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Pit Board 2009-12-15

WKA's Pit Board - 12.15.2009 *** WKA Daytona KartWeek to be live on SpeedcastTV.com 12.15.2009 (LANSING, Mich.) -- The world's leading online motorsports channel announced today that it would carry live video coverage of WKA Daytona KartWeek ...

WKA's Pit Board - 12.15.2009

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WKA Daytona KartWeek to be live on SpeedcastTV.com

12.15.2009 (LANSING, Mich.) -- The world's leading online motorsports channel announced today that it would carry live video coverage of WKA Daytona KartWeek by Cometic Gasket. The live telecast will start with a full day of Manufacturer's Cup action on Tuesday, Dec. 29, followed by a full day and night at the Daytona Dirt World Championships on Wednesday, Dec. 30. Highlight coverage of the Road Racing Series' Daytona Championships on the 3.5-mile superspeedway road course will also be included throughout Tuesday and Wednesday. Coverage will include four manned cameras, speed shots, post-race interviews, and more. EKN's Rob Howden will call the action alongside color commentators Buddy Long, David Cole, Keith Shampine and Brandon Taylor.

"As a longtime 2- and 4-cycle karter, I'm really excited to be a part of this huge event," said SpeedcastTV President Clark Cambern. "I created SpeedcastTV to make sure events like Daytona KartWeek get the kind of TV coverage they deserve, and this is just the beginning. SpeedcastTV members can expect to see even more karting in 2010."

SpeedcastTV Gold members will have exclusive access to the two-day live broadcast, while Silver and Gold members will have access to on-demand archives following the event. A Gold membership is just $39.95 for a full year of great racing, and a Silver membership is just $19.95. SpeedcastTV members can watch tons of live and on-demand racing all year long, including some of the best dirt, drag, road, and karting events anywhere. Every membership comes with 24-hour tech support and a 100% money-back guarantee. Fans can register now at https://www.speedcasttv.com/subscribe. From now until Dec 25, enter the promotional code, "WKA" for a 20% discount!

SpeedcastTV is offering a number of advertising opportunities at 50% off standard rates. Don't miss this opportunity to reach karting enthusiasts around the world! Contact Clark Cambern at clark@speedcasttv.com for details.

SpeedcastTV.com
SpeedcastTV.com is the world's leading online motorsports channel, featuring exclusive coverage of the best dirt, drag, road, and karting events in the US. SpeedcastTV has carried live coverage of over fifty races, including the National Auto Sport Association National Championships, the Championship Karting International Series, and the Sports Car Club of America National Championship Runoffs, which generated over 120,000 views. The site is a subsidiary of Speedcast Productions, LLC, a leading TV and webcast production company based in Lansing, MI.

WKA Daytona KartWeek by Cometic Gasket
Daytona KartWeek is WKA's premier annual event. This year, the event takes on added prestige and a history-making status. For the first time ever, three WKA national series will race at one central location when the Briggs & Stratton Speedway Dirt Series joins the Manufacturer's Cup and Road Racing series on the grounds of Daytona Int'l Speedway.

The Dirt Series will race on a brand-new quarter-mile dirt track located outside turns 1 and 2 of the superspeedway, which hosts the Road Racing Series and their Daytona Championships. Manufacturer's Cup will again hold their Margay Sprint Championships on the sprint road course located inside turns 3 and 4 of the speedway.

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Farmer has career year on way to 2009 Triple Crown

12.15.2009 -- Today we'll continue the week of recognizing WKA's 2009 Triple Crown champions with a look back at the outstanding season for Bully Clutches Gold Cup veteran Brett Farmer, who joined Dakota Bell and Gary Lawson as the series' three Triple Crown winners.

The Grand Rapids, Michigan, racer won a single Gold Cup national championship in 2008 in Briggs Medium. Farmer returned to the top 4-cycle sprint series in 2009 and had a career year, netting four national championships on his way to his first Triple Crown Championship.

Farmer's triumphs came in Briggs Lite, Briggs Medium, and Briggs Super Stock Medium and Heavy. The Briggs Medium class was arguably the most competitive division on the circuit and clearly the best attended, averaging 25 karts per race. The 18-year-old racer won two of the four Medium features on his way to the championship.

"This is definitely the highlight of my career so far," Farmer said. "I had a chance at (the Triple Crown) in the past, but never quite got there. This year we put together a great year and got it."

Farmer, who fields Margays numbered 89, has been running the Gold Cup tour regularly since 2003 and came into his own in 2009. He swept every Super Stock race of the season, albeit against minimal competition. But what he did in Briggs Lite, Medium and the Friday Money Race speaks volumes for the Upper Midwesterner's talent behind the wheel. He won three of the four Lite features, two of the four Medium mains and cashed in when he drove to victory in two of the four Money Race 30-lappers.

