|
 |
|
 |
| April 21, 2012 News |
| EKN Trackside: SKUSA Pro Tour MG Tires SpringNationals - Saturday Report |
| |
 | Phil DeLaO dominated the TaG Senior proceedings of day one
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
The first round of the Superkarts! USA Pro Tour SpringNationals provided a day full of action and excitement around the PKRA Formula K Raceway in Phoenix, AZ. Heat was a major factor on the day with temperatures reaching over 100 degrees for much of the day. The SKUSA staff dug dip, working a long 12-hour day to make sure all the full action went into the books. On-track, the story was a day of first-time winners, as all eight feature victors earned their first Pro Tour Main Event trophy. In the headline categories, Phil DeLaO walked away with the TaG Senior category for a perfect point day while Joey Wimsett outran the veterans in S1 for his debut win.
DRT Racing TaG Senior
A record-breaking total of 43 drivers opened up the 2012 season for the TaG Senior division. With the massive amount of drivers, the field was randomly split into two groups for qualifying. Arizona driver Phil DeLaO laid down a monster lap in the first group, with no one able to match his pace. Quicker by over three-tenths in the timed session, DeLaO continued the torrid pace as the day wore on. Untouched in the two heat races with wins by more than three seconds, DeLaO went wire-to-wire for a near nine-second victory in his Pro Tour debut. SKUSA #3 plate holder Matt Johnson (Energy) appeared to be the top challenger, but a electrical issue on his engine put him on the sideline in the Main Event. As the race continued, it was Canadian Remo Ruscitti (Italkart) up to the second position. His teammate Michael Valiante (Italkart) was holding third until Shawn Cricca (FA Kart), up from 12th on the grid, worked around to steal the final podium position. Valiante finished fourth with TaG Senior sophomore Austin Elliott (Top Kart) finishing fifth.
Extreme Karting/Vemme Kart S1 Pro Stock Moto
The 2012 season will be a year of new faces at the front of the S1 Pro category. The opening round witnessed its first new victor as class rookie Joey Wimsett (CRG) came through at the end to score his first S1 win. Fellow rookie Jake French (Birel) dropped down the quickest lap of the qualifying session with 2010 champion Fritz Leesmann (CRG) in second. Leesmann used his experience to take over the point, leading the way in both heat races. Wimsett qualified sixth, working his way to second by the end of heat two, lining up off-pole for the Main Event. With the holeshot, Wimsett led the way for the first time with Leesmann slotting in behind. The two matched each others lap times until the final few laps when Leesmann laid down the pressure. A bold pass attempt into turn eight left Leesmann losing some ground to Wimsett. At the line, Wimsett held on for his first S1 victory by just under two-tenths ahead of Leesmann. Defending champion Daniel Bray (GP) ran a solid championship-like day, trailing the lead duo to finish on the third step of the podium. SKUSA #3 plate holder Lukas Johnson (Exprit) backed up his 2011 performance with a fourth place effort to start out the year as 2011 S2 champion Kyle Hathcox (GP) drove to fifth in his S1 debut.
 | Joey Wimsett was consistent all day, helping to propel him to the front in the S1 field for the Main Event win
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
CRG-USA S2 Semi-Pro Stock Moto
Cody Tracy (Tony Kart) was the driver everyone was watching after qualifying. Placing seventh in the timed session, he was the driver on the move from the green lights to start heat one. Advancing to third in heat one, a second place finish in heat two put the Utah driver on the front row for the main event. Tracy grabbed the holeshot to begin the 20-lap main event and was hounded by top qualifier and heat one winner Sabré Cook (CRG) with Billy Musgrave (Arrow) trailing. They would run that way the entire time, each pressuring one another, but Tracy’s consistent pace at the end helped him extend to a 1.1-second margin of victory in his S2 Pro Tour debut. Cook held off Musgrave for a great opening day by both. Unfortunately for Musgrave, he was removed in tech for the an engine issue. California’s Matias Podboj (CRG) was another driver getting quicker as the day went on, advancing up to fourth in the main event, and then to the podium with the DQ. Heat two winner Christian Bird (GP) moved to fourth with Arizona driver Augie Lerch (Intrepid).
