The Grid

Podiums and top-10s highlight solid performances and incredible recoveries in Stars competition

The undulating karting road course at USA International Raceway in Shawano, Wisconsin proved to be a challenging venue for the drivers running for the Trois-Rivieres-based PSL Karting team as they headed back to the United States this past weekend to compete in the Snap-on Stars of Karting Presented by IndyCar Series national championship. The team logged a mixture of results that were highlighted by a number of very impressive performances. A podium in the tough ICC category was delivered by Jacob Neal, while a tremendous recovery from a disappointing ICC qualifying run was put in by Josh Schreiber, who scored a pair of top-10s that were highlighted by a stellar fourth place finish in Race #1.

The ICC category is incredibly competitive in the Stars of Karting series and PSL Karting fielded entries for a quartet of drivers in Shawano. The best results of the weekend were delivered by Neal, the rookie who has been running with PSL in the Stars of Karting Eastern Division and PCH Motorsports in the West. Neal has been getting quicker throughout the year and put his CRG second on the charts in Gatorz Pole Qualifying, turning a 57.287-second lap to time in right behind two-time reigning ICC champion Gary Carlton. Neal proceeded to finish second and third in the first two heat races, following up with a tenth in the final moto to sit fourth on the grid for the two main events, his best starting position of the year. A flat tire in the opening Final put Neal behind the wall after just eight laps, but in the second main, the freshman was very impressive in running to third, his first podium in ICC.

Neal was joined in the top-10 on Sunday by Schreiber, who staged a weekend-long comeback after qualifying a lowly 16th in the 22-kart field. The Pennsylvania veteran powered up to seventh in the opening heat race and following this strong run with consistent improvements to 14th and 12th in the subsequent sprints, advancing him up to tenth on the main event grid. In the opening Final, Schreiber attacked at the right time and avoided several incidents to post a stunning fourth place result, turning some of the fastest times of the race. An eighth in the second main capped what was surely one of the driver’s most impressive weekends in some time.

Canadian Tom Cadieux was 13th in qualifying and posted a heat race record of 9-13-15 to sit on the outside of row six (12th) for the mains, remaining consistent in the 18-lap races to finish with a pair of 12th place results. Early-season racewinner Fritz Leesmann fought bad luck all weekend after qualifying eighth, suffering a pair of DNFs in the main events after starting seventh. A broken shifter lever in the opening race put him on the sidelines early and a start-line melee in the second event ended his run before it could event get started.

Sticking with the shifter classes, PSL Karting made its debut in the TaG ICC class with Florida’s Corey Rossman, who began the year in ICC. Rossman quickly adapted to the electric-start restricted TM package, qualifying in fourth before three top-fives in the heat races to secure a row three starting position for the mains. In the first final, Rossman was not able to take the green, but he ran the full distance of the second final and came home in sixth.

Making the jump from TaG ICC to the Stars TaG class, Canadian Max Riddle re-joined the PSL Karting camp in Shawano under the guidance of True North Motorsports’ Kevin Loster. Riddle was 16th in the qualifying session, improving up to 14th in the first of three heat races. Becoming more comfortable in the CRG as the day went on, Riddle posted a 12th in the second heat race to cap Saturday’s schedule and then came back Sunday morning with another 14th to put him 12th on the starting grid for the mains. The Finals saw the young pilot get caught up in a pair of incidents, dropping him to results of 18th and 22nd.

Two drivers flew the PSL colors in the JICA division as Tommy Beshro and Jordan Jadallah were back aboard their CRGs in Wisconsin. Beshro put in a solid qualifying run in 17th while Jadallah struggled to 29th. In the heats, Beshro was on the move, advancing to 11th and tenth in the first two motos before carding an 18th place finish in the third, putting him 13th for the mains. Beshro was collected in an early race incident in the first final, officially classified in 27th, while an amazing run up to seventh in the second main put a positive cap on the weekend. Jadallah’s weekend never quite got rolling as he was mired in early race mix-ups in both mains and will now look to bounce back at the final Stars of Karting Western Division event.

Canadian team has up-and-down weekend at the prestigious East vs. West event in Indy

The Montreal-based PSL Karting team escaped a long and difficult event in the United States this past weekend at the ‘Mazda Race of the Americas’, the annual shootout hosted by the Snap-on Stars of Karting Presented by IndyCar Series. New Castle Motorsports Park in New Castle, Indiana was the site for the ‘East vs. West’ match-up over the May 30-June 1 weekend, where the Eastern and Western divisions of the series clashed on their way to the finals in October. Following a full day of practice on Friday, a handful of the PSL staff that were still under the team tent preparing for the following day’s action survived through a severe thunderstorm that rolled across the area in the late evening, one that saw many other team tents unable withstand the heavy winds and rain. Fortunately for the Canadian team, no one was hurt and they suffered only minor damage to their tent. On-track, the team fought changing conditions and fierce competition as well, coming out with mixture results.

