KartSport Magazine

WEDNESDAY - MAY 28, 2008

As we’re gearing up for the Stars of Karting East vs. West event this coming weekend, it’s an appropriate moment to comment upon the New Castle Motorsports Park.

What rocks my socks about Dismore’s track is how they continually reinvest in their facility, constantly tweaking and making upgrades. You’d think this was the norm, but it’s the exception among North American karting tracks. For every opening of a track that I’ve attended, and listened to their grand plans for the future and tried to help them hype it up, we’re often left with another track that’s just asphalt and dead weeds.

Also, that the Dismores are karters to the core means that their track is a labor of love like few others in the country. NCMP is designed by karters for karters, and it shows.

Top storylines of the weekend that I’ll be watching: the continued efforts of the ICC field to catch up to Gary Carlton (this could be the weekend, as GFC hasn’t tested in the mold that he did last year), just how big will the TAG field be, and with some of the JICA drivers switching teams, will there be a shift in the balance of power, or will the Tony Karts in JICA still reign supreme?

Just as we did in Utah, we’ll be making live updates from the track as the weekend progresses. Every time something interesting happens on the track or in the pits, we’ll update this page; just keep hitting “Refresh” on your browser as the action unfolds.

FRIDAY - MAY 30, 2008

Shall I bore you, dear reader, with another tale of airport woe on my never-ending endeavors to reach the kart tracks of the world? Nay… other than to say, I am now an expert on Denver International Airport, having spent many, many hours there. I can tell you where all the newsstands are located.

I got to NCMP just as the final practice sessions were finishing up. I got to watch Gary Carlton (CRG), Alex Speed (Trackmagic), and David Jurca (Italian Motors) finish 1-2-3 atop the ICC timing sheets, but that was the extent of it. So instead I made my first round through the paddocks to see what was cookin’.

A controversy of some note was moving about the pits, concering Champion/Intrepid TAG driver Joey Wimsett (younger brother of TartSport’s own Nicole). I’m in a damned if I do, damned if I don’t situation on this puppy, given that the entire Wimsett clan are good friends of mine. If I ignore the story, it’s ’cause I don’t want to look partial. If I write about it, it’s because I am partial. Oh, the humanity!

Given that Wimsett has won three of the last six Stars TAG races, dating back to last year’s Vegas finale, I reckon that the kid has earned his spurs. And in this case, the fact that he’s facing a disqualification from the two Miller Motorsports Park races that he won last month (which would also cost him the points lead), well, that sounds newsworthy to me no matter who he is or how poor his choice in journalistic friends might be. 

Let’s see if I can accurately summarize this thing: after Saturday qualifying at the Stars Utah round a month ago, Wimsett’s intake manifold on his SwedeTech-prepped Parilla Leopard (which won the pole) was found to be 1mm narrower than the norm (it should be pointed out that there is no mandated measurement for the intake). However, since Stars mandates that all parts on the TAG engines be OEM from the manufacturer, they made the decision that the manifold wasn’t OEM and confiscated it. Stars allowed Wimsett to retain his pole position, which he eventually converted into a pair of wins. Post event, if Stars were to find that the intake hadn’t come from Iame as an OEM part on their Parillas, Wimsett would be excluded from the Utah results.

Wimsett found out just this week that Stars was taking the stance that his intake wasn’t OEM and that he was facing the pair of DQs. Given that Parillas have been imported into the US since 2001, and the motor has undergone many an upgrade since then, deciding exactly what was OEM a few years ago, versus what’s OEM now, looks to be an interesting challenge. 

The final word has not been spoken though. Wimsett is looking to get a letter from Iame that would vindicate him that the intake was at one time an OEM part, perhaps even in the very first shipments of Parillas that came into the US about seven years ago. Since the discovery of the narrower intake, other drivers up and down the paddock have been measuring their own intakes to see which one they have, and more than one driver has discovered that he’s got the narrower (and currently illegal) version.

From my own perspective, I think the big issue here isn’t whether or not Wimsett should be DQed, as I’m sure SoK will do what they think is fair and just. I think the bigger picture is that this is another example of the shit-ass rules that govern TAG racing, whether it be TAG USA, SKUSA, FWT or Stars. The rules aren’t clear or precise, and any organization who claims to have a real handle on this class is living in denial.

Good news for you readers is that the action starts tomorrow and my “narrative filler” will be kept to a minimum. There’s some major weather rolling in tonight, with tornado warnings being posted in some of the counties surrounding the track. There’s some mighty impressive looking ligntning out there, along with some heavy peels (or is it peals? crap, I forget) of thunder. Fortunately, the meteorologists seem to agree that the high winds, heavy rain and penny-sized hail *should* be gone by tomorrow. 

After the huge success of our live updates from last month’s Utah event, we’ll be back on the air tomorrow morning, and in response to requests, we’ll be placing the most recent posts at the top of the page. Scroll down to the bottom to see any comments or ask your questions. Night!

SATURDAY - MAY 31, 2008

9:21 AM EDT - Oooph. The winds that came through last night did some real damage to people’s tents and equipment. It was the real deal that blew through this area, I’m walking around and seeing just how badly some folks have been affected.

10:40 AM EDT - Whoever recycles aluminum in this region is going to make a killing when they loot the NCMP dumpsters on Monday morning. There’s enough twisted, bent aluminum here to build another grandstand. Cameron Motorsports were the biggest losers in the Tornado Sweepstakes, as their awning is a total loss. Adding insult to injury, this is the second one they’ve lost in six months, as their previous one went blowing off at Vegas last year. First Kart lost theirs as well last night, while the rental tent that Champion/Intrepid had took a big beating, while SSC East’s awning was bent badly but repairable. Lots of the privateer guys lost their tents also. SoK decreed a two hour delay to let people clean up and catch up, so the schedule is As-Is +2 hours. Practice is underway.

