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| March 11, 2010 News |
| Event News: IKF Region 7 Championships Series - Buffalo Bills Report |
| Article by: Sean Buur - Go Racing Magazine |
 | The Buffalo Bills Hotel and Casino is a racer favorite on the IKF Region 7 schedule
(Photo: Go Racing Magazine) |
Round 3 of the IKF Region 7 Championship Series presented by Bridgestone took place at Primm, Nevada in the back parking lot of Buffalo Bills Resort and Casino. Kerman Kart Club hosted the event drawing drivers from as far away as New Jersey. For as long as Go Racing Magazine has been in karting Buffalo Bills has been a grade A event. There is nothing quite like the feeling of getting out of bed, walking down to the casino, and heading straight out to the race track in the span of 5 minutes. The convenience has played a big part in the draw over the years, but so too has their parking lot, which allows for a multitude of track designs. IKF Region 7 has played host more times than most here, but events past have seen pro money races from CKC, and even a round of the WKA Constructors Championships. There is something about this place, and seeing a 20% rise in entries is proof of its popularity.
Drivers were forced to endure ever changing conditions all weekend long. Saturday morning was crisp and sunny, but a storm was brewing in the area and officials were weary of it and kept a close eye on the clouds and made sure the program didn’t lose any unnecessary time. The rain began to fall after the pits were cleared but things didn’t look good for Sunday action. The track was wet as the morning practice kicked off but qualifying took place in the dry. Two of the heat races were ran on dry tires, but then a steady drizzle forced most driver to wets for the rest for the day. Halfway through the finals the taped down scoring loop came up because of the moisture. Out of tape, out of patience and out of dry pavement, the concluding classes were scored old school.
Jake Craig, Parker Thompson, and Carl Modoff were three drivers who pretty much made things difficult for others. They were the kings of the castle, master of their domains, and scored half of the total wins.
 | Jake Craig (00) fought off the entire Junior paddock to score four wins on the weekend
(Photo: Go Racing Magazine) |
Jake Craig dominated the Junior 2 classes with 4 wins, sweeping both KPV 2 and PRD Junior 2. Undefeated yes, but easy, no, he earned all of them as he only started from the pole in one class on Saturday. Though winning is everything, drivers like Jason Hannegan and Haley Jenni came within inches of victory and breaking Craig’s hold on KPV and PRD. Hannegan scored 3 poles and a heat race win, but Craig came up with the results. David Vasquez was in the hunt, but not as high up as we normally see him. The best win for Craig clearly was Saturday’s KPV 2 where he soloed to a 7 second victory over Hannegan. The most exciting finish was Saturday as Craig took advantage of lap traffic jamming up Hannegan on the last lap of the PRD Junior 2 race. Craig got just a little better run to the line, nipping the win by maybe 6 inches.
With only this the 3rd race weekend of the series we see the main cadet protagonist are Parker Thompson and Zane Smith. Guys like Colton Herta, and Brenden Baker have won races, while Christian Brooks, Matt Million and Jake Drew are right there too looking for a way to the front. This weekend didn’t look so good for Thompson as he had a turn one issue and had to chase back, plus not scoring a pole always makes things a little more difficult too. To many these would keep them off the podium, but for Thompson it was just another day in the office, hammering out 3 wins in 4 classes. Junior 1 on Saturday was a test as Brooks came within 2 tenths of his first win. The damp conditions were no match for the crafty skill on Sunday as he overcame an 11 second deficit in the Rookie Sportsman prefinal to win the final. The same was true in KPV1, Smith scored the prefinal win, but Thompson found something extra for the final to complete his hat trick.
Double winner Carl Modoff, was untouchable in Senior KPV action all weekend long. The combined KPV4 and Super pipe class had a boost in entries this weekend thanks to the lour of Buffalo Bills. Modoff grabbed the pole on Saturday and went on to distance the field in the prefinal. The final was more of the same as Modoff went flag to flag for the win. Kyle Wright and Jordan Brown rounded out the KPV podium with 2nd and 3rd. Sunday was almost a carbon copy, but this time Buttonwillow’s race winner Kolby Araki set on pole. Modoff managed to get the prefinal win again, but the ever-changing conditions were difficult on setup. Modoff kept the winning pace in the final for the second day in a row, this time besting Lloyd Mack and Bradley Espinoza. It was good to see “Mad Matt Johnson” in the mix after having a season or two off. He and his family are certainly missed by a lot of us old timers.
 | Parker Thompson continues to shine in the Cadet categories, earning three more wins on the season
(Photo: Go Racing Magazine) |
With 9 of the wins secured by 3 drivers only 8 classes were left to contest. Those in attendance were privy to a rare occurrence, brothers winning the same class on different days. We’ve seen fathers and sons both take wins and even brothers running different classes but I don’t ever remember a time when competing siblings split wins.
