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| January 09, 2012 News |
| Snyder Bags Four Wins; Freber, Wilhelm triple at WKA Daytona Road Racing Championships |
| Article by: WKA PitBoard |
The WKA Dunlop Tire National Road Racing Series driven by Mazda made its much-anticipated return to the famed Daytona Int'l Speedway last week for the Daytona Road Racing Championships, the season opener for the 2012 seven-race tour and the most prestigious enduro-style karting event in the country.
With the Road Racing Series absent from Daytona in December 2010 due to the track's repaving project, the renewal of the Road Racing Championships - an annual WKA event since the early 1970s - saw teams from all over the country travel to Daytona Beach for the four-day affair.
The overall entry count for the event was approximately 600, spread through over 40 national categories and several other local-option divisions. The entry count nearly matched that of 2009's Daytona Championships, a testament to road racers across the country who continue to support the sport during a still struggling economy.
On the track, encouraging fields of 10, 20 and nearly 30 entrants in a number classes headlined the Road Racing portion of Daytona KartWeek. The largest division belonged to Animal Sprint 360, which boasted an impressive 27 starters. Other strong fields included Yamaha Sportsman Medium (26 entries), 100cc Yamaha Heavy (22), Animal Sprint 385 (23) and WKA 125 Shifter 1 (22).
Aaron Snyder left Daytona as the top Road Racing victor. The Illinois TaG driver, who won a 2011 WKA Triple Crown championship with his four national titles in the four TaG classes, won all four Spec TaG and TaG mains at Daytona to continue his dominance in the divisions.
One win behind Snyder were Margay Racing Products owner Keith Freber and Rev-Clean-sponsored Arkansas-based pilot Brian Wilhelm. Freber captured victories in three Yamaha laydown divisions while Wilhelm bested many of the country's fastest go-karts in Formula 125 and the pair of Unlimited finals.
Nine drivers wheeled their mounts to a pair of wins on the Daytona high banks.
Two-time Triple Crown winner Courtney Atkinson swept the new Yamaha Sportsman Sprint mains; 2010 Triple Crown champ Adam Myers took wins in 100cc Pipe Medium and Heavy; Ed Shampine continued his Daytona success with triumphs in WKA Sprint 1 and 2; Zachary Linsell gave MGM a couple wins in Animal Sprint 335 and Animal Limited Modified 360.
Noah Stark swept the CIK 125 Shifter finals; J.C. Sanders won both Jr Enduro races; Phil Kirby returned to WKA competition and scored victories in Stock Leopard 1 and 2; Josh Lane ran some at the Margay Sprint Championships but scooted over to the Road Racing track and captured wins in Stock Honda 1 and 2; and Tracy Phillips bested a couple of strong WKA 125 Shifter fields to add to his growing Daytona win total.
Here's a rundown of the 13 race groups that went off last Thursday and Friday at the 3.56-mile Daytona road course.
Thursday Group 1
KartWeek's first enduro race saw eight different divisions get the green flag, the most of any race group at Daytona.
The fastest karts on track were those in WKA Sprint Final 1, which featured a dozen starters. Cicero, New York's Ed Shampine, a multi-time national champion who now makes only rare Road Racing appearances, brought his purple Elite chassis out for Daytona and proceeded to score the victory in both WKA Sprint mains.
In Thursday's race, Shampine bested fellow New Yorker Otto Vollmerhausen by a 1.5-second margin. Vollmerhausen did set the race's fast time at 2:24.956. Oklahoma's Anthony Honeywell was third, Tennessee's Jeff Frank fourth with veteran road racer Guy Brown rounding out the top five.
Phil Kirby grabbed his first win of the week in Stock Leopard Final 1. The Florida racer won a close, exciting event over fellow Sunshine State racer Brent Lyman and third-place Quincy Smith. Only 0.090 seconds separated first through third. Mike Hoff ran fourth and Frank Stevens rounded out the fast five in the 10-kart field.
Wisconsin's Mike Stroik was nearly as fast as the WKA sprinters on his way to the win in Animal Limited Modified 385. Stroik ran a quick lap of 2:28.983 around the DIS road course. Jack Reall took second, Charles Wilbur third, Dominic Greco fourth and Dennis Smith fifth.
