With the six race F1 Race Factory Fall League series under way and the second week competing on Tuesday Nov. 23rd we have some dramatic changes in the overall standings due to some of the top racers in past leagues not finding the time to compete in this no race drop series. Miss a race and kiss your championship hopes good bye. The notables are Steve "Kandyman" Lattanzi, 2010 F1 Race Factory Winter League Series Champ and now Specialty Events employee at F1 Race Factory, who moved out of the competition the first week because it was a sell out plus 5 waiting in the wings, Mike Davila, who at his age should be in a rocking chair, on the porch, yelling at the neighbor kids to get off his lawn, John Gilles who is probably out searching for the perfect comb or brush for his Harley Davidson wind blown look hair style, Ian Pierce, who with his bumble bee race suit and his toothpaste commercial pearly whites charming the spot away from you,and last but not least Austin Kipp Van Winkle who was working overtime on his beauty rest somewhere in Scottsdale. When he shows up for the next race he will probably look like a male model ripped from the pages of GQ, which should make his girlfriend and karting protege Julia Castro very, very happy! See Julia I told you there was a silver lining.
Although there were plenty of MIA's it's not to say the racers that do and did show up were anything but top notch.
Two weeks in the books and we have a TV show in the making and it will be called the Baca-Rolfson Show starring Chaz Baca Jr as the minor child of a world famous dirt car racer digging his way to the top and Tony Rolfson, pizza delivery guy by day and indoor kart racer by nite who is just trying to make a name for himself and hoping that the right people see him and advance his career by either ordering many pizza's or by coming to a race to see him win, which he does on a regular basis. After two weeks these two have been inches from each other from start to finish and providing some of the best indoor kart racing has to offer. One point seperates Baca/Rolfson and Rolfson is at the top but Baca is hungry for that 10' tall glass trophy and million dollar paycheck that comes with winning the 2010 F1 Race Factory Fall Leagues. That thud you just heard is owner Scott Sanders hitting the floor after learning of the prize package he never agreed to. Another round of smelling salts, put it on my tab.
Now for the good stuff.
Top 5 Qualifiers...Group 1...Chaz Baca Jr...Logan Swane...Eric Dickinson...Bobby Neumann...Keaton Swane
Top 5 Finish in Group 1 Heat...Chaz Baca Jr...Logan Swane...Eric Dickinson... Keaton Swane...Bobby Neumann
Top 5 Qualifiers...Group 2...Tony Rolfson...Ronald Jones...Josh Lambeth...Scott Lodding...Charles Crowe
Top 5 Finish in Group 2 Heat...Tony Rolfson...Josh Lambeth...Ronald Jones...Scott Lodding...Steve Lattanzi
The groups get reset for the "A" & "B" Mains and kart draw determines your trusty steed for the next 40 laps of competion.
The "B" Main see's F1 Race Factory regular Keith Sears in the mix and starting 3rd. Sergio Serrano starting from the pole position had his hands full with Edwin Akpaita,Peter Reinsche,Paul Miller also tucking in behind him at the start and all hungry for the "B" Main win. As the race proceeds we see Edwin fall thru the field and as he does that Josh Walker advances thru the field from 8th place to 3rd at the end of 40 laps. Sergio holds off the charge by Sears to take the "B" Main win and collects 16th place points for his efforts. This is a kid that walks to a bus stop takes the bus to the Lite Rail station then hops on the Lite Rail and then has to walk again to reach the F1 Race Factory building. I say give him the extra effort award to do this routine every Tuesday.
Finish Order "B" Main:...Sergio Serrano...Keith Sears...Joshua Walker...Cody Gutierrez...Peter Reinsche...Chris Wynne...Josh Sarchet...Edwin Akpaita...Ajitabh Choda...Julia Castro...Lamec Fletez...Paul Miller...Andy Warycka
The "A" Main has Tony Rolfson on pole with his nemisis Chaz Baca Jr breathing down his neck in second.
Rounding out the top 5 are Josh Lambeth, Logan Swane, Ronald Jones.
