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| eKartingNews.com Driver of the Month: 2011 |
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In a continued effort to highlight the many outstanding performances by drivers around the country, eKartingNews.com is proud to introduce the ‘Driver of the Month’ program. Each month, the staff at EKN will determine the one driver who stood out above the rest and give the viewers a chance to know exactly what they accomplished and who they are.
 | Kyle Kalish - EKN Driver of the Month - December 2011
(Photo: Sean Buur - Go Racing Magazine) |
Driver of the Month - December 2011 - Kyle Kalish
Karting has an unusual schedule for the United States as to the start of a new season. Most countries around the world begin their new season with the turn of the calendar. For the US, specifically for the World Karting Association, the start falls just before the New Year is celebrated with the running of the Daytona KartWeek at the Daytona International Speedway between Christmas and New Years. Our 2010 December Driver of the Month - Grant Quinlan - went on to claim a WKA Triple Crown award for 2011. This year’s December Driver of the Month - Kyle Kalish - could follow down that same path.
Kalish is entering his third season in the Junior ranks with top-10 championship finishes in WKA action for the Yamaha categories over the past two years. For 2012, he and father/mechanic Scott Kalish made the jump to contest all four Junior categories as they brought on a Komet Junior ride.
At Daytona, Komet Jr. Heavy was the first class to hit the track for racing action. Qualifying fourth, Kalish had to make quick work as the Prefinal was cancelled on the day due to less daylight available after a delay mid-day. Kalish was clean through the opening corners of the 14-lap feature that can always cause trouble in the Junior ranks. Once the front group shuffled out, Kalish was into the lead by lap five. From there, he drove to his first Komet victory out-running 2011 Lite champion Ashley Rogero and defending class champ Joel Jens.
Kalish completed the event with two more podium finishes. After qualifying on pole in the Yamaha Jr. Lite class, Kyle finish a hardly-contested fourth place in the feature race. The second day of action, Kalish qualified on pole in the Komet Jr. Lite class. Placing first in the Prefinal, he would be edged out for the victory by British champion driver James Kellett, his Merlin teammate for the week. Kyle was making a comeback run in Yamaha Jr. Heavy to close out the event. Qualifying 10th, he finished sixth in the prefinal and was inching forward in the feature until a tire came loose and snapped off, ending his run for four podiums.
Kalish plans on contending for the championships in the WKA Manufacturer’s Cup Series as well as the Midwest Sprint Series with selected Great Lakes Sprint Series events on his schedule. Kyle is also looking at competing in the new IAME X30 class in the WKA Gold Cup series and possible making his debut at the SKUSA SuperNationals in Las Vegas. Off the track, he is working on his first year in high school, where he currently holds a 4.0 GPA and plans to play Lacrosse.
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 | Austin Schimmel - EKN Driver of the Month - November 2011
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
Driver of the Month - November 2011 - Austin Schimmel
There is no better feeling then locking up the season championship with a victory in the final event. Putting it all on the line to secure the title is probably the most rewarding feeling you can have after showing the passion and dedication needed to become a champion. At the SKUSA SuperNationals XV, that spotlight was on S5 Junior Stock Moto driver Austin Schimmel as he locked up the Pro Tour title with the big victory in Las Vegas, earning him the Driver of the Month status for November.
Entering the SuperNats second in the championship chase, trailing Alex Tartaglia by 30 points, Schimmel needed to outrun his rival each and every session to have a chance at the title. Schimmel just missed out on his first chance to score points in qualifying as he was edged out by Miguel Lopez for the pole position by 0.019 seconds. The outside row one start for the heat races was the perfect position for Schimmel, driving to one win and two second place runs to earn the pole position for SuperSunday. With Tartaglia scoring points in only one heat race, the pressure was on both to place high in the main event.
Schimmel grabbed the holeshot to lead the opening lap of the 20-lap event. Lopez, who had led for much of the week, overtook the position on lap two. The duo ran nose to tail until Schimmel returned to the point on lap 10. Lopez kept the pressure on, keeping Schimmel honest until Ryan Rudolph joined the mix. Rudolph took over the second position and become the lead challenger, forcing Schimmel to perform at his best with zero mistakes. Rudolph challenge up to the final few feet but Schimmel was able to get to the line by 0.072 seconds, scoring his first SuperNationals win and securing the Pro Tour title.
