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| September 06, 2010 News |
| Wiegand and Lawson Royalty at Rock Island Grand Prix |
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 | Kyle Wiegand's vast Rock Island experience paid off as he scored his third King of the Streets crown
(Photo: Joe Brittin) |
The 16th edition of the Rock Island Grand Prix went into the books on Sunday following the action on Labor Day weekend. The event was simply excellent with great racing, close to perfect weather and when it was all done, the event could boast that there was not one red flag. Kudos go out to the drivers for showing respect for each other on track and the volunteer staff of the RIGP who once again provided a safe track and hard-working staff that kept the event moving. Looking at the results on Sunday evening, Kyle Wiegand returned to the throne with this third King of the Streets title and another North American Street Championship victory. Making history on the day was Ohio’s Gary Lawson, as the Rock Island GP veteran added four wins on the day to move his record-breaking career win total to 20.
King of the Streets
As Sunday’s main events loomed, trackside excitement was built up through the pre-race opening ceremonies and driver autograph session. The King of the Streets headline category took to the track as the first out class to blast of the gate, all with the crowd anxious for some racing. As the field shot off the starting grid, Texan Nick Lucido (CRG) grabbed the holeshot over pole-sitter Kyle Wiegand (Top Kart), who fell to third behind defending winner Jordon Musser (Birel). The top four drivers, including SKUSA Central States Challenge frontrunner Derek Crockett (GP), joined together and ran in that order until Wiegand made his way to the front. On lap four, Wiegand found his way around Musser for second and the next time by, he was into the lead. On that same lap, Crockett made enough contact with a barrier in turn three as it grabbed him and took him out of competition. The following lap, Lucido did the same in turn one, getting sideways as he made hard impact with the outer barriers, leaving Musser with nowhere to go as he went over Lucido and into the haybales. Musser went up and over into the fence, but luckily walked away while Lucido returned to the track unscathed, but out of win contention.
This incident gave Wiegand a solid lead over 14-year old Jake French (Birel) and 15-year old Lukas Johnson (Monza), both making their first King of the Streets starts. On the charge mid-race was Cole Mathewson (GP). Starting 11th, the Evolution Karting driver was up to fourth by lap six and continued closing in the on the leaders. Getting by Johnson for third on lap 10, he then set his sights on French. As the laps wound down, Wiegand continued his record-setting pace, posting his fastest lap in the final circuits to score the victory by over 11 seconds. In the end, French was able to hold on to the second spot over Mathewson to complete the podium. Johnson had fourth locked up until making contact with a barrier and damaging his kart enough to be unable to continue. That moved the fight for fifth up to fourth as Texans Chris Jennings (Birel) and Mike Jones (CRG) were embroiled in a great battle. In the end, Jennings would win the position over Jones.
4-Cycle International
Travis DeVriendt (Coyote) held the P1 grid spot as the new class made its RIGP debut by taking the green flag from a Lemans-style start. DeVriendt led the way through the first lap while Scott Hamble (Margay) was able to work by Garrett Bouchard (Margay) for the second as they made up the lead pack. By the halfway mark, DeVriendt was on cruise control as he was out to a six-second lead as Hamble and Bouchard battled for the runner-up position. Through lapped traffic, Hamble was able to shake off Bouchard and get out to a two-second advantage for second. Mark Luna (Coyote) started fourth and ran alone, while Jim Brummet (Invader) jumped up from sixth to fifth when P5 starter Ken Williams (Coyote) went out on the opening lap. DeVriendt was just too much for the field as he would go on to score the inaugural class win by 7.899 seconds over Hamble. Luna was able to close in on Bouchard and take the third spot in the final lap, while Brad Carter (Tony Kart) capped a solid run from 13th to fifth after Brummet retired with two laps to go.
