PT: Phil Giebler SummerNationals summary

Giebler takes overall TaG Senior honors at SKUSA Pro Tour SummerNationals

Phil Giebler drove to victory in the TaG Senior main event Saturday (July 21) and finished third Sunday in the Mothers Polish SummerNationals at USA International Raceway in Shawano, Wis., the second stop of the Superkarts! USA Pro Tour championship.

Giebler was the top point scorer in TaG Senior for the weekend, earning $1,000 and extending his lead in the points after two rounds of the SKUSA Pro Tour. The third and final round of the SKUSA Pro Tour, the USA SuperNationals, will be held Nov. 17-21 in Las Vegas.

The Huntington Beach, Calif.-resident edged Mark Vielgut by .346-second in the 16-lap main on the 1-mile track Saturday. Giebler qualified in fourth position, finished fourth in the first heat and second in heat two prior to the main.

Giebler started Sunday by taking the pole by .9-second in a session run in the rain. He won the first heat, but encountered mechanical problems on the warm-up lap for the second heat.

"The airbox fell off and I had to hold it the entire race," Giebler said. "I was driving one handed. The engine overheated on the final (eighth) lap and I didn't finish."

With the second heat determining the grid for the main, Giebler started 19th and drove through the field to third.

"All in all, it was a pretty good weekend," Giebler said. "We were the overall points winner (which includes points for heat races and pole) and we're happy about that."

Phil Giebler Racing also entered Steve Wiener of San Diego in the TaG Masters class (for drivers age 35 and older) and Noah Grey of Dana Point, Calif., and Tate Holleran, of Denver, in TaG Cadet (for drivers eight through 12).

Wiener finished first in Saturday's main and also won a heat. He was runner-up in the other heat. On Sunday, Wiener was second in the main and both heats.

Giebler and Wiener drove FA Karts powered by 125cc water-cooled Vortex Racing engines built by Daniel Patino's D-Power Engines of Huntington Beach, Calif. They raced on MG Tires.

On Saturday, Grey finished second in the 12-lap main and was fourth and fifth in the heats. Holleran was fourth in the main and fourth and fifth in the heats.

Grey finished fourth and Holleran fifth in the main Sunday. Grey was third and fourth in the heats and Holleran was fifth. Both drove FA Karts powered by 60cc Vortex MiniRok Engines and were on MG Tires.

Gray and Holleran struggled throughout the weekend with engine problems.

"It was a very frustrating weekend for them and the whole team," Giebler said. "We changed engines, changed everything but the wiring harness and still couldn't get them to run. We need to do some investigating to figure out what happened and get the problem fixed."

Phil Giebler Racing's next event is the SKUSA ProKart Challenge West Coast Shootout Aug. 13-14 at the Santa Maria, Calif., airport track.

-source: Phil Giebler Racing