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| August 04, 2012 News |
| EKN Trackside: WKA Manufacturers Cup Series - KartLift Nationals - Saturday Report |
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 | Mason Chelootz scored two wins on the day, including a dominant victory in Komet Heavy
(Photo: Sean Buur - Go Racing Magazine) |
The opening day of racing at the KartLift Nationals for the WKA Manufacturers Cup Series was a wild one. Racing around the Concept Haulers Motor Speedway in Norway, Illinois was fierce as the championship battles enter the fifth stage of the season. With every point vital, drivers are taking every effort to perform as best as possible. The weather played a major factor on the events of the day. Warm temperatures hit the area until a storm front rolled in just after the completion of the TaG Final. A number of tents were wrecked due to heavy rain and strong winds. Thankfully, everyone survived with no real injuries other than a few lost E-Z ups. A number of drivers stood out on the day, including Mason Chelootz, earning two victories on the day. Tommy Andersen put in a solid performance to score the win in TaG. The Yamaha SuperCan action brought back memories of the old hard-fought days. Ashley Rogero and Austin Osborne came from behind for their Junior wins and the Verhagen brothers each took home a victory.
TSRacing.com Komet Heavy
Four-straight race winner Mason Chelootz (Top Kart) continued his run at the front of the Komet Heavy field, earning yet another Streeter Super Stands pole award with his 48.311-second lap. He led all eight laps of the Prefinal, leading Patrick Olsen (Birel) by just over two tenths. The rest of the field finished as they started, with Nick Stagl (Merlin) in third, Jimmy Clark - racing for Nicky Defronzo in his CRG kart - in fourth with Jarrett Duncovich (CRG) finishing fifth.
Chelootz dominated the day as he has throughout the year, pulling out to a near four second advantage in the Final for the Team Top Kart USA driver earning his fifth victory of the season. Olsen held second to remain the top challenger in the point chase, baring any un-droppable events at the series finale with Chelootz. Clark moved up to third over Stagl as James Brock (Birel) rounded out the top-five.
RLV Tuned Exhaust Products Cadet Sportsman
 | Ashley Rogero came from 10th on the grid to earn the victory in Komet Jr. Heavy
(Photo: Sean Buur - Go Racing Magazine) |
Brandon Lemke (Merlin) was the driver to beat throughout the day in the Cadet Sportsman category. Looking to pick up his first class win on the year, he led the qualifying session and drove to the win in the Prefinal, edging out Giovanni Bromante (Birel). In the 14-lap Final, it came down to Lemke with Jared Cordova (Birel) and Braden Eves (PCR). Bromante was involved in a wreck after lap one, retiring early. Lemke took back the lead as they received the white flag and extended out to a three kart gap running down the back straight. As they reached turn seven, Cordova got a huge run and ducked inside of Lemke. He took over the lead and held it to the checkered flag for his second win of the season, extending his point lead. Eves was able to work past Lemke for second in the final corners. Neil Verhagen (Haase) finished fourth with Anthony Gangi Jr. (Tony Kart) in fifth.
Orlando Kart Center Komet Jr. Heavy
Georgia driver Skylar Robinson (Tony Kart) led the way in the Streeter Super Stands qualifying session with a fast lap of 47.730 seconds. Austin McCusker (Haase) was second, just 29 thousandths off his pace with Grant Quinlan (Birel), Kyle Kirkwood (Arrow) and Kyle Kalish (Merlin) all within a tenth of Robinson. Robinson led the way in the Prefinal with McCusker shuffled back outside the top-five during the opening lap, allowing Ashley Rogero (Tony Kart) to jumped up. Lap six, Quinlan looked for a way by Robinson for the lead, but he checked up and in doing so, Kirkwood had no where to go and contact was made. That shuffled up the group at the front with Robinson followed by Kalish, McCusker and California driver Jake Craig (Formula K). Kalish got a run on the final lap down the back straight, taking over the lead and scoring the win. Robinson was second with McCusker, Craig and Quinlan rounding out the top-five. Kirkwood would fall to 20th in the order.