For 2012, Schimmel will likely make the jump to the S2 Semi-Pro category, leaving his #1 plate behind in S5 - similar to what 2010 champion Daniel Langon did (SuperNats victory, Pro Tour champion, advance to S2). He will concentrate on doing well at the Pro Tour events next year, along with a number of one-off races around the country in addition to testing a Silver Crown car.
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Driver of the Month - October 2011 - Trey Shannon
 | Trey Shannon - EKN Driver of the Month - October 2011
(Photo: davidleephoto.com) |
If we were to ask you how far you could drive your kart, most would say around one to three hours, depending on your conditioning, age, and many other factors. I’m sure not many would throw out 24 hours. On October 25 at New Castle Motorsports Park, Trey Shannon set out to break the world record for a solo 24 hour kart drive. With grit, determination, a lot of planning and preparation and of course a solid supporting crew, Shannon set a new Guinness World Record. And for that, we have named him the eKartingNews.com Driver of the Month for October 2011.
His quest for the record began around 10am at the central Indiana facility aboard a MPR Motorsport Birel/Rotax machine, prepped and serviced throughout the 24 hour period by Adrenaline Fix Karting. Early into the run, a battery issue struck but was resolved within the next few stops. And for much of the 24 hours, the mechanical gremlins kept away. During the stops, he would keep himself hydrated and body stretched, working with Indianapolis-based PitFit Training’s Jim Leo. At night, the New Castle Motorsports Park rented lights to illuminate certain sections of the course to help compliment the headlight attached to the kart. Around 10:30pm, the lights at the end of the straightaway went out and the staff at NCMP worked quickly to resolve the issue, brining in some make-shift replacement lights.
The biggest hurdle was rain that hit the area. Around 2am, a storm cell passed through the area. Making a stop to switch over to a rain set-up, Shannon took to the track for his first laps ever in the rain in a kart. Lap by lap, Shannon grew comfortable with the conditions and ran stints of 70 and 60 laps, which set up for the record breaking segment of around 30 laps in the 23rd hour of the run.
At the end of 24 hours, Trey ran a total of 922 laps around the 0.919-mile course for a record distance of 847.318-miles, breaking the mark set by Lloyd de Boltz-Miller of Norfolk, UK on October 1, 2010 of 801.38-miles.
The best part about Shannon accomplishing his goal of setting a new record, was spreading the word of Tourette Syndrome Association (TSA) and the Team TSA’s ‘One Lap Closer to a Cure’. Trey has been living with TS since a very young age. As he has grown older, it has reduced to some fairly mild ‘tics’ and has never prevented him from doing anything, unlike many others who are not as lucky. With his 24 Hours for TSA campaign, Shannon has been able to raise awareness and bring in some much needed funding for TS research.
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Driver of the Month - September 2011 - Ashley Rogero
 | Ashley Rogero - EKN Driver of the Month - September 2011
(Photo: Sean Buur - Go Racing Magazine) |
The transition from the Cadet level in karting to Junior is sometimes a big leap. Depending on the experience gained at the young ages can make the jump difficult or smooth. For Ashley Rogero, the 2011 season has been fairly smooth and it showed at the WKA Manufacturer’s Cup Series MKP Grand Nationals at the New Castle Motorsports Park where she scored three of the four Junior main event wins. Her performance earned her the title of Driver of the Month for September 2011.
The Junior categories have developed a ton of talent over the last five years. Most recently, Sam Beasley and Nick Neri were the dominant figures and both have gone on to become among the top drivers in the country at the Senior level. Rogero now is at the first step of that development stage in her first full season competing in the Junior divisions. Last month in New Castle was her best showing of the season as she took home three WKA Grand National Eagles.
Her first victory came in Komet Jr. Heavy. Qualifying third, she ran to fourth in the Prefinal. From there, the battle raged on in the Final until Ashley secured the point and drove off to a 1.327-second victory over Raquel Martinez, making it a 1-2 female finish. The same day, Rogero scored win number two in the Yamaha Jr. Lite class. She had to work extra for this win as she qualified 10th but made it up in the Prefinal, driving to the race win. From there, she went wire-to-wire for the victory by three-tenths.
