CADET SPORTSMAN #1
Pole: Nick Luedeke
Final Results: 1.Austin Osborne 2.Emerson Reed 3.Collin Campbell
As the field completes the 1st lap on the pre-final Austin Osborne and Kyle Tilley move into the top spots on the leader board with Nick Luedeke, Collin Campbell and Leo Stoia following in behind. These 5 drivers are glued together for the 1st couple of laps until Stoia falls off the pack. For anyone that has never been to New Castle, this is a track that is largely affected by the draft. Once a kart falls off a multiple kart pack, they are destined to continue to fall back. This track is also one of the larger tracks and is spread out over a large area making it difficult to watch all the action taking place. Throughout the race there are numerous events that caused drafting groups to split apart and new groups to form. On the last lap the lead group of 3 karts head down the back straightaway and when they get near the last corner Tilley moves inside and Osborne moves to the outside. At the last second when they reach the corner Osborne dives to the inside and tries to slingshot himself to the finish line. This is his 1st attempt of this pass that he uses many times this weekend. This initial attempt is not successful and Tilley takes the win by a hair, Osborne is 2nd and Campbell is 3rd.
The final begins with a clean start and when they complete the 1st lap there is a 5 kart pack of Tilley, Campbell, Reed, Osborne, and Stoia leading the way. After a couple of laps, Stoia falls off the pack and the remaining 4 karts start swapping positions. This 4 pack continues around the track for a few laps but around the half way mark they begin to put the slower karts a lap down. Campbell has trouble getting through these karts which holds him up and splits him away from the lead pack of karts. On the last lap the 4 pack has split into 2 groups of 2 having many lead changes throughout the closing laps. When the dust cleared, Osborne took the win with Reed finishing very closely in 2nd and Campbell taking the 3rd position.
YAMAHA JR LITE
Pole: Sam Beasley
Final Results: 1.Sam Beasley 2.Jeffrey Bartz 3.Kyle Kalish
After several attempts, the field finally sees the green for the start of the pre-final. Sam Beasley, Dominique Van Wieringen, Austin Schoonmaker, Jeffrey Bartz, and Kyle Kalish lead the field around the course for the entire race only changing positions amongst themselves. Around the half way mark they start shuffling positions which allows Beasley to jump ahead leaving the 4 others karts to fight it out. One of those typical scary moments at New Castle occurs at the start of the last lap when Christian Beasasie spins on the front stretch as karts are flying by him. Hannah Zellers ends up colliding causing both karts to retire from the race. The pack of 4 come down the long straight and head into the last turn. They go into the last turn 2 wide as they head to the checkered flag. When they reach the finish line 3 wide as they are all fight for that 2nd spot. All 4 karts finish 0.172 seconds apart. Beasley finished in the top position almost 3 seconds in front Kalish, Van Wieringen, Schoonmaker, and Bartz.
Once again, it took many attempts at a start so after 2 attempts the front row was inverted with the 2nd row which handed the control of the start over to Van Wieringen with Schoonmaker along side. It didn’t take long for Beasley to take the lead with Kalish, Van Wieringen, Bartz, and Bell following in behind. The 5 lead karts remain in that order for the 1st 10 laps. When the 2 to go flags are shown, Bell puts his nose down and gets by Van Wieringen and takes over the 4th spot. Bartz waits until the last lap when he makes his move on Kalish and takes away the 2nd spot behind Beasley finishing in the top spot.
YAMAHA LITE
Pole: Cody Robinson
Final Results: 1.Cody Robinson 2.TJ Koyen 3.Shinya Michimi
Cody Robinson and TJ Koyen lead the field around for the 1st lap of the pre-final with Shinya Michimi slightly behind. With Robinson and Koyen nose to tail Michimi efforts in trying to catch the leaders is not successful. Behind Michimi is a pack of 3 karts that continue to battle it out throughout the race and make no grounds closing the gap. As the laps tick by, Michimi has no drafting partner and continues to fall further back and finishes 3rd. Koyen is more than content to sit right behind Robinson until they head down the back straight on the last lap. Koyen pulls out to draft by Robinson who makes no attempt to block and finishes in the 2nd position behind Koyen.
