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| April 26, 2012 News |
| EKN Paddock Pass: SKUSA Pro Tour - MG Tires SpringNationals |
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For complete coverage of the event, be sure to visit the EKN Event Page
Hot…that’s the one word that best described the weekend in Phoenix, Arizona as the 2012 Superkarts! USA Pro Tour got underway. The MG Tires SpringNationals definitely set the tone for the third season of the series, running on the 3/4-mile PKRA Formula K Raceway. The weather was a challenge for all in attendance as the mercury rose above 100 for the first time this year. Matching the ferocity of the weather was the racing that took place on-track. With a record number of total entries - 185 in total - each category was a war as every on-track session provided a small battle toward the main events.
The theme for this season on the Pro Tour is ‘graduation’. A number of drivers have moved up to the next step in the SKUSA Ladder System, both in the TaG and Stock Moto divisions. The series is welcoming a number of new faces on the Pro Tour, as well, many of which have been successful at the regional level and are now their debuts on the national level. To illustrate the change from a year ago, for 12 of the 13 drivers who recorded a victory in Phoenix, it was their first on the Pro Tour, and many were making their first series starts. Of the eight categories, only three saw double winners (TaG Senior, Master, Junior).
 | Pure Karting is one of the newest professional karting operations to commit to the SKUSA Pro Tour
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
With the growth of the Pro Tour and the SpringNationals comes the influx of more teams as well. Newer squads have joined the series for 2012 and they are expected to run the full schedule. Phoenix-based Pure Karting had a strong presence in TaG Cadet, along with entries in S2 and S4. With Cliff Kujala at the helm and the Tony Kart/OTK Kart Group product line behind him, the operation is sure to grow. They presented themselves with extremely professionalism in Phoenix. The Rolison Performance Group is led by former national racer Mike Rolison and focused on grooming young talent in the sport. With two wins by Junior driver Luke Selliken in Phoenix, there is no doubt that Rolison’s phone will be ringing with those looking to step up their game. Many teams trekked in from long distances, but not likely as from as far away as Wisconsin as the Franklin Motorsports operation crossed the country for some SKUSA competition. Shop and team owner Jamie Sieracki returned to the seat himself, bringing three other ‘Merlin Nation’ drivers for the weekend. Thanks to a non-conflicting schedule set by SKUSA and the other organizations in the country, rumors of more teams east of the Mississippi are coming to light for the SummerNationals.
Some new chassis brands also made their debut in Phoenix. Under the Leading Edge Motorsports and Innovative Karting tents was the Praga chassis. Manufactured by the Sguerzoni family of the Intrepid/SKM brands, S4 driver Trevor McAlister showed that the chassis has the speed that has been shown in the shifter categories in Europe. S5 driver Micah Hendricks gave the brand its first SKUSA Pro Tour win on Saturday. The Formula K brand is new to the United States market, imported by Oklahoma-based Champion Racing. The Formula K name began as a team in Europe and expanded to its own chassis brand, manufactured by Parolin. Seeing success in the top international levels, Formula K has now arrived and it was S2 driver Ryan Kinnear gave the brand its first United States podium this past weekend. The Tony Kart-manufactured Exprit also made its SKUSA debut under the DB Motorsports/River Lake Racing banner. Defending TaG Master champ Brian McHattie drove the OTK Kart Group model in TaG Master while S1 driver Lukas Johnson showed speed in his debut on the brand. One of the most interesting additions to the paddock was the American-made Ultimate from Ultimate Karts USA. The chassis made its SKUSA debut with rookie driver Robby Seward behind the wheel. Manufactured in Indiana, the chassis is very innovative with unique design features and focused on quality craftsmanship. The brand has already gained strong results in the East, and is looking to expand its market across the country.
