July - 2002

• Leonard takes SK-125 win, Hodgeton takes ICC-125 in Round Three of IRA's pro shifter series
  The third stop for the 2002 SSC Racing/Shifter Kart Pro Series arrived at beautiful Grattan Raceway in Central Michigan, with very warm and humid weather. After a full day of practice on Friday, the SSC Racing Shifter Kart Pro Series was set to qualify for their race on Saturday morning. T.J. Koutny #57j put his Intense Karting/Intense Power/Rocket Racing Honda powered Tony MITOX Kart on the pole, with a quick time of 1:21:74 and #66j Chris Leonard's MRP Birel along side of Koutny with a time of 1:22:85.
• MG Tires Championship Enduro Series Opens 2002 Season at Gateway
  Gateway International Raceway, near St. Louis, was the host site for the opening round of the MG Tires Championship Enduro Series. Although the forecast called for rain Friday and Saturday, only a couple hours of practice time were lost to rain on Friday. Even with the rain delay, 13 rounds of practice were held on Friday and three more rounds of practice were held on Saturday morning before the races. The organization of the series, now in it's sixth year, has been refined to the point where everything operates so smoothly on race days that the event was finished by 2:30 PM on Sunday.
• Mackenzie Piller and Michael Bilderback win top trophies in the Junior Champ Kart Classic
  The Junior Champ Kart Classic, sponsored by Terry's Signs, featured the driving skills of the 8 to 15 year old Champ Kart drivers. Champ Karts are a style of go-kart that has a roll cage and 5-point harness for driver safety. The Jr. Sportsman Champs are powered by a 5 hp Briggs and Stratton engine with a restrictor plate. Mackenzie Piller won the feature event after struggling earlier in the heat races.
• 4-Cycle Sportsman class was hotter than the weather at the Burris Circle Tour
  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.
• Goth leads from the get-go at Badger Raceway
  The heat of summer continued to ravage Badger Raceway. Race 9 of the Bridgestone Tire Badger Kart Club Championship series saw temperatures in the low nineties with very high humidity. There were no heat-related injuries reported, but everyone was dripping with sweat by 9:00 in the morning. When practice and the first heats started in the morning, the track really hadn't come in yet. There wasn't enough rubber laid yet and the sunny conditions weren't helping.
• B-K & Bach extend top "5" finish streak to nineteen in a row
  While the B-K Motorsports Formula Mazda was not the first car to cross under the checkered flag during Sunday's feature race at Road America's June Sprints, driver Jamie Bach and his team extended their TOP "5" finish streak to nineteen races in a row. Dating back to the June Sprints weekend in 2001, Bach has not finished lower than fifth position in any race and has been the victor in thirteen of the nineteen races he has entered.
• CART "Stars of Tomorrow" prepares to launch new Pacific Region series
  Arrangements have just been finalized to launch the newest region of the Cart Stars of tomorrow series, in the Pacific Northwest. This region is the first to involve another country Canada, and moves toward developing a truly North American Series. This series creates the first rung on the motor sports ladder, leading to CART.
• Racing is heating up at Clay City Kart Speedway
  If you like two groove, side-by-side racing, outside passing then you needed to be at Clay City on Saturday June 22. The bowl design concept of the track was to encourage racers to be able to find a groove that their kart worked best in or be able to pass someone that was protecting the low line. Class after class, racers were going to the high side and to put the move on someone.
• Track records are shattered at Clay City Kart Speedway
  On a day that the temperatures went rising into the upper 90s, the kart speeds went soaring as tracks records were demolished in every class. Most classes were more than half a second faster than the previous marks. The fastest lap of the day was turned by Leo Patrick of South Webster, OH at a 11.693 seconds on his Prototype Engines/Badger Racing Chassis Limited Modified.
• MWSS grills out Springfield
  Round two of the immensely popular Midwest Sprint Series was held June 1-2 at the Mid-States Raceway in Springfield, IL. The Franklin Motorsports sponsored event was run under typical Springfield conditions, as temperatures in the 90's kept refrigeration and air conditioning running non-stop as 230 entries took part in the two day event.
• The St. Louis Karting Association opens a new chapter in its long history of racing in St. Louis
  After almost a year of hard work and setbacks, the St. Louis Karting Association gets the pavement down on its new track. It was mid-season last year when the SLKA first announced a deal with Kenny Schrader, Ray Marler and the I-55 Raceway to construct a half mile sprint track on the grounds of the I-55 complex.
• PDKA State Championship Kart Series races Round Three
  The ranks of the Pennsylvania Dirt Karters Association (PDKA) swelled to just over 250 entries as karts reached speeds of more than 100 mph on an exceptionally fast and smooth Path Valley Speedway Park Sunday, June 23. The closest finish of the day was in the heavy class when Jeff Rathfon finished a timed 0.187 second ahead of Adam Dimm.
• Path Valley 'Top Kart' wins to teens Kuhns, Burkholder and Dalesio
  Teenagers dominated the senior Burris Racing kart classes at Path Valley Speedway Park June 22 with wins for Garrett Kuhns of Sinking Spring in the Lites, Andy Burkholder of Chambersburg in Mediums and Matt Dalesio of Imler in Heavys.
• MSSS at Road America Supernationals
  The third round of the 2002 Russell Karting / Dunlop Tire Mid States Super Series stopped at the 4-miles of rolling Wisconsin hills of Road America. The Dunlop Tire Road America Super Nationals is a unique event that gets more and more unique each year. Weather was an issue on Friday as it cut practice short around 3pm local time. It also affected some of the racing on Saturday as thunderstorms passed by the track during the later races.
• SSC Racing hosts ROTAX-Powered Media Day for Magazine Editors
  ROTAX-powered karting has some new high-profile enthusiasts these days thanks to SSC Racing, which recently hosted a fun-filled media day for automotive editors at Willow Springs kart track. SSC Racing brought along six identically prepared CRG Maximo chassis powered by the proven and potent ROTAX FR125, the powerplant behind the worldwide RMax Challenge.
• Sinz dominates Winged Outlaws on ThunderHill's clay oval
  It was a special night at Thunder Hill Speedway Saturday as extra awards were presented to drivers and fans by Bill Keyes Chevy-Olds. Todd Sinz was on a mission winning the 12 lap Winged Outlaw Feature and both of his heats. It was Sinz's second triumph of the season. Sinz dominated the feature, leading the entire distance and becoming the first driver to score a second victory in that division.
• Three new winners take their first wins at ThunderHill
  On a hot and humid Saturday evening July 6th, Thunder Hill Speedway once again held kart races on it's small dirt oval near Menomonie. A good crowd of fans were on hand to witness three new winners make their way to victory lane where awards were presented by Otter Acres Plaques and Trophies.
• The Month of May
  As they teach school children in Indianapolis, "January, February, March, April, The Month of May..." Sammi spent a lot of time in Gasoline Alley at the Indianapolis 500 getting better acquainted with team owners and sponsors. Racing Midgets in Indy on asphalt under the tutelage of 7-time USAC Midget Champion, Mel Kenyon, the race season is in full swing!
• Team Willis heads north of the border - Barrie Pro Moto
  Team Willis/CRG Racing made it's 2nd annual trek north of the border to the SKUSA Pro Moto Tour Eastern event number 2 on June 20-23. Barrie Ontario Canada is host to the Pepsi Grand Prix presented by Mercedes Benz run at the temporary street circuit on the shores of Lake Simcoe in beautiful downtown Barrie.