Archives - Norcal Karters

It was a great day here at Infineon Raceway. The day began with a nice chill with the qualifying rounds; and was later followed by some good wind gusts that accompanied the Main Events, which caused many complaints.

Group 1 Tag Masters took to the track first and Ray Wetmore got fast time, however in the PreFinal brother Randy Wetmore was the one dominate in the PreFinal. In the Final Ray lost a chain and hustled to put it back on his gear but was unable to take the green. Randy Wetmore checked out from the start, leaving David Oroshnik and Bob Hurst to battle it out for second. Oroshnik got the position and Hurst got his first podium finish. Grant Hetherington made a good run for fourth.

DD2 was next up on the track. Gregory Liefooghe and Kris Shaw have had there turns at dominating this season and as the season goes on, this day was Liefooghe’s turn. From the Qualifying session on Liefooghe was quick and never let up as he was the dominate one in DD2. Kris Shaw ran hard to stay with Liefooghe, but drove too hard and looped it allowing Glen Poy Wing to get by for second and January Grove third. Shaw finished fourth.

The kids of Comer were up next and some great driving insued. Bobby Tift got the point early but Brody Zink stalked him. As laps wound down Zink didn’t have the run he needed and Tift got the win. Zink second, Grant Ereth third and Dain Davirro had a great run for fourth.

The always fun to watch Senior Rotax, saw a new winner this weekend. Clayton Snow has won every race thus far this season for his quest to the Rotax national Championships. This weekend saw Snow struggle. Wes Phillips had a dominate day. Phillips ran wire to wire and got the win. The race was for second. Joe Karratt got away for second early, but Clayton Snow ran him down and they swapped positions a few times. As they came on the front stretch Karratt was in front but Snow got a run and beat Karratt by an inch. Michael Ostrowski was fourth.

Next up is the newest growing class at Infineon. The Jr. HPV-2 class. Last race saw Timothy Weddle pay David Vasquez for the win. This week Weddle was back in the Top Kart looking for revenge. That’s not what he got. Donavan Wheeler showed up with his new Swedetech. Through the day Weddle looked tough. However in the Final Wheeler got the setup he needed and ran to victory for his first win at Infineon. Weddle Second, Troy Buckman and Jarrett Lile.

Jr. Rotax has proven to be the best battling class thus far this season. Jordan Jadallah set the pace early. In the PreFinal, Alberico snuck in a win for pole, but Jadallah got the lead early and started to walk. Jadallah fell out and Alberico got the win. Jordan Miller second, Raymond Bustamante third and Kierstin Gee fourth.

Rotax masters was last up and the close racing didn’t stop. Dave Harwin looked to be the man to beat, but on the start Raymond Bustamante got the jump and held a good lead all race. Dave Harwin finished second, Dan Dollosso and Jo Montes fourth. Harwin got DQ’d in post race tech and that bumped them all up a position.

Next race is August 18. NorcalKarters.com will be on hand to provide play by play, live streaming video, and full results of the event.

The Tag Series was back at Infineon Karting facility this past Saturday for round 4 of the Jim Russell Championship series. Again as points heat up for the series, the best are bringing their best, and providing great racing as the TAG series usually does. Clear blue sky provided by mother nature and nice weather. I arrived at the track at 8am sharp, and my usual ritual of a Breakfast burrito and coffee from J&D's Snack shack was fulfilled.

On the track first was TAG Light. Taylor Robutz qualified pole after blowing up his primary engine in Practice. Robutz Marc Green and P.H. Giffels had an epic battle in the PreFinal, but Robutz Prevailed as his kart cam in at the right time. The grid was set for the Final. In the early going, It was Green leading the final with Amber Friedberg, Giggels, Robutz, Kenny King, and Terre Rothweiler all in tow for the point. Rothweiler and king fell off in a battle of their own, Friedberg was forced off in turn one, and the battle once again became Green, Giffels, and Robutz. Green's kart went away and broke a clutch late. Again Robutz kart came in late, and pulled ahead of the field for his second win this season, Giffels, Green, and Rothweiler.

The biggest growing class of the season the Jr 1 Gazelle was next up. Joseph Keaton has been on fire this year and picked up where he left this weekend beating his own previous track record in qualifying by four tenths. Keaton dominated the day winning the PreFinal and Final. Daniel Langon, Colin Daley, and Nick Camusi.

Junior Puma was up next. Jordan Jadallah made his first apperance in te puma class in a Trackmagic. jadallah got pole and PreFinal win. Early going in the Final, it looked like Jadallah was going to get a run for his money, but his setup came in late and jadallah checked out. Austin Root and Jarrett Lile had a great battle for second, as the white flag flew Lile took the position for good leaving Root in third and Andrew Wolocutchuk.

