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| March 06, 2009 News |
| EKN Trackside: Snap-on Stars of Karting Ocala Preview |
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The Snap-on Stars of Karting will begin its 10th season this weekend as the Eastern Division schedule starts off the year at the Ocala Gran Prix facility in Ocala, Florida. From its beginnings in 2000, the Stars of Karting program has slowly developed into the absolute upper echelon of the karting scene in North America, both in terms of the driver depth and the quality of the on-track staff putting on the events. The Ocala opener will mark the beginning of an eight-month journey towards the crowning the program's seven national champions, which will occur at the Stars of Karting National Finals in October at the Oklahoma Motorsports Complex.
The first of six championship events scheduled on the year will also be the first under the new leadership of new Stars President Alan Rudolph. Announced as the program's new frontman on February 5, the veteran karting competitor has had little time to grow accustomed to the role as a promoter, however, the solid staff that Stars of Karting CEO Paul Zalud has assembled will ensure that the event this weekend will go on smoothly. With the weather forecast of clear, sunny skies all weekend, a possible first for the series during an event scheduled in Florida, it should be an exciting weekend of racing around the 6/10-mile circuit.
The top level of North American karting continues to be the shifter kart and the ICC division will see a minor change for '09, being renamed KZ2 to follow the CIK format. Although numbers have decreased in the class over the past few years, the talent pool still remains very high and the race for the win should include a handful of extremely talented pilots. The champions from the last five years will do battle in Ocala as 2008 national champion Michael Vincec (Cameron Motorsports) returns to defend his crown against a number of worthy opponents. Gary Carlton (SSC East) and Alex Speed (Wunder-Bar Racing) both earned consecutive national titles - Carlton in ’06 and ’07, Speed in ’04 and ’05 - and lead the charge of drivers looking to knock Vincec ‘off the karting mountain’. Other drivers to watch include eKartingNews.com Rising Star of 2008 Arie Ouimet (SSC East) - as he makes his second season in KZ2 - the emerging Cody Hodgson (Tony Kart USA) and defending Junior Intercontinental A (JICA) national champion Brendan Phinny, who is making the step up to the Senior ranks this season.
 | KZ2 champion Michael Vincec will begin his title defense this weekend in Ocala
(Photo: Cody Schindel - Autosports Media) |
The Sr. National division is the new name for the Stars TaG program as the class transitions into a single-engine format, utilizing the IAME Parilla Leopard engine. Seventeen drivers will compete this weekend in Ocala, however, one name stands out among the list. As noted in Wednesday’s Top Story on eKartingNews.com, IndyCar star Dan Wheldon will compete before starting his 2009 Indy Racing League season. The 2005 IRL champion and Indy 500 winner reunites with Kartel Motorsports following their partnership at the SKUSA SuperNationals in Las Vegas last November. Not a stranger to the karting scene, Wheldon competed in a number of kart events in 2008 and the Ocala race looks to be the first of many in ’09.
Wheldon will have a solid field to race alongside, including his Top Kart teammate for the weekend - eKartingNews.com TaG Driver Rankings #1 driver Kyle Wiegand. The former shifter kart star moved over to the TaG ranks as a part-time competitor in 2008, however, it turned into a program that saw Wiegand standing on the podium in nearly every big event of the season, including the Mazda Race of the Americas and the Stars National Finals event. This year, Wiegand will focus on keeping the #1 status on a way to a possible national title. Another driver turning in his gearbox for a single-speed ride is Italian Motors' pilot David Jurca. No stranger to the TaG package, Jurca will test the waters in Ocala and will likely vie for the race win on Sunday.
Another well-known name in motorsports competing in Florida this weekend is former Firestone Indy Lights driver Cyndie Allemann. The Swiss pilot has a stellar karting background and nearly won the Mazda RoboPong 200 event at New Castle Motorsports Park last September with young star Spencer Pigot, coming up 20 laps short after a chain failure. Running for Maranello USA, Allemann could be a factor come Sunday. The list of drivers returning to the revamped class from last year include former #1 ranked pilot Will Martindale (Wunder-Bar Racing), race winner Neil Alberico (Kartel Motorsports) and 2006 Spec Racer champion Brandon Adkins (BTK Motorsports). Jumping up to the Senior ranks, watch for Remo Ruscitti (Italian Motors), Kevin Monteith and Spencer Pigot, who is a late entry set to make his Stars Senior debut with Jay Howard's Palm Beach International Raceway squad aboard a Maranello.
Following the lead of Senior division, a new Jr. National class was brought into the program for 2009. Heading into the weekend, the class is the largest of the seven offered with 20 drivers entered to do battle. A number of championship contenders from the JICA ranks in ’08 will be in attendance, including the Western Division JICA champion Phil DeLaO (SSC East). The eKartingNews.com Young Driver of the Year will contend his last year of Junior level racing with a busy year scheduled. DeLaO enters among one of the favorites, but he will need to tackle Kartel Motorsports’ Taylor Miinch and Tyler Thomas and multi-time Cadet champion and Junior sophomore Sage Karam (MRP Motorsport). A number of WKA Manufacturer’s Cup Series regulars are jumping to the national scene, including Shinya Michimi (Franklin Motorsports), Jake Cole (MRP Motorsport), and Sam Beasley (Beasley Motorsports). Defending Cadet national champion Trent Hindman (Franklin Motorsports) will move up to the Junior ranks in 2009, looking to gain experience and possible trips to the podium.
 | Former national champion Alex Speed will contend two classes - KZ2 and KF2 - in Ocala
(Photo: Go Racing Magazine) |
New for 2009 in the Stars of Karting class structure are the KF2 and KF3 programs. The new age CIK engine packages made their way into North America briefly in 2008 and were scheduled to be included in the 2010 structure, but based on issues such as the total absence of pre-entries and driver membership from JICA class, the Stars organization made the decision to introduce the classes one year early. KF2 is dedicated to the Senior level drivers and will see a number of competitors using it as a second class this weekend. Speed, Hodgson, Martindale, and Michael Hogg (Kartel Motorsports) will each be competing in KF2 along with a second class, while Florida-based drivers Victor Pedrosa (OGP) and 2007 JICA national champion Jarvis Gennari will join the fight, focusing solely on the new engine package. The class will also have international flavor as Japanese driver Shin Iguchi will join the J3 Competition stable for the weekend.
Much like KF2, a handful of Junior drivers will compete in two classes - including DeLaO, Miinch, Beasley, and Hindman in both Jr. National and KF3. OGP’s Nick Neri and Jack West, along with Tristan DeGrand (J3 Competition), will focus on just KF3 and all are poised to run up front.
Introduced in 2008, the TaG ICC class returns to the Stars of Karting program for the upcoming season. The Ocala entry list has a number of newcomers to the class and the series with Don McGregor (Italian Motors) the only returning driver. Completing the class structure is the unpredictable and exciting Cadet division. Santino Ferrucci (Maranello North America) and Gresham Wagner (MRP Motorsport) lead a small group of returnees for 2009 with a number of new drivers slated to contend this season.
For the complete entry list of this weekend's action in Ocala, click HERE. To follow the weekend's action, visit the new EKN Trackside Live page that will provide everything you need for the event coverage. |
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