Another JICA win for Phinny - Sunday Report

The second round of the Snap-on Stars of Karting Western Division is now complete after a hot and dusty weekend at the Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, UT. The facility and course is one of the best in the country, the time of year for a national championship kart race just may have been wrong. The drivers, teams, and Stars staff put in a 100% effort to make it through the long and difficult weekend however there was great racing in all five groups on the final day with Gary Carlton extending his win streak to six while Nicholas Tonkin earned the ICA win on the final lap.

ICC
Five-time winner Gary Carlton (CRG) kept pushing the envelope on Sunday morning as he laid down a quicker time than he did in yesterday’s Gatorz Pole Qualifying session, setting a new track record in the process. Jordy Vorrath (Intrepid) came on strong midway through in the session but came up just short, just 0.002 seconds back. The Canadian pulled off and called it a session early while Carlton decided to go back out after a minor change to his machine. The adjustment was spot-on as he put down a smoking 54.133-second lap time, putting an exclamation mark on his dominance of the class. Ryan Yop (Sodi Kart) continued his good weekend with the third quickest lap time while the CRG’s of Fritz Leesmann and Nicholas Halen rounded out the fast five.

At the start of the Prefinal, Vorrath grabbed the holeshot as he and Carlton got the jump on the rest of the field to begin the opening lap. Vorrath would lead the initial circuit, but Carlton pounced early, diving to the inside of the left-hand turn three to assume the top sot. In contrast to Saturday’s races, Carlton was not able to pull away, instead beginning a race-long battle with Vorrath. This fight would continue throughout the 16-lap sprint as Vorrath dove past his challenger in turn 12 to take the lead back on lap six, but it would be short-lived as Carlton put the CRG back to the point the next time down the frontstraight, re-taking the #1 position with a great pass in the opening corner. Vorrath would try him back a few laps later, unsuccessfully, as contact ensued.

Leesmann remained close to the lead duo throughout the race to take third while Halen closed throughout the entire session, finishing just 1.708 seconds behind Carlton at the checker. Yop completed the top five ahead of David Jurca (Italkart). Matt Jaskol (Top Kart) had been quick yesterday, but succumbed to a broken chain in the Prefinal. Jaskol will start the main from the final row of the 28-kart grid.

The pages would turn to the old for the ICC main event as Carlton again was quick on the cold tires and was able to stretch out a lead early as the field began the behind him. Early on in the 24 lap event, Vorrath and Leesmann were battling for second when they made contact in turn 12, allowing Halen and Jan Velez (Intrepid) to pass through for second and third, dropping the duo back sixth and tenth. As the race progressed, Carlton put a some distance from him and Halen while the second place kart put a gap on the rest of the top ten.

After the contact, Vorrath continued his charge back to the front working first by David Jurca and then by his Italian Motors’ teammate Hayden Duerson four laps later. The Canadian then set up for his new Team Intrepid teammate Velez, getting by in just a few laps. The front would go unchanged the rest of the way as Carlton took his sixth straight victory of the year by nearly seven seconds over Halen, his best Stars finish of his career. Vorrath earned the final podium position with Velez and Duerson rounding out the top five. Leesmann was able to bounce back to sixth, getting by Jurca in the closing laps.

PCH Motorsports ICA
Canadian Nick Tonkin (Birel) led for a majority of the ICA Gatorz Pole Qualifying until Saturday winner Tyler Dueck (Intrepid) made a late charge in the 15-minute session. As the checkered flag fell, Dueck was able to steal the pole position from Tonkin with a solid 56.057-second lap time. Saturday podium finishers Michael Hogg (Italkart) and Cody Jolly (CRG) were third and fourth quickest while defending ICA champion Joel Miller - who ran most of yesterday’s final with a flat right-front tire - rounded out the fast five.

Troubles for Dueck as his exhaust broke on the warm-up lap while Jolly was unable to start, putting both at the back for the main event. Shortening up the races for the ICA division today, the group was very racing from the beginning as Rosenzweig was able to finally break away from the field after numerous lead changes. The PSL Karting driver continued to lead the pack and earned the Prefinal win as Jacob Neal (CRG) worked his way up to second ahead of Hogg. Victor Cabrera (Kosmic) drove up from 15th to fourth with Tonkin rounding out the top five.

It was an unpredictable ICA Final with nearly anyone with a chance at winning with the attrition factor high. At the start, Saturday winner Dueck was unable to get past turn two, ending his race early. Up front, Hogg and Rosenzweig had a great early battle with the most of the field still in a single group. Things quickly changed as Miller and Anthony Llopiz got together in the ‘Snake’ section of the course, ending their race early and beginning the attrition battle. First, Jolly was waved off for losing his sidepod. Next, Victor Cabrera (Kosmic) and Colby Jenn (Intrepid) got together and sat on the sidelines. Three laps later Rosenzweig retired while running third with mechanical troubles, leaving Hogg and Michael Giessen (Birel) to battle for the win.

Five laps later, Hogg was running on Giessen’s bumper when his engine came to a halt on the main straight. This gave Giessen a solid lead over Tonkin and Neal. As the laps wore down, it look like the gremlins would stay away until the final lap when Giessen came out of turn 11 really slow, allowing Tonkin and Neal to close. When they went into the following turn, Tonkin made the pass for the lead and Giessen came to a halt, falling just a few turns short the win. Tonkin would take the win, his first of ’07, with Neal and Andrew Zimmer (Italkart) earning his first podium finish in Stars ICA competition. The consistent Nick Boulle (Gillard) crossed the line fourth with Johnny Johnson (Top Kart) completing his first race of the season in fifth.

JICA
After winning big on Saturday, Kartel’s Brendan Phinny (Top Kart) continued his stunning pace on Sunday morning, earning the JICA Gatorz Pole early in the run, holding the spot for the remaining time. Gustavo Menezes (Tony Kart) clocked the second fastest lap to start outside the front row for the Prefinal. A late charge by Dusty Davis (Maranello) earned him the third starting spot while Donny St. Our (PTK) and Branden Underwood (Top Kart) rounded out the fast five.

The JICA field made it through the first lap cleanly as Phinny was able to check out early as the rest of the field began battling for second. St. Ours won the battle for the runner-up position while Jose Zanella (FA Kart) moved up from 12th to take third. Menezes and Davis completed out the top five. FirstKart.com’s Branden Langlois made the right changes after a tough qualifying run, moving up from 19th to sixth ahead of Underwood and Gennari.

The initial start of the JICA main was scuttled when a red flag came out for a nasty turn one pile-up that damaged a host of karts. The teams were given a 30-minute repair window while the Stars officials rolled the Cadet main event to fill the time.

After getting the green following the Cadet Final, the JICA pilots showed they learned from the first start, getting through the opening lap without issues. Up front, St. Ours put early pressure on Phinny, leading for seven of the 20 laps. In the end though, Phinny ran his quickest laps at the end of the race to earn his second victory of the weekend. The fast lap of the race however went to Menezes as he made his way from seventh to second after getting by St. Ours with two laps to go. Davis won the battle for fourth over Underwood.

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