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| Kiker Wins Heartland Park as J. Haghighi moves into First Place | ||||
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Race One Another Blistering hot day was in store for the USSK Members as the Heat Index surged past 110 Degrees Fahrenheit to 116 (47 Celsius). To give the readers an idea of how hot it truly was; The optimum operating temperature range for 250 engines is about 120 Degrees Fahrenheit, so ambient temperature was just below what we strive to race the engines at. The start of Race One saw one of the tightest packed and cleanest starts ever with Andy Kiker, Jayce Haghighi and John West going three wide towards turn one, Andy Tucked behind John and Jayce took the fastest line thru the turn, with Scott Fiesler and Jim Russell Jr. coming thru behind rounding out the top five. The first few laps were led by Jayce Haghighi until Andy was able to overtake him and hold him off thru the checkered. Jim Russell Jr kept pushing Scott Fiesler threatening to take third place, however, Scott continued to close the door on him holding on to third. Johnny West, still suffering from fuel issues, rounded out the top five. J.R. Osborn, current point’s leader, was unable to attend Heartland Park due to a schedule conflict with the SCCA at Road America. In the S2 class Mark Croslyn took the win edging him closer in the points to current point’s leader Bobby Butler who was unable to make the race due to the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill. With Donnie Souter hot on his heals the S2 class is still up for grabs. Joey West, the sole entry in the F-125, race was cut short due to a short in the ignition coil. Practice on Sunday opened up with much cooler temperature, relatively speaking, with heat indexes in the low 90’s. While Johnny West sorted out his fuel issues, Andy, Jayce, Scott and Jim focused on minor modifications, looking for an edge to take the win. Race two opened up again with Andy, Jayce and Johnny going three wide towards turn one, and again Jayce took the fast line stuffing Andy behind John with Scott and Jim rounding out the top five. The five raced together for several laps before Andy and Jayce started to pull away from the pack. Johnny while going over 2 seconds a lap faster than his qualifying time was unable to continue the pace and Scott and Jim opened distance. Again Andy over took Jayce about halfway thru the race. Jayce kept him honest the entire time pushing to retake the lead. They came down the front straight on the final lap nose to nose with Andy taking the win by .2 seconds in an exciting conclusion of the S1 race. Scott was able to fend off continued attempts by Jim forcing Jim to settle for fourth with Johnny securely in fifth rounding out the top five. In S2, Mark Croslyn dominated the S2 class taking first place after lapping the class. Donnie Souter and Mike Payne (who was misclassified) rounded out the podium. Troubles continued for Joey West in the F-125 as he pulled into the pits after only 6 laps to find his spark plug was broken, ending his weekend early. Even still, after this race, he has locked up the points for First Place in the F-125 class. With Heartland Park completed, the USSK now looks to Round Four at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The Race will be held with the National Auto Sport Association (NASA) on July 23-25*. We look forward to racing with you there! Joseph L. West *Round Four at Mid-Ohio with NASA is a replacement race as Bluegrass was canceled. Entry forms are available now at www.theussk.com. Please note: you MUST pre-enter for this race. Entry forms and payments are due by July 16. The USSK is working currently to accept both PayPal online payments as well as Credit Card payments to make pre-entry fast and simple. As an additional incentive the USSK is waving the annual membership fee for this race only! |
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Jayce Haghighi Takes Texas! By Joseph West |
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The USSK opened Texas World Speedway with the South West Racing Association (SWRA) welcoming its newest members, Jim Russell Jr with Russell Karting Specialties, Inc, Arnold Bodenheimer, Darryl Bertram and Dale McCollum. As always the SWRA did a fantastic job hosting the race and a special Thank You goes to them, you really are some of the best people to race with. The track conditions were in a word, bumpy. There were several failures due to how rough the track was, from broken frames to electrical wiring. Many USSK drivers commented on how they loved the layout but wished the track itself was smoother though some of the turns and transitions. Rumor has it that the Track Owners are working on repaving