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Supernationals
EKN Trackside: SKUSA SuperNationals XIV – Saturday Report
Written by ekartingnews.com   
Wednesday, 24 November 2010 10:50
Saturday at the SKUSA SuperNationals XIV could be considered one of the most interesting days of the event in its history. The weather on ‘situation Saturday’ turned for the worse with the wind stepped up and the temperature dropped at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino. The morning groups had similar conditions throughout the day while the afternoon groups had to battle some moisture during their final two heat events.

TaG Junior
The opening heat race of the day set the tone as it was a tight one between Joao Ricardo Queiroz Vieira (Tony Kart) and Joel Jens (Merlin). Vieira led most of the way until Jens was able to edge him out at the line by 0.017-seconds. Tristan DeGrand (Kosmic) advanced to third with Dennis Olsen (Energy) and Bailey Murphy (CRG) completing the top-five.

Joseph Mawson (Arrow) led the way in heat B vs. C as they shuffled up behind them. Yunk Carvalho (Italkart) and Austin Self (Arrow) exchanged the second spot allowing Mawson to pull away some in the opening two laps. Kiel Spaulding (Top Kart) and Enzo Mestre (Tony Kart) filled up the early top-five. Lance Stroll (Zanardi) sat outside the top-five but worked his way up to fourth by lap seven as the top four put a gap on Spaulding and Mestre. Self began putting the pressure on the leader and it paid off at the checkered, edging out Mawson for the victory by 0.016-seconds. Stroll drove to third over Carvalho with Jessse Lazare (CRG) and Mason Chelootz (Top Kart) able to get by both Mestre and Spaulding.

A vs. D took to the track to start off round three of the heat races with Vieira and Self leading the group to the green flag. Self got shuffled back to sixth as Vieira and Jens led the way. Chelootz was up to third quickly with Murphy and Stroll making up the top five. Lap four, the top three shuffled around as Jens took the lead and Chelootz moved up to second. Stroll looked to get into the mix but contact with Vieira allowed Jens and Chelootz to pull away. With Stroll able to get into third, he led the second group to close back in on the top two by lap seven. Lap eight, Chelootz pulled the trigger and took the lead in corner number two for the first time. Stroll continued his charge, getting by Jens as he got shuffled back to fourth with two to go behind Vieira. At the line, Chelootz held on for the win over Stroll. Vieira took third with Adrian Lazzaro (Arrow) and Self able to push Jens back to sixth.

B vs. C got through turn one clean and continued on through the rest of the corners with some minor bumping and banging. Mawson led the way with Carvalho, Mestre, Olsen and Spaulding making up the top-five. First through fourth were spread out ahead of a group fighting for fifth with DeGrand moving into the spot on lap two, posting the fast lap of the race on lap three to catch up to Olsen in fourth. Mestre was shuffled back in the order while DeGrand was able to get by Olsen for third at the same time. Lap traffic however slowed their pace as Mawson and Carvalho got away. That was short lived as DeGrand and Olsen teamed up to catch the lead duo. The lead group became five with Lazare joining the mix and they all got racy. Getting away from the group, Olsen took the win over Mawson. Lazare advanced to third with DeGrand and Camden Geise completing the top-five. Carvalho fell to tenth after spinning on the last lap.

G1
After the field was unable to line up on the first try, they drove around another pace lap before slotting into position to get the green flag. Once away, the Energy duo of Antonio Dettori and Fabrizio Nannini led the way with Kelly Baker (Italkart) slotting into third. Completing lap two, Nannini took his turn at the lead to put Dettori into the chase position for the first time in the event. Emilio Padron (CRG) was on the move early, workiang up to fourth behind Baker and putting the pressure with Nick Firestone (Tony Kart) and Fernando Diaz (GP) just behind. Nannini continued to lead but Dettori continued to put down fast lap of the race as he kept the pressure on, both pulling away from Baker and the rest of the top-five. Nannini held on for the win as Baker took third. Padron was fourth and Firestone in fifth over Diaz and Eduardo Martins (Tony Kart).

Grabbing the holeshot, Padron jumped ahead ahead of Dettori and Nannini at the start of the third heat. They ran that way until Dettori tried to work by on lap seven, only to see his race come to an end on the inside barriers in turn two. This gave Padron a good lead over Nannini, Firestone, Martins, Diaz and Baker. On the white flag lap, Nannini was able to work by for the lead and took the win. Padron held off Firestone with Martins and Diaz capping off the top-five.