The other TAG Amateur class was TAG Heavy. Tim Cleland lost his partner to battle in Randy Wetmore. Cleland had things in hand all day. In the Final Dean Sanders got the point early and Cleland lost some ground, but Tim's kart got better with age and went wire to wire for the Final Win. Sanders was second, Scott Duttera and Stephen Dix.

Next taking to the track was the TAG Grand masters. James Ward got fast time in qulaifying. In the PreFinal Michael Sherrard came from the back to start pole for the Final. Sherrard got the point early in the Final. It looked as Ward would make a run around halfway but too little too late as Sherrard got the win. Ward was second, Tony D Allessandro and Woody Poynter fourth.

Last up for the day was TAG Expert. What a race this was. As an announcer i did so much talking that at the end of the race I was dizzy from exhaling all the air in my lungs from trying to keep up with the positions changes and my voice was horse. Nic LeDuc got the pole in qualifying, and his teamate Cody Hodgson made a last lap move coming up from the Tic Tac Toe to start pole for the Final. Ric Shaw offered money for TAG lights to run with the Experts if they finished first, second, or third and $100 for any expert to win while NorcalKarters.com offered a T-shirt and a hat for whoever wins. they got going on the first start and Colin Katzakian went to the point on the start. Larry Fraser soon went out with contact but came back to finish fourth. Hodgson, Leduc, and Katzakian were running for the lead when hodgson went out with mechanical problems. battle came down to LeDuc and Katzakian. These two swapped positions many times before KatZakian took the lead fr good with two to go. Katzakian was your winner of the norcalKarters.com Swag and $100. Nic Leduc finished second, and Amber Friedberg third and the winner of $50.

Next race for the TAG series is not until August 11th. be there, or be square!

This last Sunday the largest Shifter contingent in Norcal was back to Infineon for round four for the Jim Russell Karting Championship series. As action begins to heat up in points so do the drivers as racing gets closer and aggressive. I strolled over to J&D's Snack Shack to get a breakfast burrito and coffee, and the day Began.

First to take to the track was Sr. 80 Shifter. On this day Robert Porter was the man to beat. Porter got fast time in qualifying, and held off Sean Forbes. By the strength showed by Forbes in the PreFinal, the Final looked to be a good race, however Forbes went out after lap one leaving the battle to Eddie Veyl and Porter. Veyl attempted to stay close, but as the race continued, Porter gapped Veyl for the win. Veyl got second, Nathan Breitling beat Ryan Madson to the line for third.

Next up was the ever populating class 125 Stock Moto Light. Steve Libby was fast qualifier, and snagged the PreFinal from Brad Lloyd. On the start of the Final Lloyd got the jump and drove it to the win continuing his season long dominance. Libby was second, Steffan Maus third, and Joe Hammill started last and ran to fourth.

80 Grand Masters all season has proved to be the class to watch. Bob Lesnett got pole and the PreFinal win. Vincent Parker was thought to be a contender, but his day was ended on the opening lap giving Lesnett a gap on the field. Bill James fought hard through the top half of the field, but by the time he got to second, it was too late. Bob Lesnett got checkered first. James showed strength proving he is a contender for the season. Tom Nelson got third and Bill Wages fourth.

125 Stock Moto Heavy was next, some great drivers this class had this season. Donald Durbin decided to step into this class early season and has made major strides. Matt Alcorn was dominant as usual. Fast time, PreFinal winner and Final winner. Donald Durbin got second. The battle was for third. Stars ICC veteran Marc Elliott joined the field this weekend, as did Andrew Kidd peaking out of retirement. The two swapped positions a few times before Elliott took the position for good leaving Andrew Kidd Fourth.

The ICC pro class took to the track. This class ran with the Masters due to low entries as there were only two. Derek Tillett got the pole but in the PreFinal Tommy Thompson got the win. On the start Thompson bogged and Tillett got an easy one. In the Masters ICC Jim Kidd got fast time. In the PreFinal JP Cadoux and Jim Kidd got together putting Kidd back in the pits. On the Start when Thompson from Pro bogged, it stacked up the back of the pack ending the days of Kidd, Thompson, Ethan Wilson, Bill Isaacson, and John Cerini. JP Cadoux and Ron Tamba battled for the top spot. Cadoux got the win, Tamba, Dominic Merlino, and John Lewis the top four.

Last of the day was ICC Grand Masters. Rocky Allen had been complaining about the level of past races, well competition is what he got as Brad Shaffer snagged the pole position. Allen got the PreFinal win but Shaffer turned it up in the Final winning by five seconds. Rocky Allen got second, Rey Rivera and Geoff Provo rounding the top four.