Track 1 c/c/w is one tricky track especially at the start and this start was no exception with a tight left hander that will only allow two abreast before all heck breaks loose and that's not counting on anyone diving to the inside just going into the turn. Two such racers thought they could make it work and from my starting position of 10th I can tell you it didn't and after the dust cleared most of the racers that were ahead of me disappeared and since no black or blue or yellow flags were thrown the race continued. Going from tenth place at the start to 6th by the second turn with no contact was a miracle and at lap 20 the Baca/Rolfson Show is going strong and pulling away from the early fracas. Lattanzi now up to 3rd place is content and on cruise control until fast racer with the dreaded "primer yellow helmet" by the name of Eric Dickinson comes back into the picture and has set his sights on making up lost ground. Love taps all around the track has Lattanzi on edge and having to make a decision to either let Dickinson have the position or try like the devil to keep him at bay. Seven laps later Dickinson goes by Lattanzi to take the 3rd spot away and a friendly wave is all that Lattanzi has to show for his kindness. Meanwhile at the front the leaders are playing lap the backmarkers and when one of them turns into "Spinderrella" at the worst possible time Rolfson makes contact and loses the top spot to right there Baca Jr who goes on to take the win for the night. I hear the Baca celebration is still going on and it's a week later. Congratulations Chaz Baca Jr for a well deserved and lucky win all at the same time. So ends another night of great indoor kart league racing.
Of note the Swane family has not one fast kart racer but two that are making their on track talent known to all. Welcome to the fun Logan & Keaton. They also come with their own fan club. What's next? "T" shirts and hats with their likeness printed on them for all to purchase?
Finish Order "A" Main: Chaz Baca Jr...Tony Rolfson...Eric Dickinson...Steve Lattanzi...Keaton Swane...Logan Swane...Ronald Jones...Bobby Neumann...Rees Candee...Charles Crowe...Scott Lodding...Troy Salisberry...Mike McClaran...Kyle Tatman...Josh Lambeth
Fast Time for the nite was set by Tony Rolfson with a 20.211.
Next League Race is Tuesday Nov. 30th. Check in between 6/6:30 and racing to start by 7pm.
Don't be Late or you will have to Spectate!
Thanks for taking the time and resources to do this.
Steve "Kandyman"
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
NASA AZ League Race # 4 Wrap Up
On what's become the second most popular holiday of the year, Halloween, the NASA Az group held their 4th race of their monthly 5 race series today at F1 Race Factory. With a 2 free race prize package offered up for the best costume most in the group decided to show up as members of the human race or kart race drivers. Major points off for that uncreative move. Leland Forbes tried to win it by showing a picture of his get up on Friday. No such luck. Geri Amani tried to convince the judges that she was the female version of Tanner Faust by wearing a "Rockstar Energy Drink" shirt but between you and me the last minute clothing idea and Geri's style of kart driving were not much of a match to Tanners. I have never seen somebody work sooooo hard behind the wheel of a kart and have recommended to Geri to attend this weeks USIKC where some of her smooth as silk drivers and CalSpeed friends like Diego Morales and Miles Calvin will be competing. Having to add so much weight to her kart doesn't help her efforts and she tried to wear ankle weights and a vest but that proved to be her undoing during the heat. Limping after a race not a good sign. When Geri gets this figured out and she will, the NASA group and anybody else racing against her will be seeing the back of her kart as she goes flying by.
The "Winner" of the Halloween prize package was by a long shot won by, NASA Az Pres. Tage Evanson. He came dressed up like a "Milkman" with white shirt,pants, and a hat that identified him as such and a container of "milk"? that came into question by more than one other member of the club. We think it may have been av-fuel as Tage not only came to win the tickets but the league race. We already had a winner and the racing hasn't even started.
By the good graces of Pres. Tage the "Milkman", he allowed out of towner Raymund Guerrero from Texas and a NASA member there to race with them. Raymund is in town and is putting in some serious track time in preperation for the USIKC which starts Friday Nov. 5th. NASA Az member Chris Wynne also stepped into this race series for the first time. He almost had to spectate.
The 12 lap qualifier on Track 2 c/c/w suited Leland Forbes to a "T" and he took the pole with a time of 24.891. Followed by Kent Porter...George Sklyarevsky...Raymund Guerrero...Ronald Jones...Eric Jacobson...Chris Wynne...Tage Evanson...Brian Turner...Gary Kramer...Geri Amani...Stenos Wijaya...Wayne Porter...Travis Bouck...Sergio Perez.
