Subscribe

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Motorsport prime

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Edition

USA

WKA: IRL SoK: New Castle summary

Carlton & Jenkins Continue Domination in New Castle The first day of racing action is now complete here at New Castle Motorsports Park as the second round of the Snap-on Stars of Karting Eastern Division is in the books. It was another bright, ...

Carlton & Jenkins Continue Domination in New Castle

The first day of racing action is now complete here at New Castle Motorsports Park as the second round of the Snap-on Stars of Karting Eastern Division is in the books. It was another bright, sunny day over the New Castle, IN facility today, although a few red flag incidents slowed the event, ending the racing sometime after 6pm.

ICC

The first group of the ICC Gatorz Qualifying was led by Canadian Curtis Fox, aboard the Cameron Motorsports CRG, in the early stages until new Champion Racing/Intrepid driver Josh Schreiber took the provisional pole with a 1:01.495 lap time. Out of the box for Group #2, DL Racing's Keith Spicer (Kosmic) took over the top spot with a 1:01.153 as many of the top drivers searched for clear track around the 1-mile circuit. This was all quickly changed as Champion Racing/Intrepid's Jordy Vorrath broke the 1:01 mark with a 1:00.800 lap time. Canadian David Carmendy (CRG) nearly took Vorrath off the Zoombang Pole spot, but he was just 0.012 seconds off. Defending national champion Gary Carlton (CRG) was the third driver to break the 1:01 mark with only three laps as a flat tire ended his qualifying session early. David Jurca (Italkart) was fourth fastest while Spicer dropped to fifth. Schreiber's best time to lead Group #1 end up setting him 17th overall.

Vorrath grabbed the holeshot off the line to begin the Prefinal with Carlton getting by Carmendy in the right hairpin to control second place to begin lap one. The following lap, Carlton made the same pass on Vorrath in the same corner, but Vorrath did not give up getting by after the longstraight. Carlton eventually got back by as Carmendy followed him through to assume second. The front six began to shuffle with Alan Rudolph (First Kart), Jurca, and Matt Jaskol (Top Kart) filling the order.

Carlton and Vorrath broke away from the pack in the 13-lap main, finishing 1-2 to set the front row for the main event, as six drivers fought for third. This exciting group shuffled around during the closing laps to set up an wild final two corners. With Jurca leading the way, Richard Benitez (Kosmic) made some contact with the Italian Motors driver, allowing Rudolph and Jaskol to pull alongside down the backstraight. Rudolph attacked and held the edge entering the corner, but he was forced wide at the exit. This allowed Benitez to cross the line in third with Jaskol and Jurca rounding out the top five. Carmendy was classified sixth with while Rudolph fell back, crossing the line in the grass in front of Mike Vincec (CRG). Tony Kart USA's Jon Branam and Italian Motors' Hayden Duerson (Italkart) completed the top ten.

For the 21-lap main event, it was Carlton and Vorrath running 1-2 from the start as Benitez and Rudolph made contact coming out of the opening corner, putting them to back of the field and ending their chance at a good finish. Jaskol was out to a comfortable third until the rookie Duerson reeled him in and was able to get around him with a deep late-braking move at the end of the backshute.

With the front four consistent, the battle on track was for fifth as six drivers shuffled around for the remaining laps. Jurca had the spot early until dropping back as Vincec crossed the line in fifth. Classified in sixth, and running the fast lap of the race and earning the Mazda Zoom Zoom Fast Lap Award, was Philippe Gelinas (Birel) with a circuit of 1:01.298. Branam, PSL Karting's Jan Velez-Walter (CRG), Jurca, and Ryan Kinnear (Intrepid) rounded out the top ten.

PCH Motorsports ICA

With the PCH Motorsports ICA groups for Gatorz Qualifying split up by championship points, the second group featured the top 20 drivers in the championship standing, with the rest of the 21 karts taking to the track first. Last year's New Castle winner Caleb Loniewski (Arrow) was quickest in the first session with a 1:03.312 lap.

