Billy Hulbert's last lap heroics decide the Series Champion for the Burris Circle Tour LAKE GENEVA, WI - 13 races, 56 different feature winners and the Season Championships for the Burris Circle Tour came down to one broken rod, a first place finish with a 5/100th's of a second margin and a last ditch dive coming across the stripe. When all was sorted out, Billy Hulbert earned the top spot in the Burris Circle Tour, the Midwest's Premier Speedway Karting Series. The top 4 drivers in the series are in the Jr. 3 Lite Class, so the season hung on one feature race. Starting the day, Jordon Thiel was in the lead with a 35-point lead over Hulbert. These friends ran side-by-side all year with both the karts and drivers the picture of consistency. A 2-time feature winner, Nick Chiapetta was only 10 points behind. Through lap 9 of the feature, Hulbert had the lead; Chiapetta and Thiel were tight in the draft. Then suddenly, Thiel lost power and the yellow flag came out. Thiel's kart would not refire and he watched from the infield as his 14 week lead evaporated in a matter of seconds. Mason Hadley jumped out into the lead on the restart and looked to be the spoiler, while Chiapetta appeared to be out of it in seventh place. In the closing laps, it became a battle of will. Hulbert got by Hadley while Chiapetta started picking off the competition with drafting help from Tyler Middleton. Coming around the last lap, Hulbert was alone in the middle line, Chiapetta and Middleton were charging down the inside. Midlleton moved left trying to find the line for the win, Chiapetta first went right then left - finishing in the second spot. Middleton was third for the day, Adam Carlson finished fourth and Hadley rounded out the podium. The top 5 finished within _ second of each other. The Overall Championship Points finished with Hulbert in first with 2147 points, Chiapetta with 2132 points, Thiel with 2124 points and Hadley with 2081. What a finish! The day wasn't over by a long shot. The Jr. Sportsman Champs were just as interested in the points standings as the Jr. 3's. For most of the race, Jacob Zellmer was in the lead and Colton Clevenger was following right behind him, using the draft to stay in front of the rest of the pack. Coming around turn 4 on the final lap of the season, Clevenger pulled to the inside. Zellmer did a great job of running a defensive line to hold off the last second charge in his 2nd feature win of the year. Near the end of the pack Tyler Blume struggled with his equipment after being involved in an early race spin. Although he finished in 7th place today, Blume's lead was just enough to carry him to first in the Jr. Sportsman Class points and in 5th place overall. Zellmer finished in second place, just 5 points behind. Colton Clevenger, Dylan Barbosa and Jacob Bandaly were other top finishers in the class. Action was tight in every class. Thaddeus Malosh won his first ever feature race in the Kid Karts and Austin Hintt, the Kid Kart Class Champion officially moved up to Jr. 1. Cory Talaska won the Jr. 1 feature, narrowly beating Jr. 1 Class Champion Alex Stumpf. Brian Freiberg and Matt Vice raced for the Jr. Champ crown with Freiberg winning the day and Vice dominating the class points. Tyler Peterson won the Jr. 2 feature and Class Championship on his hometown track. Brad Becker won his 3rd feature of his rookie year, but it wasn't enough to overtake Sr. Champ Kart Champion Nicole Phillips. Brandon Eash won the