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| July 22, 2012 News |
| EKN Trackside Live: Superkarts! USA Pro Tour SummerNationals - Sunday Report |
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The final day of action at the 2012 Superkarts! USA Pro Tour SummerNationals was hot, both on and off the track. The Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah was another great venue to host nearly 200 drivers on the weekend. The SKUSA staff and competitors completed another solid event and set the stage for the eight championship chases heading into the SuperNationals XVI in Las Vegas come November. In the headline divisions, 2010 champion Fritz Leesmann secured the point lead with his second feature win of the year as veteran racer Matt Johnson scored his first victory of the season in the highly contested TaG Senior class.
Snow Racing S1 Pro Stock Moto
 | Fritz Leesmann put himself in the S1 point lead with his second feature win on the year
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
Saturday winner Joey Wimsett (CRG) reassumed the position at the front of the Pro category with a stellar lap in the qualifying session. His 56.656-second lap was quickest by just over two-tenths ahead of championship rival Fritz Leesmann (CRG). Wimsett got a great start to begin the opening heat race but was challenge a few laps later by Leesmann. After a couple looks, Wimsett laid the hammer down and drove away to the race win. Leesmann settled for second with Bonnier Moulton (Tony Kart) alone in third. Daniel Bray (GP) was running fourth but was dropped down the order with Lukas Johnson (GP), Nicky Freytag (FA Kart) and Tyler Bennett (Tony Kart) all working by for position. Wimsett and Leesmann continued the run up front with Wimsett leading the first two circuits of heat two until Leesmann drafted pass to lead for the first time on the day. They ran that way with Wimsett putting on the pressure to the final turn when his chain broke, putting him down the order as the rest of the field passed, putting him 15th on the grid for the main event. Leesmann took the win over Moulton with Johnson, Bennett and Freytag completing the top-five.
The final was Leesmann’s to have and he took it. With the pole position in hand, Leesmann launched off the grid with the veteran Moulton in tow. All eyes were on Wimsett as he began his journey back toward the front. By the completion of the opening lap, he was into the 11th position. He would eventually work his way up to the figt for third that included Bennett, Freytag, and Johnson. The CRG driver made his way to the third spot eventually, but would not have enough time for the top two. Leesmann held a one-second advantage over the MSquared Karting driver and after 20 laps, earned his second feature win of the weekend by just under three seconds. With the win, Leesmann enters the SuperNationals with a 40 point advantage over Wimsett. Freytag finished the day in fourth with Johnson fifth and Bennett sixth.
Phil Giebler Racing TaG Senior
 | Matt Johnson outran the stout TaG Senior field for victory on Sunday
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
Championship leader Phil DeLaO (Top Kart) returned to front of the TaG Senior field to begin Sunday’s action. His 58.585-second lap put him on the pole position, edging out Enzo Mestre (Formula K) by 43-thousandths of a second. Mestre was slow as the green flag waved to begin the opening heat race as DeLaO and Saturday winner Remo Ruscitti (Italkart) breaking away from the field. They swapped the lead a couple times before DeLaO secured the position and took the win. Behind them, Matt Johnson (Energy) charged up to the third spot over Andrew Wiener (Formula K), bringing Travis Lowe (Energy) with him. Mestre fell down the order to 23rd. The drive of the race was put in my TJ Koyen (Merlin), advancing up from 12th to seventh. DeLaO and Ruscitti continued to show the way up front, this time a host of drivers joined them at the front. At the halfway point, Ruscitti led with DeLaO pushed back to fourth with Johnson and Wiener moving forward. Johnson passed for the lead on lap seven and Ruscitti tried to go back by in the hairpin. They bottled up and Wiener looked for a way past entering the bus-stop but was pushed in the dirt and shuffled up the group. They bottled up once again on the exit of the hairpin, allowing Johnson to pull out to a large lead. The fight continued on lap nine with Wiener getting spun around, sending the group dicing around. It continued on to the checkered flag with Johnson taking the win by just under a second over DeLaO. Lowe was third with Koyen up to fourth. Jess Peterson (Praga) advanced up to fifth from 16th ahead of Mason Daughters (FA Kart). Saturday pole sitter Eric Jones (Arrow) fought up to seventh from 17th with Jamie Sieracki (Merlin), Scott Hargrove (Italkart) and Aaron Telitz (Parolin) completing the top-10.
