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| January 09, 2012 |
| Driver News: Jamie Williams - WKA Daytona KartWeek Report |
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 | Jamie Williams at 2011 SuperNats in Las Vegas
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
Jamie Williams is quickly becoming one of the brightest young stars in the top sprint karting national series in the country, and a pair of top-10 finishes in his first WKA Manufacturer's Cup Junior Sportsman event last month at Daytona Int'l Speedway indicates that the new year is primed to be his best yet as a budding young karting standout.
The 9-year-old racer advanced to the Cadet and Yamaha Sportsman divisions for WKA's 2012 season-opening Margay Sprint Championships two weeks ago at Daytona's Sprint Course. Upon joining over 40 other young talents in the Cadet and Yamaha Sportsman categories, Williams wheeled his No. 04 PCR chassis to very respectable runs nearly every time he took to the challenging 0.7-mile road course.
The Mason, Ohio, youngster quickly solidified himself as a top runner in the new classes with 10th-place finishes in the Cadet Final 2 and Yamaha Sportsman Heavy mains. Approximately 40 karts started each race.
Williams also recorded encouraging finishes of 15th in Cadet Final 2 and 12th in Yamaha Sportsman Lite, a division that saw problems in qualifying that forced Williams to start last of 40 karts in the pre-final. The young shoe advanced 17 positions in the nine-lap heat race to finish 23rd. Williams' 04 PCR was on the move again in the main, passing another 11 competitors in an inspiring drive to cross the stripe in 12th.
"We're learning and improving," Jamie's proud father and head tuner Joe Williams said. "We certainly still have a lot to learn, but we're very encouraged with how well Jamie's been driving in his last several events. To win the Rookie final at New Castle was a great confidence booster. Then going to Daytona and racing so well against some of the best kids in the country and see him race so well against so many good drivers has us really looking forward to the rest of the year."
In addition to his Daytona success, Jamie's added a number of impressive outings at other big karting events over the last six months, including the aforementioned Yamaha Rookie Grand National triumph at the New Castle 2011 Man Cup season closer in September.
The Williams' also made their first trip to the SKUSA Super Nats in Las Vegas this past November for the annual premier U.S. karting event. Jamie finished a strong eighth place in the TaG Cadet main event. Forty karts started the race, which saw Williams negotiate a terrific drive against many of the best 8- to 12-year-old TaG racers in the country.
Williams also scored a TaG Cadet World Cup feature win at New Castle this past fall and a fourth-place finish in the Route 66 Sprint Series Yamaha Rookie Heavy final at New Castle in September.
The 2011 Great Lakes Sprint Series saw Jamie capture three feature wins on his way to a second place finish in Yamaha Rookie GLSS points.
"We had a really good 2011 season," Joe Williams added. "But I think the best is yet to come. We're gaining at every race. And we're having so much fun doing it as a family. The fun and safety for everyone is what it's all about. If we have a good time and stay safe, it's a successful weekend the way I look at it."
The next WKA Man Cup event has the series traveling to the Carolinas for the Zoom Zoom Nationals March 23-25 at the Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw, S.C.
Jamie Williams is an up-and-coming 9-year-old go-kart racer from Mason, Ohio. Williams races his Woltjer Racing Engines-powered No. 04 PCR chassis in the most competitive sprint karting series in the country, including WKA Manufacturer's Cup, SKUSA and WKA Great Lakes. The 2012 season will see Williams run the full Manufacturer's Cup Series in the Yamaha and Cadet Sportsman classes. |
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