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| June 13, 2009 News |
| IKF Road Race Grand Nationals Complete Final Day of Action |
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 | Nick Lucido earned his Duffy in the Super Stock CR125 Heavy division
(Photo: Hart Photography MotorSports) |
The final day of the 2009 IKF Road Race Grand Nationals went into the books at the Eagles Canyon Raceway in Decatur, Texas. Following months of planning and numerous hours of work by the Southwest Roadrace Association (SWRA) members, the event went off with no major stumbling blocks aside from the severe weather on Day 1. Competitors were welcomed with great hospitality and the racing on track was intense for all four days.
Super Stock CR 125 Heavy
Mike Jones continued to be one of the drivers to beat on the weekend as he started the Super Stock CR 125 Heavy division with a dual including Nick Lucido. The two went back and forth for the lead, each respecting one another, until the final lap when all bets were off. As they came to the line, Lucido was able to get a better run to the line to edge Jones by 0.053-seconds. Lucido however was docked one position for taking both hands off the wheel at the checkered flag, giving Jones the heat win. Stuart Robinson and Tyler Mann were with the front two in the opening lap until Robinson spun on lap two and Mann’s powerplant began to lose power, eventually pulling off. Russell Pool and Bill Gulick were able to track down Mark Beville in the closing stages as Pool edged Beville for the third spot as Gulick crossed the line in fifth.
The early lead pack for the final heat consisted of Jones, Lucido, Beville, and Robinson. The first few laps, things were calm but then they began to size each other up for the finish with a few lead changes. Beville got crossed up in turn one and went off on lap seven, ending his chance at the win. As the now three karts battled, Gulick put down the fastest laps of the race to catch the leaders and begin mixing it up with them. With a few minutes remaining, Robinson lost the draft while Lucido was able to break away from Jones and Gulick. At the stripe, Lucido took the win by four-tenths with Jones edging Gulick for second by just 0.005-seconds. Robinson ran to fourth with Pool rounding out the top-five.
Lucido grabbed the Duffy with the final heat win with Jones earning the second place award. Gulick put in his best performance of the event with a third place honor while Pool and Bashar Mardini completed the podium.
 | A second Duffy was awarded to Todd Vandermolen after winning both heats in the Formula 125 Limited Heavy II division
(Photo: Hart Photography MotorSports) |
Formula 125 Ltd Heavy II
A group of four made up the lead pack for the opening heat race of the Formula 125 Ltd Heavy II division. Weston McCulloch and Scott Rister - both yet to win a Duffy at the event - battled two Duffy winners John Kindhart and Todd Vandermolen. Rister lost the draft after dropping a tire through turn three. Kindhart would also fall back after the engine began losing power, possible due to fuel supply issues. Once the fight was down to two, Vandermolen was able to put down a couple quick laps to space himself from McCulloch as the distance would be 1.417-seconds at the checkered flag. Mike Smith came up to finish third ahead of Kindhart while Rister fell to fifth.
Things went bad for Smtih on the opening lap as he came around the opening lap of the second heat with a flat tire, taking him out of contention. Vandermolen was quick on cold tires to get away to a comfortable lead as McCulloch slotted into second. The charging Kindhart - who lost a bunch of spots on the start - was able to reel in the McCulloch first and set his sights on the leader. As he ran the fast laps of the race, Kindhart found himself on the bumper of Vandermolen with under five minutes to go. Though he was there, Kindhart was unable to make a move, leaving Vandermolen to take the win and his second Duffy of the event. McCulloch ran to third - earning the second spot of the overall podium with Kindhart placed third. Tyler Mann finished fourth in the heat and the overall standings and Bill Criddle edged Coy Dayton for fifth on track to earn a spot on the podium.
Formula 80 Sr. Heavy
Thomas Muth had an easy go of it in the first Formula 80 Sr. Heavy heat race after challengers Russell Pool and Mark Beville each had trouble that put them on the sidelines. Muth took the win by over 13-seconds ahead of Allen Fleming Sr. Chris Reudelhuber won the 20-minute fight for third over Jacob Cantor with Kari Summers completing the top-five.