 | Veteran Mack McCormack came out on top of a great fight for supremacy in TaG Masters
(Photo: Joe Brittin) |
TaG Masters
Just out of his Clone kart, two-time defending class winner Scott Hamble (Margay/Motori 7) led the TaG Masters field to the green flag after winning the pole on Saturday afternoon. Hamble led the way through the opening lap as 2006 winner John Dixon (Birel/Rotax) fell to third behind Mack McCormack (Arrow/Motori 7). On lap two, McCormack was the leader as Hamble slid in behind him with Dixon pushing the front two to set up the lead trio. The front three then pulled away with a host of drivers battling for fourth, led by Joe Cento (Intrepid) – who started sixth - on lap five over Kevin Adds (Intrepid), Alex Angel (Birel) and James Slade (GP). On lap eight, Dixon took over the second spot from Hamble, while Angel was back up to fourth being chased by 2007 winner Brian McHattie (Kosmic), who was turning some of the quickest laps of the race in his charge to fifth. On lap 11, McHattie turned the fastest lap and was able to work by Angel for the fourth spot. The next time by, however, Angel was able to slide back by for the position. Up front, McCormack’s lead was growing bit by bit as Hamble and Dixon fought for the second spot. With five laps to go, Hamble dropped the hammer to cut into McCormack’s lead, making it just two tenths by the stripe. The next time by, he was on his bumper and Dixon was right there as well. With two to go, McCormack was shuffled back to third on the exit of turn six and got the draft to go back to first as they went through the turn one. At the start of the final lap, it was McCormack, Hamble and Dixon nose-to-tail at the front. McCormack was able to hold it through the final lap, edging out Hamble by 0.042 seconds at the line for his second win (first coming in 2004). Dixon was third as Angel held on for fourth over McHattie – who held the fast lap.
2-Cycle Super Sportsman Heavy
At the drop of the green, Gary Lawson (Arrow) was able to hold the top spot as the field shuffled into turn one. Four-time class winner Michael Dittmer (Margay) held second and was close until lap three when Lawson pulled to a seven-tenths of second lead. Dittmer had company behind him as Brandon Cather (Margay) and Tony Neilson (Margay) were right there on his bumper. By the halfway mark, Lawson’s lead was three seconds as Neilson was up to second over Dittmer and Cather. Leading the entire 15 laps, Lawson would go on to score the victory, his 17th total for his RIGP career. Neilson held off Dittmer for the second spot with Cather along in fourth. Dustin Blomme (Margay) had a great run from seventh to end up fifth.
 | After an incredible day at the Rock, Gary Lawson now has an amazing 20 career wins to his credit
(Photo: Joe Brittin) |
KZ2
Wiegand earned his second victory of the day with a win in the North American Street Championship event. He would be challenged early as Alex Conlin (Birel) grabbed the holeshot from the P4 grid spot to lead early, but the RIGP veteran would not be denied. Wiegand would regain the top spot by the time they came around to the stripe for the first time. Conlin was able to stick in second as Nick Johnson (Intrepid) and Max Gamble (CRG) battled for the third spot. Johnson fell back to fourth after starting second, but he was up to third following the halfway mark and was challenging Conlin for second. Johnson took the spot from Conlin on lap 15 and the following circuit, Conlin would retire to move Gamble to third. Out front, Wiegand took the victory by 13 seconds over Johnson and Gamble. In tech, however, Gamble would be removed from the event, moving Chris Schultz (GP) to third and Carly Mandarino (CRG) to fourth.
4-Cycle Sr. Animal Heavy
Six-time class winner Gary Lawson (Arrow) started from the pole position and was impressive on his cold tires during the opening lap to pull away to a two-second advantage. Connor Lund (Arrow) got the jump on Travis DeVriendt (Coyote) to steal second before the opening corner while Harry Smith (MGM) was up from sixth to fourth ahead of Michael Dittmer (Margay). Despite the good start, Smith was off on lap three after possible contact with Dittmer as he came around well behind the fight for second. On lap five, DeVriendt was able to work by Lund for the second position and quickly put some distance on him. Lap after lap, Lawson stretched out his lead and took the victory by nine seconds over DeVriendt. Lund ended third with Dittmer in fourth as Jason Crane crossed the line fifth.