KF2
Things were messy to start off heat two as drivers were sideways before getting to turn one. Energy drivers Joel Johansson and defending winner Nicolaj Moller-Madsen showed the way and pulled out to a solid lead early as Gustavo Menezes (Tony Kart) took over third with Brett Felkins (Intrepid) and Sami Luka (Energy) making up the top-five. NMM took over the lead on lap four and continued to post the fast laps up to the halfway point. Johansson came back on lap seven with a fast lap of his own, running on the bumper of the leader. Johansson took back the lead and went on to score the win. Menezes held off Felkins late charge with Luka posting the fast lap of the race on the final circuit to end up fifth.

Johansson showed the way to begin heat three but lost teammate Moller-Madsen in the opening lap incident along with others. Menezes was second the first time by but moved to the point on lap three, bringing Felkins with him to move Johansson back to third. Felkins then took his time at the point on lap five and got away as Menezes and Johansson were joined by Luka and Jake Lloyd (Energy) after Phillip Orcic (Zanardi) and Jose’ Olmedo (Tony Kart) got together on lap four in turn six. Johansson moved to second and began closing in on Felkins as they both posted the quickest laps of the race. On lap eight, Johansson gained two tenths and planted his Energy on the Intrepid bumper of Felkins. Taking the lead on lap 10, Johansson took the lead with Luka up into third and closing in on the top-two. On the final lap, Felkins made a ballsy move through turn four, getting inside of Johansson for the lead. He would hold on to take the win and help his grid position for Sunday’s main event. Luka ended up third with Menezes and Lloyd rounding out the top-five.

S2
S2 got underway with pole sitter Derek Crockett (GP) grabbing the holeshot. Nicky Freytag (Intrepid) moved into second after Jake French (Birel) held the spot through the opening lap with SKUSA point leader Matt Alcorn (Energy) and Cody Diede (Intrepid) holding the top-five. At the halfway point, Crockett pulled out to a seven-tenths lead, posting the fast lap at that time with Ryon Beachner (Tony Kart) now into the top five ahead of Diede. The top-five remained unchanged with Crockett taking the win by seven-tenths over French, Freytag, Alcorn and Beachner.

Crockett grabbed his third straight holeshot with Freytag running second. French was scheduled to start on the front row but was unable to fire on the pit grid. The top three with Alcorn on board pulled out to a lead with Adam Booker (Top Kart) jumping up to fourth over Diede. For the first time this event, a new leader showed the way on lap three as Freytag took the lead from Crockett. Things stayed unchanged for the front three until Crockett went back to P1 on lap eight. Freytag kept the pressure on but no move was made as Crockett scored win number three and the pole position for SuperSunday. Alcorn was third with Beachner and Diede filling the top-five.

TaG Cadet
Logan Sargeant (Kart Mini) led the TaG Cadet field around the opening circuits of heat two with the field getting through the opening corners somewhat cleanly. Parker Thompson (Tony Kart) and Flinn Lazier (Merlin) put on the early pressure. Thompson was quick to make it his race, moving to the lead on lap three while Austin Osborne (Birel) and Anthony Gangi Jr. (CRG) worked by Lazier for position. The top four ran nose to tail as they completed the fourth of 10 laps until they began to shuffle and the second group caught back up again. Sargeant went back out front with Gangi on the move getting up to second. Lap seven, Gangi took his turn at the point, dropping Sargeant back to second once again. Despite the lead group shuffling around, Gangi was able to break away and score the win. Sargeant held on for second over Thompson, Emerson Reed (Merlin) and Patricio O’Ward (Kosmic). Colton Herta (Nevoso BA-1) started 40th following tech issues in qualifying, ending a great drive to 14th in just 10 laps.

Clean through one, the field was shuffled up in turn two as Lazier led the way with Thompson in second. The lead group was seven deep with Sargeant, Gangi, Davey Manthei Jr. (Wild Kart), Noah Grey (FA Kart) and Austin Osborne (Birel). Starting lap four, Sargeant went to the front as Lazier got shuffled to third behind Thompson. The field got shuffled up with Laizer and Manthei fighting for third. This allowed Sargeant and Thompson to pull away with Guido Moggia (Tecno) up to third ahead of Gangi and Manthei as Lazier fell to sixth. With a comfortable lead, Sargeant and Thompson got together on the exit of turn seven. Thompson continued on with the lead while Sargeant fell down 35th in the order. At the checkered, it was Thompson with Gangi, Moggia, Kami Laliberte (Tony Kart) and Justice Lepe (Nevoso BA- 1). Herta put in another stellar run from 40th to an amazing eighth in the order, helping his cause for the main event grid.

