9-29-10 K&N Filters to Awards $210,000 in Sponsorships to young Racers

Riverside, California - K&N Filters announces a program to provide up to 18 young racers sponsorships from $5,000 to $25,000 for the 2011 racing season. K&N Filters has a long heritage of providing ongoing support for grassroots racing across America. K&N Filter's involvement in motorsports ranges from lawn mower racing to the top tiers of NASCAR.

In alliance with the national NASCAR focused driver talent search conducted by Ron Sutton's Winner's Circle, top young drivers will be selected to participate in driver try outs at the 2010 Shoot-Out. Selected drivers joining the development program will be developed, groomed, coached, tested, trained and raced in USAC and NASCAR series.

"This $210,000 in driver development sponsorships is just the next step in K&N Filters long history of supporting young racers," stated Tony Yorkman, Sports Marketing Manager at K&N Engineering. "This is a tough economy in general, and really tough for motorsports. The leadership of K&N Filters has decided we are in this for the long haul and young racers are our future. We are not going to stop caring about them because money is tight."

Many successful car racers today, honed their skills driving something smaller, such as Karts, Legends, Dwarf Cars, Quarter Midgets, Mini/Micro-Sprints, Dirt Karts and other forms of youth racing. K&N Filters is awarding six free spots in the 2010 RSWC Talent Search Shoot-Out to young racers from various forms of youth motorsports.

"We enjoy being involved in the USAC and NASCAR racing series for a lot of reasons. One being K&N air & oil filters are the top choice by the competitors. The other is seeing these young talented racers develop their racecraft and win races on their rise to racing careers. The team at K&N Filters loves being a part of that," stated Bob Harris, Corporate Race Accounts Manager for K&N Filters. "Ron Sutton's Winner's Circle Shoot Out is the top program to find and develop talented young drivers. We are once again utilizing their program to help us find and assist talented young racers with K&N's awards."

Ron Sutton's Winner's Circle is known in racing circles as the largest, most comprehensive, most established and best connected NASCAR focused Talent Scout and Driver Career Development Program. In the last year, RSWC has coordinated a Talent Combine in North Carolina with four top RSWC drivers testing with NASCAR Cup Teams, an individual RSWC driver test with a NASCAR Cup Development Team and guided a female RSWC driver successfully into the fully funded NASCAR Drive for Diversity program. In addition, two RSWC Drivers secured career building sponsors to sign with top teams for 2011.

The Shoot-Out process is designed to identify talented, young, up and coming drivers from across the United States and Canada with the potential and commitment to achieve a driving career in NASCAR. With the news of these sponsorships to be awarded, RSWC has extended the deadline for drivers to submit resumes to October 25th, 2010. RSWC expects to receive more than the 700 resumes that they have in the past, and narrow it down to approximately 40 drivers to test. The Shoot-Out is conducted in October and November, in three types of race cars, on a California paved short oval track.

"This is the third year K&N Filters have increased their support. By offering over $200,000 in sponsorships to deserving young racers, they are helping make a lot of dreams come true, and careers get launched. This is just further proof of K&N Filter's support for grassroots racing and commitment to racers. We are very excited and honored to help develop young drivers' careers with K&N's support. As always ... we're looking for talent. Not the most money, not a set number of drivers ... just young talent that has real potential to go all the way to NASCAR Sprint Cup," said Ron Sutton.

Day one of the Shoot-Out includes a workshop for parents and drivers, "The Real World Good, Bad & Ugly of Driver Career Development" and a training course for drivers on driving strategies to succeed in the Shoot-Out and crew terminology. Three separate tests for the young drivers include body fat fitness, a written problem solving test and psychological analysis.

Days two and three are on track, with drivers getting five 20-lap sessions in one of three types of race cars, with coaching, to show their talent. A dozen Judges evaluate the drivers on 45 points, with the key areas being coachability, accurate feedback, focus, motivation, training retention, communication skills, personality, aggressiveness, learning rate, confidence and lap times.

The talented drivers selected for the RSWC development program through the Shoot-Out will have a NASCAR career focused training program designed specifically for their age, experience and development stage, then be placed with a top team in the racing series that fits best, including various classes in USAC and NASCAR series.

The career development program consists of 12 veteran driver coaches, 26 classroom training topics, well known trainers and eight organizations fielding 24 race teams, all dedicated to develop drivers to a NASCAR career. The teams are a balance of Open Wheel and Stock Car oval track race teams, with Road Racing added, to develop highly versatile and accomplished winning drivers.

Young winning drivers ages 11 to 20, and their parents, are encouraged to get all the information and answers to common questions from the web-site, then submit their resume in time to be considered. The web-site is www.Winners-Circle-Racing.com

 

9-23-10 Cambrian Go Karts thank you sale

CAMBRIAN GO KARTS NEWS


Cambrian Go Karts would like to take a moment to thank all of its loyal customers who race with us week in and week out, also the ones who don't necessarily race with us but are generous to give our parts trailer the business that they do week after week. We are very aware that with out you, we don't exist, and it is why we strive to be at the track and available for your questions and as well as hands on help. It has been my greatest honor to mentor all of our young drivers who have come from not really knowing which pedal does what....to making a perfect pass and winning some of the biggest races in our region, over and over again.