Michael Ryan Arnold added another Jr Sprint national win to his total. The Kentucky racer won Jr Sprint Lite over Virginia's Eli Brown. Jenna Bretz was third, Julia Noyes fourth and Samantha Justice fifth.
North Carolina's Chris Kuley gave the Kuley racing family a victory at Daytona in Animal Jr Sprint Lite. Kuley won over Alabama's Will Delaney. Last year's Animal Jr Sprint national champion Brent Hadden was third, Daniel Ring fourth and Monica Smith fifth.
Vicki Tedder and Joe Cuslidge triumphed in the Clone local options. Tedder won Clone 335 over David Planakis while Cuslidge bested Dennis Claunch and Robert Garland to win ARC Racing-sponsored Clone 385.
Jamie and Jeff Webb had a spirited battle in the LO206 385 local option main. Jamie won over Jeff by a mere 0.168 seconds. Lawrence Palmer Jr. took third.
Thursday Group 2
Twenty dual-engine-powered B Stocks took the green in Thursday's second group, one of the largest B Stock fields in recent memory. Allen Cox had enough to pull ahead of New Jersey's Tom O'Reilly and score the B Stock win by a decent 8.7-second margin. Cliff Brannon crossed the stripe over 38 seconds back in third, while the father-son duo of Robby Harper and Robby Harper III finished fourth and fifth. O'Reilly set the class's fast lap at a cool 2:04.054 around the superspeedway road course.
Brian Wilhelm wheeled his pristine 125cc-powered laydown to the win in Rev-Clean Formula 125. Wilhelm's teammate Mitch White was second. Rory Pederson dropped out on lap 15 but was credited with third. WKA Road Racing regular Michael Lattos was fourth.
Wilhelm turned the group's fast lap at 1:59.752, one of the fastest laps at Daytona KartWeek.
Brian Morse won an attrition-filled KALL Racing Formula 100 Final 1 main. Morse was one of only a few karts to finish of 10 starters. Michael Hickey was credited with second, while Anthony Honeywell was the fastest kart in the field but dropped out just shy of the 45-minute distance and took third. Virginia Beach's Bill Miller and his son, Travis Miller, finished fourth and fifth.
A pleasant surprise on the entry count front were good turnouts in the Yamaha Pipe laydown divisions. Fourteen started Dart Kart Club-sponsored 100cc Yamaha Medium, which saw Oklahoma hotshoe Ryan Hatcher score the win. VIR winner Arthur McKenny continues to get a good hold on his laydown and finished second. Joe Cassidy was third, Massachusetts' Fran Mazzucotelli fourth and Weldon Ribble fifth.
Thursday Group 3
One of the largest fields at the Daytona Championships was the aforementioned WKA 125 Shifter main, which saw 22 fast sprint shifters take the green. Alabama's Tracy Phillips continued his reign over the divisions at Daytona, backing up a win in 2009 with his first of two triumphs in 2011.
Phillips won by a tight 0.033-second gap over WKA regular Stephen Flatt. Just behind Phillips and Flatt was Missouri's Bob Peurifoy, who crossed the stripe just 0.082 seconds back of the winner. John Sullivan ran fourth and Brian Duensing completed the fast five.
Pennsylvania's Noah Stark flexed his muscle in the CIK 125 Shifter classes with wins both days. His first came in CIK 125 Shifter 1 by a mere 0.220-second margin over Georgia's Colbi Bradley. New Englander Andy Noyes, a past Road Racing regular who now competes only sparingly, finished third. Florida's Marco Greco was fourth and Jeff Estes fifth.
Energy chassis wheelman Aaron Snyder picked up his first of four wins in Thursday's third group. Snyder bested Don Guilbeault by a half second to win Spec 125 TaG 1. Chris Hines and Keith Buffo took third and fourth.
Thursday Group 4
Some of the most competitive Daytona Championships fields hit the high banks in Thursday's fourth main. In somewhat of a surprise, Indiana's Brandon Fry triumphed in Sleeper Racing Team 100cc Controlled Spec 1 over a stout field of laydown Controlled racers.
