Great Racing in Week #9 at Mid-State Raceway By Chris Shearburn SPRINGFIELD, IL - The ninth week of club racing was completed at Mid-State Raceway on July 13. It was one of the best days yet for racing this season with temperatures only reaching the lower eighties. The afternoon sunset combined with the already cool temperatures made for some record-breaking speeds and great racing. The racing started out with the all-popular Kadet class. This class was designed for a fun learning experience for ages five to eight. The kids experienced it all this week. Anything from a first turn pileup to mechanical failures kept the kids, dads, and corner workers on their toes throughout the eight-lap feature event. This class was the largest class of the day, which shows how much it has grown since its inception. Trevor Gianetti and Bradley Brittin battled for the lead until lapped traffic sent Gianetti for a spin. Brittin held off Mason Cagnoli for the feature win. The 2 Cycle Rookie class headed out onto the track next. Samantha Miles led the eight-kart field down to the green flag and into turn one. Cole McCormick quickly moved into second place just a few kart lengths back from the leader. On lap four, Matthew Laukaitis mounted a charge on McCormick and was able to take over the spot at the end of the long straightaway heading into turn seven. Laukaitis set his sights on the leader Samantha Miles, who by now accumulated slightly over a two-second lead. Over the next few laps Laukaitis was able to notch down the lead to just over a second when the leaders encountered lap traffic. With two to go, Cole McCormick got through the traffic slightly better than the two leaders and was able to get a run on Laukaitis and retake the second position. McCormick was able to hold on the last few laps for second while Samantha Miles took home the win. Matthew Laukaitis brought home third, Tim Sykes finished fourth, and Tony Nika rounded out the top five. The 4-Cycle Light class took to the track next with Jennifer Best leading the field to the green and into turn one. Jess McKee was able to hold station with Best for the first half of the race and looked to maybe be able to give her a challenge. However, it appeared that McKee's kart began to tighten up which gave Best the room needed to pull off yet another win this season. McKee held on for second, and Mike Colwell finished up third. Next up was the 4 Cycle Rookie class. This is another great class for beginning drivers with somewhat fast, yet safe speeds. Jeff Green led the race wire to wire to pick up his fifth win of the season. Nick Scaduto, in his rookie year, brought home second. Both drivers have run all but two races this year gaining that much needed experience. The 4-Cycle Junior class was combined with the rookies while Greg Colwell represented the class well. Colwell was turning some of the fastest laps of the year before he decided to take it easy the last half of the race to bring home the win. Rolling onto the track next was the ever-exciting Yamaha Senior Supercan class. With several of the drivers running the Manufacturer's Cup race in South Bend, the racing was left to the hard core local racers. The race had all the same occurrences as last week, and just like the previous week Kent Laukaitis showed the youngsters how it was done by winning both heats, the first one by starting in the back. Laukaitis led the field to the green but it was Ross Johnson beating Laukaitis to turn one. As both drivers raced away from the rest of the field, the two diced back and forth throughout the race just like last week. Johnson took the lead for the final time on the long straightaway with just five laps to go. The very next lap, Laukaitis began to slow just as he crossed the start/finish line due to the low speed needle backing out of the carburetor and ending his day. Johnson picked up his second consecutive win of the season and takes over the point lead. Flynn McCormick was able to hold off the challenges of Dustin Kessinger for second while Kessinger settled for third. The last class of the day was up next and as the saying goes; we were saving the best for last. The 4 Cycle Heavy drivers took to the track with Jeff Dolian leading the field down to the green. As the drivers raced through the first set of turns, Dolian took the lead with Todd Hayes taking over second and Cale Downs running third. On the second lap it was evident Hayes had started out with a loose setup as Dolian was able to stretch out the lead to slightly over half a second. The next lap Cale Downs made a move down the long straightaway to take over second. Hayes started to lose the draft as Downs closed in on Dolian's back bumper. Meanwhile for fourth place, Jerry Miller and Bob Thomas raced tooth and nail with neither driver giving an inch. On lap six Miller had finally taken the fourth spot for a solid lap while Thomas sat back to try and regain composure for another charge. Up front Downs had taken the lead from Dolian as Hayes' kart began to come in allowing him to close back in some on the two leaders. For fourth position, Thomas closed back up to Miller with two to go and made the move up the back straight. Miller fought back across the start/finish line and the two raced side by side into the concrete turn with Thomas holding onto the position. Miller got a run up the backstretch again and the two raced side by side all the way through the Esses. Thomas let Miller have the spot going into the house turn and crossed back under Miller coming out of the turn going into turn six. Thomas was able to take over the spot yet again coming around to the white flag. The three leaders of Downs, Dolian, and Hayes began to close in on each other on the final laps as coming onto the long straightaway Dolian was able to sniff the draft giving him the run needed to make the move. Dolian got under Downs entering the final turn as Downs tried to come back coming off, but Dolian managed to hold on for the win. Downs held on for second, third went to Hayes, Bob Thomas held on for fourth, and Miller rounded out the top five with Jim Rapps taking home sixth. With the sun beginning to set behind the trees, that concluded yet another great day of racing at Mid-State Raceway. Mid-State is now heading into the tenth week of a sixteen-race schedule in the 2002 season. The new lights should be done in time for the August 24th night race when practice will begin at 5:30 with racing at 7:00. Racing will return to Sunday afternoons starting September 8. See www.midstatekartclub for more information. RESULTS (July 13, 2002): Kadet Participants: 1.) Bradley Brittin, 2.) Mason Cagnoli, 3.) Trevor Giannetti, 4.) Kirsten Mosley, 5.) Davey Steem, 6.) Austin Mylott, 7.) Trevor Boblitt, 8.) Rachyl Huddleston, 9.) Brayton Gibbs 4-Cycle Rookie: 1.) Jeff Green, 2.) Nick Scaduto 4-Cycle Junior: 1.) Greg Colwell 4-Cycle Lite: 1.) Jennifer Best, 2.) Jess McKee, 3.) Mike Colwell, 4.) Wade McKee 4-Cycle Heavy: 1.) Jeff Dolian, 2.) Cale Downs, 3.) Todd Hayes, 4.) Bob Thomas, 5.) Jerry Miller, 6.) Jim Rapps 2-Cycle Rookie: 1.) Samantha Miles, 2.) Cole McCormick, 3.) Matthew Laukaitis, 4.) Tim Sykes, 5.) Tony Nika, 66.) Cale McCormick, 7.) Gino Giannetti, 8.) Chance Holder Yamaha Super Can: 1.) Ross Johnson, 2.) Flynn McCormick, 3.) Dustin Kessinger, 4.) Tim Tribbett, 5.) David Kreis, 6.) Kent Laukaitis Visit Mid-State Kart Club's website Here!