After a small hiatus to regroup and properly break in the 28 new Sodi karts delivered to the track at F1 Race Factory we started our competition series Sunday Feb. 20th. Before I race into that info I would like to thank all the new kart break in team for their due diligence and expert throttle control patience. As fun as it sounds going thru the break in procedure can be grueling with a four step ramp up in speed with the reward of flat out at the latter part of the day. It’s not easy going slow lap after lap. Over the course of 3 weeks kart break in pilots such as James Gibbins, Keith Sears, Richard Small, Eric Dickinson, Gary Katz, Greg Jones, Joe Landram, Peter Liwanag, Mike McClaran, and Steve Lattanzi stepped up and volunteered their valuable time to do this. The rewards were small but they now have bragging rights to being the first in these new 9 HP Sodi karts before the general public scuffed them up and tested all the safety features built into these outstanding racing machines. Thank You all.
Also a BIG THANKS goes out to the top notch mechanics hidden away at the back of the building at F1 Race Factory. They manage to turn out day after day the finest rental karts in the industry to each and every customer. They had to become jugglers with keeping the current fleet up to parr, prep them and others to ship out to their new homes and assemble the new arrivals for the break in procedure. GPNY in Mt Kisco, N.Y. took the majority of the fleet after evaluation by none other than Scottish outdoor karting champion and the competition director for GPNY, Stevan McCleer. He flew to Phoenix and spent the better part of three days driving each and every kart. He liked what he saw and was impressed by the attention to detail from F1 Race Factory’s great mechanical staff of Pat, Josh, and Matt. Not many people get to see all the hard work and the pride these guys take in their work with keeping a fleet of 25 plus karts ready for action day in and day out. These guys are the best at what they do and deserve a standing ovation for their performance. Bravo!!!
F1 Race Factory has a reputation for having the best karts of any indoor karting facility and as a member of many other indoor clubs throughout the USA I can personally attest to that. The last fleet of 34 karts was approx 2 years old, still in good shape after many hours of use and abuse. Like the Timex saying goes, takes a licking but goes on ticking. The gas powered Sodi karts are the best there is but the best does not come cheap. At approx $8000.00 each that monetary commitment is to the tune of $224,000. Plus shipping/assembly/gas & oil and transponders. Scott Sanders stepped up and made it happen even in this economy that has taken down many fine companies rolling in dough before the music stopped. That confidence in the F1 Race Factory customer by providing an $8000.00 kart to race at speed against 9 or more others by almost anyone that comes walking thru the doors and laying down $10.00/$15.00 or even $20.00 and trusting you will get it back hopefully in the same condition you rented it to them is the true meaning of nerves of steel! The Reputation as the “BEST” continues.
2011 AZIKC Monthy 1 Hour Endurance Series started Sunday Feb. 20th, with 24 racers and a win by the 2010 AZIKC Champion Tony Rolfson aka (The Phoenix), with Mike Davila taking second place honors and Chaz Baca Jr standing atop the 3rd place podium step. The 10 race series continues on Sunday March 27th, with a 3 lap qualifier/72 lap race on the ½ mile GP track c/c/w. Check in time is by 6pm, kart draw/driver meeting @ 6:15 racing starts @ 6:30pm. Weight equalized to 200# and there is one(1) mandatory twenty(20) second pit stop to do a driver change if you are running a two(2) man team. Single driver teams also make the mandatory stop but do not get out of the kart.
Race dates for the series are: Feb. 20…March 27…April 24…May 22…June 26…July 31…Aug 28…Sept 25…Oct 30…Dec 4 (The Final)
One race drop. 20/25 Racer cap depending on kart availability
Entry Fee :$75.00per race inclusive of tax
2011 Winter/Spring Leagues started Tuesday Feb. 22nd, with 31 racers taking Track 1 c/w. Mike Davila earns the win, Tony Rolfson (The Phoenix) takes 2nd and Steve “Kandyman” Lattanzi” brings home a 3rd place finish. The second race of the 8 race series competed on Tuesday March 1st with 29 racers vying for the top spot. Chaz Baca Jr comes away with the win, Tony Rolfson (The Phoenix) owns 2nd and once again Steve “Kandyman” Lattanzi captures 3rd place. The 20 minute Mains start after the field is reset into “A” & “B” groups of up to 15 racers each and another kart draw is done.
Weight equalized to 200#. Top 5 weigh out post qualifier/heats & mains.
The first seven races of the series are run on Track 1 or 2 c/w or c/c/w.
Race dates for the League Series are: Feb 22…March 1…8…15…22…April 5…12 check in by 6:30pm kart draw/driver meeting @ 6:45pm racing starts @ 7pm. 30 racer cap per night.
Final is on the ½ mile GP Track Sunday April 17th. Check in by 6pm, racing starts @ 6:30pm. 20/25 racer cap depending on kart availability. One race drop.
Entry Fee: $40.00 per race inclusive of tax
Thank You and see most of you next AZIKC or League Race!
Keep the Rubberside Down,
Steve Lattanzi "Kandyman"
steve@f1rf.com
Specialty Events, F1 Race Factory
317 S. 48th Street . Phoenix, AZ 85034
(d) 602-427-4416 / 602-302-7223 (t) 602-321-2035(m)
Visit us online @ www.f1racefactory.com
F1 Race Factory - 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, March 11, 2011
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Fall League #6 Wrapup
Twas the week before Christmas and all thru the track not a kart was stirring not even in the back. The karts were set up and prepped with meticulous care by Pat and Josh and Matt who always make it fair. With sugar plums dancing in his head, Race Director John had need not dread. For 15 racers had signed up prior and with more on the way he knew he would be ready. Twenty three racers joined the fun and now they all are waiting for the starting gun. Names are called, karts were given, now it's time to see them driven. With the GP track all a twitter it was time to see who would take home the glitter. Is that Santa in the red racing suit or Lattanzi doing his best imitation of the fat man with the white beard? He does give out candy!
With two warm up laps and a 5 lap Qualifier complete we see Austin Kipp starting from pole, with Eric Dickinson,Chaz Baca Jr, Tony Rolfson,and Steve Lattanzi rounding out the top 5.
Keep in mind Baca (221) and Rolfson (218) are 3 points apart going into the final Heat race worth 30 points to win and the Main worth 30 points to win. With 1 point increments down thru the field. Rolling start see's twenty three kart racers take the green flag and Kipp takes off like a rabbit being chased by a pack of hungry wolves. Rolfson gets by Dickinson. Within 5 laps Baca makes a risky move on Dickinson and Baca gets by so now Baca & Rolfson are once again nose to tail with Rolfson in front. Baca dives in on Rolfson 3 laps later and Lattanzi stays on Baca's tail to go along for the ride. Some contact was had during that pass but track officials declare it was within reason. Dickinson also gets by Rolfson before the end of the 10 lap Heat.
Finish Order Heat: Austin Kipp...Chaz Baca Jr (250)...Steve Lattanzi...Eric Dickinson...Tony Rolfson (244)...Jason Burstein...Josh Lambeth...Charles Crowe...Bobby Neumann...Keith Sears...Josh Walker...Mike McClaran...Rees Candee...Scott Lodding...Robert Ruiz...Ricky Lopez...Cody Gutierrez...John Eccles...John Pappagallo...Julia Castro...Kyle Tatman...John Gilles...Chris Wynne.
Like the Federal deficit the points battle between Chaz Baca Jr & Tony Rolfson grows larger. Doubles from 3 to 6. The starting order for the Main is set by the finish order of the Heat. Austin Kipp when he does make it to any of the organized races at F1Race Factory seems to think that pole position is his and if not on pole finds himself at the front of the field more often than not. That and he is usually over the equalized target weight of 200# which he seems to have worked around with great success. His protoge' and girlfriend Julia Castro is making her way thru the list of newcomers to competitive karting and gets faster each and every time out. We will soon see her name listed in the top 10 more often.
The heat is on and Tony Rolfson is visibly upset with his finish as he knows Chaz Baca Jr is one tough competitor and is hungry for the overall win. Rolfson is coming off a successful run for the title of "Champion of the F1 Race Factory 2010 AZIKC" which ended Dec.4th. Ten race, one hour endurance series held monthly during 2010 and is now being considered for the upcoming 2011 race schedule. Twenty eight new Sodi karts due to arrive any week now.
The Fall league Main is now up and the lucky twenty three racers know it's the last hurrah in this race series for 2010. All want their experience and finish to be a memorable one and for some of us it was one we will never forget. Steve Lattanzi had a race he will never forget. Starting in third and with his confidence level at an all time high he just needed to finish this race clean & sober to prove that his previous wins were not a fluke and he has acquired some karting skills along the way. Today was not to be that day. A bit of a struggle with one of his favorite karts put him squarely in harms way trying desperately to hold onto a top 3 podium finish. The first hit happened exiting a corner and saw 3rd place vaporize like a piece of rice paper lit with a match. Shaking it off and putting pedal to the metal he found an open area to settle in and try to make up some lost ground. Didn't last long as a second wave of hot shoes came barreling thru and the second hit not only cost him more positions but also set him up for a 3rd hit that has roots in the meat industry. "T"-Boned is what it's called and right there and then he should have called it a day and ordered steak fries and A-1 to go with the "T" Bone but again managed to get refocused and go the distance no matter where he ended up. Coincidentally the two "hit" men collided with each other laps later and a fist pump was displayed by Lattanzi as he went sizzling by. Sadly one of them was able to regroup in time and get by again this time hitless before the race ended.
Meanwhile at the front Tony Rolfson, remember him?, needing as many points as possible, went to the front from his 5th starting position and didn't look back until Austin Kipp tried to stick his nose where it didn't belong and Kipp got another pole position but not of the good kind. Eric Dickinson and Keith Sears had moved up and were now running 2nd/3rd with Baca holding onto 4th. Jason Burstein sits in 6th with Kipp falling in between him and Baca for 5th. That's the way the race for the Fall Championship would end and as long as Baca weighed out at 198# or more he will have won the 2010 F1 Race Factory Fall League Series Championship over Rolfson. He does and he is declared the winner overall. Rolfson is declared the winner of the last race and ended up only 3 points from a tie for first. Eric Dickinson had 3rd place sewn up over Sears (204) & Lattanzi (204) who tied for 4th place overall. All in all a great Fall league that saw 46 different names hit the sign up sheets over the course of the 6 race series.
