This week is the official ‘Rotax Week’ at EKN as all the Rotaxians from around the United States are calling Denver, Colorado home for the Champ Car Rotax Kart Challenge Grand Nationals at The Track at Centennial. With 239 entries at nearly 6,000 ft. above sea level, this year’s event will be one of the biggest and highest events of the year. Along with the prestigious title of Grand National Champion, the drivers will be racing to earn a spot on Team America for the Rotax Grand Finals, set for November 26-December 1 in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The Track at Centennial (www.TheTrack.us) is located at the Centennial Airport, Southeast of downtown Denver. The circuit is an Alan Wilson designed 8/10-mile course that is 27 feet wide and has an overall elevation change of 17 feet. The Track was completed in April of this year and hosted club races all year along with two Colorado Sprint Championship events.
It wouldn’t be the Rotax Grand Nationals if rain was not forecasted. As of Monday afternoon, the forecast for the event shows about a 30% chance of isolated thunderstorms for the first three days with the final day showing a small chance of precipitation. The past two years when the event was set in the Midwest, rain was a major factor in the results.
New to this year’s event will be a live broadcast on the Internet via RaceFanRadio.com. The program made its debut last October at the New Castle Motorsports Park covering their 200-lap enduro. The final broadcast schedule will be completed soon with tentative plans for an initial two-hour broadcast from the Tuesday evening welcome party and awards banquet, which will be held at a location near the track. Plans are also in the works to have a broadcast on Wednesday night from the host hotel, highlighting the first full day of practice. Each broadcast session will be full of interviews and insight into this highly competitive event.
The broadcast team has been confirmed and will be headed by North America’s premier kart racing announcer, Rob Howden of eKartingNews.com. Chris Wheeler, RaceFanRadio.com’s resident karting analyst, will join Howden to round out the on-air squad. In addition to Rob and Chris, Ken Walker will be handling the track announcing for the entire event. Walker, the #1 karting announcer in Europe, has worked the last five Rotax World Finals and will provide yet another dynamic to the broadcast week. The program will work in close cooperation with EKN to serve as a one-two punch.
During the week, SSC Racing has organized the “Ken Johnson Benefit Auction”. Johnson, a Rotax Challenge reporter/photographer, was critically injured in an auto accident while attending the Rotax Grand Finals in Viana do Castelo, Portugal. Although his physical condition continues to improve as each week passes, the expenses incurred have been very substantial. The auction will include some of the best merchandise in the karting industry.
 | The Track at Centennial will host the 2007 Rotax Grand Nationals
(Photo: thetrack.us) |
On-track, the drivers will all be racing for the prestigious title of Grand Nationals champion along with earning spots on Team America for the Rotax Grand Finals. The top three in the DD2, Senior and Junior categories will earn a spot on the team along with the Masters champion. The Mini Max winner will also be invited as part of the team but will not compete at the Grand Finals.
Many drivers from last year’s team in Portugal are returning this year to earn a spot again. The only defending Grand National champion returning to defend their crown in ’07 will be DD2 driver Jordon Musser (Birel). The unofficial King of Rotax in the United States has three Grand National titles in the Senior Max class on his resume over the past five years and will look to add a second DD2 championship. Joining him is the largest and toughest DD2 field in Grand Nationals history (35 entries). Curtis Cooksey (CRG), Nathan Mauel (CRG) finished third and fifth at last year’s event and ran well at the Grand Finals, both making the main event. Some national ICC drivers will be making the step down from six gears to two, as the Marsell brothers - Brandon and Stuart - will run aboard Arrow DD2 machines. Stuart was a member of the ’05 Team America that went to Malaysia.
Three drivers will be doing double duty, running both DD2 and Senior. Arie Ouimet and ’06 Team America member Joey Collins will be aboard CRG machines with David Chapel aboard Arrow frames. It will be interesting to see if the extra track time helps or hurts them in each of their classes with the multiple-heat format this week.
68 drivers will be doing battle in the Senior division this year with a large handful of drivers primed to take their first Grand National title. Some heavy hitters from the national scene will be on hand, ’05 champion Wes Phillips, Mike Giessen (Birel), ’05 Junior champion James Kennedy (Sodi Kart), Guillermo Freile (Tony Kart) along regional stars Ariel Castro (FA Kart), Mike Herda (Birel), Nick Johnston (CRG), Brandon and Eric Jones both on Arrows, Cory Pollock (Birel), Spencer Raine (CRG), Clark Sanchez-Figueras (Kart Mini), and Greg Welch (Shockwave). A number of drivers who ran Junior last year are making the move up a division, including ’06 Team America members Austin Isaac (Birel), Michael Self (Arrow), and Connor Dimond (CRG).
