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| September 26, 2003 News |
| Rotax Max US Grand Nationals Preview |
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by Rhonda Mims-Brown
 | Jordon Musser under the lights at NTK
(Photo by Bill Kistler) |
Rotax teams from across the United States are already set up, focused and ready to roll for the Rotax Max US Grand Nationals this weekend at North Texas Kartway. This year’s event pre-entry list counts 143 drivers who will contest in five Rotax classes including International, Rotax Jr. Rotax Masters and the new RM1 and Mini Max classes. Numerous regional distributors and dealers are on hand and began rolling in to the one-half mile circuit located in Denton, Texas, just north of Dallas, last Saturday. Many of which got their first shot of racing action for NTK’s Maxwell Paper Dash for Cash pro race Saturday night and have also tested during open practice sessions offered by NTK on Monday and Tuesday of this week. Wednesday marked the first official day with arrival and set up, yesterday was all day open practice and today, qualifying rounds are underway. Listed below is the event schedule:
Thursday: Open practice until 5 p.m.
Friday: Open Practice until noon, qualifying at 1 p.m. – These groups will establish the line up order for Saturday’s heat races.
Saturday: Full day of heat races – These combined results will determine the line up for Sunday’s LCQ’s (last chance qualifiers), pre-finals and finals.
Some of the teams on hand include Rotax Regional Distributor-of-the-Year - Formula K Motorsports (Fla.), SpeedQuest (Fla.), Fittipaldi Supreme, Rysa Racing (Fla), eRacingoutlet (Calif.), JM Racing (Calif.) Full Throttle Karting (Calif), BTK Motorsports (Ala.), McCormack Motorsports (Ala.), Pitstop Performance (Texas), MSquared, MRP Motorsports, KAM Karting (Texas), Team Apex Karting (Utah) plus many more in between these cities.
 | Mike Manning, an experienced multi time IKF National Champion
(Photo by Mark LaCour) |
According to Grand National information supplied on the US Rotax Web site, the top three finishers in the International class and the Rotax Jr. class winner will be rewarded with an all expense paid trip to compete as part of the US Rotax Max team in Egypt. Some drivers; however, are confused about who will actually be invited to the trip and think the highest placing Masters driver will get a shot.
Last year, SSC Racing, sanctioning body for the US Challenge and US importer of the Rotax, funded the two drivers from International class and the top placing driver aged 35 and older to the World Finals held at the Zwaratkops Circuit located just outside of Pretoria, South Africa. The drivers who were funded last year to represent the US World Finals Team were Grand National champion, Jordon Musser from College Station, Texas, Chris Carmody from Valencia, Calif., and Oscar Aguilera from Houston, Texas. Carmody made it the farthest where he scored 25th in the final as Musser and Aguilera ran well, but experienced disappointment in the qualifying heats after Aguilera attempted to pass several drivers, got crossed and eliminated himself and his team mate (Musser) in the process. This was certainly a heart breaking moment for Aguilera who is the only driver to qualify back to back years to run the World Finals for the US team.
This year’s World Finals will be held this coming January in Egypt.
The entry count for this weekend’s event has 57 International entries, 27 Masters, 38 Junior Rotax, 15 Mini Max and 5 RM1 drivers. While some of the drivers from California have somewhat been critical of the circuit, (unlike the newer and wider tracks they are accustom to) many others from across the country are dealing with it and feel it’s a nice circuit in comparison to what they are used to running on.
