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The entire Champion Racing/Intrepid USA contingent will now take over a month to gear up for the Stars of Karting National Finals set for October 10-12 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Nevada where Vorrath, Eady, Wimsett and the others will battle for the national championships.
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mail your news to editorthegrid@yahoo.co.uk FOUR WINS FOR INTREPID AT STARS OF KARTING WESTERN FINALE Strong weekend for Intrepid drivers at temporary circuit for Seattle Grand Prix
It has been a successful year for TaG driver Joey Wimsett and he continued this productive season in Seattle. Qualifying second, he was shuffled back to fourth and third place finishes in the opening two heats as the outside row was a favorable place to be for the race starts. Getting a much better jump in the third heat, Wimsett was able to come out of the opening corner in the lead and then went on to take the victory. Starting third for the main events thanks to consistent heat race results, Wimsett was thankfully on the inside line in the opening corner to begin the first Final and he was able to keep his spot at the drop of the green flag. As the race developed, Wimsett began to pick up the pace and, in two consecutive laps, he went from third to first with identical passes in the right-hand 180° turn four. He would then turn it up to a pace that no one would match, running away to the win. Greeted with a wet track for the second main event, Wimsett hit the asphalt unfazed. After getting through the opening few corners with a little bit of contact, Wimsett escaped with second as they crossed the line to complete the first lap. The next time by, Wimsett would move to P1 on the scoreboard and then stretched out to a comfortable six-second victory. Fellow Champion Racing teammate Blake Teeter joined Wimsett in the TaG category and he continued to improve in his first Stars temporary circuit event. Although he missed the opening final, Teeter went from 16th to 12th in the wet second final. After a tough outing back in June, Canadian Jordy Vorrath looked to return as a consistent podium finisher in the ICC category. In Seattle, Vorrath did just that, although the results did not come without some heated battles. Struggling in qualifying, Vorrath would start tenth in each of the three heat races. With the tight circuit that was laid out in Seattle, Vorrath was only able to finish 10th and sixth in the opening two heats, definitely putting him at a disadvantage. The third heat looked to be his best finish as he was near the top-five before an incident involving many of the top runners put him in the barriers and out with a 13th place finish. The result dropped Vorrath to tenth on the starting grid for both Finals, setting up for a wild day on Sunday. The first final saw Vorrath show his championship skills as he weaved up to fourth with his championship rival Michael Vincec directly in front of him. With a great deep braking maneuver, Vorrath assumed the third spot and would hold on for the podium finish that drastically closed the his gap on the Western Division point leader. The second final saw rain greet the drivers for their first and only wet session of the weekend. No stranger to rain, Vorrath steadily worked his way up to third before aggressively chasing down second place driver. Running the fastest laps of the race, Vorrath came up just short of the runner-up spot, settling for third and another trip to the podium. With the final standings ending in a draw with Vincec, Vorrath would lose the tie-breaking criteria and was awarded the vice-champion honour. Heading into the National Finals in Las Vegas, Vorrath is in an excellent position to fight for the overall title. Texan Cody Jolly continues to impress in his rookie ICC year with the Champion Racing squad. After qualifying fifth, the freshman would hold the position through the opening two heat races before joining his teammate Vorrath in the barriers after being involved in the heat three incident that left him classified in 12th. This result placed Jolly seventh on the grid for the Finals, set on the inside of row four. Bouncing back from the following day, he advanced two positions in the opening final for a fifth place run and then got into some rain racing turmoil in the second final that mired him down to a ninth place finish. The results gave him fifth in the Western standings, the season’s top rookie.