Fry turned a quick time of 2:12.937 on his way to a nine-second win over early leader Rick Fulks. Brandon's brother, Lance Fry, was 22 seconds back in third, while Brandon and Lance's father Jim Fry took fourth. Florida's Lindsay Fox rounded out the top five of 14 starters.
Adam Myers won his first of two mains at Daytona in West Texas Outlaws 100cc Pipe Heavy. The West Seneca, N.Y., racer bested Oklahoma's Bryan Norman by a comfortable margin for the win. Roger Hatcher, another Oklahoman, was third, Scott Campbell fourth and Jim McMurray fifth. Eleven piston port laydowns started the race.
Yamaha Sportsman Lite, a new class in 2012, made its series debut at Daytona. The division's first ever winner was, to no one's great surprise, Florida shoe Matt Michel.
Michel claimed the win by a 22-second margin over teammate Lance Yunck, who continues to improve with every outing. Ryley Howe made it an all-Florida top three with a fine third-place effort in his first weekend as a senior road racer. Brent Goodwin was fourth and Jeramie Weeden fifth in the 15-kart main.
Thursday Group 5
Animals and TaGs took over the track in Thursday's fifth group. Aaron Snyder captured his second win of the day in DRT Racing TaG Final 1, which saw Snyder triumph in a close 30-minute affair over Keith Freber and his father, Jim Snyder. The margin between first and third was only 0.057 seconds.
New Hampshire's Don Guilbeault lost touch with the leaders and finished 10 seconds back in fourth in the class his DRT Racing outfit sponsors. Brent Lyman rounded out the top five in the 12-kart field.
MGM chassis owner Paul Rice looked like he had his first WKA National Road Racing win when he crossed the finish line 0.205 seconds in front of Maryland's Kevin Colborn in Hoosier Tire Animal Sprint 385. However, post-race tech saw Rice get disqualified for a engine issue, handing the victory to Colborn, who rides one of Rice's pristine MGM mounts.
Frank Kelleher was just behind Colborn to take second. Joey Kuley ran strong to finish third, Ohio's Jack Reall was fourth and Woodbridge Kart Club regular Toni Alexander was fifth in the 23-kart field.
While Rice, Colborn and Kelleher were waging a great battle in 385, 2011 double national champion Zachary Linsell was having quite a fight of his own with Thursday Animal Mod winner Mike Stroik in Hoosier Tire Animal Sprint 335.
The pair raced took and nail till the end and when the checkered flag waved, Linsell edged Stroik by a tight 0.164-second gap. Coyote racer Steven Kilsdonk crossed third but was disqualified for pushing. Kilsdonk's misfortune gave third to Kevin Rusnak, fourth to Douglas Schmidt and fifth to Pa.'s Andrew Boyer.
Wisconsin's Courtney Atkinson continued to shine at Daytona and the college freshman put her CKT sprinter into victory lane with a win in Heiser Trailer Leasing Yamaha Sportsman Sprint Final 1. Atkinson scored the win over Virginia's Brandon Taylor by a massive margin. Taylor finished well ahead of David Bruinsma, Dawn Magiera and Michael Holman, who rounded out the top five in his first senior race in WKA.
Michael Hines won a short three-kart AM Motorsports Yamaha Sprint Lite main. The New England WKA regular crossed the stripe over a minute in front of 2011 Yamaha Sprint national champion Jimmy Duguay. Jeff Standridge was third.
Jeff Ford bested Derek Billingsley in the DD2 #1 local option. Thomas Andersen was third. David Planakis was the only entrant in Open Sprint 1 and picked up the win.
Thursday Race 6
Nineteen fast shifter karts started the Stock Honda 1 main, which featured a four-kart breakaway at the front of the pack. Illinois's Josh Lane, who made the Margay Sprint Championships his priority at KartWeek, hurried over to the enduro track for the Stock Honda main and proceeded to out-duel Tiffany McCollum, Jeff Debeau and Tyler Guilbeault for the win. Lane won the race with no practice on the superspeedway road course.
Following Lane, McCollum, Debeau and Guilbeault across the line was David Harding. John Sullivan, Phillip Davis, Brian Goebel, Carson Miller and Ryan Flatt finished six through ten.
