WKA Karting Scene - November Issue

THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE WORLD KARTING ASSOCIATION NOVEMBER 2011 VOL. 39, NO. 11

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Vega Speedway Pavement Series

Racing in their home state, Brandon McGough and Craig Wetzel once again rose to the top in WKA Vega Speedway

Pavement Series action August 19-21 at the WW Heating Nationals at Pennsylvania’s BeaveRun Motorsports Complex.

McGough and Wetzel each won all four races they entered at BeaveRun to continue their reigns as top Speedway Pavement winners on the 2011 season. Both drivers left the Beaver with 10 national feature wins on the year, including their triumphs at the Orange County, N.C., opener and round two at Chapel Hill Speedway in Upstate New York. McGough, a 12-year-old racer out of Sassamansville, Pa., swept the Sportsman 2 categories. The defending multi-time national champion won the Sportsman 2 flat-kart finals over fellow Pennsylvania driver Kole Holden. Sportsman 2 Champ, sponsored by Bonsignore Kart Shoppe, saw the same top two as the flat-kart version of the class. McGough

again finished ahead of Holden in both Sportsman 2 Champ features. Holden was hot on McGough’s heels in Final 1, crossing the stripe only 0.041 seconds back of the four-race weekend winner. The pair checked out from the rest of the field. Jacob Leverstein crossed the line third, over seven second back of the lead duo. Stephen Ford was fourth and Wyatt Alexander rounded out the top five. Third through fifth in Sunday’s Sportsman 2 Champ Final 2 main showed Alexander finishing a strong third. Leverstein was fourth and Ford fifth. Wetzel has found great success in Pavement racing this season, and BeaveRun marked his best race yet as the 24-year-old veteran karter swept the senior flat-kart features. The Pittsburgh, Pa., racer crossed the stripe 0.676 seconds ahead of North Carolina’s Kyle Long to take the Northern Va. Kart Parts Stock Medium Final 1 feature Saturday. Sunday’s Stock Medium Final 2 was more of the same, although this time Wetzel pulled out to a big 7.6-second lead to take the win over Long. Chris Hammett and Ryan Breithoff finished third and fourth ahead of George Curtis in fifth. Wetzel continued his dominance of Stock Heavy at BeaveRun, winning by several kart-lengths in both 20-lap mains. Wetzel won Stock Heavy Final 1 by a 4.3-second margin over Breithoff; Long was third with Travis Weber fourth. Wetzel and Breithoff separated themselves from the rest of the pack

in the Sunday version of the Stock Heavy division. Wetzel crossed the stripe two seconds in front of Breithoff for his fourth win of the weekend. Weber was third, Long fourth and Curtis fifth. The largest classes of the weekend, similar to Chapel Hill in June, were the Senior Champ categories. Twelve karts took the green in Saturday’s Sr Champ Final 1, which saw a heated battle for the win. Maryland’s Zack Switzer earned his first national win of the season with a last-lap pass and fending off Stanley Caroline by a slim 0.075-second gap at the finishing stripe. Weber and Michael Nolan were both right

McGough, Wetzel big winners at BeaveRun Speedway Pavement

Race Report by: Keith Shampine Photos: Jamie Fleeson

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there with each crossing the stripe less than two tenths of a second back of the winner. “I got punted into the grass and went from second to last at the beginning of the race,” said Switzer, a Rage chassis pilot. “Then I made it back to the front for my first Sr Champ win. The Ensor motor was super strong. Thanks to everyone for the help.” Breithoff, out of Quakertown, Pa., rounded out the top five in Sr Champ Final 1 and returned Sunday to capture his only win of the weekend in another highly contested main event. Breithoff had Nolan and James Hayden hot on his heels in the 20-lapper, and the Turner Racing Engines-powered, Rage driver made a last-lap pass for the big win. Nolan came across the line second only 0.123 seconds late, while Hayden was just a kart-length back of the lead duo in third. Switzer couldn’t match his win on Saturday; he finished fourth, just ahead of Kevin Baird. Brayden Houpt added three wins to his growing 2011 total, notching victories in Sportsman 1 Final 1 and 2 and Sportsman 1 Champ Final 2. Matthew Miller ran second to

Houpt in the pair of flat-kart mains while Eddie Fatscher was second in Sportsman 2 Champ Final 2. Fatscher was the only driver to beat Houpt at BeaveRun, passing the Pennsylvanian late in the Sportsman 2 Champ Final 1 main and holding on for his first national win. An excited 9-year-old Fastcher shared his thoughts after his popular win. “It was great passing (Houpt) at the checkered flag.

