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| September 02, 2012 News |
| EKN Trackside: 2012 Rock Island Grand Prix - Sunday Report |
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Complete coverage can be found here
 | Connor Lund drove to two wins on the day, including the inaugural LO 206 victory
(Photo: Joe Brittin - Go Racing Magazine) |
The 2012 Rock Island Grand Prix was a year of firsts for a number of drivers over the Labor Day weekend. The city streets of Rock Island, Illinois hosted karters from all over North America to contest in the largest street race in the world. After battling wet weather on Saturday for practice and qualifying, Sunday brought on warm and dry conditions for the main events. Nine drivers conquered the Rock for the first time - including Mason Chelootz and Connor Lund earning two each. The fan-favorite King of the Streets event saw 2009 winner Jordon Musser earn his second career crown with a dominant performance.
Briggs & Stratton Motorsports LO206
Connor Lund (Arrow) became the first ever LO206 winner at the Rock Island Grand Prix. Starting from the pole position, he drove away to a nearly five second victory in just 15 laps. Cale Downs (Coyote) started second and held the position to the checkered flag. Scott Barnes (Birel) drove from 11th to third, getting a great jump at the drop of the green. Travis DeVriendt (Coyote) gained one position from his starting spot, while Jeff Stamper (Merlin) completed the top-five. In addition to his first ROCK trophy, Lund received a $500 check, K1 RaceGear jacket, Reflex gloves and Oakley eyewear.
AT&T TaG Senior
 | Mason Chelootz carried the checkered flag twice, his first coming in TaG Senior and second in Rotax
(Photo: Joe Brittin - Go Racing Magazine) |
EKN TaG Driver Rankings #1 driver Mason Chelootz certainly earned his first ROCK trophy with his performance in TaG Senior. Starting from 14th after a dismal qualifying run, getting into town just before qualifying, he knifed his way through the field for the victory. Colton Aldridge (Tony Kart) took the lead from pole sitter Alex Nowysz (Margay), as they settled into a solid lead with the rest of the field fighting for third. By lap three, Chelootz was into the top-10, reaching the top-five just a few laps later. Into third on lap seven, he began cutting into the lead the top two established. Lap 16, Chelootz was around Nowysz and sat on the bumper of Aldridge. On the final lap, Chelootz took the lead and the win. Aldridge was unable to complete the final lap, placing seventh. Nowysz crossed the line in second with Colorado’s Will Owen (Arrow) third. For the win, Chelootz cashed in with $250 and a Oakley sunglasses.
CBS4 Masters Shifter
Masters Shifter welcomed another first time winner as Lance Lane (DR Kart) finally secured his first Rock Island victory. He along with pole sitter Kurt Mathewson (Birel) and Chris Enderlein (Exprit) were well out in front for much of the race. Each took a turn at the point, Mathewson first, then Enderlein on lap six and Lane up to P1 on lap nine. As they were completing lap 14, both Mathewson and Enderlein went hard into the outside barriers, which brought out a red flag. Both were checked out and walked away with bumps and bruises, but both karts were a right off. Once the race resumed, Lane went on to earn his first ROCK trophy after five years, plus $250 and Oakley eyewear. Eric Chappell (Birel) took advantage of the restart, advancing up to second with Steve McCaffery (Birel) in third. Darrick Lang (Monza) finished fourth while Dave Doogan completed the top-five.
CBS4 Yamaha SuperCan Heavy
 | Lance Lane secured his first ROCK trophy in Masters Shifter
(Photo: Joe Brittin - Go Racing Magazine) |
The Yamaha SuperCan Heavy category came down to the 15th and final lap of the main event. The lead group was four early on with pole sitter Eric Bartsch (Birel) losing ground from the start with Tony Neilson (Margay), Tony Jump (Margay), Michael Dittmer (Margay) and Dustin Bloome (Margay). It became three when Bloome retired on lap five after contact with the turn one wall. Dittmer would go to the sidelines on lap 10 after he lost the can muffler. The fight became a duel as Jump kept on the bumper of Neilson until the final lap. Through turn four, Jump made his move and edged out Neilson by 79 thousandths for his first RIGP victory after roughly five years of trying. Tim Goettsch (Margay) was third with Tommy Andersen, piloting a Rick Jump Margay, finishing fourth in his first RIGP start. Garret Nimmick (Margay) rounded out the top-five. Jump also took home $250 and Oakley gear.
