Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Austin Kipp Wins Race #3 & Kyler Repella takes over Points Lead in Summer League @ Octane


*****BREAKING NEWS*****

Tuesday July 24, 2012

Austin Kipp wins Race #3 & Kyler Repella takes the overall points lead in the 2012 Summer Leagues at Octane Raceway. Looks like the stranglehold on the #1 spot held by Chaz Baca Jr (BMB) is finally over. After scoring maximum points for the better part of 7 league seasons Baca’s domination may finally be waning. Has he aged out? At just 15 I don’t think so. Has he been thrown to distraction by the members of the opposite sex? Very possible. Has he helped Kyler Repella too much? A most definite YES! Will he be helping Repella from now on? We shall see. Seems like the student is now schooling the teacher or at least harassing him.



Now for the real story. Chaz made an out of character risky pass move on fellow competitor, Josh Sarchet, which resulted in both Baca and Sarchet dropping thru the field in Group 3 Heat race.

Sarchet was in P1 at the start, Scott Lodding P2 and Chaz Baca Jr P3. Baca dove on Lodding and got into Sarchet which ended up putting both into the “B” Main with a 4th place finish for Sarchet and a 5th place finish for Baca. Cody Gutierrez won the Group 3 Heat race over Lodding. Congratulations Cody Gutierrez!

The math of the groups was this. Twenty seven racers divided into 3 equal groups of 9. Top 3 from each group go into the “A” Main. Finish 4th/5th or 6th and you are in the “B” Main. Finish 7/8/9 and it’s the C” Main for you. Bonus is if you win the “C” Main you advance into the “B” Main. Same for the “B” Main winner. Win the “B” Main and you advance to the “A” Main. Points are awarded for the highest finishing position.



Top 3 in each Heat Group:

Group 1:  Austin Kipp…Tony Rolfson…Charles Crowe.

Group 2: Kyler Repella…Steve Lattanzi…Chris Wynne

Group 3: Cody Gutierrez…Scott Lodding…Keith Sears



“C”  Main competes first and Kyle Tatman from Tucson is on pole with Krystal Wright parked right on his bumper in P2. Newcomer, Peter Madrigal starts an impressive 3rd.  Track 1 was the track of the night and the direction for the Mains was c/w. Track 1 c/c/w was in play for the Qualifier/Heats. Once the green flag flew to start the race, Tatman and Wright took off and left everyone wondering if maybe some rocket fuel was added to those two karts. Krystal got by Kyle and they both settled in for an epic battle that would last until they caught lap traffic once again. An honest mistake by a slow running backmarker newcomer took Tatman off Wrights bumper and back thru most of the field. Tatman now set his sights on catching Wright and by the end of 50 laps was right where he left before the “takeout” that has nothing to do with a fast food order.



Hmmmm? Was that Krystal Wright in the parking lot slipping 20’s to the mysterious backmarker who “mistakenly” bumped Tatman? Fair and square win by Krystal Wright and she advanced into the “B” Main where she raced another 50 laps and finished 9th or 18th overall. Congrats to Krystal Wright who has made it crystal clear she is one serious racer to contend with.



Everybody who’s anybody stayed for the “B” Main to see how “B” Main Baca (BMB), as he has been aptly named, fares starting from 4th. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, 4th and not one easy task as he has racers Mike McClaran, Philip Schroeder and Baca hit recipient Josh Sarchet to contend with. Starting right behind “B” Main Baca” is former Track manager, Pat Joyce, who now finds himself on the fun side of indoor kart racing. He traded in his marshalling flags for a white kart racing helmet and never looked back. I hear he is expecting an addition to the Joyce family in the fall. Congratulations Pat and the lucky lady.



Meanwhile back in the race ” BMB” is making short order of the “B” Main race to the front and for the win. And win it he does which now puts all the “A” Mainers on RED alert. He has the 9 racers in his crosshairs and the plan is to go to the front as soon as the green flag drops. Easy will not be the word of the day with names like Crowe, Wynne, Sears, Lodding, Lattanzi, Rolfson, Gutierrez, Repella, and Kipp standing between BMB and the WIN. But lo and behold and one by one all but two fall into the wake left by BMB. The pass on Steve Lattanzi was at the same turn and the third time was the one that worked. Lattanzi vowed to procure a wider kart for the next race. Tenth place to 3rd place and back on the podium but two steps away from his usual perch which is now occupied by a very happy and pleased with himself Austin Kipp. Kyler Repella is grinning as wide as a Cheshire cat knowing that he has now taken over the overall points lead going into Race #4 on Tuesday July 31st. BMB Jr is vowing to change that back and make it “right”. We shall see.

