former two-time national champion Speed will make his first trip to the New Castle facility, and will be the first driver to compete in ICC aboard a Trackmagic at the course. With him behind the wheel of a Mike Speed-tuned machine, you can’t count out the duo. Along with Jolly, rookies Jacob Neal, Scott Rossi, and Arie Ouimet will be making their first New Castle starts in ICC. All have competed in ICA and/or JICA but never with six-gears of power. Keep an eye on those young pilots.
In the new TaG ICC division, Italian Motors’ Michael Hogg and Bryan Eady (Champion Racing/Leading Edge Motorsports) are locked at 200 points, each earning double wins at the two division openers. Hogg was quick in the rain at Ocala while Eady was fast in the dry in Utah. Young guns Matthew Mair and Jose Zanella - both running for Tony Kart USA - have challenged both and should be on the charge again in New Castle. Joining the fight will be two-time Rock Island Grand Prix King of the Streets winner Kyle Wiegand. The Team Top Kart USA pilot will mix it up with the top runners to try his hand at the TM K9ES engine.
Also locked up at the top of the standings is the Stars TaG division. Chris Wehrheim and Joey Wimsett each dominated their respective division openers. Wehrheim - driving for Team Top Kart USA - leads on the East where as Wimsett - running under the Champion Racing/Intrepid USA tent - is on top in the West. Wehrheim is focused on a championship season after the crumble of the ICA division where as Wimsett is an up and coming star in the making. Each are looking to place themselves a top the eKartingNews.com TaG Driver Rankings where Joey Licata Jr. currently resides but will be absent at the Race of the Americas due to a crash at the Miller event and is still recovering from a back injury.
 | Chris Wehrheim currently holds the number one spot in the TaG East with two victories at Ocala
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
On the chase currently are G-Phactory/Sodi Racing USA drivers Michael Self and Pat Iannucci. Both stood on the podium in Utah, placing second and third respectively. Chris Scribner (Team Top Kart USA) and Chris Larson (FirstKart.com) round out the overall top six. Scribner was fast on day one in Utah but fell back in the finals after starting from the pole. Larson drove to a runner-up finish in final one in Ocala but had tire issues that dropped him back in final two.
As in the past, the JICA category continues to be very competitive and 2008 is no different. Currently, Phil DeLaO and Gustavo Menezes are locked in the Western Division and overall championship fight, each running 1-2 in Utah. DeLaO (Advanced Karting) picked up his first ever Stars victory in Utah and was close to a second straight until a slight error allowed Menezes to earn his first win of the year.
Fifteen points back are defending JICA national champion Jarvis Gennari and Remo Ruscitti - who lead the Eastern Division standings. Gennari spent the better part of the Ocala event adjusting to his new team (SSC East) and his new chassis (CRG) after spending last year with Tony Kart USA. Ruscitti (Italian Motors) earned his first Stars victory in the opening final and will look for his second at New Castle.
Behind them, Brendan Phinny (Team Top Kart USA) will challenge with Stars rookie Alessandra Madrigal (J3 Competition) and Ocala winner Daniel Formal (Advanced Karting) among the front runners as well. JICA rookies Sage Karam (MRP-Birel America) - the defending Cadet national champion - and his rival from last year Tyler Thomas (Team Top Kart USA) were impressive in Ocala and both will look to rebound after a tough Utah event. With over 40 drivers schedule to compete, the action should be exciting.
Cadet is controlled by Stars rookie Trent Hindman (H&S Motorsports). With Franklin Motorsports’ Jamie Sieracki, Mike Doty Racing, and driver coach Tyler Dueck all providing assistance to the youngster, three straight wins to start out the year is not a bad beginning. Santino Ferrucci (San Yves Motorsports) has the other victory on the year in the wet battle in Ocala. He sits just 10 points back from Hindman with Andrew Murray’s (MRP-Birel America) two runner-ups in Utah just 10 points back from him. Broc Yocom (Champion Racing/Intrepid USA), Garett Grist (Team Top Kart USA), Breyton Santee (J3 Competition), Mason Chelootz (Team Top Kart USA) and others will look to move up in the standings at the ‘East vs. West’ battle that will see big lead drafts with the long straights at the New Castle circuit.
eKartingNews.com will have complete coverage of the event with their Trackside Live program. Along with daily reports, full results and photo galleries, forum updates following each on track session will be available in the Official Discussion Thread.
