WKA Karting Scene - September 2012

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THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE WORLD KARTING ASSOCIATION SEPTEMEBER 2012 VOL. 42, NO. 9 STORMS COULDN’T KEEP US FROM RACING

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WKA Karting Scene

Transcript of WKA Karting Scene - September 2012

Page 1: WKA Karting Scene - September 2012

THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE WORLD KARTING ASSOCIATION SEPTEMEBER 2012 VOL. 42, NO. 9

STORMS COULDN’T KEEP US FROM

RACING

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WKA’s Karting Scene is published monthly by

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03 UNITED TRAILERS 13 RUSSELL KARTING 02 TURK BROTHERS 12 IAME HADDOCK 34 BOCA BEARINGS 13 JC SPECIALTY 34 TM RACING 34 TS RACING 34 JEX MANUFACTURING 34 PSI TRAILERS 14 KARTING FOR CHRIST 24 NKN 14 RACING FOR A CURE 27 ON TRACK MINISTRY 23 IMIS 25 PRI

06 VIR NATIONALS

14 KARTLIFT NATIONALS

26 WEST COAST SUPER SERIES

26 CHAPEL HILL GRAND NATIONALS

26 PERFORMANCE NORTH

WKAWest Series

TUNED EXHAUST PRODUCTS

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06 VIR NATIONALS

14 KARTLIFT NATIONALS

26 WEST COAST SUPER SERIES

26 CHAPEL HILL GRAND NATIONALS

26 PERFORMANCE NORTHJAMMER CLUTCHES NATIONALS

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Keith Buffo, Zack Clark and Lance Yunck each scored three feature wins at the July 27-29 Woodbridge Kart Club-hosted VIR Nationals

at VIRginia Int’l Raceway in Danville, Va., to lead all drivers in attendance.

Buffo nearly had a perfect weekend in the TaG classes. The Massachusetts driver won both Spec 125 TaG mains, TaG 1 and finished a close second to his teammate Chris Hines in TaG 2.

Clark, a second-generation enduro racer, won both Jr Sprint features and took Sunday’s Jr Enduro Heavy main to bring his win total to three.

Yunck, out of Sebring, Fla., wheeled his KALL Racing CKI chassis to triumphs in 100cc Yamaha Medium and Heavy and Yamaha Sportsman Lite.

The attendance was good for the event, which marked the first time the WKA Vega / TS Racing Road Racing Series driven by Mazda had ever run the VIR Full Course. A total of 372 entries filled the paddock to continue a strong year for WKA National Road Racing. The event was the third-best attended in 2012, behind Daytona and Mid-Ohio, which boasted 577 and 428 entries, respectively.

This year’s VIR round saw nearly a full day of Friday practice completed before another all-too-familiar heavy summer thunderstorm swept through the Danville area late Friday afternoon. The storm, which ruined more than a couple teams’ EZ-up tents, postponed the much-anticipated Yamaha Sportsman Special 40-minute go. The Sportsman Special, which paid a cool $300 to the winner thanks to sponsorship from WKC and WKA veterans “Wild” Bill Holder and

Buffo, Clark, Yunck are top winners at VIR Nationals

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Jeramie Bolt, was moved to Sunday’s first race group.

In addition to Buffo, Clark and Yunck’s “hat tricks,” several drivers notched a pair of VIR Nationals triumphs.

Randy Fulks won 100cc Controlled Spec 1 and the aforementioned Sportsman Special race. Sprint-enduro veteran Charlie Tustison swept the WKA Sprint mains. Zachary Linsell won Animal Sprint 335 and 360, while young Chris Kuley won both Animal Jr Sprint features. Kelly Lawrence triumphed in Formula 125 and Unlimited Final 1.

Travis Miller swept Formula 100 while racing in his home state. WKC regular Clark Gaynor Jr. was victorious in both Stock Honda divisions and Noah Stark left VIR with a pair of CIK 125 Sprint victories.

Here’s a rundown of the 13 race groups that took the green flag at VIR.

Saturday Race 1Kelly Lawrence, Robby Harper III, Travis Miller and Lance Yunck kicked the weekend’s racing action off with wins in the four classes to take the green in Saturday’s first group.

Lawrence bested Brian Wilhelm in Formula 125 by a little over a one-minute advantage. Jeremy Baldi was third, Mitch White fourth and Michael Lattos fifth after getting involved in an accident that tore up the nosecone of Lattos’ 125cc-powered laydown.

Robby Harper III won over his father, Robby Harper, in B Stock, which started an impressive 13 karts. Gary Schenkel was third, Tom O’Reilly fourth and Jim Farr Jr. fifth. Craig Keller, Scott Goodman and Randy

Buffo, Clark, Yunck are top winners at VIR Nationals

Article by: Keith Shampine -- [email protected] by: Karen Brown - [email protected]

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Fulks all ran up front early in the race but all dropped out before the checkered flag waved.

Travis Miller picked up another VIR triumph with a dominating 33-second win over Pierre Huang in KALL Racing Formula 100 Final 1. WKA national regular Don Chrzan was third, Paul Wyzga fourth and Scotty Campbell fifth.

Lance Yunck continued his strong 2012 season with the score in Dart Kart Club 100cc Yamaha Medium. Yunck won by an impressive 37-second margin over Mallory Davis, who’s been working at VIR over the summer as intern. Virginia’s Arthur McKenny was third, Fran Mazzucotelli fourth and James Rupert fifth.

Saturday Race 2Noah Stark captured his first of two VIR wins in CIK 125 Shifter Final 1. Stark bested Donald Santini, Chad Donner and Steven Rougeou.

Philip Payne wheeled his Birel to the victory in WKA 125 Shifter Final 1. Payne won by a convincing margin over JP Krukowicz, Chuck Weaver and Steve

Flatt.

Keith Buffo’s first win of the weekend came in this event. Buffo finished 15 seconds ahead of Timothy Ferraro in the Spec 125 TaG Final 1 race. Adrian Dale was third, Rob Guilbeault fourth and Mike Kavanaugh fifth.

Saturday Race 3One of the most exciting finishes of the weekend came in Sleeper Racing Team 100cc Controlled Spec 1 between Randy Fulks and Sean O’Shea. The two battled wheel to wheel for the entire 45-minute affair before Fulks beat O’Shea to the stripe by a mere 0.011 seconds. Fulks and O’Shea finished 19 seconds in front of Lance Fry, who was a good distance ahead of his brother, Brandon, in fourth and father, Jim in fifth.

Lance Yunck made it two wins in the day’s first three race groups with his victory in the new Yamaha Sportsman Lite division. A solid field of 12 karts started the race. Yunck took advantage of top-runner Courtney Atkinson dropping out only 13 minutes into the race. The Florida racer cruised to the win from

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there, finishing over 51 seconds in front of Nicholas Johnson. Al Barnes II was third, Robert Cacoilo fourth and Bob Burkett fifth.

Arthur McKenny was the only entrant in 100cc Pipe Heavy, thus picking up the uncontested win. Rick Gilmore beat out Dick Charest and Fiona Collins to win the WKC Vintage Limited local option.

Saturday Race 4In matching Yunck’s success, Keith Buffo made it two wins on the day with his first victory of the season in DRT Racing TaG Final 1. Buffo pulled away from a good battle for second between Timothy Ferraro and Sean Conlon to win by a 4.5-second gap. Ferraro came home second and Conlon third. Rob Guilbeault was fourth and Gabriel Robleto fifth.

Zachary Linsell continued his success in the Animal Sprint divisions. The MGM pilot was over two seconds a lap faster than all of his competitors in Hoosier Racing Tire Animal Sprint 335. Linsell was by a wide margin over Leon Hodges-Austin. Austyn Flurer was third, Sam Sheckells fourth and Steven Kilsdonk fifth.

Jonathan Tedder earned the win in Hoosier Racing Tire Animal Sprint 385. Tedder crossed the stripe 10 seconds in front of Joey Kuley but Kuley was disqualified for his kart weighing in too heavy. In many of the Heavy classes in Road Racing and other WKA series, there are maximum weight rules for the kart to keep lighter drivers from bolting on too much ballast.

Michael Hines won over Jimmy Duguay and John Jezierski in AM Motorsports Yamaha Sprint Lite.

The Kuley DQ moved Toni Alexander up to second, Stephen Wheatley third, Andrew Boyer fourth and Jerry Beasom fifth.

Saturday Race 5The day’s largest division came with 19 starters in Stock Honda 1. Clark Gaynor Jr. raced to the victory with a half-second triumph over Chuck Taylor. Tiffany McCollum and David Harding lost touch with the leaders and crossed the stripe third and fourth, some 19 seconds back of the lead duo. Virginia Tech student and longtime road racer Stevie Young rounded out the

top five.

Kelly Lawrence raced to win No. 2 in Unlimited Final 1. Lawrence won by over a lap advantage over Douglas Baldi. Robert Harris was third, Jerry Echols fourth and Michael Lattos fifth.

Saturday Race 6Sleeper Racing Team competitor Don Chrzan made the trip from Wisconsin to south-central Virginia worth it with his win in 100cc Controlled. Chrzan won by a wide margin over Michael Tracy.