Remembering that this is a family affair and fun sport is what we need to keep in the back of our mind, we cant do this without each others help, its not fun to do it all by yourself and the great feeling of winning doesn't last very long if there is no one to share it with. That is why I love my business, I am surrounded by my wife and two beautiful girls everyday at the races and I am followed by all of the incredible families who take such good care of me all day while I get to help there son or daughter reach there goals on and off the track. We have nothing but fun in our camp and invite anyone who would like to join us to do so.

The reason I say all of this is to open up an opportunity to give back, or add to our Cambrian Go Karts family, so I have listed the following incentives....

Starting today and ending Nov. 15th 2010 if you........


Buy and new Birel chassis/pipe and clutch
We will provide you with a proven house Yamaha motor to use at each event we attend. (Bronson Eggert has had the fastest lap at every Gold Rush race with these motors)

Buy a new Birel rolling chassis and receive a set of Bridgestone tires or Rolling kart stand FREE.

We are a stocking Motori 7 Dealer and are offering $200 off 2010 motor PKGS.

JUST IN TIME FOR SUPPERNATS!!

Buy a New Birel chassis and engine pkg ( rotax, Leopard, DD2, Motori 7, Honda, KPV, Comer, Yamaha etc.)
Receive a free Mychron 4

Also in stock is a New DD2 pkg (2010) $1,000.00 off list price

and a 2009 DD2 PKG race ready for $7500.00

All pkgs come assembled and include a private track day Free of charge.
Contact Donald Durbin Jr. with any questions 408-377-5278
Or Donaldjr@cambriangokarts.com

9-13-10 Fastech Racing CRG Kart Blow Out

We have a hand full of CRG (New/Old Stock) Karts at BLOW OUT pricing!


CRG Blue Demon
30mm Chassis
40mm Axle
VEN04 Floating Brakes w/ 4-Piston Self Adjusting Caliper
Freeline Bodywork - Black
Perfect for 80 Shifter, TAG, HPV, KT100, Rotax Max, PRD Spec, etc.
$1900 (3 Available)


CRG Kalifornia
32mm Chassis
50mm Axle
VEN2000 Brakes w/ Floating & Vented Rotor w/ Dual Caliper - Self Adjusting
New Age 2 Bodywork - BLACK (Current style CRG bodywork)
Perfect for 80 Shifter, TAG, HPV, KT100, Rotax Max, PRD Spec, etc.

$2300 (1 Available)


All rollers include:
Motor mount (Fits Parilla, HPV, PRD, Rotax Max, etc.)
Sprocket Carrier
Front & Rear Torsion Bars
Upper/Lower Caster pills
CRG Graphics & Steering Wheel
Magnesium Wheels
Self Adjusting brakes w/ floating rotors
Standard Fiberglass Seat - Any size


Turn any of these karts into a complete Turn-key TAG PRD Fireball for an additional
$1800

(Includes Engine package, DID DHA chain, Blackmagic Sprocket & MG, Mojo or Bridgestone tires)



Contact Fastech-Racing for additional info
831 384 5278
info@fastech-racing.com
www.fastech-racing.com
 

Saturday, October 16, 2010
5:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Where

Audi Forum Sonoma
Turn 1, Infineon Raceway
29305 Arnold Drive
Sonoma CA 95476

9-29-10 SKUSA Super Nationals Field Opened to 80 For Tag Jr

Growing waiting list prompts Junior expansion, TaG Master and TaG Cadet now sold out

The 14th annual Superkarts! USA SuperNationals in Las Vegas is gearing up to be the largest field in the history of the great event, as entries continue to pour into SKUSAs offices. With the Stock Moto categories enjoying amazing numbers, the TaG classes have made the biggest moves over the past couple of weeks as TaG Master and TaG Cadet have already sold out with over six weeks still to go. Likewise, the interest in the TaG Junior class has not let up and will enjoy a full field of competitors for the November 17-21 event as after hitting its initial target of 40 entries a surge in the additions to the wait list has prompted SKUSA to open the class maximum up to 80 drivers. This will be the largest Junior race of the year and should not be missed.

We couldnt be happier with the excitement that is being generated in our TaG classes, and especially our new TaG Cadet class, which will have a full field of 40 drivers, offered SKUSA President Tom Kutscher. This class will be a foundation of our program heading into the future, as it represents a young drivers first opportunity to become part of the SKUSA family. The continuing arrival of wait list confirmations for the TaG Junior class follows this trend as we are enjoying great participation from the sports youngest pilots. I was happy with 40 Juniors, but the wait list kept growing, so we made the decision to use up the final spot on the daily schedule to expand the class to 80 entries.

With TaG Junior now closing in on 80 drivers, the TaG Master and TaG Cadet fields are set. Both categories have reached their 40-kart limits, with TaG Cadet being the biggest surprise. After being launched by SKUSA at the start of the year as part of the Pro Tour, there has been massive interest in the class. Kutscher has confirmed the class for the Pro Tour in 2011, so it is expected that many families are taking the opportunity to become familiar with the motor package ahead of next years Pro Tour schedule. The class utilizes the Vortex MiniRok powerplant, and Vortex has stepped up to offer a supported ride at the 2011 Rok Cup International Finals for this years class champion. Likewise, the title winner of next years SKUSA Pro Tour will win the ride for the 2012 edition of the world championship race.