It wasn't long before the second group set the bar lower, with Brit Scott Jenkins (Intrepid) dropping below the 1:03 mark on his out lap to take the Zoombang Pole Award. Cameron Motorsports' Cody Jolly (CRG) was the only other driver to dip below the mark to start the Prefinal from the second spot. Jake Rosenzweig (CRG) had just crossed the line for the third quickest time toward the end of the session when he pulled to the sideline with an engine failure. Defending champion Joel Miller (Tony Kart) was fourth quickest with Michael Hogg (Italkart) rounding out the fast five. Loniewski was seventh fastest overall, just behind Tyler Dueck (Intrepid). Of note, second place in the overall championship standings - Indie Race Development's Federico Montoya (Birel) - was unable to make a lap in qualifying after an engine issue ended his session quickly, forcing him to start the Prefinal from the 40th spot.

In the Prefinal, which set the grid for the main, Jenkins pulled out to a comfortable lead early and continued to stretch it out as Rosenzweig ran strong in second, making it a British 1-2. Dueck, Dominic Scheer (Birel), and Jolly all battled for the third position in a spirited dice. Miller was in the fight but was pushed back to the ninth position until engine trouble put him on the sidelines after 11 laps. Up front, Jenkins took the win by four seconds over Rosenzweig with Scheer winning the battle for third over Dueck and Jolly rounding out the top five.

At the start of the 21-lap ICA Final, Jenkins pulled out to a big lead to begin the fight with Jolly settling into a solid second place. Two more CRGs filled out the top four as Rosenzweig and PCH Motorsports' Jacob Neal - who started ninth -- advanced quickly to assume the spots. The quartet ran clean and fast ahead of the rest of the field as a good battle from fifth back was ensuing. At the end, J3 Competition's Victor Cabrera (Kosmic) was fifth, just ahead of Montoya, who beat out Xavier Coupal in his SH Karting Tony Kart and Spec Racer champion Brandon Adkins (Margay). The second Indie driver in the top ten, Dion Von Moltke (Birel), was ninth ahead of Colby Jenn (Intrepid).

On the day, Jenkins will go back to the hotel with $2,500 after winning the Gridsport Dash-for-Cash ($1,000), the ICA main event win ($1,000), and the Mazda Zoom Zoom Fast Lap Award ($250). After a dominating performance, Jenkins now has a firm control on the ICA championship standings.

Spec Racer

First out on the track for the Gatorz Qualifying sessions in the Spec Racer division was hometown driver Mark Dismore Jr. (Intrepid), who debuted in the top spot to begin the 10-minute session. At about the halfway point, another Indy area native, Josef Newgarden (Arrow) stole the provisional pole with a 1:05.090 lap time. Dismore then ran quicker then his opening laps, but he was unable to knock Newgarden off the top of the chart. Adam Johnson, making a one-off run with Team Top Kart this weekend, was third quickest with Arrow drivers Billy Lewis and Conor Daly rounding out the fast five. Aside from Johnson, the rest of the top six, including FirstKart.com's Zach Beard, call the New Castle facility home.

Problems started early in the Prefinal for Mark Dismore Sr. (Intrepid) as he was unable to get going right away and was forced to start the tail end of the field. To his credit, he was lightning quick and was able to drive up to 12th. Up front, it was a great five-kart battle with Daly, Newgarden, Johnson, and Dismore Jr. Two laps in, Dismore Jr. went to pit road with motor problems, leaving the four drivers to battle for the win and the pole for the main. Johnson and Daly went back and forth until three laps to go, when Daly's throttle cable broke. By the time, he found the problem and was able to control the gas with his hand, he had fallen to the tail end of the field. Johnson cruised to the win as Newgarden closed in the final laps to take second. Nic Johnsrud (Merlin) moved up from seventh to third, ahead of Beard, as Edward Fortier (Arrow) advanced up to fifth from the 15th starting spot.