47 drivers will battle in the Masters division while 51 and 39 are the numbers in Junior and Mini Max.
The event will officially kick off with a Welcome Banquet sponsored by Bondurant SuperKart School. The dinner will take place in one of the Centennial Airport hangers within walking distance of the track.
Wednesday will be the only official practice day for the event with drivers running in assigned groups. Thursday morning will be the qualifying sessions followed by the beginning of heat races. Friday morning will pick up with the remaining heat races before jumping into the Last Chance Qualifiers. Saturday is the final day of action with the Prefinals run in the morning before the official ceremonies and the main events.
Following the Finals, an Awards BBQ will take place with Mazda, Champ car and Rotax officials on hand to recognize and congratulate the Grand National Champions and present the 10 deserving drivers a spot on the Rotax Team America presented by Mazda. Also announced will be the recipient of the Skip Barber Regional Series scholarship, chosen by a panel of judges to choose a winner from the 16 to 18 age bracket. Each pole winner from Qualifying on Thursday in each of the five divisions will be awarded a $200 certificate for RH2way.com - one of the nation’s largest racing radio dealer
EKN will be on hand, providing the ‘Trackside Live’ coverage with immediate reporting of results, daily editorial and photo galleries. For the official event page, click HERE. For the official discussion thread, click HERE.
DD2 Tentative Entry List
| No. | Last, First | Chassis | Hometown| 06 | Beeny, Mike | Arrow | Sandy, UT | | 17 | Bortolussi, Peter | CRG | Upper Brookville, NY | | 31 | Bosanoz, Cole | CRG | Naperville, IL | | 44 | Chapel, David | Arrow | Aurora, CO | | 08 | Colla, Marcelo | CRG | Mashpee, MA | | Collins, Joey | CRG | Bakersfield, CA | | 41 | Cooksey, Curtis | CRG | Las Vegas, NV | | 19 | Czerniewski, Antoni | CRG | San Diego, CA | | 222 | Freda, Joseph | CRG | Notasulga, AL | | 97 | Freile Sr., Guillermo | CRG | Aventura, FL | | 24 | Gordon, Phillip | CRG | Evanston, IL | | 22 | Grove, January | CRG | San Jose, CA | | 173 | Isaac, Tigh | Birel | Salt Lake City, UT | | 175 | Jennings, Chris | MMK | The Colony, TX | | 20 | Kozak, Derek | Birel | Oconto Falls, WI | | 09 | Liefooghe, Gregory | | San Francisco, CA | | 91 | Lopez, Andres | CRG | Opa-locka, FL | | 33 | Mair, Michael | CRG | Miami, FL | | 82 | Marsell, Brandon | Arrow | Zellwood, FL | | 140 | Marsell, Stuart | Arrow | Zellwood, FL | | 02 | Martinelli, Rene | Tony Kart | Tampa, FL | | 16 | Mauel, Nathan | CRG | Broken Arrow, OK | | 26 | McCoy, Austin | PCR | Winter Haven, FL | | 30 | Mobley, J.D. | Birel | Castle Rock, CO | | 01 | Musser, Jordon | Birel | Coppell, TX | | Oconnell, Mike | Arrow | Larkspur , CO | | 23 | Ouimet, Arie | CRG | Plymouth, MA | | 77 | Ply, Zach | CRG | Joliet, IL | | 74 | Poy-Wing, Glen | Swiss Hutless | Oakland, CA | | Ray, Kyle | Arrow | Littleton, CO | | 07 | Scharlach, Gary | CRG | Sausalito, CA | | 12 | Shaw, Kris | CRG | Sebastopol, CA | | 69 | Simonar, David | Birel | Luxemburg, WI | | 56 | Vaughan, Allie | Arrow | Indian Rocks Beach, FL | | 27 | Warrington, Jack | Birel | Parker, CO | |
Senior Tentative Entry List
