THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE WORLD KARTING ASSOCIATION
MAY 2014 VOL. 46, NO. 5
Full coverage of Man Cup, Road Race Nationals @ CMP
STROSS WINS PARILLA IAME CUP AT KERSHAW
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WKA MANUFACTURERS CU CAROLINA MOTORSPORT
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UP ZOOM ZOOM NATIONALS TS PARK; KERSHAW, S.C.
-6, 2014
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JOHN PAUL SOUTHERN JR.
CADET WINNER SAM MAYER
SOUTHERN SCORES FOUR WINS; STROSS, MALUKAS WIN IAME CUP BONUSES Story by Keith Shampine; Photos by Carl Barnes
John Paul Southern Jr., Dustin Stross and David Malukas were the big winners April 4-6 at round two of the WKA Mazda / Bridgestone Manufacturers Cup Series at Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw, South Carolina. The Mazda Zoom Zoom Nationals took center stage in the 2-cycle sprint karting world with 268 entrants at Kershaw. Close competition and exciting racing was the norm throughout the weekend at CMP’s 0.7-mile sprint track while WKA’s VEGA / TS Racing National Road Racing Series provided a fitting backdrop on Kershaw’s 2.3-mile road course. John Paul Southern Jr. backed up his four-win performance at the Daytona KartWeek Margay Sprint Championships with another impressive weekend at
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Kershaw. Southern rode his Checkered Motorsports PCR chassis to four Junior Sportsman wins on the weekend. The Ohio racer swept both Yamaha and Komet Sportsman divisions to post the four wins. He nearly swept the Cadet Sportsman main events, as well, however Wisconsin’s Sam Mayer was the top runner in the Cadet mains with wins both days. On Sunday, Mayer denied Southern of a fifth victory on the weekend by holding off the PCR racer at the stripe to accomplish his double-win weekend. “Giovanni Bromante and Sam Mayer were great competitors the entire weekend,” Southern said. “I am very excited to have two four-win weekends in a row and will keep working to be ready for the next race. I would like to thank Checkered Motorsports, my family, Woltjer Racing Engines and MCR Racing Engines. And thank you to WKA for a good place to race for the weekend!” Sam Mayer’s pair of Cadet Sportsman wins kept the Wisconsin racer’s strong 2014 season going. Mayer, who was awarded the Up and Comer award at Friday night’s 2013 Man Cup awards ceremony, spoke about his wins at Kershaw. “I took the lead on the last lap and it was a great battle,” Sam said after one of his Cadet triumphs. “The whole race was a battle with John Paul Southern Jr., me, Lance Fenderson and Jason Welage. There was a big crash at the end and I was able to win it! I would like to thank Cale Wise, Jim Bennett and Woltjer Racing Engines, Franklin Karts and Merlin.” Florida’s Dustin Stross dominated the Franklinkart.com Parilla Senior races to score the IAME Cup championship and the $1,000 bonus posted by HYTORC of Texas. Stross out-raced New Jersey’s Garrett Johnston to the win in Saturday’s Parilla Senior main before besting fellow Floridian Corey Towles to the victory in Sunday’s final to wrap up the $1,000 bonus. In addition to the cash award, Stross won the beautiful crystal IAME Cup trophy for his efforts. Stross rode a Tony Kart to his weekend wins. Stross added a third win to his weekend total with his victory in Kartwerks / Praga Chassis TaG Senior 2 on Sunday afternoon. Mick Gabriel, who was also on a Tony Kart, scored the win in Saturday’s Grand Products TaG Senior 1 final over Stross and G. Johnston. Gabriel’s Sunday TaG Senior program was very much like Saturday’s. He would M a y 2 0 1 4 - W K A’s K a r t i n g S c e n e
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qualify sixth for the second consecutive day and advance to finish fourth in the prefinal. Gabriel rode third for most of the final before making another lap 7 overtaking move, this time on Cal Stewart. But on this day Gabriel wouldn’t have quite enough to make it past Stross for the win in an attempt to sweep the TaG Senior SENIOR IAME CUP WINNER DUSTIN STROSS finals on the weekend. Mick settled for second, giving him a win and runner-up finish on the weekend. “The weekend didn’t start out great but we found the speed when it counted and turned it into a very good weekend,” the 18-year-old Gabriel commented. “Walking away with a win and a second was a great way to kick off our season and I’m also really proud that we set the fast lap time in both finals. I couldn’t be happier about our speed, as well. “I’d like to thank my dad for of course giving me a great kart all weekend, Brian Seward for the excellent power and support and Franklin Motorsports.”