Looking to make up for his carburetor falling off in the opening heat, Pool joined Fleming and Muth up front for the second heat. Pool got an advantage over the two fighting it out for the Duffy but they were able to bring him back in. After few jostles for position, Pool and Muth broke away from Fleming to duke it out for the win. Muth held the lead as the exited the final corner and Pool executed the sling shot move to get to the line by 0.081-seconds. Fleming held his ground for third with Cantor and Summers duplicating their finishes from the previous heat.
Muth was awarded the Duffy with Fleming second. Pool, Cantor, and Reudelhuber rounded out the podium.
 | Anthony Honeywell was a rocket in the 100cc Open division to earn the Duffy
(Photo: Hart Photography MotorSports) |
100cc Open
Scoring his first Duffy of the event, Anthony Honeywell was untouchable in the 100cc Open division. A fast lap of 1:58.984 was five seconds quicker than any other driver in the field. The margin of victory was one full lap with Steve Miller crossing the line second. Mike Sampson ran second for most of the race until he spun out with three laps to go. He would be classified fifth with the others not completing as many laps as he did. Tim Kyser came home third with Richard Bryan ending up fourth.
TaG Heavy
With a rolling start, the TaG Heavy group took off toward turn one for their 30-minute throw-down. Mike Jones got away to an early lead but was reeled in by Sean Kelleher and Tyler Mann. The trio shuffled positions numerous times throughout the course of the race but in the end, Kelleher was able to drag race Jones to the line for the victory with Mann a close third. DJ Ortiz lost the lead group early and ran alone in fourth while Mitchell Fiorelli completing the top-five.
Kelleher and Jones were joined the second time by Ortiz as Mann lost the draft this time around. The trio kept in line for the majority of the race until the final lap when they began to challenge one another. Jones kept the pressure on the entire final lap but when he went to sling shot by, he didn’t have enough juice. Kelleher took the checkered flag by just 0.068-seconds. Ortiz was two-tenths behind in third with Mann and Fiorelli fourth and fifth. Kelleher however was penalized one position for taking both hands off the wheel, giving the win and the Duffy to Jones. Kelleher had to settle for second with Ortiz awarded third. Mann earned another fourth place trophy on the day with Fiorelli completing the podium.
Gazelle/Mini Max
The youngest drivers of the event put on a great 20-minute show with three drivers battling for the win. Cole Glasson paced the field the majority of the race with Chris Clark and Beck Duggleby on his bumper. As they came around for the checkered, Glasson was leading the way with Clark looking to slingshot by him. At the line, Glasson had the edge by 0.044-seconds. Duggleby was a close third while Kinsley Cook beat Michael Schneider for fourth.
Yamaha Sportsman Heavy
With five drivers entered, the Yamaha Sportsman Heavy division qualified to race for a Duffy in their 30 minute race. From the start, the Brown brothers of Jamey and John Dale showed the way and looked to be locked together for the entire event until Jamey was able to get away in the second half of the race. Jamey took the victory by six-seconds however was removed in tech, handing the win to John Dale. Donald Meyering was moved up to second with the rest of the field bounced in tech inspection as well.
 | His third Duffy of the event, Mike Jones won a controversial TaG Heavy race
(Photo: Hart Photography MotorSports) |
Yamaha Junior Sprint Sit-up
The final Junior division of the event put them in the Yamaha karts with five in line as they took the green flag. The fight for the win eventually went to two as Joe Taylor and Alex Tartaglia broke away in a tight draft as Bristol Gunderson, Connor Wagner, and Brekk Harris fought for third. Tartaglia kept his machine near Taylor’s bumper until the final straight when he was able to slingshot by and take the win by 0.059 seconds. In tech however, Tartaglia would be bounced for a missing screw on the end of the Can - a common but unfortunate issue with the mufflers. That gave Taylor the Duffy and moved Harris up to second after he edged Gunderson to the line with Wagner now moved up to fourth.
TaG Enduro
Tim Kyser - the recipient of this year’s Ruttman Award - looked to the TaG Enduro event however Joe Kitterman was able to get by Kyser in the early goings. The two ran similar lap times but in the end Kitterman outran Kyser for the Duffy. Jean Brown crossed the line third with Jamey Brown and Richard Holmbe retiring early but all were bounced in tech - thus moving Ken Johnson who was unable to make a lap to fourth.
For complete coverage of the IKF Road Race Grand Nationals, visit the Official Event Page where you can find reports, results and photos. To keep up with the event as its happening or to comment, click over to the Official Discussion Thread. |
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