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| August 05, 2012 News |
| EKN Trackside: WKA Manufacturers Cup Series - KartLift Nationals - Sunday Report |
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 | Mason Chelootz dominated both Komet and TaG to bring his win total to four on the weekend
(Photo: Sean Buur - Go Racing Magazine) |
The WKA Manufacturers Cup Series KartLift Nationals completed Sunday at the Concept Haulers Motor Speedway. The weather in Norway, Illinois was picture perfect and the racing was spot-on. Tight battles took place throughout the day with no red flags thrown throughout the weekend. A handful of drivers stood out as the weekend completed, including Mason Chelootz who scored a total of four wins - two each day. Junior driver Kyle Kirkwood left the podium ceremonies with a handful of first place trophies, sweeping the two classes on the day. Masters driver Scott Ferris scored his second of the weekend on Sunday, as did Yamaha Rookie driver Alex Verhagen.
J3 Competition Komet Lite
Mason Chelootz (Top Kart) took over the championship lead in the Komet Lite category with his third victory of the year. Jacob Donald (Arrow) passed this weekend’s event, relinquishing the top spot and Chelootz confirmed it with a sweep on the day. He was the only driver in qualifying to post a sub 48-second lap, drove to the Prefinal win by over three seconds and followed it up with a five-second victory. Olsen was second for much of the day and crossed the stripe in the runner-up position after holding off challenges from James Brock (Birel) and Nick Stagl (Merlin). Jarrett Duncovich (Arrow) rounded out the top-five for the day.
Grand Products/Top Kart Cadet Sportsman
 | David Malukas earned his third Cadet Sportsman victory of the season
(Photo: Sean Buur - Go Racing Magazine) |
David Malukas (Birel) and Brandon Lemke (Merlin) were the drivers to beat in the Cadet Sportsman category on Sunday. Malukas scored the fast lap in qualifying (52.568), edging out Lemke by 66 thousandths of a second. Lemke scored the win in the eight lap Prefinal, beating Malukas to the line by just 59 thousandths of a second. The two continued their battle in the 14-lap Final. In what was to be a photo finish, came down to Malukas establishing a gap on Lemke in the final lap to secure the victory by three-tenths, his third of the season. Lemke was second, improving one spot from Saturday. It was a great battle for the final positions on the podium with Saturday winner Jared Cordova (Birel) getting the third spot over Neil Verhagen (Haase) and Anthony Gangi Jr. (Tony Kart).
OTK Kart USA TaG
Top Kart driver Chris Wehrheim made the change from the Parilla Leopard to the X30 overnight, and the change worked for qualifying. The Georgia driver posted a 45.717-second lap to secure the Streeter Super Stands pole award in front of Saturday winner Tommy Andersen (Kosmic). Once the Prefinal got underway, Andersen was hooked up, taking over the point and stretching out nearly two-tenths a lap. With about two laps to go, Andersen’s motor began to loosen from the frame, and after taking the white flag it kicked off the chain and ended his race, evaporating a nearly two-second advantage. That put Mason Chelootz in his Rotax-powered Top Kart into the lead and scored the win over Wehrheim. TJ Koyen (Merlin) moved up from seventh to third with Jacob Knueven (Arrow) and Sam Beasley (Arrow) rounding out the top-five.
The top five drivers set themselves apart early on in the TaG Final with Chelootz leading Wehrheim, Koyen, Beasley and Knueven. The driver everyone was watching was Andersen as he made his way through the field after starting 18th. By the halfway point, he had reached the leaders and moved by Knueven after he dropped a wheel. Andersen was third by lap 10, working by both Beasley and Koyen, and tracking down Wehrheim. Chelootz at the same time extended his lead to over two seconds and at the checkered, took the win just short of three seconds ahead. Wehrheim held off the late charge from Andersen to finish second. Koyen ran to his third fourth place finish of the weekend while Beasley fight back Knueven for fifth.
