2011 Route 66 Coverage


Route 66 Series Round Six at New Castle Motorsports Park

Coverage from route 66 sprint series 2011 round 6

The Margay/Bridgestone Route 66 Sprint Series presented by L&T Manufacturing, Russell Karting Specialties and Laukaitis Racing held round six at New Castle Motorsports Park (NCMP) on September 10 and 11. The event was sponsored by Ostrom Painting & Sandblasting. Another big turn out of over 230 entries competed over the weekend for the large eagle trophies which were awarded to first place.

New Castle Motorsports Park is one of the premier karting facilities in the U.S. Track owner and former Indy car racer Mark Dismore Sr. continues to add enhancements to the facility each year. There is a large kart shop on site (Comet Kart Sales) and a large indoor restaurant which also served as a banquet room for the Saturday post race dinner and awards presentation.

A full 8-hour day of practice was held on the Friday before the event under mostly dry conditions with just a few sprinkles coming late in the day. Although the threat of rain lingered throughout the weekend, all races were able to be held under dry conditions with only one small shower briefly delaying the finals on Sunday.

The track conditions were fast with a lot of rubber built up from previous events and little rain to wash off the rubber in the midst of a drought in the mid-west. Three drivers were able to win more than one class final over the weekend. Luke Kohlbecker won both the Yamaha Rookie Lite and Heavy classes. Brandon Lemke won the Yamaha Sportsman Heavy and Cadet classes and Ryder Cate won the Kid Kart class on both days.

The first final racing on Saturday was the Kid Kart Championship class sponsored by Kart Star Motorsports. Fast qualifier Ben Chejfec and pre-final winner Ryder Cate paced the start with Chejfec taking the early lead. The Kid Karts race on a modified version of the track that is not the full 1.1 miles long. Cate moved to the point at about mid-race and held on for a 4.2 second win over Cheifec with Kyle West, Tyler Allison and Hayden West rounding out the top five.

The second class racing on Saturday was the Adkins Speed Center Yamaha Supercan Lite class with 18 entries. Pre-final winner Colton Ramsey and Jimmy Clark paced the start. Clark took the lead into turn two followed by Drake Ostrom. Ramsey moved into second place on lap two with drafting help from Brad Brittin who was fast qualifier. The pair of Ramsey and Brittin next worked their way past Clark brining Ostrom with them. Clark would work his way back up to second at the finish as Ramsey (Merlin/Comet) held on for the win by .065 seconds over Clark. Kevin Bowler made a late charge up to third place while setting quick time of the race at 1.11.703. Brittin and Ostrom rounded out the top five.

Next up was the CKT Racing Engines Yamaha Rookie Lite class with 18 entries that was also combined with the Grand Products Cadet class using a split start. Brandon Lemke and Jack Miller battled all race long in the Cadet class with Lemke(Merlin) taking the win by .318 seconds over Miller. Fast qualifier Luke Kohlbecker (Margay/Laukaitis) took command of the Rookie class and pulled out to a nine second win over Grayson Shankleton with Michael Paterno, Tommy Burke and Brendan Trent rounding out the top five. Kohlbecker also set quick time at 1.15.874.

The next class scheduled to compete on Saturday was the Formula Yamaha Masters class sponsored by Margay Racing. This class utilizes the pea-pick/heat format for the whole season. Chad Kruger won the first heat and Dave Timmerman won the second heat. In the final, Chad Kruger took the lead at the start with Timmerman in close pursuit. Timmerman moved to the lead on lap two and Kruger retook the lead mid-race. Timmerman (Margay/Triple E) took the lead for good and Lamar “Cowboy” Humphries got by Kruger at the finish line to take second place. Kenny Price and Jason Evers rounded out the top five.

The next class racing, Yamaha Junior Heavy sponsored by Vogel Heating & Cooling had the most entries with 24 karts starting the final. Fast qualifier and pre-final winner Camden Speth, the current Junior class points leader in the NCMP KRA series, paced the start along side of Emerson Reed. Reed took the early lead in a pack with Kyle Kalish, Speth and Collin Griffin. Austin Self, who started mid-pack, was working his way toward the front and set quick time at 1.10.357. Self and Griffin worked together to move to the front with Self (Arrow) taking the win by just .139 seconds. Kalish, Kenlen Morse and Reed rounded out the top five.

The next class to race with 22 entries was the Franklin Motorsports TAG I Senior class. Fast qualifier and pre-final winner Cal Stewart paced the field along side of Jacob Knueven. Stewart led the first few laps until Knueven drafted by and Billy Lewis moved into second place. TJ Koyen (Merlin) was working his way toward the front and held off Lewis and Stewart for the win by just .078 seconds. Christian Vogel and Drake Ostrom rounded out the top five with Ostrom setting fast time at 1.05.669.

The final class racing on Saturday was the Triple E Sales Yamaha Sportsman Lite class. This class was chosen to use the “pea-pick” format for the day. David Malukus won both heats one and two and paced the 17-kart field at the start along side of Brandon Lemke. The front trio of Lemke, Malukus and Thayne Chapin pulled away from the pack to battle for the win. Malukus and Chapin drafted by Lemke near the end and Chapin (Birel/Adkins) moved to the point for the last few laps holding off Malukus and Lemke by .249 seconds. Becker Reardon and Kaleb Allison rounded out the top five with Malukus setting fast race lap at 1.15.312.

Following the finals on Saturday, a dinner sponsored by Ostrom Painting and Sandblasted was served at the NCMP restaurant for all in attendance. An awards presentation was held during dinner for the top-five in each class. First place received large eagle trophies and 2nd through fifth place received nice plaques.

