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| March 02, 2012 |
| Team News: Team CRG-USA Gain Improvements at Gatorz Challenge of the Americas |
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Team CRG-USA made the journey out of the cold winter in western Colorado for the second time on the young season to contest the Gatorz Challenge of the Americas event in Phoenix, Arizona this past weekend (February 24-26). The second stop of the international Rotax Max Challenge program is the early focus for the Grand Junction-based operation as the 2012 season starts and the warmer weather rolls. With seven drivers under the tent and a solid experienced staff at the helm, the weekend was a vast improvement from the opening weekend in Tucson with a total of four top-10 finishes.
“I’m really proud of the performances our drivers and crew had in Phoenix this past weekend. As a newly formed race team, we are still forming that strong communication process with our drivers that you need to have in order to be successful. We had three drivers in three different categories score top-10 finishes against very talented fields, so we are making strides. I can foresee a few podium finishes in our next trip to the series,” stated CRG-USA principal Stacey Cook.
 | Mianna Wick has developed each weekend with CRG-USA in only her second season in karting
(Photo: USKartingNews.com) |
Jake Craig led things for the Junior Max roster for CRG-USA. The Team USA 2011 member qualified sixth for start of action on Saturday, running as high as fourth in the heat race before losing a spot near the end to finish fifth. Contact at the start of the feature race however put Jake back to 11th in just the first few corners. With his CRG rolling fast, Craig advanced to the front of the second lead pack but would be unable to close up on the leaders, finishing fifth. The following day, Craig qualified ninth and finished 10th in the pre-main. Slowly working his way forward toward the top five in the main event, Craig was involved in an incident on lap 17, dropping him down the order roughly 10 positions. At the checkered flag, Craig ended up 18th. The rest of the Junior roster for CRG-USA continued to make strides under the guidance of veteran karters Alan Rudolph, Jesse Dunham and Troy Castaneda. Mianna Wick, in just her second year in the sport, recorded two finishes in the 22nd position. The twin sister tandem of Annie and Toni Breidinger did not record the finishes they hoped, but made great improvements in only their second weekend in the Junior category.
Recording her best result in series history, Senior Max driver Sabré Cook earned a 10th place finish to end her weekend. Qualifying 16th for Saturday’s action, she moved up two spots in the pre-main to end up 14th. Holding her ground in the first half of the feature, Cook was involved in an incident and eventually retired early with a severely damaged kart. Working with the experienced Kimball Williams on the weekend, Sunday saw Cook gain speed overnight and qualify 11th, going on to finish 10th in the heat race. Engaged in a battle among the second lead pack, Cook bounced her position around before settling into the tenth position to earn her best finish of the season. Fellow Colorado driver Ben Schermerhorn joined the squad in Phoenix for his first outing of the 2012 season. He would qualify 16th and despite losing a few spots in the prefinal, he gained them right back in the feature. His race however ended early after contact on lap 18. A tough qualifying session put him outside the top-25 but he fought his way forward against the tough field through the pre-main and feature to end the day 21st.
Mini Max drivers Evan Roshak and Riley Cook continued their on-track education at the national level. Both continue to improve behind the wheel and have a great time competing against some of the top drivers in the country. Roshak drove to ninth place finishes both days while Cook was 12th at the checkered flag for both main events.
 | Riley Cook continues to improve in the Mini Max category, placing 12th both days
(Photo: USKartingNews.com) |
Next on the docket for CRG-USA will be a trip southeast of Colorado to the Dallas area for the inaugural Texas Lone Star Grand Prix on March 16-18 for a rare street circuit around the famous Cotton Bowl stadium. Throughout 2012, the distributor of CRG and Maxter products will be focused on a full assault across the country for the race team while working with new and existing product dealers. CRG-USA is scheduled to support the Challenge of the Americas, Superkarts! USA Pro Tour, SKUSA ProKart Challenge, United States Rotax Max Challenge, Pan American Challenge event, and the SKUSA Mountain Region series. Any interested drivers looking to compete with CRG-USA for 2012 are asked to contact Stacey Cook at info@CRG-USA.com or phone 855-TEAMCRG. The CRG-USA is currently in development and will be available at http://www.crg-usa.com
About CRG-USA:
Located at the Grand Junction Motors Speedway in Colorado, CRG-USA is the newest importer for the CRG chassis brand and Maxter-Sonik Sport engine program. Operated by Stacey Cook, the company will focus their distribution and marketing on the western and central portion of the United States. In addition, the operation is fielding a national race team program through the 2012 season at all the major karting events on the year. If you want to race with the best product in karting, jump on board with CRG-USA today. Visit http://www.crg-usa.com or phone 855-TEAMCRG (832-6274). |
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