As entries continue to pour in, the available discounted hotel room block at the Rio All-Suites Hotel & Casino is likewise almost sold out, so anyone wishing to enjoy the benefits of staying just steps away from the track should act fast. SKUSA has even negotiated a new deal with the Rio to lower the hotels flat incidental fee from $50 per night per room to $50 per week, easing the financial burden on their racers and guests. SKUSA had already negotiated special discounted rates for the weekday and weekend stays, with the rate average coming in at $81 per night. The group discount code when booking a room is SRNATS0, but the easiest way to get set up is through the www.superkartsusa.com website. Simply head to the SuperNationals section of the site and select the Hotel and Accommodations option in the Menu.



 

9-23-10 Gold Rush Hits Blue Max For Round Four

This weekend the Gold Rush series heads into Blue Max Kart Club in Davis, Ca this weekend for round four. Point’s battles starting to heat up the five race series as Kinsmen Kart Club will close out the season awarding money to the Championship winners. Entry numbers continue to run high in all divisions providing some of the best racing seen all year, and drawing some of the best teams and drivers for a regional series in over a decade.

Kid Karts have been perhaps the biggest surprise with 15 karts averaging in the young development division. Tomas Mejia has been the standout winning the first three races and taking a commanding lead in points, Mejia will be looking to sweep the series but will be challenged closely by  Brandon Apodaca and Stephon Daniel as the second place in the division points is being closely contended by the top five. Hunter Corbitt has been very impressive during the Gold rush in the Jr 1 divisions leading points in HPV-1 and second in points to Curt Paul in the Jr Comer category by 27 points. Corbitt recently bounced back in Comer with a win at Stockton after a dismal finish cost him points at Atwater. IKF National Champion Paul is looking for a win at Blue Max to for a chance to secure the title, while Garrett Dixon has a win on his mind in the HPV-1 class in hopes to run down the Corbitt before the last round.

HPV-2 will be one of classes closely watched as the top three are all within 5 points for the Championship. Austin Elliott holds the top position in points with two wins and one bad finish in Atwater which have allowed both Jarred Campbell and Sonny Cervelli to draw close, both looking for their first win. Cervelli will be the driver to watch at Blue Max as a solid finish puts him in the driver seat heading to his home track Kinsmen for the series closer. Sr Superpipe also a close battle to watch as David Vasquez newly graduating to the Sr class for the Gold Rush series holds on to the points lead with a 32 point advantage over Brett Felkins. Vasquez still looking for his first win while Felkins bad finish in Stockton cost him many points. A good finish by Vasquez could make it tough for Felkins to bounce back. 3^rd through 7^th in points are all separated by 37 points as the top ten will once again be very closely contested. Winner of the Yamaha Race will receive a free entry to the October Clone Fest race at Blue Max in October courtesy of WestCoastKarters.com.

The Clone class continues to be the race to watch at the end of the day as the underpowered karts put on quite the show while filling the fence line. Rob Nascimento leads points over Kelsey Nilsson by ten points as the two get set to do battle at Blue Max. Winner of the Clone race will receive an entry to the October Clone Fest at Davis with another entry going to the driver that can make up the most positions in the race. In addition to a Clone Fest Entry, WestCoastKarters.com will be offering an additional $100 to any driver that can win from starting in the last position on the grid.

The weekend starts 8am Friday morning with trailer parking and practice at 9am. Schedule as follows,

Open for parking Friday @ 8:00 am 9-24-10
Friday Practice starts @ 9:00 am ends @ 6:00 pm $20.00 non BMKC member
Gates open @ 8:00am Saturday 9-25-10
Saturday practice starts @ 9:00 am ends @ 6:00 pm $30.00 non BMKC member
Saturday registration and pre tech starts @ 8:00am ends @ 2:30 pm
Saturday free barbecue following conclusion of practice. (Chili & Dogs)
Sunday Gates Open @ 7:00 am
Sunday registration starts @ 7:00 am (You must be registered and tech completed before you can practice. You will not be allowed onto track without tech sticker)
Drivers meeting @ 8:45 am
National Anthem @ 9:00 am
Sunday Practice starts after National Anthem

9-24-10 14th Annual Skip Barber Karting Scholarship Shout out on December 3-6, Mazda Raqceway Laguna Seca

There's just one week left to apply for the 14th Annual Skip Barber Karting Scholarship Shoot-Out that will be held on December 3-6 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. During the four days karters are evaluated for not only their on-track speed and consistency but how they take and apply feedback and perform off-track. Karters judged to have the greatest potential receive scholarships to compete in the BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda or one of the Skip Barber Regional Race Series. The Skip Barber Karting Scholarship Shoot-out is a critical component of the fully integrated Mazda-powered motorsports ladder system now in place in the U.S.: Skip Barber, USF2000, and Star Mazda.

This shoot-out is the largest and single most important event for karters transitioning into race cars. Karting associations who would like to assist their karters in taking the next step up the motorsports ladder can forward the following link to aspiring race car drivers. When the entry list for the shootout is announced, we will also be including the hometown of each karter as well as the karting association they came from, if applicable. The deadline to apply is September 30, 2010.

Karting Shoot-Out Information Link

Thank you,

Kelly Brouillet
(860) 435-4289
Skip Barber Racing School





 

9-23-10 RLOKC Race Day #9 Schedule and Drivers Notes

1. Track configuration is Reverse Sprint track.

2. Fire extinguishers are required in each racers pit, minimum five pound size for each kart in the pit area. This is required by the county fire marshal and it was noticed last race that there were very few fire extinguishers visible. Buy one and make sure it is out on your work tables.

3. Make sure you have ground cover under your karts. We have been seeing more and more people forgetting to put ground cover down under their karts. No fuel spillage is allowed directly onto the asphalt or ground at Infineon Raceway, this the reason for the ground cover.

