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
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