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PRE-ENTRY OPEN UNTIL 5/20 |
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California ProKart Challenge
| ProKart Challenge Opens 2026 Season at K1 Circuit |
| Friday, 01 May 2026 10:26 |
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Billy Musgrave added to his long list of victories at the 'PKC', earning two victories for the 2026 opener (Photo: Sector 5 Media) The opening two rounds of the 2026 Superkarts! USA ProKart Challenge were held over the April 24-26 weekend at K1 Circuit. The Winchester, California facility welcomed the SKUSA regional program for rounds one and two of action to begin the six-round championship schedule. A total of 11 categories began the title chase for the 2026 season with five drivers able to leave the opening weekend with two wins toward their point total.A total of 21 drivers battled in the very competitive Pro Shifter class presented by Axis Kartsport that featured multiple drivers at the front throughout the weekend. Jesus Vasquez Jr. was able to secure the opening round fast time in qualifying in only his second class start of his career. A 56.569 set the pace, edging out Jacob Gulick by 59 thousandths. Vasquez fell to third over the opening lap of the Prefinal, allowing Gulick to lead all nine laps. In the opening laps of the 18-lap Final, Gulick fell out of the top five and allowed four-time SKUSA SuperNationals winner Danny Formal to lead the way. Former series winner Keawn Tandon took over the point on lap nine and showed the way until a charging 2025 SKUSA Pro Tour champion Billy Musgrave put himself into the lead at lap 13. From there, Musgrave held off Tandon and Formal to record the victory. Gulick recovered to fourth with Hunter Pickett completing the top five. Qualifying on Sunday for Round Two was led by Danny Formal as the lone driver below the 57 mark lap time. Billy Musgrave was fourth in the session, and led eight of the nine laps in the Prefinal for the win. Musgrave showed the way the entire 18 laps of the Final, going on to complete the double with a victory by just over three tenths ahead of Formal. Pickett improved to third as Gulick repeated his fourth place result with Vasquez finishing fifth.
Jake Drew drove victory in the opening round for KA100 Senior (Photo: Sector 5 Media) The largest category of the weekend at 34 drivers was KA100 Senior presented by Hayner Racing Team. Archer Eversman opened the weekend as the top qualifier in Round One with a 1:02.801 lap time. The Prefinal was a battle to the end that featured Eversman, last year’s Junior champion Matthew Cagle and a charging Jake Drew in the nine laps. Cagle beat out Drew and Eversman at the line by only 49 thousandths between the three of them. Drew led 16 of the 18 laps, including the final 13 to hold off Tomas Mejia at the line for the victory. Oliver Calvo completed the podium with Stephen Eisert fourth and Gavin McCune in fifth.Stephen Eisert took the lead beginning Round Two action on Sunday with fast time in qualifying, before holding off Gavin McCune and Jake Drew at the line in a photo finish for the win in the Prefinal. Eisert and Drew were able to show the way through much of the 18-lap Final until Matthew Cagle joined the fight. The Senior rookie took over the lead on lap 14 and led to the white flag. On the final circuit, Drew was able to work past Cagle for the lead and the provisional win. However, a penalty to Drew for an engine change dropped him down to eighth in the final order, promoting Cagle to the top step of the podium. McCune and Senior rookie Jackson Gibson completed the podium, with Tomas Mejia and Eisert rounding out the top five.