This was the best day ever! My first national win! Thank you to all who made it possible,” Fatscher exclaimed. Trevor Trost and Connor Cleveland split the Jr Stock mains. Trost led wire to wire in Jr Stock Final 1 to earn his first win of the season in Saturday’s Jr Stock Final 1, crossing the stripe ahead of Josh Miller. “It was a great feeling to come around to take the checkered flag after leading the entire

race,” Trost said following the race. “It’s great to be back in Victory Lane. It’s been two years since our last win, and I’d like to thank my dad


for getting the kart set up. I also want to thank Kevin Smith for all his support and a special thanks to Papa and Opa for everything they do.” Cleveland ran third in Final 1 but got redemption on Sunday with the win in Jr Stock Final 2. Trost and Miller were second and third. The win marked Cleveland’s fourth of the season in Jr Stock and all but clinched the championship in the division. Jr Champ racing again provided some of the best action at the Beaver with three different winners in the four classes. Derek Fry and Elijah Rios split the Animal version of Jr Champ – 3D Motorsports-sponsored Jr Champ Final 1 and 2. Fry picked up the win in Saturday’s first final, taking the flag in a close race over Dylan Duhaime and Nick Wiery. Duhaime crossed the line only 0.016 seconds back of the winner while Wiery was right there, less than two tenths out of the top spot. Rios was fourth in Saturday’s final and improved greatly in Sunday’s main, winning by a half-second gap over Wiery. The top pair was well ahead of third place Jon Paul Kraisinger. Indiana’s John Hawley only managed fourth- and sixth-place results in Jr Champ

but didn’t leave western Pennsylvania without making his presence known. Hawley swept the Jr Champ Raptor mains, giving three wins on the season in the series’ only flathead-powered division and five wins overall. Duhaime was the bridesmaid once again in Jr Champ Raptor Final 1. Duhaime took second over Wiery. Trey Thompson improved on his fourth-place result in Final 1 to nab the runner-up spot in Final 2. Rios, who entered the weekend as the point leader in Jr Champ Raptor, was third. Defending Masters Champ national champion David Hardman picked up another win at the Beaver. Hardman triumphed in Masters Champ Final 1 over Gary Jackinski and Mark Ray. Sunday’s version of the Masters class saw Ray earn the victory over Hardman and Jackinski, and the Pennsylvania racer offered his thoughts after his first win of the season. “When Mrs Breithoff took the handle of my pit kart and said come on, I know this is your first win so I’ll show you what to do. I thought she was joking. She informed me Dave Hardman and Gary Jackinski had collided on the last lap and slid off the track. While the win was exciting for me, I hope to someday

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pass them for the win. I would like to thank Charles and Kevin Cockerham,” Ray said. Owen Houpt was in attendance in the Kid Kart division. Owen made laps all weekend and gained experience in the exhibition class before he makes his move to Sportsman 1 in the future. After exiting the Beaver, Vega Speedway Pavement teams had one race left on the 2011 slate, coming in a second visit to Chapel Hill on Sept. 9-11 for the Bonsignore Kart Shoppe Grand Nationals, where Eagle trophies, bonus points and national championships would be on line. Look for the Bonsignore Kart Shoppe Grand Nationals race report in an upcoming issue of WKA’s Karting Scene online magazine.


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George Kugler/Bridgestone Manufacturer’s Cup Series driven by Mazda

T he WKA George Kugler / Bridgestone Manufacturer’s Cup Series driven by Mazda

closed the doors on one of its strongest seasons ever this past weekend at New Castle Motorsports Park, where the McLaughlin Motorsports Grand Nationals took center stage at the one-mile, 17-turn sprint track in east-central Indiana.Over 560 entries filled 20 national main events between Saturday and Sunday, making the season-closing event the best-attended Man Cup national of the year besides the Margay Sprint Championships last December in Daytona. WKA entry count records show the McLaughlin Motorsports Grand Nationals was the highest turnout for a Man Cup national ever held outside the state of Florida, surpassing the previously highest non-Florida Man Cup entry total which came in 2008 at New Castle – an event that saw 558 total entries.On the track, the racing was as exciting and clean as we’ve seen all year. A minimal amount of protests Saturday preceded no Sunday protests, the first time that has happened this season and a fine testament to series officials and racers.Only two drivers accomplished multi-win weekends, and both of those racers scored an impressive three wins apiece.Florida’s Ashley Rogero and Ontario, Canada’s Grant Quinlan were the big winners. Rogero carried over momentum she found with a win

Race Report by: Keith Shampine & Go Racing Magazine Photos: Go Racing Magazine

Manufacturer’s Cup Series

driven by Mazda closed the doors on

one of its strongest seasons ever at

New Castle Motorsports Park

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in July at BeaveRun to accomplish her best weekend since advancing to the Junior ranks from Sportsman. She won three of the four Junior mains and one Streeter Super Stands Pole Award.Quinlan put an exclamation point on his terrific 2011 season, adding three more wins to his total and becoming the only driver to score at least one victory at each of the five 2011 Man Cup nationals.

