STEAD, NV (Aug 25) – On a hot August day Northern Nevada Kart Club (NNKC) hosted the final round of this year’s KPX series. With many visitors on hand it was a day of hot racing in the late summer heat.
After qualifying the drivers all race a pre-event that’s just like a heat race. Their grid positions in the main are determined by how they finished.
First up are the youngest drivers in the Kid Kart division. To help these youngsters the flagman comes down from his stand and stands by the edge of the track.
On the green the trio of Landon Corder-Dolph, Max Sidebotham and Cason Hodge took off and showed the pack their heels.
Despite their ages the tree also engaged in place swapping several times during their 12-lap race. The final finishing order for the three leaders was set when they were getting past lap traffic.
Then the leader would get by but one or the other of the two chasing him weren’t so lucky as it took them a bit to clear the traffic.
In the end Corder-Dolph scored the victory followed by Sidebotham and Hodge with Alex Ranulo a distant fourth place.
Next up were the three Junior 1 Novice drivers. When their main began Jeremiah Nobles was on point with Collyn Hill right behind him. They soon left Amaya Meizer to run in solo third.
Lap after lap Hill tried to get past Nobles but just couldn’t pull it off. At one time, when coming down turn 5 Nobles got loose but Hill wasn’t able to take that opportunity.
In the end Nobles won the race with Hill a close second and Amaya Mizer third.
After the post race weigh in Nobels said, “I knew he was there as I could feel him. He pushed me going into 8 and going into 6”.
Then he thanked his grandma, papa and his brothers for their support.
Next up was the rest of the Junior 1 class where the driver’s are past their novice year.
On the green Ayrton Tyler jumped into the lead followed by Dominick Benities. Behind them Jack Schrady moved out from the pack to take over third.
It soon turned into a three-way duel for the lead then Schrady took over second and soon was in the lead. After that he started motoring away from everyone.
Behind the lead trio there was a nice four-way duel for fourth between Brody Budelli, Cypress Andruss, Nico Sarphati and Isaiah Nobles.
Eventually everyone finished in that order with Schrady having a straightaway lead at the checkered flag.
Right after the start of the KA 100 Master’s race it appeared that Jeff Wamre was in the catbird’s seat. Leading from the green he soon put a gap between himself and the pack.
However behind him Ron Jenkins was determined to make a race of it. At first he closed with inches of Wamre then fell back only to start closing the gap again.
This accordion effect went on through the entire 20-lap event. Eventually Jenkins fell back at the end and Wamre zoomed off to claim the victory.
“It was a long one, I forgot how long 20-laps was,” he said. “Then the kart got tight so I figured he was catching me cause I slowed up about a half a second so I figured he was getting close. But we had fun.”
Then Wamre thanked his wife, Rodney at Nevada Kart Sport and NNKC, the local club.
After that it was time for Junior 2, the older kids that are working their way up to the young adult classes.
Up front after the start Jacob Smith was leading Boden Barnwell and Wyatt Sander. Lap after lap they tore around the track.
Behind the lead duo there was a five-way duel for fourth. Up front Smith and Barnwell swapped the lead at least once or twice.
During the last lap or so Sander closed on the leader while Barnwell fell back a bit. Then Sander finally got the lead with Smith chasing him.
It appeared that Sander had won his first KPX event but unfortunately his kart may not have passed the post race inspection. This reporter isn’t quite certain of what happened but he wound up being disqualified.
This meant that Smith was declared the winner with Barnwell second and Owen rule third. For Sander it was truly a heart breaking moment after such a hard drive to the front.
Next up was the KA100 Senior Class. For those unfamiliar with karting some of the classes use specific motors and this is no exception although the labels such as junior, senior or master tend to denote an age group.
Right after the green Issac Bourque led the charge but was soon replaced by Sonny Cerevelli. Behind them Oliver Calvo was making his charge to the front that soon gave him the lead.
After Calov took the point Cerevelli soon found himself leading a group that became a four-way duel for second and later it became a six-way duel.
In the end Calvo won the day and following him at a distance was Cerevelli, Nick Short, Aiden Kampf and Grand LeClaire rounding out the top five.
Sometimes a race will go right down to the wire and the Master LO206 main was a good example. After all a driver only needs to lead those final few yards before the checkered flag.
On the green Andrew Kemp took off with Brian Gallagher giving chase. The race became a two-man duel for the lead as third place Ron Jenkins was behind them leading the pack.
Lap after lap it was the Kemp-Gallagher show as they tore around the track. Approaching the final complex, known as Tic-Tack-Toe it was time for Gallagher to make his move.