some of the rougher sections, which will be greeted with much applause when it is completed. Friday Practice opened with clear skies and decent weather. With the USSK Members tuning their Superkarts and preparing for qualifying later on the weekend was looking good. Qualifying opened at 4:00pm which saw J.R. Osborn set the fast time at 1:41.7 for the S1 class, Donnie Souter (Souter/GasGas) recorded a 1:56.2 for the S2 class, David Lirette (Nemisis/CR450) set the mark for the SS class as 1:55.3 and Joey West (MSR/Pavesi) had fast time in the F-125 class with a 2:16.6. Saturdays practice saw overcast skies and the threat of rain. With J.R. Osborn (P1/GasGas) at pole and Scott Fiesler (PVP/GasGas) next to him on the grid they started the parade lap. When the green flag dropped, the action began. Going 3 wide into turn 1 Jayce Haghighi (Anderson/GasGas), Johnny West (Anderson/Honda RS 250) and J.R. Osborn fought for first, with Jayce winning the fight. While Jayce and JR continued to battle for First with J.R. edging out Jayce, the man on the move was Jim Russell Jr. (Anderson/GasGas). After struggling with wiring which kept breaking due to track conditions, Jim Russell Jr. in West Racing’s GasGas package went from 15th on the grid to 5th place in 2 laps. He continued his pursuit overtaking Scott Fiesler and Johnny West for Third place which he held onto to reach the podium. Jim’s run through the field wasn’t the only great showing in racing this day. Bobby Butler (Anderson/PVP) in his new Viper built package showed the S2 class that he is going to be the man to beat. Donnie Souter, Marc Croslyn (PVP/GasGas) and Mike McAlister (Anderson/GasGas) raced together switching positions several times between the three. Brad Cain (Nemisis/CR450) and Arnold Bodenheimer (Anderson/CR450) raced nose to tail for the entire race when Brad made a beautiful move to pass Arnold for the win and Joey West and Darryl Bertram (Anderson/CR250) diced the entire time with Darryl taking the checkered by .6 seconds. Dale McCollum continued his shake down of his custom built 4stroke and kart and is confident in with a few more test sessions he will have it all sorted out. Sunday was mired by rain all day long. Due to this everyone put on their rain tires and prepared to race in the rain. With the grid lined up, it was clear the rain was affecting almost everyone. A slight mist during the race and the wet track made for interesting racing. Jayce took the lead and held onto it for the entire race while Jim pressed him from behind. They opened up a 12 second lead on the rest of the field as Scott Fiesler cut his way thru to third place. The closest battle of the race goes to J.R. Osborn and Johnny West who were in competition for 4th place. Johnny in 5th chased down J.R. Osborn in 4th catching him with 3 laps to go. After dicing back and forth the two drivers came across the finish line .02 seconds apart with Johnny edging out JR at the finish line for a spectacular photo finish. Final Podium placements are as follows S1 Class Jayce Haghighi Jim Russell Jr. Scott Fiesler S2 Class Bobby Butler Marc Croslyn Donnie Souter SS Class Brad Cain David Lirette Arnold Bodenheimer F-125 Class Joey West With last years ICE Champion Andy Kiker and 3rd place F/E winner Jimmy “Santa” Brannon missing out they will need to be on top of their game to keep up in the points standings. F-125 drivers Dennis Bernier, Harry West and Rich “The Doc” were in attendance for Friday Practice but due to circumstances beyond their control they had to leave early. Next up is Heartland Park in Topeka Kansas with the good folks of KART on June 25-27! We look forward to another great race and more stiff competition going into this race. With the points standings tightening up it’s still anyone’s season! |
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Round 2 of the USSK 2010 Season approaches. By: Joey West |
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The USSK will open the 2010 season once again with the good people of the Southwestern Roadracing Association (SWRA) on April 16, 17 and 18 at Texas World Speedway. On the 2.9 mile course the action picks up where the Bonus Race at Road Atlanta left off. With J.R. Osborn, Mark Croslyn and Joey West with slight leads on points in the S1, S2 and F-125 classes respectively, everyone is preparing to get a good start of the year. Recently making waves in the community: Sponsor Jim Russell Jr. from Russell Karting has made arrangements with Johnny West to drive his new Anderson/GasGas for the season while Johnny continues to drives his Anderson/RS. J.R. Osborn appears to have taken the time to go to a wind tunnel to help perfect his new carbon fiber bodywork. Bobby Butler has upped the ante. With the acquisition of Trevor