The heat race starts off with pass by Kent Porter to take 1st away from Leland Forbes, Ronald Jones to 4th only to find himself back in 5th 1 lap later, Raymund Guerrero then to 2nd and then on to 1st. All this takes place within the first 6 laps and pretty much continues for the remainder of the 36 lap heat race. Exciting to watch and I'm sure intense concentration by all within it's midst. Stenos Wijaya has now earned the right to be called "Spinderrella" and he earned that name by doing the dance on lap 33. Not only did Stenos perfect that move but a forced wide into the turn nearest the pit entrance had "Spinderrella" entering the pits and using that as an escape route out of traffic. He made it thru with no problem but had all the track officials scratching their heads trying to understand what just happened. Side by side racing and more than two deep doing it made for some nail biting action. Going into the back tight left hand corner will not allow that type of side by side racing but all made it thru without major incident. Top ten out of the fifteen racers finished on the lead lap and Raymund G had fast lap of the heat with a 24.424 and a heat win under his belt. Talk of sending him back to Texas was only an ugly rumor. Weigh outs of the top 6 had no under weight issues so all positions stand as finished.
Heat Finish Order: Raymund Guerrero...Ronald Jones...Kent Porter...Leland Forbes...Eric Jacobson...George Sklyarevsky...Brian Turner...Tage "Milkman" Evanson...Travis Bouck...Chris Wynne...Wayne Porter...Gary Kramer...Geri Amani...Stenos "Spinderrella" Wijaya...Sergio Perez
After a much needed break and given time to talk smack regarding the heat race the NASA Az racers draw for karts and saddle up their trusty steeds for the 60 lap Main which pays the most points. A vote was taken and it was decided that Raymund from Texas would get the position but not the points associated with that position as he is only stepping into this race as a guest. Raymund graciously accepted the ruling by majority vote. and in fact voted for that also. More racers like Raymund are needed. By winning the heat Guerrero starts from the pole in the Main.
The green flag waves after a thumbs up by all racers and the top four racers immediately pull away from the pack with R Guerrero, K Porter, L Forbes and R Jones all trading positions lap after lap. During the break G Amani decides to go back to all 60 # on the back of the kart and during one lap around side pods the wall hard! Continues but that will get your attention. As the front runners, now racing as a three pack, battle with each other L Forbes who fell off the pace of the leaders reels them back in and makes it a four man race once again. The top spot continues to be a different competitor lap after lap and a more exciting race was not to found. Now lap traffic comes into play. Slicing and dicing thru traffic now becomes the skill set to have and R Jones comes thru the pack and sets sail for the win.But not before plowing into some of the backmarkers which almost ruined his chances for the win.
Meanwhile behind him the backmarkers have all stepped up their game and 2nd/3rd and 4th are struggling to get around them. Evanson makes contact with Jacobson and Forbes and by lap 35 Evanson goes into 5th place. By race end he will get two more spots and take the last step on the podium with a 3rd place finish. Jones sets fast lap on lap 47with a 24.158 and goes on to win the Main with room to spare between him and 2nd place finisher Kent Porter. Wayne Porter had second fastest time today with his always annoyingly fast brother taking third. Another fast and exciting league race by the Hotshoes of NASA Az. Their next on track event with their own cars will be Thanksgiving weekend at P.I.R. Always free to watch and ride alongs are to be had. Bring your helmet and beg your way into something fast and furious! Waving around a $20.00 bill will get you offers of a ride along faster!
Great group of people having fun and going fast.
Main Finish Order: Ronald "Lone Wolf" Jones...Kent"Always Right There" Porter...Tage"Milkman" Evanson...Raymund"Lone Star State" Guerrero...Leland Forbes the Tenth...George"How do you spell/say that?" Sklyarevsky...Eric "Top 5" Jacobson...Travis "The Engineer" Bouck...Sergio "F1"Perez...Brian"No Sleeves" Turner...Gary "Tatoo" Kramer...Stenos 'Spinerrella" Wijaya...Geri "Rockstar" Amani...Wayne"Brother of Kent" Porter...Chris "If you're Late, you get to Spectate" Wynne.
