Jr. III's wait until the final inches to decide the winner of the 6th Annual Gold Runner By John Nuttall LAKE GENEVA, WI (Sept. 1, 2002) - Labor Day weekend was the stage for the 6th Annual Jr. III "Gold Runner" for the Burris Circle Tour, the Midwest's premier speedway karting series. The format of the Gold Runner is one ten-lap heat race to set the starting places for the feature, three trophy dashes and a long twenty-five lap feature. The anticipation for the big event had been building as the drivers and their crews plotted strategy to overtake class leader and last year's winner, Jeff Everts. Zach Axlen, coming in from Sheboygan, Wisconsin started the day by taking his first, first-place trophy in the Trophy Dash. Nick Miller and Peter Byrne kept it close with Jimmy Sivia and Michael Terrafino rounding out the field. The second dash was a heart stopper with three leaders in the six lap race. Jimmy Johnson, hailing from Lincolnshire, Illinois, ran the outside line and captured the lead in the early going. Matt Atkinson chose the inside line and the top two ran side-by-side until Atkinson took over the lead on the fourth lap. Jordan Thiel, Mason Hadley and Nick Chiapetta were all looking for an opening. On the backstretch of the final lap, Hadley changed his line to take advantage of the tight corners and lined up his finishing run. Coming down the final stretch, Atkinson went wide and Hadley made a perfect move to the inside to win at the line. The third dash was a demonstration in how close kart racing can be. The four drivers in the dash are all in the top ten in the overall season championship point's battle and are evenly matched every week. Jeff Everts held onto the pole position for the first lap. Billy Hulbert, Adam Carlson and Tanner Bohlen were knocking on the door. On lap 2, Hulbert went around Everts on the outside, made the pass stick and left Everts all alone on the inside line. Three laps in and three karts wide, Adam Carlson went low to make a clean pass and coming off the corner Carlson was in second, Bohlen in third and Everts found himself in fourth place. Hulbert extended his lead, to almost a full kart length coming to the stripe and a first place trophy. After the six-lap dashes, the crews went to work to set up the karts for the twenty-five lap feature. In this race, there was action all the way through the field. At the halfway point, it looked like it would be another runaway for Jeff Everts. Tanner Bohlen, always a contender, had other ideas. Tanner ran down the leader with virtually no drafting help and by lap 16 was pulling up next to Jeff. The karts ran side-by-side for three laps when Tanner made his pass hold to take the lead. Jeff quickly adjusted his line to set up for another run and nosed back in the lead coming down the front stretch. Using his skill and experience, Jeff successfully shut down any other attempts to pass and won by less than a kart length. A few kart lengths back, the second pack was having a battle of their own. Mason Hadley, Matt Atkinson, Jimmy Johnson and Jordon Thiel ran a clean, close race to all take home trophies. The Jr. III's are just one class of the twelve that are part of the Burris Circle Tour program. Matt Scott, hailing from St. Charles, Illinois won his first feature in the Jr. Champ class and became the fourty-fourth different feature winner on the Burris Circle Tour this year. Mickey Kudlicki led the race for almost the entire race with Scott riding his bumper the whole way. Then coming into the in final straightaway, Mickey went low and Matt made a stunning move to the outside to take the checkered flag. Matt was the fifth feature winner in the class in just nine races. Mackenzie Piller chased down Colton Clevenger in the Jr. Sportsman Champ class. George Clos, a second time racer, showed he is going to be a contender by coming in third, just ahead of Dylan Barbosa. Mike Slabenak won his eighth feature of the year in the Sr. Champ class. When Jacob Humphrey came in the pits with a broken arm, it looked like his chance at continuing his bid for the Sr. Lite Championship was dim. But after a few practice laps (and lining up a relief driver, just in case), Jacob was going to try it out and see how the heat races went. In the first heat race, he came from seven spots back to take the lead from Jason Lingren and hold out for the win. The second heat race was Jacob's from start to finish with some serious passing attempts from Shane Morrissey and Lingren. In the feature, Jacob once again got out to the lead. Behind him, veteran driver Joe Moser was working his way up from