Twas the week before Christmas and all thru the track not a kart was stirring not even in the back. The karts were set up and prepped with meticulous care by Pat and Josh and Matt who always make it fair. With sugar plums dancing in his head, Race Director John had need not dread. For 15 racers had signed up prior and with more on the way he knew he would be ready. Twenty three racers joined the fun and now they all are waiting for the starting gun. Names are called, karts were given, now it's time to see them driven. With the GP track all a twitter it was time to see who would take home the glitter. Is that Santa in the red racing suit or Lattanzi doing his best imitation of the fat man with the white beard? He does give out candy!
With two warm up laps and a 5 lap Qualifier complete we see Austin Kipp starting from pole, with Eric Dickinson,Chaz Baca Jr, Tony Rolfson,and Steve Lattanzi rounding out the top 5.
Keep in mind Baca (221) and Rolfson (218) are 3 points apart going into the final Heat race worth 30 points to win and the Main worth 30 points to win. With 1 point increments down thru the field. Rolling start see's twenty three kart racers take the green flag and Kipp takes off like a rabbit being chased by a pack of hungry wolves. Rolfson gets by Dickinson. Within 5 laps Baca makes a risky move on Dickinson and Baca gets by so now Baca & Rolfson are once again nose to tail with Rolfson in front. Baca dives in on Rolfson 3 laps later and Lattanzi stays on Baca's tail to go along for the ride. Some contact was had during that pass but track officials declare it was within reason. Dickinson also gets by Rolfson before the end of the 10 lap Heat.
Finish Order Heat: Austin Kipp...Chaz Baca Jr (250)...Steve Lattanzi...Eric Dickinson...Tony Rolfson (244)...Jason Burstein...Josh Lambeth...Charles Crowe...Bobby Neumann...Keith Sears...Josh Walker...Mike McClaran...Rees Candee...Scott Lodding...Robert Ruiz...Ricky Lopez...Cody Gutierrez...John Eccles...John Pappagallo...Julia Castro...Kyle Tatman...John Gilles...Chris Wynne.
Like the Federal deficit the points battle between Chaz Baca Jr & Tony Rolfson grows larger. Doubles from 3 to 6. The starting order for the Main is set by the finish order of the Heat. Austin Kipp when he does make it to any of the organized races at F1Race Factory seems to think that pole position is his and if not on pole finds himself at the front of the field more often than not. That and he is usually over the equalized target weight of 200# which he seems to have worked around with great success. His protoge' and girlfriend Julia Castro is making her way thru the list of newcomers to competitive karting and gets faster each and every time out. We will soon see her name listed in the top 10 more often.
The heat is on and Tony Rolfson is visibly upset with his finish as he knows Chaz Baca Jr is one tough competitor and is hungry for the overall win. Rolfson is coming off a successful run for the title of "Champion of the F1 Race Factory 2010 AZIKC" which ended Dec.4th. Ten race, one hour endurance series held monthly during 2010 and is now being considered for the upcoming 2011 race schedule. Twenty eight new Sodi karts due to arrive any week now.
The Fall league Main is now up and the lucky twenty three racers know it's the last hurrah in this race series for 2010. All want their experience and finish to be a memorable one and for some of us it was one we will never forget. Steve Lattanzi had a race he will never forget. Starting in third and with his confidence level at an all time high he just needed to finish this race clean & sober to prove that his previous wins were not a fluke and he has acquired some karting skills along the way. Today was not to be that day. A bit of a struggle with one of his favorite karts put him squarely in harms way trying desperately to hold onto a top 3 podium finish. The first hit happened exiting a corner and saw 3rd place vaporize like a piece of rice paper lit with a match. Shaking it off and putting pedal to the metal he found an open area to settle in and try to make up some lost ground. Didn't last long as a second wave of hot shoes came barreling thru and the second hit not only cost him more positions but also set him up for a 3rd hit that has roots in the meat industry. "T"-Boned is what it's called and right there and then he should have called it a day and ordered steak fries and A-1 to go with the "T" Bone but again managed to get refocused and go the distance no matter where he ended up. Coincidentally the two "hit" men collided with each other laps later and a fist pump was displayed by Lattanzi as he went sizzling by. Sadly one of them was able to regroup in time and get by again this time hitless before the race ended.
Meanwhile at the front Tony Rolfson, remember him?, needing as many points as possible, went to the front from his 5th starting position and didn't look back until Austin Kipp tried to stick his nose where it didn't belong and Kipp got another pole position but not of the good kind. Eric Dickinson and Keith Sears had moved up and were now running 2nd/3rd with Baca holding onto 4th. Jason Burstein sits in 6th with Kipp falling in between him and Baca for 5th. That's the way the race for the Fall Championship would end and as long as Baca weighed out at 198# or more he will have won the 2010 F1 Race Factory Fall League Series Championship over Rolfson. He does and he is declared the winner overall. Rolfson is declared the winner of the last race and ended up only 3 points from a tie for first. Eric Dickinson had 3rd place sewn up over Sears (204) & Lattanzi (204) who tied for 4th place overall. All in all a great Fall league that saw 46 different names hit the sign up sheets over the course of the 6 race series.
Main Race Results: Tony Rolfson...Eric Dickinson...Keith Sears...Chaz Baca Jr...Austin Kipp...Jason Burstein...Josh Walker...Mike McClaran...Charles Crowe...Bobby Neumann...Josh Lambeth...Steve Lattanzi...Ricky Lopez...Scott Lodding...John Gilles...Robert Ruiz...Rees Candee...John Eccles...Julia Castro...Cody Gutierrez...Chris Wynne...Kyle Tatman...John Pappagallo
We had many new faces and one of them there every week, every race was NASA-AZ driver Chris Wynne who received this 6 race entry as a birthday gift. He walked away with the ever popular and very prestigious, "Kandyman Award". It's an award that recognizes the racer that races the most races and scores the least amount of points. It could also be called the never give up award but what's the fun in that. Trophy is fashioned from a bent or damaged front kart rim, bolted to a beautiful wooden base with a plaque that says, Most Races-Least Points! and filled with chocolate candy. Congratulations Chris and we will see you next league which should start sometime mid Feb. 2011.
Congratulations to all the weekly podium finishers and to Chaz Baca Jr (277) for being a consistent winner and the 2010 Fall League Series Champion. You would be hard pressed to find a nicer young man and family out there. Congratulations Tony Rolfson (274) and Eric Dickinson (250) for taking 2nd & 3rd place overall.
This wraps up another F1 Race Factory League and with the ongoing success of the leagues shall continue starting sometime mid Feb. 2011. Monthly AZIKC & more should also be part of the racing schedule at the Best Indoor Kart & Entertainment Venue in the Country, F1 Race Factory. 7 Years open and counting.
Keep the Rubberside Down! Thank You all for taking the time and resources to do this. Steve "Kandyman"
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