I want to thank each and every one of the racers that take the time and monitary resources to do this. I also want to thank all the F1 Race Factory track guys, Peter, Romano, Mitch and Jemma up front to make this work and make it a positive experience for all involved. Keep the Rubberside Down and remember the candys always available and best of all FREE!
Next Race is the 5th and the Final on the 1/2 mile GP track C/C/W with a 2:30 check in and qualifying/racing to start promptly at 3pm.
Work on the stamina aspect as this will be an extended race that will have as much as 1full hour behind the wheel for qualifying and the Main race. No breaks between. Thank You, Steve "Kandyman"
The "Winner" of the Halloween prize package was by a long shot won by, NASA Az Pres. Tage Evanson. He came dressed up like a "Milkman" with white shirt,pants, and a hat that identified him as such and a container of "milk"? that came into question by more than one other member of the club. We think it may have been av-fuel as Tage not only came to win the tickets but the league race. We already had a winner and the racing hasn't even started.
By the good graces of Pres. Tage the "Milkman", he allowed out of towner Raymund Guerrero from Texas and a NASA member there to race with them. Raymund is in town and is putting in some serious track time in preperation for the USIKC which starts Friday Nov. 5th. NASA Az member Chris Wynne also stepped into this race series for the first time. He almost had to spectate.
The 12 lap qualifier on Track 2 c/c/w suited Leland Forbes to a "T" and he took the pole with a time of 24.891. Followed by Kent Porter...George Sklyarevsky...Raymund Guerrero...Ronald Jones...Eric Jacobson...Chris Wynne...Tage Evanson...Brian Turner...Gary Kramer...Geri Amani...Stenos Wijaya...Wayne Porter...Travis Bouck...Sergio Perez.
The heat race starts off with pass by Kent Porter to take 1st away from Leland Forbes, Ronald Jones to 4th only to find himself back in 5th 1 lap later, Raymund Guerrero then to 2nd and then on to 1st. All this takes place within the first 6 laps and pretty much continues for the remainder of the 36 lap heat race. Exciting to watch and I'm sure intense concentration by all within it's midst. Stenos Wijaya has now earned the right to be called "Spinderrella" and he earned that name by doing the dance on lap 33. Not only did Stenos perfect that move but a forced wide into the turn nearest the pit entrance had "Spinderrella" entering the pits and using that as an escape route out of traffic. He made it thru with no problem but had all the track officials scratching their heads trying to understand what just happened. Side by side racing and more than two deep doing it made for some nail biting action. Going into the back tight left hand corner will not allow that type of side by side racing but all made it thru without major incident. Top ten out of the fifteen racers finished on the lead lap and Raymund G had fast lap of the heat with a 24.424 and a heat win under his belt. Talk of sending him back to Texas was only an ugly rumor. Weigh outs of the top 6 had no under weight issues so all positions stand as finished.
Heat Finish Order: Raymund Guerrero...Ronald Jones...Kent Porter...Leland Forbes...Eric Jacobson...George Sklyarevsky...Brian Turner...Tage "Milkman" Evanson...Travis Bouck...Chris Wynne...Wayne Porter...Gary Kramer...Geri Amani...Stenos "Spinderrella" Wijaya...Sergio Perez
After a much needed break and given time to talk smack regarding the heat race the NASA Az racers draw for karts and saddle up their trusty steeds for the 60 lap Main which pays the most points. A vote was taken and it was decided that Raymund from Texas would get the position but not the points associated with that position as he is only stepping into this race as a guest. Raymund graciously accepted the ruling by majority vote. and in fact voted for that also. More racers like Raymund are needed. By winning the heat Guerrero starts from the pole in the Main.
