(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca)

The seventh season of the Superkarts! USA Pro Tour continues with the running of the SummerNationals at the New Castle Motorsports Park. The New Castle, Indiana facility is welcoming 248 pre-entries in nine categories, just a little bit more than the SpringNationals in May to once again set another record for entries outside the SuperNationals. Along with the number of racers, the number of laps are going up as well with 10-lap heat races and 20-lap main events each day for the headline divisions, 18-lap Finals for Master and Junior categories, with reduced laps for Mini and Micro competitors.

Television cameras will be rolling throughout the weekend with the CBS Sports Network and MotorTrendOnDemand coverage continues for the second straight year for Superkarts! USA, helping to promote the many drivers in attendance and spread the word about the sport of karting in general. This weekend is Round Three and Four of the SKUSA Pro Tour championship program, with well over $150,000 in cash and prizes set to be distributed throughout the year, all leading up to the 20th running of the SKUSA SuperNationals this November in Las Vegas.

New Castle Motorsports Park was constructed in 2003, opening up in 2004, quickly becoming a instant favorite within the industry. The 1-mile course provides a bit of everything, including long straights, tight corners, elevation changes and plenty of passing opportunities. Indiana was the longtime home of Superkarts! USA in its early years, coming back to the ‘Hoosier State’ for the first time with the current form of the Pro Tour last year. Another return signifies the prestige and excellence track owner Mark Dismore and the entire staff provided to the Superkarts! USA racers. Last year also introduced the new finish line, at the end of the long-pond straight, providing multiple photos finishes. 2016 is sure to do the same with the record number of competitors.

eKartingNews.com, the official media partner of Superkarts! USA, is proud to present the seventh straight year of Trackside Live coverage of the SKUSA Pro Tour. This weekend’s coverage is presented by PitKit. PitKit is something new in the sport, offering a pair of kart-specific tool packages, the PitKit Lite and the Elite, with have been designed with the travelling mechanic in mind. The kits feature Beta tools, organized in high-end portable cases. These kits include the tools you actually need to work on karts, instead of a box full of useless equipment that never get touched. PitKits are now being used by top tuners and club racers, all over the country. To learn more, check out their website – www.pitkitkarting.com. Those unable to attend can enjoy live audio and live timing at the EKN Live page – ekartingnews.com/live. Daily race reports can be seen each day, along with updates and results posted to the Official Discussion Thread, in addition to the EKN social media feeds – Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Nash Motorsportz / CRG Nordam X30 Senior

Braden Eves is riding the momentum into the SummerNationals (Photo: EKN)

A total of 44 drivers are set to contest the 2016 SKUSA SummerNationals, with the category selling out prior to the entry deadline. Last year, Superkarts! USA opened up the division past the 44-kart limit, welcoming 59 drivers and conducting round-robin heat races. With the time schedule already maxed out, there was no room to keep that same format, otherwise, there would have been as many this year as there was in 2015.

Entering the weekend, all eyes are on the red hot Braden Eves. The Ohio driver for Jay Howard’s Motorsports Driver Development secured his first major victory as a Senior driver at the SpringNationals, helping to boost him to the top position in the championship. Eves followed that up with his first at the USPKS program in May, and last weekend, won a total of four main events in Senior competition at the WKA event. The Kosmic driver leads the standings by 65 points over Florida driver Ryan Norberg. It looked to be an event sweep for the Tony Kart pilot following his dominance Saturday for the victory. Sunday was playing out the same until contact early on in the Final sent him off and out of the race. Eves certainly has the advantage going into New Castle, but 42 other drivers may have a say in who leaves New Castle as winners and the championship leader.

