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.

KA100 Senior

Former KA100 Senior winner Pauly Massimino is seeking a second class win (Photo: EKN)

SKUSA SuperNationals 27 is the sixth edition for KA100 Senior at the event, which made its debut in 2018. The class quickly expanded to reach a massive total entry of 93 in 2021. This year’s field surpasses that benchmark by one with 94 pre-registered drivers. The overall event record is 95 for TaG Senior in 2008 as this year’s KA100 Senior total matches the 2017 total for X30 Senior for second largest field ever at the SuperNationals. Defending KA100 Senior champion Ernesto Rivera has been racing cars in Europe throughout the 2024 season and, as a new Red Bull Junior driver, and will not return to the SuperNationals this year.

Six of the top-10 from last year are returning, including three podium finishers. The top returning driver from 2023 is also one of four former SuperNationals winners in the field. Pauly Massimino (BJR/MDR) won the category in 2019 and finished third a year ago. Massimino won in United States Pro Kart Series competition and was the IAME USA Grand National Championship Shootout in KA after spending much of the season focused on X30 and OK-N. The North Carolina driver won the Stars Championship Series title in OK-N. Fellow SuperNationals winner Brandon Lemke (BJR/MDR) has been on the podium in his last three starts. He was the provisional winner in 2019 before a pushback bumper penalty dropped him to fifth. Redemption was his in 2021 when he secured that elusive victory before finishing fourth last year.

The other podium finisher from last year back for another run is Oliver Calvo (Speed Concepts Racing). A fifth-place in 2023 was his second time on the podium at the SuperNationals, matching the result he had in X30 Junior back in 2016. Collin Lloyd, Alexander Kardashian, and Oliver Hodgson finished inside the top-10 at SuperNationals 26. Lloyd (T1D Racers / Inter MS) – last year’s SKUSA Pro Tour vice champion – was sixth in his SuperNats debut. Kardashian (AMK Race Products) has three top-15 results with a career best seventh last year. Hodgson (CompKart) was fifth in 2022 and ninth in 2023 by advancing through the field on SuperSunday after winning the Last Chance Qualifier. The British driver now racing under the USA license was just one step off the podium at this year’s Rotax Grand Finals in Italy.

Joe Turney is no stranger to KA100 Senior, winning the IAME USA Grand Nationals Championship in 2023 (Photo: LuisDiazPhoto.com)

Two other former winners include Race Liberante and Donovan Bonilla. Liberante (MPG Academy) won Pro Shifter 2 in 2019 and returned for the first time last year in KA100 Senior. He was a top contender on SuperSunday until a mechanical took him out of the race. Bonilla enters SuperNationals 27 as the defending winner in Pro X30. He ran double duty, which he will again in 2024, and is looking to improve on his 19th place result in KA100 Senior.

Over 20 drivers are from outside the United States. Among them is 2024 FIA Karting World Champion runner-up Joe Turney (Trinity Karting Group). The 2023 SKUSA Pro Tour X30 Senior champion will make his first start at the SuperNationals, racing both KA and X30. He and fellow Brit Brandon Carr will be under the TKG tent competing in both categories. Add in Matthew Higgins (Energy Corse America), who finished third at the world championships at PFI and was a top contender at the recent Rotax Grand Finals in Italy. Higgins is also making his SuperNationals debut in both divisions.

The champion at the SKUSA Pro Tour in 2024 was James Overbeck (BJR/MDR). The driver from Ohio secured one victory over the six rounds and finished 15th last year in his KA100 Senior debut at the SuperNationals. Second in the SKUSA standings was Finnegan Bayliff (Trinity Karting Group). The two-time race winner on the season came up just short in the title chase, and is hoping to improve on his two finishes outside the top-30 at the SuperNationals. Henry Wheeler (PSL Karting) was third in the championship chase, earning two podium results over the six rounds. The driver from Ohio did not make the main event in 2022 and finished 29th last year. Privateer Eli Warren (OTK) is making his second SuperNationals appearance in KA100 Senior after not qualifying for the main event last year. Warren was fourth in the SKUSA standings ahead of Connor Ferris (Team Ferris Racing). In three starts at the SuperNationals, Ferris has a best result of 17th in 2023.

SKUSA Pro Tour champion James Overbeck is set for his second SuperNationals start in KA100 Senior (Photo: EKN)

With the large field, there are a ton of potential contenders for the victory and podium. A slew of fast drivers will be under the GFC Karting banner – including former X30 Senior SuperNationals top qualifier Jake Drew, Chase Hand (who finished ninth in 2022), California ProKart Challenge Keagan Kaminski, and Texas Sprint Racing Series champion Jesus Vasquez Jr. Texas brings a solid group that includes Aden Rudolph (CRG Nordam), former TSRS champ Peyton Phillips, and John Burke (Precision Works Racing). Josh Campbell (BJR/MDR) just won at ROK Vegas, and is set for his third SuperNationals start with a best result last year of 22nd. USPKS race winners Alan Isambard (Sodi USA by Velocity Racing) and Mick Gabriel (AEM Karting) are in the field as well, along with California ProKart Challenge race winner Ethan Lampe (HRT / MDG Karting), who will be making his third SuperNationals start. Add in Christian Miles (Racelab) and Frankie Mossman (Speed Concepts Racing) as other wildcards in the field.

Among the top Senior rookies in the KA100 Senior include Truly Adams (Troy Adams Coaching), Chase Buscaglia (Chad Dokken Racing), Nixx Eggleston (Ruthless Karting), Cash Perkins (Franklin Motorsports), and Matteo Papis (Orsolon Racing) – son of Max Papis.

SuperNats Stats

2 – KA100 Senior SuperNationals winners in the field

4 – Former SuperNationals winners in the field

7 – Drivers graduating from Junior classes last year

12 – Different countries represented in the field

23 – Drivers from outside of the USA

38 – Drivers with no SuperNationals experience

Provisional Entry List – KA100 Senior

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