On June 02, 2018, The Colorado Karting Tour returned to one of the region’s premier karting facilities, the fast and flowing Grand Junction Motor Speedway. With severe elevation change, lengthy straightaways, and multiple passing zones, ‘GJMS’ was the perfect site for Round 03 of the 2018 CKT season. With weather on the warmer side for most of the weekend, racers battled a dusty track, multiple personnel issues, and each other over a two-day format, which was a first for CKT to attempt. In total, 107 entries came out to take to the GJMS course, run in the counter-clockwise direction. With tickets to the 2018 Rotax Grand Nationals on the line for the Rotax-powered divisions, the drama and racing action was intense across a variety of divisions at Round 03.
As the sun rose over the high desert of western Colorado on Saturday, beautiful colors were on display along the surrounding sandstone cliffs to the North and East of the track. On track, drivers spent the morning and early afternoon practicing, refining their lines, setup, and taking some chances to mix it up with others in a variety of classes. With this practice came some confusion at times, as drivers did their best to respect the track space of others. At high noon, registration opened, and so the race day began. With a driver’s meeting at 2:00 PM, qualifying began in earnest at 3:00.
First on the track were the mighty Kid Karts. Utilizing the half-track configuration of Grand Junction, the speeds were indeed impressive, especially for pole position winner #48 Asher Donnelly, turning in a lap time of 47.587, which according to MyLaps was turned at an average speed of 68.06 MPH. While that would indeed be impressive, we suspect the length of the Kid Kart track was not taken into account on that one! Close behind was an impressive showing by rookie #25 Matteo Quinto, with #61 Lilly Tuttle in 3rd. As the green flag fell for the pre-final, the chorus of Kid Kart parents rose high above the racers as they charged into turn 1. Donnelly took the early lead, followed closely by Quinto and Tuttle. Further back, early trouble for #20 Elijah Khrestsov saw him fall all the way to dead last, a position he was certainly not going to let stand for long! #44 Rhys Bowman was also on the move, hustling his brightly colored machine into 3rd for a period of time, before Tuttle swooped passed him on lap 3. As the halfway point was reached, Donnelly was in the lead, but only just. Suddenly, a spin! Donnely was out of the lead, relegated back to 5th as the leaders drove past. Recovering, Donnelly put the pedal down, and would drive back through the pack for the remainder of the race. By the end of the race, it was frankly hard to tell who exactly was in the lead, as many drivers were running with significant gaps between themselves and other drivers. However, at the line, it was Matteo Quinto taking the win, with a resounding margin over Bowman of nearly 23 seconds. Donnely’s spin cost him dearly, but he would recover to 3rd at the finish.
With a shift in schedule to allow the little racers to sleep in a little extra for Sunday, the weather and track was indeed perfect for the final, which was looking to be quite a showdown among the front runners. And at the drop of the green, indeed it was a showdown. Quinto, Bowman, and Donnelly were all hell-bent on leading the first lap. When that happens, there is bound to be some turf aggression, and it appears indeed there was between Donnelly and Quinto, with Quinto finding the dust along the side of the track after the altercation. This allowed Lilly Tuttle to put the hammer down and overtake a hesitating Bowman and Khrestsov, who were both slightly unsure how to proceed following the opening lap skirmish. Nevertheless, onward they pressed, giving chase to Tuttle as the field regrouped behind the leaders, and several teams marched up and down pit road, searching for answers to the opening melee. A few laps into the race, and Tuttle still held the lead, followed by Khrestsov, Donnelly, and Bowman hanging strong. Further back, Quinto was hustling past #16 Tyler Treadwell and #8 Parker Dosmann, both still getting their tires under them around the Junction circuit. On lap 3, Donnelly challenged for the lead, battling with Tuttle in a lap-to-lap see-saw of overtaking that saw both hold the lead for a while until Donnelly broke free on lap 6. Quinto had worked his way up to 5th by the end of the 8th lap. As the white flag was supposed to fall for all competitors, suddenly, a checkered? Surprised, some drivers obeyed, driving into the pits, while others stayed out to play and race a little more. Naturally, this caused all sorts of chaos for timing and scoring. However, after some clever investigative work by timing and scoring, the finishing order was final, with Donnelly the winner. Tuttle would come home in a hard-earned 2nd position, followed by Khrestsov.