PCR Komet Jr. Lite
 | Two feature wins for Kyle Kirkwood gave him the sweep in the Junior categories on the day
(Photo: Sean Buur - Go Racing Magazine) |
Mike McAndrews (Birel) was the top driver in the Komet Jr. Lite qualifying session, clearing the rest of the field by one-tenth of a second. He led the field to the green flag for the Prefinal with Derek Dignan (Arrow) alongside. After the eight lap run, Dignan came away with the win with McAndrews dropping to second. Kyle Kirkwood (Arrow) held his third position from qualifying through the Prefinal event, Kyle Kalish (Merlin) up to fourth from sixth and Saturday winner Ashley Rogero (Tony Kart) advanced six spots to start the feature race in fifth.
Five drivers broke away from the 22 kart field with Kirkwood emerging as the leader after the opening laps of the 14-lap Final. Dignan dropped back to second until McAndrews took over the spot. He held it until lap eight when he dropped a wheel, allowing Rogero and Dignan to pass by for position. This gave Kirkwood over a two-second advantage with five laps remaining and he would hold it strong to the checkered flag for first win of the season. The rest of the top five ran that way until the final lap with McAndrews making the move on Rogero. He drifted wide on the exit of turn seven and the two made contact. It slowed both down with Rogero able to retain the third position with Dignan sliding through to record his best finish of the year. McAndrews lost lots of ground and fell back to eighth with Matt Solarczyk (Birel) also taking advantage of the contact to move into fourth and putting Ryan Raffa (Top Kart) in fifth.
Mike Doty Racing Yamaha Rookie Sportsman
Alex Verhagen (Haase) continued his run at the front of the field in the Yamaha Rookie category. The Saturday winner laid down a monster lap in qualifying, over a half-second clear of the field - to secure the pole position. He turned that into a Prefinal win, edging out Max Kaeser (PCR) at the line by 51 thousandths of a second. Verhagen would be joined by Sam Mayer (Merlin) in the 14-lap Final up front. Verhagen would hold off every challenge by Mayer and score his seventh win of the season. Kaeser finished third with Samuel Paley (PCR) and Maks Kowalski (Birel) completing the podium.
APPCO Karting Yamaha SuperCan Heavy
 | Alex Verhagen earned another win in Yamaha Rookie
(Photo: Sean Buur - Go Racing Magazine) |
Saturday top qualifier Collin Griffin (Arrow) was quick once again with new Bridgestone tires strapped on, topping the charts for Sunday’s Heavy qualifying session. His 49.827-lap secured him the P1 spot for the start of the Prefinal with Saturday winner Jimmy Clark (CRG) the only other driver to post a sub 50-second lap. Clark and Dakota Pesek (Arrow) hooked up at the drop of the green flag dropping Griffin back in the pack. He would not finish the opening lap, spinning on the exit of turn seven and retired early. A lap later, Clark pulled off the track with a mechanical issue, leaving Pesek out front alone with Patrick Olsen (Birel) trailing. Cody Robinson (Arrow) made quick work in the opening laps, moving up to third from ninth. Pesek would score the win by just under two tenths with Pesek closing in. Robinson held third with Andrew Weiner (Formula K) up to fourth and Tony Jump (Margay) advancing to fifth from the 10th grid spot.
Olsen and Pesek led the field to the green flag with a pile-up accruing in turn three, taking out about three drivers mid-pack. Out front was a gaggle of karts until four broke away - including the top two along with Robinson and Jump. Things changed on lap six when Olsen and Robinson made contact while running second and third in turn seven. Olsen fell out of the top-10 while Robinson fell back just a few positions. This gave Jump the lead with Pesek on his rear bumper. The two ran clean until the final two laps when they began sizing each other up. On the final lap, Jump got a great run into the Monza corner to take the lead, only to go wide on the exit of turn seven to allow Pesek an inside move into turn eight. Jump fought back but came up just short at the line as Pesek earned his first victory of the season to extend his championship lead. Robinson recovered to finish third, working around Weiner on the final lap with Clark able to drive from 19th to fifth. Griffin recorded the fast lap of the race, coming from last to eighth.
MRP/Birel Yamaha Sportsman
 | Dakota Pesek added to his Yamaha SuperCan Heavy point lead with a win Sunday
(Photo: Sean Buur - Go Racing Magazine) |
Saturday race winner Neil Verhagen (Haase) carried the momentum into Sunday, scoring the fast lap in the Streeter Super Stands qualifying session. He edged out Brandon Lemke (Merlin) by just 21 thousandths of a second. The two were joined by Michael d’Orlando at the front of the field with d’Orlando found his way to the point and led during the early portion with Verhagen and Lemke trailing. They diced for the win on the final lap but d’Orlando took the win by 0.064 seconds at the line. Verhagen crossed in second with Lemke in third. A gaggle of karts fought behind them for position with Zach Holden (Arrow) and Jared Cordova (Haase) advancing from 15th to fifth.
