Round 4 of the Willow Springs Kart Club (WSKC)
Info: Mike Manning 661-256-7500
Tim Holden 818-701-5151
www.timipromotions.com

Round 4 of the Willow Springs Kart Club (WSKC) took place the weekend of May 16th, 2010 at the famed Willow Springs Kart Track. With the season well underway WSKC members have seen an influx of new drivers testing their setups for the upcoming IKF GrandNationals being held under the lights June 22-26, 2010. The test and tune sessions have been great for the club as it raises the entry count as well as the level of competition. Racers will only have a few more chances to get in race laps before the big event with WSKC and the forthcoming IKF Region 7 Championship round June 5-6.

Appropriately named Race Liberante led the charge in 125 Shifter qualifying. Race was untouchable all day as he went flag to flag for the win in both the prefinal and the final. James Reynolds and Michael Leib battled it out for 2nd and 3rd with Reynolds capturing 2nd after 16 laps.

In the Jr Superbox Pipe/KPV2 and Sr. KPV4/Superbox Pipe class Brennen Mankin put the hammer down from the get-go. Mankin drilled it in qualifying putting 1.5 seconds between himself and off pole driver Kris Holland. I know one driver who is looking for a bronze man in the upcoming months. Mankin's lead was vast in the prefinal and only got larger in the final. With a 21 second margin of victory, Mankin can be proud of a job well done. The charge for best in class, otherwise known as 2nd place went toHolland. Zach Tobin finished a close 3rd.

If a guy named Race races, then a guy named Chase gets chased. Chase McDaniel gapped the Jr. 1/KPV1 field by a second in qualifying and carried that momentum into the prefinal. Matt Million and Justice Lepe gave chase in the final, but it was to no avail. McDaniel was turning mid 49 second laps while everone else was stuck in the 51's. His display of dominance was impressive to say the least.

Kid Karts is one of the more popular classes at the WSKC and a win here is ranks pretty high on the club wins scale. Coming off his IKF Region 7 win Hayden Wagner follwed it up with a Kid Kart pole. Hudson Morrow and Braden Waterman were P2 and P3 in the session. The prefinal saw Wagner walk away with the win as Bryson Waterman joined in the hunt. The final belonged to Wagner who nearly lapped the field. Only Morrow and Garrett Twitty managed to stay on the lead lap as both Watermans had troubles early on. It is not often you see a 40 second beating in Kid Karts but Wagner managed to make it look easy.

The PRD Spec pole went to Brandon Campbell with a time of 46.305. Ron Honsaker qualified P2 in one of the closest contests of the weekend. Campbell also scored the win in the prefinal but Honsaker was right on his tail along with Max Feyerabend. Feyerabend came from last on the grid to 3rd place, putting him in a prime position to start the final. Honsaker surprised them all to gain an early lead. His advantage didn't last long as Feyerabend charged to the front with Campbell in tow. These two went at it lap after lap with the lead changing around half way. Eventually there has to be a winner and the checkered flag flew for Campbell, but that was short lived as tech got the better of him. Feyerabend scored the win. Honsaker was elevated to 2nd place and Tom Sherman finished 3rd.

Pole in the combined TAG class went to Michael Leib but it was Nick Cole who scored the prefinal win. Leib only made it five laps, but it was still better than Steve Fidler and Austin Dyne who didnt complete a lap. As they say it ain't over til the fat lady sings and the final was one for the record books. From 3rd starting position Jason Holden grabbed the lead as they got the green flag. Tim Gardner slotted into 2nd and the chase was on. By lap three Michael Gardner was up into 2nd with Casey Neiman in tow. That didn't last long as Steve Fidler was on the move. Lap by lap he picked of driver after driver until he ran out of laps. Holden was in trouble and if the race was one lap longer the odds were Fidler would have won it all. As it was Holden held on for the win in the race of the weekend. Leib recovered nicely and also drove from the back to the front for a solid 3rd place finish.

The next round of the WSKC is Saturday, June 19th with the IKF Region 7 Championship Series June 5th-6th. For all the info on the WSKC and the impending IKF GrandNationals June 21st- 26th go online to www.timipromotions.com

Based at the Willow Springs International Motorsports Park, the Willow Springs Kart Club (WSKC) - host of the 2010 International Kart Federation (IKF) 2-Cycle Grand Nationals - is looking forward to a solid 2010 season. Competing monthly from February to November, the WSKC opened up the new year with the first round of the nine round club championship on the nine-turn, 6/10-mile kart track on February 21.

The opening weekend for the 2010 season also kicked off a new five-race mini championship. The series within the club championship will award free entries to nine of the club classes for the IKF 2-Cycle Sprint Grand Nationals, set for June 22-26 at the Willow Springs Kart Track. For the five events leading up to the Grand Nationals (February 21, March 14, April 18, May 16, June 19), a best four of five points chase will be tabulated in each of the nine categories with the top WSKC member driver awarded one free entry to the prestigious event.

