Menezes prepares for attack on U.S. crown this weekend in Utah

California karting talent Gustavo Menezes will begin his chase for the U.S. national championship this weekend at the Snap-on Stars of Karting Western Division opener, which will be held at the Miller Motorsports Park karting facility in Tooele, Utah. The 2007 Junior Intercontinental A (JICA) national championship vice-champion is returning to the United States after multiple races in KF3 competition in Europe earlier in the year, most recently the WSK International Series event at the Angerville International Circuit in France. Aiming to gain additional experience in highly-competitive situations, Menezes relishes the chance to return to home territory.

Contesting only the Western Division schedule of the Stars of Karting program this year, Menezes is putting ‘all his eggs into one basket’ in his push for the national crown this season. Over the last two seasons Menezes campaigned both coastal schedules, scoring the maximum points he could. This year, after adding the European Championship and WSK events to his calendar, a full Stars campaign was simply not possible.

“I love running with the Stars of Karting, but I really think that running in Europe has helped speed up my development,” offered the 13 year-old competitor. “It’s a much different atmosphere and style of racing, and I feel like I’ve be pushed in different areas of the sport. I’m happy to be coming home to race, even though I haven’t competed against these drivers in some time!”

The third-year JICA driver is not concerned as Menezes is familiar with two of the three division tracks, including this weekend’s location in Utah. Last year, Menezes was strong all weekend, standing on the second step of the podium after both finals, leading to his Western Division Championship. This past weekend, Menezes tested at the MMP facility and was among the fastest that attended the outing, as he is hoping to transfer that speed to the official event this weekend. Menezes is totally focused on standing on top of the podium come Sunday afternoon.

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