What may stand as equally impressive as Farmer's seven national wins in Lite, Medium and the Money Race is where he finished when he didn't win. Farmer only finished outside the top three once in 12 features in the three classes. The lone disappointing result came when an exhaust pipe broke while he was leading the Medium feature at Camden. Disregarding that misfortune, Farmer's worst finish of the five classes he regularly entered was third in the Money Race at Lowe's.

"The season seemed to go almost perfect. I can't say enough about our team and everyone who helps us. I'd like to thank Jerry Cole from Michigan Kart Supply, Steve Baker from Baker Racing Engines, my dad for making it all happen and Ryan Clay for helping on the crew."

The most difficult part of Farmer's interview was when he was asked what his best moment of the season was. The new Triple Crown champ narrowed it down to three.

"AJ Roderick and I had a great battle in the Money Race at New Castle. We were going back and forth in the last laps and I ended up getting the win in an awesome race. I passed Gary Lawson for a win at Camden and it was the first time I ever passed Gary, so that was pretty special. And at BeaveRun I crossed the line first in Medium and knew I had the Triple Crown with the win. We knew what we had to do to get it and then we went out and did it, and that's always a great feeling."

Farmer, who adds to his duties in the karting industry as a flagman for the Great Lakes Sprint Series, peered ahead to 2010. He says he'll be looking for another Triple Crown, but will focus on Briggs Lite, Medium and Heavy. Of course, if the Money Race is offered, Gold Cup competitors and fans will assume Farmer will again be a major player in those cash-paying events, as well.

Farmer will accept his many awards at the Gold Cup banquet at the Carolina First Center in Greenville, S.C., on Saturday night, Jan. 30 in conjunction with KartFest 2010. The banquet will be a dual event with the Rage Karts Speedway Pavement Series.

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SSC East/CRG dominates 4th Annual PRI / CKI Karting All-Stars Classic at PRI Show

12.15.2009 (BRAINTREE, Mass.) -- Team SSC East / CRG earned a year's worth of bragging rights as it ruled the day at the 4th annual PRI / CKI Karting All-Stars Classic at the PRI Show in Orlando, crowning both the overall (All-Star Division) Champion and the Karter Division Champ. IZOD Indy Car's Jan Heylen, driving for the SSC East/CRG team, held off a field comprised of 18 of the best Motorsports stars from around the world in a thrilling main event to claim the Overall Crown. SSC East / CRG's Gary Carlton became a two-time Kart Division Champion with another of his trademark dominant performances against a one of the most talented international fields ever assembled for an open kart competition.

Force India Formula 1 driver Vitantonio Liuzzi, also representing SSC East / CRG joined teammate Heylen on the podium, taking 3rd place behind his former F1 teammate and current NASCAR Sprint Cup standout Scott Speed. The All-Stars Division field was a virtual 'who's who' of Motorsports, with competitors from all over Europe and North America. Drivers from Formula 1, IndyCar, ALMS, NASCAR, NHRA, AMA Supercross/Motocross, Monster Truck, all returned to their kart racing roots, vying for bragging rights at PRI.

The former Renault Eurocup and British Formula Ford Champion and Champ Car World Series competitor, Heylen was at the front of the pack for the entire event. After the SSC East / CRG tuners tweaked his machine in qualifying, Jan laid down the fastest lap to earn the pole. From flag to flag, he led a 25-lap pre-final that featured great nose-to-tail racing between himself, Speed and SSC East / CRG teammate Liuzzi. In 40-lap main event, the same trio was clearly in command. Heylen held on to take the checkered flag by 0.044 seconds over Speed, with Liuzzi tight in 3rd place. Karting legend and ALMS driver Alan Rudolph, also competing for Team SSC East / CRG, had a strong event -- taking top 10's in both the pre-final and final. He and fellow SSC East / CRG pilot, NASCAR's Jamie McMurray, had a terrific battle for 6th and 7th in the main event.

The field of pro drivers battling Heylen for crown included: IZOD Indy Car drivers Jay Howard, last year's winner; 2007 Champ Buddy Rice and NASCAR's A.J. Allmendinger. Also in the star-studded line up -- IndyCar's Justin Wilson, Tomas Scheckter, Ed Carpenter, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Alex Tagliani and Townsend Bell; NASCAR's Colin Braun and McMurray, AMA star Kevin Windham; Monster Jam driver Joe Sylvester; and NHRA's Matt Smith.

