STEAD, NV (April 3, 2022) — Desert Park Raceway echoed with the sounds of racing as the Northern Nevada Kart Club (NNKC) began it’s 2022 season. The turn out was good and Mother Nature cooperated with mild spring weather.
The Kid Kart division got the honor of starting the season. This a non-competitive class so these youngest drivers are listed when the finish a race.
Many times just staying on the track is a great accomplishment. On this day however all three finished their main. During these races parents are standing by the track rooting all of them on.
The class is from 5 to 8-year-olds and these youngsters are earning their racing spurs before moving up to the Junior 1 division.
Closest race of the day came in the Senior LO206 division, which also ended the day. It was a three-way duel for the lead and Issac Bourque finally took the point with Nathan Heath and Giovanni L. Medina right behind him.
Lap after lap they stormed around the track as the victory could go either way. In the end Bourque won by 0.130 of a second over Heath while Media was close behind in third.
For Bourque it was a challenge. After the race he said, “They ran me all weekend. Didn’t have the fastest kart, bent the chassis, cracked it and the clutch has been going out. But managed to pull the win off and it felt good.”
Then he thanked his father, Jeff and the members of NNKC.
The next closest race came in the Super Stock main. Soon after the green waved Nathan Heath was on point but soon Edward Atkins took the lead.
Then he was chased by Heath, Deeahme Malone and Alec Beaudoin, who would win the Tillotson class. The result was a four-way duel for the lead where a small mistake could change the outcome.
In the end Atkins reached the checkered flag just 0.203 seconds ahead of Heath.
Focus is something racers must have as things happen pretty quickly. Sometimes this can lead to unusual happenings like this race where the winner missed the checkered flag and raced an extra lap.
Asked about that winner Atkins said, “I saw the white flag and I guessed missed the checkered. I wondered where everybody went. I started 4th and made my way. This class this year is tight and it’s close.”
Next closest race, and fastest of all came in the125 Shifter main. Standing starts are the rule for this class and when the green lights came on Mitch Kennedy took off with heat winner, Zeke Corson right behind him.
From that point on it was a two-driver duel for the lead. Lap after lap they stormed around the track and would sweep past any lap traffic. In the pack there were a pair of F80 Shifter karts and Jesse Goodrum won that class while Brandon Carlson was second but both were in the pack.
Up front Kennedy did get a small gap then Corson closed in during the final laps. Going into the final turn Corson dove to the inside and they were side-by-side. Coming out Kennedy had the better drive and won by 0.472 of a second.
After the race Kennedy said, “That was a heck of a good race. Zeke is a guy I like to drive with, have a good time doing it. It came down to who got a really good start as the other guy was going to dog the other guy. That last turn was great that’s called great racing right there.”
Then he thanked his lady friend Donna for her support.
After Kid Kart, young drivers graduate to the Junior 1 division. For Kayden Williams it was his day to sweep both the heat races as well as the main.
When the green flag waved Williams was off but three karts spun out in Turn 1. Everyone was okay but they were out of the race. Up front while Williams didn’t have anyone close behind him he soon had to deal with lap traffic.
That’s always a challenge for the fastest in any class. In the end Williams won while Jeremy Heath was second ahead of Jeremiah Nobles.
“The lappers were incredible,” Williams said. “I did a sketchy pass in Turn 9 but it was a great race.”
Then he gave special thanks to him mother, who also races, K Dub Creative as well as his sponsors and Invader Karts.
Next rung on the age ladder is Junior 2. These drivers have more experience and in a few years move up to the adult classes.
Brooks Anderline took the point when the green flag waved but close behind were fellow Invader Kart teammates, Cooper Perez and Andrew Hitchock. At first they were chasing Anderline then later started dueling second.
At one time both Perez and Hitchock went off the track after Turn 5, then returned to the pavement and resumed their battle. Close to the end of the race something happened and Hitchock wound up as thought he was going onto the track’s extension.
This allowed Perez to claim an uncontested runner up finish while Isaiah Nobles was third.
After the race Anderline said, “They ran me for a while then I really don’t know what happened. All I know is that mid race I looked and I had a pretty big gap.”
He added the first couple of laps were a challenge at the top of the hill where Turn 5 is located. “It was kind of crazy, somebody got stuck on the start on 5 and when that happened put a whole bunch of dirt on the track. When we went up to 5 for the first lap and it was like ice. Those first couple of laps were pretty sketchy over 5 but stretched a lead and closed it out at the end.”
Then he thanked his parents, Cole Nelson racing and his Invader Kart team mates that race him clean.
Another race having two classes is the KA100/TAG division. After almost disappearing both classes are on the comeback trail and they have a start that has one group taking the green before the second one does.
When the TAG group took off Steve Ryckebosch was on point but being chased while when KA100 group was launched Nat Sombatsiri and Michael McMullen headed the KA100 group.
At the checkered it was a Ryckebosch double with Steve winning and his brother second while William Owen was third. Further back, fifth place Sombatsiri and McMullen in sixth headed the KA100 group.
After the post race weigh-in Ryckebosch said, “It was smooth and pretty simple. Did have to go through a lot of lappers.”
Then he thanked his wife and their two dogs Anze and Kali.
When the green waved for the Heavy LO206 main 14 racers charged toward Turn 1. Eric Kuzemchak was on point with Josh Prater and Rachael Williams giving chase.
While Kuzemchak was leaving every in his dust the battle for second was on going. Williams was right behind Prater for the entire race. At the checkered Kuzemchak scored the victory. Behind him Prater beat Williams to the line by a little over a tenth of a second.
