Pit board 2010-08-11

WKA's Pit Board - 08.11.2010

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Opportunities available to support New Castle Gold Cup Money Race

08.11.2010 - Next weekend's Coyote Motorsports Nationals for the WKA Russell Karting Gold Cup Series marks the third national of the season for the 4-cycle sprint series. The event kicks off with a full day of Friday practice on Aug. 20, which ends with the popular Briggs Animal Heavy Money Race, a 30-lap affair that features 75 percent payback and product awards from several companies in the karting industry.

If your business is interested in contributing product or certificates to support this fine race, contact Steve Baker at 419-217-3881.

So far, six outfits are offering product or gift certificates to Money Race competitors, including American Power Sports, Baker Racing Engines, Calabrese Motorsports, Coyote Motorsports, Robertson Torque and Thor Oil.

Ohio's Gary Lawson won the first two Money Races of the season at Kershaw and BeaveRun. Brett Farmer finished second to Lawson in both races.

To view the Coyote Motorsports Nationals entry blank, visit www.worldkarting.com/downloads/eb-2010/0820_newcastle_GC.pdf .

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Beasley takes three; Jones, Robinson net a pair at New Castle Man Cup

08.11.2010 - Nearly 500 entries made the WKA George Kugler / Bridgestone Manufacturer's Cup Series driven by Mazda's Show Hauler Trucks Nationals at New Castle (Ind.) Motorsports Park one of the best national events of the season to date. The strong amount of entries produced full fields in most divisions and tight, wheel-to-wheel racing throughout the three-day event.

Ohio's Sam Beasley continued his stout 2010 season with his second straight triple-win weekend on the Man Cup tour. After netting three final victories last month at Road America, the Arrow driver graced New Castle's victory lane three times with triumphs in Komet Jr Lite, Komet Jr Heavy and Yamaha Jr Heavy.

Similar to the Zoom Zoom Nationals at Road America, the only driver to beat Beasley at New Castle was Florida Tony Kart shoe Nick Neri. Neri found the top step on the podium in Yamaha Jr Lite, which saw him best Beasley by 0.035 seconds. Neri also recorded feature finishes of second, third and eighth throughout the weekend.

Beasley's success kept Joel Jens from notching a national victory, albeit the Wisconsin racer still had a fine weekend to hang his hat on. Jens finished second (twice) and third in classes Beasley won. Shawn Sharkey also brought home a pair of top-five finishes.

In senior ranks, Alabama's Eric Jones and Ohio's Cody Robinson won a pair of finals. Jones swept the Komet classes, winning Komet Lite over Colton Ramsey and Komet Heavy over Ryan Stewart. Robinson denied Jones of an elusive four-win weekend; Jones finished second to Robinson in both Yamaha SuperCan Lite and SuperCan Heavy.

Scott Ferris scored a big win for Margay and the state of New Jersey, where the Man Cup tour visits next. Ferris won the TaG final over Robby Seward and T.J. Koyen to gain his first national win in the division. Ferris was clearly the class of the 39-kart field. After qualifying second, he won the pre-final by over a second and in the final crossed the stripe over a half-second in front of Seward.

Seward picked up the TaG Heavy win over Nic LeDuc. Merlin pilot Tommy Andersen made it two in a row in Parilla Leopard with his win over Koyen. Michael Politis finished third to make it an all-Merlin top three.

John Dixon stayed perfect on the season in TaG Masters. Dixon won his fourth in a row in the class, this time over John Ferris III. Jackson Mears won Rotax over Robbie Little.

Steve Schiewer notched his first national win of the season at New Castle. The Birel driver got the win in Yamaha Masters over Bobby Cummings and Kevin Nelson.

Tony Jump continued his domination in Yamaha Pipe. After dropping out of the Pipe final at Daytona, Jump has gone perfect at MRP, Road America and New Castle. He won over Nelson and James Brock to give Margay another weekend victory.

The Jr Sportsman ranks saw terrific competition and great variety in victory lane as the five classes featured five different winners. Virginia's Gresham Wagner beat out Collin Campbell in Cadet Final 1. Kyle Tilley won over Wagner and Ashley Rogero in Cadet Final 2. Tilley was the only junior driver from Indiana to win a final.