Woltjer Racing EnginesYamaha Supercan LiteColton Ramsey made his second Manufacturer’s Cup appearance of the season at New Castle and proceeded to sweep the Yamaha Supercan Lite division on Saturday. Wheeling a No. 08 Merlin, Ramsey scored the Pole Award with a fast lap of 1:11.184 before triumphing in the pre-final and winning over Sam Beasley in the 12-lap final. Beasley spent the entire ten lap final glued to Ramsey’s bumper with Jason Foley and James Clark Jr. in tow. Clark moved up to 3rd and Dakota Pesek cracked the top five as Merlins and Arrows dominated the event. Ramsey led three Merlins in the top five with third-place finisher Clark and fifth-place Foley behind. Beasley

and fourth-place runner Pesek ran top five on Arrow mounts.

RLV Tuned Exhaust ProductsCadet Final 1Qualifying saw a few drivers have their fast laps disallowed, but that was no matter Leonardo Stoia, who stopped the clock with a 1:15.261. Grant Quinlan scored his fifth Cadet Sportsman win of the year in Saturday’s second main. The Canadian Birel pilot qualified sixth in the 31-kart field but wasted little time moving to the front in the pre-final. Quinlan won the eight-lap heat before capturing the feature over pole sitter Stoia, who was looking for his second Cadet win in a row after breaking through with a win at BeaveRun. By lap five of the final the leaders had split in two groups of three, but as is the case at New Castle it came back together for a run to the line. With Quinlan scoring the win and Stoia solidly in 2nd, Matt Solarczyk made it two Birels in the top three with one of his best runs of the season to finish third. Zane Smith continued his consistent campaign with a fourth-place effort, while Braden Eves and his team clearly found something between BeaveRun and New Castle as the Ohio youngster earned his

first top five of the season to kick off a strong weekend on his PCR chassis.

Quarter Master, Inc.Yamaha MastersThe Grand Nationals saw the best Yamaha Masters field of the season at 16 starters, and the over-35 class’s feature was one of the best of the day. Birel racer Bobby Cummings swept the day but not without some stiff competition in the 12-lap final. Cummings kicked things off with a pole time of 1:12.743 and led Steve Schiewer to the finish of the prefinal. In the final, Cummings led the first half of the race while John Crow worked his Tony Kart through the field. Crow moved into second with a few laps remaining and then proceeded to race past Cummings, which marked the

first time Cummings had been challenged all day. Cummings was able to gun his No. 11 back past Crow and score the win while Crow, Schiewer, Chuck Tate and Steve Rumsey all raced in the top five. Tate and Crow finished together in the grass, while Jeff Jewell, Chad Kruger and John Ferris III were also in the mix. Crow crossed the stripe second but was disqualified in post-race tech, handing the runner-up spot to Schiewer. Tate was third, Rumsey fourth and Jewell fifth.

SCS RacingKomet Jr HeavyAshley Rogero captured her first of three wins on the weekend in Saturday’s fourth race, which saw a couple of talented female racers pace the 35-kart field. It started off with Raquel


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Martinez grabbing the Streeter Super Stands Pole with a time of 1:07.472. Logan Bearden qualified P2 with Rogero slotted in to 3rd. Kyle Kalish scored the prefinal win after qualifying back in 5th place, but the final belonged to the ladies. Rogero scored the win on her Tony Kart over Top Kart driver Raquel Martinez. After a hard fought final Martinez was denied of her second Man Cup win of the year. Jacob Donald raced to a third-place result on his Arrow, finishing ahead of Haase pilot Bearden and Tony Kart wheelman Joel Jens.

Franklinkart.comTaG 1Jesus Rios Jr. was in attendance at a Man Cup national for the second time this year as he prepared for a big Rotax race next weekend at New Castle. Rios’s testing turned into one of the most exciting wins of the weekend when the Birel racer took advantage of Mason Chelootz and Jacob Knueven getting together in the final corner. With 33 drivers taking the green in qualifying it was Knueven who set the bar with a 1:04.382. Chelootz, and Scott Ferris were just a tad off his pace with pro drivers Jay Howard slotting into 4th and Dan Wheldon back in 19th. The prefinal was fantastic as Chelootz and Knueven went one-two to the finish. Arie Ouimet climbed up to 3rd with TJ Koyen in 4th. Wheldon killed it wih a great run up into the top five. The final looked like it was a two dog fight between Chelootz and Knueven, but as the laps passed Rios was dangerously close to catching the leaders. Rios ran third and looked to be in line for the third-place finish until Chelootz and Knueven made contact in turn 17 while racing for the win. Rios shot to the inside of them both to earn the big national victory. Chelootz recovered to

take second, T.J. Koyen third, Robert Bujdoso fourth and Knueven fifth.Rios offered his thoughts after his big TaG 1 victory. “I came here to test for the Pan Am Challenge but to come out with a TaG win with Rotax power definitely says something about the Birel / Rotax package. If you would like to follow my racing progression, go to www.JesusRiosRacing.com and also keep up with my racing updates on my Facebook page at Jesus Rios Racing,” Rios said.