On day two, Rogero completed the sweep for the Komet classes with the victory in the Lite division. Qualifying on pole was erased in the first two laps of the Prefinal as she fell back to eighth. Gaining her composure, she drove back to finish second in the eight-lap run. Leading all but three laps in the middle of the main event, Rogero took her third victory of the weekend by 0.175-seconds at the stripe. Rogero looked to be on her way to a fourth victory. In Yamaha Jr. Heavy, she qualified 10th and was up to fifth at the end of the Prefinal. The field however kept her from advancing as she only finished sixth to complete the weekend.
For the season, Rogero finished fourth (Komet Jr. Lite), 10th (Yamaha Jr. Lite), third (Komet Jr. Heavy) and 12th (Yamaha Jr. Heavy) in the championship standings. Off the track, Ashley is a straight A student, maintained throughout her middle school years and busy racing schedule.
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Driver of the Month - August 2011 - Zane Smith
 | Zane Smith - EKN Driver of the Month - August 2011
(Photo: Sean Buur - Go Racing Magazine) |
The high-profile event of the month of August was the IKF 2-Cycle Sprint Grand Nationals at the CalSpeed Karting facility in Fontana, California. Each and every Grand National event for the International Kart Federation hands out the ‘Duffy’ trophy to the winners. The ‘Duffy’, named after one of karting’s pioneers - Frank “Duffy” Livingstone, is one of the most prestigious trophies to have sitting on your mantel. Following August’s event, 12-year old Zane Smith has four sitting on his shelf following his performance at the Grand Nationals, earning him the title of eKartingNews.com Driver of the Month.
Smith began the first of three days by earning Duffy #1 in the Rookie Sportsman class. After qualifying third, Smith was shuffled back in the Prefinal to sixth against a competitive field. In the 16-lap Final, Smith moved through the field like a shark, eventually making it up to second and looking to cut into a 20-kart gap to the leader. With the fast laps of the race, Smith cut into the advantage lap after lap to set up for a last lap move. Making the move with only a few corners remaining, Smith went side-by-side with the leader until he was able to secure the point. At the line, Smith scored the victory by just 0.099-seconds.
The following day, Smith kept the momentum going into the KPV 1 Heavy category. Scoring the ‘Screaming Eagle’ for fast time in qualifying, Smith transferred that into a win in the Prefinal by just under one-second. In the Final, Smith drove away to lead every circuit of the 16-lap race for a two-second margin of victory, and his second Duffy of the event. Also on the day, Smith put in a similar performance in the Junior 1 Comer division. Qualifying second, Smith drove on to score the Prefinal win by two-seconds and the Final by four-seconds - very uncharacteristic for Cadet style racing, especially in Southern California.
Day three brought on the KPV 1 Cadet division and PRD Junior 1. The KPV class was a hard-fought contest against national Cadet champion Colton Herta, as the two put on a great show with Herta the driver raising his fists in the air celebrating the victory as Smith settled for second. The chance at a fourth Duffy looked slim in the PRD class with Smith qualifying sixth but the youngster drove his butt off to score the win in the Prefinal. After a great early battle in the Final, Smith was able to break away and take the checkered flag ahead of the field by nearly two-seconds for his fourth Duffy.
For his performance, Zane was awarded the Lake Speed Achievement of Excellence award. Smith recently completed the WKA Manufacturer’s Cup Series season at the New Castle Motorsports Park in Indiana. The event was the Grand National for the World Karting Association with their coveted ‘Eagle’ trophy on the line. Zane ran strong all weekend long, earning one victory and added his name to the list of the few drivers able to score Grand National victories in IKF and WKA in the same season.
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Driver of the Month - July 2011 - Cory Milne
 | Cory Milne - EKN Driver of the Month - July 2011
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
Thanks to the resurgence of the Superkarts! Pro Tour, shifterkart racing is building itself back to a popular option in the sport of karting. A number of young drivers have already used the SKUSA ladder system to propel themselves from the Junior ranks, to Semi-Pro and the top levels in the sport. Among those drivers climbing that ladder is Colorado’s Cory Milne as he scored both feature wins at the SKUSA Pro Tour Mothers® SummerNationals - helping him to earn the EKN July Driver of the Month for 2011.
