Inaugural visit to KartMoto facility battles challenging weather conditions and welcoming many first time winners
The halfway point of the 2024 Texas Sprint Racing Series presented by DeFacto Racing brought teams and competitors to a new facility for the program. The KartMoto circuit in Cresson, Texas welcomed just under 180 entries over the 11 categories competing in Round Three of the 2024 championship series. Strong winds along with on and off rain challenged those in attendance over Friday and Saturday before the weather cooperated to provide a perfect day for racing on Sunday to decide the winners of the Summer Shootout.
The KA100 Senior by CRG Nordam was once again the largest category of the event at 35 drivers, welcoming the DeFacto Investments Cash Prizes on the weekend with a $500 purse awarded, including $250 to the race winner. Round One winner Aden Rudolph picked up his second straight fast time honor in qualifying with a 59.236 to edge out Diego Guiot in the wet by 63 thousandths. Dry conditions brought on a fight in the opening heat in which Adrian Cruz came up from sixth to score the win. Wet weather returned for the second heat, where Rudolph was the provisional winner until he and several other competitors were removed from the results for rear track width. This promoted Beckett Friesen to the top spot. The track was dry for Heat #3 Sunday morning as Truly Adams fought from 10th to claim the race win. The start of the 20-lap main event began with pole sitter and Round Two winner Jesus Vasquez Jr. leading the first 18 laps as they battled behind him for position. On the move was defending class champion Peyton Phillips, climbing up from 14th into the lead battle. Rudolph took over the lead as the field took the white flag with Phillips in fourth. The fight on the final circuit concluded with Phillips driving away to the checkered flag for his first win of the season. Rudolph – who started 13th – ended up second with Vasquez in third. Landon Skinner and Guiot completed the top-five.
The KA100 Junior class presented by P1 Engines also welcomed a third different winner on the season. Joey Domme was the only driver to post a sub 1-minute lap in the wet qualifying session to lead the 20 drivers in qualifying. Tyler Roberts was able to lead all nine laps of Heat #1 on a dry track, however, was penalized for a jump start, thus handing the win over to Round One winner Tyrone Kemper Jr. who went on to win a wild Heat #2 on track. Roberts was able to achieve the top spot in Heat #3, setting up for a battle in the 19-lap Final. It was Robets, Kemper, Graham Trammel and Easton Cox all leading during the first half of the race. By then, David Ybarra had fought his way up from ninth and into the lead. Ybarra held off Roberts at the line by 75 thousandths for the victory. Trammell ended up third with Gage Bailey and Matthew Dukette rounding out the top-five.
The same in the KA100 Master by Hi-5 Performance class that featured 21 drivers at KartMoto, welcoming a third different winner on the season. Multi-time series champion Miguel Mier set fast time in qualifying in the wet weather while Heat #1 was dry for the class. Mier was the provisional winner until he was removed for coming in underweight, handing the win to Pierce Baldus. The former champ bounced back in Heat #2 to claim the win while Baldus added another in the third moto. Baldus started the main event on the pole position and led all 20 laps to claim his first series victory. Mier won the battle for second over Jones with David Pergande and Brent Harper completing the top-five.
For a second time on the year, Ragan Saville took the top honors in 206 Senior presented by Slipstream Racing. Aden Rudolph beat out Saville for fast time in qualifying in wet conditions. Saville took the advantage in Heat #1 when the track dried out for the win while Rudolph took back the top spot in Heat #2 in wet conditions. Round Two winner Truly Adams was the third different winner of the heat races while Caiden Wolfe earned the pole position for the Final after consistent results in all three. Wolfe led the first two laps before Camryn Reed took a turn at the point for the first time of the season. Kelvin Xing and Saville jumped to the front until the final lap. Xing was shuffled out of the lead and Saville took over. At the line, Saville held off a charging Adams by 15 thousandths of a second. Bryce Frank was third with Jenson Harrell fourth and Jacob Oliver in fifth.
It was a near sweep for Aston Wyatt in the 206 Cadet presented by Rimrock Raceway class that welcomed 19 drivers. Wyatt cleared the field by over three tenths in the wet qualifying session before two-time winner Tanner Barsch won the opening heat race. Wyatt returned to the top spot in the final two heats to secure the pole position for the Final. The 18-lap race was a wire-to-wire performance as Wyatt took the victory by over five seconds, recording the fast laps of the race. Barsch ended up second with Dutch Westbrook in third. Theodore Mitchell was fourth with Dean Gerrior in fifth.
