wka karting scene - 2012 august edition

THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE WORLD KARTING ASSOCIATION AUGUST 2012 VOL. 42, NO. 8

RECORD ENTRIESRECORD TEMPS

2 w o r l d k a r t i n g . c o m

3A u g u st 2 0 1 2 - k a r t i n g s c e n e


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WKA West Super Series Round 4 Race Report

WKAWest Series

RENO, NV. – 96 Drivers made the trip up to North-ern Nevada Kart Club this past weekend to partici-

pate in the largely awaited 4th round in the 2012 WKA West Super Series, presented by Bridgestone, RLV, and Grand Products. They were faced with a Saturday prac-tice day of strong winds and cooler temperatures leading into a much warmer long day for Sunday’s race day. With NNKC using their Track #4 layout, these drivers looked out at a 0.667 mile set up ahead of them!!

KPV1

With a full class of twelve KPV 1

drivers, these kids kicked off our Sunday Race Day with Jason Pettit and Chase Farley picking up where they left off in round 3 of our WKA West Super Series!! Farley took the lead in the Qualifying session in Reno setting the bar high with a 54.663 and leaving Pettit to fall in place behind him with a 54.887 and Matthew Martin not wanting to be left out with a time just one tenth off of Pettit. Farley put the pressure on Pettit going into the heats and made his presence known when he took the pole from Pettit in the first heat session! Round 3 win-ner, Roy Fulmer IV who qualified eight tenths off of Farley, fought his way back up to 4th in the first heat session and going into the Pre

Final looked like he was going to give Farley and Pettit a run for their money taking them three wide down the front stretch. Mechani-cal issues would end up with a DNF for that session for Fulmer, relegat-ing him to the back for the Main Event. Farley held off the masses and finished with a 1st place win and after a rough start getting shuf-fled back to 4th in the Main Event, Pettit took the 2nd place finish leaving 3rd place to Eric Nascimen-to, who took his time on Sunday to make his way through the pack but chased closely by Branden Benedix in 4th place and Mikey Prinzo tak-ing the final spot in the Top 5.

Kid Karts


WKA West Super Series Round 4 Race Report

Kid Karts may include the smallest drivers, but their determination is big! With a group of six, the Kid Karts headed to the track to battle it out for that trophy! Alec Acevedo laid down the law qualifying with a fast time of 1:09.350 and giving himself some wiggle room with just over a 1 second gap between himself and Cody Batterton. Nolan Wyman, an NNKC native, quali-fied 4th with a two second gap off of Acevedo, made his way in the mix, taking 2nd place in the first heat session behind Acevedo and then dominating Acevedo’s former spot with a win in the Pre Final! Alec Bridgman, Cody Batterton, Sean Cox and Race Godelson battle it out all day for the remaining spots

and after some great racing, round out their Main Event with Acev-edo reclaiming his 1st place spot, Wyman hot on his trail in 2nd place and Batterton, Bridgman, Cox and Godelson, who each fought to hold their positions against each other.

KPV2

Heading into the 4th Round of the series in KPV 2 with Sonny Cervelli taking home a win from Prairie City, but in Reno, Blake Murdock was not going to make this a walk in the park for Cervelli setting pole in qualifying with a 50.261 just eight hundredths over Cervelli! Blaine Rocha made a fast lap of 50.477 with Harrison Mills and

Cole Davis making great times and advance into the Heats as the Top 5. The green flag flew for Heat 1 and Cervelli took the top spot where he immediately put a gap between himself and Murdock, where the two take off in a race for 1st!! Blaine Rocha doesn’t trail too far behind, eagerly awaiting Murdock to slip up and give him opportunity to make a move. Cervelli, Murdock and Ro-cha and your 1st, 2nd and 3rd drivers headed into the Pre Final to duke it out again! After a 4th place finish and a relentless fight to make his way closer to the top 3 spots, Mills has a motor swap and starts from the back of the pack to make his way all the way up to the 5th spot behind Cervelli, Murdock, Rocha


and Davis who strived to keep their positions heading into the Main Event! In the Main, Murdock sent Cervelli into the 2nd spot leaving Rocha to make a move next! Cer-velli felt the pressure from Rocha and put his game face back on to show Murdock his bumper after a great slide back up into 1st which gave Rocha the opportunity he had been waiting for to jump up into 2nd for the checkered flag finish!!!! Murdock brings it in for 3rd, Mills took 4th and Cole Davis round out the Top 5 and setting up some ex-citement for Monterey in August!!

Spec PRD

Spec PRD drivers have definitely been in anticipation of this race and their chance to take home that 1st place trophy!! Matt Chase, who took home the 2nd place win from Round 3 at Prairie City, CA, set the time to beat in the Qualifying session Sunday with a 49.960 and leaving Ryan Casner, shadowing

behind him just four hundredths off and Anthony Snow to 3rd be-ing just five hundredths off!!! In a show of great sportsmanship going into the 1st heat, Casner and Chase bump knuckles from the front row coming around to take the green flag. Casner takes the lead with Chase hot on his trail and Shelby Sander, champion from WKA West Round 3, holding on tight to her 3rd place spot! Sander worked her way around Chase to take over the 2nd place position and does not stop-ping there!! The white flag flies as she put the pressure on Casner, she looked to the inside but can’t quite make her way in; it’s Casner, Sander and Chase who have created a great lead on the rest of the class and will head into the Pre Final in that order with the CRG America Pilot Cabot Bigham and the Energy of Anthony Snow making up the leading group. As the PRD class head out for their warm up laps, Chase runs into some mechanical issues and does not start the race, setting him back

for the Main Event, giving Cabot Bigham a leg up on making his way to the front! One lap in Bigham got even closer with Snow out of the race as well, these drivers felt the heat from each other and the rowdy bumping sends Sander to the back of the pack but made her way back up to 7th between Amber Friedberg in 6th and Elijah Prychodzko in 8th. Heading into the Main Event, Bran-don Tomko made his way from his 3rd starting position into 2nd and put some fierce pressure on Casner who held tight to his line in an effort to remain the leader!! A Red Flag after the 5th lap sent Chase, Ashlie Couch and Prychodzko into each other and into the barriers down the straightaway!!! With the Red Flag out, Race Director Kevin Wil-liams declares the fifth lap to be the finishing order for that class, and making awarding the win to Cas-ner, followed by Tomko, Brandon Shaw, Sander and Sisemore. After a challenging day everyone was glad


to see everyone walk away from the collision!!