Kalish and Robinson led the field to the green flag for the 14-lap final. They ran up front until contact dropped Kalish down the order after lap three, falling out of the top-five. That gave Robinson a solid lead with Rogero on the charge, knifing her way up to second by lap six, followed by Mike McAndrews (Birel), who started 12th. By the halfway point, Kalish had worked his way back into the top-five, moving up to fourth with Ryan Raffa (Top Kart) holding the fifth position. Robinson’s lead was shrinking with Rogero still pushing while McAndrews and Kalish battled. McAndrews lost ground as he spun on lap nine at turn seven with Kalish on his bumper. Completing lap 10, Rogero was on the bumper of Robinson, and made quick work to take the lead through turn four. Rogero stretch out to a 2.2-second advantage for the second victory of the season in the Ocala Gran Prix entry. Robinson held off a late charge from Kalish to finish second, his best result of the season. Quinlan finished fourth with Raffa ending up in fifth, his best performance in the class this year. Kirkwood put in a great drive, coming up to ninth from the 20th position to keep him in the title hunt.
Franklinkart.com TaG
 | Tommy Andersen laid down a solid outing in TaG to stand P1 on the podium
(Photo: Sean Buur - Go Racing Magazine) |
Top qualifier Sam Beasley (Arrow) and Tommy Andersen (Kosmic) led the way in the chaotic eight lap Prefinal event. The two pulled away from the field by a good margin as they battled hard behind them for position. Each took a turn at the point with Beasley coming away with the win over Andersen. Chris Wehrheim (Top Kart) moved up to third with Raquel Martinez (Top Kart) up to fourth from seventh. Mason Chelootz (Top Kart) started second but fell outside the top-five early on, working his way back to fifth by the checkered. He would however be penalized three positions for an on-track incident, moving Jacob Knueven (Arrow) into fifth and Chelootz back to eighth.
Beasley led things early in the 14-lap Final until Andersen worked by for position to assume the point. Little by little, he stretched out his lead up to seven tenths by the halfway point with Beasley under fire from Wehrheim. Knueven held fourth after battling with Martinez until she retired on lap four. Chelootz was running his fast laps of the race running in fifth, working past Knueven on lap nine. Lap 10, Beasley began to slow and eventually spun in turn three with an axle issue. Andersen continued to stretch his lead, going on to earn his first victory of the season by a seven-second margin - putting him in the title chase. The fight for second came down to the wire with Wehrheim, Chelootz and Knueven. Chelootz came off the final corner, breaking his chain and sending the rest of the field behind him jostling for position. As they crossed the line, Wehrheim was second with Knueven in third. TJ Koyen (Merlin) came in fourth with Robby Seward (Zanardi) in fifth. A side note, most of the drivers were running the Parilla Leopard engine, with Chelootz the only Rotax-powered entry.
Comet Kart Sales Yamaha Sportsman
 | Neil Verhagen swept the action in Yamaha Sportsman
(Photo: Sean Buur - Go Racing Magazine) |
Mike Doty Racing driver Neil Verhagen (Haase) led the way in the Yamaha Sportsman qualifying session, posting a fast lap of 52.214 seconds. J3 Competition driver Michael d’Orlando (Kosmic) was just 81 thousandths off his time as they led the field to the green flag for the eight lap Prefinal. Verhagen was in a battle for the win with d’Orlando and Brandon Lemke (Merlin), up from sixth on the grid. At the line, Verhagen scored the win by just over 61 thousandths in front of d’Orlando. Lemke was a close third with Zach Holden (Arrow) and Leonardo Stoia (PCR) rounding out the top-five.
The Yamaha Sportsman class was the first group to hit the track after the rain delay and negotiated the opening corners clean and without any issues. Verhagen continued to lead with d’Orlando and Lemke on his bumper. Verhagen held the point to the end, pressured hard by Lemke the entire 14 laps. They went side-by-side to the checkered but Verhagen pulled off the victory for his first of the season in the class. d’Orlando settled for a close third behind Lemke while Jared Cordova (Birel) had a sensational run from 11th to fourth, edging out Stoia for the position. Point leader Holden fell back to ninth in the final tally.