| No. | Last, First | Chassis | Hometown| 23 | Anderson, Martin | Gillard | Kingston, JAMAICA | | 157 | Arscott, Phillip | Swiss Hutless | Portland, OR | | 127 | Bartell, Scott | | Rome, NY | | 51 | Benros, Dillon | All Kart | Riverside, RI | | 00 | Boulle, Nicholas | Gillard | Dallas, TX | | 10 | Boyd, Dean | Veloce | Double Oak, TX | | 121 | Castle, Taylor | Birel | La Palma, CA | | 179 | Castro, Ariel | FA Kart | Hialeah, FL | | 84 | Chapa, Seth | Tony Kart | Lafayette, CO | | 440 | Chapel, David | Arrow | Aurora, CO | | 46 | Clark, Zac | Arrow | Salt Lake City, UT | | 91 | Cloud, Jeff | Birel | Mansfield, TX | | 278 | Coffin, Eddie | Arrow | Siasconset, MA | | 37 | Collins, Joey | CRG | Bakersfield, CA | | 184 | Czapiga, Stephen | First Kart | Gainesville, FL | | 19 | Daniel, Chris | Arrow | Woodstock, CA | | 18 | Dawn, Quinton | Birel | Cedar Hill, TX | | de Wardt, Winston | Arrow | Pueblo, CO | | 09 | Demeter, Kyle | Arrow | Stockton, IL | | 38 | Dillon, Graham | CRG | Castle Rock, CO | | 60 | Dimond, Connor | CRG | Canyon Lake, CA | | 79 | Esparza, Daniel | Sodi | Grand Prairie, TX | | 223 | Freile, Guillermo | Tony Kart | Aventura, FL | | 268 | Giessen, Mike | Birel | Three Oaks, MI | | 12 | Herda, Mike | Birel | Las Vegas, NV | | 42 | Holbrook, Jory | | Cumming, GA | | 409 | Isaac, Austin | Birel | Salt Lake City, UT | | 28 | Johnston, Nick | CRG | Reseda, CA | | 85 | Jones, Brandon | Arrow | Marion, IL | | 34 | Jones, Eric | Arrow | Marion, IL | | 210 | Kennedy, James | Sodi Kart | Escondido, CA | | 13 | Kingsley, Cameron | CRG | Camano Island, WA | | 22 | Lazar, Eric | Jesolo | Alhambra, CA | | 25 | Maler, Kenny | Birel | Acton, CA | | 180 | Maxfield, Garrett | Arrow | Murray, UT | | 99 | McCallum, Alan | CRG | Houston, TX | | 48 | Modoff, Carl | CRG | Las Vegas, NV | | 90 | Moodie, Peter | Gillard | Kingston, JAMAICA | | 69 | Odom, Sheridan | Birel | Waco, TX | | 17 | Ostiguy, Matthew | CRG | San Diego, CA | | 230 | Ouimet, Arie | CRG | Plymouth, MA | | 20 | Owens, Sean | Birel | Arlington, TX | | 07 | Parazinho, Thiago | Kart Mini | Boca Raton, FL | | 55 | Peach, Daren | PCR | Franklin, WI | | 172 | Pedrosa, Victor | Kart Mini | Davie, FL | | 06 | Phillips, Wes | Birel | American Canyon, CA | | 722 | Pollock, Cory | Birel | Murrieta, CA | | 102 | Raine, Spencer | CRG | Newberg, OR | | 72 | Rosse, Pat | Arrow | Golden, CO | | 14 | Saker, Anthony | Birel | Boca Raton, FL | | 21 | Sanchez-Figueras, Clark | Kart Mini | Shadow Hills, CA | | 56 | Satter, Nick | CRG | Bremerton, WA | | 54 | Schumacher, Eric | Kosmic | Appleton, WI | | 57 | Scott, Roger | CRG | Las Vegas, NV | | 50 | Searcy, Ben | Intrepid | Tuscaloosa, AL | | 412 | Self, Michael | Arrow | Park City, UT | | 27 | Siegel, Jared | PTK | Green Bay, WI | | 02 | Smith, Clayton | CRG | Arlington, WA | | 107 | Snow, Clayton | Energy | San Jose, CA | | 04 | Stewart, Timothy | Merlin | Fort Lauderdale, FL | | 11 | Thompson, John | Arrow | Stansbury Park, UT | | 471 | Tracy, Cody | First Kart | West Jordan, UT | | 45 | Welch, Gregory | Shockwave | Morrison, CO | | 36 | Woodsford, Zach | Birel | Las Vegas, NV | | 08 | Wright, Shelton | Arrow | Decatur, AL | | 77 | Zaccaria, Michael | Zanardi | Revere , MA | | 88 | Zaccaria, Salvie | Zanardi | Revere , MA | | 32 | Zippie, David | Birel | Aurora, CO | |
Masters Tentative Entry List