Six drivers flew the PSL colours in the headline ICC division, led by veteran Josh Schreiber(pictured above) and Florida Winter Tour champion Fritz Leesmann. Schreiber was on his game all weekend, running with the lead group in every session. Following a fifth in qualifying, the Pennsylvania native kept that pace through the three heat races to start fifth in the two finals. He would hold that spot throughout the first 18-lap final with the leaders just in front of him, still within striking distance. Looking to improve in the second final, Schreiber’s race was cut short after he made a bold yet unsuccessful pass attempt into turn four on the second lap that left him with a 28th place finish.

Leesmann’s(pictured right) weekend journey did not start out so well. Trying a new setup for the weekend, Leesmann was 19th following the qualifying session, not what was expected. Working up through the heat races from the middle of the field, he was classified 15th following the qualifying motos, leaving him lots of work to do in the mains. Continuing to improve on his set-up, Leesmann advanced four spots in Final 1 for an 11th place finish, however, he would save the best for last, capping the weekend on a high note. During the final 18 laps of the weekend, Leesmann put down a strong set of early laps to break into the top-10 early. At the halfway mark, the Kohilo Racing-supported pilot was fourth, the position he would hold to the chequered flag. Considering his start, leaving New Castle with a solid top-five was a positive result.

As a last-minute addition to the PSL line-up, ICC rookie Jacob Neal returned to the PSL tent for the first time since running the Florida Winter Tour. The PCH Motorsports-supported pilot adjusted well to his first visit to the NCMP facility aboard a shifter kart, inching close to the top-10 early on. One bad heat race unfortunately put Neal back to 18th on the starting grid for the feature events. Showing great composure, Neal worked himself to an eighth place run in the first final. The second would not fair as well, as contact put Neal to the tail of the field. As he began working himself back through the pack when he connected with another driver, this time ending his race for good on the side of turn two.

New to the PSL driver roster, Jess Peterson (pictured left) performed well, earning a top-10 in the final race of the weekend. After placing in the top-20 in qualifying, Peterson advanced in each heat race, including a ninth in heat three. His results put him 12th on the grid for the finals, however, his first race would came to an end early with a 25th place classification. The Californian would bounce back to battle for 18 laps against roughly six others drivers for a position in the second half of top-10. When the checkered fell, Peterson was eighth at the line, completing a strong debut for the team.

Rounding out the PSL ICC contingent were Canadian Tom Cadieux and Florida’s Corey Rossman. Cadieux crept up to the top-10 but was never able to break through in the finals, recording finishes of 14th and 21st. Rossman struggled through most of the weekend, placing 26th in the first feature, but recorded his best finish in the final race of the weekend with a 17th.

Tommy Beshro and Jordan Jadallah ran in the JICA division for PSL Karting squad. Both looked to have a solid weekend on the horizon after qualifying 14th and 17th, respectively. Beshro turned that grid spot into a 12th and sixth in his pair of heat races to start the feature races from the seventh spot. Jadallah went downhill from there, placing 17th and 23rd in the qualifying motos as was forced to run the Last Chance Qualifier, where the Kohilo Racing-supported pilot placed fourth to transfer on to the main events. In Final 1, Beshro was shuffled back at the start but continued to press his way forward, placing 16th in the final tally, while Jadallah retired four laps into the race with mechanical issues. Beshro fought even harder in Final 2, hoping to finish the weekend with a top-10. It was not meant to be, however, as he would come two laps short of the finish line. Jadallah made the best of starting at the tail of the field and advanced his way from 36th to 18th at the chequered flag.

Federico Moreno made his Stars of Karting debut with PSL Karting in the TaG division, the team’s lone entry in the competitive category. Unfortunately, Moreno was 42nd on the time sheet qualifying on the dirty track. Muscling to 21st and 16th place runs in his heat races, he was classified 30th for the feature events. He improved to a 24th in the first final, but was hampered with a stuck throttle at the beginning of the second final gave everyone a scare as he went hard into the final turn barriers, clipping a corner worker in the process. Fortunately, everyone was OK, although Moreno’s weekend was done.

KOHILO RACING SCORES PODIUM IN FIRST STARS OF KARTING EVENT WITH PSL KARTING

The PSL Karting-supported Kohilo Racing team made its debut this past weekend at the Snap-on Stars of Karting Presented by IndyCar Series Western Division opener at the Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah. Drivers Fritz Leesmann , Josh Schreiber and Jordan Jadallah(pictured) competed under the Kohilo banner with the support of PSL Karting’s engine and chassis specialists, who were on hand to provide assistance. The team was quick all weekend, but ended the event with mixed results, the high note being Leesmann’s drive to the ICC Final 1 podium aboard his PSL CRG.

The Florida Winter Tour Pro Shifter champion began the weekend with a fourth place performance in qualifying. Running a solid third in the first heat, the PSL pilot mistakenly came onto pit lane one lap early, dropping him to the tail of the finishing order. His third place and runner-up finishes in the other two qualifying heats matched with what could have been a third would have landed Leesmann on the pole for the main events, but rather, the error put him sixth on the grid for the finals. The Californian shined in Final 1, working himself up to the third position and a well-deserved spot on the podium. The beginning of the second race, however, saw a pile-up in opening corner, collecting Leesmann in the process. After continuing on, he managed to advance back up to seventh, keeping himself in the West Coast championship hunt.