Milne began karting at just five years old and worked up the Junior karting ladder until he reached the 80cc shifterkart category. Getting some years under his belt shifting gears, Milne moved into the Senior level of the Stock Moto category in 2008. From there, he learned what he could before hooking up with Aluminos at the end of 2010. Recording his best finish at the SKUSA SuperNationals that year (10th), the combination was the right choice.
Mid-July, Milne entered the second stop of the Pro Tour with a best finish of sixth at the SpringNationals. Looking for more competing at a familiar track and posting a podium finish at last year’s SummerNationals in Wisconsin, Milne began the Saturday round with the fourth fastest lap in the qualifying session. Through the first heat race, Milne drove to a second place finish and repeated the feat in heat two behind Aluminos teammate and Pro Tour point leader Kyle Hathcox. At the start of the main event, Milne fell back to third as they went through the opening lap. He quickly regained the spot and by lap four, drove by Hathcox for the lead in turn nine. Though Hathcox challenged in the final lap, Milne was able to fight him off and score his first Pro Tour victory.
The following day, Milne began where he started Saturday’s action with a fourth place run in the qualifying session. Milne however took himself to the front of the field early on in heat one and drove away to the win. At the start of heat two, Milne was shuffled back to the third spot as the lights went out to begin the race. Quickly into the second position, Milne challenge leader Arie Luyendyk Jr. - son of two-time Indianapolis 500 winner and a former Indy Lights driver. By lap four, Milne completed a pass for the lead through turn five and drove off for the win. A great start to begin the 20-lap main event, Milne was trailed by Luyendyk and rising star Nicky Freytag. Lap after lap, Milne set the pace to keep the challengers at bay. Despite heavy pressure from Luyendyk in the closing laps, Milne held on to score his second victory of the weekend.
Cory’s plans for the rest of 2011 will be to focus on preparing for the SKUSA SuperNationals in November. Testing weekly and hitting the SKUSA Mountain Region events in Colorado, Milne will be ready to challenge for the S2 Semi-Pro Stock Moto Pro Tour championship.
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Driver of the Month - June 2011 - Mike Mantel
 | Mike Mantel - EKN Driver of the Month - June 2011
(Photo: Ken Johnson) |
Road racing is a game of speed, endurance, and luck. A driver must have all of these in order to cross the finish line first. Multiple wins at the road racing event is not uncommon as the rule structures allow for a driver to race in two or more classes over the weekend, in some cases with the same kart. California native Mike Mantel, who now calls New Braunfels, Texas home, may have entered the IKF Road Race Grand Nationals on June 15-18 with just two machines under the tent, but this pair of chassis gave him seven opportunities to score the prestigious Duffy trophy for victory. After the four-day event closed, Mantel left the Eagles Canyon Raceway in Decatur, Texas with five Duffys - which has earned the honor of being named the eKartingNews.com Driver of the Month for June.
Mantel’s journey to five Duffys began on the second day of racing action, in the TaG Light division. In the first of two heat races, Mantel went wire-to-wire for a 1.5-second win. The second heat featured a close battle with Adam Kelley, as the two swapped the lead numerous times in the 15-minute moto. Through the final lap, Mantel was able to put some distance on Kelley and crossed the line first by just seven-tenths to earn his first Duffy. The second of the day came in Formula 80 Senior. A great start to begin heat one had Mantel out to a one-second advantage after the first lap. With consistently fast laps, Mantel drove to a 3.867-second win. Allen Fleming battled Mantel in the second heat as the two were able to break away from the pack early. Eventually, Mantel was able to pull away with 2:00-flat laps and earned the win by 12 seconds to wrap up Duffy number two on the day.
Friday was Day #3 of the event and another double Duffy run for Mantel. The Formula 80 Sr. Heavy class provided his third trophy. Challenged early in heat one, Mantel once again showed the consistency to pull away and score the race win. Repeating the pace in heat two, Mantel drove to a 10-second victory to score the class victory. Jumping into the Rotax Max Light ride for a 30-minute race, Mantel was up to the challenge and it showed when the checkered flag waved. Leading flag-to-flag, Mantel took Duffy number four by over 30 seconds.