Formula 125s dominated the Unlimited Final 1 main. After capturing the F-125 feature earlier in the day, Brian Wilhelm did exactly what he did in 2009 by winning the first Unlimited race of KartWeek. Wilhelm moved out to a 43-second lead over Mitch White by the time the checkers waved. California's Ryen Miller was third, Michael Lattos fourth and Chuck Bunnell fifth.
Roy Efstrantiu won the 250 Twin 1 local option over Carl Goutell.
Thursday Race 7
The last race of the day was a 45-minute go for the laydown enduros. The fastest karts on track were those in the 100cc Controlled division, which saw Illinois's Randy Fulks edge Florida's Nate Grindell by a close 0.235-second margin. The triumph was Fulks' only win of KartWeek at the track where he's won over 40 main events throughout his illustrious road racing career.
Behind Fulks and Grindell were Don Chrzan, Brian Morse and Terry Koen rounding out the top five in the 11-kart field.
Margay's Keith Freber won his first race of KartWeek in Thursday's final race. Freber picked up the win in Tru Stripe Yamaha Sportsman Heavy after another fierce battle on the Daytona high banks with Matt Michel, who crossed the stripe only 0.062 seconds behind Freber.
Lance Fry went retro and made a rare Sportsman appearance and finished 13 seconds back of the winner in third. Michael McCombs was fourth with Charles Fox III completing the top five.
J.C. Sanders won his first race of KartWeek by a convincing margin over Joshua Krause in Jr Enduro Lite. Sanders turned a fast lap of 2:52.187 on his way to the victory.
Friday Race 1
KartWeek's largest Road Racing Championships field hit the track as the final day of racing kicked off Friday morning. Animal Sprint 360, sponsored by the Southern Kart Club, saw 27 Briggs-powered karts take the green and a five-kart breakaway at the front of the pack with some of the best sprint-enduro drivers in the country battling for the win.
Brandon Taylor led the pack out of NASCAR turn four coming to the checkered and looked to have the race in hand until the father-son duo of Bailey and Kevin Colborn went drafting by with the help of Mike Stroik and Zachary Linsell. Bailey fended off his father, Stroik and Linsell to the finish line to win his first ever main at Daytona. The margin of victory was a mere 0.062 seconds. Kevin Colborn was second, Stroik third, Linsell fourth and Taylor fifth.
About 18 seconds back of the lead pack was Frank Kelleher in sixth. Maryland's Jonathan Tedder was seventh, Douglas Schmidt eighth, Joey Kuley ninth and Steven Kilsdonk 10th.
While the fierce battle was going on for Animal 360 win, Pennsylvania's Randy Delp was thoroughly in control of Animal Sprint 410. Delp scored the 410 victory by over a 41-second gap over Toni Alexander. MGM's Paul Rice was third, Rich Dreher fourth and Southern Kart Club president Dominic Greco fifth.
Aaron Snyder wheeled his Energy chassis to his third win of KartWeek in TaG Final 2. Snyder again scored a close victory over his father Jim and DRT chassis racer Brian Fisher. The margin between first and third was only 0.107 seconds. New Englanders Chris Hines and Don Guilbeault finished fourth and fifth in the 10-kart field.
Jimmy Duguay won his only race of KartWeek in Yamaha Sprint Heavy after finished second in Thursday's Yamaha Sprint Lite. The Florida racer won over Jeff Standridge and Mark Justice.
Derek Billingsley picked up the victory by a comfortable margin over Thomas Andersen in DD2 #2. Steve French was third in the local option.
David Planakis was again the only entrant in the Friday version of Open Sprint. Planakis only made one lap and was credited with the victory.
Friday Race 2
The Daytona Championships' second largest division met in Friday's second group. Competition Karting Inc. Yamaha Sportsman Medium started a competitive field of 26 laydowns, filled with heavy hitters from across the country.
The Sportsman Medium main saw Missouri's Keith Freber win his second race of the week. Freber kept Oklahoma's Bryan Norman and Ryan Hatcher at bay to garner the win. The margin between Freber and third-place Hatcher was only 0.136 seconds.
Matt Michel lost touch with the lead trio and finished 19 seconds back in fourth after winning Thursday's Yamaha Sportsman Lite. Florida's Ryley Howe made another good showing for himself in his initial event running with the senior drivers. Howe rounded out the top five.