Formula 80 Masters/80 Senior

While the previous WKA West Formula 80 Master and Senior classes haven’t had the biggest turn out to this point, this was definitely a rush to see a dozen karts take to the track Sunday!! NNKC natives Formula 80 Senior driver Mark Na-son and Formula 80 Master driver Cody McKinney were not about to be out qualified on their home track, putting down times of 48.792 for Nason and 48.935 for McKin-ney. Adam Booker, our champion from round three, was not going to let anyone stop him today and qualified just two tenths off of Nason who held Booker off all day long up and into the Main Event! Nason kept the distance between himself and Booker and made the race for second between Ben Fisher and Josh Cole who qualified with-in two hundredths of each other!

Cole, hot on Fisher’s bumper all day but gave Cole the advantage for the Main Event due to a DNF in the Pre Final along with Eric Rumfalo, Gerry Williams and Cody McKin-ney who got tangled up with other karts leaving 5 out of 12 drivers on the track. Booker holds tight to that 1st place reputation he is building in his 80 Senior class with Rumfalo and Cole placing behind him and Roger Cornwall and Mike Roes taking 1st and 2nd for the 80 Masters class.

TAG Masters/TAG Senior

Following the Formula 80 drivers were the two TaG Master and one TaG Senior drivers, familiar faces, Corey Mitchell, Dennis Goodson and Wayne Ash. Mitchell quickly taking the reins of what is a seem-ingly relaxing day for this class with a fast time of 49.937 and Ash only two tenths behind Master driver Mitchell. Ash and Mitchell break away for a good portion of the day

all the way through to the Main Event and create a lot of work for Goodson who continues to trail behind them. Making a name for himself with his 3rd race so far is Wayne Ash and we can’t wait to see what he brings to round 5!

Jr. 1-2 Cycle

Nine Jr 1 2 Cycle drivers made it out on Sunday with excitement in their eyes as they arrived for their first race day practice session at NNKC. The action of the day was between Matthew Martin and Eric Nascimento. These drivers were eager to deliver their fast times and try and claim that 1st place spot and all the bragging rights associated with it; Martin and Nascimento did not disappoint! Martin putting his skills to the test in Qualifying with a 55.548, relegated Nascimento just one tenth behind him, followed by Oliver Calvo, Richard Stock and Wyatt Couch! At the green flag in the first heat, Martin quickly


moves to 1st while Calvo puts up a tough fight to take the 2nd spot from Nascimento while Nasci-mento was not leaving Calvo any room to get by!! Both drivers were hot on the back of Martin who felt them not far behind! Nascimento held off Calvo, looking to Martin for any opening, while Calvo finds a way past him. Calvo looking to pass Martin succeeds with 5 laps to go but doesn’t get the chance to get comfortable, Martin repays the favor and reclaims first. Losing po-sition to Martin, Calvo finds him-self off into the dirt and out of the race! Nascimento sees opportunity with 3 laps to go makes his move to the inside of Martin. Martin drops back yet another spot when Stock followed Nascimento past him! Martin displayed great driving and some serious sense of willpow-er and reclaimed his 1st place spot for the start of the Main Event. Nascimento was all over Martin’s bumper after seeing the final green flag of the day, while Calvo came up on Couch and put the pressure on him to hold his line or he was going to 4th!! Calvo drops back and finds himself battling with Clayton Williams for a spot as they both now gain some speed on Matthew Proud with Couch with Anthony

Bridgman commanding the back spot! Martin pulled away and he secured his spot for 1st place as the white flag flew, but it is a fight to the finish for Calvo and Williams as they finish 5th and 6th behind Nascimento in 2nd, Couch in 3rd and Proud in 4th!

Clone Sr.

These guys are not messing around! With 22 Clone Senior drivers signed up for race day, there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that this class was going to get interest-ing! Chad Nascimento was itching

to make his comeback from the previous race, qualified out front with a fast time of 57.466, while Jon Ban and Stephanie Lienau hung in for second and third place. With a few karts out in turn one of the first heat, C. Nascimento began to break away from the group leaking Ban and Rodney Rivera to duke it out behind him and try to make their way through several more karts heading off into the dirt. With a black and checkered finish for the first Heat, there was sure more to come for the Pre Final! Only two laps into their next session, the Red Flag flew due an oil spill on all the way around the track from two karts! With an extended clean-up the Pre-Final was determined official, to prepare the class for the all-important Final. Coming around for the green flag, its NNKC native Rivera and C. Nascimen-to side by side into turn one and Rivera takes the lead in the Final! The caution flags are out after a near accident with a huge pack of drivers, several of them sitting on their sides but most are able to con-tinue the race. Making it through the pack, Rivera dropped back a couple spots to find himself being pushed uphill by Brandon Shaw who is struggling to get into the top


positions with C. Nascimento and Rob Nascimento!! With three laps to go, Another incident brings out the Red Flag. The Final was deter-mined complete, and the class is done for the day, awarding the win to C. Nascimento. Followed by R. Nascimento, with Rivera third.

Clone Jr.

There may have been only 2 Clone Jr Drivers Sunday but they ran the entire day with the Senior driv-ers making up a class of 24 karts!! NNKC native Dean Andrews left his mark taking on the WKA West Points Lead, Jake Pipal by qualifying seven tenths ahead of Pipal and ended up taking home the 1st place trophy and points for the day but these guys hung in there all day and made their way through the accidents and oil runoff. Can’t wait to see them dominate in round five of the WKA West Series.

