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| July 16, 2012 |
| Industry News: Comet Racing Engines - WKA MKP Nationals at South Bend Report |
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On one of the hottest weekends any of us can remember at a race track, Comet Racing Engines customers overcame elements to score multiple WKA National wins, poles and podiums at MRP in South Bend, IN.
The weekend kicked off with Top Kart driver Mason Chelootz taking the pole in Komet Heavy with fellow Comet Racing Engines KPV driver Jacob Donald on his Arrow qualifying second to make it an all Comet KPV front row for the prefinal! Mason would continue his winning ways by taking a commanding victory in the final by 5.9 seconds over second place! Unfortunately Jacob had to retire early from the final. Mason is 4 for 4 in Komet Heavy final wins for the 2012 season!
This weekend also seen the return of multi-time WKA National Champion Sam Beasley! Sam put everyone on notice by taking the pole in both Parilla Leopard and TaG Final 1 on his All-New Arrow X2 chassis and Comet Racing Engines Leopard. Jacob Donald shared the front row with Sam on an identical Arrow X2 and Comet Leopard in the Parilla Leopard class. Unfortunately for Sam he lost a chain early in the prefinal in the Leopard class and would start from the rear for the final with Jacob Donald picking up the Prefinal win and pole for the final. Once the green flag flew for the final it was the "Sam and Jake Show"! As Jacob eased away from the field to a comfortable lead, Sam was slicing through the field picking up two or three spots a lap! As the checked flag flew Jacob took his first WKA National win as a senior with Sam finishing an amazing second after starting 28th in the final! Unfortunately Jakes win would be short lived as his seat was found to be 1/4" to low in post race tech handing his victory to Sam. It was a tough one to swallow after such a great run by Jake. Colton Ramsey was 5th with his Comet Racing Engines Leopard.
Sam was behind the eight ball once again in TaG Final 1 after another off track excursion put him last for the start of the final. Sam once again was slicing through the field and picking off karts left and right! When the dust settled Sam ended up 2nd with the races fast lap. Fellow Comet Leopard driver Colton Ramsey was third which is a career high finish in the TaG class for him and Kyle Smith with his Comet Leopard was 8th. In the TaG 2 Final on Sunday Sam would end up 4th.
Jacob Donald took the pole for the Komet Lite class on his Arrow X1-E and Comet KPV. Jacob would go on to win the Prefinal and the stage was set for a shot at redemption after Jake had his Parilla Leopard win taken away because of a seat infraction the day before. Jake had to fight hard in the Final with a three way battle for the win. Jacob took the lead coming down for the white flag with the racing fierce behind him. With only a few corners to go, second and third got together and went off course and gave Jake some breathing room for his second "first senior win" of the weekend! This time the seat was good and Jake officially took home his first WKA National senior winner's trophy!
Kyle Kirkwood ran fast time in qualifying for the Komet Jr Heavy class on his Arrow X2 and Comet KPV. In the final Kyle took the lead on the first lap to lead the race flag to flag to pick up the win! Ashley Rogero on her Comet KPV and Tony Kart EVRR was 4th and Derek Dignan on the Arrow had a great run to finish 6th. In Komet Jr. Lite Ashley would end up 3rd with Derek Dignan in 8th.
Zach Holden has had a great year in the Junior Sportsman classes but this weekend would be more a "character building weekend". Zach started on the outside of the front row in the Cadet Final 1 Prefinal on his Arrow Cadet and Comet K80 and would turn that starting spot into a prefinal win. Starting on the pole for the final Zach led a majority of the 16 lap final including the white flag lap. Coming down the front straight Holden ran the bottom with second and third on his tail. When they hit turn one, second place pushed Holden through the corner which opened up the bottom of the track and allowed multiple karts to sneak by. With only a few corners left in the race, Zach had little time to recover before finishing 5th. Kaden Harter with his Comet K80 was 9th.
The Komet Sportsman class was another tough day with Holden qualifying 3rd on his Arrow X1 Junior and Komet KPV. Zach was in second by lap two but got together with another kart mid corner which ripped the valve stem out of the tire and leading to an early end from the Prefinal. Zach lined up 20th for the final and got to work quickly picking up spots every lap, by the end of the 16 lap final Zach was 4th overall. Not a bad recovery but still disappointing knowing the kart and driver were capable of running with the leaders for the win.
Cadet Final 2 was another wild one. Zach made his way into the lead by the time the white flag flew in the prefinal but in a similar repeat to the Cadet final the day before, as Zach was approaching the hairpin for the final time he was center punched from behind hard enough that the rear bumper was cracked shoving him wide allowing multiple karts to go past. In the Final Zach marched his way back into the lead draft after having to recover some spots lost on the last lap of the prefinal, picking up the races fast lap along the way. As the lead trio received the white flag Zach was sitting third, in another questionable racing move the leader was nailed from behind and spun in Zach's path which forced Zach off track and into retirement. Fortunately the officials did penalize the driver for the move but the damage was done. Hopefully the officials will not tolerate the "punting for position" at the next race that was all too common this weekend in the Sportsman ranks. Kaden Harter finished a well deserving 4th in the Final with Simon Sikes on an Arrow Cadet in 5th.
Yamaha Junior Heavy seen another great run by Kyle Kirkwood on his Arrow X1-E and Comet KT100 finishing 2nd. Ashley Rogero finished 3rd on her Tony Kart EVRR in the Yamaha Jr Lite class with Kyle Kirkwood in 5th and Derek Dignan in 6th.
Yamaha Sportsman 1 had Zach Holden in 5th, Simon Sikes on his Arrow Junior in 7th and Kaden Harter in 10th. Yamaha Sportsman 2 seen Simon Sikes in 9th and Michael Cruz in 10th. All with Comet Racing Engines KT100's.
Chuck Tate finished 3rd in TaG Masters Final 1 on his Arrow X1-CIK and Comet Leopard. Other honorable mentions this weekend seen Jacob McWhirter with multiple top 10 qualifying runs in Junior Yamaha and KPV in his first year as a Junior on his Tony Kart EVRR. Madison Campeau started a career high fourth in Yamaha Rookie Sportsman 2 and posted a 9th place finish in Final 1.
Thanks to our great customers it was another successful WKA National Weekend! The Comet gang rolls to Norway, IL next for the Great Lakes Sprint Series on July 20th-22nd in preparation for the WKA National there August 3rd-5th. For more information on Comet Racing Engines visit our website http://www.cometkartsales.com or call us 317-462-3413. |
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