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| July 23, 2005 News |
| EKN Trackside: Stars of Karting East #4 – Shawano – Saturday Report |
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 | Weather played a major role in the outcome Saturday
(Photo: SKI) |
The weatherman threw virtually everything at the Stars of Karting competitors at USA International Raceway today as the morning dawned cool and overcast before warming up considerably for the Prefinal. A severe storm warning for the county was bang-on, as we followed a major storm cell via the Internet before it dumped some big-time rain on the track. Rain hit hard for the main events, capping a great day with some awesome wet weather action.
ICC
With 36 ICC drivers taking to the track for the Gatorz Pole Qualifying session, the group was split into two groups. Unlike some races where this is clearly a fast group, the driver distribution at Shawano was pretty equal. Setting the fast time in the early going of the “A” Group was Masters Cup driver Collin Lynn (Birel). The Texan’s time in the spotlight was short lived however as Bobby Wilson (First Kart), Josh Schreiber (Kosmic) and Wesley Boswell (Birel) all dropped the hammer and got to work. First, Schreiber moved to the provisional pole before Wilson dropped below the 59.5-second mark. Next up was Boswell, who topped Wilson’s time to take over the spot. Wilson and Boswell swapped the spot a couple of times before Boswell ran a lap of 59.214 seconds to best Wilson’s 59.314. When the “A” session ended, it stayed in that order with Eastern point leader Kyle Wiegand (GP) in third.
The “B” Group saw several drivers have potentially quick laps ruined by slower traffic. Among those victimized were Juliana Chiovitti (Birel) and Daniel Morad (First Kart). With Boswell’s time set as the target, the drivers made their best runs but all fell up short. After setting the fast time yesterday, Chiovitti could muster only a 59.605, the seventh best time. When the session was completed, Boswell held on to his pole with Wilson in second and Wiegand in third. Philippe Gelinas (Sodi Kart) was the quickest of the “B” Group in fourth while Schreiber ended in fifth.
 | Philippe Gelinas celebrates Sodi Kart's first major win
(Photo: SKI) |
Off the line in the ICC Prefinal, the inside row showed that it was the place to start as Boswell and Wiegand got great jumps over Wilson on the outside. The top three ran in formation for the full distance of the Prefinal. Wiegand looked to be the faster kart in the battle for the lead with Boswell but he was never able to pull the trigger. At the halfway mark, it was still Boswell, Wiegand and Wilson running first through third. Schreiber was strong in fourth and Gelinas was holding onto fifth. Impressively, SRA TMs took three of the top five spots. From the back of the grid, Troy Hottmann (Merlin) was on the move. After sticking his Pavesi at the very beginning of the qualifying session, Hottmann drove from the back of the pack to a solid 17th place.
At the front, Wiegand was all over Boswell and tried a daring pass on the fast right-hand compression turn 14. Boswell stayed in it and retook the lead with a move down the inside in the left-hand hairpin turn 16. Wiegand tried again but Boswell held firm. Boswell took the win with Wiegand in second and Wilson in third. Schreiber was closing from fourth while Gelinas finished in fifth.
In the main, Boswell looked to have been caught off guard by the quick green flag, which allowed Wilson to scoot down the inside off the start to assume the lead. Wiegand took advantage of Boswell’s slower start to slip into second. In the opening laps, Wilson scooted out to a solid lead while the rest of the field sorted itself out. The man on the move was Gelinas, as he pushed his Sodikart into second before setting out in search of Wilson.
The Canadian was methodical in his attack, finally pouncing on Wilson in the quick turn 14. Once in the lead, Gelinas built a comfortable cushion to the checkered flag to score Sodikart’s first Stars of Karting victory. Wilson held onto second while Jan Velez held off Josh Schreiber to cross the line in third. Valez would be DQ’d in tech however for an airbox issue. This advanced Schreiber to the podium and vaulted Wiegand to fourth to add more valuable points to his lead in the East. Juliana Chiovitti (Birel) completed a strong run to fifth after getting past Boswell midway through the event.
