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| December 06, 2012 |
| Driver News: Austin Elliott - SKUSA SuperNationals XVI Report |
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 | Austin Elliott
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
Team Top Kart/Grand Products driver, Austin Elliott headed to Las Vegas, NV to compete in the largest karting event in the United States, with the best drivers from around the nation. The goal was to challenge for the top spot in the Pro Tour championship series. Elliott had earned enough points from competition earlier in the year at the SKUSA Spring and Summer Nationals to give him third place points going into the race in the TAG Sr. division. The SKUSA Super Nationals XVI was held at the Rio All-Suites Hotel & Casino in the parking lot, which was transformed into a large kart racing track.
The practice days showed tough for Elliott, being behind the mark a bit and then mechanical issues would retire one of Austin's best engines on day two. Day three started with one last practice session to fine tune the kart and to hone the driver’s skills, but would only show 33rd fastest in the overall times. After making the necessary adjustments and Austin studying the racing line one more time, he was ready for qualifying. Elliott hit the track looking for the best position to run his fastest time without running into any obstacles. As soon as Austin found his spot, his lap times started to drop by seconds, then by tenths, until finally the times stopped dropping, ending up at a 46.242 which was good enough for a 4th place qualifying time that would earn the young driver an off-pole starting position for the three upcoming heat races. "I was surprised upon hearing that I qualified fourth” stated Elliott. ”It was a relief to know that even though we had some bad luck in practice, we came back and brought it all together when it was needed the most."
Starting on the front row in Heat one, Elliott fell back to third early on and then found himself in a heated battle for the second position. Passing back and forth, Austin ran most of the race in second at a pace that was faster than the leader, but in the end he would have to settle for third. Day two showed the same results as Austin would pull out two more third place finishes in the final two heat races. With (3) third place heat race finishes and a total of 9 points, that would be good enough for an off-pole starting position for the Main event on Super Sunday. After having such a great run in the three heats, Austin was eager for Super Sunday so that he could showcase his talents one last time.
Once everyone was griddled up, Austin and the leader would bring the 42 kart field to the starting line at a very slow pace. The green flag would wave on the first attempt. Trying to avoid the carnage from the karts pushing from behind, Austin fell back to eighth coming out of turn one. He then started to make his move, pulling the trigger on two drivers making his way back towards the front. Looking to gain another position, Elliott pulled to the inside of fifth place coming out of turn two. Contact then sent Elliott into the barriers and he would be forced to forfeit the race prematurely.
“Even though we didn't get the finish that we were hoping for, I am still happy with the weekend." stated Elliott. “I learned a lot that I will be able to use in future races and to better myself as a driver and tuner/mechanic and I look forward to what the 2013 season has in store for the Austin Elliott Racing Team."
Austin would like to thank his mom for her support and partnership in his racing, his tuner & racing coach Wesley Boswell, his sponsors and team; Mike Tetreault of Grand Products Inc., Jesus Vasquez of P1 engines, Ron of RDS Race Cars and Chassis, Bob and Ron of Sons of Stafford Plumbing, Linda Emerson for support of his website, Lisa of Race Karts! Inc., Todd of On track promotions and Kristin of RMG. Thank you also to the TAG Sr. competitors and Tom and Patti Kutscher of SKUSA Superkarts USA for putting this event on.
For more information on Austin Elliott Racing, please visit Austin's website at http://austinelliottracing.com |
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