Kid Karts this weekend was a family affair as the Waterman brothers each scoring their first IKF wins. Saturday’s pole went to Myles Farhan, but it was Braden Waterman who stepped up his game for the prefinal. Braden got the drop on the field to start the final and he never looked back on his way to his first IKF Kid Kart win. The rest of the Kid Kart class was left fighting for 2nd place. Luis Ortiz, Hayden Wagner, Hudson Morrow and Carson Enright all dueled for the final podium positions. Ortiz originally placed 2nd, but tech decided otherwise handing the position to Wagner. Morrow completed the top three. Sunday saw Braden score the pole over Farhan. The prefinal was the first class to have rain and it jumbled up the field, but Braden held on for the win. After moving up from his 3rd place qualifying position Bryson Waterman finished the prefinal in 2nd place and we had an all Waterman front row. Bryson rocketed out of the gates to start the final trailed by his brother and Farhan. When your name has water in it you better perform well when it is wet. Bryson and Braden put ten seconds on the pack to score a Waterman 1-2 finish, with younger brother 5-year-old Bryson getting his first IKF win. Farhan was best of the rest and finished in 3rd place.
Zane Smith was the only other cadet driver to see victory besides Thompson. Smith qualified on pole in Saturday’s KPV1 race and went on to win the prefinal. The final was nothing more than a walk in the park for Smith as all the action was set well behind him. As Smith cruised to the win, Skylar Estrada brought it home with a great 2nd place finish. Thompson tried every trick in the book, but Estrada kept the upper hand for his best finish of the year.
 | Scoring two wins in Senior KPV action was Carl Modoff
(Photo: Go Racing Magazine) |
Jersey boy Chris Giumarra set the pace for Saturday’s Super Pipe qualifying session, but he and a hay bale had an early disagreement to end his prefinal. Bradley Espinoza went on to win, finishing 3rd overall. Leland Holden returned to the seat after taking some off and finished in the mix for 2nd. The combined Super Pipe and KPV class has bragging rights for overall winners, but the Yamaha’s were no match this weekend for the KPV’s. Espinoza had his hands full of KPV drivers in the final, but it took a while for Giumarra to work his way through traffic. A few more laps and he would have caught Espinoza and challenged for the win, but instead he settled for 2nd place. Sunday saw Aaron Koop nudge out Giumarra for the pole and take the prefinal win. Many of the Super Pipe competitors sat out the prefinal not wanting to burn off a $200 set of rain tires if it was going to clear up for the final. Koop kept the Sunday sweep alive by winning the final over Giumarra and Terry Nash for his first Super Pipe win of the year.
Senior PRD saw an influx of entries this weekend and it was a welcomed sight. Bobby Kelley got the ball rolling Saturday with a time of 42.122 in qualifying that was good enough for the pole. Seeing how many trophies this kid brought home at the banquet it is never surprising to see him up front. Kolby Araki gave chase in the prefinal, but Kelley was just a bit out of reach. The same held true in the final. Kelley got a nice start while Araki was forced to battle with Devin Lindsey for 2nd place. Kelly pulled out a gap quickly and that was more than enough to keep it rolling to the checkered flag. Once in the clear Araki made forward progress, but the best he could claim was 2nd. Matt Johnson moved up to claim a podium position for the first time this year after scrapping with Lindsey and Araki.
Sunday’s PRD runs combined with TAG Masters. Devin Lindsey and Jerry Henderson were the day’s pole sitters, Henderson being in TAG Masters. Henderson put a lap on the field in the wet prefinal and was a clear favorite heading into the afternoon final. Lindsey too seemed to be on his game in the semi wet conditions, and since we were in Vegas I’d bet that they didn’t make many changes to their setups for the final. Lindsey had no troubles in the final and capped off his weekend with a solid performance and the race win. Ariel Jimenez was in the hunt all day long, but Bobby Kelley managed to get by her and take 2nd place. Jimenez held on for 3rd. Masters TAG was also a repeat performance by Henderson who bested Ron Honsaker and James Rich.
The fourth installment of the IKF Region 7 Championship Series presented by Bridgestone will be at Grangé Motor Circuit and hosted by Tri-C Kart Club April 9-11. Entry forms are online @ Tri-C and IKF’s websites, and in the February issue of Go Racing Magazine (print and virtual). The winter/spring series then comes to a close the last week in April at CalSpeed. |
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