Qualifying up front will be a major factor in assuring good finishing positions on the NTK track, constructed in June of 1987. The circuit is a bit narrower than newer, more modern facilities. At present, there are several drivers lapping in the low 38 second range with Jordon Musser and Mike Manning being touted as reaching a 38 flat. Numerous other drivers are close to this mark as well, which also includes Alabama’s Mack McCormack and numerous hometown drivers who have the circuit down. Naturally, after today’s qualifying runs, a who’s who listing of all in the running will unfold.
 | | North Texas Kartway's half mile layout |
The two best passing zones at NTK are the front 480 foot straight-away and the back 618 foot straight leading to the start finish line and into turn one. The exit onto the back straight is rather tricky where getting crossed up at this point, can ruin chances for a successful passing attempt. Many drivers, manage to gain just enough top end to pass somewhere in the turn one high banked sweeper which accommodates room for two abreast and quite risky on the outer edge with three. The chicane’s exit leading onto the shorter front straight, is tricky as well and has a jerky feel due to the narrow exit point that could be greatly improved with just a foot more track width at the exit mark.
This straight ends with the hardest high speed breaking point on the track where overtaking into this left-hand horseshoe can be accomplished but treacherous on the outside. The pit sweeper is short but fun and followed by a fun and tight hair pin just prior to the tricky chicane leading onto the front straight. Drivers who can get through the chicane and the esses prior to the back straight typically produce the quickest lap times and are able to drop a tooth or two to standard gear ratios and not lose out on top end.
Marshall Martin, was brought in as race director for the event and will work with Scott Evans heading up tech and Adrienne Sanz continuing her fabulous job in administration areas. The local club (North Texas Karters) is assisting with parking, gate, registration, corners and other tasks with a positive and friendly attitude. They are receiving numerous compliments of their handling of the event thus far and have a history of doing a very nice job with large club races, regionals and KART National events. This is the most complex event the club has assisted with in its long history in race promotion.
Last night, a Red Bull welcome bash was hosted at the Radisson Hotel in Denton with wonderful food, beer, soft drinks and wine for all on hand. Numerous people with SSC and ROTAX were introduced as well as the awarding of regional challenge champions. SSC also produced a nice slide presentation to accompany the music and festivities.
Listed below are some of the driver’s eKartingnews has received feed back forms from for our driver profile requests. It’s a diverse group of all ages, backgrounds and personality types, all of which seek to do their best at the event.
INTERNATIONAL DRIVER PROFILES
Driver: Oscar Aguilera
Hometown: Houston, Texas
Age: Over 35
Kart #: 10
Chassis: CRG
Team Name: Pitstop Performance Products
Regional Distributor: Pitstop Performance Products
Region he competes in: Space City Kart Challenge
Notes: Oscar will make his attempt to qualify for his third run at the Rotax World Finals US Team. He finished 35th in the 2001 Malaysia event out of 79 entries and dropped out of the running at last year’s event in South Africa after an accident in the Last Chance Qualifier. Look for Oscar to do well at NTK as his sites are focused and determined to make the overseas trip once again to represent the US.
Driver: Jim Cassi
Hometown: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Age: 43
Class for Rotax Nats: International
Kart #: 1x
Chassis: Birel
Team Name: Slim Jim Racing
Regional Distributor you work with: None..
Region you compete in: Indian Head
Regional accomplishments this year:
Notes: Team Member of 2001 - 1st place Rotax Team Championship. 2001 Regional Champion, and a member of 2002 Team Costa Rica National Endurance Race (Finished in 2nd place) Qualified 2nd at 2002 Rock Island Rotax Grand Prix and finished 15th overall, at the 2001 Rotax Grand Nationals
Greg Den Herder
Hometown: Boston, Mass
Age: 34
Chassis: Margay Brava 1.2
Team: GDH Racing
Regional Distributor: ProSpeed Kartsports
Regional Series: Greg is a first year karter running the nationals via special invitation that runs the WKA Dunlop Road Racing Series and is currently in the top three contentions for the championship. Den Herder qualified on pole for this year’s Rock Island Grand Prix and finished sixth. His is also the Northeast Indoor Karting Champion competing with Honda 6.5 hp engines.
Frank Gyuru
Hometown: Clearwater, Florida
Kart Number: 2
Chassis: Birel
Regional Distributor: None Yet
Regional Series: Series Champion for the Northern Florida Challenge series and finished up front on the 2002-03 Florida Winter Tour in series points.
