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| January 04, 2012 |
| Team News: Checkered Motorsports - Daytona KartWeek Report |
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Checkered Motorsports had a successful start to the 2012 Manufacturer’s Cup season as the team traveled south to Daytona International Speedway for the Daytona KartWeek event. The squad scored 10 top-10 results highlighted by a podium finish for Roby Bujdoso who drove to a second place result in TaG 2.
Both Bujdoso and TaG teammate Kyle Smith participated in the TaG 1, TaG 2 and Parilla Leopard classes. Following a full day of practice on Wednesday, Bujdoso and Smith took to the track on Thursday for the TaG 1 and Parilla Leopard categories. Bujdoso put his No. 32 PCR/Cook Racing Engines ninth on the grid with Smith posting the seventh quickest time of the 42-kart grid. Parilla Leopard saw the teammates once again qualify among the top-10 with Bujdoso and Smith sharing the fifth row of the grid.
Due to a timing and scoring issue which needed to be repaired on track and limited the track activity, the Pre-Finals were canceled for the day with all of the karts in all of the classes advancing to the Final events.
The TaG 1 Final saw Bujdoso advance three positions to finish fifth with Smith completing the 14-lap event in the eighth position. The two racers also showed well in the Parilla Leopard Final with Bujdoso making a charge forward to make up five positions on the first lap to run in fifth. He steadily made his way up into second place as he defended the position throughout the final laps and finished the race third. Smith, who started from the ninth position, also made up significant ground throughout the event to finish fifth.
Meanwhile in the Junior ranks, Andrew Bujdoso qualified an impressive 13th among the 41-kart Komet Jr. Heavy field with a time of 42.915 seconds. He had hoped to capitalize on the strong starting position with a run to the front, but an unfortunate first turn pile-up saw Bujdoso fall to the 40th position. Despite dropping down the order, the ever perseverant young racer made a charge back up through the field and cleanly maneuvered his way into 22nd place.
Checkered Motorsports teammate Tom Gerstner took part in the TaG Masters class on Thursday and qualified 14th by laying down a quick time of 43.127 seconds around the 0.7-mile sprint track. He steadily worked his way forward to finish 10th in the Final.
On Friday, Roby Bujdoso and Smith looked to find some more speed as the duo entered the TaG 2 division. Bujdoso clinched the outside pole with a time of 40.710 seconds and Smith put his No. 31 PCR not far behind with a sixth place qualifying effort.
Bujdoso had a great run in the TaG 2 Pre-Final to secure a second place starting position for the Final. Smith would run as high as fifth in the Pre-Final before brake issues saw him finish seventh and start the Final from the fourth row.
Bujdoso displayed a great effort at the front of the field during the TaG 2 Final as he chased down NASCAR star Jamie McMurray and found himself as the meat in a “NASCAR sandwich” with AJ Allmendinger following behind in third for much of the race. Bujdoso eventually began to pull away from Allmendinger and put a gap over the rest of the field as he set his sights on McMurray. While the impressive Ohio TaG racer gave McMurray a run for his money, the No. 32 PCR would cross the finish line second. Meanwhile, Smith showed impressive speed as he began to work his way forward and ran in the top-five throughout most of the 15-lap event. He would ultimately finish sixth.
Andrew Bujdoso participated in the Komet Jr. Lite class on Friday with a qualifying run to put his PCR 18th on the grid. Unfortunately, another first lap incident shuffled him down the order and he finished 24th which would put him mid-pack for the start of the Final. He again showed his determination behind the wheel as he made his way through the field to advance 10 positions and finish 14th.
Gerstner looked for another solid day in the TaG Masters Friday event and finished 13th in the Pre-Final. He had hoped to score another top-10 for the team, but was pushed off track on the first lap of the Final and would be credited with a 17th place result.
TaG Masters drivers Kim Carrapalletti and Brian McHattie also joined Checkered Motorsports for the Daytona event and displayed a solid showing throughout the two race days. On Thursday, Carrapalletti spent most of the day running in the top-five and scored a sixth place finish in the Final. Friday saw him return to the front of the field with a qualifying effort of fourth, a fifth place finish in the Pre-Final and another sixth place result in the Final. McHattie had an impressive first event with Checkered Motorsports by qualifying fifth on Thursday and scoring a podium finish with a third place result in the Final. He followed up that effort on Friday to run as high as second in the Final before ultimately finishing fourth.
Another Checkered Motorsports addition was 18-year old racer Weston Moon who participated in the Yamaha Supercan Heavy and Lite divisions. Moon had a fast pace during Yamaha Supercan Lite, before getting shuffled back to a 14th place finish. He would rebound from Thursday's event to finish an impressive seventh in Friday’s Supercan Heavy Final after starting 18th.
“It was a great weekend for everyone here at Checkered Motorsports,” said Team Owner Csaba Bujdoso. “A big thanks to Sean Cook Racing engines and everyone on the team that worked so hard throughout the week. The competition was fierce as always but we came away with some positive results which is a great way to kick off the 2012 season!”
Next up for Checkered Motorsports is Round 2 of the WKA Manufacturer’s Cup at Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw, South Carolina March 23-25. |
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