4-Cycle Sportsman class was hotter than the weather at the Burris Circle Tour Story and photos by John Nuttall LAKE GENEVA, WI (June 30, 2002) - Another great crowd turned out for the sixth stop in the Burris Circle Tour, the Midwest's Premier Speedway Kart Racing Series. This week, the 4-Cycle Sportsman put on the show with ten racers racing nose to tail and side by side the whole day. In the first heat race Grant Greenfield took the lead with Dean Daul and Dan Etheridge nipping on his back bumper. After a few laps, the racing was close with Daul leading the way, Denise Kruse in second and JJ Adams in third. JJ patiently waited for the passing opportunity, moved by Kruse and made a run for the lead. In the closing lap it looked like he would take the checker but Daul held him off for the heat race win. The second heat race for the 4-Cycle Sportsman was just as exciting with Joe Chiapetta leading early, to be out run by Sean Duncanson. Just as Duncanson's bright blue kart looked like it was going to pull away, Adams snuck in on the front stretch. Alas, the lead was not to be his for long and Daul patiently waited and made his move to the lead during the white flag lap dragging Denise Kruse up to third place. The 4-Cycle Feature race was as close as they come with Denise Kruse taking home her second feature win of the year and closing to within twenty points of Joe Chiapetta in the Class Points race. Jake Humphrey solidified his lead in the Sr. Light class points by winning this week's feature event. Jason Lindgren and Rich McGill were second and third respectively. The lineup for the Sr. Medium class was a familiar sight with Jay Gough on the pole, with Brandon Eash, Dave Budres and Eric Freiberg in the first two rows. Jay jumped to the early lead and Brandon drove right on Jay's bumper for ten laps. Down the final stretch, Jay poured on the speed and pulled away to take the win. Gough also won the Sr. Yamaha class. Eric Freiberg was second and Mike Breiner finished third for the Yamahas. The pointıs race in Jr. III is as close as it can get with any of the top six drivers vying for the championship. The Jr. III class has grown to be the largest class in the Series so many of these young drivers have their sights set on the overall championship as well as the class championship. Jeff Everts who got off to a slow start early in the year, earned a victory at Lake Geneva and pulled into first place in the class points. Adam Carlson, who had been leading the points, got caught up in an accident and drove to an eighth place finish which dropped him into second place in the points, just five points behind Everts. Tanner Bohlen, driving the black and green #18 kart finished sixth for the day and sits in third for points. Mason Hadley, who has been a consistent finisher all year, finished third today and is in fourth in points for the year. The final two drivers in the six pack, Billy Hulbert and Jordon Thiel are tied for fifth place in points. Hulbert finished second today moving to within striking distance of the leaders. Jordon rounded out the top five for the day. In other Junior action, the crowd was treated to another demonstration of the effectiveness of drafting as Alex and Ben Stumpf took their place out in front. Ben pulled around Alex for the win. But this week the other drivers are getting smart. Tyler Peterson and Ross Kenseth drove together for over half the race and were right on the bumper of the Stumpf boys. Once the draft was broken, Peterson managed to stay with the