The third event of the 2025 Texas Sprint Racing Series was contested on July 18-20 with the Summer Shootout held at the KartMoto facility. The Cresson, Texas circuit welcomed 180 entries in the 10 divisions for the Superkarts! USA and International Kart Federation regional program to do battle in the third round of the 2025 championship chase with typical July weather, thankfully with no rain. The weekend was also the first in establishing the penalty point system in cooperation with Race Select that will be utilized moving forward in 2025 and beyond.
The KA100 Senior presented by CRG welcomed 38 drivers on the weekend, led in qualifying by defending series champion Jesus Vasquez Jr. The Californian put down a 49.691 lap to clear the field by over a tenth of a second with Round One winner Jose Carlos Hernandez and Landon Skinner in second and third. Vasquez pulled off a photo finish in the opening heat race ahead of Skinner while escaping late for the win in Heat #2 over Adrian Cruz. In Heat #3, Vasquez slipped down to sixth as Cruz stepped up for the race win. Vasquez maintained the pole position for the main event with Cruz starting from the outside of the front row. Leading the first 19 laps, the race for the victory went down to the last lap. Skinner ran second for much of the race while Cruz was there in third. Cruz went to second prior to the white flag and put the pressure on Vasquez the entire final circuit. As they went through the final corner, Skinner got the over-under move on Cruz and carried enough momentum to pull up alongside Vasquez to drag race to the line. At the checkered flag, Skinner scored the victory by 32 thousandths of a second, becoming the third different winner of the season. Vasquez was second with Cruz nearly making it three-wide at the line in third. Sawyer Roussel and Ibraheem Din completed the top-five.
The 21-driver KA100 Junior presented by P1 Engines class also welcomed a first time winner. Nicolas Orbezo claimed his first top qualifier honor of the season, posting a 50.138 lap time to edge out Gage Bailey for the fastest time. Three different drivers claimed wins in the heat races. It was Bailey that came away with the win in Heat #1 while Nathan Golseth took the top spot in the second heat. David Ybarra wrapped up the heat races with a win in the third, securing the pole position once heat race points were tabulated while two-time winner and defending series champion Tyrone Kemper Jr. started from the outside of row one. Bailey was back in sixth and wasn’t up to the front until five laps to go. Kemper led most of the race until Golseth took over the lead after the halfway point. Orbezo and Bailey moved their way up to the front with five laps remaining. Bailey took the lead from Orbezo, and from there led the rest of the distance to claim his first series victory. Orbezo slipped to seventh on the final circuit with Kemper moving up to second and Golseth in third. Brayden Westfall and Royce Vega were fourth and fifth at the line.
A third different winner was welcomed in the Briggs 206 Senior presented by Slipstream Racing category. Jaxon Young set fast time in qualifying for the first time on the year, posting a 55.660 lap to edge out the top three by only 66 thousandths, which included Cameryn Reed and Jeff Dolian. Back in eighth was Carter Kilgo, who worked his way up through the lead pack to take the lead and Heat #1 win on the final circuit. Reed was able to drive up to the front at the end of the final two heat races to claim both wins, and the pole position with Christopher McKeithan on the outside of the front row. It was Reed and McKeithan that swapped the top spot throughout the 18-lap main event. McKeithan led up to the white flag when Reed reclaimed the top spot. Through the final lap, McKeithan was able to make a move for the position in the penultimate corner, winning the race to the checkered flag for his first series victory. Ragan Saville came up short by 82 thousandths at the line while Jacob Oliver and Jeff Dolian dropped Reed back to the fifth position.
Defending Hi5 Performance KA100 Master division champion Pierce Baldus nearly swept the action at KartMoto. A lap of 50.972 cleared the 18-driver field in qualifying by over a tenth of a second. He won the first two heat races by over two seconds in each before crossing the line third in Heat #3. Former series champion Miguel Mier was the provisional winner until a blocking penalty took the win away, giving it to Round One winner Brent Harper. Baldus maintained the pole position for the Final and was shuffled back to third by Harper and Daniel Howie. By lap five, Baldus took back the top position and ran away to a near three-second victory for his first of the year. Howie ended up second with Mier winning the battle for third over John Mossey and Gary Glanger.
