Top North American names square up in the All-Stars Karting Classic

The PRI show takes place at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida from December 6–8th with the All-Stars Karting Classic taking place in a parking lot directly adjacent on the evening of December 6th. The race will feature some of the top names in North American racing battling it out in the Masters Division, and the top drivers from the Snap-on Stars of Karting Series squaring off in the Karter Division.

Team Sparco USA - Phil Giebler (Masters)

Giebler was the Cinderella story of this year’s Indianapolis 500, qualifying his Playa Del Racing entry into the field on the final day of qualifying. He put in a solid performance on race day to be named the 2007 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year. Giebler has also represented the United States as a driver in the A1 GP Series for the past two seasons, as well as being a regular contender in the Indy Pro Series. After several seasons racing a variety of single-seaters (Formula 3, Formula 3000, and Indy Pro Series) in both Europe and North America, Giebler returned to karting in 2005 to take the Snap-on Stars of Karting presented by IndyCar Series National title in the ICA category.

Italian Motors - Michael Valiante (Masters), David Jurca and Hayden Duerson (Karters)

Michael Valiante spent 2007 racing for the Chip Ganassi with Felix Sabates team in the Grand-Am Daytona Prototype Series. He also drove for the Ganassi operation in the NASCAR Busch Series in a one-off drive at the Montreal round. Michael has a strong background in karting ad established himself as one of the top North American karters in the late 1990’s by winning numerous championships and scholarship shootouts. He then went on to success in the Skip Barber Regional, Barber Dodge Pro, and Toyota Atlantic Championships. Valiante made several starts in the ChampCar World Series in 2004 and 2005 before moving to Grand-Am full-time in 2006 with the Finlay Motorsports team. The Italian Motors team is owned by Michael’s parents Claudio and Bev. Michael is active in the management of the team when his racing schedule allows. He is looking forward to getting behind the wheel of a kart and returning to action, “I am really looking forward to the PRI show. I always look forward to having the opportunity to get back in to a kart and race.’

David Jurca and Hayden Duerson both competed in the full Snap-on Stars of Karting presented by IndyCar Series in the elite ICC (shifter) category. Jurca has a strong karting resume’ and has competed at the highest levels in both North American and European series. He has also competed and won in formula car racing, having won the Skip Barber Shootout in 2002 and being one of six finalists in the 2003 Red Bull Driver Search. Duerson is one of the young rising talents of the Snap-on Stars of Karting and was named the series’ 2007 Rookie of the Year. Duerson is excited to be able to be a part of the event, “As a rookie, I feel honored to be invited to the PRI show to compete against some of the top karters in the nation.”

SSCEast-CRG - Jamie McMurray, John Andretti and AJ Allmendinger (Masters), Gary Carlton, Jacob Neal, Victor Pedrosa and Michael Lewis (Karters)

McMurray, who currently competes in the Nextel Cup Series with Roush Fenway Racing, will get behind the wheel of a completely different machine at the PRI show next month. The Joplin, Missouri native will team with SSC East and look to steer a CRG kart to the victory.

Joining McMurray will be long-time motorsports star John Andretti. With one of the more familiar names in racing, Andretti has won in the 24 Hours of Daytona, the Nextel Cup, and the PPG Indy Car World Series. Showing that he will drive just about anything that has a steering wheel, Andretti drove an NHRA Top Fuel dragster in 1993 making it to the semi-finals in his first ever national event. This season he has competed in both the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series and the Indianapolis 500.

Both McMurray and Andretti are involved in karting on a regular basis with McMurray driving a CRG earlier in the year at the World Karting Association Manufacturer’s Cup event at BeaveRun Motorsports Complex. Living in central Indiana, Andretti can be spotted at the New Castle Motorsports Park facility often and has helped put together the annual ‘Race for Riley’.

Nextel Cup driver A.J. Allmendinger will complete SSC East’s lineup in the Masters category. The current Toyota driver will get back to his karting roots and will pilot a CRG chassis with Red Bull backing. A former Stars of Karting standout, the North Carolina resident claimed the Barber Dodge Pro Series Championship in 2002 and went on to win the Champ Car Atlantic Championship in 2003. In 2004, Allmendinger progressed to the Champ Car World Series where he took five victories in 2006, then made his way into the NASCAR Nextel Cup with Toyota and Team Red Bull in 2007.

Team Topkart USA - Marco Andretti, Joey Hand, Bryan Herta (Masters), Matt Jaskol, Kyle Wiegand and Conor Daly (Karters)

The 20-year old Andretti was set to race in last year’s All-Stars Karting Classic, but was called to action in a conflicting Formula One test for the Honda team in Spain on short notice. He’s looking forward to getting another chance to compete in the one-of-a-kind event. “I was really looking forward to racing at PRI last year. Of course, when the opportunity to test with Honda in Formula One came up I had to jump on it but it will be great to be teammates with Bryan and go for the win in Orlando this year.” Andretti is a former junior national champion (2002) in the Stars of Karting Series.

Herta, who won the season opening 12 Hours of Sebring driving Andretti Green Racing’s Acura with the help of teammates Dario Franchitti and Tony Kanaan, was the runner-up in last season’s All-Stars Karting Classic Masters Division race. He is aiming to improve in this year’s event. “Team Topkart was great to work with last year. We hope to make this year’s event bigger and better, and of course the competitor in me has me aiming one spot higher on the podium. I want to thank Team Topkart for all of their support and the PRI organization for providing us such a great venue.” Herta is a co-founder of the Snap-on Stars of Karting presented by IndyCar Series.

Joey Hand spent the 2007 racing season racing for the Sigalsport BMW team in the Grand-Am Daytona prototype category and the Panoz Team PTG squad in the American LeMans Series GT2 category and has a strong history in karting as a driver, tuner, and business owner and is the co-owner of Kartel motorsports which sells karting equipment and services karter’s on-site with technical support and driver coaching. “I’ve heard a lot about this event and how much fun everyone had last year. I’ve worked a lot with Mike and Team Topkart on the business end this year, it will be fun to get behind the wheel and go racing with them in Orlando.”

Matt Jaskol and Kyle Wiegand are regular front-runners in the Snap-on Stars of Karting presented by IndyCar Series ICC (shifter) category. The duo finished one-two for Team Topkart in the Karter Division of last year’s event and are aiming to repeat on that success. Indiana driver Conor Daly is a front-runner in the Spec Racer category of the series and sees the event as a chance to gain exposure on a national level. Team owner Mike Tetreault is excited about this year’s event and the opportunities it will present the racing and business operations of Team Topkart. “We have put a lot of effort in putting together a top-notch team to take to Orlando. We’ve invested a lot in the PRI event both on the race track and on the show floor. I’m really looking forward to Orlando.”

Also competing are Eddie Lawson (MotoGP), Wayne Taylor (Grand-Am), Lake Speed (Karting & NASCAR), Steve Johnson (NHRA), Ron Capps (NHRA), Katherine Legge (ChampCar), Scott Speed (F1 & NASCAR) and Buddy Rice (ChampCar)

The event will be filmed for two separate television broadcasts on SPEED Channel’s Lucas Oil on the Edge program thanks to support from Snap-on and Bridgestone.

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