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| August 29, 2009 News |
| EKN Trackside: WKA Manufacturer’s Cup Series - Saturday Report |
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 | Ryan Phillips earned his second straight Yamaha SuperCan Heavy victory aboard the Bandit chassis
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
The first day of racing action completed as the sun came down over the Indiana plains surrounding the New Castle Motorsports Park for the fourth round of the WKA George Kugler/Bridgestone Manufacturer’s Cup Series. The Show Hauler Truck Nationals saw ten classes compete around the popular 1-mile circuit outside the greater Indianapolis area. The championship chases took interesting turns following the day’s action
Yamaha SuperCan Heavy
A great debut for the new Arrow X1-30 chassis as Cody Robinson was able to put his entry at the top of the qualifying standings with a 1:12.354 lap time, an uncharacteristic four-tenths quicker than the next fastest driver. Championship contenders Ryan Stewart (Birel) and Jason Foley (Merlin) were second and third in the order with round three winner Ryan Phillips aboard the American-made Bandit chassis and Brandon Adkins (Tony Kart) completing the fast five.
Robinson paced the field the for the six-lap Prefinal as he was able to break away early and stretch out to two-seconds for the win. Stewart and Phillips were locked into a fight for second until Stewart nearly lost it in turn one. That allowed Phillips to cruise to second alone with CJ Lintner (Arrow), Adkins, and Foley able to work around Stewart for position on the final lap.
Phillips was able to get the jump on Robinson to begin the opening lap of the 12-lap main event while a number of drivers stacked it up in turn two, involving mostly the second half of the field. Adkins and Stewart were also able to work by Robinson, dropping him back to fourth with Lintner falling to fifth. Robinson was quick to retaliate as he quickly gain the distance he lost to rejoin the fight for the lead with Adkins falling off the pace, battling Lintner for fourth. The top three then began to shuffle the lead numerous times, Robinson seemed to have the advantage in the tight sections while Phillips and Stewart would draft by down the long straight. Meanwhile, as they fought, Lintner was able to shake Adkins and begin closing in on the leaders.
Robinson held the lead for the final few laps until the white flag was displayed. Stewart made his move in turn 13 and the two exited side by side. In the same formation, they exited turn 14 and made more contact. With the momentum, Phillips sling shot by both on the inside with a tire in the grass to assume the lead and go on to win his second straight feature. Robinson got help by Stewart with a push from Lintner as the trio went through the final corner. Stewart however was able to edge Lintner for third at the line. Adkins completed the top-five as a gear change in the wrong direction cost him a chance at the win. A great day was put in by Derek Hughes (Arrow), making his series debut as he outran some top drivers to finish sixth. The championship chase changed dramatically with Foley coming in as the point leader and only finishing eighth after getting spun around on the opening lap while Josh Call - who entered third in the standings - recorded a DNS after he was unable to start up his Yamaha on the grid. Stewart’s third will put him closer to Foley as they enter the finale in Charlotte.
 | Kyle Kalish scored another victory in Cadet, edging Santino Ferrucci
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
Cadet
A surprise driver atop of the qualifying results to begin Saturday’s action as Leonardo Stoia (PCR) posted the fastest lap of the session, a 1:17.069, which was just 61-hundreths quicker than series newcomer Ryan Raffa (Top Kart). Emerson Reed (Birel) was third with James Bennett (Birel) leading the way for those involved in the current point standings fight. Point leader Kyle Kalish (Melin) was ninth in the order with second place Santino Ferrucci (Top Kart) down in 13th. Gresham Wagner (Birel) completed the fast five in the session.
Stoia was able to hold off the charges of the Cadet field in the Prefinal for the win. Bennett was the final challenger, missing out on the win by 0.099-seconds. Wagner crossed the line third but was removed from the order with a missing side pod. That moved Kalish up to third with Ferrucci and Joel Jens (Merlin) moving into the top-five.
The lead group for the main event began with nine and dwindled down to just five karts in the end. Ferrucci held the top spot for the majority of the 12-lap event and was at the point when the white flag displayed. The rest of the group shuffled behind him as he ran a strong line toward the checkered. Down the final straight, Ferrucci held the inside lane with Kalish jumping to the outside. As they exited the last corner, Ferrucci gave Kalish just enough room to run around on the outside and squeak to the victory by just 0.045-seconds. Jens crossed the line third with Collin Campbell (Birel) and Emerson Reed (Merlin) putting in solid performances to complete the top-five.