Canadian dealer Checkered Flag Racing had two drivers on-hand in the TaG ICC division. Daryle Redlin and Chris Perreault came from north of the border to compete on Intrepids with the TM electric start shifter engines. Redlin looked to challenge for the podium but came up short, placing sixth and fifth in the two events while Perreault focused on improving each session out to record two eighth place finishes. Photos: On Track Promotions - otp.ca
VORRATH AND WIMSETT SCORE PODIUMS IN SHAWANO FOR CHAMPION RACING Intrepid drivers show well at challenging USA International Raceway during Stars of Karting Eastern finale
Team leader Jordy Vorrath began his weekend with a seventh in ICC qualifying, leaving him with some work to do heading into the three heat races that would set the grid for the two main events on Sunday. Starting on the inside of the fourth row for each green flag, Vorrath pulled a trio of rocket starts that put him right on the rear bumper of the driver ahead of him on the grid, getting aggressive as they powered through the left-hand turn one. Advancing a few positions in each moto is the ultimate goal and Vorrath grabbed a single spot in the opening heat to finish sixth, bettering that result in the second moto by breaking into the top-five. Vorrath matched the fifth place finish in the final heat to secure the inside of row three for both finals. In the opening main, Vorrath charged quickly up to third to begin his chase on the second place driver, but to no avail, bringing Champion a solid third place finish. A sixth in the second main completed the weekend, placing Vorrath second in the Eastern Division point standings heading to the National Finals in Las Vegas, just 35 points out of the lead. Vorrath was joined by five other Champion drivers in the ICC category. Texan Cody Jolly began the fight with an 11th in qualifying, which set up an impressive charge for the ICC rookie. Jolly held his position in the first heat race then advanced to eighth and ninth in the following motos, improving to eighth for the start of the mains. Jolly stepped up his game in the first Final by following Vorrath’s lead into the top-five, where he would steal a fantastic fifth place finish. The second main featured a wild battle for position where Jolly would bag his second top-10 of the weekend in ninth, advancing him to third in the Eastern points as the leading rookie. Ryan Kinnear was also on his game despite a tough qualifying run that put him 15th ahead of a trio of heat race improvements (12-15-13) that advanced him to 14th on the grid. Kinnear grabbed six position in Race #1 to finish eighth and then capped the weekend with an 11th in the second final, taking ninth in the Eastern Division points. Brandon Frank, Evan Walters and Shane Terrel also carry the Intrepid flag in ICC. Frank’s top finish was 13th in the first final, finishing 18th in the second, while Walters was 15th and 16th, respectively, in the two events. Terrel was 17th in the opening race and finished up 19th in the second, suffering from a mechanical issue.
Wimsett was joined by Nate Norenberg, Shane Walters and Blake Teeter in Stars TaG at Shawano and all three ran inside the top-15 at one time or another during the heat races. In the finals, Walters posted the best results with a pair of 16th place finishes, while Norenberg was 20th and 18th in the two finals. Teeter looked good early on but battled a couple of issues to finish 23rd in both races.
Photos: On Track Promotions
CHAMPION RACING / INTREPID USA ON PODIUM WITH EADY AND YOCOM Long weekend ‘under’ the Team Intrepid tent at Stars of Karting Mazda Race of the Americas
Chance Terrel recorded his best finishes on the year in the competitive ICC division (Photos courtesy of otp.ca) The first four months of the 2008 karting season have been punctuated by a long string of victories for the Champion Racing / Intrepid USA team. As the calendar turned over to the month of June, the team was hoping to continue its winning ways at the Snap-on Stars of Karting Mazda Race of the Americas event at the New Castle Motorsports Park, located just outside Indianapolis. Not only did the team have to battle the stout field on hand for the ‘East vs. West’ shootout event, but the Champion Racing / Intrepid USA squad were forced to deal with Mother Nature as a severe thunderstorm came through the area on Friday evening and wreaked havoc on the large circus tent used by the team. With a trashed tent, few tipped over karts and minor damage, the team of 20 karts - including the Leading Edge Motorsports contingent - spent the rest of the weekend working under any temporary folding awning that they could get their hands on. On-track, a total
of 14 drivers represented the Intrepid brand with eight competitors in
ICC, four in the Stars TaG class, and one each in TaG ICC and Cadet.