TAG SENIOR VICTOR MICK GABRIEL
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Chicago’s David Malukas won Saturday’s TSRacing. com Parilla Junior main and finished a close second to worldkarting.com
Connecticut’s Tazio Torregiani in Sunday’s Parilla Junior final. Malukas’ first- and second-place runs were good enough to garner the Top Kart racer the IAME Cup and $500 bonus posted by Arai Helmet and Butler Built Seat Technology as best average finisher in the Parilla Junior division. Malukas edged out Torregiani and Zach Holden for the prestigious award. “We always like going to Kershaw for WKA,” David commented. “I like the track and we’ve won some races there. We left with one win and would have liked to get more, but we’re still very happy with the results. Wes (Phillips) and the Top Kart team had our karts working well and it was fun to race again with the (IAME) X30 engine.” Sam Mayer wasn’t the only double-winner at Kershaw this past weekend. Elliot Cox, Scott Ferris, Alexander Kardashian, Brandon Lemke and Luca Mars each drove their mounts to a weekend sweep in the respective divisions. Cox led the introduction of the CRP Racing Kid Karts to the Manufacturers Cup Series with wins both days in the new class. The youngster wheeled his Top Kart to impressive wins both days by edging Jacob Putnam to the line in Saturday’s main event and besting Nick Snell on Sunday. In Saturday’s Kid Kart 1 main, Cox JUNIOR IAME CUP WINNER DAVID MALUKAS and Putnam led Caleb Gafrarar, Benjamin Maier and Sebastian Wheldon across the stripe. On Sunday, Cox and Snell finished ahead of Putnam, Wheldon and Gafrarar. Nine Kid Karts were in attendance to make it a successful debut for the new class. The 6-year-old Elliot offered his thoughts after his big double-win weekend. “In Saturday’s race we battled for the lead the entire race with Jacob Putnam. I passed him on the last lap for the win. On Sunday we had another close battle M a y 2 0 1 4 - W K A’s K a r t i n g S c e n e
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with Nick Snell. We changed the lead one or two times each lap and I passed Nick at the end of the final lap for the win! I would like to thank all my sponsors – Northwestern Mutual, Alderson Commercial Group, Thunderhook Flyins, Excel Racing, Aunt Nancy, Dale Hughes Interior Design, Rich Chapman Photography, Platinum Benefit Consulting Group, Great Lakes Forest KID KART DOUBLE WINNER ELLIOT COX Products, London Witte & Company and M/C Motorsports. Thank you to God and my family. This was the best weekend of my life!” Elliot commented. New Jersey Top Kart racer Scott Ferris surprised no one with another dominating performance in DRT Racing / Margay Racing Products TaG Masters. Ferris wasn’t seriously challenged all weekend on his way to the pair of feature victories. Scot Carapellatti finished 2.4 seconds back of Ferris in Saturday’s Masters main while Carapellatti did the same on Sunday, this time finishing only one second behind Ferris’ Top Kart. Georgia’s Jim Fry and New York’s Kim Carapellatti split the RainSoft TaG Masters Legends $500 bonus as the best average finishers of drivers age 50 and up. Fry recorded a pair of fifth-place finishes while Kim Carapellatti finished sixth Saturday and fourth Sunday. The two drivers agreed to split the TAG MASTERS WINNER SCOTT FERRIS bonus. RainSoft will award the TaG Masters Legends $500 bonus throughout the remainder of the 2014 Man Cup circuit.
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Alexander Kardashian left little doubt who was the top Checkered Motorsports Komet Junior racer at CMP. Kardashian rode his Top Kart to a pair of impressive wins in the KPV Junior category. On Saturday, the Minnesota racer bested Adam Sturgill by 1.4 seconds and backed it up with a 2.3-second win over Sturgill and Torregiani on Sunday. Eagle, Wisconsin’s Brandon Lemke had a big weekend in South Carolina. On Friday night Lemke was awarded his 2013 WKA Triple Crown championship for his four Sportsman class national championships on last year’s Man Cup tour.
