South Bend gears up for excitement with MKK, MWSS, Gold Cup and Red Bull Search in June By Lisa White SOUTH BEND, IN - Michiana Kart Klub's Race #4 began with a cold start but finished with heat and sun Sunday June 1st. The morning's 40-degree temps were a brisk wake up for many, but as the skies cleared, the temps rose to almost 80. Two heat races and the feature were on tap for the track, as drivers practiced on the National 1 configuration, the same layout that will be used for the Midwest Sprint Series race on June 21 and 22. Twenty-one classes ran which included the Briggs Pro Stock and the famed Arrive and Drive. South Bend Raceway Park has rental karts, which compete in two heats and a feature, allowing the crew chiefs and any other family members to 'arrive and drive' an unmodified kart. Sometimes this race can be the most exciting. Spec 100 Med/Yamaha Pipe started with #22 Anthony Delp on pole, #38 Erik Fisher outside pole, #3 Dave Delp inside second row, #21 Jody Emmons outside second row. Anthony Delp jumped out into the lead, followed closely by Dave Delp and Fisher. Fisher tried to pass Dave Delp on the outside going towards the hairpin, causing Delp to lock up and loose a chain. Jody Emmons then took second position with Fisher in third. Delp #22 in first had a three second lead in front of Emmons #21. As the half way mark passed, Fisher gained on Emmons, closing the gap between second and third. Emmons was able to hold Fisher off, sometimes racing side by side with him. Fisher ended up passing Emmons on the outside coming up to the hairpin turn, giving spectators quite a site, just before the white flag dropped. The race finished with Anthony Delp #22 in first, #38 Erik fisher in second and #21 Jody Emmons in third, giving Delp a triple play day. In HPV Sr. III Med class, #01 Chris Leason had pole position with #07 Ryan Padgett on outside pole. Steve Church #6 in second row inside with #95 Ben Wilkey outside. As the green flag dropped, Wilkey and Padgett made contact but still got by Leason, putting Leason in third and Wilkey in second, Padgett in first. The three were in a heated battle for the top three positions most of the race, running nose to tail most of the time. If Wilkey passed Padgett, Padgett passed Wilkey in the next turn. Bart Libert #4 lost a side panel and had to pull off. Matt Long #7 along with Mike Mitchell #26 also did not finish. In the end, it was #95 Ben Wilkey first, #07 Ryan Padgett second, and #01 Chris Leason in third. HPV IV Heavy feature started fast and heated with Marshall Martin #99 dropping to fifth on the first turn. Dave Skinner #89 was in second with #94 Matt Wilkey in first. Martin easily made his way up to Skinner, taking second place but almost giving it right back to Skinner. At the half way, Wilkey had a 4.5-second lead over Martin, with Skinner in third, and #10 Chuck Yoder in fourth. As the drivers maintained their positions, the distance between them got closer as Martin tried to gain first place position from Wilkey. As the checkered flag fell, Wilkey finished first, 2.5 seconds ahead of Martin in second and Skinner in third. Triple Plays for Sunday: Spec 100 Med/Yamaha Pipe Anthony Delp #22; Yamaha Jr./HPV Jr. Mikie Breiner #13; Intek Jr. Erik Schumacher #10; 4 Cycle Jr. Kenny White #8; HPV Jr. Sportsman Josh Menting #41; 4 Cycle Sr. Lite Matt Deardurff #8; HPV IV Heavy Matt Wilkey #94; Yamaha Sr. SSX Ryan Padgett #07; Pro Stock Derek Twork #66; Rotax Gary Campbell #31; Animal Sr. Van Fore #47 June 15th is the next MKK race, which is the Darin Jerome Memorial Race. MKK will also have a Pro Class money race for Animal Sr., Yamaha Pipe, HPV4, HPV III, Yamaha SSX and SBX that date. The Pro Class is open to everyone with WKA legal equipment, and you must enter a regular MKK class for the race day. It will be one feature heat only and the winner could win 75% payback, depending on the number of entries. Check out www.mkk1.org for more info on Pro Class. Also, new for this year at South Bend Raceway Park is the Red Bull Drivers Search. In this unprecedented program supported by Red Bull, the famed and popular energy drink, hundreds of ambitious teenagers tested their talent in pursuit of an American racing dream. In phase one of the 2003 Red Bull Driver Search program, twenty-six indoor go-kart centers across the country wrapped up their Selection Events, producing one hundred-four winners to move on to phase two of the search. Ninety-four young men and ten young women, between the ages of sixteen and nineteen careered past local competitors to progress to that next phase. In phase two of the program, four outdoor karting tracks will host the one hundred-four drivers. They will take their place at one of four regional outdoor go-kart events organized and run by Red Bull from mid June through mid-August. South Bend will be one of these four tracks and Red bull Search will come to the track June 24 - 26. After two days of intense practice and competition, three tenacious teenagers, with the drive and ambition required to race in Europe, will be selected from each region to compete in the Semi-Final Event in Sebring, Florida. In Sebring, the twelve go-kart winners will join twelve racers selected by expert 'undercover scouts' from traditional U.S. racing formulae, where they will compete in 2-liter racecars. The quest for the best will climax in October at the famed Paul Ricard Circuit in France, where the ten finalists will test and compete for a place on the Red Bull Junior Team. For more on this exciting competition, check out www.redbulldriversearch.com. Midwest Sprint Series will hold their race #3 at SBRP on June 20 - 21, using the same track configuration, N1, as June 15th for MKK #5. WKA Horstman Gold Cup Summer Nationals will be held at SBRP on July 4 - 6 using track configuration N1 also. These races are always great to see even if you don't participate. Go to SBRP web site for more info on pit spot availability, directions to the track and area hotels along with race/practice schedules and dates. Look to www.mkk1.org for MKKlub race results, pictures and points.