Final Points Race locks in the 2014 Class Champions at KAM Kartway
(10/19/2014)
And they went out with a bang with no shortness of excitement as drivers put on some of the best racing at KAM Kartway all season to end the 2014 Bridgeport Road Construction Race of Champions Points Series. There has been a lot of improvement shown by a number of drivers during this 20 event series, but two drivers really stuck out on Saturday night with their display of driving skill developments: Wes Knox and Nathan Cicso. Both drivers have had their share of race challenges over the season but all that looked miles behind them as they gave their strongest race performance of the year turning consistent laps from the heats into the feature race.
Knox in the #55k had his stand out performance it happened the first heat of the Gold Plate class as he started in 6th position and hot-shotted it to 2nd in lap two and held on for the next 9 laps with the points leader, Ayden Rogers, hot on his heels. Rogers came back in heat #2 with a start to finish lead and that, one-two awarded him the pole position for the feature. But it was Joe Contente hard charging from the outside of row two for the lead position in the first lap of the feature all the way to the 20-lap charge for the checkered flag who took the top of the night’s podium, followed by Rogers in 2nd place and Mitchell Mobley in 3rd. Rogers, however, takes home the ultimate bragging rights by securing his name in the victory ledger as the new Gold Plate Class Champion.
Cisco in the #99 had his Pure Stock career-best finish with a win in heat #2 after hard charging his own kart from last to 3rd in the first heat. Well those solid heat finishes earned him a spot alongside the drivers at the top of the leader board in the Feature as he sat in the second row and, as his crew chief pointed out, he “drove his butt off” holding on to his position until the half way, getting passed by Cross Jones (3rd in overall points) only to park it in the infield just before the white flag. The Pure Stock feature was the most watched and anticipated class of the night because the championship contenders started the night with only a 10 point difference. Shawn Marquez was flawless and started and finished the 20 laps in first place while the points leader was close behind and not leaving anything to chance. With a 5 point lead, it was Zoie Peirce grabbing the Championship title for the first time at KAM.
After a six-month absence from racing it was a nice welcome back for Austin Clark as he proved his skills didn’t rusty battled with points contender Megan Marquez for the leader position for the first 7 hard fought laps. Austin Clark proved that he didn’t get rusty during his 6 month absence from racing and was “Welcomed Back” with checkered flag victory celebration after a first half race battle with Marquez who was looking for another clean sweep after winning both heats. This girl has been on fire all year and is always hungry for the win. In the first heat she came from 4th to first with a great dive pass in lap five and then dominating the lead with the second heat finishing by the length of half a straight-a-way. The Championship ultimately goes to Tori Tyer who had been holding on to a cushy 300+ points lead for a while and absent the past several weeks – rumor has it she got parked because dad was turning laps in a Sprint Car.
Our out-of-town guest from Wichita Falls Logan Holloway proved that KAM isn’t a locals-only kind of track by winning heat #1 then battling it out with points leader and Hot Wheels Class Champion Noah Rowland for the ultimate victory in the feature. Rowland had a busy day too as he put his fire suit on bright and early to represent KAM Kartway in the Newark Parade and still dominated his second heat with a start to finish win.
The Animals had a strong field with Sean Knox moving up classes and making his non-restrictor debut and returning guest driver and long-time KAM friend Channing Godwin adding some fresh blood to the class. Class Champion Cody Pound started the night with a 665+ points lead so there was nothing to prove for him, but he is not one to disappoint and gave a great race show as he and Godwin really battled it out for 2nd place all 20 laps of the Feature. The victory went to Shane Marquez who enjoyed a half track lead followed by Channing then Pound. It was an awesome battle with good clean racing by the #14 and #21c and gave the fans a good show to watch.
The entertainment didn’t stop with them though as on-track nemesis – but off-track best friends – Peirce Urbanosky and Jett Hays raced hard, almost neck-in-neck in the Outlaw 250 class. This class seems to be the KAM Premier class with all the drivers being fan favorites. It’s no wonder because they all practically grew up at KAM and started racing at a very young age. Their talent is amazing and they always gives the fans a great show. The podium order was Urbanosky, Hays and Ben Saye.
Our final class of the evening had 10-year KAM veteran Charles Pou pitted against to very strong Rookie drivers. Derrike Pennington held Pou off for his second career win and the checkered flag in the Feature. Pennington and Pou finished in that same order for the Points Championship with the title going to Jamie Benke who took the night off.
The individual race results will be posted on Speednet Direct.
Following are your top 5 Points Leaders in each class of the 2014 BRC Race of Champions:
Hot Wheels: Noah Rowland, Jacob Ramirez, Mackenzie Marquez, Jaron Beltram, Lucas Ramirez
3.5 HP Class: Tori Tyer, Megan Marquez, Gregory Davisdon, Peyton Palanza, Aiden Setmire
Pure Stock: Zoie Pierce, Shawn Marquez, Cross Jones, Austin Piper, Katie Stephenson
Gold Plate: Aden Rogers, Mitchell Mobley, Katelyn Dixon, Ryan Begando, Joe Contente
Animal: Cody Pound, Tucker Perry, Shane Marquez, Connor Montgomery, Carson Horner
Outlaw 250: Pierce Urbanosky, Jett Hays, Collin Montgomery, Sammy Davis, Ben Saye
Adult Clone: Jamie Benke, Derrike Pennington, Charles Pou, Matt Velasquez, Marc Velasquez
Many thanks to our Title Sponsor Bridgeport Road Construction, Associate Sponsor Sun Shield Window Tinting and our Class Sponsors: Custom Powder Coating, Splash Haven Pools, The Oil Medics, Challenge Accepted Motorsports, Midwest Winter Racing Series, Pro Tech, and Rhome Best Value Pharmacy.
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