Heylen currently is the chief driving instructor for the Jetta TDI Cup and the lead testing and development driver for the series, which uses karting as a qualifier for the young drivers selected to race in the program.

"For me, the PRI / CKI karting event is a lot of fun, but everyone here comes to win the race. Look around and you see some impressive names. As a result, the competitive level is so, so high. Karting was my first passion in motorsport, and I've driven against lots of these guys for years. Tonio [Liuzzi] and I used to race for the same tire manufacturer, and we raced together for years. It was really good to hang out and spend time with him, but even better to beat him on the track!"

He continued, "I've competed against Justin [Wilson] and the IRL guys as well, so it was like old home week in some respects. The race itself was great - the CRG and SSC East guys gave me a fast kart right out of the box. We only did minimal laps in practice, and only five laps in qualifying, but it was enough for me to get pole. In the pre-final and the final, I was able to lead every lap, despite having Tonio and Scott Speed in my bumper the entire time. It was really, really tight and with the lapped traffic, at times it was really exciting."

Karter Division In the Karter Division, Carlton proved too much for a field of 35 competitors that included top talent from North America, South America, Great Britain and Europe. Carlton came into the event with the confidence of a past champion -- he won the event in 2007. Handling the challenges of a wet track early in the day, he consistently got faster in each stage. From 4th place in qualifying, Carlton was able to avoid a major tangle that triggered a red flag early in the pre-final to take 2nd place after a great battle Kyle Wiegand for the top spot.

In the main event, the top group of Carlton, Wiegand and Chris Wehrheim outdistanced itself from the field. With Wiegand and Wehrheim fighting for 2nd, Carlton stayed in top form and was able to pull away enough to navigate cleanly through lap traffic. He cruised to his second PRI CKI Karting All-Star Classic victory by over a second. Fellow SSC East / CRG driver and 2009 CKI KF2 Champion Arie Ouimet also had a strong performance, earning a 4th place finish in the main event. The results earned both SSC East / CRG drivers a spot in the All-Stars Division main event; where Carlton would add to the successful outing by out-dueling many of motorsports' biggest names to take 5th place and a $500 award.

"We walked away clear winners in both classes with CRG. Jan just hoped into one of the older karts, and won. It's a testament to the CRG factory -- they build a winning kart that doesn't need any special treatment," stated SSC East founder RJ Valentine. "The PRI / CKI Karting All-Star Classic is one of the most highly anticipated events of the year -- I can think of no other event that features so many top drivers. Not only does it bring together competitors from racing hot spots around the world, but also drivers from so many different series. The common denominator is kart racing -- it's virtually where they all began their careers. I can't wait to do it again next year."

"It's a tremendous feeling to have both Champions at the PRI / CKI Karting All-Star Classic on the SSC East/CRG team. It's great to watch how impressive Jan is competing and 'closing the deal' with such talented drivers right on his tail. As for Gary, becoming a repeat champion against such a deep field is phenomenal," said Dave Davies, SSC East Director of Operations. "Hats off -- not only to Jan and Gary -- but also to the whole team that made this happen."

Inside the convention center on the PRI Show floor, SSC East was matching the success they achieved on the track. "PRI brings together people from the entire motorsports spectrum --it's a 'can't miss event' if you're in the business. It was a good show for our RIMO karts division, with a 60-unit order coming from a track in Minnesota," stated Karen Quast, SSC East's RIMO sales director. "It's been a great year for re-orders. Buyers are realizing the new Alpha Kart is as heavy duty as a kart can be -- for indoor and outdoor. RIMO emphasizes reliability over outright speed, which is important to indoor kart facility owners. Like taxi cabs, sometimes they have to run 15 hours a day. They're like Porsches -- they never break and maintenance is easy."

The PRI / CKI Karting All-Star Classic will be televised nationally on Fox Sports Net affiliation of cable networks. Both the Karter and All-Star Divisions of the race will have their own dedicated half-hour broadcasts that will air in a minimum of 86 million households. Last year's PRI event, with re-air dates, was viewed in more than 700,000 households helping bring karting to the mainstream media. The Karter division from the 2009 event will air on Monday, January 11, 2010, at 4:30 p.m. local time while the All-Star division will be broadcast on Monday, January 18, 2010, at 4:30 p.m.

SSC East, located in Braintree, Massachusetts, is the direct importer in the eastern half of the United States for the world's leading kart products including Rotax / Bombardier, CRG chassis, and Maxter engines, to both kart dealers and racers. Exclusively focused on kart racing, SSC East is dedicated to importing, selling, servicing and supporting kart manufacturers; it is the largest distributor of karts, engines and kart racing supplies and race organization in Eastern United States. For more information, visit www.ssceast.com.

-credit: wka

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