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| April 21, 2005 News |
| EKN Trackside: Stars of Karting - Moran Preview |
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The chase for the National Championships gets under way in earnest this weekend at Moran Raceway with the Snap-on Stars of Karting Presented by the IRL. The race in Beaumont, CA will be the first event for the Western Division drivers without the Eastern Division in attendance. The Stars’ season got underway last month with a huge race in Norman, OK that saw drivers from both divisions come together for a stunning season kick-off.
This will be the organization’s third trip to Moran, a track located about 45 minutes east of Ontario, CA. The facility, built and owned by Rocky Moran, Sr. and Jr. features a 1.1-mile track with a number of challenging turns offering a serious challenge to the drivers. Incorporating replicas of some the Moran’s favorite corners from tracks across the United States, the “Full Wood Kingdom” as it is known is sure to offer some the season’s best racing.
Leading the charge in ICC is defending National Champion Alex Speed (Birel). There isn’t much to say about him other than he is just plain fast. He was the clear class of the field at Norman and will be looking to continue that this weekend. Several drivers looking to reverse ther bad luck from theRace of the Americas will join him.
 | | Alex Speed was on cruise control on his way to the Norman ICC victory |
One of them is Darren Elliott. The sport’s elder statesman had awful luck at Norman, suffering several mechanical failures that in the end left him out of the Final. Elliott however has a good history at Moran, his last major win came here at the 2003 Stars’ Finale in October of that year.
One of the few drivers who could challenge Speed at Moran is 2004 SuperNationals winner Jason Bowles (Tony Kart). Bowles has always been fast but he seems totally comfortable with the CompCor team while delivering very good results since signing on at the end of last year. His weekend’s work at Norman saw him in the second step of the podium and second to Speed in points.
The driver with the most extensive travel plans for the weekend will be Matt Jaskol (CRG). After a solid run to fifth in Norman, Jaskol is set to pull double duty this weekend but not in the way we are accustomed to driving two classes. Jaskol is set to drive two different races in two totally different vehicles. After his practice day in his CRG/ Maxter ICC Friday, Jaskol will hop on a helicopter piloted by family friend John Adams for a flight to Bakersfield, CA for Friday evening practice in his ASA truck. Then from Mesa Marin, its back on the chopper to Beaumont for the Saturday racing with Stars, then back to Bakersfield for the truck race that evening. Jaskol will complete the Sunday action with his SSC/Kimball Williams Racing Team.
Joining the ICC drivers at the top of the event card this weekend are the ICA drivers. This weekend will see newly minted SKI #1 driver Helmut Sanden (Mach 1) begin his quest for the national championship. Sanden, finished second at Norman to three-time World Champion Davide Fore.
 | Current SKI #1 ICA ranked driver Helmut Sanden
(Photo: Super Kart Illustrated) |
On the trail for the Western Division title will be Grant Hebner from the PCH Motorsports team and Genesis Racing’s Kevin Glover. Both drivers will be aboard CRG chassis for the season. Missing from the action will be #1 plate holder Jordy Vorrath who had planned on being absent due to his commitments to the Skip Barber National Championship Series. His future in the Stars championship is up in the air due to his recent departure from the Italian Motors team.
Also on the ledger this weekend are the two junior classes – 80 Junior shifter and the ICA-Junior. Both classes in Norman offered good competition with the final entry numbers tipping in favor of the JICA category. SoCal is a hotbed for junior drivers and there is a good chance that many of them will be turning out to test the waters in national competition.
Easykart rounds out the class structure as for the second year, the all-spec style of racing campaigns with the Stars teams. Last year’s champion Corey Pollack leads a short field of six drivers entered as of last Monday.
Should the weather hold, something Stars head Paul Zalud is praying (literally) happens, the sport is in for a great weekend. However, the last two trips to the Full Wood Kingdom have been plagued by cold, rainy conditions, not at all what you see in the travel brochures for Southern California. Zalud his hoping that the third time is a charm and Mother Nature will look kindly on the series for the first time.
EKN will have complete Trackside coverage with both SKI publisher Rob Howden and editor Tim Blaney on hand all weekend. They will be filing their first reports from the event sometime tomorrow afternoon Pacific Time. |
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