Main Race Results: Tony Rolfson...Eric Dickinson...Keith Sears...Chaz Baca Jr...Austin Kipp...Jason Burstein...Josh Walker...Mike McClaran...Charles Crowe...Bobby Neumann...Josh Lambeth...Steve Lattanzi...Ricky Lopez...Scott Lodding...John Gilles...Robert Ruiz...Rees Candee...John Eccles...Julia Castro...Cody Gutierrez...Chris Wynne...Kyle Tatman...John Pappagallo
We had many new faces and one of them there every week, every race was NASA-AZ driver Chris Wynne who received this 6 race entry as a birthday gift. He walked away with the ever popular and very prestigious, "Kandyman Award". It's an award that recognizes the racer that races the most races and scores the least amount of points. It could also be called the never give up award but what's the fun in that. Trophy is fashioned from a bent or damaged front kart rim, bolted to a beautiful wooden base with a plaque that says, Most Races-Least Points! and filled with chocolate candy. Congratulations Chris and we will see you next league which should start sometime mid Feb. 2011.
Congratulations to all the weekly podium finishers and to Chaz Baca Jr (277) for being a consistent winner and the 2010 Fall League Series Champion. You would be hard pressed to find a nicer young man and family out there. Congratulations Tony Rolfson (274) and Eric Dickinson (250) for taking 2nd & 3rd place overall.
This wraps up another F1 Race Factory League and with the ongoing success of the leagues shall continue starting sometime mid Feb. 2011. Monthly AZIKC & more should also be part of the racing schedule at the Best Indoor Kart & Entertainment Venue in the Country, F1 Race Factory. 7 Years open and counting.
Keep the Rubberside Down! Thank You all for taking the time and resources to do this. Steve "Kandyman"
With two warm up laps and a 5 lap Qualifier complete we see Austin Kipp starting from pole, with Eric Dickinson,Chaz Baca Jr, Tony Rolfson,and Steve Lattanzi rounding out the top 5.
Keep in mind Baca (221) and Rolfson (218) are 3 points apart going into the final Heat race worth 30 points to win and the Main worth 30 points to win. With 1 point increments down thru the field. Rolling start see's twenty three kart racers take the green flag and Kipp takes off like a rabbit being chased by a pack of hungry wolves. Rolfson gets by Dickinson. Within 5 laps Baca makes a risky move on Dickinson and Baca gets by so now Baca & Rolfson are once again nose to tail with Rolfson in front. Baca dives in on Rolfson 3 laps later and Lattanzi stays on Baca's tail to go along for the ride. Some contact was had during that pass but track officials declare it was within reason. Dickinson also gets by Rolfson before the end of the 10 lap Heat.
Finish Order Heat: Austin Kipp...Chaz Baca Jr (250)...Steve Lattanzi...Eric Dickinson...Tony Rolfson (244)...Jason Burstein...Josh Lambeth...Charles Crowe...Bobby Neumann...Keith Sears...Josh Walker...Mike McClaran...Rees Candee...Scott Lodding...Robert Ruiz...Ricky Lopez...Cody Gutierrez...John Eccles...John Pappagallo...Julia Castro...Kyle Tatman...John Gilles...Chris Wynne.
Like the Federal deficit the points battle between Chaz Baca Jr & Tony Rolfson grows larger. Doubles from 3 to 6. The starting order for the Main is set by the finish order of the Heat. Austin Kipp when he does make it to any of the organized races at F1Race Factory seems to think that pole position is his and if not on pole finds himself at the front of the field more often than not. That and he is usually over the equalized target weight of 200# which he seems to have worked around with great success. His protoge' and girlfriend Julia Castro is making her way thru the list of newcomers to competitive karting and gets faster each and every time out. We will soon see her name listed in the top 10 more often.
The heat is on and Tony Rolfson is visibly upset with his finish as he knows Chaz Baca Jr is one tough competitor and is hungry for the overall win. Rolfson is coming off a successful run for the title of "Champion of the F1 Race Factory 2010 AZIKC" which ended Dec.4th. Ten race, one hour endurance series held monthly during 2010 and is now being considered for the upcoming 2011 race schedule. Twenty eight new Sodi karts due to arrive any week now.
The Fall league Main is now up and the lucky twenty three racers know it's the last hurrah in this race series for 2010. All want their experience and finish to be a memorable one and for some of us it was one we will never forget. Steve Lattanzi had a race he will never forget. Starting in third and with his confidence level at an all time high he just needed to finish this race clean & sober to prove that his previous wins were not a fluke and he has acquired some karting skills along the way. Today was not to be that day. A bit of a struggle with one of his favorite karts put him squarely in harms way trying desperately to hold onto a top 3 podium finish. The first hit happened exiting a corner and saw 3rd place vaporize like a piece of rice paper lit with a match. Shaking it off and putting pedal to the metal he found an open area to settle in and try to make up some lost ground. Didn't last long as a second wave of hot shoes came barreling thru and the second hit not only cost him more positions but also set him up for a 3rd hit that has roots in the meat industry. "T"-Boned is what it's called and right there and then he should have called it a day and ordered steak fries and A-1 to go with the "T" Bone but again managed to get refocused and go the distance no matter where he ended up. Coincidentally the two "hit" men collided with each other laps later and a fist pump was displayed by Lattanzi as he went sizzling by. Sadly one of them was able to regroup in time and get by again this time hitless before the race ended.
Meanwhile at the front Tony Rolfson, remember him?, needing as many points as possible, went to the front from his 5th starting position and didn't look back until Austin Kipp tried to stick his nose where it didn't belong and Kipp got another pole position but not of the good kind. Eric Dickinson and Keith Sears had moved up and were now running 2nd/3rd with Baca holding onto 4th. Jason Burstein sits in 6th with Kipp falling in between him and Baca for 5th. That's the way the race for the Fall Championship would end and as long as Baca weighed out at 198# or more he will have won the 2010 F1 Race Factory Fall League Series Championship over Rolfson. He does and he is declared the winner overall. Rolfson is declared the winner of the last race and ended up only 3 points from a tie for first. Eric Dickinson had 3rd place sewn up over Sears (204) & Lattanzi (204) who tied for 4th place overall. All in all a great Fall league that saw 46 different names hit the sign up sheets over the course of the 6 race series.
Main Race Results: Tony Rolfson...Eric Dickinson...Keith Sears...Chaz Baca Jr...Austin Kipp...Jason Burstein...Josh Walker...Mike McClaran...Charles Crowe...Bobby Neumann...Josh Lambeth...Steve Lattanzi...Ricky Lopez...Scott Lodding...John Gilles...Robert Ruiz...Rees Candee...John Eccles...Julia Castro...Cody Gutierrez...Chris Wynne...Kyle Tatman...John Pappagallo
We had many new faces and one of them there every week, every race was NASA-AZ driver Chris Wynne who received this 6 race entry as a birthday gift. He walked away with the ever popular and very prestigious, "Kandyman Award". It's an award that recognizes the racer that races the most races and scores the least amount of points. It could also be called the never give up award but what's the fun in that. Trophy is fashioned from a bent or damaged front kart rim, bolted to a beautiful wooden base with a plaque that says, Most Races-Least Points! and filled with chocolate candy. Congratulations Chris and we will see you next league which should start sometime mid Feb. 2011.
Congratulations to all the weekly podium finishers and to Chaz Baca Jr (277) for being a consistent winner and the 2010 Fall League Series Champion. You would be hard pressed to find a nicer young man and family out there. Congratulations Tony Rolfson (274) and Eric Dickinson (250) for taking 2nd & 3rd place overall.
This wraps up another F1 Race Factory League and with the ongoing success of the leagues shall continue starting sometime mid Feb. 2011. Monthly AZIKC & more should also be part of the racing schedule at the Best Indoor Kart & Entertainment Venue in the Country, F1 Race Factory. 7 Years open and counting.
Keep the Rubberside Down! Thank You all for taking the time and resources to do this. Steve "Kandyman"
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
AZIKC Final Wrap Up Report
After going wheel to wheel for the better part of 2010, the monthly AZIKC Series at F1 Race Factory has come to a close and a worthy “Champion” has been crowned. Tony “TheTiger” Rolfson is now and will forever be known as the 2010 AZIKC Champion. Tony rose from the ashes of potential disaster by making a kart change prior to the close of the qualifying run and it turned out to be the right call. His qualifying run had him starting 11th and with Team Titanium (Steve Lattanzi/Charles Crowe) going into the final race first in points with no race drop and starting the race from the second position they would be in the prime time spot to take the AZIKC Championship and all the riches that come with winning it such as the 10’ solid gold trophy, thousands of dollars in cash and a “Winners” parade in their honor.
It was not to be for Team Titanium who ended up finishing a strong 2nd in the race and 2nd overall for the series. Rolfson came from the back of the field to finish 3rd in the race and score enough points after the race drop to take the Championship. Congratulations to Tony Rolfson and his coach and sideline strategist Paul Williams. Paul calls the shots from the sidelines and does a great job feeding Tony info that advances him thru the field with timely pit stop strategy and other valuable info. That’s what teamwork is all about. Next series we hope they change spots. Paul to drive the kart and Tony calls the shots! Team Titanium tried that, but since our communication device included two cans and a waxed string between the cans that kept getting tangled up in the wheels we gave up and use the yellow/blue foam bear claw to indicate our pit stop. Works like a charm and no innocent bystanders are hurt by the “claw”.
