Arellano to step down as FKCS president

JORGE ARELLANO TO STEP DOWN AS FKCS PRESIDENT AT END OF 2010 SEASON
"Shift of focus to OGP, race team and Tony Kart"

June 13, 2010 -- Hot on the heels of the fourth largest round of the Florida Karting Championship Series (FKCS) in history, current President Jorge Arellano made it official that he will step down as President for the program at the end of the racing season and will not run for re-election for the 2011 program. Citing business opportunities and possible conflicts of interest in the future, Arellano will shift the majority of his focus to his Ocala Gran Prix (OGP) facility, the OGP race team, Tony Kart and the newly formed company of Ocala Grand Prix International Imports (OGPII).

"It has been a great two seasons, and I have really enjoyed the challenges of helping grow the series to where it is today. In the short period as the president of FKCS I have grown as a leader and as a person and from the bottom of my heart I say thank you to all members for allowing me the freedom to lead. This has been by far one period of my life I will always look back and smile. I have come to know the FKCS members as a growing family. I look forward to meet my upcoming challenges with the same intensity as I have done for FKCS," expressed President Jorge Arellano. "I have several businesses in which I am trying to grow that will need my utmost attention, one which includes becoming a Tony Kart distributor for the United States, and I did not want there to be any conflicts of interest as an active board member in the future. I will continue to support the series for the years to come including the end of the year charity event to help raise money for the Victory Junction Camp, and OGP will continue series sponsorship and the end of the year gift certificates. I will always make myself available for any questions comments or concerns regarding the FKCS program."

Informing the Board of Directors in a closed door meeting on Saturday evening, Arellano was emotional in his decision showing his true passion for the sport of karting and the FKCS. As the official World Karting Association state series for the state of Florida and providing national level classes to offer transfer points to the Manufacturer's Cup, the competition level of the series has increased throughout the past seasons thanks to the hard work of Arellano and his Board of Directors.

Arellano continued, "The OGP race team is growing each and every season and our results continue to improve and I feel great about that. I have the right people in place to continue the success of the team, and I feel the same for the FKCS series moving forward. The Board of Directors is willing to work hard and grow the series even more and I am very confident in them. The Ocala Gran Prix and I will support the series by bringing our race team, offering arrive and drives, supporting customers as well as be a series sponsor."

"This was a very hard decision for me to make as when I got involved on the board, the series was in dire straits with less than half of the entries at each event. We put programs in place, worked with professional tracks and provided a great atmosphere and the racers started to attend. Adding a few cookouts throughout the seasons at events, handing out t-shirts at registration and providing an end of the year awards banquet to start recognizing all the way down to the fifth place champion kept the smiles on people's faces as entry numbers grew."

The announcement was made to the FKCS members during Saturday at the drivers meeting this past weekend. Becoming emotional during his announcement, silence was brought upon the over 200 participant crowd as Arellano struggled to get through his speech. Though he was hugely involved in the day to day operations of the series at the track, the President worked diligently behind the scenes to ensure the utmost professionalism and fun at his series.

After the announcement, Arellano worked the pits as he visited each and every trailer to thank everyone for a great season and to ask for their support in the series coming years.

The next FKCS event will be July 16 - 18, 2010 at the 103rd Street Motorsports Complex in Jacksonville, Florida.

-source: ogp/fkcs