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.