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| July 09, 2006 News |
| EKN Trackside: Stars of Karting East #3 - Sunday Report |
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 | Recovering from yesterday's event, Phil Giebler led flag-to-flag for the ICC win
(Photo: Super Kart Illustrated) |
Continued warm temperatures were calmed by cloudy skies as the Sunday event schedule was completed today with only a few major incidents. The main events were action-packed as a pair of veterans bagged huge victories in the ICC and ICA finals.
ICC
Ocala Gran Prix driver Chris Friel (First Kart) led the way in the first group of the ICC Qualifying with a strong 40.018 lap time. Saturday LCQ winner Chris Miller (CRG) was second on the initial chart ahead of Canada’s Nick Maddison (First Kart). The provisional time would not stand for long as Philippe Gelinas (Sodikart) was the first into the 39s with a 39.974 set during his out-lap. The times would drop steadily as a succession of pilots took turns up top as Curtis Fox (Birel), Jon Branam (Tony Kart) and Jordy Vorrath (Intrepid) all posted laps that re-set the track record. Vorrath laid down a 39.586 on his first flying lap to drop the record in a big way but Matt Jaskol (Topkart) would then knock another two hundredths off the pace with a 39.562. The final decrease came at the hands of Cameron Motorsports’ Kyle Marcelli (CRG), who smoked off a 39.425 to shake up the paddock. Marcelli has come on strong in his rookie ICC season and is now the track record holder here at Lowe’s with his flying lap. Jaskol ended up in second while Giebler improved to third late in the session with a 39.584. Vorrath was fourth while Branam rounded out the fast five. Saturday winner Michael Vincec (CRG) was 12th in the order, just 0.352 off the pole time.
Vorrath got the holeshot in the Group A Prefinal to lead early, although Jaskol would go back to the front on the following lap with a strong move in turn eight. Jaskol pulled out to a comfortable lead while Vorrath was holding up Gelinas, Vincec, and Kyle Wiegand (TopKart) for the second spot, his Intrepid not yet up to full speed. Vincec was able to move to P3 in turn 14, dropping Gelinas to seventh, but that only started the battle. This move afforded Vorrath the chance to pull away from Vincec, Wiegand, and Keith Spicer (Tony Kart). With Jaskol and Vorrath well out front and running to a 1-2 finish, the battle on the track was for third as Wiegand was on the rear bumper of Vincec, until Spicer worked by the Topkart driver to assume the spot. Wiegand reclaimed the spot, with Gelinas following him through for fifth. Gelinas would then begin a charge, getting by Wiegand first and Vincec the next lap with successive out-braking moves into turn 10 to finish up third. Vincec and Spicer completed the top five. Nick Darinzo (Birel) took the final transfer position in 17th after outrunning Gianmarco Raimondo.
The Group B final was much less exciting with Giebler grabbing the holeshot and walking to a 0.903-second win over Branam, turning the fastest lap of the race in the process. Branam pushed him hard over the initial laps, but Giebler would defend the position successfully to secure a front row starting spot in the main. Stuart Marsell (Arrow) would take third ahead of Marcelli and Jan Velez (CRG), who started 11th and attacked aggressively to get up into the top five. The final transfer position to the main went to PG Racing’s Scott Barnes (Intrepid), who grabbed 17th in front of Jonathan Vitolo (Birel).
The Last Chance Qualifier saw Vitolo lead from the get-go, only to be challenged aggressively by Joe White (CRG). After contact in turn 14 almost put them both on the sidelines, White backed off to take second while Vitolo took the win. BJ Anderson came home in sixth to gain the final qualifying spot for the main event.
In the Final, Giebler shook off the disappointment from Saturday’s disaster to grab the holeshot at the green flag. The Intrepid pilot would not be challenged again en route to an impressive 0.826-second win over Jaskol, who pushed Giebler hard through the middle laps by dropping the gap to close to a half-second. Jaskol and Giebler were well in front of the rest of the field, which included some excellent battles.