Next on the track on Saturday were the Adult LO206 Heavy drivers. Known for their hard nose racing tactics and love for all things bump drafting, GJMS offered both long straightaways and plenty of low speed corners to add some patina to the side pods. In qualifying, class stalwart #403 Jeremy Davis channeled his inner best-self, laying down a blistering time of 1:10.348, slightly ahead of #2 Rodney Ebersole and #57 Robert Holubar. As the field inched towards the green flag at the start, the engines revved, and the clutches groaned in pain as they were overloaded, crawling down the front straightaway. Once free to accelerate under a waving green flag it was Davis that would lead the opening circuit, followed tightly by Ebersole and Holubar. #328 Alex Doman was on a charge through the pack, running up to 4th in the opening laps. As the field reached the end of the pre-final, it was still Holubar in the lead, followed by Davis and Ebersole. As the two-to-go signal waved, Davis would fall back in the running order, which allowed Ebersole to capitalize on a slowing Holubar to sieze the lead at just the right time, netting the win! Holubar would finish second, followed by Doman and Robinson. Upon completion of the race, Ebersole was bumped backwards in the running order, leaving Holubar the winner, with Doman, Robinson and then Ebersole the finishing order.
With the sun low on the horizon on Sunday morning, the LO206 Heavy drivers were fired up, and rearing to go first in the race day line-up. Apparently, Robert Holubar was so fired up that he neglected to properly warm his tires, spinning on the warm-up lap, in turn collecting several drivers in an unfortunate incident that sidelined the points leader and his Margay, and left #19 Jeffrey Holderman with a damaged kart. With the field approaching the green in ‘missing man’ formation, Doman raced along on the outside, with Davis, Ebersole doing their best to hold down the inside line. As the leaders hummed past the start/finish line on the opening lap Davis had the race well in hand, followed by a pack of drivers lead by Doman and #44 Nicholas Rhoden. Further back in the pack, the colder track conditions created havoc throughout the field, with multiple driver spinning and tangling as their Duro tires struggled to cope with the tepid track temperature. Back out front, Davis was in cruise mode, alone and uncontested, with his friend Holubar cheering him on from the infield of the first turn. At the halfway mark Rhoden was sidelined with mechanical issues, allowing #47 Randy Flores to inherit the third position. As the white flag fell, engines were sounding tired, rasping against the rev limiter as drivers entered the opening corner of the GJMS circuit. At the line it would be Davis taking a massive win over Doman. After an early spin, #11 Mike Weber recovered masterfully to the 3rd position, followed by Ebersole and #3 Brandon Wolfe.
Next to take to the track would be the Henry’s Welding Co. Junior Rotax drivers. With many new to the GJMS circuit, it was only a matter of time before those intimately familiar with the facility would rise to the top. In qualifying, such a driver did just that, with #218 Jack Armstrong taking the top time, laying down a sizzling lap of 55.361, placing him ahead of #298 Cameron Lazaroff and #261 Cole Tuttle. With the drivers warmed up from a busy day of practice, it was show time in the pre-final. A surprisingly fast start separated the field some, but not quite enough for Armstrong to get an entirely clean start, as Armstrong inched ahead at the start, only for the inside row to muscle past, with Lazaroff slipping into the second position. Armstrong was indeed on a roll from the opening lap, slowly pulling away from the rest of the pack. Further back, Payne was attempting to regroup after a challenging start that saw several drivers slip past, including a strong start by Tuttle, who would find himself the odd-man out in a bump draft match down the back straightaway just a couple laps later, relegating #261 to 5th. After a slightly slow start, Williams was inching her way through the pack, picking off 3rd, then 2nd, and setting her sights on the leader, who was now well out in front. As the white flag fell, it was Armstrong in control, with Lazaroff and Williams battling for the 2nd position. On the last lap, Lazaroff would get the better of this tussle, flashing across the line to take the runner-up position at the finish behind Armstrong. However, a technical issue would relegate Lazaroff further back in the pack following inspection, handing the 2nd position to Williams, followed by #217 Liam Letzsch.