F1 Race Factory's own John Ahrens captured the 3rd place overall and was clearly frustrated by a kart not performing as strong as his karting skills. A late pass by one of the indoor karting newcomers had John’s neck snapping back with a solid hit before the pass. That and his 9th place finish in the race had him pacing after the race like a tiger in a cage at the zoo. Now, where is that raw meat when you need it?
This report tends to focus on the racers at the top of the charts but without all the racers at every skill level racing together this would turn out to be a pretty boring event week to week or month to month. A “Special” award was handed out today and even though the award title of “The Kandyman Award” which is given to the racer that runs the most races but scores the least points; it is given out filled with candy and meant as a huge thank you to the recipient as a way to say Thank You for showing up for every race and never giving up. It’s a nice trophy with a faux wooden base with a polished front wheel hub on top filled with candy and a plaque.
The recipient for the 10 race AZIKC series was non other than Bill Hunter. A true gentlemen racer and with neck brace firmly in place he never misses a race even with his heavy travel schedule. Thank You Bill and we will be looking forward to competing with you again once the 2011 AZIKC is put on the schedule. He still finished a very respectable top 10 overall.
Now for some of Saturdays AZIKC action: Taking the pole position was a F1 Race Factory track official by the name of Ron Phillips who comes with his entourage of baby strollers and assorted family members pushing the strollers and riding in them. Racing with Ron is always a clean affair and his progress behind the wheel is nothing short of impressive which was backed up today in the qualifier and the 72 lap race on the ½ mile GP track layout.
Team Titanium with Charles Crowe taking the honors and the first half of the race laid down a good enough time to roll from the second starting position on the grid. The Dynamic Duo Team of Julia Castro/Austin Kipp with replacement driver Chaz Baca Jr driving for Austin Kipp, who feels that being late is standard operating procedure, lined up from the 3rd starting spot. Logan Swane & Matthew Lamanilao rounded out the top five starting spots.
The start of the race saw Baca Jr leap frog Crowe to take second place away and Phillips and Baca raced off together as if off on a date. Crowe & Swane had their own two way race going as did Rolfson and Ahrens. This seemed to be a two by two race throughout the field of racers that numbered 14. After the first five or so laps it seemed like Baca Jr ran out of NOS or Crowe just turned up the wick and came right up on his back bumper. A, let him pass, order was given to Baca Jr by, Chaz Baca Sr and Crowe set off to chase down the runaway Phillips. Team Titanium was on a mission and wasn’t about to take this championship title lying down. One by one pit stops started happening and the mandatory pit stop is only 20 seconds long but seems like an eternity when you are pumped up on the adrenaline from all the racing you are in the middle of. Unless of course you are one of the two teams that do a driver switch. A different kind of anxiety happens at that time. Will we get this right with the time allotted and will the devil seatbelt system ruin our game plan? With the use of a seatbelt clip all was good and went as smooth as expected. Driver change at lap 36 went without a hitch for Team Titanium and now with Steve Lattanzi fresh as a daisy and raring to go, he starts picking off slower karts not knowing who has pitted and who has not. Just knows that passing anyone will be a good thing. By the end of his 36 lap stint he found Rolfson parked right behind him for the mandatory top five weigh out and knew that unless Rolfson weighs out under the 198# wiggle weight he will be declared the winner. Watching the scale bounce between 201 and 199 Team Titanium cried “Uncle” and resigned to the fact that they had second place wrapped up like an early Chrismas present. A great end to a long and exciting 2010 AZIKC series.
The Finish Order of Race # 10: Ron Phillips…Team Titanium (Steve Lattanzi/Charles Crowe)… Tony Rolfson…Logan Swane…Matthew Lamanilao…Keith Sears…Pete Linawag…John Pappagallo…John Ahrens…Dynamic Duo (Chaz Baca Jr/Julia Castro)…Bobby Neumann…Bill Hunter…Josh Walker…John Gilles
AZIKC Top Three Overall: Tony Rolfson (258 points)…Team Titanium (Steve Lattanzi/Charles Crowe) (246 points)…John Ahrens (227 points)
The 2011 Racing Schedule is under construction.
Meanwhile the place to be is F1 Race Factory for Fall League Racing. Tues… Dec. 7…Dec. 14... 6/6:30 check in…Racing by 7pm
Final to be on Sat. Dec. 18th…9/9:30am check in…Racing by 10am on the ½ mile GP track
$35.00 + tax. Weight equalized to 200#.
Don’t be Late or You get to Spectate!
Keep the Rubberside Down!
Steve Lattanzi “Kandyman”
steve@f1rf.com
Specialty Events, F1 Race Factory
317 S. 48th Street . Phoenix, AZ 85034
(d) 602-427-4416 / 602-302-7223 (t) 602-321-2035(m)
Visit us online @ www.f1racefactory.com
F1 Race Factory - 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.
It was not to be for Team Titanium who ended up finishing a strong 2nd in the race and 2nd overall for the series. Rolfson came from the back of the field to finish 3rd in the race and score enough points after the race drop to take the Championship. Congratulations to Tony Rolfson and his coach and sideline strategist Paul Williams. Paul calls the shots from the sidelines and does a great job feeding Tony info that advances him thru the field with timely pit stop strategy and other valuable info. That’s what teamwork is all about. Next series we hope they change spots. Paul to drive the kart and Tony calls the shots! Team Titanium tried that, but since our communication device included two cans and a waxed string between the cans that kept getting tangled up in the wheels we gave up and use the yellow/blue foam bear claw to indicate our pit stop. Works like a charm and no innocent bystanders are hurt by the “claw”.
F1 Race Factory's own John Ahrens captured the 3rd place overall and was clearly frustrated by a kart not performing as strong as his karting skills. A late pass by one of the indoor karting newcomers had John’s neck snapping back with a solid hit before the pass. That and his 9th place finish in the race had him pacing after the race like a tiger in a cage at the zoo. Now, where is that raw meat when you need it?
This report tends to focus on the racers at the top of the charts but without all the racers at every skill level racing together this would turn out to be a pretty boring event week to week or month to month. A “Special” award was handed out today and even though the award title of “The Kandyman Award” which is given to the racer that runs the most races but scores the least points; it is given out filled with candy and meant as a huge thank you to the recipient as a way to say Thank You for showing up for every race and never giving up. It’s a nice trophy with a faux wooden base with a polished front wheel hub on top filled with candy and a plaque.
The recipient for the 10 race AZIKC series was non other than Bill Hunter. A true gentlemen racer and with neck brace firmly in place he never misses a race even with his heavy travel schedule. Thank You Bill and we will be looking forward to competing with you again once the 2011 AZIKC is put on the schedule. He still finished a very respectable top 10 overall.
Now for some of Saturdays AZIKC action: Taking the pole position was a F1 Race Factory track official by the name of Ron Phillips who comes with his entourage of baby strollers and assorted family members pushing the strollers and riding in them. Racing with Ron is always a clean affair and his progress behind the wheel is nothing short of impressive which was backed up today in the qualifier and the 72 lap race on the ½ mile GP track layout.
Team Titanium with Charles Crowe taking the honors and the first half of the race laid down a good enough time to roll from the second starting position on the grid. The Dynamic Duo Team of Julia Castro/Austin Kipp with replacement driver Chaz Baca Jr driving for Austin Kipp, who feels that being late is standard operating procedure, lined up from the 3rd starting spot. Logan Swane & Matthew Lamanilao rounded out the top five starting spots.
The start of the race saw Baca Jr leap frog Crowe to take second place away and Phillips and Baca raced off together as if off on a date. Crowe & Swane had their own two way race going as did Rolfson and Ahrens. This seemed to be a two by two race throughout the field of racers that numbered 14. After the first five or so laps it seemed like Baca Jr ran out of NOS or Crowe just turned up the wick and came right up on his back bumper. A, let him pass, order was given to Baca Jr by, Chaz Baca Sr and Crowe set off to chase down the runaway Phillips. Team Titanium was on a mission and wasn’t about to take this championship title lying down. One by one pit stops started happening and the mandatory pit stop is only 20 seconds long but seems like an eternity when you are pumped up on the adrenaline from all the racing you are in the middle of. Unless of course you are one of the two teams that do a driver switch. A different kind of anxiety happens at that time. Will we get this right with the time allotted and will the devil seatbelt system ruin our game plan? With the use of a seatbelt clip all was good and went as smooth as expected. Driver change at lap 36 went without a hitch for Team Titanium and now with Steve Lattanzi fresh as a daisy and raring to go, he starts picking off slower karts not knowing who has pitted and who has not. Just knows that passing anyone will be a good thing. By the end of his 36 lap stint he found Rolfson parked right behind him for the mandatory top five weigh out and knew that unless Rolfson weighs out under the 198# wiggle weight he will be declared the winner. Watching the scale bounce between 201 and 199 Team Titanium cried “Uncle” and resigned to the fact that they had second place wrapped up like an early Chrismas present. A great end to a long and exciting 2010 AZIKC series.
The Finish Order of Race # 10: Ron Phillips…Team Titanium (Steve Lattanzi/Charles Crowe)… Tony Rolfson…Logan Swane…Matthew Lamanilao…Keith Sears…Pete Linawag…John Pappagallo…John Ahrens…Dynamic Duo (Chaz Baca Jr/Julia Castro)…Bobby Neumann…Bill Hunter…Josh Walker…John Gilles
AZIKC Top Three Overall: Tony Rolfson (258 points)…Team Titanium (Steve Lattanzi/Charles Crowe) (246 points)…John Ahrens (227 points)
The 2011 Racing Schedule is under construction.
Meanwhile the place to be is F1 Race Factory for Fall League Racing. Tues… Dec. 7…Dec. 14... 6/6:30 check in…Racing by 7pm
Final to be on Sat. Dec. 18th…9/9:30am check in…Racing by 10am on the ½ mile GP track
$35.00 + tax. Weight equalized to 200#.
Don’t be Late or You get to Spectate!
Keep the Rubberside Down!