4. The points for the September 19th Dixon race will be added to the MyLaps points chart this coming Saturday night.

5. Rotax Radiator Tape Note: Make sure that any tape used on the radiator is wrapped completely around the radiator. This applies to Qualifying and any races. The tape needs to appear to be one continuous strip of tape. We have been reminding racers on the grids in the past but these reminders will go away and looking for proper tape will be spot checked at the scales in the future. Improper radiator taping will result in a DQ.

6. Gary Coffman will be working the paddock area this coming Saturday. He will be in charge of getting all non-kart support cars out of the paddock and parked in the parking lot in the back. Only trucks and trailers that racers are working out of will be allowed to stay in the paddock. This will help allow those that arrive to practice or set up for the Sunday race to be able to find a decent pit spot.

7. Again, Saturday practice is 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM with race pre-registration available until 6:15 PM. Sunday registration and all spectator sign-ins will happen at the old Jim Russell office located before the InfineonRaceway Main gate.

 

9-15-10 Red Line Oil Karting Championship preps for September back-to-back Weekends

With only two months left in the 2010 Red Line Oil Karting Championship season, the series looks to back to back races in September. Several classes still have very close Championship points standings and this will make the races real nail biters!

The Red Line Oil Rotax Challenge will join the September Kinsmen Kart Club classes on Sept 19, the Red Line series racing for the second time at the tough Dixon track. The last race at Dixon in August had the largest field of Rotax karts in the history of the track and a large field is expected again to battle for much needed Championship points. Practice will be available on Saturday from 9:00 to 5:00 with Sunday raceday to begin with practice at about 8:30.

On September 26, the entire class line up of the Red Line Oil Karting Championship will return to the Jim Russell International Karting Center at Infineon Raceway to run the Reverse Sprint track. Saturday practice will be available from 12:00 to 6:00. Sunday practice will begin at 8:30 with racing starting at 10:45.

Some of the tight Championship battles include: Rotax Mini-Max where Michael Avansino has a slim lead over Michael Michoff with Gino Ghliotti not far behind. In Junior Rotax, Bobby Tifft has been the strongest driver in the last couple of races and is in a position to make a move on leader Brody Zink. Senior Rotax class has the tightest battle with Carlos Calderon holding a slim lead over Amber Friedberg and three-time race winner Raymond Bustamante Jr.

Mini-Max and Senior Rotax have been the most competitive classes in 2010 with both having four different drivers winning races. In the Rotax Masters Light class, Mary Beth Wilson had opened up a good early lead but, already taking his two throw away races early, defending champ Andrea Delfanti has been in the catch up mode and needs wins in the last three races to have any chance of repeating. In 80 Masters, three time class champ Tom Nelson has a new challenger in Greg Richter, who is coming off his first win in August and now has the confidence that he can challenge for season ending honors.

For more information about the Red Line Oil Karting Championship and Northern California Rotax Challenge, go to www.cameronkarting.com  or www.norcalrotax.com
 

9-15-10 Red Line Oil Karting Championship Dixon Driver Notes

Drivers notes for this weekends Dixon race.

1. Practice for this weekends Dixon race will be available from 9:00 to 5:00 on Saturday. Cost is $30.

2. Entry fee for the race is $75 for all the Rotax classes. Sunday program starts at 8:30.

3. Pre-tech will include the checking of all engine passports, so make sure you have them with you.

4. Direction of the track will be the normal clockwise direction.

5. It is time to start checking your points. The points listed in the results section at www.norcalrotax.com  shows the gross points from each race plus the points if the worst two races are dropped after seven events. Remember, the series points will be the best eight of ten races. Only one Dixon race can be used as a "throw away". Post tech DQs and driver infraction DQ's can not be used as a "throw away" race.
The point's details can be seen in the championship section at www.mylaps.com. Go to any of the Red Line Oil races and click on "championship" and see the points for each class. If you think there is an error in your points, please contact race director Ric Shaw describe the error. Ric can be reached at racedirector-ric@hotmail.com

Hope to see many of you this coming weekend.
 

9-13-10 Leesman, Alcorn, Smith and Kelley Among Champions in Prokart Challenge North Program

Nine championships decided after final round over Labor Day weekend in Sonoma

The third year of the Superkarts! USA ProKart Challenge North program completed on September 4 with the sixth round of the 2010 season. Following the event, the championship standings for the nine categories were tabulated with the champions decided. The series continues to call the Jim Russell International Karting Center home, contesting five of the six events at the Sonoma, California facility with the only event outside the Napa Valley region the PKC West Coast Shootout in Santa Maria last month.

With the new Stock Moto ladder system that Superkarts! USA implemented for the 2010 season, the regular Stock Moto division broke into two groups the headline S1 Pro Stock Moto and S2 Semi-Pro Stock Moto. Coming into the PKC North finale, former ICC front-runner Fritz Leesmann showed the most consistency on the year in S1 that saw five different winners in six events. Leesmann led the way in the standings from the beginning with the feature win at the season opener, adding three runner-up finishes heading into the final round. Poised for his second victory at round six, Leesmann was leading the way until five laps to go when his carburetor came off his Honda powerplant. Scoring enough points up to that point in the event, Leesmann scored the title championship. Brett Buckwalter the 2009 TaG Senior champion made his return to shifter kart racing in S1 as well, scoring second in the standings with four podium finishes despite no victories. Inaugural Stock Moto series champ Jason Toft completed 2010 third in the order with a win at round four.