Four other drivers stood on the podium in Phoenix for the SpringNationals, including 2014 champion Jake Craig. The eKartingNews.com TaG Driver Rankings #1 driver was second in Round Two aboard the Praga, however, has since parted ways with the operation. Craig will return back to the OTK chassis group this weekend in New Castle under his own tent, focus on winning. New Birel ART driver Kyle Kirkwood is one spot ahead of Craig in the championship chase, with a highlight of third in the Saturday main event. The PSL Karting pilot is returning back to single-speed action having moved over to shifter for the recent US Open, scoring the race win. The top rookies in the category have already landed on the podium in 2016. Zach Holden (Koene USA / Tony Kart) was runner-up in Round One with 2015 SKUSA Pro Tour Junior champ Brandon Lemke (Franklin Motorsports / Merlin) placing third at Round Two. Each have victories outside SKUSA competition this year, with Lemke just ahead in the championship chase and each needing to cut into the lead held by Eves and Norberg.

Defending champion Louie Pagano (2 Wild Karting / Tony Kart) is currently 13th in the championship chase after difficult SpringNationals. New Castle has not been kind to the Californian, as his worse two performance in the five rounds of 2015. Former EKN Driver Rankings #1 driver Brandon Jarsocrak has not captured the magic has he experienced when the 2016 season began back in Daytona. The KartSport North America / Praga driver is hoping to bounce back this weekend at the SummerNationals to help put him in championship contention as his two podium finishes did last year.

New CompKart driver Austin Garrison is making his 2016 SKUSA Pro Tour debut at the SummerNationals. There is a chance the Florida native could jump in and double up in the win column, similar to what we saw with Jesus Rios Jr. a year ago. Garrison will be among the top contenders this weekend, as he was last weekend at the WKA event. Watch for the Nash Motorsportz / CRG duo of Brenden Baker and Christian Brooks, Italian Matteo Vigano (Top Kart), double duty driver Billy Musgrave (MRC / Praga) and 2010 Rotax Grand Nationals winner Stepanova Nekeel (RPM / Tony Kart) – right here at New Castle.

Provisional X30 Senior Entry List

Parolin Racing Kart X30 Master

Derek Wang holds the championship lead in X30 Master (Photo: EKN)

The top five in the championship chase left Phoenix within 110 points of each other, with a diverse lineup of drivers in the hunt that weekend. Eduardo Dieter (Italkart) was fast in the dry and wet, winning the opening round at the SpringNationals. Veteran and Franklin Motorsports owner Jamie Sieracki (Merlin) improved throughout the weekend, leading the way at the end of Round Two for his first Pro Tour victory. Both however trail Derek Wang and John Crow in the championship chase. Wang (FA Kart) is a multi-time Team USA driver, and among the top at the Rotax Grand Finals last year in Portugal. The BBR Karting driver’s two podium finishes in Phoenix have him 30 points ahead of ‘The Crow Show’. Crow (MRC / Praga) was third Saturday, slipping back to fifth in Sunday’s main after showing the way in qualifying and the two heat races. Just outside in fifth is defending champion Nick Tucker (RPG / Tony Kart). His best finish at the SpringNationals, where he won both in 2014, was fourth, looking to improve on that in New Castle.

The story Sunday in Phoenix was the drive by Jim Russell Jr. The 2013 SuperNationals winner took over the Russell Karting Specialties / Parolin ride for Scott Falcone after wrecking Saturday. Coming from the tail of the field in the heat races, Russell ended up runner-up. Russell is back for the whole weekend in New Castle, with a shot at putting himself into championship contention with a good outing. Two-time SKUSA Pro Tour champion Ethan Wilson (PGR / FA Kart) is back, making his 2016 series debut. Wilson finished third in both main events last year at the SummerNationals. Also making his series debut is Dallas Karting Complex co-owner Mike Jones. Another big roster of SodiKart drivers making the trek with the team to Indiana, the 2016 Challenge of the Americas champion is putting the helmet back on to battle the stout field at New Castle.

