This weekend marks the 10th edition of the Superkarts! USA Pro Tour SpringNationals. The event is set for May 3-5 at the Utah Motorsports Campus as SKUSA returns to the Erda, Utah facility for the second time in series history. Formerly known as Miller Motorsports Park, SKUSA first visited the facility outside Salt Lake City back in July 2012 for the SummerNationals that year. The 9/10-mile Alan Wilson-designed karting circuit is named ‘Star Trek’, which will be contested in the clockwise direction – the opposite of the 2012 visit.

eKartingNews.com remains the official online partner for the SKUSA Pro Tour, having broadcast every race since its inception. Those karting enthusiasts not in attendance can listen from home or on the road to the EKN Live broadcast page at www.ekartingnews.com/live with EKN’s own Rob Howden providing the play-by-play call. This weekend’s broadcast is brought to you by Mad Old Nut Racing, Rolison Performance Group and Courtney Concepts. Daily reports and updates on the EKN Social Media network will fill up your timeline throughout the weekend.

The opening event of the 2019 Superkarts! USA Pro Tour took place at the beginning of March with the WinterNationals contested at the CalSpeed Karting facility in Fontana, California. Competitors battled wet weather all weekend to decide the winners in the opening two rounds of the series. Now, drivers hope for perfect racing conditions at over 4,300 feet above sea level.

The first of two previews was published on Wednesday, reviewing the shifterkart divisions along with the Master categories. Today is a look at the IAME ‘TaG’ divisions competing in Utah this weekend.

X30 Senior

Joshua Car enters Utah as the X30 Senior championship leader (Photo: EKN)

Two drivers solidified themselves as the top title contenders following the action at the WinterNationals. Christian Brooks and 2017 SuperNationals winner Joshua Car placed inside the top-four in both main events, each taking a win in March. That has boosted them well out in front of the championship standings, with Car (Crosslink / Exprit) leading by 76 points over Brooks (Nash / FA Kart). Brooks has history with the Utah facility, winning the US Rotax Grand Nationals back at the 2011 edition in the Mini Max class. The two have similar paths for the 2019 season as they are both contesting the F4 US Championship, sitting second and sixth in the standings after the opening event in Georgia. Looking ahead, the SummerNationals weekend is the same as a F4 event at Mid-Ohio and thus, if either are leading the championship after this weekend, they could vacate that position with F4 trumping karting.

Behind those two, the next driver in the title chase is Austin Garrison, trailing Car by 181 points. Garrison was runner-up in the rain behind Car, and is coming off his first victory with CRG Nordam at the USPKS event in Ocala. Garrison also has history in Utah, capturing his only US Rotax Grand Nationals victory at UMC, winning Junior Max in 2014. Five other drivers sit within 100 points of Garrison, including Brit Oliver Hodgson (J3 / CompKart) – who made his SKUSA Pro Tour debut at the WinterNats, placing third in the Sunday Final. Nick Ramirez (PGR / Ricciardo) and Jacob Gulick (RPG / Kosmic) are among those in early contention for the title needing to remain at the front end of the field throughout the weekend in Utah.

Rounding out the top-five of the standings heading into Utah are Arthur Leist and three-time defending champion Ryan Norberg. Each had a top-five result in Fontana, with Leist (PSL / Birel ART) trailing Garrison by only seven points. Norberg (RPG / Kosmic) had a podium finish taken away for passing under the yellow flag. The next four rounds are crucial for Norberg to capture a fourth-straight SKUSA title.

Driver notes heading into the weekend include the return of Braden Eves. The three-time SKUSA Pro Tour race winner, who is currently the point leader for the Cooper Tire USF2000 championship, is joining Crosslink Competition aboard an Exprit for his first series start of 2019. Jake French is pulling off the double duty program with Croc Promotion USA / Mad Old Nut Racing. This will be the first SKUSA Pro Tour start for the 2017 SKUSA Pro Tour S1 champion in the X30 Senior division. Brandon Jarsocrak is changing teams and chassis, departing from KartSport North America and Kart Republic, joining Mike Doty Racing aboard a Tony Kart for this weekend. Add in Jake Craig (RPM / Tony Kart) as a former winner in Utah. The 2014 SKUSA Pro Tour champion won the Senior Max US Grand Nationals title that season on the ‘Star Trek’ course.

X30 Junior

Branyon Tiner is the driver to beat in Utah for X30 Junior (Photo: EKN)

The X30 Junior category takes the honor of the largest division heading into Utah with 39 drivers, very similar to the number that contested the WinterNationals. The winners in CalSpeed were Dale Curran and Branyon Tiner, each taking home their first SKUSA Pro Tour victory. Tiner has the advantage over everyone, leaving the event as the championship leader. The Rolison Performance Group / Kosmic driver leads by 25 points over Mexican driver Noel Leon (CRG Nordam). Leon placed inside the top-five in both main events, the only driver to do so in Fontana.

