Archives - Norcal Karters

9-3-08 BENNY MOON CLAIMS POLE AND PODIUM IN NASCAR LATE MODEL

September 3, 2008 – NASCAR Late Model up and comer Benny Moon scored the pole position for the NASCAR Late Model event held on Saturday, August 30^th at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale in Irwindale, California. Moon ran a very strong race to score a solid podium result in the first of two events.

Benny Moon, who is a member of the Ron Sutton Winners Circle Driver Development Program (RSWC), turned a solid qualifying lap to claim the pole position in the competitive NASCAR Late Model series. The 23-year-old Sacramento, California pilot would lead the field to the green flag in the first 40 lap race.

With the outside groove working better, Moon was forced to start on the difficult inside line and struggled to maintain his position early in the race. Looking to stay on the point, the High Point Racing driver was forced to give up the lead in order to find a slot in the outer grove. Moon mixed it up with the lead trio for the entire first event and eventually came home with a solid third place result.

The second forty lap main event would go the same for Moon as he was pinched down on the inside grove at the drop of the green flag. Using his experience, Moon was able to hold several competitors at bay while he ran around the bottom side of the race track. Moon would run another strong race and cross the stripe in the sixth position to score another solid result.

“Benny Moon is pure talent,” stated Ron Sutton. “This is only his third time on this track or with this team. He has a bright future."

In the post race technical inspection a bad right front shock was found hindering the speed and handling of Benny Moon’s ride. Though no fault of the team, the shock would only work properly when it was cool and after some heat was built into it, the shock would not work like it was designed to.

“All the teams do not test their shocks when they are hot,” stated Moon after the event. “It is good we found it when we did. This will likely help us at future events. If we would have found it sooner, I believe we could have walked away from this weekend with two podium results including a victory.”

Benny would like to thank his sponsors: Ron Sutton’s Winners Circle, Bell Racing and team sponsors including, J.B. Distributing, High Point Racing and Race Car Factory. A special thanks to team owner Tim Huddleston, crew chiefs Kevin and Travis, and all the rest of the guys on the team that make this possible.

Benny Moon’s next event will be October 23 – 25 in Las Vegas, Nevada as he will look to continue his momentum from these top ten results and turn them into victory.

8-26-08 Russell Sept Race to add TaG Grand Masters Class

TaG Grand Masters, the largest class at Infineon between 2005 and 2007 will be added to the September program of the Jim Russell Karting Sunday Series on September 21. Unfortunately due to class structure changes in 2008, this very well supported amateur class was not offered this year. But the September Jim Russell Karting series will be running the new Reverse National track in September and would like to offer the TaG Grand Masters class so as to allow the drivers who have not been running at Infineon this season to come back and experience this very popular track layout.

Rules for TaG Grand Masters will be the same as 2007: drivers must be 45 and older, weight is 390 pounds, tires are Bridgestone YHC, fuel is ERC 89, oil is Burris Hi-Rev Castor or Motul, engines are Parilla or BM only, National Cup spec motors will be allowed to run at 390 pounds, entry fee is $100, and the race will be organized and race directed by Ric Shaw. All just like 2007.

The date is September 21, practice will started at 8:30, 3 practice session will be run in the morning. Practice on Friday September 19 is available from 1:00 to 6:00.

So get out that dusty TaG GM kart and come drive on of the most fun track layouts. For more information, contact Ric Shaw at ricshaw_srp@hotmail.com.

8-26-08 Jim Russell Sunday Series Round #5 Recap

A good turnout of 30 karts for the four Sunday classes of the Jim Russell Karting Championships Round #5. The 80 Grand Masters had there largest field of the year with 10 karts, and there were tough races in all four classes on the tough and tight Sprint track layout.

Junior 1 – Gazelle – 5 drivers took to the track with Noah Hermansen (Birel) taking pole over the 2 winners of the 4 races so far this year. 3 time winner Maxx Marian (Italkart) was second and Race #1 winner Benjamin Barudoni (Birel) 3^rd. In the Pre-Main, Marian swept around the outside of turn one to slingshot himself into the lead over Hermansen. Noah stayed close the whole race but just could not find the way around. Noah finished 2^nd less than a second back, Barudoni 3^rd and Jason Morgan (GP) 4^th. On the start of the 15 lap Main, Morgan got the jump on Noah and Barudoni and took 2^nd in the early parts of the race. Barudoni then got by and then finally Hermansen, Noah falling back a bit. Hermansen put his head down to try and reel in Barudoni and got close, by had to settle for finishing 3 tenths behind Ben. At race end, Marian won his 4^th straight race, Barudoni 2^nd, Hermansan 3^rd, Robbie Rodriguez 4^th and 5^th was Morgan.

Comer 1 and HPV-1 – 5 comers and 1 HPV-1 showed up to race. In qualify, the top time went to the Comer of Doug Braddock Jr.(Birel) followed by the HPV-1 of Austin Thomas (GP) and the Comer of Michael Avansino (Birel). In the Pre-Main, a tough battle all race long ensued between the top 3 drivers. Thomas took the lead at the drop of the flag with Braddock and Avansino on his heals. While Braddock was working to make a move on the HPV-1, Avansino shipped by to take over 2^nd. At the end, it was Thomas, Avansino, Braddock and Austin Makeev (PCR). In the Main, Thomas got sideways going through turn one on the start and Braddock had to also go sideways to avoid a back wreck. Michael went into the lead followed Thomas, Makeev and Trevor Mathis (Birel). Braddock now had to make up some ground. First Mathias got by Makeev to take over 3^rd, then he started chasing down Thomas. Braddock then caught Makeev, but could not find the way around lap after lap. In the end, Avansino went on the win his first ever feature, Thomas 2^nd and the HPV-1 winner, Mathias took has second podium in a row, Makeev 4^th, his best finish this year with the class points leader Braddock having to settle for 5^th over and 4^th in class.

