James Overbeck won twice at this year's WKA Daytona KartWeek (Photo: Kart Lounge)

The 50th Anniversary of the World Karting Association Daytona KartWeek took place over December 28-30 to complete the 2023 calendar season. Karters from across North America gathered at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida to compete in three different karting disciplines. The ‘World Center of Racing’ welcomed dirt oval, road racing and sprint competition. Inside the NASCAR turns 3 and 4, the kart circuit hosted the Manufacturers Cup event that featured 308 entries competing in 13 divisions.

The three-day event featured practice and qualifying on Day 1. Two rounds of heat races were conducted on Day 2 with the Prefinal and Final held on Day 3. All the categories featured a progressive format, starting the next race where they finished in the previous race – except for the Margay Ignite Dash at Daytona program, that ran a Prefinal and Final each racing day. Two different drivers were able to claim two victories at the event.

James Overbeck was able to put together two demanding performances in his main events to win both the 206 Featherweight and Marie Borsuk Memorial 206 Senior feature races. The Featherweight with 18 drivers began for Overbeck by qualifying second overall on Day 1, clocking in behind top qualifier Dylan Amundsen. It was a 12-lap wire-to-wire run in Heat #1 for Amundsen, holding off Overbeck at the line. Overbeck took over control in Heat #2 before leading the majority of the Prefinal for the win. James led all 16 laps of the Final, posting fast lap of the race and taking the victory by 2.2 seconds. Amundsen held on for second with Colin Aitken advancing 14 positions to third to round out the podium. Addison Ianniello and Ronnie Klys completed the top-five.

Danny O’Gara doubled up in Cadet action (Photo: Kart Lounge)

The Marie Borsuk Memorial 206 Senior class featured 33 drivers – honoring longtime WKA employe and dedicated karting community member. The qualifying session was close as Adam Maxwell posted a 46.485-lap to edge out Brad Brittin and Jed Perkins by only 31 thousandths. Maxwell led all but one lap in the opening heat race, taking the win over Colin Aitken and George Wheeler. In Heat #2, Maxwell was shuffled down the order as Wheeler led all but one lap to take the win over Elmer Edmonson and Perkins. It was Overbeck, however that was the star on the final day. He came up from eighth and found his way to the front, posting fast lap of the Prefinal en route to the win. Overbeck went wire-to-wire in the 16-lap Final to claim his second victory of the event, winning by nearly four seconds. Eli Warren set fast time in his drive up to the second spot with Aitken earning another podium result. Amundsen and Wheeler rounded out the top-five.

The only driver to sweep a category over the three-day competition was Danny O’Gara in the 206 Cadet class. O’Gara set fast time of 47.956 in qualifying to clear the field by eight tenths. He went unchallenged in both heat races and the Prefinal before going wire-to-wire in the 14-lap Final for his first victory. Ryder Thompson drove to second ahead of Christian Damianidis joining him on the podium. Kacen Hendrickson was fourth with Melville Dos Santos in fifth.

It was an event-long battle in the Micro Swift division, featuring 15 drivers. Cameron Johnson was able to edge out O’Gara by four hundredths in qualifying. Each took a heat race win going into the Prefinal, where Johnson led early and recorded the fast lap of the race, but O’Gara was able to hold on for the race win. The two were the class of the field in the 14-lap Final. O’Gara led early before Johnson took control during the middle part of the race. It was O’Gara taking back the top spot and leading the remainder of the race to secure victory, his second of the event. Easton Kubinski joined them on the podium with Leo Simone and Nolan Goulart rounding out the top-five.

Isaac Malcuit won the largest class of the event – 206 Junior (Photo: Kart Lounge)

The largest category of the event was 206 Junior, featuring 45 drivers. Carter McMurray was able to set fast time in the qualifying session that had the top-20 within one-second. Qualifying seventh was Isaac Malcuit. He was able to push forward with fast laps of the race to claim the win in Heat #1 and led all 12 laps of the second heat. Malcuit led the first 11 laps of the Prefinal before he was shuffled back to fifth as Ronnie Klys led the group to the checkered flag for the win. It took Malcuit only four laps in the 16-lap Final to reclaim the top spot. He was able to drive away to a two-second advantage by the checkered flag for the victory. Lucas Thek posted fast lap of the race in his runner-up performance ahead of Klys, McMurray and Canadian Nathan Dupuis.

It was a near sweep for Carter McMurray in the KA100 Junior class that welcomed 34 drivers. McMurray set the pace in qualifying with a 42.098 lap time before winning both heat races by multiple seconds. Isaac Malcuit qualified 15th and worked his way forward in the heat races. He was able to take the lead from McMurray early before losing the spot. McMurray retook the lead and drove away to the provisional win but was handed a two-position penalty. That gave Malcuit the win and the pole position for the Final. Malcuit was shuffled back to second in the opening circuits of the 16-lap main event. By lap six, he returned to the top spot and was able to show the way the remainder of the race. However, a two position penalty for pushback bumper took the victory away, handing it to McMurray. Enzo Vidmontiene was classified second with Malcuit down to third. Steven Miller was fourth with Jared Clarke placing fifth.