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 Michael Geringer. The Route 66 Series also gave away hats, T-shirts and many more prizes at the driver’s meeting drawing. A moment of silence was observed in honor of the 9/11 victims as this date was the 10th anniversary of the attack on the World Trade Center and the Washington DC Pentagon.

The Kid Kart class kicked off the finals on Sunday and Ryder Cate picked up another win by finishing 18 seconds ahead of Jake Williams with Jena Rentmeister finishing third.

 

 

Next to race was the Komet Junior class sponsored by Haddock Limited combined with Komet Senior class, sponsored by Jet Karting. The Junior class started first paced by fast qualifier and pre-final winner Michael Goodyear and Darren Brubaker. The front pack of Austin Self, James Bennet, Goodyear and Derek Dignon had a tight battle all race long. Bennet (Birel) pulled off the win by just .074 seconds over Self followed by Goodyear, Dignon and Brubaker rounding out the top five. The Senior class was paced by fast qualifier and pre-final winner Patrick Olsen and Colton Ramsey. Ramsey grabbed the lead into turn one and led for a few laps until Olsen moved to the point. Drake Ostrom moved up to second about mid race. Olsen (Birel) held on for the win by .8 seconds over Ostrom followed by Ramsey, Kevin Bowler and Jimmy Clark.

The Ballistic Designs Komet Sportsman class final was up next. Pre-final winner and fast qualifier David Malukis paced the field along side of Garrett Moran. Brandon Lemke and Malukis put on a spirited battle for the lead all race long with Malukis (Birel) pulling off the win by just .019 seconds at the finish. Egan Shankleton, Alex Bertagnoli and Colton Peterson rounded out the top five with Malukis setting the fastest race lap at 1.13.358.

The next class racing, Yamaha Rookie Heavy sponsored by Switch Racing Engines gridded for their final led by pre-final winner and fast qualifier Luke Kohlbecker. Kohlbecker took the lead followed by Tommy Burke and Brendan Trent. Kohlbecker (Margay/Laukaitis) would gradually stretch out his lead to 7.98 seconds at the finish over Tommy Burke. Brendan Trent, Jamie Williams and Grayson Shankleton rounded out the top five in the next pack. Kohlbecker set the fastest race lap at 1.17.103 en route to his second class win in the Yamaha Rookie classes.

Next up was the TAG II Senior class sponsored by Kart Lift with 18 entries. Pre-final winner Billy Lewis paced the start and grabbed the lead followed by Cal Stewart and Jacob Knueven. Stewart worked his way past Lewis on lap five with Knueven still hanging in third as the front trio pulled away. Stewart (Merlin) was able to pull away a little on the final lap to take the win leaving Lewis and Knueven battling for second. On the final corner of the last lap, Lewis and Knueven tangled and spun into the grass handing second place to Christian Vogel with Adam Crepin and Kyle Sneed rounding out the top five. Three drivers were disqualified from this race for aggressive driving and unsportsmanlike behavior. Knueven set fastest race lap at 1.05.596.

The Yamaha Junior Lite class sponsored by Express Karts and Parts was up next with 22 entries. This class was chosen for the daily pea-pick racing format. Kenlen Morse won the first heat and Emerson Reed won the second heat. The front row of the final was paced by Michael Goodyear and Austin Self. Self grabbed the lead into turn two followed by Goodyear, Reed and Collin Griffin. Goodyear moved to the point on lap two with Reed moving into second. Reed moved to the lead on lap four with Self and Griffin close behind. The front trio stayed in this postion until the finish with Reed (Merlin) taking the win by .431 seconds over Self and Griffin. Goodyear and Anthony Granata rounded out the top five with Reed setting fastest race lap at 1.10.193.

Next up was the Comet Kart Sales Yamaha Supercan Heavy class paced by fast qualifier and pre-final winner Jimmy Clark and Drake Ostrom. Clark moved to the point at the start followed by Ostrom and Matthew Laukaitis. Clark (Merlin/Comet) gradually stretched his lead out to 5.2 seconds leaving Ostrom, Laukaitis, Adam Crepin and Colton Ramsey battling for second. The battle for second place saw a three wide finish with Laukaitis ahead of Crepin by just .019 seconds along with Ostrom just .054 back in fourth and Ramsey finishing in fifth. Clark ran the fastest race lap at 1.12.014.

The last final of the weekend was for the Two Cycle Engine Technologies Yamaha Sportsman Heavy class who gridded with 18 entries. Pre-final winner Brandon Lemke paced the field along side of Garret Moran. Four karts ended up spinning off the track in turn one at the start, but all were able to proceed. The front trio of Lemke, Moran and Thayne Chapin battled early in the race with David Malukas moving to the front at mid-race. At the finish, it was Lemke (Birel) holding off Moran by just .061 seconds followed by Chapin in third. Jordan Delphia and Riley Yates finished two seconds back in fourth and fifth. Moran set the fastest race lap at 1.15.607.

Merlin kart chassis captured the most wins over the weekend with six class final victories. Birel was second with five class final wins. Margay had three wins and Arrow had one win. For the complete race results, visit www.mylaps.com.

The final round of the 2011 season will be held at Mid-State Raceway near Springfield, IL on October 15 and 16. Practice will be available on the Friday prior to the event. 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. A big party is planned for the Saturday evening cookout with a live ZZ Top Cover band. For more information about Mid-State Raceway and reserved pit information, visit www.midstatekartclub.com. For more information about the Route 66 Sprint Series, visit www.route66kartracing.com.