The 2012 Summer league racing season came to a close on
Sunday Sept 9 after 10 hard fought races to complete a season of some of the
best racing within the 4 walls of Octane Raceway.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and
every one of the league racers for their support and willingness to be flexible
with regard to last minute changes.
Small changes to the racing format went extremely well and
will be continued into the Fall
Sport/Pro League
season, which will now include the “new” Sport class for those entering competitive kart
racing for the first time or
want to take the next step up from general public, arrive & drive racing. A
few select racers from the Summer league will be permitted to enter the Sport
league. The majority will compete in the Pro league and will not be permitted
to step into the Sport league.
The Pro league will be reserved for the best of the best and
for anyone that wants to learn from the best and take their indoor kart racing
to a high level of
performance. As a whole the entire league racing fraternity here at Octane has
stepped up and collectively has reached new levels of fair and equal
competition no matter what group you raced in. I witnessed exemplary actions of
good sportsmanship and the never give up attitude not found in most other
competitive environments today. Bravo to all especially Scott Swayzee who
earned the Kandyman Award for his superior level of Good Sportsmanship and Never
Give Up mindset. Thank You Scott and congratulations on winning the prestigious Kandyman Award
Trophy. I’m sure you will find an appropriate place in your trophy
room/man cave to display and show with pride. Enjoy the candy!
Congratulations to now 8 time league series “Champion”, Chaz
Baca Jr. Not only has Chaz, who is only 15 years old, won more league races than anyone in the
history of Octane but has won the 8 Championships in a row and stands
undefeated since the 2010 Winter league series won by yours truly. Baca Jr won
it by scoring maximum points (57) in 7 out of 10 races over Kyler Repella, who
has made quite a name for himself and has become good friends with Chaz in the
meantime. Some of the cleanest racing has happened between these two titans of
the indoor karting world and let’s not forget about Austin Kipp, who has
continued to display a talent at the wheel that comes from years of track laps
at a weight that would slow most mortal racers down. Austin will take a season
off then return right where he left off…at or near the top. This is in no way
meant to diminish the talent pool that Octane has developed over the years but
racers like Kipp never seem to lose their winning edge. For the rest of us
weekly track practice is the norm to stay sharp and ready for the next season
of competition. Tony Rolfson, & Josh Sarchet had they done the entire
series would also have been in the points battle right to the end but work and
family responsibilities took over for both of these local hotshoes.
The 2012 Summer league season was not
without it’s drama from time to time with a record, two (2) red flags stopping
races for on track incidents, one that had no less than six karts blocking
Track 2.
Both Chaz and Kyler both found themselves,
on different league nights, mired deep within the “B” Main only to win the “B”
Main and proceed to pass most in the “A” Main to score top 5 points. More than
one week saw Kyler atop the points charts and Baca as far back as 3rd
without the 1 race points drop factored in. Baca now knows not to assume his
weigh out weight to be the same on every scale. Lesson learned.
MIA for some of this season were racers like Josh Lambeth,
Kyle Tatman, Paul Miller, Tage Evanson, Ronald Jones, Joe Landram, Craig
Abraham, Carlos Carniero, Krystal Wright, Jason Griepentrog, Romano Cionni,
Nick Evans, the Swane brothers, Chris Manwaring, George Sklyarevsky, etc.
Over the years many friendships have been started over this
racin’ we like to do together and even if you don’t race stop by to see old
friends and maybe make some new ones. Don’t forget your helmet just in case the
pull of competition is too strong to resist!
Top 10 for the 2012 Summer League:
Chaz Baca Jr…”Champion” with 504 pts.
Kyler Repella….2nd with 495 pts.
Austin Kipp……..3rd with 489 pts.
Steve Lattanzi…..4th with 453 pts
Cody Gutierrez…..5th with 440 pts
Keith Sears………….6th with 428 pts
Scott Lodding……..7th with 416 pts
Chris Wynne………8th with 409 pts
Charles Crowe….9th with 407 pts
Mike McClaran.10th with 397 pts
Honorable mention to 11th thru 20th.
Brian Landry…Philip Schroeder…Greg Gillum…Scott Swayzee…Don
Angel…Tony Rolfson…Mike Bryant…Josh Sarchet…Craig Moore…Steve Nowland.
We had 65 different racers join us throughout the course of
the series and I hope to see all or most of you when the 2012 Fall Sport/Pro
Leagues kicks off on Tuesday Oct. 2.
6pm to 8pm…Sport
8pm to 10pm…Pro
‘Til we meet again I will be,
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)
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.
