|
 |
|
 |
| August 17, 2008 News |
| EKN Trackside: WKA Manufacturer’s Cup Series - New Castle Sunday Report |
| |
 | Two more wins Sunday by Ryan Stewart help Birel earn the Manufacturer's Championship Trophy
(Photo: Go Racing Magazine) |
One thing that can be said about the 2008 WKA Manufacturer’s Cup Series season, it was a very competitive year. With a lot of first time winners and very few double class winners on the year showed just how competitive each division on the circuit was this past season. Wrapping up the final day at the Zoom Zoom Nationals at the New Castle Motorsports Park in Indiana, each class came down to the final few corners with many of the championship contenders battling adversity in the final race of the year. Ryan Stewart stood out among the many winners with his two additional wins on Sunday for a total of four on the weekend to go along with his six Streeter Super Stands Top Qualifier honors. With Stewart’s wins and three other victories, Birel took the Manufacturer’s Championship Trophy for the first time in the Award’s history.
The day however began with two new members inducted into the WKA Hall of Fame. 'JoJo' Jasimski and Mark Dismore were both honored at the morning drivers meeting. Each have provided many years to the karting community and both were near speechless when hearing their names announced by WKA President Rick Dresang and Executive Director Van Gilder.
Stewart began his second day of three classes with the HPV Heavy pole by two-tenths over Travis Firing (Margay). The two went toe-to-toe through the Prefinal with Stewart getting the edge at the line. Continuing on into the Final, it came down to the last few corners. Heading toward the turn 14, Firing looked inside however was not able to complete the pass. Coming toward the final corner, Stewart took the inside line with Firing challenged from the outside. Each gave the other room through the corner with Stewart getting to the line first by just four-tenths. With the win, Stewart earned the provisional championship over Firing. Wesley Boswell returned to the driver’s seat, originally running a Merlin but switched to a Monza after relieving his previous ride. Boswell fought with Jimmy Digirolamo (Merlin) for 10 laps until he retired, allowing the former WKA champion to cruise to third. Corey Reeves (Margay) won the battle for fourth with Brandon Newey (Top Kart) completing the top five.
The final Cadet Jr. Sportsman round saw the day’s first time winner as Jacob Donald (Arrow) won in a wild finish. Championship contender Jake Cole (Birel) led the majority of the race with four others in tow throughout the 12 laps. With the white flag displayed, the drivers began to shuffle for position, mostly down the final straight into the turn 15. Coming out of the mix was Donald as he took his first checkered flag of the season. Cole emerged in second and the provisional championship with Logan Bearden (Birel) before the green flag following a warm-up altercation. Collin Campbell (Birel) finished third with Trent Hindman (Merlin) and Kilian Bloat (Juncos) crossing fourth and fifth. In the mix was Kyle Crump (Birel) however a spin put him into the grass and the young pilot showed great sportsman ship in pushing his dead machine across the finish line.
HPV Jr. Heavy was a Merlin feast with the top four positions in qualifying taken by the green machines, led by Tommy Andersen. Shinya Michimi took his turn at the point in the Prefinal with the win. Cody Humphreys led early on in the Final before Andersen returned to the point. The two ran nose to tail with Humphreys unable to make a move, allowing Andersen to earn his second win on the year in the class and the provisional championship for two on the season. Michimi won the battle for third ahead of the fourth Merlin pilot, Shawn Sharkey. Zack Busch (Arrow) rounded out the top five.
 | Caleb Loniewski came away with the TaG victory Sunday
(Photo: Go Racing Magazine) |
Yamaha Lite was Stewart’s second triumph on Sunday but not without a challenge. After a sixth-tenth advantage in Qualifying, Julia Landauer (Birel) gave him a run in the Prefinal, separated at the line by just four-hundredths of a second. The challenger would change however as Grand National winner Jason Foley was on Stewart’s bumper with Landauer battling in the top five before mechanical issues put her on the sidelines. Foley made a nice move into turn-15 to assume the top spot but was short-lived as Stewart returned the favor the following lap. With the white flag displayed, Stewart appeared to have a good gap before Foley was able to get a great draft to the far end of the course. Coming back to the final corner, the two went side by side with Stewart coming through for the win. TJ Koyen (Merlin) was third with Tony Jump in fourth, earning the provisional championship in the class. Wyatt Gooden (Arrow) joined them on the podium.
