The 2017 season marked the third year of the Briggs & Stratton Weekly Racing Series Presented by RLV. The purpose of the effort is to promote the grassroots Briggs 206 program across North America, providing racers with the opportunity to match up against other drivers from across the United States and Canada. Through the support of their racers, clubs and tracks signed up for the program and, in return, both the tracks and racers received prizes at the end of the season, including many products produced by Briggs & Stratton.

The 2017 Briggs WRS program welcomed a combined 3,000 racers in Senior/Masters and Junior competition, enjoying just over 50 participating tracks throughout North America. This growth features a 27% increase in Senior/Masters numbers and an event larger explosion for the Junior ranks, which doubling in size from its first year in 2016.

eKartingNews.com is now recognizing the top-10 overall in both the Senior/Masters division and the Junior ranks. For complete rankings, visit the Briggs WRS 2017 Final Report and for more on the program, visit www.briggsracing.com

Top-10 Briggs Weekly Racing Series Junior Profiles

#10 – Jake Cowden

#9 – Bree Miller

#8 – Archer Eversman

Junior #7 – Zach Franzke
Points: 190.5
Track: Tri-City Kart Club

Age: 13
Hometown: Damascus, Oregon
Occupation: Student
Chassis: Kosmic
Sponsors: Cleveland Auto Repair, Mom and Dad
Years Karting: 8

2017 Briggs WRS Events

Many club racers have just a short drive to their home track. Some within the one hour or even the two hour range. Zach Franzke and his family make the 200-mile trek, one way, to compete at the Tri-City Kart Club. From their hometown of Damascus, Oregon, the Franzke family travels northeast to Richland, Washington once a month to be part of the great atmosphere and great competition at TCKC.

“We have some friends that race at Tri City Kart Club and have attended races there in the past. We traveled there to test for the Can-Am Karting Challenge and were impressed with not only their facilities but also the high quality of competitive racing.  This is what drew us to travel 3.5 hours one way to compete in the 2017 TCKC season.”

In total, Franzke made six trips to compete at the Tri-City Kart Club in the Briggs 206 Junior II category. Zach won four races, along with two additional podium finishes to claim the 2017 club championship. Franzke also won the third annual Saturday Night Shootout to complete his Briggs Weekly Racing Series results, finishing up seventh. Zach also finished the season fourth in the Can-Am Karting Challenge series, earning two third-place results in the Briggs 206 Junior division.

Zach began karting at the age of five in the Kid Kart division in a blue Rocket chassis. His older brother Brayden and cousin Justin DeMars started racing a couple years before him, thus creating the avenue for Zach to enter the sport. Franzke has earned four Oregon State Karting Championship Series titles (2013-2016) in the Briggs Animal Junior I three times before earning the Briggs 206 Junior Light title in the final year of that stretch.

“When I competed in the Junior I class, I ran the Briggs Gas Animal.  However, when moving up to Junior II, it made sense to switch to the 206 package due to the increasing interest of this class throughout the region. I enjoy several aspects of karting. First and foremost it’s a lot of fun. I also like the challenge of learning new technical tracks and putting in the time to be the best I can be out there.”

Franzke has a busy 2018 scheduled with trips to the Can-Am Karting Challenge, IKF Gold Cup, Tri-City Karting Club Shootout and club races at Pat’s Acres Racing Complex alongside his younger brother Preston.

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