Fellow PSL Karting ICC driver Josh Schreiber also had an up-and-down event. The weekend started out slow as he continued to struggle with engine and chassis issues in both qualifying and the heat races. Starting 12th for the main events, the Pennsylvania native had everything come together in the first final, advancing to sixth by the checkered flag. Just as Leesmann did, Schreiber was collected in the opening lap melee to start the second final, but was unable to recover, finishing 13th.

Kohilo Racing JICA pilot Jordan Jadallah made his Stars debut at the Miller Motorsports Park event. Quick out of the gates, Jadallah was fourth in the qualifying session to start outside row two for all three heat races, which did not go as planned. A couple of bad starts and one DNF put Jadallah into 16th on the grid for the two finals. In the first main event, running near the top-10, contact put the Californian to the tail of the field and 22nd at the checkered flag. The second main event ended early as a massive pile-up in the opening corner collected Jadallah, putting an end to his weekend early with a 28th classification. Despite not recording the results he was looking for, it is very apparent that Jadallah has the speed to run with the lead group in the Stars series, and great results are sure to come.

The full PSL Karting squad, including the Kohilo Racing contingent, will be back in action at the ‘East vs. West’ Race of the Americas event, which takes place at New Castle Motorsports Park on May 30-June 1.

Leesmann leads Canadian team to victory in ICC category in rainy conditions

The PSL Karting team opened the 2008 Snap-on Stars of Karting Presented by IndyCar this past weekend at the Ocala Gran Prix facility in central Florida. Battling both the weather and tough competition, success for PSL continued in the shifter category as the CRG importer brought home victory in the headline ICC category by way of Californian Fritz Leesmann.

Leesmann began the event as the top driver in Friday’s final two practice sessions, but come qualifying time, he would have to settle for the fourth fastest lap as the rest of the field got a little bit quicker. Starting from outside row two for each of the three heat races, Leesmann got great jumps in both the wet and the dry as the weather in a state of constant uncertainty. Strong performances resulted in two thirds and a second place, giving Leesmann the outside pole position for the two Finals. While running second in the first final, the leader retired near the halfway mark with a mechanical issue, handing Leesmann the point and the eventual win. It was the first Stars of Karting ICC win for both PSL and their new driver. Looking to repeat the feat in the second race, Leesmann was stricken with trouble early as his brake bias adjustment had locked to full front brakes. Looking to stay close to the leaders, he pushed it too far and locked up the brakes heading into the turn one, careening off the track and into the barriers. Totally focused, Fritz got the kart turned around and re-fired, before managing to drive back up to 19th.

Canadian Tom Cadieux had a solid weekend in ICC as well. Cadieux was sixth quickest in qualifying, but one bad heat race would put him back to 13th for the pair of main events. A 12th place run in the first final would be trumped his best performance in the second final, driving up to seventh place in the rainy conditions. Considering the depth of the field and the challenging weather, these were solid drives.

New PSL pilot Josh Schreiber adjusted quickly to his CRG/Maxter package come race time. After a 18th in qualifying, Schreiber got down to business in the heat races, advancing to seventh and 13th in the first two sprints before an accident took him out of the third qualifying race. These results put him 16th on the grid for the finals, where he shined in the wet. Running the fastest laps of the race, Schreiber climbed up to the fifth spot when the checkered fell, sitting right on the bumper of the fourth place kart. He would not be as fortunate in the second final as trouble hit the Pennsylvania native while running near the top-ten.

Completing the four-driver PSL ICC line-up, Corey Rossmann gained valuable experience racing against the best shifter kart driver in North America in his first Stars of Karting start. After troubles in qualifying, Rossmann advanced positions in each of the three heats and the finals as well. The second final would see his highest finish of the weekend with a run to the 18th position.

Making his Stars debut by graduating to the Senior category in the TaG class, Chris Ernst gained some valuable competition laps. Learning the new class and adjusting to the higher speeds, Ernst completed every lap in the three heat races. Avoiding the rain all weekend, the TaG class would run their Finals on the wet track, where Ernst performed to the best of his abilities, finishing 24th and 26th.

In JICA, Tommy Beshro and Jesus Rios Jr. carried the PSL colors. Getting a slow start on the weekend, the duo shined in the rain-soaked finals. Starting 28th in both 21-lap mains, Beshro put in a stellar performance to climb his way to a sixth place run in the opening final. He would follow that with a drive to 18th in Race #2. Rios came from 21st to finish 14th and 13th, respectively, in the two finals.

The Eastern Division squad will now look to the East versus West ‘Race of the Americas’ event, their second round, which takes place at New Castle Motorsports Park on May 30-June 1. PSL owner Dominic Labrecque will be traveling before that date though, heading to Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah on April 25-27 to support Kohilo Racing with Fritz Leesmann, Jordan Jadallah and Josh Schreiber in the Stars Western Division opener.

Home	^News	^Features	^Calendar	^{News Archive}	11/56 MotorSport
Home	^Reports	^Gallery	^Links	^Classified	11/56 MotorSport