As they headed down the straight toward the checkered flag he pulled along side Kemp and got the advantage as they reached the finish where he scored a narrow victory.
“It was an adventure all day I mean from third, that was my spot,” Gallagher said later. “But in the race the kart came to me and won me the championship. At the flag I knew what it was for and what was happening so it made all the difference.”
Then he thanked his wife, Invader Karts, Cole Nelson and Invader Racing as they’re the ones that got him here and put him on top.
Next up was the KA100 Junior division. When their main began Kyriakos Sioukas was on point and starting to put a gap between him and the other racers.
Soon everyone spread out while leader Sioukas was on cruise control. In the end Sioukas won followed at a distance by Stephen Eisert, Dylan Wilkins and fourth place Alex Berg.
A long day of racing ended when the Senior LO206 class took to the track for their main. Like other races a series title was on the line.
On the green Grant LeClaire, one of the title contenders, was on point followed by third generation racer Deeahmee Malone, another title contender Tyler Agan and Chase Dulude.
Soon Agan took over second with Malone inches behind him in third. Then the top three spread out for a while Dulude was running solo in fourth.
Malone would retake second as he and Agan started to reel in leader LaClaire. Soon the trio was running nose-to-tail while behind them Dulude was leading a pack of six.
Unfortunately a pass either for position or the lead went wrong. Coming out of Turn 2 there was contact and LeClaire’s kart rolled over.
The officials immediately threw the red flag as they rushed to his aid. Fortunately LeClaire didn’t suffer major injuries but will probably be a bit sore for a day or so and he was even able to drive his kart back to the pits.
The field was resorted and lined up for a single file restart. On the green Agan took off with Malone and Dulude giving chase.
While Agan was leading Malone and Dulude were just inches apart as they disputed second. This allowed the leader to get a small gap and some breathing room.
In the final laps Malone closed on leader Agan as they headed for the finish. In fact at the line both karts were not far from finishing side-by-side.
Before heading into the post-race tech inspection Agan said, “It was a crazy race and not really how I wanted to win but it happens sometimes. LeClaire and I were battling in the championship, it was super fun to race and sorry to see it end like that.”
Asked if he knew how close Malone was at the end Again replied, “I knew he was coming and I was just trying to drive my race. I knew the gearing he had and the gearing I had. So I kind of knew where he was good and where he wasn’t. It was closer than it looked.”
After that there were the awards ceremony and drawings for tires and other things. The KPX series will continue next year, something most are looking forward to.
Now Desert Park is quiet, except for maybe some testing during the week. NNKC will end its points races on Sunday, September 29.
REPORTERS NOTE: There is a photo gallery after the results.
OTHER RACING NEWS:
• About two weeks ago rider Kyle Hershberger had a very bad crash on his motorcycle. He broke several bones and suffered a severe concussion in the accident.
Since he owns a small business this has left his family in a void while he recovers. Well a friend, Robert Reed, is holding a fund-raiser for his family next Wednesday, August 28, at PJandCo on Wells. It’s Bike Night and the fund-raiser begins at 5:39 p.m. if possible please stop by as any donations will be appreciated.
• The Sparks A&W, across from Reed High School, starting at 5 p.m. has another Show N’ Shine. This goes until closing time and a D.J. is supplying the music.
• Teresa’s Garage Radio Show will be on from 2 until 3 p.m. Tuesday afternoon. The show covers all thing automotive as well as the current trends.
I have a preview section at 2:15 and you can either hear us live over the air, streaming on the Internet or see us live on Face Book. Hope you’ll give the show a listen.
• If you enjoyed this article please “like,” and share it as widely as possible. Comments are welcome.
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Hungry, want a great place to eat, then try PJ&Company for Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and it’s a great place to watch your favorite sports. If you’re a rider, well Wednesday evening is Bike Night, always a great time to see some great looking bikes and meet like-minded people.
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RESULTS:
KPX – Round 6
Desert Park Raceway – Aug.25
Kid Kart: 1. Landon Corder-Dolph, 2. Max Sidebotham, 3. Cason Hodge, 4. Alex Ranulo, 5. Julian Sanchez, 6. Keegan Cowden, 7. Elijah Melzer, 8. Noah Nobles, 9. Cale Whitaker, 10. Cash Prater, 11. Audrey Hand, 12. Cayden Duncan.
Jr. 1 (Novice): 1. Jeremiah Nobles, 2. Collyn Hill, 3. Amaya Melzer.
