Race Recap: Karting Challenge Presented by Hoosier Racing Tire Round 5, June 11

A series-high 106 competitors entered Round Five of the GoPro Motorplex Karting Challenge Presented by Hoosier Racing Tire despite season-high 90+ degree temperatures on the hottest weekend of the year so far in North Carolina. Nearing halfway in the 12-round championship series, ten divisions of drivers worked to improve their positions in the championship standings.

Congrats to all Round Five winners: Alex Keadle (Briggs LO206 Junior), Alex Delemo III (IAME Mini Swift), Aiden Baker Crouse (Briggs LO206 Cadet), Emory Lyda (Yamaha Junior), Brent Crews (IAME Swift), Nick Tucker (IAME Heavy), Ty Gibbs (IAME Junior), Nick Tucker (Briggs LO206 Senior), Brandon Jarsocrak (IAME Senior), Ayden Young (Kid Kart).

Briggs LO206 Cadet Division Sponsored by EnforcerOne powered by FireAde:
In the Briggs LO206 Cadet Division 10-lap final, the top-three drivers of Aiden Baker Crouse, Isabella Robusto and William Robusto all ran nose-to-tail. The Robusto twins appeared to be working together to attempt a pass on Crouse. On the final lap, Isabella made her move on Crouse entering Turn One. Following right behind his sister, William overtook Crouse as well. However, contact in the Hoosier Hairpin, caused the Robustos to lose momentum and allowed Crouse to sneak back past them to capture the win. William and Isabella Robusto rounded out the podium.

Yamaha Junior Division:
In the Yamaha Junior 12-lap final, Drew Lindley controlled the race early from the top spot. However, just before halfway, Emory Lyda made the move for the lead in Turn Three. Lyda completed the pass on Lindley, but Lindley wasn’t going to give up that easily. With five laps to go, Lindley overtook Lyda with a power move down the backstretch and into Turn Four. Lyda laid docile until making his move on the last lap in the final turn. Following a drag race to the line and side-by-side finish, Lyda took the win, followed by Lindley and Taylor Stanford. 

IAME Swift Division Sponsored by HMS Motorsport:
A total of 14 young drivers took the green flag for the division’s 12-lap final race. Aiden Baker Crouse and Brent Crews broke away from the field in just the first couple of laps. Crews trailed Crouse patiently before completing a pass for the lead on Crouse entering Turn One. Crews wasted no time, improving his lead over Crouse by over three kart lengths. As the crossed flags signaling halfway were displayed to the field, Crews continued to cruise in the top spot. Crews scored his second win of the season, followed by Crouse in second and Ben Stroud in third.

IAME Heavy Division Sponsored by Stitch 98:
A rocky start to the 12-lap final collected several drivers in a Turn One altercation. This allowed Nick Tucker to stroll into the top spot. Following a flawless drive, Tucker scored his fourth win of the season, followed by Todd Shambo and Danny Breuer.

IAME Junior Division:
In the IAME Junior Division 12-lap final, it was certainly the Ty Gibbs show. Gibbs sat on the pole in qualifying, won the pre-final and led flag-to-flag in the final. By just halfway in the final, Gibbs had improved his lead over Pauly Massimino to over five kart lengths. With just under a two second margin of victory, Gibbs scored the win followed by Massimino and Drew Lindley.

Briggs LO206 Senior Division Sponsored by Todd Shockman RV Sales:
In the largest division of the day with 17 competitors, the Briggs LO206 Senior drivers didn’t disappoint, putting on an exciting race for the win. Nick Tucker and Billy Duff were bumper-to-bumper for the entire first half of the race. Duff trailed Tucker in second place, content to wait to make his move until the final laps. Leaders, Tucker and Duff, were side-by-side in Turn Four battling for the win on the final lap. Tucker held on to take the win, followed by Duff in second and Phillip Eastmead in third. 

IAME Senior Division Sponsored by MPI:
In the IAME Senior division, Blake Hunt didn’t waste any time with a first-lap power move for the lead into Turn Four on Brandon Jarsocrak who had dominated in the division all afternoon. Jarsocrak trailed Hunt by just over a kart length as the race neared the halfway point. Behind the leaders, the battle for third heated up with Michael Bovim, Nick Losito and Varun Choksey all nose-to-tail. With just three laps to go, Jarsocrak had closed onto Hunt’s bumper and used momentum from a strong run into Turn Four to take the lead from Hunt. Jarsocrak completed a perfect day, winning the pole, pre-final and the 16-lap final. Hunt settled for second and Bovim for third.

IAME Mini Swift Division Sponsored by CNC Performance Engineering:
In the IAME Mini Swift 10-lap final, the top-six drivers were all nose-to-tail during the opening laps with Alex Delemo III at the helm. As laps wound down, Delemo continued to lead with Dyszelski right on his bumper. On the final lap, the top-four drivers of Delemo, Dyszelski, Sam Corry and Sebastian NG all had the chance to take the win if Delemo made the slightest mistake. However, Delemo put together a perfect last lap to take the win with Dyszelski and Corry rounding out the top-three.  

Briggs LO206 Junior Division Sponsored by Race City Mobile Detailing:
The Briggs LO206 Junior division 12-lap Final featured a close battle for the win between the top-three competitors, Alex Keadle, Ian Habiuk and Jadyn Daniels. Keadle and Habuik swapped for the lead in back-to-back cross over maneuvers while Daniels sat back in the catbird seat. Seth Gentry clocked consistent laps to work his way into the top-three as well. However, it was Keadle who scored his first win of the season as the checkered flag flew, followed by Gentry and Daniels.

Kid Kart Division:
In his first race ever in the Kid Kart Division, Ayden Young, got some valuable laps of experience and was able to take home the trophy for the win as well.

Round 5 Results & Standings>> 

GoPro Photo Gallery>>

UP NEXT:
The Karting Challenge Presented by Hoosier Racing Tire will return for Round 6 on Saturday, July 2. Spectator admission is just $5 and children under age five are free. Competitors can save $15 by pre-registering on MotorsportReg.com.

For more information on the Karting Challenge club series, CLICK HERE>>