feature race in the Sr. Heavy Class and just beat Amy Ghislain for the Heavy Class Championship. Eric Frieberg was a double winner, taking both the Sr. Medium and Yamaha Sportsman Class Championships. Joe Chiapetta won the Sr. Sportsman Class and Tiffany Wester ran to the top spot in F200-OHV. The Sr. Lites were the final race of the day - and the fans were glad they stayed. Again, the points were very close going into the day with Jimmy Johnson leading last year's Overall Champion, Jeff Everts, by 5 points and Shane Morrissey by 20. The action heated up with 5 laps to go. For a restart after a yellow flag, Morrissey was the leader, Everts was in second and Johnson was 6 positions back. By the time the karts circled around Morrissey was out in front with his sister Ashley, an area stock car driver, tucked behind him in second. Everts found a drafting partner in Ryan Rockhold but together, they couldn't get by the Morrissey's. Jimmy Johnson was in fifth. After a lot of positioning and no passing, the checkered flag dropped on the season. Morrissey won the feature today, and Everts won the Sr. Lite Class Points battle by 5 points over Johnson. The Burris Circle Tour will be back in 2004 with a full slate of kart racing at venues in the Midwest where the focus remains on great racing, safety and family fun. 2003 Burris Circle Tour Points By Class Final as of: 10/5/2003 Jr. 1 Lite Pos. - Kart # - Name - Hometown - Points 1.) #6 Alex Stumpf, Menasha, WI - 2065 2.) #11 Andy Jones, Gurnee, Il - 1999 3.) #8 Matt Holzgrafe, Downers Grove, IL - 1894 4.) #16 Cory Talaska, Campbellsport, WI - 1680 5.) #36 Derrick Gough, Roscoe, IL - 1652 6.) #8D Caylie Duncanson, De Pere, IL - 1067 Jr. 2 Lite Pos. - Kart # - Name - Hometown - Points 1.) #16 Tyler Peterson, Lake Geneva, WI - 2155 2.) #87 Aaron Katzenberg, Pell Lake, WI - 2120 3.) #10 Ben Stumpf, Menasha, WI - 1870 4.) #0 Tommy Jones, Gurnee, IL - 1863 5.) #62 Dylan Hobbs, Sterling, IL - 1360 6.) #15 Patrick McCarty, Kankakee, IL - 1218 Jr. 3 Lite Pos. - Kart # - Name - Hometown - Points 1.) #88 Billy Hulbert, Channahon, IL - 2147 2.) #19 Nick Chiapetta, Downers Grove, IL - 2132 3.) #X2 Jordan Thiel, Appleton, WI - 2124 4.) #8 Mason Hadley, Channahon, Il - 2081 5.) #08 Adam Carlson, Lisle, IL - 2014 6.) #17a Zach Axlen, Sheboygan, WI - 2007 7.) #2 Nick Miller, Freeport, IL - 1870 8.) #88b Nick Beinlich, Lincolnshire, IL - 1686 9.) #90 Andrew Hintt, Poplar Grove, IL - 1637 10.) #71 Tyler Middleton, East Hazel Crest, IL - 1624 11.) #9 Carly Mandarino, Glen Ellyn, IL - 1350 Jr. Champ Pos. - Kart # - Name - Hometown - Points 1.) #22 Matt Vice, Woodale, IL - 2235 2.) #38 Ryan Marshall, Kansasville, WI - 2155 3.) #33 Brian Freiberg, Lockport, Il - 2132 4.) #2 Matt Scott, St. Charles, IL - 2126 5.) #2b Jimmy Sivia, Waukegan, IL - 1516 6.) #2x Michael Bilderback, S. Beloit, IL - 1442 7.) #29 Frank James Slabenak, Palos Park, IL - 1044 Jr. Sportsman Champ Pos. - Kart # - Name - Hometown - Points 1.) #94 Tyler Blume, Oregon, IL - 2088 2.) #17 Jacob Zellmer, Eagle, WI - 2083 3.) #8 Colton Clevenger, Cherry Valley, IL - 2035 4.) #24 Dylan Barbosa, Yorkville, IL - 1995 5.) #20 Jacob Bandaly, Villa Park, IL - 1957 6.) #11 George Clos, Palatine, IL - 1915 7.) #24P Mackenzie Piller, Dixon, IL - 1785 8.) #6 Sean Clavey, Northbrook, IL - 1721 9.) #5 Ben Hewitt, DeForest, WI - 1274 10.) #21 Rachael Pinkerman, Palatine, IL - 1206 Jr. Yamaha Pos. - Kart # - Name - Hometown - Points 1.) #94 Jessica