Scoring his second series championship was Matt Alcorn, as he took home the inaugural S2 title. The S4 (Stock Moto Heavy) champion in 2008, Alcorn was the driver to beat early on this year. Sweeping the opening round, Alcorn ended the season with two total wins and three additional trips to the podium. Alcorn edged-out round three winner Neil Joseph for the title, with Cameron Pringle scoring two wins in five events to sit third in the final tally.

After starting out the year poorly in TaG Senior, Bobby Kelley bounced back to rip off five podium finishes including two wins in the final two events to score the championship. The Riverside, CA driver scored a solid win at the PKC West Coast Shootout to move into the point lead heading into the final round. Over the Labor Day weekend event, Kelley stamped his name on the trophy with the victory. Larry Fraser was the early standings leader, scoring two wins in the first three events. The second half of the season was downhill for the veteran as fourth was his best finish, including a DNS at the North vs. South battle. Like Kelley, Jess Peterson had a great second half, standing on the podium three times in the last four races to end up third overall.

Coming off of a championship in the PKC South program, Jeff Smith made his PKC North debut in 2010 and nearly posted a perfect season in the S4 Master Stock Moto division. Smith took home the main event victory at all six events, earning the pole award four times and losing only two of the 12 heat races. Certainly his mark left on the 2010 season will be hard to match in future editions of the PKC North program. The fight for second came down to the final laps, with Alex Keith able to edge Jim Inglebright for the runner-up position in the standings. In the new S3 Novice Stock Moto class, Chris Yettito took the inaugural title over Todd Wilson.

Former two-time vice-champion in the G1 category, Ethan Wilson made the move over to TaG Master with success. Starting the year out with the victory, Wilson scored three more wins and a runner-up spot on the podium to score the highest points on the year for the championship. 2009 champion Jeff Deehan challenged Wilson throughout the season, but came up 45 points short in his title defense. Arizona driver Peter Workum ended up third in the standings following his three podium trips on the season.

Kathryn Cornell became the first female champion in PKC North history as she dominated the HPV-2 Junior division. Standing on the podium in five of the six events, her two wins on the season and consistency up front helped her earn the title over Jack Freese and Daniel Langon who also scored the S5 Junior Stock Moto championship. Cornell battled for the TaG Junior title, as well. However, Deven Sanchez was more consistent down the stretch in order to score the class championship. Sanchez won the opening round and stayed out of trouble the remainder of the season to score the title. Cornell and Austin Dement each earned two main event victories, settling for second and third in the final standings.

Now that the 2010 season for the PKC North program is wrapped up, the drivers will be able to accept their awards at the season-ending banquet, scheduled for October 16. The ProKart Challenge staff is currently finalizing the details of the awards ceremony with the location to be announced in the near future.

Also on tap is the PKC South banquet award ceremonies rescheduled to Sunday, September 26 at The Grand/Long Beach Event Center from 2pm to 6pm. The location is the same as in 2009 with information on the event and tickets available on the SKUSA website. Also building is the anticipation for the SKUSA Pro Tour finale, the SKUSA SuperNationals XIV, at the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas on November 17-21.

For more information on anything related to SKUSA or the ProKart Challenge, visit the www.superkartsusa.com website or call the SKUSA head office at 951-491-0808.

9-13-10 Former Karter, Pitta caps the season off with another win

On 9-11 car number 11 made his presence known at All American Speedway's twin 44's

In main event number one Pitta would start 3rd. Once again Pitta stalked the field and one by one the 11 car took it to the front. On lap 22 Pitta made his move for first and started to pull away from the field. A late race caution bunched the field back up. Pitta got the short end of the stick on the restart and would ultimately end 2nd.

"It's a shame, I really wanted to sweep the night. We had the car but that's racing and it is what it is."

With a 4 car invert for the second main event, the team made some adjustments where they once again would start 3rd. After running the majority of the race in the top 4, on lap 35, with the top guys putting on a show for the crowd, Pitta was able to start 2nd on the restart. Making it a 9 lap shoot out! You can bet Pitta was ready for redemption from the first race. Juan made the pass on the outside and drove his way to another great victory in the final points race of the year. The energy from the crowd was unreal making it a emotional night.

"I heard my spotter say "Cousin give me all you got!".... "We fought hard for this win and I made sure to leave it all on the track tonight." " That one was for baby K!"

With BET's resent documentary show "Changing Lanes" airing, Juan has gotten his fair share of "what happened" questions. Pitta says.." All I can do is answer back with wins and prove to people i'm a great driver." "My family believes in my ability and that all that matters to me." Politics will fall into place.

In the last three races of the season Pitta was able to score two 2nd place finishes and a 1st, securing him a 5th place spot in the All American Speedway Track Points.

Juan Pitta Racing would like to thank its sponsors Cascar Machine Shop, Optimum Leadership Performance, Cain bros. body and paint, Finish line Racing. Performance Muffler and Brake. A special thanks goes out to his suspension specialist Paul Harraka sr. and his crew and supporters: Andy,Tim, Cody, Colin, Mom and Dad, JF, Rich, Lester, Bob, MTFX graphic's, the Quigley's and Thomas family and many more! Interested partners can email Juan at jpracin@aol.com
 

9-9-10 NNKC Championship Race #6 at DESERT PARK RACEWAY

What a weekend for Championship Kart Racing at DPR!!!  The weather couldn't have been better at 88 degrees with hardly any wind.  55 karts came out to run track #3 over the Labor Day Weekend.  The track was busy on Saturday as well with many drivers coming to get a little extra practice in before the race.   