The green flag waves after a thumbs up by all racers and the top four racers immediately pull away from the pack with R Guerrero, K Porter, L Forbes and R Jones all trading positions lap after lap. During the break G Amani decides to go back to all 60 # on the back of the kart and during one lap around side pods the wall hard! Continues but that will get your attention. As the front runners, now racing as a three pack, battle with each other L Forbes who fell off the pace of the leaders reels them back in and makes it a four man race once again. The top spot continues to be a different competitor lap after lap and a more exciting race was not to found. Now lap traffic comes into play. Slicing and dicing thru traffic now becomes the skill set to have and R Jones comes thru the pack and sets sail for the win.But not before plowing into some of the backmarkers which almost ruined his chances for the win.
Meanwhile behind him the backmarkers have all stepped up their game and 2nd/3rd and 4th are struggling to get around them. Evanson makes contact with Jacobson and Forbes and by lap 35 Evanson goes into 5th place. By race end he will get two more spots and take the last step on the podium with a 3rd place finish. Jones sets fast lap on lap 47with a 24.158 and goes on to win the Main with room to spare between him and 2nd place finisher Kent Porter. Wayne Porter had second fastest time today with his always annoyingly fast brother taking third. Another fast and exciting league race by the Hotshoes of NASA Az. Their next on track event with their own cars will be Thanksgiving weekend at P.I.R. Always free to watch and ride alongs are to be had. Bring your helmet and beg your way into something fast and furious! Waving around a $20.00 bill will get you offers of a ride along faster!
Great group of people having fun and going fast.
Main Finish Order: Ronald "Lone Wolf" Jones...Kent"Always Right There" Porter...Tage"Milkman" Evanson...Raymund"Lone Star State" Guerrero...Leland Forbes the Tenth...George"How do you spell/say that?" Sklyarevsky...Eric "Top 5" Jacobson...Travis "The Engineer" Bouck...Sergio "F1"Perez...Brian"No Sleeves" Turner...Gary "Tatoo" Kramer...Stenos 'Spinerrella" Wijaya...Geri "Rockstar" Amani...Wayne"Brother of Kent" Porter...Chris "If you're Late, you get to Spectate" Wynne.
I want to thank each and every one of the racers that take the time and monitary resources to do this. I also want to thank all the F1 Race Factory track guys, Peter, Romano, Mitch and Jemma up front to make this work and make it a positive experience for all involved. Keep the Rubberside Down and remember the candys always available and best of all FREE!
Next Race is the 5th and the Final on the 1/2 mile GP track C/C/W with a 2:30 check in and qualifying/racing to start promptly at 3pm.
Work on the stamina aspect as this will be an extended race that will have as much as 1full hour behind the wheel for qualifying and the Main race. No breaks between. Thank You, Steve "Kandyman"
AZIKC Race # 9 Wrap Up Report
The Fall season is always a busy and exciting time at F1 Race Factory and the 9th race on Oct. 30th of the monthly AZIKC race was no exception. Some surprises were in store and some of the best racing yet in this 10 race series was to unfold before the standing only crowd that assembled to witness this race that will go down as one of the best!
Seventeen of the fastest indoor kart racers came together and some newcomers were also brave enough to enter the field of competition this blustery October 30th which is the eve of All Hallows Eve or better known as Halloween. Looks like the racers had their masks of calm on but certainly were hiding all the fear and anxiety that is felt before any race. Especially one as important as this one. The points race at the top is close and one slip up means no podium for you. Seventy two laps is all that stands between a victory dance or a slumped shoulder disappointment walk out of the building into the relentless and blinding sunshine of Phoenix, Az. Between you and me I'll take the dance every time.
One person doing the victory dance after the qualifier and still seated in his trusty steed was Josh Lambeth. A fast time during qualifying put Lambeth squarely on pole for the first time in an AZIKC race and we could all see his excitement from 100 yards away. We could also feel his fear as the line up behind him was not to be taken lightly. Lambeths time of 52.946 over the lap time of 53.117 from Tony Rolfson was not hugh but Lambeth owned the only time in the 52 second zone. Second thru tenth place were all in the 53 second arena. Team Hot Lap Racing chose to switch karts during the qualifier with no penalty except losing a lap and will prove to be a wise move on their part.