Next race for Shifter Sunday at Infineon isn't until August 19th as racers will get a short break.

It was a hot, cloudless day at the go-kart track today at Davis, with plenty of interesting events besides the races. Among them was an accident involving Michael Michoff, #44 in Kid Karts. He was taken to the hospital with rumors of a dislocated arm. Later it was learned that he would need surgery and pins placed in his arm, but further details were not forthcoming. All of us wish him good health and a speedy recovery.

In the first group, Kid Karts, Garret Dixon took the lead, but was soon overcome by Hunter Corbitt. Dixon was really pushing Corbitt down the backstraight, but Corbitt was able to pull ahead for the win. Raymond Tevis unfortunately spun out, though it did not change his 5^th place position.

With the Junior 1-2 – Cycle, Johnny Tevis pulled out in front with JR Raczko pushing for 2^nd. Tevis, Raczko, and Bobby Tifft were closely spaced with Tifft battling hard with Raczko for 2^nd. Sadly, in the sixth lap, Tevis made an error and fell to 3^rd with Raczko pulling to 1^st, but Tifft was able to push past him to take the win.

The Junior Super Sportsman was an unfortunately uneventful race. Savanah Sanchez was able to take the lead with Randy Tavares in 2^nd and Justin Sather in 3^rd. The racers kept their positions well spaced, and Sanchez was able to take the win with an 8 second lead; though all racers did finish strong.

The Super Sportsman continued with David Bixler in 1^st with Chris Gomez battling for the position. The two stayed neck and neck throughout the race. Gomez liked to lean forward on the straightaways, coming close on turns, but Bixler was able to stay ahead and finish 1^st.

In the HPV-1, JR Raczko, started 1^st, with Cole Davis and Cole Trickel close behind. Davis was really pushing for 1^st, especially on turns. Trickel fell back, then later jumped behind Davis again to battle for 2^nd. But Davis was able to stay ahead and even managed to sneak around Raczko to take the win.

HPV-2 was all over the place with Savanah Sanchez taking the lead and Marvin Gardner quickly pulling around Jordan Miller to take 2^nd, though he had to fight to keep it. Near the end of the race, Sanchez fell to 3^rd after she hit the burm, putting Gardner in 1^st. Gardner soon received a rolled black flag for a harsh pass. Unfortunately, he took it to mean that he was disqualified and left the track. The race ended with Miller in 1^st, Sanchez in 2^nd, and Andrew Peeler in 3^rd.

With Group 8, Super Sportsman Heavy, Chris Gomez pulled out to first with a good lead. Kane Williams spun out into the wall, falling from 4^th to last; and later, for unknown reasons, left the track. It is presumed that kart trouble was the cause for him to do so. The rest of the race finished uneventfully, with the participants keeping an even spacing and no passing.

In the Formula 80 Limited & Masters, Tony Mangini led the race with Jon Wozniak and Chris Hall battling close for 2^nd. Kevin Clemens passed Tyler Glenn to take 4^th position, but he had to fight hard to stay there. That fight was in vain as Glenn reclaimed 4^th and pulled ahead to keep it. Jim Rose trailed, and later left the track for unknown reasons.

The National Cup (TaG), as the last race was unfortunately uneventful, though Brad Huffman received a rolled flag for driving rough with Ray Zarick while battling for 1^st. John Hill stayed close to Michael Burns, trying to take 3^rd, but Burns was able to keep his position.

Story and Pictures submitted Samantha Rosser.

Pos. No. Name.

Kid Karts

1        29      Hunter Corbitt
2        24      Garret Dixon
3        20      Jay Dennis
4        00      Justin Yanez
5        83      Raymond Tevis
6        97      Amanda Vogt

Junior 1-2 Cycle

1        84      Bobby Tifft
2        4        JR Raczko
3        00      Johnny Tevis
4        83      Michael Valles
5        24      Cole Davis
6        5        Brody Zink
7        76      Mike Graves
8        91      Doug Braddock Jr.
9        88      Tyler Burk
10      3        Dale Renzelman
11      28      Dusty Myers

Junior Super Sportsman

1        14      Savanah Sanchez
2        75      Randy Tavares
3        24      Justin Sather

Super Sportsman

1        4D     David Bixler
2        182    Chris Gomez
3        9        Chris McGarry
4        75      Jidi Wong
5        01      Andrew Guthrie
6        5x      Zachary Clemens

HPV-1

1        24      Cole Davis
2        4        JR Raczko
3        38      Cole Trickel
4        97      Tucker Dunbar