Trouble is BMB is usually the one being chased and not the chaser. Always impressive to watch this much talent spread among this many great indoor Sport karting enthusiasts.



Top 10 “A” Main and with Overall league season points:

Austin Kipp…164

Kyler Repella…167

Chaz Baca Jr…165

Tony Rolfson…99 (missed 1 race)

Cody Gutierrez…155

Steve Lattanzi…148

Keith Sears…143

Chris Wynne…135

Scott Lodding…92 (missed 1 race)

Charles Crowe…133



Octane Raceway is home to some of the best indoor kart racing leagues in the country. It also continues to be one of the biggest and the best indoor kart racing venues in the country.





Keeping the Rubberside Down,



Steve "Kandyman" Lattanzi

Team Titanium of Octane Raceway


Competition Director

Offsite Specialty Events Coordinator

Lead Instructor for the Raceology 101 Jr Kart Racing School

317 S. 48th Street  .  Phoenix, AZ  85034

(d) 602-427-4416 / 602-302-7223 (t) 602-321-2035(m)

Visit us online @ www.OctaneRaceway.com



Octane Raceway - Your Phoenix Destination For Adrenaline-Packed Outings

Arizona's Premier Indoor Karting & Entertainment Venue

Seasonal Leagues, High Level Competition Events, Public Racing 363 Days A Year

Two Indoor Tracks, 45+MPH Karts, Billiards, Trackside Bar & Grill.


Thursday, July 26, 2012

Jack Fresquez Takes a Well Deserved Win in Race # 4 of the Jr Summer League


Saturday, July 21,2012… Jr Summer League Race#4 of 5 at Octane Raceway.



One of the top runners, Jack Fresquez not only won the 40 lap Main but scored an indoor kart racing trifecta by setting fast time in the 5 lap qualifier, (27.382) over reigning league Champion, Sam Gillum,(27.717) to take the pole for the 25 lap Heat race. Fresquez went on to win the Heat by a wide margin of almost 22 seconds.

Michael Stout took 3rd in the qualifier with a 27.861. Jack then went on to lead every lap in the 40 lap Main on Track 1 c/w. A kart transponder issue kept the Jr karts off Track 2 which was their scheduled track for this race. A computer glitch was identified and corrected but after the Jr leaguers raced on Track 1. Track 2 is more of a technical track but Track 1 lets you carry more speed thru more areas of the track. Good trade off and Jack seemed happy with the outcome.

Two Black Flags were thrown and both went to the same driver who decided his brother had no business being in front of him. Never a good thing to do and especially to a family member you have to ride home in the same car with. I’m sure it wasn’t on purpose.

The 40 lap Main was one of the more exciting races of the season with top 4 and sometimes 5 within striking distance of each other. A few rolled Black Flags were wagged but nothing too serious and no pit stop chats had to be initiated. Top 6 were within 3.5 seconds of each other and Jack drove to the win without setting fast time in that race. Fast time was set by Michael Stout and the only one to dip into the 26 second lap time.(26.607) Michael just couldn’t put enough of those fast laps together to get past the three racers ahead of him.

Congratulations Jack Fresquez on the well deserved win that has now propelled him to the top of the overall points standings.



Finish Order of the Jr Summer League Main Race #4:…points/points with 1 race drop.



Jack Fresquez…110/84

Sam Gillum…107…82

Kiana Lamanilao…106/81

Michael Stout…92/72

Arturo Frayre…74/74

Luisa Rubio…67/67

Matthew Stout…55/55

Jordan Manoff…22/22

Sam McGill…17/17



The Jr Summer Leagues are back in action for the series Final on Sat. Aug. 4th at 9:30am.

They will be competing on the ½ Mile GP Track c/w & c/c/w.

Racer cap has been set at 10 for the Final.

Good Luck to one and all.