Comet Kart SalesYamaha Sportsman HeavyA highly contested Yamaha Sportsman Heavy main saw a pleasant surprise when local New Castle racer Garrett Moran, making his first Man Cup appearance, wheeled his No. 08 Birel to the feature win over national regulars Zach Holden and Braden Eves. Qualifying was crazy with 36 drivers all vying for the top spot. David Malukas secured the Streeter Super Stands pole with a quick lap of 1:15.364. Malukas remained quick all weekend long, but this kid couldn’t seem to catch a break. Grant Quinlan took the prefinal win with Malukas and Emmerson Reed in tow, but the final would see a shift in the top spots. Quinlan led the leader pack of five that included Malukas, Reed, Garrett

Moran and Zane Smith. Malukas got turned heading into 17 and his race was essentially over. After ten laps Quinlan raced out to the lead and crossed the finish line first but the Canadian was penalized for hitting Emerson Reed midway through the 12-lapper. Quinlan’s misfortune handed Moran the win. Holden earned his best finish of the season in the runner-up spot, as did Eves with a third-place run. Jordan Delphia made his first Man Cup start of the season and finished a strong fourth. Jacob McWhirter rounded out the top five. It was a nice change of pace at the top end of the field with the usual suspects not having the best of luck.

Kartsport North AmericaYamaha Jr LiteAshley Rogero made it two for two on the day

in a shortened race that saw nine of the 12 laps completed. Joel Jens was the pole sitter, besting a 41 kart field with a time of 1:09.691. Jeff Myers, Mike McAndrews, Raquel Martinez and Jacob Donald completed the fast five. The prefinal saw Jens, Martinez and McAndrews get together, falling well back into the pack. Rogero picked up the lead with Myers, Tristan VanWieringen and Garrett Johnson following her to the line. In the final a red flag for an accident involving series regular Jake Johnston stopped the event. Johnston was transported to an area hospital with neck injuries, but we’re proud to report the New Jersey racer was back in attendance Sunday at New Castle, albeit a little worse for wear from Saturday’s incident.The race was shaping up for a tremendous finish as Kyle Kalish had just moved into second behind Rogero when the red waved.


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Kalish would not get a shot at victory, however, as officials deemed the race official. Rogero and her Tony Kart triumphed over Kalish, Garrett Johnston, Jeff Myers Jr. and Tristan VanWieringen.

New Jersey Sprint SeriesYamaha Rookie Final 1Ohio’s Jamie Williams broke Birel dominance in the Rookie division with a convincing win in Saturday’s Final 1. Riding a sleek-looking PCR chassis, Williams won his first Man Cup race of the season over BeaveRun Final 2 victor Ben Varner. Tommy Burke paced the field in qualifying with a 1:17.193 for the Streeter Super Stand pole award. Williams, Varner, Luke Fineis and David Ilavia rounded out the fast five, with Williams besting Verner and Fineis in the prefinal. In the final Williams led three Birels across the stripe with Varner, Burke and Alex Verhagen second through fourth. Arrow driver Samuel Paley completed the top five of 21 entrants, which marked the best Rookie Sportsman field of the season.

Grand Products / Top KartParilla LeopardTaG 1 saw Jesus Rios Jr. go from third to first in the last corner, and who would have thought we’d see the same thing happen in the second

TaG-powered final of the day, the Leopard-only Parilla Leopard main.Wisconsin racer T.J. Koyen swept the Leopard class starting with his pole position. Thirty eight drivers hit the track for qualifying with Koyen topping the charts over Jacob Knueven, Mason Chelootz, Michael Politis and Arie Ouimet. Koyen started the final from the pole and scored Merlin its second win of the day and equaled Rios’s move when he went from third to first past Mason Chelootz and two-time Indy 500 champion Dan Wheldon in turn 17. Wheldon worked all the way to the front from his 12th-place starting position and appeared to have the race in hand when he led the final circuit. But on the last straightaway, Mason Chelootz pushed Wheldon into the final corner, forcing the Tony Kart driver high on exit and allowing Koyen to shoot to the inside. Chelootz was able to make the pass on Wheldon, but it ended up being for second rather than the win. Wheldon crossed third, Caleb Loniewski fourth and Mark Vielgut fifth.Koyen talked about his second Leopard


win of the season. “I was in third, about five kart lengths back on the final straight of the last lap. Dan Wheldon was leading and he blocked the inside with Mason Chelootz on his bumper. I caught a bit of draft and while they stayed on the bottom I took the top line and crossed them both over as they slid wide on the final corner and drove across the line first. The weekend was great for me with the sweep in the Parilla Leopard class and a second and third-place finish in the two TaG classes,” Koyen continued. I just would like to thank Franklin Motorsports and the Merlin Nation for their great support all year, as well as my dad and grandfather who are my only mechanics. Winning is far more rewarding when none of your bodywork matches, your suit is dirty, and all the work was done yourself.”

