|
 |
|
 |
| November 11, 2009 News |
| EKN Exclusive: SKUSA SuperNationals XIII - TaG Junior/S5 Preview |
| |
From the day that the final checkered flag waved and the competitors packed up under their gear in the paddock one year ago, the 13th annual Superkarts! USA SuperNationals has been in everyone’s mind. Set for November 18-22, over 400 drivers will head into battle at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino for what is expected to be the biggest and brightest karting event in the sport’s history. Drivers from all over North America and around the world will compete in an effort to score one of the nine class victories, all focused on placing their name into the SKUSA history books. eKartingNews.com has slated the days leading up to the event for an in-depth look at the entry list and the major players in each of the categories. We will begin with the TaG Junior and S5 categories, then follow with TaG Masters, G1, S4, KF2, S3 and TaG Senior, all leading up to the headline SuperPro category.
To discuss the SKUSA SuperNationals XIII, visit the Official Discussion Thread in the EKN Forums.
 | Felipe Fraga will return to the SuperNationals to defend his TaG Junior title
(Photo: Vroom) |
TaG Junior
Introduced just last year, the TaG Junior division certainly produced some intense moments throughout the 2008 edition of the SuperNationals. A 47-kart feature race saw Brazilian Felipe Fraga take the inaugural victory aboard a Tony Kart. The recently crowned CIK-FIA PanAmerican Champion in the Sudam Junior will return to Vegas to defend his title, this time piloting a Kart Mini. The first step for those looking to dethrone Fraga will be to make the main event as over 60 drivers have entered and only the best 40 following the heat races will be put into the show. The Last Chance Qualifier is sure to be an all-out dogfight.
With so many drivers in the field holding the ability to score the victory, including 19 returning from last year, here is a quick look at some of the popular favorites. Louie Pagano (Birel) joins Fraga as the only two podium finishers returning from 2008. The Southern California driver races for Dave’s Performance Karting and earned the Gatorz Karting Rotax Junior championship after finishing fourth in the Challenge of the Americas program this past winter. Pagano also bagged the IKF Grand National victory in TaG Junior against many of the same competitors racing in Vegas. One of the hottest drivers on the current TaG Junior scene is newly-crowned KF3 national champion Tristan DeGrand (Kosmic). The J3 Competition driver had the provisional HPV-2 Junior victory last year at the SuperNats until he was removed in tech for an engine issue, so he has certainly shown that he has what it takes to excel on the Rio parking lot. With that success on his record, some solid European experience and the new national crown, DeGrand is most definitely among the favorites.
 | Louie Pagano joins Fraga as the only returning podium finishers from last year
(Photo: RaceMediaGroup.com) |
California and Texas will have some heavy hitters on hand as well. ProKart Challenge North TaG Junior champion Dylan Lupton (Birel) will look to add another honor to his CV, bringing with him his NorCal rivals - Kiel Spaulding (Top Kart) and Adrian Starrantino (CRG) - who scored feature wins in Sonoma. Joining Pagano from SoCal will be Nicholas Silva (Kosmic) and Raquel Martinez (Top Kart), who have shown speed throughout the year on the national scene and should be factors in Vegas.
Texas has two drivers representing the ‘Lone Star State’, both who finished inside the top-10 in last year’s battle. Austin Self and Alec Udell make the journey back to the SuperNats looking for the podium this time around. Self has enjoyed a solid year, taking home the inaugural TaG Junior victory at the Rock Island Grand Prix in September and he will look to pilot his Motorama Kart Parts Birel to victory in Vegas. Udell (Top Kart) qualified to the American squad for the Rotax Grand Finals in Egypt for early December, and he will focused on scoring the big first for Kart Nation at the SuperNats. Mason Chelootz will make his SuperNats debut after following the national scene for many years, piloting a Team Top Kart/Grand Products entry.
 | Tristan DeGrand comes in as one of the hottest Junior drivers in the field
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
A solid group of drivers from the Central States Challenge will represent Middle America with TaG Junior champion Drake Ostrom (Margay), Richy Yates (Top Kart) and Angela Donahue (WildKart) set to compete. Jersey will also be in the house as Shawn Sharkey (Merlin) returns for his second SuperNationals. The Franklin Motorsports driver put in a stellar performance in a back-up kart, driving from 40th to ninth in last year’s main event and will look to stay out of trouble this time around by running out front.
The field will also have a strong representation from multiple foreign countries. Eleven drivers are coming in from the northern neighbor - Canada - while 13 others are of other nationalities including Brazil, Dominican Republic, Argentina, England, Philippines, Switzerland, Australia, Russia and Italy. Qualifying will be crucial for all the drivers as any slip up in the timed session will cost them a solid starting position for the three heat races. Though it’s possible to work your way forward, it will be extremely difficult with the stacked field in this year’s class.