David Lee ran down “Wild” Bill Holder and Jeramie Bolt in Yamaha Sportsman Heavy and battled with the two teammates for several laps near the end of the race. The three drivers traded the lead numerous times before Lee crossed the finish line inches in front of Bolt. However, Bolt was disqualified in post-race tech, handing second-place to Holder. The Bolt DQ moved Sean O’Shea up to third, WKC president Rodney Smith fourth and Nate Morgan fifth.

West Virginia’s JC Sanders scored the Jr Enduro Lite win over Zack Clark and Joshua Krause. The race marked the only time Clark was beaten all weekend.

Saturday Race 7Rebecca Taylor won over the largest Stock Leopard field of the season with a tight victory over Clark Gaynor Jr. and Clark Gaynor Sr. in Stock Leopard Sprint Final 1. Taylor crossed the finish line just 0.044 seconds in front of Gaynor Jr. and only 0.058 seconds in front of Gaynor Sr. Emilien Krukowicz was fourth and Tommi Jones-Cloney fifth.

New York veteran Charlie Tustison scored a big win in WKA Sprint Final 1 when Adam Myers was disqualified in post-race tech. A last-lap pass on Jim Sorrentino gave Tustison second place on the track, which turned out to be the pass for the win. Eric Stockford was third, Nick Tinkham fourth and Allen Tustison fifth.

Second-generation Massachusetts driver Michael Holman won Heiser Trailer Leasing Yamaha Sportsman Sprint Final 1 by 8.7 seconds over Ohio’s Andy Leighninger. Chris Hines was third, Jeff Leighninger fourth and Derek Somers fifth.

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Dennis Smith won Animal Limited Modified 385 over Charles Wilbur. Chris Kuley picked up the Animal Jr Sprint Lite main by 4.7 seconds over Hank Moore and Brent Hadden. Zack Clark won Jr Sprint Lite. Robert W. Anderson and David Planakis triumphed in the WKC Vintage USA and Clone 335 local options, respectively.

Best Appearing Kart AwardsSunday morning’s drivers meeting featured the presentation of two Best Appearing Kart special awards. WKA’s Keith Shampine hauled a couple nice Best Appearing Kart Award cups to VIR and narrowed the decision down to several sharp-looking karts in the sprint-enduro and laydown-enduro categories.

“Wild” Bill Holder won the Best Appearing Enduro Kart award while newcomer Sam Sheckells took home the Best Appearing Sprint Kart. Holder’s enduro featured a wild paint scheme done by Chuck at The Shop. Holder says the graphics would retail at well over $1500. Holder’s chassis is a 2012 CKI, built in Welcome, N.C., Yamaha engine done by Don Holmboe of CNC and fiberglass bodywork by New Concept Design.

Sheckells’ sprinter is a brand-new 2012 MGM, built in Concord, N.C., Briggs engine done by Moon Power and New Concept Design fiberglass bodywork. While Sheckells’ graphics package wasn’t nearly as in depth as Holder’s, the kart won on account of its top-shelf fabrication, body mounting and cleanliness.

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Sunday Race 1Travis Miller made it a sweep of the Formula 100 main events with a 16-second triumph over Don Chrzan in Formula 100 Final 2. Miller’s win denied Chrzan of a second VIR win. Scotty Campbell was third, Michael Tracy fourth and Pierre Huang fifth.

Lance Yunck was the first to win three races on the weekend with his victory in 100cc Yamaha Heavy. Yunck’s win total included two pipe Yamaha wins and one in the Sportsman can category. Arthur McKenny was second, some 35 seconds behind Yunck at the finish. Don Harrod ran third, James Rupert fourth and William T. Anderson fifth.

Randy Fulks won the Yamaha Sportsman Special money race. Fulks’s win came by a 19-second gap over Jeramie Bolt, who helped sponsor the Money Race along with “Wild” Bill Holder’s Safe Harbour Wine Storage.

Nicholas Johnson was third, Scott Dixon fourth and Ben Morris fifth. Fulks’s win was worth $300 and marked the first Money Race at a National Road

Racing Series event in a number of years. There will be another Yamaha Sportsman Special at the Summit Point national Sept. 7-9.

Sunday Race 2Scott Goodman earned his second win of the weekend in a wild Unlimited Final 2 affair that saw Brian Wilhelm, Robby Harper and Kelly Lawrence all run fast but run into problems.

Wilhelm stayed mostly consistent but ended up 14 seconds back of Goodman in second. Harper was in and out of the pits but set the race’s fast time at a blitzing 2:05.976 – nearly 2.5 seconds faster than Goodman’s quick time. Lawrence ran fast in the beginning – turning laps in the 2:09 bracket – but only completed four laps.

Robert Harris was third, Mitch White fourth and Jeremy Baldi fifth.

Nineteen karts started the Sunday version of Stock Honda and three top racers finished within 0.085 seconds of one another. Clark Gaynor Jr. edged Bear

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Roethenhoefer and Tiffany McCollum for the victory, which marked his second of the weekend and a sweep of the Stock Honda divisions. Sam Bocchino and Carson Miller battled it out for fourth with Bocchino just beating Miller for the position.

Sunday Race 3Chris Hines was the only driver to stand between Keith Buffo and a perfect weekend in the TaG ranks. Hines, a New England teammate of Buffo’s, bested Buffo by 1.6 seconds to win TaG Final 2 and deny the Massachusetts driver of a four-win weekend. Timothy Ferraro netted another top-three finish in third. Rob Guilbeault was fourth and Emmitt Rodriguez fifth.

Maryland’s John Jezierski pulled ahead of Jimmy Duguay by about 14 seconds in Yamaha Sprint Heavy to score his only win of the weekend.

Southern Kart Club Animal Sprint 360 started 15 of the fastest Briggs Animal-powered karts in the country and once again it was MGM racer Zach Linsell dominating the action. Linsell, a top WKA Gold Cup racer who’s focused more on the Road Racing side of

things in 2012, crossed the stripe 10 seconds in front of Austyn Flurer for the win. Leon Hodges-Austin was third, Best Appearing Sprint Kart winner Sam Sheckells fourth and Coyote racer Steven Kilsdonk fifth.

WKC runner Toni Alexander won the Animal Sprint 410 main by a huge 59-second margin over local racer Harrison Walker. Steve Johnson was third and Ben Morris fourth.

Sunday Race 4“Close but no cigar” was the story for Sean O’Shea at VIR. The New Jersey native nearly won both 100cc Controlled Spec races but settled for second both days. On Sunday, Lance Fry improved on his third-place Saturday run to race hard with O’Shea and beat him by tight margin to score the win. Brandon Fry was third, Jim Fry fourth and Dale Coffey rounded out the top five.

Eighteen drivers signed into CKI Yamaha Sportsman Medium. The race’s fastest lap belonged to Courtney Atkinson at a 2:30.554 but her bad luck continued

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when she retired from the race just past the 30-minute mark. Atkinson’s misfortune opened the door for Tim Linthicum, who won by a near six-second margin over Michael McCombs.

Saturday’s Sportsman Heavy victor David Lee was third, some 18 seconds back of the winner. Nicholas Johnson took fourth and Bill Heim made a return to WKA Road Racing action after a several-year hiatus, finishing fifth.

Mallory Davis bested Adam Myers by a three-second gap in Dart Kart Club 100cc Pipe Medium. WKA Vice President Dan Stowell was third.

Zack Clark took advantage of JC Sanders dropping out early in Jr Enduro Heavy and scored his second win of the weekend.

Sunday Race 5Noah Stark’s Sunday CIK Shifter win wasn’t quite as easy as his Saturday victory, but in the end, the Pennsylvania racer, who’s been working some WKA sprint national races at Pittsburgh (BeaveRun) as a corner worker, was a winner for the second day in a row, this time by a mere 0.095-second gap over Louisiana’s Steven Rougeou. Chad Donner was third after Donald Santini didn’t make minimum weight.

All three races were close in this group. Steve Flatt redeemed himself from a disappointing result on Saturday to win WKA 125 Shifter Final 2 by a tight 1.4-second margin over Philip Payne. Chuck Weaver was third.

Keith Buffo earned his third win of the weekend to equal Lance Yunck and Zack Clark in Spec 125 TaG Final 2. Buffo crossed the stripe only 0.019 seconds ahead of Timothy Ferraro. Rob Guilbeault was third.

David Planakis won the Open Sprint 2 local option over Robert Drye.

Sunday Race 6Clark Gaynor Sr. closed out a terrific weekend for the Gaynor family with his win in Stock Leopard Sprint Final 2. Gaynor, who’s son Clark Jr. won both Stock Honda mains, edged Jeff Wesell for the win after Tyler Guilbeault didn’t make weight. Brandon Taylor was third in line, but he didn’t meet the minimum

weight, either. That gave Emilien Krukowicz the third position, Aamir Hyder fourth and Robert Warren fifth.

A dismal weekend for Courtney Atkinson finally ended on a good note as she won her first race in the last race of the day. Atkinson won Yamaha Sportsman Sprint Final 2 by a huge 59-second gap over Saturday winner Michael Holman. Andy Leighninger was third, Chris Hines fourth and Jeff Leighninger fifth.