HPV2 and Puma – The HPV2-Puma race produced one of the most excepting races this year. 8 HPV2 drivers and one Puma took the green. Just turned 12 Conner Ford (Birel) put his kart on pole for the second race in a row. Joseph Keaton (Intrepid) took second followed by Brody Zink (Monza) and Kathyrn Cornell (Intrepid). On the start of the Pre-Main, Zink got under Keaton in turn one to take over 2^nd and the field pretty much just ran nose to tail. Thus the finish had few changes from Qualify, Ford 1^st, Zink 2^nd, Keaton 3^rd and Cornell 4^th. In the Main, Ford took the lead out of turn one, then Zink threw a chain coming out of the Tic-Tac-Toe. Keaton picked up second again, Cornell 3^rd and a strong start for Daniel Langon (GP) moved up into 4^th. Ford had a modest lead at half distance, but by lap 10 you could see Keaton getting strong and cutting into Ford’s lead. On lap 13, Keaton caught and then passed Ford to take the lead. Ford was all over Keaton for the last 1 and ½ laps and he tried a tight pass move on the last turn before the checked. There was contact, Ford took the checked first, Keaton second. But after a race director ruling, Ford was put back one position and the win went to Joeseph Keaton, his second HPV2 win of the year. Ford took his second 2^nd place finish in a row, Cornell was a sold 3^rd only 2 seconds back. Langon had pressure on him all race but came home 4^th with Bobby Tifft (CRG) taking the 5^th. Shantae Barudoni (Trackmagic) took the Puma win.

80 Grand Masters and 80 Masters– The largest turn out of the year for this class. 9 GM drivers and one Masters. In the Qualify, Marc Stanley (MBA) took the pole ahead of a strong performance from Reno’s Darrel Dean (Arrows), Ron Tamba (MBA) the Masters driver in 3^rd, points leader Michael John (Energy) in 4^th and Ahmiel Freed (MDA) in 5^th. On the start on the Pre-Main, Dean won the drag race to the first corner and took the lead. Stanley looked everywhere to get by the potent Dean but had to settle for the 2^nd in the race 2 tenths of a second behind. Ron Tamba was 3^rd, John 4^th and Tom Nelson (Corsa Rossa) moving up one position to take the 5^th place. In the Main, things changed a lot. Stanley took the lead off the start then Michael John got into third and went inside Dean on the sweeper going into the infield section and the resulting side-by-side action forced Dean off the clean line and he slide off the exit of the corner and spun. Tamba also spun avoiding Dean and the two of them had to return to race will down. After all the spins, it was Stanley in front, John, Nelson and Freed and Michael LaGrone (MBA). During the race, three drivers were on the move. Dean and Tamba were now coming through the field, but also Steve Peterson (Italkart). Steve qualified 7^th, finished the Pre-Main in 6^th, and moved up after the Dean spin. Steve has a history of finishing the day strong, and today was no exception. He passed one at a time until be moved past Tom Nelson late in the race to take over the 2^nd place spot. Thus at the end, it was Marc Stanley for the win, followed by Peterson, Nelson, Freed, Tamba and Dean.

Next race will be Sunday, Sept 21 on the Reversed National track..

8-26-08 NNKC Race #8 Action

Reno Kart Club hosted Championship Race #8 Sunday August 24^th, 2008. The sky was clear and temperatures just a tad above 90 degrees.

Kids Karts unloaded their speed machines and whipped around the slick track. Throwing all the rubber down was Tyler Dean and Nicholas Persky. These two little guys ran all heats and both took home 1^st place trophies. Congrats to both of them for a long, hard racing day!

TaG Cadet was on grid next as this has been a great battle all year long with the top 3. Trever Listman grabbed pole at 52.1 seconds. But it was Justin Hoekman sweeping the first two heats and starting the main on pole. He would take the lead from the start and never look back for his 4^th win in a row. Trever Listman would finish .8 tenths of a second behind for 2nd place. Jordan Chaput (3^rd) would round out the top three.

TaG Senior class came out next with Tyler Wamre snatching pole at 47.544 over Curt Baker’s 47.545. Wamre would go on to win the first heat by 1.5 seconds over Brian Rivera and Baker. In the second heat, Rivera would lead until the white flag lap when Wamre dug it in at turn 1-2 and made the pass for the heat win. The main was set with Wamre sitting on pole and Rivera off pole. The green dropped and Rivera got a great start and push by Lindsey Browning (4^th) as he barreled into the first turn to take the lead. Wamre would stay on Rivera’s bumper the entire race looking for a place to pass. Time would run out as Rivera would finish 1^st and Wamre 2^nd. Baker finished in 3^rd followed by Browning in 4^th.

