2011 Route 66 Coverage


Laukaitis and Ostrom Double at Route 66 Season Opener

Coverage from route 66 sprint series 2011 round 1

The Margay/Bridgestone Route 66 Sprint Series presented by L&T Manufacturing, Russell Karting Specialties and Laukaitis Racing kicked off the 2011 season at Mid-State Raceway on April 16 and 17 with a salute to the U.S. armed forces. The event was sponsored by the Springfield based B & B Electric Company. Unfortunately, the cool and wet weather caused the cancellation of a few of the planned activities for the salute to the armed forces. However, the opening ceremonies on Saturday were very impressive with a color guard presentation of the flag by the 183rd Air Guard Color Guard while all the drivers lined up along the front straightaway. The St. Andrews Bag Pipe and Drum Corps marched onto the track and performed prior to the presentation of colors. Mid-State Kart Club member Mary Beth Tapocik sang the national anthem which was coordinated with fireworks launched from the back straightaway. The ceremony was an event that will long be remembered by all in attendance.

A record 215 entries were on hand for this event in spite of some very cool and wet Spring weather. After the previous weekend of record high 85 degree temperatures which brought many teams out to test, Saturday's temperatures only reached into the upper 40s with some light showers. Due to the cool temperatures, series officials decided to delay the start of the program until the rain subsided. All of the day's scheduled races were able to be completed under dry conditions with the last few races conducted at sunset under the track lighting system. Mid-State Kart Club hosted a free cookout after the racing activities Saturday. A special cake was served for desert that was decorated as Mid-State Raceway with a track layout, scoring tower, track light poles and safety barriers. A special thank you goes to Mid-State Kart Club President Russ Kemple for organizing the special events for the weekend.

Only two drivers were able to capture double wins over the weekend with Matthew Laukaitis winning both the Yamaha Lite and Heavy Supercan classes and Drake Ostrom winning the TAG II Senior and Formula Yamaha Senior classes.


The first final of the weekend for the Yamaha Junior Heavy class, was sponsored by Vogel Heating & Cooling. Nicky DeFronzo, who was fast qualifier and won the pre-final appeared to be headed toward the win. However, he would fail post-race tech for a cylinder head cc infraction, handing the win to Collin Griffin (Arrow/Adkins) who finished just .35 seconds back. Robby McQuinn, making his series debut in the Junior class, finished second while setting the fastest race lap at 32.399 on a Margay. Rounding out the top five were Gant Vogel, Kenlen Morse and Anthony Granata in the 17 kart field. Kenlen Morse was the celebrity of the weekend as the local Springfield newspaper had featured her photo on the front page of the Friday edition.

Next up was the Adkins Speed Center Yamaha Supercan Lite class with 22 entries. This class was chosen in a drawing at the driver's meeting to race using a pea-pick lineup instead of by qualifying. Josh Call won the first heat and Colton Ramsey won the second heat. In the final, Call started in the pole position with Matthew Laukaitis lining up second. Laukaitis (Birel/Laukaitis) quickly moved to the lead and pulled out to a 2.62 second win over Colton Ramsey with Call, Brad Brittin and Christian Vega rounding out the top five in a tight battle. Brittin set the fastest race lap at 32.623. The pea-pick lineups definitely made for some exciting racing in this large class as several of the faster karts passed 10 or more karts in their 8-lap heat races.

Next up was the CKT Racing Engines Yamaha Rookie Lite class with 13 entries. Fast qualifier and pre-final winner Michael Paterno driving a Margay pulled away to the easy win with a huge 9.17 second lead over second place Matthew Northrop. Northrop, Grayson Shankleton, Luke Kohlbecker, and Evan Moore battled it out for the top five positions with Moore setting the fastest race lap at 34.954.

The Franklin Motorsports TAG I Senior class staged next with fast qualifier and pre-final winner Cal Stewart (Merlin/Adkins) pacing the field along side of Drake Ostrom. Ostrom got the hole shot to grab the early lead while a few karts tangled in the concrete corner on the first lap. Stewart was able to take back the lead and pulled out to about a one second lead to take the win over Ostrom. Justin Vancil and David Cox finished closely behind Ostrom with TJ Koyen rounding out the top five. Vancil set the fastest race lap at 30.217 on a cold track.

Next up was the Kid Kart Championship class sponsored by Kart Star Motorsports. Fast qualifier and pre-final winner Luke Howard steadily pulled away from the 10-kart field to take the win by over 22 seconds. Talan Drake, Kyle West and Tyler Allison battled for the next three positions and James Lynch rounded out the top five. Howard also set the fastest race lap at 44.675.

The Triple E Sales Yamaha Sportsman Lite class was up next as the sun was setting. Pre-final winner Becker Reardon and Thayne Chapin paced the field at the start of the 16 kart field. Six karts would tangle and spin out in the first corner of the cooling track which set back some of the front runners. Reardon (Birel) would take the win over Egan Shankleton who worked his way up from 5th place to battle for the lead. Kaleb Allison worked his way back up to third place after the first corner spin followed closely by Daltyn England with Owen Leatherberry rounding out the top five. Allison set the fastest race lap at 34.314.

The final class of the day, now racing under the lights, was the Formula Yamaha Masters class sponsored by Margay Racing. This class will utilize the pea-pick line-up method for the whole season. Chad Kruger (Margay/Adkins) won both heats and lined up on the pole for the final along side of Brad Franklin. The cooling track caused most of the field to spin in the concrete corner on the first lap allowing Kruger to pull out to a 5.68 second win over Franklin. Pete Vetter, Kenny Price and Dave Timmerman rounded out the top five.

