KA100 Senior podium

The penultimate round of the inaugural Champions of the Future America season brought intense racing—and intense heat—to K1 Circuit in Winchester, CA, on August 29-30.

Temperatures climbed into the low 100s on Saturday before drivers were treated to comparatively “cooler” temperatures in the 90s on Sunday. Despite the extreme conditions, tire supplier Presa by Maxxis provided race tires that performed beautifully throughout the weekend.

As the championship battles moved one step closer to their conclusion, two drivers celebrated breakthrough performances. Asher Biezonsky (Competition Speed) and Wrigley Keyes (Nash Motorsportz) each scored their maiden Champions of the Future America Final victories.

Meanwhile, Carson Bishop (Bishop Motorsports), Daniel Ramirez (Axis Kartsport), Archer Eversman (Axis Kartsport), and Tony Gomez (Lakeside Karting) added another victory to their season totals.

MINI U10: Carson Bishop Back on Top

Mini U10 podium

Two newcomers gave the Mini U10 regulars a challenge throughout the weekend. Ezra Medina (Native Racing) made his mark immediately with a Qualifying Heat victory and a Super Heat win to secure pole position for the Final. Logan Purdy (Position One Motorsports) and championship leader Carson Bishop (Bishop Motorsports) each added a Qualifying Heat victory.

Medina held the lead at the start, but Bishop quickly moved past Purdy for second before taking the lead from Medina on Lap 4. Purdy followed into second one lap later.

Round 7 winner Tre Sanders (Team Kartnick) then closed on Medina, making his move heading into the final lap to take third.

Bishop secured the victory ahead of Purdy and Sanders, with Medina fourth. Caeawen Adriano (Precision Driving Concepts) bounced back from a scary Round 7 crash to finish fifth, followed by Sebastian Matyjaszczyk (Precision Works / Pickle Rick), Lucas Freitas Melo (Nash Motorsportz), Riley Juarez (Precision Driving Concepts), Spencer Antle (SpeedSense Motorsports), and Isaias Vegas (SpeedSense Motorsports).

Bishop now leads Matyjaszczyk by 78 points in the championship. Freitas Melo sits third, 24 points behind Matyjaszczyk and 41 ahead of Lyon McPhail (Team Kartnick).

MINI: Asher Biezonsky Scores Long-Awaited Maiden Win

Mini podium

Asher Biezonsky (Competition Speed) entered Round 8 looking to gain ground on championship leader Maddax Carlucci (Nash Motorsportz) and started strong, winning two Qualifying Heats on his way to pole position. Position One teammates Emiliano Hernandez and Kendall West claimed the other Qualifying Heat and Super Heat, respectively.

Biezonsky led West and Lachlan Postle (Formula Works) at the start, with the trio building a three-second advantage over the field.

On Lap 8, West passed Biezonsky at Turn 5, with Postle following her through to second. But Biezonsky fought back at the start of the penultimate lap, getting a run on both drivers into Turn 1 to reclaim the lead. West went too deep defending and also lost second to Postle.

West recovered second from Postle at Turn 1 on the final lap, but their battle allowed Biezonsky to pull away and secure his first Champions of the Future America Final victory by 1.6 seconds.

Vrobel Gunner (Position One) finished fourth, followed by Hernandez, Chase Riddering (Forward Direction Motorsports), Benjamin Tavi (Nash Motorsportz), Sebastian Ochi (Team Kartnick), Carlucci, and Lincoln Cloyes (Zach Woodsford Racing).

Despite the difficult weekend, Carlucci retains the championship lead by 42 points over Biezonsky, with West another 28 points behind in third.

KA100 Junior: Ramirez Wins as Championship Fight Tightens

KA100 Junior podium

Daniel Ramirez (Axis Kartsport) won two Qualifying Heats to secure pole position for the Final. Forrest Blair (Formula Works), making his KA100 Junior debut after winning the first two rounds in Mini, claimed another Qualifying Heat, while Arran Speirs (Nash Motorsportz) won the Super Heat.

Speirs and Ramirez went wheel-to-wheel into Turn 1 at the start, with Speirs emerging ahead before Ramirez retook the lead at Turn 5. Speirs answered at Turn 9 and completed Lap 1 in front.

The order changed rapidly over the following laps. Braydon Wagner (Formula Works) passed Ramirez for second on Lap 2, while Blair and Diesel Biezonsky (Competition Speed) also moved ahead of Ramirez by the end of Lap 3. Blair then ran wide exiting Turn 1 on Lap 4 and dropped to ninth in the ensuing shuffle.

Wagner took the lead from Speirs at Turn 5 on Lap 6, with Biezonsky and Ramirez also getting through. Ramirez soon worked his way back into second, while battles behind brought Speirs, Jet Whipple (Formula Works), Sebastian Hauser (Hayner Racing Team), and Luis Martinez (Position One) into contention.

By Lap 10, Wagner, Ramirez, and Speirs held a one-second advantage over Martinez, who had climbed to fourth and set the fastest lap. Ramirez then passed Wagner at Turn 5 for the lead as Martinez closed onto the lead group.

On the final lap, Speirs passed Wagner at Turn 5 but had a wiggle, allowing Martinez to capitalize and jump into second.