Vorrath was strong early, actually advancing to second, but he would fade to ninth by the end of the race, fighting off his challengers throughout the 24-lap final. Gelinas was quick all race and was the second man – behind Jaskol – to get by Vorrath, holding on to third in the final tally. Marsell maintained his spot in the top five with a fourth place finish while Branam completed a great weekend in his Jeff Hudlett Tony Kart in fifth. Saturday winner Michael Vincec was involved in a collision with Marcelli on lap five, although he was able to continue on to finish 25th in the final tally while Marcelli was done for the day.
 | MRP-Birel America's Mike Giessen completed his return weekend with a strong victory in ICA
(Photo: Super Kart Illustrated) |
ICA
Chris Livengood (Mach 1) held the top position after the first group completed their 10-minute session. When the second group hit the track, Caleb Loniewski (Margay) dropped the fastest lap early with a 40.298 lap time. He held the top spot until late in the session when Johnny Johnson (TopKart) was able to run 0.07 seconds quicker to take the Gatorz Pole. Returning driver Mike Giessen (Birel) was third quickest on the chart with yesterday’s winner Chris Larson (Gillard) in fourth ahead of Jake Rosenzweig (CRG). Group A fast qualifier Livengood would fall down to just 10th following the second group of drivers.
Johnson cashed in on his pole position to lead early in the Prefinal and he would eventually walk to the win, but not before watching Giessen work past him to pace a number of the early laps. Giessen would eventually push Johnson all the way to the stripe, knocking time off the 2+ second cushion held by Johnson at the midway point. Giessen remained in second while Larson took third.
As in the Prefinal, Johnson began the ICA main event strongly, pulling out to the lead in front of Larson and Rosenzweig. In the early laps, Larson’s spark plug boot came off, killing his engine and his chance at sweeping the weekend. Just past the halfway mark, Rosenzweig was able to get inside of Johnson, bringing Giessen along with him. Johnson would continue to lose positions, suffering from an engine problem, with Keller and Loniewski getting by as well. Giessen then went on the offensive as he applied heavy pressure to Rosenzweig for the top spot. Giessen’s Birel was unstoppable in the late going as within a few laps, the native New Yorker made a successful T14 pass and continued on to a 1.457-second win. Joel Miller (Tony Kart) was also working his way to the front from his seventh place starting position and he would eventually score the runner-up spot ahead of Loniewski. Rosenzweig’s ride was not quite as good as it was on Saturday and he struggled to keep the competition behind him as Chris Keller (Gillard) was able to pass him for fourth on the final lap.
 | Margay pilot Brandon Adkins continued on after contact with Von Moltke for the Spec Racer win
(Photo: Super Kart Illustrated) |
SPEC RACER
Saturday Spec Racer winner Adam Johnson (Topkart) led Gatorz Pole Qualifying for the majority of the session before Matt Zeis (Intrepid) stole the top spot with a lap of 42.017. The time would not stand up however, as Dion Von Moltke (CRG) turned up the wick late in the session. Coming off a career run on Saturday which saw him finish second to Johnson, Von Moltke won the session with a 41.875 to take the pole for the Prefinal. Zeis and Johnson would remain in second and third while New Castle double-winner Brandon Adkins (Margay) took fourth ahead of Champion Racing’s Jeff Carter (Intrepid).
Von Moltke led flag-to-flag for the 13-lap Prefinal while Johnson applied some pressure but never made a bold pass attempt. Carter ran third for the first half of the race until Adkins was able to get by for the spot and also lost another spot to Zeis as they crossed the line for the checkered flag, putting Carter start fifth for the Final. Eric Gerrits (First Kart) spun in first turn at the drop of the green and was able to make his way up to 11th.
The main was all Adkins as he went to the lead early to battle with Von Moltke for the entire run. With two laps remaining, Von Moltke made his move on Adkins in turn 14 but ran out of racing room and climbed up the leader’s right rear, sending Von Moltke off the track and Adkins away to an unchallenged win. Jones, Gerrits and Johnson all filed through with Jones and Gerrits completing the podium. Johnson would take fourth ahead of Carter. Von Moltke dropped to sixth but he would go out before the checker when a chuck of asphalt lifted from a patch on the backshute was thrown in front of his line, vaulting him into the air and off the track. He would eventually take 12th, but not without turning the fastest lap of the race.
 | Carlos Munoz has two victories in two weekends in Stars JICA competition
(Photo: Super Kart Illustrated) |
JICA
Buffalo Bills winner Sergio Pena (Maranello) topped the first group of JICA qualifying, turning a 41.992 to set the provisional pole for the class. Jose Zanella (CRG) was second quick in the initial group ahead of Scott Rossi (KRT). In the second group, Dusty Davis (Maranello) emerged as the top shoe with a 41.571-second lap to take the pole over Victor Cabrera Jr. (Kosmic). Champion Racing’s Felice Snider (Intrepid) posted his best qualifying performance in third, while Brett Smrz (First Kart) took fourth to recover from a tough day on Saturday that saw him retire from both the Prefinal and the Final before the green flag even flew.
