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Rocky Mountain Prokart Challenge Opener

press release

A new era kicked off this past weekend (May 4-6) at the Grand Junction Motor Speedway, as the revamped Rocky Mountain ProKart Challenge got underway for the 2012 season. The 9/10-mile course in western Colorado hosted Rounds 1 & 2 of the six race series with racers from Utah, Colorado and Wyoming taking part in the Superkarts! USA regional program opener. Under the guidance of SKUSA National Operations Director Stan Bryniarski for the season, racers got a feel for what the SKUSA brand of kart racing is all about. Challenging weather conditions on Saturday added an interesting twist, when strong winds created some of the largest dust storms ever seen at this facility. Sunday brought calmer weather, and both days saw some great competition. All in all, a number of drivers set themselves up for a run at the series championship as well as guaranteed starting positions for SuperSunday at the SKUSA SuperNationals XVI, including S1 driver Mike Beeny, who scored two wins on the weekend.

Above: Mike Beeny scored the victory in both S1 Pro Stock Moto main events
pic - Clinton (Buddy) Brown Photography

Beeny swept the opening round of the event to kick start his championship chase on top. Beeny led the way in qualifying over 2011 S2 Pro Tour champion Kyle Hathcox. Sweeping the two 12-lap heat races -- and pressured by 2011 SKUSA SuperNationals S4 winner Bonnier Moulton -- the two then battled in the 20-lap main event with Beeny able to hold on for the victory. Keenan Schmitke won the battle for the third step on the podium over Hathcox and Tyler Bennett. On Sunday, Bennett improved his pace to lead the way for much of the day. Qualifying P1, Bennett drove to the win in heat one over Beeny and Hathcox. Opening lap incidents in heat two took out Beeny, Schmitke and Hathcox, leaving Bennett to walk away with the win over Moulton. Bennett continued to show the way in the beginning of the main event, challenged by Moulton. On lap five, Moulton took the lead but by then, Beeny had worked through the S2 field to sit third, trailing the front two. Once around Bennett, he set his sights on Moulton, completing the pass for the lead on lap 11. He would lead the rest of the way to the checkered flag for a 1.8-second victory over Moulton, with Bennett rounding out the podium.

Running at the same time on track was the S2 Semi-Pro Stock Moto category, with Christian Bird and Sabré Cook splitting the main event victories. Bird qualified on pole in class to begin round one, sitting second overall when combined with the S1 group. Bird led the S2 group to the checkered flag in heat one, but an incident involving Sabré Cook took both out of the race in the opening lap of heat two. Ben Schermerhorn led the way to the checkered flag over Jack Bradley. Bird and Cook struck back in the 20-lap main event, driving forward to the front of the class. The two ran nose to tail until contact was made at about the halfway point, in the same turn nine corner as heat two. Bird was able to escape, with Cook falling to the tail of the field. Bird would go on to score the victory with Bradley second and Cook ending up third. Sunday was Cook’s day, nearly completing the sweep. Like Bird, Cook qualified second overall in the S1/S2 session to lead the class. Scoring the overall win in heat one, Cook was on her way to the win in heat two before a mechanical issue put her on the sidelines. This gave the win to Bird. Cook came back with vengeance in the main event, knifing her way forward, reaching Bird by lap four and passing for the lead on lap seven. From there, Cook took the class win by five seconds over Bird, with Bradley placing third.

Above: Christian Bird opened up the Rocky Mountain PKC season with a win in S2 Semi-Pro Stock Moto
pic - Clinton (Buddy) Brown Photography

The S3 Novice Stock Moto division welcomed five drivers on the weekend, with Utah’s Alex Yates scoring the sweep for rounds one and two. A Senior level rookie put in a great debut weekend in a Stock Moto entry, leading the combined S3, S4, S5 race group for much of the weekend. On Saturday, Yates drove to a 15-second victory over Chris Neria and Lauren Stark. The results were identical on Sunday, with Neria putting on the pressure early but falling back by three seconds at the checkered flag. Jet Davis produced similar results in the S4 Master Stock Moto category as he swept the weekend. Davis scored the main event victories by 10 seconds and six seconds to kick off his bid for the series championship with a perfect score. David Conyers and Scott Allen gave chase, filling out the podium both days. The big winner in S5 Junior Stock Moto was rookie Mianna Wick. Ryan Rudolph was the better driver during round one, but engine issues put him on the sidelines for the main event, giving Wick the victory. On Sunday, Rudolph once again was the driver to beat, but more engine issues after heat two allowed Wick to assume the point and her second victory of the weekend.

