Colorado drivers take part in inaugural Superkarts! USA region event

FOUNTAIN, CO (May 8, 2010) – In the early years of the Superkarts! USA regime, the SKUSA Mountain Region was a strong presence in the sport of karting. Fast forward to the present time and the new era of SKUSA, the organization is looking to build the solid core of regional racing across the country once again. With that, the rebirth of the Superkarts! USA Mountain Region series took place over the weekend at the Pikes Peak International Raceway in Fountain, Colorado. The two day event took place on a 9/10-mile temporary circuit on the grounds of the PPIR facility. A full day of racing kicked off the season with the opening round contested on Saturday, following Friday’s practice runs.
“It was a very safe weekend of racing and we could not have pulled this off without the help of the local karters connected to the Pikes Peak Kart Racing Club from Colorado Springs,” commented SKUSA Mountain Region Race Director Curt Kistler. “My hat’s off to all the workers, support staff from SKUSA and the leadership team of the SKUSA Mountain Region organization. We look forward to growing this region to its full potential in the next three rounds.”

Leading the way in the top two shifterkart categories were Senior rookie James Michael Sullivan and Masters driver Mike McDonough. Sullivan made his Senior debut with a sweep in the competitive S2 Semi-Pro Stock Moto category, where as McDonough lead the way in the S4 Masters Stock Moto division. With the two classes running together, McDonough and Sullivan were the top two drivers in qualifying with McDonough’s 45.627-lap time best in the session. Sullivan was just a tick off the fast lap, with fellow S2 drivers Christian Bird and Cory Milne within a tenth of the rookie’s time.

Kicking off the first wheel-to-wheel action, Bird took advantage of a great start to show the way early on as the rest of the field shuffled in behind. Milne’s race came to an end following the first lap as a three-wide attempt resulted in contact, putting Milne on the sidelines. McDonough came away with the second spot until Sullivan took over the position by lap three. Sullivan kept pace with Bird, making his move on lap eight of the 10-lap heat, going on to score the win with McDonough able to slide by for the second overall spot. Bird slipped back to fourth in the final circuit, moving another Senior rookie Sabre Cook up to third overall, second in S2. Sullivan grabbed the holeshot to begin the second heat race, going on to lead all 10 laps for the win. McDonough was a solid second, while Bird ran third until retiring on lap three with a mechanical issue. Milne recovered from his DNF in the first heat to bounce back to third overall in the second moto, followed by Dave Watkins, second place in the S4 category.

Putting a stamp on his debut, Sullivan ran unchallenged to take the 20-lap main event victory, becoming the inaugural S2 winner. Milne settled into second, recording the fast lap of the race, although unable to keep on the bumper of Sullivan. Bird came from the tail of the field with fast laps of his own to advance up to third, completing the podium. McDonough ended up fourth overall but first in class to take the S4 main event victory and a perfect point day for the championship. Jet Davis worked his way up to second in class, with Watkins giving chase until falling off-pace on lap 12. That moved Charles Gordon and Mike Mayberry’s battle on-track for third with Gordon winning the final step of the podium.

The largest class of the weekend was the S5 Junior Stock Moto category, with a number of young rising stars competing in the growing class. SKUSA Pro Tour championship contenders Austin Schimmel and Christian Schureman were the class of the field at Pikes Peak. Schimmel edged out Schureman for top honors in qualifying, posting a 46.839-lap time, just five-hundredths quicker. Schureman grabbed the holeshot to begin heat one, leading all 10 laps with Schimmel on his bumper. Schimmel had the quicker reaction time in heat two, sliding through for the lead early on. The two would battle back and forth, exchanging the lead a number of times with Schureman escaping for the win after 10 laps.

When the 20-lap main event began, Schureman kept hold of the top spot with Schimmel dropping in line. Despite Schimmel posting the fast lap of the race, Schureman was more consistent over the course of the race to lead wire-to-wire for a 1.590-second margin of victory. A solid third throughout the day, Conner Wogrin completed the podium. Running on track at the same time was the S3 Novice Stock Moto field, consisting of the father/son duo of Doug and Drew Miller. Drew struck first, bettering his father’s time in qualifying by just over two-tenths. The two split the heat races with Doug scoring the win first followed by Drew. Leading early on, Drew led Doug until lap three when he lost the spot. Drew would later retire on lap 10 to give Doug the victory. In G1, David Conyers was uncontested throughout the day to score the victory.

In TaG competition, Sabre Cook ran double-duty on the day, scoring a debut victory in the Senior category over Anthony Giannone. Jake Eidson swept the day in TaG Junior over Breanna McCrackin, while Rodney Ebersole and Tate Holleran ran unchallenged in TaG Master and TaG Cadet. In the local option Cadet category, working with the Colorado Junior Karting Club, Lucas Hannabass swept the day’s action. After scoring the pole position in qualifying by just 0.013-seconds, Hannabass was challenged throughout the two heats and the main event. Coming to the checkered, Hannabass held off Corrie Hiatt and Mitchell Cody at the line for the victory.

“It was a great start to the rebirth of the SKUSA Mountain Region,” stated Superkarts! USA CEO Tom Kutscher, who was in attendance on the weekend. “The crew assembled here is second to none and the racers put on a great show on-track. This race was just the beginning of what we see as the new leader in regional racing for the area.”

The next stop for the rejuvenated SKUSA Mountain Region will be June 19-20 at the Grand Junction Motor Speedway in Grand Junction, Colorado. For those who have questions or would like to find out more information about the SKUSA Mountain Region program, visit www.skusamr.com. It is recommended that regional competitors submit their membership and license applications to SKUSA headquarters as soon as possible. These forms are available on www.superkartsusa.com
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About the SKUSA Mountain Region:
The Superkarts! USA Mountain Region is the newest regional program for the national organization. Based in Colorado, with more than 50 years of combined karting experience at all levels on the SKUSA Mountain Region team, the program is set to provide a program with all the professionalism and vigor that racers are seeking. The 2010 season will feature four events at three different locations in Colorado, including two different temporary circuits.

About Superkarts! USA:
Established in 1995, Superkarts! USA is dedicated to shifterkart and TaG racing and is the leader in the field, currently promoting five regional racing series. Racing programs are currently running in Southern California, Northern California, Hawaii, Missouri and Iowa, and have been joined by the newest regional series in Colorado – in cooperation and support from official tire supplier MG Tires. In 2010, the organization will launch its new SKUSA Pro Tour, which will feature a pair of major events in the Northern and Central United States, all leading up to the annual SKUSA SuperNationals, the biggest shifter kart race in the world, held every November in Las Vegas, NV. For more information on SKUSA, please visit www.superkartsusa.com.