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| July 03, 2005 News |
| EKN Trackside: Stars East #3 - Jacksonville Sunday Report |
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 | Kyle Wiegand swept the ICC finals
(Photo: Todd McCall - otp.ca) |
Only a single short rain shower dampened the festivities at the 103rd Street Sports Complex today as the third round of the Stars of Karting Eastern Championship went in the books with some incredible racing. The headline classes featured heated competition as KLS Racing’s Kyle Wiegand completed the ICC sweep with a big victory while Chris Larson powered away in the ICA final to give his Prime Motorsports team their first win, the initial national triumph for the Gillard chassis that they import.
ICC
The Gatorz Pole Qualifying session for ICC was led by a pair of rookies in the day’s first group. Setting the fast time early was First Kart’s rising star Daniel Morad although, in the last half of the session, Stuart Marsell eclipsed the Canadian’s time. Marsell’s 31.757 was just 0.2 seconds off Jon Branam’s track record of 31.551 that he set last year at the SKUSA ProMoto Tour event. Marsell’s time held through his group before the second batch rolled onto the track. This group included Kyle Wiegand (GP) and Troy Hottmann (Merlin) and it was expected that they would challenge for the pole.
Setting the fastest time in the second group during early going was another rookie, DL Racing’s Keith Spicer (Tony Kart). The freshman’s time did not stand long however as Wesley Boswell (Birel) dropped into the third slot on his first flying lap. The MRP pilot got held up slower traffic on his second lap so he wisely slowed and allowed a gap to build.
With five minutes left in the second session, both Wiegand and Boswell headed for the scales happy to sit on their second and third place qualifying times, leaving Hottmann as the only contender on track. The Merlin driver could not find the necessary time and would end up seventh. When the checkers flew, Marsell remained on pole with Wiegand in second. Boswell and Spicer would line-up on row two with Morad in fifth. Interestingly, the session wrapped three rookies in the top five.
Yesterday’s race winner Kyle Wiegand took the holeshot off the line to begin the Prefinal and led into the first corner. Marsell was a bit slow off the green and fell into line while Spicer moved to third. Morad was very slow to launch and with a push from Schreiber, he moved into fifth. Boswell looked strong early and advanced quickly to third but he succumbed to mechanical problems before the halfway mark. Wiegand was never seriously challenged throughout the quick 14-lap run and took the win and the pole for the main. Rookies Marsell, Spicer and Morad were second, third and fourth, respectively. Rounding out the top five was Schreiber, just a few kart lengths behind the second pack.
Again off the line to begin the final, Wiegand was off to the lead with Marsell hot on his bumper. Morad was third early although fellow rookie Keith Spicer took over the spot quickly. Prior to the mid-point of the race, Morad was black flagged off when, for the second time this weekend, his neck collar fell off and his day was done. This departure moved Spicer to third and Schreiber to fourth.
Marsell took the lead in the first turn briefly with a deep braking move in turn one but Wiegand counter-attacked in the second turn and retook the lead. From there, Wiegand pulled out to a 0.2 second lead that he would never let up. Marsell was looking to close the gap for the remainder of the race but he just couldn’t get within striking distance. After softening up Spicer with consistent pressure, Schreiber moved to third and went on after the leaders. No further changes were found up front as Wiegand won for the second time this weekend to extend his point lead. Marsell finished in second with Schreiber in third. Rounding out the top five were Spicer and Jan Velez (CRG), who salvaged his weekend with this solid result. Making a big move in the race was Hottmann, who started 27th after a Prefinal DNF and finished an impressive 10th.
 | Chris Larson gave Gillard its first Stars victory
(Photo: Todd McCall - otp.ca) |
ICA
The day’s action kicked off with the completion of Saturday’s events as the postponed ICA Final was run at 8:00 am this morning. Leading at the green to start the race, Johnny Johnson (Kosmic) built an early lead over Phil Giebler (Intrepid) and Chris Wehrheim (PCR). While Johnson was fully in control, moving up early was Margay driver Joey King, running in just his second Stars ICA start. King had advanced to third before he dropped out due to mechanical problems.