Six through ten were Charles Fox III, Tim Linthicum, David Lee, David Goodwin and Nick Goodwin.
After a couple strong showings but no wins on Thursday, OTK Kart USA-sponsored Nate Grindell dominated the 100cc Controlled Spec 2 main. Grindell bested Thursday Cont. Spec winner Brandon Fry by a cool 37 seconds. Don Chrzan was third, Lindsay Fox fourth and Scott Grenier fifth. Only Grindell, Fry, Chrzan and Fox went the full 45-minute distance of the 15 starters.
Adam Myers won by a large 30-second gap over Mallory Davis in Dart Kart Club-sponsored 100cc Pipe Medium. Anthony Vaccaro made the long tow to Daytona from his Plattsburgh, N.Y., base and finished third.
J.C. Sanders won Jr Enduro Heavy as the only starter. Sanders swept the Jr Enduro mains at KartWeek.
Dick Charest scored another Daytona win in the Vintage Classic 2 local option. The South Carolina driver won over Dwain Parks.
Friday Race 3
The shifters and spec TaGs hit the track once again in Friday's third feature, which saw Aaron Snyder win his fourth event of KartWeek while Tracy Phillips and Noah Stark each won their second races.
Snyder's win in Spec 125 TaG 2 was his easiest of the week. Snyder pulled out to a 20-second lead over Don Guilbeault by the time the checkers waved. Massachusetts' Keith Buffo was third.
Phillips again won a close WKA 125 Shifter affair. This race saw the Alabama veteran cross the stripe a mere 0.042 seconds in front of Ohio's Bob Anderson. Pa.'s Phillip Davis was third with California's Ryen Miller fourth. The top four was separated by only a half second. Garry Brazeal rounded out the top five in the 18-kart field.
Noah Stark won another close one in CIK 125 Shifter 2. This time Stark triumphed by 0.233 seconds over Mikey Wright. 2011 CIK Shifter national champion Steven Rougeou was third, Andy Noyes fourth and Jeff Estes fifth. Eleven karts started.
Friday Race 4
Comer P-51s dominated WKA Sprint Final 2 as it continues to look like the Komet K-71's time has passed. Ed Shampine accomplished the sweep of the WKA Sprint races with a 4.1-second win over fellow New Yorker Adam Myers. Anthony Honeywell finished right behind Myers in third while David Bruinsma was only a few tenths back of Honeywell in fourth. Michael Hines was the only Yamaha-powered kart in the field and had a good showing with a fifth-place result.
Courtney Atkinson captured her second win of KartWeek and the clean sweep of Yamaha Sportsman Sprint. Atkinson won by an 11-second gap over Brandon Taylor, who found some speed in his AM Motorsports kart but not quite enough to hang with Atkinson. Michael Holman was third, Trenton Bryant fourth and Louie Magiera fifth.
Like Atkinson and Shampine, Phil Kirby scored his second win of KartWeek in this group and a sweep of the Stock Leopard finals. Kirby had a little more breathing room in this one, winning by 6.666 seconds over Brent Lyman. Richard Hoff was third, three seconds ahead of Streeter Super Stands' Jeff Wesell.
Wesell was originally going to run the enduro track Thursday and Man Cup Friday, but decided to stay at the superspeedway and compete in Leopard Final 2 rather than Man Cup TaG Masters Final 2. Minnesota's Don Nelson rounded out the top five.
Zachary Linsell gave MGM another win with a close triumph over Mike Stroik in Animal Limited Modified 360. Linsell and Stroik jumped out to a big 21-second advantage over Jonathan Tedder, who finished third. Jack Reall was right behind Tedder in fourth; Charles Wilbur rounded out the top five.
Will Delaney denied Chris Kuley of a repeat in the Animal Jr Sprint category. Delaney won a close race over Brent Hadden by a 0.732-second margin. Kuley was 13 seconds back in third. Daniel King and Monica Smith finished fourth and fifth.
Eli Brown bested Michael Ryan Arnold by 2.3 seconds to win Team Finork Racing Jr Sprint Heavy. Brown's win denied Arnold of a repeat in the 2-cycle Jr Sprint divisions. Julia Noyes was third, Samantha Justice fourth and Jenna Bretz fifth.
