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| May 31, 2009 News |
| EKN Trackside: Championship Karting International Grand Prix of New Castle - Sunday Report |
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 | Gary Carlton swept the action in KZ2
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
The inaugural Championship Karting International event completed Sunday afternoon under sunny skies at the New Castle Motorsports Park. The Grand Prix of New Castle saw perfect weather all weekend, minus a small Tornado Warning Saturday night that accord just one year later after twisters tore up the surrounding area. With only small damage done to a few EZ-ups, the final day of racing action was extremely competitive. In KZ2, Gary Carlton (CRG) would put in a near flawless performance on the weekend to sweep the class action. PCR factory driver Simo Puhakka took home the KF2 win along with $3,500 in US dollars back to Finland while Senior rookie Mason Marotta earned his first national victory in a wild ending.
KZ2
The weekend was all Carlton’s as he would go nearly unchallenged all day. Getting away from the field in the Prefinal, the SSC East driver went on to take the win by six-seconds over Alex Speed (Tony Kart) who worked his way forward after starting fourth. Gregory Liefooghe (Intrepid) ran third with Cole Mathewson (CRG) falling to fourth after starting on the front row.
In the feature, Carlton and Speed drag raced to the final corner. Neither gave way and both went for the same real-estate with Speed getting the worse of it. He would fall to the tail of the field and need to work his way forward toward a podium finish. Mathewson assume the second position but retired after just one lap as the engine moved back on his CRG machine and forced him to pull off track. This left Liefooghe to deal with Alex Manglass (CRG) for the runner-up spot in the first half of the race until Speed joined the mix. The Tony Kart driver took care of both drivers and assumed the second spot for the remainder of the race as Carlton was too far ahead to catch. The weekend’s work for Carlton earned him a cool $3,500 while Speed took home $2,000. Liefooghe and Manglass battle for the final podium spot with Manglass putting on the pressure each circuit. In the end, it was Liefooghe that earn the third position and a $1,500 check.
 | Finnish driver Simo Puhakka continued the Euro invasion streak to steal the KF2 victory
(Photo: On Track Promotion - otp.ca) |
KF2
The fireworks began before the green flag as Jess Peterson (Intrepid) and Brit Josh Fielding (Tony Kart) were unable to get on track in time. Peterson fell to the tail of the field while Fielding was unable to make the race. Once the green flag waved, Finnish driver Simo Puhakka (PCR) led the field to the green flag. The field got through cleanly with Alex Speed (Tony Kart), Arie Ouimet (CRG) and Chris Wehrheim (Top Kart). Once Ouimet’s tires came in, he put himself in the lead challenger position and was able to run down Puhakka. A great move into the near hairpin secured the lead for Ouimet who went on to lead the remainder of the race. Speed’s Tony Kart would come in late and get by Puhakka for second. Wehrheim kept the pressure on to move him back one more position but would not pull the trigger, settling for fourth. Richard Benitez (Kosmic) was close to the battle but lost ground as the race went on to finish fifth. Speed however came across the scales underweight and will relinquish his second starting spot for the final.
What was shaping up to be a great final fight was a one man show at the point as Pahukka went on to lead all 20 laps and win $3,500 in prize money. Ouimet, Wehrheim, and Speed were left to fight for second with Speed slowly falling off the pace. Wehrheim took a couple shots at Ouimet but he fought off the Top Kart driver’s advances to hold onto the second spot. Benitez and Jeremy Nelson (Kosmic) both managed to by Speed along with Brett Felkins (Intrepid).
 | Mason Marotta (left) needed extra runoff room to get to the checkered flag first in IAME Senior
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
IAME Senior
Pole sitter Michael Hogg (Top Kart) continued on his run toward perfection as he brought the field down to the green at a great pace and got the jump over veteran Mark Dismore Sr. (Arrow). Dismore lost a number of positions through the opening corner allowing CJ Lintner (Arrow), Neil Alberico (Top Kart) and Mason Marotta (Intrepid) to slide through. Hogg would again be quick on cold tires to put some distance on the rest of the field, going on to take the victory by over three seconds. The battle for second ended up being Alberico and Marotta with Marotta taking the spot in the closing stages. Kyle Wiegand (Top Kart) came up to fourth while Neil McCoy (Top Kart) and Eric Jones (Arrow) were the hard chargers of the race, coming up from tenth and 11th to fifth and sixth. Dismore fell back to eighth with John Zartarian (Tony Kart) and Remo Ruscitti (Italkart) completing the top-10.
The IAME Senior class put nearly the entire paddock along the fence line in what would be a wild feature event. Within the first five laps, the front of the field lost Lintner and Jones due to contact. Lintner a flat tire and Jones damage to his Arrow machine. Up front, Hogg felt pressure for the first time all weekend with McCoy the first driver to be anywhere close to Hogg’s bumper. On lap seven, McCoy overtook the spot to relegate Hogg back, who would continue to lose positions over the next few laps. Among those now in the top-five was Zartarian who began to challenge McCoy for the lead. After going side by side, ‘Zar’ retained the second spot until he was pushed off track due to contact from Marotta and Dismore. The gave McCoy some room until Marotta closed the gap as the laps wound down. With two laps to go, Marotta took the point from McCoy, who then positioned himself for one final move on the last lap. With a good draft down the long straight to the final corner, McCoy went to the inside. Drifting wide, the two went into the grass with both keeping the power down. Marotta slide sideways in the grass until he crossed the line first. Joe Paterson had worked his way up to third from 20th at that time and nearly beat Marotta to the line but would have to settle for the runner-up spot. Dismore beat a spinning McCoy to the stripe for the final spot on the podium with McCoy stopping on the line in fourth. David Jurca (Italkart) put a cap on a tough weekend with a fifth place run ahead of Alberico and Hogg. Michael Politis (Tony Kart) advanced seven spots to eighth while Lewis came from 26th to ninth. Champion Racing’s Blake Teeter (Intrepid) completed the top-10.
