The 8th Anniversary of F1 Race Factory was celebrated in grand style this fine 8th day of October, 2011.
Twenty-Two race teams and 44 drivers confirmed their rightful place to be in the F1 Race Factory history books by competing on the ½ Mile GP Track for 88 laps. 44 of those laps were in the clockwise configuration and 44 were done in the counter clockwise direction with each of the 2 drivers per team choosing their favorite direction prior to the green flag that started this monumental event. Bragging rights and a “Winner’s” prize of a custom made 4’ tall trophy as well as custom made trophy’s for 2nd and 3rd place were also to be awarded. And let’s not forget about the infamous” Top Turtle Award” for the team that has the honorable distinction of finishing in 22nd Place which sounds so much better than saying last place. This was a race that had a wide band of drivers from multiple league and AZIKC Champions to first time at F1 Race Factory drivers and all skill levels in between.
Anxious racers started arriving up to 1 hour before the 9am start and by 8:30am the kart draw along with the position draw were well under way with Team Octane (Tony Rolfson/Blake Ledesma) pulling the Pole Position from the F1 Race Factory hat. At the other end of the spectrum we find Team Young Guns, ( Jason Burstein/Chaz Baca Jr) starting from the 22nd or last starting spot. Team Airborne/Blue Blocker, (Mike Davila/Steve Lattanzi) pulled the 2nd starting spot from the hat. Third Place starting spot went to Team SkillzthatKillz, (Josh Goss/Matt Brubaker). Fourth starting spot went to Team Silt Bed Blasters, (Jake Skaggs/Brendan Garcia). Rounding out the top five was Chris Kandoll/Matt Kandoll of Team Gobbledgook.
The standing start along the long back straightaway was now set and ready to go and when the green flag fell the first set of turns became a major merge point for a very diverse mixture of driving styles not seen on the track together. Miraculously there were no major incidents unless you count Jason Burstein’s visit to the, Stuck on the Wall Clinic, on the second or third lap while trying to pass in that very same area. Burstein then got to practice his racing thru the field technique again and that’s just what he did. By the time Burstein handed the kart to teammate Baca Jr he had come from 22nd to 4th. Wow! If we had a most spots gained award Team Young Guns would have won it wheels down. Meanwhile the battle of the first 44 was between the P1 and P2 drivers, Mike Davila of Team Airborne/Blue Blocker and Tony Rolfson of Team Octane. They proceeded to put distance between themselves and the rest of the pack, all the while trading places with each, taking a turn at leading and never more than a few precious feet from each other. Neither one was able to break away and make a definitive statement to the other. A true testament to the kart parody that F1 Race Factory strives to maintain across the fleet of 28 karts. More than once lap traffic gave an opportunity to the leaders to make a pass. We went into the completion with a, cancel the Blue Flag order in place, but the rolled Black Flag ready to go if any hanky panky should happen. A full on Black Flag was at the ready but was never thrown.
Forty four laps done and 44 more to go with fresh drivers at the wheel and a rolling start to kick off the second half of what has been a fast, clean race.
Team Octane had Blake Ledesma at the helm and Team Airborne/Blue Blocker had Steve Lattanzi piloting the second place kart. No matter how much distance was gained from the first 44 laps all that has now evaporated with a bumper to bumper rolling start based on your finishing position from the first 44 laps. Team Road Toads came from 12th starting position with Mike McClaren at the wheel to P3 and Keith Sears now in command of the kart. Team Young Guns with Chaz Baca Jr taking over from Jason Burstein is within striking distance in 4th starting spot and Team 3 had Chaz Baca Sr handing the kart over to Charles Crowe for the final 44 laps to the Checkered Flag.
The rolling start went without incident but within 5 or so laps, lap traffic came into the picture and without the advantage of blue flags to let the lap traffic know that the leaders were upon them, it became a nerve wracking challenge for the leaders to get around the back markers cleanly and safely. There were random acts of light bumper to bumper action but none to warrant any Black Flag action by the race officials. The distance between Team Octane and Team Airborne/BlueBlocker would accordion as slower karts would allow Team Airborne to catch up and then they would become the meat in the sandwich and Team Octane would pull away. That went on for some time until a three pack of slower karts came into view and Ledesma made a move right into the middle of the pack and his plan to get thru without incident came to a sideways sliding halt allowing Lattanzi to slip by to take P1 that would remain that way until the Checkered Flag flew and the race was declared officially over. Team Airborne could not believe their luck so close to the end as they had resigned to the fact that Team Octane was not only in P1 the entire second part of the race but if Lattanzi did catch Ledesma he would be nearly impossible to pass him. One mistake is all it took to change the exciting finish once the Checkered Flag flew.