Matching his Duffy in TaG Light, Mantel took home the Duffy in TaG Heavy on the final day of the event. After scoring the first heat win by nine seconds, Mantel was trailed closely early in heat two until pulling out to a four-second victory for his fifth Duffy of the event. Mantel also added a runner-up in Formula 80 Senior II, losing out after winning the first heat to heat two winner Chance Pool.
Mantel just returned back to his home in Texas after competing at the IKF 4-Cycle Sprint Grand Nationals at the Shasta Kart Klub facility in Redding, California where he earned the Duffy in the World Formula Medium class as well.
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Driver of the Month - May 2011 - Daniel Langon
 | Daniel Langon - EKN Driver of the Month - May 2011
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
Looking back at the many drivers that came through the Superkarts! USA program during its early years, the 80 Junior shifterkart class hosted a number of rising stars in its day. Many of those same drivers can now be seen on the television over the weekend, racing in NASCAR, IndyCar, Grand-Am, American Le Mans and other ranks of professional motorsports. Now with the S5 Junior Stock Moto category, SKUSA is providing that same platform and an avenue for long-term karters to begin young and grow within the organization with the same kart package. We are starting to see the rise of some of the early S5 drivers, and it should be no different for Daniel Langon, the May 2011 eKartingNews.com Driver of the Month.
Bursting onto the national scene with a victory at the SKUSA SpringNationals in 2010 in the S5 category, Langon carried on to lead the Pro Tour standings through to the SuperNationals where he claimed victory en route to the series championship. Now in 2011, Langon has made the jump to the S2 Semi-Pro Stock Moto category to battle among one of the largest fields in karting today. After a solid two opening rounds at the ProKart Challenge North program, Langon showed the speed but didn’t have the luck to contend for victory at the Pro Tour opener one month ago. At the third round of the PKC North series at the Desert Park Raceway in Reno, NV, Langon once again had to overcome early misfortunes and claimed his first S2 main event victory.
Langon began the event with the quick lap in qualifying, posting a 47.564-lap at roughly 0.15-seconds faster than second. At the start of the opening heat race, the shuffle into the opening corner brought on contact with another driver. The result was a spin for Langon and he was unable to continue in the race. With the DNF in the heat race, Langon began heat two from the sixth grid position in class and was up to third by the completion of lap one. Just a few laps later, Langon was into second and setting up a move for the lead when his driver fairing broke lose, impairing his vision and pressing against his clutch lever. That forced him into the pit lane on lap six and once again put him on P6 for the grid, this time for the main event. Similar to heat two, Langon was up to third after lap one and was charging forward to the lead. By lap six, Langon was at the point and never looked back over the course of the 20-lap run. Running the fast laps of the race, Langon scored the victory by over six-seconds.
Now with a win under his belt, the young 16-year old is hoping for more good luck to follow him the remainder of the 2011 season. After the Reno event, Langon made the move from GP to the Zanardi brand with Zanardi America, based out of Phoenix, Arizona. They just completed a test session together at the Grand Junction Motor Speedway, site of the SKUSA SummerNationals, with extremely positive results. Langon will contest the remaining ProKart North and South series events on the calendar in addition to the Pro Tour SummerNationals and of course, the SKUSA SuperNationals. Langon will also include the Streets of Lancaster Grand Prix, Red Line Oil Karting Championship Series, and possibly the Rock Island Grand Prix to his remaining 2011 schedule.
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Driver of the Month - April 2011 - Joel Jens
 | Joel Jens - EKN Driver of the Month - April 2011
(Photo: Sean Buur - Go Racing Magazine) |
Scoring your first national win is certainly a historic moment for every driver. Whether it’s a few months or a number of years after trying, the accomplishment is very fulfilling. Back in March, Joel Jens was able to score his first WKA Manufacturer’s Cup Series victory after a couple of years under his belt. Following the most recent event in South Bend, Jens quadrupled his series win total in just one weekend by scoring three of the four Junior category wins - helping him earn the title in the latest edition of the EKN Driver of the Month program.
