Pit Board 2010-07-07

WKA's Pit Board - 07.07.2010

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Donald, Farmer win nearly half the features at BeaveRun Gold Cup

07.07.2010 - The WKA Russell Karting Gold Cup Series visited the BeaveRun Motorsports Complex last weekend for the Jammer Clutches Nationals, where two drivers each took four feature victories to win eight of the 18 national classes offered at the western Pennsylvania venue.

The big winners were junior driver Jacob Donald and senior racer Brett Farmer. Donald swept the Briggs Jr classes, winning 12-lap features in Briggs Jr Lite, Jr Medium, Jr Heavy and Restricted Jr. Accomplished young kart racers such as Dakota Bell, Sam Beasley and Zachary Deshaies have raced in the Briggs Jr ranks in recent years, but none of them has ever accomplished the four-class sweep.

Donald, a WKA Manufacturer's Cup regular out of Jeannette, Pa., beat the best junior drivers the Gold Cup Series has to offer at BeaveRun. Matt Tifft finished second to Donald in Rest. Jr. Skylar Robinson was the runner-up in Jr Lite and Jr Medium, and Chris Wells ran second in Jr Heavy. Wells was a 2009 national champion and Robinson won two features at the Gold Cup opener in Kershaw, S.C., but neither had anything for Donald at BeaveRun.

Joining Donald as a four-race weekend winner was Michigan's Farmer, who took wins in Briggs Lite, Briggs Medium and the pair of Briggs Animal Modified classes.

Farmer drove his Margay to the win over Scott Kleman in Lite and out-raced Arrow pilot Gary Lawson and Coyote's Jim Lipari to the checkers in Medium. Farmer won the Animal Mod races over Scott Heckert, and he drove his Coyote chassis to lap times under the one-minute barrier in both Mod affairs. Farmer clocked a fast lap of 59.102 in Animal Mod Medium's qualifying session, which was over a second faster than his top qualifying time in Briggs Lite.

Trent Barnes picked up his second and third Gold Cup feature wins of the season. Barnes swept the Briggs Sportsman 1 features, winning over Tyler Frantz in Sportsman 1 Lite and Jake Lutz in Sportsman 1 Heavy. Trent was the one of only two double winners at BeaveRun; the other was Kaytlyn Fauci who was the only entrant in Briggs World Formula Medium and Heavy.

Skyler Locklear continued his reign over the Briggs Sportsman 2 Lite division. After winning the Kershaw opener, Locklear got the win at BeaveRun over Sarah Luoma. Locklear will be looking for his third in a row when the tour heads to New Castle, Ind., for the season's third event.

Douglas Barnes Jr. equaled Locklear's success when he won the Briggs Sportsman 2 Heavy class for the second national in a row. After winning the class at Kershaw, Barnes finished ahead of Stephen Brewer Jr. and Locklear at BeaveRun.

Gary Lawson won Briggs Heavy for the second Gold Cup race in a row. Lawson's win denied Farmer of a fifth weekend triumph. Farmer finished second and Ryan Phillips third.

Ian Walther won Briggs Super Heavy, while Justin Cassity (Medium) and Tim Stiefel (Heavy) split the Briggs Masters mains.

Nick Fauci and Robert Noaker Jr. were Kid Kart participants at BeaveRun.

The Jammer Clutches Nationals entry count equaled last year's BeaveRun Gold Cup national count of 220. Last year's BeaveRun national was the series' season closer and this year it was moved to Fourth of July weekend. G&J Kartway in Camden, Ohio, will serve as this year's Gold Cup closer the first weekend of October.

Many classes saw increased entries at BeaveRun compared to the Kershaw opener. Sixteen and 17 karts started Briggs Jr Lite and Medium, while only 10 took the green in each class at Kershaw. Briggs Medium had 26 entrants versus 21 at Kershaw, and most other classes at least equaled the Kershaw count. The exceptions were Briggs Masters Medium and Heavy, which started 13 and 11 karts at Kershaw and only nine and six at BeaveRun.

Next up for the Russell Karting Gold Cup Series is the Coyote Motorsports Nationals at New Castle Motorsports Park. The race will serve as the second annual Gold Cup / Vega Speedway Pavement Series doubleheader at the popular Indiana venue. The New Castle twin bill goes off Aug. 20-22, and pre-registration is open through Wednesday, Aug. 11. Go to www.worldkarting.com/downloads/eb-2010/0820_newcastle_GC.pdf to view the New Castle entry blank.

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Pre-registration open for upcoming WKA nationals

07.07.2010 - Entry blanks are available for a number of upcoming WKA nationals. Entry blanks will soon be available for all WKA nationals through the duration of the 2010 season, which ends with the Russell Karting Gold Cup Series' GT Machine Grand Nationals Oct. 1-3 at G&J (Ohio) Kartway.

Pre-registration for the Briggs & Stratton Speedway Dirt Series' fourth stop of the season is open until Wednesday, July 21. The race is the Palmetto Speed Shop Nationals at the Georgia Karting Komplex in Carnesville, Ga., which goes off Saturday, July 31. Go to www.worldkarting.com/downloads/eb-2010/0730_GKK_dirt.pdf to view the Carnesville entry blank.

August is a busy month for WKA. The Road Race Summer Nationals kicks off the action July 30 - Aug. 1 at VIRginia Int'l Raceway. Pre-registration for this WKC-hosted national opened on July 1 and is available through July 24. Go to www.worldkarting.com/downloads/eb-2010/0730_vir_rr.pdf to view the VIR entry blank.

The George Kugler / Bridgestone Manufacturer's Cup Series driven by Mazda is in action this weekend with the Zoom Zoom Grand Nationals at Road America, and visits New Castle (Ind.) Motorsports Park for the Show Hauler Trucks Nationals Aug. 6-8. Pre-registration for this race, the fourth stop on the 2010 Man Cup tour, is open through Wednesday, July 21. Go to www.worldkarting.com/downloads/eb-2010/0807_mc_newcastle.pdf to view the New Castle Man Cup entry blank.

Aug. 20-22 marks the Vega Speedway Pavement Series / Gold Cup twin bill at New Castle. Pre-registration for these races is open till Wednesday, Aug. 11. For the Pavement Series' X-Caliber / Rage Nationals entry blank, go to www.worldkarting.com/downloads/eb-2010/0716_chapel_pave.pdf . For the Gold Cup's Coyote Motorsports Nationals entry blank, go to www.worldkarting.com/downloads/eb-2010/0820_newcastle_GC.pdf .

Just down the road from New Castle is the Putnam Park Road Course in Mt. Meridian, Ind., which features the WKA Dunlop Tire Road Racing Series driven by Mazda Aug. 20-22. The entry blank for the Putnam Road Race Nationals will be available on WorldKarting.com early next week at the latest.

Following Putnam Park, one race remains for each of the five WKA national series. Speedway Dirt is at Dumplin Valley, Tenn., Sept. 11; Road Racing and Man Cup head to New Jersey Motorsports Park for a doubleheader Sept. 17-19; the Speedway Pavement tour closes its season at BeaveRun, Pa., Sept. 24-26, and Gold Cup is at Camden Oct. 1-3.

Entry blanks for all of these events will be available in the coming weeks.

-source: wka