Sr/Jr 2 Box Stock Clones hit the track first this time out.  It was a good show of Clone force on Labor Day weekend.  14 Clones in all to start off a good day of racing.  David Schilt stole the day with an undisputed first place by walking away from the entire pack.  Next up was a battle between first time Clone driver Derrick Delong and regular Clone driver's Terry West, Becky Knapp, Jamie West, Travis Look, and Jr Clone Logan Wyman.  All six were fighting for podium positions and finishing no more than 3 tenths of a second apart. The pack was nose to bumper the entire race, each rarely risking the chance of making a move that would give up a position.  In the end Travis took 2nd, Logan 3rd, Jamie 4th, Becky 5th, Terry 6th, and Derrick 7th.  It was a tough battle for all.  Next race will be for the Club Clone Championship between Leader Terry West (1,025 points) and Dave Schilt (1021 points).  Whoever places in front of the other will be the CHAMPION!  No pressure......  Story by TL.

(4) Jr 1-2 Cycle kids came out to improve their chances at a top finishing order as the year winds down.  Nothing was different for the #11 kart of Jeremy Kay.  Doing what he has done all year long (being consistent) and improving from race to race, he showed why he is the points leader and dominant yet again start to finish taking pole and winning all heats and main.  Great Job to Jeremy for all but securing his 1st club championship!  Turbo Sombatsiri would have a great day as well, starting off-pole but having a little bad luck in the first heat.  He would regroup later and take home a solid 2nd position.  Connor Van Cott would have a strong day as well finishing in 2nd place in both heats.  In the main, he would bring home his kart in 3rd overall.  The 4th place kart of Buddy Browning would push really hard for his position throughout the day.  Buddy is a new driver to NNKC and looks to be a keeper for the future of the sport.  

Formula 80 Senior karts roared onto the track next. It's been a crazy year as the class has really only seen 2 winners all year.  But old Masters driver Mark Nason decided he had enough of the younger Mike Botelho running P1.  Mark came out strong with a fast pole run.  He would dominate heat 1 easily, out distancing himself by 5 seconds over Cody McKinney.  That is until class points leader Mike Botelho was able to hang on his bumper in the second heat.  The two would finish neck and neck at the line.  That brought up the main event.  Nason would have the lead for 12 laps with Botelho in tow.  2 laps from the end, Mike Jr would make the pass on Nason and win yet another F-80 Senior race.  Mike Jr all but guaranteed himself a Championship in this class.  McKinney and Gerry Williams would battle throughout the day.  These two run very similar times to one another, therefore creating a good competition between the two.  They happen to be best friends of the track as well.  Cody would end up 3rd with Gerry finishing 5th.  Ben Fisher would end up in the 4th position as he was able to fend off the late charge by Gerry. 

Besides the Clones, NNKC's TaG Novice class has been the biggest surprise of the year.  What started out as an awesome 6-8 kart field at the beginning of the year has turned in to a 14 kart battle for rookie honors.  Unfortunately for all the other drivers, they have seen the same kart win all 6 races.  Usually when this happens with a Novice driver, we would pluck that driver from the field and get him into a Sr or Masters class.  Well Matt Koerner doesn’t qualify for TaG Masters because of his age and/or weight and the club doesn't currently have a Sr class available with drivers.  So Matt has stayed in the class and drove his rear end off all year long.  There were a couple times when he was in jeopardy of not winning, but he is smooth and knows how to stay up front.  We have 3 father/son duo's racing in this class this year.  The Koerner’s (Matt and Tom), the Yochum’s (Chris and Dave) and the Doyle’s (Sean and Rob).  This cements the fact that we, NNKC, are a family oriented racing club.  Aside from Matt winning the race, his father Tom would come in 2nd followed by another good performance by Don Faris in 3rd.  Faris would take over the 3rd spot in the standings over Javier Avila, who had a disappointing finish in 13th.  X drivers Brad Bolton and Bruce Garafola would race well and finish in 4th and 6th, respectively.  The club's TaG Senior and Masters Programs should get a big boost next year with the addition of 80% of these drivers!        

(3) Kid Karts came out to play under the sun.  Bank Sombatsiri would grab an early pole from the other kids of Gavin Van Cott and Nolan Wyman.  First heat would have Wyman win by 49 seconds.  In the second heat, it was a bit more contested as Van Cott would hold the lead till 2 laps from the end.  Wyman would charge by and win by 17 seconds.  The main would see Wyman take control again and finish in first.  Van Cott would be able to hold off Sombatsiri for 2nd place, with Sombatsiri coming in 3rd.

Oh what a year its been for the TaG Masters class.  Dan Harris would take pole over Brian Rivera by a 1/2 second.  The first heat saw Dan beat Brian to the line by 1.5 seconds followed by Derrick DeLong and Curt Baker.  The second heat would see Brian win the heat by holding off Curt by 1 second with Harris and DeLong lurking in the shadows.  The main event saw something much different than the first part of the day.  Dan Harris would find incredible power and coast to an easy victory over Rivera by 6.6 seconds.  In the back of Brian was Baker and DeLong having a great battle for 3rd.  Baker, the veteran, would be able to hold off DeLong while giving Rivera all he had left in the tank.  John Morgan, a new Masters driver with now 6 races under his belt, would finish 5th with Jim Foff in 6th.  Harris and Rivera are all tied up with 1,016 points each.  Like the Sr Clone class, whichever driver passes the finish line first in the main event will be your CHAMPION!!!