Those final drivers - Bryan Eady
In Cadet, Yocom stalked his competition throughout the weekend, waiting for the right moment to attack. Unfortunately, starting the first final from the seventh row, Yocom was collected in a first lap incident trying to move forward, dropping him to the tail of the field to finish 15th. Staying out of trouble in the early stages of the second final, Yocom advanced one position a lap until reaching third with four to go. Mixing it up with the top-two, Yocom tried a last lap pass for second, but lost ground heading to the final corner and matched his best finish of third on the year. A podium looked to be in the cards for Intrepid in ICC with eight drivers competing in the gearbox class. Jordy Vorrath led the squad into battle but got off to a slow start. Starting the finals from the sixth grid spot, Vorrath was quick off the line and battled the lead group. In final one, Vorrath finished a strong fourth, although mechanical problems took him out on the opening lap of the second final - his first DNF of the year. In his second weekend with the team, Cody Jolly made only his third Stars ICC start in his career, having previously focused on the ICA category. At the start of the first feature, Jolly was shuffled back to 18th but worked himself up to 13th. In the second final, he left from the seventh grid spot and retained that position despite a heated battle for the 18-lap race. Ryan Kinnear looked to have his second top-10 finish on the weekend locked, following a tenth place finish in Final 1. Embroiled in the fight with teammate Jolly, among others, Kinnear made contact with another driver that sent him off the track before reaching the chequered flag, placing him 19th on the final tally. The Terrel brothers, Chance and Shane, had their best finishes on the year with Chance recording 15th and 13th place finishes while Shane recorded results of 18th and 15th. Drivers Evan Walters, Devon Nichols, and Brandon Frank worked on improving each session out, which they did, with the exception of Nichols who recorded one DNF. Point leader Joey Wimsett continued to run among the top drivers in the TaG division. Dropping the second fastest lap in qualifying, Wimsett had a front row starting spot for both his heat races. Despite the grid position, he would get shuffled back to record finishes of fifth and third to start the feature races from outside of row two. After two tough 15-lap battles, Wimsett ended the weekend placing fifth and fourth in the main events. The rest of the Champion Racing TaG roster had a tough weekend. Nate Norenberg and Shane Walters were outside the top-20 in both finals while Blake Teeter missed out on the mains with a DNF in the LCQ.
CHAMPION RACING/INTREPID USA EARNS FOUR PODIUMS AT STARS OF KARTING OPENER Team Intrepid USA driver Vorrath leads ICC standings after two runner-up finishes in Ocala
Leading the Champion Racing/Intrepid USA squad in the headline ICC class was Jordy Vorrath. The former ICA national champion will start this season as the championship leader in the Eastern Division thanks to a pair of runner-up finishes during what was a trying weekend weather-wise. After a poor qualifying effort, the Canadian did what he does best, race hard. Classified in fifth following the qualifying heats, Vorrath used his rain expertise to drive to second place in both finals - giving him the point lead leaving the weekend on the strength of his consistency. Fellow Intrepid ICC driver Ryan Kinnear also shined in the wet conditions, moving up from 17th to ninth in both Finals. After coming on strong last year, Kinnear has put his bid in for the championship in 2008. Making his Stars debut for the Champion squad, young Evan Walters scored top-20 finishes in the both finals after struggling in the heat races. Nick Johnson, Shane Terrel, Brandon Frank and Devon Nichols all struggled through mechanical troubles and accidents throughout the weekend, which made them unable to score the results they were seeking. EKN Rising Star nominee Joey Wimsett is beginning the ‘08 season where he left off last year. Running in the top-10 throughout the qualifying heats, Wimsett put his rain-driving prowess on display in the two finals. Starting 14th for both races, the first final saw him earn a podium finish, crossing the line in third. The second final was just as good, advancing up to fifth and putting him in early contention for the championship. Blake Teeter and Zane Heathcock used their Florida Winter Tour training to help in their Stars debut. Teeter scored a best finish of 11th in Final 1, while Heathcott was 17th in the same race, working with Leading Edge Motorsports’ Greg Bell. Mukul Sud and Nate Norenberg were not as successful in their first Stars event, but they each gained valuable seat time for round two. Bryan Eady carried the Intrepid flag in the new TaG ICC class with support from Intrepid distributor Leading Edge Motorsports. The Californian adjusted to the new package quickly, running in the top-five all weekend, both in the wet and the dry. Starting both finals from the fifth grid spot, Eady was second in the first final to earn his first-ever Stars podium. He followed this up with a sixth in the second final. The team will now focus its attention to the Western Division opener at the Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, UT over the April 25-27 weekend before the pivotal Race of the Americas, which will pit the East vs. West at the New Castle Motorsports Park in New Castle, IN on May 30-June 1.
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With
the divisional schedules now wrapped up, the Intrepid chassis brand is
now in position to fight for three U.S. National Karting championships
thanks in part to the performances put in by the chassis’ drivers this
past weekend at the Snap-on Stars of Karting Seattle Grand Prix.
Champion Racing/Intrepid USA was out in full-force at the 6/10-mile
temporary circuit situated in an industrial park in Sumner, Washington,
turning in impressive results. With four wins by Intrepid on the
weekend, they now also have a chance at the eKartingNews.com
Constructors’ Championship Trophy heading into the final event of the
year. 