In the final, Koyen is the 1st to jump into the lead, but at the end of the 1st lap Robinson makes the pass to take over the lead with Michimi a few karts lengths behind. Michimi falls back off the leaders, but appears to be a little stronger midway through the race and looks to be closing the gap ever so slightly. This continues for a few laps until he begins to start to lose more ground on the leaders. Koyen is again more than happy to follow Robinson around the track until they head down the back straight on the last lap. Koyen repeats his last lap move on Robinson as he pulls out and drafts by Robinson. This time Robinson plays his cards a little different and just as they are about to make the turn into the last corner, Robinson swings out wide and dives under Koyen as they head to the finish line. With Robinson taking a wider turn into the corner he is able to carry enough momentum to swing by Koyen and take the win. Koyen comes in 2nd crossing the finish line beside Robinson and Michimi again finishes in the 3rd spot.
KOMET SPORTSMAN LITE
Pole: Mike McAndrews
Final Results: 1.Emerson Reed 2.Kyle Tilley 3.Collin Campbell
The field of 17 karts get off to a good start on the pre-final as Emerson Reed, Kyle Tilley, and Mike McAndrews lead the field around for the 1st lap. This 3 karts pack grows to 5 karts a few laps later when Collin Campbell and Jacob Zellner join the leaders. They all continue to follow each other around the track until Zellner falls off the lead pack. Typical of New Castle, the pack make no attempts to pass until they reach the back straight on the last lap. McAndrews and Campbell pull out and draft by Reed which allows McAndrews to take the win with Reed still finishing 2nd and Campbell taking the 3rd spot.
The final begins trouble free until half way through the 1st lap when a bunch of karts get together resulting in 3 karts ending their day without making a lap. The same group are out front again with the addition of Austin Osborne making it a 6 kart pack. They follow each other around the course for the first quarter of the race, but then they start swapping positions allowing Campbell and Osborne to break away in the lead. Half way through they bunch up together to form another 6 kart pack and hang out together for a few more laps until they start passing again. This time McAndrews changes partners and pushes Reed past Campbell to take over the lead. With a few laps left, McAndrews and Osborne make contact and spin off the track. Eventually, Osborne is able to get going again, but drops back and finishes 13th. McAndrews is not so lucky and retires from the race. This reduces the lead pack down to 3 karts as they prepare for their last lap attempts at the win. Coming into the last corner on the last lap, Reed pushes Campbell by Tilley resulting in Reed taking the win, Tilley taking 2nd, and Campbell coming in 3rd.
YAMAHA MASTERS
Pole: Bill Smiley
Final Results: 1.Missy Tate 2.Mark Lewis 3.Bill Smiley
Bill Smiley takes the lead off the start of the pre-final with Missy Tate following in 2nd. Smiley only enjoys leading the race for 1 lap as Tate not only takes the lead, but command of the race. As each lap passes, Tate just keeps on stretching out her lead as the rest of the field spreads out. Greyson Eves retires after completing half the race. Tate takes the victory with a 10 second lead over 2nd place Mark Lewis and 3rd place Sam Ritondaro
The final began with Tate taking the lead followed by Lewis, Smiley, Ritondaro, Eves, and Beaman who did not compete in the pre-final. Tate took control of the race again and began to take a commanding lead. Eves retires from the race after 3 laps as does Ritondaro after completing 8 laps. Tate is able to put Beaman a lap down before she takes the win with Lewis and Smiley finishing over 20 seconds behind her.
YAMAHA JR HEAVY
Pole: Austin Schoonmaker
Final Results: 1.Dakota Bell 2.Kyle Kalish 3.Austin Schoonmaker
This being the 2nd largest class of the day as the Junior classes had the highest entries with 21 entries in the heavy and almost a full field in the lite with 29 entries. With no surprise, the juniors have contact after the 1st couple of turns off the start. Dominique Van Wieringen makes it through 2 turns until she’s sitting in the grass from contact with another kart. The other leaders have some contact, but continue on with Sam Beasley, Dakota Bell, Austin Schoonmaker, Kyle Smith, and Kyle Kalish leading the field. Throughout the race this pack of 5 trade positions allowing the group to split at times and regroup at other times. On the last lap the lead pack of Bell, Schoonmaker, and Beasley head into the last turn as they go 2 wide heading to the finish. Bell takes the victory with a 0.112 second gap between Schoonmaker as Beasley falls in 3rd.
