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| September 25, 2006 News |
| EKN Trackside: Stars of Karting National Finals – Sunday Report |
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Paul Zalud and his Stars of Karting crew dodged Mother Nature during this year’s trip north to Toronto as the final day of the National Finals was surrounded by storm clouds, none of which touched down on the Woodbine Racetrack property. The rain came in spurts as soon as the ICC final was completed but, by then, all the important events had been completed. The podiums enjoyed a little sprinkle, but that’s about it.
The day began with the final round of heat races before heading into the main events, which took the track with the national championships on the line.
 | Lorenzo Mandarino took home the main event victory in ICC
(Photo: Super Kart Illustrated) |
ICC
Las Vegas, NV’s Matt Jaskol (TopKart) got the holeshot for the start of Heat #3 and never looked back, pulling out to a big gap on the rest of the field. Championship leader Gary Carlton (CRG) held the second spot until about the halfway mark when David Jurca (Tony Kart) was able to get around him for the position. Jurca pulled out to a gap on the battle for third as Carlton seemed to be fighting with his set-up. Canadian Lorenzo Mandarino (GP) was able to work by Carlton for third with a bold pass at turn 11. Carlton was strong enough to maintain fourth ahead of Canadian Curtis Fox (Birel), who was enjoying a strong weekend.
Having scored just five points in the three heat races, Jurca was awarded the pole position for the final with Jan Velez (CRG) taking second overall. Mandarino would sit on the inside of row two alongside Race of the Americas winner Wesley Boswell (Birel). Tad Funakoshi (Italkart) joined Jaskol on row three, Jaskol starting further back after his Heat #1 DNF.
The final was thrilling, with a three-driver breakaway getting things started as Velez got the holeshot with Jurca and Mandarino in tow. The trio looked strong, even though all three drivers had yet to see victory lane Stars 2006 competition. Behind them, Boswell was holding off a big group of drivers that included Funakoshi, Jaskol, Carlton, and Kyle Wiegand (Topkart).
Just before the halfway mark, Jurca got inside of Velez at the tight turn eight and went to P1 with Mandarino sliding through for second as well. The gap between Jurca and Mandarino would bounce around as Jurca would have a good lap and then Mandarino would come back with a flyer of his own. With the laps winding down, Mandarino studied the leader’s moves closely and decided to make his as they headed into turn 10 when Jurca struggled slightly with the turn-in, opening the door ever so slightly. Mandarino pounced and the two touched as they were pod-to-pod at the entry, Jurca moving out wide, allowing Mandarino to take the point. Velez slid past Jurca the following corner, pushing the Tony Kart driver back to third. Mandarino made no mistakes over the final few laps and went on to take his first win of the year. Velez finished a close second with Jurca right behind him at the stripe to complete the podium.
Boswell broke away from the rest of the pack to finish a strong fourth to end the year. Funakoshi took fifth after fighting off hard challenges from Jaskol, who spun in turn one trying to make a pass with just two laps remaining, catching a haybale in the process.
Carlton finished sixth, which was more than enough for him to clinch his first ever ICC National Championship, following in the footsteps of his friend and tuner for the past two weekends, Alex Speed. Carlton also earned the $25,000 Jim Trueman Memorial Award, which will be used in helping Carlton further his career. Add in the $5000 champion’s check and Carlton left Toronto with over $30,000 in cash.
Wiegand went on to finish seventh ahead of the fastest kart on the track, Jordy Vorrath (Intrepid), who came all the way up from the 16th starting spot to eighth. Stuart Marsell (Arrow) and Curtis Fox rounded out the top ten.
 | Joel Miller clinched the ICA National Championship with his win
(Photo: Super Kart Illustrated) |
ICA
In what had become a regular occurrence at Woodbine, turn three was the site of the first lap ICA carnage during the third and final heat race, as both Tony Loniewski (First Kart) and Caleb Loniewski (Margay) were both involved. Brody Goble (Italkart) and Brandon Bealer (Tony Kart) were also caught up on the melee. Polesitter Joel Miller (Tony Kart) avoided the wreck and jumped out to the lead with Eric Morrow (Margay) moving past Chris Larson (Gillard) to assume the challenge position as the lead trio pulled away from the rest of the field. With two laps to go, Miller’s throttle broke down at the pedal and he began controlling the fuel delivery with his right hand at the carburetor. This malfunction allowed Larson to slip through and take the win with Morrow and Joe Patterson (Kosmic) able finding time to bolt past the crippled Miller as well. Xavier Coupal (Tony Kart) finished fifth, right behind Miller, his best result in a tough weekend.