Jr1-2 took to the track next as 8 racers lined up for this one. Austin DeMent snatched pole with a 51.653 for another track record. 3 racers didn’t start the first heat due to problems so that set up Travis Barr to pull out a heat 1 win followed by Nicky Pritchard. The second heat was claimed by DeMent coming from the 6^th position followed again by Pritchard in 2^nd. That set up the main as Nicky Pritchard was on pole with DeMent off pole. The two would drag down to turn 1-2 with DeMent coming out ahead. There would be great battles for passes with all the young drivers throughout the race. Pritchard and Logan Wyman would change positions a couple times as finally Wyman would make the pass stick for good on Pritchard. DeMent would cruise to his 8^th straight victory of the season followed by Wyman (2^nd) and Pritchard (3^rd). Travis Barr would take home a 4^th with Nick Nitro Sommers in 5^th. Garrett Dixon, Trever Listman and Richard Stock would round out 6^th, 7^th and 8^th, respectively.

Rotax Max brought out 6 drivers as this has become, as in the past, a competitive group. Nick Wadlow grabbed pole at 48.0. Wadlow would go on to win the first heat over Chris McCabe. The second heat was captured by Pete Morley and again followed by McCabe in 2^nd. McCabe has made a nice transition from Road racing to Sprint racing in which he still road races. The main was up next with Wadlow sitting on pole with McCabe off pole. Wadlow got a great start and jumped into the lead. Morley grabbed second from McCabe. Eric Dean would find his way past McCabe and jump into 3^rd. Wadlow checked out from the pack as Morley and Dean would battle and swap positions for 2^nd and 3^rd. Wadlow would take the victory followed by Morley (2^nd) and Dean (3^rd).

TaG Masters was next up on the grid as Kevin Listman took pole with a blistering 47.6 run. Listman would win heat 1 and heat 2 in torrid fashion. That setup the main event with Listman on pole and Kerry Matthews off pole. The green would drop and see Matthews get a great push by Brian Rivera (outside 2^nd row) for the lead. On lap 2, Listman would make his move on Matthews as the two would go in side by side into turn 3. That pushed out Matthews and Rivera was able to capitalize on the same move in the same turn. Listman and Rivera would go on to battle for 9 laps as Rivera made every attempt to pass. The white flag dropped with Rivera getting his best spring out of turn 8-9 and the two barreled into turn 1-2 side by side with some “minor” touching. Listman would hold him off for the victory as Rivera had throttle problems after the contact followed by Wellard in 3^rd. Great Race!

TaG Junior was up next with Christian Scholz taking pole with a fast run of 46.6. Scholz would win the first heat and Chelsi Wagner would win the second heat. That set up the main event for what has been some of NNKC’s best racing of the year. Scholz was on pole with Wagner off pole. Wagner shot out into the lead with a great start. The two were again bumper to bumper for 11 laps. On the white flag lap, Scholz buried it deep into turn 1-2 on Wagner as the two were side by side. Scholz would come out of the corner in 1^st and win the race by .1 tenth of a second over Wagner in 2^nd.

TaG Novice came out with their biggest field of the year at 7 karts! Good job to all these karters for coming out to race. Rich Adams got on track fast with a pole run time of 47.5. Adams would go on to win the first heat followed by Billy Sewell. The second heat was claimed by Sewell followed by Adams. That set up the main with Adams on pole and Sewell off pole. The green flag waived and that sent the karts down the straight but a pile up occurred in turn 1-2. The whole field came to a dead stop as Amy Lim was able to navigate her way through the carnage. Lim would be able to pull out an 8 second lead over Sewell and Adams. Sewell would chase down Lim over the remaining 11 laps but her lead was too much to overcome as she won by .3 tenths of a second. This was Amy Lim’s first ever win in a kart. Congrats!

Formula 80 Senior was last on the track for the day as Mark Nason started where he left off the last race...FAST! He jumped on pole with a 46.50 over Cody McKinney’s 46.52. Nason would go on to win the first heat by a few seconds over McKinney. In the second heat, Cameron Bellamy was able to win followed by Nason. There were quite a few crashes throughout the day that led to some beat up karts. That set up the main event as Nason would take the early lead. Bellamy would get thrown back a couple spots due to some contact with McKinney. Ben Fisher would make his way past Bellamy as well. Nason would pull out a 4 second lead and never relinquish the top spot as he won again in strong fashion. McKinney would take 2^nd followed by Fisher (3rd) and Bellamy (4^th).

This was a great day with some intense racing. Were almost at the end. Look at the championship points in all classes to see how close it really is. Battles will be won and lost on the track in the next few weeks. Thankx to all the corner workers who helped, registration, tower, flagger and Race Director. We could not do this without any of you. Thank you.

Brian Rivera

NNKC - President

8-26-08 PKC So Cal 2008 Round 6

Santa Maria Kart Track August 29th & 30th

The Final Round of the 6-race ProKart Challenge So Cal kart racing series will be held in Santa Maria at the airport kart track this coming Saturday, August 30th. An open practice day will be held on Friday, August 29th from 9am to 5pm. Complete details are available at www.prokartchallenge.com, including an online store where you can pre-enter the event as well as purchase your SKUSA membership, MG-FZ spec tires, spec fuel/oil, transponder rentals, etc. The track configuration for this event is the Layout K nationals configuration.

Event Entry: Pre-entry cutoff for this event is midnight this coming Wednesday, August 27th. Enter before the cutoff and save $26 on your entry fees -- PLUS save yourself from standing in long registration lines at the track! Enter the event and purchase the other race products that you will need through the ONLINE store or call 951-491-0808. You can also download, fill out and fax your entry/order to 951-491-0809 -- especially if you prefer to PAY at the track. Click HERE for that form. If you do not receive an email confirmation of your entry within 24 hours, please call the office: 951-491-0808.

