Thursday, January 31, 2013

Chaz Baca Sr Wins Sport League race #4 & Kyler Repella scores a Victory in the Pro League race




Just when you thought the Sport/Pro leagues at Octane Raceway couldn’t get any better, it does. Tuesday night, Jan. 29 saw some of the best lap to lap and nose to tail racing within the hallowed walls of the best Indoor Kart Racing venue in the country.

 

Fast indoor/outdoor racers from as far away as Utah were in the House of Speed. Jeff Saiani is in town from Utah to supplement his Air Force income by working at the Waste Management Open Golf Tournament.

Stay away, far away, from the lime slicer this year Jeff or we be forced to change your race name to Nine Fingers. Jeff made the Pro league “A” Main by qualifying and finishing 2nd in the Group 1 Qualifier/Heat. Looks like even away for more than a year Jeff still has what it takes to be at the front of a Pro league race. His 5th place finish in the Pro league “A” Main is not a true representation of his talent at the wheel, as he obviously pointed by the racers still in the hunt for fame and fortune in the 7 race series. This was a one shot deal for him and he did not want to skew the overall points battle. Now that’s good sportsmanship and is a very big reason Jeff Saiani is my 1st choice when putting together Team Titanium. Jeff will be competing in the epic event of the year, The Grand Nationals, at CalSpeed Karting Center in Fontana, CA, June 21-23, 2013.

 

Also in attendance and showing off his prowess behind the wheel was Steven Jasinski, of SoCal and a regular top 5 finisher at most CalSpeed events, who was in town on business and not only competed in the Sport league from 6pm to 8pm, but had the energy to enter and compete in the Pro league from 8pm to 10pm. WOW!!!  I hear that once he spotted the bottomless candy bowl that made its overdue return to the Kandyman table, it gave him the energy he needed to do both leagues. His lap total for the night was around 115. Sport results for Steven were Qualifier (4th)…Heat (3rd)… “A” Main (10th). Pro league results were Qualifier & Heat (7th)…”B” Main 96th) or 12th overall for the night. Awesome results from both indoor/outdoor karting aficionados who have never run Track 2 c/c/w. Steven J will also be competing in the “Grand nationals come June and Jeff, Steven and yours truly will be pitted against each other for the “Masters Crown”. Now if the organizers would only up the age of “Masters” entry to say 57 I could get these two underage “Masters” off my back.

 

Some local new racers were signed up to give this try before seasons end. One of the Pro league entrants is an instructor at the Bondurant School of High Performance Driving. His name is Chris Siedentop and his skills teaching people to navigate streets and racetracks countrywide at speed in a 3,000 lb automobile transferred quite well into a 300 lb indoor race kart. On the very first lap of our Heat he went from 4th to 3rd and pulled away even though this was his very first time racing on Track 2 c/c/w and with weight added to get him to the 200# weight equalization weight. I chased hot shoe Chris lap after lap and finally made a questionable pass on him in the one corner he was leaving a little too much room in. It was the white flag lap and it was now or never. Chris’s lock on a 3rd place finish which would have placed him the Pro “A” Main, came undone and he finished a very respectable 5th in the Heat. Put him into the “B” Main and by the end of the Main finished up 7th and 13th overall for the night. Excellent driving by Chris and if and when he returns will be threat to the top racers in short order. Smooth driver. Side note… both Chris and I had the same kart in our respective Finals and both of us will agree it was not a contender for a great finish.

 

Sport League:

In the Sport league race #4 we had father/son entries of Lee/Tucker Elingburg, Chris Webb/Preston Sass and Michael/Matthew Bryant. The Bryant’s are the week to week father/son racers and it’s fun to watch and see who has bragging rights by night’s end. Always got to be careful of beating your main money sponsor. Clean passes and no bumping are minimum requirements to assure a ride home after the races.

