This past weekend, the Route 66 Sprint Series Presented by MG Tires and Franklin Motorsports opened the season at the New Castle Motorsports Park in New Castle, Indiana. Although rain was predicted for Saturday, none showed up during the race day, however the wind was constant all weekend, but at least the sun prevailed for Sunday. There were an impressive 164 entries on Saturday and 165 on Sunday, which is right on par with the 2016 turnout. With other race series seemingly struggling, the Route 66 Series seems to keep chugging right along.
The Saturday morning driver’s meeting concluded with the distribution of door prizes provided by the Series and our sponsors. A Napoleon grill, several sets of MG tires, and PKT Axles Certificates were some of the prizes handed out to racers.
There was great racing throughout the weekend, and for the first time, the PA audio was broadcast live via the Series website at www.www.route66kartracing.com/live. You could also listen via the Mixlr app on mobile devices by Following the Route66KartRacing channel. Recordings of the audio have been uploaded to www.mixlr.com and can be located on the Route66KartRacing channel.
Comet Kart Sales sponsored the race weekend and the great chicken dinner for everyone on Saturday night. As the winds had gotten pretty hairy, we did the podium presentation inside the restaurant and it was packed, but still a good time was had by all.
Although numerous penalties were issues over the weekend for dislodged nosecones, the racers began to figure it out by Sunday, and the positive response was overwhelming. The process was refined for this event and it was well received. Even better, not a single red flag was displayed all weekend and the on-site ambulance never moved. And while there were a couple crashes on the opening laps, there was only one wreck on the start of a race, which traditionally was a problem. Track configuration #29 was used and it featured the Bus Stop on the final straightaway, which led to some spectacular last lap pass attempts, with some even going partially through the grass.
The next outing for the Route 66 Sprint Series will be June 16-18 at MRP in North Liberty, IN.
| Saturday Final Top 5 by Class | |
| Hollywood Crane Service Comer Kidkart1. Levi Copass
2. Ava Hanssen 3. Sarah Bradley – Quick Qualifier 4. Brayden Zirves 5. Parker Garrigus |
SSC Racing IAME Bambino Kidkart1. Peter Garrigus
2. Wyatt Kessinger – Quick Qualifier 3. Brayden Zirves 4. Ava Hanssen 5. Charlie Bradbury |
| RLV Yamaha Senior1. Brandon Lemke
2. Alexander Kardashian 3. Dakota Pesek 4. Killian Keavney 5. Michael Paterno Carter Pease – Quick Qualifier |
Merlin Racing Karts IAME x30 Senior1. Armin Cavcusic
2. Mick Gabriel 3. Alexander Kardashian 4. Cal Stewart – Quick Qualifier 5. Jacob Abel |
| KartCraft LLC X30 Junior1. Matthew Northrop – Quick Qualifier
2. Maks Kowalski 3. Aiden Harrington 4. James Lynch 5. Collin Neal |
Wolter Racing Engines Yamaha Junior1. James Lynch
2. Zack Pretorius – Quick Qualifier 3. Jack Dorsey 4. Matthew Mockabee 5. Aidan Harrington |
| Williams Racing Engines Yamaha Rookie1. Ava Dutton – Quick Qualifier
2. Kasey Williams 3. Hunter Pruitt 4. Ashton Henckel 5. Aryton Grimm |
Comet Kart Racing IAME Micro Swift1. Elliot Cox – Quick Qualifier
2. Cameron Brinkman 3. Dane Sensel 4. Sean Dixon 5. Logan Julien |
| Allison Racing Engines IAME Mini Swift1. Logan Adams
2. Garrett Adams 3. Adam Maxwell 4. Sam Hinds 5. Keegan Bosch Lucas Smalec – Quick Qualifier |
L&T Clutches Yamaha Cadet1. Sam Hinds
2. Adam Maxwell 3. Logan Adams – Quick Qualifier 4. Garrett Adams 5. Cameron Christ |
| Sunday Final Top 5 by Class | |
| Hollywood Crane Service Comer Kidkart1. Levi Copass
2. Ava Hanssen 3. Brayden Zives 4. Sarah Bradley – Quick Qualifier 5. Levi Smith |
SSC Racing IAME Bambino Kidkart1. Ava Hanssen
2. Sarah Bradley – Quick Qualifier 3. Wyatt Kessinger 4. Parker Garrigus 5. Brayden Zirves |
| RLV Yamaha Senior1. Dakota Pesek
2. Alexander Kardashian 3. Brandon Lemke – Quick Qualifier 4. Steven Dial 5. PJ Lyda |
Merlin Racing Karts IAME x30 Senior1. Josh Hotz
2. Billy Lewis 3. Alexander Kardashian 4. Lane Vacala 5. Abby McLaughlin Mick Gabriel – Quick Qualifier |
| KartCraft LLC X30 Junior1. Kayden Wharff
2. Tahlon Yockel 3. James Lynch 4. Matthew Northrop 5. Matthew Mockabee – Quick Qualifier |
Wolter Racing Engines Yamaha Junior1. Zack Pretorius – Quick Qualifier
2. Jack Dorsey 3. Aidan Harrington 4. James Lynch 5. Zach Della |
| Williams Racing Engines Yamaha Rookie1. Addison Ianniello
2. Ashton Henckel 3. Cameron Brinkman 4. Dane Van Dyck 5. Aryton Grimm Ava Dutton – Quick Qualifier |
Comet Kart Racing IAME Micro Swift1. Elliot Cox – Quick Qualifier
2. Indy Ragan 3. Ryker Mattes 4. Sean Dixon 5. Dane Sensel |
| Allison Racing Engines IAME Mini Swift1. Garrett Adams – Quick Qualifier
2. Adam Maxwell 3. Logan Maxwell 4. Lucas Smalec 5. Keegan Bosch |
L&T Clutches Yamaha Cadet1. Garrett Adams
2. Sam Hinds – Quick Qualifier 3. Adam Maxwell 4. Bryce Mersberger 5. Conner Churchill |