Brannam, McHenry, IL - 2085 2.) #9 Carly Mandarino, Glen Ellyn, IL - 1540 Kid Karts Pos. - Kart # - Name - Hometown - Points 1.) #96 Austin Hintt, Poplar Grove, IL - 1841 2.) #71 Morgan Schissel, Marshall, WI - 1759 3.) #9 Elliott Pritchett, Sycamore, IL - 1759 4.) #76st Teddie Stumpf, Menasha, WI - 1608 5.) #36 Trevor Kelley, Janesville, WI - 1603 6.) #8 Zaida Clevenger, Cherry Valley, IL - 1508 7.) #8 Jacob VanWazer, Lombard, IL - 1495 8.) #23 Thaddeus Malosh, Newark, IL - 1435 9.) #8 Joshua James, Saukville, WI - 1430 10.) #5 Jordan Jagielski, Burlington, WI - 1305 11.) #76sa Travis Sabotka, Richmond, IL - 1229 12.) #70 Brennan Frisb, y Genoa City, WI - 1031 13.) #17 Amanda Atkinson - 700 14.) #72J Jimmy Ryan, Pleasant Prairie, WI - 540 Sr. Champ Pos. - Kart # - Name - Hometown - Points 1.) #14 Nicole Phillips, Sycamore, IL - 2180 2.) #27 Brad Becker, Burlington, WI - 2000 3.) #11 Jim Maher, Wauconda, IL - 1961 4.) #12 George Bobolos, Chicago, IL - 1746 5.) #18 Aaron Phillips, Sycamore, IL - 1020 Sr. Heavy Pos. - Kart # - Name - Hometown - Points 1.) #36 Brandon Eash, Rockford, IL - 2133 2.) #55 Amy Ghislain, Twin Lakes, WI - 2103 3.) #56 Tyler Traber, Powers Lake, WI - 2008 4.) #29 Jay Badgley, Carpentersville, IL - 2003 Sr. Lite Pos. - Kart # - Name - Hometown - Points 1.) #03 Jeff Everts, Channahon, IL - 2095 2.) #24 Jimmy Johnson, Lincolnshire, IL - 2090 3.) #21 Shane Morrissey, Cuba City, WI - 2085 4.) #44 Joe Johnson, Slinger, WI - 1825 5.) #23 Ricky Johnson, Lincolnshire, IL - 1468 6.) #19 Richard McGill, Chicago, IL - 1322 7.) #98 Amanda Lishamer, Elgin, IL - 890 Sr. Medium Pos. - Kart # - Name - Hometown - Points 1.) #5 Eric Freiberg, Lockport, IL - 2116 2.) #36 Brandon Eash, Rockford, IL - 2020 3.) #52 Ryan Rockhold, Pekin, IL - 1870 4.) #9 Anthony Danta, Orland Park, IL - 1155 5.) #8 Kris McCarty, Kankakee, IL - 1130 Sr. Sportsman Pos. - Kart # - Name - Hometown - Points 1.) #28 Joe Chiapetta, Downers Grove - 2215 2.) #81 J.J. Adams, Wonder Lake, IL - 2160 3.) #4 Rob Blake, Glen Ellyn, IL - 1620 4.) #11 Stan Guess, South Elgin, IL - 1220 Yamaha Sportsman Pos. - Kart # - Name - Hometown - Points 1.) #55 Eric Freiberg, Lockport, IL - 2245 2.) #37 Seth Lootans, Bristol, WI - 1710 3.) #84 Eric Frisby, Lindenhurst, IL - 1470 4.) #3 Jake Mogan, Wonder Lake, IL - 1175 F200-OHV Pos. - Kart # - Name - Hometown - Points 1.) 8 Tiffany Wester, Hampshire, IL 2060 2.) 98 Chris Lishamer, Elgin, IL 2035 3.) 08 Shane Morrissey, Cuba City, WI 1370 Top 20 Overall Championship Points Standings (Points are weighted by class size) Pos. - Kart # - Name - Class - Series Points 1.) #88 Billy Hulbert - Jr. 3 Lite - 2147 2.) #19 Nick Chiapetta - Jr. 3 Lite - 2132 3.) #X2 Jordan Thiel - Jr. 3 Lite - 2124 4.) #8 Mason Hadley - Jr. 3 Lite - 2081 5.) #94 Tyler Blume - Jr. Sportsman Champ - 2072 6.) #17 Jacob Zellmer - Jr. Sportsman Champ - 2066 7.) #8 Colton Clevenger - Jr. Sportsman Champ - 2027 8.) #08 Adam Carlson - Jr. 3 Lite - 2014 9.) #17a Zach Axlen - Jr. 3 Lite - 2007 10.) #24 Dylan Barbosa - Jr. Sportsman Champ - 1986 11.) #22 Matt Vice - Jr. Champ - 1970 12.) #20 Jacob Bandaly - Jr. Sportsman Champ - 1941 13.) #11 George Clos - Jr. Sportsman Champ - 1900 14.) #38 Ryan Marshall - Jr. Champ - 1897 15.) #21 Shane Morrissey - Sr. Lite - 1880 16.) #33 Brian Freiberg - Jr. Champ - 1877 17t.) #2 Matt Scott - Jr. Champ - 1870 17t.) #2 Nick Miller - Jr. 3 Lite - 1870 19.) #24 Jimmy Johnson - Sr. Lite - 1865 20.) #03 Jeff Everts - Sr. Lite - 1863