On this night it was Tucker by one spot over Lee, Chris three spots ahead of Preston and Matthew one spot ahead of Michael. A misunderstanding about the weight rule penalized both Tucker and Preston and sent them both out of the Sport “A” Main and into the “B” Main. I bet they both won’t make that mistake again. Silver lining is some racers got to move up. More were happy than sad. One new racer learned all about the dreaded Black Flag this night out. Newcomer but very competent racer, Eric Ferreira, with a cool white helmet got to visit the pit lane during his group Heat so it was not his finest moment but vows to return and make good and play nice.

 Want to welcome comrade, how you say, Volodymyr Stokolosa, to the Sport league. Good to see the Cold War is dead and we can kart race as one global community. Another round of Vodka to celebrate!

 

Chaz Baca Sr continues to add wins to his name by winning his Heat and the Sport “A” Main. Top 5 starting order finished the same way. He now leads the overall point’s race by 10 over Ariel Rubio who went Black Flag free this week and finished 2nd overall for the night which also keeps him in 2nd place in overall points over Scott Swayzee. Ariel did win his group Heat and add to his point’s total.

Dawn Sharp started from Pole in the “B” Main but fell thru the field with a kart that decided to hiccup thru the corners with an engine misfire. Dawn has improved week after week and just needs a bit of good luck to take her rightful place among the leaders.

Congrats to Frank Dusanek for taking a win in the “B” Main over Eric Ferreira and earn the reward of racing in the “A” Main from the tail end of the field, where he finished 7th overall. Eric was running down Frank and just ran out of laps to make the win a reality.

 

There was so much good tight racing all night long you really needed to be there to witness it all in its glory. So much so, that I gave up taking notes and just enjoyed the moment.

Want to experience it for yourself? We do it all again starting at 6pm next Tuesday, Feb. 5th, with Sport league check in by 6pm. Racing by 6:15. Track 1…c/w for the Q/Ht and c/c/w for the Main.

Lots of laps (70) for very little money ($40.00)

It’s the most fun you can have with your helmet on!

 

Don’t forget these famous words:

If You’re Late, You have to Spectate!

No fun in that….

 

Top 10 Race #4 of 7 with Overall Points Totals:

 

Chaz Baca Sr…175

Ariel Rubio…165

John Moldt…129 (missed 1 race)

Scott Swayzee…160

Wil Shurtleff…151

Craig Moore…132

Frank Dusanek…148

Nick Evans…154

Greg Gillum…96 (missed 1 race)

Steven Jasinski (only 1 race)

 

Pro League:

 

How do you top the great racing that the Sport leaguers did? Hard to do but the Pro leaguers manage to take it to the next level week in and week out.

Never mind that the runaway points train owned by the CBacaJr/KRepella railroad has left the station and is picking up speed.

Good racing is good racing and if you are standing on the sidelines you are missing an action packed night of side by side and bumper to bumper battles for position.

 

The usual cast of fast showed up and with the addition of Jeff Saiani, Steven Jasinski and Chris Siedentop it made for a night of coulda/woulda/shoulda.

I coulda had a V8. I woulda had a V8 and I shoulda had a V8!!! I wonder if a V8 would even fit on this kart. Handling might become an issue and I’m not too sure about the brakes.

Brakes? There’s brakes on these karts? Now you tell me! So that’s what that red pedal is. I thought it was a rest zone for your left foot.

 

Group 1 Heat won by Kyler Repella with Jeff Saiani P2 and Josh Lambeth showing up to take 3rd.

Group 2 Heat won by Chaz Baca Jr with Cody Gutierrez P2 and Steve Lattanzi making a last lap pass on Chris S to take 3rd.