Keeping the Rubberside Down,



Steve "Kandyman" Lattanzi

Team Titanium of Octane Raceway


Competition Director

Offsite Specialty Events Coordinator

Lead Instructor for the Raceology 101 Jr Kart Racing School

317 S. 48th Street  .  Phoenix, AZ  85034

(d) 602-427-4416 / 602-302-7223 (t) 602-321-2035(m)

Visit us online @ www.OctaneRaceway.com



Octane Raceway - Your Phoenix Destination For Adrenaline-Packed Outings

Arizona's Premier Indoor Karting & Entertainment Venue

Seasonal Leagues, High Level Competition Events, Public Racing 363 Days A Year

Two Indoor Tracks, 45+MPH Karts, Billiards, Trackside Bar & Grill.

Friday, July 20, 2012

Chaz Baca Jr Opens 2012 Summer League as Top Qualifier & Winner of Heat/"A" Main

Octane Raceway kicked off the 2012 Summer racing Leagues Tuesday July 10 to start yet another exciting 10 race series that will culminate in crowning the series “Champion” come Sunday Sept. 9.

Returning to the leagues and hoping to capture his 8th Championship in a row is Chaz Baca Jr. Sport Kart league racers, Kyler Repella, Steve Lattanzi, Keith Sears, Charles Crowe, Mike McClaran, Austin Kipp, Scott Lodding, Josh Lambeth, Cody Gutierrez, Brian Landry, Philip Schroeder and a host of others are gunning for the reigning Champ and hope to pry Baca’s deathgrip on winning it all again. This could the season for change and the best bets will be placed with Kyler Repella, who up to now has been a bit of a protége’ of Baca. Repella finished 2nd overall in the 2012 Spring league and now it’s time for him to step out of the runner up shadows and into the Champions limelight.



Twenty seven racers ponied up 50 George Washingtons each to compete in a 5 lap qualifier, 30 lap Heat and a 50 lap Main over the course of two hours on Track 1 c/w for their Q/Ht and c/c/w for their Main. Getting to pilot two different karts is just one of the ways Competition Director, Steve “Kandyman” Lattanzi, keeps it fun and interesting. Weight equalizing to 200# is the other great equalizer so that driver talent behind the wheel is what takes you to the front and not weighing 25, 50 or even 100 lbs less.



The excellent kart mechanics give each and every kart the once over minutes prior to the start and make every effort to have all 25 karts as equal as possible. Since we only use up to 14 karts at any given time a careful process of kart selection happens too. Off the competition pace and rocket karts are assigned to the general public racing track for the night. Always amazes me to see or hear of a kart off pace for one driver who finishes at the back only to see that same kart capture pole in the hands of another. Chaz Baca Jr has proven that just about any kart can be driven to its full potential and that is why we no longer allow kart changes unless there is a complete mechanical breakdown which rarely if ever happens. We did have one kart in competition that had a minor motor malfunction and removed before the Mains. I hear there wasn’t enough Armor All on the tires.



Two groups entered the field of competition with Group 1 Q/Ht, seeing a win by none other than 7 time league Champion, Chaz Baca Jr, followed by Mike McClaran and Steve Lattanzi. Group 2 Q/Ht saw Kyler Repella take the win over, returning racer, Austin Kipp and league regular Cody Gutierrez. Chaz Baca Jr (22.457) will start from pole in the “A” Main by posting a best lap time in the heat over Kyler Repella(22.489).

Starting from the pole position in the “B” Main is, all the way from Prescott, Greg Gillum, who is one of Octane Raceway’s best customers and his son Sam is leading the points race in the current Jr League.

Sam Gillum is the reigning Champion of the inaugural Jr League which ended back in May of 2012.