ICA
 | Phil Giebler poses with the trophy girls. . .
(Photo: SKI) |
The ICA drivers put on one of the most exciting qualifying sessions of the year with several drivers in the hunt for the pole position. Setting the early pace was Eastern championship leader Chris Wehrheim (PCR), however, as the session came to an end, his motor expired as he watched the checkers fly from the infield sitting in ninth. Near the halfway mark, the bulk of the big guns began firing as Dominic Scheer, who has been perfecting his craft in the Italian Open Masters program, put his Birel on the pole.
In quick succession, Steve Welk (Merlin) took over the top spot with a 1:00.000 before David Jurca (Italkart) came calling, crossing the line with the first sub 60-second lap of the day. Throwing his hat into the ring was Johnny Johnson (Kosmic), who closed on Jurca’s time with a 59.850. Jurca responded however with a series of 59-second laps, culminating in a pole-winning 59.613 run. Welk maintained his position with a third, ahead of Jurca’s Italian Motors teammate Tyler Dueck (Italkart). Scheer wrapped up in fifth.
 | . . . before sending them into the pool
(Photo: SKI) |
Just as the qualifying session was a wild ride, the ICA Prefinal was equally exciting. Jurca grabbed the early lead, and after a bit of dicing behind him involving Welk, Johnny Johnson (Kosmic) and Joey King (Margay), things settled down with Jurca building a big lead. Welk dropped out with a stuck motor while the battle for fifth was raging between Dueck and Tony Loniewski (Birel). On the back part of the track, Dueck went inside but Loniewski held tight. The two ran side-by-side to the final turn where contact sent Dueck off track. He lasted two more laps before retiring.
In the final laps, Johnson was closing on Jurca and could have made a move but opted to take the outside front row spot. King was well back in third while Scheer was the fourth place finisher. Jacksonville winner Chris Larson (Gillard) finished in fifth.
Holding to the previous sessions, the ICA Final was a barn burner in the wet. Jurca led off the line with Larson putting big pressure on the Italkart early in the race. Eventually, Larson would fall back, but moving up to keep the heat on the leader was Phil Giebler (Intrepid). After his win at Reno, Giebler has struggled of late but he seems to have found his stride again. Coming from 12th, he moved through the field quickly. Giebler was particularly strong on the backside making several passes in the final corner. The move of the day came from Giebler as he made his pass for third on the outside of turn three, the very fast downhill right hander.
Giebler moved to second and began pressuring the leader. He made his last corner move before the white flew but was wide on exit and Jurca retook the lead. On the last turn of the final lap, Giebler tried again but was unable to make the move. Jurca took his first Stars ICA win with Giebler in second. Larson took his Gillard to third while Dueck came from 20th to fourth in a brilliant run. Wehrheim rounded out the top five.
JICA
The JICA qualifying session was run in two sessions due to the size of the class and coming out of the blocks quickly was Birel’s Carlos Munoz. He set his fast time of 1:02.282 on his second flying lap of the first session and held the pole through the checkers of the second group. Running second was Anthony Llopiz (Kosmic), while Phillip Arscott (Swiss Hutless) qualified in third. Rounding out the top five were Gustavo Yacaman (First Kart) and Sebastian Saavedra (Vanspeed).
The JICA Prefinal got off to a wild start as, in the back, contact ended the race for Eric Morrow (Margay) and Brett Smrz (Intrepid). It was another disappointment for the Margay driver who has had very tough luck recently. Munoz led the whole way but was under a lot of pressure from Llopiz for the virtually the entire race. Yacaman was making his way through the field and was up to third, but he was unable to stay close to the lead duo in the faster parts of the track. On the final lap, Munoz led but Llopiz was looking for a way part. The Kosmic driver got a good run out of the hairpin and dove to the inside of the final corner. He took the lead briefly but couldn’t make the corner and slid wide. The field streamed by and after running second all race, he wound up 13th. Munoz was first with Yacaman in second. Saavedra moved up to third while Neal and Schiff rounded out the top five.
