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| July 18, 2008 News |
| EKN Trackside: IKF Road Race Grand Nationals - Friday Report |
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 | Chris Hegar put his Duffy total to three with two wins in the final day of action
(Photo: EKN) |
Racing action at the 2008 International Kart Federation Road Race Grand Nationals at the Portland International Raceway completed with drivers saving the best for the final day of action around the 1.9-mile circuit in Portland, Oregon. With zero red flag situations all week long, a friendly atmosphere, and plenty of racing time for all, the event host - Portland Karting Association - put on one of the best Grand Nationals in recent history boasting nearly 330 entries. On-track Chris Hegar added two more Duffy’s for a event total of three while Phillip Arscott became an IKF expert with his second win during his lunch break.
First race of the day started out with a couple early battles with 80cc Laydown and Yamaha KT100S Light. A group of four ran nose to tail in the 80s with Doug Dyer, Rus Dyer, Steve Doty, and Stan Park. Both Rus and Doug Dyer retired early, on different laps, while Doty was able to get away from Park through traffic. Doty took the Duffy win by a 10-second margin while Park held off a charging Richard Holmboe. Martha Morse finished fourth while Kevin Sackville rounding out the top five. Three drivers ran up front in the Yamaha group until Gulick laid down the hammer and some quick lap time to pull away and take his second win of the event. Terry Krushwitz rebounded from yesterday’s DNF to hold off David Lehman for second. Ralph Oakes was fourth with Ken Oliver making up the final podium step.
The first heat of the Formula 125 Limited and IKF Intercontinental E was on track next for their first of two 20-minute race. Only four made it to the track for the 125s with Chris Hegar edging out Brent Harper at the line by just 0.082-seconds. Terry Hulbert and Gene Bircher ran third and fourth. The ICE race saw Paul Band take the early lead until he spun off course on lap 11, ending his race in the dirt. This gave Kyle Rice the point and he would hold off Eric Johnson for the heat win. A great fight for third saw three drivers battling around the 1.9-mile circuit for 15 laps. John Rounds ended the fight in front and finishing third ahead of the 4-stroke machine of Luis Gularte and Ron Shaw.
 | The World Formula group put on another saw with Brien Bluhm (yellow kart) taking the win
(Photo: EKN) |
The race of the day was a 22-lap battle royal in the Super Stock CR125 division. An eight kart group formed from the drop of the green shuffled positions every lap. Lap 12, Scott Holmboe pulled onto pit lane with a severely blistered left rear tire. Lap 19, the lead group lost one more with Scott Beaudoin on the sidelines as the leaders space out some. Coming up through lap traffic, a group of five bunched back up for the final two laps of the race. As they came to the line, it was three wide with Gulick and both Hegar brothers with Chris coming from third to first at the line by just 0.007-seconds ahead of Ryan. Gulick crossed third with Bill Shields and Dan Konold all crossing the line within four-tenths of a second.
Twenty-eight karts hit the track for race four with three groups running at the same time - IAME Cup, Rotax Max Light, and West Coast Briggs World Formula. Terre Rothweiler had the IAME field covered until his engine through a connecting rod through the engine on lap 17. The major engine failure cost him his third Duffy of the event. With his misfortune, it allowed Michael Grijalva to assume the point and the win. Brent Thomas edged David Mills for second after a 20-lap clash. Larry Oneal was fourth with Larry Stevens fifth.
Rotax was another showdown between Phillip Arscott and Scott Holmboe. Arscott’s attendance was an unusual circumstance you do not find at the kart track. The young driver left work at a local business for an hour lunch break to race the 30-minute event. Getting to the track on time, he and Holmboe took the green and each took their turn at the point before lap traffic played its role in the race. With the lappers getting in between them, Arscott was able to break away in the final few laps. The win gave Arscott his second Duffy of the event and his Expert status. Robert Linse was third with Joe Kitterman and Guy Wilson rounding out the top five. After scaling the kart, Arscott quickly jumped out of his driving gear and across the track before the next race started while his father stayed with the kart to get it through tech and accepted the Duffy as a proud father.
As was the case throughout the weekend, it was another barn-burner for the World Formulas. With eight in the lead pack, the 17 laps they completed came down to the final few feet. Diane Perry had the advantage coming on the front straight until Brien Bluhm got the slingshot and edged her at the line by just 0.019-seconds. Mike Balden was third with Chris Abbas and Chris Hatch completing the top five.
 | Troy Ruttman Jr. Memorial Award winner David Lehman
(Photo: EKN) |
The second heat race for Formula 125 Limited Heavy and ICE took to the track with a near identical finishing order. Chris Hegar beat Brent Harper to the line, earning his third Duffy of the event. Rob Hegar made the second heat to finish third ahead of Terry Hulbert and Gene Bircher. As he did in heat one, Kyle Rice put it to the eleven other ICEs on the track to win the race and the Duffy. Eric Johnson was second again, 10-seconds back with Paul Bond rebounding from the spin in heat one to finish third, just ahead of John Rounds and Luis Gularte.
The final race of the day was the new ET Racer class. Open to any kart that meets the current safety standards while utilizing any type of engine under the 220cc limit, drivers will race against the clock rather than each other. The revised ‘Run What Ya Brung’ type class for senior level drivers will award the best drivers who run consistent laps during the 30-minute race. Essentially, the PKA scoring staff will take your best lap in that race and project the number of laps you would complete at that pace in the allotted time. The driver with the best percentage after factoring the actual distance traveled will be the class winner.
The karts entered ranged from 125cc shifter, Yamaha laydown, TaG karts and World Formulas, featuring drivers from the week and IKF officials Rick Scribner and Terry Ives. In the end, the top-10 all ran within 98% of their goal. When the calculations were tabulated, Robert Linse in a TaG kart was the most consistent driver in the 30-minute race with a 98.98% lap count. Mike Balden, Terry Ives, and Evan Davis were second, fourth and fifth in World Formula karts while Ty Scholorer was third in a TaG kart.
Special awards handed out during the final podium ceremonies included the Troy Ruttman Jr. Memorial Award, given to the person/team with the most innovative and best appearing kart. IKF officials awarded David Lehman for his Yamaha laydown machine. The competitors voted on the Driver of the Event and Sportsman of the Event. It was no surprise that four-time Duffy winner Scott Holmboe was chosen as the Driver of the Event. The Hegar family was deemed as the Sportsmen of the event.
To discuss the event, visit the Official Discussion Thread along with the Official Event Page that includes a photo gallery from the week. |
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