TaG Masters
The numbers improved to 11 entries for the fourth round of the new class, lead in qualifying by local driver Michael Busse (Arrow). His 1:07.116 put him on the pole position with Jeff Jewell (Haase) set to start on the outside. Both Kim Carapellatti (Margay) and Chuck Tate (Margay) were able to post quicker times than point leader John Dixon (Birel) to round out the fast five.
Dixon would show why he is leading the standings as he drove up to the point in the six-lap Prefinal. Busse put up a great fight however Dixon had the edge at the line by 0.090-seconds. Jewell was third in the order with Tate also getting by Carapellatti, pushing him back to fifth.
In the feature, Dixon made it look easy as he scored his third straight feature victory. Tate challenged early until Jewell was able to get by for the second spot. Dixon meanwhile continued to stretch out his lead, crossing the line four-seconds ahead of Jewell. Tate was running third until lap 10 when his engine let go. That moved Busse up to third with Michael Unger (Kosmic) and Ruel Ellis (Kosmic) completing the top-five with Carapellatti retiring on lap three.
 | Californian Taylor Miinch was awarded the HPV Jr. Heavy win following post-race inspection
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
HPV Jr. Heavy
The stacked Junior divisions began the weekend off with the HPV Jr. Heavy division as South Bend winner Sage Karam (Birel) led the way in qualifying, posting a 1:08.277. His time was over three-tenths quicker than California’s Taylor Miinch (Top Kart), making his first WKA Manufacturer’s Cup Series start. Shawn Sharkey (Merlin) and Sam Beasley (Arrow) each bested point leader Nick Neri (Tony Kart), who completed the fast five with a number of challengers making up the rest of the top-10.
Miinch was able to get the jump over Karam as the green flag waved to begin the Prefinal. The second half of the field behind bunched up in the opening corner, retiring a few drivers from the mid-pack. Up front, Miinch showed the way the entire six-laps, challenged late by Beasley as they crossed the line separated by just a tenth. Tristan DeGrand (Kosmic), also making his first WKA start of the year, was able to work by Karam for the third spot after starting sixth while Neri held off Sharkey for fifth.
The top two of Miinch and Beasley were untouchable in the main event as well, putting distance on the fight for third lap after lap. The two ran nose to tail for the entire event until the final lap and the final corner. Miinch allowed Beasley the inside line, looking for the cross over to the line however Beasley carried enough speed through the corner to edge Miinch out for the win by 0.113-seconds. In the tech barn however, Beasley was removed for an engine issue, handing the win to Miinch. Neri was able to get by DeGrand for what became second after battling with Karam, who spun off in the last corner on lap eight. Trent Hindman put on a show, improving from a terrible 24th qualifying position in the Prefinal to starting 17th for the main event. The Merlin driver advanced up to fourth in the order, working by Thomas in the closing stages of the race.
Yamaha Pipe
The top two in points set the pace during the Yamaha Pipe qualifying session as Ryan Stewart (Birel) nipped championship leader Tony Jump (Margay) for the pole position with his 1:09.258 lap. TJ Koyen (Merlin) was third in the order with Road America winner Kevin Nelson (Margay) and Josh Call (Margay) rounding out the fast five.
Nelson made the right changes following qualifying as he was able to run and stay with Stewart and Jump in the early portion of the Prefinal. The three put on a good show for the six-lap event with Nelson able to outfox the younger drivers to go on and win the race. Jump was on Nelson’s bumper at the line with Stewart losing a little bit of real-estate on the final lap. Koyen was able to hold off Call for the fourth spot as the checkered flag waved.
