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| July 16, 2008 News |
| EKN Trackside: IKF Road Race Grand Nationals - Wednesday Report |
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 | Phillip Arscott started the day off with his first Duffy win in TaG Light
(Photo: Kart Art) |
The second day of the 2008 International Kart Federation Road Race Grand Nationals at Portland International Raceway wnet into the books under clear blue skies with a clean raceday that featured no issues. The first round of Duffys were handed out to the deserving winners, many of whom earned their first-ever IKF title.
The first race for the prestigious Duffy included the TaG Light and TaG Junior divisions. With a rolling start set by pace kart driver Rick Scribner, the 30-minute race was underway. The TaG Light group was led by a two-kart fight for the win between Phillip Arscott and Scott Holmboe. The two went back and forth for 21 laps in a race that ended with a drag race to the scoring loop. By the time sheet, the two had crossed the line at the exact same moment, down to the thousandths of a second. By visual ruling, Arscott had the advantage to the line and his first Duffy in his hand. With the karts in the scale line, Arscott’s transponder was on the seat with Holmboe’s on the front of his side pod. The Pro Race winner from yesterday, Chris DeCicco, won a heated battle for third in front of Brent Harper and Terre Rothweiler. That changed following tech as a carb issue put Holmboe on the DQ list, moving everyone behind him up one position and bringing Guy Wilson onto the podium.
The Junior fight was a photo finish as well, however, it was not without controversy. Brandon Scheiber celebrated a bit too early as the checkered flag was waved roughly 100 feet before the scoring loop, allowing Conner Loewen to take the win. Kyle Byers was a close third with Zach Sharp and Scott Mueller completing the top-five.
 | Super Stock CR 125 Heavy saw Chris Hegar with his first Duffy of the event
(Photo: Kart Art) |
Race two featured the Super Stock CR 125 Heavy (Stock Moto) and the Formula 80 Senior divisions. The Formula One style start did not go well as the flagman caught a number of drivers sleeping, collecting a good bunch of drivers on the front straight, including Ryan Hegar. Chris Hegar came around lap one with a sizable lead over the remainder of the field until Bill Gulick ran him down quickly with the fast lap of the race (1:22.493). The two ran nose-to-tail for the remainder of the race until lapped traffic played a role in the finish. With Hegar leading, he made what he thought was a clear pass until the lapper came down on him. Trying to avoid the contact, Gulick ran high but ended up in the grass while Hegar continued on to take his first Duffy of the event. Gulick got back on track to finish 13 seconds behind at the line. Scott Beaudoin finished third ahead of David Jones. Bernard Adamson earned fifth at the line over Randy Small, however, Adamson was two pounds underweight, putting Small on the podium.
In Formula 80 Senior, Rob Hegar put in a dominant performance to take the provisional win, that is, until he was removed in the tech area for not weighing in. The fight for second ended up turning into the battle for the win with Dan Konald edging Justin Casey by just 0.338-seconds at the line for the victory. Spencer Waite finished third despite making only two laps.
The IKF Briggs World Formula Medium class saw three drivers battle hard for 18 laps. Christopher Abbas paced the lead group for most of the race and was able to hold off Mike Schorn by just 0.074-seconds with Chris Hatch crossing just behind. Todd Olson edged Brien Bluhm at the line for fourth with the remaining six karts crossing the line within three-tenths of a second. The first Duffy taken away on the event, however, was from Abbas as his engine would not pass technical inspection, handing Schorn his first Duffy and Expert status, moving Diane Perry on the podium in fifth.
 | Rick Holmboe (right) earned his first Duffy after 41 years in the sport thanks to the help of 'The Don' (left)
(Photo: EKN) |
Terre Rothweiler cruised to the Yamaha Limited Light Sprint class win, running a fast lap just over two seconds a lap quicker than any other drivers. Ray Bobo ran second while David Koomjan got off the line late but still ran up to third. Terry Clauson and Michael Estrella completed the top five.
Race group four saw another photo finish in the Super Stock Sit-up class after 20 laps as Jim White held off Aaron Stanford by just 0.016-seconds. Doug Gossett finished third while David Koomjan did not get off the line. Continuing with the fine thumbs of the IKF tech staff, White would be found illegal on CCs to give Stanford the win and his IKF Expert status.
TaG Enduro was shaping up to be a good 45-minute race between veterans Tim Doll and Rick Holmboe until a stripped belt put Doll on the sidelines, ending his chance at his first Duffy. Holmboe cruised to the win by 31-seconds to earn his first Duffy in 41 years of karting over Terry Kruschwitz. John Musil was third with Dave Storgard and John Sullivan round out the top five.
The final race of the day was the Formula 125 class that featured another battle between Holmboe and the Hegar brothers. The Hegars got away as Holmboe’s engine was not running up to snuff. The race seemed to be decided before the checkered flag fell, until lap 19 when Chris pulled off on the main straight, out of fuel. Two laps later, Ryan did not come around to take the white flag as he too ran out of gas. This gave Holmboe the victory over Brent Harper, who had a deflating left front tire and was able to hang on. Rob Hegar crossed the line third ahead of Jonathon Hale. With a attrition filled 30-minute run, Ryan Hegar was classified fifth.
Day three will begin with practice followed by five race groups, beginning at 10:45am. For a complete schedule of events this weekend, load the Event Schedule in PDF format. To follow updates throughout the week, watch the Official Discussion Thread along with the Official Event Page that will include a photo gallery from the week. |
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