Formula 80 Masters saw Mark Nason on pole by almost a full second over Cody McKinney. As Heat 1 would see Nason runaway, Cody and Gerry Williams would battle hard for 2^nd.  Cody would end up holding off Gerry at the line.  Steve Dow had a solid performance finishing 1.5 seconds behind Gerry.  Heat 2 invert again saw Nason put his kart up front with a holeshot from P3.  Cody would lose a gear and for the last 2-3 laps and would drive the kart in 3^rd gear!!!  Ben Fisher would be able to catch McKinney on the last lap and beat him to the line for 2^nd place!  Main event again saw nothing new as Nason would runaway from the pack collecting another victory and the F-80 Masters Championship. The battle was for 2^nd again, with Cody and Gerry racing bumper to bumper the entire race.  No positions were swapped this time as Cody was able to hold off Gerry for the second finishing position.  Steve Dow would make a late pass on Ben Fisher on lap 9 to secure 4^th place.          Story by MN.

NNKC would like to thank all the racers for coming out and making this weekend what it was.  Race Directing by Ed Diederich was great and our new backup flagman David Brant Jr was great as well.  Thankx to all the staff workers including our registration girls and tower lady.  They work their butts off to make this happen.  The corner workers are really stepping up as well too.  See everybody for the last race showdown Oct 3rd!!!

NNKC President
Brian Rivera

9-8-10 Prokart Challenge North Finale Sees Speed and Kelley Take Top Honors

Speed plays spoiler role in S1 Pro category as Kelley clinches TaG Senior title with victory

The third season of the Superkarts! USA ProKart Challenge North program wrapped up this past weekend at the Jim Russell International Karting Center with the completion of round six in the championship chase. The Sonoma, California facility hosted some of the top talent from the West Coast as the series championships were on the line. Former national champion Alex Speed seems to be reaching his peak as the racing season journeys into its final stage with the NorCal native scoring his second S1 Pro Stock Moto series victory in just his third start. The same could be said for Bobby Kelley, who scored his second straight TaG Senior main event win to secure the class title.

Coming into the sixth and final round of the PKC North program, the S1 division had witnessed five different winners in that many races with round one winner Fritz Leesmann leading the way in the standings. His bid for the title began strong, as he secured the pole position in qualifying with a 47.981-lap on the National circuit, edging out Speed by six-thousandths of a second. Championship challenger Brett Buckwalter ended up third in the order. The positions remained unchanged for the top two spots in the heat races, with Leesmann leading the way in both over Speed. Buckwalter ran third in the first but a slow start allowed Jason Toft and a returning national star Matt Jaskol by for position, dropping him to fifth in the results. The main event looked similar to the heat races, with no change in the running order until lap 15. Leesmann was leading the way before his carburetor unexpectedly came off the engine, ending his hopes at a second victory on the season. Speed inherited the lead and went on to the win by just under a second over Toft with Buckwalter completing the podium.

Bobby Kelley and Larry Fraser came into the final round as the top two in the championship chase in TaG Senior. Kelley entered the event with some momentum, scoring the victory at the PKC West Coast Shootout last month while Fraser, a main event winner twice on the season, did not score solid results in the last outing. The two drivers sat 1-2 after the timed qualifying session, with Kelley getting the advantage by just 0.049 seconds over Fraser with a 50.479-lap. Fraser got the jump on Kelley to begin heat one, leading the first three laps before Kelley retook the position en route to the win. Heat two would see a mix-up at the front of the order. Kelley was shuffled back to fifth in the first circuit with Fraser showing the way ahead of JP Cadoux. During the second lap, Cadoux made accidental contact with Fraser, putting him on the sidelines for the remainder of the race while Cadoux, Kelley and others fell outside the top-five as a result. Jess Peterson escaped with the lead and took the race win ahead of Shane Walters with Kelley able to drive back to third.

It took Kelley just four laps in the main event until he returned to the point, working by both Walters and Peterson who led the first three circuits. Kelley would go on to lead the remainder of the 20-lap feature for his second win of the season, and lock in the championship. Peterson held on to finish second, three seconds back of Kelley, edging out a charging Gregory Liefooghe who started ninth. Fraser posted the fast lap of the race to gain 10 bonus points, advancing from 11th on the grid to finish seventh, but would have to settle for second in the final point standings.

With the SKUSA SuperNationals XIV just around the corner, the S2 Semi-Pro Stock Moto category saw a few guests as the championship fight raged on. Leading the way for the S2 newcomers was Kiel Spaulding; as the S5 Junior Stock Moto SuperNats champion edged out Cameron Pringle for the pole position by 0.088-seconds. Newly crowned PKC North S5 champ Daniel Langon made his S2 debut as well, qualified third ahead of championship contenders Neil Joseph and Matt Alcorn. Pringle was able to grab the holeshot and lead all eight laps of the first heat race over Spaulding, while Joseph shot up to third over Alcorn. Langon would fall back to sixth behind David Arnstein. At the drop of the green to begin heat two, both Pringle and Spaulding were slow off the grid, allowing Alcorn and Joseph through to rage their championship fight out front. Alcorn led the first five laps before Joseph took the spot and the win. Will Martindale, former TaG Senior front runner, made his S2 debut on the weekend and worked himself up to third ahead of Pringle at the line.

