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| August 04, 2006 News |
| IKF 2-Cycle Grand Nationals - Friday Report |
| Article by: Shift Communications Group |
 | Formula Y Heavy winner Craig Zimmerman
(Photo: Sean Buur - GoRacing Magazine) |
Four hundred of the nations top competitors, hailing from as far as Hawaii, came to compete at the 2006 IKF 2-Cycle Sprint Grand Nationals at the CalSpeed Kart Track in Fontana, CA, to claim one of the most elusive prizes in all of karting – the Duffy. Friday saw over 150 entries ready to tear up the parking lot of California Speedway. These boys really came to play this weekend and the racing was fierce and extremely competitive from the get go. There was never a dull moment for the racing fans that came out to view the nation’s top drivers lay it all on the line. And lay it all on the line they did.
The first class to go out for qualifying was the “Big Boys” – or as the IKF likes to call them, the Formula Y/C heavy class. The classes were split in two and the racers were sent out in groups of 4 split apart by 10 second intervals due to the large entries in all of the classes. In qualifying Jordan Bianco set the pace with a blistering 54.714. Lucas Wilkinson had a great run to take the P2 spot for the 12 lap heat race. There was a lot of nervous tension buzzing around as the first class went out for the first race of the day. I saw plenty of fingers cross as the 15 karts headed into turn one, with Bianco taking the early lead and checking out a little at the beginning. Phillipson quickly moved into 2nd with Wilkinson slotting into the 3rd spot, Zimmerman moved into 4th and McKinnon slid into 5th. These guys were airtight for the entire heat race and the track proved to be difficult to pass on as these guys stayed in the same positions until the checkered flag fell.
The main was sure to be an exciting even and it definitely did not disappoint. Phillopson took the early lead at the start. After a couple of laps Zimmerman and Wilkinson got by Bianco after a slight mistake through the infield, shuffling Bianco to the 4th spot. The front three started to pull away from the pack in the race and it was soon clear that it was going to be a 3-way battle for the Duffy, and it was going to go down to the wire. With two laps to go however, Wilkinson looked to the inside of Phillipson to take over that second spot, Phillipson shut the door but in the process let the leader Zimmerman gain a healthy lead with one to go. Zimmerman went on to win the Duffy unchallenged in the last lap, with Phillipson coming in second, Wilkinson crossing the line in third only to be DQ'ed for being too wide on the rear end. Bianco ended up officially finishing in that third spot, with McKinnon in fourth, and Jackson sliding into the podium in fifth.
 | Jr. Super Sportsman winner Dylan Albiani
(Photo: Sean Buur - GoRacing Magazine) |
The Junior Super Sportsman is arguably the most competitive class out on the circuit, for a couple reasons. One is that these kids are just plain good at driving karts, and two they don’t have kids to raise or a job to go to on Monday. The young man to bring down the Screaming Eagle in this one was Conor DePhillippi with a 53.134, closely followed by Craig Dunn in the off pole position.
In the heat there was a slight collision at the start which led to 3 karts ending their pre-mains early, DePhillippi quickly slid into the number one spot, but he wouldn’t check out right away, as Albiani would stay on his bumper for the entirety of the pre-main and continue to harass him. Albiani attempted a pass on the final corner of the Pre-main but was unable to get by.
Albiani definitely did his homework for the main, however. The start of the final was clean and DePhillippi got back into the familiar lead position. The first two karts of Albiani and DePhillippi attempted to check out again but Franck would not allow that to happen. Albiani soon got around DePhillippi going into turn one and decided that he’d try to run away with it. But there is no running away with races in Junior Super Sportsman. DePhillippi and Albiani continued to dice as Franck was licking his lips waiting for his chance to make a move. By halfway it was still Albiani on top, with DePhillippi in second and Franck in third, with Coplen running lonely in fourth. Phinny was reeling him in quickly from fifth and soon got around Coplen to take the fourth spot, but he was too far back to do any damage to the top three guys. The battle for sixth, however, was one of the best battles on the day, with some three wide action occurring in the infield with a lap to go. On the final lap going around the Carousel curve, Albiani went wide while leading and it looked like DePhillippi was going to get a run on him and make the pass stick. Albiani however used his extra cornering speed and a little help from Franck to take the lead on the final corner of the race. Franck was able to get around DePhillippi as well. Coplen came in fourth after making a pass on Phinny towards the end of the race, the winner of the “battle” within the war was Alberico winning the hotly contested sixth place spot.