A total of six drivers stood on the podium at the WinterNationals. Connor Zilisch (LAK / Tony Kart) was runner-up on Saturday in the rain, sitting third in the standings. Ethan Ho (APM / Tony Kart) stood third, earning his first podium finish in the category at the SKUSA Pro Tour. Jason Leung and Josh Pierson were part of a podium sweep for RPG on Sunday, as they joined Tiner on the steps. Leung sits seventh in the points with Pierson fifth. Throw in Brit Freddie Slater (Supertune / Tony Kart) sitting fourth in the points with Curran back in eighth.

Drivers coming into the event with some momentum include USPKS race winner John Burke (IRM/ Tony Kart). The Texan won the Sunday main event in his series debut, and earned a best finish of fifth at the WinterNationals. Winning at the Great Lakes ProKart Challenge event was Tennessee driver Bryson Morris, who joins Rolison Performance Group for his first Pro Tour start of 2019. Adrian Cruz doubled up in the win column at the Texas ProKart Challenge opener in Denton, and currently sits ninth in the Pro Tour standings with two ninth-place finishes.

KA100 Senior

Nick Persing is leading the KA100 Senior championship chase (Photo: EKN)

The KA100 Senior division made its debut on the SKUSA Pro Tour at the WinterNationals, welcoming two first-time winners. Alan Tang (PKS / Parolin) and Austin Osborne (IRM / Kosmic) came away with victories at CalSpeed, both earning their first SKUSA Pro Tour triumphs. The driver, however, leading the championship chase is Nick Persing (Nash / FA Kart), who placed runner-up in both main events. His advantage is 40 points over Osborne with Nick Ramirez (PGR / Ricciardo) sitting third after two fourth-place results at CalSpeed. Tang sits fourth in the standings but is not scheduled to compete in Utah. A total of seven drivers from Utah will compete in the KA100 Senior division. A notable entry is Walker Hess (Tony Kart), a former top-50 ranked driver in the EKN TaG Driver Rankings and recent top-10 finisher in the Briggs Weekly Racing Series USA program. Expect the locals to contend for positions on the podium all weekend.

KA100 Junior

Two wins at the WinterNats puts the target on Ethan Ho in KA100 Junior (Photo: EKN)

As did the KA100 Senior class, the KA100 Junior category made its SKUSA Pro Tour debut at the WinterNationals. This class saw only one new SKUSA Pro Tour winner, as Ethan Ho (APM / Tony Kart) was able to grab both victories on the weekend. It was a near sweep for the SoCal driver, heading into Utah with an 85-point advantage in the standings. Connor Zilisch (LAK / Tony Kart) was runner-up on Saturday for a best finish at the WinterNats. Kyffin Simpson (SCR / Tony Kart) is third in the championship chase, placing third in Sunday’s main event. A number of the same drivers from March will be racing in Utah. New to the driver roster is two-time IAME International Final winner Brent Crews. The KartSport North America / Kart Republic driver will add his name to the list of double duty drivers, making his SKUSA KA100 Junior debut at the SpringNats.

Mini Swift

Sebastian Ng has the lead in the Mini Swift title chase heading into Utah (Photo: EKN)

Numbers surpassed the 30-driver mark once again in the Mini Swift category, with everyone looking to grab their first SKUSA Pro Tour victory. The only driver to win thus far is Sebastian Ng as the Nitro Kart driver ended up on the top step of the podium both days at the WinterNationals. Ng leads the championship by only 20 points over Kai Sorensen (Tony Kart). The SKUSA Winter Series champion was classified runner-up on Saturday and placed fifth on Sunday. Other podium finishers from the WinterNationals include Jack Jeffers (Tony Kart) and Anderson Leonard (Tony Kart) from Sunday’s main event. They sit fourth and fifth in the standings. Parker DeLong (Nitro Kart) was third in Saturday’s Final, and comes into Utah seventh in title chase. Enzo Deligny (Tony Kart) is third in the standings after two top-six finishes in Fontana. With the large field, there will be a number of drivers that did not stand out at the WinterNats who may become players throughout the weekend at the SpringNats.

Micro Swift

Logan Chambers has the hold of the Micro Swift standings after winning in Fontana (Photo: EKN)

The title chase is tight in the Micro Swift category with the top two drivers separated by 10 points. WinterNationals winners Logan Chambers (Ricciardo) and Graham Trammell (Kosmic) each grabbed their first SKUSA Pro Tour victory, with Chambers leaving as the point leader. Jack Iliffe (Tony Kart) and Ethan Thomason (Exprit) both had runner-up finishes at the WinterNats, sitting third and fifth in the standings. Alex Mercado (Parolin) enters Utah fourth in the standings. The field has increased to double digits, which could bode for more drivers contending for the podium positions on the weekend.

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