After a big weekend at the Stars of Karting National Finals in Las Vegas, Kartel Motorsports drivers looked to end the Nor Cal Region 11 IKF on a positive note, and prepare for the SKUSA SuperNationals XII. As the 2008 season came to an end for most, the Kartel staff was still in full assault mode. Kartel drivers were at the track testing every weekend, and Kartel was testing themselves every chance they had. All the time paid off in big ways.
The National Guard chose Kartel Motorsports to field their IRL driver, Dan Wheldon. Dan entered the TaG Sr. class with Neil Alberico and Chris Scribner. Dan was fast right out of the box, setting the pace early on. In the final, a de-beaded tire ended this stars day. Chris was also up front in all his heats, and ended the final in eighth. Alberico had a tough go, with two strong heats; a DNF (flipped) in the third heat would have him starting the final in a dangerous 38th. Neil flipped in the final to end a hard weekend. Kyle Wiegand was racing with Kartel and once again was at the front all weekend. Former ICC star showed the TaG group what’s up. He finished the final in sixth. Chris Wehrheim always a contender was strong all weekend, lady luck was not on his side either. He ended up 11th.
Kartel is happy to welcome two proven drivers who will become permanent fixtures at the front of National events, and continue to dominate the local scene. Cody Kay and Kelsey Nilsson were both entered in the HPV 2 as well as TaG Jr. Kelsey ended final practice P4 in TaG Jr. and looked strong in HPV. Though she ran well in the heats in both classes, she unfortunately was involved in a crash in both HPV and TaG finals. Cody had better luck, running with the lead pack in HPV and dicing for the lead, ended his weekend with a well deserved podium finish. Oklahoma’s Tyler Thomas was under the Kartel banner, also running in HPV and Jr. TaG. HPV was not as good to Tyler as TaG, where he finished up in second, with a tough field in tow.
The loan Jr. 125 driver, Devon Maulk from Texas, was fast and showed he can race too. He was in the top part of the charts all weekend, and when it all counted he showed he can get it done. Devon won the main event and pot the Top Kart on the top step again in Jr.125. Brendan Phinny won the class last year, in its first year at the SuperNationals.
Brendan Phinny, S3 Senior 125, set the pace right out of the trailer. With all the testing, Kartel put the set-up on that would last. Qualifying P2 was a nice start to a long weekend. With his consistent driving at cautious race craft, Phinny had a strong starting position for the final. Brendan worked his way threw the top five and found himself dicing with NASCAR star Jamie McMurray. On the white flag lap Brendan dove to the inside and got the lead, and kept it for the win.
Kartel would like to thank all who helped make 2008 another great year: Top Kart/Comer, Grand Products, Bridgestone, High-Rev Engineering, Kovers, Cyto Sport, SKUSA and the National Guard.
Directly after the Super Nationals, Kartel did not stop. Kartel has expanded their operations, moving to a new facility in Elk Grove, CA. The new shop will help house more inventory and make ease of kart prep and sales. Kartel offers services to all types of karts, and is always available for set up advice. Kartel will continue to sell all their products to the public, as well as continue to do schools.
About Kartel:
Kartel Motorsports was put together by Joey Hand and Erik Bartolero in 2006. Joeys Father Les Hand joined the two in 2007. The three have been around karting for many years. In 2008, Kartel Motorsports was named official Top Kart/Comer USA race team. Erik and Joey offer private Coaching on any brand chassis, and private test days with Kartel can also be arranged.
Kartel is a dealer for brands that include: Top Kart, Comer, Bridgestone, MIR Raceware, IAME, High-Rev, Sparco, Gatorz Eyewear, Douglas Wheel, MyChron, Cyto Sport and Kovers.
More Information can be found at http://www.kartelmotorsports.com