ICC Provisional Entry List
| No | Driver | Team | Chassis | Engine| 101 | Tom Cadieux | PSL Karting | CRG | Maxter | | 105 | Michael Vincec | Cameron Motorsports | CRG | TM | | 111 | Shane Terrel | Champion Racing/Intrepid USA | Intrepid | TM | | 118 | Nicholas Johnson | Champion Racing/Intrepid USA | Intrepid | TM | | 119 | Ryan Yop | G-Phactory/Sodi Kart USA | Sodi Kart | TM | | 121 | Anthony Llopiz | Prokart/Quik Park | CRG | Maxter | | 122 | David Carmendy | Cameron Motorsports | CRG | TM | | 123 | Arie Ouimet | SSC East | CRG | Maxter | | 125 | Cole Mathewson | Evolution Karting | CRG | Maxter | | 127 | Josh Schreiber | PSL Karting | CRG | Maxter | | 128 | Kyle Wharff | Tony Kart USA | Tony Kart | Vortex | | 131 | Alex Manglass | SSC East | CRG | Maxter | | 132 | Scott Rossi | Genesis Racing | CRG | TM | | 133 | Jacob Neal | PCH Motorsports/PSL Karting | CRG | Maxter | | 141 | Alex Speed | Trackmagic | Trackmagic | Maxter | | 142 | Evan Walters | Champion Racing/Intrepid USA | Intrepid | TM | | 143 | Devon Nichols | Champion Racing/Intrepid USA | Intrepid | TM | | 147 | Jordy Vorrath | Champion Racing/Intrepid USA | Intrepid | TM | | 148 | Richard Benitez | J3 Competition | Kosmic | TM | | 150 | Jess Peterson | PSL Karting | CRG | Maxter | | 151 | Gary Carlton | PCH Motorsports/SSC East | CRG | Maxter | | 161 | Fritz Leesmann | PSL Karting/Kohilo Racing | CRG | Maxter | | 165 | Brandon Frank | Champion Racing/Intrepid USA | Intrepid | Maxter | | 168 | Corey Rossman | PSL Karting | CRG | Maxter | | 169 | Cody Jolly | Champion Racing/Intrepid USA | Intrepid | Maxter | | 170 | Chance Terrel | Champion Racing/Intrepid USA | Intrepid | TM | | 171 | Ron White | KLS Racing | GP | TM | | 181 | Derek Crockett | PG Racing | Wild Kart | TM | | 184 | Alex Grandahl | Isanta Racing | Birel | Maxter | | 188 | Ryan Kinnear | Champion Racing/Intrepid USA | Intrepid | TM | | 192 | David Jurca | Italian Motors | Italkart | TM | | 194 | Hayden Duerson | Italian Motors | Italkart | TM | | 197 | Clayton Snow | Syar Motorsport | Energy | TM | |
TaG ICC Provisional Entry List
| No | Driver | Team | Chassis| 502 | Nicholas Boulle | Screaming Talent | Gillard | | 511 | Kurt Mathewson | Evolution Karting | CRG | | 514 | Tyler Spitler | Screaming Talent | Gillard | | 515 | Matthew Mair | Tony Kart USA | Tony Kart | | 521 | Jason Lee | Evolution Karting | CRG | | 530 | Brian Eady | Champion Racing/Leading Edge Motorsports | Intrepid | | 543 | Greg Welch | Shockwave Karting | Shockwave | | 551 | Matt Zeis | PG Racing | Wild Kart | | 566 | Max Riddle | FirstKart.com | First Kart | | 571 | Don McGreggor | Italian Motors | Italkart | | 586 | Kyle Wiegand | Team Top Kart USA | Top Kart | | 587 | Jose Zanella | Tony Kart USA | Tony Kart | | 595 | Michael Hogg | Italian Motors | Italkart | |
TaG Provisional Entry List