Other Important Race Event Info:

· Practice Day: Gates and Registration open on Friday, August 29th at 7:00am. Track is open from 9:00am to 5:00pm. Fuel and tire desks will be open 7:30am-3:00pm. Practice fees are $50, and do not require a SKUSA membership.

· Race Day: Gates and Registration open on Saturday, August 30th at 6:30am. First practice starts at 7:30am. Podium awards and raffle prizes will follow the final tech inspection. See the PKC website for the tentative race day schedule. A final copy of the schedule will be given out at the event.

· Overnight Camping & Trailer Parking: Overnight camping for this event, as well as trailer parking overnight, will be available starting Thursday afternoon, at no charge. Pre-reserved pit spots are available for $30/each. See the PKC website at www.prokartchallenge.com under Event Calendar for the gate hours and current pit map.

Please note: pets will be allowed on site for this event, but must be kept on a leash at all times and away from restricted areas of the airport property.
No motorized vehicles are allowed at this event, other than PKC staff vehicles.
The Moose Lodge will be on site both days providing the food concessions, including their famous Tri-tip BBQ sandwiches.
Although PKC's special room block at the Santa Maria Airport Radisson has expired, try this link to find an available hotel room at a good rate for this event: santamariahotels.

· Membership: ProKart Challenge requires a current SKUSA membership to race. Purchase or renew your membership thru the online store, or sign up at the track on Friday or Saturday morning. Memberships are good for 12 months.

· Colored Number Panels: ProKart Challenge now requires a specific color combination on your kart number panels. See the website under the RACE NUMBERS section for those specifics.

· Rules: See the PKC/SKUSA rulebook, as well as rules specific to this event, on the PKC website under the RULES section and in the INFO SHEET that will be included in your driver registration packet.

· Spec Tires: NEW FZ's! All classes must run PKC's MG Yellow tires, type "FZ". Race tires must be purchased from PKC and have the special PKC '08 stamp. Practice tires are open spec. Tire Availability: You may order your PKC practice/race tires to be shipped or for pickup at the track. Order them with your entry or separately thru the online store at www.prokartchallenge.com.

· Spec Fuel/Oil: All classes must run the PKC spec fuel/oil during all competition sessions: Motul Kart Grand Prix 2T oil + either VP MS98 or VP C12 (built motos only). Practice fuel/oil is open spec. Fuel Availability: Because it is unsafe for the PKC crew to transport large amounts of excess fuel, only enough spec fuel will be brought to the track to satisfy pre-event orders and projected race entries. Pre-ordering race/practice fuel/oil will guarantee your products will be on site.

· Air Boxes: All classes must run an airbox at this event. You can use up to three (3) 29mm +/- 1mm tubes.

· Weather: The 7-day weather forecast predicts sunshine, clear skies and temps in the mid 70's. Perfect weather for racing in this beachside community!

· Press Coverage: Media releases will be distributed to the major karting publications, giving everyone a chance to become a local hero to their family and friends.

· Series Prizes: See the PKC website for details about the 2008 series prizes. NOTE: The Championship points system is based on your best 5 of the 6 races for this season, so if you missed a round, you�re still in!

· Podium Prizes: Post-podium raffle prizes include tires, fuel, Mother's Polish products and more! All drivers in attendance are eligible.

See you at the track!

8-23-08 NNKC Newsletter

Hello all

We’re at it again with Championship Race #8 set for Sunday August 24^th. The schedule has been intense the last month. I’m glad to see most hanging on by the fiberglass in their seat! Many racers are faced with difficult decisions as the cost of karting is not getting any cheaper. With most championships still up for grabs, anything can happen these last 3 races.

Our night race went over well with 85 entries. The night was long but well worth the excitement in many classes. Next years will be even better! But it will end soonerJ

We have a workday September 6^th, 2008. This will be the last time we get a chance to clean up the facility before our big IKF event. We will need max participation again as we have had in the past couple workdays. Many of you are still in need of a workday to be eligible for season ending points. You must complete 2 track workdays and your 1 class workday for year end points eligibility. I have only reiterated this for the 100^th time because there will be some BIG surprises for some that have not worked yet and will not be eligible for year end awards distribution. No exceptions. If you are wondering if you have worked all your necessary days or are in need of one, please email me. I have a list compiled of all members who have worked on different projects throughout the year and workdays.

I have kept track of all class entries for 2008. We have had 390+ entries. That includes our normal classes plus F200, Kids Kart and 125icc. Doing the math, that comes out to 55 entries a race. Not bad at all. Our goal for 2008 was to have 50 entries per/race. We are soaring above that. Our biggest program has been the TaG Senior class. The top 4 classes as far as entries are concerned are the adult TaG and Formula 80 shifter classes.

ENTRIES PER CLASS THROUGOUT 2008

TaG Cadet -19

Jr 1-2 – 43

TaG Junior – 15

TaG Novice – 28

TaG Masters – 44

TaG Senior – 80

Formula 80 Masters – 57

Formula 80 Senior – 55

Rotax Max – 23

F-200 – 20

Kids Kart -6

125icc - 3

We have spent some money improving the track, making it more enjoyable on race days (raffles) and providing the members with donuts and coffee. Through all this, membership is high at 76 with many more family members. And the best thing is, we have more money in our account now than we did at the beginning of the year. All this happens because of MEMBERS like you. Keep it up! See you on race day!!!

