|
 |
| November 27, 2012 |
| Driver News: Jim McKinney Steals Superkarts! USA S5 Championship in Nail-biting First Season |
| |
 | Jim McKinney
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
14-year old Arizona native, Jim McKinney, surprised the masses this year by snagging the ProTour Championship in his first season competing in the S5 Junior Shifter category.
In only his second year competing at the national level, McKinney debuted at his home track in Phoenix for the SKUSA Spring Nationals, competing head-to-head with S5 veteran Micah Hendricks of Innovative Karting. After qualifying on pole in Round 1, Mckinney narrowly finished second in the main, being passed by Hendricks in the final laps of the race. However, in Round 2 he drove an excellent main, finishing first despite qualifying down the grid. As a result of his podium finishes and sweeping all four heats of the weekend, McKinney gained the championship lead with a slight points advantage over Hendricks.
Round 3 of Summer Nationals found McKinney running in the front of the pack once again. A sudden torrential downpour delayed the start of the S5 main event, leaving the track sodden; and in his first time racing a shifter in the rain, McKinney worked his way to a podium finish, surprising even himself with his excellence in racing in wet conditions. Sunday saw problems for the Ruthless Karting team, as McKinney’s Intrepid suffered motor problems in qualifying, which resulted in a sour end to the weekend.
McKinney retained his first place position in the championship, and entered Super Nationals XVI with a 97 points lead. McKinney, having recently switched from an Intrepid to a new KGB chassis, found himself consistently top three in all practices, and fourth in qualifying. A rough first heat found McKinney taken out of the race before turn one, but strong finishes in the remaining heats secured a 12th place grid position for the main. Contact in the first several turns of the race sent him back to 16th, where he knew he would have to race hard and smart in order to fight his way back up through the ranks. Within several laps McKinney climbed his was up through the field and was on his way to a potential podium finish, only to be punted back four positions. But McKinney kept his cool, and after a harrowing final event, received a justified 8th place finish, gaining enough points to emerge the 2012 S5 SKUSA ProTour Champion!
Jim McKinney would like to thank Dan and Ryan Ruth of Ruthless Karting, Parolin, Curtis Ruth and Innovative Karting, Sweedtech, GMZ Wheels, Bell Helmets, Basic High Safety Tech, Performance Kart Sport, AMR Racing Graphics, and all those who follow McKinney Racing for their support this year and hopefully many successful years to come.
To learn more about Jim McKinney, contact McKinney Marketing & Management at: mckinneyracing19@gmail.com, like McKinney Racing on Facebook, or follow our Twitter feed @McKinneyRacing. |
|
|
Go Top
|
|
|
|
|