Charlie Tustison made it two for two in WKA Sprint. Tustison was awarded the win for the second day in a row after Adam Myers didn’t make it through tech. Ted Carbonaro was second, Jim Sorrentino third, Michael Hines fourth and Allen Tustison fifth.

Charles Wilbur won the Animal Limited Modified 360 race over Dennis Smith and Joe Kuley.

Chris Kuley was raced to the win in Animal Jr Sprint Heavy. Kuley swept the weekend in the classes to continue his outstanding 2012 season. Brent Hadden was a close second, Hank Moore third and Wade Moore fourth.

Zack Clark notched his third win of the weekend in Team Finork Racing Jr Sprint Heavy.

David Planakis won his third local-option race of the weekend with the win over James Tedder in Clone 360.

The WKA Road Racing Series will close out its 2012 season in September with races at West Virginia’s Summit Point Raceway Park (Sept. 7-9) and Georgia’s Roebling Road Raceway (Sept. 28-30).

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The WKA Mazda / Bridgestone Manufacturers Cup Series made its return to Concept Haulers Motor Speedway near Norway, Illinois, Aug.

3-5 for the KartLift Nationals, the fifth of six 2012 Man Cup rounds.

The event marked the Man Cup’s first trip to Norway since 2008, and ironically enough this year’s Norway entry count was nearly identical to the count four years ago. In ’08, 415 entries filled the pits and this year a total of 422 entries signed in between Saturday and Sunday’s racing.

Spring, Texas, Top Kart driver Mason Chelootz took another step closer to a WKA Triple Crown championship with four wins on the weekend. Chelootz’s three-win total, which came in Parilla Leopard, TaG 2 and the two senior Komet mains, made him the top winner on the weekend. Chelootz

also accomplished the four-win feat at Pittsburgh in May.

The Connecticut-based Verhagen family won three KartLift Nationals finals between brothers Alex and Neil. Alex Verhagen, no stranger to the top step of the podium in 2012, swept the Yamaha Rookie Sportsman features on his Haase while older brother Neil raced his Haase to his first Man Cup win of the season in Yamaha Sportsman 1.

Scott Ferris made it five wins in six TaG Masters starts since moving to the division at Pittsburgh round three. Ferris raced his Top Kart to wins both days in the Masters category.

Kyle Kirkwood put together his most complete weekend in Man Cup since joining A.J. Allmendinger’s Walldinger Racing team at Kershaw

CHELOOTZ IS A FOUR-RACE WINNER AT NORWAY

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CHELOOTZ IS A FOUR-RACE WINNER AT NORWAY

round two. Kirkwood won both Sunday Junior finals aboard his Arrow.

Here’s a rundown of the 20 classes that took the green flag at Norway’s KartLift Nationals.

TSRacing.com Komet HeavyMason Chelootz kicked off the weekend’s racing by making it look fairly easy in Komet Heavy. Chelootz won the Streeter Super Stands Pole Award with a quick lap of 48.311. Patrick Olsen hung with the Texan in the prefinal, crossing the stripe only a few kart-lengths back, but Chelootz opened it up in the final and took the win by a convincing 3.7-second margin over Olsen. Nicky Defronzo was third, Nick Stagl fourth and James Brock fifth.

RLV Tuned Exhaust Products Cadet Final 1Jared Cordova started the WKA season strong with

two wins at Daytona but fell off a bit during rounds two through four. Cordova switched from Haase to Birel for MRP and had solid runs but finally returned to the top step of the podium on Saturday at Norway with the Cadet Final 1 triumph.

Brandon Lemke opened the program with the Streeter Super Stands Pole Award and pre-final win before Cordova and Braden Eves overtook him in the 14-lap final. After qualifying 12th, Cordova drove a methodical race in the pre-final to position himself in fifth place for the final. He quickly moved into third after the first turn while taking the second spot on lap two. He will hold hat spot until two laps to go where he got under the Lemke to take the lead in turn one.

Lemke quickly return the favor by taking back the top spot on the last lap same turn where he lost it before. Eves on his PCR machine tried to follow Lemke going

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side-by-side with Cordova through turns one and two, both falling back five karts to Lemke. Cordova had a great run from turn four, giving himself a chance to make a move on Lemke in turn seven, taking the lead and keeping it for good until the checkers for his second Cadet victory of the year.

“Since Daytona we have struggled with our qualifying, finding ourselves in the middle or rear of the pack for pre-finals but we have confidence on the pace of our No. 8 Birel,” Cordova explained after his Norway win. “We finally put together a great race from beginning to end to keep ourselves leading the overall points and gives us a chance to accomplish our goal of winning a championship” said Jared. “ I would like to thank MRP for their trust and support as well as Mike Ramirez who never stops pushing me and gives me the best kart possible. Also my fellow competitors for an amazing race. Now we need to concentrate on the final races of the year at New Castle.”

Orlando Kart Center Komet Jr HeavyFlorida Tony Kart racer Ashley Rogero claimed the weekend’s first junior final with the score in Komet Jr Heavy. Rogero overcame a seventh-place qualifying effort and a 10th-place prefinal finish to move her way to the front of the field midway through the 14-lapper. With two laps to go, Rogero already had a two-second lead which she held to the finish.

Skylar Robinson, a former WKA Triple Crown champion on the Gold Cup circuit but still in search of his first Man Cup win, finished second. Kyle Kalish was third, Grant Quinlan had one of his best Junior runs of the season with a fourth place and Ryan Raffa rounded out the top five. Robinson won the Streeter Super Stands Pole Award.

“I’d like to thank all of my sponsors and my family for getting me here,” the 14-year-old Rogero said after her win.

Franklinkart.com TaG 1Tommy Andersen flexed his muscle running in his home state and raced his Kosmic to a dominating win in TaG Final 1. Andersen steadily improved all day, qualifying third behind Sam Beasley and Mason Chelootz, finishing second in the prefinal to Beasley before pulling away for a big 7.4-second win over Top Kart veteran Chris Wehrheim in the final. Jacob Kneuven was third, T.J. Koyen fourth and Robby Seward fifth.

Comet Kart Sales Yamaha Sportsman 1Neil Verhagen raced his Haase chassis to his first WKA Manufacturers Cup win in Yamaha Sportsman 1. Verhagen swept the class’s program, and did it in varying conditions. The 11-year-old Connecticut racer

Alex Verhagen

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won the Pole Award and the prefinal over Michael D’Orlando in the dry before racing to the main event victory over Brandon Lemke on a wet track after a heavy storm moved through the area. D’Orlando was third, Jared Cordova fourth and Leonardo Stoia fifth.

“I was excited to get my first win at WKA,” Verhagen commented. “The kart felt great in the rain. I had a good race with Brandon (Lemke). I would like to thank Macho, my tuner. While everyone was waiting out the storm he got my kart all set up for the rain. It was perfect! I also want to thank Chi Chi Racing, Woltjer Racing Engines, Haase and my family.”

New Jersey Sprint Series Yamaha Rookie Final 1Alex Verhagen left little doubt who the class of the Rookie field was on Saturday at Norway. Verhagen swept the Rookie Final 1 program aboard his Haase, qualifying best at a 53.172, winning the pre-final and besting Sam Mayer by over three seconds in the 14-lap final. Max Kaeser was third, Mark J. Fineis fourth and Kaylen Frederick rounded out the top five in the 21-kart field.

“The rain left the track really slick but my kart was set up perfectly!” the 8-year-old Verhagen said after his win. “I had to get through lap traffic carefully. On the last lap I knew I could win! I would like to thank Chi Chi Racing, Woltjer Racing Engines, Haase and my

family.”

Woltjer Racing Engines Yamaha Jr LiteAustin Osborne picked up his first Man Cup win of 2012 and led a trio of Birels across the stripe in the Yamaha Jr Lite final. Grant Quinlan was 1.6 seconds back of Osborne in the second position while Pole Award and prefinal winner Mike McAndrews completed the top three. Haase pilot Brandon Jarsocrak was fourth and Top Kart racer Garrett Johnston fifth.

Grand Products / Top Kart Parilla LeopardMason Chelootz made it two wins on the day with the Parilla Leopard score. Jacob Knueven timed on the pole but fell back ot sixth in the prefinal and was never a factor in the final. Chelootz, who qualified fifth, raced his Top Kart to the prefinal win and opened up a two-second advantage over fellow Texan Logan Bearden in the 14-lap final. PCR driver Robert Bujdoso was third, Merlin racer T.J. Koyen fourth and two-time Leopard feature winner Cal Stewart fifth.

Yamaha Supercan LiteJimmy Clark made it three Yamaha Supercan wins in a row aboard his sleek CRG mount with the win in Saturday’s Supercan Lite contest. Collin Griffin was the driver to beat heading into the final. Griffin won the Pole Award and the prefinal before giving way

Mason Cheelotz

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to Clark and Patrick Olsen in the main event. Clark crossed the stripe nearly a half-second in front of Olsen for the score. Griffin was third, James Brock fourth and Adam Crepin fifth.

Adkins Speed Center Komet SportsmanMason Chelootz has the most Man Cup wins in 2012 but Greenfield, Indiana Arrow pilot Zach Holden isn’t far behind. Holden, who was shut out of Victory Lane at MRP round four, returned to the win column at Norway with his seventh WKA national feature win of the year, this time in Komet Sportsman. Holden out ran Leonardo Stoia by a tight 0.072-second gap. Pole winner Brandon Lemke was third, David Malukas fourth and Braden Eves fifth.