Notes: This is Frank’s first year in Karting where he started with another chassis but soon purchased one of Nick Bussell’s Birels with money he had saved to run the program. Frank was working hard on Thursday to get the right set up and get his times down and appears to be very focused and determined with his efforts in doing well at his first Rotax Grand Nationals.
Driver: Chris John
Hometown: Huntsville, AL
Age: 18
Kart # 7j
Chassis: Arrow AX8
Team Name: CRC-BCR Racing-Team Arrow & BTK Motorsports
Region: Southeastern – BTK Motorsports series
Regional Distributor: BTK Motorsports
Regional Accomplishments: Third at Rotax 24 Hour Race, Kartways of Arkansas
Notes: This is Chris’ first year in karting but highly rated by BTK Team owner, Terrence McCall. In a cooperative effort between BTK, Chris was set to run the CRC-BCR Arrow ride that won last Friday’s Pro-Race and locked in a 37.7 best lap time. He had obtained a pre-tech sticker for his practice kart the day prior to official practice while the CRC-BCR Arrow was undergoing final preparations and arrived at the start of the first official day of practice. Chris was not allowed to take the intended CRC/BCR race kart out where promoters stated he was only allowed one chassis under the Rotax International rules. The team feels CIK-FIA regulations, also used by ROTAX, specifies two chassis are allowed. The ROTAX rule is vague and doesn’t specify when the rule actually takes affect - at pre-tech, prior to practice or qualifying. This was quite a disappointment for Chris, BTK Motorsports, BCR and CRC who evidently failed to keep up with the four different sets of rules under the current system for the US program.
In any event, Chris is in the low 38’s with his personal chassis but will have his work cut out for him.
 | | Mike Lewis |
Driver: Mike Lewis
Hometown: Downingtown, PA
Age: 25
Class for Rotax Nats: International
Kart #: 23
Chassis: 1996 TonyKart Extreme (last year’s National Champion Chassis w/Jordan Musser), being setup and used just for this race
Team Name: Mortech Financial Group
Regional Distributor: Andy Seesemann, Full Throttle Karting
Region you compete in: SoCal, MyChron3 Cup
Regional accomplishments this year: Second in points
Notes: With help from Erik Kullenberg (Musser’s tuner) and Glenn Holland, Mike will quickly be up to speed on the NTK set up. How quickly he picks up the track will be a challenging test for the California driver. Mike’s professional approach should take his karting career far and he should be a front runner at NTK.
Driver: Andrew Litzenberger
Hometown: Atlanta, Georgia
Age: 35
Class for Rotax Nats: International
Kart #:
Chassis: CRG
Team Name: Formula Kart
Regional Distributor you work with: Formula Kart – Bill Wright
Region you compete in: North Florida Rotax Challenge
Regional accomplishments this year: Andrew has place on the podium four out of five races this season with one win and finishing second overall in the North Florida Challenge series.
 | Mike Manning
(Photo-Mark LaCour) |
Driver Name: Mike Manning
Hometown: Rosamond, CA
Age: Unknown (but has to be getting up there)
Occupation: Kart Shop Owner since 1980
Class for Rotax Nats: International
Kart #: 31
Chassis: Avanti
Team Name: Mike Manning Karting/ JM Racing
Regional Distributor you work with: JM Racing
Region he compete in: Golden State My-Chron 3 Cup series
Regional accomplishments this year: Won three Rotax Int. Races, including the Golden State My-Chron III race at Rocky Moran in July.
Any previous karting accomplishments or history you’d like to mention: IKF Grand National Champion 80, 82, 84 & 87.
