A historic weekend for the United States Pro Kart Series as it gets set to host the Texas Grand Prix at the Speedsportz Racing Park in New Caney, Texas. The second event of the 2023 season marks the first trip to the Lone Star State for the USPKS program, making it the first trip in the 11-year history of the series to go west of the Mississippi River. Nearly 300 entries in the eight categories are set to battle at the facility north of downtown Houston.

Speedsportz Racing Park in New Caney, Texas

The Speedsportz Racing Park is the creation of karting Hall of Famer Alan Rudolph. He and his wife Jessica have built a premier motorsports facility featuring a performance track and rental track, while being the official home of the Alan Rudolph Racing Academy. Construction began in 2015 and wrapped up in 2016, hosting several regional events since. This is set to be the largest karting event ever at Speedsportz. The performance track is 8/10-mile long with 15 turns in the clockwise direction.

Four practice sessions will be held on Friday before diving into qualifying to close out the day. Three rounds of heat races will be contested, including the A-B-C-D format for the KA100 Junior and KA100 Senior categories, which have more than 46 drivers in the field. Heat points will be calculated at the end of Saturday, with the top-40 qualifying for the main event. The remainder move to the Last Chance Qualifier, as the top-six finishers transfer to feature race. All main events, along with the LCQ races, will be held on Sunday.

The new series format with one main event on the weekend and the new structured championship points structure is set to make the fight for the 2023 titles intense, making ever session count.

Arias Deukmedjian (l) comes in as the Orlando winner while Brandon Carr (r) leads the championship chase (Photo: EKN)

British driver and Senior rookie Brandon Carr (RPM / Tony Kart) leads the championship standings for the Franklin Motorsports X30 Pro division. His fourth-place result but consistent finishes from qualifying on helped to put him at the top of the points. Fellow Senior rookie Ayden Ingratta (SCR / Redspeed) sits second after a third-place result in Orlando, however, is not racing this weekend due to an allergic reaction that is keeping him in Canada. That moves Pauly Massimino up to the second spot in the standings, who is making the move back to Mike Doty Racing and leaving Speed Concepts Racing this weekend. Southern Grand Prix winner Arias Deukmedjian (Chad Dokken Racing / Kart Republic) sits fourth, back by 47 points in his return to karting in nearly two years. German driver Elie Goldstein (Racelab / TB Kart) is fifth in the standings in his USA debut with two-time defending champion Ryan Norberg (RPG / Kosmic) in sixth. This weekend will mark the USPKS debut for both SKUSA Winter Series champion Joe Turney (Chad Dokken Racing / Kart Republic) and recent Challenge of the Americas winner Harley Keeble (Piquet Sports / Sodi Kart). Former Rotax Grand Finals winner Oliver Hodgson (J3 / CompKart), IndyCar driver Zachary Claman DeMelo (Kart Republic) and 2023 FIA Karting World Champion Matheus Morgatto (PSL / Birel ART) are among the big names in this weekend’s field.

Christian Miles looking to continue the perfect run from Southern Grand Prix into Texas (Photo: EKN)

A perfect weekend in Orlando started out the 2023 season for Christian Miles (MDR / LN Racing Kart) in the Mike Doty Racing KA100 Senior class. Miles set fast time in qualifying, won all three of his heat races before earning his second career USPKS victory. His advantage is 103 points over Aiden Levy (Team Tarp / Kart Republic) who finished second in Orlando. Josh Campbell (RPM / Tony Kart), former champion Brandon Lemke (HDD / Exprit) and Lucas Szabo (RPM / LN Racing Kart) are the top-five driver in the championship standings. Nearly half of the 54 driver field are from Texas, including Texas Sprint Racing Series winners Peyton Phillips (Hi5 / Tony Kart) and Helio Meza (IRM / Tony Kart) – last year’s KA100 Junior champion.

Danny Formal (RPG / Kosmic) won the Orlando battle, however, former FIA KZ World Champion Marijn Kremers (PSL / Birel ART) is winning the war in the SRP Engines Pro Shifter category. Kremers – EKN Shifterkart Driver Rankings #1 – holds a 10-point advantage over Formal in the championship standings. New EKN Shifterkart Driver Rankings #3 Hunter Pickett (PSL / Birel ART) is third with Giorgio Carrara (IM / Lenzo Kart) behind him. The weekend is one for redemption for AJ Myers (Magik Kart USA) who led throughout the weekend only to retire in the main event due to a brake failure, putting him fifth in the championship chase. Half of the 16-driver field is from the state of Texas, including five-time SKUSA champion Jordon Musser (PSL / Birel ART) and Max Hewitt (Tesoro / CRG) – who won at the TSRS event in March.

