Drama and heartbreak show up for Burris Circle Tour at Rockford Speedway By John Nuttall ROCKFORD, IL (July 21, 2002) - Midway through the season, five racers in three different classes have a real shot at the overall Burris Circle Tour Championship, the Midwest's Premier Speedway Kart Series. The Midseason Championship races at Rockford (Illinois) Speedway were full of drama, close wins, new feature winners and heartbreak for some of the traditional front-runners. The winner of each feature race receives 5 points for every kart that he/she beats for the day. This means that the overall Champion has beat the more karts over the course of the season than anyone else. Depending on the size of each class, the points will often change by as much as 50 each race. With 5 karts currently within 30 points of each other, the Championship is up for grabs. The top karts in Jr. 3 are all running for the top spot in the class and the overall championship. Billy Hulbert lead the field from start to finish, Adam Carlson ran in second place and finished just one spot ahead of Jeff Everts. Jordon Thiel made a smooth inside pass on Tanner Bohlen with 5 laps to go and finished fourth. These results put the overall championship points in a dead heat at 470 points with Everts and Carlson atop the leader board. Rich McGill loves the high-banked corners at the Rockford Speedway. Rich won the Burris Twin 50's a few weeks ago, but Ryan Rockhold and Jake Humphrey had other ideas for today. Rockhold jumped right on McGill's bumper to take advantage of the draft on this hot, breezy Sunday. In the last lap, Rockhold moved to the outside to pull along side of McGill and was within inches of McGill at the stripe. Jake Humphrey, who had been part of the lead pack finished one kart length back in third. Jake drops out of the lead for the overall points lead and is now in third with 465 points and McGill is in fourth with 455 points overall - just 15 points behind the leaders. Alex Stumpf took home his first feature of the year, beating his brother Ben by just a few inches. Most of the race was a repeat of weeks past with the two brothers pulling away from the rest of the field in a tight draft. This week, there was a different result. Ben tried the usual move of lining up to take the lead on the final straight a way. Alex wanted nothing to do with that program, picked a perfect line and held on for the win. The second group was very competitive with Dylan Hobbs, Ross Kenseth, Tyler Peterson and Aaron Katzenberg all using a different strategy - some drafting, some passing inside, some passing outside. These drivers are improving every week and are looking forward to the 7th Annual Purple Shootout on September 22nd. Ben Stumpf is currently in fifth place overall with 450 points. The Junior Champ Karts put on an amazing show all day. Matt Vice won the first heat race and Michael Bilderback won the second race. In the feature race, 12 laps into the race, there were four different leaders and the top 5 karts were within just a couple of kart lengths. Matt Vice finally pulled away with Ryan Marshall on his tail. Halfway through the final lap, Ryan made an awesome pass to the outside and set up for the final turn. He held on for his first feature of the year. Matt Vice was second, Mickey Kudlicki finished third and Michael Bilderback and Brian Freiberg rounded out the top 5. Carly Mandarino, Trevor Raisbeck and Clay Kliem in the Jr. Yamaha class were the best races of the day from start to finish. The three young drivers are evenly matched. In the first heat race there were six lead changes in the ten-lap race. Carly worked her way to the front early in the feature to let Clay and Trevor fight it out for second and third. Carly is building a commanding points lead and she will be hard to catch. The Sr. Medium was a replay of days gone by with veteran drivers Jay Gough and Joe Veyette out in front of this increasingly competitive class. Early in the race, Veyette held the lead, then Brandon Eash took over the top spot. Gough made the pass, only to lose the lead to Veyette. Gough, not to be outdone, took the lead for the final time with 7 laps to go. Brandon Eash, Chris McCarty and