The Qualifying Order:. Josh Lambeth...Tony Rolfson...Chaz Baca Jr...Keith Sears...Team Titanium (Steve Lattanzi/Charles Crowe)...John Ahrens... Mike McClaren...Matthew Lamanilao...John Pappagallo...Hot Lap Racing ( Bobby Neumann/Jason Burstein)...Dynamic Duo Racing (Austin Kipp/Julia ?)...Pat Joyce...Bill Hunter...Craig Ward...Raymund Guerrero...Matthew Kuhn...Christian Godina.
The green flag drops and in short order the top five swap positions. Within 5 laps Chaz Baca Jr takes over first from Lambeth. Rolfson struggles to stay in the top 5 and slowly but surely and one by one Keith Sears, John Ahrens, and Jason Burstein of Hot Lap Racing come marching thru to take the spot away. Stuck behind Rolfson were Charles Crowe of Team Titanium, Pat Joyce and reeling them all in was Matthew Lamamilao. Lap after lap Crowe looked for a way around Rolfson but never found the space or momentum needed to put the pass on him. When contact between Crowe/Rolfson finally happened Joyce got around Crowe but then made a mistake after getting by that had Crowe taking back the position. I'm sure all involved with that four pack race had heart rates that exceeded a long distance runner at full song. It was a crowd pleaser for sure.
Meanwhile back at the front Baca Jr is stepping it up and away from Lambeth and trying to put enough distance between them to make a pit stop that won't change their positions. Strategy now plays a role in this win or lose proposition and Baca Jr will not give this win up without a fight.
At the halfway mark or 36 laps from the start or finish we start to see two man team driver changes. Single driver stops that require 20 seconds of sitting in the pits seems like an eternity for the single driver entries. For the 2 driver teams it's a nerve wracking swap that can have a multitude of things go wrong but today all seemed to have their planned changes happen without incident.
Team Titanium (Crowe) entered the pit after being waved off at lap 36 because the pitlane suddenly had become "Grand Central Station" and full of other competitors making their mandatory pit stop. Lattanzi fresh off last weeks overnite Machismo 500 team race in Las Vegas took the wheel of the Team Titanium kart and made a gallant effort to stay ahead of Rolfson. Mission accomplished and now to try to pick off some of the karts running at the top of the charts. Lattanzi reels in Pat Joyce and spends the rest of the race studying the back of Joyces helmet and trying to stay out of his line of vision. PJ spent so much time turning his head to look for, "right there Lattanzi," that a trip to the local chiroprator was needed to get the kink out of Joyces neck after the race! Together they were making progress to run down the front runners but unfortunately for both they ran out of laps. Ten more laps and, last months AZIKC winner, Bobby Neumann would have been crying the blues and a battle for position on his hands from Joyce/Lattanzi. Keith Sears was also in the crosshairs of that charge to the front.
Chaz Baca Jr takes the win with a flawless run and Lambeth held onto second. F1 Race factory Race Director supreme John Ahrens finally had his string of "bad luck" broken today with an outstanding run from the sixth starting position to podium step # 3. John was the happiest person in the building.
The other Team that made an outstanding effort was first time teammates Jason Burstein & Bobby Neumann of Hot Lap Racing. After changing karts as earlier mentioned they were able to go from 10th in qualifying to a 5th place finish. With this always fast and hard to pass competitive racing group that is certainly an effort worth noting. You must see this team to believe it. Nuemann stands at 8' 7" , or it seems and Burstein is 5' something and wrapped in a weight suit that if worn to the airport would have him arrested for being a terrorist. Great run by these two young hotshoes.
In this AZIKC race we had Raymund Guerrero from Texas race with us. He was here for the Oct. 3, 7 Hour Enduro and is now in town to get in some mucho practice for the upcoming USIKC which will start Friday Nov. 5th at F1 Race Factory. He is one serious contender and is planning on bringing something besides an empty wallet back to Texas for his efforts. All Day passes are in his immediate future for the upcoming week leading up to the USIKC. I do believe he will set an all time record held by Mike Davila for the most races run in a single day on an all day pass. I'm exhausted just thinking about it.
Thank You all for taking the time to do this, read this and alloting the needed funds to do this. The next AZIKC race which will decide the overall winner and put millions of dollars in the winners bank account will be on Sat. December 4th. Check in between 9/9:30 and racing starts at 10am sharp. Don't be late or you get to spectate! TR, wouldn't you rather be a spectator for the final?