The final begins with lots of action on the start with lots of contact and position changes. The entire field manage to make it through, with lots of position changes behind the leaders. The top 5 karts are still all out front with the remaining karts fighting to gain positions. The Juniors are never usually content to work together like the Sportsman drivers so there are lots of position changes often causing their pack to split and regroup. Eventually, Bell gets some a little breathing room from Kalish, Schoonmaker, and Beasley. The most exciting racing is taking place behind them with Kyle Smith, Cameron Meek, and Dominique Van Wieringen battling it out. These 3 drivers come out of the race posting the 3 fastest laps of the race that are almost 3/10ths faster than the leaders. Van Wieringen ended the race in the 6th position after starting dead last in 21st. Smith finished in 5th and Meek finished in 7th. The lead pack of 4 karts fought for position resulting in Bell taking the victory, Kalish in 2nd, Schoonmaker in 3rd, and Beasley taking the 4th spot.
YAMAHA HEAVY
Pole: Cody Robinson
Final Results: 1.Cody Robinson 2.Missy Tate 3.Adam Crepin
The pre-final begins with Cody Robinson, Missy Tate, and Kevin Nelson leading the field. Robinson takes a slight lead over the 3 karts of Tate, Nelson, and Crepin following in behind. Around the half way mark, Crepin is unable to hold pace and falls off the pack. With Robinson having a slight lead this leaves Nelson and Tate to battle it out. On the last lap, Tate passes her brother Nelson and takes away the 2nd position leaving Robinson with the win and Nelson with 3rd.
After having the green waved off the 1st time, the final is on its way with Robinson and Nelson leading the way with Crepin and Tate following. Nelson starts looking like he is going to make Robinson work for his win running nose to tail until the 2nd lap. It looks like Nelson is starting to have some issues and falls off the heels of Robinson. It doesn’t take long for Crepin and Tate to catch Nelson as they work together nose to tail. As the laps go by, it becomes more obvious that Nelson is having problems as he starts falling off the heels of Tate and Crepin. Finally on the 6th lap he calls it a day when he pulls into the pits and retires. With a couple laps left, Tate passes Crepin as Robinson continues to increase his lead. When the checker waves, Robinson takes the win with a 6 second lead over 2nd place Tate and 3rd place Crepin.
YAMAHA ROOKIE
Pole: Ian Nelson
Final Results: 1.Ian Nelson 2.Riley Yates 3.Alexander Lozano
The Rookie class started out the pre-final without any issues as the field was led initially by Ian Nelson but hands the lead over to Alexander Lozano on the long straight at the end of the 1st lap. They order flops around when Justin Wisniewski, Riley Yates, Connor Cass, and Grant Griesbach join the front group. They end up pairing up in 2’s for awhile but eventually the order starts to flip around. The real excitement began at the start of the last lap when Yates gets by Nelson and takes over the lead. This only lasts until they head down the long straight when Nelson powers by Yates and takes the win. This left the lead group of Wisniewski in 3rd, Cass in 4th, Lozano in 5th and Griesbach in 6th.
On their 2nd attempt the green flag finally waved and the field gets off to a clean start for the final. Nelson, Yates, and Cass make up the lead pack after the 1st lap. On the next lap the lead pack has some contact on the front stretch, but they all keeping going. As time goes on, Nelson, Yates, and Lozano get a little gap between themselves, Schwanbeck and Griesbach. At the end of the 2nd lap, Lozano and Wisniewski go 2 wide through the last corner causing Wisniewski to go off the track and fall way back in the field. Before the halfway mark, Yates gets around Nelson with Cass running in the 3rd spot. Around the halfway mark, Nelson takes back the lead position. Lozano gets back into the 3rd while Schwanbeck and Griesbach continue to battle giving him some breathing room. When the race ended Nelson claimed the victory with Yates in 2nd and Lozano in 3rd.
PARILLA LEOPARD
Pole: Andrew Hobbs
Final Results: 1.Andrew Hobbs 2.Adam Crepin 3.Gary Klamrowski
This 3 kart field began the pre-final with Andrew Hobbs taking the lead and Adam Crepin a few karts behind. Gary Klamrowski continues to fall back after he loses the draft from Hobbs and Crepin. Hobbs holds the lead to the finish as Crepin finishes only 0.637 seconds behind.
The final starts in the same manner, but Crepin has trouble keeping up with Hobbs and eventually falls back. Part way through the race Crepin runs into more trouble when he spins on the front stretch. Hobbs was the 1st to see the checkered flag with Crepin 8 seconds behind in 2nd and Klamrowski came in 3rd.