After the race Kuzemchak said, “The race went good, I mean we had the objective of just not looking behind and just keep going forward, that’s what it’s all about, going forward. I’m pitting under the Invader Racing tent and have to say they’ve been a big help, giving me the top notch equipment I have right now. Invader Racing engines for giving me one heck of a motor that we have, it helped us last season.”
He also thanked his mother as she comes out and supports him no matter how a race goes.
Then he added, “ Thanks to Cole Nelson because even though this is my third season I’m still, still have a lot to learn about all of this. Everyone behind the Invader tent just telling us to just keep going forward and to just keep charging hard. We plan on defending the title and proving that wasn’t a fluke last season.”
NNKC will have a track workday on April 23rd then the next race is for Sunday May 1st. This time they will use the long track.
OTHER RACING NEWS:
• Congratulations to the team of Dennis Belingheri, Vance Vance and David Meyer. In this weekend’s San Felipe 250 they placed first in the Over 50 Pro class and ended up seventh overall in the moto division.
• For Corvette owners on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Reno Corvettes meet at the Bonanza Casino on North Virginia Street. These meets are a great way to meet fellow Corvette owners.
• Sadly Lovelock Speedway announced the trackwill be dark for the 2022 season.
• Teresa’s Garage Radio Show is on the air from 2 until 3 p.m. Tuesday afternoon. In northwest Nevada, it can be heard over the air at 1060 AM.
There is also a Podcast at amm.streamon.fm or it can be seen live on Face Book. The show is focused on all things automotive, trends, new developments and trivia.
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RESULTS:
Desert Park Raceway – April 3Northern Nevada Kart Club – 2022 Round 1
+ Kid Kart*: Jameson Judd, Hunter Nelson, Davey Jorgenson·
– *This is a non competitive class for the youngest drivers so they are not listed as usual, but if they finish.
+ Jr 1 LO206:
– Heat Winners: #1 Kayden Williams, #2 Kayden Williams.
– Main: 1. Kayden Williams, 2. Jeremy Heath, 3. Jeremiah Nobles, 4. Skylar Gagnon, 5. Cash Prater, 6. Noah Nobles, 7. Kip Bocchi, 8. Jameson Morrisey, 9. Owen Hanson.
+ KA100/Tag Master:
– Heat Winners: #1 Steve Ryckebosch, #2 Steve Ryckeboach.
– Overall: 1. Steve Ryckebosch, 2. Mike Ryckebosch, 3. William Owen, 4. Adrik Owen, 5. Nat Sombatsiri, 6. Michael McMullen, 7. Gerry Altamira, 8. Stevie-Ray Rosario, 9. Greg Garrison, 10. Albert Diaz.
+ Tag Master: 1. Steve Ryckebosch, 2. Mike Ryckebosch, 3. William Owen, 4. Adrik Owen, 5. Greg Garrison, 6. Albert Diaz.
+ KA100: 1. Nat Sombatsiri, 2. Michael McMullen, 3. Gerry Altamira, 4. Stevie-Rey Rosario.
+ 125/80 Shifter:
– Heat Winners: #1. Zeke Corson, #2. Zeke Corson.
– Main: 1. Mitch Kennedy, 2. Zeke Corson, 3. Adam Auerbach, 4. Gerry Williams, 5. Ben Fisher, 6.Greg Hattrup, 7. Brian White, 8. Jesse Goodrum, 9. Eric Drummond, 10. Mike Faker, 11. Brandon Carlson, 12. Jeff Wamre.
– 125 Shifter: 1. Mitch Kennedy, 2. Zeke Corson, 3. Adam Auerbach, 4. Gerry Williams, 5. Ben Fisher, 6. Greg Hattrup, 7. Brian White, 8. Eric Drummond, 9. Mike Faker, 10. Jeff Wamre.
+ F80 Shifter: 1. Jesse Goodrum, 2. Brandon Carlson.
+ Super Stock:
– Heat Winners: #1 Edward Atkins, #2 Deeahme Malone.
– Main: 1. Edward Atkins, 2. Nathan Heath, 3. Deeahme Malone, 4. Alec Beaudoin, 5. Jacob Ciari, 6. Chris Echard, 7. Jeremy Clark, 8. Vince Malone.
– Super Stock:1. Edward Atkins, Nathan Heath, 3. Deeahme Malone, 4. Vince Malone.
+ Tillotson: 1. Alec Beaudoin, 2. Jacob Clari, 3. Chris Echard, 4. Jeremy Clark.
+ Heavy LO206:
– Heat Winners: #1 Eric Kuzemchak, #2 Eric Kuzemchak.
– Main: 1. Eric Kuzemchak, 2. Josh Prater, 3. Rachael Williams, 4. Derek Anderline, 5. Gage Griego, 6. Nick Thompson, 7. Jake Burchette, 8. Gil Atkinson, 9. Ron Duminie, 10. Jess Prater, 11. Jazz Manning, 12. Bill Burke, 13. Tim McElveny, 14. Terrance McElveny.
+ Jr. 2 LO206:
– Heat Winners: #1 Brooks Anderline, #2 Brooks Anderline.
– Main: 1. Brooks Anderline, 2. Cooper Perez, 3. Isaiah Nobles, 4. Carter Chaffey, 5. Joseph Hitti, 6. Andrew Hitchock, 7. George Hitti, 8. Penny King.
+ Senior LO206:
– Heat Winners: #1 Issac Bourque, #2. Issac Bourque.
– Main: 1. Issac Bourque, 2. Nathan Heath, 3. Giovanni L. Medina, 4. Heavyn Hill, 5. Steve Dow, 6. Austin Hawkins, 7. Kyle Harlan, 8. Asa Gourley, 9. Sassy McCormick.