Above: Alex Yates made his S3 Novice Stock Moto debut with a weekend sweep
pic - Clinton (Buddy) Brown Photography

TaG Cadet was a great show throughout the weekend, with Derek Deslauriers and Riley Cook scoring the victories on the weekend. Cody Dempster was on top after qualifying for Round 1, but local driver Cook was at the front at the end of each heat race in a close finish. The main event would be Deslauriers, as he took over the lead early and stretched out to a rare five-second advantage to the checkered flag. Cook finished second with Tristin MacLeod in third. Deslauriers returned the next day as the driver to beat, posting fast lap in qualifying for Round 2. Cook came through once racing began, as he scored the win in each heat race. A four-kart battle for the win came down to the wire in the main event between Cook, Dempster, Deslauriers and MacLeod. At the line, Cook would hold off Dempster by 92-thousandths of a second, with MacLeod earning the final podium position over Deslauriers. The Mini Max division joined the event as a local option category, with Duncan Biles and Tevin Robbins scoring the main event wins.

Above: Jet Davis was the top driver in S4 Master Stock Moto throughout the weekend
pic - Clinton (Buddy) Brown Photography

The TaG Junior division welcomed Pro Tour championship contender Austin Versteeg on the weekend, as he split the wins with Jason Dempster. Running with the TaG Senior and TaG Master group, the Junior field was mixing it up at the front of the field. Versteeg was among the quickest through qualifying and heat one, before retiring early in heat two. Coming back to the front in the main event, a heated battle with the TaG Senior leader ended in contact on the final lap. The contact allowed Dempster to slide through for the win with Versteeg placing second and Greggory Payseno third. Versteeg went nearly perfect on day two, at the front in qualifying, winning both heat races and scoring the feature win. Dempster kept the pressure on all day, leading much of the main event before Versteeg worked by in the final laps. Dempster did record the fast lap of the main event, stealing the 10 bonus points from Versteeg. Payseno ran to third. Brandon Southwick and Bob Rodrick each ran uncontested in TaG Senior and TaG Master respectively.

Above: Cody Dempster (88d) and Austin Versteeg (77u) split the feature wins in TaG Junior
pic - Clinton (Buddy) Brown Photography

The Rocky Mountain industry members stepped up on the weekend to provide some outstanding prizes. CRG-USA, the RM PKC series sponsor, added some names to the year-end banquet prize package -- as all CRG drivers to score a main event win on the season will be included in a drawing for a new CRG chassis. Sabré Cook, Jet Davis, Mianna Wick, Austin Versteeg and Riley Cook all added their name to the raffle from the weekend. Miller Motorsports Park awarded free pit spaces for upcoming Rounds 3 & 4 of the Rocky Mountain PKC to TaG Cadet winners Deslauriers and Cook, along with both S5 drivers Mianna Wick and Ryan Rudolph. Billet Performance Karting handed out $50 in ‘Billet Bucks’ to Tevin Robbins as the overall winner in the Mini Max category and another $50 to Austin Versteeg for his overall win in TaG Junior. SKUSA also gave away a free entry to the next event in Utah and a set of tires in random drawings during the podium ceremonies with the prizes going to Scott Allen and Brandon Southwick, respectively.

The Rocky Mountain ProKart Challenge will reconvene for Rounds 3 & 4 on June 1-3 at the Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah. This second event weekend is expected be much larger in attendance, as many racers will use the weekend to test for the SKUSA Pro Tour SummerNationals. The RMPKC event will utilize the same configuration as the July 20-22 event. Be sure to visit http://www.superkartsusa.com/regional/rocky-mountain-pkc.html for more information on the Rocky Mountain ProKart Challenge.