Steve Lattanzi “Kandyman”
steve@f1rf.com
Specialty Events, F1 Race Factory
317 S. 48th Street . Phoenix, AZ 85034
(d) 602-427-4416 / 602-302-7223 (t) 602-321-2035(m)
Visit us online @ www.f1racefactory.com
F1 Race Factory - 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.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Fall League Session #3 Wrapup
Headlines after last nites Fall League Race at F1 Race Factory should read,” Chaz Baca Jr Ramps Up and Takes No Prisoners” on his way to a dominating win in both the group 2 Heat and “A” Main race. Steve”Kandyman” Lattanzi, in the way five laps from the end of the heat of his first place run, no problem, BOOM!!!, problem solved and Logan Swane played follow the new leader which was very, very smart. Lattanzi is thinking of filing an age discrimination suit as he thinks it had something to do with age and his Geritol Energy Drink sponsor is considering dropping him for these young guns. Baca Jr also takes over the points lead from Tony Rolfson with 133 to Tony’s 131. A tie for third place in points (115) Eric Dickinson & newcomer Logan Swane both need a win in the second half of the series to catch Baca Jr or Rolfson. With 45 points available every week to the winner of both the Heat & the Main and no race drops, any misstep will be costly as former winners and top runners, Mike Davila, Steve Lattanzi ,Austin Kipp, John Gilles, Troy Salisberry , Ian Pierce, Keith Sears and Charles Crowe have learned by missing a race or by missing the entry cut off into the “A” Main with an off performance in the Qualifier/Heat race.
Last nites action saw “The Dreaded Black Flag” make an appearance for contact between Josh Sarchet and Kyle Tatman with Tatman getting to meet the barrier system up close and personal. His forward progress was cut short and you could feel the disappointment from 50 yards away. He’ll be back and has vowed to make himself smaller at times like this.
Something about having some magic invisible spray. Another thing that caught everybody off guard was a long time regular driver, that shall remain anonymous, came into the pits after passing the white flag & before the checkered flag waved, which ended up costing him 3 spots and 3 points to put him in a tie for 3rd overall. The clue to this racer will be found among the position finish part of the report. The entire field looked left as they passed him by sitting in the pit with a helmet color we all know and some fear. I bet new eyeglasses have been ordered this morning. It has been recommended that this racer sit thru the training video again. Maybe as a group we could sit thru it together. I’ll hand out the notepads and there will be a quiz at the end.
We had one new racer join us this week and from the look on his face when all said and done is he will be back for some fast and competitive action next week. Welcome John Eccles. Over the course of this Fall league we’ve had no less than 21 new racers step into the fray even if it was just for one race. We had a total racer count of 25 in last nites competition. That number allowed us to run two groups and start to finish time ran 2 hours on the button.F1 Race Factory is making every effort to pick the karts equal to each other by eliminating karts too fast or off the pace. The close racing action and laps times back this process up. The back of the house VIP’s aka the mechanics make this all possible by working hard to assure that the karts are in the best possible condition and running order and we could not do any of this without their expertise and commitment to providing the best the karts have to offer. Thank You, Pat, Josh and Matt. None of this happens without you.
Let’s get to the meat & potatoes
Top 5 Qualifiers Group 1: Mike Davila…Tony Rolfson…Eric Dickinson…John Gilles…Ronald Jones.
Top 5 Finish Order Heat Group 1: Mike Davila…Eric Dickinson…John Gilles…Tony Rolfson…Sergio Serrano.
Top 5 Qualifiers Group 2: Steve Lattanzi…Josh Lambeth…Logan Swane…Chaz Baca Jr…Austin Kipp
Top 5 Finish Order Heat Group 2: Chaz Baca Jr…Logan Swane…Steve Lattanzi…Josh Lambeth…Austin Kipp
The “B” Main heads out onto the track for their race of the nite with Bobby Neumann on pole and Julia Castro with Rees Candee providing the heat from second and third starting spots. Neumann builds up a head of steam and pulls away to let Castro and Candee battle it out for second place. By lap 25 Rees has taken over second from Castro and never looks back. Now it’s Josh Walkers turn to give Castro some grief and within a few laps does just so by getting by and with a wave is able to keep her at bay for the rest of the race. Further back in the field we see Charles Crowe go from a sixth starting place to fourth within three turns but since his lucky number is the number six he decides to go back to that spot by race end. He must be saving all his fast times for the upcoming AZIKC final on Sat Dec 4th. where he is one half of the currently in 1st place team of Team Titanium. Good strategy Charles. Some great racing was to be found throughout the “B” Main and is always fun to watch. Also gives the “A” Main racers a chance to see the kart they will pilot in their Main race perform.
Finish Order “B” Main: Bobby Neumann…Rees Candee…Josh Walker…Julia Castro…Scott Lodding…Charles Crowe…Cody Gutierrez…Chris Wynne…John Eccles…Josh Sarchet…Kyle Tatman…Edwin Akpaita
The “A” Main see’s it’s fair share of action at the start with Steve Lattanzi & Eric Dickinson nose to tail for the first 10 laps of the 48 lap main. Lap after lap Dickinson see’s imaginary openings to attempt a clean pass but once Lattanzi started to focus on what was ahead instead of what was behind him he slowly put some distance between himself and Dickinson. Now Dickinson and Austin Kipp got to battle for sixth and seventh place with Kipp taking the spot toward the end of the race. Meanwhile at the front, a four pack of fast indoor kart pilots lit their afterburners and fell into a rhythm that nobody without NOS was going to catch. I guess the payment sent to the backmarkers didn’t hit their bank accounts in time to slow the leader down and Chaz Baca Jr went on to win the “A” Main in picture perfect style. Congratulations Chaz and we mean that from the bottom of our empty gas tanks. Somebody check his fuel to see that he’s not sneaking aviation fuel in there. The battle between Rolfson & L.Swane was a real nail biter. Tony gets the spot.
Finish Order “A” Main: Chaz Baca Jr…Mike Davila…Tony Rolfson…Logan Swane…Steve Lattanzi…Austin Kipp…Josh Lambeth…Sergio Serrano…Keith Sears…Early Pit Stop Expert Eric Dickinson…John Gilles…Mike McClaran…Ronald Jones.
Thank You all for taking the time and resources to do this. Next Fall League Race is Tuesday Dec. 7th. Check in between 6/6:30. Racing starts at 7pm.
Keep the Rubberside Down!
Steve Lattanzi “Kandyman”
steve@f1rf.com
Specialty Events, F1 Race Factory
317 S. 48th Street . Phoenix, AZ 85034
(d) 602-427-4416 / 602-302-7223 (t) 602-321-2035(m)
Visit us online @ www.f1racefactory.com
F1 Race Factory - 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.
Last nites action saw “The Dreaded Black Flag” make an appearance for contact between Josh Sarchet and Kyle Tatman with Tatman getting to meet the barrier system up close and personal. His forward progress was cut short and you could feel the disappointment from 50 yards away. He’ll be back and has vowed to make himself smaller at times like this.
Something about having some magic invisible spray. Another thing that caught everybody off guard was a long time regular driver, that shall remain anonymous, came into the pits after passing the white flag & before the checkered flag waved, which ended up costing him 3 spots and 3 points to put him in a tie for 3rd overall. The clue to this racer will be found among the position finish part of the report. The entire field looked left as they passed him by sitting in the pit with a helmet color we all know and some fear. I bet new eyeglasses have been ordered this morning. It has been recommended that this racer sit thru the training video again. Maybe as a group we could sit thru it together. I’ll hand out the notepads and there will be a quiz at the end.
We had one new racer join us this week and from the look on his face when all said and done is he will be back for some fast and competitive action next week. Welcome John Eccles. Over the course of this Fall league we’ve had no less than 21 new racers step into the fray even if it was just for one race. We had a total racer count of 25 in last nites competition. That number allowed us to run two groups and start to finish time ran 2 hours on the button.F1 Race Factory is making every effort to pick the karts equal to each other by eliminating karts too fast or off the pace. The close racing action and laps times back this process up. The back of the house VIP’s aka the mechanics make this all possible by working hard to assure that the karts are in the best possible condition and running order and we could not do any of this without their expertise and commitment to providing the best the karts have to offer. Thank You, Pat, Josh and Matt. None of this happens without you.
Let’s get to the meat & potatoes
Top 5 Qualifiers Group 1: Mike Davila…Tony Rolfson…Eric Dickinson…John Gilles…Ronald Jones.
Top 5 Finish Order Heat Group 1: Mike Davila…Eric Dickinson…John Gilles…Tony Rolfson…Sergio Serrano.
Top 5 Qualifiers Group 2: Steve Lattanzi…Josh Lambeth…Logan Swane…Chaz Baca Jr…Austin Kipp
Top 5 Finish Order Heat Group 2: Chaz Baca Jr…Logan Swane…Steve Lattanzi…Josh Lambeth…Austin Kipp
The “B” Main heads out onto the track for their race of the nite with Bobby Neumann on pole and Julia Castro with Rees Candee providing the heat from second and third starting spots. Neumann builds up a head of steam and pulls away to let Castro and Candee battle it out for second place. By lap 25 Rees has taken over second from Castro and never looks back. Now it’s Josh Walkers turn to give Castro some grief and within a few laps does just so by getting by and with a wave is able to keep her at bay for the rest of the race. Further back in the field we see Charles Crowe go from a sixth starting place to fourth within three turns but since his lucky number is the number six he decides to go back to that spot by race end. He must be saving all his fast times for the upcoming AZIKC final on Sat Dec 4th. where he is one half of the currently in 1st place team of Team Titanium. Good strategy Charles. Some great racing was to be found throughout the “B” Main and is always fun to watch. Also gives the “A” Main racers a chance to see the kart they will pilot in their Main race perform.