In the final, which kicked things off, Johnson grabbed the lead to begin the main event, but it was stopped after just two laps when Kaitlin Mangham (Birel) was involved in a red flag accident. She was checked out by the EMT and was transported to the local hospital for cautionary exams. Mangham returned to the track later in the evening, battered and bruised, but she will be fine and is looking to run tomorrow.

On the restart, Johnson grabbed the lead, but it was short-lived, as Fortier took the point in the final corner to complete lap four, setting up for a great battle up front. After a great race-long fight that saw many leaders, the final lap was a good one. Fortier gained some ground on Johnson, who had assumed the point, but it wasn't enough as Johnson edged him at the line by 0.089-seconds. Beard won the battle for third over Dismore Sr., who rocketed up the field into the fight, but eventually settled back in fourth ahead of Johnsrud.

JICA

Just the same as ICA, the Gatorz JICA Qualifying groups were split up by points, with Sergio Pena (Gillard) leading the way with 1:05.942 lap. Race of the Americas double winner Gustavo Menezes (Tony Kart) held the provisional pole for most of the second session. As the checkered flag fell, his Tony Kart USA teammate Jarvis Gennari put down a 1:05.784 lap, just 0.023 faster then Menezes' time. Pena was third overall with fellow group one driver Dusty Davis (Maranello) fourth and Brendan Langlois (First Kart) rounding out the fast five.

After two failed attempts to start the Prefinal, the front row was moved back and the second row moved up as the 10-lap race finally got underway. Pena and Gennari pulled out from the rest of the field with Gennari taking the top spot quickly. Menezes settled in to third with Davis and Chemill Mercado (Tonykart) rounding out the early top five. With about four laps to go, Menezes and Mercado got together in the right hairpin near the front straight, dropping them back in the field, shuffling up the top ten. Gennari moved to P1 and then cruised to the win ahead of Pena by 1.287-seconds. Langlois eventually moved up to third while fellow FirstKart.com driver Spencer Pigot moved up to fourth from his ninth starting spot. Davis fell back to finish fifth ahead of CJ Lintner (Arrow).

The JICA main event got off to an ugly start, with Remo Ruscitti (Italkart) going over hard, bringing out a red flag. The Stars officials deemed it a complete restart and ran their final after the Cadet final. Ruscitti would be transferred to the local hospital, and then was moved into Indy to deal internal injuries, which have been indicted as treatable. EKN and the Stars community would like to wish Remo all the best.

At the restart, championship point leader Menezes was involved in contact in turn one and retired early, suffering a minor injury to his arm. Up front, Gennari went flag-to-flag to take an impressive first Stars victory, pulling out to a 1.380-second triumph over Langlois. Scott Rossi (Intrepid) worked himself from seventh to third to fight with Langlois, but he simply did not have anything left to run for the position. Mercado won the battle for fourth ahead of Reid Jeffries (Gillard), who advanced from 16th to complete the top five. JICA rookie Devon Jones (CRG) had a stellar run in sixth ahead of Davis.

King Taco Cadet

Mason Chelootz (Intrepid) was the top driver in Gatorz Cadet Qualifying with yesterday's fast driver Sage Karam (Birel) running second quick. Tristan DeGrand (Kosmic) was third overall in the session while Carlos Abreu (S-1) and Grant Vogel (Intrepid) completed the fast five of the 29-kart field.

It was a typical King Taco Cadet race in the Prefinal with DeGrand crossing the line first ahead of Top Kart drivers Camden Geise and Tyler Thomas with Karam rounding out the top five. The fight behind the leaders was heated from front to back, green to checker, as the Cadets continue to treat every lap as the last circuit of the biggest race of their lives. The passion is impressive.

The main event was an exciting 12-lap event with seven drivers battling for the win. On the final lap, the entire group went for the same piece of real estate, exiting the final corner with Karam escaping the contact to take the win. Chelootz crossed the line second as Nick Neri (Tony Kart) was classified third after connecting with Anthony Furfari (Juncos), the duo skidding by the stripe in the grass. Andrew Murray (Birel) was fourth while DeGrand rounded out the top five. Vogel was sixth, just ahead of Furfari who crossed the line in the grass as well.

