|
 |
|
 |
| September 29, 2007 News |
| EKN Trackside: WKA Manufacturer’s Cup Series - Round 5 - Saturday Report |
| |
 | Mark Dismore Jr. earned two demanding wins in day one
(Photo: GoRacingMagazine.com) |
The first day of racing action is in the books for the Bridgestone/George Kugler Manufacturer’s Cup Series driven by Mazda at the New Castle Motorsports Park for the Margay Nationals driven by Racersites.com. Over 500 entries will make up 20 classes on the weekend with great weather on Friday for the full day of practice with bright sunshine on Saturday to begin racing. For Saturday, eight classes would decide the provisional champions as the divisional results still need to be calculated at a later date. Putting in a great day of work included Mark Dismore Jr. and Austin Self, both picking up two wins on the day.
First up on the day for racing action was the Yamaha Heavy class. Kevin Nelson (Margay) came into the even leading the standings having won all four previous finals. Mark Dismore Jr. (Arrow) would need some help along with a victory to try and knock Nelson off the top. After posting the fast lap in Qualifying and winning the Prefinal, Dismore and Ryan Stewart (Margay) locked horns early in the Final. It looked to be an early start to a great 12 lap race until Dismore’s kart came in and began to pull away following the first few laps. Dismore drove to a six second victory ahead of Stewart. Nelson won the battle for third ahead of Chuck Tate (Margay) and Scott Ferris (Margay) to hold the provisional championship.
Yamaha Jr. Sportsman provided a great finish as the Cadet division always does at the New Castle Motorsports Park. The early stages saw a three kart battle between championship leader Sage Karam (Birel), Austin Self (Birel) and Tyler Thomas (Top Kart). As they battled, the fight became five with Kyle Tilley (Arrow) and Jeff Myers Jr. (Birel) joining the fun. As they battled in the final stages of the race, the fight for the win came down to three - Karam, Self and Tilley. On the final lap, Karam held the point down the long straight to the final corner with Self on his bumper on the inside. Tilley got a run on the outside but could only pull along side Self. Karam pulled back to the outside to get a run through the corner, opening the door for Self to take the inside line. Side by side, they went through the corner with some contact resulting in Karam riding the grass toward the line, Self in the middle, and Tilley cutting down low for a three-wide photo finish, resulting in Self getting the win by 0.004s over Tilley and Karam.
 | Caleb Loniewski scored the win in the competitive TaG division
(Photo: GoRacingMagazine.com) |
The TaG division boasted 44 entries for the weekend, cutting it to 30 through Qualifying and the LCQ. New Castle regular Josef Newgarden (Arrow) posted the best lap to earn the pole for the Prefinal but it was Caleb Loniewski (Kosmic) who took the win to start inside row one alongside championship leader Kyle Wiegand (Top Kart). After some initial swapping of positions for the front three, Loniewski and Wiegand pulled out to a good lead over Newgarden with Chris Wehrheim running comfortably in fourth as the rest of the field battled for fifth. Though Wiegand was on his bumper for most of the race, he was unable to challenge for the top spot. Loniewski took home his second TaG victory of the month after winning the Rock Island Grand Prix with Wiegand, Newgarden and Wehrheim completing the top four. Brandon Adkins (Margay) ran fifth for most of the race until a charging Mark Dismore Jr. (Arrow) who started 16th came through to finish fifth.
Looking to earn his first Triple Crown award in his short career, Cody Robinson (Arrow) began the journey with Yamaha Jr. SuperCan Lite. In Qualifying, Merlin driver TJ Koyen was quickest, a full half second ahead of Robinson, however Robinson would take the Prefinal win over Steve Nemeth (Birel), Julia Landauer (Birel) and Koyen. The main event saw Josh Call (Margay) move from fifth to second and challenge for the win as the two pulled out to a comfortable gap on the battle for third. Though he looked inside, Call was never able to make a pass on Robinson to earn his fifth straight class win and basically lock up his first championship of the year. Koyen won the battle for third with Zach Busch (Margay) making a last lap pass for fourth and Colton Ramsey (Margay) completed the top five.