Brian Rivera

NNKC - President

8-23-08 Jim Russell Norcal Rotac Challenge Race #7 Race Report

Another great weather day at the always comfortable Infineon Raceway near Sonoma, CA. Race #7 of the Norcal Rotax Series returns to the Sprint track layout for some tight racing on a track that favors kart handling and driver skill. 43 drivers took to the track

Senior Rotax - 11 drivers took to the track with the first 8 drivers within ½ second after Qualify. 5 time winner Gregory Liefooghe (CRG) took the pole ahead of Nikola Radosavljevich (Birel) and Matthew Powers (Birel). In the Pre-Main, Liefooghe and Nikola pulled away from the rest of the field early and Liefooghe then pulled away at the end to take a 2 second win, Nikola second, Powers 3 seconds back and Cameron Pringle (CRG) making up two spots to take 4^th. The Main started out well, but by lap 2, a feeding frenzy of passing found drivers diving under drivers as they attempted to make up positions on the tight Sprint track layout. Jeff Sakowicz (Birel), a Jim Russell instructor, worked his way into the top 4, Nikola lost a couple of spots in the duel with Sakowicz then on lap 6 got into a tangle that took him and David Arnstein (CRG) out.

Powers took up the job of putting pressure on Liefooghe then he was passed by Pringle, the only other Senior Rotax winner this year. Now Pringle stayed close to Liefooghe but by the end he was just over a second back. Liefooghe takes his 6^th win of the year, Pringle second, Powers 3^rd, Sakowicz a fine 4^th and Jake Mottaz (Birel) working his way through the tough field to take the 5^th.

Junior Rotax – A strong 10 driver field in this one, but after Qualify, it came down to a battle between two time winner Jordan Jadallah (CRG) taking pole over 3 time winner Donavon Wheeler (Birel). The next 4 drivers all Qualified within 1 tenth of each other, but were almost a half second back from the two leaders. Dylan Lupton (Birel) took 3^rd on the grid with Jordan Miller (Birel) in 4^th. In the 12 lap Pre-Main, Jadallah pulled out a quick lead and cruised home 3 seconds ahead of Wheeler followed by Lupton, Miller and Brody Zink (Monza) who were all within a second of each other at the end. The 18 lap Main looked like it was going to be another tough Jadallah-Wheeler battle but as the field exited turn one, Miller got up on Wheeler’s pipe and knocked it off. Wheeler stopped and got the pipe back on, but was a lap down when he rejoined the race. Miller also spun with the turn one contact and she is now last chasing the field. But with all the turn one commotion, Jadallah opened up a good lead and did not look back. Lupton took over 2^nd place, followed by Zink, Bobby Tifft (CRG) and Bryce Hybert (Birel). At the end the top 5 finished as they were with Jadallah taking a 12 second victory.

Rotax Masters – 9 drivers took the field in the Masters class with 2007 champ David Carlisle (CRG) taking the pole ahead of Dan Dollosso (CRG) and Jerry Pretti (CRG). In the Pre-Main, Carlisle controlled the race and went on to a 5 second win with Pretti 2^nd. Dolosso dropped out at 8 laps, thus 3^rd went to Jay Brosius (CRG) and Chris DeBruine (CRG) 4^th. On the start of the Main, the whole field seemed to squeeze together at turn one right behind Carlisle. Carlisle, Pretti and DeBruine made it through, but Brosius, Dollosso and Reno’s Eric Dean (CRG) were not so fortunate and were in the pits by lap 2. Carlisle went on to a commanding 8 second win over Pretti followed by DeBruine, Roy Keller (CRG) in 4^th and Peter Boot (Intrepid) in 5^th.

Rotax Masters Light – 5 drivers took the track in this Norcal regional class that runs the over 32 drivers at the Senior Rotax weight of 365 pounds. Joe Karrett (CRG) dominated the day by taking the pole, Pre-Main and Main in convincing fashion. But since Joe did not run the Main with the same tires he qualified on, he had to be placed in last. Thus Mike Lawler took the win in the Pre-Main and took a 6 second win in the Main. By his win, Lawler tightens the already tight points race in the class. In the Pre-Main, Mert Solis (Tonykart) was 2^nd ahead of Mary Beth Wilson (CRG). In the Main, it was Lawler, Marc Pingol (Swiss Hutless) in 2^nd, Wilson in 3^rd.

Rotax DD2 – 2007 DD2 Champ Gregory Liefooghe returns this race for his first DD2 race in the 2008 Norcal Series. This would be a tune up race for Liefooghe who plans to run the Senior Rotax and DD2 classes at the upcoming Rotax Nationals. Liefooghe (CRG) opens up by taking the pole ahead of Glen Poy-Wing (Swiss-Hutless) and Reno’s Kyle Gimple (CRG). In the Pre-Main, there was some bumping on the start that sent Gimple spinning and he had to make a charge from last. Liefooghe took the lead from the start followed by January Grove (CRG) who took advantage of the bumping and moved from 5^th to 2^nd. Poy-Wing caught back up to Grove and miss judged a pass attempt on Grove and they both went off. Grove was out and Poy-Wing joined her on the sidelines a lap later. David Arnstein (CRG) took over 2^nd with Gimple driving hard to come back to finish 3^rd. In the Main, Liefooghe took a quick and commanding lead. Gimple got by Arnstein to control 2^nd, but Poy-Wing started his charge from 7^th to eventually put pressure on Gimple. Poy-Wing just got by Kyle at the end, both drivers 16 seconds back of the winning Liefooghe. Arnstein was 4^th with Grove 5^th.