“The KPP (Komet) race was definitely exciting,” Holden reflected after the weekend. “I just kept working as hard as I could, and by midrace I knew we had a shot at the win. After running sixth and ninth in the two finals earlier Saturday, the Komet win definitely made up for it. It’s a tough class and any time you can come away with the win you feel good.” With his Komet victory at CHMS, Zach now has at least one feature win in each of the four - Cadet, Komet, Yamaha 1 and 2 - Jr Sportsman Man Cup divisions in 2012. He is the only driver who can make that claim.

DRT Racing TaG Masters Final 1Scott Ferris left little doubt who the top TaG Masters racer was at Norway with a sweep of the Saturday program. Ferris, a New Jersey Top Kart racer, won each round of competition over Tennessee Margay veteran Jeff Jewell. Ferris cruised to the final win by nearly a five-second gap over Jewell, who had a good five seconds over third-place John Ferris III. Chuck

Tate was fourth and Kim Carapellatti fifth. The win marked S. Ferris’ fourth in five TaG Masters starts in 2012.

J3 Competition Komet LiteTop Kart pilot Mason Chelootz completed a sweep of the Komet senior divisions with a dominating performance in Sunday’s Komet Lite program. Chelootz timed on the pole, won the prefinal by nearly four seconds and cruised to the final win by a 5.1-second margin over Birel driver Patrick Olsen. James Brock was third, Nick Stagl fourth and Jarrett Duncovich fifth in the short five-kart field.

Grand Products / Top Kart Cadet Final 2After a sub-par Saturday, MKP Birel racer David Malukas charged to Cadet Final 2 win to make it three Man Cup outings in a row that he’s won at least one final. Malukas, racing close to his Chicago Ridge, Ill., home, scored the Sunday Cadet win over Brandon Lemke. Jared Cordova was third, Neil Verhagen fourth and Anthony Gangi Jr. fifth. Malukas won the Streeter Pole Award and Lemke won the pre-final.

The 10-year-old racer took time to talk about round

jared cordova

brandon lemke

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five of the WKA Man Cup while on his way east to Michiana Raceway Park for the prestigious Rotax Grand Nationals. “I’m very happy to win at Norway since the track is so close to home,” said David, who now has four Man Cup wins in 2012. “The Sunday Cadet race was very close with Brandon Lemke. We raced very hard together and I was able to come out on top. I’m not sure where we stand in the points, but to win three races in Cadet this season has to put us near the top. Hopefully we can have a good run at New Castle and have a chance to win a championship.”

OTK Kart USA TaG 2Grand Products Top Kart racers swept Sunday’s TaG 2 program. Chris Wehrheim won the Streeter Pole Award before giving way to teammate Mason Chelootz in the prefinal and final. Chelootz pulled away from Wehrheim in the main to score a convincing 2.6-second win over the Georgia resident. Saturday TaG winner Tommy Andersen was third, KartLift racer T.J. Koyen was fourth for the third time on the weekend and Sam Beasley was fifth. The win marked Chelootz’s fourth of the weekend to equal his

win total at Pittsburgh in May.

PCR Komet Jr LiteFlorida Walldinger Racing Arrow pilot Kyle Kirkwood was shut out of the Winners Circle on Saturday but returned with a vengeance Sunday to score both Junior final wins. After third-place results in qualifying and the pre-final, Kirkwood pulled away in the 14-lap main, crossing the stripe 3.2 seconds ahead of Derek Dignan. Ashley Rogero was third, Matt Solarczyk fourth and Ryan Raffa fifth.

Mike Doty Racing Yamaha Rookie Final 2Alex Verhagen made it a complete Yamaha Rookie sweep at Norway with his Sunday triumphs in Final 2 qualifying, pre-final and final. This time Sam Mayer hung with the Connecticut youngster but didn’t have enough over the 14-lap main event haul. Mayer, who also finished second to Verhagen on Saturday, finished 0.385 seconds back of Alex in the Sunday final. Max Kaeser was third for the second day in a row. Samuel Paley took fourth and Nic Sheppard completed the top five.

APPCO Karting Yamaha Supercan HeavyOhio Arrow racer Dakota Pesek ended Jimmy Clark’s three-race winning streak in Yamaha Supercan with his win in the senior Yamaha weekend capper. Pesek timed fourth to Collin Griffin in qualifying before moving into second in the prefinal. Pesek made it past pole-sitter Patrick Olsen in the main and fended off Margay driver Tony Jump for the win. Cody Robinson was third, Andrew Weiner fourth and Clark fifth.

Pesek is now in solid position for a couple Supercan national championships heading into round six at New Castle.

jimmy clark

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MRP / Birel Yamaha Sportsman 2Neil Verhagen backed up his Saturday Yamaha win with the Pole Award in Yamaha Sportsman 2. Michael D’Orlando bested Verhagen in the prefinal before Merlin racer Brandon Lemke continued his terrific 2012 Man Cup campaign with a big final win over D’Orlando and Verhagen as the event wound down Sunday afternoon. David Malukas lost touch of the top three and finished three seconds back of the winner in fourth. Saturday Komet Sportsman winner Zach Holden rounded out the top five.

Margay Racing Products TaG Masters Final 2Sunday’s TaG Masters program was the Ferris show as Scott and John Ferris III finished one-two in each

round of competition aboard their Top Karts. Scott completed a weekend sweep of the Masters classes, capping it with another strong five-second win over John. Jeff Jewell, Saturday’s runner-up, settled for third. Scot Carapellatti was fourth and Chuck

Tate rounded out the top five.

Verde Speed Resources Yamaha Jr HeavyMike McAndrews kicked off Sunday’s Yamaha Jr program in similar fashion as Saturday’s by winning the Pole Award. But the prefinal and final were all

niel verhagen

scott ferris

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Kyle Kirkwood’s as the Arrow racer kept his awesome Sunday in tact by winning both Junior divisions in the weekend’s last race. Kirkwood won a close final affair over hard-charging Kyle Kalish and McAndrews, who were both right on his tail. Gresham Wagner was fourth and Derek Dignan fifth in the 32-kart field.

All that’s left on the 2012 WKA Manufacturers Cup slate is the all-important final round – the McLaughlin Motorsports Grand Nationals Sept. 14-16 at New Castle Motorsports Park.

ashley rogero

DOKATA PESEK

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Page 26: WKA Karting Scene - September 2012

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Monterey, CA. - As the gates opened Saturday morning at Monterey Bay Kart Club, drivers were eager to hit the track and see who else

had also made the scenic drive down to race against them in Round 5 of the 2012 WKA West Super Series. Saturday’s cloudy and sporadic showered weather left drivers wondering if they should have packed their rain tires this weekend, but as all 87 competitors took to the track for Race Day Sunday it was clear that they were only going to be left with a chill in the air and a relentless desire to win.

KPV1

Nine Drivers made their way onto the track for Quali-fying and none were more excited than Clayton Wil-liams who topped the field with a fast time of 44.811

and Jason Pettit followed just three hundredths shy of Williams. With Roy Fulmer on his heels at a 44.910 and Chase Farley with a 45.199, Williams and Pettit could feel the pressure here at Monterey Bay Kart Club where we pick up from our previous rounds with Pettit and Farley battling it out for a chance at the champi-onship!! Jason Pettit vaulted to first position followed by Farley, Fulmer and Williams who were hot on his trail but Pettit held them off and lead them into the Pre Final where Farley was fighting hard to keep his position over Fulmer! Fulmer was looking anywhere for a chance to get by and made his move on lap 7 and took over the 2nd position!! With Williams holding the 4th spot, Brandon Benedix was left to fight for his fifth place position against Eric Nascimento and did it. Pettit maintained his first place lead over Farley in the

WKA WEst Super Series Round Five Race Report

WKAWest Series

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Main Event where both Fulmer and Williams were on the prowl for a way past him! Winding down to the last portion of the Main Event, Farley lost his second place advantage over Fulmer and finished with a third-place position followed by Nascimento and Richard Stock and resulted in Benedix and Williams falling in behind them. These kids are not messing around and we can’t wait to see what else they have in store for us in Round 6!!!Kid Karts

This next group may only have had 4 drivers but these kids have got so much heart!! They made it all the way out to MBK to make sure they stayed in the champion-ship points and showing everyone that they don’t need a big group to show their skill, just a helmet and a kart.