KOMET SPORTSMAN HEAVY
Pole: Austin Osborne
Final Results: 1.Austin Osborne 2.Kyle Tilley 3.Tristan Van Wieringen
Austin Osborne and Kyle Tilley lead the 1st lap of the pre-final with Hannah Roskopf following slightly back. The order remains the same throughout the race. Tristan Van Wieringen has trouble getting through traffic leaving him little time to push Roskopf up to the leaders. When the race concluded Osborne took the win with Tilley in 2nd, Roskopf in 3rd and Van Wieringen in 4th.
The final began with a clean start. Osborne, Tilley, and Roskopf jumped out front to lead the field. Van Wieringen had trouble getting through the start and sat further back in the 4th with Camden Donaldson in 5th. The leaders began to pull away from Roskopf which left her running solo. While Van Wieringen and Donaldson were pushing their way towards Roskopf, Donaldson got by Van Wieringen. They eventually caught and passed Roskopf and began their group effort to charge to the front. On the last lap they still were still 5 seconds behind the leaders. When they came down the back straight Van Wieringen pulled out and Roskopf got behind to push them by Donaldson. This put Van Wieringen in the 3rd and Roskopf into 4th behind Austin Osborne and Kyle Tilley.
KID KARTS
Pole: Max Kaeser
Final Results: 1.Luke Fineis 2.Mark Fineis 3.Max Kaeser
The field of 17 karts were off and running with Mark Fineis, Max Kaeser, Luke Fineis, and Parker Abed leading the field around the shortened track. They run into trouble on the 2nd lap when 4 karts get together in the cut-off section. Slowly but surely they all get going. Luke Fineis, Kaeser, and Mark Fineis maintain their lead positions until a few laps remain and Kaeser falls out of the pack. Coming down the back straight for the checker, Kaeser charges by Mark Fineis and takes over the 2nd spot pushing Mark Fineis back into 3rd only a short distance behind Luke Fineis who took the win.
When it came time for the final, Luke seems to have an easier timeout front as he quickly takes control of the race. Brother Mark and Kaeser follow behind and have a good battle for the 2nd position. While this is going on, Zach Preiser is closing the gap on Mark Fineis and Kaeser. He eventually gets behind the 2 karts and joins in on the battle. His efforts are lost when he ends up spinning off the track and can no longer continue in the race. Mark Fineis and Kaeser end up hitting lapped traffic near the end which added some extra excitement to the race. When all is said and done, Luke Fineis claimed another victory, Mark Fineis came in 3rd and Kaeser took the 3rd spot.
CONCLUSION
For many people, today’s racing had to be the longest day of racing this year. The 2 biggest factors that contributed to such a long day was the 12 hours it took to get through the race program and the high temperatures. Earlier I commented that patience was going to be a factor this weekend. After racing in the GLSS series before and looking at the number of classes on the entry form, it became clear that it was going to be a long day. What I wasn`t expecting was the extremely high temperatures and humidity. Our official day began at 8am with a drivers meeting which took longer than the standard MWSS driver`s meetings. Around 9am the 1st round of practice started.
We finally began qualifying at 11am after waiting a long time for the race order while the track sat idle and quiet. When qualifying was complete we took our 3rd break of the day before starting the pre-finals. They took their 4th and final break of the day before we started the finals at 3:45. After quickly doing the math we determined we would be done around 8pm. A little different from the 3 or 4pms that MWSS members are accustomed to. The Kid Karts were slotted into the last race of the day which had to be hard on the parents trying to keep the kids amused, cool, and awake. Then they started racing between 7:30 and 8pm which was probably getting close to their bed times. Patience, patience, patience.
Sunday Race Report – July 25, 2010
Just as predicted we woke to the sound of rain and slightly cooler temperatures. By the time the driver`s meeting took place the rain had stopped and you could see the blue clouds heading towards the track. The driver`s meeting was a little shorter than the yesterday and the 1st round of practice was starting at 8:45am. The only problem was that the rain had stopped, the track was still wet, and the officials mandated rain setup. With the sun shining and a light breeze it wouldn`t take long for this Indiana track to dry. Knowing there was little chance of rain throughout the rest of the day, there were only a couple of people who wanted to burn up a set of rain tires for fun. So the 1st round of practice was a pretty much a waste of time. Now we were on the 2nd break of the day for the church service. Next they announced the 2nd round of practice was to start at 9:45am with your choice of tires. Had that been the case with the 1st session its likely there would have been a lot more karts on the track. Naturally, everyone went out on slicks. It was only 9:30am and we were all wondering what time we would be done and already dreading the long drive home in the wee hours. I`m sure we all prayed to have lower temperatures since everyone was starting to shrivel up in the heat.