TaG Senior
After two failed starts, the TaG Senior field finally got the green flag with Sam Beasley (Arrow/Motori 7) leading the pack into turn one. However, it was the outside line that capitalized as off-pole starter Nevin Nelson (Energy/Rotax) got a great jump and led the field through the opening lap. Beasley fell to second with Tony Neilson (Margay/Leopard) up to third quickly from the sixth starting spot. John Dixon (Tony Kart/Sonik) was fourth while quick Canadian Cory Cacciavillani (Kosmic/Rok TT) was fifth in the early going. On lap four, Neilson did not come around to the start-finish as his race came to an end quickly after contact in turn three, which resulted in a bent axle. On lap five, Beasley completed his run back to the front, as Nelson slotted back in him behind. With Neilson out, Dixon was moved up to third and Eric Schumacher (Kosmic/Rotax) found himself in fourth after getting shuffled back at the start. Dixon would relinquish the position, however, as a broken spark plug wire on lap nine would end his chance at the podium. With the front of the field set, the attention turned to the charging drives of Shawn Sharkey (Merlin/Motori 7), Nic LeDuc (Energy/Sonik) and Alex Mayer (CRG/Rotax).
 | Sam Beasley followed his mentor Gary Lawson's lead, scoring in his Senior debut at Rock Island with a TaG Senior victory
(Photo: Joe Brittin) |
All three started at the back of the field and had worked their way into the top-15. Sharkey was the best of the trio in the end, as he put in a great drive to end up a stellar sixth. Out front, Beasley cruised to the victory, his first at the Rock in the Senior category, outrunning Nelson by two seconds. Schumacher was able to hold on to third despite heavy pressure from Cacciavillani - who was making his first RIGP start. Josh Lane (Energy/Rok TT) was able work away from an early battle for the fifth position.
Rotax Junior
Austin Self (Birel) and Alec Udell (Top Kart) led the field to the green flag as the Rotax Junior category made its return to the Rock. Self held the lead through the opening laps until on lap three when he made a slight error, spinning and ending his chance at victory. This put the Kart Nation duo of Udell and Bristol Gunderson (Top Kart) out front for a toe-to-toe battle. Gunderson pressured until lap 14 of the 15-lap event when her chain dropped off its gear, ending what could have been a wild finish and possible victory for the female Texan driver. Now unchallenged, Udell would cruise to the victory, his first in his initial trip to the Rock. Indiana’s Cameron Smock (Top Kart) ran to second with Drake Woodard (Birel) ending up third. Smock was impressive in soldiering on through the race after damage to his steering shaft left it unsupported. The young pilot remained focused and drive through the issue, which may have sent other less motivated competitors to the sidelines.
2-Cycle Pipe Heavy
Michael Dittmer (Margay) and Tony Jump (Margay) led the class to the green flag with Jump getting the better of Dittmer as the flag waved to start the race. Jump led until lap five when Tim Goettsch (Margay) took over the spot with a pass in turn one. By lap six, Jump had fallen to fifth as Goettsch was pulling away with the lead. Dittmer, Drake Ostrom (Margay) and Garrett Bouchard (Margay) were able to get around Jump for the positions. At the halfway mark, Goettsch held a comfortable three-second lead while behind him, Ostrom was pressuring Dittmer for the second spot. Jump lost another position as Brandon Cather (Margay) got around to put Jump into sixth. Lap 11, Ostrom was able to work by for the second spot, but as they fought, Goettsch continued to extend his lead. With two to go, the lead was over five seconds as the rest of the top five had spaced themselves out. At the line, Goettsch took his second victory in the class by five seconds with Ostrom, Dittmer, Bouchard and Cather rounding out the provisional top-five. At the scales, Goettsch was found to be underweight, thus handing the win to Ostrom and moving Jump back into the top-five.