New Jersey Sprint Series Yamaha Rookie Sportsman
Five-time race winner Alex Verhagen (Haase) led things in the Yamaha Rookie Sportsman qualifying session, posting a 53.172-second lap to secure the pole position. He secured a wire-to-wire win in the Prefinal, just edging out Max Kaeser (PCR) by 57-thousandths of a second. Connor Ferris (Top Kart) was third with Nic Sheppard (PCR) fourth and Samuel Pauley (PCR) up from ninth to fifth. Verhagen clinched his sixth victory of the season to put him in the lead for the championship. Navigating the wet track, Alex drove to a three-second advantage after 14 laps. Sam Mayer (Merlin) drove an impressive second place, coming from ninth on the grid. Kaeser was third with Mark J. Fineis (Birel) and Kaylen Frederick (PCR), all the way from 21st to steal the fifth spot on the final lap.
Woltjer Racing Engines Yamaha Jr. Lite
 | Brother Alex Verhagen did the same in Yamaha Rookie
(Photo: Sean Buur - Go Racing Magazine) |
Mike McAndrews (Birel) led the way in qualifying, just as he finished at the South Bend round, posting a 48.769-second lap. Derek Dignan (Arrow) was second in the session, getting the jump at the start of the eight lap Prefinal. He led into turn seven when fellow Arrow driver Kyle Kirkwood got into the back of him entering the corner. Dignan spun around and fell down the order, eventually finishing 14th. Kirkwood would be black-flagged off the track a few laps later, putting him to the back of the field for the main event. McAndrews took back the lead and went on to win by 1.3 seconds over Ashley Rogero (Tony Kart). Mike Doty Racing driver Brandon Jarsocrak (Haase) jumped up five position into third, Kyle Kalish (Merlin) up to fourth from tenth and Grant Quinlan (Birel) rounding out the top-five.
McAndrews brought the field down to the green flag with Rogero on the outside of row one for the Final. She would get shuffled back in the opening corners and then went off-track to avoid a spinning kart, dropping all the way to the back of the field. McAndrews continued on to stretch out a solid lead early with Quinlan and Jarsocrak fighting for second position. The driver on the move was Texan Austin Osborne (Birel), starting eighth and into third by the halfway point, trailing Quinlan with Kalish and Garrett Johnston (Top Kart) in the hunt with Jarsocrak losing ground. Lap 12 Osborne was able to close up on McAndrews and make a pass through turn seven. The MKP driver would extend his advantage to 1.6 seconds for his first victory of the season and first trip to the podium. Quinlan was able to work around his MRP Motorsport teammate McAndrews for the second position to make it a Birel 1-2-3 finish. Johnston got sideways in turn three and thankfully Kalish hit him straight while trying to slide by. The two continued on but lost a position each to Jarsocrak with Johnston winning the final podium position.
Grand Products/Top Kart Parilla Leopard
Indiana driver Jacob Knueven (Arrow) recorded the fastest lap of the Parilla Leopard qualifying session. His 45.793-second circuit was quickest of the session, edging Sam Beasley (Arrow) and Mark Boos (Top Kart) by less than a tenth. Knueven was shuffled back at the start of the Prefinal, allowing Beasley to take over the lead. He would be run down by Top Kart drivers Mason Chelootz and Chris Wehrheim, and continued to fall back until the white flag when his chain snapped off. Chelootz went on to score the win ahead of Wehrheim with Raquel Martinez making it a Top Kart 1-2-3 finish. TJ Koyen (Merlin) finished fourth with Logan Bearden (Haase) up to fifth from 12th.
 | Austin Osborne qualified 17th and worked his way forward to earn victory in Yamaha Jr. Lite
(Photo: Sean Buur - Go Racing Magazine) |
The Parilla Leopard Final was the first class to return back on dry Bridgestone tires with Chelootz and Wehrheim leading the way. Martinez was unable to fire on the command and gave up her third spot on the grid, allowing Bearden and chance to move forward and did so, up to second after the opening lap. Wehrheim fell back and eventually retired early with a dragging rear bumper. Championship contender Robert Bujdoso (PCR) was on the charge as well, up to third from ninth with Koyen and Darin Marcus - running for Calvin Stewart in his Merlin machine - in fifth. They would run that way to the checkered flag with no drama as Chelootz earned his first class victory of the season to extend his point lead. Bearden recorded his best finish of the year in second with Bujdoso, Koyen and Marcus rounding out the podium.