KZ2
As the lights went out to begin heat two for KZ2, Simo Puhakka (PCR) was able to hold off Gary Carlton (CRG) for the holeshot. Rick Dreezen (Tony Kart) slotted into third until he retired on lap three with possible contact with Carlton who retired the next time around. This gave Puhakka a good lead over Vegas native Matt Jaskol (Intrepid) ahead of Anthony Abbase (Sodikart), Thomas Mich (Birel) and Daniel Fuchs (Energy). On lap eigth, Abbase was finally able to work around Jaskol for the second spot, scoring the fast lap of the race the previous lap. Abbase kept pace and was able to cut into Puhakka’s lead quickly and took the lead on lap 10. Jaskol came with him as he ducked under Puhakka for second into turn one on lap 11. Abbase held on for the win over Jaskol, Puhakka, Mich and Fuchs.

Puhakka grabbed the holeshot to lead the way while Carlton slotted in behind, but not for long getting a great drive down the straight and taking the lead to complete lap one. Great on cold tires, especially today, Carlton pulled out a good lead over Puhakka with Abasse all over him with Ardigo, Jaskol and Dreezen filling out the top-six. Abasse came under fire from Ardigo as they swapped positions a few times, allowing the top two to pull away some. Jaskol was waiting in the wings for either Abasse or Ardigo to make a mistake. The top five closed in together on the closing laps but no change for position was made as Carlton took the win over Puhakka, Abasse, Ardigo, and Jaskol.

TaG Master
David Harwin (Tony Kart) and Kip Foster (Kosmic) led the way to begin heat two with JP Cadoux (MBA) falling back from the front outside the top-16. Wilson was the first driver on the move, working by Foster for second but quickly lost that spot the next time by. With their fighting, Harwin drove away to a 2.6-second lead by lap five. Paul Bonilla (Arrow) was running fourth but had his hands full with Jim Russell Jr. (Parolin). Lap six, Russell was able to work by for position and Bonilla now felt pressure from Leonardo Nienkotter (Kosmic). After 12 laps, Harwin took the victory by five-seconds over Foster and Wilson. Nienkotter advanced to fourth over Fernando Guzzi (Italkart), Russell, John Crow (Arrow) and Bonilla.

The Aussie Foster came away with the lead to begin the third heat in the wet conditions as Harwin slotted into second. Wilson ran third across the line for the first time with Russell and Jose’ Franca (CRG) making up the early top five. Foster continued to stretch out his lead over the first three laps to 1.245-seconds. The driver on the move was Scott Hamble (Margay), up to fourth by lap three as Russell fell to sixth. On lap six, Wilson was able to work by Harwin for the second spot as Hamble posted fast lap once again, closing in on those two. Foster’s lead was cut nearly in half on lap eight as Wilson gained eight-tenths on the leader while Hamble continued to close in on Harwin. Lap nine, Wilson put it to Foster as he drafted by for the lead and quickly made it a two second advantage. Coming to the white flag, Hamble gained one more spot, finally able to get by Harwin. Wilson went on to score the win as Foster held off the charging Hamble. Harwin was fourth with Chuck Gafrarar (Parolin) up to fifth.

S5
The Junior Stock Moto drivers set up on the long straight to begin their second heat race of the event. When the lights went out, Daniel Langon (GP) showed the way with Luis Tyrrell (Wild Kart) in second. Two karts near the front got together in turn two, allowing Langon to pull out to a one-second advantage completing lap two. Austin Schimmel (GP) was third with Ryan Rudolph (GP) and Miguel Lopez (GP) in fifth. Tyrrell fell under the pressure of Schimmel, losing the second spot near the halfway mark. Meanwhile, Langon continued on with the fast lap of the race and stretched his lead to 3.5-seconds. At the checkered, Langon took the win comfortably with Lopez scoring second ahead of Schimmel, Tyrrell, and Rudolph. Schureman drove back to eighth with Kiel Spaulding putting in another run from the tail of the field to ninth.