It was a fight between the two winners of the season in Briggs 206 Junior presented by TB Kart USA. Round Two winner Rodrigo Polaya set fast time in qualifying and won the opening heat race. Round One victor Sawyer Chambers came through for the top spot in the final two heat races. Starting from the pole position, Chambers led the first 16 laps before a charging Levi Meador took the lead at the white flag. On the final circuit, Chambers was able to come away with the top spot and a second victory of 2025. Meador settled for second with Brandon Greene joining them on podium in third. Dean Gerrior set fast time in the race, driving to fourth and Polaya ending up fifth.
Clayton Stiles secured a second straight victory in Briggs 206 Cadet presented by Speed Concepts Racing. Mace Lejsek was quickest in qualifying, clearing the 21-driver field by over two tenths of a second. Stiles was third in qualifying and worked up to the top spot in the opening two heat races. It was a provisional win in Heat #3 before a penalty for contact dropped him to fourth and moved Aston Wyatt up to the win. Wyatt started on the outside of the front row for the main event alongside Stiles and jumped out to the lead. After leading the first eight laps, Wyatt was shuffled out of the lead and eventually out of the race. Stiles took the lead and was challenged by Brody Stoffle and Lejsek. On the final circuit, Stiles was able to secure the victory with Lejsek and Stoffle completing the podium. Yomarangeliz Vargas was fourth with Wyatt White in fifth.
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Mini Swift presented by Alan Rudolph Racing Academy also welcomed a two-time winner in Tanner Barsch. The Round One victor set fast time in qualifying to clear the 15-driver field by over two tenths in the session. Barsch won the opening heat before Round Two winner Colton Schniegenberg scored the top spot in Heat #2. In the final heat, Barsch claimed the win and the pole position for the main event. The two, along with outside pole sitter Aston Wyatt fought for the top spot over the first seven laps. Barsch secured the top spot with Wyatt second and Schniegenberg in third. They ran that way the rest of the distance with Barsch earning a second win in three rounds. Kimo Ahmad and defending champion Alex Chandler rounded out the top-five.
Brody Stoffle grabbed a second straight victory in the Micro Swift presented by Gallery Furniture class. Stoffle set fast time in qualifying before Round One winner Tyler Blackwood broke up the perfect score with the Heat #1 win. The final two heats were won by Stoffle, earning the pole position for the Final. The main event was a wire-to-wire performance for Stoffle, winning by over five seconds. Blackwood was second with Shepp Sullivan on the podium in third. Dusty Strayer won the battle for fourth over Bodhi Beyer.
Two drivers battled for the top spot all weekend in the Shifter division presented by Arcane Motorsports. Round One winner Aden Rudolph set fast time in qualifying with a 45.188 lap time. Five-time SKUSA Pro Tour champion Jordon Musser was able to grab the win in Heat #1 and Heat #3 with Rudolph taking the top spot in the second heat. Musser started from the pole position and grabbed the holeshot, leading the first six laps. Rudolph took over and led the rest of the distance, winning by over one second. John Melchiorri completed the podium in third with Derek Proctor and Noah Zarsk rounding out the top-five.
The Briggs 206 Kid Karts presented by GR2 Motorsports category welcomed Vettel Baker as the third different winner on the season. Baker set fast time in qualifying and won all three heat races. Round Two winner Maverick Reddick took over the lead at the start of the 15-lap Final before Baker reclaimed the top spot on lap five. From there, Baker led the rest of the distance to earn his first series victory. Reddick settled for second ahead of Round One winner Wylen Galeano. Liam Lofton was fourth with Booker Anderson in fifth.
The 2025 Texas Sprint Racing Series continues with the fourth event of the season, traveling to the NOLA Motorsports Park on September 19-21 for the Midsummer Mash-up event.
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