THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE WORLD KARTING ASSOCIATION JANUARY 2012 VOL. 41, NO. 1

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WKA’s Karting Scene is published monthly by

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03 UnITED TRAIlERS 17 RUSSEll KARTIng 02 TURK BRoThERS 16 IAME hADDocK 35 BocA BEARIngS 13 Jc SpEcIAlTy 35 TM RAcIng 35 TS RAcIng 35 JEx MAnUfAcTURIng 35 pSI TRAIlERS 14 KARTIng foR chRIST 34 nKn 14 RAcIng foR A cURE 27 on TRAcK MInISTRy

T he WKA George Kugler / Bridgestone Manufacturer’s

Cup Series driven by Mazda kicked off its 2012 season in the final days of 2011 with the running of the Margay Sprint Championships at the Daytona Int’l Speedway Sprint Course.

Over 660 entries hit the 0.7-mile DIS sprint track, which sees competition only once a year with the annual Sprint Championships. The entry count nearly matched the record total at the 2010 Sprint Championships. The most impressive part of the entry count was the number of West Coast racers in attendance. It was the most of any Man Cup we’ve seen in many years. That’s a pretty big testimonial for how good the series is when teams and drivers haul from the left coast to Daytona for a kart race.

The weather was perfect for racing, the nicest we’ve had in the past few years. A timing issue on day one was the only thing to blemish a perfect opening weekend of WKA’s 2012 Man Cup season. With the timing problem all heat races and LCQ’s were dropped in favor of just running the main events. No one went home early,

we started all those who entered. I know this was caused by a problem, but I, Sean, would love to see this format at the national series. Qualify, race, done. Time/light restraints at Daytona didn’t allow us to add laps to the main events, but how about no heats and a 25-lap main at New Castle later in the year?

Yamaha Supercan Lite Dakota Pesek wheeled his Arrow to the win in the day’s first race, Yamaha Supercan Lite. Pesek qualified on the Streeter Super Stand pole with a time of 44.040 and really never was challenged. Pesek bested P2 qualifier Anthony Snow by a cool 7.5 seconds in the 14-lapper after Snow had to make his way back up after bad luck on the start. MKP Birel driver Blake Deister climbed his way into third, with Pa.’s Mark Boos fourth and James Brock fifth. Twenty-seven karts started.

RLV Tuned Exhaust ProductsCadet Final 1 Jared Cordova set the pace in qualifying with a time of 45.840, but failed attempts at a start moved Neil Verhagen and Brandon Lemke up to the front row. Cordova quickly regained the lead, but the kart on the move was Zach Holden.

The battle for the win was fierce between Holden and Cordova with Holden sitting in wait for his opportunity. The two came to the finish side by side with Holden inching his way into victory. Behind Holden and Cordova was nearly as tight a finish for 3rd with David Malukas, Brandon Lemke and Kaden Harter.

“We’re really happy to go to Daytona and do so well,” Holden said upon returning home to the Hoosier State. “Our Arrow handled great all week. To win at Daytona is a dream come true. Then to finish second and third and almost win two more finals, I don’t think our team could ask for much more.

“We knew going into Daytona that a lot of the fast kids had moved up,” Holden added. “I think we knew the door would be open. I’m just happy we were on our game and took advantage of it.”

Orlando Kart CenterKomet Jr Heavy The 40 kart field of Komet Jr. Heavy took to the track being led by Gresham Wagner aboard his 05 Birel. Home state racer, Ashley Rogero qualified P2 with Canadian Grant Quinlan and Illinois’ Kyle Kalish on row two. Gresham’s day ended on lap two, handing the lead over to Rogero. Kalish was quick to pounce and led the majority of laps with Rogero and 2011 Triple Crown champion Joel Jens in pursuit The Merlin driven by Kalish was best today beating out the pair of Tony Karts. Corey Towles was fourth and James Bennett rounded out the top five. Six to ten were Mike McAndrews, Austin Osborne, Derek Dignan, Kody Evans and Darren Brubaker. Mad props to Zane Smith who was light in qualifying and started 40th but finished 12th.

Franklinkart.comTaG Final 1 Forty of the 42 drivers entered took a green flag in TAG qualifying. Sam Beasley set the tone with a 40.703 lap time for the Streeter Super Stands pole award. Mason Chelootz was P2 with Chris Wehrheim, Cal Stewart and Jacob Knueven rounding out the top five. A pair of NASCAR drivers were in the field with AJ Allmendinger qualifying 6th and Jamie McMurray in 11th. Failed attempts at a start saw Wehrheim start now from the pole position after inverting the front two

rows. You could see through his visor the “I’ve got this” look in his eyes, but Beasley had other ideas. After going winless in 2011 Man Cup racing, Atlanta’s Wehrheim earned the TAG 1 win the hard way. The duo of Wehrheim and Beasley gapped the rest of the racers, but contact in turn one between the leaders lessoned the gap. Beasley took the win, but officials rescinded that after ruling on the contact in turn one. Cal Stewart had his best Man Cup run with a third-place result; NASCAR Sprint Cup star A.J. Allmendinger wheeled his Arrow to a fourth-place finish, while double TaG national champion Robert Bujdoso rounded out the top-five on his PCR.

Comet Kart SalesYamaha Sportsman Heavy Race #5 on the day saw a rematch between Zach Holden and Jared Cordova. Holden was the pole winner running a 46.010 to Cordova’s 46.085.

Leonardo Stoia, Kaleb Allison, and Nick Luedeke completed the fast five. Eleven drivers made up the lead train of karts to begin the final, but Holden and Cordova did all of the leading. Stoia ran in third for a while before Allison and Luedeke got around him in the final five laps of the contest. Once again Holden and Cordova sprinted to the line, but this time Cordova came up victorious in his Mike Doty Racing Haase machine. Allison was third, Nick Luedeke fourth and Brandon Lemke fifth.

