Caden McQueen became the inaugural winner of ROK SV Pro (Photo: EKN)

The final day of action at the ROK Vegas 2025 presented by ROK Cup USA hosted nine main events for the 11 categories competing outside the Rio Hotel & Casino Las Vegas. The over 300 entries were welcomed by gorgeous all week long, setting the stage for a fun and exciting conclusion to the eighth edition of the event.

The headline ROK SV Pro category was the final race of the event, putting together 49 drivers on the track at the same time, led by three-time heat race winner and top qualifier Jake Drew (FW / GFC) with Frankie Mossman (SCR / CS55) alongside. Third place starter Gianmatteo Rousseau (AM / Exprit) went to the lead through the opening corner as the front row starters were pushed wide. Rousseau led only the opening lap before Drew reclaimed the spot. That was all Rousseau was seen up front as he fell down the order as the laps went on. Back to seventh on the opening circuit, Heat Three winner Caden McQueen (Velocity / Sodi Kart) was working his way forward and into the second spot by lap six over Mossman. Two laps later, McQueen took the lead and established a couple kart length advantage over Drew. For the remainder of the 23 lap race, Drew kept the pressure on however was unable to mount a solid attack. McQueen, posting his fast lap of the race on lap 21, secured the victory by seven tenths of a second to become the inaugural ROK SV Pro winner. Drew settled for second with Mossman in third. Blake Nash (Nash / EOS) drove to fourth on track but was penalized two seconds for a half pushback bumper. This promoted Diego Ramos (PSL / Birelart) and Senior rookie Turner Brown (RPG / Kosmic) onto the podium.

Jeremy Fletcher dominated ROK VLR Senior (Photo: EKN)

Jeremy Fletcher (MMK / CS55) completed an amazing performance during the week, claiming a dominant victory in ROK VLR Senior. After not practicing on Wednesday and only getting one session in prior to qualifying Thursday, the Fletcher’s sub role for a missing Zachary Claman DeMelo went nearly perfect. The 2025 Mazda MX-5 Cup champion led the field to the green flag after winning the Prefinal on Saturday. Battling behind him allowed for a sizable advantage over the rest of the 40-kart field. With each passing lap, Fletcher’s lead grew despite him not performing as the fastest kart on the track. Fletcher’s advantage grew to 3.4 seconds after 22 laps, securing his first victory at ROK Vegas. Top qualifier Jonathan Portz (NRC / Gillard) worked up to the second spot after sitting ninth on lap one, recording the fast lap of the race. Portz was penalized five seconds for passing under the yellow. That dropped him to fifth in the final order. Collin Lloyd (Velocity / Sodi Kart) was moved to second with Chase Hand (GFC Karting) into third. Dean Pedersen (Soren / Kart Republic) advanced to fourth after the checkered flag with a penalty to Alessandro de Tullio (RRC / LN Racing Kart).

Wire-to-wire victory for Jacob Gulick in ROK Shifter Pro (Photo: EKN)

Jacob Gulick gave GFC Karting its fourth victory in the ROK Shifter Pro division. The Pacific Northwest driver was able to grab the holeshot from the pole position as the lights went out. Frenchman Adrien Renaudin (Velocity / Sodi Kart) slotted in behind with Massimo Valiante (IM / Italkart) into third. The top three were able to push away from the rest of the field, unchanged until lap seven when Valiante took over the second spot. That was the final move for the top three despite Renaudin pushing for a move to retake the second spot. Gulick kept a similar pace for the remainder of the 24-lap distance, locking in the victory by just over six tenths. Valiante ran to an impressive runner-up result while Renaudin placed third, recording the fast lap of the race. Canadian Scott Hargrove (IM / Italkart) moved to fourth early and remained there as Matteo Papis (PSL / Birelart) completed the top five.

Erik Doan was named winner of ROK GP Junior (Photo: EKN)

ROK GP Junior was the first on the race track, and left with a controversial ending. Canadian Leonardo Serravalle (REM / Kosmic) led the 27-driver field to the green flag, holding a perfect score through qualifying and the four heat races. Theo Salomao (Orsolon / Tony Kart) was quick to act, grabbing the lead on the opening circuit. He led for three laps until Isaac Malcuit (MDR-LEM / LN Racing Kart) took control of the point. It lasted just one lap before Serravalle was again into the lead. Salomao struck back on lap 10, and from there began running a very defensive line lap after lap. The rest of the lead group battled for the second spot, going from Erik Doan (PSL / Birelart) to Serravalle, and then Sarah Bradley (RPM / Sodi Kart). By lap 21, Doan was back into the second spot and was able to squeak past Salomao to lead at the white flag. Marco Sammut (BJR / LN Racing Kart) had been as far back as seventh in the closing laps, finding himself up to second when Doan moved into the lead. Going into turn four on the final lap, Doan went defensive with the rest of the pack on his bumper. On the exit, Doan pushed wide and Sammut slipped under to gain the lead. As they group went into the turn six and seven complex, contact was made including Salomao and Serravalle. Salomao went hard into the wall and out of the race. Up front, Sammut went unchallenged to the checkered flag to score the provisional victory ahead of Doan. Malcuit was third, Tristan Murphy (RPM / Tony Kart) fourth and Eli Steinbruch (Orsolon / Tony Kart) in fifth. Crossing the scales, Sammut was originally given a provisional penalty for contact, which was later dismissed while in tech. Following tech, Sammut was penalized for the questionable contact with Doan on the final lap – one position to remove him off the top of the podium. That penalty gave Doan the victory. Malcuit remained in third with Murphy fourth while Travis Pettit (RPG / Kosmic) was promoted to fifth after a two-second partial pushback to Steinbruch, ending up 12th with the large group crossing the line so closely at the checkered flag.