Adam Maxwell drove to victory in KA100 Senior (Photo: Kart Lounge)

The KA100 Senior class was a battle as event long between a majority of the 35 drivers in the field. Mick Gabriel was the driver at the top of the time sheets, posting a 42.068 lap time to edge out James Overbeck by three tenths of a second. Daniel Perez was fifth in the session and was able to jump ahead in Heat #1 for the win ahead of Gabriel. Adam Brickley came through in Heat #2 as the winner after leading a majority of the 12-lap race. It was Brickley that held off the field in the 14-lap Prefinal with Gabriel and Overbeck as the top challengers at the checkered flag. None of those drivers were able to come away with the win in the 16-lap Final. Adam Maxwell was able to charge his way from eighth on the grid to the victory. Maxwell put himself up to third by lap five and was able to record fast laps of the race once there. He moved to second at lap 10 and then into the lead a few laps later. He drove away to a one-second advantage by the checkered flag. Brickley and Eli Warren joined him on the podium with Noah Rosser and Daniel Perez completing the top-five.

The Margay Ignite Dash at Daytona returned for the WKA Daytona KartWeek. The spec kart/engine program was a hit once again, welcoming 33 drivers for the unique Prefinal/Final format each race day. Jed Perkins pulled the display model off the race to set fast time in qualifying on Day 1. He led the Prefinal until contact put him off, allowing Hunter Fox to come through for the race win. Fox took that into the 16-lap Final to lead 15 circuits. Former race winner Evan Stamer took the lead with two laps to go. Fox reclaimed the spot at the white flag and held on to secure the victory. Stamer settled for second with IMSA driver Jordan Taylor on the podium in third. Nick Ksobiech was fourth with IMSA driver Ricky Taylor placing fifth.

Jed Perkins came away with victory in the second Final for Ignite Senior (Photo: Mark Schwigen)

Grid for the second day of racing in the Ignite Senior class was set by fast lap of the previous day Final. That shuffled up the order and allowed Jordan Taylor to go wire-to-wire for the race win in the Prefinal. Riley Scott advanced to second over Hunter Fox. Jed Perkins found himself back in seventh on the grid for the Final. Quickly into fourth, Perkins was up to the top spot by lap five. From there, he led the remainder of the distance to claim his first Ignite Daytona victory. Thomas Radivoy won the battle for second over Scott with Nick Ksobiech and Hunter Fox completing the top-five.

Colin Aitken was able to secure the victory in 206 Senior Heavy featuring 15 drivers. George Wheeler was the driver at the top of the time sheets in qualifying, posting a 46.929 lap time to edge out Aitken by two thousandths of a second. Elmer Edmonson was third in the order, only 61 thousandths off. It was Edmonson who was able to win both heat races and the Prefinal. The Final however was a four-driver fight including Aitken, Wheeler and Bryce Downs. Wheeler led a majority of the race that featured multiple lead changes. Aitken was able to take the lead at the white flag, holding on to secure the victory. Wheeler crossed the line in second, but was penalized two positions, moving Downs to second and Edmonson to third. Ryan Casner completed the top-five.

Colin Aitken came away with victory in 206 Heavy (Photo: Kart Lounge)

In the same race group was the 206 Masters class. Ron Klys was the top qualifier; however, Brandt Estes was the winner in both heat races and the Prefinal. Estes was able to cross the line in first during the Final but was penalized one spot to give Tim Hannen a second straight victory in Daytona. Phil Pignataro finished third over Klys with Jason Abrams in fifth.

The 206 Cadet Advanced class was a near sweep for the 20-driver class. AJ Stoner set the fast time in qualifying, posting a 47.334 lap to edge out Wyatt Fink by 23 thousandths. Stoner went on to win each of the heat races. In the Prefinal, Stoner led the first 11 laps until Bowen Greene moved from third to first on the final circuit for the win. A four-driver fight for the lead included Cade Wolfe and Daniel Draganov over the 14 laps, featuring multiple lead changes. On the final circuit, Stoner was able to secure the spot and win the race to the line for a second straight Daytona victory. Wolfe finished second with Draganov on the podium in third. Green settled for fourth with Lincoln Massey in fifth.

AJ Stoner added another Daytona victory, this time in 206 Cadet Advanced (Photo: Kart Lounge)

Cade Wolfe nearly pulled off a sweep as well in the 16-driver Mini Swift class. Wolfe set fast time in qualifying and won Heat #1. In Heat #2, Rocco Simone was able to put down fast laps in the race to drive his way to the win as Wolfe fell to third. Wolfe reclaimed the top spot with a win in the 12-lap Prefinal before going on to lead all 14 laps in the Final for the victory. Colton Schniegenberg was second with Simone in third. Bowen Green and Callen Berghoefer rounded out the top-five.

Bodni Beyer was the driver to claim the checkered flag in the Kid Kart division. Beyer won by nearly eight seconds in the 10-lap Final ahead of Weston Kolar and Kyler Hendrickson. Marcus Dos Santos and Joshua Pulchlopek finished fourth and fifth.

For results from the Road Racing event and the Dirt program, be sure to visit worldkarting.com.

Share on Facebook

Tweet