Next month the Rotax drivers have a busy month. The Rotax Nationals will have 8 Norcal drivers going back to compete for the top honors in Rotax and a possible berth in the World Finals. The Nationals will be Sept 9-13 in Shawano, Wisconsin. On Sept 20, the Jim Russell Norcal Rotax Challenge will return to Infineon for Race #8 on the Reverse National track layout. With the exception of the points lead in the Senior Rotax class (Liefooghe has a large lead) the points chase for the other four class championships are still very close.

8-16-08 Prairie City Club Action

The morning was a bit cooler for the suggested temperature with a slight breeze. Kart count was slightly down due to the summer vacation coming to an end and an exciting new year of school starting.

Kid Kart had an easy day of racing with no cautions or any wrecks. Bordogna's Hunter Kelly grabbed the top spot while Blake Milton with the fastest time of 43.715 came in 2^nd followed by Christian Maxwell, Jp Maxwell and Wyatt Couch for your top 5.

A low turnout for Jr 1-2 Cycle but these 3 drivers had a close battle all day. Bordogna's Cole Davis ran away with a fast time of 35.337 and left Jr Raczko and Bordogna's Nitro Nick Sommers to battle for the second spot. Raczko came home 2^nd leaving Sommers to 3^rd

Hpv-2 had a close battle in the main. Bordogna's Justin Cole broke during lap 9.Bordogna's Troy buckman had fast time of 33.413 but it wasn’t enough to break away from Kartel’s Shelby Sanders with Bordogna engine battling for the top spot. Kartel’s Birthday girl Ashlie Couch was hoping to get her birthday wish but didn’t get it and ended with 3^rd and Bordogna's Zachary Kelly for 4^th.

The highlight of the day was the Challenger Class with the biggest turnout of 6 karts. Bordogna's Joshua Wooten grabbed pole with a 39.000 followed by Cody Stillwell with a close 39.09. The first race of the day Stillwell broke in lap 3 so Wooten would take the win followed by Caitlyn Eckhardt. During the Main, Joshua Wooten Ran away with almost a 10 second leed over Caitlyn Eckhardt. Cody Stillwell would start from the back but Cody made podium taking home 3^rd, followed by Brittney Dozier, Jay Teel and Abby Okazaki.

Hpv 1 Bordogna's Cole Davis got pole with a fast time of 34.708 followed by Jr Raczko with a 34.893 setting your front row in the heat. Jr Raczko won the heat race close behind was Bordogna's Cole Davis and Bordogna's Jarred Campbell. Jr Raczko had a close finish for the top spot followed by Jarred Campbell and fast time Cole Davis 34.658, Bordogna's Tucker Dunbar and Bordogna's Taylor Jacobs.

Sr 80 shifter count was low due to the Rick Jerome Night race in Reno early in the morning. Tony Mangini grabbed pole with a 33.268 followed by Greg Guting 33.528. Jon Woznink Suffered Engine Failure that left him hanging out in the stands watching his class race the main event. Tony Mangini took the top spot with an almost 20 lead over Scott Formanek followed by Adam booker and Guting.

Tag Masters Mike hays grabbed pole with a 33.174 followed by John Chandler with a 33.246 setting your front row for the heat race. In the Main Mike Hays had fast time and came home grabbing the top spot followed closely behind was John Chandler. Ray Zarick, Woody Poynter and Richard Starr your top 5.

HPV3 Bordogna's Jamie Sander grabbed pole with a 33.498 closely behind Neil Woodford with a 33.523. In the Heat Sanders and Woodford would battle but Woodford suffered a DNF 3 laps before the checkered flag dropped. In the Main Bordogna's Sanders ran away with the top spot followed by Kyle Kerkholf, Kyle Mau, Alan Okazaki and Neil Woodford.

Super Sportsman Light had no suprise of the winner on this one. Curt Lopez absolutely dominated as he normally does walking away from the field. The main event was the exciting race. The start lopez got out in front and the battle was for second it looked to be as kemp would follow for second but a bonzai move by kayla krug put her into second spot. She never made contact with anybody but it threw every body off and sent kemp and gallagher off track moving Geoff Nickless into the 3rd position for most of the race. Kemp rallied from way back to eventually make a run at nickless once he cleared him he set his sights on krug. he ran her down and passed her with about two to go. This was one of the exciting races of the day. So it was Lopez by a longshot followed by Kemp, Krug, Gallagher, Nickless rounded out the top 5.

HPV 4- #23 Ryan Rasberry finally picked up that first win, ( he has lots of 2nd place finishes) and had the other drivers been paying attention they would have given him the standard ice water bath that all first time winners are enjoying during trophy time. Shelby Sander most of the time has the top spot fought Ryan hard and finished the race in second spot with a big grin on her faced followed by 03 Bordogna's Troy Buckman also a forse to always be in the mix.....let me tell you those 3 karts were glued to each other the whole race long and it was anyone's bet on who was gonna cross the line first with #25 Nick Phillips watching and following up last race of the day was 80 master Shifters: again the class size was down with some drivers on vacation and others probably watching or racing in Reno's big race
The win went to #4- Steve "hang loose " Nagai, followed by #23 John Montes, #67 Tony Rodriguez, #40 Tim Bolen

Rodriguez had pole with a 33.442, Nagai 33.852, on the start Rodriguez had problems which after a great heat win would leave him back in the field trying to chase Nagai who made a great move around Rodriguez on the start and Bolen running into turn 1 leaving the rest of the class to play catch up. It took Rodriquez until lap 6 to make the move to get by and Montes on lap 12 got by Tony to pick up the spot. I understand another motor let loose on this class although I didnt talk to the driver to know if that was fact or race track talk.