Finish Order “B” Main: Bobby Neumann…Rees Candee…Josh Walker…Julia Castro…Scott Lodding…Charles Crowe…Cody Gutierrez…Chris Wynne…John Eccles…Josh Sarchet…Kyle Tatman…Edwin Akpaita
The “A” Main see’s it’s fair share of action at the start with Steve Lattanzi & Eric Dickinson nose to tail for the first 10 laps of the 48 lap main. Lap after lap Dickinson see’s imaginary openings to attempt a clean pass but once Lattanzi started to focus on what was ahead instead of what was behind him he slowly put some distance between himself and Dickinson. Now Dickinson and Austin Kipp got to battle for sixth and seventh place with Kipp taking the spot toward the end of the race. Meanwhile at the front, a four pack of fast indoor kart pilots lit their afterburners and fell into a rhythm that nobody without NOS was going to catch. I guess the payment sent to the backmarkers didn’t hit their bank accounts in time to slow the leader down and Chaz Baca Jr went on to win the “A” Main in picture perfect style. Congratulations Chaz and we mean that from the bottom of our empty gas tanks. Somebody check his fuel to see that he’s not sneaking aviation fuel in there. The battle between Rolfson & L.Swane was a real nail biter. Tony gets the spot.
Finish Order “A” Main: Chaz Baca Jr…Mike Davila…Tony Rolfson…Logan Swane…Steve Lattanzi…Austin Kipp…Josh Lambeth…Sergio Serrano…Keith Sears…Early Pit Stop Expert Eric Dickinson…John Gilles…Mike McClaran…Ronald Jones.
Thank You all for taking the time and resources to do this. Next Fall League Race is Tuesday Dec. 7th. Check in between 6/6:30. Racing starts at 7pm.
Keep the Rubberside Down!
Steve Lattanzi “Kandyman”
steve@f1rf.com
Specialty Events, F1 Race Factory
317 S. 48th Street . Phoenix, AZ 85034
(d) 602-427-4416 / 602-302-7223 (t) 602-321-2035(m)
Visit us online @ www.f1racefactory.com
F1 Race Factory - 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, November 30, 2010
Fall League Session #2 Wrapup
With the six race F1 Race Factory Fall League series under way and the second week competing on Tuesday Nov. 23rd we have some dramatic changes in the overall standings due to some of the top racers in past leagues not finding the time to compete in this no race drop series. Miss a race and kiss your championship hopes good bye. The notables are Steve "Kandyman" Lattanzi, 2010 F1 Race Factory Winter League Series Champ and now Specialty Events employee at F1 Race Factory, who moved out of the competition the first week because it was a sell out plus 5 waiting in the wings, Mike Davila, who at his age should be in a rocking chair, on the porch, yelling at the neighbor kids to get off his lawn, John Gilles who is probably out searching for the perfect comb or brush for his Harley Davidson wind blown look hair style, Ian Pierce, who with his bumble bee race suit and his toothpaste commercial pearly whites charming the spot away from you,and last but not least Austin Kipp Van Winkle who was working overtime on his beauty rest somewhere in Scottsdale. When he shows up for the next race he will probably look like a male model ripped from the pages of GQ, which should make his girlfriend and karting protege Julia Castro very, very happy! See Julia I told you there was a silver lining.
Although there were plenty of MIA's it's not to say the racers that do and did show up were anything but top notch.
Two weeks in the books and we have a TV show in the making and it will be called the Baca-Rolfson Show starring Chaz Baca Jr as the minor child of a world famous dirt car racer digging his way to the top and Tony Rolfson, pizza delivery guy by day and indoor kart racer by nite who is just trying to make a name for himself and hoping that the right people see him and advance his career by either ordering many pizza's or by coming to a race to see him win, which he does on a regular basis. After two weeks these two have been inches from each other from start to finish and providing some of the best indoor kart racing has to offer. One point seperates Baca/Rolfson and Rolfson is at the top but Baca is hungry for that 10' tall glass trophy and million dollar paycheck that comes with winning the 2010 F1 Race Factory Fall Leagues. That thud you just heard is owner Scott Sanders hitting the floor after learning of the prize package he never agreed to. Another round of smelling salts, put it on my tab.
Now for the good stuff.
Top 5 Qualifiers...Group 1...Chaz Baca Jr...Logan Swane...Eric Dickinson...Bobby Neumann...Keaton Swane
Top 5 Finish in Group 1 Heat...Chaz Baca Jr...Logan Swane...Eric Dickinson... Keaton Swane...Bobby Neumann
Top 5 Qualifiers...Group 2...Tony Rolfson...Ronald Jones...Josh Lambeth...Scott Lodding...Charles Crowe
Top 5 Finish in Group 2 Heat...Tony Rolfson...Josh Lambeth...Ronald Jones...Scott Lodding...Steve Lattanzi
The groups get reset for the "A" & "B" Mains and kart draw determines your trusty steed for the next 40 laps of competion.
The "B" Main see's F1 Race Factory regular Keith Sears in the mix and starting 3rd. Sergio Serrano starting from the pole position had his hands full with Edwin Akpaita,Peter Reinsche,Paul Miller also tucking in behind him at the start and all hungry for the "B" Main win. As the race proceeds we see Edwin fall thru the field and as he does that Josh Walker advances thru the field from 8th place to 3rd at the end of 40 laps. Sergio holds off the charge by Sears to take the "B" Main win and collects 16th place points for his efforts. This is a kid that walks to a bus stop takes the bus to the Lite Rail station then hops on the Lite Rail and then has to walk again to reach the F1 Race Factory building. I say give him the extra effort award to do this routine every Tuesday.
Finish Order "B" Main:...Sergio Serrano...Keith Sears...Joshua Walker...Cody Gutierrez...Peter Reinsche...Chris Wynne...Josh Sarchet...Edwin Akpaita...Ajitabh Choda...Julia Castro...Lamec Fletez...Paul Miller...Andy Warycka
The "A" Main has Tony Rolfson on pole with his nemisis Chaz Baca Jr breathing down his neck in second.
Rounding out the top 5 are Josh Lambeth, Logan Swane, Ronald Jones.
Track 1 c/c/w is one tricky track especially at the start and this start was no exception with a tight left hander that will only allow two abreast before all heck breaks loose and that's not counting on anyone diving to the inside just going into the turn. Two such racers thought they could make it work and from my starting position of 10th I can tell you it didn't and after the dust cleared most of the racers that were ahead of me disappeared and since no black or blue or yellow flags were thrown the race continued. Going from tenth place at the start to 6th by the second turn with no contact was a miracle and at lap 20 the Baca/Rolfson Show is going strong and pulling away from the early fracas. Lattanzi now up to 3rd place is content and on cruise control until fast racer with the dreaded "primer yellow helmet" by the name of Eric Dickinson comes back into the picture and has set his sights on making up lost ground. Love taps all around the track has Lattanzi on edge and having to make a decision to either let Dickinson have the position or try like the devil to keep him at bay. Seven laps later Dickinson goes by Lattanzi to take the 3rd spot away and a friendly wave is all that Lattanzi has to show for his kindness. Meanwhile at the front the leaders are playing lap the backmarkers and when one of them turns into "Spinderrella" at the worst possible time Rolfson makes contact and loses the top spot to right there Baca Jr who goes on to take the win for the night. I hear the Baca celebration is still going on and it's a week later. Congratulations Chaz Baca Jr for a well deserved and lucky win all at the same time. So ends another night of great indoor kart league racing.
Of note the Swane family has not one fast kart racer but two that are making their on track talent known to all. Welcome to the fun Logan & Keaton. They also come with their own fan club. What's next? "T" shirts and hats with their likeness printed on them for all to purchase?
Finish Order "A" Main: Chaz Baca Jr...Tony Rolfson...Eric Dickinson...Steve Lattanzi...Keaton Swane...Logan Swane...Ronald Jones...Bobby Neumann...Rees Candee...Charles Crowe...Scott Lodding...Troy Salisberry...Mike McClaran...Kyle Tatman...Josh Lambeth
Fast Time for the nite was set by Tony Rolfson with a 20.211.
Next League Race is Tuesday Nov. 30th. Check in between 6/6:30 and racing to start by 7pm.
Don't be Late or you will have to Spectate!
Thanks for taking the time and resources to do this.
Steve "Kandyman"
Although there were plenty of MIA's it's not to say the racers that do and did show up were anything but top notch.
Two weeks in the books and we have a TV show in the making and it will be called the Baca-Rolfson Show starring Chaz Baca Jr as the minor child of a world famous dirt car racer digging his way to the top and Tony Rolfson, pizza delivery guy by day and indoor kart racer by nite who is just trying to make a name for himself and hoping that the right people see him and advance his career by either ordering many pizza's or by coming to a race to see him win, which he does on a regular basis. After two weeks these two have been inches from each other from start to finish and providing some of the best indoor kart racing has to offer. One point seperates Baca/Rolfson and Rolfson is at the top but Baca is hungry for that 10' tall glass trophy and million dollar paycheck that comes with winning the 2010 F1 Race Factory Fall Leagues. That thud you just heard is owner Scott Sanders hitting the floor after learning of the prize package he never agreed to. Another round of smelling salts, put it on my tab.
Now for the good stuff.
Top 5 Qualifiers...Group 1...Chaz Baca Jr...Logan Swane...Eric Dickinson...Bobby Neumann...Keaton Swane
Top 5 Finish in Group 1 Heat...Chaz Baca Jr...Logan Swane...Eric Dickinson... Keaton Swane...Bobby Neumann
Top 5 Qualifiers...Group 2...Tony Rolfson...Ronald Jones...Josh Lambeth...Scott Lodding...Charles Crowe
Top 5 Finish in Group 2 Heat...Tony Rolfson...Josh Lambeth...Ronald Jones...Scott Lodding...Steve Lattanzi
The groups get reset for the "A" & "B" Mains and kart draw determines your trusty steed for the next 40 laps of competion.