Provisional X30 Master Entry List

Pure Karting X30 Junior

British driver Jonny Edgar is the driver to beat in X30 Junior (Photo: EKN)

British driver Jonny Edgar (Kosmic) did not find himself on top of the podium at the SpringNationals, but walked away from Phoenix as the championship leader. Two heat race wins on Sunday was his highlight of the weekend, placing third the same day in his Junior debut. His championship lead grew just prior to the event with the withdraw of Round One winner Lance Fenderson, moving his focus away for karting at the moment. That has positioned Round Two winner Dante Yu (CompKart) as the top challenger to Edgar. The gap is now 43 points between the two, with Edgar a winner at New Castle last year in Cadet and Yu landing on the podium this past weekend for the WKA event.

With the program returning to the New Castle, featuring 40 pre-entered drivers, many of the east coast drivers are among the favorites going into the event. The Merlin chassis will be those toward the front, including Franklin Motorsports drivers Alex Bertagnoli and Sam Mayer who have wins at the New Castle facility already this season at USPKS competition. Nicholas d’Orlando drove to two victories at the WKA event this past weekend, quickly putting the CompKart driver among the challengers for the SummerNats. Six different drivers stood on the podium in Phoenix for the SpringNationals, including Jagger Jones, Oliver Calvo and Tomas Mejia. Jones (RPM / Tony Kart) is coming back from another trip to Europe, competing in the CIK-FIA Academy Trophy with a 20th place finish in Portugal. PKS drivers Calvo (Top Kart) and Mejia (Tony Kart) stood on the podium in Round One, sitting sixth and seventh in the championship chase entering New Castle.

Provisional X30 Junior Entry List

Top Kart USA Mini Swift

Diego LaRoque left the SpringNationals as the point leader in Mini Swift (Photo: EKN)

The Mini Swift was really anyone’s for the taking and once again with over 30 drivers, there is no clear cut favorite entering the New Castle weekend. At the top of the championship is Arizona driver Diego LaRoque. His Round One sweep and third place finish Sunday at his home track for the SpringNationals put the Benik driver to the P1 position of the standings. The gap is 65 points over Merlin driver Kyle Thome. The Wisconsin native stood on the podium both days in Arizona, but has struggled to return to the steps in recent events. Tyler Maxson led the Benik crew in Phoenix with his first major victory Sunday at the SpringNationals, placing him third in the championship chase. Jace Jones switched over to the Benik frame and the RPM driver came away from his home track fourth in the championship thanks to a runner-up result in Round One.

Benik has a stranglehold on the field, with 38% of the field entered to compete on the frame. Among the Benik contingent is one of the hottest drivers – Reece Gold. Four victories in six races at the USPKS, and earning both wins at the recent WKA event at New Castle, the Florida driver could be the one to beat in his 2016 SKUSA Pro Tour debut. Kaden Wharff carries the flag for local drivers with the Top Kart driver the only Indiana resident competing in the category. The category has doubled at the Texas ProKart Challenge program, reaching the 20-driver mark at its recent event in Katy. Championship leaders Branyon Tiner (Tony Kart) and Caiden Mitchell (SodiKart) make their 2016 SKUSA Pro Tour debut this weekend.

Provisional Mini Swift Entry List

Benik Kart Micro Swift

Oliver Denny is one of two British drivers pacing the Micro Swift category (Photo: EKN)

The SpringNationals was the SKUSA Pro Tour debut for the Micro Swift category, and its popularity continues to grow with the division reaching 30 drivers for the SummerNationals with nearly a 1/3 from outside the United States. Phoenix was dominated by two Benik drivers – Oliver Denny and Brandon Carr. Each British driver took a victory with Denny securing the most points over the weekend to lead the championship chase by 45 points. West coast drivers Kai Sorensen (Praga) and Frankie Mossman (Benik) each stood on the podium alongside the Brits, sitting third and fourth in the championship chase. Among the east coast talent that have success at the New Castle facility include Brent Crews (Energy) and Elliot Cox (Benik). Crews has five of the six wins at the USPKS, including two in Indiana while Cox calls the facility home, winning there last weekend at WKA.

Provisional Micro Swift Entry List

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