“When the race got going I realized I had a real chance to win,” Cordova began. “And then to hold off my nearest competitor on the last lap and take the win was a great feeling. This is my first national win and a great way to start the 2012 season. I’m really looking forward to the rest of the 2012 season.”

race recapSportsman drivers Cordova and Lemke

are only double winners at daytona margay Sprint Championships

wRITTEn By: KEITh ShAMpInE @ SEAn BUUR - phoToS By: SEAn BUUR

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New Jersey Sprint SeriesYamaha Rookie Final 1 Last season the Rookie class was one of the best to watch race after race. It is a fabulous way for youngsters to transition in to Man Cup racing. The Yamaha Rookie Final 1 pole went to Alex Verhagen with a time of 47.452. P2 went to Max Kaeser, with Tyler Ferris and Connor Ferris on the 2nd row. The final was cut short due to a red flag, but it was shaping up to be an exciting finish. The main event win went to North Star Karting Arrow talent Max Kaeser by 0.084 seconds over New Jersey’s Connor Ferris. Jason Welage was third, Tyler Ferris fourth and Samuel Paley fifth of 27 starters.

“A special thanks to my Mom, Dad and Kevin for making this possible,” Kaeser said after the win. Woltjer Racing EnginesYamaha Jr LiteThe largest class of the day was Yamaha Jr Lite with an impressive 49 starters. Kyle Kalish was the Streeter Super Stands pole award winner with a time of 43.581. Brandon Jarsocrak was off pole with Mike McAndrews, Emerson Reed and Ashley Rogero capping out the first five. Jarsocrak took the early lead over Kalish, but 7th place qualifier Garrett Johnston and 13th place starter Jake Craig were on the move. Within only a

handful of laps Johnston was in front being chased by our starting front row. By halfway Craig was already running in 4th and on the heals of Jarsocrak.

New Jersey Top Kart racer Johnston couldn’t shake Kalish for the longest time, but Jake

Craig caught and passed both he and Jarsocrak in the closing laps for 2nd place. Johnston scored his first Man Cup win in quite a while, followed a second back by Craig. Jarsocrak came away with a solid 3rd, Kalish 4th and MRP Birel racer Grant Quinlan completed the top five. Six to ten

was Emerson Reed, Gresham Wagner, Ryan Raffa, Skylar Robinson and Jared Thomas.

“As I went into turn one I saw my brother and other karts crash. When that happened I knew it was up to me to win the race and that’s exactly what I did,” G. Johnston said after his first win of the new Man Cup season. “There was no prefinal due to the technical issues so I had a lot of work to do in the final after qualifying seventh. I took the lead on lap seven and took a brief look behind me and saw no karts. I made the right-hand turn and went across the finish with my hands up. It was a great experience to win at Daytona.”

Grand Products / Top KartParilla Leopard Everyone thought the Leopard class was going to be exciting, but who knew it was going to be owned by a single driver. Cal Stewart was impressive Thursday. The Illinois pilot finished third in TaG and qualified on the Streeter Super Stand pole in Parilla Leopard. Texan, Mason Chelootz qualified second, Robert Bujdoso third, Jacob Knueven fourth and PCR racer Kyle Smith fifth. Stewart killed it in the final with more than 2 seconds to spare back to 2nd place. The fight for 2nd between the top qualifiers provided the expected excitement, but in the end the finishing order of the top five was the same as they qualified.

Solid performance by Stewart for sure. Six to ten of the 39 starters was Zachariah Hawley, Colton Ramsey, Nick Johnston, Mark Boos and Jacob Donald.

TSRacing.comKomet Heavy Komet Heavy was Jacob Donald’s first start in the Komet senior division after a successful junior career. He started it off right with the pole over Mason

Chelootz. Chelootz made quick work of Donald in the opening laps, passing him into the left hand turn 3. Patrick Olsen went with him and Donald spent the next few laps regaining the second position. The gap out to the leader Chelootz was too much to overcome in the 14 distance. Chelootz took the win and Donald had to settle for 2nd place even though he was the quickest kart on track. Olsen was third, Raquel Martinez fourth and Brock fifth for the second

time on the day.

Adkins Speed CenterKomet Sportsman Johnny Smith kicked it up a notch in Komet Sportsman qualifying earning the pole over Zach Holden, Brandon Lemke, Jared Cordova and Braden Eves. The 12 lap final was awesome as Smith led the first half of the race. Lemke took over the point with a nice pass in turn one. Eves

took a few pulls out front too before Lemke was again making a pass in turn 1. The front order shuffled consistently until Lemke was able to gain a slight advantage and score the win. Smith bounced back with a solid second place ahead of Cadet winner Holden. Braden Eves was fourth and Trenton Tucker fifth.

“Thank you Jamie and George Sieracki, and Cale Wyse of Franklin Motorsports for all the hard work they did in the days

leading up to Daytona!” Lemke said after his first of two wins at KartWeek.

DRT RacingTaG Masters Final 1 TaG Masters was the last race of a long day. Aboard his Margay, multi-time national champ Jeff Jewell was the Streeter Super Stands pole award winner with a 41.912. Indiana Birel pilot Steve Schiewer was off pole and

proved to be more than a match for Jewell in the final. Jewell led the opening circuits before yielding to Schiewer in turn one. Bobby Cummings and Brad Sanders were right in the thick of things, but Brian McHattie was the fastest kart on track and climbed his way up in to a 3rd place finish. Schiewer raised his hands in victory crossing the finish line a few feet ahead of Jewell.

race recap

race recap

The final day of Daytona KartWeek competition saw Jared Cordova and Brandon Lemke become the only double final winners at the Margay Sprint Championships, while Daytona 500 champion Jamie McMurray added a new accomplishment to his success at the World Center of Racing with his first WKA Manufacturers Cup triumph aboard his sleek American-made JMK chassis.