Phil Giebler Racing S4 Master Stock Moto
It was a wild start to the Pro Tour S4 Master category as the front of the field seemed to be the most unwanted position until the Main Event. Lance Lane (DR Kart) began as the top qualifier on the day, but his opening heat race ended with a DNF. Trevor McAlister (Praga) drove to the win in heat one, but a false start sent him to row four and in the pack, later to fall back to 19th in the order after contact. This put PP Mastro (CRG) on the pole position for the feature race with Robert Marks (CRG) off-pole. Mastro would grab the holeshot but was hounded from the start by Curtis Cooksey (CRG). The former S1 driver, now making his Pro Tour S4 debut, finally took over the lead after the halfway point. Contact ended Mastro’s day on lap 17, with Jordon Musser (Birel) trying to move up the podium. Marks pulled off the same lap with a mechanical issue. This gave Cooksey a clean run to the victory with Eddie Olpin (Kosmic) up to second and Willy Musgrave (Arrow) to third, as they were both able to cash in on all the contact and attrition throughout the field. Chris Jennings (Birel) powered through to fourth with fellow Texas Mike Smith (CRG) rounding out the top-five.
 | Utah driver Cody Tracy climb from seventh in qualifying to score the victory in his S2 debut
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
Full Throttle Karting TaG Master
Coming off a solid winter season, Paul Bonilla (Arrow) kicked off his Pro Tour season with a near perfect performance on Saturday. It seemed the heat got to most of the field, with a number of incidents in the heat races and Main Event. Qualifying second, Bonilla converted that into two convincing wins and drove away to a four-second victory in the Main Event. SKUSA #2 plate holder David Harwin (Tony Kart) was the top qualifier and was demoted to the lead challenger. Running second for most of the feature race, Harwin fell fourth as Jim Russell Jr. (Parolin) and Chuck Gafrarar (Parolin) made a great late charge to take the final two spots in the podium. That was provisional as Russell came into the scales underweight, thus moving Chuck G to second and Harwin back on the podium. SKUSA #3 plate holder Larry Fraser (CRG) moved up to fourth with Chris Koster (Parolin) placing fifth in his Pro Tour debut.
Italian Motors USA TaG Junior
A number of different drivers took their turn at the front of the TaG Junior field during the opening round of the Pro Tour. In the end, it was Pro Tour rookie Luke Selliken (Kosmic) that conquered the 27-driver field for the victory. Selliken was gifted the pole position after local driver Pete Yerkovich (Intrepid) was removed from the provisional spot with an engine issue in tech. Some great racing took place in heat one with Austin Versteeg (CRG) escaping the race with the win. Carter Williams (Tony Kart) was the next one to show the way, scoring the win in heat two. Selliken was consistent, finishing third in both motos. The main event was a great battle of the top-three with a number of exchanges for the lead early. Toward the end, Selliken established himself as the top driver. Selliken was able to hold off Williams for the victory by two-tenths at the line. Brendan Baker (CRG) capped off the podium with a solid third place run as he trailed the top two. Versteeg ran to fourth with Christian Brooks (Energy) scoring fifth in his TaG Junior debut.
 | Pro Tour rookie Luke Selliken broke through for the win in TaG Junior
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
Innovative Karting S5 Junior Stock Moto
It was a local show at the front of the S5 Junior field with Micah Hendricks (Praga) and Jim McKinney (Intrepid) running 1-2. McKinney led throughout the day, qualifying P1 and winning both heat races over Hendricks. In the Main Event, McKinney grabbed the holeshot but it was Hendricks who would be the quicker of the two. Working by for the lead in the second half of the day, Hendricks scored his first Pro Tour victory by two-tenths over McKinney. SKUSA #3 plate holder Ryan Rudolph (CRG) had an up-and-down day, coming through in the end to score a third place podium finish. Carter Williams (Tony Kart) ran fourth with Jarred Campbell (Intrepid) fifth.
Leading Edge Motorsports TaG Cadet
If the first round of the TaG Cadet is any preview to what the season will bring, the 2012 season is going to be an interesting year. After seeing one driver dominate the entire season, the battle for round one supremacy was very unpredictable as it came down to the final few corners. At the checkered flag, Hunter Corbitt (Top Kart) went from third to first in the final few corners for the victory. Local drivers Jackson Logsdon (Tony Kart) and Jagger Jones (Tony Kart) showed the way in the qualifying session. As seen in most Cadet categories, the lead pack shuffled around with some great racing at the front. Corbitt won heat one with Anthony Sawyer (DR Kart) winning heat two. A lead group of five formed for the Main Event as they shuffled around for 16 laps. On the final lap, Sawyer, Kelly and Corbitt battled through the final corners. As they exited turn 12, Corbitt was into second and then slide into the lead as they went through turn 13. At the line, Corbitt scored the victory over Kelly and Sawyer. Sting Ray Robb (Tony Kart) was fourth with Logsdon in fifth. |
|
|
Go Top
|
|
|
|
|
