With 2012 coming to a close and 2013 ready to inject new
beginnings for a new year the Winter Sport/Pro leagues kicked off a new season
on Tuesday Jan. 8th. Thirty-two Sport/Pro leaguers in house and
ready to compete in what has become the most competitive indoor kart racing
leagues in the country.
First order of business was the announcement of the changes
that will happen in 2013 for Octane Raceway. A new location has been secured
and is being readied to continue operations as the best indoor karting facility
in the country. 55,000 sq/ft of wall to wall racing action on a 1/3 mile track
that will see part of the track visit the exterior of the building in the
cutting edge new Sodi electric karts. These are not the same electric karts you
find running at most of the other indoor kart venues but karts that look like the
gas powered karts from Sodi with fully adjustable seats/pedals and steering
wheels. The power and torque of the new karts is beyond belief and will satisfy
even the most speed hungry indoor kart racer lap after lap. Some of the pluses
of going with the Sodi electric karts will become evident by the lack of exhaust
fumes and the heat generated by the gas powered motors. Purists including
myself will certainly miss the sounds generated by the 9HP gasoline powered
motors but it’s now time to embrace what looks to be the future of indoor kart
racing not only in Arizona but all across the country.
As of March of 2013 there will two electric indoor karting
venues in the Phoenix area. The closing of Speed Street Indoor Karting located
at 67th Ave & Bell Rd is now complete and is now a U-Haul rental
center. I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of
the indoor kart racers that have been loyal to F1/Octane Raceway since it
opened in 2003. We now move onto the next phase of maintaining the reputation
as one of the best indoor karting facilities in the country. The league racers
will be invited to test the new Sodi electric karts as soon as they are in
house at the new facility, which is located on Indian Bend Rd and the 101 in
Scottsdale. No longer will Octane be a standalone destination but part of a
shopping complex that includes a vast array of shops, eating establishments,
movie theatre, and across the street from one of the longest running car shows
held every Sat night next to the McDonalds at the Pavilions. Home Depot,
Discount Tire, Toys R Us, 5 & Diner just to name a few of the businesses
you will find close by.
News regarding the current leagues is we have been given the
green light to expand the league from its current 5 races to 7 races with the
addition of Tuesday Jan 29th and Tuesday Feb. 5th. Same
times and same entry price ($40.00).
If you signed up for the season you will get a regular race
credit added to your account. Four pre paid racers will receive this credit.
Pro leaguers Keith
Sears and Kyler Repella.
Sport leaguers Nick Evans and Dawn Sharp.
This is still a no drop race series even with the addition
of two more races.
Sport League:
Two groups of 9 racers took to the track for their
Qualifier/Heats and Group 1 had one of the closest Heats with no less than the
top 5 driver’s nose to tail for the duration. Last lap saw a move by P2 Ariel
Rubio against race leader Nick Evans. After the race it was unanimously decided
to move Nick back to the #1 spot because of a questionable pass by Rubio that also
had Scott Swayzee advance. Finish order reset had Nick Evans 1st…Ariel
Rubio 2nd and Scott Swayzee coming home 3rd. All agreed
and top 4 plus one move to the “A” Main.
Group 2 saw the return of Chaz Baca Sr to the fold at the
last minute by finding sponsorship from family and he capitalized on it by
winning that Heat. Robert Giorgio took 2nd and Cele Aragon finished
3rd. Scott Reece finished 4th and puts him into the “A”
Main. Transfer bubble spot of 5th was Craig Moore who starts the “B”
Main from pole position
Craig held onto the #1 spot for as long as he could but Will
Shurtleff came home the winner of the ”B” Main and starts from the tail end of
the “A” Main as a bonus. Nick Evans by
setting fast time in his Heat starts from the pole. Chaz Baca Sr follows close
and then gets by to take the lead and the eventual win in Sport league race #1
of 7.
Top 3…Chaz Baca Sr…Nick
Evans…Ariel Rubio.
Pro League:
Setting the field from the sign in sheet for the
Qualifier/Heats pitted Kyler Repella and Chaz Baca Jr in the same group. They
finished 1…2 in the fall league so
Only one of them will be able to score max points in the Heat.
Baca Jr took pole for the Heat but Kyler came up with the win in the Heat over
Chaz. Brian Landry took 3rd place honors to place him firmly in the “A”
Main. Chris Wynne sits on the bubble ends up in the “B” Main which he wins and
moves to the back of the “A” Main where he manages a 7th place
finish overall.
Group 2 Qualifier/Heat see’s Charles Crowe lay down fast
time to take the pole for the Heat and wins the Heat over Steve Lattanzi. Josh
Lambeth took 3rd and Jason Burstein is the bubble boy but fast time
puts him into the “A” Main where he proceeds to tangle with Josh Lambeth and
gets black flagged. Burstein decided to ramp up the situation by inappropriate behavior
on and off the track which has resulted in a 1 race suspension. Unsportsmanlike
conduct will not be tolerated and penalties have and will be assessed accordingly.
”A” Main has Kyler Repella starting from pole, Charles Crowe
2nd, Steve Lattanzi 3rd and way back in 4th
sits Chaz Baca Jr who is always a threat no matter where he starts. Race see’s
Crowe drop back one to Lattanzi and the eventually to Baca Jr. Lattanzi is now
the meat in the Repella/Baca Jr sandwich but manages to stay that way to race
end. Lap traffic played a part in that finish but the finish ended without any
major drama at the front.
Top 3 finish order: Kyler Repella…Steve Lattanzi…Chaz Baca
Jr.
Charles Crowe wanted a podium finish badly but will try
again Tuesday Jan 15. He loves to have his picture taken!
Score sheets can be found on the Competition table with the point’s
tallies after Race #1 of 7.
Thank you all for taking the time and resources to compete
in the best indoor Sport/Pro league series there is.
Steve "Kandyman" Lattanzi
steve@OctaneRaceway.com
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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