July - 2003

• Hot racing as Margay.com CES visits Putnam Park
  Putnam Park was the site for the Russell Karting/Dunlop Mid-States Super Series and the Margay.com Championship Enduro Series joint road race along with WKA Regional points being awarded on a hot fourth of July weekend in central Indiana. The Indianapolis Kart Club (IKC) has hosted a race on the first weekend of July at this road course for almost ten years and was the first group to race on the brand new track when it opened in the fall of 1991.
• The Shell Extreme Water Show
  Chicago is once again host to the hottest pro freestyle tours in the water LIQUID X FREESTYLE produced by GEM Promotions and sanctioned by the International Racing Association. The sport of professional freestyle jet skiing makes its tenth consecutive appearance at this year's Air and Water Show. The Liquid X Freestyle pro tour rolls in again with 3-time defending National Champion and Chicago resident Gary Burtka leading the pack.
• Burris Circle Tour duels with Mother Nature and fights to a draw
  The Midwest's rainy weather dominated the racing scene as the Burris Circle Tour returned to Lake Geneva Raceway on June 8th. Highlights of the rain-shortened event included a three-way battle in Sr. Medium, the first points race for the popular Kid Kart Class and a tight last lap dash in Sr. Champs.
• Jason Lynch debuts kart in victory at Sr. Champ Kart Classic
  The Nortown Automotive Sr. Champ Kart Classic attracted new and veteran racers alike as the Burris Circle Tour made its fifth stop of the season at the Illiana Motor Speedway. Jason Lynch who started racing with the Burris Circle Tour from its inception a decade ago, returned to circuit and took home the big trophy.
• Brannam takes checkered flag at Jay Gough Memorial race
  Racing was as close as it gets when Ron Brannam took the checkered flag in the 30 lap Jay Gough Memorial Yamaha Race, July 6th at the Rockford (Illionis) Speedway. The veteran driver beat Eric Freiberg at the flag by a mere 2/100th's of a second. Freiberg led for 26 laps and thought he had the race won.
• Colton Clevenger and Jordan Thiel tied mid-way through Burris Circle Tour season
  Coming into the Mid Season Championship of the Burris Circle Tour schedule, four drivers in the Jr. Sportsman Champ class are within 25 points of each other at the top of the Series Points Standings. Today, Colton Clevenger got off to a strong start winning both of the heat races. At the halfway point he was leading the feature with Tyler Blume riding his bumper.
• Mid-State Raceway Results Available on Mylaps.com
  Now that Mid-State Raceway has installed an electronic scoring and timing system, the results will be available from all events on the www.mylaps.com website. Results can be viewed by going to the "kart racing" section and entering Mid-State Kart Club for the track name. Results are also linked to the club web site, www.midstatekartclub.com. The next club race under the lights is scheduled for July 26 when there will also be an arrive and drive program offered at 3 p.m. for new drivers.
• "Dirty Dozen" teams set to start Inaugural Hospice 24 weekend; event to include fireworks, music and family fun
  A dozen teams from Chicago to Detroit will compete for bragging rights and a prize package worth over $10,000 for winning the Inaugural HOSPICE 24, a unique 24-hour go-kart race to be held this Saturday-Sunday, July 19-20, under the lights at Jackson Speedway. The race is unique in that it places drivers in identically prepared go-karts during an endurance event.
• JM Racing's Alfonso dominates at 2003 Guatemalan Winter Cup race
  JM Racing's Andrew Alfonso represented the United States in the last round of the 2003 Guatemalan Winter Cup race at the Autodromo De Los Volcanes in Palin, Guatemala in the 125cc Shifter Kart Expert class. Alfonso, driving an Avanti-Honda, dominated the event by qualifying on pole, winning both the heat and the main. Adolfo Castillo, driving for RPM Aceleracion in Guatamala, finished second in his Avanti-Honda.
