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| June 13, 2008 News |
| EKN Trackside: WKA Manufacturer’s Cup Series Grand Nationals Preview |
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The World Karting Association George Kugler/Bridgestone Manufacturer’s Cup Series Driven by Mazda will reach the halfway point of the 2008 season this weekend. The Racersites.com Grand Nationals at the Badger Raceway in Dousman, Wisconsin will be the third of five rounds for the series. With entries of over 600 in Daytona and over 500 in Charlotte, the same high number is expected over the June 13-15 weekend as the prestigious WKA Eagle will be awarded to all the race winners. Weather could be an issue as rain is forecasted on and off throughout the weekend however everyone’s appetites will be fulfilled with Badger Kart Club hosting a Friday night BBQ.
The first two rounds of the series has seen some tight competition in all the classes. The most popular thus far have the TaG and Cadet Jr. Sportsman divisions. After four finals, Chris Larson has the championship lead by just 30 points over friendly rival Caleb Loniewski - each with one win on the year. Indiana’s CJ Lintner - also one feature win - and Matt Codalata sit third and fourth but will need to gain some points this weekend if they want to challenge for the championship.
In Cadet, four drivers are within 40 points, led by Stephen Kalogiannis who has yet to win a feature this year. Jake Cole and Austin Self each have a win with Logan Bearden recording top finish of second thus far. Cole has a 115 point advantage in HPV Jr. Sportsman over Jeff Myers Jr. while Self holds a 15 point gap over Ben Hewitt in Yamaha Jr. Sportsman.
 | Badger Raceway
(Photo: badgerkartclub.com) |
Continuing with the popular Junior classes, Zack Busch looks to be the early favorite for the prestigious WKA Triple Crown as he currently holds the top spot in two classes - HPV Jr. Heavy and Yamaha Jr. SuperCan Lite - while sitting second in HPV Jr. Lite behind Tommy Andersen. Last year’s Triple Crown winner Cody Robinson is locked at the top with fellow Ohioan Dakota Pesek in the Yamaha Jr. SuperCan Heavy class.
On the early watch for Triple Crowns in the Senior category, current Corey Reeves (2003, 2004, 2005) has the best shot thus far leading two divisions - Yamaha Heavy and HPV Heavy - and currently second in Yamaha Sr. Sportsman Lite behind 2006 Triple Crown winner Brandon Adkins. The Ohio native also leads the HPV Lite division ahead of TJ Koyen - the championship leader in the Yamaha Lite class. Other championship leaders include veteran Kevin Nelson (Yamaha Sr. Sportsman Heavy) and Jeff Jewell (Yamaha Masters).
In the Manufacturer’s Championship Trophy presented by Custom Trophy standings after the first two rounds, 2007 winner Margay has the top spot with 11 victories, two more than the challenging Birel brand. Arrow sits third with four wins while Merlin and First Kart sit locked at three wins.
eKartingNews.com will be providing the Trackside Live race coverage throughout the weekend. Friday will see forum updates in the Official Discussion Thread with any news during the practice day followed by a new photo gallery. Continuing Saturday and Sunday will be unofficial top-10 results posted in the thread as they sit on the scale line after each on-track session along with daily reports, full results and photos from Go Racing Magazine. |
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