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Royce Vega made it two straight in the Alan Rudolph Racing Academy Mini Swift class. Vega was unable to complete a lap in qualifying as Pasha Ali edged out Nicolas Orbezo by 30 thousandths for fast time. Aston Wyatt came up from fourth to win the opening heat while Ali defended the top spot for a win in Heat #2. Orbezo made it three different heat winners, taking the win in the Heat #3 to claim the pole position for the 19-lap Final. Vega, who started the main event in sixth. Was up into the lead by lap three and show the way for a majority of the race. Ali, Orbezo and Liam Nachawati all held the led at one time but Vega showed the way for the final five laps to claim his second straight victory. Orbezo ended up second with Wyatt crossing the line in third. Wyatt was penalized three seconds for blocking, dropping him to sixth in the final results while moving Nachawati up to the third spot and Ali to fourth and putting Oskar Guss-Wunderle to fifth.
For a third straight round, Kimo Ahmad ended the weekend on top of the podium for the Kart Racing Solutions Micro Swift class. Andrew Li Anastasio was the driver to beat early on with fast time in qualifying and winning the opening heat race. Dutch Westbrook put his name in the hat, coming up to win the final two heat races and start the main event from the pole position. Westbrook led the opening 18 laps until Ahmad slipped past on the final circuit to claim a third straight victory. Westbrook settled for second with Victor Guss-Wunderle in third. Li Anastasio and Tyler Blackwood rounded out the top-five.
The 206 Junior presented by Saville Electric class was another to welcome a third different winner on the season, with the class featuring several drivers fighting at the front. Eva Blehm set fast time in the wet qualifying session while John Paul Melchiorri took the top spot in the opening heat race. Emmett Eddolls and Round Two Robert Arana each grabbed a heat race win with the main event pole position going to Eddolls. Both Eddolls and Arana led during the first 16 laps of the 18-lap Final. Blehm, John Melchiorri and Shelby Ramirez pushed both down the order as they fought for the top spot. In the end, Ramirez was able to come away with the victory by two tenths over Eddolls and Blehm. Chris Tracey slipped up into fourth with Arana completing the top-five.
The third victory for Vincent Cossard in the Shifter class presented by Houston Freightliner Western Star was a near sweep of the weekend. After Cossard set fast time in qualifying, he was the provisional winner in Heat #1 before coming in underweight. Cory Milne was named the winner of the race. Cossard came back to win the final two heat races before leading wire-to-wire in the 22-lap main event for a third straight victory. Luis Mendez improved two spots to second with Milne in third. Dominic Trolio was fourth with Derek Proctor placing fifth.
206 Heavy presented by TB Kart division produced the only sweep of the event with Jay Weaver. In his 2024 debut, Weaver set fast time in qualifying and went on to win all three heat races. The main event was a green-to-checkered for Weaver, claiming the victory by nine seconds to become the third different winner on the season. Round Two winner Madison Knox was second with Nick Miller in third. David Roddy and Kevin Dickerson rounded out the top-five.
Brody Brown became the third different winner on the year in the Honda Kid Kart presented by Gallery Furniture. Round One winner Holden Henson began the event by setting fast time in qualifying to clear the 11-driver field. Beckley Anderson, Speedsportz victor Bodhi Beyer, and Raif Ali all took a heat race win. Brown, who started the Final in third, was able to jump up to the lead early, showing the way for 11 of the 15 laps, taking his first victory of the season. Beyer won the battle for second over Ali with Anderson fourth and Dusty Strayer in fifth.
The Texas Sprint Racing Series presented by DeFacto Racing will take two months off before beginning the second half of the season. Round Four is scheduled for August 23-25 as the program returns to the newly renovated Dallas Karting Complex in Caddo Mills, Texas. Many TSRS competitors will be in action prior, with the 2024 running of the International Kart Federation Sprint GrandNationals – scheduled for August 2-4 at the Amarillo Kart Complex in Panhandle, Texas – site of the TSRS series final for 2024.
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