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| November 08, 2006 News |
| Event Preview: SKUSA SuperNats X - SuperPro |
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 | Reigning national champion Gary Carlton comes in as one of the favorites to win the SuperPro division
(Photo: Super Kart Illustrated) |
The anticipation is almost over, with less than 36 hours remaining before karts hit the temporary racing circuit at Sam Boyd Stadium for the tenth annual Superkarts! USA SuperNationals, presented by BC Ethic. It has been roughly six months of eagerness, rumors, and huge announcements, with it all coming to a head this weekend where 49 of the best shifter kart drivers from North America and beyond will battle for one of the biggest purses in karting history.
The headline class for the ’06 SuperNats, the SuperPro division, is sponsored by Impact Racing and will feature current karting stars as well as those from SuperNats history. One driver missing from the list is last year’s winner, Lorenzo Mandarino. The KLS Racing GP pilot will not make the trip the event due to the FIA licensing issue that have also halted Formula One drivers Scott Speed and Vitantonio Liuzzi from competing this weekend, as initial expected.
Heading into the weekend, two drivers stand out from the rest after completing strong ’06 seasons on the national circuit. Newly-crowned Stars of Karting ICC National Champion Gary Carlton (CRG/SwedeTech Maxter) and multiple race winner Jordy Vorrath (Intrepid/Champion TM) must be considered the early favorites to take home the $10,000 first place prize.
Carlton ran strong all through the West Coast swing of the Stars series, earning three wins along with two additional podium finishes in eight races. In unusual fashion, the 20-year old driver switched teams mid-season, going from Trackmagic to the CRG brand under the PCH Motorsports tent alongside mechanical guru Mike Speed. The twosome debuted with a victory in their first weekend together at Shawano and followed it with a sweep two weeks later in Sonoma. Many in the paddock will be putting their money down on Carlton as he has the best odds going into this weekend.
 | Jordy Vorrath earned six wins in 2006 and will look to earn his first SuperNationals victory to his CV this weekend
(Photo: Super Kart Illustrated) |
Carlton’s main rival this season has been Canadian Jordy Vorrath. After missing the Race of the Americas event in March, Vorrath debuted in Tucson with a dominant victory and followed it with four more wins in a row. At the end of a season running both East and West, the 23-year old had notched six wins aboard his Leading Edge Intrepid, which is powered by a Brett Berryhill TM. There will be no doubt that if tuner Greg Bell and Vorrath are working in sync, the two will be a force on SuperSunday.
Leading the list of drivers making their return to the karting ranks is former national champion Alex Speed (CRG/SwedeTech Maxter). The three-time title winner and reigning SKI Driver of the Year will jump back in the driver’s seat for the first time since a one-off stint at the KartSport Grand Prix earlier this year. With Speed and Carlton having worked together since the latter joined PCH in mid-summer, they have been a dominant force. It will be interesting to see on they work on and off the track as both teammates and competitors. Another former SKI Driver of the Year, Kyle Martin (’00), will be back aboard Trackmagic black and yellow this weekend, coming out of ‘retirement’ to take a run at the win that eluded him during his seven-year national career.
 | Track designer Alan Rudolph will make the move to FirstKart.com in his quest for a SuperNationals win
(Photo: Super Kart Illustrated) |
A number of former karting stars will be back in action this week as formula car standouts Alan Sciuto and Ron White will return, as will three-time SuperNats Formula C victor Michael Valiante and ’04 SuperPro winner Jason Bowles. Sciuto spent the year running in the Champ Car Atlantic series while White bagged three impressive Star Mazda wins to close out the season as the hottest driver on the circuit. Both pilots will run under the KLS Racing banner aboard GP equipment and SwedeTech power. Valiante will join his Italian Motors teammates Tad Funakoshi and the returning David Jurca while Bowles will make his debut on an Arrow with DDR power after spending the summer running a late model stock car at Irwindale Speedway in southern California. Also back in action is Star Mazda rookie Logan Gomez, who won Formula S1 in decisive fashion late fall. Gomez is back with First Kart looking to find the magic again in SuperPro after setting the second fastest lap of the race in ’05.
One driver to watch for will be the actual track designer, this year’s King of the Streets winner Alan Rudolph. The shifter kart veteran will be making the move to a SRA TM powered First Kart after running his final race under the RBI Racing banner at Rock Island. A SuperNats win is one of only a few races not on his long resume of race wins and a victory this weekend would put him to the elite status in karting history.
Other drivers to watch for this weekend include local favorite Matt Jaskol (TopKart/DDR TM) and his Team TopKart/Grand Products teammate Kyle Wiegand (TopKart/SwedeTech Maxter), PSL Karting teammates Jan Velez Walter (CRG/PSL Maxter) and Jake Rosenzweig (CRG/PSL Karting), new Champion Racing pilot Keith Spicer (Intrepid/Champion TM), and Philippe Gelinas (Sodikart/SRA TM).