The "B" Main see's F1 Race Factory regular Keith Sears in the mix and starting 3rd. Sergio Serrano starting from the pole position had his hands full with Edwin Akpaita,Peter Reinsche,Paul Miller also tucking in behind him at the start and all hungry for the "B" Main win. As the race proceeds we see Edwin fall thru the field and as he does that Josh Walker advances thru the field from 8th place to 3rd at the end of 40 laps. Sergio holds off the charge by Sears to take the "B" Main win and collects 16th place points for his efforts. This is a kid that walks to a bus stop takes the bus to the Lite Rail station then hops on the Lite Rail and then has to walk again to reach the F1 Race Factory building. I say give him the extra effort award to do this routine every Tuesday.
Finish Order "B" Main:...Sergio Serrano...Keith Sears...Joshua Walker...Cody Gutierrez...Peter Reinsche...Chris Wynne...Josh Sarchet...Edwin Akpaita...Ajitabh Choda...Julia Castro...Lamec Fletez...Paul Miller...Andy Warycka
The "A" Main has Tony Rolfson on pole with his nemisis Chaz Baca Jr breathing down his neck in second.
Rounding out the top 5 are Josh Lambeth, Logan Swane, Ronald Jones.
Track 1 c/c/w is one tricky track especially at the start and this start was no exception with a tight left hander that will only allow two abreast before all heck breaks loose and that's not counting on anyone diving to the inside just going into the turn. Two such racers thought they could make it work and from my starting position of 10th I can tell you it didn't and after the dust cleared most of the racers that were ahead of me disappeared and since no black or blue or yellow flags were thrown the race continued. Going from tenth place at the start to 6th by the second turn with no contact was a miracle and at lap 20 the Baca/Rolfson Show is going strong and pulling away from the early fracas. Lattanzi now up to 3rd place is content and on cruise control until fast racer with the dreaded "primer yellow helmet" by the name of Eric Dickinson comes back into the picture and has set his sights on making up lost ground. Love taps all around the track has Lattanzi on edge and having to make a decision to either let Dickinson have the position or try like the devil to keep him at bay. Seven laps later Dickinson goes by Lattanzi to take the 3rd spot away and a friendly wave is all that Lattanzi has to show for his kindness. Meanwhile at the front the leaders are playing lap the backmarkers and when one of them turns into "Spinderrella" at the worst possible time Rolfson makes contact and loses the top spot to right there Baca Jr who goes on to take the win for the night. I hear the Baca celebration is still going on and it's a week later. Congratulations Chaz Baca Jr for a well deserved and lucky win all at the same time. So ends another night of great indoor kart league racing.
Of note the Swane family has not one fast kart racer but two that are making their on track talent known to all. Welcome to the fun Logan & Keaton. They also come with their own fan club. What's next? "T" shirts and hats with their likeness printed on them for all to purchase?
Finish Order "A" Main: Chaz Baca Jr...Tony Rolfson...Eric Dickinson...Steve Lattanzi...Keaton Swane...Logan Swane...Ronald Jones...Bobby Neumann...Rees Candee...Charles Crowe...Scott Lodding...Troy Salisberry...Mike McClaran...Kyle Tatman...Josh Lambeth
Fast Time for the nite was set by Tony Rolfson with a 20.211.
Next League Race is Tuesday Nov. 30th. Check in between 6/6:30 and racing to start by 7pm.
Don't be Late or you will have to Spectate!
Thanks for taking the time and resources to do this.
Steve "Kandyman"
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
NASA AZ League Race # 4 Wrap Up
On what's become the second most popular holiday of the year, Halloween, the NASA Az group held their 4th race of their monthly 5 race series today at F1 Race Factory. With a 2 free race prize package offered up for the best costume most in the group decided to show up as members of the human race or kart race drivers. Major points off for that uncreative move. Leland Forbes tried to win it by showing a picture of his get up on Friday. No such luck. Geri Amani tried to convince the judges that she was the female version of Tanner Faust by wearing a "Rockstar Energy Drink" shirt but between you and me the last minute clothing idea and Geri's style of kart driving were not much of a match to Tanners. I have never seen somebody work sooooo hard behind the wheel of a kart and have recommended to Geri to attend this weeks USIKC where some of her smooth as silk drivers and CalSpeed friends like Diego Morales and Miles Calvin will be competing. Having to add so much weight to her kart doesn't help her efforts and she tried to wear ankle weights and a vest but that proved to be her undoing during the heat. Limping after a race not a good sign. When Geri gets this figured out and she will, the NASA group and anybody else racing against her will be seeing the back of her kart as she goes flying by.
The "Winner" of the Halloween prize package was by a long shot won by, NASA Az Pres. Tage Evanson. He came dressed up like a "Milkman" with white shirt,pants, and a hat that identified him as such and a container of "milk"? that came into question by more than one other member of the club. We think it may have been av-fuel as Tage not only came to win the tickets but the league race. We already had a winner and the racing hasn't even started.
By the good graces of Pres. Tage the "Milkman", he allowed out of towner Raymund Guerrero from Texas and a NASA member there to race with them. Raymund is in town and is putting in some serious track time in preperation for the USIKC which starts Friday Nov. 5th. NASA Az member Chris Wynne also stepped into this race series for the first time. He almost had to spectate.
The 12 lap qualifier on Track 2 c/c/w suited Leland Forbes to a "T" and he took the pole with a time of 24.891. Followed by Kent Porter...George Sklyarevsky...Raymund Guerrero...Ronald Jones...Eric Jacobson...Chris Wynne...Tage Evanson...Brian Turner...Gary Kramer...Geri Amani...Stenos Wijaya...Wayne Porter...Travis Bouck...Sergio Perez.
The heat race starts off with pass by Kent Porter to take 1st away from Leland Forbes, Ronald Jones to 4th only to find himself back in 5th 1 lap later, Raymund Guerrero then to 2nd and then on to 1st. All this takes place within the first 6 laps and pretty much continues for the remainder of the 36 lap heat race. Exciting to watch and I'm sure intense concentration by all within it's midst. Stenos Wijaya has now earned the right to be called "Spinderrella" and he earned that name by doing the dance on lap 33. Not only did Stenos perfect that move but a forced wide into the turn nearest the pit entrance had "Spinderrella" entering the pits and using that as an escape route out of traffic. He made it thru with no problem but had all the track officials scratching their heads trying to understand what just happened. Side by side racing and more than two deep doing it made for some nail biting action. Going into the back tight left hand corner will not allow that type of side by side racing but all made it thru without major incident. Top ten out of the fifteen racers finished on the lead lap and Raymund G had fast lap of the heat with a 24.424 and a heat win under his belt. Talk of sending him back to Texas was only an ugly rumor. Weigh outs of the top 6 had no under weight issues so all positions stand as finished.
Heat Finish Order: Raymund Guerrero...Ronald Jones...Kent Porter...Leland Forbes...Eric Jacobson...George Sklyarevsky...Brian Turner...Tage "Milkman" Evanson...Travis Bouck...Chris Wynne...Wayne Porter...Gary Kramer...Geri Amani...Stenos "Spinderrella" Wijaya...Sergio Perez
After a much needed break and given time to talk smack regarding the heat race the NASA Az racers draw for karts and saddle up their trusty steeds for the 60 lap Main which pays the most points. A vote was taken and it was decided that Raymund from Texas would get the position but not the points associated with that position as he is only stepping into this race as a guest. Raymund graciously accepted the ruling by majority vote. and in fact voted for that also. More racers like Raymund are needed. By winning the heat Guerrero starts from the pole in the Main.
The green flag waves after a thumbs up by all racers and the top four racers immediately pull away from the pack with R Guerrero, K Porter, L Forbes and R Jones all trading positions lap after lap. During the break G Amani decides to go back to all 60 # on the back of the kart and during one lap around side pods the wall hard! Continues but that will get your attention. As the front runners, now racing as a three pack, battle with each other L Forbes who fell off the pace of the leaders reels them back in and makes it a four man race once again. The top spot continues to be a different competitor lap after lap and a more exciting race was not to found. Now lap traffic comes into play. Slicing and dicing thru traffic now becomes the skill set to have and R Jones comes thru the pack and sets sail for the win.But not before plowing into some of the backmarkers which almost ruined his chances for the win.
Meanwhile behind him the backmarkers have all stepped up their game and 2nd/3rd and 4th are struggling to get around them. Evanson makes contact with Jacobson and Forbes and by lap 35 Evanson goes into 5th place. By race end he will get two more spots and take the last step on the podium with a 3rd place finish. Jones sets fast lap on lap 47with a 24.158 and goes on to win the Main with room to spare between him and 2nd place finisher Kent Porter. Wayne Porter had second fastest time today with his always annoyingly fast brother taking third. Another fast and exciting league race by the Hotshoes of NASA Az. Their next on track event with their own cars will be Thanksgiving weekend at P.I.R. Always free to watch and ride alongs are to be had. Bring your helmet and beg your way into something fast and furious! Waving around a $20.00 bill will get you offers of a ride along faster!
Great group of people having fun and going fast.
Main Finish Order: Ronald "Lone Wolf" Jones...Kent"Always Right There" Porter...Tage"Milkman" Evanson...Raymund"Lone Star State" Guerrero...Leland Forbes the Tenth...George"How do you spell/say that?" Sklyarevsky...Eric "Top 5" Jacobson...Travis "The Engineer" Bouck...Sergio "F1"Perez...Brian"No Sleeves" Turner...Gary "Tatoo" Kramer...Stenos 'Spinerrella" Wijaya...Geri "Rockstar" Amani...Wayne"Brother of Kent" Porter...Chris "If you're Late, you get to Spectate" Wynne.
I want to thank each and every one of the racers that take the time and monitary resources to do this. I also want to thank all the F1 Race Factory track guys, Peter, Romano, Mitch and Jemma up front to make this work and make it a positive experience for all involved. Keep the Rubberside Down and remember the candys always available and best of all FREE!
Next Race is the 5th and the Final on the 1/2 mile GP track C/C/W with a 2:30 check in and qualifying/racing to start promptly at 3pm.