 | Joey Wimsett (l) and Fritz Leesmann (r) are the lead contenders in the S1 Pro category
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
S1 Pro Stock Moto
Now entering its third season, the S1 Pro Stock Moto class now has a solid base from which to work into the future. A total of 17 drivers were in Phoenix, and more are expected to join at the SummerNationals, meaning that shifterkart racing is certainly on the rise. The 2012 season will be a battle between old-school and the new-school. The SpringNats ended in a 1-1 score as Fritz Leesmann (Diede Racing/CRG) and Joey Wimsett scored the feature wins, each placing runner-up to one another as well. The rest of the field was a great mixture of both, with defending champion Daniel Bray placing third both days. Wimsett is a great story of a driver coming up through the ranks and now is entering his first full season in S1. Working under the Rolison Performance Group tent on the weekend with his father wrenching away at his CRG America entry, the combination out-ran the two former SKUSA Pro Tour champions for victory on Saturday.
Fellow S1 rookies Jake French, Josh Lane, Nicky Freytag and Kyle Hathcox showed the speed to run near the front throughout the weekend. French (3G Kart Racing/Birel) shocked the paddock by qualifying on pole on Saturday. He and Lane (DRT Racing/DR Kart) ran up front with Leesmann during the heat races until contact took French out of the running. Lane recovered to finish sixth on the day, while French finished fifth on Sunday. Freytag (Phil Giebler Racing/FA Kart) struggled on day one but stayed away from trouble on Sunday to end up fourth. While 2011 S2 champ Hathcox (GP) did not have the speed to challenge for the win, a fifth and sixth capped off his first S1 Pro Tour weekend as an ultimate, as he certainly has room to grow and improve working as a privateer this season.
TaG Senior
A record number of drivers contested the TaG Senior division at the SpringNationals - 43 in all. Aside from double winner Phil DeLaO (Top Kart USA), it was a battle for every position on every lap. The only place you see a field the size of what was Phoenix is the SuperNationals. That’s saying something as the Pro Tour has developed into a serious TaG battleground. Even with this level of competition, at his home circuit, working with karting guru Mike Speed, DeLaO drove away from the field both days. Challenged in just one heat race, DeLaO showed that quick early and quick late are keys to victory this season.
 | Phil DeLaO ran away from the large record field in TaG Senior
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
The weekend was tough for the top-three drivers from the 2011 standings. Defending champ Brett Felkins (Leading Edge Motorsports/Intrepid), making his first start since the SuperNationals, battled a rib injury all weekend. Climbing to ninth on Saturday after qualifying at the tail of the field, Felkins could not find the championship pace he displayed a year ago. Along the same line, National #2 Dakota Dickerson (Full Throttle Karting/Arrow) battled hard all weekend long as the 15-year old fought for his two top-15 finishes. SKUSA #3 plate driver Matt Johnson (Buddy Rice Karting/Energy) looked to have something for DeLaO on Saturday, but a broken spark plug boot sidelined the Vegas driver in the feature. Johnson came back on Sunday to finish a respectable fifth.
The only drivers to give DeLaO any trouble was the Italian Motors/Italkart duo of Remo Ruscitti and three-time SuperNationals Michael Valiante. Ruscitti finished second to DeLaO both days for his first Pro Tour podium finishes. Michael, taking a break from his sports car schedule, was fourth and sixth. In heat two on Sunday, both Remo and Valiante passed DeLaO, but they were unable to hold him back. Rounding out the podium performances were Shawn Cricca (Phil Giebler Racing/FA Kart) and Austin Elliott (Top Kart USA), both earning their first Pro Tour podiums as well. Two rookies shined on the weekend with impressive composure and finishes. WKA Triple Crown winner Joel Jens (Tony Kart) ran seventh on Saturday, improving to fourth on Sunday. Mason Daughters (Phil Giebler Racing/FA Kart) was just as notable, finishing sixth and eighth on the weekend. They, along with Scott Kopp (Innovative Performance/Tony Kart) and Jamie Sieracki (Franklin Motorsports/Merlin), put the ‘East Coast’ contingent into the top-10.