HPV-2

1        5        Jordan Miller
2        14      Savanah Sanchez
3        59      Andrew Peeler
4        54      Marvin Gardner

Super Sportsman Heavy

1        182    Chris Gomez
2        99      Paul Viacrucis
3        101    James Waltz
4        22      Don Carter
5        69      Kane Williams

Formula 80 Limited & Masters

1        7        Tony Mangini
2        10      Jon Wozniak
3        6        Chris Hill
4        57      Tyler Glenn
5        7x      Kevin Clemens
6        47      Jim Rose

National Cup (TaG) Sportsman & Masters

1        8        Ray Zarick
2        15      Brad Huffman
3        64      Michael Burns
4        41      John Hill
5        44      Marty McNew

This new track brought out the 80 shifters, kid karts, puma, 125 Parilla's on every level, light, masters and grand masters! A full crowd of racers and spectators. Stockton motorplex came though with great vendors, track officials, spectator and race drivers comfort. This is just the first go around, each time continues to improve. The record posted an article to promote the event with soon to be posted unofficial race results after each event in the sports page.

The next up coming event will be the Jim Russell International Norcal Karting Event on August 3, 4 & 5, 2007. This event will be racers from all over coming to hit the great new surface at Stockton. Stockton delivered and there were racers and kart shops there to see the sights. We had great kart racers such as Wesley Boswell, Tad Funikoshi, Andrew Alfonso, (these are my favorites) hanging out that day. Apparently they just wanted to see what was going on at Stockton. Heck, I was told Greg Stencil (my long time motor builder) stopped at the track to check it out. Deal is, Stockton Motorplex is something special. You can drive by and see the races off the street. They made sure to let the public know. The more people know we are there, the more people we have to race with from everywhere. Well, I can't give you the play by play because I was racing, but let me tell you. It was so cool to see the 80 shifter class out there along with the 100 Parilla Class growing like crazy, and all the other classes were gett'n it on as well. People knew we were there and it showed. The track is fun to drive and I look forward to driving it more. Here is a list of the top 5 winners. Everyone is a winner and we look forward to seeing you all at the next event in August. The Norcal IKF race is practice Friday August 3, race on Aug 4 & 5. Flyer attached. If you are interested in sponsoring a class or helping out, please let me know. We are having a free BBQ Friday and Saturday night for all racers and spectators who buy pit passes. More detail to come and be posted soon! This event will show people what stockton motorplex has to offer to everyone!

This last weekend Stars of Karting held round two at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele Utah. The new facility holds the most state of the art tracks, garages, shops and digital video screens for scoreboards. The weather was hot, but not as hot as Kartel Motorsports Brenden Phinny.

Chassis tuning by Erik Bartolero, Brenden Phinny put in a dominant performance in the very competitive Jica class. Action started Saturday in qualifying as Phinny having Carbeurator issues qualified his Top Kart in the 19th position. In the PreFinal, it didn't take long for Phinny to move to the front. Picking off the competitors one at time, Brenden managed to take the lead with a few laps to go. Phinny checked out and won the PreFinal for the Pole position for the Final. On the start of the Final, Phinny grabbed the lead on the start and never looked back. Phinny opened up a gap of seven seconds putting in one of the most dominant performances ever in the Stars Jica category.

Day two showed some of the same results. However Qualifying went a bit different. Phinny, one of the first karts out in the session, laid down a fast time early and pulled it in. With the other competitors still on the track, Phinny showed his confidence and awaited the completion of the session. Phinny grabbed pole for the PreFinal. Again when the racing got started in the PreFinal Phinny was in his grove and opened up a 5 second victory. In the Final, Phinny again opened up a big lead, while second place stayed close, as the race went on Bartolero's setup got faster and Phinny again pulled away to another big victory, providing a great show in one the most dominate performances back to back ever seen in the JICA category.

Brenden Phinny would like to thank his sponsors in Grand Products, Top Kart, Kartel Motorsports, Baja Cantina, and Swedetech Racing Engines.

Jim Russell Karting Series Race #3 – Shifter Sunday
Another great sunny day dawned over the Infineon Raceway for Race #3 of the Jim Russell Karting Series and the results supported the great weather with great racing and a good turnout. This was also the first race that used starting lights, something new that was well received. Expect to see the lights for all future races after a couple of minor fixes are made.

Cameron Karting ICC/Moto Masters
After two race wins in a row, Jim Kidd now had the target on his back. 2006 champ JP Cadoux went back to his 2006 chassis and out qualified Kidd, but so did Paul Walker, who put his kart on Pole. Walker continued to surprise by taking the Pre-Final win ahead of JP and Jim. In the Main, Paul got a bad start and the whole field went by him before turn one. After all was done JP took the win with Jim Kidd second and Ron Tamba third with less than one third of a second separating the top three drivers. Walker recovered to take the fourth place some 6 seconds back with Domenic Merlino in 5^th.

