Story by Bruce C. Walls. Photos by Bruce C. Walls and Susan Taylor-Walls
Click here for complete event photo album
Garrettsville, Ohio – Nine Road Racers were double winners last Saturday and Sunday at Nelson Ledges Race Circuit a two-mile paved road race circuit celebrating it’s 40th year recently. The historic 19-turn course, built in 1958, features long sweeping turns with plenty of racing room leading to a tight challenging carrousel. Originally the track was only half the current, size. Then in 1970 Gulf Oil funded an expansion project that doubled the track’s size and helped supply part of the 70,000,00 used tires to surround the track with safety in mind.
Last weekend’s event was round three of the American Kart Racing Association/Dart Kart Club’s national Road Racing series. The series kicked off at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course June 19-20.
Rod Williams ruled the weekend with a trio of wins. Williams started each day with a win in TaG Lite Sprint finals with Alyssa Kopeck and David Huff in tow each time for the top three.
In addition to those two wins he also topped Sunday’s TaG Senior Sprint Final 2. Trailing in the tops three were Adrian Dale and Edward Eckart.
Veteran kart racers Randy Fulks and Patrick Olson split the Yamaha Pipe finals. Fulks led Saturday’s 14-racer field under the first final flag with more then a 10 second lead over Olsen. Following Olsen in Final 1’s top five were Colin Jedrzejer, Adam Trumbley and Michigan Kart Shop backed Nick Cole.
Olsen returned Sunday and captured Final #2 with a comfortable lead over Trumbley at the end. Trailing Trumbley in the top five were Cole, Kyle Lewandowski and McLaughlin.
Robert Wimmer won both days’ TaG Senior Heavy Finals. Robin Bank was 34.987 seconds late in Saturday’s contest. Sunday double winner Jarrett Bank and Wimmer went down to the wire where 0.336 seconds separated them. Benjamin Holder and Dave Ahrens in third followed Robin bank forth and fifth.
Ted Carbonaro led nine Final 1 Piston Port Sprint Final 1racers across the stripe Saturday. Behind him in the top five were Jerry Revely, who was 1.162 seconds late, followed by Adam Trumbley, James Sorrentino and Gerard Apuzzi.
Sunday karting veteran Louis Magiera surprised Carbonaro with a late race charge. Magiera threatened to the wire where he was a mire 0.232 seconds shy of victory. Magiera’s weekend got worse at the scale where he was charged with a weight infraction.
That moved third place finisher, Trumbley, to second, Sorrentino to 3rd, Otto Vollmerhausen to 4th and Gerard Apuzzi to 5th.
With comfortable cushions Ben Eberhart bested the Vintage Piston Port USA final fields. Saturday Herb Dickel, Jr., Arthur McKenny, Fred Stoll and Andrew Retterer completed the top five. Sunday it was McKenny, Retterer and Stoll finishing in the top four.
Jeremy Baldi out ran J. Michael Long in each day’s Unlimited Final. Chasing Long in the first final were Doug Baldi, Chuck Buunnell and Mark Kupper.
Sunday Kupper and Bunnell were 3rd and 4th.
In race four Kasey Davis captured both Junior Enduro Finals beating Shane Hayden each time.
In the same races Mallory D’Augustine led the way in both 100cc Limited Final. Matthew Gibson was second each time.
Complete results can be found at http://www.race-monitor.com/Results/Race/96390.