Back to the “B” Main where once the race started and settled into a rhythm, NASA Pres, Tage Evanson took over the lead only to have up and coming league superstar, Brian Landry make a move to the #1 spot and keep it all the way to the Checkered Flag. Tage had whispered something about not wanting to win the “B” Main, and racing another 50 laps, but once the helmet went on and the race started that comment went right out the imaginary window. Brian’s win just goes to show you practice will get you to the front. Brian is at Octane on a very regular basis and is making excellent use of his Titanium Membership. He wheeled a kart around the tracks of Octane to the tune of 243 races in 2011 and was our #6 on the top 50 members list to be granted a FREE Titanium Membership from July 2012 to July 2013. $10.00 races all day every day and he can bring a guest and have them race at the same rate. Congratulations Brian on many fronts but for also winning the “B” Main which then put him into the “A” Main for another 50 laps. How do you spell exhilarated? B-R-I-A-N! Top 3 finish order for the “B” Main was Brian Landry…Tage Evanson…Greg Gillum.



I do want to take this opportunity to thank all the new to indoor Sport kart racing that threw their collective helmets into the ring of the 2012 Summer league. Craig Abraham…Jason Griepentrog…Tage Evanson…Scott Swayzee…Ben Holladay…Tysen Zimmerman…Michael Bryant…Matt Olden…Jason Olden…Brian Beck. All future graduates from the “B” Main into the “A” Main.



The line up for the “A” Main had some familiar names like Chaz Bac Jr on pole, Kyler Repella, (P2) and recent return to competition Austin Kipp, who is the fastest tall person I know, starting from P3.

Race went  as expected with the top 3 finishing as they started. Baca…Repella…Kipp. The finish order for 4th thru 14 is as follows: Steve Lattanzi…Mike McClaran…Cody Gutierrez…Chris Wynne…Josh Lambeth…Keith Sears…Scott Lodding…Philip Schroeder…Charles Crowe…Ronald Jones…and a very happy but tired Brian Landry. Two Mains back to back beat a double dose of sleep aid Ambien any day!

Congratulations to Chaz Baca Jr who continues his race winning ways with a league race trifecta of top qualifier, Heat Win and “A” Main win. 57 points is now posted in his season points total box to start the season. I would expect nothing less!







Keeping the Rubberside Down,



Steve "Kandyman" Lattanzi

Team Titanium of Octane Raceway


Competition Director

Offsite Specialty Events Coordinator

Lead Instructor for the Raceology 101 Jr Kart Racing School

317 S. 48th Street  .  Phoenix, AZ  85034

(d) 602-427-4416 / 602-302-7223 (t) 602-321-2035(m)

Visit us online @ www.OctaneRaceway.com



Octane Raceway - Your Phoenix Destination For Adrenaline-Packed Outings

Arizona's Premier Indoor Karting & Entertainment Venue

Seasonal Leagues, High Level Competition Events, Public Racing 363 Days A Year

Two Indoor Tracks, 45+MPH Karts, Billiards, Trackside Bar & Grill.


Thursday, July 19, 2012

Chaz Baca adds to his Won column with another Win in the Octane Raceway Summer League Series



Tuesday July 17,2012 marked the date of the 2nd race of 10 in the 2012 Summer League series at Octane Raceway.



Twenty three hotshoe indoor kart racers braved the oven hot, humid outdoor temps of Phoenix, Az to come into the air conditioned 113,000 sq/ft building that has the best indoor SportKart league racing west of the Mississippi.



Track 2 hosted the Qualifier/Heats c/w and then the Mains in the c/c/w direction for a night of chills and spills and good racing thrown in for good measure. For one thing Josh Sarchet who has been claiming to be a poor qualifier threw down fast laps to start from pole in one of the Heats. Sarchet went on to win that Heat hands down over Kyler Repella who got by Keith Sears and Steve Lattanzi after side by side contact sent Lattanzi off line and into the barriers. Lattanzi got the position back from Sears in short order and the friendship suffered no harm even though some harsh words were exchanged in the heat of the moment post race.



For the most part both Q/Hts went into the record books with little to no issue and I wish I could report the same for one of the two Mains, which experienced a rare “RED” flag condition that had track officials scrambling to separate karts and make sure all involved were safe and sound. One of the drivers involved had come to an abrupt stop and ended up across the bow of another kart. Besides having the air knocked out of him, which he recovered from, he was AOK and was back out and on the track to continue. Good to know the manufacturer’s seatbelt system worked as designed and prevented a more serious injury. Racing three wide into the part of the track designed for one , maybe two karts, will  funnel you with three going in but only one coming out unscathed which is exactly what transpired and necessitated the “RED Flag” condition.