ALEXANDER KARDASHIAN TAKES KOMET JR WIN
On Saturday and Sunday, Lemke wheeled his Franklin Motorsports-backed Merlin chassis to wins in the Yamaha Junior main events. Lemke won Saturday’s Woltjer Racing Engines Yamaha Junior 1 main by a half-second margin over Holden while Braden Eves, Emerson Reed and Malukas rounded out the top five. Sunday’s Zero Error Racing Yamaha Junior main was closer as Malukas and Reed provided stiff competition for the Wisconsin driver. But Lemke was able to motor past Malukas on the outside into turn one on the final lap and fend off the Chicago racer for the remainder of the final lap to earn his second win of the event. Malukas had to settle for second with Reed third, Eves fourth and Holden fifth. Luca Mars was the star in the Comet Kart Sales / New Jersey Sprint Series Yamaha Rookie Sportsman category. Mars raced his sleek blue and pink Praga chassis to wins both days in the Rookie division. Mars bested Georgia’s Tyler Maxson to the win in Saturday’s race. Mars and Maxson raced wheel to wheel for most of the race with Mars scoring the close win. Donald Whorton II, Jayden M a y 2 0 1 4 - W K A’s K a r t i n g S c e n e
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Larson and Gunnar Bischoff finished third, fourth and fifth. “I qualified P2 and finished the pre-final in P1,” Mars stated about Saturday’s race. “I got shuffled back to P3 at the start of the final and worked back up to P1 on lap 8. Had a great battle with Tyler Maxson the whole way. It was a tight and clean race the whole way.” On Sunday, Mars picked up his second win of the weekend in another close contest over Maxson. Larson, Whorton and Caleb Bacon rounded out the top-five positions. “Qualified P2 and on the start of the pre-final got booted back to 10th position and worked back to P3,” the Franklin Park, Pa., racer said about Sunday’s Rookie program. “Leader had a two-second lead and I made the pass for the lead on lap 8 and held it until the pit turn on the last lap. Tyler (Maxson) went to the inside and got the lead. I late apexed the first turn and beat Tyler to the next apex for the classic over-move and took the lead back for the win. “I would like to thank Dan and Andy Schlosser for starting me at 7 years old in Rookie,” Luca continued. “Even though I am still one of the youngest out here I have a lot of laps under my belt. Also, want to thank my mom for LUCA MARS (88) AND TYLER MAXSON putting up with the late nights and WERE THE STARS IN ROOKIE dirty clothes. And special thanks to my Principal Mr. Anderchak and my teacher Mrs. Nudi for working with me before and after school so I can get good grades and still go racing. And last but not least to the guys at the engine shop at Woltjer for building me a bad fast motor.” The Senior Piston Port main events, sponsored by Zero Error Racing and RLV Tuned Exhaust Products, saw Haase racer Austin McCusker and Top Kart wheelman Chase Jones split the main events. McCusker rode his Mike Doty Racing Haase to a close win over Jones in Saturday’s main. Jones rode on McCusker’s rear bumper for the entire race but
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didn’t have enough to challenge the New Yorker down the stretch. On Sunday, Jones found some added speed and won going away. The Indiana Top Kart racer finished over three seconds ahead of Patrick Olsen for the win. McCusker was third, Derek Hughes fourth and Brett Schneider fifth. The KPV engine was the powerplant of choice over the Yamaha at Kershaw as the topthree finishers both days were powered by the Komet. Next up for the WKA Man Cup Series is the Checkered Motorsports / Zero Error Racing Grand Nationals June 27-29 at Michiana Raceway Park in South Bend, Indiana.
