Burris Circle Tour gears up for the 2003 season By Susan Nuttall LISLE, IL - Kart Racing is gearing up for the 2003 season as the Burris Circle Tour prepares for its opening day on April 27th. This highly regarded series has scheduled thirteen Sunday races at speedway tracks in the Chicago area. Lake Geneva Raceway, Rockford Speedway and Illiana Motor Speedway offer venues that are fast, action packed and challenging. Paul Everts, the crew chief for last year's overall champion says, "Each track is so different and the competition is so good that your set up needs to be right on every week." Last year, there were over 50 different feature winners. As a bonus for the 100+ competitors each week, the series will be using electronic scoring this year. The scoring system will allow the drivers to have an accurate record of lap times, including fast times for the entire season. The Chronit system will also help make scoring easier and more accurate. Several new classes have been added for 2003. Jr. II Lite and Jr. F200 OHV are being introduced to address the explosive growth in Junior class racing. Race Director John Nuttall on the Jr. II Lite class said, "With drivers starting younger, we felt there was a need for a class designed to offer a more challenging experience for the 10 - 11 year old age group than Jr. I Lite". The F200 OHV concept is getting traction as more as more racers want the challenge of a faster kart where set up, engine preparation and driver skill all play an important role. The F200 OHV rules allow a driver to choose a Briggs & Stratton, Yamaha, Kohler, Tecumseh, or Honda engine so racing is always interesting. The Champ Karts are returning in 2003 with three classes and a new class sponsor, Nortown Automotive. The Champ Karts are favorites with Mom because of the added safety of a roll cage and five-point safety harness and favorites with the racers because of the close competition. Last year's Jr. champions, Michael Bilderback and Mackenzie Piller are both returning to defend their titles. The start of a new season is always exciting because it is a chance to watch those "moving up", renew friendships and welcome new friends and sponsors. In 2003 we will miss long-time competitors like Mike Slabenak, last year's Sr. Champ Kart champion as he moves on to racing Sportsman Midgets and Jake Humphrey, the Sr. Lite Champion, in his quest to continue his successful racing career in a Late Model. The Stumpf's will be returning with Ben, last year's Jr. I Lite champion moving up to Jr. II Lite, leaving the door open for Ross Kennseth, brother Alex Š or maybe someone new. Jr. III Lite is sure to be the hotbed of competition it has been with the top three in the class, Jeff Everts, Billy Hulbert and Adam Carlson returning for another season. The Sr. Sportsman class is wide open, with drivers J.J. Adams and Sean Duncanson returning in 2003. Brandon Eash will be defending his Sr. Medium and Sr. Heavy titles and has his sites set on a sweep of all the Sr. Briggs classes for this year. In 2-Cycles, Eric Frieberg, last year's Sr. Yamaha champ is planning to run Sr. Medium as well as Yamaha this year. The Kid Karts are sure to be winners again this year! The youngest drivers in the series, 5-7 year-olds, will be joining the fun and running for points later in the season. This class is always fun to watch because the tracks are wide and the drivers are fearless. You never quite know what will happen! The Burris Circle Tour welcomes drivers from ages 5 and up, any level of skill and experience. The family friendly environment is open to kids of all ages so bring the whole family out to Lake Geneva Raceway, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin on April 27th. More information about the Burris Circle Tour and links to many other karting sites can be found at www.karts.net/burriscircle.