With the track beginning to warm just in time for the sticky Evinco Red tires of the Junior Rotax drivers on Sunday, it was Armstrong pacing the field to green. However, almost immediately, it was apparent that driver #218 could be in trouble. With some back issues that had plagued the driver in the opening rounds of the 2018 championship, it seemed that things were still in progression, as several drivers took advantage of the situation within the opening laps. In particular it was Williams to make her move first, setting sail out front in her silver and blue Tonykart. Once out front, Williams walked to the front desk, turned in her keys, and checked out from the rest of the field! As kart #214 drove off into the sunset, it was anything but pleasant further back in the field, as drivers were wrestling for track position. #278 Timmy Trostel was doing his best to hold off the charge of Letzsch, forming a small group of several drivers including Lazaroff and Tuttle that were all attempting to run down the leader. Several laps later, and Lazaroff seemed to fade, his kart losing considerable ground on the exit of several corners. As the final laps began to count away, Williams still retained the lead, followed by a desperate Trostel and patient Letzsch, who himself was being badgered by an an energetic attempt at overtaking by Payne. At the line, it was Williams taking the checkered flag, and with it, punching her ticket to the 2018 Rotax Grand Nationals in New Jersey! It should be noted that Letzsch was exactly tied with Williams, but per points regulations regarding tie breakers, Williams was able to narrowly beat out the driver of #217 to take the ticket.
With the weather beginning to warm considerably by the time the Amsoil Junior 1 competitors hit the track, the track began to pick up time considerably. In qualifying, #11 Vaughn Weber put forth an impressive effort to take the pole position, wrangling his Margay around the GJMS course for a lap time of 1:02.348, nipping #61 Dylan Archer and #60 Rye Myers by a notable margin. As the green waved briskly for the start of the pre-final it was immediately apparent that neither Archer nor Myers was shaken by Weber’s qualifying performance, both falling in directly behind his bumper. As the laps ticked away, Weber retained the lead, but only by the slimmest of margins, as Archer and Myers patiently stalked kart #11, content to observe until they decided to make their move. Further back in the pack, things were slightly livelier, with #77 Kaden Dosmann running strong at first, only to slowly slip back past several drivers that found their way by the CompKart driver. On lap 7, Weber’s time at the front came to an end, as Archer made an incredible double pass (!!!!) to the inside of both Weber and Myers to take the lead heading into the final horse-shoe complex onto the main straightaway, to immense applause from the spectators on hand. Seemingly stunned momentarily, Weber and Myers quickly re-focused their efforts, drafting back to the bumper of Archer, who knew full well that both drivers were ready to pounce. As the white flag waved, Archer remained in the lead. Myers considered his options, and made a careful pass around Weber to inherit the 2nd position. At the line, Archer took the victory, followed by Myers and Weber. #13 Tavian Rougemont and #22a Archer Eversman had a minor skirmish for the 4th position during the race, with Rougemont eventually taking the position.
With Sunday being a new day, many drivers came to the track with an agenda of their own, bound to prove a point over their performance on Saturday. As the green flag waved, #5 Alex McPherson Wiman briefly attempted to prove that point, charging from 7th to the 3rd position in the opening lap before a spin would relegate him to the back of the pack. Back out front, Myers, Weber, and Archer picked up where they left off the previous day, seemingly toying with each other in the opening laps, evaluating their competition before truly getting down to business. An opening lap tangle between karts caused Rougemont to fall downwards in the running order, elevating #28 Deanna Hoffman to the 4th position to fight with Eversman. As the halfway flags were displayed, the lead pack had effectively separated from the rest of the field, and the tempo began to change. Suddenly, it seemed that the race was truly on! A nose to the inside here, a late braking evaluation there…each driver was toying, experimenting, and simply biding their time… Suddenly, Myers was the first to drop his gloves, coming after Weber with a bold move to the inside at the end of the lengthy back straightaway. Unfortunately for Myers, the move was indeed slightly too bold, as Weber would take the lead immediately back with a crisp crossover to the inside. With Archer satisfied to watch from the 3rd position, Myers continued to doggedly try a similar move to the inside for several laps in a row. Each time, however, Weber would just barely squeak by, leaving spectators increasingly excited as the battle continued lap after lap. On lap 9 Archer finally made his move, briefly taking the lead with a clean draft and pass on the front straightaway, only for Myers and Weber to freight train past the Intrepid driver half a lap later. At this point, the fence was completely lined with racers watching the battle on track. Myers overcooked the hairpin ever so slightly, allowing Weber to slip past as the leaders approached the white flag. Of course, it was apparent that the race was indeed not over at this point! Weber and Myers separated ever so slightly from Archer through the uphill esses, allowing the two to finally square off, and settle it among themselves. Down the back straight, Myers began to sniff the draft from Weber’s kart, and it was apparent to all what would happen next! A move to the inside, an attempt to counter by Weber, but no! Myers managed to hold on when it counted most, and would take a very, very narrow win over Weber and Archer. As the drivers rolled into the scale area, they were applauded unanimously by spectators, who approved of the spectacular demonstration of race craft.