11:02 AM EDT - Quick rundown of approximate entries in each class: 43 JICA, 33 ICC, 52 TAG, 12 TAG ICC, 20 Cadet, total of around 160.

12:07 PM EDT - Practice is complete. Once again it’s the Tony Karts on top in JICA, with Danny Formal and Phil De La O leading the way, with Alessandra Madrigal right there in third. In TAG, Victor Cabrera (Kosmic) and Joey Wimsett (Intrepid) are on top, followed by Sean Meier and Jason Toft. Cabrera and Wimsett were separated by just .027, while they had about three tenths of a second on Meier. Other times still coming up, quick break right now…

12:22 PM EDT - ICC Practice results are in, it’s Gary Carlton (CRG), Michael Vincec (CRG) and Jordy Vorrath (Intrepid) sitting as the top three. Carlton and Vincec separated by .001, yet in turn they were both four tenths clear of Vorrath. Behind the top three, it was Josh Schreiber, Arie Ouiment, Fritz Leesmann, Jacob Neal, David Jurca, Clayton Snow and Richard Benitez rounding out the top ten.

12:34 PM EDT - In a rare event, I can actually see the track from where I’m eating my delicious NCMP Racers Grill cheeseburger, and with my laptop at my side, I can eat, type, and watch Cadet qualifying. Currently Austin Schoonmaker on the pole with a 1:16.973.

12:38 PM EDT - Apparently, the massive group of 20 odd Cadet drivers has been split into two groups on this mile long track to avoid any draft packs. Damn little cheaters. Second group now on track, Luis Tyrell just unrolled a 1:16.666 (<- number of the beast). Trent Hindman just turned a 1:16.579 to jump to the pole, but Hindman now just went a ton better with a 1:16.285, and that time will hold. Mason Chelootz looks like he’ll hold down second with a last lap effort of 1:16.380.

12:54 PM EDT - TAG ICC QUALIFYING - Now on track for their ten minute qualifying session, Jose Zanella (Tony Kart) is currently on pole with a 1:04.566, Kyle Wiegand in second spot. A few minutes later and Wiegand goes a bit faster with a 1:04.504 to snatch the pole position. Zanella takes second, followed by Matthew Mair, Michael Hogg, and Bryan Eady. JICA Group 1 up next…

1:04 PM EDT - JICA QUALIFYING (Group A) - The “slow” group is now on track, and Lord knows how many young drivers’ careers I’ve just ruined by calling them that. Nevertheless, in last practice, Angel Caban was fastest among these drivers, his time putting him twelfth overall. Fastest driver in this qualifying session so far is Jordan Jadallah (PSL/CRG) with a 1:07.465. Now with a 1:07.381, it’s Grant Vogel on a Tony Kart to the provisional pole.

1:16 PM EDT - JICA QUALIFYING (Group B) - Fast group on track now, 1:06.827 for Spencer Pigot puts him on the provisional pole. Things happening fast: Danny Formal now on top with a 1:06.5, Miles Maroney had a brief time atop as well, now Gustavo Menezes to second. Pigot now shuffled down to sixth. 1:06.570 for Formal puts him on the pole, followed by Menezes about a tenth behind, then Miles Maroney, Tatiana Calderon, and Brendan Phinny in fifth. 

1:36 PM EDT - TAG QUALIFYING (Group A) - The “not quite as fast” TAG group is out on track right now, though there’s no shortage of quality drivers in this session. Tony Loniewski (First Kart) has nabbed fast time with a 1:06.166, with Josef Newgarden (Arrow) tying that time to the thousandth. Zach Beard (Birel) holding down third, Scott Saunders (CRG) from Australia holding down fourth, and Billy Lewis rounding out the top five. Group A up next…

1:40 PM EDT - TAG QUALIFYING (Group B) - Here comes the battle for the pole…

1:44 PM EDT - Fast time already by Victor Cabrera, a 1:05.892 by the Kosmic ace. Victor just went faster with a 1:05.718, nobody else has been able to beat the Loniewski/Newgarden time, nor even the times by Beard and Saunders. The sun just went behind some clouds here…

1:50 PM EDT - Cabrera just went faster again and now has a half second on the field. Victor unleashed a 1:05.695. The sun is coming back out…. And that’s going to do it, Cabrera is in another league. On his very final lap, Joey Wimsett leaped from tenth to second, though still four tenths back. Turns out that it wasn’t a battle at all, it was a Cabrera Freight Train.

1:54 PM EDT - ICC QUALIFYING - Track is now green for ICC qualifying, though everyone is waiting in the pits to let “someone else” throw down the rubber.

1:59 PM EDT - 1:02.383 is the early pole time by Richard Benitez (Kosmic).

2:00 PM EDT - Alex Speed (Trackmagic) now on pole, 1:01.676. Now the party’s getting started, just about everyone out on track now. Now Michael Vincec to the pole with a 1:01.355, 1:01.569 for David Jurca taking over second.

2:03 PM EDT - Here comes that Carlton guy, now on pole with a 1:01.352. He and Vincec were .001 apart in final practice, right now they’re .003 apart. Zoiks, Shaggy.

2:05 PM EDT - Carlton and Vincec into the pits to make changes. Gary now going back out, four minutes left…

2:10 PM EDT - And that will do it. Order is Carlton and Vincec on the all-powerful CRGs, then Speed, Jurca, Josh Schrieber, Hayden Duerson, Richard Benitez, Cody Jolly, Clayton Snow, and a surprise of Vorrath back in tenth. Also a surprise was Fritz Leesmann back in the the high teens.

2:54 PM EDT - Break time is almost over, first round of heat races coming up in just a few more minutes.

