Phil Giebler Racing’s Williams Wins, Tatikian Third, Hays Third in SKUSA ProKart Challenge at Buttonwillow
Phil Giebler Racing’s Carter Williams of Clovis, Calif., drove to his third straight victory in the S2 Semi-Pro Stock Moto feature in the Superkarts! USA California ProKart Challenge on Saturday at Buttonwillow (Calif.) Raceway Park’s .69-mile kart track.
Williams led an overall outstanding performance for the Anaheim, Calif.-based team. Vatche Tatikian of North Hollywood, Calif., was third in the TaG Master feature and Nicky Hays of Huntington Beach, Calif., was third in TaG Junior. Hannah Grisham of Glendora, Calif., finished fourth in TaG Junior for PGR’s fourth top-five.
The 16-year-old Williams was third overall in the combined S1 Pro Stock Moto/S2 20-lap feature. He was the fast qualifier and won both heats in S2.
“Carter is pushing all the time and aiming for the S1 drivers,” team owner Phil Giebler said “He is determined to beat the S1 drivers. He is working hard and still learning every race.”
Tatikian finished on the podium in the third straight PKC feature.
“It was another strong result to keep Vatche in championship contention,” Giebler said.
Hays also is in championship contention in TaG Junior. He had a victory and a fifth in the previous California PKC rounds.
“Nicky did a great job all weekend and hardly made a mistake in any session,” Giebler said. “It is going to be a very competitive season in TaG Junior. We will be pushing hard to keep his momentum going as we head to the first national event in Phoenix for the SKUSA Pro Tour SpringNationals in a few weeks (May 1-3).”
Grisham started ninth in the 20-lap feature. She qualified fifth and was fourth in the first heat. Grisham fell to 16th from involvement in a first-lap accident in the second heat and rebounded to finish ninth.
“Hannah had a great drive to come from way back to finish fourth,” Giebler said.
John Nielsen of Los Angeles finished sixth in TaG Master in his second SKUSA race. He was sixth in qualifying and both heats.
“With less than a year of experience and in his second SKUSA race on a difficult and physical track, John showed he has the potential to do very well,” Giebler said. “I am excited to see what he can do in the future.”
Jake Nielsen, John’s son, finished 13th in TaG Senior in his second SKUSA race. He was 20th in qualifying and 17th in both heats.
“Jake was dropped into the deep end of the most competitive class in the SKUSA lineup and he held up very well,” Giebler said.
Gino Alfonso-Macauley of Northridge, Calif., qualified 10th and was 12th in the opening heat, but ran into trouble in the second heat and feature, finishing 16th in both.
“Gino had some back luck,” Giebler said. “He was up to ninth in the second heat, but kept finding himself in the wrong places at the wrong times. He was knocked out of the feature in a first-lap accident.”
Ryan McElwee of Escondido, Calif., made his debut with PGR, driving in TaG Junior in his first SKUSA ProKart event. He qualified 11th, only .79-second off pole, and was 10th in the opening heat. McElwee fell out after completing three laps in the second heat and was eliminated in an first-lap accident in the feature.
“With his limited experience, Ryan did a great job in qualifying,” Giebler said. “Buttonwillow is a difficult track even for veterans who have a lot of laps at this track. Ryan did a solid job to get up to speed very quickly with very limited track time.”
.Owned by the 2007 Indy 500 Rookie of the Year, Phil Giebler Racing competes nationally at the highest level of karting in the United States. Giebler is a resident of Huntington Beach, Calif. The team uses Fernando Alonso and Tony Karts and is a major dealer of OTK brands FA Kart, Tony Kart, Kosmic and Exprit.
For more information, go to www.philgieblerracing.com.