Alec Acevedo reclaimed his 1st place standing with a Qualifying time of 57.376 followed by Cody Batterton with a 58.873, Alec Bridgeman with a 59.509 and Race Godeloson with a 1:02.162. In the main event Acevedo upheld his lead over Batterton and Godeloson, who started out with a third-place position but lost his third place spot to Bridgeman who finished with that third standing and leaving Godeloson to follow up with 4th place finish. KPV2/ Sr Super Sportsman

We look to our next class made up of thirteen drivers, three of which are the Sr Super Sportsman and ten being the KPV 2 with reigning champ, Kartel driver Sonny Cervelli who has set the bar incredibly high for the rest of the KPV 2 class who were also running with

WKA WEst Super Series Round Five Race Report

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the Sr Super Sportsman class. Cervelli sets the fast lap for Qualifying with a 41.957 tailed by Blake Murdock who was just 3 tenths off of Cervelli, Grayson Brown chasing them with a 42.604 and Blaine Rocha making the cut also with a 42.697. Sr Super sportsman driver Bryan Parmenter laying down a fast time of a 43.698 just ahead of Nick Robertson with a 43.713 and Austin DeMent with a 43.842! In the First Heat Cervelli held on to his first place station but Murdock and Brown were hot on his trail to catch him! Rocha and Cody Stillwell held onto their fourth and fifth place positions but could feel the heat that CRG driver Harrison Mills was bringing from behind them!! Mills was looking to get by and saw his opportunity coming out of the hairpin and took over fifth position finishing the heat with Danny Rubino looking to come for Mills spot in the Pre Final. As excitement builds, the green flag flew and it was Cervelli leading the group into turn 1 and breaking away completely from the pack leaving Brown to battle it out with Blake Murdock for second place where Brown held out until lap 3 where Murdock made his way past him and had Mills looking for a way in. Rubino was wholeheartedly trying to break into that group but couldn’t quite find a hole and with Cole Davis and Cody Stillwell hot on his trail, Rubino knew

there was no room for error. Holding their positions from the Pre Final, these contenders start the Main Event and it was Cervelli who held a huge lead over Murdock, Brown, Mills, Davis, Rubino, Stillwell and McCarthy and the battle looked to be for the fourth position!! After some rank changes throughout the group, Mills broke into his fifth place position on the ninth lap out he held securely onto that for the finish of the main event making the number 1 on his side pod just a blur for Stillwell, Rubino, Davis and LaSpina as they all made great stride to take his top 5 spot. While Cervelli and Murdock took the checkered flag, Brown and Rocha mixed it up for the third and fourth place positions and Rocha finished over Brown followed by Mills to finalize the top 5. It looked like a safe bet that Sr Super Sportsman driver Parmenter was going to hold his lead over DeMent and Robertson who were battling it out for second and third spots but with three laps to go DeMent made his move telling Parmenter not to cash in his chips just yet, this game was far from over and DeMent finished the day off strong with his continued pole position over Parmenter and Robert-son!! It’s looking like Round 6 is going to be exciting!!!TAG Masters/TAG Senior/ TAG Junior

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A combined TAG session is next on Round 5 of our WKA West Super Series line up, bringing us two TAG Seniors, two TAG Masters and four TAG Junior driv-ers. Senior driver Wayne Ash is quickly becoming a well-known participant and he lead us into Qualifying with a fast time of 41.774 with junior driver Philippe Denes just three tenths off of Ash and junior driver Isaac Martin tracking both of them with a 42.334. Ash took his first place running position over Bob Bigiogni who did not qualify, and for the junior drivers in the first heat, I. Martin maintained his spot over Mat-thew Martin and Philippe Denes. Into the pre-final it’s I. Martin, M. Martin and Denes who seemed to be setting a pattern for the day with their running order but if they thought it was going to be an easy day, they were wrong! Heading into the main event we had a new addition in TAG Junior of Justin Yanez who was practicing Saturday with the rest of the class but wasn’t sure if he wanted to get in on the action but after some pushing from his competitors to jump in and race with them, Yanez decided to take this track for the Main Event. Ash took home the win for the Senior drivers and Yanez took home the first place finish after starting from the back of the pack and sending a message to the rest of the group that he was not to be counted out! I.

Martin, Denes and M. Martin round out the rest of the Juniors.Jr. 1-2 Cycle

Remember the names of these 8 Junior 1 2 Cycle driv-ers folks, they are making waves and we caught quite a glimpse into what they are capable of in this Round of the WKA West Super Series!! A fast lap of 46.315 is what Roy Fulmer set as the time to beat and Clay-ton Williams was just eight hundredths off of meeting Fulmer’s time and not far behind were Richard stock with a 46.666 and Gino Gigliotti with 46.796. Fulmer sprung into the lead ahead of Clayton Williams who was hot on his trail waiting for any mistake to jump in and take over pole position!! The number 32 of Rich-ard stock was sitting pretty in the third spot chased closely by Gigliotti. Matthew Proud and Eric Nasci-mento switched it up and kept us on our toes while fighting for the fifth and sixth place positions. Nasci-mento ended up not finishing the race and leaving the fifth spot open for Proud who led Anthony Freese and Anthony Bridgman. With some great racing in the Pre Final, most of these drivers ended up maintaining the same positions with the exception of Proud who slid down to sixth place and letting Freese take his

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fifth position, solidifying the places of Nascimento for seventh place and Bridgeman who made eight. Seeing the green flag out for the Main Event, we awaited what promised to be a fight to the finish for Fulmer and Williams in a completely unpredictable race for the Junior 12 Cycles!! Stock who continued to hold out his third place standing until the sixth lap where he slid down into the fourth position behind the number 51 of Freese and just ahead of the number 31 of Gigliotti, Proud, Nascimento and Bridgman. It was a very close race for first place and we are eager to see these young drivers in action in Round 6!!World Formula

A very popular class this time at Monterey Bay Kart Club with 7 entrants and sitting at the top of this run group is MBK native Trevor Agan who set the best time of 45.969 with Tom Agan sticking close with a time just four hundredths off of Trevor Agan and Guy Gentry not to be counted out with a 46.152 fast time. After seeing the green flag fly for the first heat, Trevor Agan grasped at first where he strived to stay until he lost the spot to Tyler Agan!! Nothing like a little sib-ling rivalry to spark some action on the track!! Trevor Agan, Gentry, Jorge and Tom Agan rounded out your

top five for the first heat. In a completely unpredictable turn of events in the pre final, Trevor Agan took the first place position again and finished there but was disqualified in tech for being too light allowing the rest of the field to grab a chance at glory. In light of the DQ, Gentry moved into the first place finishing spot and moving Jorge, Tom Agan, Aramburu and Tyler Agan up with him. After having tasted what first feels like, Trevor Agan showed that he definitely has the drive and the spirit as he reclaimed his first place finish for the main event of the World Formula class but not before having to battle Gentry for the raining position where Trevor took first place back on the last lap. Tyler Agan also showed great promise in the main where he jumped from his solid third place spot and moved up to second but with some shuffling among the group, ends up finishing fourth place behind the number 15 of Jorge who was followed closely by the number 48 of Tom Agan, Aramburu and Kolb.Clone Jr 1/ World Formula Jr

Adding in another class for the main event was the driver of the World Formula Jr, James Selby and Clone Jr 1 drivers John Marchido, Coy Collins and Jake Pipal. Selby having qualified with a 49.612 demonstrat-

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ed great confidence in his driving being that he was running with the senior drivers for most of the day!! Pipal qualified pole for the Clone Jr 1 class with a time of 47.636 giving Collins the message that he was going to have to work to take that title. Collins qualified with a 49.289 and didn’t quite break the fast lap time but it did set him solid in second over Marchido who brought it in with a 49.869. Pipal possibly aiming to make a comeback from his second place finish from Round 4 in Reno back in July certainly did just that. Collins trailed Pipal through the first heat and came in first and second for their class but 8th and 11th mixed in with the Seniors. After not finishing the Pre Final, Pi-pal made it into second for the Main Event where Selby took over the first place position but Pipal was having trouble holding to his spot and after some great driv-ing by Collins, the two switched positions throughout the rest of the day. Collins and Marchido ended up not finishing, Collins was on the 11th lap before he retired and Marchido was out after the second lap leaving Pipal to take the victory for the Clone Jr 1 class and letting Selby going home the winner of the World Formula Jr class!!

Clone Sr.

A fan and competitor favorite class is the Clone Sr that consisted of 19 drivers on Race Day and qualifying pole was Cole Nelson with a time of 46.714 followed by Chad Nascimento with a 47.239, just five tenths off of Nelson!! Geoff Shaw, RJ Kahler and Rob Nascimento fell in behind them, rounding out your top five. Nelson hopped out into the first place position as the Clones headed into turn on in Heat one and following closely behind him were C Nascimento and Kahler who ended up mixing it up with Shaw, leaving Shaw to line up in the third place start and setting Kahler to start the Pre Final from a did not finish position. The number 6 of Brian hill took advantage of the fact that Kahler was off the track and moved into the fourth spot behind Shaw and was shadowed closely by R Nascimento, Nick Grossi and the number 73 of Mat Kattanek. Into the Pre Final it looked like Nelson, C Nascimento and Hill were going after each other for the top three positions with Nelson vaulting into the first place spot inspiring Hill and the number 2 of C Nascimento to stick to him like glue waiting for their opportunity to move up! Hill and C Nascimento ended up interchanging spots the entire race with the number 335 of Shaw who brought