Sunday brought much improved weather with sunny skies and temperatures reaching into the mid-60s. 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 Josh Fierke. A drawing was also held for a new driving suit sponsored by Chicago Karting Technologies which was won by Luke Kohlbecker. Several gift certificates were also given out to the Yamaha Sportsman Lite class participants sponsored Triple E Racing. After one round of practice, eight classes of racing took place and were completed with a trophy presentation at 4 pm where special eagle trophies were awarded to first place and crystal plaques were awarded to 2nd through 5th place in each class.

The first class racing on Sunday, Komet Senior sponsored by Jet Karting, was chosen for the pea-pick format. Participation in this class continues to grow with 14 entries in part due to the generous KPV engine package award up for grabs at the season ending awards banquet. Colton Ramsey and Brad Brittin started on the front row of the first heat with Brittin grabbing the lead at the start. Brittin was able to lead every lap and hold off a charging Darin Marcus at the finish by .02 seconds. Marcus won the second heat after starting from 5th setting the front row of Marcus and Brittin for the final. The top three of Marcus, Ramsey and Brittin swapped the lead several times. Brittin (Margay/Hyper) was able to draft by Marcus on the final lap and take the win by just .034 seconds. Marcus set the fastest race lap at 31.513. Ramsey, Drake Ostrom and Nick Nile rounded out the top five.

The Two Cycle Engine Technologies Yamaha Sportsman Heavy class final was up next with pre-final winner Thayne Chapin and Kaleb Allison pacing the field. Allison grabbed the early lead followed by Chapin and fast qualifier Brant Carter. Chapin moved to the point for a while until Carter took command on his Birel and held on for the win over Dillon Schwanbeck by .45 seconds. Allison, Becker Reardon and Chapin rounded out the top five less than a second back. Thayne Chapin set fastest race lap at 34.249.

Next up was the TAG II Senior class sponsored by Kart Lift. Fast qualifier and pre-final winner Drake Ostrom (Merlin/Adkins) paced the 16-kart field with Justin Vancil along side. Ostrom, Vancil and David Cox battled early for the lead and then Cal Stewart caught the front trio. Vancil moved to the lead midway through the 12 lap final before Ostrom took over the lead for good finishing .069 seconds over Stewart with Vancil and Cox close behind. Nick Nile rounded out the top five and Justin Vancil set the fastest race lap at 30.024.

The Yamaha Rookie Heavy class sponsored by Switch Racing Engines gridded next for their final led by fast qualifier and pre-final winner Evan Moore (Margay/Triple E). Stephan Dial and Max Lambert spun in the concrete corner on the first lap and dropped to the back. Moore and Michael Paterno battled for the lead as they pulled out to a seven second advantage. Moore took the win by just .073 seconds over Paterno with Luke Kohlbecker, Brenden Trent and Grayson Shankleton rounding out the top five. Paterno set fastest race lap at 34.762.

Next up was the Comet Kart Sales Yamaha Supercan Heavy class final. Pre-final winner Drake Ostrom and fast qualifier Matthew Laukaitis paced the field at the start. Laukaitis grabbed the lead at the start followed by Ostrom. Toward the end of the race Adam Crepin caught the front two and moved into second place. Laukaitis (Birel/Laukaitis) held on for a .54 second win over Crepin and Ostrom with the pack of Christian Vega, Mike Nesbitt, Tim Brinkman, Chad Kruger and Tyler Brinkman finishing five seconds back. Adam Crepin set the fastest race lap at 32.692.

The Yamaha Junior Lite class sponsored by Express Karts and Parts was up next with 19 entries. The final was paced by pre-final winner Nicky DeFronzo and fast qualifier Collin Griffin. DeFronzo grabbed the lead followed by Kenlen Morse, Griffin and Grant Vogel. DeFronzo (Arrow/Adkins) held on for the win by 1.33 seconds over Griffin, Morse, Anthony Granata and Vogel. Kenlen Morse set the fastest race lap at 31.637 which is about .5 seconds quicker than the Mid-State Kart Club Junior Yamaha track record.

The Formula Yamaha Senior class sponsored by Streeter Super Stands was up next with 12 entries which was a nice turn out for a new class. This class, which utilizes a PRD TAG pipe, turned lap times that were similar to the KPV Senior class. Fast qualifier and pre-final winner Drake Ostrom paced the final along side Colton Ramsey, who would drop out in the first turn with mechanical problems. Ostrom (Merlin/Adkins) turned the quickest lap times of the race at 31.686 and held a one second advantage at the finish over Jordan Laukaitis. Laukaitis was followed closely by Adam Crepin in third. Matthew Laukaitis, Pete Vetter and Chad Kruger finished a few more seconds back in a tight battle.

The Ballistic Designs Komet Sportsman class was the final race of the day. Fast qualifier and pre-final winner Colton Peterson paced the start along side Owen Leatherberry. Egan Shankleton (Kosmic/Laukaitis) gradually worked his way to the front and pulled out to a 2.15 second win over Brandon Lemke. Peterson, Leatherberry and Alex Bertagnoli rounded out the top five with Lemke setting the fastest lap at 33.718.

Margay and Birel chassis were tied for the most wins over the weekend at 4 each followed by Merlin (3), Arrow (2) and Kosmic (1). For the complete race results, visit www.mylaps.com.

 

 

A big thank you goes out to the many volunteer workers from the Mid-State Kart Club who hosted this event. The next round of the series will be held at Concept Haulers Motor Speedway in Norway, IL on May 14 and 15. 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 the Route 66 Sprint Series, visit www.route66kartracing.com.