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| June 22, 2007 News |
| EKN Trackside: IKF Sprint/Shifter Grand Nationals - Day 2 |
| Article by: Sean Buur - Go Racing Magazine |
 | Camden Geise earned his first Duffy by winning the tough Junior 1 division
(Photo: Go Racing Magazine) |
Day two of the IKF Grand Nationals presented by King Taco and PanaVise took place again under very sunny skies at the always fabulous Buttonwillow Raceway Park karting circuit. Today might have been the most exciting day of racing I have ever seen at this track. We had passes, we had crashes, and we even had a DQ for a Duffy, but what we didn’t have was a dull moment. Results will be official Friday morning sometime but as of now everything is unofficial and pure speculation on my part!
Maxx Motorsports HPV 4 Heavy got the ball rolling today with Brian Phillipsen scoring the pole with a time of 52.970. Michael “the Riehl Deal” Riehl was off pole and followed Phillipsen to the line in the heat race. Phillipsen gained an advantage on the start of the main event, but Riehl was quick to make his bid for the lead. It looked like Riehl was going to just drive away, but after a few laps Phillipsen’s kart seemed to come in and we were back to a race up front. Lap after lap Riehl led Phillipsen’s #59 around the 7/10ths of a mile circuit. Aaron Koop and Rob Logan had a blockbuster battle for third place just slightly back of the lead duo. Little did we know just how important that position would be at the end of the 21 lap final. Riehl and Phillipsen went into the back portion of the track and contact ensued. Riehl pulled back onto the racing line to defend his new position of 2nd place and made more contact with Logan. Logan’s run ended in 2nd place on track with Phillipsen crossing the line in 1st and Riehl in 3rd. That running order didn’t last as Phillipsen was penalized for rough driving. Logan became the HPV 4 Heavy Duffy winner while Riehl was left with only disappointment and a smaller trophy.
After a great run yesterday, Brandon Reed was at it again today scoring the Grand Products / TopKart Junior 1 Screaming Eagle pole award. Reed went on to win the Prefinal over Raquel Martinez and Camden Geise. As with most Jr. 1 races the lead pack consisted of nearly a dozen drivers at one point. John Norris, Connor Ford, and Kiel Spaulding joined Reed, Martinez and Geise in the pursuit of the all mighty Duffy. Reed led a large portion of the race, and when he wasn’t you could tell he still wanted to. Reed and Spaulding got together with only five laps to go springing Geise and Martinez, but Reed wasn’t out of it yet. With two to go it was anyone’s ball game and the top three traded the lead. Martinez had Reed’s number in the back section and she set him up as planned. He countered in the next corner, but she crossed back under him. Geise sat in third hoping for the slightest chance, and his wish was granted. Reed made one last ditch effort resulting in both he and Martinez being sidelined. Geise crossed the finish line with his hands in the air celebrating his first Grand Nationals victory. Norris capped off his great day with a 2nd place trophy. Ford too capitalized on the crash and moved up to finish 3rd. Austin Barnes had the run of the day, driving up from 26th to finish in 4th place. Jacob Will got banged around a bit in the final but still managed to bring it home in 5th.
 | Jacob Neal had to go with a back-up kart and still earned the Formula Y victory
(Photo: Go Racing Magazine) |
Nick Johnston was the Position 1 Motor Sports Formula Y pole sitter running a 51.524. Joey Licata Jr. snagged the Prefinal win setting up a spectacular final that no one could have predicted. Licata, Johnston, Matt Johnson, Jacob Neal and Mike Varela all led at least one lap of the final, and three of them did it all on the same lap. Everyone jockey’d for position throughout the course of the race and one by one the lead pack grew larger and larger. By the time the white flag flew five drivers were in a position to win this race, but Johnson, Neal and Varela had the best seats. The leaders made three passes for the win on the final lap and all without contact. Neal snuck by all for an impressive win. Neal overcame adversity in qualifying today when his F-Y kart got away from him when attempting to push start it. Well it started, left the grid without him, crossed the track, gained speed, and eventually ran into the dirt burm on the other side of the track. His chassis was toast, so with a backup ride he managed to pull this one out over some of the best in the business. All the drivers did a great job of keeping it clean and not making it any less exciting to watch. Johnson finished second again, one more runner’s up finish and it will be a trend. Varela earned his first of two good finishes today in 3rd. Licata and Johnston rounded out the top five.
