Regional QUICK LINKS
California PKC Menu
California PKC Sponsors
SKUSA Partners
SEARCH
Next ProKart Challenge Event
|
|
|
California ProKart Challenge
| Dunford Clinches Championship with Victory at ProKart Challenge West Coast Shootout |
| Wednesday, 17 August 2011 07:40 |
 The third annual ProKart Challenge West Coast Shootout took place this past weekend at the Buttonwillow Raceway Park in Southern California. The best drivers from the Superkarts! USA California regional programs and surrounding area collided on August 12-13 to compete for bragging rights and championship points toward each program. A total of 106 entries filled out nine categories for the event. In the headline divisions, SoCal ruled the way as Brad Dunford clinched the S1 title in the South program with a win, and reigning SKUSA Pro Tour TaG Senior champ Phil Giebler returned to steal a win from the series regulars.The fight began early in the Extreme Karting and Leading Edge Motorsports-sponsored S1 category, starting with the bid for the pole position – when qualifying came down to just 0.022-seconds. NorCal driver and SpringNationals podium finisher Ryan Phinny stole 10 bonus points from Dunford as he posted a 47.589-lap to stand on top of the time charts. Ryon Beachner was third over Peter Abba with PKC South championship contender Clinton Schoombee in fifth, only recording one timed lap. Phinny and Dunford ran 1-2 through the first heat, with Abba working by Beachner for third. Schoombee drove through most of the 18-kart S2 field that was on track at the same time, finishing seventh overall. Phinny lost the point at the start of heat two with a slow start off the grid. Dunford took control, with Abba coming through as well. The two swapped the lead a number of times before Abba sealed the deal in the final lap for the win. Dunford ended up second with Schoombee up to third over Phinny and Beachner, all crossing the line separated by just nine-tenths. Though Abba led the opening lap of the main event, he was quickly shuffled back as Dunford, Schoombee and Phinny went to the front. The top three were pretty evenly matched, with Dunford holding the lead to the checkered flag for his fourth victory of the season and clinching the PKC South title. Phinny was able to work by Schoombee for second with the top-three all within a half-second after 20 laps.  Eighteen drivers coming from both South and North engaged in battle in the TaG Senior category, sponsored by Tony Kart West and Peterson Wealth Management. Chris Cricca posted his best qualifying performance of the season to end the session on top with a 48.526-lap. Mason Marotta and Giebler capped off the top three, all within two-tenths of each other. Marotta grabbed the lead in heat one and led most of the way. That was until PKC South point leader Travis Lowe began working his way forward and was able to steal the top spot and the win from Marotta as Giebler trailed behind. A wild first lap to begin heat two gave Giebler a small advantage over the rest of the field, allowing him to drive to a two-second win over PKC North driver Austin Elliott – with Lowe and Marotta capping off the top four. The front four fell to just two drivers in the main event, with Lowe retiring on lap six with an airbox issue and Elliott falling off the pace with an electrical problem. Giebler took the lead from the drop of the green and led all 20 laps for the victory, two-seconds clear of Marotta – with PKC South championship contender Devin Lindsey driving up to third. Elliott held on to win the fight for fourth over fellow NorCal driver TJ Fischer and a host of others behind them.The challenge was accepted and completed Saturday in the S4 Master Stock Moto class, sponsored by G-Phactory and Fastech Racing. Four-time PKC South winner and four-time SKUSA Pro Tour winner Jimmy McNeil entered Buttonwillow with the target on his back and a number of prizes and money to anyone that could end his S4 winning streak. McNeil began the event on top, posting the fast lap in qualifying with a 47.577-lap. Robert Marks, the only driver to beat him in a feature on the year (Round 1 - PKC South) was the first on the challenger list as he matched his pace, sitting second at the end of the session. McNeil, however, would only make it to lap two of the opening heat race with an engine issue, pulling off the track. The same happened in heat two, putting him at the tail of the grid for the main event. Marks took the opening heat win over Arie Luyendyk Jr. (running both S2 and S4) by three-seconds with PP Mastro in third. The order remained the same through heat two, with Phil Dunford filling out row two to begin the main event grid with a fourth place run in the moto. Marks took the holeshot as the lights went out to begin the 20-lap feature, and that was the deciding factor. From there, he drove off to take his second win of the season by seven seconds. McNeil put on a show behind him as he came up through the field with the fast laps of the race, edging out Luyendyk for second and clinching the PKC South championship. The best from the PKC North program was Jim Kidd, as he finished sixth behind Mastro and Dunford.  