The 14-lap Final was thought to be a walk-away as Lemke established a solid lead on the rest of the field early as they fought behind him. d’Orlando and Verhagen however were able to drop the rest of the field and work together, closing in on the leader by lap 11. The next time around, d’Orlando was able to stick a move through turn seven to secure the lead with Verhagen in tow. On the final lap, Lemke got help from Verhagen as they negotiated the back straight, moving into the lead as they entered the Monza corner. d’Orlando and Verhagen ran side by side until turn seven when the Kosmic driver secured the position. That was enough for Lemke to get away as he reached the checkered flag first to record win number three of the season in the class. David Malukas (Birel) drove a spectacular race to advance into fourth after starting 19th while championship leader Holden capped off the top-five. A number of drivers recorded similar performances. Leonardo Stoia (PCR) followed Malukas forward and finished sixth after staring 18th. Theo Chick (Kosmic) came from 17th to end up seventh, and Dillon Schwanbeck (Tony Kart) was another, up 11 spots to ninth.
Margay Racing Products TaG Masters
 | Brandon Lemke was among the quickest Sportsman drivers on the weekend, coming through with victory in Sunday's Yamaha class
(Photo: Sean Buur - Go Racing Magazine) |
Scott Ferris moved himself up the championship standings with his fifth win of the year. The Top Kart pilot swept the action on Sunday for complete weekend domination. Ferris scored the pole position by nearly a half-second, driving to wins in the Prefinal and Final. Today, John Ferris III (Top Kart) ran second throughout the day, challenged by Jeff Jewell (Margay) each and every lap. Behind them was a battle all day long with Scot Carapellatti (Haase) scoring the fourth position and Chuck Tate (Arrow) in fifth.
Verde Speed Resources Yamaha Jr. Heavy
Mike McAndrews (Birel) earned his second Streeter Super Stands pole award of the day, posting the fast lap in the Yamaha Jr. Heavy qualifying session. He and Skylar Robinson (Tony Kart) led the field to the green flag to begin the Prefinal. Robinson was on the outside row and was shuffled back and spun sideways on the exit of turn two, collecting a number of drivers in the process. This left McAndrews out front with Kyle Kalish (Merlin) and Kyle Kirkwood (Arrow) in the hunt for the lead. Kalish led for the majority of the race until the final lap. McAndrews made his move into turn seven, Kirkwood took advantage and slid by both into turn eight. McAndrews struck back heading into the tunnel turn and they went three-wide on the exit. Kirkwood escaped with the lead and scored the win. Kalish crossed the line in second with McAndrews dropping back to fourth with Derek Dignan (Arrow) jumping around for third and Gresham Wagner (Birel) right there in fifth.
 | Scott Ferris was untouchable in TaG Masters
(Photo: Sean Buur - Go Racing Magazine) |
The Final came down to three drivers - Kirkwood, Kalish and McAndrews - just like it was in the Prefinal. Kalish appeared to have the upper hand as he led for the majority of the race. It would be decided in the final lap with another stellar move in turn seven by Kirkwood. Once again, he went from third to first in two corners on the final lap. This time, he held the position over the tunnel and held off Kalish at the line for his second win of the day. It was his first feature win in the class after three runner-up finishes to put him into title contention. McAndrews settled for third with Wagner and Dignan trailing once again.
The Manufacturers Trophy standings saw Top Kart earn six wins on the weekend to bring their total to 21 victories to lead Arrow - who scored four wins over the two days. Haase is now third with 13 wins with Merlin and Birel tied at 12 each. The series will now go on to the New Castle Motorsports Park for the McLaughlin Motorsports Grand Nationals on September 15-16 - the sixth and final round of the 2012 season. The championship battles are tight and there is no doubt that some final last lap, last corner action will decide the 2012 WKA Manufacturers Cup Series champions. |
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