Pit board 2010-10-14

WKA's Pit Board - 10.14.2010

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CKI adds international drivers to Mandalay Bay event

10.14.2010 (Tempe, Ariz.) - Championship Karting International, North America's premier national kart racing series, is getting the final touches in place for the ultimate event of the inaugural 2010 season, The Grand Championship at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino. Excitement is building for the October event as the line up of national and international stars begins to build. Top of the news list is the storming of American shores by one of Europe's newest and brightest stars. Factory Comer s.p.a. Manager, Antonio Pena will bring Italian driver Antonio Giovinazzi, recently crowned WSK Masters Series KF2 Champion, to participate in TaG Senior class. Several CKI drivers have headed to Europe this season to compete in various KF classes so they know just how tough the competition will be come race day.

Giovinazzi took the opening two rounds of the WSK Masters in the KF2 class and was able to take the championship title at the final round held at 7 Laghi in Castelleto di Branduzzo, Italy this past weekend. Hot off his title win the Top Kart driver is making the trip to Nevada to compete with the support of Martinez Racing. For drivers looking to see how their program stacks up, look for loads of action in the hotly contest TaG Senior division. Running under WKA rules, drivers with Leopards, Rotaxs and Rok TTs will battle it out for the podium celebrations.

"It's going to be great to have (Antonio) Giovinazzi over here to compete in TaG Senior at the Grand Championships," smiles Series Manager Kevin Williams. "He is bad fast and it will be interesting to see how he takes to the temporary street course. Our guys will definitely be up for the task here on home soil."

Adding to the excitement, the TaG Senior class, CKI is handing out a prize package that any driver can appreciate with payouts of $1,000 to win, $500 for second, and $250 for third for the weekend results. Final results are the accumulation of points through results of Saturday and Sunday combined finishes. In the title chase, California Top Kart pilot Taylor Miinch has a mere 9-point lead over Kartel Wild Kart hot shoe Neil Alberico for the championship title and loads of bragging rights. Always ready to mix it up, Top Kart driver Kyle Wiegand trails Alberico by only 25 points and may decide to play spoiler when the dust settles.

With a top flight Euro, a cash payout and a tight title chase you can expect things to get racy in a hurry. And this is where the story gets really good as several spoilers are coming to race and maybe just add to the anticipation. Mike Manning Karting will bring Australian hot-shoe Scott Saunders. Recently selected CKI Karting's Got Talent driver Mariah McGriff, second in points of the Arizona State Championship will line up for her shot at the win. Look for Checkered Motorsports PCR Driver Kyle Knecht to charge for the front as he makes the trip from Ohio, where he coming off a top-10 finish in WKA's Manufacturer's Cup last month. And finally, dividing his driving between cars and karts, Tony Kart driver Chad Brassfield will make the trip from Arizona to try his luck in a stacked field in Sin City.

"There are a lot of talented drivers looking to make a name for themselves at the Grand Championship," comments Williams. "The opportunity to get your name out there is real and the racing is going to be good. We have drivers running for titles, drivers running for podiums and all of them are driving for the prize money."

The Grand Championships at Mandalay Bay will start with Thursday optional practice on October 21st, followed by official event practice on Friday, October 22nd. The double racing action begins on Saturday with a full slate of classes running on Sunday. The weekend of racing action will be followed by the awards and class championship presentations all set poolside on Sunday night. During the evening hours, the 3rd Annual Machismo 500-mile Endurance Race will take place from Thursday night through to Saturday night. More information on the Machismo 500 can be obtained by contacting Brad Packard at 951-241-3872, or email Brad directly at Brad@CalSpeedKarting.com

Entries for the WSK North American Series Grand Championship at Mandalay Bay are being accepted online at www.ChampionshipKartRacing.com. Be sure to check out the online entry forms, tire order forms and hotel information.

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Bobby Kelley awarded 1 of 6 free spots in K&N-sponsored talent search

10.14.2010 (Riverside, Calif.) - K&N Filters recently announced a ground breaking program to provide up to 18 young drivers $5,000 to $25,000 sponsorships for car racing. Working in alliance with the national 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.

18 year-old karting standout Bobby Kelley has been awarded the first of six free spots in the 2010 Ron Sutton's Winner's Circle Shoot-Out, thanks to sponsors K&N Filters.

Many successful car racers today, honed their skills driving something smaller, such as Karts, Legends, 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.

For young Bobby Kelley, this award is a crucial part of his opportunity to move into full-sized cars. "I'm really excited to get into a race car," Kelley said. "We have been very fortunate to be sponsored by Position One Motorsports the last two years in Kart racing and don't yet have the backing to move into a full race car. Getting this spot in the Shoot-Out is my opportunity and winning $5,000 to $25,000 in K&N Sponsorship would definitely help my move to car racing!"

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 1,000 resumes and narrow it down to approximately 40 drivers to test. The Shoot-Out is conducted in one of three types of race cars, on a California paved short oval track.

Kelley was awarded the spot in the Shoot-Out on the strength of eight wins in karts throughout 2010. Among Kelley's accomplishments is winning the ProKart Challenge West Coast Shootout in Tag Sr. and winning the IKF Grand National Championships for Tag Sr. Kelley has accumulated many more karting championships and wins throughout his career.

Kelley's association with Position One Motorsports landed him an opportunity to compete in three races on the half-mile Toyota Speedway at Irwindale. Competing in the S2 Sportsman Late Model division, Kelley three starts were highlighted by seventh and second place finishes.

"I think with my karting experience, I can adapt pretty quickly to a new race track and a new situation," Kelley said. "I've always wanted racing as a career and this is definitely my chance to move up."

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.

"Bobby is an extremely qualified driver from the Karting ranks and is an exciting prospect for us for the 2011 season," head of driver development Ron Sutton said. "We cannot thank K&N Filters enough for sponsoring Bobby Kelley into this year's Shoot-Out. There are five more spots to be awarded to talented young drivers in various forms of youth racing,"

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 by the October 25th deadline, in time to be considered. The web-site is www.Winners-Circle-Racing.com

-source: wka