Adkins Speed CenterKomet SportsmanDavid Malukas was the Komet Sportsman pole sitter with a time of 1:12.439, but after starting shotgun on the field Zane Smith

emerged as the prefinal winner. After numerous top-five runs throughout the season, Top Kart racer Zane Smith finally captured his first 2011 Man Cup win in the day’s second-to-last feature. The win couldn’t have come at a better time as the Californian entered the race

not far back of three-race winner Ryan Raffa in the standings. Unofficially, the win should give Smith the Komet Sportsman title by a mere 11-point margin over Raffa, who struggled to a seventh-place finish in the 13-kart race. Smith had to fend off challenges from the season’s top feature winner Grant Quinlan to secure the victory. He passed the test, if you will, and held off Quinlan to the stripe in another terrific race. Ohio’s Emerson Reed took third while Matt Solarczyk earned his second top-five run of the day in fourth. Brandon Lemke rounded out the top five.

TSRacing.comKomet HeavyBirel driver Patrick Olsen had been close to victory all season and the Wisconsin native finally broke through with a convincing victory in Komet Heavy over Mason Chelootz. Olsen won the Streeter Super Stand pole award, the pre-final and went wire to wire in the 12-lap feature, pulling away late for the win. Chelootz’s second-place result marked his third top-three finish in three races Saturday.

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Sam Beasley took third, Steven Landspurg fourth and Jonathan Kotyk fifth. Chelootz and Beasley were close enough to capitalize on any mistakes, but Olsen drove flawlessly to the finish.

Margay Racing ProductsYamaha Supercan HeavyAfter missing the last round at BeaveRun Tony Jump was back up to speed quickly here at New Castle and found the pole in Supercan Heavy. Jump went a tenth quicker than P2 qualifier Ryan Stewart. Thirty karts started the prefinal and after the 8 hard fought laps Jump remained on top. Brandon Adkins slotted into 2nd and Jason Foley was 3rd. Foley won the battle and Ryan Stewart appears to have won the war in the Heavy version of Yamaha Supercan. Foley

claimed the win in his first Manufacturer’s Cup race of the year, passing Stewart late in the 12-lap affair and holding off the Illinois driver to the victory. Stewart, who entered the race 30 points ahead of Sam Beasley in the standings, held on to second which should easily be enough to win the class title over Beasley, who finished a disappointing 23rd after being issued a penalty. Komet Heavy winner Patrick Olsen was third, Yamaha Supercan Lite victor Colton Ramsey fourth and Streeter Super Stands Pole Award winner Tony Jump fifth.

Grand Produts / Top KartCadet Final 2Leonardo Stoia killed it in Cadet 2 qualifying, nearly 4 tenths quicker than Brandon Lemke. Zane Smith and David Malukas made up row

two with Braden Eves completing the top five. Malukas again showed great speed in the prefinal, scoring the win over Lemke, Smith and Stoia, but his luck ran out again when his kart wouldnt start on the grid. Grant Quinlan stepped it up in the final for his second Cadet win of the weekend. Zane Smith led most of the race until Quinlan made his way past on the final lap in another outstanding race by the young drivers. Lemke finished an impressive 2nd in Sunday’s weekend capper. Smith settled for third, ahead of fourth-place Leonardo Stoia and Braden Eves, who rounded out the top five. The win marked Quinlan’s seventh of the year in Cadet, meaning with the three drops for the class the Birel racer earned a perfect score of seven wins in the seven races he’ll count toward the standings.

Orlando Kart CenterTaG 2Three drivers were separated by less than a tenth of a second in TAG 2 qualifying. Robert Bujdoso led the charge with Jacob Knueven and Mason Chelootz his closest rivals. Saturday’s winner Jesus Rios qualified high up the charts but width across the scales sent him to the back. Knueven continued to run at the front of the 42 kart field and scored the prefinal win over Bujdoso and Chelootz. Chris Wehrheim and Arie Ouimet moved up into the top five. Texas Top Kart racer Mason Chelootz finally scored a Grand National victory after three near misses Saturday. Chelootz controlled the TaG 2 main from the drop of the green flag and won by a decent margin over Leopard victor T.J. Koyen, who made his way past Robert Bujdoso late in the race to take the runner-up position. Bujdoso held on for third which should be good enough for the national

championship in TaG 2. The Ohio racer also, unofficially, claimed the TaG 1 championship making it a pair of TaG titles in Man Cup for the second straight season. Arie Ouimet was in or near the top five all weekend in the TaG divisions and earned his best finish of the weekend in this one with a fourth-place result. Dan Wheldon again started fairly deep in the pack, this time 10th, and moved forward to a fifth-place finish.“It’s been a great season for us and these two championships are just a testament to how hard the whole Checkered Motorsports team has worked all year. The PCR Chassis and the Sean Cook Racing Engines Rok TT really combined to give us a winning package. We knew what needed to happen at New Castle and I just put my head down and ran as clean of a race as possible. I’m very excited to win back-to-back championships and I have to thank everyone at Checkered Motorsports for all the hard work they put in each and every race weekend,” Bujdoso said.