The now 15-year old was a long-time Merlin chassis driver during his five years of racing. Scoring a number of podium finishes in the Cadet and Junior ranks, Jens continued to build his resume under the successful brand. In February, Jens made the move to the famed Tony Kart chassis while competing at the Florida Winter Tour and transitioned that into his WKA program. The move and continual increase in experience helped secure his first WKA national victory in during the second round of the series at the Carolina Motorsports Park.
At South Bend, Jens certainly worked for his three victories. His first came on Saturday through the Yamaha Jr. Lite division. Qualifying sixth, Jens worked himself into the battle for the win, only to miss out by 0.057-seconds to Austin Osborne. After securing the top spot early, Jens went on to lead the majority of the 14-lap main event, scoring the victory by just over half a second. Also on the day, Jens worked his way onto the podium for a second time, overcoming a 10th place qualifying effort to finish second in Komet Jr. Heavy.
Things came together nicely for both engine packages on Sunday. In Komet Jr. Lite, Jens qualified fifth and managed to advance to the front of the field at the end of the Prefinal. From there, Jens led all 14-laps to a three-tenths margin of victory for win number two of the weekend. Similar results came for Jens in the Yamaha Jr. Heavy. Posting his best qualifying position of the weekend (third), Jens drove to the point near the completion of the Prefinal to start the main event from the pole position. From there, he never looked back as he scored win number three by just over seven-tenths of a second.
Sitting inside the top-five in three of the four categories heading into the South Bend round, Jens’ three victories and runner-up finish will help establish himself as title contenders in each and possible a candidate for the famed WKA Triple Crown Club.
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Driver of the Month - March 2011 - TJ Fischer
 | TJ Fischer - EKN Driver of the Month - March 2011
(Photo: Sean Buur - Go Racing Magazine) |
For anyone who has competed in the rain during a kart race, you can attest it is not a simple feat. Lots of practice and patience, and you may be able to navigate yourself to the front of the field. For Northern California driver TJ Fischer, he was among the best in two weekends of rain racing as he took on the stacked field of the Challenge of the Americas/Pan American Challenge in Sonoma with great success, following it up with a victory at the ProKart Challenge North round at in Prairie City to earn this month’s title as Driver of the Month.
Taking on the international field at the Jim Russell International Karting Center on March 12-13, Fischer and the rest of the paddock had to challenge the weather elements as well. A strong weather system covered the area throughout the weekend, leaving the facility wet, cold, windy - the complete opposite of favorable racing conditions. Following Friday practice, Fischer was well off the pace but improved in Saturday’s qualifying session to sit 15th on the time sheets out of 35 drivers. A solid effort in the Prefinal advanced Fischer to the tenth position. With a great start to begin the Final, Fischer was running fifth and in the hunt. After some great shuffling, Fischer was up to second with one lap to go. Putting the pressure on, the leader spun off and handed TJ the lead. Fischer would go on to score the big victory.
Fischer’s confidence and the right set-up on the kart put him in the third position for Sunday’s qualifying session. Battling with 2010 Rotax Grand National champion Stepanova Nekeel, Aussie national champion David Sera, and former Team Canada driver Tyler Wheeler - Fischer ran to fourth in the Prefinal en route to a third place podium finish for the day. With his best weekend of the season, Fischer jumped to the sixth position in the final CoA Rotax Senior point standings.
The following weekend (March 26), Fischer swapped out the Rotax for the IAME Parilla Leopard to contest the second round of the ProKart Challenge North program at the All Star Karting facility. While the weather conditions were a slight improvement, wet track conditions still played a part in the results. Fischer started the day off with the second quickest lap in qualifying and a close second in the opening heat. TJ then went on to win the second heat unchallenged to line up on the pole position for the main event. Posting the fastest laps of the race and leading all 20 circuits, Fischer claimed his first PKC North victory by just under three-seconds.
Fischer’s efforts helped him earn the title of ‘rain master’ for the time being, but etched his name as eKartingNews.com Driver of the Month program forever.