***

After putting in a great day of competition at the beautiful New Castle Motorsports Park on Saturday, the teams returned today for another shot as success as the Snap-on Stars of Karting Eastern Division wrapped up its weekend. All the big dogs aimed their sites at Gary Carlton (ICC) and Scott Jenkins (PCH Motorsports ICA), the two drivers who dominated the Pro classes during the first mains. The race winners turned up the wick themselves and again out-gunned their opponents, sweeping the weekends to each extend their streak to four finals.

ICC

Canadians Thomas Cadieux (CRG) and Curtis Fox (CRG) led the way in the opening group for Gatorz Pole Qualifying with Cadieux running a 1:01.343 and Fox just one-thousandths of a second slower. The times would dropped substantially when the second group hit the track as J3 Competition's ICC rookie Richard Benitez (Kosmic) was fast early, that is, before Carlton (CRG) took the provisional pole on his out lap, running just above the 1:01 mark. Benitez, David Jurca (Italkart) and Matt Jaskol (Top Kart) each took turns holding the P1 spot with runs in the 1:00s until Carlton laid down a 1:00.606 lap in his PCH Motorsports machine, earning the front row starting position for the Prefinal and the Zoombang Pole Award. Jaskol was able to clock in the second quickest time to start outside Carlton. Italian Motors Hayden Duerson (Italkart) continued his impressive run from yesterday and just nipped his teammate Jurca for the third staring spot while Benitez completed the ! fast five. Saturday Gatorz Pole winner Jordy Vorrath (Intrepid) was unable to complete a lap with engine troubles, forcing him to the tail of the field for the Prefinal.

In the Prefinal, Carlton grabbed the holeshot with Jaskol and Jurca slipping single file in behind him. The front three pulled out to a small lead as the rest of the field battled for positions. Carlton would go on to win unchallenged as Jurca outran Jaskol for the runner-up position, giving him a position on the outside of the front row for the main. Keith Spicer (Kosmic) was a solid fourth in his return to the chassis, while Philip Gelinas (Birel) and Ryan Yop (Sodi Kart) had good runs to finish fifth and sixth, putting them side-by-side on row three.

In the 21-lap final, Jurca nailed the start to get the holeshot, taking the early lead over Carlton and Jaskol. Carlton settled in and grabbed the point early in lap two, but Jurca stole it back with late-braking maneuver at the end of the backstretch. Carlton would get by for good later that lap, pulling away to a quick lead that he would never see disappear. As Carlton ran off to the win, his fourth straight this year, Jaskol slipped past Jurca to take over second as the duo completed the podium. Spicer was just out of reach to contend for a podium finish and crossed the line with a solid fourth place run.

The race to watch on track was for the fifth position as Champion Racing/Intrepid's Ryan Kinnear, Yop, and Tony Kart USA's Jonathan Branam had a great battle brewing for the closing laps. As the three drivers exited turn 10 with five laps to go, the drivers went three wide and were unable to make it through the corner. Branam went off track but rejoined them on the straight heading toward the highway. That allowed Michael Vincec (CRG) and Alan Rudolph to join there fight enter turn 13. As they exited the corner, they went three wide again, this time Yop got the bad end of the stick after the shuffled for the some piece of track, nearly going into the pond but would continue on to finish 19th.

When the checkered fell, Kinnear went off track exiting the last corner after Vincec got inside him through the turn allowing the Cameron Motorsports driver to cross the line fifth ahead of Branam and Rudolph as Kinnear fell back to eighth. Jan Velez (CRG) and Danilo Dirani completed the top ten.