Notes: Mike is a strong contender where ever he goes and what ever he races. Numerous stop watches will be aimed his direction
Driver: Mack McCormack
Hometown: Athens, Alabama
Age: 36
Class for Rotax Nats: International
Kart #: 10
Chassis: Birel
Team Name: McCormack Racing
Regional Distributor he works with: BTK Motorsports
Region you compete in: BTK Motorsports Alabama series
Regional accomplishments this year: None submitted
Notes: “Mack Attack” is a four time IKF Duffy winner with two WKA World Championship titles from Daytona and several IKF regional series titles. He’s been out of karting for many years, blown off the dust recently and making a come back this year in Rotax and running at the BTK Motorsports track. Many new comers to karting may not know who he is yet, but they soon will. We don’t think he’ll miss a step in his return to national competition. Additionals: If you haven’t met his hungry and thirsty crew, they are a treat to know and take good care of their favorite driver.
Driver: Nathan Mauel
Hometown: Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex
Age: 19
Kart #: Unknown
Chassis: Unknown
Team Name: Unknown
Regional Distributor: Unknown
Regional Series: KART Southern Regional Sprint Series Challenge
Regional Accomplishments: Mauel is currently points leader in the KART Challenge series and finished third at last Friday’s Pro-Race. He has raced at NTK quite a bit and has been successful with his Rotax efforts this season.
Driver: Jordon Musser
Hometown: College Station TX
Age: : 22
Class for Rotax Nats: : International
Kart #: 1
Chassis: : CRG
Team Name: Pitstop/SSC/CRG
Sponsors: Pitstop/SSC/CRG/Prospeed ECS/eRacingOutlet.com/Sparco Helmets/MyChron/Erin and Chuck Null/Erik and Allison Kullenberg
Regional Distributor: Pitstop Performance Products and KAM Karting
Region he competes in : Texas
Regional accomplishments this year: Didn’t race Rotax this year until two weeks ago, was invited under special invitation as last year’s Rotax Grand Nationals champion.
Notes: : As last year’s National Champion, Jordon should be a contender this year, particularly on his home track where he’s marked some fast unofficial Rotax track records in the 37.2 range. Jordon has been consistently lapping the track in practice in the low 38’s with many stop watches aimed his direction to determine the needed pace. Other accomplishments for Jordon include:
• 2002 KART national Rotax Max pole and champion
• 2002 KART national Unlimited pole and champion
• 2002 Rock Island Grand Prix Rotax Max champion
• 2002 American World Rotax Team
 | Rick Reddaway
(Photo-Gary Hickman) |
Driver: Rick “Rufus” Reddaway
Hometown: Salt Lake City, UT
Age: 35
Class for Rotax Nats: International
Kart #: 09
Chassis: PTK Monterrey
Team Name: Team APEX Karting
Regional Distributor you work with: MSquared Karting
Region you compete in: Utah Rotax Challenge Series
Regional accomplishments: Rick has earned second in the SKUSA Regional Championship and scored second at Black Rock Raceway’s club championship.
Notes: This is Rick’s rookie season in competitive karting so he’s out for a true learning experience at NTK.
Driver: Jesse Singer
Hometown: Miami, Florida
Age: 35
Class for Rotax Nats: International
Kart #: 4
Chassis: CRG
Team Name: Rysa Racing (Miami Florida http://www.rysaracing.com)
Regional Distributor: Rysa Racing
Region you compete in: South Florida Max Challenge
Regional accomplishments this year:
• 2002 Homestead Rotax Championship- 3rd Place
• 2001 Homestead Rotax Championship- 2nd Place
• 2003 SKUSA Winter Tour Formula RM Series- 9th Place
Driver: Matthew Souza
Hometown: Cartersville, Alabama
Age: 39
Class for Rotax Nats: International
Kart #: 72
Chassis: Arrow AX8
Team Name: BTK Motorsports
Regional Distributor: BTK Motorsports
Region he competes in: Alabama and Texas
Regional accomplishments this year: 2003 International class runner up in the Alabama/BTK Regional series.
Driver: Nick Weil
Hometown: Orlando, Florida
Age: 33
Class for Rotax Nats: International & RM1
Kart #:
Chassis: Kart Mini
Team Name: SpeedQuest
Regional Distributor: SpeedQuest
Region you compete in: Florida Region
Regional accomplishments this year: Nick placed third in the North Florida R-Max Challenge series this year.
