The development, growth and evolution of any racing event are often fueled by the people behind the scenes and the racers who fill the fields. After the third running of the Streets of Lancaster Grand Prix, it became very clear that this festival of karting has an extremely bright future. The City of Lancaster is behind this race 100% and this was vividly evident this past weekend as the event organizers went above and beyond to ensure that the race was a success but on and off the track. Superkarts! USA was brought in by the City to raise the bar on the program and the focus by Tom Kutscher and his staff was to set a new foundation for the race, making sure it was a success for both his racers and the City of Lancaster. Every driver we spoke with praised the new track design, and the common opinion was that it was very unique and extremely fun to drive. The racing itself was thrilling, as a result. Having a packed house always turns up the volume and the city’s estimates put the crowd at a record 35,000. The atmosphere was electric and the enthusiasm from the crowd was infectious. The impact on the downtown businesses was massive with record sales days being reported by many shops and restaurants.
The drivers certainly delivered this past weekend, putting on a show for the throngs of spectators who lined the downtown circuit. The Pro Shifter class was the fan-favorite and the storyline was compelling as rookie senior Daniel Langon emerged from the field to take control of the weekend, winning the main event in dominant fashion over EKN #1 ranked Stock Moto driver Nicky Freytag. In the TaG Senior final, Shawn Cricca stepped to the forefront to grab the biggest win of his career, as he was able to come out on top of a weekend-long scrap with Devin Lindsey.
The second season of the Superkarts! USA Pro Tour completed last month with the running of the SuperNationals XV in Las Vegas outside the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino. Following a record-breaking event that witnessed over 500 drivers competing, the eight championship categories closed out the final stop of the five round title chase - and decided just who would be part of the SKUSA ‘Circle of Champions.’ In each of the eight divisions, the top three drivers earned the coveted national number plates for the 2012 season in addition to the championship purse.
The two headline categories -- S1 Pro Stock Moto and TaG Senior -- were awarded roughly $18,000 in cash and prizes to split toward their championship fund. Superkarts! USA welcomed its first international driver to its champion alumni in S1. New Zealand’s Daniel Bray locked up the class title at the SuperNationals following a successful 2011 season. The 24-year old was the event winner at the SKUSA SpringNationals with two wins, and while the feature results were not as high as he had hoped, Bray scored the second highest total at the SummerNationals to lead the standings heading into the SuperNationals. Overcoming a mechanical issue in qualifying, Bray fought strong through the heat races and the main event to land third in the main event to secure the title. California driver Tom Dyer was his closest rival throughout the season. The veteran was the top performer at the SummerNationals, but come up just short in the end thanks to an upsetting finish at the SuperNationals to close the year second in the standings. S1 rookie Lukas Johnson was impressive in his first season, standing on the podium in three of the five feature races to earn the #3 plate for the 2012 season.
It’s been a number of years since an official Superkarts! USA event has been run in Texas, but this will change during the 2012 season as the SKUSA National Office is thrilled to announce the formation of an official regional program in the Lone Star State. The organization has long enjoyed strong participation from the Texas karting community, especially at the annual SuperNationals, making this a huge step towards further developing their growing regional platform. The new Texas ProKart Challenge will consist of three double-race weekends, running with the Gulf Coast Karters in Katy, Grandsport Speedway in Houston, and the North Texas Karters in Denton. This announcement comes hot on the heels of the recent confirmation of SKUSA’s renewed involvement in the Pacific Northwest, and sets the stage for an exciting season in 2012.
“Texas has an incredible wealth of talent, and we’re always happy to be able to host so many of them every year at the SuperNationals,” said Tom Kutscher, Superkarts! USA President. “The announcement of this new region in Texas means a lot to us, and it’s a major addition to our growing regional program. Expanding the reach of our Stock Moto and TaG rules package is a primary goal here at SKUSA, and I’m pleased to be able to begin what I believe will be a long relationship with the Texas karting community.”
The following is the schedule for this year’s debut season:
2012 Texas ProKart Challenge
May 5-6: Gulf Coast Karters - Katy, TX
June 2-3: Grandsport Speedway - Houston, TX
June 30-July 1: North Texas Karters - Denton, TX
It has always been considered difficult to capture on video the true speed and excitement of competitive karting, especially considering the size and stature of these ultra-quick machines. Many have tried, but few have been able to accomplish this task to its fullest extent. That said, a new high-quality production has been released by Superkarts! USA, one that truly portrays the sights, sounds, colors and thrills from this past year’s SuperNationals. The race is the largest karting event in North America, attracting over 500 racers to the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, including IZOD IndyCar drivers Raphael Matos, EJ Viso, Jay Howard and Martin Plowman. SKUSA is extremely pleased with the new creation, which was shot and edited by Wyatt Lloyd, a karting enthusiast and aspiring motorsports video-journalist. The following is a link to the video, which is being presented on YouTube:
The popular ProKart Challenge will enter its eighth season when they open the gates on February 10 at the Buttonwillow Raceway Park. The two-day event will kick off the 2012 six-race championship season for the Superkarts! USA California region. The flagship program for the growing organization - which now promotes a total of six regional series with the creation of the Northwest Karting Challenge and Texas ProKart Challenge - will set the bar for the upcoming season as over 100 karters from all over California and the surrounding states are expected to take on the 7/10-mile course. Many are gunning for a piece of the over $65,000 prize package offered this year by SKUSA.
For the 2012 season, the ProKart Challenge will be awarding a total of roughly $14,000 in prizes during the podium ceremonies, thanks to the partnerships with MG Tires, VP Fuel, Mothers Polish and Honda Performance Development (HPD). A contingency program will also be available through HPD for the Stock Moto categories on the season.
The development, growth and evolution of any racing event are often fueled by the people behind the scenes and the racers who fill the fields. After the third running of the Streets of Lancaster Grand Prix, it became very clear that this festival of karting has an extremely bright future. The City of Lancaster is behind this race 100% and this was vividly evident this past weekend as the event organizers went above and beyond to ensure that the race was a success but on and off the track. Superkarts! USA was brought in by the City to raise the bar on the program and the focus by Tom Kutscher and his staff was to set a new foundation for the race, making sure it was a success for both his racers and the City of Lancaster. Every driver we spoke with praised the new track design, and the common opinion was that it was very unique and extremely fun to drive. The racing itself was thrilling, as a result. Having a packed house always turns up the volume and the city’s estimates put the crowd at a record 35,000. The atmosphere was electric and the enthusiasm from the crowd was infectious. The impact on the downtown businesses was massive with record sales days being reported by many shops and restaurants.
The second season of the Superkarts! USA Pro Tour completed last month with the running of the SuperNationals XV in Las Vegas outside the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino. Following a record-breaking event that witnessed over 500 drivers competing, the eight championship categories closed out the final stop of the five round title chase - and decided just who would be part of the SKUSA ‘Circle of Champions.’ In each of the eight divisions, the top three drivers earned the coveted national number plates for the 2012 season in addition to the championship purse.
The popular ProKart Challenge will enter its eighth season when they open the gates on February 10 at the Buttonwillow Raceway Park. The two-day event will kick off the 2012 six-race championship season for the Superkarts! USA California region. The flagship program for the growing organization - which now promotes a total of six regional series with the creation of the Northwest Karting Challenge and Texas ProKart Challenge - will set the bar for the upcoming season as over 100 karters from all over California and the surrounding states are expected to take on the 7/10-mile course. Many are gunning for a piece of the over $65,000 prize package offered this year by SKUSA.