With Johnson out front, Giebler began falling back and eventually finished fourth. Up front, Wehrheim was making a run at Johnson, but on the final lap, Johnson had re-established his gap and took a 0.362 second win. Wehrheim was second at the stripe. The Kosmic-PCR 1-2 was the first Stars top-level podium finish for either chassis brand. Caleb Loniewski (Margay) finished in third while Giebler and Chris Larson (Gillard) rounded out the top five.
Ending the Sunday qualifying session was the ICA run. After setting the fast time early, Saturday winner Johnson stuck his motor heading into the first turn and was out of the session. Taking over the provisional pole was Chris Keller (Biesse). Running well again was King, although he too ended the session on the sidelines.
The opening few laps of the ICA Prefinal saw the lead traded between three drivers. Keller took the point off the line with King and Welk slotting into second and third. Down the back straight, King and Welk demoted Keller to third and, on the same lap, Welk dove under King in turn five to assume the point. Welk led a lap but then slowed noticeably on the backstraight and slid to fifth, his engine acting up at full song. King took over the charge with Keller in second while Larson moved into third with Wehrheim in fourth. The run to the checker saw King take the victory, although it was Larson’s last lap pass of Keller that stood out, moving him to the front row for the final. Wehrheim finished fourth while Welk nursed his ride home to fifth.
The ICA Final got off to a wild start as Camille Hamel (Sodi Kart) and Eric Molin (Tony Kart) spun in the first turn before Paul Harraka (KRT), Joseph Genest (Tecno) and Richard Campollo (Birel) all tangled exiting turn two. At the front, polesitter King got off to a rough start and fell well back after being helped off track during the opening lap. Larson took the early lead and simply checked out on his Gillard. The fight was for second as King carved his way through the field. Also on a good run was Johnson, who started 21st and ended sixth. By the end, it was Larson taking the checkers by 2.5 seconds ahead of King and Stage. Rounding out the top five were Keller and Giebler.
 | Carlos Munoz earned the JICA Sunday victory
(Photo: Todd McCall - otp.ca) |
JICA
Leading the way in JICA qualifying was Carlos Munoz (Birel) with a fast lap of 34.484 seconds. Munoz set his lap early in the Group A session and his time held for the rest of the period. Last year’s Cadet champion Sergio Pena (Vanspeed) repeated his second-place qualifying effort from yesterday while Eric Morrow (Margay) sat third. Saturday winner Gustavo Yacaman (First Kart) qualified fourth ahead of Kosmic’s Jeremy Nelson.
A damp racetrack and mixed tire choices led to a wild Prefinal in JICA action. In the opening laps, as many as 11 karts were sliding off the end of the track in the first turn. Once things got settled down, Schiff asserted himself and went to the front of the pack. Xavier Coupal (Tony Kart) pushed but was unable to mount a serious attack. Schiff took the Prefinal win followed by Coupal. Well back was Mikael Grenier (CRG) in third with Hayden Duerson (Tony Kart) and Pena rounding out the top five.
At the start of the JICA final, Schiff laid down an excellent start to lead into turn one, but it would be short-lived as Grenier took over the lead on the opening lap. It would not be Grenier’s day howeve, as contact with a lapped car in turn five on lap three ended what looked poised to be a successful day.
On lap eight, Munoz took over the lead with an inside move down the backstretch, putting Schiff back to second. Out front, Munoz laid down a series of fast laps to open a large gap. The young Columbian rolled to the Final win with First Kart teammates Schiff and Yacaman in second and third. Duerson was fourth while Phillip Arscott (Swiss Hutless) finished fifth.
 | Zachary Schiff stretched out his Eastern Division points lead with a win on Sunday
(Photo: Todd McCall - otp.ca) |
80 Junior
Canadian David Ostella put his First Kart on the pole in 80cc Junior with a 33.607, edging James Bayliss (CRG) for the top spot. Yesterday’s runner-up Zach Schiff (First Kart) timed in third fastest ahead of Maxime Pelletier (CRG) and Cody Jolly (CRG).