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Driver of the Month - February 2011 - Michael Vincec
 | Michael Vincec - EKN Driver of the Month - February 2011
(Photo: Autosports Media Group) |
The DD2 category may not have the numbers that other categories in the sport see across the nation or in North America in general. The talent, however, in the class is among the best. Since 2007, United States and Canada have put a driver on the podium of the Rotax Grand Finals - including victories by Pier-Luc Ouellette (2007) and Daniel Morad (2010). It was Morad who earned his ticket to the Grand Finals via a championship at the Florida Winter Tour. Thanks to his double weekend performance at the Palm Beach International Raceway last month, Michael Vincec is in the driver’s seat for the championship and has been named the February Driver of the Month.
The 2008 eKartingNews.com Driver of the Year had a stellar weekend in Florida to bypass longtime rival and current Formula Renault 3.5 Championship driver Robert Wickens. In fact, the trio of Vincec, Morad and Wickens has been competing against one another since their early days on Ontario tracks to the national level. In Palm Beach, Wickens entered as the point leader with his two victories from Orlando while Vincec was second in both features. Wickens had the early edge for Saturday qualifying, nipping Vincec by just 12-thousandths of a second. Vincec was able to earn the Prefinal win to put himself inside row one. After some early lap shuffling to begin the Feature, Vincec assumed the point and just drove away, taking the victory by 2.3-seconds.
Sunday was all Vincec. After taking the pole position over Wickens by just over a tenth of a second, Vincec trailed in the first few laps of the Prefinal before going on to win by over a second. Falling to third behind Wickens and two-time US champion Cody Hodgson, Vincec bought his time while Wickens and Hodgson took their turns at the point. Lap 17, Vincec picked the right time to jump into the lead. After Wickens and Hodgson made contact the following lap, Vincec drove on to score the victory and promote himself to the point lead.
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Driver of the Month - January 2011 - Scott Falcone
 | Scott Falcone - EKN Driver of the Month - January 2011
(Photo: Sean Buur - Go Racing Magazine) |
The winter months for racers can be some of the toughest times of the season. For those in Colorado, they receive more than their share of snow compared to many others (except maybe this season thanks to Snowpocalypse). With the ‘winter’ karting programs in full effect beginning in January in the warmer states, drivers are able to escape and get their karting fix while also compete against some of the top drivers in the country. Rotax Masters driver Scott Falcone took advantage of two programs, 2000 miles apart in back-to-back weekends, coming away with victory at both to help him earn the January 2011 Driver of the Month.
Falcone kicked off his back-to-back weekends with the opening round of the Gatorz Challenge of the Americas at the Phoenix Kart Racing Association facility in Arizona over the January 14-16 weekend. For the opening day, Falcone put his Arrow on the pole and was leading the Prefinal until his rear bumper detached. Starting the main event from 12th, Falcone was the quickest kart on the track and drove up to finish second. On Sunday, Falcone was second to Saturday winner Bill Kann through qualifying and the Prefinal. The two battled lap after lap during the feature with Falcone able to emerge the victor for his second win at the facility in two years.
Falcone then made the 2000-mile trip to Orlando, Florida for the opening round of the Florida Winter Tour Rotax Max Challenge program the following weekend for the second half of the back-to-back journey. Making his first trip to the Orlando Kart Center, he had to learn the track and adjust to the new three-day format of the program (Friday-Qualify, Saturday-Round 1, Sunday-Round 2). Falcone qualified for round two action fourth in wet conditions and moved up one spot the next time out to set the field for round one action.
Under sunny skies, Saturday completed the round one action with the Prefinal and Final. Falcone drove to second from his fourth grid position in the heat race to line up on the front row for the final. After an opening lap skirmish, Falcone remained in the second spot, chasing down Scott Roberts. Lap 7, Falcone took over the lead and was able to hold off a late charge by Patricio Larrea to earn the victory. Round two Prefinal began with Falcone losing a couple spots at the start but he would retain those positions back before the checkered flag to remain third heading into the main event. Gaining the second spot after the opening circuit of the feature, Falcone trailed Brent Harper throughout the 16-lap event. The gap varied but in the end, Falcone settled for the second spot.
Entering February, Falcone leads the Florida Winter Tour Rotax Masters championship standings while he currently sits second in the Challenge of the Americas Rotax Masters standings, one point out of first.
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