SENIOR PISTON PORT VICTORS MCCUSKER (left) AND JONES
SUNDAY PARILLA JUNIOR WINNER TAZIO TORREGIANI
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JOHNNY JACUMIN MEMORIAL ROAD RACING REPORT The 2014 WKA National Road Racing Series, sponsored by TS Racing, VEGA and Mazda, hit the track April 4-6 at the popular Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw, S.C., for the annual Johnny Jacumin Memorial. The event, named in respect of its original promoter, drew over 230 entries to South Carolina for round two of WKA’s 2014 Road Racing Series. This year marked the 15th consecutive season a WKA Road Racing had been held at Kershaw. CMP is currently the longest running consecutive-year venue for the National Road Racing Series. Mostly pleasant weather allowed every class to run the full length at Kershaw. The largest divisions were Stock Honda 1, which started 17 karts, and Briggs Animal, which had over 15 competitors among the four stock Animal divisions. Here’s a recap of this year’s Johnny Jacumin Memorial. Saturday Race 1 The largest class of the weekend hit the track first on Saturday with 17 racers taking the green in Micro Precision Stock Honda 1. Massachusetts racer Chris Hines scored a close win over veteran Mark Nagy. The official margin of victory was 0.976 seconds. Bill Pyles led a close trio across the stripe for third with Steve Flatt just behind and Michael Hines, Chris’ father, taking fifth. The third through fifth-place group finished about five seconds back of the winner. TaG Heavy Final 1 saw another New Englander take the win. Michael Camarra raced uncontested to the victory with Justin Rodriguez second and Indiana’s Adrian Dale third. Sam Sheckells was the only entrant in MGM Chassis Co. Pro Gas Animal Final 1. He completed two laps to get credited for the win. Saturday Race 2 Florida’s Lance Yunck raced his CKI chassis to victory in 100cc Controlled Spec Final 1. Yunck scored the win over West Virginia’s JC Sanders, who recently moved up from the Yamaha ranks to Controlled. Brandon Nichols was third, Johnny Scavuzzo fourth and Adam Myers fifth. Fran Mazzucotelli scored another win for Massachusetts’ natives with a victory in Dart Kart Club 100cc Pipe Heavy. Mazzucotelli won by a big 45-second gap over William Anderson. Ohio’s Mallory Davis was third.
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Three-time 2013 national champ Zack Clark raced uncontested to the Yamaha Sportsman Heavy win. Clark won over David Lee. Saturday Race 3 The fastest karts in attendance hit Kershaw’s two-mile course in this one. Jeff Metter won big in the Unlimited Final 1 contest. Metter was nearly six seconds a lap faster than anyone else in his class. Jeff Standridge was second, Brian Butler third and David Hance fourth. Brian Fisher wheeled his DR Kart to the win in CIK 125 Shifter Final 1. Fisher, a multitime WKA champion, won by nearly 40 seconds over Chad Donner. Don Santini was third, Steven Rougeou fourth and Richard White fifth. Fisher was the fastest kart on the track, setting a quick time of a blistering 1:39.306. Saturday Race 4 Briggs Animal-powered karts and an array of 2-cycles made up race group 4. Zachary Linsell bested the nine-kart field in Animal Sprint 335. The Pennsylvania racer won by a 1.3-second margin over Austyn Flurer. The top two pulled out to a near 25-second lead over the rest of the pack. David Clevenger was third, Sam Sheckells fourth and Anthony Wimmer fifth. Animal Sprint 385 saw Maryland’s Jonathan Tedder score a 10-second win over South Carolina’s Rob Garland. Paul Rice was third, Robert Garland fourth and Bill Lewis fifth. Alex Frazer won Yamaha Sportsman Sprint Final 1 over A.J. Ellis. Dan Stowell was the only entrant in WKA Sprint Final 1 while Michael Camarra was the only kart in TaG Final 1. Local-option winners were Allan Dawson in DD2 and Bill Johnson over Don Johnson and Bob Anderson in Vintage. Saturday Race 5 Johnny Scavuzzo raced to a 24-second victory over Lance Yunck in 100cc Controlled Final 1. Scavuzzo, who with his team made a long trek to South Carolina from their Kansas base, was awarded with a Johnny Jacumin Memorial WKA victory. Todd Hayden was third and JC Sanders fourth. Zack Clark easily won the Yamaha Sportsman Lite race over Matt Hicks.
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Saturday Race 6 Nine sprint-enduro classes took the green flag in Saturday’s sixth race. Aamir Hyder scored an uncontested win in Streeter Super Stands Stock Leopard Final 1. Robert Wimmer and Jay Ellis finished second and third. Allen Tustison won his first WKA national race in Yamaha Sprint Final 1. Allen bested his brother, Charlie Tustison, by a close 0.054-second advantage. Jimmy Duguay was third, Lee Williams fourth and John Jezierski fifth. Zachary Linsell won his second race of the day, this time in Animal Limited Modified 360. Linsell won by a 15-second advantage over Jonathan Tedder. Charles Wilbur was third and Ben Morris fourth. Paul Smith scored the win in Clone 360 Final 1 over Stephen Galleger, while Joe Cuslidge won over Paul Rice and William Kleinschmidt in Clone 385 Final 1. North Carolina’s Chris Kuley beat out Will Delaney in Animal Junior Sprint Lite. Kuley won by a 4.5-second gap. New York’s JT Coupal won Junior Sprint Lite by a huge margin over Amy Hollowell. Robert Garland beat Steve Jeffers in a close race in LO206 385. The official margin of victory was just 0.368 seconds. Darren Greene was third and Lon Washburn fourth. Nelson Hicks won the Open Sprint 1 local option over Joseph Battista and Gary Kim Baker. Baker had the fastest kart on the track with a fast lap of 1:51.215. Saturday Race 7 The day’s final race saw New York’s Adam Myers win KALL Racing Formula 100 Final 1 by a full lap advantage over North Carolina’s Paul Wyzga. Travis Miller was third, Bill Miller fourth and Michael Fischer fifth. Fran Mazzucotelli earned his second win of the day, this time in Formula 125. Mazzucotelli went the 45-minute distance while the other entrant in the class, Jason Standridge, retired after only one lap. Sunday Race 1 The day’s first race saw former WKA Triple Crown champion Adam Myers score his second victory of the weekend. Myers won 100cc Controlled Final 2 over Todd Hayden. JC Sanders took the third position.
