The United States of America has a rich history of pioneers in every endeavor.  Oklahoma Motorsports Complex (OMC) was the first sprint tracks designed to provide the perfect challenge for a shifter.  Situated in central US, OMC had WKA to the east, IKF to the west and was smack-dab in the middle of KART country.  As the SKUSA organization was launching the ProMoto national series, there was a recognized need to provide a single national level event on neutral soil - no requirements to be a member of any series, and geographically located in the center of the US.  The 4th of July date was chosen and 2003 marks the 4th running of the USSN.

The intent of the USSN was a pioneering effort to unify shifter karting to de-fragment the organizational soup of national championships.  Entry counts were strong in the early years, but as more organizations grew, and more regions chose to copy the concept and date, the fields began to shrink.  For 2003, the entries were below expectations, but the lap times were still among some of the fastest turned with several new lap records being set.

In addition to the standard shifter classes, the 2003 was host to the first TAGUSA festival and included a Rotax Jr race.  Tom Argy was the hired hand as Race Director to allow the Berryhills to attend to their drivers.  Tom maintained a strict CIK approach to the event, along with stopwatch precision event schedule.  Strict safety inspections caught a few teams off-guard as some were lacking safety wire on crucial fasteners, but overall went pretty well.

Podium finishers were sent to Parc Ferme for post-tech inspection, with the option to waive in some classes.  The TAG Sr class was scrutinized closely, and all competitors passed tech.

Kartweb Shorts!  video due Wednesday. to include 125 Moto Pro, Masters, and 80 Sr.

125 Masters

2003 US Shifter National Championship Order

Rank	Name
1	Michael Brooks
2	Mark Clevenger
3	Ryan Cooper
4	Mike Kellum

80 Sr or K1 appears to have a terminal disease in sprint racing with not much life left in it.  Michael Brooks won on Saturday but came to the grid on Sunday as the only 80 Sr.  Micheal took the green with the 125 Moto bunch, and during the awards ceremony announced he will probably move to ICC soon.

Special thanks to Majestic Metals for adding $250 to the ICC prize payout.

Kartweb Shorts!  video due Wednesday. on ICC.

2003 US Shifter National Championship Order

Rank	Name	L-R; Weston Flynt, Jonathon Beason (with his famous brown-eyed girlfriend) and Chad Bryant.
1	Jonathon Beason
2	Weston Flynt
3	Chad Bryant
4	Xan Rose
5	Garrett Napier
6	Brandon Timte
7	Justin Hill
8	Cody Jolly
9	Jimmy Moriarty
10	Barry Gifford
11	Trevor Mitchell
12	Brittany Masters
13	Donovan Schrum
14	Taylor Harris
15	Jordan Blisset

80 Jr often puts on great racing, and this was no different.  Jonathon plain stole the show but passing through the pack made the racing exciting to watch.  Making her debut in a national 80Jr race on Saturday who was also pulling "Ironman" duties in Rotax Jr.  Jordan decided to leave the 80 in the trailer on Sunday to focus on Rotax Jr. 

Several of these 80 Jrs will be back in August to contest the SKUSA Amateur Nationals of World Finals.  No doubt those who attended the USSN and plan to attend future national races will be better prepared to predict the track changes as rubber and heat build through the day.

Kartweb Shorts!  video due Wednesday. for 80Jr.

2003 US Shifter National Championship Order

Rank	Name	L-R: Kenneth Graves, Tyler Campbell, Andrew Martz
1	Tyler Campbell
2	Kenneth Graves
3	Andrew Martz
4	Dylan Postier
5	Bryce Cornet
6	Chance Turner
7	Norman Jolly III

The "mighty - mights" of shifters, these 60cc drivers put on a great show, with most planning to make the SKUSA Amateur Nationals next month.

2003 US Shifter National Championship + TAG Festival Order

Rank	Name
1	Derek Denman
2	Jason Correia
3	Justin Frank
4	Dean Boyd
5	Rob Schumske
6	LaMoon Braffett
7	Justin Melton
8	Michael Brennan
9	Michael Grossenheider
10	Joshua Lygrisse

The first of the TAGUSA Festival race events brought a field of Parilla Leopards, Bilands, and Rotax Max's together for the closest racing of the weekend.  Jason Correia and Justin Frank both the fastest karters in Bermuda flew out to enter a pair of Leopards with Dean Boyd the fast TAG driver from Texas on hand.  Team Biland was on hand with two of their cars in need of drivers, and added Derek Denman and Justin Melton to the line-up.  Justin had some set up problems with the Margay chassis and opted to pull off early in the Sunday main to conserve his strength for the Rotax Jr class he came to win.

Derek, Dean, Jason, and Justin put on a great battle in all the races Saturday and Sunday with Derek winning both Finals by a small margin.  A note of interest, Derek was the only competitor to complete all races as the Ironman - racing in two or more classes.  Derek also ran the 125 Moto Pro class taking 3rd place.

Kartweb Shorts!  video due Wednesday. on TAG Sr.

• Discussions among some teams over the number of new national races added every year intended to draw from the pool of existing racers.  Consensus there needs to be an advocacy council for racers composed of racers.
• The half life of the moto was on the minds of those not interested in throwing their motos in the trashcan to "save money".  One competitor said "it's like cutting off your finger to save from clipping your fingernails".  More reason for an advocacy council.
• Several 80cc Jr teams were concerned over what they should do next year.  With one org announcing the elimination of 80 Jr, concerns were this would spill over to SKUSA.
• ICA whats the scoop?  Few teams have had any experience with ICA and might consider it if it were a cost effective solution. 
• TAGUSA rules changes in the wind.  As Mr Argy promised, there would be some changes coming in weights to equalize the motors - which already looked pretty equal this weekend.  A TAGUSA BoD meeting was held on Friday, and updates are forthcoming.