Langon grabbed the holeshot as the lights went out to begin heat number three on a still damp track. The STA Racing driver had nearly a one-second lead after the first lap over Schureman with Lopez, Rudolph and Augie Lerch (Intrepid) slotting in behind. Lerch changed the order as he got by both Lopez and Rudolph. Then lap three, moved into the second spot and looked to cut into Langon’s 1.5-second lead. Lap four however Lerch spun and fell well down the order, giving Schureman the second spot once again. The driver on the move was Spaulding on slick tires. By lap five, he was up to the sixth spot. Both he and Tyrrell were on slicks and into the top five on lap six. Next time by, Spaulding and Tyrrell were second and third. Spaulding had 3.5-seconds to gain on Langon, which was cut in half the next time by the stripe. Through turn seven, Spaulding slide by Langon for the lead and now Tyrrell was in the hunt for the second spot. Spaulding cruised to the victory by eight-seconds while Langon held off Tyrrell for the second spot. Rudolph ended up fourth with Schimmel into fifth.

S1
Alex Speed (GP) grabbed the holeshot from the pole position to start off the second heat race for S1. Fritz Leesmann (CRG) lined up behind with Indy Dontje (Energy) in third as they sped away from the rest of the field. Tom Dyer (GP) moved into fourth and was challenged by Aluminos teammate Brad Dunford (GP), exchanging the position a few times in the opening laps. Things remained unchanged to the end of the 12-lap event with Speed pulling out to a 1.2-second advantage over Leesmann and Dontje. Dyer pulled away to a comfortable fourth with Dunford able to keep fifth over Clinton Schoombee (DR).

Dontje grabbed the holeshot as Speed fell down the order to fifth with Dyer up into second over Leesmann and Dunford to begin heat three. Keenan Schmitke (CRG) was the fast driver early on with new MG Tires strapped on his machine, getting up to fifth ahead of Speed and then by Dunford for fourth on lap four. By the halfway mark, Leesmann was up to second while Schmitke had caught the duo and was looking for a way by. Lap eight, Dontje stretched his lead out just a bit more by dropping the fast lap of the race. The next time through, Leesmann posted the quick lap to return the favor. Getting two laps to go signal, the lead was still 1.7-seconds as Dyer was alone in third. Speed charge back forward to sit fourth ahead of Schmitke with Schoombee right behind. The order would remain that way at the checkered, with the margin of victory at 1.8-seconds.

TaG Senior
Phillip Orcic (Zanardi) and Aussie David Sera (Arrow) got away clean to start the A vs. C heat race for TaG Senior, with the rest of the field stacking it up behind them. Before the second lap could be completed, Bronson Eggert (Birel) went hard into the barriers exiting turn five, bringing out a red flag. After getting some medical attention, Eggert was able to walk away. The restart was the same as Orcic and Sera led the way to complete the first lap with Remo Ruscitti (Italkart) in third. With a little rub, Ruscitti was able to muscle by Sera for second. Travis Lowe (Kosmic) worked by as well to take over the third spot. On lap four, a tandom pass took place with Ruscitti going to P1 and Sera back to P3, allowing Chris Wehrheim (Top Kart) to close back in with the leaders. After four laps, the race was once again red flagged for another accident with both drivers able to walk away. The race was called and the top-five was Orcic, Ruscitti, Sera, Lowe and Wehrheim.

During the red flag situation, the rain clouds opened up and the SKUSA officials declared the rest of the day a rain race, allowing drivers to pick from their wet tires or slicks. B vs. C hit the wet track and got the green flag. Andre Nicastro (Italkart) and Michael Valiante (Italkart) led the way as the field limped around the wet course. IndyCar champion Dan Wheldon (Arrow) moved up to third with Scott Hargrove (Italkart) and Gustavo Menezes (Tony Kart) completing the early top-five. Hargrove made it Italian Motors 1-2-3 as the trio fought for the lead. Lap five, Hargrove took over the top spot from the two veterans while Nick Johnston (Maddox) worked by Menezes for fifth. Lap 8 was a turning point as both Phil Giebler (FA Kart) and Menezes went off course and ended their race in separate incidents, showing the track was still not perfect despite no rain falling down. After the 12 chaotic laps, Hargrove held on for the win over Nicastro, Valiante, Wheldon, and Phillip Arscott (Tony Kart).

