"Burris Circle Tour closes season at Illiana Motor Speedway"
By John Nuttall
OCTOBER 7, 2001 - The Season Championship races for the Burris Circle Tour at Illiana Motor Speedway had all of the excitement these drivers have come to expect at the Midwest's premier kart racing series. The stage was set for the final event with Mr. Consistency, Joe Moser, coming into the double points race with a strong lead for the overall championship. However, Joe would need to do well to fend off the fast charging Jacob Humphrey and Ryan Rockhold. Ryan held the second place spot by the narrowest of margins over Jacob. Humphrey was coming off a big win at the Fall Classic at Lake Geneva Raceway.
The race, with 16 Sr. Lites, got off to a breath-holding start with the racers going 5 wide into turn one. The drivers got sorted out with Humphrey in the lead, Moser near the front and Rockhold in the middle of the pack. Richard McGill drove his best race of the season keeping the black #19 kart in the second position until mid-way through the race. Ricky Johns on patiently worked his way through the pack into fourth place, in a 3-way draft with Moser and McGill. Rockhold was focused on the win and made several passing attempts to move back into the top trio. He got by Johnson on the inside, but going into the final lap, Humphrey had enough of a lead to win the race and take over second spot in the championship standings. As the white flag dropped, the fans felt the sizzle of adrenalin as Rockhold took advantage of the smallest passing lane going under McGill on the back stretch, moving into third coming around the final turn. The final results for the race were Humphrey, Moser and Rockhold. Moser held on to the points lead for the overall series championship, Rockhold was second with a 5-point lead over Humphrey.
The action continued with the Jr. I's. Again, the season championship was on the line. In the Purple Shootout earlier in the day, Billy Hulbert extended his points lead over Adam Carlson. Tanner Bohlen, who won the Jr. 1 feature at the recent Fall Classic, has been coming on strong during the last half of the season, while Tyler Peterson and Jordan Thiel were locked in a point's battle for third place. There were 17 participants in Sunday's final event and it was anyone's to win or lose. Adam Carlson drove a smart race by getting out in front early and staying out of trouble. Tanner took advantage of a yellow flag and patient driving to move into third, then passing Hulbert for second place. Tyler Peterson had a tough race, first spinning around, and then later rubbing the wall. The equipment couldn't hold out any more, so Tyler had to pull out - opening the door for Jordan. Some new drivers to the tour had other plans though. #52, Matt O'Leary and Trevor Murrey driving the # 7 kart moved up to challenge the lead pack. At the victory stripe the top of the order was Carlson, Bohlen, Hulbert, Trevor Murrey and Mason Hadley. The results in the season points standings were Hulbert atop the standings, followed by Carlson in second and Peterson, Thiel and Bohlen in third through fifth - separated by a total of 15 points.
The final race for the Star Champs set up with Mike Slabenak only 15 points (or 3 positions) behind the leader Jack Benson. However, this was the season championship and the day had been full of surprises. Slabenak and Benson got off to an early lead. Brothers Mike and Mark Kuzniar got tangled up in turn one, taking Mike out of the race and throwing off the balance of Mark's kart. Then Slabenak's kart broke, dashing his hopes for the class championship and suddenly, Jason Krage's #5 kart was right up front. Krage drove right by Benson and started lengthening the lead - first one kart length, then another. In the closing laps, Krage went low around lapped traffic and Benson maintained the high line setting up a perfect pass in turn 3. Benson got renewed life and held on for the win. Benson finished in the top spot for the season, Slabenak was second, Johnathan Foster, Jason Krage and Mark Kuzniar finished third through fifth respectively.
Anthony Danta wrapped up his campaign by winning both the Medium and Heavy races showing why he deserved the top spot for the season in both classes. The Medium race was an action packed event with Jesse Fox, Jay Gough and Joe Veyette all making a strong showing. Danta beat out Mike Fox and Bob Chatten in the Heavy class.
Denise Kruse continued her winning ways by rousting the guys in the 4-Cycle Sportsman class. In her second year of racing, Denise worked her way through the field taking the lead mid-way through the race. Scott Henry made a strong showing in second, followed by Ron Garrard and J.J. Adams.
Jr. III action was as tight as always, with the battle of the #7 karts once again at the front. Matt Atkinson in the white #7 lead from start to finish and Jeff Everts in the silver #7 was a close second. The two young drivers have been putting on a show for the crowd all season long. Jimmy Johnson and Brian Frieberg diced back and forth during the entire race with their respective fan clubs on their feet in the final laps. Jimmy Johnson took the third spot for the day and Brain Freiberg finished fourth. For the season, Everts, the 2000 Overall Champion, took home the class championship, Atkinson was second and Johnson and Frieberg tied for third.
Jake Morgan won the Yamaha Lite race besting Al Wagner and Dustin Colmbi in a tight battle. Eric Frieberg, who went out with mechanical problems early in the race had enough of a cushion to win the Class Championship. Jake Mogan was second for the year and Joe Kliem, Kelly Mandarino and Seth Lootans finsihed third through fifth.
Clay Kliem topped off a very successful season with another victory and the Jr. Yamaha Class Championship. Jessica Brannam drove a strong second after finishing in first at the Championship Enduro series earlier in the day and you thought Tony Steward was special. Clint won the third place trophy in his strongest finish since moving up from the Kid Kart class mid-season. Brian Ellis, Carly Mandarino and Amanda Preo rounded out the field.
In Jr. Champ Kart action, Gina Mooi and Mickey Kudlicki were nose-to-tail with Gina taking the win and the class championship. Nick O'Dell was second for the season and Mickey was third. Jeremy Johnson drove his inaugural Circle Tour event in the Jr. Sportsman Champ class beating out a strong field including class champion Frank James Slabenak and Kristopher Schmidt.
If you like fast, competitive racing focused on fairness and family fun, plan to join the 2002 Burris Circle Tour. Check the Circle Tour website at www.karts.net/burriscircle in the off-season for schedules, classes and upcoming events. Congratulations to all of the racers and thanks to the families and staff for the best season ever. See you all again next year!
