Cale Zimmermann claimed his first career CKNA Grand Nationals victory in Senior Medium (Photo: EKN)

The curtain fell on the Cup Karts North America Grand Nationals 9 Sunday, with the over 500 entries taking part in the main events around the New Castle Motorsports Park. Weather was another perfect day with clear skies and temperatures into the mid 80’s. Three days of practice, qualifying, heat races and last chance qualifiers came down to the final 15 laps in the nine categories competing around the New Castle, Indiana facility. Many races were decided in the final few inches at the line, with others after the racing action had completed.

A perfect weekend in Cadet for Hudson Howard (Photo: EKN)

The Cadet category was the first class to hit the track just prior to the Noon hour for their main event. Hudson Howard (JHDD / Kart Republic) led the field to the green flag but was shuffled back ninth on the opening lap. Three different drivers took turns at the lead – Yousef Adi (Stehle Motorsports / Birelart), Jaxson Reinholz (Nitro Kart) and Reuben Greer (Nitro Kart). That was all within the first five laps. Meanwhile, Howard was working his way back forward and took the lead for the first time on lap six. That was when Greer and Reinholz locked on his with the trio pulling away from the rest of the pack. Howard led them to the white flag when fight for the victory began. In the Cell Tower corner, Reinholz went from third to first with Greer trying to pass Howard for the lead. As they came around the final corner, Reinholz went down the inside but Howard had too good of a run on the outside. Greer made it three wide at the line, going to the middle after drafting behind Howard. At the flag, Howard crossed the line first by 66 thousandths ahead of Reinholz with Greer in third, off by 73 thousandths. Grant Heckman (HBR / VLR) crossed the line in fourth but was penalized for three positions for a jump start on the outside of the front row. This promoted Austin Taylor (MPG / Kart Republic) to fourth Adi to fifth.

Ryan Cassity drove away to a fourth straight victory in Legends (Photo: EKN)

For a fourth straight time, Ryan Cassity (Coyote Motorsports) scored the victory in the Legends division. Starting on the pole position following three heat race wins, Cassity jumped out to the lead with third place starter Tim Shutt (Timmy Tech / CompKart) on his bumper. They were able to push away from the battle in third, growing their advantage lap after lap. Eventually, Cassity was able to break the draft from Shutt, running the only lap times in the sub 1:14 range in the final laps to establish a 2.6-second gap at the checkered flag, earning a fourth straight victory in the category. Shutt settled for second – one spot improved from last year. James Inscoe (Coyote Motorsports) was able to advance up from seventh on the grid, emerging from the pack with the third place with Scott Falcone (PPK / Coyote) up two spots to fourth. Canada divisional champion Eli Yanko (YPM) came out of the battle with a host of others in the fifth spot to cap off the podium. Top qualifier Todd Bolton (Coyote Motorsports) advanced from 19th on the grid to seventh, one spot behind Doug Cook (RRD / Coyote). EKN’s own Rob Howden started 14th and finished in 14th in his only start in 2025.

Christopher McKeithan became the seventh different winner in Senior Heavy (Photo: EKN)

Christopher McKeithan (PPK / Coyote) became the seventh different winner in seven years for the Senior Heavy category. Starting on the pole position, McKeithan was joined at the front by four others – Christopher Wakefield (PPK / Coyote), James Overbeck (PPK / Coyote), Eli Fox (BA Racing / MGM) and Owen Lloyd (SGK / MGM). McKeithan led the first three laps before Fox went to the lead with the help of Henry Wheeler (Stehle Motorsports / Birelart). They ran 1-2 for only two laps before they were shuffled back, including Wheeler who lost the lead pack. McKeithan took control with Overbeck running second. Fox was the driver trying to break up the Coyote teammates but was unsuccessful. McKeithan led the final 10 laps, crossing the line first by just over two tenths. Overbeck was second with Fox third, Lloyd fourth and Wakefield in fifth – posting fast lap of the race.

Will Feichtinger led only the final lap en route to victory in Sportsman (Photo: EKN)

The Sportsman 15-lap main event was set up to go down to the wire. Outside front row starter Dominic Gaddis (MPG / Kart Republic) jumped out to the lead with pole sitter Will Feichtinger (MPG / Kart Republic) back to third behind Aston Wyatt (Nitro Kart). Feichtinger moved up to the second spot on lap four and never left the bumper of Gaddis. It wasn’t until the final lap that Feichtinger made his move, working past Gaddis for the lead in the back section of the track. Feichtinger was able to hold off in the drag race to the line, taking the victory by 51 thousandths ahead of Gaddis. RJ Brown (Maranello USA) moved to third in the race to the checkered, working by Wyatt with Lanie Thigpen (CompKart) a close fifth.

Matteo Romeo became the ninth different Kid Kart winner (Photo: EKN)

The Kid Kart division finally got started after two failed attempts that resulted in red flags. No drivers flipped over, however, heavy contact shook up a few of the drivers. The race began with a single-file start, with pole sitter Matteo Romeo (LGK) taking the lead ahead of Maddox Nieves (KBR / Tony Kart). They ran nose to tail the entire 11 laps with Romeo taking his first CKNA Grand Nationals victory, becoming the ninth different winner in the category. Maverick Reddick (Kart CRG USA) was third behind Nieves, holding off North division champion William Heckman (HBR / VLR). Mason Poole (MGM) completed the top five, coming up from P8 on the grid.