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it in for a fourth place finish tracked by R Nascimento and Matt Koerner taking the 5th and 6th spots. With Nelson once again bolting out and in to the first place spot in your main event Hill and C Nascimento were left to hash it out for the second position until halfway through the race R Nascimento intermixed with the group and tried to take over their spots!! With Nelson having secured his win, it looked like the struggles were throughout the rest of the group from positions from 2 to 4 and 5 to 7 as well as the back group who were working hard to make their way into the Top 10. In the end the checkered flag flew and it was Nelson, Hill, C Nascimento, R Nascimento, Shaw, Kahler, Jon Ban, Grossi, Kattanek and Koerner!! Great job by Lizzie Tidwell who was really trying to give these guys a run for their money today and almost made it in with an 11th place win and we can’t wait to see what’s next for Round 6!!!Formula 80 Masters/80 Senior

With some familiar faces and some fresh new faces for this series, we had a full class with Formula 80 Seniors Jack Freese, Connor Solis, Josh Cole and Formula 80 Master drivers Chuck Hastings, EJ Kolb, Geoff Pro-vo and Adam Gavalla! 80 Senior Freese ran a 41.967

followed by Solis holding tight to second with a 42.571 and for the 80 Masters Hastings dominated with a 42.482 followed closely by Kolb who came in just two tenths off of Kolb, Provo with a 42.737 and Gavalla with a 45.081. Freese continued to maintain his first place hold over Solis for the Seniors and finishing first for the Masters was Hastings followed by Jeff Provo. In an interesting turn of events for the Pre Final, Freese who held his first place throughout the day ended up not finishing five laps in and left Solis to take the first place over Josh Cole for the Seniors and Hastings and Provo continued their reign over the Masters class. Solis battled it out with Freese to defend his spot be-fore Freese exited the track and took a DNF position, leaving Cole to move up from third to second position. Into the Main Event it was Cole to the first position in an attempt to break away from the group and putting felt pressure on his competition to catch him but fell back on the 6th lap and retired from the race. As So-lis and Freese came around to the 6th lap, Freese took back his first place position followed by Hastings who slid in second as Solis fell into third and was forced to retire the race as well leaving Freese with some breath-ing room in his first place position where he finished, followed by Hastings and the number 23 Todd Job who

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made his way up into the third place position with Kolb and Provo behind him in the top five.Spec PRD

We look now to see what our last and most anticipat-ed class of the day, the PRD Spec class brings to MBK track, having set the bar for some fierce competition pretty high in the past! Casner was looking to keep himself on top by bringing home another win in this series but was also fully aware of the 8 other drivers also vying for the win!! Casner did not disappoint in Qualifying, laying down the fast time of the 41.898 just one tenth faster than Cabot Bigham who put the pedal to the metal to try and catch up!! Kartel driver Brandon Tomko came in with a 42.096 leaving David Vasquez and Shelby Sander to start behind him with a 42.262 and a 42.305; the number 28 of Swiss Hut-less driver Amber Friedberg was noticeably missing from the first heat session, doing maintenance to her brakes. Tomko and Vasquez struggled to maintain a hold of their third and fourth the place positions from each other behind Casner and Bigham. Ryan Sisemore and Sander battled over fifth and sixth leaving Geoff Shaw to hold onto the 7th spot. Tomko made it 8 laps in before retiring from the race and letting Vasquez move up and take the checkered. Casner could feel the pres-sure from Bigham and Vasquez who were behind him switching it up in a wrangle over second place with Cabot taking it over until the seventh lap when Sand-er slid up into the second spot after Bigham retired the race 7 laps into the Pre Final. Sise-more and Tomko were fiercely looking to move up in the pack and knew they had some great competition and this was not going to be easy!! Vasquez fell in behind Tomko after being shuf-fled back toward the start of the Pre Final but was

busy making plans for a comeback in the Main Event!! Sander got a great start from second place but was shuffled back after turn one sending her all the way back into the seventh spot but showed the crowd with her driving skills that there is no keeping her down and she took home a fourth place win!! Casner and Bigham battled all the way throughout the race for the first and second position up until lap seven where Cas-ner got shuffled back to the third place giving Bigham the opportunity he needed and started to create a pull over Casner and Vasquez, who had made his way up into the second spot. Sisemore took the green but end-ed up off the track right before completing his first lap retiring him from the race. Friedberg did a great job to hold off Tomko and looking for a way, any way around Grossi and she found it at the last second before taking the checkered where she made her way into the 5th spot showing Grossi her bumper and the 6th position that he finished in. A great job by all the competitors and we look forward to more to come from these driv-ers!! Big thanks go out to Sponsor RLV, who provided track-side support all weekend, Track Warrior Photos, Melanie Miller Photography, Bridgestone and Grand Products.   The 2012 WKA West Super Series next travels to Atwater for Round 6, scheduled for Septem-ber 8th, hosted by the Atwater Kart Club. Entry Forms and information can be found at www.WKADistrict10.com.

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Chapel Hill Speedway Pavement

Grand Nationals recap

Article by: Keith Shampine -- [email protected] by: Chuck Jaquith - [email protected]

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The only 2012 national event for WKA’s Vega Speedway Pavement program took place at the scenic Chapel Hill Raceway in the rural hills of

southwest upstate New York August 10-12.

The Chapel Hill Grand Nationals offered pavement-oval racers a chance to compete on a national level at the popular one-eighth-mile banked oval, which had only run two WKA divisional series events earlier in the season with limited participation.

It’s no secret the Pavement Series has struggled for entry counts in recent years. Once a strong series that routinely boasted 300, 400 and even over 500 entrants per race at times has battled through the tough economy and 105 entrants signed in at this year’s Chapel Hill event.

While veteran racers of the series playfully reminisced to the newer generation of asphalt-oval competitors about times gone by and the days when getting to the track late meant you were pitting somewhere up on the hill about a half-mile from the grid, everyone in attendance enjoyed themselves and raced hard against the drivers who were there to pull onto the track with them.

This year’s Chapel Hill Grand Nationals was based on a WKA divisional series program where divisional tracks would run “Super Regionals.” The feature winners at these Super Regional races were guaranteed main event starting spots at Chapel Hill and awarded with kart shop gift certificates and a year’s WKA membership on the house.

This attracted a faithful group of teams from Virginia, Maryland and New England to join many

of the longtime New York, Pennsylvania and Midwest Speedway Pavement Series regulars.

The schedule called for Animal-powered divisions on Saturday and flatheads on Sunday. Many teams secured a flathead for Sunday’s racing to support the show and there was great competition on both days.

Rain wiped out the latter rounds of Friday practice and postponed the Champ Heavy Money Race to Saturday. An extra round of practice was added to Saturday’s schedule to make up for the canceled Friday rounds.

The weekend weather was unseasonably cool with many never shedding the sweatshirts and light jackets. A quick shower delayed Sunday’s action before skies cleared and all the features were run. As soon as podiums wrapped up Sunday, a heavy storm drenched the facility until the rain let up, allowing teams to finish loading and pulling out.

Junior StockThe Junior Stock Animal division kicked the weekend off as the first race Saturday. Kole Holden and Brandon McGough, a couple Pavement Series regulars from Pennsylvania, put on a great show. Holden timed on the pole over Kayla Joseph and McGough and led much of the 20-lap feature. McGough moved past Joseph and into second early in the race and began hounding Holden for the top spot.

Holden fended off McGough’s challenges until a few

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laps to go McGough finally got the run he needed to make an inside pass on Holden into turn three. McGough went on to win by a couple kart-lengths over Holden. Joseph was third, Austin Ousley fourth and Josh Miller fifth. DJ Powell rounded out the six-kart field.

Stock MediumA couple of New York veterans led the way in Stock Medium with George Curtis winning over Ronnie Flaim. Curtis started on the pole and pulled away from Flaim lap after lap to score a 1.2-second victory over the local runner. Denver Brandts came up from Virginia and finished third.

Sportsman 1Dayne Koontz opened a strong Saturday afternoon with a Sportsman 1 flat-kart win over WKA Gold Cup Series regular Matthew Miller. Koontz, who also races the Gold Cup from time to time, won over Miller by about a half-second gap. Kevin Gardiner finished third aboard a sleek-looking red No. 15.

“I’d like to thank my family for the support and GT Machine for great power,” the 11-year-old Koontz said

after his first win of the day.

Masters ChampGary Jackinski was the only Masters Champ driver in attendance. Jackinski waved qualifying and made 10 laps in the feature aboard his sharp No. 69.

Sportsman 1 ChampDayne Koontz made it two-for-two on the day with his Sportsman 1 Champ victory in a tight race over Christian Hanson. Hanson qualified on the pole and led the first half of the 20-lapper before Koontz shot past on lap 11. Hanson wouldn’t give up, retaking the lead on lap 15 and fending off Koontz’s challenges until Dayne gunned it to the inside on the final lap to retake the lead and get the victory.

“I would like to thank my dad for giving me a great kart, Dave Koehler for the power and Rage Karts for their help,” Koontz commented after win No. 2 on the day.

William Ebert closed on the top-two at times but never made it close enough to challenge. Ebert went on to finish third in the exciting race.

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Senior ChampThe day’s largest class saw 13 starters hit the track for Senior Champ’s 20-lap main. Gavin Soraghan timed on the pole with a quick lap of 10.271 in qualifying and led the opening six laps of the feature before Ohio driver Cullen Mumaw got by. A hard-charging Kevin Baird passed Soraghan late in the race for second and made a run at Mumaw before running out of laps.