S2 Semi-Pro Stock Moto
The story of the weekend in the S2 division was the view of the new crop of drivers at the front of the field. With leading contenders from 2011 moving on to S1, the door has been opened for new faces to shine in the spotlight for the S2 title fight. Last year, consistency from qualifying to the main event helped win the title for Kyle Hathcox. In Phoenix, the driver displayed this level of steadiness was Sabré Cook (CRG-USA). The first female driver to stand on the podium in the three-year history of the SKUSA Pro Tour now leads the championship on the strength of two main event runner-up finishes. Finishing in the top-four through the heat races, as the top qualifier on Saturday, a winning the fast lap honors on Sunday, Cook put in a championship-style performance.
 | Sabre Cook leads the S2 standings, and is helping to bring in a strong female contingent to the Pro Tour
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
Cody Tracy (Powers Racing/Tony Kart) and Billy Musgrave (Arrow) took the top honors as both were making their SKUSA Pro Tour debuts. Tracy leaves the SpringNationals second in the standings behind Cook, heading to his home track in Utah for the SummerNationals. Musgrave nearly scored maximum points on Sunday, but a disqualification on Saturday for an engine issue will hurt his run at the title. A number of drivers were on the front edge of the main pack, and it would not be wrong to think another two new winners will come forward in July.
S4 Master Stock Moto/TaG Master
One of the great elements of the SKUSA program is the strong contingent in the Master categories. For some reason, possibly the heat or the five months since the SuperNationals, but many drivers in both the S4 and TaG groups seemed to lose their composure in Phoenix. All through 2011, we saw some great racing, with drivers respecting one another and putting on an awesome show. This weekend, we saw the opposite. Lots of contact played out in each category, affecting the outcome of the races and causing serious implications on the Pro Tour championship chases.
Paul Bonilla was untouchable when it came down to the feature races in TaG Master. The top three drivers from 2011 – Brian McHattie (DB Motorsports/Exprit), David Harwin (Phil Giebler Racing/Tony Kart) and Larry Fraser (Aluminos/CRG) - had their share of struggles on the weekend, as each able were only able to record a single top-five finish. At one time, every driver had to come back from some type of trouble. Looking at the engine side of things, Bonilla raced one Rok TT on Saturday and after seizing his primary in warm-up on Sunday, drove his back-up to victory. Parilla scored three of the four remaining podium steps, while Harwin’s Motori 7 completed the results to put three engines in the fray. By the eye, the engines all seemed to be equal once again, with the race coming down to driver and chassis set-up. EKN would also like to send its well-wishes to Ethan Wilson, who was involved in an incident during Saturday warm-up, breaking his wrist and was forced to miss the entire event.
S4 was a scrap amongst the drivers and featured a great deal of attrition as well. Trevor McAllister (Leading Edge Motorsports/Praga) was likely the quickest driver of the weekend. That said, contact during both day’s action took him out of contention. On Saturday, driving through the field, he got into Mike Mantel (Seventh Gear Karting/CRG) and carded a DNF. After leading the entire day on Sunday, Jordon Musser (3G Kart Racing/Birel) attempted a bold pass attempt early in the race and with neither giving ground, contact was made and they went off into the dirt, relinquishing the top two positions. Musser was fast in his own right, but some poor decisions both days kept him off the podium.
 | Trevor McAlister showed the Praga chassis had speed in S4, but two DNFs could have taken him out of the title chase
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
On Saturday, Curtis Cooksey (Acceleration Kart Racing/CRG) took advantage of the carnage as he drove away to the victory. Unfortunately, he was caught up in a wreck at the start of the final on Sunday, and was unable to finish. Taking advantage of Sunday’s dust-up was Eddie Olpin (Powers Racing/Kosmic). The Utah driver went on to score the win comfortably, and with his runner-up finish on Saturday he now leads the championship heading to his home track for the SummerNationals. This puts Olpin in a great position to lead the title chase heading into the Las Vegas, as he’ll only need a couple podium finishes at Miller to take firm grip on the points.
