|
 |
|
 |
| December 28, 2008 News |
| WKA Daytona KartWeek - Sunday Report |
| |
The World Karting Association Daytona KartWeek Presented by Cometic Gasket kicked off on Sunday with a full day of practice action for the George Kugler/Bridgestone Manufacturer’s Cup Series Margay Sprint Championships and the Dunlop Tire Road Racing Series Daytona Championships. Both the 7/10-mile sprint circuit just inside NASCAR Turn 3 & 4 and the 3.56-mile course for the road racing program were busy with action under near perfect weather as racers began their 2009 racing season off on the right path.
"The weather is fantastic and I hope it encourages more and more karters to continue to trickle into Daytona before the racing starts tomorrow,” stated Road Racing race director Brandon Taylor. "The weather is usually the one thing you can't control, so to have such a great forecast makes me think this is going to be one of the best KartWeek’s in recent memory. Obviously, safety is our No. 1 concern. WKA has done a great job organizing this event and we just hope competitors leave the track in the same condition they arrived, and hopefully a little happier in most cases.”
Entries are said to be over 600 for the Margay Sprint Championships event, down almost 100 from last year but encouraging considering the difficult economy. Monday's class entry lists include Cadet Final 1 at 46 entries; Yamaha Jr. Lite at 49; TaG Masters, which is a new class in 2009, has an impressive 25 entries; HPV Jr. Heavy currently features 37, while the TaG Final 1 entry list is currently at 48.
 | NASCAR's Jamie McMurray is making his second straight Daytona KartWeek start in the TaG division
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
An interesting side note during practice today was the quick times posted by the Rotax engines in TaG. By some stop watches along the pit lane, they were three-tenths quicker than other engines on track. Chris Larson, the WKA Manufacturer's Cup national championship in the TaG class, is back to defend his title, however, he will be aboard a Maranello chassis after running a First Kart in ’08. Jamie McMurray, the Roush-Fenway Racing NASCAR driver, is back for his second straight Daytona KartWeek and coming off an exciting race at the SKUSA SuperNationals XII in Las Vegas last month. Ryan Stewart is coming off a championship season in not one, but two WKA Manufacturer's Cup classes (Yamaha Heavy and HPV Heavy). Stewart is in Daytona to begin his defense of his championships as well as submitting his bid for others in 2009.
Following practice, the Manufacturer’s Cup Series competitors and teams headed over to the Daytona 500 Club, adjacent to the Gatorade Victory Lane, to honor the 2008 series champions and special award recipients.
On the road racing side, 2008 Triple Crown Winner and eKartingNews.com October Driver of the Month Courtney Atkinson will make the jump from the Junior division to the Senior level, battling some of the top road racers from across the country. One of them includes Mr. Daytona - Randy Fulks. A winner at the famed facility more than 30 times, Fulks will look to add to his total after getting shut out last year. With McMurray representing NASCAR on the sprint track, former karting world champion and NASCAR driver Lake Speed is back to his roots in his retirement years. Last year, Speed followed the series and won a the Spec 125 TaG championship and look defend his crown. With Bret Spaude running nine classes in the two days as mentioned in the preview, Ohio’s Richie Warren will be running a possible eight after a small hiatus from karting.
A busy two days of action is scheduled for Monday and Tuesday with the class line-up listed below. eKartingNews.com will be working with WKA, Go Racing Magazine and RaceFanRadio.com to provide updates, photos, results, and daily reports from Daytona Beach. To follow complete coverage and links to the WKA Daytona KartWeek Driver Blogs, head over to the Event Page.
Monday, December 29
Manufacturer’s Cup Series
1. Yamaha SuperCan Heavy
2. Cadet Final 1
3. TaG Masters
4. HPV Jr. Heavy
5. Yamaha Pipe
6. HPV Sportsman
7. TaG Final 1
8. Yamaha Jr. Lite
9. HPV Lite
Dunlop Road Racing Series
Group 1
Piston Port Can Sprint 360 #1
Jr. Sprint Lite
Briggs Raptor 360 #1 (lo)
Group 2
100cc Controlled
100cc Pipe Heavy
Piston Port Can Heavy
TaG-E #1 (lo)
Group 3
CIK 125 Shifter 1
WKA 125 Shifter 1
Stock Honda 1
Group 4
WKA Sprint 1
Stock Leopard Sprint Final 1
Briggs Animal 335
Briggs Animal 385
Briggs Jr. Sprint Lite
Group 5
Yamaha Sportsman Medium
Piston Port Can Lite
Jr. Enduro Lite
Group 6
Unlimited Final 1
B Stock
Formula 125
Formula 100
Group 7
Spec 125 TaG 1
Open Sprint 1 (lo)
Tuesday, December 30
Manufacturer’s Cup Series
1. Yamaha SuperCan Lite
2. Cadet Final 2
3. HPV Jr. Lite
4. TaG Final 2
5. Yamaha Sportsman
6. Yamaha Masters
7. Yamaha Jr. Heavy
8. HPV Heavy
Dunlop Road Racing Series
Group 1
WKA Sprint 2
Stock Leopard Sprint Final 2
Briggs Animal 360
Briggs Jr. Sprint Heavy
Group 2
100cc Controlled Spec
Yamaha Sportsman Heavy
Jr. Enduro Heavy
Group 3
Spec 125 TaG 2
Open Sprint 2 (lo)
Group 4
Piston Port Can Sprint 360 #2
Piston Port Can Sprint 380
Jr. Sprint Heavy
Briggs Raptor 360 #2 (lo)
Group 5
100cc Pipe Medium
Piston Port Can Medium
TaG-E #2 (lo)
Group 6
Unlimited Final 2
Controlled Limited
Group 7
CIK 125 Shifter 2
WKA 125 Shifter 2
Stock Honda 2 |
|
|
Go Top
|
|
|
|
|