 | Sr. Sportsman winner Garrett Wright
(Photo: Sean Buur - GoRacing Magazine) |
Senior Sportsman is always a competitive class. With that 3-hole can, they were one of the slower classes on the day, but the reduced speeds led to more time on the gas and more competitive racing. On pole was Christian Guizar, running a 56.948 with Varela in second and Wright in 3rd. The heat race was mainly uneventful with Guizar and Wright absolutely checking out from the field; no real passes occurred and Guizar was the eventual winner and pole sitter for the main.
At the start of the main Wright jumped to the front from off-pole position, a rarity at the California Speedway track. At the beginning there was some jockeying for position with Varela taking the second spot from Guizar. The fourth through ninth positions were hotly contested and it seemed like these guys were willing to risk and life and limb for the spot. The top three spots however remained pretty uneventful once again in the main event, with Wright checking out from Varela, and Guizar unable to contest with Varela. The battle for 4th was a hotly contested one however and Martinez ended up winning the battle, with Zimmermann coming in 5th. At the line, it was Wright with a double fist pump as he claimed his first National title.
HPV-1 cadet was up next. These kids are really flying out there with a restricted HPV motor and about next to nothing in weight. These karts are the fastest these kids will drive all week, and I’m sure the most fun class they will race in all week. In qualifying it was Devin Jones coming with the Bronzed bird with a 54.726, and starting to his left would be Tyler Vance. When you put that much power in these talented kids’ hands and combine that with a National Championship race, you know you are in for one hell of a battle. These young drivers came out to put on a show for the spectators and to claim the top prize.
 | Devin Jones beat Tyler Vance to the line for the HPV 1 Cadet win
(Photo: Sean Buur - GoRacing Magazine) |
In the heat the top three karts began to pull away slowly. Pagano quickly slipped into the second spot, and then moved into first after making a great pass on Jones. Jones however patiently waited to make the move on Pagano on the last lap, making it stick to claim the top qualifying spot for the main.
Pagano got shuffled to third at the start of the main, with Vance jumping up into second spot. These top five karts really put on a show as they were nose to tail for the beginning of the race, only separated by a sum total of six inches for the first couple of laps. The top three began to check out but Pagano threw out the anchor with about five to go and was caught by the karts of Geise and Palmer. Jones led this thing from wire to wire, but he was definitely in the hot seat with Vance constantly poking his nose in. On the last corner, Jones held the inside line to protect the lead, Vance attempted to cross him over but missed out on the Duffy by .021 seconds! Pagano valiantly attempted to hold of Geise, but it was a lost cause in the end when Geise was able to pass him with one corner to go.
HPV-4 Senior was the fastest senior class on the day and also the class with the most competitors on the day, those two ingredients always led to an interesting concoction at a national event. At first it seemed that Rocky Moran Jr. was going to have the top spot, but was quickly thwarted by Neil McCoy in the qualifying session. Michael Varela then passed Moran at the end of the session to take over the second spot only to be quickly moved to third, on a lightning quick last lap run by Matt Johnson who put it on pole with 52.075. At the end of qualifying it was Johnson on pole, followed by McCoy, then Varela in third, and Moran in fourth after a three spot shuffle at the end of the session. This kind of shuffling and overtaking in qualifying led to a lot of nervous anticipation among the drivers and racers for the heat and main to come.
 | HPV 4 winner Matt Johnson
(Photo: Sean Buur - GoRacing Magazine) |
The top four karts quickly checked out in the main with Johnson taking the early lead around the CalSpeed kart track. No action really occurred in the heat until the very end when Travis Motley was able to get around Varela for third. Neil McCoy attempted to stick it on the inside on Johnson on the last lap to get that top qualifying spot for the main. Johnson crossed him up however and was able to hold on to the lead.