3:09 PM EDT - CADET HEAT 1 - Green flag, big schamozzle in the first corner, three drivers out, everyone else able to make it through. Hindman leads early, Austin Self (Birel) in second, Mason Chelootz in third and putting pressure on Self.

3:12 PM EDT - Looking back to that first corner incident, I’m giving MASSIVE kudos to Ashley Rogero, who was part of the melee and, in the aftermath, jumped out and helped one of her competitors get going before she got back in her own kart. This short six lap heat race is over, Hindman has an easy three second lead, Chelootz gets second place on the last corner, Self settles for third.

3:20 PM EDT - TAG ICC HEAT 1 - Green flag, Jose Zanella into the lead, Wiegand slots into second. Bryan Eady was not able to get off the grid, he’s watching this one.

3:22 PM EDT - Wiegand piling on the pressure, the front two are well clear of the field. Michael Hogg is all alone in third.

3:25 PM EDT - Stock Moto Florida Winter Tour champ Matthew Mair is on the move, he’s closed the gap to Hogg in third. Up front, the inevitable happened as Wiegand made the pass for the lead just past halfway.

3:28 PM EDT - Great battle up front, last lap, Zanella tried a move into the hairpin and retook the lead for a few feet before over-shooting the corner. Wiegand just went under and grabbed the top spot right back, and took the checkered a few corners later.

3:36 PM EDT - JICA HEAT (A-B) - Front row of Formal and Menezes got moved to Row 2 after they caused two aborted starts. It would hurt Gustavo as he and Tristan DeGrand had a first corner coming together and Menezes got shuffled all the way to the back.

3:40 PM EDT - Formal comfortably leading by a full second, while Menezes is up to 18th already. Behind the leader its Phil De La O and Calderon, making it a Tony Kart 1-2-3 in this heat race after five laps. Taylor Miinch and Nick Neri round out the top five.

3:44 PM EDT - Menezes now up to 12th, while De La O and Calderon are working together to slowly chisel away at Formal’s lead. Tatiana then took P2 just past halfway.

3:47 PM EDT - Top five remained unchanged. Contact in Turn 2 between Tyler Thomas and Menezes as they battled for ninth. Thomas is in the grass and out.

3:51 PM EDT - JICA HEAT RESULTS (A-B) (updated) 1. Daniel Formal 2. Tatiana Calderon 3. Phil De La O 4. Taylor Miinch 5. Nick Neri 6. Bobby Runyan 7. Jarvis Gennari 8. Sage Karam 9. Brendan Phinny 10. Mason Marotta. NOTE: Black and checkered were waved for this heat race, Menezes demoted from eighth to 27th as a result of him cleaning out Thomas.

3:59 PM EDT - TAG HEAT (A-B) - Green flag, Cabrera to the lead, three karts together in Turn 2, one of them upside down. All drivers okay.

4:00 PM EDT - Lap 1 and it’s Cabrera handily out front by a second, then Newgarden by a second over Wimsett and Chris Scribner into fourth.

4:04 PM EDT - Top two the same, but Scribner and Cole Mann are both past Wimsett.

4:05 PM EDT - The trio of Scribner, Mann, and Wimsett running as a trio have now caught up to Newgarden in second. Will Martindale (Trackmagic) carving up well and now into sixth. Wimsett got back around Mann for fourth. Halfway.

4:09 PM EDT - Cabrera enjoying a four second lead and is utterly unchallenged. Battle for second is now nose to tail as Newgarden feels the heat from Scribner, Wimsett and Mann. Two to go.

4:12 PM EDT - Wimsett, brave move in the hairpin to claim third from Scribner, then Wimsett took second with a bump and run on Newgarden, who got hosed and has slipped back to fifth as a result. White flag.

4:13 PM EDT - TAG HEAT RESULTS (A-B)  (updated )  1. Cabrera (by six seconds) 2. Scribner 3. Mann 4. Newgarden 5. Wimsett (finished second, penalized to fifth) 6. Martindale 7. Jeremy Nelson 8. Chris Wehrheim 9. Jason Toft 10. Jimmy Simpson. Black and checkered for this race as well, I suspect the officials are going to look at Wimsett’s move on Newgarden on the last corner of the penultimate lap. 

4:17 PM EDT - Quick update from the earlier black and checkered from JICA, looks like Gustavo Menezes got hit with the hurt stick, his eighth place finish is now a 27th placed finish, looks like a rough driving penalty.

4:20 PM EDT - ICC HEAT 1 - Green flag, Vincec makes a great start, Carlton, Jurca, Speed and Schreiber.

4:23 PM EDT - Second lap, into the hairpin, Carlton moves into the lead. Jurca, Speed, Schreiber, and Snow in a tight train.

4:26 PM EDT - Vincec refusing to let Carlton escape, while Speed is all over Jurca and Alex takes over third. Speed just set fast lap of the race so far. Vorrath up to seventh from his starting position of tenth.

4:29 PM EDT - Carlton finally finding some breathing space of a few lengths over Vincec, while Speed is looking strong and is now right on the bumper of Michael’s CRG. Jurca slipped from fourth to sixth, as both Schreiber and Snow have gone by.

4:31 PM EDT - Two to go, no changes in the top seven.

4:33 PM EDT - ICC HEAT 1 RESULTS - 1. Gary Carlton 2. Michael Vincec 3. Alex Speed 4. Josh Schreiber 5. Clayton Snow 6. Jordy Vorrath 7. David Jurca  8. Jacob Neal 

4:39 PM EDT - Next Cadet heat race is about to go live, but I’m taking a quick break to examine the Racers Grill board of fare. I saw some white chocolate chunk cookies that needed investigating…

4:49 PM EDT - CADET HEAT 2 RESULTS - Austin Self won after staring down an eight-kart train that battled for the lead in the final corner. Gresham Wagner and Trent Hindman rounded out the top three.