Isaac Malcuit dominated the main event in ROK VLR Junior (Photo: EKN)

Isaac Malcuit (MDR-LEM / LN Racing Kart) made no question who the winner was in the ROK VLR Junior class. The Prefinal winner was able to get away at the start of the 22-lap Final. With scuffed race tires after running them a few circuits in warm-up, Malcuit laid down lap times over half a second quicker than the rest of the field during the first half of the race. He continued consistent laps as they battled behind him for second lap after lap. Eventually, Malcuit put in his quickest lap of the race on lap 19, which was still two tenths quicker than any other driver in the 40-kart field. At the checkered flag, Malcuit celebrated his second career ROK Vegas victory, crossing the line nearly 10 seconds ahead. On the final lap, Cole Medeiros (REM / Kosmic) was second but contact on the final corner involving Theo Salomao (Orsolon / Tony Kart) and Erik Doan (PSL / Birelart) took Mederios out of the race. This allowed Ryker Margo (JMF / OTK) to cross the line in second ahead of Tristan Murphy (RPM / Tony Kart), Benym Abernethy (HDD / Tony Kart) and Jackson Gibson (NRC / Gillard). Gibson was placed to last in the order for ‘elimination of competitor’, promoting Braydon Wagner (FW / GFC) to the fifth spot.

Charlie Fonseca came through with the victory in ROK VLR Masters (Photo: EKN)

The race for the victory in the ROK VLR Master category featured seven drivers in the lead pack. Pole sitter Renato Jader David (Orsolon / Tony Kart) and Ben Cooper (RPG / Kosmic) led the field early. Cooper took the lead on lap two before RJD grabbed the position back on lap 10. Cooper struck back on lap 18, grabbing the lead. He went defensive at the start of the next lap, however, RJD went down inside even lower. He slid wide on the exit, pushing Cooper wide and allowed for Charlie Fonseca (RPG / Kosmic) to slip by for the lead. As they exited, Eric Molinatti (SpeedSense / Exprit) made slight contact with Cooper’s front nose jockeying for position. That sent him spinning into the wall and collected RJD in the process. Cooper fell back to fifth behind Laurentiu Mardan (Tecno Kart USA), Ryan Casner (Bestkart) and Kyle Hayner (HRT / Kosmic). Fonseca would go on to score the victory, becoming the seventh different winner over the eight editions of the event. Mardan and Casner were second and third while Cooper worked past Hayner for fourth.

Behind the lead pack in the race group, Mario Barrios (RPG / Kosmic) went unchallenged for the victory in the inaugural ROK VLR Super Master class. Barrios trailed the lead group throughout the 22-lap race, securing his victory by nearly five seconds. Tim Meyer (Atomic / Kosmic) won the battle for second over Erik Jackson (VemmeKart) while Joshua Daley (Nash / EOS) recovered from a hard flip in Heat One to place fourth. Miguel Mier (Orsolon / Tony Kart) completed the top five.

Kevin Woods led every lap of the ROK Shifter Super Masters main event (Photo: EKN)

The race group for ROK Shifter Masters and ROK Shifter Super Masters welcomed two new winners. Kevin Woods (RWR / CRG) became the inaugural winner in the ROK Shifter Super Masters division, and the overall winner. Starting from the pole position, Woods led all 23 laps to earn the victory by half a second. Patrick O’Neill (RWR / CRG) took second ahead of Morne Van Taak (VTM / RS Kart) with Ryan Coberly (VTM / RS Kart) and Kori Matthews (VTM / RS Kart) completing the top five.

Hunter Hagenbuch (GFC Karting) worked back from a poor start to begin the Final in ROK Shifter Masters to claim his first ROK Vegas victory. Luis Quinones (LFB / OTK) grabbed the holeshot over Hagenbuch, but fell to second in class on lap two. Hagenbach went on to lead the rest of the distance, winning by 13 seconds. Sergio Rodriguez (LFB / OTK) drove to second with Quinones third and Jesus Lopez (VTM / RS Kart) in fourth.

Maxwell Macha came away with a big win in ROK Mini (Photo: EKN)

Maxwell Macha (Parolin Motorsport USA) completed the sweep of wheel-to-wheel racing action in ROK Mini. Macha led the 23-driver field to the green flag and was trailed early by Asher Pavan (Parolin Motorsport USA) and Lawrence Peremen (BJR / LN Racing Kart). Peremen was able to get by Pavan on lap five, but Macha had established a sizable lead by that point. Santiago Orioli (Velocity / Sodi Kart) tried working with Peremen once up to third but the duo was not able to close in. Orioli pulled the trigger on lap 13, taking over the second spot. Up front, Macha ran consistent laps to remain unchallenged, grabbing the victory by seven tenths of a second. Orioli settled for second with Peremen in third. Pavan fell back to fifth at one point but was able to reclaim fourth from Hudson Hidalgo (Team KartNick / Parolin).

Dutch Westbrook went from 15th to first to win in ROK Micro (Photo: EKN)

It was an amazing performance by Dutch Westbrook (Team Benik) in the ROK Micro division. Starting 15th on the grid, Westbrook knifed his way forward over the 15-lap main event. He was up to ninth after the opening circuit as Lenox Lockhart (Velocity / Sodi Kart) and Chase Riddering (Position-One / Croc Promotion) led the way. Westbrook was into fifth by lap six and then third three laps later. He ran down the top two and within two laps, was in the lead. Lockhart responded but Westbrook took the position the next corner. Westbrook went defensive down the straight and that allowed Riddering to slip into second. That was all Westbrook needed as he went unchallenged over the final circuit to claim the victory. Riddering crossed the line in second with Lockhart third. Alvaro Medeiros (Orsolon / Tony Kart) and Aidan Go (Parolin Motorsport USA) completed the top five.

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