Varela had a miraculous start from fourth in the main and was able to take over the lead. There was some serious jockeying for position in the opening laps of this one and it seemed like some people thought they were playing bumper cars rather than racing go karts, but everyone got settled in eventually. Johnson quickly regained the lead from Varela and attempted to check out from the pack; he accomplished it for a little while until Motley moved into the second spot and began to real him in with the fastest kart on the track. These two were not about to make a mistake as Motley slowly but surely hunted him down from eight kart lengths back. With four to go Motley had caught right up to the back of Johnson, there was guaranteed to be a great one in store as the laps winded down quickly. On the final lap Motley made an extremely brave move on the inside of Johnson going into the sharp hairpin in the infield. There was a lot of contact and was later decided to be an unsafe move by Motley, for he crossed the line P1 but would later be moved back one spot for the move. Johnson came across the line second and was the eventual winner, with Neil McCoy coming across in third, Varella came across the stripe in fourth and Swanson came across in fifth.
HPV-4 Junior, HPV- 4 senior younger counterpart, was the outright winner for fastest class on the day, topping at a 51.075 by Connor DePhillippi, who grabbed that “Bird” for the second time on Friday. Off-pole was Eric Gunnerson followed by Joey Licata in third, Timmy Bachman in fourth, and Christian Franck rounding out the top five. This qualifying session was very close (as it seems all races have been). Twenty five total competitors meant that this was sure to be one of the greatest races on the day, and possibly the whole weekend.
 | HPV 4 Junior winner Cody Kutzner
(Photo: Sean Buur - GoRacing Magazine) |
At the start of the heat DePhillippi took the lead and would hold on for the entirety of the heat race. Licata moved into the second spot at the start and stayed that way till the end, with Donny St. Ours closely behind in the third spot.
In the main, there was a lot of spinning going on. A spin out of the pits, a spin at the start, it seemed like no one could keep it going in the correct direction. One person that figured out the whole “Go straight, go fast” thing was DePhillippi. He absolutely checked out in this one leading by a good half of a straight away for most of the race. He did, however, have to make some passes when he and fellow front-row starter Licata were moved to the second row for not being to start the race in three tries. Kutzner and St.Ours benefited from this greatly and were able to stay ahead of the struggling and ailing Licata, who was apparently suffering from very sore ribs. Brenden Phinny had a great run and was able to secure that 4th spot on the track from a slowing Licata. With two to go, and coming off the last corner, DePhillippi saw his chances at a Duffy slip away again, as he had an engine failure as he was about to take the white flag. From the position he was in he could have almost pushed his way to victory but what a terribly frustrating day it was for DePhillippi, after two great qualifying performances he was denied twice from the Duffy. That’s the Nationals for you.
In any event, Kutzner drove a patient and smart race and was able to reap the benefits of DePhillippi’s misfortune to capture the Duffy, while St. Ours crossed the line in second with, Brenden Phinny taking over the third spot after a great run. Licata showed a valiant effort by hanging in there and blocking out the pain to come across the line in fourth spot.
All in all the first day of the IKF Grand Nationals, was a huge success. No one was injured, the racing was incredible, and the tacos were fantastic (Thanks again Donnie)! The usual thrills, spills, and spectacle were there as well, and the Nationals proved once again why it is such an important race to our karting community. It is the biggest spectacle in our sport and the Super Bowl of karting. IKF did a great job of finding sponsors for the race and made it into one of the best racing events I have seen in my karting career.
Plus there were Hooters girls there. Now, how can you beat karting, Hooters girls, and tacos in the same place? We’re still looking for an answer if anyone has it. |
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