CES Returns to Gateway for Series Race #5 Story & photos by Joe Brittin MADISON, IL - Round five of the MG Tires Championship Enduro Series was held at the Gateway International Raceway on August 30 - September 1. Having just hosted the IRL Gateway 250 on the previous weekend, many signs were still in place that the Indy cars had just raced there. The reserved garage spaces, which proved to be a smart buy to escape the 90-degree heat, were still labeled with the various IRL team names. The pit road was well marked up with rubber from the Indy car pit stops and the ovalšs concrete wall showed the tire marks from several accidents. The ambiance of a professional racing facility always seems to add a little extra excitement when racing at Gateway. Located just 5 miles east of the St. Louis Gateway Arch, the facility started out as a 1/8 mile drag strip built in 1967 and was named the St. Louis Raceway. It was lengthened to a _ mile drag strip in 1971 and renamed the St. Louis International Raceway. It was not until 1985 that road racing was held when a 2.6 mile road course was added to the drag strip. Several kart races were held on various configurations of the road course, but it was not until 1991 and 1992 that the Mid-West Enduro Series held point races on the old 2.6 mile road course. After going through several ownership changes, the facility fell into disrepair. In 1995, the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach, headed by Chris Pook purchased the facility. The facility was completely leveled and rebuilt to the modern 50 million-dollar facility that stands today. In 1998, Dover Downs Entertainment, Inc. purchased the track to add to their holdings of the Dover, Memphis, and Nashville Speedways and the Long Beach Grand Prix street race. Friday brought mild weather and eight rounds of practice. The road course pavement, now five years old, has held up well with only a few bumps materializing. Lap times have dropped off only around one second since the new road course was opened in 1997. The SK-125 shifter karts were turning the best lap times in the mid 1:05 range. Ardalan Sadeghi ran the quickest time of the weekend in his ICE-250 at 1:04.159. Mike Cousin ran the quickest enduro class time in his B-Limited at 1:07.913. Ryan Vehring ripped off some incredible lap times in his F200-OHV sprinter in the 1:17 range. The total number of entries were up somewhat compared to the first CES Gateway event held in May. This shows the strength of the series considering there were two other major karting events being held on the same weekend in the Mid-West. The biggest turn out was in the Yamaha Sprint class with the ladies showing the way as Sharion Duncan and Samantha Weakley finished first and second. The Novice class had a good showing each day with Jessica Brannam again leading the way, turning steady laps in the 1:30s. Nicholas Weiss was able to give her some good competition on Sunday. Other second-generation kart racers competing included Matt Gilbert and Thomas Steinbach. This class provides excellent training for the 8 to 12-year-olds before moving up to the Junior classes. The CIK Yamaha Can class had a good turn out and some close racing both days. Kevin Thompson edged Jeff Hoff by just .01 seconds for the win on Saturday and James Hurst beat Kevin Thompson by .06 seconds on Sunday with both of them turning identical best lap times of 1:21.677. The SK-125 Pro class put on a good show with the top three finishing .3 seconds apart. Erik Winberg took the win over Scott Barnes and Larry Nagy. Scott Barnes topped Jason North in the Saturday SK-125 class by .422 seconds. On Sunday, Scott Barnes edged Greg Wright by just .03 seconds in the SK-125 class. Another close finish was the Sunday Yamaha SSX enduro class where John Larue battled Kirk McElheny to a .184 second win. Once again, a safe weekend of racing was had at Gateway, with no red flags, and activities finished up by 3:30 on Sunday under the guidance of the well-organized IRA officials. The final CES race of the 2002 season will be held at the GingerMan Raceway on September 20 - 22. The SKUSA Great Lakes Region will also run