APPCO KartingYamaha Supercan HeavyCRG California racer Kyle Kuntze kicked things off Friday with the win in Yamaha Supercan Heavy over multi-time Daytona winner Jeff Jewell. Twenty-six senior Yamaha racers qualified with Thursday’s Supercan winner Dakota Pesek grabbing the pole over Kuntze, Patrick Olsen, Blake Diester and Mark Boos. Olsen took an easy win in the prefinal, but the 15

lap main event was a little more complicated. Olsen was out on lap two giving way to Pesek and Kuntze. John McCuster was on the move and soon challenged Pesek for the lead, but it was Kuntze who really came on strong in the end. Kuntze, on a Maddox chassis, bested Jewell, John McCusker, Pesek and Jackson Mears for the big win after a very exciting last few laps. Kuntze was the best of the west, and the only Cali driver to get a win at Daytona.

“What a special race, to come back here for Daytona KartWeek and win for a team in its first national event from California,” the happy 22-year-old Supercan Heavy winner offered. “Everybody did such an amazing job all week and to reward these guys for putting me in the kart this week to represent their brand with a win is a really special feeling, especially

because it was my biggest karting win to date!

“A huge thanks to all of my supporters and for WKA for making this possible,” Kuntze continued. “This was one of the most fun events I have ever attended and to come back with a win makes the cross country trip that much sweeter!”

Grand Products / Top KartCadet Final 2Friday’s second event saw 40 Cadet youngsters take the green in Cadet Sportsman Final 2. Friday’s Cadet top five differed quite a bit from Thursday’s. It started off with Brandon Lemke grabbing the pole from Steve Depinto, Braden Eves, Zach Holden and Kaleb Allison. Lemke won the prefinal, but the running order behind him was shuffled around with Nick Luedeke and Jared Cordova moving up into 2nd and 3rd.

Lemke paced the field for the opening circuits of the 15-lap final before Cordova was able to slip by for the lead. After a crazy last lap Cordova held on for the win, his second of the event. Following Cordova across the stripe was Missouri Merlin racer Allison, who finished 0.644 seconds back of the victor. Depinto took third, Luedeke fourth and pole sitter Lemke fifth. Six through ten were Leonardo Stoia, Devin Bowerman, Holden, Neil

Verhagen and Jamie Williams.

“I made a great pass on Brandon Lemke to take the lead on turn one,” Cordova recalled after he joined Lemke as the only double winners at the Margay Sprint Championships. “I am so happy to be one of two double winners at Daytona in this event. We know we need to work even harder to keep our momentum, as our competition is fierce”

OTK Kart USATaG Final 2One of the bright spots of KartWeek came in Friday’s third main, TaG Final 2. In it, Jamie McMurray returned to victory lane in the top ranks of American karting, and he did it in convincing fashion. McMurray swept the day in TaG 2, qualifying fastest of 49 entrants at a 40.635 around the 0.7-mile Sprint Course, winning the pre-final and besting defending TaG 1 and TaG 2 national champion

Robert Bujdoso in the final. The win gave McMurray his first triumph since designing and having his JMK chassis built in the United States, a rarity today in 2-cycle sprint racing. Bujdoso was second on his PCR, Man Cup veteran Tommy Andersen third, NASCAR Cup star A.J. Allmendinger fourth and Wisconsin’s T.J. Koyen fifth. Six through ten were Kyle Smith, Chris Wehrheim, Scott Kopp, Jacob Duvall and Mason Chelootz.

PCR Komet Jr LiteMerlin driver James Kellett surprised some onlookers Friday when he scored the Komet Jr Lite victory over three heavy hitters in the WKA junior ranks. Kyle Kalish was the Streeter Super Stands pole award winner with a time of 42.134, besting the 42 kart field. Austin Osborne joined Kalish on the front row to start the prefinal with Joel Jens and Kellett on row two. Kalish won the prefinal with Ashley Rogero moving up to 2nd place,

Jens 3rd and Jake Craig 4th. The final saw Kalish, Jens, Rogero, and Kellett all lead laps as the two Merlins took on a pair of Tony Karts. In the end Kellett fended off the best Man Cup has to offer in Kalish, Rogero, Jens and Jake Craig for the triumph. Grant Quinlan took sixth in his first WKA weekend in the junior classes. Austin Osborne was seventh, Garrett Johnston eighth, Gavin Reichelt ninth and James Bennett tenth.

race recap

Mike Doty RacingYamaha Rookie Final 2Another stout field of Yamaha Rookie competitors battled it out in Rookie Final 2. Alex Verhagen earned his second pole of the event with a time of 47.225. Tyler Ferris, Samuel Paley, Connor Ferris and Jason Welage finished out the fast five. Verhagen held on to win a close one in the prefinal over Tyler Ferris and Paley.

PCR pilot Kaylen Frederick bested 27 young racers for the big win in the final. The top four drivers were all in the hunt for the win and even lapped traffic couldn’t stand in the way of the leaders. Frederick crossed the stripe 0.371 seconds in front of Ohio’s Jason Welage. Samuel Paley took third, New Jersey’s

Tyler Ferris fourth and Mark Fineis was fifth.

“I’ll never forget taking the lead in lapped traffic, then losing it in lapped traffic, then getting it back. Being a winner at Daytona is one I’ll never forget! If you get in the front, hold on tight because they’re all coming after you!” an excited Kaylen Frederick said after her big victory.