Johnson and DeLaO led the field to the green flag with DeLaO jumping out to the lead, out by one-second after the first circuit with Johnson followed by Lowe, Koyen and Daughters. The race, however, was red flagged after three laps with Kathryn Cornell (Intrepid) needing some medical attention. Once they restarted, Johnson took full advantage as he drafted by DeLaO for the lead at the drop of the green. DeLaO returned the favor the following lap. Lowe held third with a battle behind him for fourth. Jones was trying to work past Daughters when contact was made in the bowl, taking them both out of the race. That moved Sieracki to fourth and Austin Elliott (Top Kart) now into fifth after starting 12th. At the halfway mark, Johnson laid down a monster lap to close back in on DeLaO to put his Buddy Rice Karting entry on the bumper of the Top Kart USA/Grand Products driver. Johnson moved to the point as they began lap 12, drafting by for the lead into turn one. Behind them, Elliott was on a charge, getting around Sieracki and closing up to Lowe’s bumper. Lap 14, Elliott pulled the trigger and moved into the third spot. Sieracki then put the pressure on Lowe, but they were getting closed in by Ruscitti - who started 15th - and Chelootz. Lap 16, Lowe continued to fight off Sieracki but got a great run to take the third place back from Elliott. They went at it tooth and nail to the end. Out front, Johnson scored his first win of the season by just over a second to DeLaO, who will enter the SuperNationals as the point leader. Elliott held Sieracki off as long as he could up until the finish line. Sieracki scored the final podium position in his Franklin Motorsports entry by just three-thousandths of a second, pushing Elliott to fourth. Ruscitti drove a great race to fifth with Lowe and Mestre following. Mestre however would be disqualified in tech, moving Kevin Hernandez (FA Kart) up to eight with Shawn Cricca (FA Kart) ninth and Senior rookie Jake Craig (Formula K) putting in a stellar drive, up from 30th to 10th to earn the hard charger award.
CRG-USA S2 Semi-Pro Stock Moto
 | Cody Diede scored his first Pro Tour S2 victory with brother Troy in second
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
Sunday brought on a new day for Colorado driver Austin Schimmel (GP) as the 2011 S5 Junior champion bounced back from a DQ in Saturday’s main event to score the pole position. The only driver under the 57-second mark, Schimmel’s 56.916-second lap was best in the session with Cody Diede (CRG) placing second to Schimmel. Diede grabbed the holeshot to begin heat one with Cody Tracy (Tony Kart) coming through with Schimmel dropping back to third. They would run that way the entire 10 laps with Diede scoring the win over Tracy and Schimmel. Troy Diede (CRG) jumped up from eighth to fourth with Saturday winner Christian Schureman (GP) holding the fifth position ahead of championship leader Sabré Cook (CRG). Schimmel once again was slow off the line as the field darted around him to begin heat two. He found himself outside the top-10 as Diede continued to show the way ahead of Tracy and Schureman. Troy Diede and Cook joined the lead trio to form a five kart lead group. Schureman and Cook put themselves into second and third but contact as they ran side-by-side into the first corner combination on lap six dropped her to fifth as Tracy and Troy Diede moved past. Cody Diede drove away to the win by over a second. Schureman was able to fight of Troy Diede for the second position with Cook working her way back to fourth over Tracy and Ryan Kinnear (Formula K). Alec Gumpfer (Tony Kart) put in a stellar driver after recording a DNF in heat one, pushing himself up to 10th. Schureman however came in underweight and was removed from the results, moving everyone behind him up one position.
The Diede’s started on the front row for the main event and led the field in the opening lap. Cook slotted into third with Tracy trailing. Lap three, Cook worked past Troy for the second position through the hairpin as the front four pulled away. Cook began pressuring Cody lap by lap with the front four all posting the fast laps of the race. They ran static until lap 16 when Cook began slowing, eventually pulling off the track a few laps later with her carburetor detached. This left both Diede brothers out front, running to Cody’s first victory and the first 1-2 finish with Troy in second. Tracy gained valuable points in the championship with a third place as Gumpfer completed his drive forward to end up fourth ahead of local driver Alex Yates (Tony Kart) in his S2 debut weekend. With her three runner-up finishes before, Cook retained the championship lead when counting the drop, heading into Vegas with a 45 point advantage over Tracy.
