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| November 06, 2009 News |
| EKN Trackside: WKA Manufacturer’s Cup Series - Grand Nationals Preview |
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The 2009 season for the George Kugler/Bridgestone Manufacturer’s Cup Series will come to a close following this weekend’s action at the SSC East/CRG Grand Nationals inside the Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, NC. The results from the historic 7/10-mile circuit inside turns 3 and 4 of the 1.5-mile oval speedway will decide the 16 class champions over the three day event. Aside from the championships and possible inclusion into the Triple Crown Club, drivers will be competing for the prestigious Grand National Eagle that the World Karting Association will award to the 18 feature winners, adding their names to the long list of Grand Nationals winners.
The fastest group of the Manufacturer’s Cup Series program is the TaG division. With two finals left to decide the championship, only two drivers remain in the chase for the title. Canadian Marco DiLeo (Intrepid) has a strong hold entering the weekend, leading by 248 points over Georgia’s Chris Wehrheim (Top Kart). DiLeo’s three victories capped off by three additional podium finishes have him well out front with Wehrheim needing both victories and poor results for his rival. Wehrheim will be returning from Europe where he competed in an international event in Italy and hopefully will not be jet-lagged when getting into Charlotte for the finale. Aside from them, a number of drivers will be competing for a chance at a victory to close out the year, including Michele Bumgarner (Margay), Hunter Short (Kosmic), and Mark Vielgut (Haase) among others.
 | Canadian Marco DiLeo will look to clinch the TaG championship in Lowe's
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
The rest of the Senior divisions are all too close to call heading into the final weekend. Senior rookie and two-time Junior HPV champion Tommy Andersen (Merlin) as well as Patrick Olsen (Birel) lead the standings for HPV categories (Lite and Heavy). Despite not scoring a victory yet, Andersen has a slim 18 point advantage over Ryan Stewart (Birel) with the help of his divisional transfer points. Olsen is also still in the hunt when factoring in the drop race as both he and Stewart have a feature win. In Heavy however Olsen holds the point lead in similar fashion to Andersen - maximum transfer points and no feature win. Though he holds a 47-point lead, three drivers could easily erase that with a victory in Concord. New Castle winner Jason Foley (Merlin) and Wyatt Gooden (Arrow) can clinch the championship with a victory while Mark Vielgut (Haase) will need his rivals to finish outside the top-three if he were to score a win at Lowe’s.
Though attendance has been lower than previous years, the Yamaha Pipe division still has five drivers with a chance at the title. Tony Jump (Margay) leads the standings by 20 markers over last year’s Heavy champion Ryan Stewart (Birel). Josh Call (Margay) and Nathaniel DeWitt (Kosmic) are still in the chase along with Kevin Nelson (Margay) - who has won the last two rounds. The Yamaha SuperCan Lite class has seen great racing all year however the title is down to just two - Stewart and Jump. Stewart has 100 points over Jump entering the weekend except when factoring in the drop, its only 33 separating the two. On the Heavy side, Stewart trails Foley by 26 markers when calculating the best three races thus far. With Stewart in the hunt for four titles, he is the lone driver that has a chance to become a member of the WKA Triple Crown Club, which saw zero drivers enter from the Manufacturer’s Cup Series one year ago.
 | Ryan Stewart will make his bid for multiple championships as well as lead Birel toward a possible second straight Manufacturer's Trophy
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
The TaG Masters category will crown its first ever champion under the WKA banner with two drivers fighting it out to be the inaugural champion. John Dixon (Birel) brings in his three race win-streak to lead the championship by 77 points over Jeff Jewell (Haase). Dixon will need to finish fifth or better to clinch the title. Jewell is also bidding for his fourth straight title in the Yamaha Masters category. Michael Burrell (Birel) shows the way currently however Jewell missed round three, thus giving Burrell the current advantage. The two however will settle the score on the track inside Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
The Junior categories represents some of the best young talent in the country today and the four championships up for grabs are in the sights of two drivers - Sam Beasley and Nick Neri each with a chance at the WKA Triple Crown Club. Beasley (Arrow) has all but clinched the Yamaha Jr. Lite category with three wins and a third already in the books while Neri is the point man in HPV Jr. Heavy with a win and three runner-up performances.
The two will have to battle it out for the other two titles however. Neri currently leads the HPV Jr. Lite standings with Beasley and Sage Karam (Birel) stalking behind. Karam will need a win, and only a win to steal the title from the other two while Beasley needs to finish first or second, aside from finishing ahead of Neri to take the crown. Beasley is on top of the Yamaha Jr. Heavy with Neri and Trent Hindman (Merlin) giving chase. Neri needs the most help as a win with Hindman and Beasley finishing at best third and sixth respectively will allow him to steal the championship. Hindman meanwhile will need a first or second along with Beasley finishing outside the top-five to score the point title.
 | Nick Neri and Sam Beasley are the top two Juniors heading into the season finale
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
As is the case every weekend, the Cadet divisions put on a great show from first all the way back through the field. Four championships will be up for grabs this weekend in Concord with Kyle Kalish as one of the major players. Kalish (Merlin) has scored five of the eight feature wins in the Cadet Jr. Sportsman category. He leads another well-established Cadet driver - Santino Ferrucci (Top Kart) - by 264 points. With two finals schedule for the finale, nothing is set in stone yet with Ferrucci still holding a chance at the title. Kalish also leads the HPV Jr. Sportsman standings as well with a host of others giving chase. Ferrucci (Maranello) along with James Bennett (Birel), Jared Thomas (Birel), and Garrett Johnston (Margay) have a shot at the crown depending on their results in the Saturday class.
Mike McAndrews (Margay) has the advantage in the Yamaha Jr. Sportsman division with Kalish leading the chase ahead Johnston, Ferrucci, Jeff Myers Jr. (Birel) and Gresham Wagner (Birel) - all still in the hunt. Added to the Manufacturer’s Cup Series program at the South Bend round, the Yamaha Jr. Sportsman Heavy class has two race winner Kyle Tilley (Margay) as the point leader. He will look to hold off the challenges of Wagner, McAndrews and Myers at the finale.
 | Kyle Kalish has the Cadet Jr. Sportsman drivers chasing him for the championship
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
Up for grabs as well is the WKA Manufacturer’s Championship Trophy, which honors the top chassis manufacturer who has the most wins. Last year’s winner Birel enters the finale with 17 victories in total, leading nine-time Trophy winner Margay by just three feature wins. Merlin sits third with 11, just one ahead of Arrow while Tony Kart completes the top-five. Birel holds the honor for most wins in a weekend (6) following the South Bend round with Margay’s highest coming at Road America with five.
With the Grand Nationals awarding each driver a 50 point bonus toward the point standings and each entry counted as one additional point as well, every position on track will be very crucial in deciding the 2009 WKA Manufacturer’s Cup Series champions. Nothing will be decided until the final checkered flag waves for each of the 16 titles up for grabs. Friday will host a full day of practice for all the divisions with races set to take place Saturday and Sunday. eKartingNews.com will be on hand to provide the Trackside Live coverage, as it has all season long. Daily reports, full results, photos, and the popular forum updates in the Official Discussion Thread that include the Top-10 listings for each on-track session Saturday and Sunday will be on tap. |
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