The KMG Plumbing Junior 1 Cadet drivers were next on the track. After extensive preparation, #51 Joelle Lewis laid down the quick time of 1:06.772, followed by #1c Cadence Presley and #11 Tyler Pompian. In the pre-final, it was Lewis leading the charge into the first corner. From there, Lewis calmly set sail while chaos reigned supreme behind her. Presley got off to a slow start as he got used to a damaged kart from a qualifying incident, plummeting through the running order in the opening laps, only to re-focus and become determined to move his way back through the pack. Pompian took full advantage of the falter, quickly moving into 2nd position to place himself directly behind Lewis. Together, the lead duo began to pull away from the rest of the pack, Pompian learning lap by lap just how Lewis navigated the course. With incredible closing speed as driver #11 approached the final section of the track, Lewis seemed to gain again slightly through the opening corners of the circuit. #85 Andrew Wilson was on an early-lap charge through the pack, but would slowly slip back nearly into the clutches of a charging Presley in the later laps of the race. As the white flag flew, Pompian considered his options, and looked briefly to challenge Lewis, before following her to the line in a tight race for the lead. Wilson would finish 3rd, and Presley recovered to place 4th.
With Sunday a new day, the cadet drivers looked solid in morning warm up, ready to go as the morning schedule hummed along. Entering their karts excited after seeing cadet class graduates battle it out in the Junior 1 race, the leaders were excited to get after it and race! Unfortunately, the start proved to be underwhelming for those hoping for a tight battle out front. Immediately, Lewis took over the lead, with Pompian plummeting in the running order after a first-lap tangle with several drivers in the secondary pack. Once this tangle was established, this left Lewis alone out front, followed somewhat distantly by Wilson, Presley, and #18 Braden Lapoehn. Despite his bad luck in the opening lap, Pompian picked himself up, dusted himself up, and got to work. On lap 2, he was 7th, then 6th, 5th, 4th…Pompian seemed to be setting laptimes within the pace of the leader, inching his way along through the pack as most drivers seemed content to run largely by themselves on the track. On lap 10, a fading Presley fell final victim to the Pompian charge. At the line, Lewis took a truly dominant victory, followed by a measured drive by Wilson, #5 Gage Korn in 3rd, and Pompian in 4th. Following a penalty, Pompian was demoted to 6th, elevating Presley and Lapoehn into the top 5.
With many new drivers giving CKT a try at Round 03, the combined Rotax Senior, Rotax Master, TaG, and Unser Karting KA 100 event featured a strong turnout. In qualifying, #333 Brody Schucard took his Rok Senior engine for a walk, laying down a screaming time of 54.943, narrowly beating out teammate #301 Filip Niemkiewicz and #279 Abe Innes. The fast time for Rotax Senior went to #22 Seth Axelson in his debut race aboard a new CompKart, with a time of 55.642, just barely outrunning #322 Jackson Dunn. The legend #618 Wright Hugus was on a roll in Rotax Senior, laying down a time of 57.209.
As the Kart Republic karts paced the field to the green flag, Schucard made a beeline to the inside in the opening corner, followed closely by Niemkiewicz. With the ROK engine package simply out-powering the rest of the field, it was quickly apparent that the three drivers at the front of the field would be mostly on their own during the race to settle the overall win. Further back, Axleson and Dunn were running tightly together, the advantage to #22 by the thinnest of margins. #83 Leo Kosman was on the move briefly in KA 100 after skipping qualifying, muscling past #7 Alan Cortes at the start, nipping at the heels of some of the slower TaG karts. As the race continued it was still Shucard and Niemkiewicz out front, with Axelson leading Dunn by a slim margin. At the line it was kart #333 uncontested, with Axelson, Hugus, and Kosman taking the individual category wins.