Extreme Karting/Vemme Kart S4 Master Stock Moto
The same cast of characters filled up the top tier of the qualifying results sheet, all looking up at Texan Jordon Musser (Birel). The 3G Kart Racing driver posted the fastest lap of the session (57.584) to edge out local driver Ryan Pool (Tony Kart) by just 0.029-seconds. Musser grabbed the holeshot to begin heat one but Eddie Olpin (Komsic) was the faster driver early. He drafted by Musser as they began lap three with Pool trailing the top two. The second half of the race Curtis Cooksey (CRG), Trevor McAlister (Praga) and Chris Jennings (Birel) began running down the front three as they were spaced out by about two kart lengths each. At the end, they finished as they ran with Olpin scoring the win. Cooksey tried on the final lap to work by Pool but came up just short. The inside line grabbed the holeshot as both Utah drivers Olpin and Pool led things for the start of heat two. Musser dropped back to fourth behind McAlister with Jennings and Cooksey trailing. The remainder of the race was uneventful with Olpin and Pool driving away to a 1-2 finish. McAlister kept Musser back with Cooksey right there in fifth.
 | Scott Falcone completed the weekend sweep in TaG Master to assume the championship lead
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
Issues struck McAlister as they made their way to the grid for the main event, pulling off onto the pit lane with a broken chain. His P3 grid spot was left open as Olpin blasted off the line to secure the top spot once again. Pool slotted into second with Musser, Cooksey and Jennings falling in behind for the early top-five. Lap three, trouble struck Olpin as well with a stuck powerplant. This put Pool at the point with Musser challenging for the spot. Cooksey ran third and came under attack by Robert Marks (CRG) on a charge with Mike Mantel (CRG) there as well with Jennings dropping back to sixth. The top two ran static but Cooksey laid down the power in the closing laps, inching closer and closer to the front duo. With three laps to go, Cooksey was on Musser’s rear bumper. Crossing the stripe to complete lap 18, Cooksey drafted pass Musser for the second position and drove up to the back of Pool as they took the white flag. Pool slammed the door on a late move from Cooksey, but Acceleration Karting driver kept the pressure on through the tight corners. Entering the bowl, Pool ran a defensive line into the corner with Cooksey laying some bumper to the back of Pool. That pushed Pool wide and Cooksey slid around for the position. Cooksey crossed the line first ahead of Pool with Musser, Marks and Mantel following. Official however penalized Cooksey for the move, handing the win to Pool - his first in his Pro Tour debut weekend, and moved Cooksey back to second. The ruling cost Cooksey 20 valuable points in the title chase, giving Olpin a 35-point advantage heading into the SuperNationals.
Leading Edge Motorsports TaG Master
Continuing from his sweep in the action on Saturday, Scott Falcone placed his Billet Performance Karting Arrow on the pole position once again as the only driver below the one-minute mark. He dropped the 59.923-second lap on his third circuit to secure the spot. Paul Bonilla (Arrow) laid down a fast lap on his out circuit but the following lap was hit by another driver, bending up the front steering geometry on his Full Throttle Karting entry. Thankfully, Bonilla’s lap put him second in the order but repairs were needed before the opening heat race. The two Arrow drivers ran unchallenged out front - running to a 1-2 finish in heat one. The race on track was for third that came down to the wire with Chuck Gafrarar (Parolin) edging out Russell Karting Specialties teammate Jim Russell Jr. by a few inches with Brian McEvoy (Merlin) on their bumper. Falcone once again showed the way in heat two as Bonilla ad to work on the defensive right away with Gafrarar all over his bumper. They exchanged the position on lap six, giving Falcone an even larger lead. Falcone scored the win by over two seconds. Bonilla held on for second ahead of ‘Chuck G’ with McEvoy moving past Russell for fourth.
 | Patricio O'Ward completed the weekend sweep in S5
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
Falcone led the field to the green flag for the main event with Gafrarar moving up to the second spot after the completion of the opening lap, dropping Bonilla to third. Russell then moved to third the following lap as Russell moved around for the position with Fraser looking for a way by. Bonilla continued to drop in the opening laps with both Fraser and defending Pro Tour champ Brian McHattie (Exprit) both passing him in the hairpin. Lap seven, Bonilla retired with his engine just shutting down, costing him the point lead heading to the SuperNationals. At the halfway point, Falcone’s lead was at 1.1 seconds with Gafrarar and Russell running their fastest laps of the race. Falcone however was just too consistent out front. He drove away to a nearly three second victory with Gafrarar scoring another runner-up finish with Russell on the podium in third. McHattie drove to fourth with Fraser ending up in fifth.
