I-55 Sprint Series kicks off at Mid-State Raceway SPRINGFIELD, IL - The inaugural race for the I-55 Sprint Series was held at Mid-State Raceway on April 13 with a great turn out of over 90 entries on hand. The four race series is being contested at Mid-State Raceway in Springfield, IL and I-55 Raceway Park at Pevely, MO. The two tracks, linked by Interstate 55, are located roughly 130 miles apart from each other. The two karting clubs who are putting on the series, Mid-State Kart Club and the St. Louis Karting Association, have worked together to host a competitive series using WKA rules and class structures. Special awards will be given at the final race of the series on September 6, at Mid-State Raceway. The best three out of four races will count toward the series point championship. Championship jackets, top-five trophies and series T-shirts will be awarded to the point champions. Kid kart participants who compete in at least three of the series races will also receive special trophies for the series in addition to the single event trophies. The biggest class on hand was the Yamaha Supercan class which was won by local hot shoe John Barnard, driving a Mark Coats Racing prepared Margay chassis. His closest competition came from Chris Shearburn and Dustin Kessinger. John Barnard also picked up a win in the 2-Cycle Lite class over David Cox and Brett Yates. The 2-Cycle Heavy class saw Kent Laukaitis dominate with a five-second lead over Brian Hannon and Tim Bade. The 2-Cycle Rookie class had a good turn out with 12 entries. Mario Nigro captured the feature by just .111 seconds over Matthew Laukaitis with Brett Cogo rounding out the top three. The 2-Cycle Junior class was also a big group with some close action. Clay Yates topped Greg Dingess and Tim Sykes in the finale. Greg Dingess was able to take home a first in 4-Cycle Junior in another close finish of just .112 seconds over Becky Koestoner followed by Michelle Mahler in third. Chad Kruger dominated the 4-Cycle Heavy class with almost a five-second lead over Cale Downs and Jerry Miller. Bryan Vought picked up a close win over Matt Riggs and Jennifer Best in 4-Cycle Lite. Brad Brittin won the 4-Cycle Rookie class with Nick Scaduto and Jack Miller rounding out the top three. Tim Barnard was the fastest man at the track in the 125 Shifter class turning a 30.441-second lap in the feature on the way to his win. The Oval 4-Cycle Heavy class saw Ryan Cassity top Keith Garner and Sherry Woodhead. The Kid Kart class had a great turn out of 12 entries with all participants taking home some nice sized trophies. The next race in the series is scheduled for May 4 at Pevely with practice available on May 3 from 10 am to 4 pm. The series returns to Pevely again on July 20 and the final race is at Mid-State on September 6 where the series awards will be presented. See www.midstatekartclub.com for more information on the series. For more information on I-55 Raceway Park, see www.slka.net. Feature Results (April 13): 125cc Shifter Pos No. Name Laps Diff Best Tm 1 24E Tim Barnard 10 30.441 2 98 Todd Martin 10 12.096 