 | The battle for the 125cc Masters win between Chris Enderlein (r) and Lance Lane (l) was awesome, with Enderlein taking a long-deserved win
(Photo: Joe Brittin) |
125cc Masters
Trouble began early in the 125cc Masters class as the field drove away for the warm-up lap. Defending race winner Kurt Mathewson (GP) pulled off just feet from the grid with a mechanical issue and despite the face that his crew went to work to get the kart running as the karts went around for warm-up, he would be forced to watch from the sidelines as polesitter Graham Wilcock (CRG) led the field off the line. As they completed lap one, Chris Enderlein (Kosmic) showed the way with Wilcock and Lance Lane (LRM) in tow. On lap four, Enderlein dropped the fastest lap of the race to that point to pull out to a small lead as Lane looked for a way by Wilcock for second. Lane finally got by on lap 10 with a move to the inside of turn one. Enderlein’s lead was half a second at that time with Lane now in the challenger position. In just two laps, the lead was cut in half and the next time by, Lane was on the leader’s bumper. Lap by lap, Lane held to Enderlein’s shadow as they matched lap time for lap time. On lap 18, things got interesting as lapped traffic helped Enderlein and hurt Lane’s pace on that circuit, giving Enderlein some breathing room. Getting the white flag, Lane closed in the gap to just two-tenths. On the final lap, Enderlein held him off to take his first RIGP victory. Lane settled for second with Wilcock back in third. Todd Bridgeman (Trackmagic) was fourth in the final order with Kyle Donahue (GP) up into fifth.
Rotax Senior
The Rotax Senior start was a bit sketchy as they got bunched up in the opening corner. Eric Schumacher (Kosmic) came away with the led with Phil DeLaO (Top Kart) in second, as polesitter Sam Beasley (Arrow) fell back to fourth behind Alex Meyer (CRG). Lap four, Beasley gained one spot back to take third from Mayer and looked to run down the top-two. Lap five, DeLaO moved to the point as Beasley joined the fray to make it a three-kart fight for the lead. That would be short-lived as on lap seven. Beasley pulled off with a bent axle after light contact with one of the apex barriers. DeLaO’s lead at the halfway mark was one second, while Mayer had moved up to third as Aaron Snyder (Tony Kart) advanced up from 15th to fourth over Alex Conlin (Birel). With all the action happening behind him, DeLaO stretched out to a four-second victory in the second half of the race as Schumacher ran to second. Mayer held to third while Tom Radivoy (Haase) drove back to fourth after falling out of the top-five, crossing the line ahead of Conlin and Snyder.
2-Cycle Super Sportsman Medium
Tony Neilson (Margay) showed the way through the first lap of the Super Sportsman Medium race with Gary Lawson (Arrow), Dustin Blomme (Margay) and Tony Jump (Margay) slotting in behind him to begin the 15-lap scrap. As they went to turn one for the second time, all three drafted by Neilson for position but as they came around again it was Jump leading the way with Bloome and Lawson challenging. Completing lap three, Jump and Lawson were able to break away with Bloome trailing, as the next group for the fourth spot. Lawson took his turn at the point as they completed lap four with the top three running nose-to-tail. Jump kept his nose right on the rear bumper of Lawson until the leader was able to put down a strong lap to put some distance between the two. At the halfway mark, Lawson’s lead was sixth tenths despite the fact that Jump and Bloome working together in an effort to draft up to the leader. On lap 11, Bloome and Jump out would see their race cut short as lapped traffic put the two off the track. This moved Neilson and Tim Goettsch (Margay) into second and third and Michael Dittmer (Margay) Stephen Barnett (Tony Kart) up to fourth and fifth. In the end, Lawson would take the victory by over six seconds for win #3 of the day with Neilson holding off Goettsch for the runner-up spot. Dittmer ended up fourth with Barnett holding to fifth.
