First Trip To Vegas For Florida-based Arrow Operation
Tweetpress release
In its’ first year of operation, Southern Karting Specialists (SKS) made the first visit to the Superkarts! USA SuperNationals. The 15th annual event was set outside the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas for November 16-20. Along with the operation making its inaugural trip to the prestigious event, so were five of the six drivers carrying the SKS / Team Arrow banner.
Above: TaG Junior driver Dominic Tesoro
Four drivers took part in the 80 driver TaG Cadet field for SKS. Texan Nicholas Brueckner was the lone driver making a return to the SuperNationals. A bit off in qualifying put Brueckner further back on the grid for the heat races. In the first two heat races, Brueckner was involved in first lap incidents that hurt his results. Classified near the back of the Last Chance Qualifier race, Nicholas never gave up but came up short on transferring to the main event. Ecuador driver Juan Manuel Correa was the quickest TaG Cadet driver under the tent. After qualifying 11th overall, Correa began the event with a heat win but a DNF in the third heat dropped him down the grid to 19th for the feature race. Once underway, Correa was involved in an opening lap incident that took him out of the race. Texan Trenton Estep made his SuperNats debut, improving each session out. Qualifying 34th, Estep ended up 26th on the feature grid and held it through the shortened main event. Fellow Texan Ryan Patrick Lewis was unable to break the bad luck throughout the week but battled to the end in his first trip to Vegas.
Both SKS / Team Arrow TaG Junior drivers - Floridians AJ Myers and Dominic Tesoro - made their SuperNationals debut. Each took time getting accustom to the challenging temporary circuit. Following qualifying, Myers was strong once racing commenced and finished sixth in his first heat race. The following two races resulted in contact and early retirements, forcing Myers to race the LCQ. Starting outside the top-10, Myers advanced forward and was in contention for a transfer spot until a barrier was moved by another driver and was in the racing line. Myers made contact and was unable to continuing, ending his event. Tesoro improved each session on-track and advanced his way from the LCQ to the main event starting 39th. Staying out of trouble and running his fastest laps of the event, Tesoro moved up to 16th when the checkered flag flew.
Above: Juan Manuel Correa aboard his TaG Cadet Arrow
“One thing is certain, there was no quit all week by our squad in Vegas,” stated Tony Tesoro, Southern Karting Specialists principal. “After opening our doors just a few months ago and our first trip to Vegas, it wasn’t a total success but an educational week for all of us. We got to work with our drivers on an unfamiliar track and become more familiar with how each driver reacts to certain changes. Despite running the early sessions all week, our group was under the tent for much of the afternoon making sure everything was ready for the following day. We are making great strides and the 2012 season is looking very promising for Southern Karting Specialties.”