31.37 3 7E Nick Harris 10 20.739 31.626 4 10 Sherry Hufstedler 9 --1 Lap-- 33.78 5 Emmett Pyatt 2-Cycle Jr. Sportsman Pos No. Name Laps Diff Best Tm 1 9 Mario Nigro 10 36.149 2 81 Matthew Laukaitis 10 0.111 36.082 3 89 Brett Cogo 10 1.375 36.218 4 8 Kody Hughes 10 5.788 35.853 5 6 Brooke Wankel 10 8.188 36.953 6 18 Colton Ramsey 10 19.814 37.869 7 77 Kevin Bade 10 20.436 37.987 8 74 Gino Giannetti 10 26.546 38.135 9 2 Dillion Womack 10 26.678 37.959 10 5 Caleb Wankel 10 30.149 37.875 11 91 Rachyl Huddleston 10 34.219 38.387 12 21 Tony Nika 2 Cycle Jr Supercan Pos No. Name Laps Diff Best Tm 1 88 Clay Yates 10 32.87 2 25 Greg Dingess 10 0.284 33.284 3 24 Tim Sykes 10 0.554 32.674 4 18 Kyle Gnau 10 10.913 33.868 5 20 Sam Miles 10 15.935 33.278 6 42 Katie Lord 10 28.86 35.574 7 77 Andrew Goodhart 1 --9 Laps-- 39.613 8 83 Becky Koestoner 0 --10 Laps -.--- 9 8 Tommy Nigro 0 0.195 -.--- 10 Devon Nichols 2 Cycle Yamaha Heavy Pos No. Name Laps Diff Best Tm 1 10 Kent Laukaitis 10 32.166 2 6 Brian Hannon 10 5.271 32.687 3 43 Tim Bade 10 12.994 33.504 4 32 John McCracken Jr 10 22.645 34.345 5 16 Dennis Harris 9 --1 Lap-- 35.228 6 78 Dan Chicradonna 9 2.184 35.755 2 Cycle Yamaha Super Can Pos No. Name Laps Diff Best Tm 1 8 John Barnard 10 33.051 2 36 Chris Shearburn 10 0.905 33.12 3 31 Dustin Kessinger 10 5.821 33.481 4 20 Brett Yates 10 5.979 33.47 5 5 Derek Crockett 10 12.939 34.009 6 7 Adam Sullivan 10 18.732 33.679 7 18 Sara Hyslop 10 18.933 34.127 8 9 David Kreis 10 20.835 34.423 9 13 Tim Tribbett 10 20.939 34.279 10 21 John Weiss 10 32.653 35.374 11 25 Bane Nikolic 10 34.757 35.959 12 15 John Gnau 8 --2 Laps-- 34.438 13 88 Matt Riggs 2 --8 Laps-- 34.637 2 Cycle Yamaha Lite Pos No. Name Laps Diff Best Tm 1 8 John Barnard 10 31.392 2 15 David Cox 10 2.212 31.516 3 20 Brett Yates 6 --4 Laps-- 32.337 4 7 Jack Gerber 5 63 Emmett Pyatt 4 Cycle Junior Restricted Pos No. Name Laps Diff Best Tm 1 25 Greg Dingess 10 36.012 2 83 Becky Koestoner 10 0.112 36.385 3 12 Michelle Mahler 10 20.498 38.013 4 20 Jeff Green 10 20.746 37.802 5 24 Tommy McKenzie 10 22.41 36.734 6 4 Trish Runnion 9 --1 Lap-- 41.305 4 Cycle Rookie Pos No. Name Laps Diff Best Tm 1 5 Brad Brittin 10 40.573 2 23 Nick Scaduto 10 9.396 41.478 3 18 Jack Miller 10 12.703 40.274 4 8 Michael Martin Jr 1 --9 Laps-- 47.088 4 Cycle Sr Heavy Pos No. Name Laps Diff Best Tm 1 7 Chad Kruger 10 35.569 2 2 Cale Downs 10 4.631 35.97 3 8 Jerry Miller 10 4.921 35.622 4 85 Cameron Lane 10 5.666 35.846 5 6 Stephan Kammerer 10 6.31 35.825 6 95 Todd Hayes 10 6.554 35.997 7 1 Mike Nesbitt 10 14.276 36.386 8 Jim Rapps 4 Cycle Sr Lite Pos No. Name Laps Diff Best Tm 1 83 Bryan Vought 10 34.887 2 88 Matt Riggs 10 0.223 34.891 3 14 Jennifer Best 10 6.502 35.132 4 Mike Erpering 5 Brian Littern Oval Briggs Heavy: 1.) Ryan Cassity, 2.) Keith Garner, 3.) Sherry Woodhead, 4.) Craig Williams Kadet Participants: 1.) Jordan Laukaitis, 2.) Kirsten Mosley, 3.) Trevor Gianetti, 4.) Trevor Boblitt, 5.) Emily Kaestner, 6.) Noah Nigro, 7.) Joseph Patrick, 8.) J.T. Lewis, 9.) Nate Metcalf, 10.) Brayton Gibbs, 11.) Spencer Boyd, 12.) Jordan Tribbett