The S2 Semi-Pro Stock Moto category, sponsored by 2 Wild Karting and Sunshine Daydream Creations, fielded an astonishing 18 drivers with Matias Podboj showing the way early. His 47.695-lap put him at the top of the time sheets at the end of the qualifying session over Bobby Legate and Arie Luyendyk Jr. Podboj and Legate broke away in heat one, with Legate stealing the lead in the final laps to take the win as Luyendyk retired on the final circuit, handing third to PKC South point leader Nicky Freytag. A poor start to begin heat two dropped Podboj down the order quickly as Legate held his ground at the point. He went on to take the win with Colorado driver Cory Milne working his way up to second ahead of Freytag. Legate would be too strong in his return to PKC competition, leading all 20 laps to the victory in the main event. Milne ran second for much of the race until Luyendyk drove his way forward and into the runner-up spot in the final laps, moving Milne back to third and Freytag to fourth – helping him to clinch the PKC South title. The top PKC North driver was Jared Woolf, finishing fifth, just ahead of championship rival Daniel Langon.TaG Master, sponsored by Leading Edge Motorsports and Cambrian Go-Karts, saw a great battle all day long as the category continues to regain its popularity. PKC North championship leader Glenn McKinnon began the event as the driver to beat, posting a 50.204 in qualifying to earn the pole position for the opening heat, with the North sweeping the top-five in the session: JP Cadoux, Ethan Wilson, Randy Froom, and Paul Hohlbein. A great opening lap by Wilson – reigning Pro Tour champion – put him to the front and earned him the heat win over Cadoux and Hohlbein, with McKinnon back to fourth. Wilson held the lead through the first half of heat two until lap seven when he lost the drive chain. This put Hohlbein into the lead and on to score the win ahead of McKinnon and Will Jadiker. Hohlbein led the way early on in the main event with McKinnon putting the pressure on. That was until Wilson rejoined the party, knifing his way through the field, he was into the lead by lap five. From there, Wilson drove on to a six-second victory to put himself back in the chase for the PKC North title. Hohlbein was second, with McKinnon in third. PKC newcomer Larry Hayashigawa was the best finisher for the South in fifth behind Randy Froom in fourth.  The S3 Novice Stock Moto class, sponsored by Select Shifter/DR Kart, saw South and North show the way throughout the day. The North drivers began on top with Chris Yettito posting the fast lap of qualifying (48.731), just edging the South’s Jessica Sollberger by 0.087 seconds. Sollberger struck back when the wheel-to-wheel action began, as she powered off to both heat wins over Yettito. Sollberger was well on her way to victory in the main event as Yettito fell off the pace early with fuel pump issues. Then, on lap 18, Sollberger pulled off course with a mechanical issue to end her shot at the victory. This handed the lead to North’s Ryan Rasberry, as he drove on to the victory over Kellen Guthrie and Vatche Tatikian. The local option G1 category had three drivers on track at the same time. Peter Workum showed the way throughout the day until he was unable to start the main event. John Lewis led the way early on until he ran into trouble, handing the feature victory to Kassy Loving.The always unpredictable TaG Junior category, sponsored by EUSI and Bordogna Racing Engines, provided another day of spectacular racing. Nick Sommers led the way in qualifying with a best lap of 49.735 to earn the pole position over Carter Williams and Austin Dement. Three different drivers led during the first 10-lap heat race, with Blain Rocha able to slide through on the final lap for the win over Williams and Dement. In heat two, Dement edged out Mason Daughters for the win, with Williams still holding on in the top three. Williams saved his best for the final laps of the main event. After Dement led early on, Williams took his turn at the front of the field. Dement kept it close but was unable to move into the lead. Williams earned the victory with Dement a close second at the checkered flag. Curtis Paul put two drivers from the North on the podium as he advanced up to third.  With the absence of Colton Herta, the top spot of the podium in TaG Cadet – sponsored by Phil Giebler Racing and Cambrian Go-Karts – was open for the taking. Christian Brooks put his name in the hat, qualifying under the 54-second mark (53.862) to lead all drivers in the session. Great racing took place in heat one, with the top-five drivers all together as Garrett Dixon took the win over Hunter Corbitt and Brooks. Brooks came back to win the second heat as he led Davey Manthei Jr. and Dixon in another close battle. Manthei and Brooks broke away from the field in the 15-lap feature race. After another great dice, Manthei edged out Brooks by just 0.051-seconds at the line for the victory, with Scott Huffaker completing the podium.Overall, the North vs. South regional battle resulted in a three-peat for PKC South – with a final point tally of PKC South 169 vs. PKC North 138. Punters who have used other sports betting apps will find that the Leonbets app’s interface looks a little different - play here . However, it’s not all that different from other sportsbook apps in terms of intuitiveness, ease of use, and functionality. With the season now completed for the PKC South program, the final results are to be plugged into the championship standings and the official announcement of this year’s final point standings will be announced in the near future – along with the details of the end-of-year awards banquet to be held on Saturday, September 17 in Riverside, CA. The PKC North series will complete its 2011 season on September 9-10 at the Tom Dash Memorial circuit in Atwater, California – with their championship results and awards banquet info to be announced shortly thereafter. |