Tag Senior class was heating up and you could feel the buzz on the grid even through the smoke that hung like fog cover'd the area you could see through the racers visors that they were all out for the top spot. Going into this race weekend there were 5 drivers all within 12-49 points of 2nd place. Ban holds the number 1 spot with a lead of 131 points. Ban set the pace with a new track record for the Esses layout. In the main it looked like it would be another big battle as Energy team mates were lined up together on the outside, Ban Kartel -Top kart was on pole, with Phillips Kartworld Birel behind him, Ban's Top kart hope (Espinosa ) was sitting back in 6th so he knew his help would come from Phillips which made an outstanding team player as he glued himself to Ban going down for the green and stayed with him going all the way into turn 1 and turn 2 leaving the outside row to find another hole to fit into. Ban and Phillips started to pull away. 3rd place back to 6th was a battle for most of the race as they were sitting nose to tail drafting and trying to pass.Coming into lap 5 Energy teamates Kemp and Mason tried to draft to the front and got together behind Phillips and Espinosa and both drivers ended up against the turn 1 haybales facing each other with tempers flared Mason was able to pull back on the track and limp around a few more laps before his kart expired for the day. The day ended Kemps run for 2nd place lead dropping him back to 5th in points. Phillips, Espinosa and Sander made some great passes back and forth leaving the final lap with Ban #1,Sander #2, Phillips #3, Espinosa # 4,Brown # 5. 2nd in points is now Sander- minus 141 from 1st place, Brown minus 161, Phillips minus 200, Kemp minus 203.

Story and Photo’s taken by Bev Ban. More pictures for the event can be viewed at http://zenfolio.com/speedwaynut.

8-14-08 ALCORN HITS FIFTH WIN AT PROKART CHALLENGE NORTH ROUND FIVE EVENT

S4 driver continues to impress at SKUSA’s Northern California region while Toft and Martindale add victories

SONOMA, CA (August 9, 2008) – The fifth round of the Superkarts! USA ProKart Challenge North program saw another great turnout at the Jim Russell International Karting Center under clear sunny skies this last weekend. The penultimate round of the series competed on August 9 utilizing the standard 3/4-mile national configuration of the Sonoma, California facility. Following a full day of practice and BBQ sponsored by Diede Construction the day before, drivers and teams continued chasing the championship in the eight divisions.

Heading into the weekend, Jason Toft held the top spot in the two divisions, TaG Senior and S3. His shifter machine was near perfection in round five. After earning top honors in S3 qualifying, Toft ran second in heat one to Steve Reasoner – who was penalized three positions for jumping the start, thereby giving Toft the win. Heat two was a great battle with championship rival Marc Elliott, with a last lap for Toft for win number two on the day. A slow start dropped Toft to second on the opening circuit of the 20-lap final before assuming the top spot and going on to a 2.407-second victory for a clean sweep on the day. Elliott ran second with Brad Dunford completing the podium.

In TaG, Toft began the day as the driver to beat – and the only one to record a sub-50 lap time in qualifying for the pole position. The battle for the win in heat one saw Will Martindale and Alex Speed joining Toft up front and finishing in that order. Starting from the pole in heat two, Martindale was able to get away clean from the rest of the field to take the win. Troy Diede joined the fight for second to cross the line in that position just ahead of Speed and Toft. The 20-lap main event saw the front shuffled – with Toft finding himself at the point following lap two with Martindale and Speed in tow. Toft would, however, not make it around for lap three as mechanical issues put him on the sidelines. This gave Martindale a clear track in front of him – with Speed on his bumper. The two never changed spots and went 1-2 at the checkered flag. Brett Buckwalter was a close third to round out the podium.

Speed then put in a sweep performance on the day in S1 -- for the third time on the season. Speed was top qualifier, then earned wins in the two heat races and the main event, where he stretched out to a 13-second victory over Jess Peterson and Derek Tillett. Rob Soares was also perfect on the day in TaG Masters. His second event back from a broken hand, Soares bested his competitors along with the TaG Masters Light drivers, won by Jim Zootis. Helmar Beregszaszy and Steve Elo joined Soares on the podium while Dolores Mosqueda and David Oroshnik stood alongside Zootis on the Light podium.

S4 and G1 had near sweeps on the day, as well. Matt Alcorn has been near perfect all season and continued on this past Saturday. After earning the fast lap in S4 qualifying, Alcorn led all 10 laps in heat one. Sergio Machado stepped up his game and edged Alcorn for the heat two win. After a great run, Machado was unable to challenge for the main event victory as he never left the grid due to engine trouble. This allowed Alcorn to cruise to a fifth straight win of the season. Alex Keith was runner-up with Scott Mortensen running to third. Craig Corwin was looking to match Alcorn’s victory total with top honors in qualifying and wins in both heat races. Cruising in the final, however, Corwin pulled off on lap eight with a mechanical issue, ending his win streak at four. This allowed his championship rival Ethan Wilson to earn his first win of the year, ahead of Jim Kidd and Ron Tamba.