Above: Riley Cook scored the main event win in TaG Cadet on Sunday
pic - Clinton (Buddy) Brown Photography

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	Rocky Mountain Prokart Challenge Opener Tweet press release A new era kicked off this past weekend (May 4-6) at the Grand Junction Motor Speedway, as the revamped Rocky Mountain ProKart Challenge got underway for the 2012 season. The 9/10-mile course in western Colorado hosted Rounds 1 & 2 of the six race series with racers from Utah, Colorado and Wyoming taking part in the Superkarts! USA regional program opener. Under the guidance of SKUSA National Operations Director Stan Bryniarski for the season, racers got a feel for what the SKUSA brand of kart racing is all about. Challenging weather conditions on Saturday added an interesting twist, when strong winds created some of the largest dust storms ever seen at this facility. Sunday brought calmer weather, and both days saw some great competition. All in all, a number of drivers set themselves up for a run at the series championship as well as guaranteed starting positions for SuperSunday at the SKUSA SuperNationals XVI, including S1 driver Mike Beeny, who scored two wins on the weekend. Above: Mike Beeny scored the victory in both S1 Pro Stock Moto main events pic - Clinton (Buddy) Brown Photography Beeny swept the opening round of the event to kick start his championship chase on top. Beeny led the way in qualifying over 2011 S2 Pro Tour champion Kyle Hathcox. Sweeping the two 12-lap heat races -- and pressured by 2011 SKUSA SuperNationals S4 winner Bonnier Moulton -- the two then battled in the 20-lap main event with Beeny able to hold on for the victory. Keenan Schmitke won the battle for the third step on the podium over Hathcox and Tyler Bennett. On Sunday, Bennett improved his pace to lead the way for much of the day. Qualifying P1, Bennett drove to the win in heat one over Beeny and Hathcox. Opening lap incidents in heat two took out Beeny, Schmitke and Hathcox, leaving Bennett to walk away with the win over Moulton. Bennett continued to show the way in the beginning of the main event, challenged by Moulton. On lap five, Moulton took the lead but by then, Beeny had worked through the S2 field to sit third, trailing the front two. Once around Bennett, he set his sights on Moulton, completing the pass for the lead on lap 11. He would lead the rest of the way to the checkered flag for a 1.8-second victory over Moulton, with Bennett rounding out the podium. Running at the same time on track was the S2 Semi-Pro Stock Moto category, with Christian Bird and Sabré Cook splitting the main event victories. Bird qualified on pole in class to begin round one, sitting second overall when combined with the S1 group. Bird led the S2 group to the checkered flag in heat one, but an incident involving Sabré Cook took both out of the race in the opening lap of heat two. Ben Schermerhorn led the way to the checkered flag over Jack Bradley. Bird and Cook struck back in the 20-lap main event, driving forward to the front of the class. The two ran nose to tail until contact was made at about the halfway point, in the same turn nine corner as heat two. Bird was able to escape, with Cook falling to the tail of the field. Bird would go on to score the victory with Bradley second and Cook ending up third. Sunday was Cook’s day, nearly completing the sweep. Like Bird, Cook qualified second overall in the S1/S2 session to lead the class. Scoring the overall win in heat one, Cook was on her way to the win in heat two before a mechanical issue put her on the sidelines. This gave the win to Bird. Cook came back with vengeance in the main event, knifing her way forward, reaching Bird by lap four and passing for the lead on lap seven. From there, Cook took the class win by five seconds over Bird, with Bradley placing third. Above: Christian Bird opened up the Rocky Mountain PKC season with a win in S2 Semi-Pro Stock Moto pic - Clinton (Buddy) Brown Photography The S3 Novice Stock Moto division welcomed five drivers on the weekend, with Utah’s Alex Yates scoring the sweep for rounds one and two. A Senior level rookie put in a great debut weekend in a Stock Moto entry, leading the combined S3, S4, S5 race group for much of the weekend. On Saturday, Yates drove to a 15-second victory over Chris Neria and Lauren Stark. The results were identical on Sunday, with Neria putting on the pressure early but falling back by three seconds at the checkered flag. Jet Davis produced similar results in the S4 Master Stock Moto category as he swept the weekend. Davis scored the main event victories by 10 seconds