SKUSA 2002 Champions Crowned
Oklahoma Motor Sports Complex is famous for the challenge to the chassis tuner and driver most of all. Getting through the turns without understeer, yet having the grip for a prompt launch out of the turns almost seem to be diametric forces. The infield turns strain the neck muscles having sustained Hi-G force right hand turns followed with Hi G left hand turns.
The racing format was 1/2 hour of open qualifying per class on Saturday with a 12 lap pre-final race to sort out the qualifying order. Sunday Finals were 28 lap Features beginning at 1:00 PM.
In addition to the 4 primary Pro-Moto classes an IROC style race was held among the top 6 east/west SuperPro drivers in identical Biland 250cc powered Margay karts on Saturday Night.
The layout for Memo Gidley Signature track was presented. Brilliantly conceived, it should make for one of the best sprint courses ever assembled.
Simply put, it was a spectacular show and for many spectators who had attended the IRL race the week before in Texas said the World Finals racing was a better show to watch.
East Vrs West Shootout
Sponsored by Team Biland
Thanks to Team Biland for furnishing (6) Margay Chassis with identical Biland motors raw driver skill alone was the premium component to the challenge. Representing the Eastern top 3 SKUSA SuperPro points leaders were Alan Rudolph, Bobby Wilson and Joe Janowski, and from the Western division, Phil Carlson, Cliff Kajula and Joe White suited up for the hoedown.
These Bilands are fast. Looking back to the US Shifter Nationals, Jordan Musser set the fastest Rotax times with a 47.811!
In the 15 lap race, Alan took the lead with a strong challenge from Joe White. About lap 7 Joe White took over the lead with a well planned pass into turn 1, and Alan tucked in right behind to out-draft Joe on the next lap. The pass caught Joe a little off guard allowing Alan to break the draft. After Alan regained the lead it was apparent his radiator cap may not have been tight as he sprayed a mist of steam around tighter turns. Even after loosing water, the Biland still performed without a hitch and brought Alan home in the lead.
Bobby Wilson was the first to retire pulling off after only 2 laps. It was rumored the site of all the spectators gnawing on the Ribs and Okie-Dokie burgers was too much and he had to pull off for dinner. By 8 laps, Phil Carlson also felt it was time to save his strength for the next day.
Formula 80Jr
Sponsored by Champion Kart Shop
First race on the docket, Formula 80 Jr is known for providing one of the best shows, and at the 2002 World Finals it was no different.
Qualifying on the pole was Alan Sciuto with a blistering 44.307. Coming into this race tied in votes on the Kartweb Forum with Wade VanHoosier, Alan bested 3rd place Wade by nearly half a second.
Pre-Finals race was exciting but disappointing to some. Lap 1 found a few of these young lions tripping over each others wheels in turn 1, then a few more chose to tango on the inner loops near turns 6-7. The red flag came out as one of the drivers turned over and a full restart took place. Given what seemed like 20 minutes to straighten axles, the race began with 28 of the 29 competitors.
CR Crews who had qualified 8th was carving his way through the pack to reach second place was docked 5 positions for a driving infraction. Disappointed, CR returned Sunday morning with the ambition to win with a clean drive.
Feature racing proved to be a clean battle among the whole pack. Alan Sciuto, Eddie Caballero, and Wade VanHoosier just pulled away from the pack a few feet every lap executing precise smooth laps with repeat performance. Mike Giessen, CR Crews, Brady Halbasch, and Justin Moon put on a great show with passes between one or more of them all every lap. CR worked his way up to 4th, but Trevor Ott decided he wanted the position and used every ounce of his SRS power to squeeze by CR on the last lap.
Hailing from Orange California, driving the Team eXtreme CRG, Alan Sciuto brings home both the gold medal for the World Finals, and the 2002 SKUSA ProMoto title in the Formula 80 Jr Class.
Formula 80Jr Photogallery
Congratulations to Alan for a fine season from the Kartweb staff!
SuperPro
Sponsored by Flatout Group
The year was 1980, and the names of Al Unser Jr, Micheal Andretti, John Paul Jr, were among those in SCCA Club racing moving their way up the racing ladder. Later it was Paul Tracy, Jimmy Vassar and several others. Today, its the SuperPros to watch climb the ladder. But at the top of the karting ladder there is only room for one...
After Saturday morning practice a few teams were struggling with motors built to run on the edge of detonation in warmer thinner air. Moreover, even the pump-around carbs tend to swash the fuel about enough to spill out the vents on occasion at Norman. This resulted in one or two major re-calibrations of motor set-up that robbed precious hot lap times. These issues aside, the top 20 of the 26 SuperPro drivers still managed to qualify within a second of the fast boys, Ron and Joe White.
Pre-Finals races are more like a second chance qualifier to the SuperPros more then any other class. Being so equal at the top end of the talent scale, they all make great starts, rarely put a wheel wrong in feature races, so they sometimes throw caution to the wind driving on the fine edge of control - braking at the last millimeter, diving deeper into turns and still trying to conserve tires for the big one.