Cabrera got the jump at the drop of the green in the Group A Prefinal until Carlos Munoz (Birel) worked his way up and moved to the top spot on lap four. The field was pretty much strung out over 7/10-mile course with Munoz and Cabrera pulling out to good lead over Benitez in third. Buffalo Bills winner Sergio Pena (Maranello) moved up to fourth by the midway point. Smrz was quick out of the box and was second for a time, but he faded to fifth by the checkered. The final transfer position went to Reid Jeffries (Gillard), who finished 17th.
Davis pulled out to the lead at the start of the Group B Prefinal, but the fast qualifier would have a challenger this time out. Gustavo Menezes (Tony Kart) took over point at halfway point with a T14 move on Davis, diving down the inside to take over the position. The front four of Menezes, Davis, Jose Antonio Zanella (CRG), and Brendan Langlois (Maranello) ran nose-to-tail until the last lap when Davis made the same move in turn 14, bringing Zanella and Langlois along with him past Menezes to the checkered flag. Bryce Cornet (Intrepid) rounded out the top five.
A spin at the start took out a number of drivers and while a total of four did not restart, Maranello driver Miles Maroney was able to continue on just ahead of the lead group. Maroney continued to push hard while sitting in 18th for most of the race until a DNF by Josef Newgarden (Margay) put him into the top 17, giving him a direct transfer in the Final.
With six positions available on the main event grid, a 10-kart JICA field took the green for their six-lap sprint. Scott Rossi (KRT) would walk away to the win over Jerimy Daniel (Tony Kart) while Ryan Booth (Gillard) was gifted the sixth place and final transfer position when the drivers running fourth through sixth decided to dice it up in the second last corner, sending one of the them out of a qualifying position.
The JICA Final provided Munoz with the chance to shine, taking over the top spot early to pace Cabrera all the way to the checker. Munoz would win by 0.899 seconds while Cabrera posted the fastest lap on the way to his second podium of the event. Davis would complete a solid day of competition that a third place result, while Smrz took fourth ahead of Garrison Masters (CRG). Of particular note, Maroney put in his best drive of the year since graduating into the JICA category, powering through from 32nd to an amazing 12th at the checkered flag. Maroney was calculating in his attack through the field, setting up passes quickly to advance impressively.
 | Tristan DeGrand picked up his first Stars victory in the Cadet division
(Photo: Super Kart Illustrated) |
CADET
Nick Neri (Shockwave) was up top again in Cadet Qualifying, turning a 46.618-second lap midway through the ten-minute session to take the Gatorz Pole. Saturday winner Sage Karam (Birel) was second on the chart with a 46.655-second lap time. Gabriel Chaves (Nevoso), Cody Humphries (KRT), and Tristan DeGrand (Kosmic) rounded out the fast five.
A three-kart breakaway highlighted the fight for the Cadet Prefinal win with Karam, Neri and Humphries leading the field. The trio diced back and forth for the top spot as Neri was able to edge Karam at the line by 0.031 seconds with Humphries close behind. DeGrand sat alone in fourth while Andrew Murray (Birel) rounded out the top five.
The Cadet Final got the main event off to a great start as a nine-driver breakaway fired up the opening laps before a hard wreck in turn 11 brought out the red flag with a pair of downed drivers. After receiving medical attention, both would be fine although they would not return to the action. On the restart, the lead group battle again before DeGrand took over the point. The Kosmic pilot proceeded to extend an uncharacteristic 5.120-second lead that he maintained to the victory, his first in Stars of Karting competition. A heated battle for second aided in DeGrand’s getaway as Karam, Ordonez and Tunjo all fought for position. The turning point would occur in the second last corner when Ordonez went off after contact at the apex, slowing down the group and allowing Chaves to slide through for second. Karam held on for third followed closely by Tunjo and Mason Chelootz (Intrepid). Chaves had fallen back at the start but teamed up with good friend Jaime Ortega to battle back into the hunt. While Ortega spun out in the final corner coming to the checker, finishing 29th, Chaves asked that he join him on the podium to thank him for the help of driving through the field. Chaves even gave Ortega his trophy as another show of gratitude.
From here, the East Coast drivers will now look to the final divisional round at USA International Raceway in Shawano, WI in August when the Eastern Champions will be crowned before heading to the National Finals in Toronto, Ontario in September. |
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