deep in the pack to take over the lead with four laps to go. Moser and Humphrey were in a drag race coming to the line and Humphrey just edged out Moser at the line. The Jr. I drivers have all learned that to win the feature race, you must be able to drive in heavy traffic, right to the finish line. This week there were five contenders for the top spot. Ben Stumpf won - barely. Ross Kenseth worked his way up from fourth to make a run for the lead at the end and was happy with second. Alex Stumpf, the early leader, finished third. Dylan Hobbs and Tyler Middleton both made several runs at the lead and rounded out the podium. The Jr. I's have their sights set on the "Purple Shootout", September 22nd at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Other feature winners for the day included Jay Gough - Yamaha Sportsman Lite and Sr. Medium, Derrick Gough - Kid Karts, and Carly Mandarino - Jr. Yamaha. J.J. Adams took a close one in the 4-Cycle Sportsman. The Burris Circle Tour returns to Lake Geneva Raceway for the final three races of the season. The next race, September 15th, features the "High Revs" special event for Kid Karts and Jr. Yamaha classes. RESULTS: Jr. III Trophy Dashes: Dash A: 1.) #17 Zach Axlen, 2.) #2 Nick Miller, 3.) #20 Peter Byrne, 4.) #2b Jimmy Sivia, 5.) #94 Michael Terrifino Dash B: 1.) #8 Mason Hadley, 2.) #24 Jimmy Johnson, 3.) #7A Matt Atkinson, 4.) #x2 Jordon Thiel, 5.) #19 Nick Chiapetta Dash C: 1.) #88 Billy Hulbert, 2.) #08 Adam Carlson, 3.) #18 Tanner Bohlen, 4.) #7 Jeff Everts Jr. III Lite (Gold) - Gold Runner: 1.) #7 Jeff Everts, Channahon, IL, 2.) #18 Tanner Bohlen, Hortenville, WI, 3.) #8 Mason Hadley, Channahon, IL, 4.) #7A Matthew Atkinson, Morris, IL, 5.) #24 Jimmy Johnson, Lincolnshire, IL, 6.) #x2 Jordon Thiel, Appelton, WI, 7.) #17 Zach Axlen, Sheboygan, WI, 8.) #08 Adam Carlson, Lisle, IL, 9.) #88 Billy Hulbert, Chanahon, IL, 10.) #2 Nick Miller, Freeport, IL, 11.) #94 Michael Terrafino, Berkely, IL, 12.) #20 Peter Byrne, Shullsburg, WI, 13.) #19 Nick Chiapetta, Downers Grove, IL, 14.) #2b Jimmy Sivia Jr. Champ Kart: 1.) #2 Matt Scott, St. Charles, IL, 2.) #8 Mickey Kudlicki, Glendale Heights, IL, 3.) #33 Brian Freiberg, Lockport, IL, 4.) #22 Matt Vice, Woodale, IL, 5.) #2b Michael Bilderback, S. Beloit, IL, 6.) #38 Ryan Marshall, Kanasasville, WI, 7.) #51 Charlie Burgess, Scherville, IN Jr. Sportsman Champ Kart: 1.) #24 Mackenzie Piller, Dixon, IL, 2.) #3 Colton Clevenger, Cherry Valley, IL, 3.) #11 George Clos, 4.) #24b Dylan Barbosa, Yorkville, IL, 5.) #2 Kaylie Applegate, WI, 6.) #9 Jessica Kudlicki, Glendale Heights, IL 4 Cycle Sportsman: 1.) #81 J.J. Adams, Wonder Lake, IL, 2.) #007 Denise Kruse, Bridgeview, IL, 3.) #08 Dale Weter, River Grove, IL, 4.) #33 William Merritt, 5.) #4 Rob Blake, Glen Ellyn, IL, 6.) #28 Joe Chiapetta, Downers Grove, IL Sr. Lite: 1.) #63 Jacob Humphrey, Lake Geneva, WI, 2.) #86 Joe Moser, Elkhorn, WI, 3.) #21 Shane Morrissey, Cuba City, WI, 4.) #30 Jason Lindgren, Madison, WI, 5.) #52 Ryan Rockhold, Tremont, IL, 6.) #44 Joey Johnson, Slinger, WI, 7.) #19 Richard McGill, Chicago, IL, 8.) #36 Brandon Eash, Rockford, IL, 9.) #3 Mike Kann, Arlington Heights, IL, 10.) #23 Ricky Johnson, Lincolnshire, IL Star Champ Kart: 1.) #15 Mike Slabenak, Jr., Cicero, IL, 2.) #11 Jim Maher, Downers Grove, IL, 3.) #7 Jacob Finney, Sycamore, IL, 4.) #14 Nicole Phillips, Sycamore, IL Yamaha Sportsman Lite: 1.) #11 Jay Gough, Roscoe, IL, 2.) #4 Mike Smaga, Oak Forest, IL, 3.) #45 Mark Smaga, Oak Forest, IL, 4.) #55 Eric Freiberg, Lockport, IL, 5.) #56 Joe Kliem, Elgin, IL Jr. I Lite (Purple): 1.) #10 Ben Stumpf, Menasha, WI, 2.) #17 Ross Kenseth, Little Chute, WI, 3.) #6 Alex Stumpf, Menasha, WI, 4.) #62 Dylan Hobbs, Sterling, IL, 5.) #71 Tyler Middleton, E. Hazel Crest, IL, 6.) #22 Corey Domenick, Lombard, IL, 7.) #16 Tyler Peterson, Lake Gevena, WI, 8.) #15 Patrick McCarty, Kankakee, IL, 9.) #3 Matt Schultz, Steger, IL, 10.) #0 Tommy Jones, Gurnee, IL, 11.) #90 Andrew Hintt, Poplar Grove, IL, 12.) #87 Aaron Katzenberg, Pell Lake, WI Sr. Medium: 1.) #11 Jay Gough, Roscoe, IL, 2.) #96 Joe Veyette, Indianapolis, IL, 3.) #8 Kris McCarty, Kankakee, IL, 4.) #14 Jamie Rediehs, Hinsdale, IL, 5.) #98 Chris Lishamer, Elgin, IL, 6.) #36 Brandon Eash, Rockford, IL, 7.) #52 Ryan Rockhold, Tremont, IL Jr. Yamaha: 1.) #9 Carly Mandarino, Glen Ellyn, IL, 2.) #55 Clint Kliem, Elgin, IL Kid Kart: #96 Austin Hintt, Poplar Grove, IL, #36 Derrick Gough, Roscoe, IL, #8 Eric Hannemann, Lansing, IL, #7 Jacob Bandaly, Villa Park, IL, #20 Nicholas Bandaly, Villa Park, IL Visit the Burris Circle Tour's website Here!