ICC/Moto Grand Masters
After a year away from driving Brad Shaffer decided to return and have some fun. Brad also returned after having turned 45 year old, bad news for the Grand Masters drivers. Using his Stock Honda engine, Brad proceeded to take the hat trick and win the pole, Pre-Final, and Main. Tom Fallon, in just his second Grand Masters race, continued to make steady progress throughout the day and finished a close second in the Main, less than one second in back of Shaffer. Andrew Fulgham and Rey Riveria were both fast early in the day, but broke in the Pre-Final thus had to work their way back into contention in the Main. Andrew took the 3^rd and Rey the 4^th, with John Coyle filling out the top 5 positons for the day.

Fastech Racing Senior 80 and 80 Heavy – Cambrian Go-Karts Stock Junior 80
After the first 2 races with only 4 entries, the Senior 80 class had 9 entries along with 4 Heavy and 1 Junior entry. But there was no denying Robert Porter on this day, he took the hat trick by winning the Pole, Pre-Final and Main. But there was a lot of great racing behind Robert. Tyler O’Toole stayed steady and fast all day to take 2^nd overall and 2^nd in the Senior 80 class. In third place overall was the top 80 Heavy driver, that being Craig Corwin, who even though giving away 30 pounds to the Senior karts, finished only 5 seconds behind Porter at the end. In fourth, 3^rd in Senior 80 was Eddie Veyl, but the good finish was not easy for Eddie. A bad start in the Pre-Final had Eddie passing people all day, taking 6^th in the Pre-Final and then 4^th overall in the Main. Hector Pena took the 4^th spot in Senior 80. Hector was visiting local karter John Espinor and John lent him his 80 so as to go have some fun, and a top 5 position too. Sean Forbes qualified 2^nd, but faded to finish 5^th in Senior 80 by the end of the day. Grand Hetherington took the 2^nd in the 80 Heavy class with an 8^th overall finish. With our first ever Stock Junior 80 entry, Justin Casey took the win. Justin and his brother Jimmy just moved into the area from Minnesota, so plan to see them both at more Jim Russell events in 2007.

KLS Racing 125 Stock Honda Light
Once again, it was everyone chasing Brad Lloyd in the 125 Stock Honda race. First, Steve Libby took the Pole in qualifying to make his mark that Brad could be beat. But in the Prefinal, it was Lloyd, Matt Hauff and Libby finishing in the top 3 positions. Hauff returned after his nasty head on collision with Steffan Maus in May with a new chassis (actually borrowed from Randy Wetmore, thanks Randy) to see if he could chase down Lloyd, but came up short in the end taking the 2^nd place in the Main as well. Joe Hammill had to put in the hardest days work. Joe qualified a strong third, but had problems in the Pre-Final and had to start the main in last. But the 2006 Senior 80 champ worked his way up to 3^rd by the end of the 15 lap Main with the second fastest lap time of the race. Libby came home a strong 4^th in the Main, edging out Larry Fraser who finished 5^th.

Fastech Racing 80 Grand Masters
Vincent Parker and Mike Lowater were just having one of their great battles for the top position in the Grand Masters class when along came a bump in the road by the name of Bob Lesnett. Vincent took the Pole over Lowater and the two also were 1-2 in the Prefinal, Bill Wages was 3^rd in both the Qualify and Pre-Final and Lesnett was 4^th in both the Pre-final and Qualify. So far, a boring day. But in the Main, Lesnett changed the script and got a good start and put his kart in front early in the race and would not be denied for the rest of the race. Parker fell back on the start of the Main and kart problem sent him to the pits just after mid-race. Lowater tried to stay close, but had to settle for 2^nd, just ahead of Bill Wages. Steve Peterson took the 4^th spot with Roger Cornwall filling out the top 5 positions. Roger’s day was far from uneventful as he rolled his kart in the Pre-Final and after some repairs and being a bit sore, he started the Main in 10^th place. A great come back for Roger to take the 5^th overall spot.

ICC/Moto
Even though the field was just 4 karts, this race looked to be a good one with 4 fast drivers. Only 4 tenths separated the four karts with Tommy Thompson taking pole over Derek Tillett, Clayton Snow (driving James Syars kart in this one) and newcomer Jimmy Casey. In the Prefinal, Snow had to go to the pits with kart problems that were to put him and Syar out for the rest of the day. Jimmy Casey was hanging close in the Prefianl until a spin out of Tic-Tac-Toe put him behind of the Thompson and Tillett. Tillett got the best of Tommy in the Pre-Final and won the dash to turn one in the Main. Tommy stayed close for most of the Main, but had to settle for yet another 2^nd place finish. This was Derek’s 3^rd race win in a row.