Mumaw crossed the stripe 0.214 seconds in front of Baird to capture the win. Long Island’s James Hayden was third, Nick Wiery fourth and Soraghan fifth.

Sportsman 2 ChampNew Jersey’s Matthew Addona and Maine’s Wyatt Alexander put out on terrific show in Sportsman 2 Champ. The pair traded the lead numerous times in a race for the lead that began to look like a NASCAR event at Talladega.

Addona had the lead on the white-flag lap with Alexander right behind. As anticipated Alexander shot to the inside of Addona down the backstretch but Addona gave him little room in turns three and

four. Breaking Alexander’s momentum on the inside, Addona was able to hold off the Maine racer and score the big win.

Alexander settled for second. New York’s Eddie Fatscher was third, Tyler Pepin fourth, Cornelius Flynn fifth and Austin Belski sixth.

“We had 12 lead changes with Wyatt Alexander and the racing was clean and exciting,” the 12-year-old Addona said after the win. “The Phantom Icon X-Caliber ran great! My crew chief, dad, worked hard on the kart and my tires stuck like glue! I also want to thank my sponsors and my mom and sister for helping in the pits.”

Junior ChampEleven drivers signed in for Jr Champ and an accident in the first of three morning practice sessions threw a curveball to several racers early in the day. At least five karts were involved in the turn two accident and several had to make repairs. All drivers were able to make it back out for qualifying, including Ryan Lutz, who missed the rest of practice but still timed second fastest to Christian Schneider.

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Schneider had the field covered in the 20-lap feature, leading every lap on his way to the win by half-second over Lutz. Brandon McGough qualified a disappointing ninth but advanced all the way to third before the checkers waved. Bryan Noel was fourth and John Paul Kraisinger rounded out the top five.

Stock HeavyGeorge Curtis swept the senior flat-kart divisions with his second win of the day, this time in Stock Heavy.

Curtis qualified a couple tenths faster than Virginia’s Dale Portner and proceeded to pull away to a convincing 5.5-second win over Long Island’s James Hayden, who passed Portner late in the race for the runner-up position. Portner held on for third and Jason Ness was fourth.

“I would like to thank Mike Denning for the chassis, Bud Denning for the setup, Kevin Smith, my dad and grandpa and my friends and family for the support,” the 19-year-old Curtis said after his second win of the day.

Champ Heavy Money RaceThirteen drivers entered the $500-to-win Champ Heavy Money Race which consisted of qualifying and two 25-lap segments. Jeff Hoisington of Rage Karts put up a $100 bonus to the winner of the first 25-lap segment, meaning racers had a shot at a cool $600 payday.

And Gary Lawson took full advantage.

Lawson started fifth and quickly moved to the front of the pack in the opening 25-lap affair. Gavin Soraghan closed on Lawson and looked to be setting the Ohio driver up for a pass when the caution flag waved on lap 17.

Once the race restarted Soraghan had his hands full holding off Kevin Cockerham and others and slipped back outside the top five. Lawson cruised to the win in the first 25 and started on the pole in the final segment.

The second 25-lapper was all Lawson. The multi-time national champion in the WKA Gold Cup Series led wire-to-wire to score a big win and secure the full $600 winner’s share over his teammate, Nick Wiery.

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Cockerham was third, Cullen Mumaw fourth and Soraghan fifth. A total of $1400 was awarded among the top-five finishers.

Jr Medium FlatheadSunday opened with three drivers taking the green flag in Jr Medium. Kole Holden found redemption from his second-place run on Sunday and passed pole-sitter Kayla Joseph several laps into the 20-lap main on his way to the win. Joseph held tough with Holden and crossed the stripe only 0.207 seconds behind. Josh Miller was third.

“I started outside pole,” Holden began. “On the start I had dropped to third place. On about lap 14 I took the lead and held that position until the checkered with Kayla Joseph following closely behind. I want to thank my dad, Wayne Baker and Bob Meadows. This season we have been racing a lot of dirt tracks. It’s a shame there aren’t more races and competitors in the WKA Pavement Series.”

Sportsman 1 FlatheadMatthew Miller denied Dayne Koontz of a weekend

hat trick with his 2.3-second win over Koontz in the flathead version of Sportsman 1. Miller timed on the pole with a lap of 11.828 around Chapel’s 0.8-mile oval and pulled away from Koontz throughout the 20-lap main. Koontz didn’t seem to have the same power with the flathead that he displayed on Saturday in the Animal divisions, while Miller was just as strong with the Raptor bolted on his flat-kart.

“I started second, took the lead on lap two and led by a full straightaway after 20 laps,” the 9-year-old Miller commented. “I want to thank all my sponsors, my parents for helping prepare the kart and my brother for helping.”

Jr ChampThe Jr Champ competitors unanimously elected to run the Animal on Sunday, instead of the flathead. The day’s only Animal-powered division featured more of what we saw Saturday from Christian Schneider.

Schneider wheeled his sharp No. 5 to another convincing win to sweep the Jr Champ classes on the weekend. This time Daniel Wesson finished about a

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half-second back of Schneider in second. John Paul Kraisinger improved on his fifth-place Saturday performance to take third. John Hawley made the long trek from Indiana and was fourth. Ryan Lutz rounded out the top five.

Sportsman 1 Champ FlatheadBenton, Maine, racer Christian Hanscom qualified on the pole and pulled away in the feature to win by a two-second gap over William Ebert. Dayne Koontz was third, again denied of his third win of the weekend. Owen Kraisinger decided he wanted to race late Saturday night and finished fourth after his father put a champ-kart together for him into the early hours of Sunday morning.

“After not winning a race during our regular 2012 race season it was a huge accomplishment to take the pole award in both the flathead and Animal Sportsman 1 Champ classes,” the 9-year-old Hanscom said. This is our first WKA race and one I’ll never forget. Thank you to all the sponsors and Kevin Smith, the

Alexanders and Rage for all the help on race day. Thank you to WKA personnel for the wonderful experience.”

Sportsman 2 Champ FlatheadOne could argue the Sportsman 2 Champ competitors put on the best show all weekend. After Matthew Addona and Wyatt Alexander traded the lead over a half-dozen times in Saturday’s race, Eddie Fatscher joined the two on Sunday to make it a three-kart battle for the flathead win.

After battling and swapping the lead throughout the race, Fatscher led Addona into the final corner when the pair made contact and Fatscher spun around. Addona slowed as a result, allowing third-place running Alexander to shoot past both drivers and cross the finish line first. Addona slid through the grass and crossed the stripe a mere 0.002 seconds after Alexander.

Cornelius Flynn came round to take third while

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Fatscher was the bad-luck recipient and was credited with fourth after nearly earning the win.

Senior Champ FlatheadNine senior champ racers bolted on the flathead for Sunday’s race and Michael Nolan qualified on the pole. Nolan led early until Saturday winner Cullen Mumaw made it past. Mumaw waved the Rage flag high and proceeded to win the race and both national Senior Champ mains on the weekend.

Nick Wiery was second, 0.384 seconds back of Mumaw. Nolan held on for third, James Hayden fourth and local Olean, N.Y., racer Skip Giberson fifth.

Senior Champ MixA new mixed-engine class for senior champ racers was added to the schedule for the Grand Nationals. Three flatheads and three restricted Animals took the green, and it was Kevin Cockerham getting the popular victory after Dustin Hayes was disqualified for tipping the scales too light.

Cockerham, running a flathead, won over Emily Flaim’s Animal. Skip Giberson was third, Alex Colasanto fourth and New Hampshire’s John Berger fifth.

“I had a hard and clean race with Emily Flaim,” Cockerham stated. “I’d like to thank my dad, Charles Cockerham, Bill Mohr, Mike Ray and Rory West at Pro Kart for all their help and all the support. Also, a big thanks to the staff at Chapel Hill and WKA.”

WKA thanks the racers, teams and families who came out to Chapel Hill for the Grand Nationals. The event went smooth by accounts, and the teams and families enjoyed seeing friends from past seasons and meeting the new people who had never been to Chapel in years’ past.

Chuck Jaquith photos from the Chapel Hill Grand Nationals can be found on WKA’s Facebook page.

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Gary Lawson goes unbeaten – again – at Pitt Gold Cup

TUNED EXHAUST PRODUCTS

Fauci, Fagan, Frantz, Lee, Lutz, Stiefel, Zellner are double winners

The WKA RLV Tuned Exhaust Products Series ran its fourth of five 2012 rounds Aug. 17-19 with the Performance North / Jammer Clutches

Nationals at Pittsburgh Int’l Race Complex in Wampum, Pa. alteration

Showers interrupted practice for a time Friday before dry rounds concluded the day. After a rainy Pittsburgh round last year, Gold Cup teams were delighted to see the sun shining throughout Saturday and Sunday’s racing.

Nearly 200 entries filled the pits, including Briggs Animals, Box Stock Clones and 2-cycle X-30 TaGs.

Gary Lawson, fresh off a $600 payday from winning the Champ Heavy Money Race Saturday, Aug. 11, at the Chapel Hill (N.Y.) WKA Speedway Pavement Grand Nationals, kicked off the weekend with his second Gold Cup Animal Heavy Money Race triumph of the year and second in a row. Lawson bested Coyote racer Dakota Bell, MGM pilot Tyler Sandmeyer, Chris Wells and Travis Manning for the Money Race score.

