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Jake French swept the action in Pro Shifter for his first SKUSA win since 2017 (Photo: EKN)
The opening day of the Superkarts! USA SummerNationals at New Castle Motorsports Park checked all the available boxes for a Pro Tour finale. Perfect weather, no red flags, thrilling wheel-to-wheel racing and a taco truck fiesta for the entire paddock at day’s end.
Check, check, check and check.
You couldn’t ask for much more from a mid-August summer day in Indiana. Nice race groups housing 12 categories took to the track at the popular New Castle Motorsports Park, running the extended ‘SKUSA Super Mile’ layout that leveraged the facility’s full configuration that includes the ‘oval turn’ and the ‘ski jump’. Three-time SKUSA Pro Tour champion Ryan Norberg took a major step towards securing an unprecedented fourth-straight X30 Senior title, as the Rolison Performance Group leader drive took an impressive win over Croc Promotion USA / Musgrave Racing Company’s Billy Musgrave. The Croc Promotion camp laid the smackdown in Pro Shifter 1, led to the win by Texan Jake French, who dominated the action. Musgrave was second to his teammate in the IAME SSE 175cc category, ending the day with a historic performances in SKUSA’s Pro classes. All in all, the on-track action was tremendous with overtaking highlighting several different sections of the track. Read full story on eKartingNews.com |
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Defending KZ winner Danny Formal looking for a fourth SuperNationals victory (Photo: On Track Promotions – otp.ca)
The class that started it all at the SKUSA SuperNationals was the S1 division. The premier shifterkart category at the inaugural SuperNats in 1997 with the S1 division. That remained the headline division up until the SuperPro division was established. It was in that category the engine program shifted from moto engines to karting-specific powerplants, while also welcoming international drivers by the final year of the class in 2009. It was then when the division was split into two with the promotion of the Stock Moto category from the SKUSA Pro Tour to the S1 name and KZ class established. 2019 was the debut of the IAME SSE engine, adjusting the name to Pro Shifter. Now, for the 2021 edition of the SuperNationals, we are combining the KZ and Pro Shifter engines into one category, welcoming the largest class turnout in recent years.
The combination of the two categories into one welcome two defending winners looking to repeat in 2021. History can be made by Billy Musgrave (Factory Karts), the three-time defending winner in the Pro Shifter division. The 2012 S2 winner has four total SuperNationals victories, currently tied with Connor De Phillippi and Kip Foster with the most by one driver. With a win on SuperSunday, Musgrave can put himself alone at the top of the SuperNationals win list. Looking to join him at four total wins in Vegas is defending KZ winner Danny Formal (LEM / Formula K). It was an emotional victory for the Costa Rican in 2019, besting a talented field for his third SuperNationals win, joining his S1 victories from 2015 and 2016. Last year, the two did not run head-to-head. In the five times Formal and Musgrave have raced against one another at the SuperNationals, Formal has finished better in three of years (2014-2016). Read full story on eKartingNews.com |
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Ryan Norberg put himself into the championship chase with two victories in Utah, going for a fourth-straight X30 Senior title (Photo: EKN)
As the SKUSA Pro Tour wraps up on Sunday afternoon at the New Castle Motorsports Park, everyone in attendance may be there to witness history. Three-time defending champion Ryan Norberg (RPG / Kosmic) is searching for a fourth title, an unparalleled achieved in SKUSA’s long history. The Florida driver holds a 186-point advantage heading into the final two rounds of the championship chase, leading now three-time USPKS champion Brandon Jarsocrak. The Pennsylvania driver sparked his run for the title with a move to the MDR / Tony Kart package at the SpringNationals, placing runner-up and fourth to Norberg in Utah. While the 186 points may look to be untouchable, a maximum of 320 points in each round sit there for either to take. Norberg did so in Round Three and Jarsocrak can cut into that deficit with two of his own. Norberg’s last win at NCMP in SKUSA competition came in 2016 when he won both at the SummerNats. Finishing second to Norberg in that first championship season was Jarsocrak, who has stood on top of the podium in two of the last four main events. Read full story on eKartingNews.com |
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The California ProKart Challenge hosts Rounds Two and Three on June 7-9 at the CalSpeed Karting facility in Fontana, California (Photo: DromoPhotos.com)
The California ProKart Challenge is preparing for a return to the track after two months off following the 2019 opening event at Buttonwillow. The flagship regional program for Superkarts! USA returns to the site of the 2019 SKUSA Pro Tour WinterNationals with a unique and first ever dual-round weekend, as Rounds Two and Three will be contested on the June 7-9 weekend at the CalSpeed Karting facility. Competitors will compete in a similar format to the Pro Tour, with optional practice on Friday, and then two separate race days on Saturday and Sunday. The track layout will be different from the March weekend, with competitors set to battle around the ‘Tecnico’ circuit. The weather is forecasted to be perfect racing weather, and the turnout is expected to be the biggest of the season.
The 2019 California ProKart Challenge kicked off its season at Buttonwillow Raceway Park on March 30-31. A number of drivers swept the action for the opening round, including reigning SKUSA SuperNationals winner Billy Musgrave. The five-time California PKC champion went unchallenged in the Croc Promotion USA/Mad Old Nut Pro Shifter category. Add in Micah Hendricks in the Musgrave Racing Company Pro Shifter 2 division, John Crow in the Alpinestars G1 Gladiator class, Nick George in S4 Master Stock Moto, Brett Harrelson in Bell Helmets S4 Super Master Stock Moto, Stuart Hayner in AiM Sports X30 Super Master, and defending IAME USA West Micro Swift champion Graham Trammell. All seven will attempt to continue their streak in the P1 position through the double race weekend in Fontana.
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2019 winner Zachary Claman-DeMelo returns to defend his crown (Photo: On Track Promotions – otp.ca)
The TaG (Touch and Go) concept was introduced in the early 2000s here in the United States, and brought into the SuperNationals in 2003. It wasn’t until the 2008 edition outside the RIO that the TaG Senior division really became a headline category, welcoming 95 entries. Since then, the class has been open up to the 88-max drivers and welcomed a number of experienced, successful pilots from all across the world. In fact, USA drivers have only won six of the last 17 main events on SuperSunday with eight different countries represented over that time. At 86 drivers, this year’s SuperNationals field is among the deepest in terms of talent, experience, and the among those who could be in contention.
In the 17-year history of the X30 Senior (TaG Senior) category at the SuperNationals, no driver has been able to repeat or win for a second time. There are three drivers who have that opportunity. Defending race winner Zachary Claman-Demelo comes in with a solid resume at the SuperNationals. A runner-up in 2016 and 11th in 2018, ZCD pulled off a third to first move on the final circuit to claim his first SuperNationals victory in 2019. The Canadian is coming in with a new team and different chassis, running under the history Genesis Racing name aboard their Atomica chassis brand. Jake Craig and Marco Maestranzi are the other two race winners in the field. Craig (RPM / Tony Kart) has not missed a SuperNationals since 2011 with five top-10 results, including a dramatic win in 2016 and ninth in 2019. In the last five SuperNats, the winner has come from starting inside the top-10. In 2014, Italian Maestranzi started 24th and knifed his way forward to a 3.2-second margin of victory. He has two other podium results, with his last race coming in 2018 with a 13th position. He now joins PSL Karting aboard the Birel ART chassis, different from the Top Kart colors we are used to seeing. Read full story on eKartingNews.com |
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