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California ProKart Challenge
| Fifth Round of ProKart Challenge Completed at Sonoma Raceway |
| Wednesday, 27 August 2025 17:00 |
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A fifth straight victory in KA100 Senior for Keagan Kaminski (Photo: Sector 5 Media) The penultimate round of the 2025 ProKart Challenge took place at the Sonoma Raceway karting circuit over the August 23-24 weekend. It was the first time since 2017 that Superkarts! USA hosted an event at the Sonoma, California facility. The weekend weather was perfect for racing around the ‘National Pro’ layout, welcoming the second largest event of the season at over 160 entries competing in the 11 categories.A total of 46 drivers contested the Formula Works KA100 Senior category on the weekend with the same end result as the first four rounds. Chase Hand was able to set fast time in qualifying, posting a 48.499 lap to edge out four-time race winner Keagan Kaminski by 75 thousandths. Hand was shuffled out of the lead on the opening lap of the Prefinal by Kaminski but returned to the point on lap three. He led until lap 10 with Texas Sprint Racing Series champion Jesus Vasquez Jr. taking control and the race win – as Jackson Menchu slipped into second. After leading the opening three laps of the Final, Vasquez dropped down to fifth as Hand took over the lead. Vasquez fought back to reclaim the top spot by lap 10. Hand led for a second time on lap 17, showing the way to the white flag. During the final circuit, Kaminski was able to work past Hand. Leading only the final lap, Kaminski celebrated his fifth straight victory on the season. Hand was short at the line by 58 thousandths, with Menchu joining them on the podium in third. Stephen Eisert and Ryan Persing finished fourth and fifth.
Canadian Nathan Dupuis earned the victory in KA100 Junior (Photo: Sector 5 Media) Nathan Dupuis became the fourth different winner on the season in the SuperSpeed Bearings KA100 Junior division. He began the weekend with a 49.105 lap in qualifying to lead the way over the 25 driver field, beating out Erik Doan by 93 thousandths. After Dupuis led two laps, Doan took control of the Prefinal to score the win as Xander Malatesta slipped into second on the final lap. With the pole position for the 22-lap Final, Doan led the first 18 laps before the fight began. Dupuis, Mateo Calderon and two-time winner Matthew Cagle were in the mix. Everyone but Cagle led as Calderon showed the way at the white flag. On the final circuit, Dupuis was able to regain the top spot, holding off Cagle at the line by 48 thousandths. Doan crossed the line in third but received two penalties for a total of ten seconds, dropping him to 14th. This promoted Round Four winner David Ybarra to the third spot, just ahead of Calderon and Braydon Wagner.The HRT Driver Development Mini Swift category welcomed a first time winner in Sonoma. Koa Saito led the 13 driver field in qualifying with a 52.418 lap, edging Nathan Ramirez by 68 thousandths. Saito slipped back at the start of the Prefinal as three-time winner Luis Martinez took control. He and Ramirez swapped the lead multiple times with Ramirez earning the race win while Saito was third. Ramirez showed the way to begin the 20-lap Final as Martinez and Saito each took a turn at the lead. Ramirez led majority of the Final, but it was Saito leading at the white flag. He would hold off the challenges on the final circuit with Saito celebrating his first series victory. Martinez ended up second with Ramirez dropping to fourth behind Hudson Hidalgo and ahead of Lucas Tarango.
Photo finish in Mini Swift went to Koa Saito (Photo: Sector 5 Media) A season high 19 drivers were welcomed in the Sanner Racing Micro Swift class. Everyone was chasing Aidan Go over the weekend, claiming a sweep in Sonoma. His 53.346 lap in qualifying let him start the Prefinal from the pole position. Chase Riddering led one lap, but it was Go leading the rest of the distance. It was a similar outcome in the Final. Riddering took the lead on lap three, only to have Go reclaim the top spot. From there, Go led the rest of the way for his second victory on the season. Riddering was second at the checkered flag but penalized five seconds for a tram line infraction. This promoted two-time winner Matthew Paciulli to second and Braxton Shiflett to third as Riddering fell to fourth in the order. Benjamin Monroy completed the top five.It was a season high of 16 drivers in the Mike Manning Karting KA100 Master class, led in qualifying by Jeff Bays. A lap of 50.191 edged out Cole Loftsgard and Round Four winner Mathew Meech by under a tenth of a second. Meech jumped to the lead in the Prefinal, showing the way for all 12 laps as Bays slipped to fifth on the final circuit. Daniel Jones was one of the drivers to get around Bays in the Prefinal, taking the lead in the Final from Meech on lap four. Meech reclaimed the top spot on lap 12 before Loftsgard grabbed the lead for the first time on lap 18. He led through the white flag, where Jones was able to complete the move back into the lead and score the victory. Meech was second at the line with Loftsgard in third. Ying Li was fourth with Bays placing fifth.
