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Thursday, 22 July 2010 12:11 |
 For any competitive kart racer, USA International Raceway in Shawano, Wisconsin is an absolute ‘must’ on any ‘bucket list’ of race tracks. A combination of high-speed corners, tight hairpins, undulations and wild elevation changes makes the track one of the best in the country – and the structural facilities at the venue only help to further complete the package. This past weekend, the Superkarts! USA organization brought its top drivers to the track for the inaugural SummerNationals, and with blue skies and warm temperatures being the order of the weekend, the racers were treated to a special experience. There was a little rain on Sunday morning that turned the qualifying rounds into a wet weather circus, but things eventually cleared and the afternoon was perfect. A total of 85 competitors hit the track over the weekend as SKUSA continued its new national Pro Tour program, and when the dust had settled, the big winners in the two headline classes were veterans Alex Speed (S1) and Phil Giebler (TaG Senior). Each driver raced hard in both the Saturday and Sunday events, taking a win a piece and podiums in both mains, earning themselves their respective $1000 first place check in the process. The addition of NASCAR stars AJ Allmendinger and Jamie McMurray brought the event to a new level, and both drivers showed well in their return to their karting roots.
 Speed (GP) was certainly the man to beat in S1 Pro Stock Moto on Saturday, dominating the main event to post a 5.054-second win over his STA Racing teammate Jason Toft (GP). Allmendinger (Kosmic) rebounded after a tough day of practice on Friday when nothing seemed to work, settling in with long-time tuner Tim Pappas to find the sweet spot of his chassis. The Richard Petty Motorsports driver battled into the top-five in the heats and eventually slipped through for an impressive podium run into third in the main. Absent from the head of the class was S1 stud Fritz Leesmann, who struggled all day Saturday in his Aluminos CRG. The veteran shifter pilot exploded back on the scene on Sunday and dominated the proceedings, out-running Speed in the 20-lap main to take the win and second overall for the weekend, although Speed’s pair of podium finishes gave him the crown and the money. Allmendinger capped a great weekend with another third place finish, taking third overall in the tally. To his credit, McMurray drove his butt off all weekend, taking fifth on Saturday and fourth on Sunday. With his Sunday win, Leesmann now takes control of the points heading into the SKUSA Pro Tour finale – the SuperNationals in November. The Californian leads SpringNationals race winner Clinton Schoombee by 283 points in the chase for the #1 plate. |
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Tuesday, 20 July 2010 13:57 |
 After enjoying three days of beautiful sunny skies and mid-80s temperatures, Shawano, WI’s USA International Raceway was hit with rain and wind on Saturday evening, and this precipitation continued into the Sunday morning qualifying sessions for the inaugural Superkarts! USA SummerNationals. The morning rains did not dampen the enthusiasm of the participants, as once the storm cell cleared the area, the MG slicks were back on and the hard racing continued. A pair of new weekend winners was crowned at the end of the day, as Fritz Leesmann recovered from a tough Saturday to outrun Alex Speed for the S1 win, while TJ Koyen was masterful in his Sunday performance as he topped a strong TaG Senior grid to score the victory.
The S1 Pro Stock Moto class took center stage on Sunday as the feature race of the day, and being positioned as the final class in the rotation presented them with a drying track during qualifying. The racing surface was starting to clear up, but wet weather rubber was still necessary. Aluminos’ Fritz Leesmann (CRG) struggled on Saturday, but regrouped overnight and came out swinging, laying down the fastest lap of the wet session with a 1:21.477. NASCAR star and Daytona 500 winner Jamie McMurray impressed in the tough conditions by posting the second quickest lap, out-pacing Syar Motorsports’ Nick LeDuc (Energy) and the STA Racing duo of Alex Speed (GP) and Jason Toft (GP). Richard Petty Motorsports driver AJ Allmendinger qualified eighth, but he knew that he had competitive pace in the dry thanks to his solid third place finish on Saturday.
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Sunday, 18 July 2010 01:00 |
 With perfect weather blanketing an incredible facility, the Superkarts! USA SummerNationals enjoyed great head-to-head racing and some amazing finishes in the opening day of action at USA International Raceway in Shawano, WI. In the feature category of the day – TaG Senior – veteran Phil Giebler emerged for a huge battle to take the win, while in the S1 Pro Stock Moto class, Alex Speed made the most of his return to SKUSA competition with a dominant victory over a star-studded field.
Saturday’s race schedule was capped by an incredible battle in the TaG Senior class, as Pro Tour point leader Phil Giebler (FA Kart) positioned himself throughout the day for the shot at another win. That said, National Kart Supply’s Mark Vielgut (Corsa) dropped the gauntlet early as he grabbed the pole position in qualifying. The combination of the asphalt construction and the specific cornering requirements of the track have made it very apparent the spec MG tires have a 1-2 lap sweet spot during qualifying, and the drivers have adjusted their strategies to address this unique situation. Vielgut was strong out of the box during the timed session, but in contrast to the tire expectations, he would take three laps to hit his mark, posting a 1:13.048 that would give him the pole for the first of two heat races. California driver Adrian Starrantino (CRG) would sit second after the timed run, coming in ahead of Benny Moon (Kosmic), who traveled up to Shawano with good friend AJ Allmendinger. Moon is driving one of Allmendinger’s TaG karts, and has been very impressive. Giebler was fourth, right ahead of veteran Jamie Sieracki (Merlin). |
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Tuesday, 06 July 2010 09:45 |
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Pre-Entry for the Pro Tour SummerNationals is now CLOSED. You will be able to sign-up at the track starting at NOON on Thursday, July 15th, subject to availability in your class. Please call the SKUSA office IMMEDIATELY to reserve your race tires and spec fuel, as extra supplies will be LIMITED for purchase at the track: 951-491-0808. |
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Sunday, 04 July 2010 11:51 |
Due to feedback from customers we have decided to leave the SummerNats Pre-Entry open for one more day because of the holiday weekend. Enjoy the 4th!!!
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