Cameron Johnson earned a career first victory in KA100 Junior (Photo: Sector 5 Media) KA100 Junior presented by Nash Motorsportz featured 23 drivers competing over the opening two rounds of the season. Diesel Biezonsky earned his first top qualifier honor of his career when posting a 1:03.514 lap in the session. Third in the order was Sebastian Hauser, who led the majority of the nine lap Prefinal for the race win over Alejandro Gonzalez. Hauser led the first seven laps of the Final before Daniel Ramirez grabbed the top position. After leading two laps, contact shuffled him down the order and that triggered busy action for the top position including Hauser, Cameron Johnson and Biezonsky. By lap 13, Johnson had secured the point and was able to hold on through the remaining laps to secure his first series victory. Biezonsky was a close second with Mateo Calderon working his way forward up to third ahead of Drew Jensen and Koa Saito.Sunday Round Two was a repeat in qualifying as Diesel Biezonsky edged out Sebastian Hauser by 42 thousandths for a second straight top qualifier honor. Cameron Johnson was third in the session, and was able to rebound from dropping down to eighth at the halfway point of the Prefinal to come away with the race win. Johnson led the first seven laps of the Final before the fireworks went off. A total of eight lead changes took place until the checkered flag. Biezonsky was leading at the white flag only to see Koa Saito go from third to first, leading only the final lap to secure his first series victory. Texas driver Nathan Golseth and Biezonsky were right there at the line in second and third, with the top three separated by 41 thousandths at the checkered flag. Cole Anderson was fourth with Junior rookie Hudson Hidalgo placing fifth.
Baily Murphy took the checkered first both days in KA100 Master (Photo: Sector 5 Media) A very competitive field of 19 drivers battled in KA100 Master presented by Precision Karting. Blake Lawrence led the way in qualifying for Round One, setting fast time of 1:04.830 to edge out Joshua Daley by only 34 thousandths. Lawrence was shuffled back to fourth as Daley went on to lead all eight laps of the Prefinal ahead of Matthew Meech and Bailey Murphy. Daley led the majority of the Final, eventually joined at the front by Murphy. It was not until the white flag that Murphy was able to grab the lead, securing the position on the final circuit to claim his first series victory. Daley settled in second, with Ryan Casner joining them on the podium in third. Meech recorded fast lap of the race in fourth with Tim Meyer rounding out the top five.Bailey Murphy continued the pace into Sunday, setting fast time in qualifying to edge out Matthew Meech by only 42 thousandths of a second. Meech got the jump in the Prefinal and led all eight laps for the race win. Murphy grabbed the lead at the start of the 18-lap Final and showed the way for the first eight circuits. Ryan Casner took the lead for only one lap before Joshua Daley returned to the point. Murphy reclaimed the top spot from Daley on lap 14 and held onto it through to the checkered flag, completing the double-win weekend. Casner won the battle for second over Blake Lawrence. Airel Abba set fast time in her fourth place performance in her class debut, while Tony Gomez finished fifth.
Nolan Bishop became a first time winner in FZ125 Senior (Photo: Sector 5 Media) The FZ Shifter platform has returned for the 2026 season and featured 14 drivers in the FZ125 Senior division presented by P1 Engines Inc. Nolan Bishop opened up the season with fast time in qualifying with a 59.321 lap, and used the pace to win the Prefinal ahead of Theo Kekati. Bishop led the first two laps of the Final before Kekati took over the lead. He led the remainder of the race to secure his first series victory in the category. Bishop was second with Julien Villery in third. Kekati returned the following day to set fast time in qualifying for Round Two. Third in the session was Matthew McCoy, who worked his way into the lead and the win on the final lap of the Prefinal. Kekati grabbed the holeshot and led the first eight laps before Bishop took over the point. From there, it was Bishop who went on to secure the victory ahead of Kekati and McCoy.
FZ125 Master was swept on the weekend by James Skyers (Photo: Sector 5 Media) FZ125 Master presented by Precision Works Racing featured a weekend sweep by James Skyers. On Saturday, Skyers won by over seven seconds ahead of Tony Rossetti and Larry Hernandez Jr. The action on Sunday featured another sweep by Skyers, including a victory in the Final again by over seven seconds. Rossetti and Stefan Maike made up the podium for Round Two. Two drivers left K1 Circuit as winners in Master Shifter presented by Leading Edge Motorsports. Myan Spaccarelli swept the action on Saturday for Round One, beating out Kevin Woods and Michael Faker. Vyacheslav Prikhodko began Round Two as the top qualifier, before Woods came away with the win in the Prefinal. But Prikhodko got the holeshot to begin the Final – and then ran 1-2 with Woods, a very close runner-up, before taking the win. Saturday winner Spaccarelli was third on Sunday.