In the final on Sunday it was Niemkiewicz that lead the opening lap, only to be sidelined a lap later by mechanical issues. This allowed Shucard to inherit the lead, which elevated a hard-charging Axelson to 2nd overall, doing his best to stay well and clear of Dunn who was caught in traffic slightly further back on the track. Once a few laps had been laid down, however, Dunn inched closer to the rear bumper of Axelson, and the race was on for the Rotax Senior win. As the laps counted on, Dunn continued to gain ground, until he was ready to make his move! Down the inside Dunn went, kart #370 squirming under heavy braking. Unfortunately for Dunn, momentum was not quite in his favor, as Axelson promptly crossed Dunn over, and took the lead back. Just two laps later, Dunn would try the same move again, with a similar result. It seemed to onlookers, however, that Dunn was beginning to figure it out, and perhaps the 3rd try would be the charm? Dunn would bide his time, waiting for the laps to wind down. As the white flag was displayed, Dunn was still within striking distance, both drivers navigating lap traffic towards the end of the race. With a strong run out of the hairpin corner onto the long back straight, Dunn tucked in behind Axelson, utilizing the draft to draw closer, closer, until he began to draw to Axelson’s right as they approached the final slow section of the track. Yet again, Dunn’s kart pitched and yawed under braking as he utilized every ounce of stopping power his Tonykart’s braking system could muster. Alas, Axelson was wise to this game at this point, and had swung wide, turned underneath Dunn, and narrowly beat him to the apex of the next corner. That was all it took to seal the victory for driver #22, and with it, a ticket to the Rotax Grand Nationals in New Jersey! Out front, Shucard was already on his cool-down lap, having completed a masterful race to the finish to sweep the weekend in Open TaG. Further back, Hugus was capping off a similarly dominant weekend, his Birel sweeping across the line some 20-seconds ahead of 2nd position #679 Dave Innes for the Rotax Masters win. Kosman remained dedicated in his KA 100, running up through the field for some time until the shear horsepower difference was enough to drop him further back, finishing 8th overall for the KA 100 victory.
With a strong field of Loan Simple Stock Honda and Open Shifters at Grand Junction, qualifying was bound to be interesting! #12 Josh Weis placed his CompKart on pole, with a time of 53.592, well ahead of #21 Henry Korn and #77 Phillip Craycraft. #314 Jacob Meister set the pace in Open Shifter, with a time of 55.631, ahead of #9 Cody Russell and #11 Colton Timmons. A chorus of straining engines reached a fever pitch as the drivers readied for the green for the pre-final. Once thrown, Weis was the first to react, rocketing into the lead followed by a subdued start from #20 Dustin Courter and Korn. Further back #13 Alex Ollig also was struggling to get his kart going, while Meister got away cleanly into the lead for the Open category. Back up front it was all Weis, on cruise control as he grabbed gear after gear around the Junction circuit. Courter was slowly recovering from the start line issues, first overtaking #14 Hal Strauss, then Korn before setting his sights on the leader. Unfortunately for Courter, Weis was in an entirely different zip code at this point, and would cross the line nearly 6 seconds ahead of the field. Courter would take 2nd, followed by Korn. Meister would continue on to the win in Open Shifter, followed by Russell and Chalman.
In the final, Weis picked up where he left off in the pre-final, taking over the lead with authority, with Courter slotting into the 2nd position. Korn and Strauss made contact at the entry of the first corner, causing Korn to be sidelined almost immediately, with Strauss able to carry on, despite some damage to his kart. This allowed Craycraft into the 3rd position, followed by Meister who carefully danced his way past the chaos. As the race continued, Courter gave spirited chase to Weis, at first keeping him on the horizon. Over time, however, it appeared that #20’s engine began to get hot, the exhaust coughing at the end of the main straight. This allowed Weis to further open his advantage as Courter nursed his kart home. At the line, Weis would take the victory, followed by Courter, Craycraft, and Open category winner Meister. Russel and #9 Austin Chalman would complete the top 3 for the Open event.