With his two heat race victories tempering his fourth in the third moto, Miller earned the pole for the main with Larson set to start alongside him on the front row. Morrow and Patterson would fill the row two with Christophe Boisclair (Arrow) and Aaron Neliton (Sodikart) earning the points necessary to start from the third level.
In the final, it was truly ‘The Joel Miller Show’ as the California driver would go on to lead every lap en route to a four-second victory, securing the national championship in the process. Larson and Morrow battled for second throughout the race, going back and forth until Larson controlled the spot after 22 laps. Behind them, it was a wild run with drivers shuffling everywhere.
The man on the move was MRP-Birel America pilot Mike Giessen (Birel). Starting seventh, Giessen was the fastest kart on the track next to Miller. After about the halfway mark, he was able to make it up to fourth, but the Larson/Morrow battle was simply too far ahead for him to provide any more opportunities. Patterson rounded out the top five to cap off a solid weekend.
Point leader Jess Peterson (Intrepid) did all he could throughout the weekend, but just could not find the right set-up. After starting 20th, Peterson made his way up to finish 13th and second overall in the championship.
For his efforts, Miller took home over $46,000 in cash and prizes. Along with the $5000 champion’s payout and $1000+ winner’s check, he was also awarded the Skip Barber Scholarship that will provide him with a full season in the program’s National Championship series in 2007. Morrow was also presented with a new award, the SunTrust Youth Racing Scholarship, which will provide him with $1500 towards the expenses in his run at the Skip Barber Karting Scholarship Shootout, along with a day with Daytona Prototype star Wayne Taylor to prepare for the runoff. Morrow certainly presented himself as a true merging star this year, stepping up his game over the final months of the season. Should he return to the Stars program in ’07, he would easily be a contender for the title.
 | Devon Sandeen was the man in the Spec Final, taking a 11-second victory
(Photo: Super Kart Illustrated) |
Spec Racer
First Kart pilot Eric Gerrits jumped to the lead for the third Spec Racer heat race, which got the category’s day rolling on Sunday morning. Gerrits teamed with Tyler Mann (Italkart) to pull out a gap over West Coast champion Devon Sandeen (First Kart). No other drivers made any advancements after the opening laps, as Gerrits took the victory with Mann, Sandeen and unofficial national champion Brandon Adkins (Margay) completing the top five. Adkins needed only to start the final to accumulate enough points to take the title. Nicholas Fairney (First Kart) rounded out the top five.
In the heat race calculations, Sandeen earned the least amount of points to take the pole for the Final with Mann set to start second. Adkins would take to the inside of row two, alongside Gerrits, who started fourth after rebounding from his heat one DNF with two impressive wins. Filling row three was Fairney and Margay pilot Zach Beard.
Sandeen got the jump at the drop of the green for the Spec Racer final and never looked back, leading all 18 laps. With only 14 drivers entered in the event, Adkins had earned the National Championship by simply starting, and this fact provided Sandeen with the incentive to focus on winning the National Finals victory in their only head-to-head meeting.
In the early stages, Gerrits moved quickly up to second from his fourth starting spot but, just five laps into the race, he pulled off with mechanical problems, ending his hopes for victory and putting him third overall in the title chase. Just a few laps later, Mann and Beard got together while fighting for what now was second, dropping back to the tail of the field. This allowed Sandeen to pull away to a big lead as Adkins advanced to second.
