Alan Isambard won both his heat races in ROK SV Senior (Photo: EKN)

The opening laps of racing were completed on Friday for ROK Vegas 2026 presented by ROK Cup USA, outside the Rio Hotel & Casino Las Vegas. The day began with clear then cloudy skies surrounding the Vegas area with rain coming down just after Noon local time. The rain was joined by hail and eventually became a downpour that left parts of the track unsafe. Officials used the break as the lunch period, resuming at 2pm local time and running through all the remaining heat races for Round One and Round Two, finishing just after sunset. The other surprise to everyone in the paddock was how well the track raced, with multiple passing zones opening up during the first two rounds of heat races.

The headline ROK SV Senior category featured four heat races for the opening two rounds. Top qualifier Alan Isambard (RRC / LN Kart) held off his teammate and Indy NXT driver Alessandro de Tullio (RRC / LN Kart) in the AvsB heat race that saw Blake Nash (Nash / EOS) in third. The next heat began with Jake Drew (RPG / Kosmic) up front until he was shuffled back to eventually fourth with British driver Morgan Porter (RPM / Tony Kart) taking the win ahead of defending race winner Caden McQueen (Velocity / Sodi Kart) with Stephen Eisert (SpeedSense / Exprit) in third. Isambard went two for two on the day, running away from the field in the AvsC heat race. He ran out to nearly a one-second advantage over Nash with McQueen finishing third with fast lap of the race. The final race of the day – BvsD – ended with a last lap battle. Keagan Kaminski (FW / GFC) led most of the race after Drew connected with the wall through the opening corners. Entering the first hairpin, de Tullio got into the back of Kaminski, sending him wide through the corner and back to fourth. De Tullio crossed the line first but was penalized three positions for the contact, handing Davin Roberts (RPM / Tony Kart) the win over Louie Pagano (SpeedSense / Exprit) and Kaminski.

Blake Nash double up in heat race action for ROK VLR Senior (Photo: EKN)

The opening heats for ROK VLR Senior were the first full sessions on dry tires after the weather delay and two categories on track. Top qualifier Ayden Ingratta (REM / Kosmic) led before Chase Hand (GFC Karting) took over, and then Blake Nash (Nash / EOS) led the remainder of the AvsB heat. Hand ended up second with Ingratta third, recording fast lap of the race. Last year’s VLR Junior winner Isaac Malcuit (Orsolon / Tony Kart) qualified third overall and took the CvsD heat race win over Archer Eversman (Axis / Redspeed) and defending winner Jeremy Fletcher (MMK / CS55). Fletcher, however, was disqualified in tech, promoting Juan Paramo (Orsolon / Tony Kart) to third. After dropping to second over the opening laps, Ingratta ran away with the win in AvsC heat race. Hand led early then settled back into second with Colby Romero (Italcorse America) working up into third as the sun was setting behind the Rio. The last race of the day was BvsD, which saw Nash run away with a second heat win of the day, extending to a six-second advantage over the battle for second won by Enzo Vidmontiene (SLA / Kosmic) with Paramo in third.

Two heat wins in Pro KZ for Matheus Morgatto (Photo: EKN)

Former ROK Vegas winner Matheus Morgatto (Velocity / Sodi Kart) kept his score perfect through the second day of action in Pro KZ. The Brazilian fell back to second in the opening heat race with Massimo Valiante (Italkart Factory) grabbing the holeshot. He led until lap five when his engine expired. This gave Morgatto the win ahead of last year’s ROK Shifter winner Jacob Gulick (GFC Karting) and Cooper Becklin (WCM / Birelart). Morgatto went wire-to-wire in the second heat, recording fast lap of the race to pull away by 1.4 seconds over Gulick with Valiante right there in third with his new powerplant.

Perfect score thus far for Travis Pettit in ROK SV Junior (Photo: EKN)

The new and sold out ROK SV Junior category held its first four heat races of the event. Top qualifier Travis Pettit (BJR / LN Kart) led wire-to-wire in the AvsB heat to win over Junior rookie Wynn Godschalk (MPG / Kart Republic) with fellow Junior rookie Santiago Orioli (OKP / EOS) in third. Yutaka Sonoda (RPM / Tony Kart) was able to escape the field early in the CvsD heat race, going on to lead 11 of the 12 laps and hold off a charging Emilio Bolanos (BJR / LN Kart) with Marco Sammut (BJR / LN Kart) in third. Pettit doubled up in the win column on the day with another 10-lap win, this time in AvsC and by just over seven tenths ahead of Cason Hodge (SpeedSense / Exprit) up seven positions to second ahead of Orioli. Multiple drivers were in the mix for the win in BvsD with Sammut taking his first win of the event, climbing back after dropping to fourth early. He took the win ahead of Nico Kotowski (TKG / Birelart) with Godschalk in third.

