Supernats XVI

We made the trip to Vegas to take in the SKUSA Supernationals XVI. Once again the SKUSA team pulled together the best shifter and tag drivers this sport has to offer and hosted a great event. This event always produces the best racing I've witnessed....year after year the event grows and is run with great attention to detail. The SKUSA team continues to make improvements to the event every year...racers and spectators alike agree that this is THE karting event of the year!

And who doesn't have a good time while they are in VEGAS!

2012 re-cap

Another year of racing is officially over. I want to thank my racing family and team for a great year. We had great results and some great memories through the season.

I am proud to have finished in a podium position at every track that we attended this year. Major 2012 highlights include:

2nd place finish at the Rock Island Grand Prix

1st place finishes at both Waterford Hills, and Grattan Raceway

2nd place finish at the inaugural Michigan International Speedway event

All of the great results would not be possible without the prep work and trackside support from Denny and Valerie.....along with the support from my wife!

I'm looking forward to a great 2013.

Birel CRY32-S5

The new S5 Birel has arrived!.....

CES 2013 Event Schedule

Mark your calendars now for the best series in the Midwest!!

MIS - Video

Here is a link to the full length video from Saturdays CIK125 race. As you can see, plenty of high speed drafting, passing and wheel to wheel battling. There were three of us that crossed the finish line together for the checkered flag with less than .5second between the three of us!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3n2-JavM2j8&feature=youtu.be

MIS

A great group of Karters took advantage of the opportunity to race at Michigan International Speedway this month. Great fall weather along with fresh pavement at MIS made for a great weekend of racing. I raced the CIK125 class both days, and the competition was fierce!
Great battles took place both days, with the finish on both days less than a second! I had great wheel to wheel battles, and drafting on the high banks of the speedway during some of the best racing of the season. The competition was tough, but clean racing both days made for a good time for everyone.

I finished 2nd place on both days after exchanging positions throughout the races. The TKZ stock Honda proved to be reliable and fast all weekend. I posted some of the fastest lap times of the event and turned speeds in excess of 110mph during the race!

The venue proved to be one of the best road racing events of the year. MKC did their best, and with improvements, should be ready to host again next year.

Michigan International Speedway

Gingerman Raceway

GingerMan Raceway is a private road-racing course situated on a 350-acre site. The original track is 1.88 miles long with the corner extension the track is now 2.14 miles, twisting left and right and up and down on the naturally rolling landscape. It simulates a country road, but without the risks to pedestrians and oncoming traffic and eliminates other hazards such as ditches, phone poles, trees and other objects. This relatively new facility was built on vacant farmland, which contained aged and past-their-prime apple and cherry orchards. The track layout was developed by Alan Wilson of Motorsports Development, Denver, Colorado, to take advantage of the natural terrain. Track grading and paving was done by Klett Construction Company, a local firm, using special polymerized asphalt material formulated to stand up to the stresses of racing and Michigan winters.

Gingerman Raceway

After a strong performance at the ROCK....The Karting Zone is ready to take on the picturesque layout of Gingerman Raceway in south west Michigan. The Championship Enduro Series wraps up their season at Gingerman, and I am looking forward to a large shifter class. I am signed up to race the CIK125 shifter class both Saturday and Sunday this weekend; September 15th and 16th.

It's been several years since we have taken on the Gingerman track, but I am ready for the challenge.

RIGP

Eric came from 12th starting spot to finish 2nd in the Shifter race and then finished in 4th place in the Tag Masters race. Good Job Eric Dad and Val

The ROCK

Next stop....The Rock Island Grand Prix.


Largest street race in North America

Waterford

Big WIN at Waterford Hills.

A huge THANK YOU goes out to Denny and Valerie for all of the prep work! We rolled the kart out of the trailer and it was spot on FAST.

Modified moto's, ICC's and stock Honda's were all no match for us that Saturday.

Waterford Hills - Michigan Kart Club

August 18th and 19th - Visit Waterford Hills for one of the best venues in Michigan for kart racing!

http://michkartclub.com/

TAG kart rental

Reserve your kart now for racing at Waterford Hills or Michigan International Speedway!