PCH Motorsports ICA

Johnny Johnson (Top Kart) lead the way in group one for ICA Qualifying as the top spots shuffled around with Victor Cabrera (Kosmic) and Garrett Napier (CRG) sitting in the provisional top three at the end of the 10-minute session. Yesterday's winner Scott Jenkins put his Champion Racing Intrepid into the provisional pole early, dropping below the 1:03 mark and running sixth-tenths quicker then his run in Saturday's qualifying session that grabbed him the Zoombang Pole Award. Indie Race Development's Dominic Scheer (Birel) was second quick with Aaron Neilton (Sodi Kart) finding some extra speed this morning to start the Prefinal from inside row two. Tyler Dueck put a second Intrepid in the top four while PCH Motorsports Jacob Neal (CRG) completed the fast five. Johnson's quick time for group two put him ninth overall with Saturday's other podium finishers Cody Jolly (CRG) and Jake Rosenzweig (CRG) were 11th and eighth, respectively.

It was the same story on a different day as Jenkins jumped out to a big lead early and cruised to another flag-to-flag win in the ICA Prefinal, stretching out to a 4.125-second triumph to secure the pole for the final. Trouble occurred early for Rosenzweig, Scheer and Neilton, however, as they got together in the far end of the track with Rosenzweig and Scheer able to continue on as Neliton was sidelined for the rest of the race. As Jenkins pulled out, Neal won the battle for second over Jolly and Federico Montoya (Birel). James Kennedy (Sodi Kart) had a stellar drive from 17th to complete the top five.

After the ICA field got the green flag to begin the 21 lap final, pole sitter Jenkins again stretched out to a solid lead in the opening lap bringing Jolly with him. Neal, starting from the outside pole, fell back in the opening laps to eighth. As the front two pulled away, defending champion Joel Miller (Tony Kart) worked himself up to third by lap seven after starting ninth. Following him through was Neal as the two broke away from the rest of the top ten. As the final laps wound down, Neal was closer and closer to Miller, setting up for a great final lap. As the two ran down to the final corner, Neal got a great run and went inside entering the corner however, it was too much speed and he went sliding outside with Miller criss-crossing back to the inside and grabbing the final podium step.

Kennedy won a great battle for fifth ahead of Guillermo Freile (Tony Kart) and Rosenzweig. Caleb Loniewski completed his first Stars weekend of the year and debut aboard the Comet Kart Sales Arrow machine in eighth ahead of Scheer and Neilton.

Spec Racer

The Spec Racer Gatorz Pole Qualifying session was led by New Castle's Mark Dismore Jr. (Intrepid), running 0.141 seconds quicker the FirstKart.com's Zach Beard. David Chapel (Arrow) was third quickest with yesterday's winner Adam Johnson (Top Kart) and Josef Newgarden (Arrow) completing the fast five. Yesterday's runner-up Edward Fortier (Arrow) did not complete a lap in the session due to starter issues and would begin the Prefinal from the 33rd spot.

Battle for the lead on the second lap of the Prefinal resulted in Dismore Jr. retiring early after contact with Beard and Johnson. Beard was able to continue on in the lead while Johnson fell deep into the field. It looked as though Beard would take a comfortable win, but Nick Freytag (Sodi Kart) put his head and reeled in the leader, making a last lap pass stick at the far end of the track to take the Prefinal win and start the main event from the pole position. Newgarden crossed the line third while Matt Codalata (Margay) and Evan Batt completed the top five, Batt advancing up to fifth from his 10th starting spot. The drive of the race was put in by Fortier as he battled his way through from 33rd to a solid 10th.

The Spec Racer main event was one of the best races yet in the 2007 season with seven different race leaders throughout the 17-lap race, and that was just the lead changes across the line. Beard got out to the lead early and looked to be able to stretch out to a good advantage until Newgarden and Codalata worked together to reel in the leader. Once they did, the battle began.