Beasley Motorsports / Arrow KartsKomet Jr LiteAshley Rogero left little doubt who had the best package in the junior ranks at the McLaughlin Motorsports Grand Nationals when she returned Sunday and captured her third win in three tries and a sweep of the Komet Jr mains. Rogero was the Streeter Super Stands pole award winner, but Jacob Donald stepped up his game in the prefinal to score the victory. Logan Bearden, Raquel Martinez and Mike McAndrews completed the top five and set the grid for the final. Rogero had the better start and led the opening laps. Bearden too was able to sneak past Donald and he even led Rogero for the middle laps of the


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second and Brian McEvoy third. Michael Busse and Chuck Tate rounded out the top five in the 11-kart field.

Spallco RV Sales & RentalsKomet LitePatrick Olsen was the Streeter Super Stands pole award winner after a tight round of qualifying with Mason Chelootz, Colton Ramsey and James Clark Jr. Olsen went flag to flag for the prefinal win, but Shinya Michimi climbed his way up in the 8 laps to finish 2nd. Olsen opened the door for Michimi in the Komet Lite final when he hit a goose – yes, a goose – on the back half of the New Castle circuit. A fowl way to lose the lead for sure. Michimi made the pass when the wildlife slowed Olsen. The Ohio/Japan driver held off the early race leader and Ryan Stewart to score his first and only Man Cup win of the season. James Clark Jr. and Jonathan Kotyk were fourth and fifth.Michimi flew to Indiana from Tokyo, Japan, where he’s now going to college. The long flight proved worthy as he earned the win after finishing second in each of the first four Komet Lite mains of the season. Sam Beasley won all four races coming into New Castle, but the Ohio driver ran into problems after making his way through the field and was a DNF.

KartliftYamaha Sportsman LiteHannah Roskopf was the third different lady racer to earn a pole at the McLaughlin Motorsports Grand Nationals at New Castle Motorsports Park. She bested some of the heaviest hitters in the class: Brandon Lemke, Braden Eves, Grant Quinlan and Zane Smith. The prefinal saw a seven kart drag race to the

finish being led by Zane Smith. Smith carried that speed over to the final, but so much of this class is luck, you never know where you will end up on the last lap, especially here at New Castle. Zane Smith led every lap but the one that mattered most. He was a sitting goose on the last lap, though it was fitting that the last Jr Sportsman feature of the season was won by Quinlan. Quinlan triumphed for the 14th time in 2011 Man Cup competition and became the only driver to sweep the season in any Man Cup class. The win meant Quinlan went five for five in Yamaha Sportsman Lite for the perfect score in the class. Emerson Reed, Quinlan’s closest competitor many times throughout the year, finished second. Zane Smith was third, Saturday Sportsman winner

race. Once back to the lead Rogero fended off Bearden for the win. Bearden ran close to the Tony Kart driver but never mounted a serious challenge in the final laps. Jacob Donald drove to his second third-place finish of the weekend. Raquel Martinez took fourth and Alex Keyes had his best finish of the weekend in fifth.“New Castle was by far my best weekend of racing in the 2011 season,” Rogero said after the event. “I was feeling good after taking a win at the last WKA round in Pennsylvania and it really helped to jump start my confidence as a rookie in the junior classes. I can’t thank my sponsors and family enough for all of their support and hard work. We worked really

hard on making sure that we had the best kart on the track. Small changes to improve the handling and horsepower really made it easy for me to get to the front of the field.”

Mike Doty RacingYamaha Rookie Final 2A shakeup in the early stages of the Rookie Final 2 main changed the race when Pole sitter and prefinal winner Jamie Williams, Tommy Burke and others were involved in an incident in turn four. Williams lost a great amount of ground in the incident, which allowed David Ilavia and Ben Varner to race ahead and put about a three-second gap between them and Final 1 winner Williams. Ilavia and Varner traded the lead a few times before Ilavia crossed the stripe first in a clean race to close out the Rookie division’s first year on the Man Cup tour. Varner took second and Williams third. Samuel Paley finished top five for the second day in a row with a fourth-place effort and Connor Cass rounded out the top five. Ilavia finished the year in style with a race win and the Rookie national championship.

Viking Karting Products TaG MastersJohn Ferris III scored the pole over John Dixon with a time of 1:05.972. The two continued their close battle in the prefinal with Ferris just nipping Dixon at the line. Dixon dominated the TaG Masters final but post-race tech didn’t go his way and the Indiana driver was disqualified for a low seat. Dixon’s misfortune handed the win to John Ferris III. The DQ really hurt Dixon as it most likely also gave the TaG Masters national championship to Ferris. The field was pretty spread out after the first few laps, but Tim Bannon finished a strong


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Garrett Moran fourth and Leonardo Stoia fifth. Quinlan, unofficially, won a Triple Crown championship with titles in Cadet and both Yamaha Sportsman classes.

