CES Point Battles determined at GingerMan Story & photos by Joe Brittin SOUTH HAVEN, MI - The final round of the MG Tires Championship Enduro Series was held at GingerMan Raceway on September 20 - 22. A decent turn out was on hand including members from the SKUSA Great Lakes Region who ran their shifter race on Sunday. Comfortable racing weather prevailed throughout the weekend as the temperature remained below 70 degrees and dipped down to 50 degrees on Saturday night making for rather cool camping weather. Friday started out with showers and only a couple of hours of wet track practice were held. Saturday brought clear skies and some great racing. The rain returned Sunday morning and delayed the start of the program. The first race (shifters) started under damp conditions and was cut short by rain. After a short delay, races two and three were run in the wet with rain points being awarded for each. The track was then declared dry enough to return to normal point races for the rest of the program. The weather on Sunday kept the shifter drivers guessing as to which set of tires they would run. Qualifications were not held on Sunday due to the weather delays and the mandatory quiet time from 10:30 to noon, which is required by local zoning regulations. GingerMan Raceway is located just six miles east of the summer resort town of South Haven, Michigan. Several new motels are located near the track and an abundance of other South Haven accommodations are also available these days. Although the Lake Michigan beach season had ended, there were still plenty of tourists in town filling up the motels and restaurants. GingerMan Raceway is a 1.88-mile, 11-turn road course with some small elevation changes. The entire track can be viewed from the bleachers on the hill outside of Turn 7. Track owner Dan Schnitta named the course after the GingerMan Tavern, which he owns, located one block north of Wrigley Field in Chicago. The track was built in 1995 on top of an old Apple and Cherry orchard and opened for racing in 1996. The track was designed by Alan Wilson and is one of the safest facilities in the country with plenty of run-off area. The track surface has held up fairly well to the harsh Michigan winters, although a few more bumps seem to appear each year, making lap times difficult to compare to previous years. The track has added more asphalt to the pit areas this year and paved the road that accesses the spectator bleachers. There is now a nice camping area with hookups located in the wooded area adjacent to the paddock. The largest class on hand was the Saturday Shifter class with 39 entries. Many SKUSA members used this race as a tune-up for their Sunday race. The faster 125cc karts were turning lap times in the 1:25 range. The faster enduro classes were turning laps in the 1:31 range. Sprint Yamaha pipe karts were running laps in the 1:37 range. The F200-OHV class continues to grow with the best entry count all year. Fourteen karts took to the grid in this class on Saturday, with 70 year-old Glen Branstad taking the win over all the young ones. Picking up multiple wins over the weekend were Jon LaRue in Sat. Yamaha SSX and Sat. Yamaha SBX, Brad Richards in 4-Cycle Sr. both days and F200-OHV Sun., Eric Schumacher in 4-Cycle Junior both days, Jeff Selz in CIK Yamaha Can both days, David Bird in Yamaha Sprint both days, Glen Branstad in Sat. F200-OHV and Sat. Kohler Box Stock, Tim Barnard in Yamaha Jr. Can both days and Sun. Jr. 80cc Shifter and Jason North in Sat. SK-125 and Sun. Rotax Max. Congratulations also goes out to Ana Koehler, who picked up her first win in the Sunday Yamaha SSX rain points race. The final MG Tires Championship Enduro Series points will be available on the www.championshipenduro.com website shortly and the 2002 awards banquet will again be held at the Holiday Inn in Carol Stream, IL on January 25, 2003. See the ticket order form in The Inside