The competitive HPV 2 Junior category ran its second event toward the championship after joining the PKC class lineup late in the season. Championship leader David Vasquez was hooked up during the first half of the event, taking the top honors in qualifying while winning both heat races. In the final, however, Vasquez was shuffled back at the start and was trying to work his way back to the point until he was black flagged off the track on lap four for rough driving. This allowed Kiel Spaulding to assume the lead and go on to take the victory. Donavon Wheeler edged Kelsey Nilsson for second at the line in what was a rough battle. Following the event, PKC officials reminded all of the drivers – and their crews – of the SKUSA rules regarding on-and-off-track conduct.

The sixth and final round of the inaugural PKC North season will take place September 13 on the reverse direction national configuration at the Sonoma circuit. The event will also mark the first event utilizing the MG Tire-FZ compound, which will be used at the Superkarts! USA SuperNationals XII in Las Vegas, November 20-23. Also on tap for the September finale will be a Jim Russell Racing Drivers School sponsored ‘drifting’ contest, with more details to be released soon.

8-12-08 NNKC Rick Jerome Night Race Action

NNKC hosted its 7^th Championship Race at DPR on Saturday August 9^th, 2008. This was the 3^rd Annual Rick Jerome Memorial Night Race. We had 85 entries. This was by far NNKC’s biggest club race in some time. A lot of work went into this event which I will thank the people involved at the bottom.

Kids Kart got on the track first for some valuable seat time. NNKC’s Nicholas Persky, Zach Corbitt and TJ Johnson were fast all day as their parents made adjustments to their motors and chassis’s. These little guys have a huge future in karting as their skills were displayed all night long. All of them ran so good they were given 1^st place trophy’s.

Jr 1-2 Cycle loaded the grid and took to the course. It was Austin DeMent grabbing pole and setting a new track record in torrid fashion. He was dominant all day long with heat wins. Nicky Pritchard had a great day as well placing in the top 3 throughout the day. 9 year old Garrett Dixon got on track and played with the big boys in this group. As the main event unfolded, it was DeMent cruising to a 20 second lead followed by Pritchard in 2^nd and Dixon in 3^rd. Travis Barr had a good outing as he took home 4^th and Trever Listman in 5^th. Alec Van Spronson, Logan Wyman and Hunter Corbitt rounded out 6^th, 7^th and 8^th respectively.

Next up was the TaG Junior class of Chelsi Wagner, Christian Scholz and Rachel Brigg. Wagner and Scholz continued their duel as has been the talk of the pits all year. These two have showed huge promise for what lies ahead in their karting careers. It was Scholz taking the early lead in the main followed by Wagner. They would swap positions twice before Wagner put the finishing pass on Scholz in 2. Wagner would finish 1^st with Scholz in 2^nd and Brigg finishing in 3^rd. Great job guys and galsJ

In TaG Novice, it was Rich Adams coming out serious minded with one goal on his agenda, to beat Billy Sewell in the main event. And that’s how it worked out all day as these two were dominant for most the evening. Marty McNew had a good day finishing out his heats and racing hard as well as Kelly Morley, Bob Hoekman and Amy Lim. But in the end, it was Adams showing Sewell that he will be a thorn in his side for the rest of the year. Great race Rich!

Formula 80 Masters took the course next in which was to be a dominant race for Mark Nason. He came out on fire and was the man to beat all day. Cody McKinney and Gerry Williams played 2^nd and 3^rd respectively in which this was just a tune-up for their big Formula 80 Seniors $$$ race. Nason would lead the main start to finish with McKinney in 2^nd and Williams in 3^rd. Ben Fisher would grab a 4^th with Jay Neely in 5^th.

TaG Masters took to the asphalt as Billy Bowerman started his first Masters race at NNKC. Kevin Listman grabbed pole position. Brian Rivera would win the first 2 heats with some intense racing with Listman and Bowerman. That would set up the main as Rivera would DNF giving the lead to Listman. Listman would blow his motor and that left the door open for Billy Bowerman to win in his first ever TaG Masters race. Congrats to Billy for a hard earned win! Barry Wellard would come in 2^nd for yet another podium finish. Kerry Matthews would finally get his 3^rd place as he said he would at the beginning of the race. Good Job Kerry.

The NFRA F200 group filled the A grid with 10 drivers coming to race. Tim Johnson showed his speed early and often throughout the day as he was the man to beat. Brad Wunder and Paul Viacrucis showed their speed all day as well. Longtime NNKC member Dan Allen came to play in his World Formula along with Matt Dixon of Reno also. Johnson would storm away in dramatic fashion for his 2^nd consecutive win at NNKC. Wunder and Viacrucis were 2^nd and 3^rd respectively. The F200 group will be back Sept 7^th to race again.

TaG Cadet was next on the docket. It’s been a fierce battle all year with these young men. Trever Listman and Justin Hoekman have come along way in their development thus far and have showed that on the track. The two diced all day with none having the advantage over the other. Listman would win both heats with Hoekman on his bumper. That set up the main event with Hoekman grabbing the holeshot in turn 2. Hoekman would hold off Listman by 1 tenth of a second at the line. Congrats to these two drivers for a hard fought race!

TaG Senior class brought our 16 drivers for some fun under the lights. It was a star studded lineup as this club race brought out some crafty veterans. The driving was fierce all night long as Mike Botelho Jr, Zach Dericco, Dave Harwin, PH Giffels, Travis Duhn and David Brant were smoking hot all day long. The heats were not as forgiving to all as some broke and some crashed out. The main event was set as Travis Duhn got into the lead and held it until the white flag waived. Brant had shown Duhn a pass in turn 1 the previous lap only for Duhn to counter with an inside pa