Sr. Super Sportsman

A small class for the Super Sports-man drivers with only three, Bryan Parmenter once again took to the Qualifying session with a 52.218 leaving Nick Robertson eight tenths off and making Anthony Snow one second off fast lap. It looked like Snow was going to give Parmenter a run for his money after making his way past Robertson and these three drivers were into each other all day trying to make their way around one another. Snow has a bumper hanging off the back and

gets a clear view of the Mechanical Flag flying as he pulls off the track and unfortunately doesn’t get the opportunity to finish the day out in this class after his decision to take a breather due an accident in his PRD Spec class that knocked the wind out of him. Parmenter and Robertson take to the track after the clones have an oil spill and make one complete lap for the Pre Final before deciding they were not liking the feel of the track at the time and after facing off in the Main Event, it’s Parmenter remain-ing top dog in the Super Sportsman class as he takes home the win for our last class of the day! We can’t wait to see what’s to come for WKA West Series round 5!!

Big thanks go out to Sponsor RLV, who provided track-side support all weekend, Track Warrior Pho-tos, Melanie Miller Photography, Bridgestone and Grand Products. The 2012 WKA West Super Series next travels to Monterey for Round 5, scheduled for August 5th, hosted by the Monterey Bay Karters. Entry Forms and information can be found at www.WKADistrict10.com


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A record 565 entrants made this year’s version of the MKP Nationals at Michiana Raceway Park the best-attended on record.

The popular sprint course, located just outside South Bend, Indiana in a small town called North Liberty, hosted its 13th WKA Mazda / Bridgestone Manufacturers Cup Series national July 6-8 on an extremely hot weekend that saw temperatures surpass 100 degrees Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Close racing and some of the best 2-cycle sprint karting competition in the United States was the norm in the weekend’s 20 racing divisions. Four drivers – Jimmy Clark, Brandon Lemke, David Malukas and Mike McAndrews – raced to double-win weekends.

Alex Verhagen, Jason Welage, Leonardo Stoia, Jacob Donald, Kyle Kirkwood, Kyle Kalish, Mason Chelootz, Sam Beasley, Jesus Rios Jr., Andrew Palmer, Jeff Jewell and Scott Ferris wheeled their karts to one main event victory.

No driver was able to net three wins on the weekend.

MKP NATIONALS PRODUCES RECORD ENTRY COUNT AT MRP


Here’s a recap of the 20 divisions that took the green flag at the 2012 WKA MKP Nationals in South Bend.

New Jersey Sprint Series Yamaha Rookie Final 1Haase pilot Alex Verhagen remained one of the hottest drivers in Man Cup with his fifth feature victory in a row in the Saturday version of Yamaha Rookie. Verhagen traded the lead with Streeter Super Stands Pole Award winner Jason Welage on numerous occasions and ended up on top after 16 grueling laps. Verhagen’s margin of victory over Welage was just 0.052 seconds.

PCR racer Samuel Paley crossed the stripe less than a half-second back of the winner in third. Max Kaeser netted another top five in fourth; K-Rex Frederick rounded out the top five in the 25-kart field.

Mike Doty Racing Yamaha Rookie Final 2Jason Welage, Samuel Paley and Alex Verhagen went at it again in the Rookie weekend capper. Welage and Verhagen went back and forth several times until mid-race contact between the two sent Verhagen sliding

MKP NATIONALS PRODUCES RECORD ENTRY COUNT AT MRP

ARTICLE BY: KEITH SHAMPINE - [email protected] BY: SEAN BUUR - [email protected]


through the grass between turns one and two. The young Connecticut shoe recovered, but was left over 10 seconds back of Welage.

Welage, riding a No. 5 Merlin, cruised the victory from there, his first WKA Manufacturers Cup national triumph. Welage crossed the line 3.2 seconds ahead of Paley. Verhagen made his way back to third after the incident. Sam Mayer was fourth and Max Kaeser put his PCR in the top five for the second day in a row with a fifth-place finish.

“I’m very excited to get my first win after coming so close in the last two races,” the 9-year-old Welage commented. “It was a great weekend. My Merlin kart and

Fleming engine were awesome, giving me two poles and my first win. Thanks to my dad, Doug Fleming, H3 Karting and Trackside Motorsports.”

Welage also won the Pole Award with a fast time of 47.497.

RLV Tuned Exhaust Products Cadet Final 1After winning his first WKA Man Cup final in May at Pittsburgh, David Malukas promptly put his HMD Trucking-backed MKP Birel into Victory Lane for the second time of the season in the weekend’s first Jr Sportsman final.

Malukas, who also won the Pole Award, finished just over a half-kartlength ahead of Kosmic racer Nick Luedeke for the score. Jared

Cordova, on a Birel for the first time in 2012 Man Cup, crossed the stripe third. Leonardo Stoia was fourth and six-time Man Cup feature winner Zach Holden fifth. Twenty-eight drivers made up the field.

“Saturday’s Cadet was such an exciting race!” Malukas said. “After winning at Pittsburgh, I really wanted to win at our home track. Zach and Leo were really strong and I didn’t know if we could get by them at the end. I want to thank Zach and Leo and the rest of the racers for a great race. It was really fun out there and they’re both a lot of fun to race against.”

Grand Products / Top Kart Cadet Final 2A wild final Sunday afternoon

David Malukas


concluded an exciting weekend of WKA Cadet action. Six drivers began the final lap with a shot at the victory. Anthony Gangi Jr. and Brandon Lemke were out front until contact between the two was made at the top of the hill. The contact sent Gangi spinning and Zach Holden off the track to avoid the incident.

Lemke went on to cross the finish line first but was penalized to the 28th and final position for the contact with Gangi. The Lemke penalty gave the win – his third of the Man Cup season – to PCR pilot Leonardo Stoia. Michael D’Orlando recorded his best Man Cup finish to date with a second-place run. Braden Eves was third, Kaden Harter fourth and Simon Sikes fifth.