Komet LiteThe Komet senior classes were the smallest at the Margay Sprint Championships with 11 starters, but the short fields didn’t spell lack of competition. Jacob Donald was the pole sitter with a time of 42.059, and he went on to the prefinal win over Mason Chelootz and Raquel

Martinez. After not taking a lap in qualifying Florida Tony Kart veteran Nick Neri scored the Komet Lite main by passing and slightly gapping the likes of Donald. Donald and Martinez traded the lead in the first few laps before being chased down by a charging Neri. Donald held on for 2nd with Martinez 3rd and Patrick Olsen 4th. James Brock rounding out the top five. Donald and Martinez were running senior classes for the first time in WKA after several successful years in the Yamaha and KPV junior divisions.

MRP / BirelYamaha Sportsman LiteMerlin racer Brandon Lemke left little doubt that he’ll be a force to be reckoned with in the Jr Sportsman categories in 2012. After triumphing in Thursday’s Komet Sportsman final, Lemke returned Friday to best 41 competitors in Yamaha Sportsman Lite with the Streeter Super Stands pole award. Leonardo Stoia led a five-kart train to the finish in the prefinal and started the main from the pole.

The main event saw the lead pack expand to six karts with Stoia, Allison, Luedeke, Michael Cruz, Lemke and Braden Eves. After a brief halt to things because of a red flag racing resumed. Eventually towards the finish Lemke and Luedeke pulled away from the strong field of Yamaha Sportsman racers to settle things between themselves.

The end saw Lemke cross the stripe less than a kart-length ahead of Luedeke, who mounted a spirited last-straightaway challenge but fell just short of a prestigious KartWeek victory.

Allison was over two seconds back of the lead duo in third. Cruz took fourth and Colorado’s Flinn Lazier, son of Indianapolis 500 champion Buddy Lazier, rounded out the top five. Six through ten in Yamaha Lite were Ian Nelson, Neil Verhagen, Zach Holden, Hunter Brayton and Seve Depinto.

Lemke offered some generous comments after his second win of the week. “To come to Daytona and race alongside some of the best sportsman drivers in the country is very special. I want to recognize Jerry Kindler of Source Racing Engines for all his hard work and dedication. I am really happy to be working with him. A special thanks to Jim Bennett for all the help with my driving, advice and tips. Jim has helped get me to where I am today. THANK YOU!”

Margay Racing ProductsTaG Masters Final 2 New Jersey Top Kart pilot John Ferris III found some speed for Friday’s competition and it led to convincing win in TaG Masters Final 2. Jeff Jewell was the pole sitter after qualifying, but it was Ferris who led them to the finish in the prefinal. Ferris and Jewell were well clear of the field and

that trend continued into the main as well. Ferris pulled out to nearly a second lead on Jewell before crossing the finish line a decent 0.782 seconds ahead of the Tennessean. Ferris and Jewell paced the field ahead of Birel racer Steve Schiewer, Brian McHattie (who ran in 2nd for the early laps) and North Carolina’s Chuck Tate. Nineteen over-35 racers started the TaG Masters KartWeek capper.

Verde Speed ResourcesYamaha Jr HeavyDaytona KartWeek’s final main featured nearly 50 Yamaha Jr Heavy racers taking the green. Defending Triple Crown

champion Joel Jens had control throughout qualifying, the prefinal and the main event. Jen’s pole time was 43.281, less than a tenth better than P2 qualifier Matt Solarczyk. Jens scored the prefinal win and set his sites on the 15 lap final. The checkered flag saw Jens, aboard his familiar No. 35 Tony Kart, score his first and only win of KartWeek by a cool 1.8-second margin over Top Kart driver Jake Johnston. Austin Osborne had his best run at Daytona with a solid third-place effort. Johnston and Osborne were the only drivers to lead a lap in the final other than Jens. Cory Towles took fourth with Brandon Jarsocrak

scoring another top five in fifth. Six through ten were Matt Solarczyk, Garrett Johnston, Gresham Wagner, Ashley Rogero and Jared Thomas.

“Coming of a Triple Crown from the previous season, I wanted to come into Daytona and have a strong performance to show that we are going to be the team to beat again,” Jens commented. “Also, it was rewarding to win at every track we traveled to in 2011 for the Man Cup. My team worked hard and never gave up. We tried a lot of things testing new scenarios and feel we have great things to come for this season.

“Having three past national champions working on my kart and supporting me was a confidence builder and I’d like to thank Tiffin, Kevin, and Corey, who all have championships to their names. Also, thanks to Vic for working extra hard this weekend.”

The four junior mains saw four different winners in Joel Jens, James Kellett, Kyle Kalish and Garrett. Johnston. 2012 is looking more competitive than ever.

While a number of WKA Manufacturers Cup regulars will spend quite a bit of time in Florida this winter with the Florida Winter Tour events on tap over the next few months, the next time Man Cup competition will shine is March 23-25 at Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw, S.C. The Zoom Zoom Nationals Kershaw entry blank is now available on WorldKarting.com. --WKS

race recap

http://www.russellkarting.com

Leopard 1 and 2; Josh Lane ran some at the Margay Sprint Championships but scooted over to the Road Racing track and captured wins in Stock Honda 1 and 2; and Tracy Phillips bested a couple of strong WKA 125 Shifter fields to add to his growing Daytona win total.

Here’s a rundown of the 13 race groups that went off last Thursday and Friday at the 3.56-mile Daytona road course.

Thursday Group 1KartWeek’s first enduro race saw eight different divisions get the green flag, the most of any race group at Daytona.

The fastest karts on track were those in WKA Sprint Final 1, which featured a dozen starters. Cicero, New York’s Ed Shampine, a multi-time national champion

who now makes only rare Road Racing appearances, brought his purple Elite chassis out for Daytona and proceeded to score the victory in both WKA Sprint mains.

