(Photo: Kathy Churchill - Energy Racing)

The third season of the United States Pro Kart Series is set to enter the second stage of the championship chase, traveling up north to Shawano, Wisconsin for the third and fourth round of 2015. The US Air Motorsports Raceway is site of the June 19-21 event, presented by Praga North America. A record number of entries opened up the season at the GoPro Motorplex in North Carolina, with a large number of driver looking to make their first trek to the rolling hills of northern Wisconsin.

The multi-configuration facility is among the most technical circuits in North America. It features a number of elevation changes, off-camber and undulating corners, and very fast downhill sections. Originally named ‘USA International Raceway’, the course was built in 2004 off the design by former WKA officer Kenny Venberg. The course layout for the United States Pro Kart Series weekend measures at 1.1 miles, with 16 distinct corners that drivers must negotiate.

eKartingNews.com is scheduled to be in Shawano all weekend long, providing the EKN Trackside Live broadcast. Family, friends and race fans can tune into ekartingnews.com/live all weekend to hear live audio from trackside, along with viewing live timing courtesy of Race-Monitor.com. Daily race reports will be published daily on the site’s home page, updates posted to the Official Discussion Thread, along with breaking news, photos and other links on the EKN Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.

With the series championship in the three TaG divisions and four Yamaha categories counting every round and every session, each time drivers hit the track is very crucial to the eight race, no-drop championship chase. The first of our three part preview for the event looks at the title chase contenders in the younger categories. Junior divisions will come on Wednesday with the Pro classes on Thursday.

Nicholas d’Orlando enters Shawano with two wins at the opening event (Photo: EKN)

Orlando Kart Center Mini Rok Cadet

The opening event in Mooresville welcomed a record number of drivers in the Mini Rok division, eclipsing the 30-mark. New York driver Nicholas d’Orlando came away with two victories in his series debut, and now heads to Shawano as the championship leader. The two victories give the Tony Kart driver a sizeable advantage in the standings over Florida’s Lachlan DeFranceso. The Benik driver was third and second in the opening two rounds. Pennsylvania pilot Robert Noaker III (Merlin) was third in Sunday’s main event, placing him in the same position of the point standings going to US Air Motorsports Raceway. Pauly Massimino (Tony Kart) and Jeremy Fairbairn (Benik) each recorded results inside the top-six to put them in the early hunt for the title. Also in the mix is Round One runner-up Sam Mayer, who was shuffled to tail end of the field in Sunday’ feature race.

Provisional Mini Rok Cadet Entry List

2013 champion Sam Mayer opened up this season with two wins at the opener in NC (Photo: EKN)

Switch Racing Engines Yamaha Cadet

Just as d’Orlando doubled up in Rok, Mayer did in the Yamaha category. The 2013 class champion only scored one victory in the two divisions last season, with the Franklin Motorsport / Merlin pilot getting off to a great start toward this year’s title chase. Running second in both feature races was Top Kart driver Jason Welage. The Ohio pilot was the top qualifier on Saturday in the rain, and overcame a DQ in Sunday’s qualifying session to fight his way up to second by the end of Heat #2. Welage finds himself just 50 points out of the championship lead. Pauly Massimino (Tony Kart) is third in the standings thanks to his third-place result on Sunday. Lachlan DeFrancesco (Benik), top qualifier in Round Two, fell back as the day went on, and is fourth in the standings with Robert Noaker III (Merlin) holding fifth.

Provisional Yamaha Cadet Entry List

In the dry and the wet, Donald Whorton was best in Yamaha Rookie at GoPro (Photo: EKN)

QPS Employment Group Yamaha Rookie

Virginia driver Donald Whorton III enters the Shawano weekend as the championship leader following his double-win weekend at Mooresville. Whorton swept the action during Saturday’s wet weather action, and was challenged all day Sunday by Owen Mahle. In the feature, Mahle was able to cross the line first, but had his victory taken away in the tech barn for an exhaust issue. That gave the win to Whorton, who leads the championship by 85 points. William Robusto (CompKart) enters the second weekend of the year in the second position in the point standings. The South Carolina driver finished top-three in both main events, including a runner-up in Round One. Aidan Hinds (Praga) was the other driver to finish second to Whorton, and is third in the championship chase. Isaac Beekman (Praga) and Brent Crew (FA Kart) currently fill out the top-five in the standings with Mahle back in sixth after is DQ in Round Two.

Provisional Yamaha Rookie Entry List

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