Ben Maier won his third main event in Daytona, scoring victory in Mini Swift (Photo: Alissa Grim)

The third and final day of competition was completed at the Daytona International Speedway for the WKA Daytona KartWeek. Wednesday welcomed six different categories competing inside NASCAR 3-4 for the prize of winning at Daytona with two Briggs divisions and four IAME classes.

Micro Swift: Malcuit Doubles Up in Micro

Isaac Malcuit scored the win in Micro Swift (Photo: Alissa Grim)

Isaac Malcuit added to his win total for the 2020 WKA Daytona KartWeek, sweeping the action in Micro Swift. Malcuit backed up his performance in Micro ROK with a dominant sweep on Wednesday in the IAME division. Malcuit cleared the field in qualifying by two tenths with a 44.852 lap. He led all 10 laps of the Prefinal for a five-second margin of victory before leading all 14 laps of the Final, crossing the line with a 12-second advantage. Caleb Tarter was promoted to second ahead of Max Cristea after Sam Tutwiler was given a two-second penalty for a start infraction. Keelan Harvick, son of NASCAR’s Kevin Harvick, completed the top-five.

Briggs 206 Senior: Towles Adds to Daytona

A fifth victory in Briggs 206 Senior for Corey Towlers (Photo: Alissa Grim)

Twenty-nine drivers took to the track for the Briggs 206 Senior division, returning to the event for the first time since 2016. The one driver to win two main events that year along with in 2015 was Corey Towles. The Florida driver made it five straight in the category at Daytona with a victory on Wednesday. Elmer Edmoson set the fast time in qualifying with a 46.326-lap, two tenths clear of the field. Edmonson was shuffled back early in Heat #1, with Hunter Fox scoring the win. He was second in qualifying, and was able to work past Adam Maxwell of A-Maxx Racing on the final circuit. Fox, Maxwell, Zach Linsell and Towles all took a turn at the point during the Prefinal. In the end, Towles took the win to earn the pole position for the Final. That gave Towles the clean line for the start of the Final. He was trailed by the same three drivers in the Prefinal. The race went down the wire, with Towles holding on the entire 18 laps to claim the victory by 79 thousandths over Maxwell. Fox was right there in third at the checkered with Linsell fourth. Chris Carroll completed the top-five.

X30 Junior: Colavita Sweeps for Second Victory of Event

A memorable first WKA Daytona KartWeek for Leonardo Colavita with two wins in three days (Photo: Alissa Grim)

Making his WKA Daytona KartWeek debut, Leonardo Colavita secured two victories over the three days of competition. Colavita was able to win the F100 Junior division over the opening two days, and swept the action in X30 Junior. His 41.757-lap was quickest in qualifying, edging out Junior rookie Parker DeLong by 40 thousandths. After leading all 14 laps in the Prefinal, Colavita showed the way in all 18 laps of the Final for the victory. DeLong worked his way up to second after issues in the Prefinal. Jake Walker completed the podium with Danny Dyszelski fourth and Julian DaCosta fifth.

X30 Senior: Zilisch Earns First Senior Victory with Sweep

A first Senior victory for Connor Zilisch in X30 Senior (Photo: Alissa Grim)

FIA Academy Trophy champion Connor Zilisch is making the move up to the Senior ranks for the 2021 season. Zilisch raced both F100 Senior and Ignite Senior over the opening two days, but his best performance was in X30 Senior on Wednesday. Zilisch set fast time in qualifying with a 40.818-lap to clear the field by three tenths of a second. Leading all 14 laps of the Prefinal, Zilisch went untouched in the 18-lap Final to claim the victory by seven seconds. Fellow Senior rookie Westin Workman drove up to the second spot with Tyler McIntyre completing the podium. Julia Boos was fourth with Thomas Annunziata putting three Senior rookies in the top-five.

Briggs 206 Junior: Overbeck Dabs to Victory

Briggs 206 Junior winner James Overbeck (Photo: Alissa Grim)

Twenty-four drivers took to the track in the Briggs 206 Junior category for the first time since 2015. A number of drivers showed the way on the day in the four on-track sessions. James Overbeck set fast time in qualifying with a 47.066-lap, edging out Addison Ianiello and Ashton Henckel. It was Henckel that took the lead from Overbeck in the Heat race with two laps remaining, going on to earn the win. Overbeck led the majority of the 14-lap Prefinal until Jeremy Fletcher and Parker DeLong were able to work past, going on to finish 1-2 and bringing Ianiello to push Overbeck to fourth at the line. It was Overbeck that fought back in the last main event of the day. Fletcher led the first half of the 18-lap main event until Overbeck climbed his way to the lead. He was able to escape the rest of the field, going on to take the checkered flag by three-seconds. Ben Maier, making his Junior debut, fought his way forward to win the battle for second ahead of Margay Ignite Junior winner Reid Sweeney. Ianniello and DeLong completed the top-five as Fletcher fell down to seventh.

Mini Swift: Maier Pulls Off Trifecta in Cadet

Ben Maier has won a number of times at Daytona in his career. Entering the event, Maier had won four times inside the highbanks of the World Center of Racing. With a win in Mini ROK Monday, Briggs 206 Cadet on Tuesday, Maier swept the trio of Cadet divisions with the perfect score in Mini Swift. Maier edged out Jensen Burnett by 28 thousandths with a 44.338-lap. Maier led all 10 laps of the Prefinal and the 14-lap Final for his third victory of the event. Burnett finished second, back by 1.8 seconds with Ava Hanssen in third. Christian Quijano was fourth with Sarah Bradley completing the top-five.

The 2021 season is now underway with the opening event of the Manufacturers Cup Series in the books. The program resumes on April 16-18 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina.

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