WKA: Pit Board 2009-10-15

WKA's Pit Board - 10.15.2009

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New location has WKA excited for KartFest 2010

10.15.2009 -- Details on next year's version of WKA's annual consumer trade show, KartFest 2010, have been ironed out over the past few weeks and can now be viewed at www.worldkarting.com/pg/events/kartfest/kartfest.html.

The Jan. 29 and 30 show has a new location, moving from Hickory, N.C., to the Carolina First Center in Greenville, S.C., about two hours southwest of Charlotte. The center recently completed a $22 million enhancement and offers a convenient location right off I-85 near hotels, restaurants and the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport.

Exhibitor letters, floor plans and other literature will be mailed out in the next week. If you are not on our mailing list and you're interested in exhibiting, please contact WKA General Manager Marie Borsuk at 704-455-1606 ext. 11 or e-mail kartfest@worldkarting.com.

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Ground broken on new Daytona dirt track

10.15.2009 -- The much-anticipated start date for construction of the new Dirt Track at Daytona International Speedway has officially been reached. As of Oct. 9, crews were busy setting up the silt fence to prevent erosion, as well as moving in equipment to begin the rebirth process of the nation's most popular and coveted dirt karting national event, The Dirt World Championship.

WKA officials will be visiting the World Center of Racing on Oct. 22 for a full day on-sight meeting with speedway officials, going over logistics for the event, as well as fine tuning items for the Road Racing and Manufacturer's Cup series, all of which will be running simultaneously as part of Daytona KartWeek.

Upon completion of the meeting, entry blanks for all three major events will be publicized for competitors wishing to attend. Road Racing and Manufacturer's Cup Series racers can expect to have entry blanks available to them at their respective season finales at Road Atlanta and Charlotte in the next few weeks. Speedway Dirt competitors who wish to be a part of a history-making event will be able to view their online information shortly.

Photos of the construction progress will be forthcoming.

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Unlimited 2-cycles make return to Daytona Dirt World Championship

10.15.2009 -- Keeping with the theme of a return to Daytona dirt, WKA officials are proud to announce the return of the Unlimited 2-cycle class to the newest edition of the Dirt World Championship at Daytona International Speedway December 28-30 in Daytona Beach, Florida.

For years the 2-cycle warriors fascinated the SRO crowd, filling the night air with a thick blue haze, buzzing like a swarm of a million bees and reaching speeds that would raise the hair on the back of any race fans neck.

The Unlimiteds will race on Wednesday, Dec. 30, and will be a part of the full day of practice activity on Dec. 28.

The return of the Unlimited 2-cycle series further represents the continued commitment by World Karting to provide the very best in dirt track entertainment.

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Team SSC East / CRG / Maxter victorious at CKI Grand Championship

10.15.2009 (BRAINTREE, Mass.) -- The CKI Grand Championship took place this past weekend at the Oklahoma Motorsports Complex, and the SSC East/CRG/Maxter team delivered another big weekend of great racing -- highlighted by Arie Ouimet winning the CKI Series National Championship in KF2. By the time the last checkered flag flew, the SSC East/CRG/Maxter team had netted a total of 15 top 5 finishes; and 14 of the 16 races the team entered landed top 10 results.

Arie Ouimet
No result was bigger than Arie Ouimet's performance in KF2. Leading the CKI season's points race going into the final event, Ouimet kept the 'pedal to the metal' leaving no doubt who was going to be crowned National Champion. Although high engine temperatures shortened his Qualifying session, he still managed to take the 4th spot. In Saturday's Heat Races, Ouimet found his groove posting a first, second and third, and earning him the pole position for Sunday's contest. In Sunday's Pre-Final Ouimet had too much speed for the field, taking the lead early and pulling away for an impressive 1.75 second victory.

In the Final, the Series Championship within his reach, he drove a smart race -- cruising to a 2nd place finish, which more than guaranteed that he'd be crowned the CKI KF2 Series Champion. Sweetening the pot, by winning the Series Championship, Ouimet earned a weekend of Formula Mazda racing in Bob Bondurant's Championship Race Series at the Firebird Motorsports Complex in Phoenix, AZ.

Phil DeLaO
Phi DeLaO, Jr. was a force to be reckoned with all weekend long in the highly competitive KF3 class, start to finish. Consistently fast, he took the 2nd spot in Friday's Qualifier, as well as another 2nd and two 4th place finishes in the Saturday Heat Races. DeLaO, the 2008 eKarting News Young Driver of the Year, showed grit and determination on Sunday. In the Pre-Final, he got tangled up with a couple other karts on the first lap -- bumping him down in the pack. However, he fought his way back through the field and landed an impressive 4th place finish. In the Final, bad luck would strike again as he got spun in the first corner of lap 1, ending his chances for another good result.

Camden Geise
In a wild IAME Junior class Camden Geise was consistently a strong competitor throughout the weekend. After qualifying in the 14th spot, Geise turned it up a notch in the Heat Races, finishing with a pair of 4th places and an 8th place finish. He consistently got stronger as the weekend rolled on. In the Pre-Final, Geise would battle the entire contest in the top group of three, swapping leads with eventual winner Alessandra Madrigal, and landing in second place by a slim 0.146 second margin after a ferocious battle to the finish line. In the Final, he got tangled with Madrigal at the start, spinning him off track and landing him at the back of the pack -- from their he patiently worked his way all the way through the field, grabbing an impressive 4th place finish.

About SSC East
SSC East, located in Braintree, Massachusetts, is a leading direct importer of the world's leading kart products including Rotax/Bombardier, CRG chassis, Maxter engines, and throughout entire U.S. for Zanardi Karts, to both kart dealers and racers. Exclusively focused on kart racing, SSC East is dedicated to importing, selling, servicing and supporting kart manufacturers; it is the largest distributor of karts, engines and kart racing supplies and race organization in Eastern United States. For more information, visit www.ssceast.com.

-credit: wka