Daniel Jones emerged victorious in KA100 Master (Photo: Sector 5 Media) Fresh off his first career SKUSA Pro Tour championship at the SummerNationals, Billy Musgrave won for a second time on the season in the Precision Works Racing Engines Pro Shifter class. Veteran Hunter Pickett showed off his knowledge at his home track, recording a 43.234 lap in qualifying to edge out Round Four winner Michael Avansino. Musgrave jumped from third to first over the opening lap of the Prefinal, as Pickett fell down the order. The five-time SKUSA SuperNationals winner led all 12 circuits for the win ahead of Anthony White and Avansino. At the start of the Final, Avansino took the lead away from Musgrave and led until lap 15. By then, Pickett had driven his way up into the second spot. Contact on lap 17 between Avansino and Pickett ended their day, allowing Musgrave to take the lead and the victory. White ended up second with Jacob Gulick on the podium in third. David Williams and Alan Sciuto completed the top five.Kevin Wood celebrated a sweep at Sonoma in the Mega Power Engines Master Shifter class. Woods time of 44.139 was quickest in qualifying over the eight driver field. He drove to an eight-second advantage in the 12 lap Prefinal before earning the main event victory by seven seconds. Patrick O’Neill was second with Michael Guasch completing the all-NorCal podium in third. Michael Faker was fourth with Round Three winner Volodymyr Borodavchenko in fifth.
Five-time SKUSA SuperNationals winner Billy Musgrave added a victory in Sonoma for Pro Shifter (Photo: Sector 5 Media) It was a tight battle in the P1 Engines Spec 125 class all weekend. Rylan Morrill set fast time in qualifying in his first start at PKC in 2025, posting a 45.629 lap to edge out Mathias Coito. The gap was only 26 thousandths at the line to conclude the Prefinal, with Morrill earning the win over Coito. Morrill was able to lead all 22 laps in the Final – when he spun off course and into the tire wall while celebrating the win. He required medical attention but wasn’t released in time to scale and complete tech inspections. This promoted Coito to the top of the podium ahead of Round Four winner Dane Idelson in second. Justin Baskin was on the podium in third, as Mason Mitchell and Cameron Simpson competed the top five.Erik Doan earned a fifth straight victory in the Nash Motorsportz Junior Shifter division. After setting fast time in qualifying, Doan led all 12 laps in the Prefinal before showing the way all 22 laps in the Final to a 2.8 second advantage, completing the weekend sweep. Cason Hodge was able to record fast lap of the main event in his second place performance ahead of Nathan Dupuis. Troy Ferguson and Brandon Ng were fourth and fifth.
Another weekend sweep in FZ Junior Shifter by Erik Doan (Photo: Sector 5 Media) The Spec 125 Master division was won by Jim Kidd. It was Kidd leading the way in qualifying before suffering a DNF in the Prefinal to hand the win over to Jimmy Skyers. Kidd rebounded in the Final, taking the victory in the 22-lap main event. Skyers was second with Tony Rossetti in third. Dante Rodrigues ran uncontested in the Precision Karting Mini Swifter category.Registration for the ProKart Challenge 2025 season finale is now open on MotorsportsReg. Round Six is scheduled for October 11-12 at the K1 Circuit in Winchester, California. It will follow the 2025 International Kart Federation Sprint Grand Nationals, conducted on October 3-5 at the K1 Circuit. Registration for that event opens on August 27 at 5pm Pacific Time. |