• SSC Racing signs as Title Sponsor of Kart Expo
  California-based SSC Racing has today signed on to become the title sponsor of Kart Expo International for the 2004 and 2005 shows with an option for future events. The show will now be titled: "SSC Racing presents Kart Expo International". The 2004 exposition will be held February 21-22, again at Pheasant Run Resort and Convention Center in St. Charles, Illinois near Chicago.
• Newly-repaved Blackhawk Farms Raceway a thrill
  For only the second time in the last 30 years, the Badger Kart Club members packed up and headed to another track July 12-13 for a Bridgestone Tire BKC Championship points race. This time, the club headed to Illinois to do battle on the newly-repaved Blackhawk Farms racetrack. The main topic of discussion was gear ratios as the 1.8 mile circuit is completely opposite of Badger's .5 mile tight twisting home track.
• First wins and photo finishes for Badger
  June brought thrills, spills, and several fast times to Badger Raceway this weekend. The day started out a bit rocky with a few bad red flag crashes in both the Kid Kart and Senior Sportsman Heavy classes. Fortunately all the drivers involved were able to walk away, and the day was clear of any other red flags. Karts were moving fast all day. Fast times were set in Senior Sportsman Heavy by Steve Mente, in Junior SSX by Joe Brenner, in Yamaha Lite by Matt Cota, in Junior Briggs by Derek Crane and in Briggs Heavy by Mike Landeck.
• Records fall like dominos at Badger Raceway
  Cooler dry air and a good build-up of rubber on the track surface June 29th combined to make the Badger Raceway lightening fast for Race #8 in the BKC Bridgestone Tire Championship points series. The near-perfect conditions clobbered the fast times and track records in 8 different classes. In Briggs Jr. Sportsman, Tommy Anderson just pulled away from the field right from the green flag. In the always-exciting 125cc Shifter Feature, Brian Julien would again be "king of the starts".
• Path Valley Karters Complete Saturday Races
  Path Valley Speedway Park completed a full program of four-wheeler and Burris kart racing Saturday, July 5th dodging stray showers. An interesting mix of veterans won a majority of the races including past champion DJ Holland of Claysburg in the Jr. Stock class although past champion Troy Imler of Imler in the Open Class finished fourth with his sister, Tracy, in victory lane. Craig Robinson of Port Royal continued his domination of the four-wheelers.
• PDKA welcomes first time winners in state championship series
  Defeating Mother Nature, almost 300 kart riders completed a full day of racing toward legitimate state championships as the Pennsylvania Dirt Karters' Association gathered June 22 at the Path Valley Speedway Park. Winners of their first ever features in the WKA Divisional races sponsored by Burris Racing were Chad Brooks of Enola who won two features and Ryan Lower of State College.
• "King of The Streets" Engine Formula
  Over Labor Day Weekend, August 30-31, the Rock Island Grand Prix (RIGP) will host the 6th running of the SKUSA "King of The Streets" in the streets of downtown Rock Island, Illinois. Through the years this exciting SKUSA event has crowned (literally) the one driver that can show up, get his or her set-up figured out and then wage combat with the top shifter kart talent in North America. Since it's inception in 1998 on the streets of downtown Oklahoma City, the King of The Streets has been contested at the Quincy in The Park event in Quincy, Illinois, and, it's current home, the Rock Island Grand Prix, Rock Island, Illinois.
• Shockwave Karting releases new "short" wheel hubs
  Shockwave Karting is please to announce its new line of short wheel hubs for racing karts. One problem with conventional hubs has been the mechanics ability to get a wrench on the pinch bolt with a wheel mounted.
• Shockwave Karting presents Colorado Sprint Championship
  The Shockwave Karting Colorado Sprint Championships is pleased to announce the second annual Steamboat Springs Grand Prix will be held September 13th and 14th as the final round of the series. Steamboat Springs is one of Colorado's most legendary ski towns, and is very popular during the spring, summer, and fall months as well.