In the wet final, Munoz got the best start to take the lead but Yacaman attacked quickly, taking over the top spot on the opening lap. From there, the First Kart pilot went unchallenged, running to the win by one second over Jacob Neal. Neal was impressive, working his way to the front, coming up just short. The battle for third was exciting with Saavedra coming out on top for third.
80 Junior
 | Zach Schiff (center), Michael Vincec (right) and Garrett Boone (left) celebrate after the 80 Junior Final
(Photo: SKI) |
The 80 Junior qualifying session saw a first-time polesitter after the time ended with Chip Challis (Tony Kart) just clipping point leader Zach Schiff (First Kart). Coming in third was David Carmendy (First Kart) with Cody Jolly (CRG) in fourth. Rounding out the top five was Garrett Boone (CRG). It looks like Schiff remains on-track to effectively wrap-up the Eastern Division championship this weekend.
Off the line in the 80 Junior Prefinal, Challis took the holeshot with Schiff in hot pursuit. Coming onto the front chute for the first time, Challis went wide onto the curbs and lost the spot to the points leader. From there, Schiff checked out and scored an easy win. Challis was second while Jolly finished in third. Boone and Bayliss rounded out the top five.
The 80 Junior Final was all about Zach Schiff. After getting the holeshot on the wet grid, Schiff drove a series of smooth, fast laps. Challis took up the second position for much of the race but he eventually slid back to finish fourth. Schiff took his Mike Maurini-prepared First Kart to a 13.5-second win. Vincec was second but not without some drama. Coming off the final corner, he motor bogged and he struggled to keep it running in the short run to the finish. Boone was a close third. Rounding out the top five were Challis and Nick Darinzo.
Easykart
Dominic Scheer showed the way in Easykart qualifying, posting a 1:01.091, a time that no competitor could challenge. Eastern point leader Ryan Fowler was the best of the rest with a 1:01.310 to sit ahead of Guillermo Freile and Andre Villarreal. Sean Burstyn rounded out the fast five.
After a solid fourth in the ICA Prefinal, Scheer jumped right into his Easykart and drove to a run-away 3.83-second win. Villarreal held off Fowler to finish in second while Burstyn was fourth while Iannucci was fifth.
The wet weather final was a different story however, as Scheer was challenged right from the get-go by Villarreal. Scheer would eventually slip to fifth as Villarreal took control, pulling away to a 4.371-second victory over Guillermo Freile. Pat Iannucci completed the top three while Andrew Withers finished up fourth after Fowler was DQ’d in tech for a flex length violation.
Cadet
After the checkers flew over the Cadet class to end the qualifying session, Bijon Spinazzola (Nevoso) had set the quick time with a 1:09.061 second lap. Coming home in second was Sebastian Ordonez (Nevoso) while Spencer Pigot (Nevoso) was the third fastest. Rounding out the top five were Dylan Noble (Nevoso) and Cody Robinson (Top Kart). Point leader Sage Karam (Top Kart) could only muster the seventh best time of the group.
In the Cadet Prefinal, a three-man breakaway of Pigot, Ordonez and Spinazzola took control of the race. The three battled through the short run but, on the last corner of the last lap, Ordonez made the big move for the lead. Heading to the line, he took the lead followed by Spinazzola and Pigot. Nobile and Jefferies rounded out the top five. Ordonez’s celebration was short-lived however as he was DQ’d for a seat height violation.
The Cadet Final was run under full wet conditions with heavy rain falling, as Cadet was the first class on the schedule. Taking the green, the field made it through the first turn without incident. Taking the lead was Pigot with Spinazzola close behind. On the second lap, Spinazzola took the point and the two pulled away. Pigot stayed close until he spun off in turn four, which handed the win over to Spinazzola. Nobile finished in second while Karam completed a last lap pass for third. Tunjo and Ordonez rounded out the top five. |
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