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| November 08, 2005 News |
| West and Kiker win U.S. Superkart titles |
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 | The new Formula E National Champion Johnny “Superkart” West
(Photo: Super Kart Illustrated) |
After cloudy skies threatened with light sprinkles earlier in the day, the weather at Road Atlanta held off for the finals of the U.S. Superkart Championship as the sun eventually found its way forward. Run in conjunction with the WKA National Road Race Series, the event pit the top superkart drivers from around the country on this tough Georgia road course. After qualifying on Friday and setting the main event grid with Saturday’s Prefinal, the competitors took to the track on Sunday afternoon to crown the program’s national champions. What transpired was a vastly increased level of attrition and a pair of deserving winners, both of whom were able to keep their equipment running for the entire 30-minute event.
When the field took to the track, Prefinal winner and polesitter Chris Taylor (Turfrey) led the line-up to the green flag but it was Derek Eastty (Nemesis) who paced the group into the first corner after getting a good run down the hill. Eastty was strong out of the box to lead as Taylor slotted into second ahead of reigning champion J.R. Osborne, who had made the decision to run his back-up car in the race, a Yamaha TZ250-powered P1. Veteran Johnny West (Stockman) was also in the hunt, assuming the tail of this four-car lead group.
West found his way to the front early, assuming the lead over Eastty, Osborne and Taylor. The Chicago driver would hold the lead spot for a few laps while Osborne picked up the pace, passing Eastty for second and then West for the lead as Taylor ran fourth. With clear track in front of him, Osborne proceeded to pull away convincing to a solid lead as West took up station in second with Taylor getting in front of Osborne.
 | Two-time ICE National Champion Andy Kiker
(Photo: Super Kart Illustrated) |
In ICE, defending champ Andy Kiker (Anderson) bolted from the start to assume the lead. Kiker posted his fastest lap of the race – a 1:31.850 – on lap three as they field had not yet encountered the tail of the Unlimited field, which was sharing the race group. Early in the race, Scott Fiesler (MSR) pushed Kiker for the top spot, actually taking over the lead for part of a lap, while West Coast ICE champ Ryen Miller was third from the start while Cory Simpson (Nemesis) set in fourth.
Attrition was ugly as the FE field dropped from its qualifying session high of 12 cars to just nine starters for the main, that is, until Reggie Brown cruised to the start line green with an undiagnosed mechanical problem. Mark Croslyn (Formula 1) would be the next to retire after just three laps after losing a chain while Taylor’s bid for the podium ended just a lap later when he pulled into the pit lane after having spun in the back side of the course. Another DNF was Eastty, as his gearbox woes continued and he would run just 10 laps before retiring after running in the top three. There would be more to come and the quest for victory would be blown wide open as a result.
The ICE category was no better, as Randy Domikis (Anderson) put an end to a horrible weekend by failing to make a lap with motor issues. Class frontrunner Jim Ingram also exited early, heading back to the paddock after the first circuit when a crank bearing let go. Griff Gold (PVP), Fiesler and Scott Lowenstine (MSR) were also out before the halfway point, leaving just six ICE drivers on the track after lap seven.
 | PG Racing’s Cory Simpson drove home to the runner-up spot in the Nemesis ICE kart in only his second Superkart race
(Photo: Super Kart Illustrated) |
After pulling out to what looked to be an insurmountable gap in Formula E, the storyline changed quickly as Osborne failed to appear from underneath the Suzuki bridge on lap 14, handing the lead to West. A debeaded left rear tire ended Osborne’s national championship defense in turn one and totally opened the door for the remainder of the field. With a huge gap between himself and new second place runner Loren Feldner (P1), West set about turning consistent laps knowing that the title was within his grasp.
After really stepping up in the final to be one of the four true contenders for the win, West found himself alone on the track. As the laps would down, however, West’s worst nightmare came true when he lost the silencer from one of his twins’ exhaust pipes, putting his engine in jeopardy. Concentrating on the engine’s detonation counter, West limped his Stockman home to the win, putting his name on the trophy as this year’s Formula E National Champion. Feldner took second in the final tally ahead of Marc Croslyn (PVP). With the attrition, Osborne and Eastty remained in the top five in the official standings, taking fourth and fifth, respectively.
Kiker matched West’s feat in ICE but his race was far less exciting. Kiker ran fast a smooth all race, never putting a wheel wrong, to win his second straight Intercontinental E national title. Kiker outran eventual second place finisher Simpson, who came out on top of a great battle with George Saldana for the runner-up position. Saldana had tracked Simpson down midway through the race, but Simpson came back to re-took the position. Bobby Butler (PVP) finished fourth in class while Miller rounded out the top five as losing a fuel pump battery with just four laps remaining. Miller had run a consistent second and had the position locked up until the battery failure.
 | The champagne is flying for the FE drivers
(Photo: Super Kart Illustrated) |
With the completion of the event, the 2005 U.S. Superkart Championship has been brought to a close. There is a great deal of positive momentum with the series as the expected improvements in the West Coast program will no doubt further develop the national support of the program, as the East Coast segment is already very strong. Should both coasts average 25-30 cars per weekend in ’06, this program will have made the small improvements that are necessary to fuel continued growth. And when that new season gets underway, only two drivers will have the honor of running the ‘US’ plate - Andy Kiker in ICE and Johnny West in FE - the 2006 national championships. |
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