The Pitts Performance HPV 2 Junior class had a hard time getting their final started. Garrison Masters was the pole sitter and the Prefinal winner, but his chief rival Dylan Albiani had an issue in the heat race and fell way back into the mix of things. Albiani was going to need a little luck to get after Masters in the main event. After a red flag for an injured Justin Coplen (he was fine later in the day), the Juniors finally took the green flag. Masters sped off into the distance and Albiani needed a few laps to break free of the pack. Not to sell the pack short on their expertise in driving but it was hard to turn away from the match race up front. Neil Alberico, Branden Underwood, Miles Maroney, Mason Marotta, Brenden Phinny and Donny St. Ours all scrapped quite hard for their positions on the podium, but well up the track from them Masters was driving the smartest race of his life. Once Albiani ran down the leader I thought it was all over for Masters, but it took a few laps before Albiani was able to make a clean pass at the end of the straightaway. All Albiani needed was three clean corners without Masters and he would have been gone. Masters countered with a pass in turn four to maintain his lead. Back and forth this went on for at least 5 laps. Masters never let Albiani out of his grasp and managed the slightest lead on the white flag lap. It was just enough for Masters to earn his third IKF Grand National title. Albiani finished a close second while Alberico, Underwood, and Maroney capped off the top five.
 | Garrison Masters earned his third Duffy of his short career by winning HPV 2 Junior
(Photo: Go Racing Magazine) |
The PanaVise 125cc National Cup race is one that I’m not 100% sure on how it officially turned out. Joey Licata Jr. was the pole sitter and the Prefinal winner. He also just whooped on everyone in the final too. Really, he was the class of the field and untouchable on track. The race for 2nd was pretty good with Chris Scribner, Jacob Neal, Cody Hodgson, and Nic LeDuci all fighting for best in class. After the butt kicking administered by Licata, things got interesting. First off LeDuci was DQ’d at scales for being light and I’m fairly sure that was for 2nd place. It gets better, or worse actually as Licata was DQ’d in tech for something with the spark plug being broke, or something like that. All that’s still unofficial but if true your 2007 IKF Grand National Duffy winner Cody Hodgson. Neal would be elevated to 2nd and Scriber would take the 3rd place honors.
Precision Works Sr. Sportsman Heavy was yet another epic battle. You never want to see a class with only eleven entries, but when 6 of those can win the race it makes it a lot more acceptable. Neil McCoy set the pace in qualifying and backed it up in the Prefinal. With two eagles under his belt already he was hungry for a Duffy. The only two things getting in McCoy’s way of his goal were Jordan Brown and Michael Varela. The last class of the day is always hardest to watch, but people actually came out of their pits to see how this race unfolded. McCoy held down the point, but Brown had is heart set on the win. They passed a few times on the last lap with both of them losing momentum coming off the corner before the famed Buttonwillow chicane. Varela saw his opportunity to pounce and did, slipping by on the outside to steal his first National win as a senior driver. The final Duffy of the day went to Varela and McCoy had to settle for 2nd, and Brown 3rd. These guys raced so hard and so clean it was amazing. All of them should be proud for their on track behavior. Too often the bonsai move is all you can think of and your reputation suffers after that.
Tomorrow will be the last day of good racing I’m afraid. Shifter entries are not looking good for Saturday. I will give mad props to IKF for combining these two events. I’d love to see 4 cycle added to the program and a few 2 cycle classes dropped so we can have just one IKF Sprint Grand Nationals, but dare to dream I guess.
Day 2 Final Results |
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