Notes: Nick is the man behind SpeedQuest which keeps him quite active managing his business, web site and customers’ needs. He has a great deal of experience with the Rotax at many track venues including Daytona’s road course, Sebring, Road Atlanta and Roebling Road. He races as often as his schedule and budget will allow. He is running dual class efforts at NTK in both the International and RM1 classes.
MASTERS CLASS PROFILES
Driver: Mike Barker
Hometown: Clearwater, Florida
Age: 21
Class for Rotax Nats: Masters
Kart #: 59f
Chassis: Kart Mini Supremo
Team Name: Tuff Racing
Region Distributor: SpeedQuest Karting and Formula K Motorsports
Region Series: FL Region RMax Challenge
Regional Accomplishments: Mike has managed three poles and three wins at the three events he's challenged this year. He also runs International at regionals where he's scored one second and one third this season.
Previous accomplishments: 2000 Tri-City Kart Club Briggs Heavy Champion, 2002 Florida State Champion Briggs Super Heavy, 2003 FL Winter Tour Second Place
 | John Borroel
(Photo-Mark LaCour) |
Driver: John Borroel
Hometown: Santa Ynez, California
Age: 40
Class for Rotax Nats: Masters
Kart #: 27
Chassis: Trulli
Team Name: Independent
Crew: Leamon Stansell, Glen Holland
Regional Distributor: Full Throttle Karting (or is it Full Figure Karting?)
Regional series: Golden State My-Chron 3 Cup
Regional accomplishments this year: Current Golden State My-Chron Cup points leader, Earned 2nd at Willow Springs, 2nd at Grange, 1st at Moran, 3rd at Grange and another 1st at Moran
Notes: Borroel has been karting on and off since 1988 with previous experience in Novice, KT-Heavy, Formula Y, Superbox and now Rotax. Although John’s been running Rotax for just over a year, he finds the pace very quickly and always considered a threat to put it on the pole.
Driver: Chris Cooksey
Hometown: Las Vegas, NV
Age: 28
Class for Rotax Nats: Rotax Masters
Kart #: 41
Chassis: CRG
Team Name: Acceleration Kart Racing
Regional Distributor: Acceleration Kart Racing
Region you compete in: Acceleration
Regional accomplishments this year: Won three of the five events entered, with an overall finish of third.
Notes: Chris is a former motocross racer who’s ventured into karts recently
Driver: James G. Kopeck
Hometown: La Porte Texas
Age: 41
Kart #: 12t
Chassis: CRG
Team Name: Team A-Z Industries Racing
Regional Distributor you work with: Pit Stop Kart Shop
Region you compete in: Space City Kart Challenge
Regional accomplishments this year: Tied for 1st Place in SCKC/ 5th In KART Southern Regional Sprint Series
Notes: James was SCKC’s Rotax Masters Champion in 2002
 | Mike Mautner
(Photo-Mark LaCour) |
Driver: Mike Mautner
Hometown: Irvine, Ca
Age:30
Kart #: 21
Chassis: Birel
Team Name: Full Throttle Karting
Crew: Andy Seesemann
Regional Distributor: Full Throttle Karting
Regional series: Golden State My-Chron 3 Cup
Regional accomplishments this year: Win at Buttonwillow
Notes: Three time X-Games competitor in downhill mountain biking who also ran some endurance races under the Richie Hearn endurance series. Mike is an all around athlete who is coming of age with the Rotax. Although he’s only won one race in the highly-competitive Golden State series, he’s been a contender at many. Teamed with Andy Seesemann, he should perform well.
Driver: J. Scott Nielsen
Hometown: Farmington, Utah
Age: 52
Class for Rotax Nats: Masters
Kart #: Unknown
Chassis: CRG Maximo
Team Name: Team APEX Karting
Regional Distributor: Unknown
Region: BlackRock Max Series and SKUSA’s “Salt Lake City” region
Regional accomplishments this year: FXS class regional champion, SKUSA, runner up in Masters in the RMax Utah Challenge this year. He’s currently second in points for the Black Rock Raceway club championship this year.