Gangi and Holden, both key players throughout the 16-lap affair, were credited with 18th and 19th in the final rundown. Lemke was the Streeter Super Stands Pole Award

winner.

Adkins Speed Center Komet SportsmanTwenty entrants made up Saturday’s third Jr Sportsman contest. Brandon Lemke and Leonardo Stoia opened up a big lead early in the race and looked like they would settle the victory between themselves. However, David Malukas drove his Birel for everything it was worth throughout the second half of the 16-lapper and finally caught the leaders with one lap to go.

Malukas got past Stoia for second and nearly scooted by Lemke for the win. But the Merlin racer was able to hold on and score his first victory of the weekend and first Manufacturers Cup win since Daytona KartWeek.

Malukas, who was in the market for his third win of the day, settled for second; Stoia third, Zach Holden

fourth and Jared Cordova fifth. Lemke swept the day in the class with the Pole Award, pre-final and final triumph.

PCR Komet Jr LiteMRP Birel racer Mike McAndrews won his second race of the weekend with a half-second triumph over Kyle Kalish in Komet Jr Lite. The Wisconsin driver, who had been shut out of the winners circle in Man Cup until the MRP round, made his case as the top Junior competitor at the MKP Nationals as the only double winner in the four 12- to 15-year-old categories.

Ashley Rogero was third behind McAndrews and Kalish. 2011 Triple Crown champions Joel Jens and Grant Quinlan crossed the line fourth and fifth. Austin Osborne was sixth, Austin McCusker seventh, Derek Dignan eighth, Ryan Raffa ninth and Killian Keaveny 10th in the 38-kart field. Kyle Kirkwood won the Streeter

Mike McAndrews


Pole Award.

“Wow! It was very fun racing with fellow drivers Kyle Kalish and Ashley Rogero for the win,” the 13-year-old McAndrews said. “I worked very hard this weekend but I think my crew worked even harder. I’d really like to thank Garry Lobaugh for giving me the opportunity to drive a Birel chassis, and I’d also like to thank Andy Finke for putting on an awesome event at Michiana Raceway Park.”

Orlando Kart Center Komet Jr HeavyA pair of “Kyles” was the story in Saturday’s third main, Komet Jr Heavy. Arrow racer Kyle Kirkwood and Merlin wheelman Kyle Kalish pulled away from the rest of the 38-kart field and made it look pretty easy out front.

Kalish remained in shouting distance of Kirkwood but was never close enough over the final

handful of laps to mount a serious challenge on the Walldinger Racing pilot. Kirkwood scored his second Man Cup win of the season by a 0.416-second gap over Pittsburgh double-winner Kalish. Mike McAndrews was third, Ashley Rogero fourth and Joel Jens fifth.

Derek Dignan ran sixth, Austin McCusker seventh, Brandon Jarsocrak eighth, Ryan Raffa ninth and Jared Thomas 10th. McAndrews timed on the pole with quick lap of 42.694.

J3 Competition Komet LiteJacob Donald concluded an emotional rollercoaster of the weekend with his first Manufacturers Cup final win as a senior driver in the Sunday version of Komet senior.

After appearing to win Saturday’s Parilla Leopard only to be disqualified in post-race tech, Donald absolutely dominated the

Komet Lite main. The Arrow pilot pulled out to a 3.3-second lead on Chris Wehrheim before the checkers waved. Wehrheim, who was a relief driver for point leader Mason Chelootz, took second. Jesse Wirtz was third, Patrick Olsen fourth and Nick Stagl fifth.

Donald swept the day with the Pole Award, pre-final and final wins.

TSRacing.com Komet HeavyMason Chelootz had the best Man Cup weekend of his career at Pittsburgh’s CRG America Nationals in May. The Texan won four races at Pitt Race, but it was a different story at MRP, where he produced only one feature win and had to sit out most of Sunday’s competition because of bruised ribs.

Chelootz’s triumph came in Komet Heavy, the shortest field of the weekend at nine starters. The Top Kart driver dominated the 16-lap

Kyle Kalish


main, finishing nearly six seconds in front of Birel veteran Patrick Olsen. Jonathan Kotyk was third, Nick Stagl fourth and James Brock fifth.

Grand Products / Top Kart Parilla LeopardThe Leopard-only class produced one of the most eventful finals of the weekend. Jacob Donald dominated the race aboard his Arrow, crossing the stripe over two seconds ahead of Sam Beasley. However, Donald’s first Man Cup senior win was revoked only a few minutes into the celebration when he was disqualified for a seat height infraction.

Donald’s misfortune gave the win to Beasley, but it wasn’t just any victory. Beasley, who won the Pole Award, had problems in the prefinal and finished 28th, meaning he started the main in that position. The Arrow racer put on a diving clinic in the feature, passing nearly every kart on the track at nearly every corner imaginable, and turning a fast time over three-tenths of a second quicker than all of his competitors.

Robert Bujdoso, who’s now splitting his time between Man Cup and ARCA stock cars, was second. Mason Chelootz ran third, Mick Gabriel fourth and Colton Ramsey fifth.

Franklinkart.com TaG 1Mason Chelootz and Andrew Palmer crossed the stripe one-two in the weekend’s opening TaG final, but neither made it through post-race technical inspection. The tech room outcome gave the win to MRP Birel racer Jesus Rios Jr., who was making his first WKA

appearance of the 2012 campaign.

Rios, most likely using the Man Cup event as a preparation for this summer’s Rotax Grand Nationals, finished well ahead of Sam Beasley for the victory. Colton Ramsey netted his best result of the 2012 Man Cup season with a third. Chris Wehrheim was fourth and Robby Seward fifth. Beasley won the Streeter Pole Award.

OTK Kart USA TaG 2Andrew Palmer got the jump on Jesus Rios Jr. at the start of the TaG 2 main, muscling his Kosmic around Rios into turn one. That was all Palmer needed as he gapped Rios nearly every lap on his way to a two-second triumph over the Saturday TaG winner.

