Prater outlasts the competition in Round #4 of SSC Pro Shifter Series at Putnam Park
Story by Marc Miller
MT. MERIDIAN, IN - Round four of the SSC Pro Shifter Series at Putnam Park Raceway found another furious battle for the top spot with the eventual winner, Clayton Prater, winning the battle of mechanical attrition to take his first Pro win of the season.
The Sunday morning qualifying session saw Todd Jurs (Birel/Honda) putting in a quick lap to sit on the point. He was followed by Kevin Heatter (Trackmagic / Honda), Saturday's MG Tires CES Formula S1 race winner, Marc Miller (TonyKart / TM) in third and the SSC Pro Shifter Series points leader, Tim Koutny (Fox / Honda), would line up alongside in fourth. Indianapolis driver, Chris Wright (Trackmagic / Honda) would hold the fifth position.
At the start of the 25-minute race a group of ten karts shuffled for position. Tim Koutny wasn't able to complete a lap as he retired with a blown head gasket giving Miller a great chance to close in the point standings.
The early leader was the pole-sitter, Todd Jurs, who looked very comfortable in the front. Within a few laps, Miller looked like he wanted to be in the second position and after a few laps, the group led by Miller, closed back up on the rear bumper of Jurs. The lead pack now consisted of Jurs, Miller, Heatter, Prater, Erik Winberg, Chris Wright, Patrick Burke, Derrick Roderweiss and Jon Kettlewell. On lap five, Roderweiss got into the side of Burke, sending Burke straight into the fast turn-10 tire barrier. That would end Burke's day with a severely broken machine. By lap seven the lead group had been narrowed to four drivers with Jurs, Miller, Heatter and Prater able to pull away from the rest of the field. Each driver took turns at the front though Jurs, running consistently quick laps looked comfortable in the lead.
Attrition was taking its toll as mechanical failures took many of the front-runners, one by one, out of the race. Chris Wright and Erik Winberg both went out on the same lap with engine problems. Miller went out on lap 13 with a broken motor mount, spoiling his chances of coming away from Putnam Park with the points lead. Kevin Heatter severely blistered his left front tire and went out on lap fifteen. Race leader, Todd Jurs, blew a head gasket and pulled off after all his water sprayed out on the same lap.
Clayton Prater, running in the top five the entire race, was left alone as the leader and was able to hold off for the victory. A charging two-kart draft of Roderweiss (Biesse / Honda) and Kettlewell (G.P. / Honda) closed the gap considerably but fell short by .439 of a second at the line.
The SSC Pro Shifter Series will venture to Gateway International Raceway, in Madison, IL on July 29 for Round #5 of the series. Last year, the wide open track layout of Gateway made drafting a must and ten-wide action possible for some last lap darts for the finish line. The racing action promises to be the same this year as the competition at the front of the pack has been fierce all season.
OFFICIAL RESULTS:
POS: DRIVER: CHASSIS/ENGINE/ENGINE BUILDER/TIRES: QUAL: TIME:
1.) Clayton Prater Trackmagic / Honda / Bellew / MG 6 1:13.266
2.) Derrick Roderweiss Biesse / Honda / Not Available / MG 14 1:14.114
3.) Jonathan Kettlewell G.P. / Honda / Bellew / MG 8 1:14.039
4.) Lance Lane Trackmagic / Honda / CKT / MG 11 1:14.991
5.) Rob Bult Not Available 12 1:16.493
6.) Dave Engle Trackmagic / Honda / Rocket / MG 13 no time
7.) Todd Jurs Birel / Honda / Barros / MG 1 1:11.881
8.) Kevin Heatter Trackmagic / Honda / Barros / MG 2 1:12.519
9.) Marc Miller TonyKart / TM Moto 125 / PSL / MG 3 1:12.549
10.) Brian Reimer Trackmagic / Honda / Barros / MG 10 1:14.819
11.) Erik Winberg P.C.R. / Honda / Northstar / MG 7 1:13.710
12.) Chris Wright Trackmagic / Honda / ShiftwerX / MG 5 1:13.130
13.) Patrick Burke Trackmagic / Honda / Barros / MG 9 1:14.545
14.) T.J. Koutny Fox / Honda / Rocket / MG 4 1:12.923