Infinity Karting Services 125 Stock Honda Heavy
Was this to be Mark Drennan’s day finally. After being fast early in the year, Mark put his kart on pole ahead of the all dominant Matt Alcorn in qualify. But a bad start put Mark way behind and he would have to start the Main in 11^th spot. Alcorn won the Pre-Final ahead of Donald Durbin and Neil Joseph. In the Main, Durbin took the lead, but that did not last long as Alcorn went to the front early and never looked back. Durbin held a comfortable second. But that is where the calm race ended. Ken Cornwall worked his way from 7^th in the Qualify to over take Joseph in the Main to take a much deserved 3^rd place. Joseph had is best day in the Heavy class finishing a strong 4^th. Mark Drennan’s charge through the field ended when he and Rob Ainscough came together on the 12^th lap as the two were battling for 5^th and both went off into the infield. This opened up the 5^th spot to be taken by John Espinor. With 14 karts, the Stock Heavy class continues to put on the best show of the Shifter Sunday races.

Well, the excitement will return soon as Shifter Sunday will be running again on July 15, this time on the National Track layout.

Thanks, Ric Shaw

Northern California-based kart shop earns success in first half of 2007

LODI, CA (June 12, 2007) - Building on an ultra-successful 2006 season, Greg Bell’s Leading Edge Motorsports operation is taking on the 2007 campaign with a more focused approach, aiming for more victories all across the country. After winning eKartingNews.com’s prestigious Tuner of the Year and Team of the Year honors last year, Leading Edge is again set to aid in the achievements of many young drivers.

A focused number of drivers are running under the Leading Edge banner this season, positioned as part of the Champion Racing/Intrepid squad that brings together much of its dealer network at America’s major karting events, including the Stars of Karting national championship. In Stars competition, ICC pilot Jess Peterson is working a steep learning curve this year after making the jump from ICA to the top shifter category. Over the first two events, the Californian has steadily improved and will look to continue that trend the rest of the year. Jared Woolf and Joey Wimsett make up the Spec Racer roster for LEM and they have faired well in the very competitive class. Both Woolf and Wimsett scored top-10 finishes at the season-opening Race of the Americas in April and have battled in the top 15 at the first two events. Veteran JICA driver Scott Rossi is also under Bell’s tutelage and currently sits second in the Eastern standings after three podium finishes in the four finals run thus far in ‘07. Using his past experience, the Canadian is poised to battle for the National Championship all year long. Greg Bell and Leading Edge Motorsports are also currently working on the development of a local team which is currently setting foot on national ground. Diede Racing has structured a program that will soon to be an extremely competitive team.

Along with this talented group of drivers, Bell continues to turn the wrenches for leading ICC star Jordy Vorrath on a limited schedule. After a difficult weekend in Norman at the Race of the Americas, the duo joined Champion Racing’s Rodney Berryhill at the first round of the European Championships in Ugento, Italy. Running the in KZ2 division, Vorrath proved that he could run with the best, but he was unable to dodge the trouble around him as his results did not show the true speed of this Driver-Team combination of Vorrath, Berryhill and Bell. Returning stateside, the Vorrath/Bell combo earned the pole position during Saturday’s action at the Stars of Karting event in New Castle, IN in May. For the main event, Vorrath finished second, his best result of the year.

”We considered that result to be a big show of the team’s potential, considering the battle with the K9C engine issues that we have been plagued with this year. Our motor builder Brett Berryhill has been hard at it developing the new motor package. Unfortunately the late arrival of the motors from Italy has put our stellar program behind for 2007.We feel Utah will be where it all comes together as we were ultra competitive at Kartsport Till the Main event where we found a main gear welded to the shaft in the gearbox..” Bell offered".

On Sunday, however, the bad luck returned as engine trouble kept Vorrath from completing a qualifying lap and he was unable to rebound through the Prefinal and Final. Looking forward, the duo will be out for nothing but race wins.

Aiding in what is expected to be a big shift of momentum; Leading Edge Motorsports would also like to announce a new addition to the team, 2005 SKUSA SuperNationals winner Lorenzo Mandarino. The current Star Mazda Championship driver will be a team driver when not competing in his open wheel car, and his addition to the LEM squad only serves to strengthen this powerhouse operation.

Bell is now ready to head to the next Stars of Karting event, which will be held this weekend at the new Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah.