5:00 PM EDT - Update regarding the black and checkered from the TAG heat, Wimsett has been placed into fifth, one spot behind where Newgarden finished. Good call, it was a bit too much of a bump and run. Results below have been updated as a result.

5:10 PM EDT - TAG ICC HEAT 2 RESULTS - 1. Kyle Wiegand 2. Jose Zanella 3. Matthew Mair 4. Michael Hogg 5. Nicholas Boulle.

5:15 PM EDT - JICA HEAT (A-C) - Formal again off to the races and into the lead, but Maroney is right on his bumper with Calderon and Pigot in close arrears. Second lap and Pigot past Tatiana and into third.

5:20 PM EDT - Formal has retired from the lead. Maroney inherits the top spot but Pigot takes it away just a few corners later. DeGrand now into third, then Calderon and De La O in fifth. Halfway this time by, and DeGrand (Kosmic) is flying, I think he might win it. Behind the top three, De La O took fourth from Calderon.

5:24 PM EDT - White flag this time by, Maroney, Pigot and DeGrand covered by a blanket…

5:26 PM EDT - JICA HEAT RESULTS (A-C) - Standing yellow in the last turn put a cold shower on any last corner heroics that Maroney or DeGrand might have had planned. 1. Spencer Pigot 2. Miles Maroney 3. Tristan DeGrand 4. Phil De La O 5. Tatiana Calderon. 

5:34 PM EDT - TAG HEAT (A-C) - Cabrera gets the hole shot and the lead, followed by Loniewski, and Saunders. Into the hairpin on Lap 1, Saunders moves into second.

5:35 PM EDT - Looks like a mistake by Cabrera on the far back side, that allows Saunders to slip through into the lead.

5:37 PM EDT - Cabrera hounding Saunders now, I’m guessing a re-taking of the lead is inevitable.

5:38 PM EDT - Cabrera back into the lead, Saunders in second, Billy Lewis in third, Loniewski in fourth with Sean Meier nailed to his bumper.

5:42 PM EDT - Five laps to go in this 12 lapper, Victor now unchallenged up front, asserting himself and once again leaving the field in his wake. Saunders alone in second, Lewis alone in third, Meier alone in fourth. Everyone’s alone…. so alone…. Loniewski just pulled off and will get a DNF.

5:47 PM EDT - TAG HEAT RESULTS (A-C) - 1. Victor Cabrera 2. Scott Saunders 3. Billy Lewis 4. Sean Meier 5. Kyle Wiegand.

5:52 PM EDT - ICC HEAT 2 - Green flag, into Turn 1 it’s Carlton, Vincec, Speed, Jurca, Schreiber.

5:54 PM EDT - Big off and a flip by Shane Terrel. Soft wet grass is good, he’s up right away and okay. Up front, Carlton has yet to escape from his pursuers.

5:57 PM EDT - Top three are nose to tail, and Alex just took Vincec for second. That gives Gary a few kart lengths of breathing room. But now in the short chute, Vincec makes the moves back to second, and then into the final corner, Speed went back to the second spot. More space for Gary, and Jurca closes in on the top three.

5:59 PM EDT - Two to go, Vincec again into second and now right on Carlton’s bumper, Speed in third, Jurca fourth, then Schreiber, Duerson, Arie Ouimet, Vorrath, Cody Jolly, Ron White rounding out the current top ten.

6:01 PM EDT - ICC HEAT 2 RESULTS - 1. Carlton 2. Vincec 3. Speed 4. Jurca 5. Schreiber 6. Duerson 7. Ouimet 8. Vorrath 9. Jolly 10. White.

6:18 PM EDT - The reality that we have another full round of heat races to go, and it’s already past 6 PM, has begun to sunk in. I’m telling myself, this is the Year of Fun. I feel for the crew guys and drivers, most of whom got here around 6 AM to clean up the mess from last night’s storms.

6:31 PM EDT - CADET HEAT 3 RESULTS - 1. Andrew Murray 2. Austin Self 3. Trent Hindman

6:33 PM EDT - TAG ICC HEAT 3 RESULTS - 1. Kyle Wiegand 2. Michael Hogg 3. Jose Zanella

6:35 PM EDT - JICA HEAT (B-C) - Nine karts involved in a first corner schamoozle, some karts flipped over, no red flag, which is a great non-call from this spectator’s perspective. There’s no need to panic, after all. Gustavo Menezes into the lead, Brendan Phinny hot on his heels.

6:40 PM EDT - Still Menezes, then Phinny, Maroney and Remo Ruscitti running in a tight group. Ruscitti moved into second though, Phinny slipped to fourth, and their battle for second just gave Gustavo an eight kart length advantage where it was a half kart length just a lap ago.  

6:45 PM EDT - Gustavo with clean air to the tune of about a second, while Ruscitti, Phinny, and Maroney are stacked up. Four laps to go.

6:49 PM EDT - JICA HEAT RESULTS (B-C) 1. Menezes 2. Ruscitti 3. Phinny 4. Maroney 5. Carpentier.

6:54 PM EDT - TAG HEAT (B-C) - Green flag, Loniewski into the lead, followed by Saunders, Wimsett, Wiegand. Billy Lewis got spun into Turn 2 and rejoined at the end of the field.

6:59 PM EDT - Loniewski scampering off to a one second lead, while Saunders and Wimsett have swapped second spot twice… so Saunders still holds it down. Wiegand now heavily pressuring Wimesett, while Beard rounds out the top five.

7:02 PM EDT - Crossed flags, Saunders now clawing away at Loniewski’s lead, it’s down to less than half a second. Wimsett and Wiegand are still debating third, while Chris Wehrheim and Beard are having a strong debate over fifth.