Ramirez held on for the victory, with Martinez second and Speirs third. Hauser finished fourth, followed by Cason Hodge (SpeedSense Motorsports), Blair, Koa Saito (Position One), Whipple, Wagner, and Angelo Adkins (Nash Motorsportz).

Just eight points now separate Hauser and Wagner heading into the championship finale. Biezonsky sits third, more than 150 points behind the title contenders and 22 points ahead of Troy Ferguson (Team Kartnick).

KA100 Senior – Eversman Takes Crucial Second Win

Jake Drew returned to Champions of the Future America competition for the first time since Round 2, switching from X30 Pro to KA100 Senior and from Formula Works to Axis Kartsport. He won a Qualifying Heat and the Super Heat, while championship leader Archer Eversman (Axis Kartsport) won the remaining two Qualifying Heats to secure pole position. Eversman’s championship rival, Johnie Stamps (Formula Works), was absent from the round.

Eversman led at the start, but the order quickly changed behind him. Jackson Menchu (Calvo Driver Development) climbed to second before Matthew Cagle (Formula Works) passed him at Turn 9.

Cagle attacked Eversman at Turn 1 on Lap 2, with Eversman running wide and falling to fifth behind Menchu, Drew, and Max Campbell (Axis Kartsport). Menchu then passed Cagle for the lead, only for Cagle and Drew to move back ahead at Turn 1 on Lap 3.

Drew took the lead on Lap 4 as Eversman began working his way back toward the front. By Lap 9, Eversman had climbed to second, and on Lap 12 he passed Drew at Turn 5, with Cagle and Campbell also getting through.

The positions continued to change over the closing laps. Drew recovered second from Cagle and eventually retook the lead from Eversman on Lap 14, but Eversman answered at Turn 5 on the penultimate lap. Menchu followed him through before Drew reclaimed second at Turn 12.

The final lap produced another flurry of position changes. Menchu and Cagle passed Drew at Turn 1 before Campbell moved past Cagle for third at Turn 2. Ayden Aquino (S&J Racing) also passed Drew before Drew fought his way back to fifth later in the lap.

Eversman held off Menchu to secure his second victory of the season, with Campbell completing the podium. Cagle finished fourth ahead of Drew and Aquino. Talan Brown (Precision Karting) finished seventh, while Kameron Perry (Formula Works) was classified eighth after receiving a two-position penalty for causing a collision. Connor Carpenter (Formula Works) and Stephen Eisert (SpeedSense Motorsports) completed the top ten.

Eversman now leads Stamps by 92 points, while Cagle sits third, 73 points behind Stamps.

KA100 Heritage: Gomez Prevails After Dramatic Start

KA100 Heritage podium

Ryan Casner returned to Champions of the Future America competition for the first time since his winning appearance in Round 2 and immediately picked up where he left off, winning the first two Qualifying Heats and the Super Heat to secure pole position.

Newly crowned KA100 Heritage champion Tony Gomez (Lakeside Karting) won the remaining Qualifying Heat to join Casner on the front row.

Casner and Gomez went wheel-to-wheel at the start before making contact, pitching Casner around and leaving Gomez in the lead ahead of Andrei Isac (Tecno Kart USA) and Brent Eck (HRT). Casner restarted 16 seconds behind the leader, with damage preventing him from mounting a recovery.

Isac remained within a second of Gomez until the final lap, but Gomez held on for another victory. Eck finished third in his Champions of the Future America debut, with Casner fourth.

Gomez now holds a 237-point championship advantage over Isac, while Joshua Daley (Nash Motorsportz) sits 65 points behind Isac in third.

X30 Pro: Keyes Climbs to the Top

X30 Pro podium

Geraldo Peralta (2B Racing) returned to X30 Pro for the first time since Round 1 and immediately made an impact, winning two Qualifying Heats and the Super Heat to secure pole position. Champion Sergei Karamseili (MSRT | Maxwell Motorsport) claimed the remaining Qualifying Heat.

Peralta led at the start, while Wrigley Keyes (Nash Motorsportz) took second. Karamseili got a strong launch to pass Nolan Bishop (RPM Republic sponsored by Dream) before overtaking Keyes at Turn 5. Keyes answered at Turn 12 to reclaim second before the end of Lap 1.

Their battle allowed Peralta to open a 1.5-second advantage, but Keyes eventually erased the gap. On Lap 12, he moved to the inside of Peralta at Turn 1 and took the lead.

Keyes held on to score his first Champions of the Future America Final victory, with Peralta second and Karamseili third. Bishop finished fourth.

While Karamseili now sits at an insurmountable 429 points ahead of Cayden O’Connor in second and 430 points clear of Erik Doan, Keyes is only 18 and 17 points behind second and third, respectively, making him very much a candidate for runner-up in the championship standings come the end of the season.

Final Round Next Month

After eight months of terrific racing action, the inaugural Champions of the Future America season reaches its conclusion on September 26-27, returning to where it all began: K1 Circuit Winchester’s Pro Track Layout.

With multiple championships still to be decided, early paddock rumors suggest the largest turnout of the year. Plus, a special announcement regarding the final race is imminent, so stay tuned!

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