The complexion of the main event changed just after the first lap as Alcorn experienced an engine failure before completing the opening circuit. Joseph, with a chance at the title in his sights, led the way with Langon moving up to challenge him first before Pringle took over the second spot on lap nine. On lap 11, Joseph would relinquish the lead to Pringle and began a fight to hold off Martindale. On lap 16, Martindale took over the second spot as Joseph fell to third. At the checkered, Pringle scored the victory by over three-seconds for his second on the season and fifth podium trip in as many starts. Martindale recorded the runner-up finish in his class debut while Joseph held on for third, finding out after the event that he had a leaking fuel pump which hampered his pace in the second half of the race. Alcorn would leave the weekend earning enough points to hold on to the championship lead and the title.

Already locking in the season championship, Jeff Smith put an exclamation point by sweeping the S4 Master Stock Moto action on the day his fourth of the season. The main event win for Smith was his sixth straight in the series, including a big win at the PKC West Coast Shootout, and has him lined up as the pre-event favorite heading into the SKUSA SuperNationals come November. Jim Inglebright scored the runner-up spot, with Alex Keith completing the podium spot. Also sweeping the days activities in the S3 Novice Stock Moto category was Ryan Rasberry. The PKC North newcomer led the way from qualifying to the main event, outrunning Todd Wilson.

The tightest battle heading into Sonoma was in the TaG Master category, with Jeff Deehan and Ethan Wilson separated by just 25 points. Wilson stepped up to the challenge as he went on to top the result sheets each time out to score the event sweep and the championship. Peter Workum was second to Wilson in qualifying with Deehan in third. Come the heat races, Deehan was able to edge out Workum in both eight-lap battles to sit second. In the main, Deehan still held the spot until three laps to go when he jumped a curb and lost his chain. Workum secured the second spot behind Wilson, 12-seconds back with rookie Greg Kohs completing the podium.

The TaG Junior category on the season has been an up and down one for a number of drivers. Certainly ending the season on the upswing is Austin Dement, as he scored his third straight main event victory. Dement led the way early on, taking the pole position by three-tenths over PKC North newcomer Nicolas Morales and championship contenders Kathryn Cornell and Deven Sanchez. Dement led all eight laps in the first heat, as Cornell worked by Morales for second with Sanchez holding fourth. Morales came back in the second heat, working to the point by lap three to lead the remainder for the win over Dement and Cornell. At the drop of the green for the feature, the order remain unchanged until lap five, when Cornell worked her way by Dement for second, and then Morales for the lead the next time around. The order went static before Dement made his charge. Working by Morales on lap 16, he put the pressure on Cornell. Dement was able to make his move on the final lap with Morales coming through. At the line, Dement took the victory by 0.121 seconds over Morales with Cornell back in third and Sanchez holding strong in fourth to score the championship. In HPV2-Junior, Jack Freese swept the day over point leader Cornell to score maximum points. Cornell, however, established enough of a point lead entering the event to be able to score the class championship with her runner-up finish.

With the PKC North program wrapped up, the drivers will be able to accept their awards at the season-ending banquet, scheduled for October 16. The ProKart Challenge staff is currently finalizing the details of the awards ceremony, with the location to be announced in the near future.

Racing for the ProKart Challenge is now complete and following the crowing of the program champions, attention will turn to the SKUSA Pro Tour finale, the SKUSA SuperNationals XIV, at the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas on November 17-21. For more information on anything related to SKUSA or the ProKart Challenge, visit the www.superkartsusa.com website or call the SKUSA head office at 951-491-0808.

 

9-1-10 Points battles and Gold Rush heat this weekend at Stockton Motorplex

This weekend at the Stockton Motorplex Kart Track in Stockton Ca the Gold Rush series will be competing for Round three of the five race series as Points Battles heat up in all classes.

The Gold Rush series had held their first two rounds of Racing at Prairie City Kart Club and Atwater Kart club with some surprise winners in both and some surprise DNF's as well mixing up the points battles early. As Labor Day weekend is upon the Norcal Karters Stockton is sure to host an exciting race for the Gold Rush with several passing areas and the capability of racers to run two wide around nearly the whole track. Adding to the excitement will be several racers from Region 7 planning to attend the event as the word of the Gold Rush fever has spread throughout the West Coast.

Practice for the event is Saturday 10am -5 pm for $25 for non members with a Free BBQ for all competitors Saturday Night. Racing will start Sunday Morning at 9am sharp. Race Media Group will be on hand with the Voice of Norcal Chris Scribner on microphone to call the action and Kristin Lanzarone providing Photography.

The Best Western Heritage Inn of Stockton is offering a discounted Hotel rate for the Stockton Gold Rush Race. Use the online Promotional code SM51 and get 25% off room rates. Standard rooms with 2 queen beds run $71.24 a night. The Best Western Heritage Inn Stockton hotel is Stocktons newest addition, conveniently located near great shopping, restaurants, and many local attractions. We offer on-site restaurant, full bar, free Wi-Fi, outdoor pool, spa, business center, fitness center, banquet facilities and more.. Visit HeritageHotelGroup.com and go to the Best Western Heritage Inn of Stockton page and make reservations online to access the promo code.

Best Western Heritage Inn of Stockton
111 East March Lane
Stockton, California 95207
209-474-3301