Provisional TaG Junior Entry List - as of November 10
| No. | Driver | Hometown | Country | Team | Chassis| 00c | Jake Craig | Mission Viejo, CA | USA | Pitts Performance | CRG | | 00t | Mason Chelootz | Houston, TX | USA | Team Top Kart / Grand Products | Top Kart | | 3r | Adam Dowler | Edmonton, AB | Canada | Tony Kart West | Tony Kart | | 4o | Richy Yates | Independence, KS | USA | | Top Kart | | 7 | Austin King | Calgary, AB | Canada | Overdrive Motorsports | PCR | | 7x | Will Choice | Houston, TX | USA | Team AZ Karting | Birel | | 07 | Austin Self | Austin, TX | USA | Motorama Kart Parts (MKP) | Birel | | 8 | Luca Forgeois | Effort, PA | USA | | Arrow | | 8a | Martin Nicolas Moggia | Buenos Aires | Argentina | PCR Karts | PCR | | 8y | Kiel Spaulding | Elk Grove, CA | USA | Kartel Motorsports | Top Kart | | 08 | Humberto Silva, Jr. | Sanford, FL | USA | Tony Kart Florida | Tony Kart | | 09y | Kathryn Cornell | Stockton, CA | USA | Leading Edge Motorsports | Intrepid | | 10a | Federico Paoloni | Podenzano, | Italy | PCR Karts | PCR | | 13t | Miguel Lopez | Tyler, TX | USA | | GP | | 13x | Bailey Murphy | Phoenix, AZ | USA | AZ Kart Werx | Tony Kart | | 14 | Yago Cesario | Sao Paulo | Brazil | Italian Motors | Italkart | | 15 | Yuri Cesario | Sao Paulo | Brazil | Italian Motors | Italkart | | 17x | Max Zacky | Sherman Oaks, CA | USA | Mike Manning Karting | MMK | | 18 | Phillip Orcic | Richmond, BC | Canada | Tony Kart East | Tony Kart | | 18j | Drake Ostrom | Moline, IL | USA | | Margay | | 21 | Jesse Lazare | Trois-Rivieres, QC | Canada | PSL Karting | CRG | | 22 | Marcus Brodie | Kelowna, BC | Canada | Checkered Flag Racing | Vemme | | 22c | Chance Stephens | Tucson, AZ | USA | | CRG | | 23 | Pierre Gasly | Huntington Beach, CA | Switzerland | G-Phactory | SodiKart | | 23r | Reid Arnold | Keswick, ON | Canada | | CRG | | 24 | Luca Caspari | Miami, FL | Italy | Energy Corse America | Energy | | 25 | Michael Tejeda | Santo Domingo | DR | | Zanardi | | 25x | Nicholas Silva | Van Nuys, CA | USA | Reaction Karting | Kosmic | | 27 | Jake Dennis | Nuneaton, Warwickshire | England | Team Top Kart / Grand Products | Top Kart | | 27y | Dylan Lupton | Sacramento, CA | USA | Andersen Racing | Birel | | 28 | Tristan DeGrand | Eureka, MO | USA | J3 Competition | Kosmic | | 28c | Corey Neveau | Santa Ana, CA | USA | 2Wild Karting | Tony Kart | | 33a | Agustin Lima Capitao | Buenos Aires | Argentina | PCR Karts | PCR | | 34 | Emily Maddison | Calgary, AB | Canada | Overdrive Motorsports | PCR | | 35j | Joel Jens | Manitowoc, WI | USA | Franklin Motorsports | Merlin | | 38 | Scott Hargrove | Surrey, BC | Canada | Italian Motors | Italkart | | 39 | Luke Chudleigh | Milton, ON | Canada | Prime Kartsport | CRG | | 45 | Tyler Edwards | Littleton, CO | USA | Doghouse Racing | Arrow | | 51y | Daniel Langon | Alamo, CA | USA | S.T.A. | GP | | 56y | Austin Thomas | San Rafael, CA | USA | S.T.A. | GP | | 66 | Logan Bearden | Austin, TX | USA | Motorama Kart Parts (MKP) | Birel | | 66k | Raquel Martinez | Whittier, CA | USA | Team Top Kart / Grand Products | Top Kart | | 70 | Cory Cacciavillani | Leamington, ON | USA | J3 Competition | Kosmic | | 71c | Niki Luna | Newport Coast, CA | Philippines | Infinity Kart Services | CRG | | 72 | Pietro Fittipaldi | Miami, FL | USA | | Tony Kart | | 74e | Angela Donahue | Wildwood, MO | USA | Donahue Motorsports | WildKart | | 74y | Luis Tyrrell | Brisbane, CA | USA | Kartel Motorsports | Top Kart | | 80 | Felipe Fraga | Palmas, FL | Brazil | Team Kart Mini | Kart Mini | | 82c | Carlee Taylor | Yucaipa, CA | USA | Tony Kart West | Tony Kart | | 94 | Shawn Sharkey | Middletown, NJ | USA | Franklin Motorsports | Merlin | | 95b | Bryan Lemon | Glendale, AZ | USA | | Kosmic | | 96 | Alessandra Madrigal | Des Moines, IA | USA | J3 Competition | Kosmic | | 104 | Vasiliy Romanov | | Russia | Rocky Mountain Kartworks | GP | | 111 | Spencer Todd | Ajax, ON | Canada | PSerra Racing | Birel | | 120 | Marco Tulio | Orlando, FL | Brazil | Tony Kart Florida | Tony Kart | | 122 | Mitch Carey | Parker, CO | USA | Billet Performance | Arrow | | 131x | Roman Lagudi | Las Vegas, NV | Australia | Reaction Karting | Kosmic | | 222 | Connor Thomas | Edwards, CO | USA | Billet Performance | Arrow | | 261t | Alec Udell | Spring, TX | USA | Kart Nation | Top Kart | | 316 | Tristan Nunez | Boca Raton, FL | USA | Tony Kart Florida | Tony Kart | | 317d | Sabre' Cook | Grand Junction, CO | USA | Critical Zone Racing | CRG | | 355c | Louie Pagano | Camarillo, CA | USA | Dave's Performance Karting (DPK) | Birel | | 502x | Adrian Starrantino | Simi Valley, CA | USA | Pitts Performance | CRG | | 615 | Austin DeMent | Reno, NV | USA | | Top Kart | | 622 | James Michael Sullivan | Colorado Springs, CO | USA | First Kart | First Kart | | 727y | Jack Freese | Salinas, CA | USA | Cambrian Go-Karts | Birel | |
 | Central States Challenge S5 champion Lukas Johnson comes into the SuperNats as one of the favorites
(Photo: Alicia Yates) |
S5
Making its third appearance at the SKUSA SuperNationals, the S5 class is beginning to build a foundation across the country as the organization expands its regional program. Two areas currently have a strong S5 representation as the Midwest and Colorado lead the way. There will also be a lone entry from Canada. Leading the charge from the Midwest is Central States Challenge S5 champion Lukas Johnson (Monza). The Minnesota driver ran third the opening SCSC weekend and then went on to score five straight feature wins to take the title. He will be joined by ’08 podium finisher Zachary Silver (CRG). The driver from Illinois finished fifth last year. From Colorado comes the return of last year’s top finisher Austin Schimmel. The GP Kart driver running for Rocky Mountain Kartworks ran third in the ’08 edition at the Rio and scored the Colorado Sprint Championship S5 title.
Reid Arnold will carry the Canadian flag in the S5 category in 2009. The CRG driver from the province of Ontario has raced a number of national US events and will make the jump to a shifter kart in Vegas. Also looking to slam the gears of the stock six-speed Honda powerplant is two-time ProKart Challenge champion Kiel Spaulding. After scoring two straight HPV-2 Junior titles in the North program, the Kartel Motorsports driver will move up to the S5 category for the first time. Competing aboard a Top Kart, Spaulding should be a factor as the blue brand has won the first two editions of the S5 category at the SuperNationals.
With inaugural S5 winner Brendan Phinny going on to win the S3 title the following year, the 2009 field is a look into future of possible stars in new Superkarts! USA Pro Tour set for 2010 and, of course, the SuperNationals history books.
Provisional S5 Entry List - as of November 10
| No. | Driver | Hometown | Country | Team | Chassis| 1y | Kiel Spaulding | Elk Grove, CA | USA | Kartel Motorsports | Top Kart | | 3e | Kaylee Granberg | Kansas City, MO | USA | PG Racing | WildKart | | 3y | Dylan Kwasniewski | Las Vegas, NV | USA | | Tony Kart | | 8 | Austin Mitchell | Missouri City, TX | USA | Kart Nation | CRG | | 12 | Ben Paderta | Burr Ridge, IL | USA | | CRG | | 17d | Christian Schureman | Golden, CO | USA | Rocky Mountain Kartworks | GP | | 18e | Joe Reed | Hillsboro, MO | USA | Crockett Motorsports | GP | | 23r | Reid Arnold | Keswick, ON | Canada | | CRG | | 24d | Austin Schimmel | Colorado Springs, CO | USA | Rocky Mountain Kartworks | GP | | 28c | Cory Neveau | Santa Ana, CA | USA | 2Wild Karting | Tony Kart | | 28f | AJ Myers | Oldsmar, FL | USA | Tony Kart East | Tony Kart | | 29m | Emmanuel Mestre | San Gabriel, CA | USA | Seventh Gear Karting | Tony Kart | | 32h | Lukas Johnson | Farmington, MN | USA | Central States Challenge | Monza | | 58d | Cole MacEwen | Fort Collins, CO | USA | Rocky Mountain Kartworks | GP | | 79e | Kevin Donahue | Wildwood, MO | USA | Donahue Motorsports | WildKart | | 81 | Jack Murray | Montgomery, TX | USA | Kart Nation | CRG | | 93 | Tyler Kingston | Tucson, AZ | USA | | SodiKart | | 93j | Zachary Silver | Hinsdale, IL | USA | | CRG | |
|
|
|
Go Top
|
|
|
|
|