| No. | Last, First | Chassis | Hometown| 777 | Bartlett, Maverick | Arrow | Jackson , WY | | 117 | Bilyy, Ihor | VMT | Canton, GA | | 20 | Bonilla, Paul | | Cypress, CA | | 52 | Brosius, Jay | | Dublin, CA | | 03 | Carlisle, David | CRG | Elk Grove, CA | | 72 | Carlson, Dave | Birel | North Richland Hills, TX | | 31 | Crow, John | Birel | Anaheim, CA | | 14 | Daniel, Mike | CRG | Newberg, OR | | 71 | Desanti, Gunter | Arrow | Colorado Springs, CO | | 369 | Dobrynski, Ryan | CRG | Colorado Springs, CO | | 06 | Ebersole, Rodney | GP | Grant, CO | | 61 | Fiedler, David | Birel | Port Charlotte, FL | | 44 | Fisher, Kurt | CRG | Kirkland, WA | | 19 | Gordon, Charles | Shockwave | Erie, CO | | 58 | Gutierrez, Roman | | Arvada , CO | | 29 | Hamel, Russel | CRG | Pelham, NH | | 33 | Hannen, Tim | CRG | South Kent, CT | | 161 | Harwin, David | Tony Kart | Reno, NV | | 511 | Hattersley, Gary | Arrow | Stow, MA | | 141 | Hubbard, Mark | CRG | Seattle , WA | | 86 | Jackson, Erik | Arrow | Long Beach, CA | | 04 | Jones, Mike | Birel | Sachse, TX | | 08 | Karr, Keith | Birel | Montevallo, AL | | 84 | Keesling, Jim | Birel | Englewood, CO | | 18 | Kelleher, Sean | Birel | Lewisville, TX | | 43 | Krivanek, J. Mark | Arrow | Salida, CO | | 09 | Lehman, Dave | Arrow | Lakewood, WA | | 333 | Mair, Marc | CRG | Miami, FL | | 11 | Mandino, Matt | CRG | Colorado Springs, CO | | 876 | Myers, Mark | Merlin | Kingston, JAMAICA | | 17 | Ortiz, DJ | Margay | Plano, TX | | 88 | Pergande, David | Birel | Friendswood, TX | | Price, Mike | First Kart | Heber City, UT | | 108 | Raine, Alex | CRG | Newberg, OR | | 28 | Roberts, Wes | Merlin | Lake Mills, WI | | 38 | Rock, Christopher | Maranello | Kehonkson, NY | | 47 | Schmidt, Shannon | Arrow | Salt Lake City, UT | | 51 | Seesemann, Andy | Birel | Orange, CA | | 16 | Siewert, Jeff | Birel | Stillwater, MN | | 12 | Smith, Brad | CRG | Lexington , NC | | 81 | Tatum, Jerry Shawn | Arrow | Salt Lake City, UT | | 65 | Theys, Brad | Birel | Kewaunee, WI | | 41 | Thomas, Ian | Tony Kart | Anaheim Hills, CA | | 07 | Valafar, Sammy | CRG | Las Vegas, NV | | 77 | Vaughan, Eric | Arrow | Indian Rocks Beach, FL | | Walker, Paul | | San Francisco, CA | | 95 | Wilkey, Ben | | Granger, IN | |
Junior Tentative Entry List
| No. | Last, First | Chassis | Hometown| 18 | Alberico, Neil | Top Kart | Monte Sereno, CA | | 0 | Bargas, Garbriel | Margay | Hurst, TX | | 007 | Bird, Harrison | CRG | Simsbury, CT | | 258 | Bonin, Zak | Kosmic | St. Augustine, FL | | 38 | Bradley, Jack | Birel | Littleton, CO | | 19 | Buecker, Danny | CRG | Redmond, WA | | 44 | Castro, Carlos | PCR | Southwest Ranches, FL | | 07 | Childs, Austin | CRG | St. George, UT | | 14 | Coplen, Justin | CRG | Downey, CA | | 55 | Cronis, Charles | Arrow | Mendon, MA | | 141 | Dunne, Andy | Birel | Westmont, IL | | 02 | Gennari, Jarvis | Tony Kart | Boca Raton, FL | | 22 | Hobbs, Andrew | Merlin | Bayside, WI | | 114 | Hubbard, Cullen | CRG | Seattle , WA | | 27 | Jadallah, Jordan | CRG | Hillsborough, CA | | 15 | Jocelyn, Cameron | Birel | Laguna Hills, CA | | 08 | Josephson, Markus | | Vancouver, WA | | 115 | Korte, Clint | Birel | Grapevine, TX | | 09 | Layton, Ian | Arrow | Woodland Park, CO | | 34 | Liberante, Race | CRG | Quartz Hill, CA | | Linse, Robert | CRG | Lynnwood, WA | | 77 | Madej, Mason | Birel | Vernon Hills, IL | | 70 | Maestas, Vinny | CRG | Corona, CA | | 33 | Mair, Matthew | Tony Kart | Miami, FL | | 333 | Maroney, Miles | CRG | Topanga Canyon, CA | | 16 | Mauk, Devin | Birel | Flower Mound, TX | | 81 | Mejia, Mikee | Birel | Danville, CA | | 20 | Miinch, Taylor | Birel | El Cajon, CA | | 199 | Milavitz, Aaron | Merlin | Shawano, WI | | 416 | Mitchell, Rebecca | First Kart | West Jordan, UT | | 67 | Mottaz, Jake | Birel | San Ramon, CA | | 61 | Myers, Phillip | Merlin | Kingston, JAMAICA | | Neuman, Casey | CRG | Henderson, NV | | 05 | Pagano, Louie | Birel | Camarillo, CA | | 125 | Pearlman, Jacob | Birel | Carlsbad, CA | | 56 | Pellegrini, Mark | Arrow | Bridgewater, MA | | Prue, Craig John | | | | 17 | Robb , Collin | Birel | Rolling Meadows, IL | | 330 | Robinson, Cody | Arrow | Ohio | | 555 | Runkle, Jesse | Shockwave | Lakewood, CO | | 75 | Scheiber, Brandon | Arrow | Maple Valley, WA | | 99 | Schilling, Grant | CRG | Rochester, MA | | 01 | Siewert, Anthony | CRG | Stillwater, MN | | 11 | Siewert, Brooke | CRG | Stillwater, MN | | 25 | Stawicki, Taylor | Margay | Argyle, TX | | 111 | Studer, Jesup | CRG | Blaine, MN | | 47 | Tillery, Austin | Arrow | Hampton Cove, AL | | 83 | Toby, Jesse | Tony Kart | Commerce City, CO | | 88 | Yardley, Colby | Birel | West Jordan, UT | | 387 | Zanella, Jose | FA Kart | Miami, FL | | 06 | Zecman, Ryan | Birel | Livonia, MI | |
Mini Max Tentative Entry List
| No. | Last, First | Chassis | Hometown| 02 | Ackermann, Clay | Birel | La Grange, KY | | 66 | Bergstrom, Alec | CRG | Edmonds, WA | | 95 | Carlson, Shawn | CRG | Afton, MN | | 79 | Chaponick, Dore | Birel | Miami, FL | | 83 | Daley, Colin | Gillard | Kingston, JAMAICA | | 51 | Davis, Michael | Birel | Goleta, CA | | 80 | Dickerson, Dakota | Birel | San Diego, CA | | 07 | Enerson, RC | Tony Kart | New Port Richey, FL | | 01 | Ferrucci, Santino | S-1 | Woodbury, CT | | 72 | Fittipaldi da cruz, Pietro | Kart Mini | Palm Beach Gardens, FL | | 12 | Freda, Benjamin | CRG | Notasulga, AL | | 06 | French, Jake | Margay | Sachse, TX | | 09 | Harrington, Brennan | Birel | Des Plaines, IL | | 60 | Kerkove, Alex | Margay | Argyle, TX | | 52 | Langevin, Cheyenne | Top Kart | Romoland, CA | | 17 | Lliteras, Michael | | Fort Lauderdale, FL | | 13 | Lopez, Miguel | PCR | Tyler, TX | | 40 | MacEwen, Cole | Birel | Fort Collins, CO | | 22 | Mack, Austin | All Kart | Warren, RI | | 57 | McKeever, Taylor | Tony Kart | Tarpon Springs, FL | | 56 | Mckinster, K.J. | CRG | Portland, OR | | 33 | Meek, Colby | Arrow | Peyton, CO | | 77 | Moore, Brandon | KRT | Colorado Springs, CO | | 28 | Myers, AJ | Wild Kart | Oldsmar, FL | | 96 | Nagel, Chaz | Birel | Azle, TX | | 18 | New, Connor | Shockwave | Lakewood, CO | | 08 | Perry, Jordan | Tony Kart | Miami, FL | | 127 | Rios Jr., Jesus | CRG | Miami, FL | | 11 | Rudolph, Ryan | Maranello | Denver, CO | | 24 | Schimmel, Austin | Arrow | Colorado Springs, CO | | 25 | Silva, Nicholas | Kart Mini | Encino, CA | | 31 | Simpson, Lil' Al | Birel | Los Angeles, CA | | 04 | Studer, Nicholas | CRG | Blaine, MN | | 10 | Tartaglia, Alex | KRT | Colleyville, TX | | 29 | Tesoro, Dominic | Tony Kart | Plant City, FL | | 68 | Tillery, Christopher | CRG | Hampton Cove, AL | | 61 | Udell, Alec | Tony Kart | The Woodlands, TX | | 27 | Waddingham, Thomas | Shockwave | Andrews, TX | | 05 | West, Jack | Tony Kart | Sarasota, FL | |
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