(Photo: EKN)

EKN’s Paddock Insider is part of our Trackside coverage, bringing you notes, updates and breaking news as it happens. The article will feature notes from trackside at the 2022 Challenge of the Americas at the Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California. This is insider info will not be seen anywhere else. Please feel free to comment and discuss our coverage and today’s action in the EKN Global Members Discussion area below.

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Conor Zilisch is quickly coming to grips with his Leading Edge Motorsports Formula K shifter, as he subs for Danny Formal
(Photo: EKN)

One of the most intriguing stories of the weekend can be found in Greg Bell’s Leading Edge Motorsports camp. A trip-thwarting positive COVID test has put LEM lead driver Danny Formal on the sidelines and left the team owner looking for a driver for his race-winning Formula K ride. Enter Connor Zilisch, the 2020 CIK-FIA Karting Academy Trophy champion who was the most impressive Senior rookie of 2021. Zilisch is focusing on TransAm and MX5 Cup this season, and he has answered the call. I chatted with Bell and Zilisch during today’s lunch break, and they’re both happy with Connor’s current speed. Zilisch is getting accustomed to the unique demands of a shifterkart, such as the braking and racing lines, but the speed is already there. In the penultimate practice session of the day, as I post this, Zilisch was P2 in Pro Shifter.

Marijn Kremers will add Pro Shifter to his weekend duties, subbing for an injured Cooper Becklin
(Photo: EKN)

A rib injury for Cooper Becklin on Thursday opened his seat in a PSL Karting Birel ART shifter, and Marijn Kremers was the ideal sub, adding excitement to the weekend. Kremers was initially set to compete only in the X30 Senior category this weekend at NOLA. Becklin’s decision to sit out the event provide the opportunity for a substitute role for Kremers to add Pro Shifter to his weekend duties, and the 2019 FIA Karting KZ World Champion was quickly up to speed. Kremers was in the top-five once everyone had transponders installed for Session 3, and he then post the fastest time of the group in the final session, throwing down the gauntlet with first sub-60-second lap of the day. The drivers were on different strategies on the day, with some running new rubber for the final session, including Kremers and Zilisch. Jake French, AJ Myers, and Billy Musgrave were all on used rubber for the late-afternoon session.

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