Pro Shifter inaugural winner Danny Formal attempting for two in a row (Photo: EKN)

Ernesto Rivera (RPG / Kosmic) has put himself as the driver to beat in the Rolison Performance Group X30 Junior class. Rivera was P1 in all sessions but qualifying at Orlando, and enters the second event with a 104-point advantage over Max Taylor (RPG / Kosmic) – who will not be in Texas. That puts Teddy Musella (RPG / Kosmic) as the top championship contender, sitting behind by 175 points. Enzo Vidmontiene (MottazSport / Parolin) and Steven Miller (Chad Dokken Racing / Kart Republic) are close behind, with all drivers focused on gaining as many points as possible on Rivera. Who else can put their name into the mix out of the 17-driver field?

The BBS Race Engines KA100 Junior category is a different story. Steven Miller (Chad Dokken Racing / Kart Republic) leads the championship by 15 points over Orlando winner Ernesto Rivera (RPG / Kosmic). The racing in this class was much closer at the Southern Grand Prix and it is expected to be a great battle for the 50-driver field at Speedsportz. Enzo Vidmontiene (MottazSport / Parolin), Landon Skinner (Speedsportz / Redspeed) and Tyler Roberts (IRM / Tony Kart) are some notables who could be in the hunt.

Only a 20-driver field for the Speed Concepts Racing KA100 Masters division in what was anticipated to be one of the largest fields of the season with many regional racers in the area. Martin Stone (REM / Kosmic) leads the championship and is set to defend his home state, coming off a third in Orlando. Mike Rolison (RPG / Kosmic) would be leading the championship if not for coming in underweight in the opening heat, winning the remaining races while setting fast time in qualifying. He trails by 40 points with Laurentiu Mardan (Tecno Kart USA) and Alex Dancho (MDR) not scheduled to race in Texas sitting third and fourth in the points. Tommy Andersen (HDD / Exprit) returned to USPKS competition and now sits third in the points after his class debut with two-time series champion Scott Kopp (FMS / Merlin) tied in points, 120 back of Martin. Miguel Mier (CRD / LN Racing Kart) is another strong Texas candidate to battle for the win along with former SKUSA champion Mario Barrios (RPG / Kosmic).

Ernesto Rivera will try to repeat his double win weekend performance from Orlando in Junior categories  (Photo: EKN)

Lucas Palacio (Trinity / Kart Republic) has set the tone for the season in the DNJ International Services Mini Swift class. Palacio only faltered in qualifying before sweeping the rest of the weekend at the Southern Grand Prix, and leads the championship by 75 points over Tristan Murphy (RPM / Nitro Kart). Max Cristea (MottazSport / Parolin) and Kai Mars (Trinity / Kart Republic) are tied for third with top qualifier Ashton Woon (Supertune / Parolin) sitting fifth. Any of those drivers can contend for victories and podium positions along with Jackson Tovo (Parolin), Michael McGaughy (RPM / Parolin) and Antonio Pizzonia Neto (Orsolon / Parolin).

Parker Ives (RPM / Nitro Kart) had a similar weekend in the Team Ferris Racing Micro Swift class. His wins in the heat races and the main event victory in Orlando put him ahead in the championship chase by 70 points over Aston Wyatt (Speedsportz / Birel ART). Maxwell Macha (SLA / Kart Republic), Juan Diego Garciarce (Orsolon / Parolin) and Colton Schniengenberg (Energy) round out the top-five in the standings. Wyatt is among the 14 drivers from Texas making up the 39-kart field.

Follow the coverage all weekend long on the EKN Social Media accounts for Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for news, updates, photos, videos and more, including the top-10 results after each session beginning with qualifying on Friday. Listen to the racing action by heading to the EKN Live page or tune in on the EKN Radio Network.

Provisional X30 Pro Entry List

Provisional KA100 Senior Entry List

Provisional Pro Shifter Entry List

Provisional X30 Junior Entry List

Provisional KA100 Junior Entry List

Provisional KA100 Masters Entry List

Provisional Mini Swift Entry List

Provisional Micro Swift Entry List

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