The
Intrepid USA works teams - Leading Edge Motorsports and Checkered Flag
Racing - were on hand also in Seattle. LEM drivers Bryan Eady
(pictured right) and Timmy Bachman each earned a victory with Eady
claiming the Western Division TaG ICC title in the process. Leading the
championship heading into 
Bachman
(pictured left) could now be considered as the JICA ‘rain master’
following his performance in the second feature race. After lurking
right around the top-10 all weekend, the rain conditions fell into his
favor on the tight circuit after finishing 11th in the first feature.
Starting from the 12th spot in the second final, Bachman was up to
fourth by the third lap and then went three-wide into turn five to come
out in second, set to chase down the leader. Lap after lap, the gap
shrunk with the final lap coming down to one final move that stuck as he
got the inside line through turn four to steal his first ever Stars of
Karting victory. LEM teammates Brett Felkins and Mason Marotta also had
strong weekends in the top-10. Felkins earned his first Stars podium
with a third in the opening feature while a spin in the second race put
him back to 16th. Marotta fought hard to a eighth and fifth on the final
day. LEM’s Diede Racing drivers Troy and Cody Diede continued their TaG
campaign on the West Coast. Troy was 14th and ninth in the Finals, while
Cody was classified 15th and 19th. New LEM Cadet driver Broc Yocom had a
difficult weekend adjusting to the tight confines of the temporary
circuit, running to finishes of 11th and ninth. 
The
final Stars of Karting Eastern Division round proved to be a challenging
weekend for the drivers of Champion Racing / Intrepid USA. Highlighted
by podium finishes by ICC driver Jordy Vorrath (pictured left)
and TaG standout Joey Wimsett, the Champion squad recorded several
top-10s amidst the carnage of a myriad of on-track incidents and bad
luck to leave USA International Raceway in Shawano, WI still in the hunt
for national championships. 
In
the TaG category, Champion put their #1 ranked driver Joey Wimsett(right)
on-track in his Parilla-powered Intrepid and the talented pilot
responded with a second place run in qualifying to give him the off-pole
starting spot for the heat races. Wimsett set his focus on closing the
gap between himself and the class leader on the weekend, scoring three
straight second place results in which he closed the margin of victory
with each subsequent race. Again starting from P2, Wimsett raced to a
pair of runner-up finishes that have kept him right in the hunt for the
national championship. 
In
Cadet, Broc Yocom(left) was Champion’s representative and he was
on form once again in qualifying, turning the third fastest time of the
session. Yocom got off to a solid start with a fifth in the opening
heat race, but got caught up in a tussle in the second moto that left
him in 16th. Focused on coming back in the third heat, Broc finished up
in 14th, putting him on the outside of row seven for the mains. Yocom
would finish 16th in the opening final and was hit with bad luck again
in the second race when he got caught up in a first lap melee that took
him out of the race. Yocom will look to shake this one off, re-aiming
his efforts on the Western Division championship, where he sits fourth
in overall points. 
(pictured
right) and Broc Yocom - scored the team’s lone podium finishes on
the weekend with each scoring a third place finish. The weekend did not
begin well for Eady, the TaG ICC pilot supported by Leading Edge
Motorsports. After a dismal eighth in qualifying, a stuck engine in heat
one forced the driver to run a break-in session in heat two, finishing
last in both races. With the engine ready to race in heat three, Eady
advanced to fifth and was eventually classified ninth starting position
for the two features. Jumping three spots at the drop of the green to
Final 1, Eady then waged a 15-lap battle to break into the top-five,
edging his competitor at the line for a fifth place result. Getting an
even better start in Final 2, the Californian was at the tail of the
lead pack early and advanced to the third position, where he would
finish. Coming off a pair of wins at the West Coast opener in Utah,
Eady was looking for more at New Castle, but his top-five finishes will
keep him right in the middle of the championship fight. 
There
is no doubt that Champion Racing/Intrepid USA has gotten the 2008
Snap-on Stars of Karting national championship program off right thanks
to a solid overall weekend performance at the Ocala Gran Prix karting
facility in central Florida. Battling tough competition and changing
weather conditions, the Norman, Oklahoma based squad scored four podium
finishes on the weekend with four drivers now set for a year-long
championship battle.