61 Kartway TaG Junior
Defending TaG Junior winner Chase Jones (Birel) started on the pole position and appeared to be in position for a second straight title. With four laps remaining, his engine had slid back enough that the chain popped off the driveline, ending his race early. This allowed Jesse Woodyard (Maranello) the opportunity out front. He would lead the field to the checkered flag for the provisional win. In tech however, Woodyard was removed for improper tires, handing the win to Dustin Stross (DR Kart), his first victory in his RIGP debut - earning $250 and Oakley eyewear. Bucky Hewitt (Birel) was moved to second with Nicholas Martin (Parolin) to third.
L&W Bedding 2-Cycle Open
 | Tony Jump executed a last lap pass to earn the RIGP checkered flag in Yamaha SuperCan Heavy
(Photo: Joe Brittin - Go Racing Magazine) |
The same Margay/IAME package that won the inaugural Pro Open category did so in 2012. This time, the beast was piloted by multi-time RIGP winner Caleb Loniewski. The Indiana driver qualified on the pole position in the wet and posted a fast lap of 32.621 seconds to secure the victory, adding $250 to his RIGP money total along with a new pair of Oakley sunglasses. Tony Jump piloted a boosted Margay/Leopard package to second place. Bill McLaughlin drove his Torq Racing Engines powered-Birel machine in third until he retired on lap 10. That moved Brennan Harrington (Kosmic), competing in the Open class for more track time to place third.
Casey’s General Stores King of the Streets
Jake French and Cordell Secrest sat on the front row to start the 2012 King of the Streets 20-lap event. French grabbed the holeshot with 2009 winner Jordon Musser (Birel) up to second after the first lap and Josh Lane (DR Kart) to third, up from eighth. Musser sat behind for a few laps before working around for the lead, brining Lane with him. Musser drove out to a solid lead with Lane fighting off French for second. By the halfway point, Musser’s lead was nearly two seconds. French would take over the second spot when Lane retired on lap 12 with an electrical issue. While French would be the faster of the two in the second half of the race, Musser ran consistent laps to score his second King of the Streets crown. French completed a 1-2 3G Kart Racing podium, the third straight for French in King of the Streets. Colton Aldridge (Tony Kart) drove to his second straight podium, placing third ahead of Secrest, who wrecked his chassis in warm-up, and Nicholas Lougee (Monza) in fifth. Along with the with crown, Musser earned $1,000 for his efforts and some new Oakley gear.
Schurr Power Racing Clone Heavy
 | Caleb Loniewski added to his RIGP win total, earning his first in the Pro Open category
(Photo: Joe Brittin - Go Racing Magazine) |
Clone Heavy was a great battle early on as a number of drivers made up the lead group. Cale Downs (Coyote) got the jump at the start of the 15-lap race with top spot exchanged a number of times. By lap six, Connor Lund (Arrow) found his way to the front and just drove away to three second win for his second ROCK of the day and putting his money total to $1,000 with another 500 bucks. Michael Dittmer (Margay) was won the battle for second with Travis DeVriendt, Kyle Flores and Jesse Clossey completing the top-five.
Sunbelt Rentals Rotax Senior
Mason Chelootz (Top Kart) dominated the Rotax Senior category for his second victory of the day. Leading every circuit of the 20-lap event, Chelootz earned a free entry to the 2013 United States Rotax Grand Nationals and another $250. Cory Cacciavillani (Kosmic) crossed the line second but was removed from the results after tech. That moved the battle for third up to second in the final order as Adam Taylor (Birel) was able to edge out Brennan Harrington (Kosmic) for the position. Andrew Coulter (Arrow) was fourth with Will Owen (Arrow) back in fifth.
Casey’s General Stores Yamaha SuperCan Medium
The opening lap shook things up in the Yamaha SuperCan Medium feature race. The 20-lap event began with a pile-up in turn six of the opening circuit as pole sitter Tim Goettsch (Margay) made contact with the barriers and collected Heavy race winner Tony Jump (Margay). Both exited the race early and walked away, Jump with a possible broken left foot. After their karts were removed from the track, the focus turned to the top two drivers out front - Tony Neilson (Margay) and Bill McLaughlin Jr. (Birel). Neilson led lap after lap with McLaughlin on his bumper the entire time, taking a couple looks inside here and there. On the final lap, McLaughlin dove inside Neilson at the turn four right-hander. The two made contact and both went into the walls. McLaughlin continued on but Neilson was unable to. McLaughlin was able to reach the checkered flags first to earn his first ROCK trophy and $500. Jason Ewers crossed the line second but came in underweight. This moved the great battle for third up the finishing order. Nick Ricketts edged out for the position over Blake Deister (Birel), Tommy Andersen (Margay), and Eric Bartsch (Birel).