Eric Freiberg were racing for position in a pack a few karts back. With just 2 laps to go, Freiberg's kart had mechanical trouble and Chris held on for her best showing of the year in third. Brandon Eash currently leads the point's race in Sr. Medium, and Kris McCarty took over the lead in the Short Series Championship points from Freiberg. In other action, Michael Martin, Jr. took home the first place trophy in Jr. Sportsman Champ. Mackenzie Piller and Colton Clevenger were side-by-side for second and third. Nicole Phillips almost pulled a victory out in the Star Champs, but Mike Slabenak had the preferred line going into the final corner and passed Nicole in the last few feet to take the win. Jay Gough won the Yamaha Sportsman Lite class. Eric Freiberg, Joe Kliem, and Kelly Madarino rounded out the Yamaha field. Denise Kruse won her second feature in as many outings in the 4-Cycle Sportsman class with Joe Chiapetta and J.J. Adams finishing second and third respectively. The next stop on the Burris Circle Tour is at the New Illiana Motor Speedway August 4th. The Star Champs will be featured in the 2nd Annual Star Champ Kart Classic. RACE RESULTS (July 21, 2002 - Rockford Speedway: Kid Kart: 1.)Travis Sabata, 2.) Derrick Gough, Roscoe, IL, 3.) Caylie Duncanson, DePere, WI, 4.) Blaz Daul, Shicoton, WI, 5.) Joseph Mandarino, Glen Ellyn, IL, 6.) Jordan Jagielski, Burlington, WI, 7.) Jacob Zellmer, Eagle, WI, 8.) Jake Thorne, Male Pack, IL, Sr. Lite: 1.) Richard McGill, Chicago, IL, 2.) Ryan Rockhold, Tremont, IL, 3.) Jacob Humphrey, Lake Geneva, WI, 4.) Shane Morrissey, Cuba City, WI, 5.) A.J. Morgan, Darien, IL, 6.) Joey Johnson, Slinger, WI, 7.) Ricky Johnson, Lincolnshire, IL, 8.) Brandon Eash, Rockford, IL, 9.) Mike Kann, Arlington Heights, IL Jr. I Lite (Purple): 1.) Alex Stumpf, Menasha, WI, 2.) Ben Stumpf, Menasha, WI, 3.) Dylan Hobbs, Sterling, IL, 4.) Ross Kenseth, Little Chute, WI, 5.) Tyler Peterson, Lake Gevena, WI, 6.) Aaron Katzenberg, Pell Lake, WI, 7.) Corey Domenick, Lombard, IL, 8.) Mickey Kudlicki, Glendale Heights, IL, 9.) Nick Beinlich, 10.) Patrick McCarty, Kankakee, IL, 11.) Cody Potter, Pell Lake, WI, 12.) Tyler Middleton, E. Hazel Crest, IL, 13.) Bryan Deutsch, Burlington, WI, 14.) Tommy Colson, 15.) Kyle Beno, Lansing, IL, 16.) Sawyer Effertz, Kimbery, WI 4-Cycle Sportsman: 1.) Denise Kruse, Bridgeview, IL, 2.) Joe Chiapetta, Downers Grove, IL, 3.) J.J. Adams, Wonder Lake, IL, 4.) Sean Duncanson, DePere, WI, 5.) Lisa Guess, S. Elgin, IL, 6.) Rob Blake, Glen Ellyn, IL, 7.) Dean Daul, Shiocton, WI Sr. Medium: 1.) Jay Gough, Roscoe, IL, 2.) Joe Veyette, Indianapolis, IL, 3.) Kris McCarty, Kankakee, IL, 4.) Brandon Eash, Rockford, IL, 5.) Chris Lishamer, Elgin, IL, 6.) Amy Ghislain, Twin Lakes, WI, 7.) Brian Claeyssen, 8.) Mike Hall, 9.) Eric Freiberg, Lockport, IL, 10.) Randy Jones, Rockford, IL Jr. Yamaha: 1.) Carly Mandarino, Glen Ellyn, IL, 2.) Clay Kliem, Elgin, IL, 3.) Trevor Raisbeck, Madison, WI, 4.) Clint Kliem, Elgin, IL Jr. Sportsman Champ Kart: 1.) Michael Martin, Crown Point, IN, 2.) Mackenzie Piller, Dixon, IL, 3.) Colton Clevenger, Cherry Valley, IL, 4.) Dylan Barbosa, Yorkville, IL, 5.) Jessica Kudlicki, Glendale Heights, IL Jr. III Lite (Gold): 1.) Billy Hulbert, Chanahon, IL, 2.) Adam Carlson, Lisle, IL, 3.) Jeff Everts, Channahon, IL, 4.) Jordon Thiel, Appelton, WI, 5.) Tanner Bohlen, Hortenville, WI, 6.) Mason Hadley, Channahon, IL, 7.) Nick Chiapetta, Downers Grove, IL, 8.) Jimmy Johnson, Lincolnshire, IL, 9.) Peter Byrne, Shullsburg, WI, 10.) Nick Miller, Freeport, IL, 11.) Amanda Lishamer, Elgin, IL, 12.) Matthew Atkinson, Morris, IL, 13.) Zach Axlen, Sheboygan, WI Star Champ Kart: 1.) Mike Slabenak, Jr., Cicero, IL, 2.) Nicole Phillips, Sycamore, IL, 3.) Jim Maher, Cicero, IL, 4.) Jay Walker Jr. Champ Kart: 1.) Ryan Marshall, Kanasasville, WI, 2.) Matt Vice, Woodale, IL, 3.) Mickey Kudlicki, Glendale Heights, IL, 4.) Michael Bilderback, S. Beloit, IL, 5.) Brian Freiberg, Lockport, IL, 6.) Matt Scott, St. Charles, IL Yamaha Sportsman Lite: 1.) Jay Gough, Roscoe, IL, 2.) Eric Freiberg, Lockport, IL, 3.) Joe Kliem, Elgin, IL, 4.) Kelly Mandarino, Glen Ellyn, IL Visit the Burris Circle Tour's website Here!