If Junior 1 was the warm up, then Junior II was certainly a fantastic follow up! In qualifying, #61 Cole Tuttle set the pace early, laying down a time of 1:03.927, placing ahead of #98 Lazaroff and #78 Trostel. In the pre-final, Tuttle would take the lead early, holding the position for the first 2 circuits. After missing a transponder in qualifying, #14 Macy Williams was on the move, catching the lead pack within a couple laps. This caused the lead pack to scatter slightly, opening the door for a tangle between Tuttle and Lazaroff on the 3rd lap, sending both downward in the standings, along with Trostel who was caught up in the incident. Lazaroff was able to recover, but not before being overtaken by #99 Daniel Fellows and #0 Baden Dunn. Dunn would race Lazaroff hard, the duo slipping past Fellows for 2nd and 3rd towards the midpoint of the race. Once there, Lazaroff would quietly slip past, back into 2nd. At the line, it was Williams alone taking the victory, followed by Lazaroff and Dunn.
With Williams and Lazaroff leading the field to green, racers and fans alike knew this race was going to be a true barnburner. Despite her advantage in the pre-final, the pace shown by at least half the field was matching the leader, so a large train was expected. And within the opening laps, that is exactly what happened! Williams lead early, followed by Dunn and Lazaroff, as well as Trostel after several circuits. Together, these drivers bump drafted away from the rest of the field, bent on settling it amongst themselves. At the halfway mark it was Trostel’s turn to take the lead, which was quickly returned to Williams just a lap later. Having fallen back a bit after Dunn began to fade on lap 6, Lazaroff was giving chase as best he could of the lead duo, who were running together in an orderly fashion. Fortunately for Lazaroff, he got his wish on lap 7, as Williams Trostel battled side-by-side for multiple corners, allowing #98 to catch up, and make the battle amongst all 3. As the white flag was displayed, it was still anyone’s race! Williams lead, but knew the other two were in the cat bird’s seat, biding their time to make a move to the lead. And indeed, Trostel did just that. Out of the final hairpin onto the lengthy back straight, Trostel got the assist from Lazaroff, drafting closer and closer to Williams before swinging to her inside heading into one of the more popular passing zones on the track. Lazaroff considered diving to the inside too, but thought better of it. Out of the final corner, Trostel would take the win free and clear, followed by Lazaroff over Williams by just 0.05 second! A truly spectacular race, to say the least.
Next up were the mighty Micro Max and Mini Max drivers. #160 Rye Myers set the pace in Mini Max qualifying, with a time of 58.662, ahead of #107 Braden Hindson and #177 Kaden Dosmann. #22 Archer Eversman would take the pole in Micro with a time of 1:03.253. As the pre-final got underway it was Myers driving to the lead early, followed by Dosmann and #13 Dax Cothrun after a spin by Hindson would set him back in the field. Undeterred, the driver of the #107 Energy kart would put the bit between his teeth, picking off drivers one-by-one throughout the pre-final to finish in the 4th position. Back out front Myers was well in command of the race, with Cothrun and Dosmann battling for the 2nd position. On lap 5 Cothrun made his move, slipping past Dosmann for the 2nd position. At the line it was Myers, followed by Cothrun and Dosmann. Eversman would lead the entirety of the Micro Max pre-final, with #51 Joelle Lewis giving spirited chase for much of the race until Eversman began to inch away with a handful of laps to go.
Myers would again inherit the lead as the green flag was displayed to initiate the final on Sunday, rocketing through the opening corners on his Atomica kart without a second thought to the battle raging behind him. If he had looked back, he might have been quite taken by the aggressive show of driving going on, with Dosmann, Cothrun, Hindson, and #161 Dylan Archer locked in a pack to battle it out. With some aggressive moves early, Dosmann appeared to be in control despite heavy pressure from Cothrun, until a clipped curb in the uphill esses section forced Dosmann to spin, only to be clobbered by Archer, who was unable to avoid the CompKart driver. With both drivers sidelined but safe, the race continued on, Myers again out front followed by Hindson and Cothrun. #113 Tavian Rougemont held the 3rd position for some time, before a turf battle with Cothrun would end his day slightly early. At the line Myers would take the win, and also a ticket to the Rotax Grand Nationals in New Jersey! Similarly, Lewis would earn her spot in the big dance in July by taking home the 2nd position at Round 03, won by Eversman in smooth fashion. Following Myers to the line was Hindson, then Cothrun. Following some penalties levied, #34 Trenton Miller was elevated to the 2nd position, with Cothrun in 3rd.