A double win weekend for Jude Sack in the FZ85 Junior division (Photo: Sector 5 Media) The FZ85 Junior category presented by West Coast Motorsports saw a double winner on the weekend as well. Diesel Biezonsky began as the top driver in qualifying for Round One. Third in the order was Jude Sack, who won the Prefinal after Biezonsky was penalized five seconds for blocking. Biezonsky led all 18 laps of the Final; however, he was then penalized five seconds for incident responsibility. This promoted Sack to the top of the podium with Biezonsky scored in second – while last year’s Mini Shifter champion Dante Rodrigues finished third. Jude Sack was able to set fast time in qualifying for Round Two before winning the Prefinal. Biezonsky challenged Jude for the top spot throughout the 18 laps of the Final. In the end, Jude was able to secure the victory on track for a second win of the weekend. Rodrigues repeated as the third place finisher behind Biezonsky.
Tyler Wade opened the season as winner in FZ65 Mini (Photo: Sector 5 Media) Three of the five entries in the FZ65 Mini Shifter class presented by Empire Karts were new to the category – making its second season in the program. Asher Biezonsky was able to set fast time in qualifying as well as win the Prefinal. Biezonsky was also the provisional winner in the Final. However, he was penalized for a tech infraction. This promoted Tyler Wade to the top of the podium, with Cole Harris second and Leland Daignault third. Wade led the way to begin Round Two, with fast time in qualifying – before Harris took the win in the Prefinal. The main event, however, was all Biezonsky – who drove away to a 10-second margin of victory. Wade was second on the podium, with Harris in third.
Kendall West and Matthew Paciulli each took a win on the weekend in Mini Swift division (Photo: Sector 5 Media) Mini Swift presented by Formula Works/GFC featured multiple drivers in the hunt throughout the weekend. Benjamin Tavi set the fast time in qualifying for Saturday, with Lucas Tarango winning the Prefinal – only to be penalized to the tail of the field for losing his neck brace. This promoted Maddax Carlucci to the win and pole position for the Final. Carlucci was in the battle of the 14-lap main event until getting shuffled back by the halfway point. Kendall West was leading the middle portion of the race before Matthew Paciulli put on the pressure for the top spot. After exchanging the lead multiple times, West secured the position and the victory, with Paciulli finishing second. Tavi completed the podium in third. Tarango rebounded on Sunday in qualifying to set fast time in the session before Saturday winner West came from fifth on the Prefinal grid to win the race. This time, Paciulli was the driver leading the majority of the Final and was able to fight off West with two laps remaining. The rest ended in a photo finish with Paciulli securing the victory by 57 thousandths over West. Chase Riddering joined them on the podium in third.
Two wins on the weekend in Micro Swift for Carson Bishop (Photo: Sector 5 Media) The results in Micro Swift presented by Parazinho Chassis Jig were the same both days. Benjamin Monroy set fast time in qualifying before Carson Bishop took over the top spot in the Prefinal. Bishop went on to lead all 16 laps of the Final to secure his first series victory. Monroy was two seconds back, with Ezra Medina setting fast time of the race and finishing in third position. Monroy and Bishop repeated as top qualifier and Prefinal winner on Sunday for Round Two. Bishop led the first 14 laps of the Final before Medina challenged for the top spot. At the checkered flag, it was Bishop taking a second victory on the weekend, with Medina in the runner-up spot. Sebastian Matyjaszczyk joined them on the podium in third.The second event of the ProKart Challenge will host Round Three, set for May 23-24 at the Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California. For more information on anything related to Superkarts! USA, please visit the website – www.superkartsusa.com and be sure to follow the Superkarts! USA Facebook page, Twitter and Instagram accounts. |
