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| August 24, 2012 News |
| Laukaitis, Malukas, and McAndrews Double at Badger Route 66 Series |
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 | Kyle Gluth won the Komet Senior class
(Photo: Joe Brittin) |
The Margay/Bridgestone Route 66 Sprint Series presented by L&T Manufacturing and Russell Karting Specialties made a visit to the recently renamed Briggs and Stratton Raceway Park for Round Five on August 18th and 19th in Dousman, Wis. The event, sponsored by DRT Racing, was hosted by the Badger Kart Club which has held kart racing at the facility since 1959. 208 entries competed over the weekend under clear skies and comfortable weather.
Three drivers were able to capture double class wins over the weekend with Jordan Laukaitis winning Yamaha Supercan Lite and Heavy, Mike McAndrews winning Junior Lite and Komet Junior, and David Malukas winning Yamaha Sportsman I and II.
A big thank you goes out to the Badger Kart Club members who volunteered their time to stage this event and for hosting the free cookout held on Saturday after the racing. The Badger Kart Club also provided beautiful eagle trophies for first place and mirror-plaques for the top five in each class. Tim Koyen did an excellent job of announcing the races on Saturday.
The Komet Senior class was chosen to compete in the Mad Dog Dash for Cash sponsored by CRG Mid-West at this event. The top four qualifiers in the Komet Senior class competed in a four-lap dash for a $100 cash prize and event winner’s T-shirt. The inverted start had Brad Brittin and Josh Hotz on the front-row, along with Kyle Gluth and Christian Besasie in row two. Brittin took the lead into turn one and lead for the first two laps. Gluth and Hotz worked by the Brittin on lap three, with Gluth holding on for the win and the claiming the cash.
The first final racing on Saturday was the Hollywood Crane Service Kid Kart I Championship class. Fast qualifier Mason Maine and Tate Steinman paced the start with Maine taking the lead into turn one. Steinmann remained glued to Maine’s bumper for most of the race until lapped traffic separated the two at the finish. Maine took the win by 1.6 seconds over Steinmann, with Talan Drake running in third about seven seconds back. Camrin Cass and Joey Varco rounded out the top-five.
Next up was the Komet Senior class final sponsored by Jet Karting. Fast qualifier and pre-final winner Christian Besasie paced the start of the final along side of Josh Hotz. The top-five of Kyle Gluth, Besasie, Nick Stagl, Hotz and Michael Haggar battled up front for most of the race. Gluth (Birel) was able to hold off Besasie for the win by 1.227 seconds.
The next class racing was the CKT Racing Engines Yamaha Rookie Lite class with 11 entries. Pre-final winner and fast qualifier Sam Mayer lined up alongside of Carter Cass at the start. Mayer took the lead into turn one followed by Cass, Kyle Thome and Blake Bauman. Mayer spun about mid-race, dropping him back in the field. Cass and Bauman battled for the win with Cass (Merlin) holding off Bauman by just .254 seconds at the finish. Thome, Mayer and Cohle Santiago rounded out the top-five at the finish.
 | Mike McAndrews won the Yamaha Junior Lite and Heavy classes
(Photo: Joe Brittin) |
The Yamaha Junior Lite class sponsored by Comet Kart Sales was up next with 14 entries. The final was paced by pre-final winner Jeremy Klein and Mike McAndrews. Klein led the first few laps, until McAndrews was able to pass him in turn four. Michael Geringer and Emily Hulbert worked their way into the front pack of four but McAndrews (Birel) was able to pull away to a slight advantage of .688 seconds at the finish for the win. Geringer, Klein, Hulbert and Kenlen Morse rounded out the top-five.
The Franklin Motorsports TAG I Senior class staged next with fast qualifier and pre-final winner Kyle Kalish pacing the start along side of Scott Kopp. Kalish and Kopp gradually pulled away from the rest of the field while a tight battle for third took place between Adam Crepin, Kindra Hulbert, Colton Ramsey, and Michael Haggar. Kalish (Merlin) was able to hold off Kopp by .397 seconds at the finish followed by Hulbert, Crepin and Ramsey. Matthew Laukaitis (Margay) took the win in the Senior PRD TAG Controlled I division sponsored by PRD-USA/RLV over Aaron Snyder and Justin Vancil also competing in this class.
The Triple E Sales Yamaha Sportsman I class was up next with a large field of 22 entries, paced by the Merlins of Austin Shaff and Brandon Lemke. David Malukas moved to the lead by turn four on the first lap. On lap three, the race was red flagged when the karts of Stephen Dial and Gregory Della tangled with Dial getting upside down. After the restart, Dillon Schwanbeck worked his way into the second position behind Malukas with Brandon Lemke and Shaff also in the front pack. At the finish, Schwanbeck took the win over Malukas, however post-race tech disqualified Schwanbeck handing the win to Malukas (Birel). Lemke, Shaff, Thayne Chapin and Robby Linnell rounded out the top-five.
