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Tuesday, 20 April 2010 08:56 |
 The Superkarts! USA brass couldn’t have asked for a better launch to their new Pro Tour in Sonoma, CA this past weekend, as their inaugural SpringNationals drew over 100 racers to the Jim Russell International Karting Center at Infineon Raceway. The racing was insanely good, running the popular circuit in the reverse national layout, and this elevated competition helped develop a great buzz throughout the paddock. Veterans were all talking about how this new series is bringing back the excitement of the famed ProMoto Tour of the late 90s and early 00s. In the headline classes, Fritz Leesmann and Clinton Schoombee split the S1 wins in thrilling fashion, while veteran karter and former Indy 500 Rookie of the Year Phil Giebler followed suit in his sweep of the TaG Senior events.
The action in the headline Pro classes was nothing less than incredible, featuring hardcore racing and some impressive come-from-the-back drives by the best in the sport. Aluminos’ Fritz Leesmann (CRG) dropped the gauntlet on his charge for the S1 national title right out of the box, sweeping Saturday’s action with the pole, two heat race wins and the main event victory. Select Shifter’s Clinton Schoombee (CRG) and STA Racing’s Jason Toft (GP) would fight it out for second, and both drivers would be ready to step up on Sunday. In the second main of the weekend, Leesmann would set the early pace, but Schoombee matched his speed this time out, eventually taking the lead midway through the 20-lapper. After Leesmann took back the point, Toft completed his drive from dead-last – following a heat race DNF – by passing Schoombee for second on the final lap. Schoombee would not be denied, however, passing both Toft and Leesmann under braking into the left-hand turn three, much to the crowd’s delight. The CRG driver would hold back his challengers for the remainder of the lap to score a very popular triumph. In the overall weekend points, Leesmann would earn the victory and the $1000 first place prize.
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Saturday, 17 April 2010 08:06 |
A new era for Superkarts! USA began on Friday with a rebirth of national level racing for the organization. The new SKUSA Pro Tour is making its debut this weekend with the running of the inaugural SpringNationals, held at the Jim Russell International Karting Center at Infineon Raceway. The Sonoma, California circuit has hosted a number of major events in its history, including a number of national events from in the previous era of the sanctioning body.
 The weather was perfect for on-track activities with clear skies and warm temperatures. Drivers grew accustomed to the 3/4-mile course, which is being run in the reverse national configuration, a layout that many have never seen. Judging by the practice laps run on Friday, a number of key corners around the course will provide optimal passing opportunities. Following the on-track action of the day, Superkarts! USA hosted a tri-tip BBQ dinner with beverages being provided of J3 Competition. Media leaders eKartingNews.com were also on-hand, streaming a live audio wrap-up show that also played via PA to the racers as they enjoyed their meal.
On the line for the headline categories will be weekend purse of $1,750 in cash for both S1 (Pro Stock Moto) and TaG Senior. Drivers will be gunning for victories, but also for the season championship that features a point fund of $8,000 with $5,000 going to the champ. For all of the classes competing on the SKUSA Pro Tour, the top-five in the standings heading into the finale - the SKUSA SuperNationals XIV in Las Vegas will have guaranteed starting positions for the main events, which is huge considering the fact that only 40 drivers can start the finals. The champions who will be crowned following the November event will earn the National Number One Plate as well as special sponsorship for the 2011 season. |
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Friday, 16 April 2010 11:13 |
 Make sure to tune into www.ekartingnews.com/live for live audio and scoring coverage of the Pro Tour SpringNationals. You will also find the official discussion thread on the EKN forums there as well where you can find up to the minute race results.
EKN will start broadcasting audio near the start of Practice 5 at aproximately 1:30pm PST.
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Monday, 05 April 2010 19:13 |
 Host Hotel -- Special Pricing Cutoff is THIS Friday, April 9, at midnight!
The Embassy Suites in San Rafael, CA is our host hotel for the first Pro Tour race weekend at Infineon April 16-18, and they have worked out some GREAT rates starting Wednesday night, 4/14! The current special pricing -- which applies to the next 25 rooms booked -- is just $109 for single or double occupancy! Click here for more details and to reserve your rooms today! Don't stay anywhere else -- this is where Thursday check-in registration -- and all of the parties -- will be!
Pre-Entry Cutoff to Race is THIS Sunday, April 11th at midnight!
Don't miss out on the first race weekend of the new SKUSA Pro Tour! Pre-registration is open now online -- and must be done with a credit or debit card. The cutoff to pre-register is this Sunday, April 11th, at midnight. Anyone wanting to register after that will have to sign-up on Thursday 2-7:30pm at the Embassy Suites or Friday morning at the track, with $150 added as the at-event registration fee! Save some money! Pre-register today!
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Written by eKartingNews.com
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Wednesday, 31 March 2010 15:53 |
 The sport of karting is preparing to enjoy the debut of three ‘new’ national championship programs in the month of April. As the newly-rebadged WSK version of their inaugural program of 2009, Championship Karting International (CKI) will kick things off at New Castle Motorsport Park on April 9-11, while the Pan American Rotax Max Challenge makes its entrance on the scene during the April 23-25 weekend. To keep the EKN community up-to-date, we have an interview with CKI’s Kevin Williams on tap for this Friday and we will be contacting Rotax officials soon to chat with them about their own event package.
In between these two races, the Superkarts! USA crew will launch the rebirth of the popular ProMoto Tour, with the new series being dubbed the SKUSA Pro Tour. The inaugural SpringNationals at Infineon Raceway’s Jim Russell Int’l Karting Center on April 16-18 will begin the race to the SuperNats, adding a national series to the organization’s growing regional platform. EKN Editor-in-Chief Rob Howden sat down with SKUSA president Tom Kutscher on Tuesday to discuss his new Pro Tour, the program’s regional growth efforts and the exploding popularity of the SuperNationals. Kutscher goes into detail on the motivation and the development behind the new three-race national series, including the introduction of the new TaG Cadet class. It’s an information interview that eventually includes Kutscher’s thoughts on the schedule conflicts that have plagued the 2010 racing schedule.
Please visit eKartingNews.com to download Audio file.
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