a shifter kart race on Sunday at GingerMan. See the web site www.championshipenduro.com for more information and point standings. Saturday (Top Three): 4-Cycle Sr (Briggs & Stratton Motorsports): 1.) Brad Richards, 2.) Matt Thompson, 3.) Tiffany Wester 4-Cycle Jr (Kartech): 1.) Mike Lynch Sr. Kohler Box Stock (Kart Expo International): 1.) Matt Bakke, 2.) Dan Bakke, 3.) Glenn Branstad Tecumseh Star (Oilman's of Wilmington): 1.) Bart Bartusiewicz, 2.) Gerard Schrementi CIK Yamaha Can (R.A. Adams Enterprises): 1.) Kevin Thompson, 2.) Jeff Hoff, 3.)Richard Hoff SK-125 (Flat Out Group Graphics): 1.) Scott Barnes, 2.) Jason North, 3.) Greg Yocom ICC-125 (Fury/CRS Engines): 1.) Oscar Navarro, 2.) Otto Vollmerhausen, 3.) Keith Jones G-125 (Rapid Racing): 1.) Melvin L. Nelson, 2.) Tony Vesci, DQ-Tris Gour ICE-250 (G.E.M. Products): 1.) Ardalan Sadeghi B-Limited (Endurance Karting): 1.) John Ritchie, 2.) Mac Hubbard, 3.) Mike Cousin Controlled Ltd. (Russell Karting Specialties, Inc.): 1.) Jonathan Gashel, 2.) Ron Shreffler Jr. Yamaha Lite (Laukaitis Racing Engines): 1.) Brock Schneiderman, 2.) Brandon Maurer, 3.) Don Roll Yamaha SSX (Castleton Coin & Jewelry): 1.) Jim Steinbach, 2.) Kirk McEtheny, 3.) David Wester Jr. 80cc Shifter (Fast Lane Kart Shop): 1.) Tim Barnard Yamaha Sprint (Lynn Chassis): 1.) Sharion Duncan, 2.) Samantha Weakley, 3.) Wesley Hiser Yamaha SSX Can Heavy (W.D. 40 Company): 1.) Mark Kluempers, 2.) Quincy Smith, 3.) Michael Myers K-1 Sr. 80cc Shifter (Bickle Tire Warmers): 1.) Anthony Vesci Jr., 2.) Ben Smith Unlimited (Burris Racing): 1.) Dale Clark Controlled 99 (karttalk.net): 1.) John Ritchie, 2.) William Huck Jr., 3.) Ken Reader Yamaha SBX (American Power Sports): 1.) John LaRue, 2.) Ken Dressler, 3.) Jim Steinbach Yamaha SSX Can Lite (G-Man Kartworks, Inc.): 1.) Patrick Reinhart, 2.) James B. Hurst, 3.) Ricky Fauth Yamaha Jr. Can (Kartech): 1.) Tim Barnard Yamaha Over 35 SSX Can (Streeter SuperStands): 1.) Kevin M. Thompson, 2.) Mark Kluempers, 3.) Quentin Smith F200-OHV (Kohler Engines): 1.) William Huck Jr., 2.) Ron Nigro, 3.) Glenn Branstad SK-125 Pro (Shifter Kart Illustrated): 1.) Erik Winberg, 2.) Scott Barnes, 3.) Larry Nagy ICC-125 Pro (The Inside Track): 1.) Chad Donner, 2.) Oscar Navarro Rotax Max (National Kart News): 1.) Brian Kay Sunday (Top Three): Unlimited (Lava Soap): 1.) Dale Clark Controlled 99 (Stallion Racing Products): 1.) Kyle Schreiber, 2.) William Huck, 3.) Doug Evans Yamaha Over 35 (Precision Racecraft): 1.) Joe Brittin, DQ-Don Roll, DQ-Mark Horne Jr. 80cc Shifter (Hegar 4 Products): 1.) Tim Barnard Yamaha Sprint (Margay Racing Products): 1.) Wesley Hiser, 2.) Sharion Duncan, 3.) Robert Martin 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.) Scott Barnes, 2.) Greg Wright, 3.) Larry Nagy ICC-125 (Grand Products): 1.) Otto Vollmerhausen, DQ-Keith Jones G-125 (Rocket Racing Engines): 1.) Ron Sheffler, 2.) Melvin L. Nelson 4-Cycle Sr. (Enginetics): 1.) Brad Richards, 2.) Charlie Karow, 3.) Ronald Shreffler 4-Cycle Jr (American Power Sports): 1.) Mike Lynch Kohler Box Stock (Kohler Engines): 1.) Matt Bakke, 2.) Wil Bruner, 3.) Dan Bakke Tecumseh Star (Competition Karting, Inc.): 1.) Bart Bartusiewicz, 2.) Gerard Schrementi CIK Yamaha Can (GEM Promotions Ltd.): 1.) James Hurst, 2.) Kevin Thompson, 3.) Jeff Selz B-Limited (Awards by Kayden): 1.) Mac Hubbard, 2.) Carl Weakley, 3.) Mike Cousin Controlled Ltd. (Streeter SuperStands): 1.) Brandon Maurer, 2.) Ronald Shreffler Jr., 3.) Jonathan Gashel Yamaha Heavy (Fox Valley Kart Shop): 1.) Kermit Watson, 2.) Mark Horne, 3.) Don Roll Yamaha SSX (Red Line Oil): 1.) John LaRue, 2.) Kirk McEtheny, 3.) Jim Steinbach Yamaha SSX Can Lite (G.E.M. Products): 1.) Patrick Reinhart, 2.) James Hurst, 3.) Ricky Fauth Yamaha Jr. Can (RLV Tuned Exhaust): 1.) Tim Barnard, 2.) Deanna VanDorn Yamaha Over 35 SSX Can(e-kmi.com): 1.) Kevin M. Thompson, 2.) Quincy Smith, 3.) Michael Myers F200-OHV (Briggs & Stratton Motorsports): 1.) Daniel Dedering, 2.) Glenn Branstad, 3.) William Huck Rotax Max (Pro Speed Kart Sports): 1.) Jason North, 2.) Steve Emanuel, 3.) Matt Thompson For more MG Tires CES long-track kart racing Click Here!