L&W Bedding Yamaha Junior
 | Jordon Musser became only the third driver to win the King of the Streets title multiple times
(Photo: Joe Brittin - Go Racing Magazine) |
Two drivers put on a show for the Yamaha Junior ROCK trophy. Pole winner Killian Keaveny (Top Kart) and Grant Sandberg (Merlin) battled back and forth for the lead early on. Sandberg took control of the lead and held it until the final lap. Keaveny was able to work by for the position and reach the stripe to earn his first RIGP victory, taking $250 back to Minnesota. Sandberg fell back a few lengths in the second position. Erik Nelson (Kosmic) won the fight for third over Dillon Morley (Merlin) while Georgia Henneberry (Margay) finish fifth.
AT&T TaG Masters
Brian McHattie (Exprit) scored his second TaG Masters Rock Island GP victory with another solid performance, outrunning two-time winner John Dixon (Top Kart). Matt Sriver (Merlin) led the field to the green flag but fell outside the top-five early on as Dixon and Washington driver Kurt Fisher showed the way early. McHattie was on the charge, coming from eighth on the grid. Once into third, he began running down the top two. He moved into second on lap five and was already to the rear bumper of Dixon the following circuit. McHattie took over the lead on lap nine, and Dixon slotted in behind waiting for his next opportunity to strike. The two drove a clean race and Dixon was just unable to work around for the lead as McHattie crossed the stripe first, adding $250 to his money total and another ROCK on the mantle. Paul Hohlbein (Exprit) was running third until in the final stage of the race he made contact with a barrier, continuing on with a bent tie-rod and finishing eighth. Fisher ended up third with Eric Chappell (Birel) and Tim Hannen (Haase) completing the top-five.
AT&T IAME Parilla Leopard
 | Bill McLaughlin Jr. broke through for his first ROCK trophy
(Photo: Joe Brittin - Go Racing Magazine) |
Mason Chelootz (Top Kart) was set to earn his third ROCK trophy of the weekend, starting the Leopard main event from the pole position. Chelootz led early on until Logan Bearden (Haase) came up and challenged Chelootz. Bearden was the first driver to pass Chelootz on the day, moving into the lead on lap five. He would pace the field until Chelootz struck back on lap 14. That triggered a heat battle as the two exchanged the lead. The fight came to an end on lap 16 when the two made contact navigating turn two. Bearden got the worst of the action, going into the outside barriers. This allowed Chelootz to cruise to the checkered flag first, but the win was taken away in tech. His engine was built to the WKA standards, when the event was conducted under TAG USA rules. This gave the victory and $250 check to Canadian Cory Cacciavillani (Kosmic), his first ROCK trophy. Alex Nowysz (Margay) was classified second with Keenan Hertzner, Will Owen (Arrow) and Barry Schonberger filling out the top-five.
Schurr Power Racing Clone Medium
The Clone Medium main event put the volunteer corner staff to work early. Wrecks in multiple corners in the opening circuits of the race shuffled up the field. Out front, pole sitter Jesse Clossey (Coyote) led the field and was followed by Travis DeVriendt (Coyote). The two took turns at the point until Clossey secured the position on lap 14, going on to earn his first ROCK trophy. DeVriendt, the two-time defending champ, settled for second. Connor Lund (Arrow) came from eighth in the field to finish third, earning the Rock Island Grand Prix Clone Challenge title. Ken Williams (Coyote) ran fourth with Garritt Powell (Ultramax) rounding out the top-five.
Casey’s General Store Komet Senior
 | Brian McHattie won his second TaG Masters RIGP victory
(Photo: Joe Brittin - Go Racing Magazine) |
Only three drivers competed in the Komet Senior event with Tony Jump and Tim Goettsch sitting out the race following their earlier wreck. Tony Neilson (Margay) earned his first win of the weekend after getting shut out in two earlier races, leading a combined 53 of 55 laps on the day. Brandon Cather (Margay) was second with Dustin Blomme (Margay) in third.
With the 2012 edition of the Rock Island Grand Prix in the books, attention now turns to the 19th running of the famed street race in 2013. While this year’s event did not have the large entries numbers as enjoyed in previous additions, the fences were still lined with fans throughout the weekend, the competition was tough, and the entire Rock Island GP staff did a phenomenal job. Musser can now put his name in with the ranks of RIGP legends Alan Rudolph and Kyle Wiegand while Chelootz and Lund begin their quest in reaching Gary Lawson’s 21 victory record. |
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