Newgarden had just completed the pass for the top spot when Beard climbed the back of the new leader, sending them both off in turn one and ending their chance at the win. This allowed Codalata a lap at P1 until Andy Lee (First Kart) took his turn. After starting 15th, Saturday winner Johnson worked his way up to the lead group, running the quickest laps of the race and assume the top spot. With around two to go, Freytag had gotten himself back in the hunt and took over the lead with Robert Stout (Birel) moving up from the mid-pack to break away for a two kart battle for the win. Though he put on the pressure, Stout was unable to get by the Sodi Kart/G-Phactory driver as the Arizona resident pick up his first Stars victory and the team's first Spec Racer win.

Champion Racing/Intrepid's Joey Wimsett, after moving up through the field, was set to finish third when engine troubles hit him with two more corners to run. That allowed Dismore, who went from 31st to third in the 17 laps, to earn the final podium spot, trumping his father's run from the day before. Johnson crossed the line fourth ahead of TrueNorth Motorsports' Max Riddle (CRG). One other driver to note was Fortier, who was running second on lap 10 when his throttle broke and drove the rest of the race with one hand on the wheel and the other on the throttle to a 12th place finish.

JICA

Chemill Mercado (Tony Kart) was the quick driver in the first group of the JICA Gatorz Pole Qualifying with a 1:06.133 lap to show the way with Sebastian Ordonez (CRG) and Andrick Zeen (Sodi Kart) holding on to the provisional top three. In the second group, Spencer Pigot (First Kart) was the top qualifier with a 1:05.822 lap time, 0.105-seconds ahead of yesterday's winner Jarvis Gennari (Tony Kart). Saturday podium finisher Scott Rossi (Intrepid) was third quickest overall with championship leader Gustavo Menezes (Tony Kart) and Brendan Langlois (First Kart) completing the top five. Mercado's fast lap from group one put him eighth overall, starting the Prefinal from the outside of row four.

Five failed attempts put the third row up front for the start after rows one and two were unable to get the race started correctly. Langlois jumped out to the lead early but the front pack shuffled around until a red flag came out on lap six for Sean Rayhall (Kosmic), who was able to walk away after the accident. Rossi led the field to the restart but Zanella quickly stole the spot in the opening corner. He and Mercado battled in the remaining laps but it was Zanella at the line by 0.144-seconds. Langlois was third with Rossi and Angel Caban (Kosmic) completed the top five.

It was a six kart battle in the JICA main event as the six young stars put on a great show for the 17-lap run. Mercado lead for most of the event and was able to hold on for the win, his first in Stars competition. Rossi earned another podium finish, this time one step up to second, switching spots with Langlois. Zanella settled for fourth with Gennari and Menezes behind him.

King Taco Cadet

Riding off his big win yesterday, Sage Karam (Birel) earned the pole in Qualifying with a 1:14.867, just 0.010-seconds ahead of the young Santino Ferrucci (S-1). Nick Neri (Tony Kart) was third fastest while Tyler Thomas (Top Kart) and Anthony Furfari (Juncos) rounded out the fast five.

Ferrucci had a milestone race in the Cadet Prefinal as he went flag-to-flag for his first ever national win. Karam followed closely in second with Neri, Furfari and Mason Chelootz (Intrepid) completing the top five.

The Cadet final was four kart battle with Ferrucci, Karam, Chelootz and Neri as Furfari, Camden Geise (Top Kart) and Thomas retired on lap two. Ferrucci lead again for most of the way, setting up for a crazy last lap. As the lead group headed toward turn 13, the drivers went two by two going in with Karam coming out as the leader, Chelootz second, Neri third and Ferrucci fell back to fourth, completing an amazing day. Fifth place was Canadian Garett Grist (CRG), who went from 25th to fifth, passing four drivers on the last lap.

The Eastern Division will be back in action in August as the series returns to the USA International Raceway in Shawano, WI after the Western Division has its second round in July at the Miller Motorsports Park outside Salt Lake City, UT.

-credit: www.starsofkarting.com

Be part of Motorsport community

Join the conversation
Previous article WKA: Jimmy Heavlow Chestertown summary
Next article WKA: IRL SoK: First Kart New Castle summary

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Motorsport prime

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Edition

USA