Ruben Gutierrez won both his heat races in ROK VLR Junior (Photo: EKN)

The ROK VLR Junior category also featured three winners over the four rounds of heat races on Friday. Cason Hodge (SpeedSense / Exprit) opened up the event with the win in AvsB, running away from top qualifier Koa Saito (GFC Karting) and Braydon Wagner (FW / GFC). Ruben Gutierrez (RPG / Kosmic) used the pole position to lead all 12 laps of the CvsD heat, taking the top spot by four tenths ahead of Travis Pettit (BJR / LN Kart) and Canadian Ryker Magro (Pfaff / Redspeed). Gutierrez was able to get up to the front in the AvsC heat race that saw a lot of contact with the walls throughout the field. He took the win by just over a tenth ahead of Wagner with Colt Schlotthauer (Croc Promotion) up into the third spot. The BvsD heat saw a battle up front with about five drivers in contention. Pettit moved up to the lead late, holding on for the win by seven tenths with Jackson Baldus (Hi5 / Redspeed) up to second and Julian Rivera (Orsolon / Tony Kart) in third.

Rain tire gamble paid off for Scott Falcone in opening heat for ROK VLR Masters (Photo: EKN)

ROK VLR Masters / Super Masters combined race group was the wildcard race after the rain. Their opening heat race saw a mix of drivers on rain tires and others on dry LeVanto rubber. Scott Falcone (Orsolon / Tony Kart) used the rain tires early to get away from the field after starting fourth, taking the overall and Super Masters win. Charlie Fonseca (RPG / Kosmic) went from fifth to second, also on rain tires while top qualifier Renato Jader David (Orsolon / Tony Kart) survived on dry tires to finish third ahead of Danillo Ramalho (D2 / Kart Republic) also on dry tires. Chad Wallace (NRC / Gillard) took advantage of the conditions on his rain tires to gain 11 spots to fifth. With a dry track for Heat Two, RJD drove away from the field for the win, extending the lead to one second over nine laps ahead of Ramalho. Enrique Baca (BJR / LN Kart) qualified third and ended up third ahead of Falcone and Laurentiu Mardan (Tecno Kart USA).

Cole Mathewson crawled around the circuit for the win in the opening heat race for ROK Shifter Masters (Photo: EKN)

The rain and hail came for the ROK Shifter Masters / Super Masters race group during their opening heat. The original start was red flagged after John Crow went for a ride in turn four at the start. He was checked out with no major injuries in what was a scary crash. The race resumed just as the skies opened, and the field on dry tires crept around the circuit like turtles in the tough conditions. Eventually, Cole Mathewson (RRC / LN Kart) took the win by over two seconds ahead of top qualifier Brian Keck (GFC Karting). Mirko Mizzoni (Italcorse America) moved up to third with Rene Martinelli (RRC / TB Kart) fourth and Bud Grossenbacher (TB Kart) in fifth. With a dry track for Heat Two, Keck ran away with the win after 10 laps, establishing a 1.3-second advantage. Skitchy Barnes (VTM / Maranello) held second over Mizzoni with Mathewson back to fourth and Kevin Woods (RWR / CRG) in fifth.

Vincente Santino Aguilar picked up both wins in ROK Mini (Photo: EKN)

The action in ROK Mini was a fight between the top two qualifiers. Vincente Santino Aguilar (Orsolon / Tony Kart) was able to beat out top qualifier Alfie Mair (OKP / EOS) in the opening nine lap heat race with Alvaro Medeiros (Orsolon / Tony Kart) winning the battle for third ahead of Iver Spence (Parolin Motorsport USA) and Samuel Chaverri (Parolin Motorsport USA). Heat Two was the same result with Mair leading the first half and Aguilar controlling the second, while taking the win. Medeiros ran solo in third with Zev Godschalk (Team Benik) up to fourth ahead of Spence.

ROK Micro top qualifier Braxton Shiflett ran away with the opening heat race in wet conditions (Photo: EKN)

The ROK Micro division was the first class on track after the weather delay as all drivers went out on wet tires due to damp portions of the circuit. Top qualifier Braxton Shiflett (SpeedSense / Exprit) used the clear track in front to lead all six laps of the opening heat race, pulling away to a 2.2-second advantage over Leandro Ramirez (OKP / OTK). Jack Kotowski (TKG / Birelart) advanced seven spots to third with Tre Sanders (RPM / Nitro Kart) fourth and Zayn Sofuoglu (RPG / Kosmic) in fifth. A dry track for the second heat saw a three driver fight at the front with Dan Duculescu (Parolin Motorsport USA) going from third to first to take the win ahead over Shiflett. Ramirez was right there in third with Beau Wyatt (LEM / Nitro Kart) holding onto fourth head of Emmett Dalton (KidiX / Kart Republic).

Friday may not be the only day we see wet weather at ROK Vegas 2026 with more forecasted to roll through the area on Saturday and Sunday. One more round of heat races will be held on Saturday before running the Super Heat and Last Chance Qualifiers to decide the starting grids for the main events on Sunday.

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