Track for more information, or visit www.championshipenduro.com for more information. Saturday (Top Three): 4-Cycle Sr (Briggs & Stratton Motorsports): 1.) Brad Richards, 2.) Tiffany Wester, 3.) Dan Styles 4-Cycle Jr (Kartech): 1.) Eric Schumacher Kohler Box Stock (Kart Expo International): 1.) Glenn Branstad, 2.) Wil Bruner Tecumseh Star (Oilman's of Wilmington): 1.) Bart Bartusiewicz, 2.) Gerard Schrementi CIK Yamaha Can (R.A. Adams Enterprises): 1.) Jeff Selz, 2.) Steve Yoder, 3.)Richard Hoff SK-125 (Flat Out Group Graphics): 1.) Jason North, 2.) Clayton Prater, 3.) Scott Barnes ICC-125 (Fury/CRS Engines): 1.) Dale Bales, 2.) Chad Donner, 3.) Doug Hodgden G-125 (Rapid Racing): 1.) Tris Gour, 2.) Gerrick Miller, 3.) Rodney Manthey ICE-250 (G.E.M. Products): 1.) Jerry Leonard, 2.) Dale Clark B-Limited (Endurance Karting): 1.) Mac Hubbard, 2.) Brian Weiss, 3.) Lisa Maurer Controlled Ltd. (Russell Karting Specialties, Inc.): 1.) John D. Stockneider, 2.) Paul Evans Yamaha Lite (Laukaitis Racing Engines): Yamaha SSX (Castleton Coin & Jewelry): 1.) Jon LaRue, 2.) Matthew Primo, 3.) DeAnne Dressler Jr. 80cc Shifter (Fast Lane Kart Shop): 1.) Matt Lewis, 2.) Logan Gomez, 3.) Miles Miller Yamaha Sprint (Lynn Chassis): 1.) David Bird, 2.) Wesley Hiser, 3.) Angela Hoffman Yamaha SSX Can Heavy (W.D. 40 Company): 1.) Russell Tanton, 2.) James B. Hurst, 3.) Ricky Fauth K-1 Sr. 80cc Shifter (Bickle Tire Warmers): 1.) Owen Wharton, 2.) Jonathan Klein Unlimited (Burris Racing): 1.) Thomas Adams Controlled 99 (karttalk.net): 1.) Tim Kizer, 2.) Ken Reader, 3.) William Huck Jr. Yamaha SBX (American Power Sports): 1.) John LaRue, 2.) Ken Dressler Yamaha SSX Can Lite (G-Man Kartworks, Inc.): 1.) Ryan Petty, 2.) Ricky Fauth, 3.) James B. Hurst Yamaha Jr. Can (Kartech): 1.) Deanna VanDorn, 2.)Tim Barnard, 3.) Melissa Marks Yamaha Over 35 SSX Can (Streeter SuperStands): F200-OHV (Kohler Engines): 1.) Glenn Branstad, 2.) Rodney Manthey, 3.) Dan Dedering SK-125 Pro (Shifter Kart Illustrated): 1.) Larry Nagy, 2.) Jonathan Kettlewell, 3.) Jason North ICC-125 Pro (The Inside Track): 1.) Doug Hodgdon 2.) Chad Donner, 3.) Oscar Navarro Rotax Max (National Kart News): 1.) Brian Kay, 2.) Jason North, 3.) Kelly Falls Sunday (Top Three): Unlimited (Lava Soap): 1.) Harry Alden, 2.) Mark Kupper, 3.) Michael Musser Controlled 99 (Stallion Racing Products): 1.) Ken Reader, 2.) William Huck Jr Yamaha Over 35 (Precision Racecraft): 1.) Joe Brittin Jr. 80cc Shifter (Hegar 4 Products): 1.) Tim Barnard Yamaha Sprint (Margay Racing Products): 1.) David Bird, 2.) Wesley Hiser, 3.) Angela Hoffman Yamaha SSX Can Heavy (R.A. Adams Enterprises): 1.) Mark Kluempers, 2.) Donald Burrows, 3.) Quincy Smith K-1 Sr. 80cc Shifter (Telemanager.net): 1.) Anthony Vesci Yamaha SSX Can Heavy (R.A. Adams Enterprises): 1.) James Garrison SK-125 (Kartech): 1.) Lance Lane, 2.) Greg Yocum, 3.) Jason North ICC-125 (Grand Products): 1.) Chad Donner, 2.) Oscar Navarro G-125 (Rocket Racing Engines): 1.) Rodney Manthey, 2.) Rick Schumacher, 3.) Ray Nabozny 4-Cycle Sr. (Enginetics): 1.) Brad Richards, 2.) Dan Styles, 3.) Brian Wester 4-Cycle Jr (American Power Sports): 1.) Eric Schumacher Kohler Box Stock (Kohler Engines): 1.) Wil Bruner Tecumseh Star (Competition Karting, Inc.): 1.) Steve Yoder CIK Yamaha Can (GEM Promotions Ltd.): 1.) Jeff Selz, 2.) Jonathan Little B-Limited (Awards by Kayden): Controlled Ltd. (Streeter SuperStands): Yamaha Heavy (Fox Valley Kart Shop): Yamaha SSX (Red Line Oil): 1.) Ana Koehler, 2.) Brian Wester, 3.) David Wester Yamaha SSX Can Lite (G.E.M. Products): 1.) James Hurst Yamaha Jr. Can (RLV Tuned Exhaust): 1.) Tim Barnard Yamaha Over 35 SSX Can(e-kmi.com): F200-OHV (Briggs & Stratton Motorsports): 1.) Brad Richards, 2.) Regan Vehring, 3.) Bobby Markiewicz Rotax Max (Pro Speed Kart Sports): 1.) Jason North, 2.) Robin Warner, 3.) Jim Emmerson Visit the MG Tires Championship Enduro Series' website Here!