In Thursday’s race, Shampine bested fellow New Yorker Otto Vollmerhausen by a 1.5-second margin. Vollmerhausen did set the race’s fast time at 2:24.956. Oklahoma’s Anthony Honeywell was third, Tennessee’s Jeff Frank fourth with veteran road racer Guy Brown rounding out the top five.

Phil Kirby grabbed his first win of the week in Stock Leopard Final 1. The Florida racer won a close, exciting event over fellow Sunshine State racer Brent Lyman and third-place Quincy Smith. Only 0.090 seconds separated first through third.

Mike Hoff ran fourth and Frank Stevens rounded out the fast five in the 10-kart field.

Wisconsin’s Mike Stroik was nearly as fast as the WKA sprinters on his way to the win in Animal Limited Modified 385. Stroik ran a quick lap of 2:28.983 around the DIS road course. Jack Reall took second, Charles Wilbur third, Dominic Greco fourth and Dennis Smith fifth.

Michael Ryan Arnold added another Jr Sprint national win to his total. The Kentucky racer won Jr Sprint Lite over Virginia’s Eli Brown. Jenna Bretz was third, Julia Noyes fourth and Samantha Justice fifth.

North Carolina’s Chris Kuley gave the Kuley racing family a victory at Daytona in Animal Jr Sprint Lite. Kuley won over

T he WKA Dunlop Tire National Road Racing

Series driven by Mazda made its much-anticipated return to the famed Daytona Int’l Speedway Dec. 27-30 for the Daytona Road Racing Championships, the season opener for the 2012 seven-race tour and the most prestigious enduro-style karting event in the country.

With the Road Racing Series absent from Daytona in December 2010 due to the track’s repaving project, the renewal of the Road Racing Championships – an annual WKA event since the early 1970s – saw teams from all over the country travel to Daytona Beach for the four-day affair.

The overall entry count for the event was approximately 600, spread through over 40 national categories and several other local-option divisions. The entry count nearly matched that of 2009’s Daytona Championships, a testament to road racers across the country who continue to support the sport during a still struggling economy.

On the track, encouraging fields of 10, 20 and nearly 30 entrants in a number classes headlined

the Road Racing portion of Daytona KartWeek. The largest division belonged to Animal Sprint 360, which boasted an impressive 27 starters. Other strong fields included Yamaha Sportsman Medium (26 entries), 100cc Yamaha Heavy (22), Animal Sprint 385 (23) and WKA 125 Shifter 1 (22).

Aaron Snyder left Daytona as the top Road Racing victor. The Illinois TaG driver, who won a 2011 WKA Triple Crown championship with his four national titles in the four TaG classes, won all four Spec TaG and TaG mains at Daytona to continue his dominance in the divisions.

One win behind Snyder were Margay Racing Products owner Keith Freber and Rev-Clean-sponsored Arkansas-based pilot Brian Wilhelm. Freber captured victories in three

Yamaha laydown divisions while Wilhelm bested many of the country’s fastest go-karts in Formula 125 and the pair of Unlimited finals.

Nine drivers wheeled their mounts to a pair of wins on the Daytona high banks.

Two-time Triple Crown winner Courtney Atkinson swept the new Yamaha Sportsman Sprint mains; 2010 Triple Crown champ Adam Myers took wins in 100cc Pipe Medium and Heavy; Ed Shampine continued his Daytona success with triumphs in WKA Sprint 1 and 2; Zachary Linsell gave MGM a couple wins in Animal Sprint 335 and Animal Limited Modified 360.

Noah Stark swept the CIK 125 Shifter finals; J.C. Sanders won both Jr Enduro races; Phil Kirby returned to WKA competition and scored victories in Stock

Snyder bags four wins Freber, Wilhelm triple at

Daytona Road Racing Championships

wRITTEn By: KEITh ShAMpInE - phoToS By: KAREn BRown (KRApp4U)race recap

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Alabama’s Will Delaney. Last year’s Animal Jr Sprint national champion Brent Hadden was third, Daniel Ring fourth and Monica Smith fifth.

Vicki Tedder and Joe Cuslidge triumphed in the Clone local options. Tedder won Clone 335 over David Planakis while Cuslidge bested Dennis Claunch and Robert Garland to win ARC Racing-sponsored Clone 385.

Jamie and Jeff Webb had a spirited battle in the LO206 385 local option main. Jamie won over Jeff by a mere 0.168 seconds. Lawrence Palmer Jr. took third.

Thursday Group 2Twenty dual-engine-powered B Stocks took the green in

Thursday’s second group, one of the largest B Stock fields in recent memory. Allen Cox had enough to pull ahead of New Jersey’s Tom O’Reilly and score the B Stock win by a decent 8.7-second margin. Cliff Brannon crossed the stripe over 38 seconds back in third, while the father-son duo of Robby Harper and Robby Harper III finished fourth and fifth. O’Reilly set the class’s fast lap at a cool 2:04.054 around the superspeedway road course.

Brian Wilhelm wheeled his pristine 125cc-powered laydown to the win in Rev-Clean Formula 125. Wilhelm’s teammate Mitch White was second. Rory Pederson dropped out on lap 15 but was credited with third. WKA Road Racing regular

Michael Lattos was fourth.

Wilhelm turned the group’s fast lap at 1:59.752, one of the fastest laps at Daytona KartWeek.

Brian Morse won an attrition-filled KALL Racing Formula 100 Final 1 main. Morse was one of only a few karts to finish of 10 starters. Michael Hickey was credited with second, while Anthony Honeywell was the fastest kart in the field but dropped out just shy of the 45-minute distance and took third. Virginia Beach’s Bill Miller and his son, Travis Miller, finished fourth and fifth.

A pleasant surprise on the entry count front

were good turnouts in the Yamaha Pipe laydown divisions. Fourteen started Dart Kart Club-sponsored 100cc Yamaha Medium, which saw Oklahoma hotshoe Ryan Hatcher score the win. VIR winner Arthur McKenny continues to get a good hold on his laydown and finished second. Joe Cassidy was third, Massachusetts’ Fran Mazzucotelli fourth and Weldon Ribble fifth.