Last but certainly not least, the Adult LO206 Light drivers took to the track. As always, qualifying was tight, with #29 Erik Vanwagenen was out front with a time of 1:07.998, followed by #20 Dustin Courter, #21x AJ Jacobellis and #4 James Michael Sullivan. In the pre-final, Courter would lead early, followed by Jacobellis and Michael Sullivan. After a strange start, Korn had fallen back in the pack, but was slowly picking his way through the field to join the lead pack with just a handful of laps to go. Back up front, Jacobellis was making his move for the lead! For a brief moment he lead the pack, only for Courter and Korn to arrive on the scene to shuffle him back to the 3rd position. At the line it was Korn taking the win, followed by Jacobellis and Courter.
As Sunday’s race day was drawing to a close, many of the LO206 Light drivers were more than ready to throw down for the main event. At the start Korn would pick up where he left off on Saturday, sweeping to the lead, Courter content to fall into the 2nd position. Most surprising at the start was the rapid fall of Jacobellis, who (we would later find out) had a bloody nose in the kart, and was doing his best to focus despite the discomfort. Further back in the pack, all hell was breaking loose in the opening laps, with several karts finding the dirt due to a loose chain, or simply due to Murphy’s Law. Back up front Korn, Courter, and Sullivan were quietly drafting away from the pack, with #044 Jackson Dunn and #45 Duncan Warnke also doing their best to stay out of the main pack behind them. With just a handful of laps to go, Michael-Sullivan made his move to 2nd, only for Courter to muscle past again half a lap later. As the white flag was displayed, it was clear that Courter was toying with his prey in Korn, biding his time to make a last-lap move for the win. Michael Sullivan had similar notions, but suddenly he slowed, a chain hanging loosely from the axle, unable to continue. Instead, he watched the remainder of the final lap, as Korn sweated in the hot seat, waiting for Courter to make his move. Along the back straightaway they began to travel, and slowly Courter reeled in Korn, inching along side until at last he was beside him. But Korn battled back! Through the final right hand corner they went side-by-side, Korn not giving an inch at first, before he relented and re-grouped. Out of the last corner it was Courter with the checkered flag in sight, it was his to win! Korn made a final attempt to pull along side at the finish, but would come short by half a kart length. #83 Leo Kosman had a heroic drive through the pack after starting very far back, but disqualified himself upon discovering he had forgotten to add the appropriate amount of lead to his kart. This lead to Dunn taking 3rd, followed by Warnke and Doman.
As a racing series largely driven by the tireless efforts of a driven group of officials, volunteers, and supporters, The Colorado Karting Tour in particular wishes to thank our series supporters, our raceday crew of Donni Holder, Ian Francis, Kenny Francis, CJ Weidner, Jack McPherson-Wiman, Julie Williams, McKaylie Williams, Craig Mansfield, Danielle Hindson, Steven Chapman, Ryan Tucker, Mike Edwards, Ron Rudolph, the medical crew, and numerous other contributors that create an outstanding event. By and large, these individuals and team members support kart racing in Colorado not by choice, but by a drive to see the sport grow and benefit the racers, who themselves understand the time and effort these individuals put forth to put on an event that they can come and enjoy.
The Colorado Karting Tour will soon head to Centenial, Colorado, to host Round 04 of the 2018 Championship Series at Unser Karting & Events Centennial. This course shall be run in the clockwise direction, and is shaping up to be an outstanding event!
CKT’s next board meeting will be on June 12, at Great Scott’s Eatery in Denver, from 6-9 PM. All are welcome to attend.
To stay up-to-date with all of CKT’s media, announcements, and scheduling, head to our website: www.coloradokartingtour.com, or via Facebook @ColoradoKartingTour-CKT. You can also find us on Instagram @coloradokartingtour
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