DRT Racing S5 Junior Stock Moto
Patricio O’Ward (GP) backed up his sweep in Saturday’s action with a return to the front of the field in Sunday qualifying. The only driver to break into the 57-second mark, over a half second clear of Jarred Campbell (Intrepid). O’Ward matched the performance from heat one on Saturday, driving away to the win by over two seconds ahead of Carter Williams (Tony Kart). Ryan Rudolph (CRG) advanced from fifth to third with Campbell back to fourth and Yigal Garcia Rached (CRG) trailing. O’Ward scored another heat win, this time with a driver in his rear view. Williams had the fast laps of the race and paced himself with O’Ward, setting up for a possible battle in the feature. Campbell went up to third with Rached and Mianna Wick (CRG) all moving up a position as Rudolph was off the pace and fell to ninth. O’Ward was on fire, driving away to his second feature victory of the weekend in convincing fashion, leading all 16 laps for a five-second victory. Williams recorded his first podium in the class with his second place performance. Erik Nelson (Kosmic) and Wick battled for the final podium position with Nelson able to gain the spot, his first Pro Tour podium finish. Wick ended her first S5 Pro Tour weekend with a fourth and Rached completed the top-five.
Italian Motors USA TaG Junior
 | Carter Williams scored a second feature victory in TaG Junior
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
A number of drivers and teams did their homework over the night to improve their pace at the start of Sunday’s action. Included in the group were the top two qualifiers - Christian Brooks (Energy) and Christian Munoz (Energy). The Buddy Rice Karting duo each posted their fast lap on their third circuit, as did a number of the top drivers, with Brooks posting a 59.481-second lap to hold the pole position. Brooks was slow as the green flag waved to begin the opening heat race, allowing the off-pole line to move forward. As they completed the opening lap, it was Jake Preston and Kyle Wick in the Rolison Performance Group Komsic karts out front in front of a gaggle of drivers racing for third. Brendan Baker (Formula K) was able to break away to secure the third spot after the first few laps with Brooks recovering up to fourth and Blaine Rocha (Arrow) in fifth, both trailing Baker. Wick would work by Preston for the lead and score the win. Brooks caught and passed Baker for third with Rocha holding fifth. Point leader Luke Selliken (Kosmic) started fifth but was shuffled back to tenth in the final few laps. Wick was able to break away early as nearly half the field battled for the second position to begin heat two. His lead was over a second but Baker finally put himself back in the second position as he led the long train looking to catch Wick. Baker cut into the gap some, but Wick was strong to earn another heat win. Baker ran to second with Carter Williams (Tony Kart) up to third from seventh. Preston ended up fourth with Rocha returning back to fifth.
The TaG Junior field was clean through the opening corners with no one going off track. The field was led by Wick and Williams in the first lap with Williams able to run away by lap three with a one-second advantage as Wick fell back to the grasp of Preston with Baker trailing. Behind them was a host of others fighting for the fifth position. At the halfway point, Williams’ lead was just six tenths with Preston leading Wick and Baker. Williams would prove to be too strong and drove to his second victory of the weekend and just 15 points out of the point lead. Baker worked past Preston on the final lap for second to complete the podium. Wick finished fourth with Selliken up to fifth to maintain the point lead heading into the SuperNationals.
Iron Rock Motorsports TaG Cadet
 | Hunter Corbitt led Anthony Sawyer across the line for his second TaG Cadet victory of the season
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
Dante Yu (Energy) came through during the timed session with the fastest lap to earn the pole position. His 1:06.392-second lap was best with Jack von Quilich (Intrepid), yesterday’s winner Jason Pettit (Wild Kart), and Roy Fulmer IV (Arrow) within one tenth. The first heat race was a great fight for seven laps with six drivers up front shuffling lap after lap. At the line, it was Hunter Corbitt (Top Kart) with the win by 69-thousandths over Hunter Kelly (Tecno Kart). Fulmer was third, von Quilich fourth, Pettit fifth and Sting Ray Robb (Tony Kart) in sixth. Yu was shuffled out and fell to ninth at the end. Corbitt and Fulmer broke away in heat two, battling it out for the race win. They took it to the checkered with Fulmer scoring the win by nine-thousandths of a second. Pettit was third with Sawyer in fourth and Robb capping off the top-five.
Corbitt and Sawyer hooked up at the start of the 16-lap main event, pulling out to a one-second advantage after just one lap with Robb, Fulmer and Kelly leading the second group. Robb would however get spun around and fall to the back of the field, taking him out of podium contention. The front two continued to push the pace and stretch out their lead, up to over four seconds at the halfway point with Fulmer, Kelly and Pettit running in a group for third. The top duo ran nose to tail for much of the race with Corbitt able to pull out by about one or two kart lengths as they took the white flag. Sawyer got a great run coming to the checkered but it was Corbitt for the victory by 0.061-seconds. Pettit drove to the podium finish in third ahead of Kelly and Jagger Jones (Tony Kart), up from 16th to a great fifth place run. |
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