Thursday Group 3One of the largest fields at the Daytona Championships was the aforementioned WKA 125 Shifter main, which saw 22 fast sprint shifters take the green. Alabama’s Tracy Phillips continued his reign over the divisions at Daytona, backing up a win in 2009 with his first of two triumphs in 2011.

Phillips won by a tight 0.033-second gap over WKA regular Stephen Flatt. Just behind Phillips and Flatt was Missouri’s Bob Peurifoy, who crossed the stripe just 0.082 seconds back of the winner. John Sullivan ran fourth and Brian

Duensing completed the fast five.

Pennsylvania’s Noah Stark flexed his muscle in the CIK 125 Shifter classes with wins both days. His first came in CIK 125 Shifter 1 by a mere 0.220-second margin over Georgia’s Colbi Bradley. New Englander Andy Noyes, a past Road Racing regular who now competes only sparingly, finished third. Florida’s Marco Greco was fourth and Jeff Estes fifth.

Energy chassis wheelman Aaron Snyder picked up his first of four wins in Thursday’s third group. Snyder bested Don Guilbeault by a half second to win Spec 125 TaG 1. Chris Hines and Keith Buffo took third and fourth.

Thursday Group 4Some of the most competitive Daytona Championships fields hit the high banks in Thursday’s fourth main. In somewhat of a surprise, Indiana’s Brandon Fry triumphed in Sleeper Racing Team 100cc Controlled Spec 1 over a stout field of laydown Controlled racers.

Fry turned a quick time of 2:12.937 on his way to a nine-second win over early leader Rick Fulks. Brandon’s brother, Lance Fry, was 22 seconds back in third, while Brandon and Lance’s father Jim Fry took fourth. Florida’s Lindsay Fox rounded out the top five of 14 starters.

Adam Myers won his first of two mains at Daytona in West Texas Outlaws 100cc Pipe Heavy. The West Seneca, N.Y., racer bested Oklahoma’s Bryan Norman by a comfortable margin for the win. Roger Hatcher, another Oklahoman, was third, Scott Campbell fourth and Jim McMurray fifth. Eleven piston port laydowns started the race.

Yamaha Sportsman Lite, a new class in 2012, made its series debut at Daytona. The division’s first ever winner was, to no one’s great surprise, Florida shoe Matt Michel.

Michel claimed the win by a 22-second margin over teammate Lance Yunck, who continues to improve with every

race recap

outing. Ryley Howe made it an all-Florida top three with a fine third-place effort in his first weekend as a senior road racer. Brent Goodwin was fourth and Jeramie Weeden fifth in the 15-kart main.

Thursday Group 5Animals and TaGs took over the track in Thursday’s fifth

group. Aaron Snyder captured his second win of the day in DRT Racing TaG Final 1, which saw Snyder triumph in a close 30-minute affair over Keith Freber and his father, Jim Snyder. The margin between first and third was only 0.057 seconds.

New Hampshire’s Don Guilbeault lost touch with the leaders and finished 10 seconds

back in fourth in the class his DRT Racing outfit sponsors. Brent Lyman rounded out the top five in the 12-kart field.

MGM chassis owner Paul Rice looked like he had his first WKA National Road Racing win when he crossed the finish line 0.205 seconds in front of Maryland’s Kevin Colborn in Hoosier Tire

Animal Sprint 385. However, post-race tech saw Rice get disqualified for a engine issue, handing the victory to Colborn, who rides one of Rice’s pristine MGM mounts.

Frank Kelleher was just behind Colborn to take second. Joey Kuley ran strong to finish third, Ohio’s Jack Reall was fourth and Woodbridge Kart Club regular

Toni Alexander was fifth in the 23-kart field.

While Rice, Colborn and Kelleher were waging a great battle in 385, 2011 double national champion Zachary Linsell was having quite a fight of his own with Thursday Animal Mod winner Mike Stroik in Hoosier Tire Animal Sprint 335.

The pair raced took and nail till the end and when the checkered flag waved, Linsell edged Stroik by a tight 0.164-second gap. Coyote racer Steven Kilsdonk crossed third but was disqualified for pushing. Kilsdonk’s misfortune gave third to Kevin Rusnak, fourth to Douglas Schmidt and fifth to Pa.’s Andrew Boyer.

Wisconsin’s Courtney Atkinson continued to shine at Daytona and the college freshman put her CKT sprinter into victory lane with a win in Heiser Trailer Leasing Yamaha Sportsman Sprint Final 1. Atkinson scored the win over Virginia’s Brandon Taylor by a massive margin. Taylor finished well ahead of David Bruinsma, Dawn Magiera and Michael Holman, who

rounded out the top five in his first senior race in WKA.

Michael Hines won a short three-kart AM Motorsports Yamaha Sprint Lite main. The New England WKA regular crossed the stripe over a minute in front of 2011 Yamaha Sprint national champion Jimmy Duguay. Jeff Standridge was

third.

Jeff Ford bested Derek Billingsley in the DD2 #1 local option. Thomas Andersen was third. David Planakis was the only entrant in Open Sprint 1 and picked up the win.

Thursday Race 6Nineteen fast shifter karts started the Stock Honda 1 main, which featured a four-kart breakaway

at the front of the pack. Illinois’s Josh Lane, who made the Margay Sprint Championships his priority at KartWeek, hurried over to the enduro track for the Stock Honda main and proceeded to out-duel Tiffany McCollum, Jeff Debeau and Tyler Guilbeault for the win. Lane won the race with no practice on the superspeedway

road course.