 

The Mains are set. “B” Main has Don Angel on pole and no less than six racers wanting that coveted position by race end to advance into the “A” Main. Green flag goes a waving and for the next 35 laps we see the entire field of karts swapping spots and each taking a shot at the leader, who by now is hanging on by the slimmest of margins. The biggest threat comes from Keith Sears who started the race in 5th place and has rapidly come thru the field and parked himself on the rear bumper of Angel. Lap after lap Sears attempts to move on Don Angel but never has a big enough head of steam to get by. Keith makes a mistake and with everyone running that close, Charles Crowe takes his turn at trying to get by Angel. Didn’t happen and now Keith is back to try again. Is that water pouring off Angels kart? No, it’s him sweating profusely as he holds off the faster but can’t get by without wrecking, Sears. Don Angel is happy…happy…happy to see the white then checkered flag and he is still in the lead position. Did I mention how happy Don was that it was over and he now gets to run in the Pro “A” Main. Hmmm, I guess I did. A total of 6 seconds separated the “B” Main racers. The average times over 35 laps ranged from 28.617 to 28.766. Now that’s close and a race worthy of applause. Standing ovation. Bravo!! More…More.

 

How is the Pro “A” Main going to top that?  With Chaz Baca Jr and Kyler Repella starting 1 & 2 and with the always fast Jeff Saiani right there with pockets bulging of cash and promises of unlimited Bud Lites paid for by 3rd place in overall points Lattanzi. Ooops, did I just write that? Where the heck is that delete button?

Baca & Repella take off and create a two man race with Kyler just waiting to make his move at just the right moment. Do it too soon and Baca Jr seems to get faster and he never lets you go very far before he gets the position back. Repella knows this and has a plan.

Meanwhile the rest of the field is settling into groups. One group of 3 has Jeff Saiani, Cody Gutierrez and Josh Lambeth having fun and losing ground to the leaders as they race for the last podium step of 3rd place, unless the leaders take each other out which up to now has not happened..ever. Both are smart racers not willing to take that chance. At the back of the pack and running solo/solo are Steve Lattanzi and “B” Main winner Don Angel. Lattanzi made an early 1st lap move on Lambeth but couldn’t hold the position and fell back. Angel eventually gets by Lattanzi rather easily and with one wave of his yellow glove is off to find someone more challenging to race with. When you run by yourself as Lattanzi did your mind or what’s left of it tends to wander. Did I shut off the stove before I left the house and do I need to pick up any more creamer on the way home tonight for my coffee in the morning to name a few things of utmost importance while traveling at 35mph in a building with tall hard steel girders every 10 feet. What? Me worry?

 

Remember that move I wrote about earlier well it happened on the last turn of the last lap and Kyler Repella’s plan of late race attack and pass worked and Baca Jr had no time or track left to get it back.

Kyler wins this one and brings his overall points score to within 1 point of the 9 time defending league Champion Chaz Baca Jr. Can the friendship survive this and will Repella finally break the long standing record of 9 Pro league Championships in a row. Only time will tell and there are 3 Pro league races remaining with one race being dropped at season’s end to declare a Pro League Champion of the last Pro league to be had at the current location and with the gas powered Sodi karts.

 

Top 10 Finish Order for Race #4 of 7 & Overall Points:

 

Kyler Repella…175

Chaz Baca Jr…176

Josh Lambeth…118 (missed 1 race)

Cody Gutierrez…141

Jeff Saiani…40 (only 1 race)

Don Angel…102 (missed 1 race)

Steve Lattanzi…164

Keith Sears…125

Charles Crowe…141

Eric Dickinson…54 (missed 2 races)

 

 

Next Sport/Pro League race is Tuesday Feb.5th.

Race #5 of 7… Track 1

Sport…6pm to 8pm

Pro…8pm to 10pm

$40.00 and a positive attitude is all you need.

 

Thanks to all of the racers and their parents, fans, sponsors for taking the time, energy and resources to make this the best indoor Sport/Pro league in the country.

At one of the Premier Indoor Kart Racing venues in the country…Octane Raceway!

 

Once again Thank You all !! Without you it’s just a big red/black/white building with karts parked on a track inside.

 

 

Keep the Rubberside Down,

 

Steve "Kandyman" Lattanzi


Competition Director

Lead Instructor for the Raceology 101 Jr Kart Racing School

317 S. 48th Street  .  Phoenix, AZ  85034

(d) 602-427-4416 / 602-321-2035(m)

Visit us online @ www.OctaneRaceway.com

 

 

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