leaders to finish third. Corey Domenick and Dylan Hobbs found the fast lane at the end of the race to finish fourth and fifth respectively. Carly Mandarino and Clay Kleim continue to fight it out for the top spot in Jr. Yamaha. Carly came out on top again this week and holds a commanding lead in the class points. Many of the families that race with the Burris Circle Tour have more than one racer in the family. This week the Martin's made it a double victory with Michael Martin, Sr. winning the Late Model Feature at Illiana Motor Speedway on Saturday night and Michael Martin, Jr. picking up his second feature win of the year. Colton Clevenger was coming up fast at the finish but had to settle for second place. Mackensie Piller finished third. In the points race, Mackensie is in first, Michael is second and Colton is third. Mike Bilderback swept both heat races and the feature in the Jr. Champ Kart class. Mickey Kudlicki was a strong second with Matt Vice rounding out the top three. Mike Slabenak and Jack Benson, Jr. scrapped for the Star Champ victory with Slabenak taking it at the stripe. Mike is currently in the points lead and Nicole Phillips is in second place. The next race in the Burris Circle Tour is July 16th at Rockford Speedway and is the Mid-Season Championships. RESULTS (June 30, 2002 - Lake Geneva Raceway): Kid Kart Participants: TJ Harsla, Caylie Duncanson, Eric Sudcliff, Derrick Gough, Jacob Bandaly, Kyle Holden, Austin Hintt, Ryan Wykes, Travis Sabata, Jake Thorne, Blaz Daul, Jacob Zellmer, Trevor Kelley, Nicholas Bandaly, Tyler James, Jordan Jagielski 4-Cycle Sportsman: 1.) Denise Kruse, 2.) Dean Daul, 3.) J.J. Adams, 4.) Joe Chiapetta, 5.) Sean Duncanson, 6.) Grant Greenfield, 7.) Dan Etheridge, 8.) Jobe Cerny Sr. Lite: 1.) Jacob Humphrey, 2.) Jason Lindgren, 3.) Richard McGill, 4.) Ryan Rockhold, 5.) Brandon Eash, 6.) Brett Swedbery, 7.) Shane Morrissey, 8.) David Budres, Jr., 9.) T.J. Mertes, 10.) Mike Kann, 11.) Luke Madden, 12.) Ricky Johnson Sr. Medium: 1.) Jay Gough, 2.) Brandon Eash, 3.) Eric Freiberg, 4.) Dave Budres, 5.) Kris McCarty, 6.) Jamie Rediehs, 7.) Chris Lishamer, 8.) Amy Ghislain Sr. Heavy: 1.) Brandon Eash, 2.) Dave Budres, 3.) Rob Blake Jr. III Lite (Gold): 1.) Jeff Everts, 2.) Billy Hulbert, 3.) Mason Hadley , 4.) Terry McDermott, 5.) Jordon Thiel, 6.) Tanner Bohlen, 7.) Nick Chiapetta, 8.) Adam Carlson, 9.) Matthew Atkinson, 10.) Jimmy Johnson, 11.) Nick Miller, 12.) Amanda Lishamer, 13.) Jimmy Sivia, 14.) Peter Byrne, 15.) Cory Kemkes, 16.) Angelo Basalome Jr. I Lite (Purple): 1.) Ben Stumpf, 2.) Alex Stumpf, 3.) Tyler Peterson, 4.) Corey Domenick, 5.) Dylan Hobbs, 6.) Aaron Katzenberg, 7.) Ross Kenseth, 8.) Nick Beinlich, 9.) Brett Adams, 10.) Patrick McCarty, 11.) Matt Schultz, 12.) Andrew Hintt, 13.) Bryan Deutsch, 14.) Sawyer Effertz Jr. Champ Kart: 1.) Michael Bilderback, 2.) Mickey Kudlicki, 3.) Ryan Marshall, 4.) Matt Vice, 5.) Matt Scott, 6.) Brian Freiberg, 7.) Charlie Burgess Jr. Sportsman Champ Kart: 1.) Michael Martin, 2.) Colton Clevenger, 3.) Mackenzie Piller, 4.) Dylan Barbosa, 5.) Jessica Kudlicki Star Champ Kart: 1.) Mike Slabenak, Jr., 2.) Jack Benson, 3.) Nicole Phillips, 4.) Jay Walker, 5.) Jimmy Maher Jr. Yamaha: 1.) Carly Mandarino, 2.) Clay Kliem, 3.) Clint Kliem, 4.) Rylee Bohlen Yamaha Sportsman Lite: 1.) Jay Gough, 2 .) Eric Freiberg, 3.) Mike Breiner, 4.) Mike James, 5.) Joe Kliem, 6.) Kelly Mandarino, 7.) Jake Mogan F200-OHV: 1.) Regan Vehring, 2.) Bob Chatten, 3.) William Huck, Jr, 4.) Tiffany Wester, 5.) Greg Shafer