Dennis Claunch and Joe Cuslidge won the Clone local options. Claunch won over James Tedder and Vicki Tedder in ARC Racing Clone 360. Cuslidge won Clone 410 by a comfortable margin over John Vanhimbergen.
Eight karts started LO206 360 in probably the largest LO206 fields in the division's history. Lawrence Palmer bested Jeff Webb by 3.4 seconds for the win. Jamie Webb was third, Andrew Petty fourth and Robert Garland fifth. The top four all finished within 10 seconds of one another.
Friday Group 5
Keith Freber found victory once again in the second-to-last race group of the Daytona Championships. This time Freber drove to victory in West Texas Kartway 100cc Yamaha Heavy by a three-second advantage over Matt Michel.
Freber and Michel's jobs became a bit easier when top shoes Ryan Hatcher and Bryan Norman both dropped out about 20 minutes into the race. Hatcher and Norman were credited with 14th and 15th.
KALL Racing driver Lance Yunck finished third, Roger Hatcher fourth and West Texas's Bobby White fifth.
LAD Specialties Formula 100 Final 2 started a dozen laydowns and saw Anthony Honeywell drive to a dominating win over Michael Hickey and F-100 Final 1 winner Brian Morse. Honeywell turned a fast time of 2:10.266 - some five seconds faster than anyone else in the starting field. Behind the top three were Brent Brannon and Scott Campbell in fourth and fifth.
Friday Group 6
The last enduro main of KartWeek featured Stock Honda 2 and Unlimited Final 2 take to the superspeedway.
Josh Lane scored his second win KartWeek in the Stock Honda main. Lane won by 0.242 seconds over Tiffany McCollum, who finished second to Lane both days. Jeff Debeau, who ran with Lane and McCollum in Stock Honda 1, couldn't stay with the leaders in Friday's race but still finished third in the 15-kart field. David Harding and Phillip Davis rounded out the top five.
Brian Wilhelm joined Keith Freber as a triple winner at the Daytona Road Racing Championships with his third win of KartWeek in Unlimited Final 2. Wilhelm had a good race going with Alabama's Robby Harper before he dropped out about five minutes shy of the finish.
It was clean sailing for Wilhelm after Harper's retirement. Mitch White finished some 36 seconds back of the Arkansas Rev-Clean veteran in second. Michael Lattos was third, making the top three all 125cc laydowns. Ryen Miller picked up another top five with his fourth-place effort. Tom O'Reilly was the first B Stock racer across the line in fifth.
Gold Cup, Speedway Pavement Awards Ceremony approaching Jan. 21
The WKA Gold Cup and Vega Speedway Pavement Series combined ceremony is coming up fast - Saturday night, January 21 - at the Cabarrus Arena & Events Center in Concord, N.C., the same location as last year's ceremony for these two series.
WKA has extended the deadline to purchase tickets for the Gold Cup / Pavement Series ceremony until Friday, Jan. 13. Cost is $5 per person. Children five years old and under will get in free.
To view and print the Awards Ceremony ticket / table reservation form go here.
http://www.worldkarting.com/downloads/2011.awards.ceremony.form.pdf
To find the form on WorldKarting.com, click the "Next Events" button on the website's homepage, and then click the PDF link reading "2011 Award Ceremony".
For more information on the awards ceremonies, contact WKA's Marie Borsuk at 704-455-1606 ext. 11 or marie@worldkarting.com.
Fax the Awards Ceremony Reservation Form to WKA at 704-455-1609 or scan to marie@worldkarting.com. Or mail to WKA at 6051 Victory Lane; Concord, N.C. 28027.
Jacksonville Gold Cup, Kershaw entry forms to debut next week
The next race events for WKA's national series come this March with the Gold Cup Series opening at the 103rd Street Sports Complex in Jacksonville, Fla., March 2-4 and the Zoom Zoom Nationals doubleheader for the Manufacturer's Cup and Road Racing series March 23-25 at Kershaw, S.C.'s Carolina Motorsports Park.
Entry forms for all three events will become available on WorldKarting.com next week.
WKA will send out Pit Board announcements next week when each entry blank debuts. |
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