WSKC has also assembled a large prize purse for the five-race mini-series leading up to the Grand Nationals. The following is a break-down of the prizes:

1st place - Free entry IKF G.N. and one set of Bridgestone tires
2nd place - 1 set of Douglas Wheels
3rd place - RLV sprocket and 219 chain
4th place - Scribner fuel jug and 3 bottles of Burris 2 cycle oil
5th place - TRP Mechanics gloves and 3 bottles of Burris 2 cycle oil

Each points champion and the rest of the top-five finishers will also have their names entered into a drawing for a GPS system for the MyChron 4 from AIM Sports and selected drivers could have their name drawn for one class at the Cory Kruseman’s Sprint Car and Midget Driving School. To be eligible, a competitor must enter a minimum of four races and be a WSKC 2010 member.

“We are excited to have the IKF Grand Nationals here and felt this mini-series was a great way to lead into that event,” stated TIMI Promotions Mike Manning. “I’d like to thank the all the members of the Willow Springs Kart Club and those companies that are supporting our program. In total, 45 lucky drivers could walk away from the mini-series with some sort of prize in addition to experiencing fun and exciting racing here at Willow Springs.”

At the opening round of the 2010, the PRD Spec Senior class saw Ron Honsaker as the early pace-setter, scoring the pole in qualifying with a 47.419 lap time. Just under three-tenths back was Chelsie Jenkens. Brandon Campbell and Michel Manning filled up the second row for the heat race with their qualifying times. The opening circuit of the eight-lap heat race saw Honsaker get shuffled to the tail of the field, leaving Campbell to claim the point and the win. Jenkens was a close second, just 0.108-seconds back, with Honsaker up to third ahead of Manning at the checkered. Clean through the initial corners, Campbell and Jenkens continued their battle into the 20-lap feature. Campbell showed the way until Jenkens took over the position on lap eight. From there Jenkens stretched out to a two-second victory. Campbell held onto second despite a charging Honsaker, who was credited with the fast lap of the race.

In other TaG competition, the TaG Light, TaG Heavy and TaG Junior divisions ran together on the track for some exciting racing. TaG Light driver Casey Neuman paced the field in qualifying with a 47.595 with TaG Heavy entry Steve Fidler just one-tenth back. Fidler got the jump at the start of the heat race and led all eight laps for the overall win with Neuman on his bumper. The two continued to show the way in the feature race with Fidler again leading the way for the overall victory. Neuman crossed the line second, first in the TaG Light division. Logan Manus was third in the order to sit second in the TaG Light division with Tim Gardner crossing fourth overall to end up second in the Heavy division. TaG Junior was a great battle between David Taylor and Annika Horvath. Taylor led the majority of the feature race before Horvath took the point with two laps left, going on to score the victory.

Senior Super Sportsman Pipe class was hotly at the front with two drivers putting on a show, Leland Holden and Kyle Shriver. Holden held the advantage following qualifying with a best lap of 48.312. Shriver got the jump from outside row one starting spot in the heat race to lead all eight laps, getting to the line by just 0.092-seconds in front of Holden. Shriver continued on into the Feature showing the way with Holden in tow. Able to hold on, Shriver took the victory and the early point lead in the championship over Holden. Max Feyerabend completed the podium with a solid third.

Brennen Mankin scored the sweep in the Junior Super Sportsman Pipe category. Putting down a blistering 48.951 lap in qualifying, Mankin went on to score the heat and feature wins uncontested. Ryan Junge was able to place second in the feature with Kris Holland placing third to stand on the podium. In Junior 1 racing, Dustin Patterson was the lone entry in the KPV category to get a jump start on the competition for the free entry for the mini-series point title. In the Comer division, Bryce Murphy led the way in all on-track action with Brandon Weaver and Demitri Hull completing the podium.

Myles Farhan set the tone in the Kid Kart division as he blistered around the track with a lap of 1:03.208 to solidify his position at the front. Braden Waterman was up the challenge in the heat race, making the right changes following qualifying to dice it up for the win. At the line, Farhan held the advantage by 0.170-seconds. The two battled once again in the 20-lap feature, this time Waterman showed the way early on as Farhan had to recover from a bad start. After swapping the lead numerous times, Farhan took the checkered flag first, 0.441-seconds in front of Waterman for the provisional victory. Officials however penalized Farhan following the race, giving the win to Waterman and moving Hudson Morrow and Bryson Waterman up to third.

Though not part of the new mini-series, seven shifterkart drivers came out to begin their campaign at the club championship, led by Willy Musgrave. Showing the way in all the class proceedings, Musgrave drove to a seven-second victory over Greg Nelsen and James Reynolds.

Round two of the 2010 season will be March 14. For those who have questions or would like to find out more information about the Willow Springs Kart Club, visit http://www.timipromotions.com or contact Mike Manning at 661.256.7500 and Tim Holden at 818.701.7151.