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| July 22, 2005 News |
| EKN Trackside: Stars of Karting East #4 – Shawano - Friday Report |
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 | Juliana Chiovitti is all smiles after breaking the 60-second barrier at Shawano
(Photo: SKI) |
The first day of action is in the books at the beautiful USA International Raceway in Shawano, WI. The fourth round of the Snap-on Stars of Karting Presented by the IRL Eastern Division championship opened to clear skies and hot, humid weather. Forecasts for the weekend call for temperatures in the 90s and muggy.
This facility is absolutely first-class. A long, technically challenging track is coupled with nice grounds and support buildings that, once complete, will likely be the best of any track in the United States. This venue is surely among a very elite group.
The Eastern drivers got right down to business in the final practice session when they ran with transponders. With Stars running a unique track layout, there will be a new track record will be set by the ICC polesitter during Saturday qualifying and after today’s excitement, the time will likely be in the mid-58s.
The first of two timed sessions for the pro shifters saw Wesley Boswell (Birel) return to the top of the charts. After struggling at Jacksonville, the former SKUSA SuperNationals SuperPro winner looks to have his program back on track. Also turning in a quick time was New Castle winner Jan Velez (CRG), tripping the line just over .1 seconds off Boswell. After a year of limited kart racing, Juliana Chiovitti (Birel) is back on pace clocking the third quickest time. Wisconsin native Troy Hottmann (Merlin) spent the early portions of the session on top of the charts, ending the run in fourth. Rounding out the top five was Bobby Wilson (First Kart), who is making his first Eastern Division start of the season.
While Boswell was the fast man in the first group of the second session, when group two took the track the times came down in a big way. First, Chiovitti came close the one-minute mark, then New Castle winner Keith Spicer made his bid and ran a 1:00.009 second lap. This time held for about five minutes before Chiovitti broke the 60-second mark with a smoking 59. 985 to go the top of the charts. The Canadian’s time stood and Spicer ended the session in second place, off the track in the turn four fence after an ‘off’. Velez was third with Boswell and rookie Daniel Morad (First Kart) rounding out the top five.
 | J3's Johnny Johnson was quick in Friday's practice
(Photo: Todd McCall – otp.ca) |
The ICA class sees two Western Division regulars making the long trip to the event. Italian Motors drivers David Jurca (Italkart) and Tyler Dueck (Italkart) are here for a bit of extra seat time. As you would expect, they were fast and began the day at the top of the time sheets. Jurca led much of the first session but as things came to a close, Jacksonville winner Johnny Johnson (Kosmic) ended the session in first. Multi-time WKA champion Joey King (Margay) was second, less than .1 seconds off Johnson. Running third and fourth were Steve Welk (Merlin) and Phil Giebler (Intrepid), Jurca closed out the session in fifth. The top 14 drivers were all within one second.
In the second session, it was Jurca on top of the charts with Johnson close behind in second. Jacksonville winner Chris Larson (Gillard) was third fast with Dominic Scheer (Birel) fourth. Rounding out the top five was Thomas Hartsenveld (Maranello).
A full slate of competition is set for tomorrow, joined some a Brat Fry and rock concert for the drivers, teams and families supplied courtesy of the Menominee Casino. The track staff and its club has gone to great lengths to provide a fantastic experience for the Stars competitors and they deserve a ton of kudos for going the extra mile.
PIT NOTES
The television cameras were being set up today for planned shooting throughout the weekend. Footage is scheduled to be part of SpeedTV’s Lucas Oil On The Edge program while it will also be used for a future show on The Outdoor Channel. Stars Director of Marketing Jeff Swoboda is working diligently to put together a television package for 2005 and this weekend’s program is certainly a precursor of things to come.
The return of Bobby Wilson to Eastern competition is a hot topic this weekend. Back with his First Kart team for the Reno round in the West, Wilson showed very well as he posted the fast laps in both qualifying sessions, translating this pace into a second on Saturday. The former Stars ICC champion really wanted to race this track, so team boss Tony Ventresca granted him his wish, teaming him once again with former SKI Tuner of the Year Terry Ventresca. EKN has also learned that Wilson may remain in the seat for the next Eastern event in Toronto on the temporary circuit at Woodbine Raceway.
A number of drivers have made the move to new equipment for this weekend’s action, with the Kosmic being a popular destination. ICA frontrunner Chris Keller is the only pro debuting on a new package, flipping over to the Kosmic chassis under the J3 Competition banner. Keller is following the path of former Biesse drivers Josh Schreiber and Jeremy Nelson in making the internal move to the Kosmic package. Brandon Bealer has also moved to Kosmic in both is 80cc Junior and JICA entries. In another swap, JICA driver Steven Arens will debut on a Sodikart this weekend.
West Coast powerhouse Italian Motors has made the trek to Wisconsin this weekend and the ICA field is all the more competition as a result. Team principal Michael Valiante told SKI editor Tim Blaney that along with the desire to get more track time, thanks to a race-free schedule in August, the opportunity to obtain some television exposure via the Speed TV package was also a factor.
A number of drivers arrived last night straight from Valencia, Spain where they participated in the Formula BMW Licensing Course. Daniel Morad, Maxime Pelletier, Brandon Bealer and Guillermo Freile were all part of the program, which will make them eligible to receive one of the Formula BMW Scholarships for 2006. |
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