Rios was a second and a half ahead of Chris Wehrheim for the runner-up spot. Sam Beasley ran fourth and Robbie Bujdoso fifth. Sixth through 10th were Jonathan Kotyk, Tommy Andersen, Robby Seward, Raquel Martinez and Jacob Knueven.

Thirty-nine karts started the Sunday TaG main. Palmer won the Pole Award and Rios triumphed in the prefinal.

DRT Racing TaG Masters Final 1Sixteen drivers made up a competitive TaG Masters field. Pittsburgh double winner Scott Ferris qualified his Top Kart on the pole but ran into mechanical issues in the prefinal that forced him to retire.

S. Ferris’ heat race misfortune opened the door for several competitors. John Dixon and Jeff Jewell took advantage with Dixon

winning the prefinal and Jewell taking second. Once the green flag waved on the final, Jewell moved his Margay into the top position and slowly began moving away from Dixon and the rest of the field.

Jewell ended up scoring the win – Margay’s first of the 2012 Man Cup season – by a comfortable 2.2-second gap over Dixon. Chuck Tate was third, John Ferris III fourth and Brian McEvoy fifth. S. Ferris advanced through the field but ran out of time, taking sixth.

Margay Racing Products TaG Masters Final 2Scott Ferris avoided any mechanical issues in Sunday’s TaG Masters program and went on to sweep the day in the 35-and-older category. Ferris’ feature triumph came by 5.5 seconds over John Dixon and marked his third win in four TaG Masters starts since he turned 35 years old before Pittsburgh.

Bobby Cummings took third, Kim Carapellatti fourth and Russ Hamel fifth. Five different chasses makes made up the top-five positions. Ferris was on his familiar No. 21 Top Kart, Dixon on a FA Kart, Cummings on a Birel, Carapellatti on a PCR and Hamel raced a CRG.

Comet Kart Sales Yamaha Sportsman 1David Malukas made it two-for-two in Saturday’s first two Jr Sportsman main events. Malukas wheeled his No. 79 Birel to a close win over Leonardo Stoia’s PCR. Stoia hounded Malukas throughout the 16-lap event but never made a move on the Chicago driver over the last couple circuits, allowing Malukas to race to an uncontested victory.

Jesus Rios Jr.


Brandon Lemke finished 2.5 seconds back of the lead duo in third. Braden Eves was fourth and Zach Holden rounded out the top five. Michael D’Orlando took sixth, Simon Sikes seventh, Nick Luedeke eighth, Jared Cordova ninth and Kaden Harter 10th.

“I knew Leo was there and I kept waiting for him to make a move, but our MKP Birel had enough speed to keep him back. Leo is such a good racer that I thought for sure he’d have something for us. I just focused on hitting my marks and staying smooth. Our kart worked really well in the hot temperatures. Jason (Birdsell) had it set up perfect,” Malukas commented.

“I’m very thankful to everyone who

helped make our great weekend happen,” he added. “My dad, HMD Trucking, my tuner Jason (Birdsell) and my coach Wes (Phillips), Doug (Fleming, engine builder) and the entire MKP team. I also want to thank my mom, sisters and family for coming to the track and cheering me on this weekend.”

Lemke won the Streeter Super Stands Pole Award and prefinal. Thirty-seven karts started the main.

MRP / Birel Yamaha Sportsman 2Brandon Lemke captured his second win of the day Sunday afternoon in the MKP Nationals’ fifth and final Jr Sportsman feature. The Wisconsin Merlin racer fended off challenges from New York Kosmic pilot Michael D’Orlando on his way to the close 0.051-second

triumph.

The lead pair finished over four seconds ahead of third-place Leonardo Stoia. David Malukas couldn’t match his Saturday success but came home with another top five in fourth. Braden Eves netted his third top-five result of the weekend with a fifth-place run.

“I would like to thank my parents

J.P. Southern Jr. was sixth, Brendan Cullura seventh, Thayne Chapin eighth, Simon Sikes ninth and Michael Cruz 10th in the 39-kart field. Lemke swept the three rounds of competition.

Woltjer Racing Engines Yamaha Jr LiteThe MKP Nationals largest


divisions were Yamaha Jr with 45 entrants in Saturday’s Yamaha Jr Lite program, and a whopping 46 starters in Sunday’s Yamaha Jr Heavy.

Mike McAndrews put his Streeter Super Stands / Switch Racing Engines-backed MRP Birel ahead of his 44 competitors in Saturday’s main. After making the pass for the lead on lap 13, the Wisconsin racer fended off challenges from Pittsburgh double Junior winners Kyle Kalish and Ashley Rogero on his way to his first Manufacturers Cup win of the season.

“I was very anxious to get back to victory and winning again,” McAndrews said. “I am very, very pleased with the result and couldn’t have done it without the help of

my entire crew. Shout out to Tim O’Donnell, who worked his tail off in the 115-degree temperatures and never gave up believing in me.”

Brandon Jarsocrak finished behind McAndrews, Kalish and Rogero to take fourth. Kyle Kirkwood filled the top five. Derek Dignan was sixth, Emerson Reed seventh, Elliot Finlayson eighth, Garrett Johnston ninth and Austin Osborne 10th.

Verde Speed Resources Yamaha Jr HeavyWhen the last final of the weekend rolled to the line late Sunday afternoon, Merlin racer Kyle Kalish had one last shot to capture an MKP Nationals win after scoring a pair of wins at the previous Man Cup round in Pennsylvania.

Kalish made good on his last opportunity, pulling out to a 1.4-second lead on Arrow pilot Kyle Kirkwood and cruising to a convincing victory. Kirkwood capped his fine weekend with a second-place run. Mike McAndrews couldn’t score the hat trick but came home a strong third. Emerson Reed had his best Man Cup run of the season with a fourth. Joel Jens stayed consistent and rounded out the top five.

Matt Solarczyk took sixth, Ashley Rogero seventh, Chase Jones eighth, Ryan Raffa ninth and Elliot Finlayson 10th. Kalish swept the program, winning the Pole Award and prefinal before netting the feature win.