7:03 PM EDT - Within a half lap that lead gap was down to nothing and Saunders made his bid for the lead, getting by Loniewski with ease. Tony looked to be in some trouble, as he lost second spot to Wimsett just a lap later, and then Wiegand went past.

7:06 PM EDT - Saunders has immediately pulled out a huge gap over Wiegand, who just demoted Wimsett to third. Loniewski is hanging onto fourth. Two laps to go and Wimsett dove down the inside of Wiegand into the final corner, they drag raced to Turn 1 where Loniewski gave Wimsett a good bump that allowed them both to get clear of Wiegand. Excellent stuff out there.

7:12 PM EDT - TAG HEAT RESULTS (B-C) 1. Scott Saunders 2. Kyle Wiegand 3. Joey Wimsett 4. Tony Loniewski 5. Zach Beard. Wiegand got Wimsett back on the last lap, what a great race long battle between those two.

7:16 PM EDT - ICC HEAT 3 - Vincec to the lead with a great start into Turn 1, then Carlton, Speed, Jurca, and Duerson, and a great start by Vorrath to get into sixth.

7:18 PM EDT - Vorrath looks like himself for the first time today, he’s moved onto the tail of Duerson. Jurca and Speed make contact as David was making the move into third, Alex fourth, Vorrath into fifth, Duerson to sixth. Still Vincec up front with Carlton all over his bumper.

7:20 PM EDT - Carlton tried Vincec into the hairpin, nothing doing, but then Gary made it stick in the very next corner. Gary found a couple lengths already, and then Vorrath and Speed came together in the infield hairpin. Vorrath through to fourth, Alex a reluctant fifth.

7:22 PM EDT - Vorrath on fire, one lap past halfway and he took former teammate Jurca for third, who then fell down another spot to Speed. Fast lap by Speed this time by. Jordy closing on Vincec like a freight train.

7:24 PM EDT - White flag, Vorrath into second past Vincec. Last lap, Speed tried Vincec for third, it didn’t happen. By far the best heat race of the day…

7:26 PM EDT - ICC HEAT 3 RESULTS - 1. Carlton 2. Vorrath 3. Vincec 4. Speed 5. Jurcsa 6. Duerson 7. Schreiber 8. Jolly 9. Peterson 10. White.

7:29 PM EDT - Now that’s a long day at the track. Feels like the times when the SuperNationals were at Las Vegas Karting Center and we had heat races at 8 PM under the lights. Not that it’s dark here (it’s not) but that’s quite a marathon for everyone.

9:00 PM EDT - Since I’m still here at the track, I’ll give a quick rundown of the starting grids for the primary classes (Top 10 only, deal with it).

JICA - 1. Miles Maroney 2. Tatiana Calderon 3. Phil De La O 4. Remo Ruscitti 5. Brendan Phinny 6. Tristan DeGrand 7. Tommy Beshro 8. Mason Marotta 9. Angel Caban 10. Timmy Bachman

ICC - 1. Gary Carlton 2. Michael Vincec 3. Alex Speed 4. David Jurca 5. Josh Schreiber 6. Jordy Vorrath 7. Cody Jolly 8. Ron White 9. Ryan Yop 10. Hayden Duerson

TAG  - 1. Victor Cabrera 2. Scott Saunders 3. Kyle Wiegand 4. Joey Wimsett 5. Cole Mann 6. Chris Scribner 7. Josef Newgarden 8. Billy Lewis 9. Sean Meier 10. Jason Toft

SUNDAY - JUNE 1, 2008

10:50 AM EDT - LCQs for JICA and TAG have just been completed. Wouldn’t it be great if every main had the same sense of desperation and urgency that LCQs have? Drivers would hate it, spectators would love it. From the JICA LCQ, Felkins, Beasley, Sullivan, Jadallah, Vogel and May will transfer into the mains, while Ianucci, Katzakian, Hoffbeck, Zippie, Zeen and Walters transfer into the TAG mains.

Anyway, national anthem and drivers parade are up next, then the first Cadet main rolls off at 11:30 AM.

11:35 AM EDT - CADET FINAL 1 - Green flag, our first main is underway. Up front early, it’s Mason Chelootz with Austin Self close behind and Trent Hindman creating a three kart breakaway.

11:40 AM EDT - Behind the lead group, it’s a five kart train battling for fourth. No changes up front as the leading trio are staying single file. Halfway.

11:43 AM EDT - Andrew Murray and Lewis Tyrell in fourth and fifth are slooooowly reeling in the lead trio.

11:44 AM EDT - We’ve now got a five kart battle for the lead. Still Chelootz in front, but the final laps are shaping up nicely.

11:48 AM EDT - Last lap, final run down to the stripe, Hindman has taken over the lead and throws the block all the way down the final straight, he’ll win it. Murray’s fightback is complete but came up one spot short in second, while Self had to settle for third. 

11:50 AM EDT - CADET RESULTS FINAL 1 - 1. Trent Hindman 2. Andrew Murray 3. Austin Self (MRP- Birel). 4. Mason Chelootz 5. Luis Tyrell

12:00 PM EDT - TAG ICC FINAL 1 - Green flag, Wiegand off to the lead.

12:08 PM EDT - Kyle Wiegand still leading comfortably, while Jose Zanella and Matthew Mair running in close quarters for second and third. Michael Hogg is a distant fourth.

12:12 PM EDT - Just four to go, the top three are tightening up, but no position is under attack… yet. Bryan Eady (Intrepid) has moved his way into fifth past Nick Boulle.

12:15 PM EDT - TAG ICC RESULTS FINAL 1 - 1. Kyle Wiegand 2. Jose Zanella 3. Matthew Mair 4. Michael Hogg 5. Bryan Eady.

12:20 PM EDT - A quick bit of editorializing/dreaming here while Howden expertly does the podium presentations… I’d pay a few bucks to watch the top 20 ICC guys do a demonstration race where they all have these TAG ICC motors mounted to their respective chassis. Hmmmmm…..