For more information on Leading Edge Motorsports and Intrepid dealerships on the west coast, Oregon, Washington and Utah please contact Leading Edge Motorsports owner Greg Bell at 209.369.0921 or visit online at www.leadingedgemotorsports.com . Please contact via e-mail - Leadingedgeguy@sbcglobal.net . Leading Edge Motorsports supplies only the best products such as Intrepid, SKM, Champion Racing Products, Trackmagic, TM, Iame and many more.

This past Saturday, the Rotax kids competed at the Infineon reverse kart track for race #3 of the Jim Russell Championship Series. SSC attended the event to check out the hype that the Rotax series has brought this season. Every Race thus far this season at Infinoen has seen record numbers as the Rotax day continues to build to be the biggest series racing Infineon beeting out the always successful TAG day. This past weekend saw 79 entries for only six classes, this does not include the 24 Arrive & Drives. The organized, on-time, laid back, fierce racing at Infineon has attracted the best in racing help growing the series, the motor package, and the dealers and Parts trailers of a major variety.

Racing Started after a speech from Joe Ramos Jr expressing his delight with the growth of the Northern California Rotax Max series. Rotax Masters took to the track first off. Paul Walker got the pole in qualifying by two tenths over Dave Harwin, however Walker skipped tech, and Harwin got pole. In the heat race Dan Dollosso held off Harwin all race while Walker came from the back. Couple laps to go, Walker spun and fell to eleventh, Dollosso bobbled the last lap allowing Harwin to slide by for the pole in the Final. On the start, Harwin got the point and started walkin. Walker making another run from the back, caught Harwin with a few laps to go. Walker would make move coming up the hill from Tic Tac Toe, but Harwin slammed the door, Walker checked up, and Harwin was the winner. Paul Walker was second, Dan Dollosso and David Carlisle your top four.

Second up was Sr Rotax. Clayton Snow out of Marin Karting got the pole. Michael Ostrowski got DQ'd in tech and had to start from the back as did Wes Phillips who did not qualify due to the fact he was running the same kart as Paul Walker. Snow got the easy win in the PreFinal to start pole in the Final. Snow Checked out from the beginning, as it looked like Phillips was catching him early, Snow was too tough and ran away with another dominant win in Sr Rotax. Wes Phillips was second, Ostrowski, and Troy Casteneda fourth.

Next to take to the track was the TAG Masters. Bill Forgy got the fast time for pole as he did the PreFinal, however Forgy's day would end early in the Final and open the Door for Grant Hetherington. Grant walked away to win this one by 12 seconds. The race was for second. Dave Moody and David Oroshnik were very close in time, moody won the battle by .030 seconds at the line leaving Oroshnik in third, and Herman Ip in fourth.

Jr Comer was next up to take to the track and Luis Tyrrell newly switching to Top Kart with Kartel Motorsports was fresh off his Duffy win at the IKF 2-cycle Nationals, was ready to pounce on the field. All day Tyrrell was faster than all. Got the PreFinal win to start pole. On the Start Luis took the lead only to get passed by Bobby Tift. Tyrrell waited a few laps following Tift til his tires got hot, then made his move for the top spot. Tyrrell walked away with a 7 second win with Tift finishing second, Brody Zink and Joseph Keaton fourth.

Jr Rotax was next and Mikee Mejia took fast time. Neil Alberico held tough and took the lead on the start of the PreFinal, but Mejia would prevail for the Final pole position. Alberico would do the same in the Final and get the lead, but again Mejia's kart would come in and Mikee Mejia would get the win with Alberico, Jordan Jadallah, and Raymond Bustamante fourth.

The drama for the weekend was in the HPV-2 class. Thus far this season, both races in HPV-2 have had only 3 karts. After the last race Timothy Weddle went onto the forums of this site http://pub37.bravenet.com/forum/3172302995/show/723366 and bet any driver $50 if they beat him to get more drivers in the class. Well more drivers he got as 7 drivers showed up for HPV-2 and one of those drivers was Weddle's fierce rival David Vasquez. These two have had epic battles all year in IKF Region 11. Vasquez had Weddle's number as every lap in Qualifying Vasquez would better Weddle by .010 of a second. Vasquez got pole by .004 of a second. In the PreFinal Weddle was on David's tail pressuring him every lap. In the Final Vasquez got the jump and won with ease. Weddle got second, Donavan Wheeler and Hayden Parrino fourth.

Last up was the Rotax DD2 class. The newest popular class in Region 11 is the two speed shifter Rotax in the DD2. Kris Shaw got the pole by .800 of a second. This one looked to be like the Marin Karting Kris Shaw show. In the PreFinal, Gregory Liefooghe followed Kris and was able to stay within 5 kart lengths throughout the race. In the Final, Kris led form the beginning. Again Liefooghe followed Kris and learned his driving. Last lap Liefooghe made a diving pass on Shaw taking the top spot and the win. Liefooghe. Shaw was second, Glen Poy-Wing and January Grove fourth.