Notes: Scott has several BS Degrees in Automotive Engineering, Accounting and Business Administration. He’s an Eagle Scout and also drove in the Jim Russell Formula Ford/Mazda Series. He has three sons, Jake, 29, Sky, 27, and Abram, 25
 | Andy Seesemann
(Photo-Glenn Holland) |
Driver Name: Andy Seesemann
Hometown: Fullerton, CA.
Kart #: 51
Chassis: Birel R-31
Team Name: Full Throttle Karting
Regional Distributor you work with: Eracingoutlet.com
Region you compete in: SoCal Sprinters
Regional accomplishments this year: 4 races, 1 win, 3 podiums
Notes: Andy was the 2002 SoCal Masters Champion and placed second in Masters at the 2002 Rotax Grand Nationals at Las Vegas. He first started racing in 1983 in Katy, Texas were Formula Atlantic driver, Aaron Justus was track champ that year. Andy stays busy in his business endeavors, Full Throttle Karting, where the majority of his time is spent assisting customers. Although he doesn’t get in the seat as often as he would like, he’s certainly a contender when he does. Seesemann also got some road racing action at Fontana earlier this year where he placed second in Rotax competition just 100 yards behind local NTK and SWRA racer, Chad Miller with KAM Karting.
RM 1 PROFILES
Driver: Brian Stiver
Hometown: Sierra Madre, CA
Kart #:11
Chassis: Rotax
Team Name: eRacingoutlet.com
Regional Distributor: eRacingoutlet.com
Regional Series: Golden State My-Chron 3 Cup in Southern California
Notes: Brian is just getting familiar with the new RM1 concept but has experience with the FR125 where he won the Southern California Rotax Max Challenge in his first year of competition in 2001 and finished eighth in the Rotax Grand finals in Las Vegas. Brian’s business, eRacingout.com, keeps him busy and prevents him from getting as much seat time as he’d like. He also invests a great deal of time promoting the Golden State My-Chron 3 Cup series in support of the Rotax program.
Driver: Nick Weil
Hometown: Orlando, Florida
Age: 33
Class for Rotax Nats: International & RM1
Kart #:
Chassis: Kart Mini
Team Name: SpeedQuest
Regional Distributor: SpeedQuest
Region you compete in: Florida Region
Regional accomplishments this year: Nick placed third in the North Florida R-Max Challenge series this year.
Notes: Nick is the man behind SpeedQuest which keeps him quite active managing his business, web site and customers’ needs. He has a great deal of experience with the Rotax at many track venues including Daytona’s road course, Sebring, Road Atlanta and Roebling Road. He races as often as his schedule and budget will allow. He is running dual class efforts at NTK in both the International and RM1 classes.
ROTAX JUNIOR PROFILES
 | Jonathan Beason
(Photo Ken Johnson) |
Driver: Jonathan Beason
Hometown: Broken Arrow, Ok
Age: 15
Kart #: 1
Chassis: CRG Road Rebel 80
Team Name: Beason Motorsports
Regional Distributor you work with: SSC Racing
Region you compete in: KART
Regional accomplishments this year: Ran part time in Red River Region
Notes: Jonathan is the 2002 Jr. Rotax Nationals Champion and has won three IKF Duffys in junior competition, 11 KART Triads, 2002 SKUSA Amateur Champion in Rotax, 2003 80cc Jr. SKUSA Champion, 2003 U.S. Shifter Nationals Win in 80cc Jr. The young and affable talent tagged along to the South African World Finals with the US Team last year as part of the team’s cheering section. This year; however, he’s chomping at the bit to be the one junior driver who returns to race in Egypt.
