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| June 04, 2006 News |
| EKN Trackside: Stars of Karting - West #3 – Sunday Report |
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 | A view of the track from the A tower of the Buffalo Bills Hotel
(Photo: SKI) |
Today’s events featured desert racing at its best despite the fact that the mercury soared to over 105 degrees, putting a tremendous strain on the driver, teams and series officials. In the end, the excitement level soared as the weekend’s ICC finale drew everyone to the fences.
ICC
Yesterday’s ICC winner Jordy Vorrath (Intrepid) pushed his Leading Edge/Champion Racing machine to P1 early in the 15-minute session of Gatorz Pole Qualifying. On his second lap, the Canadian dropped to a 39.067-second lap time and was able to hold off the rest of the field to start the Prefinal from the number one slot. Tony Kart USA driver David Jurca (Tony Kart) would start outside of row one with a 39.117 to recover from a difficult day on Saturday that saw him unceremoniously bumped out of the lead group during an incident in the final. Factory Trackmagic driver Gary Carlton clocked the third quickest time while Matt Jaskol (TopKart) was fourth on the chart. RBI’s Alan Rudolph rounded out the fast five.
At the start of the Prefinal, Vorrath got the jump at the drop of the green flag with Jurca dropping into second. Carlton was able to work around Jurca for P2 through the early portion of the 16-lap race and then quickly set his sites on the leader. Carlton slowly closed the gap and began to apply pressure with roughly three laps to go, but he was unable to get around Vorrath, who took the Prefinal win to secure the pole for the main event. Jurca controlled the third spot ahead of Las Vegas residents Jaskol and Michael Abbate (Birel), who moved up one spot to fifth. Rudolph dropped back to finish eighth, right behind Tad Funakoshi (Italkart) and Lorenzo Mandarino (GP).
Vorrath got the holeshot at the start of the 24-lap main event as Carlton and Jaskol tucked in behind to begin the crazed opening laps. Vorrath set the pace for the top three as they began to separate themselves from fourth place Funakoshi. The midway laps saw the top three running in order, but with about six to go, the front pack became just two as Jaskol began to fall back with Funakoshi gaining ground.
Without competition from behind, Carlton began to pressure Vorrath as the closing laps came closer. As the white flag flew for Vorrath, Carlton made his move into three and moved alongside Vorrath heading to turn four. Coming out of turn four, Vorrath owned the inside line and took the apex in five to hold the point. The duo came out of five side-by-side and made contact while working around the turns six and seven. Vorrath would hold the edge heading into the left hand turn eight but as they approached the final turn – a 180 degree right-hander - Carlton got into the back of Vorrath at corner entry, pushing him to the outside and moving inside for the straight line to the strip and the checkered flag (see photo series). Vorrath collected the kart and continued on to cross the line in second. The Stars officials would dock Carlton one position for the maneuver, giving Vorrath the victory. It was not over; however, as Vorrath showed his displeasure by hammering the rear bumper of Carlton on two occasions as they entered the pit lane. According to Stars official, Vorrath will be assessed a stiff fine as a result.
Funakoshi rounded out the top three while Abbate and Mandarino finished up in fourth and fifth. Jaskol was running fourth behind Funakoshi before his chain failed on the final lap, sending him down to 17th in the final tally.
 | The ICC main event came to a crashing climax
(Photos: SKI) |
 | Joel Miller completed the weekend with two ICA victories toward the Western Championship
(Photo: SKI) |
ICA
Champion Racing’s Tyler Dueck (Intrepid) was up top early on in the ICA session and he was able to maintain the position to the checkered, dropping his fast time through the 15-minute run to a class-best 40.148. Saturday winner Joel Miller (Tony Kart) was second quick with a 40.205, just ahead of Juan Sanso (CRG). Colby Jenn (Italkart) bounced back from a tough day to sit fourth on the timing chart with a 40.436 while Grant Hebner (Top Kart) completed the fast five. Yesterday’s pole-winner Aaron Neliton (Sodikart) slipped to sixth in today’s order and would start the Prefinal from the outside of the third row.
Miller jumped out to the lead with Dueck dropping back to fourth behind Jenn and Neliton. On lap two, some contact in turn seven saw Sanso and Neliton get together with Sanso able to continue as Neliton remained sidelined. Up front, Miller cruised to 3.553-second victory as Jenn and Hebner, who moved up from the fifth starting position, battled for the runner-up spot. Hebner was able to take the position with Jenn, Peterson, and yesterday’s third place finisher James Kennedy (Sodikart) rounding out the top five.
To complete the sweep of the weekend, Miller took control of the ICA main event early and walked away to a 5.354-second triumph over Jess Peterson (Intrepid). After a rough start to the year that included three DNFs, Miller has rebounded with a win at New Castle and a sweep here in Vegas. Miller is definitely back in the title hunt.
The podium was completed by Jenn, who was in a good battle with Tyler Dueck (Intrepid) before he went out with an engine problem. Nick Johnston (Maranello) finished fourth ahead of Neliton in fifth. It was another rough run of attrition for the ICA category as only seven drivers went the 24-lap distance.
 | Devon Sandeen cruised to the Spec Racer victory, scoring the second win for First Kart
(Photo: SKI) |
SPEC RACER
The Spec Racer category kicked off Gatorz Pole Qualifying at 8:45 am and after the 10-minute session was complete, Devon Sandeen (First Kart) was the top driver with a 41.587-second lap. GP driver Will Martindale was second in the order with a 41.748, just ahead of DPK pilot Justin Miller (Birel). The fast five was completed by Chelsie Jackman (Biesse) and Kyle Longmore (Biesse). The remainder of the top ten was incredibly tight and included Saturday’s first and second place drivers. Winner Eric Gerrits (First) was ninth in the order while Chris Scribner (Tony Kart) was seventh.
