Third victory in four rounds for Kyle Wick to close out Senior Shifter at The Challenge (Photo: EKN)

The 2024 Challenge of the Americas hosted the final round of the season on Sunday at the Sonoma Raceway. Dry weather greeted the over 110 entries at the Sonoma, California facility, contested the sixth and final round of this year’s championship chase. Five of the six championships were still up for grabs with many going down to the final few laps of the year. GFC Karting’s Kyle Wick performed one of the most amazing moves every seen in Sonoma to secure a last lap victory over eventual champion Michael Avansino in Senior Shifter as Ryan Persing removed the ‘practice champion’ moniker to claim his first victory in 100cc Senior.

It was a sweep of Round Six for Wick in the SwedeTech Racing Engines Senior Shifter division, but not without a challenge. After he set fast time in qualifying and won the Prefinal, Wick stumbled off the line to begin the 20-lap main event. This allowed Avansino (RWR / CRG) to grab the holeshot and lead the field. Avansino and Wick were able to break away from the rest of the field with the battle for third changing up when Jacob Gulick (GFC Karting) pulled off with mechanical issue. Up front, Wick stayed on the bumper, sizing up Avansino the entries distance. He made his move on the final lap, diving inside the left hander in the Tic-Tac-Toe section in a very calculated manner. That secured the lead and the victory, as Wick celebrated his second on the weekend and third over the four rounds he contested. Avansino, coming into the weekend as the championship leader, finished second to earn the 2024 Challenge championship. Former series champion Hunter Pickett (GFC Karting) fought off Keawn Tandon (GFC Karting) for the third spot. Tandon would however come in light at the scales, moving Alan Sciuto (GFC Karting) to fourth and Anthony Freese (WCM / Birel ART) to fifth. Wick ended up second in the championship with David Williams (RWR / CRG) finishing the season in third.

Ryan Persing grabbed his first Challenge victory in 100cc Senior (Photo: EKN)

The Forward Direction Motorsports 100cc Senior division welcomed a fifth different winner on the season. Saturday winner Chase Hand (GFC Karting) put in the fast lap of qualifying, but it was Ryan Persing (Nash / EOS) charging from sixth on the grid in the Prefinal to claim the victory. Starting the Final from the pole position, Persing was able to retain the lead through the opening corners and inch away from the field lap after lap as they battled for second behind him. After 20 laps, the advantage was just over one second to claim his first Challenge victory. Oliver Calvo (SpeedSense / OTK) started ninth but fought his way forward to end up winning the battle for second, getting away in the closing laps as the big group fought for third. It went down to the wire as Hand secured the spot in the final corners with Round Two winner Chris Martin (TKC / Sodi Kart) in fourth ahead of Dustin Salaverria (TKC / Sodi Kart). Placing sixth was Kane Martin (Nash / EOS) – who earned enough points to claim the 2024 100cc Senior championship. Keagan Kaminski (GFC Karting) was second in the standings while Persing finished third.

Turner Brown claimed victory in 100cc Junior (Photo: EKN)

A fifth different driver claimed victory on the season in the Nash Motorsportz 100cc Junior class. Turner Brown (GFC Karting), making his series debut on the weekend, was able to sweep the final round. It was not without a battle with Peyton Westcott (Kosmic) second in both qualifying and the Prefinal to Brown. Westcott eventually slipped out of the lead pack in the Final, with Brown challenged by 2022 Challenge champion Christian Cameron (TKC / Sodi Kart) and championship leader Nico Sarphati (GFC Karting). Both took over the lead in the second half of the race before Brown returned to the point. He would fight off others in the final lap, scoring his first victory in the category. It was a late charge by Erik Doan (SpeedSense / Exprit) in the final two laps, nearly getting Brown at the line but missed out by 17 thousandths for his best finish of the series. Sarphati ended up in third with Cameron back in fourth. 2023 champion Nixx Eggleston (Ruthless / Gillard) drove to fifth. Sarphati would be crowned as the 2024 champion by 35 points over Eggleston with Westcott finishing the year in third.

Daniel Jones earned his first victory in 100cc Masters (Photo: EKN)

It was a two driver fight in the Ruthless Karting 100cc Masters class. Daniel Jones (RWR / CRG) struck first in qualifying before Saturday winner Greg Welch (FDM / Pantano) took the win in the Prefinal. The Final began with championship contender Matthew Ostiguy (DMG / Kosmic) joining the fight at the front, taking over the lead on lap three. As they ran through the Tic-Tac-Toe section, Ostiguy slowed as his chain popped off, ending his race and possible chance at the title. Jones and Welch resumed their fight at the front. They went back and forth throughout second half of the race, while point leader KC Cook (KartNick / Tony Kart) began closing in. Welch was leading as they took the white flag, defending into turn one. Jones got a solid run down into Tic-Tac-Toe, coming through with the lead. Cook was able to slide past as well, taking over second. That is how they would cross the line, with Jones earning the victory. Cook suffered a pushback bumper penalty, dropping him off the podium to move Welch to second and Fred Clark (RWR / CRG) to third. Finishing fourth, Cook had enough points to claim the victory. Jeff Rice (LEM / Praga) completed the top-five for the final main event of the series. Ostiguy finished second in the standings while Welch finished third in the championship.

Bud Grossenbacher claimed a third victory on the season, earning the Masters Shifter title (Photo: EKN)

Bud Grossenbacher (Racelab / TB Kart) put in a sweep of the final round to put an exclamation point on the Ron White Racing Masters Shifter championship. Grossenbacher set fast time in qualifying, won the Prefinal and led all 20 laps of the Final for his third victory of the season. Saturday winner Patrick O’Neill (RWR / CRG) ran second with Marcin Kloda (RWR / CRG) completing the podium. Rob Kozakowski (RWR / CRG) held off Michael Faker (NKS / Birel ART) for the fourth spot, finishing second and third in the championship standings.

Lucas Tarango secured his first Challenge victory in 60cc Cadet (Photo: EKN)

The Karting Collective 60cc Cadet championship went down to the wire. Round Five winner Nathan Ramirez (KartNick / Parolin) opened up the day with fast time in qualifying. In the Prefinal, it was Drew Jensen (Sanner / EOS) earning the provisional win until a starting penalty of two seconds dropped him to fourth, promoting Cason Hodge (TKC / Sodi Kart) to the win, but more importantly Braydon Wagner (FW / GFC) to third – ahead of Jensen. A large pack began the Final at the front until eventually it was three breaking away. It included Jensen, Wagner and Lucas Tarango (Ruthless / Nitro Kart). Jensen led the majority of the main event until the final circuit. As they began the final lap, Wagner moved inside of Jensen at turn one. As they came out, Tarango got a big run on both, beating them to turn two. From there, Tarango held on through the remainder of the circuit, going on to claim the victory. Wagner finished second with Jensen placing third. Daniel Ramirez (KartNick / Nitro Kart) and Nathan Ramirez completed the top-five. The runner-up result was enough points for Wagner to beat Jensen for the championship by two points, becoming the second driver to go back-to-back since the opening two years of The Challenge in 2008-2009. Tarango would end up third in the final standings.

The 2024 Challenge of the Americas is completed, finishing its first year as an independent program under the Vega Tires banner. Series promoter Andy Seesemann confirmed the 18th year of The Challenge will be returning in 2025, with more details in the coming months.

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