After nine months and ten exciting races, the climax for the 2015 season of the NOLA Sprint Kart Championship will reach its climax on November 14th and 15th. The Season finale weekend for the NSKC will be held on two different track configurations over the two days, each day will be considered a separate race for the championship. Saturday's course will be the .70 mile long Track P. The layout is very similar to the layout from the June's Track I except run in the reverse direction. First and last time this layout was used was in March of 2014. Look for the most passing done into turn 3 coming off of the 85 ft back straight as well turn 12 coming onto the front straight to the start/finish line. Sunday's course for the final race of the weekend and the season will Track J, the .71 mile layout is a one of the few layouts that have been used since the NSKC's first season of 2012. Besides club races this layout has also used for the 2012 Southeast Karting Challenge regional race. The turn 5/6 chicane will be the place to watch for passing attempts and action as well as the infamous "ramp" at turn 11 at the end of the back straight.
Six class titles will be up for grabs and they are the classes that have provided some of the closest, most exciting racing this year, some more than others depending on the month but you can always expect a good show from those groups.
The Rotax Senior Max title for the most part is on lock for defending champion Everett Thomas (CompKart), he holds a 276 point lead over Zach Rouse (Energy) and all Everett has to do is start the final on Saturday to clinch, but that isn't what to watch in this class. Three drivers are in a close battle for the final podium spot for the season. Rookie Rotax racers Jacob Crowell (Sodi), Sebastian Guerra-Mondragon (Tony Kart), and veteran racer John Robicheaux (FA Kart) have a less than thirty point spread between them and the points are close enough that who ever comes out of the weekend with the best results, with minimal mistakes, will take the final trophy spot at the end of the year party.
Rotax DD2 Max reflects the third place Senior Max scenario. Luis Zervigon (CRG) currently holds a fifteen point lead over Chad Clark Jr. (CRG) and Al Hassenbohler (CRG). Twenty points separate all three of them. So the title in this class is virtually wide open and will depend on who comes out of the weekend with the best results. Zervigon who was recently crowned champion for this years US Open series in DD2 Masters is the favorite.
The Briggs & Stratton Local Option 206 classes of Junior 1 and Junior 2 still have their classes to wrap up for the year with some very interesting stories. In Junior 2 its very simple for Seth Corbin (Margay), win at least one final during the weekend and he will have the class title in his first season of kart racing, although reigning champion Michael Causey (Coyote) will be very hard to beat. Ayden Guilbeau (Coyote) will have to finish no less than three positions ahead of Macon Moore (Ionic Edge) for the Junior 1 title to be his. Moore, at the minimum, can score third on both days while scoring maximum bonus points can win the title on a tie breaker for most wins. You can bet that he will not be going for the minimum with the championship this close.
The Rotax Micro Max title follows the same script. Points leader Cole Killian (CRG) holds a lead of eighty-six over Jesse Mitchell (CRG). Mitchell will have to place no less than three spots ahead of Killian to overcome the deficit. Killian on the other hand, can finish as low as third in both races and snag 5 bonus points and claim the championship by a single point if Mitchell can win both finals on the weekend.
The NOLA Sprint Kart Championship is a track run racing series for sprint style racing karts at NOLA Motorsports Park, located less than 20 minutes west of New Orleans. The Championship will hold 12 races over 10 months with the majority being single day events with two doubleheader weekends and two Saturday night races held during the summer months. Each race in the series runs on one of over 80+ configurations that can be set for the NOLA Motorsports Park Kart Track, the largest and most versatile karting facility in North America that has hosted two international karting events, the 2013 Rotax Pan American and Rotax Grand Finals. NOLA will also host the first round of the Maxspeed Entertainment’s US Open on April 21st thru the 22nd. Race track length can run from as short as a quarter of a mile to a mile in length.
Focusing on affordability and competitiveness, the NSKC’s kart classes are based on the national rule sets for the Briggs & Stratton’s Local Option 206, the United States Rotax Max Challenge and Superkarts USA’s Stock Honda Shifter Category, helping to ensure that experienced and novice kart racers from 7 years old to 30 years plus can all have a level playing field to compete in. There is even an Arrive & Drive class that racers who do not own karts can come and compete in called the NOLA GT MAX Cup that uses concession style Sodi brand karts powered by 21 horsepower Rotax FR125 engines. All classes race for trophies and awards each race with end of the year awards handed out to points champions. The NSKC is also part of national points programs such as the United States Rotax Max Challenge, Briggs & Stratton Weekly Racing Series and the Sodi World Series.
Albeit a local or sometimes referred to as a “club” series, the NSKC often draws over 60+ racers, rivaling that of some larger regional events, attracting racers not only from the state of Louisiana, but Texas, Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee. For more info on the NSKC and NOLA Motorsports Park, visit our website at www.nolamotor.com or send an email to [email protected]
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