| No | Driver | Team | Chassis | Engine| 4 | Jason Toft | KLS Racing | GP | Parilla | | 5 | Zach Beard | MRP-Birel America | Birel | Parilla | | 400 | Michael Politis | G-Phactory/Sodi Kart USA | Sodi Kart | Parilla | | 401 | Mark Dismore, Sr | Comet Kart Sales | Arrow | Parilla | | 403 | Josef Newgarden | Comet Kart Sales | Arrow | Parilla | | 404 | Adam Zeen | G-Phactory/Sodi Kart USA | Sodi Kart | Rok TT | | 406 | Chris Wehrheim | Team Top Kart USA | Top Kart | Parilla | | 408 | Will Martindale | Trackmagic | Trackmagic | Rok TT | | 409 | Shane Walters | Champion Racing/Intrepid USA | Intrepid | Parilla | | 410 | AJ Codalota | Evolution Karting | Top Kart | Parilla | | 413 | Cody Diede | Diede Racing | Intrepid | Parilla | | 414 | Eddie Olpin | Reaction Karting | First Kart | Parilla | | 415 | Federico Moreno | PSL Karting | CRG | Rok TT | | 416 | Cody Elliott | Franklin Motorsports | Merlin | Parilla | | 417 | Chris Scribner | Team Top Kart USA | Top Kart | Parilla | | 418 | Neil Alberico | Team Top Kart USA | Top Kart | Rok TT | | 419 | Kris Hoffbeck | Genesis Racing | CRG | Rok TT | | 420 | Michael Self | G-Phactory/Sodi Kart USA | Sodi Kart | Parilla | | 421 | Jimmy Simpson | Comet Kart Sales | Arrow | Parilla | | 422 | Victor Cabrera | J3 Competition | Kosmic | Rok TT | | 423 | AJ Whisler | FirstKart.com | First Kart | Parilla | | 426 | Chris Larson | FirstKart.com | First Kart | Parilla | | 429 | Cy Schumacher | J3 Competition | Kosmic | Rok TT | | 430 | Sean Meier | DL Motorsports | Kosmic | Rok TT | | 432 | David Zippie | Dog House Racing | Birel | Parilla | | 433 | Juan Delgado | Screaming Talent | Gillard | Parilla | | 435 | Evan Batt | Screaming Talent | Gillard | Parilla | | 440 | Brandon Newey | Newspeed Autosports | Top Kart | Parilla | | 441 | Troy Diede | Diede Racing | Intrepid | Rok TT | | 444 | Eddy Tinini | Genesis Racing | CRG | Rok TT | | 447 | Colin Katzakian | Diede Racing | Intrepid | Parilla | | 450 | Jeremy Nelson | J3 Competition | Kosmic | Rok TT | | 456 | Andrick Zeen | G-Phactory/Sodi Kart USA | Sodi Kart | Rok TT | | 457 | Robert Stout | Team Top Kart USA | Top Kart | Parilla | | 460 | Enrico Menotti | Cameron Motorsports | CRG | Parilla | | 466 | Nate Norenberg | Champion Racing/Intrepid USA | Intrepid | Parilla | | 469 | CJ Lintner | Comet Kart Sales | Arrow | Parilla | | 471 | Cody Tracy | Reaction Karting | First Kart | Parilla | | 472 | Joey Wimsett | Champion Racing/Intrepid USA | Intrepid | Parilla | | 476 | Matt Codalota | Codalota Racing | Margay | Parilla | | 477 | Blake Teeter | Champion Racing/Intrepid USA | Intrepid | Parilla | | 482 | Pat Iannucci | G-Phactory/Sodi Kart USA | Sodi Kart | Parilla | | 485 | Billy Lewis | Comet Kart Sales | Arrow | Parilla | | 486 | Kyle Wiegand | Team Top Kart USA | Top Kart | Parilla | | 489 | Victor Hartings | FirstKart.com | First Kart | Parilla | | 490 | Scott Saunders | Cameron Motorsports | CRG | Parilla | | 494 | Aaron Milavitz | Franklin Motorsports | Merlin | Parilla | | 495 | Hayden Ritter | Team Top Kart USA | Top Kart | Parilla | | 499 | Cole Mann | San Yves Motorsports | Maranello | Parilla | |
JICA Provisional Entry List
| No | Driver | Team | Chassis | Engine| 1 | Jarvis Gennari | SSC East | CRG | Parilla | | 2 | Gustavo Menezes | Tony Kart USA | Tony Kart | Parilla | | 4 | Miles Maroney | Cameron Motorsports | CRG | Parilla | | 5 | Spencer Pigot | Screaming Talent | Gillard | Parilla | | 301 | Kevin Monteith | FirstKart.com | First Kart | Parilla | | 304 | Austen Duncan | PG Racing | Wild Kart | Parilla | | 305 | Tommy Beshro | PSL Karting | CRG | Parilla | | 306 | Reid Jeffries | Privateer | Gillard | Parilla | | 308 | Stefan Rzadzinski | Genesis Racing | CRG | Parilla | | 310 | Bristol Gunderson | San Yves Motorsports | Maranello | Parilla | | 311 | James Michael Sullivan | FirstKart.com | First Kart | Parilla | | 314 | Kelsey Nilsson | MMI Motorsports | Tony Kart | Parilla | | 317 | Nick Neri | San Yves Motorsports | Maranello | Parilla | | 318 | Chad Grunow | Cameron Motorsports | CRG | Parilla | | 320 | Taylor Miinch | Team Top Kart USA | Top Kart | Parilla | | 323 | Jeffrey May | Cameron Motorsports | CRG | Parilla | | 324 | Madeline Komar | San Yves Motorsports | Maranello | Parilla | | 326 | Tyler Thomas | Team Top Kart USA | Top Kart | Parilla | | 327 | Angel Caban | J3 Competition | Kosmic | Parilla | | 328 | Tristan Degrand | J3 Competition | Kosmic | Parilla | | 331 | Artie Carpenter | Team Top Kart USA | Top Kart | Parilla | | 335 | Brett Felkins | Leading Edge Motorsports | Intrepid | Parilla | | 337 | Daniel Formal | Advanced Karting | Tony Kart | Parilla | | 341 | Sage Karam | MRP-Birel America | Birel | Parilla | | 343 | Christian Vogel | Vogel Racing | Tony Kart | Parilla | | 344 | Grant Vogel | Vogel Racing | Tony Kart | Parilla | | 345 | Evan Komar | San Yves Motorsports | Maranello | Parilla | | 347 | Samuel Beasley | Beasley Motorsports | Arrow | Parilla | | 350 | Tatiana Calderon | Tony Kart USA | Tony Kart | Parilla | | 353 | CJ Cronis | San Yves Motorsports | Maranello | Parilla | | 354 | Mike Marotta | Leading Edge Motorsports | Intrepid | Parilla | | 364 | Thomas Micich | G-Phactory/Sodi Kart USA | Sodi Kart | Parilla | | 366 | Brendan Phinny | Team Top Kart USA | Top Kart | Parilla | | 369 | Bobby Runyan | Raging Bull Motorsports | Margay | Parilla | | 372 | Jordan Jadallah | Kohilo Racing | CRG | Parilla | | 376 | Pierce Baldus | Team Top Kart USA | Top Kart | Parilla | | 377 | Phil DeLaO | Advanced Karting | Tony Kart | Parilla | | 387 | Rumil Leal | Tony Kart USA | Tony Kart | Parilla | | 391 | Timmy Bachman | Leading Edge Motorsports | Intrepid | Parilla | | 393 | Zach Veach | ADS Motorsports | Tony Kart | Parilla | | 394 | Shawn Sharkey | H&S Motorsports | Merlin | Parilla | | 395 | Remo Ruscitti | Italian Motors | Italkart | Parilla | | 396 | Alessandra Madrigal | J3 Competition | Kosmic | Parilla | |
Cadet Provisional Entry List
| No | Driver | Team | Chassis| 0 | Mason Chelootz | Team Top Kart USA | Top Kart | | 1 | Santino Ferrucci | San Yves Motorsports | S1 | | 5 | Gresham Wagner | MRP-Birel Motorsports | Birel | | 6 | Logan Bearden | MRP-Birel Motorsports | Birel | | 7 | Austin Self | MRP-Birel Motorsports | Birel | | 9 | Andrew Murray | MRP-Birel Motorsports | Birel | | 11 | Breyton Santee | J3 Competition | Kosmic | | 19 | Garett Grist | Team Top Kart USA | Top Kart | | 22 | Broc Yocom | Champion Racing/Intrepid USA | Intrepid | | 29 | Austin Garrison | ADG/PDB | Gillard | | 30 | Corey Towles | Shockwave Karting | Shockwave | | 43 | Davey Manthei | Team Top Kart USA | Top Kart | | 48 | Austin Schoonmaker | Privateer | Arrow | | 51 | Coltan Brooks | PG Racing | Wild Kart | | 55 | Kurtis Deboer | Cameron Motorsports | CRG | | 64 | Trent Hindman | H&S Motorsports | Merlin | | 69 | Ashley Rogero | Privateer | Kosmic | | 74 | Luis Tyrrell | Team Top Kart USA | Top Kart | | 97 | Mitchell Griffin | Tony Kart USA | Tony Kart | | 98 | Diego Borrelli | Tony Kart Florida | Tony Kart | |
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