KOMET JR LITE
Pole: Cameron Meek
Final Results: 1.Sam Beasley 2.James Bennett 3.Dominique Van Wieringen
After several attempts the start of the pre-final was final underway with a few karts make contact off the start resulting in Dignan and Newberry out of the race. After the 1st lap Dominique Van Wieringen was in the lead with James Bennett, Cameron Meek, and Sam Beasley behind her. Twice during this race a kart spun on the front stretch making your heart stop. The 1st time everyone made it around the spinning kart, but the 2nd time a couple of karts collided into the spinning kart causing a few karts not to finish. After a few laps, Van Wieringen gets shuffled down into the 3rd spot as Beasley and Bennett get by her. By the next lap Van Wieringen gets by Bennett when he drops a wheel on the front stretch. Eventually Van Wieringen shakes off Bennett and can focus on Beasley in front of her. Bennett regroups and begins to hunt down Van Wieringen and catches her with only a few laps to go. Bennett follows in behind Van Wieringen to the finish. The results are posted with penalties which changes Beasley’s position for, ``passing under yellow.`` This bumps Van Wieringen into the 1st spot, Beasley into 2nd and Bennett into 3rd.
The final started after being waved off initially with lots of karts making contact, but everyone continued on. A couple of turns after the start, Van Wieringen was shuffled back into the 5th spot after being bumped off the track. Beasley, Knueven, Bennett, and Bartz sat in the top spots after they completed the 1st lap. During the next lap, Van Wieringen gets 2 spots back and Bennett and moves into the 2nd position. Knueven retires from the race putting Bartz into the 4th spot and Bowers into the 5th spot, where they will finish the race. Van Wieringen begins to hunt down Bennett and with a couple of laps to go, finally catches him when he loses the draft with Beasley. Without enough time for Van Wieringen to challenge Bennett for the 2nd spot as she could only follow him across the finish line and take the 3rd spot. Ahead of her Beasley took the win and Bennett took the 2nd position.
KID KARTS
Pole: Parker Abed
Final Results: 1.Parker Abed 2.Luke Fineis 3.Chandlar Moran
The coolest little racers of the day started their pre-final a little earlier than yesterday now that they were the 2nd race of the day instead of the last. Our fabulous little drivers were all on their toes today and they all finished every lap of the pre-final. Luke Fineis was the early leader after they completed the first lap. Closely behind him followed Seth Hickman (who also raced the 4 stroke class), Trenton Tucker, Parker Abed, and brother Mark Fineis. These 4 karts never lost sight of Luke Fineis while they battled back and forth throughout the race, often traded positions. It wasn`t until the back straight on the last lap when Abed got a run and drafted by Luke Fineis to take the win. Luke Fineis followed behind in 2nd with Hickman in 3rd, Mark Fineis in 4th, and Tucker taking the 5th spot. These top 5 finishers all crossed the checkered flag with only 2.953 seconds between the 1st place and 5th place karts making this a very exciting race.
The final began after the 2nd try with the Fineis brothers leading the field. Abed, Perdue, and Preiser were right behind the leaders planning out their line of attack. In the next couple of laps only Preiser advanced his position by taking the 4th spot from Perdue. The next lap, Hickman also gets around Perdue who will finish in the 7th position. A few more laps go by and Moran is now sitting in the 5th spot and will end up in the 3rd spot by the end of the race after starting way back in the 10th. Abed takes the top spot away from Luke Fineis on the 6th lap and holds that position until the finish. Luke Fineis never gives up and has to settle for the 2nd spot only 1.085 seconds behind Abed.
CADET SPORTSMAN #2
Pole: Nick Luedeke
Final Results: 1.Austin Osborne 2.Kyle Tilley 3.Collin Campbell
When the green flag waved for the start of the pre-final they all swept around the first couple of turns without having any contact. Kyle Tilley and Emerson set the pace as they jumped into the lead and never looked back. Jacob McWhirter, Leo Stoia, and Nick Luedeke formed a pack behind the leader while Austin Osborne watched from behind. By the end of the next lap, Osborne moved into the 2nd pack. A lap later, McWhirter fell off the pack and is now being hunted down by Tristan Van Wieringen and Collin Campbell who catch him a couple of laps later. Tilley and Reed crossed the finish line over 4 seconds in front of the field after slicing and dicing their way to the finish with a photo finish. Tilley edged out Reed by winning with only 0.076 seconds between them. The 2nd group got busy early allowing the 3rd group to be on their heels by the finish. Stoia was able to take 3rd, Osborne took 4th, Luedeke took 5th, and Van Wieringen grabbed the 6th spot.