MRP / BirelYamaha Jr HeavyJoel Jens started on the pole in the weekend’s last race and scored his first win of the weekend and sixth of the season with a convincing drive over fellow Wisconsin racer Mike McAndrews. Jens’s victory meant a few things. First, it secured Tony Kart’s sweep of the junior classes at New Castle. It denied Ashley Rogero of a weekend sweep in the junior ranks. And it may have given Jens a Triple Crown championship as his closest point challenger, Jacob Donald, finished ninth. Austin Self had his best run of the weekend

with a third-place effort. Jeff Myers Jr. capped off a strong Grand National with a fourth-place run and Camden Speth rounded out the top five. Rogero was sixth. Manufacturer’s Cup point standings will be updated soon on the WKA website. As the 2011 season concludes with a last few national events in the coming weeks, WKA will turn its attention to its biggest event of the season with the Dec. 27-30 Daytona KartWeek at Daytona Int’l Speedway. Daytona KartWeek will see three national series – Dirt, Manufacturer’s Cup and the return of Road Racing – at the historic World Center of Racing.


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The WKA Vega Speedway Pavement Series closed its 2011 season Sept. 23-25 at Chapel Hill Raceway in the scenic Southern Tier of Upstate New York, a tight bullring asphalt oval the series visited back in June for round two of the tour.

September’s Chapel Hill go marked the season’s fourth and final round of the series and the prestigious Bonsignore Kart Shoppe Grand Nationals, where prominent Grand National Eagle trophies, bonus points and national championships were all on the line for race winners and top racers in the point standings. The race also was the second time the Pavement Series visited Chapel Hill in 2011 after a late June visit marked the tour’s second

national of the year.

Once again, Pittsburgh, Pa.’s Craig Wetzel flexed his muscle at a Pavement national. The 24-year-old racer capped an outstanding 2011 season by sweeping the weekend in the senior flat-kart ranks.

Wetzel scored wins in both Northern Va. Kart Parts Stock Medium features and the pair of Stock Heavy finals. The Phantom pilot bested Virginia’s Travis Weber in both of Saturday’s senior flat-kart mains. Ryan Breithoff, Ron Flaim and Matthew Bonsignore ran third through fifth in Stock Medium Final 1. Flaim and Breithoff followed Wetzel and Weber across the line in Stock Heavy Final 1.

Sunday’s Medium Final 2 saw Wetzel triumph over Breithoff, Flaim and Bonsignore. Heavy’s last feature of the season saw Weber take second, ahead of Flaim and Breithoff.

While challenged and even beaten on a couple of occasions, overall Wetzel proved he and his trusty Phantom chassis were the best in the business in Pavement Series senior flat-kart competition in 2011. Wetzel swept the year in Stock Heavy, winning all eight of the feature, and went six for eight in Stock Medium. He won both class championships.

Brayden Houpt joined Wetzel as a four-race Grand National victor with a pair of wins in both Sportsman 1 and Sportsman 2.

Houpt and Matthew Miller were winners in Sportsman 1 flat kart. Houpt won Final 1 on Saturday and Miller was the winner of Final 2. Spencer Yodock was second in both mains.

“I want to thank my dad and my brother, Josh, for preparing my kart. I couldn’t have done it without my dad and my brother,” Miller said after driving his Jim’s Racing Tires / GT Machine-sponsored Pro Kart to the Sportsman 1 Final 2 victory.

Houpt scored the win in Sportsman 1 Champ Final 1 over Eddie Fatscher and Yodock. Fatscher returned Sunday to win Final 2 over Yodock.

“Thank you to all that made this possible!” Fatscher said after his win.

Houpt advanced to the Sportsman 2 categories for Sunday and proceeded to win both mains

he entered for four wins on the weekend. The Pennsylvania racer won Sportsman 2 Final 2 and Bonsignore Kart Shoppe Sportsman 2 Champ Final 2. Jacob Leverstein and Wyatt Alexander were second and third in Sportsman 2 Champ Sunday race.

Houpt’s multiple feature wins on the year netted the young Pennsylvanian a pair of national championships. Houpt captured the titles in Sportsman 1 and Sportsman 1 Champ in what was a dominating Pavement season for the Houpt Racing shoe.

Kevin Baird was on top of his game at Chapel Hill and accomplished his best weekend of the 2011 Pavement season. The 16-year-old Ridgefield, Conn., driver won both Sr Champ mains, marking the first time in four events that a driver swept the competitive Sr Champ races.

Baird wheeled his Mullis Speed Concepts / WC Designs-sponsored Trick Olimpic champ kart to wins over Ohio’s Cullen Mumaw both days. The pair crossed the stripe ahead of Weber, Emily Flaim and Zack Switzer in Saturday’s Final 1. On Sunday, Breithoff ran third, Weber fourth and Switzer again rounded out the top five.