No dreaded "Black Flags" were thrown today and no innocent animals were hurt during the test of the Emergency Broadcast System.
If there had been an emergency........
The Finish Order: With Top 5 Overall/points going into the Final w/o the 1 race drop factored in...Chaz Baca Jr...Josh Lambeth...John Ahrens (3rd/210 points)...Keith Sears (4th/193 points)...Hot Lap Racing (Neumann/Burstein)...Pat Joyce...Team Titanium (Lattanzi/Crowe 1st/235 points)...Dynamic Duo (Kipp/Julia)...Matthew Lamanilao...Tony Rolfson (2nd/230)...Bill Hunter...John Pappagallo (5th/184)...Mike McClaran...Raymund Guerrero...Craig Ward...Christian Godina...Matthew Kuhn.
I want to personally thank all the F1 Race Factory staff that comes in early to make this happen. Amanda who handles the front desk check in and mans the pit stop action with no less than 3 stopwatches hanging from her neck. Happy 21st Birthday Amanda. Have a great time in Vegas! Riddhi & Jemma too!
Romano, Levi, Mitch, Jesus, Ron & Juan who do a great job keeping everybody honest on and off the track. None of this would happen without them so thank you and a round of Donuts for all! Thank You Theresa for all the great photo's.
I've never worked so hard at having so much fun!
Steve "Kandyman" Lattanzi
Seventeen of the fastest indoor kart racers came together and some newcomers were also brave enough to enter the field of competition this blustery October 30th which is the eve of All Hallows Eve or better known as Halloween. Looks like the racers had their masks of calm on but certainly were hiding all the fear and anxiety that is felt before any race. Especially one as important as this one. The points race at the top is close and one slip up means no podium for you. Seventy two laps is all that stands between a victory dance or a slumped shoulder disappointment walk out of the building into the relentless and blinding sunshine of Phoenix, Az. Between you and me I'll take the dance every time.
One person doing the victory dance after the qualifier and still seated in his trusty steed was Josh Lambeth. A fast time during qualifying put Lambeth squarely on pole for the first time in an AZIKC race and we could all see his excitement from 100 yards away. We could also feel his fear as the line up behind him was not to be taken lightly. Lambeths time of 52.946 over the lap time of 53.117 from Tony Rolfson was not hugh but Lambeth owned the only time in the 52 second zone. Second thru tenth place were all in the 53 second arena. Team Hot Lap Racing chose to switch karts during the qualifier with no penalty except losing a lap and will prove to be a wise move on their part.
The Qualifying Order:. Josh Lambeth...Tony Rolfson...Chaz Baca Jr...Keith Sears...Team Titanium (Steve Lattanzi/Charles Crowe)...John Ahrens... Mike McClaren...Matthew Lamanilao...John Pappagallo...Hot Lap Racing ( Bobby Neumann/Jason Burstein)...Dynamic Duo Racing (Austin Kipp/Julia ?)...Pat Joyce...Bill Hunter...Craig Ward...Raymund Guerrero...Matthew Kuhn...Christian Godina.
The green flag drops and in short order the top five swap positions. Within 5 laps Chaz Baca Jr takes over first from Lambeth. Rolfson struggles to stay in the top 5 and slowly but surely and one by one Keith Sears, John Ahrens, and Jason Burstein of Hot Lap Racing come marching thru to take the spot away. Stuck behind Rolfson were Charles Crowe of Team Titanium, Pat Joyce and reeling them all in was Matthew Lamamilao. Lap after lap Crowe looked for a way around Rolfson but never found the space or momentum needed to put the pass on him. When contact between Crowe/Rolfson finally happened Joyce got around Crowe but then made a mistake after getting by that had Crowe taking back the position. I'm sure all involved with that four pack race had heart rates that exceeded a long distance runner at full song. It was a crowd pleaser for sure.
Meanwhile back at the front Baca Jr is stepping it up and away from Lambeth and trying to put enough distance between them to make a pit stop that won't change their positions. Strategy now plays a role in this win or lose proposition and Baca Jr will not give this win up without a fight.