Roberts’ Viper built Anderson/PVP he is priming himself to give fits to the competition. Mark Croslyn, seeing the reliably and consistency of the GasGas has opted to make the move and is sporting a GasGas on his PVP chassis. Jim Brannon is reported to be shopping around for a new chassis and engine package as well, however, at this time no one at Freewheeling is saying which direction he could be going. Joey West says he will continue to use a TM for his F-125, but reports say he has a Pavasi that’s ready to go. Jayce Haghighi is said to have a new Anderson/GasGas for this season. Donnie Souter has a newly built Souter/GasGas that is reported to be “substantially lighter”. Ardy Sadeghi purchased Andy Kikers’ Anderson/GasGas that won the USSK I/CE 2008 class at Road Atlanta and has worked the kinks out of the setup. With all this and more, things are just starting to rev up. Come on out and join the USSK and SWRA at Texas World Speedway. Bring your friends and family to watch The Biggest Bang for Your Buck in racing! |
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USSK to race with the SCCA PRO at VIR! By Joey West |
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On September 10, 2010 the United States Super Karts (USSK) will be meeting at Virginia International Raceway (VIR) for the final race weekend of the season. Not only will VIR play the backdrop for what is looks to be shaping up for a stellar season, something more is happening. Fifty (50) Superkart drivers will have the chance of a lifetime come September. You see, on September 10, 2010 the USSK will not be the only ones at VIR. They will be sharing the spot light with the Sports Car Club of America’s (SCCA) World Cup Challenge! With tens of thousands in attendance 50 drivers will show what Superkarts are all about. Using VIR’s 4.2 mile Long track, you can have the opportunity to do what so few drivers ever get the chance to do; and that is race in front of spectators. In addition, The World Cup Challenge will be aired on Versus on September 26, 2010. This means 50 Superkart drivers will have the opportunity to get national televised exposure. At this time it is unknown how much, if any, air time will be allotted to the Superkarts, however, the opportunity is there. The USSK has worked diligently to promote Superkarting, and has succeeded in securing a great venue and opportunity. Get your 250 F/E, I/CE or F-125 Superkart and join the USSK in a full grid of 50 karts and let’s show the world why Superkarts are the biggest bang for the buck! Go to http://www.theussk.com for rules, entry and membership and more details as they become available! We look forward to racing with you and being part of this phenomenal experience. |
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Road Atlanta 2009 | |||
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After being doused by Mother Nature Friday and Saturday, the USSK
competitors were eager to get onto the track Sunday when practice began.
It consisted of three rounds of practice with the final round being the
qualifier for the first race of the 2010 season. As people sorted out issues in the minimal time making adjustments the qualifing session came about quickly. With JR Osborne the clear leader with a fast time of 1:26.8 and 2nd through 6th place within 1 second of each other, tension for the race began to mount. During the Qualifying session Andy Kiker’s transponder was not working. Due to this, he was required to start at the rear of the pack for the race. From the drop of the green flag to the wave of the checkered JR Osborne dominated the field. With fast laps of 1:26.2 he was clear and gone. Andy Kiker, despite starting at the rear of the field, within three laps moved from last place and firmly grasped a hold of 2nd place. Scott Feisler, Chad Dokken and Guido Stefen (in Jim Ingrim's Gas Gas) ran hard together for the entire race, swapping third place between them several times as they round out the top five finishers in the S1 class. Juergen Reinke (in John West's RS Honda), like JR Osborne, was clear and gone in the S2 class. With fast laps of 1:29.6 he out paced second place by 6 seconds a lap before the radiator shroud brackets broke on lap 18 causing a cooling issue. Not wanting to tempt fate, he pulled into the pits allowing Mark Croslyn to snatch up the first place spot with Bobby Butler, Donnie Souter, Juergen Reinke and Mike Payne rounding out the top five S2 finishers. Brad Cain, in the SS Class showed determination to keep pushing even though no others raced in his class. During the parade lap, Dennis Bernier’s engine loaded up and he was forced out of the race prior to the start giving the F125 race to Joey West. |
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