eKartingNews.com is proud to present our Preview Series for the Superkarts! USA SuperNationals 27. Leading up to the on-track action of the 2024 edition of the marquee SKUSA event, EKN will preview each of the nine categories that will compete on the temporary circuit located outside the Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas from November 13-17.

Trackside coverage is set to begin on Tuesday, November 12 as the EKN crew sets up our SuperNationals 27 home, roaming the LVMS grounds with Paddock Insider and social media content. Coverage continues into Wednesday as karts hit the track for the first time. EKN Live begins on Thursday, November 14 as qualifying is conducted for both the morning classes and the afternoon divisions. Listen LIVE to the heat races throughout Friday, November 15 and into Situation Saturday, November 16, including the five Last Chance Qualifiers held on the day. That sets everything up for SuperSunday, with the main events for SuperNationals 27 audio streamed live on eKartingNews.com/live and eKartingNews.com/radio.

Complete coverage of the Superkarts! USA SuperNationals 27 can be found at the EKN EVENT PAGE.

Mini Swift

Royce Vega has the opportunity to repeat as Mini Swift winner (Photo: EKN)

One category that has continually produced excitement and drama at the SKUSA SuperNationals is Mini Swift. The class has been a category at the SuperNats since 2016 and before that as ‘TaG Cadet’ beginning in 2010. Over the course of 13 previous editions, the class has seen 13 different winners. The list of victors includes Formula One, IndyCar, and NASCAR drivers of today.

During that span, no driver has been able to defend their victory. The opportunity now sits in front of 2023 SuperNationals winner Royce Vega (Team Benik). The Texan had a successful season in 2024 that began with winning the SKUSA Winter Series championship along with the USPKS title this year. He finished with one victory and fourth in the final standings for the SKUSA Pro Tour. Vega was scheduled to compete the week before Vegas at the IAME Warrior Final in Spain, however, the flooding disaster postponed the event to post-SuperNationals at another location in Spain. With his return confirmed, this will be Vega’s second start in Mini Swift at the SuperNats.

Ashton Woon enters SuperNationals 27 as the SKUSA Pro Tour champion (Photo: EKN)

It is a young and ‘inexperienced’ field in terms of Mini competition with only eight drivers having raced the category last year returning in 2024. The next best finisher from SuperNationals 26 to Royce Vega is Ashton Woon (Supertune USA). The Parolin driver enters Vegas as the 2024 SKUSA Pro Tour champion thanks to three victories in six rounds. He had two wins in USPKS competition while finishing fourth in the standings. Woon has two 11th place results in Mini over the last two years, along with a P5 in Micro back in 2021. Four of the top five finishers on the SKUSA Pro Tour are in the field for SuperNationals 27, including Troy Ferguson (Team Benik) and Josh Bergman (Trinity Karting Group). Ferguson was third on the season, winning the season finale. The California driver finished 14th last year but stood third on the Micro Swift podium at SuperNationals 25. Kart Republic driver Bergman is among the 12 drivers who competed in Micro Swift last year. He finished second at the SuperNationals 26 before earning a best finish of third on the SKUSA Pro Tour in Mini Swift competition.

Four of the podium finishers at SuperNationals 26 in Micro Swift, including Bergman, are making their first Mini Swift start. Race winner Maxwell Macha (SLA Kart Racing), third-place finisher Parker Ives (Ryan Perry Motorsport) and Pasha Ali (CRG Nordam) have all moved to Mini. Macha struggled for top results in his rookie Mini season but Ives, on the other hand, was a factor all season in the USPKS championship chase, picking up a victory enroute to third in the standings while also adding a Stars Championship Series title. Ali ran a limited schedule in 2024 for his first Mini season, placing third in the Texas Sprint Racing Series championship.

Parker Ives is among the many Mini Swift rookies seeking success at SuperNationals 27 (Photo: EKN)

At 48 drivers, there will be a large percentage with a chance at contending for the victory or podium finish. Marco Sammut (BJR/MDR) finished second in the SKUSA Winter Series and USPKS standings, and he placed 18th last year at the SuperNationals. Two drivers are returning from representing Team USA at the Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals in Italy. Jaxon Porter (Musgrave Racing Company) and Enzo DiGennaro (Supertune USA) made the main event in Italy, with DiGennaro placing a team high 24th after Porter suffered an incident during the main event. Others include Texas Sprint Racing Series champion Alex Chandler (IronRock Motorsports), California ProKart Challenge title winner JohnJohn McLellan (Nash Motorsportz), and Challenge of the Americas champion Braydon Wagner (GFC Karting).

Of the 13 previous winners, five came from outside the United States, with the last coming in 2016 when Canadian Thomas Nepveu took the victory. Canada has four drivers in the field, while Mexico, Australia, and Brazil are also represented in this year’s field.

SuperNats Stats

1 – Former winners in the field

5 – Different countries represented in the field

8 – Drivers from outside of the USA

13 – Different winners at SuperNationals in this category

27 – First time SuperNationals competitors

Provisional Entry List – Mini Swift

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