Yamaha Supercan Lite

Brandon Lemke


Jimmy Clark made it look easy in Yamaha Supercan Lite. Aboard a sleek No. 18 CRG, Clark raced to a six-second lead over Tony Jump’s Margay by the time the checkers waved on the 16-lap final. What’s equally as impressive is Clark won in his first Man Cup outing of the season after skipping the opening three rounds of the series.

Weston Moon followed Clark and Jump across the line for third. Point leader Dakota Pesek was fourth and Collin Griffin fifth in the 21-kart field.

Patrick Olsen finished sixth in the main but did win the Pole Award earlier in the day.

APPCO Karting Yamaha Supercan HeavyEntering MRP, no driver had won

more than one Supercan final in the series’ opening three rounds. Jimmy Clark changed that and did it in the big way Sunday afternoon at the MKP Nationals.

After dominating Saturday’s Supercan Lite final, Clark controlled each round of competition in Sunday’s program, winning the Pole Award and cruising to the prefinal and final triumphs.

The CRG chauffeur won the main by a five-second margin over Patrick Olsen, who conquered a fierce battle for second including third-place finisher Dakota Pesek, fourth-place Adam Crepin and fifth-place Collin Griffin.

Twenty-three karts made up the Supercan Heavy starting field.

SPL Kid KartsThree kid karters gained laps and valuable experience around the challenging Michiana Raceway Park circuit. Lizzy Gray, Sinead Lynch and Carter Mears made every round of the Kid Kart exhibitions throughout the weekend. All three drivers looked good on the track as they prepare to advance to the Yamaha Rookie Sportsman division in the coming years.

Next up for the WKA Manufacturers Cup is an Aug. 3-5 date for the KartLift Nationals at Concept Haulers Motor Speedway near Norway, Illinois.


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TUNED EXHAUST PRODUCTS

LAWSON REMAINS ON TOP AT BAKER RACING ENGINES NATIONALS

The WKA RLV Tuned Exhaust Products Gold Cup Series returned to Michiana Raceway Park July 13-15 for round three of its five-race 2012 national series. The event marked the first time the Gold Cup had visited the popular South Bend, Ind.-area venue since 2003 and only the third time the series has ever run at MRP.

As one of the most grueling hot summers in American history continues, another steamy weekend greeted WKA national race teams at the Baker Racing Engines Nationals, one weekend removed from the Mazda /

Bridgestone Manufacturers Cup’s MKP Nationals at MRP that saw temperatures exceed 100 degrees throughout the three-day event.

The uncomfortably sizzling temps didn’t deter teams and drivers from putting on some great shows throughout the three days of racing.

In the end, Mentor, Ohio’s Gary Lawson topped all drivers with three national class victories and the win in Friday night’s Animal Heavy Money Race. Lawson’s four triumphs edged New York’s Jake Lutz, who swept the three Junior features he started. The three wins

marked Lutz’s first since moving to the Junior ranks at the beginning of the season.

Other top performers were Andrew Castelucci, who swept the LO206 Kid Kart main events. Cody Hall did the same in the Jr Sportsman 1 Box Stock finals. Tyler Frantz earned his first Gold Cup feature victories in the Sportsman 2 category, while Tim Stiefel dominated the Masters features on his way to a double-win weekend.

Jacob Duvall continued his outstanding 2012 season in the X-30 Senior division, winning both


LAWSON REMAINS ON TOP AT BAKER RACING ENGINES NATIONALS

features aboard his DR Kart. New York racers Ryan Bavineau and Nick Fauci earned the first national wins of their careers in Restricted Junior and Sportsman 1 Heavy, respectively.

Here’s a rundown of the action at the Gold Cup’s return to Michiana.

Gary Lawson sweeps Perhaps the winningest Gold Cup racer in the history of the series added four more triumphs to his win total at MRP. Gary Lawson won every feature he started aboard his familiar No. 10 Arrow, including Friday night’s Animal Heavy Money Race and Box Stock

Senior Final 1 in his first Gold Cup appearance with a Clone-powered kart.

Lawson kicked off the weekend with another win in the Money Race. After dominating the first 12-lap segment, Lawson restarted sixth and needed eight of the 12 laps in the final segment to catch Coyote racer Sean Meier and make the pass for the lead. Lawson proceeded to gap Meier by nearly a second over the last four laps and score his first Money Race triumph of the season.

Meier, the Jacksonville Money Race victor, was second. Dakota Bell ran third, Scott Kleman fourth

and Chris Wells fifth in the 16-kart field.

Lawson swept the program in Saturday’s MGM Stock Heavy and Sunday’s Stock Medium.

Stock Heavy saw Lawson dominate the race with a 3.5-second win over MGM racer Tyler Sandmeyer. Meier was third, Dylan Zobkiw fourth and Harry Smith rounded out the top five in the 14-kart field.

Stock Medium’s top-three racers clearly were Lawson, Bell and JR Petrella. Each driver finished first, second and third in the three rounds of competition. The race for

ARTICLE BY: KEITH SHAMPINE - [email protected] BY: KAREN BROWN - [email protected]


the win was quite a bit closer than Stock Lite. Bell ran down Lawson, especially in the latter stages of the 12-lapper, and nearly had enough to get by the Arrow pilot.

But Lawson proved too tough, crossing the stripe 0.419 seconds in front of his fellow Ohio competitor. Petrella was nearly three seconds back of the winner in third. Kleman, who also raced at MRP the weekend prior at the Man Cup national, finished fourth. Wells completed the top five. Sandmeyer was sixth, Tony Wimmer seventh, Travis Manning eighth, Joshua Stiefel ninth and Zobkiw 10th. Eighteen karts started the race.

Lawson’s other win came in Saturday’s Senior Box Stock Final 1 affair. Starting scratch in the 11-kart field for the prefinal, Lawson made it to fourth and then worked his way past point leader Eric Fagan on lap four of the final. Fagan kept close to Lawson throughout the rest

of the race but fell 0.140 seconds short at the finish. Matthew Horst was third, Cale Downs fourth and Connor Lund fifth.