The competition racers were glad to get back to racing and the “A” Main almost finished without further incident.  Four laps into the restart, series regular, Steve Lattanzi, who was running in P5 and was to continue from that position made an error by applying too much pressure to the left/red pedal aka ”the brake” and spun himself from 5th and gaining to 12th and losing ground. Spent the rest of the race chasing down anyone and everyone. A 10th place finish was all he could muster but he was happy to be back in the safe haven of the pits post race. His GoPro Hero2 captured it all and now it can be played over and over and over until he finds the delete button. The Spinderrella name lives on!



Chaz Baca Jr WON the “A” Main to add to his overall win pile and so far it’s two for two for the most dominate indoor kart race winner and League Series Champion in the history of F1 Race Factory aka Octane Raceway.



The “B” Main had some of the most exciting, nose to tail, bumper to bumper action with Don Angel…Chris Wynne and Philip Schroeder crossing the finish line within inches of each other. Don Angel took the hard earned win and advanced into the “A” Main with what was left of his energy for another 40 laps on Track 2 c/c/w. Congratulations Don on your “B” Main WIN! Just try to stay off those motorcycles!



Now for the Final Results from Summer League race #2 with points awarded so far after 2 races.



“A” Main Finish Order:

Chaz Baca Jr...114

Kyler Repella…111

Josh Sarchet…55 (missed race#1)

Austin Kipp…107

Cody Gutierrez…102

Keith Sears…94

Tony Rolfson…46 (missed race#1)

Charles Crowe…87

Mike McClaran…97

Steve Lattanzi…97

Brian Landry…80

Don Angel…41 (missed race#1)



“B” Main Finish order:

Don Angel…41 (advanced to “A” Main)

Chris Wynne…87

Philip Schroeder…78

Ronald Jones…88

Krystal Wright…35 (missed race#1)

Craig Moore…63

Greg Gillum…67

Jason Griepentrog…64

Scott Swayzee…58

Michael Bryant…54

Tysen Zimmerman…51

Dane Traines…24 (missed race#1)



All’s well that ends well and all of us and more will be back Tuesday July 24 at 7pm to do it all again.

Check in by 6:30pm…Driver meeting at 6:45pm.

Track 1 c/c/w in the Q/HT(s) & c/w in the Main(s)



Keeping the Rubberside Down,



Steve "Kandyman" Lattanzi

Team Titanium of Octane Raceway


Competition Director

Offsite Specialty Events Coordinator

Lead Instructor for the Raceology 101 Jr Kart Racing School

317 S. 48th Street  .  Phoenix, AZ  85034

(d) 602-427-4416 / 602-302-7223 (t) 602-321-2035(m)

Visit us online @ www.OctaneRaceway.com



Octane Raceway - Your Phoenix Destination For Adrenaline-Packed Outings

Arizona's Premier Indoor Karting & Entertainment Venue

Seasonal Leagues, High Level Competition Events, Public Racing 363 Days A Year

Two Indoor Tracks, 45+MPH Karts, Billiards, Trackside Bar & Grill.

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Jason Burstein of Team Racin Neustein captures first Win in the AZIKC race series on Sunday July 15, 2012 at Octane Raceway


Jason Burstein, who represents one half of Team Racin Neustein, took the win in race #6 of 10  of the AZIKC series. That was the first race of the second half of the 10 race series that competes on a monthly basis on the second Sunday of the month on the world famous ½ mile GP track at Octane Raceway.



Congratulations Jason Burstein of Racin Neustein!!!



This win will move Racin Neustein that much closer to the top in the overall points standings currently held by Chaz Baca Jr who is collecting enough top 3 finishes every month to possibly capture his first ever AZIKC Championship that has been won 3 years running by Tony Rolfson. Tonys 2nd place finish will also keep him near the front of the points race. Once you factor in the points drop this has become one of the closest AZIKC’s in recent history.

