Burkett Racing Las Vegas SuperNationals event summary

BURKETT RACING SKUSA SUPERNATIONALS REPORT
Prairie province team shows well in Sin City as BRE make their debut run at the annual temporary circuit event

Winnipeg, Manitoba - Burkett Racing Enterprises (BRE), in partnership with GBR Karting Inc., headed to the 2010 edition of SuperKarts! USA SuperNationals with three talented young drivers running in three separate classes. The trip to the Rio Hotel and Casino included Daniel Burkett in TaG Senior, Zachary Scalzo in TaG Junior and Jeff Fulham in TaG Cadet. The two Western Canadian teams have been working in partnership throughout 2010 and have seen success across Canada. This partnership has a proven track record with team spirit and driver development at the core of its success. Overseeing the trackside program is Kevin Glover of GBR who provided his extensive expertise in driver coaching and chassis tuning.

Leading the charge in Sin City was Daniel Burkett of BRE, running in TaG Senior at the SuperNats for the first time. Only 15-years-old, Daniel made the switch to Senior in the Western Canadian Challenge (WCC) early in 2010. Burkett ran a Parilla Leopard engine on his Arrow chassis with long-time tuner Ray Arsenault turning the wrenches. At the end of day one Burkett would sit in 38th out of the 83 drivers in the field setting himself into the important Group One. On day two he would improve to 31st overall as the team built momentum. Some last minute changes for timed qualifying didn't go as planned and Burkett crossed in the 53rd spot putting him 27th in each of his heats. In heat one it was Burkett running in 12th early on and then fading to 15th place when the engine exploded, scoring him as a DNF. For the second heat the BRE Team rebuilt the power plant that still needed some track time to be fully ready to race. Despite two red flags, Burkett was able to move up to 18th in the shortened race. In the final heat Daniel went from 27th to 13th for his best run of the weekend. After the heat race tally it would Burkett starting the Last Chance Qualifier in fourth place as he looked to make the Final. In the LCQ the outside row had a brutal start leaving Burkett in the 12th spot exiting corner one. With great hustle and bold passes, Burkett drove himself up into sixth the final transfer spot in the closing laps, only to get pounded on the last lap to finish in seventh, one spot short of making the Final. Unknown to the BRE, a penalty was assessed to the driver in sixth giving Burkett his spot in the final. With no official posting presented of the final LCQ results there was confusion as to whether Burkett was in and he never made the start despite making a valiant effort to get there.

"Daniel did an amazing job all week. He drove incredible," smiles GBR owner Kevin Glover. "I really believe he past a milestone in his racing career this week at the SuperNats. He was mature, focused, positive and best of all, fast. "

In TaG Jr. Zachary Scalzo of Montreal, Quebec was supported by mechanic Vince Arsenault and the duo was looking for some success in one of the toughest classes. After the timed sessions, Scalzo would slot into Group Two and qualify in the 24th spot in his session. Once combined, Scalzo would be ranked 37th in the timed sessions and would run his heats from the seven row. In heat race one, a nice run had him finishing in 13th place for a solid point score. In heat two was a bit rougher as the Arrow pilot took home a 23rd and then matching that same effort in the third and final heat race. That combination of results had the talent teenager ranked 41st and heading into the LCQ looking for one of the transfer spots. A solid drive in the LCQ, put Scalzo in the show with a sixth place finish. In the Super Sunday Final Scalzo drove up to 23rd place as he battled crashes and traffic, completing all the laps in the event. The result was a fantastic finish of his first SuperNationals.

Rounding out the program was Jeff Fulham who headed to the big show off an impressive first year of karting. In his first trip to Las Vegas the 10-year old driver ran in the fast and exciting Mini Rok class for the first time. Fulham ran 31st and 33rd in the final two practice sessions as the team searched for an engine gremlin. The lack of power had Fulham qualify in 36th place, a tough spot from which to race. In heat one the engine gave out after seven laps and then in the second heat it expired after 4 laps giving Fulham two DNF scores. Fulham was unable to make the third heat as Vortex officials finally gave the team a new motor. In the final, with a new engine by his side, the young Manitoba driver had a great drive up to 27th from starting 41st.

"We had a ton of fun. The quality of the field is amazing. This was a great trip for all of us," smiles Murray Burkett of BRE. "All three drivers raced well and that's what is key. We learned a lot and will know what to expect when we return in 2011."

-source: bre