KartPulse NOLA Sprint Kart Championship - Race #4 Report

Article Information

  • Published By : Damon Cuccia
  • Published On : May 02, 2016
  • Views : 2376
  • Likes : 1
  • Category : Club and Track Updates
  • Description :
  • Location : Avondale, LA, United States

Overview

  • NOLA Sprint Kart Championship Race #4 had a different feel in the paddock than normal with round one of Maxspeed Entertainment's US Open the next weekend and a few of the big teams opted to partake in our local race to gain some track knowledge that could be useful going into next weekend, even with the .70 mile “ProKart” layout being very fast compaired to the chosen layout for the big race that included the tight arrive & drive section of NOLA's 30 acre kart track.

    Rotax Junior Max was the biggest field of the day with 13 entries of the 71 total for the day among all classes competing, this would also be the first race for the class on the Mojo D2 tire per the 2016 USRMC regulations. Massapequa, New York driver Dylan Tavella aboard a Kosmic Kart from Iron Rock Motorsports would show early that he would be the one to beat taking pole position in qualifying ahead of Orsolon Racing driver and 2016 Challenge of the Americas champion Nicholas Bruckner (Tony Kart) and Iron Rock teammate Maxwell Waithman (Tony Kart). Tavella and Bruckner started the PreFinal with a collision on lap one at the world's chicane. Tavella would bounce back from last place to take the lead with 3 laps to go of 16 from Waithman to take the checkered flag. Bruckner would recover to finish in fourth. Tavella would dominate the Final from start to finish to take the win by over 14 seconds followed by Bruckner and Waithman. Adding to the win Tavella would also smash the Junior Max track record with a lap time of 43.385 also making the third fastest of the day, bested by only the Shifter Senior and DD2 Max drivers. Points leader Tyler Bruno (Tony Kart) and Bryce Boada (Kosmic) would finish a respectable fifth and seventh in the stacked field.

    Rotax Senior Max was filled with excitement from the start of the PreFinal all through out the day with Texas driver Brett Mitchell (Tony Kart) dominating the day. The Iron Rock driver set fast time in all sessions and won every race as well as setting a new track record for the class. Local drivers Logan McDonough (Tony Kart) and Sebastian Guerra-Mondragon (Tony Kart) crossed the line side by side to finish second and third to cap off the Final. Points leader Everett Thomas (CompKart) struggled with on track incidents and mechanical issues that caused him to not finish the final and get no points on the day, but still retain his points lead in the championship. Rotax Masters Max seen James Dix (BirelArt) scored his third win of the year over Curtis Terry (Kosmic) and Brandon Abidin (Sodi) rounding out the podium.

    Rotax Mini Max and Micro Max ran a combined race with battles being fought for the top spot in both classes. Micro Max seen Brash Racing driver Branyon Tiner (Tony Kart) battle Texas driver Enzo Scionti (CRG) all race with both drivers swapping the lead multiple times per lap. In the end Tiner took the win in the Final over Scionti with Iron Rock driver and former NOLA winner Noah Baker (Tony Kart) and Orsolon Racing driver Jack Jeffers (Tony Kart) rounding out the class. Mini Max seen a great three way battle including class points leader Jesse Mitchell, making the switch to CRG for this race, and the Iron Rock Motorsports team mates of Ethan Arndt (Tony Kart) and Yusef Moola (Tony Kart). In the end Mitchell would take the Final over Moola and Arndt with Cole Killian (Tony Kart) finishing fourth in the 7 kart class.

    The combined race group of the Shifters and DD2 classes would see Everett Thomas (CompKart) bounce back from his disappointments in Senior Max to take a dominate win in DD2 Max over J. Peter Licciardi (CRG) and Luis Zervigon (CRG) in a strong field of drivers. DD2 Masters seen George Zarragoitia (BirelArt) take his first win of the season over Todd Meyer (CRG) and Nicholas Pellerin (Maddox Kart). Stephen Lamana (CRG) and Anthony Harwin (CRG) would go on to win their respective classes in the shifter category uncontested with both setting new track records. Lamana would also go on to set the fastest lap of the day with a 41.946, breaking his three year old record in Shifter Senior.

    The Briggs & Stratton Local Option 206 class of Junior 1 seen Camryn Reed (Ionic Edge) take top honors in every session and look to score her first NSKC win, but Ayden Guilbeau (Coyote) hung on to win his fourth consecutive race of the season over Reed in the Final. Jake Faulkner (Ignite) scored his first podium finish of the season in the class of seven karts. Seth Corbin won the Junior 2 class uncontested aboard his Margay kart. The Senior 4-cycle class seen Greg Lacoste Jr. pick up right where he left off after taking a month off, leading the pack. Lacoste Jr. dominated the day in usual fashion leading a Margay kart sweep of the top spots with Nicholas Bernos scoring his first podium followed by Peter Tufaro in the twelve kart field.

    NOLA Sprint Kart Championship Race #5 will take place on Saturday, May 7th, two weeks after the US Open. This month's layout is a revisit to seasons past. "Zydeco Run" is a .50 mile, 10 turn configuration that was last used in April of the 2013 season. The main passing areas to watch will be Turn 1 reversing into the "World's Chicane" and the Turn 6 "Paul's Parking" hairpin. Only the brave will try to make a move in the fast rhythm section from turn 7 to 10. Fastest lap ever turned on this layout was set by Shifter Senior driver Stephen Lamana at a 28.979. Due to scheduling the only Test Day for Race #5 will be on Friday, May 6th the day before the race. Registration is now open online for Race #5 on MotorsportReg.com and will close on Monday, May 2nd at midnight. On site registration will be open Friday, May 6th during the Test Day from 8am to 5pm and race day morning from 7:00am to 8:30am.

    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 24th. 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, the US Open and Superkarts USA’s Spec Honda Shifter Categorys, 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 all across the Southeaster United States. For more info on the NSKC and NOLA Motorsports Park, visit our website at www.nolamotor.com or send an email to [email protected].