HPV Lite was thought to be a two man battle as Mike Giessen (Birel) and Brandon Adkins (Margay) - both running six classes on the weekend - were the top two after Qualifying and the Prefinal. The Final however would be all Adkins as he was able to break away from Giessen and Ryan Stewart (Birel) for a three-second victory. CJ Lintner (Arrow) - making the jump to the Senior level this weekend - battled for second and eventually finished fourth ahead of veteran Brian Jacobson (Corsa).
 | Austin Self took home both Cadet division wins in last corner passes
(Photo: GoRacingMagazine.com) |
It was the Karam and Self Show - Act 2 for the Cadet Jr. Sportsman Final for Saturday. Following a red flag for Joey Kuley and Jerrett Zaleski - both walking away from the accident - Self and Karam stretched out to a comfortable lead for a one-on-one battle for the win. Self advanced to the top spot and took the white flag as the leader. The two came around in the same formation until the far end corner when Self drifted to the inside coming onto the long straight. Karam passed on the outside with Self tucking in for a quick draft to pull alongside again on the inside heading into the final corner. The two went side-by-side again with Karam going off in the grass and Self going on to take the checkered flag. Karam crossed the line in the grass for second while Kilian Bloat gave Birel the top three spots. Junocos driver Cody Humphreys and Anthony Furfari completed the top five podium.
Yamaha Masters had a new competitor for the weekend as Kevin Nelson (Margay) entered the class for the first time this year as he swept the class on the day, taking the P1 spot in all three on-track sessions. He was challenged in both the Prefinal and Final. The main event saw a four kart battle for the win with Nelson holding off championship leader Jeff Jewell (Haase) by 0.111s with Peter Vetter (Margay) and John Dixon (Birel) crossing the line behind them. Missy Nelson Tate (Margay) completed the top five.
Dismore earned his second win on the weekend in Yamaha Sr. Sportsman Lite class. He had a great fight with top Qualifier Giessen and Prefinal winner Lintner. Dismore quickly moved to the top spot in the early portion of the race with Lintner on his bumper. The two were able to draft away from the pack and ran that way for most of the race. Lintner seemed to be buying his time, waiting for a last lap pass for his first Senior win. As the duo took the white flag, Lintner lost his chain and coasted to the infield. Dismore went on to take a five second win. The battle for third now became a battle for second as the group went three wide through the final corner with Giessen coming out in front to cross the line second ahead of Adkins, Evan Batt (Margay), and Stewart, all within three-tenths of each other.
 | Cody Robinson leaves day one with two provisional championships, including a win in Jr. Can Lite
(Photo: GoRacingMagazine.com) |
ICC had its most entries of the year with 18 drivers competing with the usual suspects up front. Championship leader Chris Kuenning (Kosmic) led all drivers in Qualifying but it was Wiegand in the races, winning both the Prefinal and Final. Kuenning ran second in both races with Sean Noonan putting two Top Karts in the top three. Father/son duo of Kurt and Cole Mathewson finished fourth and fifth with Cole getting the edge on his elder.
The final race of the day saw TJ Koyen earning his first Man. Cup win of the year. He and Prefinal winner Robinson pulled out from the field to start the main event. Koyen controlled the top spot for most of the race and was able to keep Robinson at bay. In the final laps, Landauer caught the lead group and was able to pass for second in the last lap. Robinson would have to settle for third but would still leave the weekend on top of the standings, his second toward the Triple Crown. Busch won the race to the line for fourth over top Qualifier Tommy Andersen (Merlin).
EKN will be back again Sunday for our complete Trackside Live coverage along with RaceFanRadio.com providing a full day of internet radio coverage full of interviews and race play-by-play. |
|
|
Go Top
|
|
|
|
|
