The 12th season of the United States Pro Kart Series presented by IAME USA East and MG Tires is set to open the five event championship program with the second edition of the Texas Grand Prix. The Speedsportz Racing Park will welcome over 260 entries in seven categories to contest the opening round of the 2024 USPKS championship series at the New Caney, Texas facility.

(Photo: United States Pro Kart Series)

The Speedsportz Racing Park is the creation of karting Hall of Famer Alan Rudolph. He and his wife Jessica have built a premier motorsports facility featuring a performance track and rental track, while being the official home of the Alan Rudolph Racing Academy. Construction began in 2015 and wrapped up in 2016, hosting several regional events since. The USPKS visit to Speedsportz in 2023 was the facilities largest karting event ever at 284 entries. The performance track is 8/10-mile long with 15 turns in the clockwise direction.

Four practice sessions will be held on Friday before diving into qualifying to close out the day. Three rounds of heat races will be contested at 10 laps each, including the A-B-C-D format for the KA100 Junior and KA100 Senior categories. Heat points will be calculated at the end of Saturday to set the grids for the main events, with the top-44 transferring in the two KA divisions. The remainder move to the B-Main for their feature race of the weekend, contested Sunday morning. The top two finishers will be added to the Final. The remaining classes will have the warm-up and main events on Sunday. This year’s championship format will count all five weekends, with no drop race and includes points available through qualifying, all heat races and the main events.

Ryan Norberg begins his quest for four straight X30 Pro titles (Photo: EKN)

The Rolison Performance Group X30 Pro division is the lone Pro category for 2024 with the removal of the Pro Shifter division just days ago. X30 Pro is slated to go with 22 drivers entered for the weekend, including three-time defending champion Ryan Norberg (RPG / Kosmic). Despite no wins in 2023, Norberg was the most consistent driver to claim the championship by a large margin. He will have familiar names fighting him in Texas that he saw during the winter months, including SKUSA Winter Series champion Alessandro de Tullio (Inter MS / Kart Republic). The Florida driver finished sixth last year bouncing around teams until landing where he is now. Austin Garrison (SCR / Redspeed) finished the championship in third with one win, as did Harley Keeble (Sodi Racing USA) who placed fourth in last year’s standings. Both are in this weekend’s field along with fifth place finisher Brandon Carr (Trinity / Kart Republic) – who already has a win on the 2024 season. Notable entries to watch in addition to the regular contenders is the return of former series champions Brandon Lemke (FMS / Merlin), Alex Stanfield (Racelab / TB Kart) and Christian Miles (Racelab / TB Kart) – making his class debut.

The Brandon Jarsocrak Racing KA100 Senior division is up to 61 drivers set to contest the season opener at Speedsportz. Defending champion Helio Meza is not returning, leaving Connor Ferris (TFR / Kart Republic) and Peyton Phillips (Hi5 / Redspeed) as the top returning drivers. Only one of the five winners from last year are in the field with Orlando victor Christian Miles (Racelab / TB Kart) making a return after stepping away from karting in the middle of the season. 2022 series champion Alex Stanfield is back, racing alongside Miles as teammates. California driver Jesus Vasquez Jr. (GFC Karting) is coming off a victory at the Texas Sprint Racing Series event at Speedsportz, placing ahead of hometown driver Aden Rudolph (CRG Nordam). Along with Phillips who won at the WinterNationals, Finnegan Bayliff (Trinity / Kart Republic) is looking to carry the momentum over into Texas. Keagan Kaminski (GFC Karting) is among the west coast contingent, entering as two time winner in 2024 at Challenge of the Americas program along with Kane Martin (Nash / EOS) and Josh Campbell (MDR / LN Racing Kart).