In the Prefinal, Ostella got away slowly from the line, which allowed Bayliss to assume the lead. Schiff was the powerhouse, however, and he took the lead on lap three and would motor away from the field to win unchallenged. Ostella would retire early after spinning in turn two and getting stuck in the infield while Bayliss would drop from second with just three laps to go after suffering a broken driver fairing mount. These retirements elevated Duerson to second, that is until David Carmendy (First Kart) made a last lap move for the spot. Duerson would cross the stripe in third ahead of Kyle Marcelli (CRG) and Michael Vincec (CRG).
Taking a firm grasp on the hunt for the 80 Junior Eastern Division Championship was Schiff who checked out and took the big win in the class Final. With Schiff out front, all that was left to settle was the rest of the podium between Vincec and Carmendy. Running well early was Duerson, although he tried a little too hard to get past Kyle Marcelli (CRG). On the exit of turn one, Duerson got into the back of Marcelli’s CRG and took both out. Duerson finished 15th. Schiff took the easy win, followed by Carmendy and Vincec. Rounding out the top five were Garrett Boone (CRG) and Bayliss.
Easykart
Yesterday’s Easykart runner-up Ryan Fowler was the fast man in this morning’s qualifying with a 33.854-second lap. Saturday polesitter Andre Villareal was second. Timing in third to start on the inside of the second row was Austin Grote while Saturday winner Paul Harraka was fourth on the time sheets. Rounding out the top five was Sean Burstyn.
The Easykart Prefinal was a wild affair with the beginning of the race getting red flagged after race officials left their starting cones on the backstraight. Running second at the time, Paul Harraka drilled the cone straight on and dropped back. The race was stopped and Harraka was moved back to third and the race was resumed. Villareal led on the restart while Harraka moved quickly to second and settled in behind the leader. On the final lap, Harraka went high into the first corner and Villareal was unwilling to concede the position. The two touched and spun off giving the win to Burstyn. Grote finished in second with Guillermo Friele in third. Pat Iannucci was fourth and Harraka recovered to finish fifth. Villareal ended up seventh.
In the main, Villareal rocketed forward to take over the lead, which he held for 11 laps before retiring. This handed the lead to Fowlers, and after winning the $1000 KartTech USA Dash for Cash earlier in the day, he rolled with his momentum to take the win. Burstyn and Grote fought valiantly for second and while Grote held the position for the last few laps, Burstyn got by on the final circuit to take the runner-up position in the final tally.
Cadet
Leading the way in Cadet Qualifying was Nick Neri (KRT) with a fast lap of 40.237 seconds. Coming in second and third were Spencer Pigot (Nevoso) and Sebastian Ordonez (Nevoso). The two logged identical 40.303 second laps so the position went to Pigot with the quicker second lap. Rounding out the top five were Sage Karam (Top Kart) and Eric Filgueiras (Gillard).
The lead trio of Neri, Ordonez and Pigot ran nose-to-tail for the entire Cadet Prefinal. Swapping the lead a few times, Neri took control near the end and was able to hold off the Nevoso teammates. Neri took the win followed by Pigot and Ordonez, although Pigot was sent back one position by Race Director Kevin Williams for passing under yellow. Karam and Will Tenney (Nevoso) rounded out the top five.
A four-kart breakaway took control of the race from the beginning of the Cadet Final. Neri, Ordonez, Pigot and Karam settled into the front and settled it between themselves. Neri led most of the way with Pigot and Ordonez in second and third. With two laps to go, Karam began working up from fourth. Heading down the 1000’ back straight for the final time, Neri led with Karam in second. A bad exit off the second turn allowed Ordonez to get a run on Karam. Keri took the win followed by Ordonez and Karam. Pigot was fourth and Cody Humphries (KRT) was fifth.
Wrap-up
With round three in the books, Wiegand has taken charge in the ICC category while the ICA still looks to be up in the air. The teams will have a couple weeks off before heading to Shawano for the fourth round of the Eastern Division Championship.
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