• "Superkarts USA presents the PROMOTO TOUR at Pat's Acres Racing Complex"
  This weekend North America's only professional shifter kart series brings extreme kart racing to the Portland area. The Superkarts USA Promoto Tour has awed race fans young and old, with the tightest racing in the world of motorsports for nearly a decade. The last national showdown of the 2003 Superkarts USA West Coast tour will be staged at Pat's Acres July 18-20.
• Buckwalter, Dyer shock contenders in thrilling ICC races in exciting Stars of Tomorrow action at Infineon Raceway
  Local racers Brett Buckwalter and Tom Dyer produced shocking victories in a the ICC (125cc Shifter) kart races this weekend (July 12-13) at the Snap-on Champ Car Stars of Tomorrow's Bridgestone Grand Prix of Sonoma at Infineon Raceway. Buckwalter, a 20-year-old karting veteran from nearby Novato, Calif., passed karting star Jason Bowles in the last two turns to capture Sunday's ICC main event, while San Rafarl's Dyer, a former car racer, defeated teenage phenon Nick Halen to take Saturday's ICC Feature.
• Stars of Tomorrow, SPEED announce 2003 TV dates
  The Snap-on Champ Car Stars of Tomorrow presented by RACER and motorsports network giant SPEED Channel recently announced the top-level karting series would air multiple races on SPEED in 2003. Stars, in association with Brian Lockwood Productions, LLC, will produce two one hour shows for the races at the Bridgestone Grand Prix of Sonoma in July and a show for the Stars Karting Championships at the California Speedway in early November. All shows will air on SPEED in the October-December time period.
• Bobby Wilson stars in Windsor spectacular
  Bobby Wilson capped a fantastic day of racing June 29th at the inaugural Dodge Freedom Grand Prix of Windsor with an exciting victory in front of a capacity crowd at this Canadian city near Detroit. Wilson, from Dousman, Wisconsin, edged Robbie Pecorari by 0.381 seconds in the ICC shifter class on the tight and challenging temporary circuit situated within the grounds of the Bell International Freedom Festival.
• Cassity captures a pair of Gold Cup wins
  Ruling WKA/Horstman Gold Cup Series national Triple Crown Winner Ryan Cassity captured two wins at South Bend Raceway Park in South Bend, IN where more than 400 racers came to compete in the Team Simpson Racing Nationals July 4-6. Cassity, of Decatur, IL, earned Heat and Feature wins in Saturday's Precision Industries Briggs Lite and Sunday's King Automotive Briggs Medium.
• Parnell triples at Chapel Hill Pavement National
  Veteran kart racing standout Kerry Parnell and his team hauled from their home in Kernersville, NC to Chapel Hill Raceway in Humphrey, NY the for the World Karting Association/Ultramax Racing Chassis Speedway Pavement Series RLV Tuned Exhaust Products Nationals June 27-29.
• Pecorari and Rahal double at Trane Motor Speedway
  Robbie Pecorari and Kyle Rahal were double winners at Trane Motor Speedway in Norway, IL June 6-8 during the George Kugler Manufacturer's Cup Series presented by Bridgestone Bumper to Bumper Auto Parts Nationals where close to 400 racers from the US and Canada competed on the 5/8-mile 12-turn road course that was dry on Saturday and wet Sunday.
• Three double at DE Dirt Divisional
  Three racers scored double wins during round four of the WKA/Delaware Dirt Divisional Series at US 13 Kartway in Delmar, DE Saturday July 12. Tod Miller Racing Engines powered Olimpic kart pilot Charles Vallandingham, of Mechanicsville, MD won Briggs Medium and Stock Heavy. He was also first under Stock Lite's checkered flag in a race that is under protest.
• Harraka hits another milestone
  Fair Lawn, NJ racer Paulie Harraka set and another WKA milestone Saturday June 7th during round three of the WKA George Kugler Manufacturer's Cup presented by Bridgestone where 400 racers from the US and Canada competed in the Bumper to Bumper Auto Parts nationals on the 5/8-mile 12-turn road course at Trane Motor Speedway in Norway, Illinois.
