EKN’s Paddock Insider is a new Trackside coverage addition, bringing you notes, updates and breaking news as it happens. The article will be a timeline of events as they happen during the 2014 RoboPong 200. The information will not be seen anywhere else, including interviews and photos. Please feel free to comment and discuss our coverage and today’s action in the EKN Global Members Discussion area below:

RoboPong 200

Lap 189: Spindle breaks on right front for Checkered Motorsports/PCR USA 1 – Simpson/Newey leading
Lap 185: The lead for Checkered Motorsports/PCR USA 1 is over one lap, Simpson/Newey in second
Lap 176: Top Kart USA 1 blows out a front hub bearing, makes it back to pit and out on track in P10
Lap 172: Franklin Motorsports/Mark Coats Racing loses nose from contact, replaces in pit stop remains second
Lap 170: Lead for Checkered Motorsports/PCR USA 1 is 18 seconds
Lap 160: All teams made pitstop – Checkered Motorsports/PCR USA 1 leading by 11 seconds – only 2 teams on lead lap
Lap 143: CometKartSales.com out with engine issue while running P4
Lap 127: HAAS into pit with flat left front tire, in and out, back to P13
Lap 125: Checkered Motorsports/PCR USA 1 leading by 23-seconds, 6 teams on lead lap

Lap 113: All teams pitted, Checkered Motorsports/PCR USA 1 leading by 21 seconds, 8 teams on lead lap
Lap 89: Top Kart USA Juniors break hub bolt, in and out quick as well back to P17
Lap 85: 10 teams on the lead pack, Checkered Motorsports/PCR USA 1 leading by 14-seconds
Lap 79: Lemke/Verhagen pit with flat right front tire – in and out quickly
Lap 73: Free Spirit Racing throws chain while running in the top-10
Lap 65: Checkered Motorsports/PCR USA 1 out to four second advantage

Lap 58: All teams making one stop, Franklin Motorsports/Mark Coats Racing holding lead
Lap 28: Sage Karam stalled on track but reached pit out and was able to get refired, came from 33rd to 12th
Lap 25: Franklin Motorsports/Mark Coats Racing leading with Kyle Kalish at the wheel
Lap 20: Polesitter KartSport North America/AMR back to P15
Lap 17: Hinchcliffe up to P20 after starting last for qualifying underweight
Lap 9: Top Kart USA 2 with Conor Daly into the pits
Lap 1: #KeepFightingAyrton and ProKart Indoors wreck in Turn 2

9.20.14

KartSport North America/AMR puts Arrow on Front Row for RoboPong 200
No major surprises in qualifying, as the sun began its decent toward the horizon between 4pm and 6pm. The qualifying sessions began with new Top Kart USA driver Jason Welage scoring the pole position in the Yamaha Cadet division. Yamaha Senior was local driver Sam Cate, while defending Junior champion Braden Eves secured the top spot in that category. The RoboPong pole position went down to the wire. Not many of the last 10 drivers in the final group were picking up the speed like they showed in practice, until the final lap when Eric Jones clocked in the fast lap overall in his KartSport North America/AMR Arrow. Switching over from the X30 to the Parilla Leopard due to weight issues, the move paid off as the veteran driver will start tomorrow’s 200-lap endurance race from the pole position. His teammate from last year Derek Dignan is ready to battle for the win this year, after they finished runner-up last year to IndyCar’s Josef Newgarden and Mark Dismore Jr. – who qualified fourth overall.

Final Practice
Following the Dan Wheldon Memorial Pro-Am event, the final practice session took place with the RoboPong and Yamaha competitors getting one more session in before qualifying.

The RoboPong group was led by two Junior drivers, with the Brandon Lemke/Neil Verhagen Merlin posted a 1:06.112-lap to secure the fast time. Both Checkered Motorsports/PCR USA entries (Andrew/Robby Bujdoso and Ryan Norberg/Sasha Brun-Wibaux) had the second and fourth best times. The two Top Kart USA entries, piloted by Bill McLaughlin Jr./Jay Howard/Conor Daly, were in the top-10. The Leopard powered kart was third overall while the X30 was 10th. Defending champions CometKartSales.com (Josef Newgarden/Mark Dismore Jr.) capped off the fast five. The Free Spirit Racing entry of Jacob Knueven and Andrew Weiner had to switch from an ART chassis to an older Arrow after discovering a crack in the frame this morning after the first session. Their back-up was good for eighth in the final practice.

The Yamaha Cadet group was the next to go on the with Makala Mark (Top Kart) posted the fast time of 1;15.907 to lead the session over the 42 other drivers. The top three were within a tenth, including Sam Paley (Techno) and Alex Bertagnoli (Merlin). Sam Cate (Tony Kart) was a full half a second quicker than anyone in the final Yamaha Senior practice, posting a 1:12.229 lap time. Zach Holden (Top Kart) led the Yamaha Junior field with a 1:10.843-lap.

RoboPong 200 Entry List

Yamaha Senior Entry List

Yamaha Junior Entry List

Yamaha Cadet Entry List

9.19.14

Josef Newgarden, Mark Dismore, Scott Dixon and James Hinchcliffe discussing setup during Friday practice

Big Fields
The 2014 edition of the RoboPong 200 is welcoming solid numbers across the board. Over 40 teams have entered the 200-lap endurance race, with nearly 40 Sportsman drivers. Both the Junior and Senior categories are over the 20-entry mark, giving this the feel of a major karting event. While the RoboPong field is not at it’s largest, the total has remained over the 40 mark since reaching its peak back in 2007 and 2008.

Who’s Fast?
Today doesn’t matter who is fast. Friday was a time to make adjustments, begin forming a strategy, test out fuel runs, and begin the early prepping for Sunday’s main events. Drivers in the RoboPong event were running in the 1:06-lap time range, knowing that drivers will get faster as the day heads toward qualifying on Saturday afternoon. Both the TaG Yamaha divisions are making adjustments, as many of the racers have been competing in the United States Pro Kart Series, not racing on the mandated Bridgestone YLC tire that is utilized for the weekend. For the professional drivers, its a time to adjust getting behind the wheel of a kart, with some that have been out for about a year or event more time.

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