LOGAN CALVIN SCORES NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP AT 2012 SPORT KART GRANDS; DAVE MESSIMER CLAIMS MASTERS TITLE AFTER THREE DAYS OF RACING ACTION!

[June 26, 2012] After three intense days of racing action, Logan Calvin grabbed his first National Championship, dominating the inaugural Sport Kart Grand Nationals hosted by Southern California’s Calspeed Karting Center. Calvin’s run over the past weekend was one of complete brilliance as he never logged a finish worse than seventh. With the win, Calvin not only claimed the title of National Champion, but also took home the $2,000 first place prize to go with it. The Master’s Class Championship was a much closer affair, as Dave Messimer edged Diego Morales by just 3.5 points at event’s end.

With over 70 drivers in attendance vying for the title, drivers from all corners of the country, as well as several international pilots, made the trek to sunny Southern California to do battle. Day 1 action opened with Calvin immediately taking control of the points lead with two heat wins and a third place finish in his three sessions. From there, Calvin would not falter all weekend as he found himself in the center seat of the post race press conference each of the next two days to follow.

Also joining Calvin on the podium would be Aaron Downs and Patrick Britain, who despite just one heat win between them, would finish second and third in the points due to their uncanny ability to run in the top five all weekend. Logan’s older brother, and current league championship rival, Miles Calvin would complete a strong weekend finishing fourth overall, while Las Vegas’ Bryan Armbrust capped an impressive weekend which featured a couple heat wins and an overall fifth place finish out of the 72 registered drivers.

One of the major storylines of the weekend would be the minefield of issues suffered by many of the potential championship contenders in attendance. Three time USIKC Winner, and 2011 CalSpeed Champion, Jon Kimbrell had a weekend he'd just as soon forget as he would experience a rear tire puncture in one session, unknowingly run 30lbs heavy in another, and cap it off with a black flag penalty for avoidable contact as he tried to dig himself out of the unfamiliar hole he'd find himself in. The recipient of Kimbrell's optimistic move would be fellow championship hopeful, Fred Ogrim. Ogrim's weekend would be just as tough as he'd be on the receiving end of contact on more than one occasion, much like Master's favorite Sergio Bravo, which would force the two into an uphill battle for much of the event. Ogrim's weekend would be capped off by back-to-back pit lane penalties in his PreFinal round and a tough kart draw for the SuperFinal leaving much to be desired by the VLK standout.

As it turns out, tough luck is not just an American thing. Both foreign drivers in the field, Sean Brierley of Britain and Martin Handardt of Germany, ran into their own issues throughout the weekend. Hanhardt would suffer heartbreak in his frist heat race of the weekend when he would mistakenly report to pit lane after receiving a black stick warning from officials, not an actual waving black. He would follow that up in his next session with an actual waving black flag penalty for avoidable contact in the first few corners of the race. Brierley, who earned a bid to the Grands via his runner up status with the British Rental Kart Championship, showed strong pace all weekend as he claimed four different front row grid positions, but was unable to convert any to a much needed race win. Super Sunday would bring both a pit lane violation and a blocking call on the Brit... a tough finish after a very strong overall showing.

Pit Lane would be tough on several competitors come Super Sunday as Sam Zian, Mike Kai, and Jerott King all suffered self-inflicted wounds during their mandatory pit stops on the final day of action. Eventual Master's Champion Dave Messimer would cost himself the most on pit lane however, as he would come in for his final pit stop with a massive lead and just two laps to go, only to overshoot the first stop box... a mistake that would send him well down the finishing order. While he would be fortunate to maintain his Master's Championship lead after the debacle, the mistake would cost his T4 Autosport squad the overall Team Championship in the end.

In addition to claiming four of the top five individual positions on the weekend, Team SPV also scored the coveted Team Championship as the SPV/HJC squad of Miles Calvin, Patrick Britain, and Darren Mercer beat out the T4 Autosport squad of Taylor Hays, Dave Messimer, and Matt Widner. Several other drivers posted notable achievements as Octane Raceway’s Chaz Baca Jr. claimed victory in the SuperFinal race closing the weekend, while VLK’s Fred Ogrim, Umigo Indoor Karting’s Jerott King, and IKF hotshoe Nick Johnston all earned ‘Drive of the Day’ honors from officials over the course of the weekend. The depth of overall talent showcased at this first-year event was staggering, and can probably be best illustrated by the fact that there were 16 different race winners in 23 sessions on the weekend. It is a level of talent that is sure to expand come next summer.





Full Results:

1. Logan Calvin – 319.5
2. Aaron Downs – 303
3. Patrick Britain – 294
4. Miles Calvin – 293
5. Bryan Armbrust – 290.5
6. Chaz Baca Jr. – 284
7. Taylor Hays – 282.5
8. Dave Messimer [M] – 280
9. Diego Morales [M] – 276.5
10. Tony Severson – 276
11. Kirk Feldkamp – 272
12. Darren Mercer – 268.5
13. Adam Kellerman – 267.5
14. Robby Stanovich – 265
15. Matt Widner - 263
16. Nick Johnston - 255
17. Kyler Repella - 255
18. Tyler Bryant – 249.5
19. Fred Ogrim – 248.5
20. KC Cook – 248.5
21. Sergio Bravo [M] – 247.5
22. Sean Brierley – 235.5
23. Jay Schreiber [M] – 234.5
24. Mike Kai - 232
25. Jerott King - 209
26. Sam Zian – 206.5
27. Jon Kimbrell - 204
28. Michael Shawhan - 193
29. Steve Lattanzi [M] - 192
30. Alex Herndon - 179
31. Marcelo Bravo [M] - 179
32. Ty Matta [M] – 174.5
33. Martin Hanhardt [M] - 172
34. Keith Sears [M] - 166
35. Dennis Kimbrell [M] - 165
36. David Kelmenson [M] - 162
37. Paul Ciralli - 161
38. Derek Esquibel - 161
39. Mark Robinson [M] - 160
40. Steve Jasinski [M] - 160
41. Derrick Islas - 158
42. Mike Kinney [M] - 158
43. Chris Huerta - 156
44. Oliver Rojas - 148
45. Michael Wu – 147.5
46. Henry Morse - 145
47. Ennis Bragg - 141
48. John Shim - 140
49. Rodney Bryant [M] - 133
50. Tony Roflson - 120
51. Jordan Wallace - 129
52. Alex Majerus - 127
53. David Matchett - 125
54. Brian Guevara - 123
55. Gregg Hall [M] - 119
56. Rene Hourian - 118
57. Corey Farrow [M] - 118
58. Patryk Tararuj - 117
59. Jose da Silva [M] - 109
60. Steve Branson - 105
61. Andrew Brown - 103
62. Chris Carter [M] - 100
63. Brian Warden - 95
64. Jeff Carson - 95
65. Ary Jogasurya [M] - 95
66. Richard Talbert - 87
67. Jeff Hall [M] - 84
68. Richard Wood [M] - 83
69. Mike Peterson [M] - 74
70. Greg Reinhardt [M] - 73