Following Lane, McCollum, Debeau and Guilbeault across the line was David Harding. John Sullivan, Phillip Davis, Brian Goebel, Carson Miller and Ryan Flatt finished six through ten.

Formula 125s dominated the Unlimited Final 1 main. After capturing the F-125 feature earlier in the day, Brian Wilhelm

did exactly what he did in 2009 by winning the first Unlimited race of KartWeek. Wilhelm moved out to a 43-second lead over Mitch White by the time the checkers waved. California’s Ryen Miller was third, Michael Lattos fourth and Chuck Bunnell fifth.

race recap

Roy Efstrantiu won the 250 Twin 1 local option over Carl Goutell.

Thursday Race 7The last race of the day was a 45-minute go for the laydown enduros. The fastest karts on track were those in the 100cc Controlled division, which saw Illinois’s Randy Fulks edge Florida’s Nate Grindell by a close 0.235-second margin. The triumph was Fulks’ only win of KartWeek at the track where he’s won over 40 main events throughout his illustrious road racing career.

Behind Fulks and Grindell were Don Chrzan, Brian Morse and Terry Koen rounding out the top five in the 11-kart field.

Margay’s Keith Freber won his first race of KartWeek in Thursday’s final race. Freber picked up the win in Tru Stripe Yamaha Sportsman Heavy after another fierce battle on the Daytona high banks with Matt Michel, who crossed the stripe only 0.062 seconds behind Freber.

Lance Fry went retro and made a rare Sportsman appearance and finished 13 seconds back of the winner in third. Michael McCombs was fourth with Charles Fox III completing the top five.

J.C. Sanders won his first race of KartWeek by a convincing

margin over Joshua Krause in Jr Enduro Lite. Sanders turned a fast lap of 2:52.187 on his way to the victory.

Friday Race 1KartWeek’s largest Road Racing Championships field hit the track as the final day of racing kicked off Friday morning.

Animal Sprint 360, sponsored by the Southern Kart Club, saw 27 Briggs-powered karts take the green and a five-kart breakaway at the front of the pack with some of the best sprint-enduro drivers in the country battling for the win.

Brandon Taylor led the pack out of NASCAR turn four coming to the checkered and looked to have the race in hand until the father-son duo of Bailey and

Kevin Colborn went drafting by with the help of Mike Stroik and Zachary Linsell. Bailey fended off his father, Stroik and Linsell to the finish line to win his first ever main at Daytona. The margin of victory was a mere 0.062 seconds. Kevin Colborn was second, Stroik third, Linsell fourth and Taylor fifth.

About 18 seconds back of the

lead pack was Frank Kelleher in sixth. Maryland’s Jonathan Tedder was seventh, Douglas Schmidt eighth, Joey Kuley ninth and Steven Kilsdonk 10th.

While the fierce battle was going on for Animal 360 win, Pennsylvania’s Randy Delp was thoroughly in control of Animal Sprint 410. Delp scored the 410 victory by over a 41-second gap over Toni Alexander. MGM’s

Paul Rice was third, Rich Dreher fourth and Southern Kart Club president Dominic Greco fifth.

Aaron Snyder wheeled his Energy chassis to his third win of KartWeek in TaG Final 2. Snyder again scored a close victory over his father Jim and DRT chassis racer Brian Fisher. The margin between first and third was only 0.107 seconds. New Englanders

Chris Hines and Don Guilbeault finished fourth and fifth in the 10-kart field.

Jimmy Duguay won his only race of KartWeek in Yamaha Sprint Heavy after finished second in Thursday’s Yamaha Sprint Lite. The Florida racer won over Jeff Standridge and Mark Justice.

Derek Billingsley picked up the victory by a comfortable margin

over Thomas Andersen in DD2 #2. Steve French was third in the local option.

David Planakis was again the only entrant in the Friday version of Open Sprint. Planakis only made one lap and was credited with the victory.

Friday Race 2The Daytona Championships’

second largest division met in Friday’s second group. Competition Karting Inc. Yamaha Sportsman Medium started a competitive field of 26 laydowns, filled with heavy hitters from across the country.

The Sportsman Medium main saw Missouri’s Keith Freber win his second race of the week. Freber kept Oklahoma’s Bryan Norman and Ryan Hatcher

at bay to garner the win. The margin between Freber and third-place Hatcher was only 0.136 seconds.

Matt Michel lost touch with the lead trio and finished 19 seconds back in fourth after winning Thursday’s Yamaha Sportsman Lite. Florida’s Ryley Howe made another good showing for himself in his initial event running with the senior drivers. Howe rounded out the top five.

Six through ten were Charles Fox III, Tim Linthicum, David Lee, David Goodwin and Nick Goodwin.

After a couple strong showings but no wins on Thursday, OTK Kart USA-sponsored Nate Grindell dominated the 100cc Controlled Spec 2 main. Grindell bested Thursday Cont. Spec winner Brandon Fry by a cool 37 seconds. Don Chrzan was third, Lindsay Fox fourth and Scott Grenier fifth. Only Grindell, Fry, Chrzan and Fox went the full 45-minute distance of the 15 starters.

Adam Myers won by a large 30-second gap over Mallory Davis in Dart Kart Club-sponsored 100cc Pipe Medium. Anthony Vaccaro made the long tow to Daytona from his Plattsburgh, N.Y., base and finished third.

J.C. Sanders won Jr Enduro Heavy as the only starter. Sanders swept the Jr Enduro

race recap

mains at KartWeek.

Dick Charest scored another Daytona win in the Vintage Classic 2 local option. The South Carolina driver won over Dwain Parks.

Friday Race 3The shifters and spec TaGs hit the track once again in Friday’s third feature, which saw Aaron Snyder win his fourth event of KartWeek while Tracy Phillips and Noah Stark each won their second races.

