2011 Route 66 Coverage


Ostrom Triples at CHMS Route 66 Series

Coverage from route 66 sprint series 2011 round 2

The Margay/Bridgestone Route 66 Sprint Series presented by L&T Manufacturing, Russell Karting Specialties and Laukaitis Racing held round two at Concept Haulers Motor Speedway (CHMS) on May 14 and 15. The event was sponsored by RLV. A big turn out of 212 entries was on hand for this event in spite of some unseasonably cool and wet weather. Practice started out under rain tire conditions on Saturday morning. Track conditions dried out enough by race time that slicks were in use. Amazingly, the rain held off long enough that only one race utilized rain tires on Saturday for the Yamaha Rookie Lite class pre-final. On Sunday, practice started out in the wet again, but all races were able to be completed without rain tires, even though there were a few rain drops falling throughout the day.

The challenging 12-turn CHMS track, built in the early 90s, has held up well to the northern climate. New restrooms have been added this year at the end of one of the rental garage buildings. A big thank you goes out to CHMS owner Les Finke and his family for hosting a free fiesta taco dinner after the racing activities Saturday. CHMS also provided beautiful silver cup first place trophies along with mirror plaques which were awarded to 2nd through 5th place in each class.

At the Saturday driver's meeting, a set of Bridgestone YLC tires was given away to Joey Varco in a drawing sponsored by The Rock Island Grand Prix. At the Sunday morning driver's meeting, a drawing was held for a set of Bridgestone YLC tires sponsored by Margay/Bridgestone which was won by James Lynch. Route 66 Series apparel was also given away at the driver's meeting.

Only two drivers were able to capture multiple class wins over the weekend with Drake Ostrom taking three class wins by winning both Yamaha Senior Supercan classes and the Formula Yamaha Senior class. Cal Stewart had two class wins capturing the TAG Senior class final on both days.

Merlin kart chassis captured the most wins over the weekend with seven class final victories. Birel had three wins followed by Margay and Arrow with two wins each. For the complete race results, visit www.mylaps.com.

 

The first class to race on Saturday was the Franklin Motorsports TAG I Senior class with pre-final winner Cal Stewart (Merlin/Triple-E) pacing the field along side of fast qualifier Drake Ostrom. Stewart was able to take the lead in turn one and pulled out to about a one second lead. Mark Vielgut moved into second place at the start, however he retired with a DNF on lap 10. Christian Vogel charged up to finish second just .83 seconds behind Stewart at the finish. TJ Koyen, Drake Ostrom and Justin Vancil rounded out the top five.

Next up was the Kid Kart Championship class sponsored by Kart Star Motorsports. This class was chosen for the daily "pea-pick" format and did not qualify. Luke Howard looked to have a lock on the final win after winning both heat races and setting fastest lap in the final. However a DNF handed the win to Talan Drake followed by Kyle West, Tyler Allison, James Lynch and Joey Varco. Howard set the fastest race lap at 42.497 on the Kid Kart track configuration.

The Triple E Sales Yamaha Sportsman Lite class was up next. Pre-final winner Becker Reardon and fast qualifier Kaleb Allison paced the field at the start of the 19 kart field. Allison took the lead on lap one followed closely by Reardon. Reardon (Birel/Adkins) moved to the point at about mid-race and held onto the win by just .285 seconds over Allison. The next pack of four karts were locked in a tight battle for the entire race. Dillon Schwanbeck, Thayne Chapin, Owen Leatherberry and Brandon Lemke rounded out the top six. Allison set the fastest race lap at 51.129.

The next class to compete was the Formula Yamaha Masters class sponsored by Margay Racing. This class will utilize the pea-pick/heat format for the whole season. Pete Vetter (Margay/Woltjer) won both heats and lined up on the pole for the final. Vetter would cruise to the easy win, lapping the entire field under damp conditions. Dave Timmerman and Clair Ruenger rounded out the top three.

Twenty-two karts lined up next for the Yamaha Junior Heavy class, sponsored by Vogel Heating & Cooling. The start was red-flagged after several karts spun off in turn one as a light drizzle began to fall. The rain quickly dissipated and the race was re-started without going to rain tires. Pre-final winner Grant Vogel paced the field along with Kyle Tilley. Several front runners were collected in turn one, ending the day early for Michael Prokup, Collin Griffin, Anthony Granata, Christian Ledesma and Scott Matulik. Tilley and Nicky DeFronzo battled for the lead early in the race followed by Robby McQuinn and a hard charging Michael Geringer. Grant Vogel, Kenlen Morse and Jeremy Klein were also on the move toward the front pack. Geringer (Arrow/CKT), who started 13th in the final, charged his way to the front and held on for the win by .68 seconds over Kenlen Morse. McQuinn, Klein, and Elliot Finlayson rounded out the top five in a tight pack about one second back. Grant Vogel set the fastest race lap at 50.631 on a Tony Kart chassis.

Next up was the Adkins Speed Center Yamaha Supercan Lite class with 23 entries. Drake Ostrom (Merlin/Adkins) swept the class by qualifying first, winning the pre-final, winning the final by 4.163 seconds over second and set the fastest race lap at 50.344. Colton Ramsey who started along side of Ostrom in the final and finished second. Matthew Laukaitis, Jordan Laukaitis, Christian Vega, Kevin Bowler and Tim Goetsch followed Ramsey in a tight pack to round out the top seven.