In the final it took a couple of tries to get the field started and when it did there was lots of contact off the start and through the 1st lap while drivers fought for position. Van Wieringen’s race was cut short by 9 ½ laps after having contact and going off the track. The rest of the field continued on with Tilley, Osborne, Campbell, Reed, and Stoia leading the field. By the end of the 1st lap the 2 front groups of 3 formed, where they remained until the finish. The 1st pack of Tilley, Osborne, and Campbell were content to hold their positions until the last lap when Osborne swung underneath Tilley on the last corner to take the win. Tilley had to settle for the 2nd spot and Campbell finished 3rd. The 2nd group of Reed, Stoia, and Luedeke changed positions many times throughout the race causing them to fall back almost 8 seconds behind the leaders. On the last lap, Luedeke gives Reed a push on the last lap to move him into the 4th spot. Stoia managed to hold on to the 5th spot and Luedeke took the 6th position.
KOMET HEAVY
Pole: Patrick Olsen
Final Results: 1.Patrick Olsen 2.Scott Kopp 3.Andrew Hobbs
This 4 kart field has a clean start on the pre-final with Olsen, Hobbs, and Kopp in the top 3 spots. The next lap was the only lap with position changes when Kopp gets around Hobbs taking over the 2nd spot. Kopp makes a good effort at keeping up with Olsen, but he is never able to make the move.
The final began in the same fashion as the pre-final. This time Kopp took over the 2nd spot before they complete the 1st lap. Olsen took control of the race and finished over 9 seconds in front of the 2nd place kart of Kopp with Hobbs finishing in the 3rd position.
YAMAHA SPORTSMAN HEAVY
Pole: Camden Donaldson
Final Results: 1.Kyle Tilley 2.Camden Donaldson 3.Emerson Reed
After having the first start waved off they finally began the pre-final with a clean start. As the field started winding their way around the track they quickly formed a train of 6 karts. The train consisted of Camden Donaldson, Emerson Reed, Mike McAndrews, Zach Holden, Hannah Roskopf, and Tristan Van Wieringen. By the end of the 2nd lap the train split in half with no changes in position. Then by the end of the next lap they split in half again leaving 3 groups of 2 karts, all in the same order. Around the half way mark more karts joined the lead pack of karts and this is when the trouble began. Going down the front stretch, Van Wieringen after dropped a wheel another kart behind him decided this was his chance to get around him. As Van Wieringen was exiting the 1st corner he violently went off the track and went straight back into bales and into the Lego wall. Everyone held their breath as the red flag began to wave and medical staff were sent to Van Wieringen’s aid. After being attended to for about 10 minutes, Van Wieringen stood and walked off the track, which was a relief to everyone that saw this hard and sudden hit he had just experienced. We were all glad he was okay and not in the same shape as his brand new kart that was totalled without seeing a checkered flag once. The race was re-started with a green, white, and checker since there was only 2 laps left. When the checker did wave Reed took the win with McAndrews taking 2nd, and Holden finishing in the 3rd spot.
It took a couple of tries to get the field going in the final with Reed, McAndrews, and McWhirter leading the pack around for the 1st lap. By the next lap, McWhirter fell all the way back to the 8th with Roskopf, Tilley, Donaldson, and Holden moving into the lead pack. This race had a lot of action with different packs forming, splitting, and positions constantly changing. There were a couple of incidents of contact that created a lot of position changes. When it came down to the last lap the lead karts were in a pack of 4 and the fight for position started well before the last straight away. When the 4 karts of Reed, Tilley, McAndrews, and Holden hit the last straight away they all began their fight for the top spot. As the 4 karts went 2 wide through the last corner, contact was made and things were a little crazy. This resulted in McAndrews crossing the finish line 1st, followed by Tilley, Donaldson, and Reed who finished the race in the grass. Once results were posted McAndrews was issued a 2 position penalty for, “aggressive driving” that changed the final results to Tilley in 1st, Donaldson in 2nd, Reed in 3rd, and McAndrews in 4th.
