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BRANDON LEMKE CONTINUES WINNING WAYS WITH JUNIOR SWEEP AT NEW CASTLE MAN CUP

Published By Keith New Concept Race Media     July 23, 2015    

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July 22, 2015 -- Brandon Lemke is having a season for the ages in the country's most competitive 2-cycle sprint karting series, and another winning weekend at a national event this past weekend further solidifies his status as one of the hottest kart racers in the country.
 
This past weekend Lemke and his family-owned team traveled to Indiana's New Castle Motorsports Park for the fourth round of the 2015 WKA Manufacturers Cup Series, where the Eagle, Wisconsin driver continued his hot streak with a sweep of the Junior finals at the one-mile course.
 
In Pro IAME Junior, Brandon timed second in qualifying and he never relinquished the top spot in the remaining five rounds of competition. Lemke won all three heats, the pre-final and the final by nearly four seconds over fellow Franklin Motorsports-backed Merlin chassis racer Giovanni Bromante.
 
"Gio (Bromante) and I worked together to get away from the rest of the field," Brandon commented regarding his Pro IAME Junior win. "I watched the video after the race, and he overdrove the kart in one corner and that allowed me to get away. From there we raced uncontested to the win."
 
With 17 drivers entering the Yamaha Junior division, Lemke had to battle hard throughout the weekend in the lower-horsepower Yamaha KT100-powered category.
 
Following a fifth-place qualifying effort, he advanced to the front in the first of three heat races to score the win. But Lemke wouldn't find victory in any of the next three rounds of racing. He took second in heat races two and three and settled for third in Sunday morning's pre-final. Shortly after winning the Pro IAME Junior main event, Lemke muscled his Merlin to the front of the pack in the Yamaha Junior final and held on for a close 0.017-second win over Zach Holden in the main event.
 
"JP (Southern), Zach (Holden) and I pulled away from the rest of the field. It came down to the last straightaway, just like it always does at New Castle when it's a close race. I took the lead on the white-flag lap and ran a defending line for the last lap. I kept the kart low on the final straightaway, and Zach almost got under me. But it worked out and I was able to get the win," Lemke said about his second win of the day.
 
While Lemke works to add to his list of WKA national championships, he's experiencing what he calls "the best year I've ever had in karting."
 
Lemke's pair of wins this past weekend now gives him 18 final wins on the year among Man Cup, USPKS, Route 66, the SKUSA Pro Tour and this past winter's Florida Pro Kart Series.
 
His season in USPKS, arguably the most competitive sprint series on the east coast, speaks for itself.
 
Between Yamaha Junior and Leopard Junior, Lemke has won seven of the eight finals between the series' first two events. The only final he didn't win was Yamaha Junior on Saturday at the USPKS opener at GoPro Motorplex. In that race he finished a close second to teammate Gio Bromante.
 
"We've won at least one race at every event other than the first two Florida Pro Series races in January and February. I couldn't ask for a better season so far," Brandon said.
 
When asked what's different about this season compared to previous ones, Lemke pointed to confidence.
 
"My confidence is much higher than in past years," he offered. "I have the confidence every time I go on to the track. I know I have great equipment that will allow me to stay up front and battle for the lead at all times. And we have a really great class of drivers. I know my closest competitors will race me clean, and that always helps."
 
This weekend is a big one for Lemke and his fellow east-coast competitors. For the first time the SKUSA Pro Tour, regarded as the most competitive series west of the Mississippi, will host its SummerNationals at New Castle, a track Lemke has plenty of experience and race wins. But this weekend will see the best drivers from the west coast travel east to tackle New Castle and challenge the likes of Lemke, Malukas, Holden, Bromante and the best drivers the east coast has to offer.
 
Brandon, who won the Sunday TaG Junior main event at the Pro Tour's SpringNationals in April at the Phoenix Kart Racing Association in Glendale, Ariz., offered his thoughts on the SummerNationals at New Castle this weekend.
 
"It's a great series and very similar to USPKS here in the east. Obviously the teams and drivers are different from what we're used to, and I think drivers like myself and David (Malukas), Zach (Holden) and Gio (Bromante) will have an little advantage, just because we've run at New Castle so much. The SKUSA regulars from the west coast I'm sure will be tough to be, too, so it should make for some of the best competition I've ever raced against. And the tire compound (MG Whites) will be a little different than what we're used to. We should have a lot of grip and be really fast. I'm excited to see what these tires will be like at New Castle," Brandon said.
 
Lemke won't get much of a breather after the SummerNationals. The very next weekend, July 31-Aug.2, USPKS will be at Indiana's Michiana Raceway Park for round three of it's national program. The Lemke team will then get one weekend off before a three-week stretch to close out August. He'll run round four of the Route 66 Sprint Series at New Castle Aug. 14-16, the USPKS season closer Aug. 21-23 at New Castle and the Man Cup Series' season closer Aug. 28-30 at Pittsburgh International Race Complex in western PA.
 
"I have to thank a lot of people for this year's success," Brandon said. "Of course, my dad and Quickswim, my mom and family, QPS Employment Group, Jamie and George Sieracki at Franklin Motorsports, Merlin Chassis, Race Ready Engineering and Woltjer Racing Engines for the awesome power."
 
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Brandon Lemke is a 15-year-old national champion kart racer from Eagle, Wisconsin. Lemke is a seven-time national champion, 13-time regional champion and the last driver to win four national WKA championships in a single season, which netted him the prestigious Triple Crown award in 2013.
 
Lemke races his family-owned Franklin Motorsports-backed Merlin chassis in the most competitive sprint series in the country. He's proud to be sponsored by Quickswim, QPS Employment Group, Woltjer Racing Engines and Race Ready Engineering.  
 
For more information on Brandon, visit his official website at BrandonLemke.com and "Like" his Facebook page at "Brandon Lemke Fan Page." 

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