The final class of the day on Saturday was the CKT Racing Engines Yamaha Rookie Lite class with 13 entries. Fast qualifier and pre-final winner Michael Paterno spun early in the race and wound up finishing 6th. Front row starter Matthew Northrop (Birel/CKT) cruised to a 15 second win over Brenden Trent, Evan Moore, Stephan Dial and Cohle Santiago. Northrop also set the fastest race lap at 55.154.

The first final to compete on Sunday was the Two Cycle Engine Technologies Yamaha Sportsman Heavy class final with 17 entries. Kaleb Allison was able to sweep this class by qualifying first, winning the pre-final, winning the final by 2.665 seconds over second place and by setting the fastest race lap at 52.956. Allison (Merlin/Triple-E) grabbed the early lead followed by Becker Reardon and Thayne Chapin. Reardon and Allison swapped positions near the end of the race until Reardon threw a chain ending his day on the final lap. Chapin, Brandon Klein, Dillon Schwanbeck and Brandom Lemke rounded out the top five.

Next up was the TAG II Senior class sponsored by Kart Lift. This class was chosen for the daily "pea-pick" format and did not qualify. The final was paced by Cal Stewart who won heat #1 and Drake Ostrom. Nick Nile won heat #2 but had a DNF in the final. Christian Vogel worked his way past Ostrom for second place about mid-race and TJ Koyen was also moving through the field up to fourth place. Stewart (Merlin/Triple-E) gradually pulled out to a 5.735 second win over Vogel with Ostrom, Koyen and Justin Vancil rounding out the top five. Stewart set the fastest race lap at 46.221.

The Yamaha Rookie Heavy class sponsored by Switch Racing Engines gridded next for their final led by fast qualifier and pre-final winner Michael Paterno along side of Stephan Dial in the 12-kart field. Dial led the first few laps over Paterno and Tyler Studant. Paterno (Margay) worked his way past Dial about mid-race and pulled away to 5.027 second win over Studant and Dial with Luke Kohlbecker and Grayson Shankleton rounding out the top five. Paterno also set the fastest race lap at 54.866.

Next up was the Comet Kart Sales Yamaha Supercan Heavy class final. Drake Ostrom (Merlin/Adkins) again swept the class by qualifying first, winning the pre-final, winning the final by 3.559 seconds over second place and by setting the fastest race lap at 50.671. Outside front row sitter Adam Crepin was able to hang with Ostrom for a few laps until Ostrom stretched out his lead. The best battle on the track was for third place with Jason Birdsell, Matthew Laukaitis, Mike Nesbitt, Bryan Sykes and Christian Vega slugging it out for third through seventh place.

The Yamaha Junior Lite class sponsored by Express Karts and Parts was up next with 22 entries. The final was paced by fast qualifier and pre-final winner Michael Prokup along side of Nicky DeFronzo. DeFronzo grabbed the lead into turn one followed by Prokup and Grant Vogel. Vogel and Prokup got together in turn eight causing a multi-kart pileup behind them knocking several karts out of the race. Prokup was able to catch and pass DeFronzo through the sweeping turn six, however Prokup ended up sliding off the exit of the corner ending his race. Vogel and Kenlen Morse next caught DeFronzo and Vogel drafted by him in turn six for the lead. On the final lap, DeFronzo loosened up Vogel in turn eight allowing DeFronzo (Arrow/Adkins) to slip by and take the win. Collin Griffin moved up to second in the final lap with Morse, Vogel and Kyle Tilley rounding out the top five in a wild race that had seven DNFs.

The Formula Yamaha Senior class sponsored by Streeter Super Stands was up next. Fast qualifier and pre-final winner Drake Ostrom paced the final along side Jordan Laukaitis. Ostrom (Merlin/Adkins) turned the quickest lap times of the race at 49.116 and held a five second advantage at the finish over Jordan Laukaitis. Laukaitis was followed by Colton Ramsey, Pete Vetter and Darin Marcus at the finish.

The Ballistic Designs Komet Sportsman class final was up next. The front row was paced by pre-final winner Egan Shankleton and Owen Leatherberry. Fast qualifier Brandon Lemke (Birel/Source) gradually worked his way to the point and pulled away to a 6.687 second win over Shankleton. Alex Bertagnoli, Colton Peterson and Leatherberry rounded out the top five.

The final class racing on Sunday was Komet Senior sponsored by Jet Karting. The front row was paced by fast qualifier and pre-final winner Drake Ostrom along side of Colton Ramsey. Ostrom and Ramsey pulled away to the early lead. Charging up through the field was Darin Marcus (Merlin/Adkins) who was able to pass Ostrom in turn eight near the end of the race to take the win by .484 seconds. Marcus also set the fastest race lap at 48.092. Rounding out the top five were Kyle Prokup, Colton Ramsey and Luke Baldwin.

The next round of the series will be held at Badger Kart Club in Dousman, WI on June 18 and 19. Friday practice will be available. All entrants will have a chance to win a set of Bridgestone YLC tires in a drawing held at the Sunday morning driver's meeting. For more information about Badger Kart Club, visit www.badgerkartclub.com. For more information about the Route 66 Sprint Series, visit www.route66kartracing.com.