Snyder’s win in Spec 125 TaG 2 was his easiest of the week. Snyder pulled out to a 20-second lead over Don Guilbeault by the time the checkers waved. Massachusetts’ Keith Buffo was

third.

Phillips again won a close WKA 125 Shifter affair. This race saw the Alabama veteran cross the stripe a mere 0.042 seconds in front of Ohio’s Bob Anderson. Pa.’s Phillip Davis was third with California’s Ryen Miller fourth. The top four was separated by only a half second. Garry Brazeal rounded out the top five in the 18-kart field.

Noah Stark won another close one in CIK 125 Shifter 2. This time Stark triumphed by 0.233 seconds over Mikey Wright. 2011 CIK Shifter national champion Steven Rougeou was third, Andy Noyes fourth and Jeff Estes fifth. Eleven karts started.

Friday Race 4Comer P-51s dominated WKA Sprint Final 2 as it continues to look like the Komet K-71’s time has passed. Ed Shampine accomplished the sweep of the WKA Sprint races with a 4.1-second win over fellow New Yorker Adam Myers. Anthony Honeywell finished right behind Myers in third while David Bruinsma was only a few tenths back of Honeywell in fourth. Michael Hines was the only Yamaha-powered kart in the field and had a good showing with a fifth-place result.

Courtney Atkinson captured her second win of KartWeek and the clean sweep of Yamaha Sportsman Sprint. Atkinson

won by an 11-second gap over Brandon Taylor, who found some speed in his AM Motorsports kart but not quite enough to hang with Atkinson. Michael Holman was third, Trenton Bryant fourth and Louie Magiera fifth.

Like Atkinson and Shampine, Phil Kirby scored his second win of KartWeek in this group and a sweep of the Stock Leopard finals. Kirby had a little more breathing room in this one, winning by 6.666 seconds over Brent Lyman. Richard Hoff was third, three seconds ahead of Streeter Super Stands’ Jeff Wesell.

Wesell was originally going to run the enduro track Thursday and Man Cup Friday, but decided to stay at the superspeedway and compete in Leopard Final 2 rather than Man Cup TaG Masters Final 2.

Minnesota’s Don Nelson rounded out the top five.

Zachary Linsell gave MGM another win with a close triumph over Mike Stroik in Animal Limited Modified 360. Linsell and Stroik jumped out to a big 21-second advantage over Jonathan Tedder, who finished third. Jack Reall was right behind Tedder in fourth; Charles Wilbur rounded out the top five.

Will Delaney denied Chris Kuley of a repeat in the Animal Jr Sprint category. Delaney won a close race over Brent Hadden by a 0.732-second margin. Kuley was 13 seconds back in third. Daniel King and Monica Smith finished fourth and fifth.

Eli Brown bested Michael Ryan Arnold by 2.3 seconds to win Team Finork Racing Jr Sprint Heavy. Brown’s win denied

race recap

Arnold of a repeat in the 2-cycle Jr Sprint divisions. Julia Noyes was third, Samantha Justice fourth and Jenna Bretz fifth.

Dennis Claunch and Joe Cuslidge won the Clone local options. Claunch won over James Tedder and Vicki Tedder in ARC Racing Clone 360. Cuslidge won Clone 410 by a comfortable margin over John Vanhimbergen.

Eight karts started LO206 360 in probably the largest LO206 fields in the division’s history. Lawrence Palmer bested Jeff Webb by 3.4 seconds for the win. Jamie Webb was third, Andrew Petty fourth and Robert Garland fifth. The top four all finished within 10 seconds of one another.

Friday Group 5Keith Freber found victory once again in the second-to-last race group of the Daytona Championships. This time Freber drove to victory in West Texas Kartway 100cc Yamaha Heavy by a three-second advantage over Matt Michel.

Freber and Michel’s jobs became a bit easier when top shoes Ryan Hatcher and Bryan Norman

both dropped out about 20 minutes into the race. Hatcher and Norman were credited with 14th and 15th.

KALL Racing driver Lance Yunck finished third, Roger Hatcher fourth and West Texas’s Bobby White fifth.

LAD Specialties Formula 100 Final 2 started a dozen laydowns

and saw Anthony Honeywell drive to a dominating win over Michael Hickey and F-100 Final 1 winner Brian Morse. Honeywell turned a fast time of 2:10.266 – some five seconds faster than anyone else in the starting field. Behind the top three were Brent Brannon and Scott Campbell in fourth and fifth.

Friday Group 6The last enduro main of KartWeek featured Stock Honda 2 and Unlimited Final 2 take to the superspeedway.

Josh Lane scored his second win KartWeek in the Stock Honda main. Lane won by 0.242 seconds over Tiffany McCollum, who finished second to Lane both days. Jeff Debeau, who

ran with Lane and McCollum in Stock Honda 1, couldn’t stay with the leaders in Friday’s race but still finished third in the 15-kart field. David Harding and Phillip Davis rounded out the top five.

Brian Wilhelm joined Keith Freber as a triple winner at the Daytona Road Racing Championships with his third

win of KartWeek in Unlimited Final 2. Wilhelm had a good race going with Alabama’s Robby Harper before he dropped out about five minutes shy of the finish.

It was clean sailing for Wilhelm after Harper’s retirement. Mitch White finished some 36 seconds back of the Arkansas Rev-Clean veteran in second. Michael Lattos was third, making the top three all 125cc laydowns. Ryen Miller picked up another top five with his fourth-place effort. Tom O’Reilly was the first B Stock racer across the line in fifth.

As racers around the country come down from their “highs” of once again competing on the Daytona high

banks, focus will turn to round two for the Road Racing Series, coming up March 23-25 with the Zoom Zoom Nationals at the Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw, S.C.

The Kershaw Road Race entry blank is now available on WorldKarting.com. --WKS

race recap

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