Fagan returned Sunday and drove Lawson’s Arrow to the win in Senior Box Stock Final 2. The win was Fagan’s second of the year in the Sunday version of Senior Box Stock and extended his point lead over Georgia racers Tyler Bell and Horst.

Horst finished second to Fagan. Tim Bannon was third, Lund fourth and Downs fifth.

Lutz scores hat trick, Bavineau wins his firstWestern New York racer Jake Lutz wheeled his Coyote XP to a near perfect weekend in Jr Lite, Medium and Heavy. Lutz, who missed Barnesville, won his first Junior races of the season and did it in mostly dominating fashion. The only round of competition Lutz did

not win among qualifying, heats and features was Jr Lite qualifying, in which he timed second fastest.

The multi-time Jr Sportsman Gold Cup national champion bested fast-timer Dustin Demattia in Barnes Paving Jr Lite. The win was a close one with Demattia crossing the stripe just 0.183 seconds back. Jacksonville triple winner Jacob Heavlow was third, Sarah Luoma fourth and Tyler Smith rounded out the top five.

A trio of Coyotes led the way in Jr Heavy. Lutz bested Ryan Bavineau for the win by a mere 0.143-second margin. C.J. Leturneau was third, over seven seconds back of the winner. Florida’s Aren Smith was fourth and Michigan’s Tyler Woods fifth.

Lutz’s most comfortable feature win came in Thor Oil Jr Medium. The New Yorker crossed the stripe nearly two seconds ahead of


Heavlow for the score. Demattia was third, Leturneau fourth and Bavineau fifth.

In what was a relatively smooth weekend, Jake spoke of one incident that had him taking evasive action.

“Our new 2012 Coyote XP with Baker Racing Engines hit the track on Friday practice fast right off the trailer. We only needed small air pressure and some small chassis adjustments to keep it fast all weekend. Our chassis stayed free and consistent every time out on the track.”

“Our only scary moment came on our first lap of qualifying in Jr Lite,”

Lutz explained. “A driver ahead of me spun their kart out and I slid into it, bending my left-rear wheel and nerf bar. My kart wouldn’t turn left very easy and surprising we still qualified second. If it wasn’t for that second-place qualifying it would have been a prefect sweep, but I’ll take three heat and features wins anytime. “I also want thank my sponsors National Bank Equipment and Grand Island Sales & Service and congratulate my fellow Coyote drivers Ryan Bavineau and Nick Fauci on their first national wins. Every race it seems like these Coyote XP’s are up front and competing for the win.”

Roberts Kart Shop / Razor Chassis Restriced Junior prohibits Lutz from running as the class is secured only for drivers who have not won a national championship. Bavineau made it three different winners in three races in the class, besting Demattia by a tight 0.180-second margin. Leturneau was third, Woods fourth and Josh Miller fifth. Bavineau, who won his first-ever Gold Cup race with the win, now leads the points by 35 points over Demattia.

“It was great to come across the finish line with all my friends and family going crazy on the fence,” the Kolb For Assembly / Abrasive Tool Care-sponsored Bavineau said. “I would like to thank my


parents for making all of this possible – driving all across the U.S. for my races. Thanks to Mr. Fauci for helping me all of these years, Steve Baker from Baker Racing Engines for building me a great engine, as well as Jim Lipari from Coyote Motorsports. Also, thanks to my aunt Jane for coming and supporting me at all my nationals.”

Castelucci, Duvall, Frantz, Hall, Stiefel double upFive drivers raced to a pair of Baker Racing Engines Nationals triumphs.

Andrew Castelucci had an easy time of it in the Michigan Kart Supply LO206 Kid Kart features. Castelucci, who was making his first Gold Cup appearance, won by a 7.7-second margin over Cale Hall in Final 1. Ashton Carter was third, Dalton Smith fourth, Duquan Lane fifth and Zac Fowler sixth.

Castelucci pulled out to a whopping 22-second lead over Carter in Final 2 before the checkers waved. Hall was third, Fowler fourth, Lane fifth and Smith sixth. Six karts marked the best field of the season for the LO206 class in its inaugural year on the Gold Cup circuit.

Jacob Duvall continues to impress in the new X-30 Senior division. Duvall won both finals on the weekend to bring his 2012 Gold Cup win total to six. He’s currently undefeated in the Gold Cup X-30 division on the season aboard his DR Kart.

Duvall won by 4.8 seconds over Birel pilot Blake Deister in Saturday’s Final 1. Jackson Mears was third, Cale Rogers fourth and Mike Richey fifth.

Sunday saw the Florida racer fend off Mears to the finish, crossing the stripe only a few kart-lengths ahead. Richey was third and Deister fourth.

Tyler Frantz won his first Gold Cup mains after several years of trying, and he did it in a big way. The Maryland racer not only won Saturday’s American Power Sports Sportsman 2 Lite, but backed it up with a sweep of the Sportsman 2 Animal divisions with his Heavy win on Sunday.

The 13-year-old Turner Racing

Engines driver went led wire-to-wire in Sportsman 2 Lite. Frantz pulled out to a convincing 3.3-second lead over Georgia’s Connor Tebbe before the checkers flew. David Kalb Jr. was third, Tyler Stiefel fourth and Jacob Zellner fifth.

“I thought my first national win would have been a battle with a few of the top driver, but I was able to pull away,” Frantz admitted. “A special thanks to my mom and dad, Cort Turner for an awesome engine and for my family and friends for their support and making my first national win very special.”


Frantz took the lead for good on lap 8 of the Barnes Paving Sportsman 2 Heavy feature and went on the win by a 1.7-second margin over Zellner. Tebbe was third, Dylan Murry fourth and Kalb fifth.

“After battling for a few laps with Dylan Murry and Jacob Zellner, I made contact with Dylan, took the lead and then pulled away,” Frantz explained after win No. 2 on the weekend. “I could not believe that I won the pole position both days and won both features. Thanks again to my family, friends and Turner Engines for giving me a

great weekend I will never forget!”