Karts are race ready, and proven winning packages. Set-up and tuning provided. You just DRIVE! It doesn't get any easier to get into a race winning package. Birel chassis powered by Rotax.

Email for details:
Info@thekartingzone.com

Grattan win

Here is what the front tire looked like at the end of the win at Grattan....I didn't have many laps left in that MG!!

Thanks to Jeff for this short video edit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zs6ItlD26YQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Big win at Grattan

Big win at Grattan Raceway!! A hard fought battle with some of the best shifter drivers in the Midwest! I took the win in the CIK125 class with a stock Honda after wheel to wheel racing, and a little bump drafting during a hot July day at Grattan Raceway. I posted the second fasted lap time of the race, and worked through some serious tire degregation to hang on for the win. This was my first win of the season, and I'm always glad to take a victory at Grattan.

Test day

Great test day at NCMP....and ready for the CES event at Grattan Raceway in July. Check out the new lid!! Thanks to:
http://www.censportgfx.com

CES Grattan Invitation

Mark your calendars for some GREAT shifter kart racing at Grattan Raceway!

WKA Grattan

Great weekend at Grattan Raceway. Dart Kart Club hosted the WKA event this year, and did a great job of keeping everything on time and running smooth.

The GFM TM project was a major fail! So I raced the faithful Honda in both, modified and stock shifter classes.

I raced hard in both classes....and my lap times were within tenths of the fastest kart on the track!

I battled to the lead in the stock Honda class....and held that position until the last lap. I was held up by a few slower karts and lost ground to second and third positions. I lost the lead to the second place kart....and realized as we made it around turn 10 toward the checkered flag that I had lost my chance at the win! I came across the line in second place.

My entry into the modified class with my stock Honda has impressive results, as I battles with the lead pack for most of the race. It was later in the race when I lost the draft from the leaders and fell settled into third place where I ultimately finished. This was an impressive result with the fact that my stock motor is short on HP compared to the rest of the classes modified motors.

Thanks to Hoosier tires for great traction through 120mins of hard racing!

It was great to see the paddock full again at Grattan. Racers were happy with the new surface, and the competition was great in all classes!


Next up -CES event back at Grattan Raceway!

Gofast Alden A3 pipe installed

Ready for WKA Grattan race....new pipe installed

Grattan test day

Everything is prepped and ready for our test day scheduled at Grattan Raceway April 14th. Ready to try some new parts...and get some great test laps in as we prep for the Regional WKA event.

TM KZ 3rd session

After a flawless 2nd session in the new TM, 3rd time revealed a second overlooked problem part that was in need of a drop of Loctite. Kart ran great once we secured the loose parts, super fast, great day....

Practice/test days like this remind me how critical pre-race preparation is to a successful race season.

TM KZ 1st session

Stator decided to take a solo ride. Hello RED Loctite! Problem solved....

Championship Enduro 2012 schedule

TM build

Final timing adjustments made...getting close to being complete with the KZ build

Michigan International Speedway

It is OFFICIAL. Michigan International Speedway will host a Michigan Kart Club event for 2012

MKC has worked very hard to secure a race date at MIS for this season. A major resurfacing project nears completion at MIS, most of the entire facility...which includes the infield road course, have all been freshly repaved. It has been many years since karts have competed at MIS, so this comes as great news for the racers in the area! The infield course will be close to 2miles in length, and incorporate almost half of the high banked oval. This layout should provide some great racing at high speeds. Spectators will enjoy the great MIS facilities as well as viewing opportunities not often found at typical kart tracks.

The race is scheduled for September 29th and 30th 2012. Stay tuned for details.

Kart Assembly

Seat installation and front end alignment. Thanks to RLV and TAGUSA for the exact-toe alignment tool! Careful attention to these two details is critical for kart handling later in the racing season. Details, details, details make the difference!

Off season preparations

Winter prep work under way....We are assembling, rebuilding, and preparing for the spring season. Plenty of work to be done. This is the time when critical preparation and planning is done to make weekends at the track much more successful.