SKUSA SuperNationals Pro Champions crowned at Rio By Allan Craighead LAS VEGAS, NV - The 2002 SKUSA SuperNationals Pro Champions were crowned Saturday November 2nd at the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino. Under sunny skies and ideal weather conditions, the "McGrath Motorsports" Pro 80 cc junior Finals got underway on the 7/10th mile Memo Gidley Signature Circuit. From the standing start, Brady Halbasch, of Woodward, Calif., passed the polesitter, Alan Sciuto. The lead proved to be short lived, as Sciuto, of Orange, Calif., retook the lead on lap 2. Once in front, Sciuto began to build a sizeable lead ahead of Halbasch and Graham Rahal, of Columbus, Ohio. As the race progressed, Rahal briefly challenged Halbasch and held off numerous drivers attempting to take the final podium position. The top-three remained unchanged to the checkered flag, with Sciuto capturing the win by 1.617 seconds. "It's been an incredible year," said Sciuto. "I never could have dreamed how fast we'd be here at the SuperNationals." The second Pro Final of the day was the "MRP Motorsport" S-1 class. The standing start saw a great battle for the lead heading to turn one, with Tad Funakoshi battling Thomas Cadieux. Funakoshi, of Sacramento, Calif., and Cadieux, of Ottawa, Ont., Can., quickly established a gap on third place. With the lead duo pulling away, Ben Petter, Kyle Wiegand and Wesley Boswell fought for the final podium spot. While briefly able to pull away, Petter was passed by Wiegand, of Indianapolis, Ind., just past the halfway point of the race, securing third place. Running with a malfunctioning engine in the closing laps, Funakoshi captured the win by 1.948 seconds ahead of Cadieux. "It's great to win the SuperNationals," said Funakoshi. "I just hoped I could make it to the finish when the engine went away there at the end." Following S-1 was the feature "Flatout Group" SuperPro Final. Starting on pole, Ron White, of San Jose, Calif., held the lead into turn one at the start, ahead of Jody Vorrath and Bobby Wilson. In the opening laps, the lead trio ran nose-to-tail, setting a blistering pace. Able to get a run on Vorrath early in the race, Wilson, of Oconomowac, Wis., was able to move into second place. Once in third, Vorrath immediately came under attack from Darren Elliott, with two making slight contact. While duo battled White and Wilson built a sizeable lead. For the remainder of the race, Wilson stayed right on White's tail, never finding a way past. At the checkered flag, White had captured the win by 0.289 second, ahead of Wilson and Joe White, of San Jose, Calif., who moved into third place late in the race. "I drove as hard I could all race long," said White. "I knew Bobby [Wilson] wasn't going to give up, so I'm very happy to have come out on top." The last SuperNationals Pro Final of the day was the "Champion Kart Shop" K-1 class. Following a false start, Cody Brown, of Camarillo, Calif., held the lead from the standing start. Midway through the opening lap, Garret Zine, of Rio Landa, Calif., passed Brown to take the lead. Once in front, Zine worked on building a gap, while Brown held off challenges from Ryan Kinnear. By the midway point of the race, Brown had closed the gap and was repeatedly challenging for the lead. Behind the lead duo, a great battle ensued for third place between, Kinnear, Eric Humphries and Chris Jackson. In the closing stages, both Jackson, of Tuttle, Ok., and Humphries moved into second and third, well behind Zine, who captured the win by 1.178 seconds. "It's truly awesome to win here," said Zine. The SuperNationals Non-Pro Finals begin Sunday at 1:30 p.m. (PST) and will be televised live on HDNET (Channel 199 on DIRECTV). Results and information from the sixth annual SKUSA SuperNationals is available at the SKUSA official website (http://www.skusaonline.com).