For the main event, Nelson and Jump looked to have the field covered in the opening laps. On lap five however Jump pulled off to the side with engine failure. This put Nelson at the point as a gap had been established over Koyen and Stewart. As the laps clicked off, Nelson continued to hold a steady distance over the two fight for second as he cruised to the victory by 2.449-seconds. Stewart lost some ground to Koyen at one point but retook the second spot briefly before Koyen assume the spot to the checkered. Call held off Steve Rumsey (Arrow) for the fourth spot. With Jump’s DNF, Stewart gained some valuable points toward the championship and the two will be head to head
 | Marco DiLeo earned his fourth TaG victory of the season
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
HPV Sportsman
Local driver Karl Weber (Birel) used his home track knowledge to his advantage to secure the pole position in the HPV Sportsman qualifying session, a full half-second quicker than James Bennett (Birel). Kyle Tilley (Margay) and Kyle Kalish (Merlin) were third and fourth as Breyton Santee (Arrow) completed the fast five. Point leader Garrett Johnston (Margay) struggled in the session, classified in 19th.
Bennett assume the top spot at the drop of the green and was able to break away to lead all six laps of the Prefinal. Behind him, Tilley grabbed second place on the final lap from Jared Thomas (Birel) while Santee and Kalish pushed Weber back to sixth with second through eight all running together.
The feature came down to just two drivers as Bennett was joined by Thomas out front. The two came down to the line with Bennett getting the edge over Thomas by just over a tenth. Ferrucci was able to get by Weber at the line for third while Kalish squeaked by Mike McAndrews (Margay) for the final podium spot. With Johnston scoring a 13th place finish, the point chase will see Kalish on top with a host of others now challenging for the title.
TaG
The question about a Rotax able to compete at the New Castle circuit was put to rest with the lap put down by TaG championship leader Marco DiLeo (Intrepid). The Canadian set the pace with his 1:05.471 lap to put himself on the pole. Championship challenger Chris Wehrheim was second in the session with Top Kart teammate Kyle Wiegand right behind in third. Hunter Short (Kosmic) put down a great lap to secure the fourth starting spot for the Prefinal with NASCAR’s Jamie McMurray (CRG) rounding out the fast five. Engines for the top five include one Rotax, two Parilla Leopards, and two Sonik powerplants.
The field was unable to get through the opening corner - turn one - as contact between a number of drivers sent karts off track, including Short, Billy Lewis (Arrow) and Michele Bumgarner (Margay). Up front, DiLeo broke away with Wehrheim and Wiegand giving chase. They ran unchanged until Scott Ferris was able to track them down with some quick laps as he began challenging Wiegand for the third spot. Wehrheim closed in on DiLeo in the final laps however it would not be enough as DiLeo scored the win. Ferris won the battle for third with McMurray posting the fast lap of the race as he ran alone in fifth.
Cleanly through the opening corners, the TaG main event got underway with DiLeo out front with Ferris sliding by Wehrheim for second with Wiegand on their bumpers. Bill McLaughlin (Birel) and McMurray continued to close the gap after losing ground early on, making it five drivers in the pack for second place. Through turn 15, Ferris was shuffled to the outside line with a host of karts getting by. The next corner, McMurray dropped a wheel and that spaced out the group with Wehrheim and Wiegand breaking away. As the laps clicked off, DiLeo continued to put in consistent laps as he led the way. After 12 laps, DiLeo took fourth checkered flag of the year to extend his point lead. Wiegand was able to get by Wehrheim for second with the fast lap of the race. McLaughlin ran a solid fourth at his home track with McMurray ending up fifth. A great run for Mark Dismore (Arrow) - owner of the New Castle circuit - as he came up from 14th to finish sixth, just in front of another hard charger in the form of Michele Bumgarner (Margay) who started 23rd after being involved in the Prefinal contact. Lintner, Mark Vielgut (Haase), and Ferris completed the top-10.
 | Sam Beasley continued his Yamaha domination, winning Saturday's Lite division
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
Yamaha Jr. Lite
Sam Beasley (Arrow) was nearly untouchable at round three in Wisconsin in the Yamaha Jr. Lite division and is continuing the run in New Castle. Beasley posted a 1:09.719 lap that was half a second quicker than South Bend winner Trent Hindman (Merlin). The two sit 1-2 in the standings and will begin the racing action on the front row. Filling up row two is Sage Karam (Birel) and Jack Manley (Arrow) - another home town hero. Completing out the fast five was Colton Ramsey with a solid lap aboard his new Merlin machine.