Cody Hall picked up his second and third Jr Sportsman 1 Box Stock feature wins in a row. After winning his first race of the year on Sunday at Barnesville, Hall swept the weekend at MRP.

The Georgia Razor Chassis driver raced ahead by 2.4 seconds over Jason Alder to win Final 1. Matthew Miller was third, Zack Wells fourth and Emil Schulz fifth.

Hall returned Sunday and had to work hard for the win in Sportsman 1 Box Stock Final 2. The 11-year-

old racer passed Miller for the lead with only three laps to go and fended off the Maryland racer on his way to his second win of the weekend. Alder was third, Wells fourth and Schulz fifth.

Hall spoke after his big weekend in Indiana.

“I thank my competitors for racing a good, clean race. I’d like to thank my parents, Steve and Stacy Roberts and Alex Carter for their support. I would also like to thank Robbie Ullah for his support in the Sportsman 1 class,” Hall said.

Tim Stiefel carried the Coyote banner high in the pair Masters divisions, winning both. The New York veteran won over fellow Coyote pilot Michael Chapman in Masters Medium. David Barry was third. Barry came back Sunday to run second to Stiefel with Chapman in third. Stiefel won handily in both races.

Fauci, Murry, Tebbe, Zellner all Jr Sportsman winnersGabriel Zellner and Nick Fauci split the Sportsman 1 Animal mains, while Dylan Murry and Connor Tebbe each won a Sportsman 2 Box Stock feature.

For Zellner, the victory in Performance North Sportsman 1 Lite was his fourth of the season in Gold Cup. The young Wisconsin racer captured the win by a tight 0.119-second margin over Zachary Wells. Matthew Miller was third, Joshua Stark fourth and Jason Alder fifth. The win extended Zellner’s point lead to 70 markers over Wells.

Sunday’s Sportsman 1 action saw a first-time winner in young Nick


Fauci. The second-year Brockport, N.Y., racer passed Zellner for the lead on lap three and opened up a 0.325-second gap before the checkers waved. Alder also overtook Zellner to finish second. Gabe was third, Stark fourth and Wells fifth in the 12-lap feature.

“I want to thank a lot of people for my first win,” Fauci began. “I’d like to thank my competitors for a great race, my mom and dad, my brother and sister Michael and Kaytlyn, Baker Racing Engines, Coyote Motorsports and JR Evans.”

Georgia racers Dylan Murry and Connor Tebbe added to their 2012 Gold Cup win totals at MRP. Murry won his second Gold Cup main of the year with his win over Jacob Zellner in Sportsman 2 Box Stock Final 1. Tebbe was third.

Tebbe came back strong Sunday to win his third Gold Cup Box Stock feature of the year in Final 2. Tebbe won over Zellner, Murry and Austin Schulz.

“I got a good start and the tires came in quickly,” the 12-year-old Bodytronics.com-sponsored Tebbe said. “My Razor was rolling. Nice to get the win after getting caught in someone else’s accident on Saturday. We had the kart to beat both days! Our Razor was on rails!”

Four different winners between X-30 and Box Stock JuniorTanner Lee and Tyler Smith split the Jr Box Stock mains while Ashley Rogero and Derek Sobel each won X-30 Junior features.

Lee bested Aren Smith by a half-

second gap to win Jr Box Stock Final 1. Aren’s twin brother, Tyler Smith, was third and Michigan’s Tyler Woods fourth.

Tyler Smith returned Sunday to notch another Jr Box Stock triumph with his victory in Final 2. Aren was second in this one, followed by Lee and Woods.

Both Lee and Tyler Smith wheeled Razor chassis to victory.

WKA Manufacturers Cup regular Ashley Rogero made her first Gold Cup appearance and promptly put her No. 17 Tony Kart in Victory Lane. A week removed from a couple top-five finishes at the Man Cup’s MKP Nationals, Rogero won the Franklinkart.com X-30 Junior Final 1 feature over point leader Derek Sobel. Dustin Stross was


third and Chase Jones fourth.

Sobel returned strong on Sunday and was able to out-duel Rogero to the victory in Final 2. The win was Sobel’s fourth of the season and he now has at least one win at each of the three tracks the Gold Cup has visited thus far in 2012. Rogero was second and Stross third.

“I was passed on the last lap and then I passed with a crossover the very next corner and was able to get the win. Thanks to my dad and everyone who helps out,” Sobel said after his win.

Manning, Petrella victorious in senior competitionTravis Manning scored MGM chassis’ only win of the weekend and, ironically, he did it in the class MGM’s rival Coyote Motorsports sponsors. Manning captured the Coyote Stock Lite victory over Coyote racer Steven Kilsdonk. Manning won by nearly a three-second margin over Kilsdonk.

“I wrecked and came back onto the track and ran down the leader,” Manning recalled. “Huge thank you

to my dad, family, crew, MGM and GT Machine. It never could have been done without them.”

JR Petrella was third, Robbie Jones fourth and Chris Wells fifth.

After third-place runs in Stock Lite and Medium, Petrella made it a terrific weekend with his Sunday afternoon score in Margay Racing Products Animal Amateur Medium. Petrella swept the day in the Amateur class, qualifying on the pole, winning the heat and besting Travis Manning by 0.232 seconds in the 12-lap feature. Tony Wimmer finished third, Ryan Bennett fourth and Harry Smith rounded out the top five in the nine-kart field.

David Barry was the only entrant in Animal Modified Heavy, thus scoring the uncontested victory.

Next up for the Gold Cup is an August 17-19 date at western Pennsylvania’s Pittsburgh International Race Complex, formerly BeaveRun.

The Performance North / Jammer

Clutches Nationals at Pittsburgh will be round four of the five-race RLV Tuned Exhaust Products Gold Cup Series. The season will conclude Sept. 21-23 at New Jersey Motorsports Park.


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