The man on the move, however, was Will Martindale (GP) as he picked off a driver one at a time from his 12th starting spot as the rest of the field was now battling for third. With five laps to go, a loud engine could be heard and it was new Spec Racer champion Adkins, who pulled straight into the pits with a broken pipe, ending his day with a 10th place finish. This brought the battle for third up to second and Martindale was successful in taking the spot at the drop of the checkered. Another great drive was put in by Max Riddle (First Kart), who is in his first senior year of racing. Riddle battled with Martindale all the way to the front, finishing an impressive third. Beard and Jamie Slone (Intrepid) rounded out the top five.
 | Dusty Davis earned his first Stars JICA victory on the year over Scott Rossi
(Photo: Super Kart Illustrated) |
JICA
The JICA drivers got the day off to a good start, making it through the first two corners before several drivers stacked it up for the third heat, everyone still able to continue. J3 Competition’s Richard Benitez (Kosmic) duplicated his opening laps from Saturday as he broke away from the rest of the field over the opening circuits. Championship leader Carlos Munoz (Birel) closed the gap somewhat over the nine laps, but he was also busy trying to hold off Scott Rossi’s (Intrepid) overtaking attempts. Benitez earned his third heat victory to secure the pole position for the Final. Munoz finished second with Dusty Davis (Maranello) getting by Rossi on the final circuit to take third. Sergio Pena (Maranello) rounded out the top five.
Benitez acquired zero points with his three wins and was put on the pole position for the Final with Munoz set for outside row one. Rossi and Davis filled row two with David Ostella (CRG) and Adrian Figueroa (Intrepid) starting from row three.
Instead of a one-car break away, it was a four-kart lead pack to start of the 18-lap Final with Benitez at the point and Rossi, Davis and Munoz running bumper-to-bumper. Behind Benitez, they swapped positions back and forth, but the quick man seemed to be Davis. The Maranello pilot was able to get by Rossi for second, but he lost the spot when Munoz got under him in turn three. Davis then worked his way back by Munoz and set his sights on Benitez, the weekend’s outright leader. Unlike the three heat races, Benitez was just not able to pull away from the field this time out and Davis was able to capitalize on this to steal P1, bringing Rossi with him. Rossi was having his best weekend of the year and despite applying heavy pressure on the new leader, it just wasn’t enough as Davis edged him at the line by 0.091 seconds. Benitez capped off a strong weekend in third, while Munoz clinched the JICA national championship with his fourth place finish. Canadian Ostella rounded out the top five in a great effort in front of his hometown fans.
 | Sage Karam took the big win in Cadet but Oscar Tunjo finished second and clinched the Cadet National Championship
(Photo: Super Kart Illustrated) |
Cadet
The Cadets opened up the racing on Championship Sunday with Spencer Pigot (Juncos) getting the jump at the start of the final heat with championship leader Oscar Tunjo (Nevoso) grabbing second in front of polesitter Remo Ruscitti (Italkart). The trio broke away from the rest of the field and with two to go, Tunjo and Ruscitti worked their way past Pigot in turn one to take over the top spots. Tunjo went on to edge Ruscitti at the line for the win, while defending champ Sage Karam (Birel) was able to catch up to the lead group and finished fourth behind Pigot. Sebastian Ordonez (Juncos) rounded out the top five.
Pigot and Tunjo tied with four points when the Stars officials set out to determine the main event grid, but Pigot was awarded the pole position on the strength of his faster qualifying time. Karam scored the third lowest point total following the heats and he would start alongside Dylan Nobile (Nevoso) on row two. Ordonez and Philip Orcic (WTP) would occupy row three based on their heat race performances.
Tunjo jumped out to lead as the front five broke away once again. Four laps into the main event, Nobile dropped out with mechanical problems. Tunjo and Karam broke away as Ordonez was able to get around Pigot. Karam made a turn five pass stick and finally overtook the top spot as Tunjo worked back around as Ordonez and Pigot were able to catch back up to make the battle for the lead a four-kart fight.
With the two-to-go signal being given by Stars flagman Matt Long, Karam passed Tunjo going into turn one to regain the top spot. The duo swapped the position a few more times before Karam controlled the point and powered it away to the checkered flag. Tunjo finished second and wrapped up the national championship in the process. Pigot got back around Ordonez at the line for third while Ruscitti rounded out the top five.
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