12:27 PM EDT - JICA FINAL 1 - After two waved off starts, we’ve got green, with Miles Maroney into the lead, Tatiana Calderon slotting into second, Brendan Phinny into third. By the end of Lap 1, Phinny has already demoted Calderon to third.

12:34 PM EDT - Phinny now into the lead on Lap 5, with Maroney in second, Phil De La O up to third, Calderon in fourth, and Remo Ruscitti in fifth. Menezes, fighting back from his tough Saturday, just set fastest lap and is into tenth. 

12:38 PM EDT - Menezes is just flying. He closed a two second gap to ninth spot in one lap. No change in the top four, but Ruscitti is now under big pressure in fifth from Taylor Miinch just behind.

12:39 PM EDT - Still no change in the top four, Miinch just took fifth spot, while Gustavo is still about three tenths faster than the leaders and is into seventh. Menezes is less than three seconds off the lead. Uh huh…. here comes the little pud.

12:41 PM EDT - Four laps to go. Top four are nose to tail, gap to fifth and sixth, Menezes now hunting down Ruscitti. Gustavo is 2.6 seconds behind the leaders.

12:43 PM EDT - Bad few laps to be the leader. White flag, De La O is now into the lead, Maroney in second, Calderon in third, then Miinch and Phinny. Menezes’ challenge has faded.

12:44 PM EDT - Whew… *mops brow* Some great final laps there in JICA. With three to go, De La O went from third to first, Phinny slipped to fourth when Maroney and then Calderon went by in a flash. Two to go and Tatiana had made her bid for second, while Miinch with a superb performance also got past Phinny and then Maroney! Ruscitti slipped wide on the white flag lap, letting Menezes by into sixth.

12:52 PM EDT - JICA RESULTS FINAL 1 - 1. Phil De La O (Tony Kart) 2. Tatiana Calderon (Tony Kart) 3. Taylor Miinch 4. Miles Maroney 5. Brendan Phinny 6. Gustavo Menezes (Tony Kart) 7. Danny Formal (Tony Kart) 8. Mason Marotta (Leading Edge/Intrepid) 9. Remo Ruscitti (Italkart) 10. Jarvis Gennari (SSC EAST/CRG)

12:53 PM EDT - Just an FYI, I’ve got the new KartSport video camera set up at the bottom of the main straight here at New Castle, so we’re recording all the starts and all the final laps into the last corner from (pretty much) all the mains. We’ll edit it upon getting home and should have it posted by mid-week.

12:59 PM EDT - TAG FINAL 1 - After three aborted starts, SoK officials just bumped Saunders off the off pole slot. Green flag finally, Wimsett leads into Turn 1, then Saunders, Cabrera from the pole with a bad start, then, Chris Scribner….. wait a minute…. we have yellow flags everywhere… standby…. smells like a complete restart….

1:04 PM EDT - Yup. The three aborted starts caused more mayhem than many first corners do, and then the green that they got wasn’t really a green flag…. I suppose. So the field is getting re-organized, and Saunders has now been moved back another spot, he’s gone from off-pole to sixth. GREEN… Cabrera converts his pole into the lead, followed by Wiegand with a superb start, then Saunders already back up to third, then Cole Mann, Wimsett, and Newgarden. 

1:07 PM EDT - Four laps in, now Saunders into the lead, the seemingly invincible Cabrera is looking almost mortal here. Though, Victor is tight on the bumper of Saunders CRG. Wiegand in third, then Mann, Newgarden, Wimsett, and Scribner.

1:09 PM EDT - I had a chat with Saunders last night, and he was saying that he felt he could race Cabrera if he could just find another tenth. I think he found it…  Still Saunders, Cabrera, and Wiegand is ALL OVER Victor now.

1:10 PM EDT - Top three are nose to tail, about a second back to Mann in fourth…. oooooh, Cabrera tried to take the lead, it didn’t work out, and Wiegand made him pay. Saunders, Wiegand, Cabrera.

1:13 PM EDT - Half lap later, Cabrera takes back second… only to lose it a corner later…. only to regain it three corners later… This battle for second is the stuff of dreams for Saunders, who got a whole three kart lengths of breathing room…

1:15 PM EDT - Temporary reprieve at the front… battle for fifth is heating up as Newgarden now has Wimsett tightly on his tail. Mann suddenly coming alive in fourth, he’s closing on the lead trio.

1:17 PM EDT - Wimsett, Scribner, Toft all got past Newgarden that lap. Two to go.

1:21 PM EDT - *mops brow again* Now that’s what I came here to see. Two to go and Cabrera made his bid for the lead into the final corner… it didn’t go well, he slid wide on exit, allowing Wiegand to scoot past again, along with Mann. White flag, and down the final straight, Kyle threw the block down the inside to try to keep Mann at bay, but Cole slipped past in the forty yard dash to the checkered. Saunders was most triumphant in victory, making good on his statement last night. Mann drove an inspired race to second, then Wiegand, an utterly disgruntled Cabrera, then Wimsett.

1:22 PM EDT -  TAG RESULTS FINAL 1 - 1. Scott Saunders (CRG) 2. Cole Mann 3. Kyle Wiegand 4. Victor Cabrera 5. Joey Wimsett (Champion/Intrepid) 6. Chris Scribner 7. Jason Toft 8. Will Martindale (Trackmagic) 9. Josef Newgarden (Arrow) 10. Zach Beard (MRP/Birel). 

1:33 PM EDT - ICC FINAL 1 - Carlton away cleanly, then Vincec, Jurca, Speed, Vorrath, and Schreiber. Lap 2, Jurca took a look under Vincec, nuttin’ doin’. Next lap, Vorrath got around Speed for fourth.