 | Tristan DeGrand made his first start since racing in Europe a success with the KF3 feature win
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
KF3
The field filed into order to being their 12 lap Prefinal. Tristan DeGrand (Kosmic) showed the way with Phil DeLaO (CRG), Sennan Fielding (CRG) and Taylor Miinch (Top Kart) in line. Fielding lost ground after Miinch got around for the third spot and Shawn Sharkey (Merlin) retired on lap five after his engine seized. DeLaO kept the pressure on DeGrand but made the mature decision not to press the issue and settled for second as DeGrand went on to lead all 12-laps. Miinch was third with Macaulay Walsh (Birel) and Madeline Komar (Maranello) moving up to fourth and fifth.
The 18-lap feature race saw two battles on track. DeGrand and DeLaO was the first show with Miinch, Walsh and Fielding the other battle. Komar slid into third in the first few laps until she spun and fell back. The top two swapped the lead position briefly before DeGrand secured the position and went on to take the victory. DeLaO possible effected by sickness just before hitting the track held strong in second. The fight for the final podium spot saw Miinch holding off the two Brits, Fielding and Walsh, for the third position. In the tech barn however, DeLaO’s engine was not to spec and he was removed in the results. That put Miinch and Fielding up one spot on the podium with Sharkey breaking into the top-five after starting at the tail of the field.
 | Shawn Sharkey celebrated his IAME Junior win with a Carl Edwards like backflip
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
IAME Junior
The lead group was six early on in the 12-lap Prefinal with Taylor Miinch (Top Kart) showing the way. The group was shuffled when there was contact between Phil DeLaO (CRG) and Tyler Thomas (Top Kart) with Thomas getting the worst of it and fell back outside the top-10. This allowed Miinch to put some distance on the fight for second between Raquel Martinez (Top Kart), Shawn Sharkey (Merlin), and Trent Hindman (Merlin). The trio put on a great show and Martinez held her own against the two Franklin Motorsports/Mike Doty Racing teammates. At the line however, Miinch took the win by over two-seconds with Hindman earning the second spot over Martinez. DeLaO complete the top-five with Thomas working his way back to sixth. Austin Self (Birel) had a great run going, nearly breaking into the top-five from his 12th starting spot until a seized engine put him on the sidelines on lap eight, putting him at the tail of the field for the main event. Camden Geise (CRG) however earned the hard-charger award as he muscled his way from 17th to seventh ahead of Sam Beasley (Arrow), Reid Arnold (CRG) and Tristan DeGrand (Kosmic).
Hindman and Sharkey got a great start to go 1-2 through the opening corners. Miinch only took two laps to regain the top spot as he and Sharkey began to break away from the pack. Hindman however would be relegated back to outside the top-10 and continued to lose positions until pulling off with engine malfunction. The fight for third became a six kart train with Geise eventually making his way to the front of the pack that included Martinez, Thomas, DeLaO, Beasley and DeGrand. Lap eight however contact with ensued in the group that resulted in DeLaO retiring and DeGrand as well with a broken rear bumper. Lap 10 Miinch’s exhaust came loose and was shown the meatball flag while leading, ending his chance at the win. Sharkey would go unchallenged to a five-second victory. Thomas earned the second spot with Geise completing the podium after having to rebuild his machine overnight. Beasley ended up fourth with Mark Pellegrini (CRG) putting in solid final run to round out the top-five.
 | Austin Schoonmaker (left) edged British driver George Russell (right) to the line for the Cadet victory
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
Cadet
The New Castle Motorsports Park always provide a great venue for Cadet racing. Though the heat races were great Saturday, the action got even better Sunday. The Prefinal saw a six kart lead pack turn into eight in the closing stages. The lead was held by Josh Saurino (Top Kart) for most of the race even through multiple lead changes. In the end however Brit George Russell (Top Kart) came back to reassume the position and take the win. Austin Schoonmaker (Merlin) got by Saurino for second with Santino Ferrucci (Top Kart) and Gresham Wagner (Birel).
After a great performance in the Prefinal, the Cadet group put on another stellar show in the feature with only three drivers making up the lead group. Russell, Schoonmaker, and Saurino made up the lead trio and changed the lead numerous times in the duration of the 12-lap race. Into the final corner, Russell had the lead and choose the inside lane with Schoonmaker on the outside. Saurino looked to make it three wide but choice to back off. As the made their way through, Schoonmaker held the outside line and was able to carry enough momentum to get to the line first by a mere seven-thousandths of a second. Russell drove a gentlemans race, giving racing room but settled for second. Saurino was third with Wagner and Ashley Rogero (Kosmic).
For complete coverage of the event, visit the Official Event Page. |
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