Orcic led the way to begin heat A vs. D with Menezes slotting in behind him. Giebler sat third with Sera and Alberico making up the early top-five. Menezes took advantage of the draft and drove by Orcic into turn one as they began lap three. Their dicing allowed Giebler to close in along with Sera and Alberico to make it five in the lead pack. Orcic and Menezes continued to swap the lead while Sera sat in the wings waiting for his moment as they reached the halfway point. Lap seven, Sera got sideways trying not to make contact with Menezes after getting by Orcic. However, Orcic mad contact as did Giebler and the fell down the order. This gave Menezes an eight-tenths lead with Sera able to hold onto second while Wehrheim moved up to third over Johnston and Lowe. Sera went purple two straight laps to help cut the lead to just six-tenths as they reached the two to go signal. The lead was just four-tenths as the took the white flag. At the line, Menezes held on for the win with Sera settling for second. Johnston moved up to third over Lowe as Wehrheim moved back to fifth.

Italkarts showed the way to begin heat B vs. C with Nicastro out front from the drop of the green. Ruscitti, Valiante and Bruno Ferreira dropped in behind. Bobby Kelley (Maddox) split up their hold at the front, moving into third as Valiante jumped to second as well. Emanuele Pagani (Tony Kart) and Wheldon mixed it up to make it a seven kart lead pack. At the halfway mark, the top four broke away and another four kart pack trailed with Bryon Lemon (Kosmic) in the mix. Ferreira was able to move up to third around Kelley as the front four continued to pull away. Ferreira continued forward, making his way to the point finally on lap 10. Ferreira would go onto take the win over Valiante and Nicastro as Kelley was unable to break them up before the checkered. Ruscitti drove back up to fifth after contact dropped Wheldon and Pagani.

S4
The A vs. C group was up first for the second round of heat races and the track remained to be wet. Some near the back went with dry tires, but not sure that was the right bet. Jimmy McNeil (CRG) and Mike Jones (CRG) sat on the front row waiting for the lights to go out. Coming through turn two, it was Rob Logan (CRG) that survived as McNeil went wide and lost a ton of spots. Jones fell into second with Carlos Fernandez (Intrepid), Eduardo Pena (GP), and Paul Russell (Tony Kart) making up the early top-five. Lap two, Fernandez moved himself to the point as Logan fell back to third. With the help of lap traffic, Jones was able to move around Fernandez for the lead as Logan fell two-seconds back of the lead duo. Jones would cruise to the victory by more than 10-seconds with Fernandez, Pena, Logan and Russell completing the top-five.

B vs. D continued the wet racing with Eddie Olpin (Kosmic) and Mike Smith (Intrepid) on the front row. Jeff Smith was running about fifth into the second corner when he spun, losing a ton of spots and dropping to the back of the field. The rest of the field continued on with no issues. Olpin led the way with Pool, Jeff Littrell (Tony Kart), Christiaan Bouhuys (Tony Kart), and Randy McKee (Intrepid). Smith fell outside the top-five. Olpin would go on to lead from lights to checkered with Pool, Littrell, Bouhuys and McKee completing the top five. Peter Workum (GP), Rick Apichairuk (Birel) and Phil Dunford (GP) were the hard-chargers in sixth, seventh and eighth.

McNeil held the top spot after the lights went out to begin heat A vs. D. Smith fell into second with Logan into third. McNeil’s lead was already 1.2-seconds after the opening lap, leaving Smith and Logan with some work to do quickly. McNeil doubled that and appeared to have the right setup on cold MG Tires. On lap three, McNeil ran a lap over a second quicker than any other driver on the track, now leading by over three-seconds. Smith and Logan ran content in second and third, holding an advantage of their own over Pena and Russell. From there, the race at the front was uneventful as McNeil cruised to the win by over eight-seconds. Logan was second over Smith with Pena and Russell completing the top-five.

Out front once again was Olpin as he took the point when the 12-lap B vs. C heat race started. Jones crossed the line second the first time by but Littrell come through entering turn one to take over the position. Littrell went to work on Olpin’s bumper, posting fast lap on the second circuit and was right there as they completed lap three. Jones felt the pressure as well with Fernandez and Wayne Mello (Tony Kart) filling out the top-five. Lap seven, Jones looked to have an issue as he let Fernandez and Mello by for position and then lost two more to Jim Ingelbright (GP) and Jeff Smith. Lap 10, the order changed with Smith looping around in the last corner on the track, losing several spots after getting refired. On the final lap, Littrell pulled the trigger as he got into Olpin some through the final corners and able to slide by for the win. Fernandez ended up third with Inglebright and Mello rounding out the top-five. Jones also fell in the final lap, ending up 17th.

The grids are now set for SuperSunday with only the LCQ’s remaining to take place in the morning to fill out the final few spots in the larger classes. Eleven new SKUSA SuperNationals winners will be decided with weather conditions forecasted to be a mixture of bad and possible really bad.