The one thing that the Superkarts! USA organization and the ProKart Challenge North program have done in its short two year history is keep the competitors entertained and on their toes each month. Round five of the 2009 seven race championship – set for July 11 at the Jim Russell International Karting Center in Sonoma, California – will see a new track configuration for the event. Contesting on the ‘Sprint’ configuration, the 0.68-mile course is sure to challenge those who will be competing.

Aside from the new track layout, the big question heading into the race will be if anyone can stop Jacob Neal. With three straight wins in the PKC North S3 competition, including four more wins in the PKC South program, Neal has been nearly unstoppable. And as he leads with a nearly 200 point advantage in the standings, Tommy Thompson will need some help in the next two rounds in order to challenge Neal for the title. Neal also has a firm hold on the S1 championship, with two feature wins to his credit. Counting a drop, however, brings Cody Hodgson right into the chase with Neal – as the two will go head to head next weekend. Word has it that a few surprise competitors, wanting to get track time in preparation for the upcoming SuperNats in the SuperPro division, may show up to challenge the S1 contenders for podium bragging rights.

As the United States battles through these difficult economic times, in which the karting community is certainly feeling the effects, one of the shining lights at the end of the tunnel for many of our sport’s competitors is the Superkarts! USA SuperNationals in Las Vegas, which is set for this November. Held directly on the grounds of the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino during the week of November 18-22, the annual karting festival promises to bring the world’s top shifterkart and TaG drivers together for another great week of competition and camaraderie. Work continues on the 13th edition of the SuperNats, and the race will take a big step forward tomorrow (July 1) as SKUSA’s online shopping kart will be open to accept entries on skusasupernats.com. At this time, SKUSA would like to announce the official class structure for this year’s event, so that competitors may lock in their entries before they are no longer available. Each class will be capped at 40 entries, except for TaG Senior, which will be open to 80 drivers. SKUSA officials are also excited about the opportunity to release news of the availability of additional rooms at the Rio for the special event rate of $79 per night.

Although the Bridgestone YKC tires are replacing the YHC’s in production, they have NOT been tested by PKC, and are therefore NOT approved for racing in the HPV2 Jr class. If you do not have Bridgestone YHC tires, we suggest giving the ProKart MG-HZ tires a try. Click here to purchase them with your online entry, or here to purchase them separately.

Following an exciting Round 4 of the PKC NorCal series, Series Points have been updated.

The sixth round of the 2009 ProKart Challenge South program is set to return to the Santa Maria Karting Association kart track on June 27. The penultimate round of the seven race championship will mark a joyous but somber return to the 7/10-mile circuit, or the ‘National K-layout’.

Last year’s PKC South season finale took place at what was schedule to be one of the last races held at the Santa Maria, California kart track. The facility, located on the grounds of the city’s airport, was scheduled to close following the 2008 year. However, the karting organization that runs the day to day operation were able to strike a deal to continue racing on the grounds through June 30, 2009. The sixth round of the PKC South program is tapped as the final karting event to run on the circuit location of the SMKA. With that, many drivers are expected to be in attendance, including some PKC North competitors joining the South championship contenders.