Peyton Phillips among those in contention in the massive KA100 Senior field (Photo: EKN)

A total of 20 drivers are set to contest the Speed Concepts Racing X30 Junior division with defending champion Ernesto Rivera moving on to cars. This opens the door for the series to crown an 11th different champion in as many years offering the Junior category – which includes IndyCar driver David Malukas, rising motorsports star Brent Crews, and more. Jackson Wolny (SCR / Redspeed) and Enzo Vidmontiene (Trinity / Kart Republic) are the top returning drivers from last year, among the more veteran pilots in the field. Diego Ardiles (RPG / Kosmic) is coming off SKUSA Winter Series championship and wins at the WinterNationals. Two-time SuperNationals winner Turner Brown (RPG / Kosmic), Sarah Bradley (SCR / Redspeed) and Ty Fisher (Racelab / TB Kart) are among those that will be contenders on the weekend.

At 67 drivers, the BBS Race Engines KA100 Junior field is the largest of the weekend. Many of last year’s top drivers have graduated, opening the door for a new champion in 2024. Enzo Vidmontiene (Trinity / Kart Republic) is among the most experienced in the field, as is Jackson Wolny (SCR / Redspeed) who won at Speedsportz for the TSRS event. Along with them, many are doing both categories including Ardiles, Brown, Fisher and others. Many others will be in contention on the weekend, including SKUSA Winter Series champ Sebastian Garzon (Orsolon / Tony Kart), recent CPKC winner Payton Westcott (RPG / Kosmic) and Challenge of the Americas race winner David Ybarra (CRG Nordam).

Diego Ardiles has been the Junior driver to beat to start 2024 (Photo: EKN)

While the Nash Motorsportz KA100 Master field is only at 14, the roster is stacked with talent. Former series champion Laurentiu Mardan (Tecno Kart USA) and Niki Coello (FMS / Merlin) is the top returning drivers, along with multi-time Texas Sprint Racing Series champion Miguel Mier (Orsolon / Tony Kart) and race winner Martin Stone (RPM / Tony Kart). The class is welcoming newcomers Pierce Baldus (Hi5 /Redspeed) and Vincent Cossard (CRG Nordam) along with top contender in 2023 Adam Crepin (FMS / Gillard). Mario Barrios (RPG / Kosmic) was slated to compete, however, he is sidelined due to injuries from an incident at the WinterNationals.

A nearly sold out Sodi Racing USA Mini Swift class of 39 drivers will compete at the opening weekend. 2023 champion Lucas Palacio (Trinity / Kart Republic) is racing in Europe, and thus will not defend his crown. Fighting to become this year’s champion and win at the series opener include former Micro Swift champion Ashton Woon (Supertune USA / Parolin), Royce Vega (Team Benik), Marco Sammut (BJR / LN Racing Kart), Challenge of the Americas champion Braydon Wagner (FW / GFC) and Nico Orbezo (IRM / Kosmic). The field is also filled with several Mini rookies, including last year’s Micro champ Parker Ives (RPM / Nitro Kart), Pasha Ali (CRG Nordam), Josh Bergman (Trinity / Kart Republic), Maxwell Macha (Sodi Racing USA), Colton Schniegenberg (GWR / Energy) and Aston Wyatt (Speedsportz / Birel ART).

The Team Ferris Racing Micro Swift class nearly sold out as well, reaching 39 drivers. Many of which will be making their first USPKS start on the weekend. Those who have stood out in the early months of the season include SKUSA Winter Series champion Zayne Burgess (Sodi Racing USA), Santiago Orioli (MPG / Kart Republic), Wynn Godschalk (Team Benik), Cameron Johnson (FMS / Merlin), Easton Kubinski (AEM / Tony Kart), Leo Simone (Trinity / Kart Republic) and Dutch Westbrook (Team Benik). Texas Sprint Racing Series race winner Kimo Ahmad (IRM / Gillard) is among those new drivers to USPKS, looking to be among those fighting on the weekend.

Follow the coverage all weekend long on the EKN Social Media accounts for Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for news, updates, photos, videos and more, including the top-10 results after each session beginning with qualifying on Friday. Listen to the racing action by heading to the EKN Live page or tune in on the EKN Radio Network.

Provisional X30 Pro Entry List

Provisional KA100 Senior Entry List

Provisional X30 Junior Entry List

Provisional KA100 Junior Entry List

Provisional KA100 Masters Entry List

Provisional Mini Swift Entry List

Provisional Micro Swift Entry List

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