Wisconsin's Mike McAndrews edged Tilley and Brandon Jarsocrak in Yamaha Sportsman Lite. Rogero won another for Tony Kart with her triumph over Tilley and Wagner in Yamaha Sportsman Heavy. Merlin's Emerson Reed won over California Top Kart driver Zane Smith in Komet Sportsman. Reed's win marked his first of the season in Manufacturer's Cup competition.

A good field of eight Kid Kart participants made laps at New Castle. The youngsters in attendance were Jack William Miller, Trey Miller, Connor Ferris, Tyler Ferris, Cory Ferris, Joseph Stecher, Caleb Tate and Evann Milless.

The deepest fields of the weekend were the Yamaha Jr classes. Yamaha Jr Lite topped the charts with 48 entries, while Yamaha Jr Heavy had 43. The top-attended senior class was TaG, which boasted 39 starters.

Only one stop remains on the 2010 Manufacturer's Cup circuit. The 2-cycle sprint racers will visit New Jersey Motorsports Park Sept. 17-19 for the SSE East / CRG Nationals. The weekend marks the first time Man Cup has run at the popular Millville facility. The New Jersey entry blank will be available on worldkarting.com in the coming days.

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Ocala Gran Prix is victorious in WKA Manufacturer's Cup

08.11.2010 (OCALA, Fla.) - The Ocala Gran Prix (OGP) race team had another successful weekend at the fourth round of the World Karting Association (WKA) Manufacturer's Cup program this past weekend. Taking place at the ultra-fast New Castle Motorsports Park facility, the three OGP drivers managed to garner four pole positions, five podium results and two main event victories.

Nick Neri, who was returning from a broken arm that required surgery two and a half weeks ago, was back on track competing in the Komet Junior and Yamaha Junior divisions. Leading three of the four class point standings heading into the weekend, Neri would look to stay at the front of the field and gain what was possible from the weekend.

In the Yamaha Junior Lite class, Neri swept the day's action scoring the pole position, prefinal win and main event victory. Competing in Yamaha Junior Heavy the next day, the Floridian would look to have the same sort of results and started off well scoring the pole. An incident in the prefinal would force the Tony Kart driver to start from the tail of the field in the final (38th position) where he had an outstanding run driving forward to an eighth place result and in the process, scored the fastest race lap.

Looking for another class sweep in the Komet classes, Neri claimed the pole position in Komet Junior Heavy and followed that up with a solid second place result. In Komet Junior Lite, Neri would come home in the third position as a quartet of drivers battled hard for the win.

Female pilot Ashley Rogero was back in action in Indiana and proved that she is a front-runner in the Sportsman classes. Utilizing her track knowledge, Rogero made multiple passes on the last lap to score heat race wins and a main even victory in the Yamaha Sportsman Heavy division. Rogero had another podium in Sunday's Cadet Junior Sportsman class as she came home in the third position after claiming the pole position for the same class in Saturday's racing action.

Two divisions didn't provide any luck for the Tony Kart driver as the Komet Sportsman class, Rogero and her crew overcame problems all weekend to salvage a top ten result. The Yamaha Sportsman Lite class would prove to be a rough and tumble affair that saw Rogero come home in twelfth.

Both Rogero and Neri will head to the final round of the WKA Manufacturer's Cup program in six weeks time at New Jersey Motorsports Park. Both drivers have the opportunity to take home multiple championships in this series.

Jonathon Kotyk entered the New Castle Motorsports Park event sitting 10th in points in both the Yamaha Junior Lite and Yamaha Junior Heavy divisions. After terrific runs at Road America, Kotyk would show speed throughout the weekend but would finish just outside the top ten. Gaining experience with each and every passing weekend, Kotyk will head to New Jersey with the goal of attaining a top five result in his first season of WKA action.

"The Ocala Gran Prix crew had a good weekend," expressed team manager Kyle Kraus. "There were some ups and downs but the team worked together and overcame all the problems. We are looking forward to heading to New Jersey to finish the 2010 season and build momentum towards the start of our 2011 campaign."

-source: wka