 | Alex Udell (l) and Bristol Gunderson (r) drag-raced to the line for the win in TaG Junior
(Photo: Joe Brittin) |
TaG Junior
Austin Self (Birel) led the field to the green flag in TaG Junior, but it was Alec Udell (Top Kart) who showed the way through the opening laps. The top two drivers were able to get away early with Bristol Gunderson (Top Kart) two seconds back in third. As the lead duo ran nose-to-tail, Gunderson cut into the gap with the fast lap of the race on the sixth circuit and she was running about two-tenths a lap quicker than the leaders. Self pulled the trigger on lap nine with a great draft into turn one to lead for the first time. But at the same time, Gunderson posted yet another fast lap to shrink the gap even more, working hard to get close to the leaders. Udell and Self swapped the lead once again but then lapped traffic helped Gunderson’s cause even more on lap 11 and she finally arrived on the bumper of the front duo. Getting the two to go signal, Udell held the lead with Self challenging and Gunderson trying to keep the momentum going. Self looked for the final time into turn one but it was for naught as Udell held on. The action came in turns four and five as Udell and Self exchanged the lead once again. As they exited five, the two went for the same piece of real estate with Udell getting the best of the slight altercation. Self would make contact with the barriers and did not make it to the finish. As they came to the line, Gunderson got a great run, but she came up just short as Udell edged his teammate by 0.069 seconds for win number two on the day. Alan Berry (Birel) was able hold off Gregory Gerst (Mike Wilson) for the third podium position , while Killam Keaveny (Intrepid) capped off the top-five.
Rumble at the Rock Animal Medium
At the drop of the green to begin this year’s Rumble at the Rock, Gary Lawson (Arrow) fell back to second through the first turn but as the field crossed the line for the first time, Lawson’s lead was already 1.395 seconds over Connor Lund (Arrow). The lead was double that the next time around as Lund ran second to Michael Dittmer (Margay) and Travis DeVriendt (Coyote). Lawson would cruise to his record-making 20th RIGP victory, this one by 20 seconds. The fight for second was a good one as DeVriendt was able to edge out Lund and Dittmer, while Harry Smith (MGM) rounded out the top-five.
 | Phil DeLaO was the winner in both Rotax Senior and Leopard
(Photo: Joe Brittin) |
Parilla Leopard
The Parilla Leopard class capped the day in fine style, with some great wheel-to-wheel racing. Sam Beasley (Arrow) and Phil DeLaO (Top Kart) led the field to the green flag, but it was Tony Neilson (Margay) who led the opening lap. A host of others lined up behind DeLaO and Beasley to make up about a 10-kart lead pack. DeLaO would lead the second lap after he put Neilson back to second, while Michael Politis (Merlin) was up to fourth behind Beasley. On lap three, Politis was up to third and began pressuring Neilson for second. Up front, DeLaO’s lead was eight-tenths as Politis was up to second with Beasley now pressuring Neilson. Politis’ time in second was short-lived, however, as both Neilson and Beasley worked by for the position before Beasley eventually took second on lap nine. At the halfway mark, DeLaO’s lead was now 2.3 seconds as the battle for second settled down with Beasley holding the position. Shawn Sharkey (Merlin) worked into the fifth spot and was closing in on Politis and Neilson, as was the rest of the top-10, all running a torrid pace. On lap 14, Sharkey was able to work by Politis for fourth and was looking to run down Neilson. With five to go, third through 10th were all running together as Sharkey continued his charge, moving up to third after running eighth early on. DeLaO and Beasley matched each other’s pace as their gap remained static until the checkered flag with DeLaO scoring his second victory of the day. Sharkey held on to third while Politis able to work around Neilson for fourth.
Event Wrap-up
There is no doubt that it is a tough time for the karting industry, as the economy is do its part of minimize racer’s schedules. That said, the Rock Island Grand Prix is doing a commendable job is surviving through the recession by staying true to their mandate of providing an enjoyable racing experience. The racers continue to put the race of their personal calendars and their were many new faces this year, and those making their GP debuts were vocal in confirming their plans to return. Once again, the RIGP staff was tremendous in supporting its racers, both on the track and off. The weather was perfect for competition and the racing was excellent, witnessed by what appeared to be the largest crowd in years. While the race organizers would have certainly liked to have seen more entries, the overall momentum towards 2011 was certainly evident.
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