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California ProKart Challenge
California ProKart Challenge Wraps Up 2024 Season at K1 Circuit
Monday, 07 October 2024 09:38

Shea Aldrich drove to his second victory of the season in KA100 Senior (Photo: Spencer Russell – photosbysmr1)

The sixth and final round of the Superkarts! USA California ProKart Challenge was held over the September 28-29 weekend, returning to the K1 Circuit. The Winchester, California facility sparked up the entry total once again, surpassing the 150-mark for 11 classes in competition. Perfect weather greeted the teams and drivers completing the 20th season for the championship program.

KA100 Senior by P1 Engines class welcomed one entry short of the season high from last month, as 45 drivers contested the final round. For a second time on the season, Jackson Menchu set fast time in qualifying, laying down a 1:03.937 lap to edge out Frankie Mossman by 78 thousandths. Menchu led the first three laps of the Prefinal before the fight began for the top spot. Eventually, Jesus Vasquez Jr. – making his first start in 2024 – came up from ninth to claim the lead and the race win. Vasquez led the first 14 laps of the Final before a charging Shea Aldrich took over the spot after starting sixth. Aldrich was able to escape from the battle behind him for second, driving away to 2.8-second advantage to clinch his second victory of the season. Vasquez held on to second ahead of Keagan Kaminski, Round Four winner John Burke and Menchu – who recorded fast lap of the race.

KA100 Junior by SuperSpeed Bearings welcomed its fourth different winner on the season. Tyren Scott recorded his first top qualifier performance of the season, posting a 1:04.621 lap to edge out Matthew Cagle. Scott and Gavin McCune were involved in an on-track incident, dropping them down the order to open the Prefinal, allowing Cagle to take control. He would go on to win the race after battling David Ybarra. The 18-lap Final began with Cagle jumping out to the lead before Johnie Stamps moved into the lead. Stamps led for a majority of the race before Ybarra took over the position on lap 14. The Texan would lead the remaining four laps for Ybarra to be the provisional winner. A ‘track limit’ penalty for Ybarra would take away the victory, handing it to Stamps for his first of the season. Keegan Ellsworth was classified second ahead of Bronson Koustas, with Cagle up to fourth after the penalty dropped Ybarra to fifth.

Kyle Wick closed out the season with victory in Pro Shifter (Photo: Spencer Russell – photosbysmr1)

The HRT Driver Development Pro Shifter category welcomed a star-studded 15-driver field for the series finale. Kyle Wick set the fast time in qualifying of 57.614, just a tenth off the track record, clearing Billy Musgrave by three tenths. Wick led the first eight laps of the Prefinal until a mechanical issue put him on the sidelines, handing the win over to Musgrave. Starting 14th in the Final, Wick was on a charge early and quickly, reaching the second position by lap seven. Reeling in Musgrave, Wick took over the top spot on lap 12 and led the remaining laps for his first victory of the season. Musgrave settled for second ahead of Ethan Booher and Micah Hendricks. Both Booher and Hendricks received penalties, moving Hunter Pickett up to the podium in third with Keawn Tandon and Jacob Gulick completing the top five.

Former SKUSA SuperNationals winner Rob Logan secured his first victory of 2024 in the HRT Driver Development Master Shifter class. Logan swept the final round action, setting fast time in qualifying before leading every lap of the Prefinal and Final for a perfect performance. Nick George drove to second, with Round One winner David Jones in third. Scott Carvalho finished fourth with Ruben Millan in fifth.

Rob Logan won Master Shifter in his return the California ProKart Challenge (Photo: Spencer Russell – photosbysmr1)

Travis Irving won for a second time in three rounds in the Mike Manning Karting KA100 Master class. It was a near sweep, as Myan Spaccarelli beat Irving out for fast time in qualifying. Irving responded in the Prefinal by leading all eight laps and then all 18 laps of the Final for the victory. Jesse Gwin drove to second with former SKUSA Pro Tour champion Scott Falcone in third. Volodymyr Borodavchenko was fourth with Michael Ting completing the top five. Tony Rossetti was able to claim a second victory on the season in the Nash Motorsportz X30 Master category. Rossetti set fast time in qualifying and won the Prefinal, only to be removed for a tech issue. Rossetti bounced back in the Final, going on to take the victory by 11 seconds over Arman Cornell and Craig Vasquez.

A fourth different winner was welcomed on the weekend in the Formula Works Mini Swift category. Nathan Ramirez – searching for his first win of the year – set fast time in qualifying for the first time on the season, edging out Round Four winner Troy Ferguson by only four thousandths. Ferguson was able to win the duel with Ramirez in the Prefinal, taking the pole position for the Final. Ramirez fell down the order early in the main event, as Ferguson was joined by a host of others at the front. Luis Martinez was the top challenger until he and JohnJohn McLellan fell down the order. This allowed Braydon Wagner to take the lead challenger role from Ferguson. With a last lap move, Wagner was able to score the victory, beating Ferguson to the line for his first victory of the season. Andrew Janus advanced 11 spots to the podium in third, with Daniel Ramirez and Sebastian Hauser completing the top five.

Travis Irving won in KA100 Master for a second time in three rounds (Photo: Spencer Russell – photosbysmr1)

It was a sweep in the 12-driver field for Sanner Racing Micro Swift, led by Aidan Go. The Round One winner of 2024 set fast time in qualifying, won the Prefinal and fought back after dropping down the order to claim victory in the Final. Aidan dropped to fifth early in the 16-lap race, fighting back forward to reclaim the top spot on lap 10. From there, he drove away to a six-second advantage. Koan Saito recorded a second straight runner-up finish with Hudson Hidalgo in third. Chase Riddering was fourth with Asher Biezonsky in fifth.

The M125 category was swept by Charles Kaneb on the weekend, setting fast time in qualifying and winning both the Prefinal and Final. David Jimenez was second with Wade Atteberry in third. The S125 division welcomed seven drivers, with Dean Heldt once again taking the victory. Truly Adams was able to set fast time in qualifying and win the Prefinal, only to have Heldt lead all 17 laps of the main event. Matthew McCoy was second with Jonathan Bischof in third. Jaxon Porter was another sweep as he led the way all weekend in S5 Junior. Porter secured the victory by over 23 seconds ahead of Danya Biezonsky and Kaleb Brown.

Aidan Go secured his second victory of the season in Micro Swift (Photo: Spencer Russell – photosbysmr1)

The attention now turns to the largest karting event in the world – the Superkarts! USA SuperNationals 27 – set for November 13-17 outside the Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada. Categories are filling up fast, with host hotel information and pit spot reservations now open, with complete details on the SKUSA website.