• Special fund & raffle to aid young Midwest Karter
  Last reports received from Jane Winninger at Trane Motor Speedway indicate that Jordan Johnson was released from St. Francis Hospital in Peoria, Ill., June 15, making it a glorious Father's Day for his dad, Tyron and his mom, Jocquina. Jordan, 10, was injured while racing May 24 at Trane Motor Speedway and stayed at St. Francis for 23 days.
• Karting family suffers great loss
  The Midwest karting community was dealt a terrible blow with the recent loss of three members of one family. The Robert C. Brannam Family of Mountain Home, Arkansas was involved in a head-on collision Saturday, July 12, 2003 when a 1989 Ford van crossed the center line of U.S. 62 in Marion County, Arkansas and after sideswiping a westbound 1986 Toyota pickup towing a trailer it then collided head-on with the Brannamıs westbound 1998 Ford van.
• Leonard "Pops" Haddock ­ 1915-2003
  There were few people who've traveled the karting circuits over the past 44 years who didn't know and adore Leonard Coleman Haddock, father to the legendary kart racer, Lynn Haddock. "Pops" and "Pop," as he was lovingly called by many, passed away peacefully at his Chattanooga, Tenn., hometown June 3 at the age of 87.
• Clements Racing Products expands into 2-Cycle
  Clements Racing Products known world-round as one of the respected 4-cycle "kings" for building championship 4-cycle racing engines for Jr. Drag Racing & Kart Racing has expanded into the 2-cycle racing engines.
• Everts pilots Adam Carlson Racing to victory
  Adam Carlson Racing went to Grundy Co. Speedway Sunday June 15th without its driver, Adam. Adam was selected by his Boy Scout troop to attend a weeklong Scout leadership camp. Adam is currently a star scout working to achieve scouting's highest rank, Eagle Scout.
• Adam Carlson wins Rockford
  Adam Carlson Racing returned to Rockford Speedway July 6th for the second time this season, competing in the Burris Circle Tour. Adam had a disappointing finish last time at Rockford when the chain broke while leading the race. This time the team was able to redeem themselves and won the feature race.
• Eventlab integrates results service with AMB's Orbits timing and scoring software
  Eventlab Inc. makes available today, a version of their revenue generating online results service that integrates with AMB's OrbitsT timing and scoring software. "AMB is a world leader in timing and scoring systems for the motorsports world and is positioning Orbits as a cornerstone of their product line" said Rick Brockman, Eventlab's President.
• Young Canadian formula car driver and shifter kart pilot chosen Class Valedictorian to address classmates during graduation ceremonies
  Canada's top ranking shifter kart pilot Matt Champagne and the Sunoco Team Ultra 94 members had a solid showing in the season opening 2003 Bridgestone/FormulaCar Magazine F2000 Racing Series at Mosport International Raceway on June 20-22. Twenty-four drivers took part in the two-race event.
• Herta lands Andretti/Green ride for rest of season
  Open-wheel veteran, and huge friend of karting, Bryan Herta will drive the No. 27 entry fielded by Andretti Green Racing for the rest of the 2003 IRL IndyCar^TM Series season, starting at the SunTrust Indy Challenge on June 27-28 at Richmond International Raceway.
• MacLean Quality Composites releases high-quality, customizable carbon fiber plates
  After much testing, MacLean Quality Composites (MQC) has developed a process that allows the manufacture of ultra high quality carbon fiber panels. RacePlates are now available in several sizes and two different thicknesses, Rigid and Flex, designed with the tuner car market in mind. The Rigid plates are .055" thick and can be cut to shape with a Dremel tool, making them perfect for custom applications.
• USA Today ad to target karting
  A full-page ad in the USA TODAY newspaper will be the focus of an exciting project to stimulate national awareness and interest in the sport of kart racing. The ad will display this highly competitive sport to the public by conveying information and contacts for those that desire to learn more about the sport. With nearly 5.7 million readers, the ad promises to give the sport of kart racing a large dose of much needed exposure.