“I’d like to thank my dad, Cort Turner, Brandon Mullis, Hayden Motorsports and everyone else who helped us over the year. Thanks to everyone for the help. I’m very happy to come out of this year with a couple of wins at Chapel Hill,” Baird said.

The Sr Champ class, the largest division at each of the four 2011 Pavement nationals, saw

Wetzel, Houpt are four-race winners at Chapel Hill

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a close point battle in which Quakertown, Pa.’s Ryan Breithoff came out on top. Breithoff scored two Champ feature wins on the season and won the points by a 90-point margin over Baird. Weber finished third in the standings, followed by Michael Nolan and Switzer. The competitive Sr Champ class saw six different winners in eight races.

Nick Wiery was a double winner at Chapel, taking two of the four junior champ-kart features. The Ohio racer won over Dylan Duhaime in Sunday’s 3D Motorsports Jr Champ Final 2. Derek Fry was third, John Hawley fourth and Ryan Lutz fifth.

“Thanks to Rage Karts and Turner Racing engines for everything they have done. I’m glad to get another Grand National win,” Wiery said after his first win of the weekend.

Wiery also drove to victory in the other Sunday junior champ main, Jr Champ Raptor

Final 2. Wiery scored the win over New York’s Elijah Rios. Hawley was third, Jon Paul Kraisinger fourth and Duhaime fifth.

“I was exited to get my second Grand National win of the day. Thanks to Gary Lawson and Turner Racing Engines for helping me out. And thanks to my dad for everything,” Wiery added after wheeling his WW Heating-sponsored Rage to a second victory.

Duhaime was able to win his first Pavement Series main of the season, and what better time to drive to victory than at the Bonsignore Kart Shoppe Grand Nationals. The 13-year-old New Hampshire racer won over Wiery and Kraisinger in Saturday’s 3D Motorsports Jr Champ Final 1. Fry and Hawley rounded out the top five in the 10-kart field.

“The last five laps of the race I tried all I could do to hold off the No. 28 off from passing me. I want to thank the 28 of Nick Wiery for great

clean racing all weekend,” the Capitol Alarm Systems / 3D Motorsports-sponsored Duhaime said after the weekend.

Also on Saturday, Hawley secured his fourth Jr Champ Raptor win of the season with a score over Rios in the Final 1 version of the flathead class. Lutz was third, Duhaime fourth and Wiery fifth.

Wiery and Hawley split the Jr Champ class championships. Wiery posted two wins on the season in Jr Champ (Animal) and won the points by a comfortable margin over Hawley.

Hawley, the only Pavement regular from Indiana, was the best in the series’ only

flathead-powered class, Jr Champ Raptor. Hawley captured four feature triumphs on the year and won the points by 27 markers over Rios, who won three times.

Maryland’s Trevor Trost swept the Jr Stock mains for the first time this season and gave Titan chassis a pair of national Speedway Pavement victories. Trost bested Austin Ousley, Connor Cleveland and Josh Miller to win Saturday’s Jr Stock Final 1. Trost returned Sunday to score the win in Jr Stock Final 2, triumphing over Cleveland, Ousley, Miller and Jonathan Rouse.

Jr Stock Final 2 saw Trost lead every lap on his way to the national triumph.

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“I got a great start and led every lap,” Trost said. “It was really fun to lead every lap in the race. I would like to thank my dad for his help and support. I would like to thank my dad for setting up the kart, Kevin Smith, Papa, Ona and Opa for their support.”

Cleveland’s four wins on the season were good enough for the New York racer to net the Jr Stock championship by a mere seven-point advantage over Trost.

Brandon McGough won his 11th and 12th Pavement Series main events in 2011 with

a sweep of the Saturday Sportsman 2 races. The Pennsylvanian bested Kole Holden in both Sportsman 2 Final 1 and Bonsignore Kart Shoppe Sportsman 2 Champ Final 1. McGough did not enter either Sportsman 2 race on Sunday, but still clinched both class championships for another double-championship season.

Gary Jackinski and David Hardman split the Masters Champ mains. Jackinski bested Hardman in Final 1 before Hardman returned to drive his Northern Va. Kart Parts No. 53 Rage to the Final 2 win over Mark Ray.

“Thanks to the Webers for their help and support during the racing year,” Hardman said after the weekend.

Hardman is once again the series’ Masters Champ titlist. Hardman won the points by a comfortable margin over Jackinski.

A big thanks and much appreciation sent out to all Speedway Pavement families and officials for a great 2011 season.

Pavement Series national champions and numerous other special award recipients will be honored at the WKA Pavement / Gold Cup Series combined awards ceremony, Saturday night, January 21 at the Cabarrus Arena and Events Center in Concord, N.C., the same venue at which the ceremony was last winter.

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WKA Karting Scene - November Issue

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