Driver: Patrick Clark
Hometown: Las Vegas, NV
Age: 13
Team: Pat Clark Motorsports
Chassis: Arrow
Regional Distributor: Acceleration Kart Racing
Regional Series: Patrick, the elder of the Clark brothers from Las Vegas is also in his second year of racing and finished third on a regional level in the Jr. Drag Racing program. He runs at XPlex Motorsports Park, but suffered a bad crash last season that took a long recovery. This season, he’s focusing on getting back to a comfort zone in the kart and working on consistency.
 | Ansel Gaddy
(Photo Bill Heck) |
Driver: Ansel Gaddy
Hometown: Coppell, TX
Age:15
Class for Rotax Nats: Rotax Max Junior
Kart #: 33
Chassis: Birel CQ31-ZMTS
Team Name: Gaddy Racing
Regional Distributor: KAM Karting
Region you compete in: KART Southern Regional Sprint, NTK
Regional accomplishments this year:
Notes: Ansel is the current points leader in the KART Southern Regional Sprint series in Jr Sportsman & Jr Super Sportsman. He finished third at the 2003 KART Nationals in Rotax Max Jr and third at the 2003 U.S. Shifter Nationals in Rotax Max Jr In addition, he holds the NTK track record for Junior Sportsman Light, was NTK’s 2002 Most Improved Driver of the Year and locked in first place in Jr Sportsman, Jr. Super Sportsman and Rotax Max Jr. in NTK’s Spring Series.
Driver: Mark Jensen
Hometown: Windemere, Florida
Age: 14
Class for Rotax Nats: Rotax Junior
Kart #: 35
Chassis: Corsa
Team: Formula Karts
Regional Distributor: Formula Karts
Regional series: Central Florida Region
Regional accomplishments this year:
Notes: Mark also ran in the Florida Winter Tour in the 80cc Shifter class and placed fifth in the series. He also runs in the Stars of Tomorrow regional series placing first in the series in 80cc competition.
Driver: Justin Melton
Hometown: Flower Mound, Texas
Age: 16
Class for Rotax Nats: Rotax Jr.
Kart #: 20
Chassis: Margay Brava 1.2
Team Name: Melton Motor Sports
Regional Distributor: KAM Karting
Region you compete in: KART Southern Regional
Regional accomplishments this year: KART Southern Regional Champion in Rotax Jr. Justin also runs in Jr. Sportsman Light and Jr. Super Sportsman and is the NTK Track Champion. He was also honored with NTK’s Rook Jr. of the Year and was the 2002 IKF Texas State and Regional Champion in Jr. Sportsman.
Notes: Justin knows the Denton track, his hometown base. He can run competitively with the older International class drivers as well and recently placed third in last week’s International Pro Race where they allowed his age group to compete with their elders.
Driver: John Mossey
Hometown: Norcross, Georgia
Age: 14
Class for Rotax Nats: Rotax Junior
Kart #: 49
Chassis: First Kart
Team Name: Mossey Motorsports
Regional Distributor: SpeedQuest
Region you compete in: North Florida Rotax Challenge
Regional accomplishments this year: John qualified for the Rotax Grands through the North Florida region where he placed fifth in the series overall championship. Both Nick Weil and Bill Wright as regional director have been a great assistance to the Mossey family.
Notes: John along with his older sister, Mary, will most likely be the only brother and sister combo at this year’s nationals. John also has seat time in Quarter Midgets and moved on to the Rotax action after growing tired of circle track racing. Both his dad, Bob and mother Cindy are thrilled both have qualified to compete as “life at home would have been very tense!” John is a very nice and personable young man who gets along well with his sister.
 | | Mary Mossey |
Driver: Mary Mossey
Hometown: Norcross, Georgia
Age: 17
Class for Rotax Nats: Rotax Junior
Kart #: 48
Chassis: First Kart
Team Name: Mossey Motorsports
Regional Distributor: SpeedQuest
Region you compete in: Central Florida Rotax Challenge
Regional accomplishments this year: Second in the Central Florida Challenge series this year.