KOMET JR HEAVY
Pole: Sam Beasley
Final Results: 1.Sam Beasley 2.Dominique Van Wieringen 3.James Bennett
Sam Beasley was the 1st kart to lead a lap in the pre-final. He was followed closely by Dominique Van Wieringen, Jeffrey Bartz, and James Bennett. These 4 karts remained at the top of the leader board for the entire race, often trading positions. Coming down the back straight on the last lap is when things got really busy as karts shuffled around trying to gain positions. Van Wieringen pulled out to pass Beasley as Beasley does the same. She then pulled inside with Beasley doing the same. By that point they are almost at the corner and Van Wieringen has no other option but to follow in behind Beasley in the 2nd spot. Behind these 2 karts, Bennett also made the move on Bartz and gets by to take the 3rd spot. Once the results were posted the officials issued a penalty to Beasley docking him 1 position for, ``excessive blocking last lap`` which resulted in Van Wieringen taking the win.
The final began with a fairly clean start as Van Wieringen jumped into the lead on the start. Her lead didn’t last long after Beasley gets by her at the end of the 1st lap. Bennett, Bartz, and Knueven are the next 3 karts behind. Beasley and Van Wieringen run nose to tail for the first handful of laps, but by the halfway mark Van Wieringen starts to drop off. While this is going on, Bennett and Bartz getting racy with Bennett breaking free of Bartz and now setting his sights on Van Wieringen. With only a few laps left, Bennett catches Van Wieringen in hopes of taking the 2nd spot. As the white flag waves, Bennett’s time is quickly running out. In the end Bennett follows Van Wieringen across the finish line. About 5 seconds behind them, Bartz and Meek cross the finish line side by side with Meek taking 4th and Bartz 5th. Beasley wins the final after leading every lap with Van Wieringen and Bennett finishing only a couple of seconds behind.
KOMET LITE
Pole: Patrick Olsen
Final Results: 1.Patrick Olsen 2.TJ Koyen 3.Shinya Michimi
Patrick Olsen was the 1st of 3 different leaders in the pre-final, followed by Shinya Michimi, Andrew Hobbs, and TJ Koyen. At the end of the next lap Koyen makes the pass on Hobbs. On the 3rd lap, Olsen dropped down to the 3rd position, allowing Michimi and Koyen to move up a position. Everyone held their positions for a couple of laps until Koyen and Michimi swapped positions. The next lap was the exact reverse of the 3rd lap as Olsen moved up into the lead, Koyen into 2nd and Michimi into 3rd. This race may have only had 4 entries, but there were as many changes for the lead as there was in the larger classes. When the checkered waved, Koyen took the win followed by Olsen, Michimi, and Hobbs.
The final turned out to be a little different than the pre-final having only 1 leader the entire race. Olsen jumped out front with Koyen, Hobbs, and Michimi following behind. During the next lap, Michimi took over the 3rd spot from Hobbs. For the balance of the race, Koyen continued to follow Olsen around the track while Michimi tried to get back into the lead pack after falling back early in the race. At times it looked as though Michimi was making ground on the leader. Near the end Michimi just didn’t have enough to catch them and had to settle for the 3rd spot. The only real action in the race came during the last lap when Koyen made a solid attempt at getting by Olsen. As they exited the corner, Olsen and Koyen make contact and finished side by side. Olsen took the win over Koyen by 0.083 second gap.
YAMAHA PIPE
Pole: Cody Robinson
Final Results: 1.Cody Robinson 2.Adam Crepin 3.Matthew Laukaitis
It seems that every race event has its own set of complications with this class adding an extra challenge for me. Running behind the Komet Lite class was one thing, then 2 identical Merlins start the race with the same number. “Great”, I thought to myself. This should be fun trying to make notes and keep track. Luckily Adam Crepin wore a Merlin driver’s suit and Matthew Laukaitis wore a Birel driver’s suit or I would have been lost. With the 2 drivers having only 0.173 seconds separating them, the challenge increased. Laukaitis led the 1st couple of laps and Crepin led the rest of the race. Cody Robinson started in 1st, led every lap, and won the race by over 7 seconds.
When it came time for the final, Robinson didn’t disappoint anyone by taking the lead off the start and checking out. The results showed he was around a second faster than the twins and his 12 second gap at the finish pretty much showed this. Robinson looked like he was out for a Sunday drive. The only excitement he gave us was when he came off the track on the front stretch, but got back on immediately. Robinson did most of all the work himself back in the pits since his dad was wrenching for Dominique. During the final, Crepin took the lead off the start and held it to the finish. Laukaitis looked like he was having some problems throughout the race. He spun a few times and then called it a day when he pulled into the pits after completing 6 laps.