Christopher McKeithan was awarded the Senior Light win after being penalized (Photo: EKN)

The action in the Senior Light division continued after the checkered flag to decide the CKNA Grand Nationals 9 winner. Pole sitter Christopher McKeithan (PPK / Coyote) was joined at the front by Eli Warren (Stehle Motorsports / Birelart) and Colin Warren (TS Racing / VLR). The three were locked up by lap two and pulled away to a sizeable advantage over Will Loller (PPK / Coyote) who was running solo in fourth. Colin Warren went to the lead on lap three, but McKeithan returned to the point two laps later, dropping Warren back to third. They ran that way until lap 13 when Eli Warren took the lead. McKeithan fought back on lap 14, bringing Colin Warren with him. It was Colin Warren slipping by McKeithan through turn 11 kink before heading to ‘Green Corner’ 12. McKeithan attempted a pass on Warren for the lead, making contact with the right rear tire and pushing Warren off the track and out of the race. This allowed Eli Warren to drive past both for the lead again. Eli Warren took the white flag as the leader but was passed going into turn one by McKeithan. Eli never really pushed hard for a pass on McKeithan, as Loller closed up in the final corners as well. McKeithan crossed the line as the provisional winner ahead of Eli by 47 thousandths. Officials penalized McKeithan for the contact with a protest filed. The penalty was then overturned, awarding McKeithan the victory. Eli Warren was classified second, Loller in third. Last year’s Junior winner Cade Jaeger (PPK / Coyote) drove to fourth with Diego Ramos (Stehle Motorsports / Birelart) posting fast lap of the race, driving from 23rd to fifth.

Sam Tutwiler was declared the Junior winner after a photo finish review (Photo: EKN)

The Junior main event was a great battle to the very end, decided by millimeters at the line. Pole sitter Sam Tutwiler (Stehle Motorsports / Birelart) was joined at the front by Brady Schad (RRD / Coyote), Travis Pettit (Stehle Motorsports / Birelart), AJ Stoner (PPK / Coyote) and Ezekiel Haight (Tony Kart) – up from the P9 starting spot. Tutwiler led the first three laps before Schad, Stoner, and Pettit all took a turn at the point. It was Tutwiler back into the lead for a third time at the white flag with Schad into second. Schad was able to take the lead in the first half of the final circuit, and held it through the final corner. In the drag race to the line, the timing loop showed Schad as the winner by 13 thousandths over Tutwiler. After reviewing video, officials awarded the victory to Tutwiler, second to Schad. Stoner was third in the order with Pettit crossing the line in fourth. Pettit received a three position penalty for swerving, dropping him to seventh, moving Haight to fourth and Will Wilke (RRD / Coyote) up to fifth.

Ryan Cassity was awarded the victory in Masters following penalties (Photo: EKN)

No one could have predicted the way the main event unfolded in Masters. The top four of pole sitter Eric Fagan (BBR / Tony Kart), two-time defending winner Marc Stehle (Stehle Motorsports / Birelart), Chris Carroll (Coyote Motorsports) and four-time Legends winner Ryan Cassity (Coyote Motorsports) made up the lead group. Fagan led until the halfway point when Stehle made his first move, taking over the lead on lap seven. Fagan was shuffled back to fourth, but worked his way up to the lead by lap 12 after Carroll had his turn at the point. As they came to the white flag, Fagan ran a defensive line with Carroll inching inside, running along the grass. As they reached turn one, the two made contact, sending Fagan sideways. This allowed Stehle to over/under both and bolt ahead with the lead. It looked as if the win was locked up until Stehle dropped a wheel on the exit of ‘Green Corner’, bringing back Cassity and Fagan after they all regrouped. Cassity took the lead through ‘Scoreboard’ but Stehle fought him through the Monza and the final corner. This allowed Fagan to slip past and reach the line first, ahead of Cassity by 76 thousandths for the provisional win. Officials however penalized Fagan for blocking, dropping him three positions to fourth, and awarding the victory to Cassity. It is the first Masters win at the CKNA Grand Nationals for Cassity, becoming the first driver to win both Masters and Legends classes. Starting 23rd, Sean Meier (Coyote Motorsports) worked his way through the field, up to the top 10 by lap five and running fifth in the closing laps. With the action at the front, he was able to slip past Carroll and Stehle coming to the checkered flag and with the penalty to Fagan, was classified second. Stehle was third at the line with Fagan placed fourth ahead of Carroll. Jamie Bradford (BA Racing / MGM) also had a drive from the back, coming from 27th to sixth, posting fast lap of the race.

It was an emotional win for Cale Zimmermann (TS Racing / VLR) in the Senior Medium headline category. Zimmermann started third behind the front row of Dylan Amundsen (MGM) and Henry Wheeler (Stehle Motorsports / Birelart). They were joined in the front group by Eli Warren (Stehle Motorsports / Birelart) and James Overbeck (PPK / Coyote). Amundsen led only the opening lap before Warren took control of the race. He led with Wheeler on his bumper and the rest fighting for that third position. It was Zimmermann that landed that spot and eventually worked into the second spot on lap 13. It was not until the final circuit that Zimmermann made his move. He got alongside Warren on the exit of ‘Green Corner’ and was able to complete the pass at ‘Scoreboard’ corner. Contact behind him for the second spot allowed Zimmermann to go unchallenged to the checkered flag, taking his first career CKNA Grand Nationals victory. Zimmermann dedicated the victory to his friend Josh Fiene, who passed away two weeks ago following a car incident. Overbeck came away with the second spot ahead of Warren. Wheeler was fourth across the line but penalized for contact on the final lap, moving Amundsen to fourth and Wheeler to fifth.

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