Three different drivers paced the HPV Jr. Sportsman field on the day, first led by Christopher Barngrover (KRT). Troubles in the Prefinal put him on the sidelines early, allowing Jared Thomas (Birel) to take the pole for the main event. The top three, including Thomas, Bennett and Austin Self (Birel) broke away from the field and would decide the winner. Bennett paced Thomas for most of the 12 laps and continued on to take his second straight class win by 0.152-seconds. Self was alone in third while Michael Fortner (Arrow) won the battle for fourth over Jake Cole (Birel). With the third place run, Self is the provisional champion before counting the divisionals.
As we saw yesterday, no one was giving an inch out in the TaG division. Today saw the same, only more intense in the Final. From fourth place, Caleb Loniewski (Kosmic) led the opening lap of the feature ahead of Brandon Adkins (Tony Kart), Billy Lewis (Arrow), top qualifier Chris Larson (First Kart) and Prefinal winner Chris Wehrheim (Top Kart). Loniewski and Adkins ran 1-2 until lap eight when Adkins was able to get around for to lead the field. Loniewski returned the following lap to assume his position at the point.
As they received the white flag, the two were side by side with Loniewski crossing the line first on the outside and Adkins inside. The two made contact through turn one, bunching up the lead group. Loniewski was in front as Larson slide alongside Adkins. They went side by side through turn two when they made contact and spun in front of the pack. As they spun, CJ Lintner (Merlin) was collected and went for a ride. WKA officials through the red and checkered flag as the remainder of the field worked around for the final circuit. After officials convened, the rule stated to revert back to the previous lap, 11, with those involved being placed at the tail of the field. This gave Loniewski the victory, his third on the season. With Adkins, Larson, and Lintner being place to the rear, it put Lewis second with Evan Batt (Zanardi), Chris Keller (Gillard) and Jimmy Simpson (Arrow) into the top five. Though he would be classified 29th, Larson is the provisional champion over Loniewski by 25 points.
 | Ending the season on a high note, Sam Beasley earned his first win in Man. Cup competition
(Photo: Go Racing Magazine) |
An impressive run toward the end of the day came from Sam Beasley. The Arrow pilot has been fast all season long but trouble has kept him out off the top of the podium. The stars align for the Ohio driver as he was on his game in the Yamaha Jr. SuperCan Lite division. Earning the Prefinal victory after a fifth in Qualifying, Beasley lead a seven kart lead pack around the 1-mile circuit. Receiving heavy pressure from local driver Jack Manley (Arrow) while holding the rest at bay, the two swapped the top spot a few times before Beasley had the point as they took the white flag. Coming to the final corner, the two went side-by-side with Beasley coming through for the win by just 0.129-seconds at the line over Manley. Cody Humphreys (Merlin) also completed another solid run on the day in third while Sage Karam (Birel) impressed as well in fourth with Robby Seward (Merlin) completing the top five. The victory also put Beasley in the provisional championship before including the divisional results.
The final race of the weekend came down to two drivers, Ryan Phillips (Bandit) and CJ Lintner (Arrow). After a change of suits and a few bandages from the crash in TaG, Lintner went out in his Yamaha Sr. Sportsman Heavy machine from the second spot behind Phillips. The two were able to break away from the field for a one on one battle for the win. Phillips lead the majority of the race as Lintner sat back waiting for the optimal time. His move came into the final corner as Phillips took the inside line down the back stretch with Lintner forced to try the outside. Entering the corner side by side, Lintner was able to get his kart to stick while Phillips drifted wide, climbing the back of Lintner. Phillips spun off into the barriers while Lintner went on to cross the finish line in the grass for the win. His first checkered in the class on the year puts him in the provisional championship spot just nine points ahead of Kevin Nelson (Margay), who finished sixth. Ryan Stewart (Birel) ended his sixth class of the weekend with a runner-up finish ahead of Corey Reeves (Margay), Travis Firing (Margay) and Jason Foley (Merlin).
With Birel's seven victories on the weekend, they clinched the Manufacturer's Championship Trophy for the first time in the series history. Merlin earned one extra win on Sunday to tie Margay at 17 on the year for second place. Arrow finished fourth with 12 with First Kart completing the top five with six.
For full results on the weekend and to catch up on the daily reports, visit the Official Event Page. |
|
|
Go Top
|
|
|
|
|