At the halfway mark or 36 laps from the start or finish we start to see two man team driver changes. Single driver stops that require 20 seconds of sitting in the pits seems like an eternity for the single driver entries. For the 2 driver teams it's a nerve wracking swap that can have a multitude of things go wrong but today all seemed to have their planned changes happen without incident.
Team Titanium (Crowe) entered the pit after being waved off at lap 36 because the pitlane suddenly had become "Grand Central Station" and full of other competitors making their mandatory pit stop. Lattanzi fresh off last weeks overnite Machismo 500 team race in Las Vegas took the wheel of the Team Titanium kart and made a gallant effort to stay ahead of Rolfson. Mission accomplished and now to try to pick off some of the karts running at the top of the charts. Lattanzi reels in Pat Joyce and spends the rest of the race studying the back of Joyces helmet and trying to stay out of his line of vision. PJ spent so much time turning his head to look for, "right there Lattanzi," that a trip to the local chiroprator was needed to get the kink out of Joyces neck after the race! Together they were making progress to run down the front runners but unfortunately for both they ran out of laps. Ten more laps and, last months AZIKC winner, Bobby Neumann would have been crying the blues and a battle for position on his hands from Joyce/Lattanzi. Keith Sears was also in the crosshairs of that charge to the front.
Chaz Baca Jr takes the win with a flawless run and Lambeth held onto second. F1 Race factory Race Director supreme John Ahrens finally had his string of "bad luck" broken today with an outstanding run from the sixth starting position to podium step # 3. John was the happiest person in the building.
The other Team that made an outstanding effort was first time teammates Jason Burstein & Bobby Neumann of Hot Lap Racing. After changing karts as earlier mentioned they were able to go from 10th in qualifying to a 5th place finish. With this always fast and hard to pass competitive racing group that is certainly an effort worth noting. You must see this team to believe it. Nuemann stands at 8' 7" , or it seems and Burstein is 5' something and wrapped in a weight suit that if worn to the airport would have him arrested for being a terrorist. Great run by these two young hotshoes.
In this AZIKC race we had Raymund Guerrero from Texas race with us. He was here for the Oct. 3, 7 Hour Enduro and is now in town to get in some mucho practice for the upcoming USIKC which will start Friday Nov. 5th at F1 Race Factory. He is one serious contender and is planning on bringing something besides an empty wallet back to Texas for his efforts. All Day passes are in his immediate future for the upcoming week leading up to the USIKC. I do believe he will set an all time record held by Mike Davila for the most races run in a single day on an all day pass. I'm exhausted just thinking about it.
Thank You all for taking the time to do this, read this and alloting the needed funds to do this. The next AZIKC race which will decide the overall winner and put millions of dollars in the winners bank account will be on Sat. December 4th. Check in between 9/9:30 and racing starts at 10am sharp. Don't be late or you get to spectate! TR, wouldn't you rather be a spectator for the final?
No dreaded "Black Flags" were thrown today and no innocent animals were hurt during the test of the Emergency Broadcast System.
If there had been an emergency........
The Finish Order: With Top 5 Overall/points going into the Final w/o the 1 race drop factored in...Chaz Baca Jr...Josh Lambeth...John Ahrens (3rd/210 points)...Keith Sears (4th/193 points)...Hot Lap Racing (Neumann/Burstein)...Pat Joyce...Team Titanium (Lattanzi/Crowe 1st/235 points)...Dynamic Duo (Kipp/Julia)...Matthew Lamanilao...Tony Rolfson (2nd/230)...Bill Hunter...John Pappagallo (5th/184)...Mike McClaran...Raymund Guerrero...Craig Ward...Christian Godina...Matthew Kuhn.
I want to personally thank all the F1 Race Factory staff that comes in early to make this happen. Amanda who handles the front desk check in and mans the pit stop action with no less than 3 stopwatches hanging from her neck. Happy 21st Birthday Amanda. Have a great time in Vegas! Riddhi & Jemma too!
Romano, Levi, Mitch, Jesus, Ron & Juan who do a great job keeping everybody honest on and off the track. None of this would happen without them so thank you and a round of Donuts for all! Thank You Theresa for all the great photo's.
I've never worked so hard at having so much fun!
Steve "Kandyman" Lattanzi
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