and six seconds to kick off his bid for the series championship with a perfect score. David Conyers and Scott Allen gave chase, filling out the podium both days. The big winner in S5 Junior Stock Moto was rookie Mianna Wick. Ryan Rudolph was the better driver during round one, but engine issues put him on the sidelines for the main event, giving Wick the victory. On Sunday, Rudolph once again was the driver to beat, but more engine issues after heat two allowed Wick to assume the point and her second victory of the weekend. Above: Alex Yates made his S3 Novice Stock Moto debut with a weekend sweep pic - Clinton (Buddy) Brown Photography TaG Cadet was a great show throughout the weekend, with Derek Deslauriers and Riley Cook scoring the victories on the weekend. Cody Dempster was on top after qualifying for Round 1, but local driver Cook was at the front at the end of each heat race in a close finish. The main event would be Deslauriers, as he took over the lead early and stretched out to a rare five-second advantage to the checkered flag. Cook finished second with Tristin MacLeod in third. Deslauriers returned the next day as the driver to beat, posting fast lap in qualifying for Round 2. Cook came through once racing began, as he scored the win in each heat race. A four-kart battle for the win came down to the wire in the main event between Cook, Dempster, Deslauriers and MacLeod. At the line, Cook would hold off Dempster by 92-thousandths of a second, with MacLeod earning the final podium position over Deslauriers. The Mini Max division joined the event as a local option category, with Duncan Biles and Tevin Robbins scoring the main event wins. Above: Jet Davis was the top driver in S4 Master Stock Moto throughout the weekend pic - Clinton (Buddy) Brown Photography The TaG Junior division welcomed Pro Tour championship contender Austin Versteeg on the weekend, as he split the wins with Jason Dempster. Running with the TaG Senior and TaG Master group, the Junior field was mixing it up at the front of the field. Versteeg was among the quickest through qualifying and heat one, before retiring early in heat two. Coming back to the front in the main event, a heated battle with the TaG Senior leader ended in contact on the final lap. The contact allowed Dempster to slide through for the win with Versteeg placing second and Greggory Payseno third. Versteeg went nearly perfect on day two, at the front in qualifying, winning both heat races and scoring the feature win. Dempster kept the pressure on all day, leading much of the main event before Versteeg worked by in the final laps. Dempster did record the fast lap of the main event, stealing the 10 bonus points from Versteeg. Payseno ran to third. Brandon Southwick and Bob Rodrick each ran uncontested in TaG Senior and TaG Master respectively. Above: Cody Dempster (88d) and Austin Versteeg (77u) split the feature wins in TaG Junior pic - Clinton (Buddy) Brown Photography The Rocky Mountain industry members stepped up on the weekend to provide some outstanding prizes. CRG-USA, the RM PKC series sponsor, added some names to the year-end banquet prize package -- as all CRG drivers to score a main event win on the season will be included in a drawing for a new CRG chassis. Sabré Cook, Jet Davis, Mianna Wick, Austin Versteeg and Riley Cook all added their name to the raffle from the weekend. Miller Motorsports Park awarded free pit spaces for upcoming Rounds 3 & 4 of the Rocky Mountain PKC to TaG Cadet winners Deslauriers and Cook, along with both S5 drivers Mianna Wick and Ryan Rudolph. Billet Performance Karting handed out $50 in ‘Billet Bucks’ to Tevin Robbins as the overall winner in the Mini Max category and another $50 to Austin Versteeg for his overall win in TaG Junior. SKUSA also gave away a free entry to the next event in Utah and a set of tires in random drawings during the podium ceremonies with the prizes going to Scott Allen and Brandon Southwick, respectively. The Rocky Mountain ProKart Challenge will reconvene for Rounds 3 & 4 on June 1-3 at the Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah. This second event weekend is expected be much larger in attendance, as many racers will use the weekend to test for the SKUSA Pro Tour SummerNationals. The RMPKC event will utilize the same configuration as the July 20-22 event. Be sure to visit http://www.superkartsusa.com/regional/rocky-mountain-pkc.html for more information on the Rocky Mountain ProKart Challenge. Above: Riley Cook scored the main event win in TaG Cadet on Sunday pic - Clinton (Buddy) Brown Photography Home
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