The 2011 season for the Superkarts! USA Central States Challenge will close up shop over the September 24-25 weekend at the I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Missouri. The sixth and final round of the championship series returns to the site of round five with five titles on the line. Also, the winner of the Mazda Road to Indy Scouting Combine program will be announced.

 

The title in S1 has already been decided with Derek Crockett the lone driver in the category all season long. The 2010 S2 SKUSA Pro Tour champion is coming off his first King of the Streets victory at Rock Island Grand Prix and will provide a great measuring stick for those battling in the S2 category. Joe Ruch has been the driver to beat all season, scoring five straight feature wins on the year. Needing to compete in the final round to clinch the championship, Kyle Gnau and Nick Lougee will attempt to spoil his perfect score. In S4, Ron Petersen is on a four-race win streak. Round one winner Kris Dickson has kept the pressure on and will look to score his second of the year to close the season on a high note.

The fifth round of the Superkarts! USA Central States Challenge went into the books over the August 20-21 weekend as the series visited its home facility - the I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Missouri. The event, presented by Crockett Motorsports, welcomed drivers from various states in the surrounding area with the GP Kart dealer hosted a Saturday evening dinner for all attendees. On-track, Derek Crockett took home the overall win in the Stock Moto group while Mick Gabriel traveled west from Indiana to sweep the action in TaG Senior.

 

The Stock Moto battle came down to S1 and S2 drivers exchanging the lead throughout the event. Derek Crockett was the lone S1 driver for the round, but was the rabbit for S2 point leader Joe Ruch. In qualifying, Ruch - from Indiana - was able to nip Crockett, racing at his home track, for fast time in the session with a 37.028. The margin between the two driver’s fast laps was just a mere two-thousandths of a second. Kyle Gnau was second in the S2 class with Austin Duncan in third. Ruch kept the point through the first heat race, grabbing the holeshot to lead Crockett to the checkered flag after 10 laps. Gnau and Duncan remained second and third in class. It was a repeat in heat two, only this time Gnau was followed by Nick Lougee as Duncan retired after lap one.

 

Crockett picked up the pace once the lights went out to begin the 14-lap feature. Pressuring Ruch from the opening corner, the two battled for the lead. Crockett assumed the point on lap six and on lap eight, secured the lead after Ruch made a slight error resulting in a spin. That dropped him back behind Gnau until lap 13 when Ruch took over the S2 class lead. At the checkered, Crockett took the overall win by seven-seconds with Ruch crossing the line in second, scoring the win in the S2 class. Third overall was S4 driver Ron Petersen as he kept pace with the younger drivers to extend his point lead in the category with another class win. Gnau placed fourth overall, ahead of Kyle Donahue to complete the S2 podium. Chris Dickson placed fifth overall, second in the S4 category.

The Superkarts! USA Central States Challenge regional program is moving toward the final two stages of the 2011 season. The last two events of the year will be hosted at the series home circuit - I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Missouri. Round five of the six-race program, set for August 20-21, will be presented by Crockett Motorsports - a long-time series support and GP Kart dealer for the Midwest. The event will also set the stage for the final push for series championships and host the final process for the Mazda Road To Indy Scouting Combine program.

 

The I-55 Raceway is located just south of downtown St. Louis and holds a 1/3-mile dirt oval that hosts many big events on the season. It is also home to the St. Louis Karting Association and their 1/2-mile road course, featuring an 800 ft. long front stretch, “Thunder Valley” with hairpin turns, a banked Monza and a tight esses section that creates a challenge to each driver.

 

The championship fights have been mapped out over the course of the first four events and the final two rounds will decide this year’s champions. Last year’s SKUSA Pro Tour S2 champion Derek Crockett moved to the S1 category for 2011 and has run uncontested to this point in the SCSC season, joining the S2 battle on track each weekend. Joe Ruch is currently leading that championship chase with four straight feature wins over Kyle Gnau and Nick Lougee. Ron Petersen has the advantage over Kris Dickson in the S4 Master Stock Moto category.

 

The SCSC has developed one of the largest followings for the S5 Junior Stock Moto category in the country with five drivers in the hunt for this year’s title. Jenna Grillo currently leads the standings with two feature wins. Joe Reed has been consistent, holding the second spot in the chase with Erik Nelson and Collin Willis each scoring a win this year as Colt Masewich rounds out the top-five. Kyle Koetters holds the top spot in TaG Senior comfortably ahead of Mary Kae and Brand Winkelmann as Ryan Joehl leads the TaG Cadet point standings over Austin Mayton. 

For the second time on the season, the Great Lakes Pro Series and Superkarts! USA Central States Challenge programs joined forces at one location for another exciting weekend of racing. Over the July 23-24 weekend at the New Castle Motorsports Park in Indiana, both series co-hosted a double-header weekend to include two rounds of racing towards each series championship. Renewing the friendships made in May at the Anderson Mayor’s Cup Grand Prix, the competitors from both series joined again to provide some great shifterkart and TaG racing.

 

Leading the way in the Stock Moto category on day one was Illinois driver Josh Lane. Scoring the pole position over 12 other drivers, he and second qualifier Kyle Ludwick battled for the Prefinal victory. Local driver Ludwick came away with the win and the pole position for the main event. Lane got the jump from the outside row one grid position and led all 15 laps to the victory. Ludwick kept close, crossing the line just four-tenths back. Winning a great battle for third was Eric Batt as he edged out fellow Indiana drivers Joe Ruch and Evan Batt. The next day, Eric Batt shined above the others with Ludwick not competing and Lane having issues throughout the day. Batt posted the fast lap in qualifying and had a race long battle with Tennessee driver Brian Fisher for the entire 15 laps. At the checkered, Batt took the victory by seven-tenths over Fisher with Kelly Johnson scoring the third spot over Ruch and Nicholas Lougee.

The Superkarts! USA Central States Challenge regional got back to action over the June 11-12 weekend with the second round of the 2011 season. TNT Kartways in West Quincy, MO was the location of the event, with the facility celebrating it 50th season hosting kart races. The historic and challenging course set up for another weekend of great racing for the regional program feature TAG and shifterkarts. Current SKUSA Pro Tour S1 Pro championship contender Lukas Johnson earned his first regional victory of the season while Joe Roch scored his second straight in the competitive S2 Semi-Pro category.

 

The S1 Pro Stock Moto category, sponsored by Crockett Motorsports, held three of the top shifterkart drivers with defending SKUSA Pro Tour S2 champion Derek Crockett posting the fast lap in qualifying. He edged out fellow S2 graduate Lukas Johnson by just 0.006-seconds with a 27.628-lap in the session. Californian Nic LeDuc, a former top-10 in the eKartingNews.com Driver Rankings now living in Indiana, was unable to record a lap due to engine issues. Johnson grabbed the holeshot and led all of the 15 laps of heat one with Crockett trailing, matching the same results in heat two. LeDuc continued to have engine issues and was unable to make a lap until the main event. Able to get rid of the gremlins, LeDuc shot off the line and was into the lead by the completion of lap one with Crockett and Johnson right behind. LeDuc led until lap eight when Johnson was able to work by for position. The top two ran nose to tail with Johnson prevailing with the victory. LeDuc was a close second as Crockett had to settle for third.