1:36 PM EDT - Five laps in, Carlton out to a six tenth lead. Vincec has about three lengths on Jurca, similar gap to Vorrath. Jordy just dropped a tire at the start/finish, somehow managed to not lose the spot to Speed.

1:38 PM EDT - Carlton now a second ahead, while the gap between Vincec and Jurca is coming down. Vorrath still has his hands full with Speed. That TAG race was a tough act to follow… someone entertain me out there…

1:39 PM EDT - Just before halfway, Carlton out, just retired up at the top of the track in Turn 12. He must have heard me, as now the Vincec/Jurca battle takes on new significance.

1:42 PM EDT - Just spoke to Carlton as he came in on the ‘Gator, he said it was “electrical failure.” Up front, Vincec has a kart length and a half over Jurca. Vorrath and Speed also closing….

1:45 PM EDT - Six to go, Speed into third.

1:46 PM EDT - Oh, it’s good now. Jurca to the lead into Turn 12, Vincec to second. Two corners later, Vorrath grabbed third again, then hung a tire on exit of the final corner, he and Speed drag raced to the next corner, Speed back to third. Three to go.

1:48 PM EDT - Jurca and Vincec are bumper to bumper, two to go. Vorrath back again into third over Speed. Turn 4, now Vincec back to the lead!!!

1:49 PM EDT - Last lap, and Speed back to third!

1:51 PM EDT - ICC RESULTS FINAL 1 - 1. Michael Vincec (CRG) 2. David Jurca (IM/Italkart) 3. Alex Speed (Trackmagic) 4. Jordy Vorrath (Champion/Intrepid) 5. Josh Schreiber (CRG) 6. Arie Ouimet (SSC East/CRG) 7. Clayton Snow 8. Jacob Neal (PCH/CRG) 9. Hayden Duerson (IM/Italkart) 10. Ryan Kinnear (Champion/Intrepid)

2:02 PM EDT - There’s a break until 2:30 when the next round of mains will kick off. That’s good, because everyone needs a chance to catch their breath. I’ll go on record, those three mains (JICA, TAG, ICC) were collectively the best set of finals I’ve seen in many, many an age. It’s too bad we need Carlton to break in order to have some excitement in ICC, but I’ll take the thrills anyway I can get ‘em.

2:35 PM EDT - CADET FINAL 2 - Green flag, Austin Self into the lead, followed by Gresham Wagner and Final 1 winner Trent Hindman.

2:42 PM EDT - Hindman now in the lead, Self in second, while Yocom is ON FIRE and has moved into third, taking two spots on one lap.

2:45 PM EDT - CADET RESULTS FINAL 2 - 1. Trent Hindman 2. Austin Self 3. Broc Yocom 4. Logan Bearden 5. Mason Chelootz 6. Gresham Wagner 7. Luis Tyrell 8. Garett Grist 9. Corey Towles 10. Santino Ferrucci.

2:59 PM EDT - TAG ICC FINAL 2 - Green flag, Wiegand scampers away, but Michael Hogg is quick to assert himself and passes Kyle with ease. Hogg now leads, Wiegand, Bryan Eady, Matthew Mair, and Jose Zanella are the top five.

3:06 PM EDT - Hogg, Wiegand, and Eady have distanced themselves from the rest, with about a half second between each of those top three drivers at the halfway point. A lap later, Wiegand now locked onto the bumper of Hogg’s Italkart.

3:14 PM EDT - TAG ICC RESULTS FINAL 2 - 1. Michael Hogg 2. Kyle Wiegand 3. Bryan Eady 4. Jose Zanella 5. Don McGreggor.

3:25 PM EDT - JICA FINAL 2 - Maroney cleanly away, followed by De La O, Phinny, and Calderon.

3:26 PM EDT - Red flag. Updates as we get them. Two drivers involved, one on her feet already, other driver is still down. It happened at the point that’s absolutely furthest away from our observation point, so there’s no telling who was involved. Though, one of the karts just came back on the ‘Gator, the Tony Kart of Kelsey Nilsson. She’s okay, getting info about the other driver.

3:34 PM EDT - Bristol Gunderson was the other driver involved, she’s alert and sore, they’re going to take her to the hospital to look her over, but nothing life-threatening. Looks like Nilsson got spun around and was stuck in the middle of the straight heading into the far hairpin, and Gunderson came along and launched off of Kelsey.

3:41 PM EDT - Now re-gridding the JICA for a complete restart, the do-over scenario.

3:45 PM EDT - Green flag, once again it’s Maroney, De La O and Phinny through as the top three.

3:48 PM EDT - Second lap, Calderon into fourth ahead of Tommy Beshro and Tristan DeGrand. Now, third lap, both De La O and Phinny go past Maroney.

3:52 PM EDT - Phinny now into the lead, then De La O, Calderon, and Maroney. Top two are escaping while Calderon and Maroney debate third; Miles now reclaims the spot. Menezes is up to tenth now and coming hard again…

3:56 PM EDT - Phinny and De La O attached at the hip, then a one second gap back to Maroney and Calderon. DeGrand still holding station in fifth, but Marotta is looking to change that. Six to go.

3:57 PM EDT - Four to go, and it looks to me like De La O is just biding his time.

4:00 PM EDT - Three to go, De La O to the lead, but Phinny is not going quietly.

4:01 PM EDT - White flag. Still De La O and Phinny, gap to Maroney, gap to DeGrand who found some pace and got past Calderon.

4:03 PM EDT - JICA RESULTS FINAL 2 - 1. Phil De La O (Tony Kart) 2. Brendan Phinny 3. Miles Maroney 4. Mason Marotta (Leading Edge/Intrepid) 5. Tristan DeGrand 6. Tatiana Calderon (Tony Kart) 7. Remo Ruscitti (IM/Italkart) 8. Jarvis Gennari (SSC East/CRG).