SKUSA #2 plateholder Nick Firestone (Zanardi America) battled gremlins and on-track carnage all weekend at his home track, and was only able to run 12th as his best result of the event. Lance Lane (DRT Racing/DR Kart), third in last year’s standings, began the event by qualifying on pole in S4. A mechanical issue sidelined the Illinois driver in the opening heat, but he managed to fight back to seventh by the end of the day. Sunday faired much better overall, as he finished third for another SpringNationals podium. Special props go to David Conyers (Aluminos/GP), at 60 years of age, for hanging with the fast guys for two solid top-10 finishes on the weekend, including a sixth on Saturday. This cat is fast!
S5 Junior/TaG Junior/TaG Cadet
Simply put, the S5 Junior Stock Moto class was on the brink of being dropped from the Pro Tour in January, but an online charge led to a record number of drivers (14) turning up for the SpringNats. The class had representation from all across the country, including two drivers from Mexico (Axel Matus and Yigal Garcia Rached), with the strongest pockets expected in Colorado and Texas. Matus gave Mexico its first SKUSA Pro Tour podium finish, running to third on Sunday. Local drivers under the Innovative Karting tent - Jim McKinney (Intrepid) and Micah Hendricks (Praga) stole the show, however, earning the feature wins on the weekend. If the US industry continues to market the S5 category into their local area, there is no doubt the class can develop across the country. The development value of the class was also on display in Phoenix, as former S5 frontrunners could be found in both S1 and S2. Last year’s leading S5 drivers - champion Austin Schimmel and runner-up Alex Tartaglia (Champion Racing/Formula K) - made their S2 debuts, with Schimmel (Aluminos/GP) posting a top-10 on Saturday. Other former S5 drivers like Christian Schureman (Extreme Karting/Vemme), Augie Lerch (Innovative Karting/Intrepid), Alec Gumpfer (Pure Karting/Tony Kart) and Miguel Lopez (GP) were also top-10 performers. In S1, graduates of the class shone as Lukas Johnson finished fourth on Saturday, while rookies Jake French and 2010 S5 champ Daniel Langon (Zanardi America) both performed well.
 | The Pro Tour welcomed a number of drivers from Canada and Mexico, including S5 driver Yigal Garcia Rached
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
The story at the front in TaG Junior was certainly Portland’s Luke Selliken (Rolison Performance Group/Kosmic), as he earned the victory both days in his first SKUSA Pro Tour event. Names to watch heading into the SummerNationals include two rookies, Austin Versteeg (PSL Karting/CRG) and Christian Brooks (Buddy Rice Karting/Energy), who posted top-five finishes in each main event, including Versteeg on the podium on Sunday. The two drivers probably put the most miles in their karts, racing each and every weekend, and their experience shows.
The TaG Cadet category provided the same action that we saw from the first SpringNationals back in 2010 in Sonoma - tight racing and photo finishes. Both days featured for the race for the win come down to the final few corners. On Saturday, Hunter Corbitt (Top Kart USA) gained the win, jumping from third to first in the final lap, while on Sunday, Hunter Kelly (Bordogna Racing Team/Tecno) edged out Sting Ray Robb (Red Apple Racing/Tony Kart) by 65-thousandths at the line. It’s always great to see the racecraft in this class, as it bodes well for the future.
SKUSA ProKart Challenge/SummerNationals
With the SpringNationals now in the books, the focus for many SKUSA racers will turn to the regional competition as a number of ProKart Challenge programs get underway in the coming weeks. The Rocky Mountain ProKart Challenge kicks off at Grand Junction Motor Speedway in Colorado on May 4-6, while the inaugural Texas ProKart Challenge event is scheduled the same weekend at the Gulf Coast Kartway in Katy, Texas. Two weeks after that - May 18-20 - the revamped Midwest ProKart Challenge begins at the historic TNT Kartway in Quincy, MO and the new Northwest Karting Challenge fires up at a long-time SKUSA track, the Pat’s Acres Racing Complex. The California ProKart Challenge will host its third round the same weekend, racing at the Adams Motorsports Park in Riverside. |
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