CES Season Finale at IRP Story and photos by Joe Brittin CLERMONT, IN - The final round of the 2003 Margay.com Championship Enduro Series was held at the historic Indianapolis Raceway Park (IRP) road course on October 3 - 5. This track has been a regular stop for enduro kart races dating back to the mid-1970's. During the 1960's, this road course was a part of the Indy car circuit. NASCAR star Ricky Rudd fondly recalls his first trips to Indianapolis in the late 70's to race an enduro kart at IRP. Although no kart races were held at IRP last year, enduro road racing returned to IRP on the traditional late season date that often produces Indian Summer-like weather. The rain held off until about 3:00 p.m. on Friday and five rounds of practice were completed. After the rain cleared out, the racers were treated to mild weather in the 60's for the rest of the weekend. While some questioned whether the track was still suitable for kart racing, the sit-up classes produced some very competitive racing. The lay-down classes found the track a little too rough for their higher speeds and prone position, and most went home after racing on Saturday. The hiring of professional corner workers, rather than using volunteers, helped this event run very smoothly this year. A fairly good number of entrants were on hand considering the deteriorating condition of the road course surface. Although initial plans were to race the track in the opposite direction, the idea was dropped at the request of the majority of racers. The drag strip staging area of the road course was recently re-paved, and the drag strip itself is fairly smooth, having been redone about three years ago. Turns one through five have continued to deteriorate and the racers found themselves searching for the smoothest lines in order to keep from "wheel hopping" too much. The other problem area was the entrance to turn 15, which now has several large bumps. This probably slowed lap times a little, as most racers chose to enter this corner more cautiously. For the first time, plastic barriers were used along the outside of turn fifteen in the turn-in area. Unfortunately they did not extend far enough and several karts found their way into the hay bales which lined the exit of the corner. The most serious looking incident was in the Shifter Pro Series race where the top three tangled with Ted Steffke getting upside down. Everyone walked away from the incident without any serious injuries. The shifter kart turn out was big, in part due to the SKUSA Great Lakes Region attending for a regional race on Sunday. Many of the SKUSA participants took part in the CES shifter classes for additional track time. The shifter karts found the drag strip portion of the track to be quite slick as their rear wheels would often break loose when shifting gears. Several karts ended up spinning out on the main straight when they tried to shift gears. The best place to find traction on the drag strip straightaway was in the very center, between the two drag strip lanes. The lead pack was often as big as 10 karts and very competitive racing occurred with the lead position changing hands often. Ted Steffke was the only shifter kart racer able to pick up more than one CES win. Clayton Prater, Larry Nagy, Owen Wharton and Kevin Koshkarian claimed wins in the other CES shifter classes. Justin Mullins took honors for the fastest race lap at 1:41.332 in the Saturday SK-125 class. The top six in the SK-125 class would finish under a blanket both days with only .282 seconds separating first through sixth on Saturday and only .404 seconds separating first through sixth on Sunday. The red flag was waived for several accidents and a couple of racers ended up requiring a visit to the hospital. Gerald Revely broke his forearm and required surgery to install a steel rod. Always the dedicated racer, he returned Sunday to start in the Sprint PP SSX Can Lite race and immediately pulled in to the scales to collect fifth place points. An enduro competitor got upside down in the Saturday PP SSX Can class and broke his collar bone. The race was red flagged twice and five enduro drivers were involved in accidents. Picking up multiple wins over the weekend were Brad Richards in Sprint Briggs both days and in Sat. Sprint 4-Cycle Open, Brian Ellis in Novice Yamaha both days, Jake Bustos in Novice Briggs both days, Ted Steffke in the Pro ICC class and Sat. Sprint CIK 125, Jarret Schwarz in Sprint PP SSX Can Lite both days, David Bird in Sat. Sprint WKA Heavy and Sun. Sprint Yamaha, and Tim Brannam in Sprint PP SSX Can Heavy both days. It will be a shame to lose this event from the CES schedule next year, but unless significant improvements are made to the IRP road course, it is doubtful the CES will return. The rumors for next year's CES schedule could possibly include tracks such as Blackhawk Farms, Mid-Ohio, Putnam Park, Road America, Grattan, Gateway and the new Autobahn Country Club near Joliet. The final CES points have been posted at www.championshipenduro.com along with information on the 2003 awards banquet. The awards banquet will once again be held at the Carol Stream Holiday Inn on January 24, 2004. Tickets must be purchased by January 14 and discounted rooms are available by calling 630-665-3000 and asking for the International Racing Association room rates. More pictures... To see all the pictures from the Championship Enduro Series at IRP check out their website here!