Sandeen jumped to an early lead at the drop of the green flag for the 13-lap Prefinal. Longmore capitalized on the first lap and moved to P2 from his fifth place starting position. As the race wore on, Sandeen pulled out to a 1.183 second advantage to win over Longmore with Martindale, Gerrits, and Scribner battling for third, fourth and fifth.
In the Spec Racer Final, Sandeen jumped out to the lead at the start as the rest of the group got shuffled after Miller and Jamie Slone (Intrepid) hit the haybales on the outside of turn two. Away from the carnage, Longmore moved to P1 in turn two on lap four, but Sandeen was able to work back by before the halfway point. The duo worked together to pull out to big lead over the battle for third between Gerrits, Leininger, Heckman, and Fairney.
As the race developed, Sandeen asserted himself the contender as he pulled away from Longmore, who would eventually retire on the last lap, taking tenth in the final tally. Sandeen’s margin of victory would be 12.169 seconds over Gerrits, who did a solid job of working through the field after an opening lap tangle that put him to the tail of the top ten. GT Kart’s Kyle Heckman was third at the checker, benefiting from Longmore’s DNF to take the final podium position. Nicholas Fairney (First Kart) and Lucas Wilkinson (Intrepid) rounded out the top five.
 | Brett Smrz earned his second Stars victory Sunday with a turn 3 pass on the last lap
(Photo: SKI) |
JICA
Nicky Freytag was up top early in JICA qualifying, but not for long, as PCH Motorsports’ Jacob Neal took over the top spot with a 41.945-second lap. Reigning Western JICA champion Brett Smrz was just 0.012-seconds back of Neal, coming off a solid runner-up finish on Saturday. Neal would improve to a 41.811, followed closely by Smrz and Dusty Davis (Maranello) in the final order. Donny St. Ours (Tony Kart) found some speed late in the session to jump to fourth, just ahead of Freytag. The field was tight once again with fourth through 11th separated by just 0.082-seconds with Brendan Phinny (Birel) sitting 11th with a 42.903.
Neal took the lead at the start of the JICA Prefinal until Smrz made the pass for the lead after crossing line to complete lap one. Davis settled into the third position behind Neal with Freytag wrapping up the lead pack. With the quartet settled in for most of the race, Davis eventually made contact with a TechPro in turn three and ended his Prefinal stint prematurely, putting him to the back of the grid for the main. Smrz cruised to the victory with Neal tucked in behind to secure the front row of the Final. Victor Carbone (KRT) finished third with Langlois and Freytag rounding out the top five.
The storyline for the main event developed early as Smrz, Neal, and Langlois broke away from the field at the drop of the green flag. The three kept in line for most of the race in order to develop a huge lead. At about the halfway point, the trio began to size each other up. Langlois was able to work around Neal for P2 and then set his sights on Smrz – the leader. Langlois was running well and took control for a majority of the second half of the race, setting the stage for the race’s climax. On the final lap, Smrz set up for a pass in turn three, keeping a tight line, making it stick to claim the lead. Despite being seriously challenged over the remaining lap, Smrz edged Langlois at the line by 0.202 seconds with Neal close behind. Carbone finished fourth while Michael Hogg (Italkart) moved up from ninth to finish fifth. Garrison Masters (CRG) was running about eighth, after starting deep in the field following a Prefinal DNF, and heading into the last corner, contact was made with another driver. Masters stalled the engine and then showed heart in pushing his kart across the line to finish 18th.
 | Dylan Nobile swept the Cadet division Finals
(Photo: SKI) |
CADET
Based on Saturday’s results, Louie Pagano (Birel) was a surprise pole-winner in Cadet, posting a 46.160-second lap to grab the inside of the front row for the Prefinal. Kolby Araki (TopKart) was on pace once again and sat second quick, coming in just a little faster than Jonathan St. Ours (Top Kart) and Canadian Phillip Orcic (WTP). Tucson winner Andrew Murray (Birel) rounded out the top five with a 46.557. Always a tight class, the top 25 drivers came in within one second on the time clock.
The long train of Cadet drivers went 10 laps in the Prefinal with shuffling going on throughout the field. The lead was flip-flopped for the last couple of laps with Araki able to take the victory just 0.364 seconds ahead of Pagano at the line to set the front row for main. Murray moved up to third while Dylan Kwasniewski advanced nine spots to fourth Oscar Tunjo (Nevoso) would wrap the top five.
In the final, the racing was fantastic as a lead group of 20 ran nose-to-tail for most of the race. The driver to watch was Saturday winner Dylan Nobile (Nevoso), as he worked his way from eighth to the front. Systematically picking off one driver at a time, Nobile took over the lead with just two laps remaining. With the race coming to its conclusion with a flurry of activity, Nobile benefited from the battling behind him to race off unchallenged to the 0.633-second win to sweep the weekend. Araki would come home second ahead of Murray. Tunjo was fourth in front of Camden Giese. |
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