YAMAHA ROOKIE #2
Pole: Thayne Chapin
Final Results: 1.Ian Nelson 2.Thayne Chapin 3.Gabriel Gilbert
As I sit here putting my thoughts, notes, and the results together I’m a little puzzled at the results for the pre-final. Out of the 9 drivers that started the race, only 4 finished on the lead lap and the other 5 finished a lap down. At the same time the Rookies were racing, a couple of 4 strokes were also racing their own race. Our pole sitter, Thayne Chapin took the lead off the start with Riley Yates, Dillion Schwanbeck, Ian Nelson, Grant Griesbach, and Connor Cass. After Griesbach spins on the front stretch at the start of the 2nd lap, he fell all the way back to 9th. After that, there is one change in position between the top 6 drivers. Nelson made this pass with only a couple of laps to go and took over the 3rd spot with Chapin taking the win and Yates following in 2nd.
In the final, Chapin, Yates, and Nelson are out in front with Schwanbeck, Cass, and Gilbert following behind at the end of the 1st lap. The order remains the same for the next few laps until Nelson comes from the 3rd spot up to the lead. Nelson holds on to the lead for a couple of laps until Chapin re-takes the lead. The following lap, Nelson assumes the lead again after getting a little help from Schwanbeck. After working his way up to the 3rd spot, Schwanbeck has some trouble and ends up way back in the 7th position where he will finish for the day. With a handful of laps left, Nelson is followed by Chapin, Yates, and Gilbert who remain in those positions until the final lap of the race. These Rookies get busy on the last lap and scramble to improve their positions before the finish. When the checkered flag waves, Nelson comes across the line first, followed by Yates, and Chapin. A little ways back a pack of 4 karts of Gilbert, Cass, Griesbach, and Schwanbeck cross the finish line very closely. The finishing order changed once the results were posted when Yates is given a 2 position penalty for, “aggressive driving”. This gave Nelson the win, Chapin 2nd, and Gilbert the 3rd position.
YAMAHA SPORTSMAN LITE
Pole: Camden Donaldson
Final Results: 1.Kyle Tilley 2.Mike McAndrews 3.Zach Holden
Our polesitter, Camden Donaldson ran into trouble right on the start and fell all the way back to 24th and can only get back up into the 20th at the end of the race. After having some troubles off the start of the pre-final, this 25 kart field made its way around the course. Durin the 1st couple of laps Emerson Reed, Collin Campbell, Zach Holden, and Jacob Zellner lead the field. The lead pack of 5 hold on to the top spots for the entire race. Almost every lap involves some sort of change in position. At the finish the order changed when Holden took the win and McAndrews, Zellner, Campbell, and Reed followed a half second behind the leader.
After taking a couple of shots at the start, the final began without trouble. Once they funnelled through the start they all got in line to form a 9 kart pack consisting of McAndrews, Campbell, Holden, Tilley, Zellner, Reed, Roskopf, Van Wieringen, and Stoia. The long train of karts lasts for a couple of laps then breaks down into smaller packs, still all very close to each other. Karts fight to improve their position throughout the race often swapping the order. The last corner of the last lap is generally the deciding factor of the outcome of the race and this race was no different. As McAndrews and Tilley go through the last corner as they fight for position and make contact. After McAndrews led every lap, Tilley ends up leading the lap the counts and takes the win as Holden follows in 3rd place.
CONCLUSION
Patience, patience, patience was my theme for this event and came into play in more ways than one. For MWSS members, this weekend’s events often tested your patience since GLSS runs much differently. There are reasons why we drive all from Canada to MWSS events when there is a regional series much closer. Hopefully if anything the MWSS members can appreciate all the efforts that are put forth in our series and what a great job they do every event. It doesn’t take long for anyone to figure out that you need the same patience on the track. Especially if you are up front and you have that burning desire to be the leader. More often than not, the one who leads the race is not the one that wins. Racing at New Castle can become a real chess game.
The 2010 season is now coming close to the end. Our last event will take place in Norway during the August 21-22 weekend. Looking back at the season I think that our racers did a great job and together learned and grew leaps and bounds. The MWSS racers did a great job racing in a very respectable and honourable way. In fact, when we joined forces with the GLSS this past event many of our racers felt quite protective of their fellow MWSS racers. We were all proud of the MWSS accomplishments against the other series drivers. I’m looking for to watching with pride when our MWSS drivers get on the podium in Daytona this year.
