|
 |
|
 |
| January 06, 2005 News |
| EKN Trackside - WKA KartWeek Wrap-up |
| |
It’s been a quick week since the completion of the 2004 edition of the World Karting Association Kartweek and while the winter is coming in quickly, there is no doubt the new season has begun. With seasonal storms hitting the northern half of the continent in a big way, the top WKA karters from both the road race and sprint disciplines provided the heat in Daytona to keep things warm. Incredible competition was standard at both venues as the primary players of the ’05 season made themselves known very quickly.
The final schedule of the three-day event wrapped up on December 30 in distinctly different scenarios as the big track was locked and loaded before the sprinters had even headed into their finals. A short day on the high banks of Daytona Int’l consisting of just four race groups made certain that the teams would be on the road early, bound for home. Red flag stoppages during the morning warm-up sessions put the sprint track behind schedule and in the end, they were forced to cut the finals from 20 laps down to 15 in an effort to meet curfew.
Manufacturer's Cup - Day 3
 | | Wesley Boswell swept day two of ICC action |
The final day of sprint track competition got off to a rough start with red flag stoppages during the warm-up runs slowing the schedule from the very get-go. It was well past 3:00pm before the finals even made their arrival but when they did, the racing continued to be good. Young Will Tenney (Nevoso) continued his successful weekend, backing up his HPV Jr. Supercan win with a victory in the Yamaha Jr. Sportsman category. Evan Kalogiannis (Biesse) kept up the pressure and was on Tenney’s rear bumper at the stripe, less than two tenths in arrears. Cadet Final 1 winner Sage Karam (Birel) was third.
In the day’s Cadet race later on the schedule, Dylan Nobile (Nevoso) developed a small 0.7 second gap over Bijon Spinazzola (Nevoso) at the stripe while Tenney and Karam battled for third and fourth.
KRT pilot Paulie Harraka capped a brilliant debut in the WKA senior categories by bagging four top three finishes in Daytona, wrapping up the outing with an exciting win over series veteran Kevin Nelson in Yamaha Heavy. Harraka edged the Margay pilot by 0.182 seconds to take the checker as Corey Reeves (Margay) was alone in third just another couple of tenths back. Comet’s Mark Dismore (Margay) took fourth over Day 1 Yamaha Masters winner James Perkins (Margay).
Reeves would bounced back to edge out Tony Loniewski (Margay) in what was the scantest of margins, taking a 0.001-second win according to the AMB timing software in a three-driver spread at the line that had Tony Jump (Margay) in third at 0.002 off the winner. Now that’s a close race!
Caleb Loniewski (Margay) was the outright winner in the TaG class, finishing 0.345 seconds ahead of Chris Larson (Gillard) and Michael Giessen (Birel).
In shifter action, our EKN prediction came to fruition as our pre-race pick to win the ICC class - MRP’s Wesley Boswell (Birel) - improved on his Race #1 runner-up finish to take the victory over Energy pilot Scott Rettich. Josh Schreiber, making his debut aboard a Biesse with J&J Racing, took second on-track but was awarded a five-position penalty for jumping the start and was officially classified in seventh. Jesse Labbe (CRG) completed the top three in ICC. Jesse Schwab (Birel) and Adam Kaempfer (Merlin) took fourth and fifth.
In 80cc action, Zach Schiff completed the sweep of the category in his debut with First Kart North America, teamed with tuner James Willis. Hayden Duerson (Tonykart) and Nicholas Darinzo (Birel) had been running up front before colliding, handing the lead and the win over to Schiff. Curtis Fox (Birel) finished second ahead of Jonathan Goring (Birel).
National Road Race Series - Day 3
 | | Mike Spear Sr. and Jr. battled each other during Day 3 competition |
The final day of competition on the big track featured four race groups in Piston Port, Yamaha and Briggs configuration. The gearbox classes had been completed a day earlier, leaving the track to the laydown and sit-up 100cc and four-cycle classes.
Terry Russell posted his second victory of Daytona KartWeek with a close finish in the Yamaha Sportsman Lite class. The California driver notched his first win of the week on day one in the Piston Port Can Lite class. Russell fended off the reigning class champion Kevin Webb for the photo finish ahead of third place Donny Warren. Jim Fry came home in the fourth position.
Another driver able to pick up a sweep was Georgia native Erin Sparrow, who took the checkered in the Briggs Sprint 360 class. Sparrow dominated the 22-kart field by a margin of 14 seconds, with a fastest lap that was two seconds quicker than the second place finisher. Sparrow was able to take the victory on day one in the Briggs Sprint 335 as well. John St. Jean added another podium finish for the week with a second place results, crossing the line just ahead of Michael Kocsis.
The 100cc Controlled battle saw a father-son battle for the checkered flag with Mike Spear Jr. able to even the score by edging out his father Mike Sr. With a demanding win in Formula 125 on day one, Spear Jr. had also clinched the SKI F125 Enduro Challenge championship. In total, the duo went home with five cups, three of which were first place finishes.
The last race of the day saw another photo finish during the Piston Port Can Sprint 380 main. The opening laps saw a seven-kart lead pack dicing back and forth for position, going three wide into the infield. Eventually, a four-kart group broke away from the field with Chris Hysick eventually moving to the forefront to earn the victory ahead of Ed Shampine. The finish for third place was so close that the transponders recorded the exact same crossing time. Flagman Phil Clements made the finale decision that Mark Hollenbeck had edged out Andrew Noyes for third.
 | | Paulie Harraka made an excellent debut as a senior driver |
WRAP-UP
Regardless of the delays at the sprint track during the final day, the entire week was a positive outing with strong turnouts at both venues. A number of new young guns made their senior debuts at Daytona, starting with sprint hotshoe Paulie Harraka, who came home with a pair of wins in HPV Lite and Yamaha Heavy and a pair of runner-up results in Easykart and HPV Heavy. 125cc shifter driver Logan Gomez was also stellar, sweeping the opening day of ICC competition on the sprint layout. On the big track, a legendary name in U.S. road racing was at the forefront once again. Although not a rookie senior, Bret Spaude continued his emergence onto the scene, carrying his family name proudly once again to follow in the footsteps of his father Tod. The newest Spaude bagged the win in the opening Spec 125 Sprint race.
Among others, Harraka, Gomez and Spaude are three drivers who will need to be watched in 2005 when these programs continue. The Manufacturer’s Cup will resume on the April 22-24 weekend at the BeaveRun Motorsports Complex in Wampum, PA while the National Road Racing Series will run their second round on February 4-6 at Roebling Road in Savannah, GA in conjunction with the Big South Road Racing Series.
Watch for full coverage of WKA Kartweek in the February issue of Super Kart Illustrated. |
|
|
Go Top
|
|
|
|
|