Team Octane had one chance left to win with the weigh out at hand. If Lattanzi weighed out under the 198# weight limit the win would be theirs. Total focus on the digital scale and with the digital readout sliding from 196 to 202 it settled on 201.4 and the 88 lap 8th Anniversary Race of F1 Race Factory was officially declared over and won by Team Airborne/BlueBlocker (Steve Lattanzi/Mike Davila).
Group Podium pictures were taken, handshakes were traded and with the thrill of another great race put on by F1 Race Factory, the 44 drivers from all walks of life had lunch together and traded lies about what happened on and off the track that day. The 4’, 1st Place trophy has been put on display next to the podium for all to see and to reflect about all the good times we have had under the F1 Race Factory kart racing banner these last 8 years. It is the last competition trophy to carry the F1 Race Factory nameplate. Come Friday Oct. 14th, 2011 the name F1 Race Factory will be undergoing a name change to Octane Raceway.
Special pricing for races and memberships will be offered all weekend long. It’s only a name change and with promises to be open another 8 years or longer as Octane Raceway I see many great days of indoor kart racing ahead.
A BIG THANK YOU to Ron Davis Racing Products for welding the awesome 4’ trophy together and to his daughter Alicia Davis who is an important part of the F1 Race Factory marketing team and was one half of the Ron Davis Racing Team that raced in the 88 Lap Anniversary Race. Julia Castro was her teammate. Alicia and Julia finished 13th and both will be part of the only all female 2011 USIKC Team sponsored by DeCuzziTires.com. Thanks also to Amanda Tedder who sacrificed her Saturday morning sleep time to come in to make sure all ran as smooth as possible. Amanda is also teaming up with the DeCuzziTires.com female team in the 2011 USIKC. Many people involved to make this event one to remember like all the track officials that included Levi, Mitch, Sal, Jesus. Thanks to Chris in the kitchen for getting the food out after the race. Thanks Mary!
James Gibbons, International Octoberfest Man about Town handled the Awards ceremony without pomp and circumstance and for the first time nobody whispered, What? What did he say? Thank You James!
I want to personally Thank each and every one of the racers for participating in not only this Anniversary race but the many other competition races we have at F1 Race Factory/Octane Raceway weekly, monthly and annually. The arrive and drive races we do here daily are bar none the best in the valley. Whether you are a one time visitor or a repeat visitor to F1 Race Factory/Octane Raceway we make every effort to serve up the safest and best indoor kart racing experience every time. If not contact me and I will make sure that happens.
Final Results:
Steve Lattanzi/Mike Davila 1st Place "Winners" Team Airborne/Blue Blocker!
Tony Rolfson/Blake Ledesma 2nd Place Team Octane
Chaz Baca Jr/Jason Burstein 3rd Place Team Young Guns
Keith Sears/Mike McClaren 4th Place Team Road Toads
Chaz Baca Sr/Charles Crowe 5th Place Team 3
Chris Wynne/Greg Gillum 6th Place Team FlatTirePerformance
Josh Walker/Joe Landram 7th Place Team F-Bomb
Paul Miller/Don Angel 8th Place Team Two Old Dudes!
Bill Hunter/John Pappagallo 9th Place Team Hunter Killer
Brian Landry/Frank Dusanek 10th Place Team EVIL707
Jake Skaggs/Brendan Garcia 11th Place Team Silt Bed Blasters
Matt Kayne/Craig Budwitz 12th Place Team Flaming Hot Rubber Duckies
Alicia Davis/Julia Castro 13th Place Team Ron Davis Racing Products
Corey Butler/Matthew Thill 14th Place Team Butler Motorsports
CJ Wessel/Tim Denne 15th Place Team Low Rollers
Luke Seitters/Chris Diaz 16th Place Team Guecho
Jeremy Bodley/Brodie Carr 17th Place Team Top Turtle
JoshuaGoss/MatthewBrubaker 18th Place Team Skillzthatkillz
Chris Kandoll/Matt Kandoll 19th Place Team Gobbledgook
Mike Chamberlain/??? 20th Place Team IDK Bro
Ronald Bacon/David Carroll 21st Place The Bangbros
Jeff Walker/Chris Lopez 22nd Top Turtle Team I.D.K.Stickmen
Keeping the Rubberside Down,
Steve”Kandyman” Lattanzi
Team Titanium of F1 Race Factory/Octane Raceway
steve@f1rf.com
Specialty Events, F1 Race Factory/Octane Raceway
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/Octane Raceway - Your Phoenix Destination For Adrenaline-Packed Outings
Arizona's Premier Indoor Karting & Entertainment Venue
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Two Indoor Tracks, 45+MPH Karts, Billiards, Trackside Bar & Grill.