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Zack Clark won his third race of the weekend in this one. The West Virginian scored the win in Dart Kart Club100cc Yamaha Heavy. Bob Anderson was second with Steve Gore and William Anderson third and fourth. Sunday Race 2 Race No. 2 featured a nine-class extravaganza for sprint-enduro divisions. Aamir Hyder made it two for two in Stock Leopard, taking the Sunday win by 33 seconds over Robert Wimmer. Jay Ellis was third. One of the most competitive races of the day came in Yamaha Sprint Final 2. Allen Tustison ended up scoring his second win of the weekend, but not without stiff competition from John Jezierski, David Williams and Charlie Tustison. Less than four seconds separated first through fourth with Allen getting a 0.849-second victory over Jezierski. Williams was only 1.7 seconds back in third with Charlie 3.9 seconds back of his brother in fourth. Jimmy Duguay was fifth. Joe Cuslidge won for the second day in a row in Clone 385. Cuslidge won by a 20-second advantage over Paul Rice. William Kleinschmidt was third and Mark Gallagher fourth. Stephen Gallagher won Clone 360. Chris Kuley drove to victory again in Animal Junior Sprint Heavy. Kuley won by a 20-second margin over Will Delaney. Amy Hollowell scored the Junior Sprint Heavy victory. JT Coupal retired after five laps and was credited with second. Robert Garland won LO206 360 and Desmond Lewis won Open Sprint 2. Sunday Race 3 The largest class of the day was Stock Honda 2 with 14 starters. Brian Fisher, who won CIK Shifter on Saturday, entered Stock Honda Sunday and raced to the win over Saturday winner Chris Hines. Fisher bested Hines by a 4.6-second gap for the win. Steve Flatt was just behind Hines in third. David Harding took fourth and DRT Racing’s Don Guilbeault fifth. Michael Camarra won TaG Heavy Final 2 by a 33-second gap over Adrian Dale.
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Darren Greene was the Michigan Kart Supply Pro Gas Animal Final 2 winner over Stephen Wheatley and Sam Sheckells. Sunday Race 4 Laydown enduros took the track in race four as Sunday began to wind down. Virginia Beach’s Travis Miller scored the win in Formula 100 Final 2. Miller bested Paul Wyzga for the victory. Mallory Davis won over by 6.7 seconds over Fran Mazzucotelli in 100cc Pipe Medium to end Fran’s weekend winning streak. Matt Hicks inherited the Competition Karting Inc. Yamaha Sportsman Medium win when Zack Clark was disqualified in tech. David Lee was second. Adam Myers won 100cc Controlled Spec Final 2 over JC Sanders. Sunday Race 5 Some drama ensued in post-race tech after race five when Zachary Linsell, who dominated MGM Chassis / Moon Power Animal Sprint 360, was disqualified for having two fuel tanks on his MGM chassis. The kart was Linsell’s Limited Modified mount, but the rule is there is only one fuel tank allowed on the kart for the stock Animal. The Linsell DQ gave Georgia’s Blake Beattie the win over David Clevenger. Sam Sheckells was third, Anthony Wimmer fourth and Austyn Flurer fifth. Paul Rice scored the Animal Sprint 410 win over defending class national champion Rob Garland. Robert Garland was third and Steve Johnson fourth. Michael Camarra earned another TaG win, this time in TaG Final 2. AJ Ellis won Yamaha Sportsman Sprint Final 2 over Alex Frazer, while Lee Williams won WKA Sprint Final 2 over Dan Stowell. Allan Dawson was victorious in the DD2 local option. - Report by Keith Shampine
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