The Route 66 Sprint Series, presented by MG Tires and Franklin Motorsports, opened its 2019 campaign on April 26-28 at the popular New Castle Motorsports Park (NCMP). KartLift Kart Stands was on board as the sponsor for the first weekend of the five-event series. NCMP ran practice Friday from Noon to 6pm under mixed weather conditions.

The Route 66 staff took over Saturday morning and held three complete rounds of practice, which really benefitted those competitors who were unable to take off work or school to participate in the Friday practice sessions. Following practice was the Drivers Meeting, where racers were introduced to the series staff and briefed on any important rules and procedures pertaining to the event. The meeting concluded with the distribution of door prizes, which included numerous Pelican coolers, grills, and more, courtesy of the series and its sponsors.

Saturday morning qualifying took place under dry conditions, but the rain came early in the afternoon and stayed for the rest of the day. Plenty of good rain racing ensued as a large front moved through the area, causing conditions to flip from light rain to heavy and back throughout the afternoon. Sunday featured windy, but sunny conditions, which were welcomed as the grounds and pit areas had been saturated by unseasonably wet conditions. The DeepSeat Victory Lane podium presentations capped off the race weekend, with the top 5 in each class receiving an award.

Full race results can be viewed by visiting www.route66kartracing.com and clicking on the “results” link.  Additionally, the PA audio from all competition sessions was broadcast live on Mixlr and the recordings can be accessed by visiting the “showreel” section.

Rule Change Updates:

Several rule changes were in effect for Rounds 1 & 2, and based on popular response, will be continued on from this point forward. Rain tires no longer need to be checked-in prior to competition and chassis no longer need to be presented for banding at Pre-Tech (competitors band their own chassis). Also, the Push Back Bumper penalties were reduced and will remain that way for the next event.