Notes: Mary along with her younger brother John will most likely be the only brother and sister combo running at this year’s event. Mary got her start through SpeedQuest and credits regional director, Bill Wright, as a tremendous help this year as well. Mary’s background also includes time in Quarter Midgets where she and her brother grew tired of circle track racing and ventured into Rotax. In conversations with Mary, she appears to be serious about a racing career and not caught up in the female versus male issues so many other females possess. Competing with the boys is nothing new to Mary as she’s previously played soccer on an all male team and states sex isn’t an issue, winning is goal no matter who’s she racing against. Thumbs up to Mary for the insight! She’s struggling a bit with the track a bit but hopes to get up to speed during the remaining practice sessions.
Driver: Jonathan Summerton
Hometown: Kissimmee, Florida
Age: 15. 10th Grade
Kart #: 3f
Chassis: CRG
Team Name: Unknown
Regional Distributor: Formula Kart
Region you compete in: Florida Region
Regional accomplishments this year: Florida Winter Tour Class Champion in the 2002-03 series. Currently third in the Easykart 125cc Light class in WKA’s regional Florida series
Notes: Jonathan is an all around athlete who’s on both the school football team and the tennis team. He started racing karts last September and has taken well to it. His high points are his ability to analyze situations quickly and to respond accordingly. Corner marshals have often commented on his ability and patience in waiting for the right opportunity to make his move. He has also driven for Team Montoya at OGP race and won the heat without any practice. Jonathan also got to do a Formula Ford school in Great Britain where he set the single-day student track record. His long term goal is to represent the US as a future Formula 1 driver.
 | Matt Varsha - far right
|
Driver: Matt Varsha
Hometown: Atlanta, Georgia
Age: 16
Kart #:
Chassis: Korsa Kart
Regional Distributor: Formula Kart (Bill Wright)
Regional series: Northern Florida Rotax Challenge, Florida Winter Tour
Regional accomplishments this year: Matthew has scored three top fives and one win on the Florida regional tour.
Notes: This is Matt’s first year racing anything wheel to wheel. He ran the final four races in the Florida Winter Tour and scored a 17th, 12th, 8th and 4th in that order so he’s improving each time out. According to Bill Wright, his regional distributor, he’s consistently followed instructions to a tee, never put a wheel wrong and is now getting more aggressive as he learns. He also moved into the North Florida RMax Challenge and tried his hand in one of the most competitive groups of Junior drivers in the country.
Being 6’2 and 25 pounds overweight for the class, “Sasquatch” as he is dearly nicknamed in his region, was consistently in the running and turned fast lap during two of the events. With tracks on longer straights, he’s at an aerodynamic disadvantage but showed well with a sweep of pole, pre-final and final race win at the Ocala Grand Prix that utilized a shorter straight-a-way. He’s quite popular at the races with a wonderful sense of humor and a joy to know. With his weight and height disadvantage, he doesn’t have any illusions about his chances at the Grand Nationals and plans to do his best under the circumstances and have fun in Texas.
Matt is the son of the well-known racing announcer, Bob Varsha, who’s quite proud of Matt in finding a place of his own. He’s written an interesting column “Confessions of a Racing Father” on the SPEED TV’s web site worth sharing. This story can be seen by clicking here: http://www.speedtv.com/commentary/7753/racing
MINI MAX PROFILES
Driver: Chris Clark
Hometown: Las Vegas, NV
Age: 12
Chassis: PTK
Regional Distributor: Acceleration Kart Racing
Team Name: Pat Clark Motorsports
Notes: In only his second year of racing, Chris was the X-Plex track champ in 80cc Junior, the Stars 2002 National Champion in the Jr. Comer class and scored an impressive fifth at the SKUSA SuperNationals last year under very stiff competition. He was busy Thursday getting the track and set up down and improving each run out. The only thing hampering this young lion is his size, giving about 40 pounds too much for the Mini Max. His athletic size will be better suited for him next season as he progresses into Rotax Jr.. Chris also competes in Jr. Dragsters where he was ranked second in his home region. |
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