Race Recap: Karting Challenge Presented by Hoosier Racing Tire Round 1, Feb. 27
A chilly, February day didn’t damper the spirits of our 2016 GoPro Motorplex Karting Challenge Presented by Hoosier Racing Tire series opener today. A total of 104 competitors converged on GoPro Motorplex for Round 1 of the 12-Round series.
Kid Kart Division:
Returning 2015 Kid Kart Division Champion, Jett Miller, was dominant again today in the division of karters who are just five to seven years old. Miller had a perfect day, winning the pole in qualifying, the pre-final as well as the final race over the Kid Kart field of six drivers. Rounding out the top-three in the final was Nicholas Byrd and Wes Schroeder.
IAME Mini Swift Division:
In the IAME Mini Swift Division, it took just three corners for Eli Trull to take the lead in the 12-lap final after qualifying on the pole and winning the pre-final. However, finding some serious speed in the final race, Danny Dyszelski overtook Trull who appeared to be suffering from engine issues. Trull eventually pulled off track; a heartbreaking loss for Trull who had been dominant all day. Meanwhile, Sam Corry was doing everything he could to run down first place of Dyszelski from the second position by running the fastest laps of the race. However, Dyszelski held on to take the win as Corry ran out of laps to chase him down, forcing Corry to settle for second and Mason Cantrell in third.
Briggs LO206 Junior Division Sponsored by Race City Mobile Detailing:
The Briggs LO206 division of eight drivers displayed quite the show with some close racing and a three-wide battle for the lead on just lap one. However, it was only a matter of laps before Seth Gentry took the top spot and advanced his lead to over a second on the field. Behind Gentry, the battle for second heated up as Taylor Stanford defended against a bumper full of Ian Habiuk. Gentry scored the final win, followed by Stanford who held on to take second and Habiuk in third.
Briggs LO206 Cadet Division:
In the Briggs LO206 Cadet Division 12-lap final, it was division top qualifier and pre-final winner, Alex Delemo who led the field early. Delemo certainly didn’t lack competition with the top three all nose-to-tail. On just lap four, Aiden Baker Crouse took advantage of a strong run exiting Turn Three to overtake Delemo. Crouse and Delemo swapped for the lead multiple times with Bree Miller in the catbird seat waiting for the two frontrunners to make an error. Miller got what she was hoping for and took the lead briefly with a swift move exiting Turn Four. The battle for the win came down to the last lap with Crouse in first, Miller in second and Delemo in third.
Yamaha Junior Division:
It was an exciting battle to watch in the Yamaha Junior division between Pauly Massimino and Emory Lyda. These two drivers checked away from the field to decide the outcome of the race between themselves. Following several attempts, Lyda finally completed the pass on Massimino for the lead with just two laps remaining in the race, but Massimino stole the top spot back quickly. In an impressive move in the final corner coming to the checkered flag, Lyda was able to overtake Massimino and score the win in style. Massimino had to settle for second and Taylor Stanford rounded out the top three.
Yamaha Senior Division:
Steve Frank set the pace in the Yamaha Senior division by qualifying on the pole with a 56.555-second lap and winning the pre-final and final race over second place of Kerin Banfield.
IAME Swift Division Sponsored by HMS Motorsport:
The fences were lined as the 11 IAME Swift drivers took the green flag for the final. This division features some of the tightest competition with the top drivers all within tenths of a second. The Final race was no exception with four different lead changes in the short, 14-lap final. Brent Crews, Leland Honeyman, Gray Leadbetter and William Robusto all led laps. However, as these drivers know all too well, it’s only about leading when it counts. Honeyman did just that by leading the field across the line as the checkered flag flew, with Leadbetter nearly side-by-side with him in second and Rylee Engel in third.
IAME Heavy Division:
Today was just another day in the office for the 2015 IAME Masters GoPro Motorplex Karting Challenge Champion, Nick Tucker. He was dominant today against the IAME Heavy field of 10 competitors in both qualifying and the pre-final race. However, Cristian Vomir challenged Tucker’s dominance in the final by clocking some of the fastest laps of the race and even attempted several passes on Tucker. Tucker’s kart appeared to adjust better later in the run, allowing him to move away from Vomir. Tucker scored the win, followed by Vomir and Al Whittle.
IAME Junior Division:
In the IAME Junior Division, Lance Fenderson showed the way from the top position in the 15-lap final. Fenderson’s closest competition, Pauly Massimino suffered a tough break mechanically and had to pull off track in Turn Ten. This allowed Ty Gibbs to improve into the second position and Ashlyn Breuer had a great showing from the third position. Fenderson continued to clock the fastest laps of the race to advance his lead and win by nearly five seconds over Gibbs in second and Breuer in third.
Briggs LO206 Senior Division:
The Briggs LO206 Senior division was the largest of the day with 20 entries. However, there was just one entry dominating the field throughout the day. Zachary Linsell topped the speed charts in qualifying to score to pole and went on to win the pre-final as well. The 14-lap final was no different with Linsell out front again setting the pace. The battle for second between Dan Koehler and Billy Duff heated up as the laps winded down with Duff all over the bumper of Koehler. Linsell was able to complete a perfect day with the final win, followed by Koehler and Duff rounding out the podium.
IAME Senior Division:
The IAME Senior final took the green flag under the lights as the final race of the day. Blake Hunt, graduating from the IAME Junior ranks into his first IAME Senior race today proved he was more than ready for the jump by winning the pre-final as well as dominating the first half of the 17-lap final. None of the top drivers were willing to work together in the draft, allowing Hunt to check out on the field. However, Brandon Jarsocak was doing everything he could to clock the fastest laps of the race in order to reel in Hunt without any help. By halfway, Jarsocrak took the lead in Turn Four over Hunt. It came down to a side-by-side battle between Jarsocrak and Hunt at the line, giving Jarsocrak the win by just 0.057 seconds over Hunt. Jonathan Kotyk rounded out the podium.
Round 1 Results & Standings>>
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UP NEXT:
The Karting Challenge Presented by Hoosier Racing Tire will return for Round 2 on Saturday, March 26. Competitors can save $15 by pre-registering on MotorsportReg.com, CLICK HERE>>