Yamaha SuperCan Lite
Collin Griffin (Arrow) led the field to the green flag for the eight lap Prefinal after securing the pole position in the Streeter Super Stands qualifying session. He and Jimmy Clark (CRG) filled up the front row and was joined up front early on by Tony Jump (Margay). Jump worked his way up to the point but went wide in turn four, allowing both Griffin and Clark by for position. Patrick Olsen (Birel) passed Jump as well and eventually closed up on the leaders. The final lap was a wild one as the leaders bunched up in turn seven, and contact continued on through the rest of the field and into the final corners. Griffin took the win over Olsen with Cody Robinson (Arrow) crossing third ahead of Michael Prokup Jr. (Tony Kart) and Adam Crepin (Merlin). Robinson however was removed from the results for a tech issue. Jump was involved in some of the contact, and he was moved back 18th in the order for his actions.
 | Jimmy Clark won the battle in Yamaha SuperCan Lite
(Photo: Sean Buur - Go Racing Magazine) |
Griffin and Olsen were able to break away early in the 14-lap Final, holding over a two second advantage after the first four laps. Behind them was a battle for position with Crepin leading the train of karts, including Clark, Jump and James Brock (Birel). The top two drivers battled for position and began to see their lead shrink with Clark now in third and closing in with Jump and Crepin trailing. Lap 10, the top-five lost one of the drivers as Jump lost his right rear tire entering turn seven, ending a tough day for him early. With four laps to go, Clark had closed on the front two, making it a three kart battle for the win. Coming to the white flag, Clark leap-frogged them both through the Monza and then entering the bridge corner to take the lead. From there, he held off a late charge from Olsen to secure his second straight class victory. Olsen settled for the runner-up position, his second of the season. Griffin finished third with Brock able to move pass Crepin for fourth.
Adkins Speed Center Komet Sportsman
Three drivers from qualifying led things and continued their run at the front in the Prefinal. Brandon Lemke (Merlin) was the top qualifier, followed by Leonardo Stoia (PCR) and David Malukas (Birel). They traded positions in the eight lap run with Malukas scoring the win over Stoia and Lemke. Garrett Moran (Birel) was fourth with Austin Schaff (Merlin) up from eighth to fifth. The same three continued on in the 14-lap Final with Malukas at the point. As they shuffled for position, it brought in Zach Holden (Arrow) into the fight. On lap six, Malukas was freight-trained and fell back to the fourth spot as they formed two packs of two out front. Eventually, Holden ran some quick laps to close back up on the leaders to make it another three-driver tandem. On the final lap, with Stoia running a defensive line, Holden took advantage to steal second as they entered the Monza corner. As the made the jump over the tunnel, Holden stuck his nose on the inside of Stoia and the two ran side-by-side to the line. At the checkered, Holden got help from Lemke on his bumper and edged out Stoia to the line first by 0.072-seconds. Malukas settled for fourth with Braden Eves (PCR) coming from 16th all the way to fifth for a podium finish.
DRT Racing TaG Masters
 | Scott Ferris won his fourth TaG Masters feature in five races
(Photo: Sean Buur - Go Racing Magazine) |
Scott Ferris (Top Kart) earned his fourth victory of the season in TaG Masters with a sweep in the day’s action. Ferris posted a 46.448-second lap to secure the pole position by over two tenths ahead of Jeff Jewell (Margay). They ran 1-2 in the Prefinal and it was a carbon copy in the Final. Ferris drove away to nearly a five-second advantage after the 14 laps. Behind them was an endurance race filled with attrition. John Ferris III (Top Kart) was third with Chuck Tate (Arrow) and Kim Carapellatti (PCR) completing the top-five.
eKartingNews.com will be Trackside once again for Sunday’s action. The regular posting of the top-10 from each on-track session will be posted to the Official Event Discussion thread in the EKN forums. Follow updates a photos of all the winners on the weekend at our Facebook and Twitter accounts, so be sure to like and follow both to keep up-to-date as the day unfolds. Also, WKA will be providing their live coverage through their website worldkarting.com/index.php/live |
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