Lawson went unbeaten on the weekend for the second Gold Cup national in a row. He also accomplished the

Article by: Keith Shampine -- [email protected]: Karen Brown - [email protected]

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Gary Lawson goes unbeaten – again – at Pitt Gold Cup

feat at the Baker Racing Engines Nationals at MRP of South Bend in early July.

The Mentor, Ohio, racer won Saturday’s MGM Stock Heavy and Sunday’s Stock Medium. Sandmeyer ran second to Lawson in Heavy but crossed the stripe over six seconds back. Dylan Zobkiw was third, Chris Osgood fourth and Jason Zobkiw fifth.

WKA Road Racing Series regular Zach Linsell pushed Lawson hard in Sunday’s Stock Medium. Linsell had Lawson in his sights throughout the 12-lapper but crossed the stripe only 0.183 seconds late. Dakota Bell was third, Travis Manning fourth and Dylan Zobkiw fifth in the 16-kart field.

Eric Fagan swept the Senior Box Stock main events to extend his point lead in the class and moreless wrap up the national championship. Fagan, on a new Comet Kart Sales chassis, beat out Matthew Horst for the win in Final 1. Matt Kessinger was third, Bob Seidel fourth and Bob Barthelemy fifth.

Sunday’s Senior Box Stock Final 1 saw Fagan win over Camden Calland, Horst, Kessinger and Barthelemy.

Cale Hall won both Michigan Kart Supply LO206 Kid Kart features in dominating fashion. Hall bested Tanner Carter in Final 1 by a huge 13-second lead. Zac

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Fowler was third, Dalton Smith fourth and Duquan Lane fifth.

On Sunday, Hall won by a 4.1-second margin over Smith. Carter was third, Fowler fourth and Lane fifth.

After winning his first Gold Cup feature at MRP in July, Coyote driver Nick Fauci backed it up with a sweep of the Performance North Sportsman 1 classes. The Brockport, N.Y., Coyote racer bested Zachary Wells in Performance North Sportsman 1 Lite after Gabriel Zellner, who crossed the finish line first, was issued a three-position penalty.

Fauci and Wells were each about two seconds in front of Matthew Miller, who ran back-to-back WKA national weekends after competing the previous weekend– and winning – at the Speedway Pavement Chapel Hill Grand Nationals in New York. Zellner was credited with fourth and Jason Alder fifth.

Fauci won Sportsman 1 Heavy outright in a close race with Alder. Fauci crossed the stripe 0.088 seconds in front of Alder for the victory. Zellner was third, Wells fourth and Joshua Stark fifth. Fauci’s wins at Pittsburgh gave him three feature wins in his last four Gold Cup starts.

Maryland racer Tyler Frantz found identical success as Fauci. Frantz also won his first ever Gold Cup at MRP and proceeded to win both Sportsman 2 categories at Pitt for this third and fourth victories in a row.

Frantz powered his way to wins in American Power Sportsman 2 Lite and Barnes Paving Sportsman 2

Heavy to continue his terrific 2012 season after skipping the Jacksonville opener in March. Frantz bested Trent Barnes in Saturday’s Sportsman 2 Lite. Georgia’s Connor Tebbe was third, Dylan Murry fourth and David Kalb Jr. rounded out the top five.

“When I fell to sixth on the start I thought I was done,” Frantz admitted. “Once I composed myself and moved into fourth in a lap and a half I knew I had a shot. I have to thank Jacob Zellner for pushing me to the lead a lap later, which made it possible for me to win. I would like to thank my parents for all their hard work. Turner for awesome power and all the people that support and pull for me.”

On Sunday, Frantz captured the Sportsman 2 Heavy 12-lapper by about a half-second gap over Wisconsin shoe Jacob Zellner. Murry was third, Kalb fourth and Tebbe fifth in the 10-kart field.

“After being pushed off in the heat I knew I had to really work my way back through the field to have a good starting position for the feature,” the 13-year-old Frantz explained. “After taking the lead on lap three I knew we were fast. It was a close battle with Jacob and Dylan but I was able to do it again.

“I can’t believe I just won my fourth in a row!” Frantz continued. “This has turned into a great year after an off year (in 2011). Thanks for an awesome motor Cort (Turner)! It’s turned into a dream season.”

Dustin Stross won both X-30 Junior features. The wins marked Stross’s first Gold Cup triumphs of his career. Stross topped fellow Florida racer Derek Sobel both days, however, Sobel appears to have the X-30 Junior championship wrapped up with only the New Jersey round remaining.

TS Racing DR Kart driver Jacob Duvall continued his hot streak with wins in Franklinkart.com X-30 Senior Final 1 and Final 2. Duvall is unbeaten in the X-30 Senior Gold Cup competition in 2012 with eight wins in eight starts. He’ll look to sweep the year in September at New Jersey Motorsports Park.

Andy Schlosser, Brandon Winfield and Cale Rogers finished second through fouth in X-30 Senior Final 1.

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On Sunday, local runner Ayrton Mutugaana entered and promptly ran second to Duvall. Alex Mayer was third, Schlosser fourth and Winfield fifth.

Gabriel Zellner and Cody Hall split the Sportsman 1 Box Stock features. Hall won Final 1 by only a kart-length over Jason Alder. Zellner was 2.5 seconds back in third, Zach Wells fourth and Emil Schulz fifth.

Zellner won Sunday’s weekend capper by a half-second advantage over Wells. Alder was right behind Wells in third, Hall fourth and Schulz fifth.

Connor Tebbe won Sportsman 2 Box Stock Final 1 after Dylan Murry was disqualified for tipping the scales too light. Austin Schulz was credited with second. Murry bested Tebbe in Sunday’s Final 2 by a tight 0.086-second gap. Schulz was third.

Jake Lutz swept his three Jr Animal divisions at MRP and won two more at Pittsburgh. The Western New York Coyote veteran won Thor Oil Jr Medium by a half-second over Jacob Heavlow, who was campaigning an Arrow chassis for the first time. Douglas Barnes Jr. was third, Sarah Luoma fourth and Skyler Locklear rounded out the top five.

“I knew Jacob Heavlow was fast and my only chance to win was to take the lead on the first lap,” the

13-year-old Lutz admitted. “I was able to do that and stay out front all race.”

In Jr Heavy, Lutz scored the win by a cool 6.4-second gap over Barnes. Tanner Lee was a few kart-lengths off of Barnes in third, Heavlow fourth and CJ Leturneau fifth.

“Our kart was super fast when we added the extra weight for Heavy. That’s how our Baker power, Coyote 2012 XP won qualifying, the heat and feature,” Lutz said. “Our kart didn’t start out fast but after talking to Kaytlyn and Mike Fauci we made the right adjustments and along with great power from Baker Racing Engines we were able to win the Heavy and Medium Jr classes. I also want to thank our sponsors National Bank Equipment, Grand Island Sales & Service and Coyote Motorsports for an awersome chassis.”

Dustin Demattia and his Bandit chassis won Barnes Paving Jr Lite by a big 12-second gap over Heavlow. Luoma took third, Ohio’s Tyler Capodice fourth and Lutz ran into problems and ended up fifth.

Luoma, another Coyote racer, won her second Gold Cup of the year in Razor Chassis / Roberts Kart Shop Restricted Junior. Luoma, who was on a brand-new 2012 Coyote XP at Pitt, earned the win by a half-

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second advantage over Demattia. Leturneau was third, Lee fourth and Ryan Bavineau fifth in the junior class reserved for drivers who have never won a WKA national championship.

Georgia’s Tanner Lee won both Jr Box Stock finals. Lee bested Demattia, Tyler Woods and Katie Kirkpatrick in Final 1 while Woods was the only other entrant in Final 2 but did not take the feature’s green flag.

Dakota Bell won his first Gold Cup of the season over Chris Wells in Coyote Motorsports Stock Lite. The win marked Bell’s first win on his Michigan Kart Supply / Baker Racing Engines-sponsored Coyote after years of racing Bandits and Margays in both Gold Cup and WKA Manufacturers Cup.

Bell won by nearly a full second over MGM wheelman Chris Wells. Travis Manning was third, Scott Kleman fourth and Zach Linsell fifth.

Manning, a 17-year-old racer out of Severn, Maryland, bested Tony Wimmer in Margay Racing Products Animal Amateur Medium to give the Concord, N.C.-

based MGM its only win of the weekend. Michigan driver Harry Smith was third, New York’s Josh Stiefel fourth and Michigan’s Cayla Chapman completed the top five.

“Thanks to our sponsors G&M Services LLC and Concrete Visions for the support. Thanks to Dave Kohler of GT Machine, Paul Rice at MGM and all the pit crew,” Manning commented.

Tim Stiefel swept the Masters main events over Michael Chapman and Dave Barry. Stiefel has been dominant in Masters this season aboard his familiar black Coyote.

Barry, who’s Performance North outfit co-sponsored the event with Jammer Clutches, won Animal Modified Heavy.

The 2012 RLV Gold Cup Series closes out with the GT Machine Grand Nationals Sept. 21-23 at the Avenger Circuit at New Jersey Motorsports Park, a venue the Gold Cup has never run.

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