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| July 10, 2009 News |
| EKN Trackside: World Karting Association Road America Zoom Zoom Nationals |
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The 34th running of the Road America SuperNationals this weekend will be one for the history books as the World Karting Association along with the Badger Kart Club will hold the Zoom Zoom Nationals. The George Kugler/Bridgestone Manufacturer’s Cup Series and the Dunlop Tire Road Racing Series will converge at the Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin facility. For WKA, this will be the first time for the series will come together outside the confines of the Daytona International Speedway during the familiar Daytona KartWeek and the former North American Karting Championships previously held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway(now Lowe’s MS). The third round of the Manufacturer’s Cup Series will take place on the Briggs and Stratton Motorplex inside the 4-mile road course the Road Racing Series will be returning to after a 13-year break in national activity.
The Manufacturer’s Cup Series is riding off of two strong opening events for the 2009 season - Daytona and South Bend - with nearly 300 pre-entries signifying round three will be just as large. A number of drivers are setting themselves up for championship runs while former series champions and favorites are coming out from behind the curtains to strap on the helmet one more time to contest the challenging 8/10-mile circuit that has over 50 feet of elevation change. Following action on Friday, local option Rotax Junior and Mini Max categories will take to the track for a feature race while at the end of Saturday Briggs Animal Senior and Junior divisions will take to the track. The competition has been so tough in the first two rounds that not one driver hold the lead in multiple classes, an unfamiliar circumstance in the series.
In the popular TaG division, everyone will be chasing Canadian Marco DiLeo (Intrepid). With four straight podiums, including two wins in South Bend, DiLeo has a large point advantage over the rest of the field. The eKartingNews.com Driver Rankings number one TaG driver Chris Wehrheim (Top Kart) is leading the chase with a host of others close behind. The other Senior classes see tighter battles heading into the Road America event with Tommy Andersen (Merlin) and Wyatt Gooden (Arrow) leading the way in the HPV divisions with Ryan Stewart (Birel) and Josh Call (Margay) at the point in the Yamaha SuperCan categories. Tony Jump (Margay) is on top of the standings in Yamaha Pipe while John Dixon (Birel) and Jeff Jewell (Haase) control the TaG Masters and Yamaha Masters classes.
 | The Road America facility
(Photo: roadamerica.com) |
Three Ohio drivers and one from the state of Florida control things in the Junior categories. Arrow teammates Sam Beasley and Dakota Pesek stand on top in Yamaha Jr. Lite and Heavy while fellow Ohioan Robert Bujdoso (Tony Kart) is ranked number one in HPV Jr. Lite. Nick Neri (Tony Kart) has the largest advantage of the four heading into Road America with 40 points separating himself from the field in the HPV Jr. Heavy division.
Four different states represent the top of the championship chase in the Sportsman divisions. Illinois’ Kyle Kalish (Merlin) has been near perfect, winning three of four features in the Cadet class to hold a commanding lead. New York driver Santino Ferrucci (Maranello) leads the way in HPV while Garrett Johnston (Margay) of New Jersey controls the pace in Yamaha. The new Yamaha Sportsman Heavy division was added at the South Bend event with Indiana’s Kyle Tilley winning his first Manufacturer’s Cup Series feature and leads the standings.
The Dunlop Tire Road Racing Series will be making a most-welcomed return to the 4-mile circuit. Like the sprint counter-part, the pre-entry total is just over 300 with a number of competitors expected to enter once arriving for the weekend. The series is coming off a strong Grand National weekend at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course last month with over 450 entries total for the weekend. WKA is looking to best the 550 to 600 mark set at the series opener back in December at Daytona. The big track will also see racing taking part Friday with the Badger Kart Club Scholarship Briggs and Stratton Charity Race and the TaG Pro Race. The charity race proceeds will benefit the Howard Memorial Scholarship Fund with the winner to receive a special trophy. Though the race will allow Yamaha powered 2-cycle karts in with the race, only those powered by a Briggs engine can receive prizes. The TaG Pro Race will put up $2,275 purse thanks to Chuck G Fabrication. The winner will take home $750 with the rest of the prize money going down to 10th place.
 | The Briggs and Stratton Motorplex inside Road America
(Photo: roadamerica.com) |
Thirty-seven of the series championship classes will do battle along with 18 local option classes to give plenty of opportunity for most anyone to come and enjoy the event. The classes expected to see high numbers on the weekend include the Briggs Animal Sprint categories. Nineteen drivers are already entered in the Sunday Briggs Animal 360 division with the 335 and 385 categories totally 14 on Saturday. The 125 shifter divisions will be strong in numbers again, totally 33 total on Saturday with more expected to be at the event. Of the local option classes, the Team Races will be a new trail for WKA but no stranger to the Road America SuperNationals. Teams of two drivers can either compete in the TaG division or the Sprint Animal/Yamaha Can category and will be require to do one driver change in the 30-minute event. The pit lane is sure to be full of spectators watching the unique driver exchanges Saturday evening.
Going along with the history making theme, WKA officials have acquired the proper applications and forms to submit this weekend’s numbers to the Guinness World Records for to earn the status of the ‘largest karting event’.
eKartingNews.com will have complete coverage of the event, beginning with a recap of Friday’s action and paddock notes. Saturday and Sunday coverage will include a daily report, photos, complete results and updates throughout the weekend in the Official Discussion Thread. |
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