Bobby Wilson was on the march but was a little short on brakes going into turn 4 clouting the soft barrier-barrels as though he lost his brakes. Alex Speed a favored pick fell from 4th to 7th. Kyle Wharff improved his 9th place start with a 4th place finish.
Nothing like having a bro to race with, and if Germany has the Schumakers, than America has the Whites brothers Ron & Joe. Ron & Joe came up on top for the pre-finals.
In the Feature race, everyone knew it was not just the race to decide, but the holder of the coveted #1 SuperPro plate for 2003. There were a few still in the running, but to keep some in the running meant poor finishes were required among the top points holders. Last minute changes were made and Sunday morning practice showed a few of the mid pack runners were lapping on top of the pace. Could that spell an upset?
Most years the World Finals belonged to Trackmagic, but this year it seemed that no one chassis or motor builder was any advantage. It all came down to the tuners and Bill Talley seemed to have the best combination on hand. Joe White took a flag-to-flag tour showing the rest only his rear number plate on the 28 tours around OMC. Alex Speed was punted off in the beginning leaving the near perfect record his tuner and father Mike Speed had the year before to be renewed again next year. Matt Whittmer the lone privateer made it as far as 9 laps before retiring. Joe White was done after 11 laps, Joe Janowski in 20. Alan Rudolph could only manage a 12th place, while Bobbt Wilson worked very hard to improve his 23rd place starting position to 8th place. With points counting double, these high scorers opened opportunity for others.
Andre Des Marais made a strong charge late in the race gaining 6 positions putting on one of the many good driving exhibitions.
With Joe White taking the checker it marked the second class in a row for victory among the Team eXtreme CRG camp. Kyle Martin brought the factory Trackmagic team second place honors, but it was Phil Carlson coming home a distant 7th place that clinched the 2002 ProMoto SuperPro Championship taking the #1 plate for 2003 on a Trackmagic.
SuperPro Photogallery
Congratulations to Phil Carlson for his excellent season from the Kartweb staff!
Formula S1
Sponsored by Team MMI
S1 probably had the widest range of suitors of the weekend. Nelson Phillippe, Nick Bussell, David Trimble, Tad Funikoshi, Phillip Johnson, Ben Petter, Michael Johnson, Ryan Justice, well the list could nearly include the whole line-up of those with good chances to win the final.In qualifying it came up Nelson Phillippe, David Trimble, and Nick Bussell. With fewer paid tuners and the same detonation problems hammering the S1 teams as the SuperPro teams, the struggle to find right state of tune was a little more effort. Again there were no dominant chassis or motor builders but there was one of the most revolutionary - err- make that evolutionary chassis in karting today, the Evolution RT entered by the Johnson Brothers from Dallas Texas. If you have not heard of this chassis, you deserve to see it in the New Product Introduction Feature of Kartweb.
Pre-Finals racing was good to some, and brutal for others. Nelson Phillippe fell off the pace with problems dropping 15 positions, yet still managing to finish. Dallas Patterson destroyed his Maranello chassis forcing him to borrow and completely build a kart Saturday night. To be sure it seemed like each team had some separate small problem that added a few tenths to their time in the pre-final so it was all to come down to the final.
Tad Funakoshi made the drive of the day coming from way back on the grid to finish 5th.
Sunday morning practice looked pretty promising as several teams appeared to be smiling when that wheeled their kart stands back to their rigs. Except Nick Bussel. Nick had a piston "melt down" in a way they had never seen, and required them to put together a "Frankenstein" motor. He was just a bit nervous as with the loss of points at Norway earlier, his chances for a championship meant he needed a top finish.
In the Feature race Phillip Johnson coming from back in the 11th position was working his way back up through the pack when he made contact during a dice for position into turn 1 on the 13th lap.
In the end "Frankenstein" not only held together, but gave Nick Bussel slightly better lap times then he had in the Pre-Final race, winning with only 7/10's of a second to spare. It was good close race, with Ben Petter second and David Trimble third.
That gives Nick Bussel on his Swedetech powered Birel the 2002 ProMoto Formula S1 title as well.
S1 Photogallery
Congratulations to Nick Bussell for his great season from the Kartweb staff!
Formula K1
Sponsored by Hurricane Racing
K1 was a difficult race to call. Shoulda, woulda, coulda, didn't matter. The top 3 in points were pretty close, and as far back as 6th place in points still had a very realistic chance.Qualifying found Chris Mann edge out David Thompson by thirty thousandths of a second. Ryan Kinnear was half a second back with Chris Jackson a hundredth further back. No home court advantage for Jackson this weekend.
Pre-Finals were almost a carbon copy of qualifying for the top 5, except that Garrett Zine demoted Chris Jackson one position.
Twelve laps in, Chris Jackson was forced to retire dashing his hopes for the win. Nearly unbeaten all year, he was forced to give up in the eleventh hour. Chris Mann again home in the lead with a fierce battle behind for second between David Thompson and Ryan Kinnear. David came out in second about 3 kart lengths in front of Ryan on the checkered flag lap. ahead
David Thompson takes the Formula K1 ProMoto Championship home for 2002.
Congratulations to David Thompson for his Championship from the Kartweb staff!
K1 Photogallery