The last final of the day was the Laukaitis Racing Yamaha Supercan Heavy class with 16 entries. The Yamaha Masters group also lined up at the back of this race. Pre-final winner Colton Ramsey and Jordan Laukaitis led the field to the green flag. Ramsey led the first two laps, with the Laukaitis brothers, Jordan and Matthew close behind. Ramsey and Jordan Laukaitis swapped the lead several times, as Darin Marcus and Adam Crepin worked their way into the front pack. About mid-race, Ramsey climbed wheels with Matthew Laukaitis dropping Ramsey back a few spots. Marcus worked his way to the point next as he and Jordan Laukaitis battled for the lead. The front three of Laukaitis, Marcus and Laukaitis pulled away from the pack with Jordan Laukaitis (Merlin) holding off Marcus by .166 seconds for the win followed by Matthew Laukaitis in third place. Collin Griffin and Jimmy Clark finished fourth and fifth after working their way up from the rear of the field.
 | Jordan Laukaitis won the Yamaha Supercan Lite and Heavy classes
(Photo: Joe Brittin) |
At the Sunday driver’s meeting, a set of Bridgestone YLC tires was given away to Austin Pohjola in a drawing sponsored by Margay/Bridgestone. After one round of practice, eight classes of racing took place with 10-lap pre-finals and 16-lap finals. Ekartingnews.com’s Rob Howden and Tim Koyen announced the races on Sunday, providing very interesting commentary and added a professional atmosphere to the event.
The first final racing on Sunday was the Adkins Speed Center Yamaha Supercan Lite class with 19 entries. Pre-final winner and fast qualifier Darin Marcus and Colton Ramsey paced the start. Marcus led the first lap and Jordan Laukaitis moved to the point on lap two. Marcus dropped out of the race on lap six, leaving
Ramsey and Laukaitis battling for the win. Laukaitis (Merlin) held of Ramsey by .303 seconds for the win with Jimmy Clark, Collin Griffin and Matthew Laukaitis finishing in the top-five. Griffin set the fastest race lap at 40.249. In the Yamaha Masters division, Dave Timmermann took the win over Clair Ruenger by 6.5 seconds.
The Hollywood Crane Service Kid Kart II Championship class was racing next paced by pre-final winner Mason Maine. Much like Saturday, the battle up front was between Maine, Tate Steinman, and Talan Drake. Steinmann took command of the lead on lap three and was able to hold off Maine by just .105 seconds at the finish. Drake, Austin Pohjola and Conner Churchill rounded out the top-five.
Next up was the Switch Racing Engines Yamaha Sportsman II class. The 15 kart field was paced by Austin Shaff and Alex Bertagnoli. By the third lap, David Malukas had worked his way to the point, with Shaff glued to his bumper. The next pack of Riley Yates, Thayne Chapin, Bertagnoli, and Brandon Lemke were battling for the third position. Malukas (Birel) was able to hold off Shaff by just .082 seconds to sweep the Yamaha Sportsman classes over the weekend. Lemke, Chapin and Dillon Schwanbeck rounded out the top-five.
Next up was the TAG II Senior class sponsored by Kart Lift paced by fast qualifier and pre-final winner Adam Crepin and Kindra Hulbert. Hulbert quickly moved to the lead with Crepin, Colton Ramsey, and Michael Haggar close behind. Hulbert led for most of the race although Crepin took the lead back several times. Hulbert held off Crepin at the finish by .278 seconds followed by Haggar, Nicky DeFronzo, and Colton Ramsey. Scott Kopp set the fastest race lap at 37.168.
Next up was the Express Karts & Parts Komet Sportsman class with 16 entries. Fast qualifier and pre-final winner Alex Bertagnoli paced the start along side of Brandon Lemke. The race was red flagged on lap two due to scoring problems. After the restart, Brandon Lemke took the lead followed by Bertagnoli and David Malukas. The front trio began to pull away from the next pack of Dillon Schwanbeck, Thayne Chapin, and Gregory Della. Lemke (Merlin) was able to hold off Malukas by just .016 seconds at the finish followed closely by Bertagnoli. Schwabeck and Chapin rounded out the top-five in a race that required manual scoring.
The Yamaha Junior Heavy class sponsored by Woltjer Racing Engines was up next with 14 entries. Pre-final winner Mike McAndrews and Robby McQuinn paced the start. McAndrews took the lead into turn three followed by Jeremy Klein. Michael Geringer, Christian Ledesma, Kenlan Morse, and Emily Hulbert ran in the next pack. McAndrews (Birel) gradually stretched his lead out to 1.47 seconds at the finish with Geringer, Ledesma, Klein, and Morse claiming the top-five positions. Christian Ledesma set the fastest race lap at 39.76.
The last final racing on Sunday was the Yamaha Rookie Heavy class sponsored by Two Cycle Technology. Fast qualifier and pre-final winner Carter Cass paced the start along side of Kyle Thome. Preston Lemm ran off of turn one at the start into the crash pillows. Cass and Cohle Santiago got together in turn three on lap three ending Cass’s race. The front trio of Thome, Sam Mayer, and Blake Bauman pulled away from the field to race for the win. Thome (Merlin) took the win by .586 seconds over Mayer with Bauman, Maks Kowalski, and Caden Paskiewicz rounding out the top-five.
Merlin chassis captured the most wins over the weekend with eight followed by Birel (5) and Margay (1).
For the complete race results, visit http://www.mylaps.com
The next round of the series will be held at New Castle Motorsports Park on September 8th and 9th. Pre-entries must be post marked by August 26 to receive the discount. Friday practice will be available. All entrants will have a chance to win a set of Bridgestone YLC tires in a drawing held at the Sunday morning driver’s meeting. For more information about New Castle Motorsports Park visit http://www.newcastleraceway.com . For more information about the Route 66 Sprint Series, visit http://www.route66kartracing.com |
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