Anyone that thinks racing a 3 lap qualifier and then into a 72 lap Main on the GP track is easy just needs to come down and try it sometime. It takes its toll on you not only physically but mentally with the level of focus required to get to the lead and stay there lap after lap. It’s one reason most team up with another driver to  get some relief. Sunday July 15th presented additional challenges to one and all by having a late afternoon, early evening rain/hailstorm roll thru and proceed to liquidate parts of the track. Racing slicks and standing water are not the best of friends and tends to send the karts off track at the most inopportune times. Luckily the mop up got under way and by the time the competitors entered the track for competition all was as dry as an Englishman’s sense of humor. Facility manager of the day, Leah, thanked her lucky stars as she would have had to deal with 20 plus very motivated indoor kart racers if the cleanup had been delayed or it stormed outside much longer. I know we need the rain but does it have to come all at once and on a competition night?

Thank you Leah for stepping up and getting things back on track. From now on we will have waders standing by and a 9 Hp kart converted to a high volume water pump. Water wings for those of you that failed swimming class.

Lot’s of new racers joined the regulars and we outfitted one new driver, who weighed all of 120# soaking wet, with a unibomber looking vest that would surely have him arrested should he wear to the airport. Not only that but he had to add another 50# to the weight bracket to bring himself into compliance with the 200# target weight mandated for all competition. He met the weight requirement but failed to adhere to the mandatory twenty second pit stop and was DQ’d as a result. It has happened to the best of us and should he return I’m sure that will be a one off mistake.



The racing you say, what about the racing?

Yes, Jason Burstein won, Tony Rolfson took 2nd and Chaz Baca Jr shockingly took 3rd. Chaz was very unfamiliar with that step and had a hard time finding it on the podium once he got there. Kept trying to climb onto the 1st Place step but Burstein wanted that top step without any company, thank you.

4th Place was settled on the white flag lap between Team Titanium,(Steve Lattanzi at the wheel) and Josh Lambeth. Keith Sears, who is the other half of Team Titanium qualified for Team Titanium to start from the P7 and by 36 laps worked his way to the top of the charts coming into make the mandatory 20 second pit stop and where Lattanzi took over the driving duties. Lattanzi came flying out of the pits in 5th but an errant call by a track official put him back 1 more spot to 6th. Lattanzi spent the next 36 laps chasing 5th place Kyle Hathcox and 4th place Josh Lambeth. By race end a 4th place finish was in the bag for Team Titanium.



The finish order for Race #6 of 10 in the AZIKC series is as follows:

Points are Season points total/points with drop

Top 20 in points only



Jason Burstein (Racin Neustein)…135/135

Tony Rolfson…144/144

Chaz Baca Jr…184/156

Team Titanium (Steve Lattanzi/Keith Sears)…149/130

Josh Lambeth…52/52

Kyle Hathcox (Team Twinkle Toes!)…77/77

Kyler Repella…161/137

Charles Crowe…88/88

Don Angel…63/63

Mike McClaran…115/115

Brian Landry

Greg Gillum…86/75

Team Hunter Killer (John Pappagallo/Bill Hunter)…103/89

Team BMW (Todd Anderson/Rob Giorgio)

Team Plan B (Robert Giorgio/Jason Griepentrog)

Team Flyer-24/C-18 (Ariel Rubio/Cele Aragon)

James Borquez (Kart change 17 to 28)

Josh Sarchet (DNF)…125/125

Brett Kneiss (DNF)

Trent Kneiss (Sauce Boss) (DQ)



We will be back for Race #7 of 10 of the AZIKC series on Sunday August 12.

Check in by 6:30pm

Driver meeting/Kart Draw 6:45pm

3 Lap Qualifier into a 72 lap Main to start approx 7pm



If You’re late, You May Have to Spectate!

***Ronald “Mr Tardy” Jones***



Keeping the Rubberside Down,



Steve "Kandyman" Lattanzi

Team Titanium of Octane Raceway


Competition Director

Offsite Specialty Events Coordinator

Lead Instructor for the Raceology 101 Jr Kart Racing School

317 S. 48th Street  .  Phoenix, AZ  85034

(d) 602-427-4416 / 602-302-7223 (t) 602-321-2035(m)

Visit us online @ www.OctaneRaceway.com



Octane Raceway - Your Phoenix Destination For Adrenaline-Packed Outings

Arizona's Premier Indoor Karting & Entertainment Venue

Seasonal Leagues, High Level Competition Events, Public Racing 363 Days A Year

Two Indoor Tracks, 45+MPH Karts, Billiards, Trackside Bar & Grill.