Work on the stamina aspect as this will be an extended race that will have as much as 1full hour behind the wheel for qualifying and the Main race. No breaks between. Thank You, Steve "Kandyman"
The "Winner" of the Halloween prize package was by a long shot won by, NASA Az Pres. Tage Evanson. He came dressed up like a "Milkman" with white shirt,pants, and a hat that identified him as such and a container of "milk"? that came into question by more than one other member of the club. We think it may have been av-fuel as Tage not only came to win the tickets but the league race. We already had a winner and the racing hasn't even started.
By the good graces of Pres. Tage the "Milkman", he allowed out of towner Raymund Guerrero from Texas and a NASA member there to race with them. Raymund is in town and is putting in some serious track time in preperation for the USIKC which starts Friday Nov. 5th. NASA Az member Chris Wynne also stepped into this race series for the first time. He almost had to spectate.
The 12 lap qualifier on Track 2 c/c/w suited Leland Forbes to a "T" and he took the pole with a time of 24.891. Followed by Kent Porter...George Sklyarevsky...Raymund Guerrero...Ronald Jones...Eric Jacobson...Chris Wynne...Tage Evanson...Brian Turner...Gary Kramer...Geri Amani...Stenos Wijaya...Wayne Porter...Travis Bouck...Sergio Perez.
The heat race starts off with pass by Kent Porter to take 1st away from Leland Forbes, Ronald Jones to 4th only to find himself back in 5th 1 lap later, Raymund Guerrero then to 2nd and then on to 1st. All this takes place within the first 6 laps and pretty much continues for the remainder of the 36 lap heat race. Exciting to watch and I'm sure intense concentration by all within it's midst. Stenos Wijaya has now earned the right to be called "Spinderrella" and he earned that name by doing the dance on lap 33. Not only did Stenos perfect that move but a forced wide into the turn nearest the pit entrance had "Spinderrella" entering the pits and using that as an escape route out of traffic. He made it thru with no problem but had all the track officials scratching their heads trying to understand what just happened. Side by side racing and more than two deep doing it made for some nail biting action. Going into the back tight left hand corner will not allow that type of side by side racing but all made it thru without major incident. Top ten out of the fifteen racers finished on the lead lap and Raymund G had fast lap of the heat with a 24.424 and a heat win under his belt. Talk of sending him back to Texas was only an ugly rumor. Weigh outs of the top 6 had no under weight issues so all positions stand as finished.
Heat Finish Order: Raymund Guerrero...Ronald Jones...Kent Porter...Leland Forbes...Eric Jacobson...George Sklyarevsky...Brian Turner...Tage "Milkman" Evanson...Travis Bouck...Chris Wynne...Wayne Porter...Gary Kramer...Geri Amani...Stenos "Spinderrella" Wijaya...Sergio Perez
After a much needed break and given time to talk smack regarding the heat race the NASA Az racers draw for karts and saddle up their trusty steeds for the 60 lap Main which pays the most points. A vote was taken and it was decided that Raymund from Texas would get the position but not the points associated with that position as he is only stepping into this race as a guest. Raymund graciously accepted the ruling by majority vote. and in fact voted for that also. More racers like Raymund are needed. By winning the heat Guerrero starts from the pole in the Main.
The green flag waves after a thumbs up by all racers and the top four racers immediately pull away from the pack with R Guerrero, K Porter, L Forbes and R Jones all trading positions lap after lap. During the break G Amani decides to go back to all 60 # on the back of the kart and during one lap around side pods the wall hard! Continues but that will get your attention. As the front runners, now racing as a three pack, battle with each other L Forbes who fell off the pace of the leaders reels them back in and makes it a four man race once again. The top spot continues to be a different competitor lap after lap and a more exciting race was not to found. Now lap traffic comes into play. Slicing and dicing thru traffic now becomes the skill set to have and R Jones comes thru the pack and sets sail for the win.But not before plowing into some of the backmarkers which almost ruined his chances for the win.
Meanwhile behind him the backmarkers have all stepped up their game and 2nd/3rd and 4th are struggling to get around them. Evanson makes contact with Jacobson and Forbes and by lap 35 Evanson goes into 5th place. By race end he will get two more spots and take the last step on the podium with a 3rd place finish. Jones sets fast lap on lap 47with a 24.158 and goes on to win the Main with room to spare between him and 2nd place finisher Kent Porter. Wayne Porter had second fastest time today with his always annoyingly fast brother taking third. Another fast and exciting league race by the Hotshoes of NASA Az. Their next on track event with their own cars will be Thanksgiving weekend at P.I.R. Always free to watch and ride alongs are to be had. Bring your helmet and beg your way into something fast and furious! Waving around a $20.00 bill will get you offers of a ride along faster!
Great group of people having fun and going fast.
Main Finish Order: Ronald "Lone Wolf" Jones...Kent"Always Right There" Porter...Tage"Milkman" Evanson...Raymund"Lone Star State" Guerrero...Leland Forbes the Tenth...George"How do you spell/say that?" Sklyarevsky...Eric "Top 5" Jacobson...Travis "The Engineer" Bouck...Sergio "F1"Perez...Brian"No Sleeves" Turner...Gary "Tatoo" Kramer...Stenos 'Spinerrella" Wijaya...Geri "Rockstar" Amani...Wayne"Brother of Kent" Porter...Chris "If you're Late, you get to Spectate" Wynne.
I want to thank each and every one of the racers that take the time and monitary resources to do this. I also want to thank all the F1 Race Factory track guys, Peter, Romano, Mitch and Jemma up front to make this work and make it a positive experience for all involved. Keep the Rubberside Down and remember the candys always available and best of all FREE!
Next Race is the 5th and the Final on the 1/2 mile GP track C/C/W with a 2:30 check in and qualifying/racing to start promptly at 3pm.
Work on the stamina aspect as this will be an extended race that will have as much as 1full hour behind the wheel for qualifying and the Main race. No breaks between. Thank You, Steve "Kandyman"
AZIKC Race # 9 Wrap Up Report
The Fall season is always a busy and exciting time at F1 Race Factory and the 9th race on Oct. 30th of the monthly AZIKC race was no exception. Some surprises were in store and some of the best racing yet in this 10 race series was to unfold before the standing only crowd that assembled to witness this race that will go down as one of the best!
Seventeen of the fastest indoor kart racers came together and some newcomers were also brave enough to enter the field of competition this blustery October 30th which is the eve of All Hallows Eve or better known as Halloween. Looks like the racers had their masks of calm on but certainly were hiding all the fear and anxiety that is felt before any race. Especially one as important as this one. The points race at the top is close and one slip up means no podium for you. Seventy two laps is all that stands between a victory dance or a slumped shoulder disappointment walk out of the building into the relentless and blinding sunshine of Phoenix, Az. Between you and me I'll take the dance every time.
One person doing the victory dance after the qualifier and still seated in his trusty steed was Josh Lambeth. A fast time during qualifying put Lambeth squarely on pole for the first time in an AZIKC race and we could all see his excitement from 100 yards away. We could also feel his fear as the line up behind him was not to be taken lightly. Lambeths time of 52.946 over the lap time of 53.117 from Tony Rolfson was not hugh but Lambeth owned the only time in the 52 second zone. Second thru tenth place were all in the 53 second arena. Team Hot Lap Racing chose to switch karts during the qualifier with no penalty except losing a lap and will prove to be a wise move on their part.
The Qualifying Order:. Josh Lambeth...Tony Rolfson...Chaz Baca Jr...Keith Sears...Team Titanium (Steve Lattanzi/Charles Crowe)...John Ahrens... Mike McClaren...Matthew Lamanilao...John Pappagallo...Hot Lap Racing ( Bobby Neumann/Jason Burstein)...Dynamic Duo Racing (Austin Kipp/Julia ?)...Pat Joyce...Bill Hunter...Craig Ward...Raymund Guerrero...Matthew Kuhn...Christian Godina.
The green flag drops and in short order the top five swap positions. Within 5 laps Chaz Baca Jr takes over first from Lambeth. Rolfson struggles to stay in the top 5 and slowly but surely and one by one Keith Sears, John Ahrens, and Jason Burstein of Hot Lap Racing come marching thru to take the spot away. Stuck behind Rolfson were Charles Crowe of Team Titanium, Pat Joyce and reeling them all in was Matthew Lamamilao. Lap after lap Crowe looked for a way around Rolfson but never found the space or momentum needed to put the pass on him. When contact between Crowe/Rolfson finally happened Joyce got around Crowe but then made a mistake after getting by that had Crowe taking back the position. I'm sure all involved with that four pack race had heart rates that exceeded a long distance runner at full song. It was a crowd pleaser for sure.
Meanwhile back at the front Baca Jr is stepping it up and away from Lambeth and trying to put enough distance between them to make a pit stop that won't change their positions. Strategy now plays a role in this win or lose proposition and Baca Jr will not give this win up without a fight.
At the halfway mark or 36 laps from the start or finish we start to see two man team driver changes. Single driver stops that require 20 seconds of sitting in the pits seems like an eternity for the single driver entries. For the 2 driver teams it's a nerve wracking swap that can have a multitude of things go wrong but today all seemed to have their planned changes happen without incident.
Team Titanium (Crowe) entered the pit after being waved off at lap 36 because the pitlane suddenly had become "Grand Central Station" and full of other competitors making their mandatory pit stop. Lattanzi fresh off last weeks overnite Machismo 500 team race in Las Vegas took the wheel of the Team Titanium kart and made a gallant effort to stay ahead of Rolfson. Mission accomplished and now to try to pick off some of the karts running at the top of the charts. Lattanzi reels in Pat Joyce and spends the rest of the race studying the back of Joyces helmet and trying to stay out of his line of vision. PJ spent so much time turning his head to look for, "right there Lattanzi," that a trip to the local chiroprator was needed to get the kink out of Joyces neck after the race! Together they were making progress to run down the front runners but unfortunately for both they ran out of laps. Ten more laps and, last months AZIKC winner, Bobby Neumann would have been crying the blues and a battle for position on his hands from Joyce/Lattanzi. Keith Sears was also in the crosshairs of that charge to the front.