Junior 1: 1. Jack Schrady, 2. Ayrton Tyler, 3. Dominick Benites, 4. Brody Budelli, 5. Cypress Andurss, 6. Nico Sarphati, 7. Isaiah Nobles.
KA100 Master: 1. Jeff Wamre, 2. Ron Jenkins, 3. Steve Piggott, 4. Luke Anderson, 5. Jack Arluck, 6. Mike McMullen.
DNF: Robert Melzer.
Junior 2 LO206: 1. Jacob Smith, 2. Boden Barnwell, 3. Owen Rule, 4. Brinley Barnwell, 5. Brooks Anderline, 6. Chase Hand, 7. J.C. Perez, 8. Matthew Fecko, 9. Korey Sander, 10. Heavyn Hill, 11. Ridgeley Welsh, 12. Tanner Schultz, 13. Ashley Durden, 14. Sarah Baker.
DNF: Taylor Cason, Alec Acevedo.
DQ: Wyatt Sander.
KA100 Senior: 1. Oliver Calvo, 2. Sonny Cerevelli, 3. Nick Short, 4. Aiden Kampf, 5. Grant LeClaire, 6. Jason Pettit, 7. Derek Morton, 8. William Ferguson, 9. Wyatt Couch, 10. Bryce Berry, 11. Eric Huang, 12. Issac Bourque.
DNF: Cameron Shields, Zachary Rivera, Donovan Bixler.
Master LO206: 1. Brian Gallagher, 2. Anddrew Kemp, 3. Ron Jenkins, 4. Evan Clark, 5. Vijay Nagarajan, 6. Tom Fahey, 7. Tim Brunyansky.
DNF: Pat Beckley
DQ: Brandon Walsh.
KA100 Junior: 1. Kyriakos Sioukas, 2. Stephen Eisert, 3. Dylan Wilkins, 4. Alex Berg, 5. Cain Fredricks, 6. Eli Mays, 7. Cole Gamma, 8. Gino Sandoval, 9. Nolan Siegel.
DNF: Garrette Randolph Jr., Owen Rule
Sr. LO206: 1. Tyler Agan, 2. Deeahmee Malone, 3. Chase Dulude, 4. Zach Reynolds, 5. Steve Dow, 6. Bryce Dickman, 7. Daniel Ferguuson, 8. Nicholas Villaman, 9. Anthony Tooscano, 10. Alec Beaudoin, 11. Manish Inturi.
DNF: Thomas Ressa, Grant LeClaire, Oliver Calvo.
DQ: Savion Ragster.
PHOTO GALLERY:
Heading for the checkered flat Tyler Again, who won the Senior LO206 main, is pressured by Deeahmaa Malone and Chase Dulude. Early in the Senior LO206 main Grant LeClaire leads Deeahmee Malone and Tyler Again. 
In the Senior LO206 main Tyler Agan leads Grant LeClaire and Deeahmee Malone. 
Andrew Kemp leads Brian Gallagher in the Master LO206 main. During the Master LO206 main this was about as far apart as winner Brian Gallagher and runner up Andrew Kemp were. 
In the Kid Kart main, Max Sidebotham leads Cason Hodge and Landon Corder-Dolph. The day’s racing began with the Kid Kart Class. to help these youngsters the flagman came down from his usual stand and stood right beside the track. 
Oliver Calvo on his way to winning the KA100 Senior main. 
Early in the KA100 Senior main Sonny Cerevelli leads Oliver Calvo and Nick Short. 
During the KA100 Senior main Sonny Cerevilli found himself leading a four-way fight for second place. Toward the end of the KA100 Master’s race leader Jeff Wamre had to hold off Ron Jenkins. 
Right after the KA100 Master main began Jeff Wamre was on point. 
Kyriakos Sioukas was the KA100 Jr. winner. 
In the Junior 2 main Jacob Smith leads Boden Barnwell and Wyatt Sander. For most of the Junior 1 Novice main winner Jeremiah Nobles had Collyn Hill inches behind him. 
When the Junior 1 Novice race began Amaya Melzer (61) was briefly in the lead. 
During the Junior 1 main Ayrton Tyler is chased by Jack Schrady and Dominick Benites. 
Jack Schrady on his way to winning the Junior 1 main.
In Senior 206, 2nd place Deeahmee Malone actually got disqualified, so all karts moved up one position.
Thanks Chase I will correct that.
Hey Chase went back to mylaps and the results are still the same. Where can I find
out this officially. Then I’ll change the results and put a note with the Face Book
post.