Next race for the Rotax series wont happen til July 14. Til then, stay tuned to NorcalKarters.com.

Superkarts! USA Announces The Opening Of Online Registration For SuperNationals XI

$20,000 Up For Grabs Again In SuperPro Competition

The Addition of S5 Jr., Rotax Senior and Rotax Masters Classes Round Out XI Program For 2007

For Immediate Release

Temecula, CA – July 2, 2007 – Superkarts! USA has announced the opening of online registration for SuperNationals XI, to be held at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, NV on November 14-18, 2007. It’s the first year the organization has added the Champ Car Rotax Kart Challenge to the SuperNationals XI race program, as well as the first year for the newly announced S5 Jr. program. Additionally, another first is the online only registration process for the eleventh running of this prestigious race. To enter the race, teams and competitors must go to www.skusasupernats.com. While there, one can enter the race as well as purchase and reserve pits spaces, purchase tires, fuel, and oil, as well as purchase other race-week supplies. Additional information, including an extensive look back at past SuperNationals, is also available for the first time in its entirety. If there is any doubt to who holds the title of “Most Prestigious Kart Race In North America,” it will certainly be erased at the end of this required reading for all kart race enthusiasts.

“Again we are offering a $20,000 Super Pro purse, with 10K going to the winner,” says Superkarts! USA CEO Tom Kutscher. “But what is really exciting is to be up and running with online entries this early for the event. It will free an incredible amount of time for the organization to concentrate on the race weekend experience for 2007, and that includes the addition of more prizes for the competitors.”

In addition to more prizes, expect Superkarts! USA to announce a title sponsor in the coming weeks, as well as additional sponsor presence for the event. In other on-track news, two Rotax classes are set to compete this year for the most coveted of all prizes in the Rotax worldwide program. Rotax Senior and Masters classes will race for a 2008 prize package that will include an all expense paid trip to the 2008 Rotax Grand (World) Finals for the Senior class winner, and a paid entry to the 2008 Rotax Grand Nationals for the Masters class winner. Rotax drivers from North, Central and South America are invited, as well as drivers from around the globe to compete for the Senior class Grand (World) Finals qualifier. The newly announced S5 Jr. class is also taking to the track this November, and thus far the response to the marketing initiative that accompanies its arrival is also being well received. “My phone has been ringing non-stop all weekend with words of enthusiasm regarding our plan to support the class,” says SKUSA Director of Marketing Jim Baltutis, adding, “I’m looking forward to the Q&A both ekartingnews.com publisher / editor-in-chief Rob Howden, and ekartingnews editor David Cole have in store for me later this week.”

SuperNationals XI is pulling away from other karting events in both size and race day experience. All racers are encouraged to enter soon as all classes will have a maximum number of “capped” entries allowed.

HOST HOTEL INFORMATION: Hooters Casino Hotel Las Vegas is once again the host hotel for SuperNationals XI – The original 300 rooms in the SKUSA reduced-rate room block number less than 20, and are going fast. Attendees should book now to save! Details online at www.skusasupernats.com.

About Superkarts! USA (SKUSA)
Superkarts! USA’s mission is to deliver the complete racing experience, helping karters to bridge the gap between club racing and professional racing. SKUSA sanctions a number of regional series such as the ProKart Challenge, DesertKart Challenge and SKUSA Great Lakes Region, as well as national events such as the SuperNationals in Las Vegas and the King Of The Streets race at the Rock Island Grand Prix in Rock Island, IL.

About Champ Car Rotax Kart Challenge (ROTAX MAX)

ROTAX MAX is more than just a karting class based around a spec engine; it is the embodiment of a return to the art of racing. Organized in 1997 by the ROTAX Kart Center (a division of Bombardier Ltd.), ROTAX MAX is the fastest growing kart racing class in the world and is now organized by authorized distributors as a national competition in over 32 countries (Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Columbia, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Puerto Rico, South Africa, Southern Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, UAE and USA. The engine used is the FR-125 Max with strictly no modifications allowed. In 2000, SSC Racing launched the program in the United States as the RMax Challenge. In 2007, the company has 25 regional Challenges competing throughout the USA.

For additional information see www.superkartsusa.com or www.skusasupernats.com.

FOR MEDIA INQUIRIES CONTACT:
Jim Baltutis - Versatile Motorsport Marketing / Media
Superkarts! USA – Director of Marketing
jim@versatilemotorsport.com

IMPORTANT INFORMATON REGARDING