EKN will continue its coverage with a photo gallery scheduled for early Thursday morning before the karts hit the track for practice with full results, a daily report, and an opening podcast to start out the ‘Trackside Live’ coverage Thursday night.
SKUSA SuperNationals X - SuperPro Entry List
| No. | Driver | Chassis/Engine | City, State | Age| 7 | Alan Rudolph | First Kart/SRA TM | Gilbert, AZ | 66 | | 32 | Alan Sciuto | GP/SwedeTech TM | Orange, CA | 18 | | 123 | Aleksander Van Meever | Birel/TM | Meenkenk, Netherlands | 18 | | 41 | Alex Speed | CRG/SwedeTech Maxter | Manteca, CA | 20 | | 09 | Andre Sousa | Birel/TM | Sao Paulo, Brazil | 20 | | 198 | Brett Buckwalter | Italkart/TM | Sonoma, CA | 23 | | 42 | Chris Bradfield | Birel/TM | Stuart, FL | 23 | | 122 | David Carmendy | CRG/SwedeTech TM | Powell, OH | 17 | | 92 | David Jurca | Italkart/Italian Motors TM | Federal Way, WA | 21 | | 77 | Don McGregor | Italkart/Italian Motors TM | Langley, BC | 24 | | 161 | Fritz Leesmann | GP/SwedeTech TM | Vacaville, CA | 20 | | 100t | Garrett Boone | Birel/SRA TM | Houston, TX | 16 | | 180 | Garrett Maxfield | Birel/TM | Murray, UT | 18 | | 151 | Gary Carlton | CRG/SwedeTech Maxter | Manteca, CA | 20 | | 10 | Gian Cavaciuti | GP/TM | Milan, Italy, IT | 24 | | 235 | Jake Rosenzweig | CRG/PSL Maxter | Cambridge, MA | 16 | | 16j | Jamie Sieracki | Merlin/C-G Racing Pavesi | Oconomowoc, WI | 26 | | 13 | Jan Velez Walter | CRG/PSL Maxter | Guaynabo, Puerto Rico | 20 | | 29 | Jared O'Malley | Intrepid/TM | Austin, TX | 31 | | 11 | Jason Bowles | Arrow/DDR TM | Ontario, CA | 23 | | 17 | Joe White | CRG/SwedeTech Maxter | Elk Grove, CA | 31 | | 20c | Jon Allen | GP/G-Force TM | Burlingame, CA | 20 | | 19 | Jonathan Branam | Tony Kart/Vortex | Peoria, AZ | 20 | | 16t | Jordon Musser | Birel/TM | Coppell, TX | 25 | | 147 | Jordy Vorrath | Intrepid/Champion TM | Lodi, CA | 23 | | 102x | Joshua Lyon | Birel/Italian Motors TM | Scottsdale, AZ | 19 | | 15 | Keith Spicer | Intrepid/Champion TM | Naples, FL | 17 | | 103 | Kevin Leijtens | Birel/TM | Waalwijk, Netherlands | 17 | | 96t | Kyle Martin | Trackmagic/SwedeTech Maxter | Dallas, TX | 27 | | 58 | Kyle Ray | GP/SwedeTech TM | Littleton, CO | 19 | | 28 | Kyle Wharff | Tony Kart/Vortex | Miramar, FL | 22 | | 86j | Kyle Wiegand | TopKart/SwedeTech Maxter | Greenwood, IN | 20 | | 23 | Logan Gomez | First Kart/SRA TM | Crown Point, IN | 17 | | 49 | Marc Elliott | GP/SwedeTech TM | Golden, CO | 18 | | 5 | Matt Jaskol | TopKart/DDR TM | Las Vegas, NV | 21 | | 156 | Matthew Trott | CRG/Maxter | Kingwood, TX | 16 | | 95 | Michael Valiante | Italkart/Italian Motors TM | Vancouver, BC | 26 | | 5r | Michael Vincec | CRG/SwedeTech TM | Stouffville, ON | 15 | | 25 | Mike Beeny | Arrow/SwedeTech Maxter | Sandy, UT | 26 | | 107c | Nick Halen | MS Kart/Honda | Carson City, NV | 20 | | 45 | Nick Maddison | First Kart/SRA TM | Calgary, AB | 22 | | 34 | Philippe Gelinas | Sodikart/SRA TM | Quebec, QC | 21 | | 55 | Roby Feazell | Sodikart/SRA TM | Simi Valley, CA | 28 | | 71 | Ron White | GP/SwedeTech Maxter | San Jose, CA | 25 | | 88 | Ryan Kinnear | Intrepid/Champion TM | Sugar Land, TX | 21 | | 119 | Ryan Yop | Tony Kart/Vortex | Salinas, CA | 19 | | 140 | Stuart Marsell | Arrow/SwedeTech TM | Zellwood, FL | 18 | | 4 | Tad Funakoshi | Italkart/Italian Motors TM | Galt, CA | 19 | | 181j | Troy Hottmann | Merlin/C-G Racing Pavesi | Cottage Grove, WI | 24 | |
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