4:14 PM EDT - TAG FINAL 2 - Two aborted starts, looks like Saunders is the feller who’s awful eager. He got bumped from the front row to row three last time due to his pre-start enthusiasm… Now green, Cabrera, Wiegand, Mann, Wimsett are the top four into Turn 1.

4:16 PM EDT - Lap 2, same top four, then Saunders, Newgarden and Scribner.

4:20 PM EDT - Cabrera opening up the can, he’s already a second clear of Wiegand who’s feeling the heat from Saunders… scratch that, he felt the heat… Saunders is through and into second, but he’s got some ground to make up.

4:21 PM EDT - Top three the same, Scribner now into fourth, then Newgarden and Mann.

4:25 PM EDT - Halfway now, top five the same. Cabrera is one second clear of Saunders, who is a half second clear of Wiegand, who is a second clear of Scribner. Still Newgarden and Mann in fifth and sixth. Next time by, Cabrera opened up another two tenths of a lead.

4:27 PM EDT - Wiegand clawing his way up to Saunder, while Scribner now has his hands full with Newgarden, Mann, and Wimsett all on his tail.

4:29 PM EDT - Saunders now under big pressure from Wiegand, while Scribner got a brief reprieve while Wimsett is now the one on his tail.

4:32 PM EDT - One to go, and Cabrera looking to atone for the first final, he’s all alone up front. Saunders trying to hold off Wiegand, while Wimsett bagged Scribner for fourth.

4:33 PM EDT - TAG RESULTS FINAL 2  - 1. Victor Cabrera 2. Scott Saunders (CRG) 3. Kyle Wiegand 4. Joey Wimsett (Champion/Intrepid) 5. Chris Scribner 6. Cole Mann 7. Jason Toft. 

4:45 PM EDT - ICC FINAL 2 - Terrible start by off-pole sitter Michael Vincec. Jurca dashed around him, but it was Carlton in to Turn 1 as the leader, then Jurca, Speed, Vincec, and Vorrath.

4:46 PM EDT  - Lap 3, Carlton, Jurca, Speed, Vincec, Ron White, and Vorrath just retired on the far side of the track.

4:48 PM EDT - Vorrath just came by on pit lane, he looks piiiiissed. Can’t say I blame him. Up front, Carlton has not escaped the clutches of Jurca, Speed and Vincec. Top four are covered by a blanket.

4:51 PM EDT - It’s that point of the race where people who think they can cling to Carlton find out that they can’t. Gary just opened up a six tenth advantage in a lap and a half. Still Jurca, Speed, Vincec, White, and then a surging Fritz Leesmann in sixth. Good recovery for Fritzer, he’s had a disastrous weekend at times.

4:53 PM EDT - Speed just clocked fastest lap of the race, duplicating his feat from Final 1. Nothing new at front, top four are each separated by a half second or so. White is about to lose fifth to Leesmann.

4:54 PM EDT - Another DNF for Carlton, I think he lost the pipe, it made *that* sound. Halfway point now. And Speed is locked onto the rear bumper of new leader Jurca. (Update: Carlton’s carb fell off.)

4:55 PM EDT  - Speed takes the lead in Turn 11, here we go…..

4:56 PM EDT - Now the top three are covered by a blanket, Speed, Jurca, and Vincec. About six laps to go. Into Turn 11, Jurca dives down the inside, he and Speed side by side, contact, Jurca hangs onto the lead, then Speed and Vincec.

4:58 PM EDT - Three to go, Speed slooowly closing back in. White flag now, Vincec now around Speed into second. Jurca all alone out front, BIG WIN on the way for Italian Motors.

5:03 PM EDT - ICC RESULTS FINAL 2 - 1. David Jurca (IM/Italkart) 2. Alex Speed (Trackmagic) (got Vincec in the final corner) 3. Michael Vincec (CRG) 4. Fritz Leesmann (CRG) 5. Arie Ouimet (SSC East/CRG) 6. Hayden Duerson (IM/Italkart) 7. Cody Jolly (Champion/Intrepid) 8. Jess Peterson (CRG) 9. Ron White 10. Ryan Yop.

5:21 PM EDT - Roaming the paddock, will be back in a while to wrap it up.

5:45 PM EDT - Just bought a chicken salad wrap from the NCMP Racers Grill… mmmmmmm…

MONDAY – JUNE 2, 2008

8:14 AM EDT - Getting ready to head to the airport this morning, but as I look back through all the updates here, I’m pretty sure my enthusiasm for the weekend’s racing was rather evident. Great, close, competitive racing… at the core, isn’t that why we come to these events? It’s at the foundation of why we endure the tough times and the down times. We’re addicts. Someone help us.

I’ll probably have some other thoughts later, but right now I have to give a big thumbs down to the low-life piece of trash who wrote graffiti in the men’s bathroom at NCMP. Apparently, the exact same graffiti appeared in the bathrooms at Miller Motorsports Park at the Stars event there. That there are people in our community who are so utterly classless pretty much bums me out. I think Stars should suspend ALL points in all classes from both events until someone squeals on the rotten little turd. And maybe offer a bounty, like $500 in Snap-On coupons or something to anyone who squeals… no questions asked. Probably wouldn’t fly with Stars brass…

More in a bit…

But I do want to end on a positive note, so I want to give some props to the Stars track officiating crew for their performance this weekend. I think their decisions were fair, that the penalties were appropriate fits for the crimes, and that they made some good non-calls as well.

Thanks to the Dismores and their staff for being such good hosts, and a tip of the hat to the drivers who came to New Castle and put on a thoroughly epic display of skill during Sundays mains. I’ll remember the finals from this weekend for a long, long time.

- Jeff Franz

 

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 28th, 2008 at 12:33 pm.