The top three broke away from the field as the green flag waved for the Prefinal. Beasley held the point with Hindman and Karam slotting into behind. Not much pressure was put on Beasley as he went on to score the win by four-tenths with Karam able to slide by Hindman for second. Ramsey ran alone in fourth with Robert Bujdoso (Tony Kart) moving up from eighth to fifth over Raquel Martinez (Top Kart) and Tyler Thomas (Top Kart) as Manley retired on the opening lap. Taylor Miinch, who started 36th after placing third in the LCQ, was able to work up to 19th after the six laps.
At the drop of the green, Beasley looked to be challenged in the feature by Karam. The Birel driver took the point in the opening lap until a slight bobble in turn two allowed Beasley the opportunity to assume the point once again. From there, Beasley stretched out to a dominate performance to score the victory by over five-seconds to extend his championship lead. Karam was able to hold on to second after being challenged by Hindman, who lost the third spot to Neri in the final corner while Bujdoso held his starting spot in fifth until getting bounced in tech for a loose muffler, putting Thomas on the podium. Miinch put in a stellar drive in the final, coming from 19th up to ninth after running the LCQ earlier in the day.
Yamaha Sportsman Heavy
With two straight feature wins, Kyle Tilley began his bid for a third as he put his Margay on the pole position in Yamaha Sportsman Heavy with his 1:15.922 lap. A local driver, Tilley and fellow Indiana driver Karl Weber (Birel) locked up the front row. Mike McAndrews (Margay) and Michael Goodyear (Margay), son of IndyCar driver Scott Goodyear, made up the second row with Jeff Myers Jr. (Birel) making it an all Great Lakes fast five.
Six karts made up the lead group of the Prefinal race with the positions changing multiple times. On the sixth and final lap, the top four went two-by-two into the final corner with Tilley escaping with the lead for the win. McAndrews went into the corner second but came out fourth after some off-tracking to the line with Weber and Myers able to slide by for position. Tristan VanWieringen (KRT) came up from ninth to finish fifth with Garrett Johnston (Margay) the hard charger, placing sixth after starting 13th, one spot in front of Goodyear.
Tilley chances at his third straight win were put to rest on the opening lap as the chain popped off. This put Weber at the point with a host of others in the lead draft. The group kept busy as they swapped positions numerous times throughout the 12 laps. In the end, it came down to the final corner when Weber was able to escape with the lead and his first win in the class, edging McAndrews by just 0.092-seconds at the line. Gresham Wagner (Birel) was third in the order with VanWieringen and Goodyear completing the top-five.
 | Karl Weber's Yamaha Sportsman Heavy victory helped Birel earn three wins on the day
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
HPV Lite
Making only his second start in the HPV Lite category, TJ Koyen posted the fast lap in the qualifying session with a 1:08.512. His lap was just over two-tenths quicker than Merlin teammate Jason Foley. Patrick Olsen (Birel) made it three Wisconsin drivers up front, in front of point leader Ryan Stewart (Birel) with challenger Tommy Andersen (Merlin) starting fifth.
Koyen and Foley put on a great show as the two swapped for the lead the entire six-lap Prefinal. Koyen was able to edge Foley at the line by 0.085-seconds for the win. Olsen ran alone in third with Cody Robinson (Arrow) and Tony Jump (Margay) completing the top-five. Andersen fell back to seventh while a spin early on put Stewart at the back, able to get up to ninth.
The beginning of the main event saw Koyen slide off in the opening corner to the outside, with some assistance. In the process, Robinson was sent into the barriers where he would end his race. Koyen was able to rejoin the field, outside the top-five. This put Foley at the point with Olsen and Stewart following. They remain unchanged until the halfway point when Olsen took over the top spot. That triggered the start to a great race between the three as they swapped the lead numerous times. In the end, Foley was able to hold off the final charge from Olsen and Stewart. Koyen was able to drive back with the fast laps of the race to place fourth, getting by Bill McLaughlin (Birel) and Andresen in the closing stages of the race. With the results, the championship chases will tighten up and should be exciting finish at the finale.
With three victories, Birel now moves to the top of the ranking in the Manufacturer’s Championship Trophy chase with 15, Margay holds on to second with 13 after scoring one victory today. Arrow and Merlin are now tied for third with 9 a piece (Arrow with one and Merlin with two on the day) while Tony Kart stays at 5 wins with no victories during the first day of action. Tomorrow is another day with eight classes slated for action and more championship chases to break down. To follow the action all weekend, visit the Official Discussion Thread. |
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