Chaz Baca Jr takes the win with a flawless run and Lambeth held onto second. F1 Race factory Race Director supreme John Ahrens finally had his string of "bad luck" broken today with an outstanding run from the sixth starting position to podium step # 3. John was the happiest person in the building.
The other Team that made an outstanding effort was first time teammates Jason Burstein & Bobby Neumann of Hot Lap Racing. After changing karts as earlier mentioned they were able to go from 10th in qualifying to a 5th place finish. With this always fast and hard to pass competitive racing group that is certainly an effort worth noting. You must see this team to believe it. Nuemann stands at 8' 7" , or it seems and Burstein is 5' something and wrapped in a weight suit that if worn to the airport would have him arrested for being a terrorist. Great run by these two young hotshoes.
In this AZIKC race we had Raymund Guerrero from Texas race with us. He was here for the Oct. 3, 7 Hour Enduro and is now in town to get in some mucho practice for the upcoming USIKC which will start Friday Nov. 5th at F1 Race Factory. He is one serious contender and is planning on bringing something besides an empty wallet back to Texas for his efforts. All Day passes are in his immediate future for the upcoming week leading up to the USIKC. I do believe he will set an all time record held by Mike Davila for the most races run in a single day on an all day pass. I'm exhausted just thinking about it.
Thank You all for taking the time to do this, read this and alloting the needed funds to do this. The next AZIKC race which will decide the overall winner and put millions of dollars in the winners bank account will be on Sat. December 4th. Check in between 9/9:30 and racing starts at 10am sharp. Don't be late or you get to spectate! TR, wouldn't you rather be a spectator for the final?
No dreaded "Black Flags" were thrown today and no innocent animals were hurt during the test of the Emergency Broadcast System.
If there had been an emergency........
The Finish Order: With Top 5 Overall/points going into the Final w/o the 1 race drop factored in...Chaz Baca Jr...Josh Lambeth...John Ahrens (3rd/210 points)...Keith Sears (4th/193 points)...Hot Lap Racing (Neumann/Burstein)...Pat Joyce...Team Titanium (Lattanzi/Crowe 1st/235 points)...Dynamic Duo (Kipp/Julia)...Matthew Lamanilao...Tony Rolfson (2nd/230)...Bill Hunter...John Pappagallo (5th/184)...Mike McClaran...Raymund Guerrero...Craig Ward...Christian Godina...Matthew Kuhn.
I want to personally thank all the F1 Race Factory staff that comes in early to make this happen. Amanda who handles the front desk check in and mans the pit stop action with no less than 3 stopwatches hanging from her neck. Happy 21st Birthday Amanda. Have a great time in Vegas! Riddhi & Jemma too!
Romano, Levi, Mitch, Jesus, Ron & Juan who do a great job keeping everybody honest on and off the track. None of this would happen without them so thank you and a round of Donuts for all! Thank You Theresa for all the great photo's.
I've never worked so hard at having so much fun!
Steve "Kandyman" Lattanzi
Seventeen of the fastest indoor kart racers came together and some newcomers were also brave enough to enter the field of competition this blustery October 30th which is the eve of All Hallows Eve or better known as Halloween. Looks like the racers had their masks of calm on but certainly were hiding all the fear and anxiety that is felt before any race. Especially one as important as this one. The points race at the top is close and one slip up means no podium for you. Seventy two laps is all that stands between a victory dance or a slumped shoulder disappointment walk out of the building into the relentless and blinding sunshine of Phoenix, Az. Between you and me I'll take the dance every time.
One person doing the victory dance after the qualifier and still seated in his trusty steed was Josh Lambeth. A fast time during qualifying put Lambeth squarely on pole for the first time in an AZIKC race and we could all see his excitement from 100 yards away. We could also feel his fear as the line up behind him was not to be taken lightly. Lambeths time of 52.946 over the lap time of 53.117 from Tony Rolfson was not hugh but Lambeth owned the only time in the 52 second zone. Second thru tenth place were all in the 53 second arena. Team Hot Lap Racing chose to switch karts during the qualifier with no penalty except losing a lap and will prove to be a wise move on their part.
The Qualifying Order:. Josh Lambeth...Tony Rolfson...Chaz Baca Jr...Keith Sears...Team Titanium (Steve Lattanzi/Charles Crowe)...John Ahrens... Mike McClaren...Matthew Lamanilao...John Pappagallo...Hot Lap Racing ( Bobby Neumann/Jason Burstein)...Dynamic Duo Racing (Austin Kipp/Julia ?)...Pat Joyce...Bill Hunter...Craig Ward...Raymund Guerrero...Matthew Kuhn...Christian Godina.
The green flag drops and in short order the top five swap positions. Within 5 laps Chaz Baca Jr takes over first from Lambeth. Rolfson struggles to stay in the top 5 and slowly but surely and one by one Keith Sears, John Ahrens, and Jason Burstein of Hot Lap Racing come marching thru to take the spot away. Stuck behind Rolfson were Charles Crowe of Team Titanium, Pat Joyce and reeling them all in was Matthew Lamamilao. Lap after lap Crowe looked for a way around Rolfson but never found the space or momentum needed to put the pass on him. When contact between Crowe/Rolfson finally happened Joyce got around Crowe but then made a mistake after getting by that had Crowe taking back the position. I'm sure all involved with that four pack race had heart rates that exceeded a long distance runner at full song. It was a crowd pleaser for sure.
Meanwhile back at the front Baca Jr is stepping it up and away from Lambeth and trying to put enough distance between them to make a pit stop that won't change their positions. Strategy now plays a role in this win or lose proposition and Baca Jr will not give this win up without a fight.
At the halfway mark or 36 laps from the start or finish we start to see two man team driver changes. Single driver stops that require 20 seconds of sitting in the pits seems like an eternity for the single driver entries. For the 2 driver teams it's a nerve wracking swap that can have a multitude of things go wrong but today all seemed to have their planned changes happen without incident.
Team Titanium (Crowe) entered the pit after being waved off at lap 36 because the pitlane suddenly had become "Grand Central Station" and full of other competitors making their mandatory pit stop. Lattanzi fresh off last weeks overnite Machismo 500 team race in Las Vegas took the wheel of the Team Titanium kart and made a gallant effort to stay ahead of Rolfson. Mission accomplished and now to try to pick off some of the karts running at the top of the charts. Lattanzi reels in Pat Joyce and spends the rest of the race studying the back of Joyces helmet and trying to stay out of his line of vision. PJ spent so much time turning his head to look for, "right there Lattanzi," that a trip to the local chiroprator was needed to get the kink out of Joyces neck after the race! Together they were making progress to run down the front runners but unfortunately for both they ran out of laps. Ten more laps and, last months AZIKC winner, Bobby Neumann would have been crying the blues and a battle for position on his hands from Joyce/Lattanzi. Keith Sears was also in the crosshairs of that charge to the front.
Chaz Baca Jr takes the win with a flawless run and Lambeth held onto second. F1 Race factory Race Director supreme John Ahrens finally had his string of "bad luck" broken today with an outstanding run from the sixth starting position to podium step # 3. John was the happiest person in the building.
The other Team that made an outstanding effort was first time teammates Jason Burstein & Bobby Neumann of Hot Lap Racing. After changing karts as earlier mentioned they were able to go from 10th in qualifying to a 5th place finish. With this always fast and hard to pass competitive racing group that is certainly an effort worth noting. You must see this team to believe it. Nuemann stands at 8' 7" , or it seems and Burstein is 5' something and wrapped in a weight suit that if worn to the airport would have him arrested for being a terrorist. Great run by these two young hotshoes.
In this AZIKC race we had Raymund Guerrero from Texas race with us. He was here for the Oct. 3, 7 Hour Enduro and is now in town to get in some mucho practice for the upcoming USIKC which will start Friday Nov. 5th at F1 Race Factory. He is one serious contender and is planning on bringing something besides an empty wallet back to Texas for his efforts. All Day passes are in his immediate future for the upcoming week leading up to the USIKC. I do believe he will set an all time record held by Mike Davila for the most races run in a single day on an all day pass. I'm exhausted just thinking about it.
Thank You all for taking the time to do this, read this and alloting the needed funds to do this. The next AZIKC race which will decide the overall winner and put millions of dollars in the winners bank account will be on Sat. December 4th. Check in between 9/9:30 and racing starts at 10am sharp. Don't be late or you get to spectate! TR, wouldn't you rather be a spectator for the final?
No dreaded "Black Flags" were thrown today and no innocent animals were hurt during the test of the Emergency Broadcast System.
If there had been an emergency........
The Finish Order: With Top 5 Overall/points going into the Final w/o the 1 race drop factored in...Chaz Baca Jr...Josh Lambeth...John Ahrens (3rd/210 points)...Keith Sears (4th/193 points)...Hot Lap Racing (Neumann/Burstein)...Pat Joyce...Team Titanium (Lattanzi/Crowe 1st/235 points)...Dynamic Duo (Kipp/Julia)...Matthew Lamanilao...Tony Rolfson (2nd/230)...Bill Hunter...John Pappagallo (5th/184)...Mike McClaran...Raymund Guerrero...Craig Ward...Christian Godina...Matthew Kuhn.
I want to personally thank all the F1 Race Factory staff that comes in early to make this happen. Amanda who handles the front desk check in and mans the pit stop action with no less than 3 stopwatches hanging from her neck. Happy 21st Birthday Amanda. Have a great time in Vegas! Riddhi & Jemma too!
Romano, Levi, Mitch, Jesus, Ron & Juan who do a great job keeping everybody honest on and off the track. None of this would happen without them so thank you and a round of Donuts for all! Thank You Theresa for all the great photo's.
I've never worked so hard at having so much fun!
Steve "Kandyman" Lattanzi
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