(Photo: Mark Schwigen)

One of the most iconic karting events in North America is the Quincy Grand Prix. An event that dates back to 1970, the city of Quincy, Illinois is a hidden gem for the amount of love and passion the area has for karting. The Quincy Grand Prix of Karting ran from 1970 up until 2001 before it took a hiatus. All-time race winner and owner of TNT Kartways Terry Traeder – son of original event promoter Gus Traeder – revived the South Park event with support from the city and several companies excited about bringing karters back to Quincy in 2018. The event welcomed great numbers that year and in 2019 before the COVID pandemic shut the 2020 event down. The grand prix returned in 2021 with nearly 400 entries and thousands of fans lining the streets to catch the two days of high-speed action.

Terry Traeder of Quincy Grand Prix (Photo: Mark Schwigen)

Now just under 50 days from the first day of karts hitting the South Park roads for the opening laps of the 2022 Quincy Grand Prix of Karting, event promoter Traeder is opening the door for the best in North American karting to compete. The Quincy GP is offering a FREE entry to the drivers currently sitting in the top-10 of the EKN Driver Rankings for both Shifterkart and TaG.

“We have some of the best drivers from across North America competing in ‘The Park’ but this year we are offering something different,” commented Quincy Grand Prix promoter Terry Traeder. “Those drivers currently sitting in the top-10 of the EKN Driver Rankings for both Shifterkart and TaG are invited to compete at this year’s event. Of course, we do not have a TaG class, so those drivers are allowed to pick a class of their choice.”

Pro Shifter 125 and Pro Shifter Open are the shifterkart divisions with Pro FK100 and Pro Briggs the four categories that provide a cash purse with the winner in each division taking home $750. Each cash purse pays back to the eighth position worth $125.

Devon Smith-Harden swept the shifterkart action on the 2021 weekend, winning the Saturday Sprint and both main events on Sunday (Photo: Mark Schwigen)

Three Briggs 206 categories (Medium, Heavy, Masters) are offered, all won last year by Iowa’s Tony Neilson along with the same divisions for the popular Margay Ignite program. New for the 2022 Quincy Grand Prix will be the addition of the Legends class for both Briggs 206 and Ignite, reserved for drivers 50-years and older. The FK100 class welcomes all 100cc engine platforms – IAME KA100, ROK VLR and Yamaha KT100. Shifter Masters and Vintage are among the other categories zooming around the 1.125-mile street course. In addition to the 14 categories competing for the unique ‘Gussie’ trophy in the Sunday main events, the event also offers special ‘Saturday Sprints’ races for Briggs Heavy, Margay Ignite, FK100, Briggs Masters/Ignite Masters, and Shifter Open/Shifter Masters.

“We are also offering one free entry to the top-three in each class from the 2021 Cup Karts North America Grand Nationals in Senior Light, Senior Medium, Senior Heavy, Masters and Legends,” added Traeder. “The Park is an experience like no other and we want the best there!”

Registration is open for the 2022 Quincy Grand Prix of Karting with links and more details surrounding the June 11-12 street race at QuincyGrandPrix.com.

EKN Shifterkart Driver Rankings Top-10 – as of April 18, 2022

AJ Myers
Jake French
Daniel Formal
Hunter Pickett
Kyle Wick
Billy Musgrave
Jacob Gulick
Ron White
Andrew Bujdoso
Michael Stevens

EKN TaG Driver Rankings Top-10 – as of April 18, 2022

Ryan Norberg
Nathaniel Cicero
Thomas Nepveu
Pauly Massimino
Hannah Greenemeier
Connor Zilisch
Alessandro de Tullio
Branyon Tiner
Matheus Morgatto
Marijn Kremers

CKNA Grand Nationals 5 Top-3

Senior Light
1. Colin Warren
2. Micah Hendricks
3. Dylan Amundsen

Senior Medium
1. Colin Warren
2. Gary Lawson
3. Brandon Jarsocrak

Senior Heavy
1. Adam Maxwell
2. Matt Lyda
3. Gary Lawson

Masters
1. Michael Dittmer
2. Steve Knight
3. Jakab Nyiri

Legends
1. Todd Baron
2. Tim Shutt
3. James Inscoe

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