CalSpeedJuly2018

CSK RACING KICKS OFF SECOND HALF OF TRI-C SEASON ON THE TOP STEP The start to the second half of the 2018 Tri-C Karters season was this past Saturday, with the CSK Racing team looking to find success on the Grande Counter Clockwise layout at CalSpeed for the second time this year. With four rounds down and four to go, the points standings are starting to become a talking point, and with CSK Racing owning the point lead in all three categories, round #5 was a chance to add to that margin… VLR SPEC 206 In just his third 206 race, CSK Racing newcomer Adam Nagao was the first to make some noise in the VLR Spec class, earning his first pole position in convincing fashion over a very close field of drivers. In the heat races however it would be the veteran and current class point leader Mark Connell sweeping the top spot, leading almost the whole way in heat 1, while biding his time for a late race move to snag heat two. His primary title rival TJ Blackledge would also be his closest competition, with the young driver earning runner-up honors in both 8 lap contests. In the Main event, it would be Connell leading the way from the start, with Blackledge and the aforementioned Nagao again right on his heels. This time it was TJ waiting to make the move, doing so just before halfway, with Connell slotting into the hunter role. He stayed there patiently until the penultimate lap, stealing away the lead, and holding off the counter-attack. On the final lap, Connell kept things tight, but TJ was able to find just enough room for the move in hairpin, the two going wide in the process. Things got interesting at this point, as Lukas Dziemidok was able to close the gap and actually overtake Mark for second, with the latter priming up for his own offensive in the last complex of the track. While the move was made, Lukas and he tried to occupy the same space, smoke coming off the tires from contact. In the end, it was TJ Blackledge scoring his second win in a row, with Lukas Dziemidok earning his best finish of second, and Mark Connell settling for third. VLR SPEC 206 TOP 5 POINTS (AFTER DROP): 1) Mark Connell 1868 (1560) 2) TJ Blackledge 1825 (1501) 3) Lukas Dziemidok 1712 (1392) 4) Sean Bradley 1683 (1367) 5) David Carlisle 1204 (1204) SENIOR 206 With the Lo-Pro Money Race later that day, the Senior class got a little bump in entries, and talent level for the 5th round in the championship, but CSK Racing was still able to fight at the sharp end all day. They would kick things off with Team Manager Mike Smith earning his 3rd pole of the year, while point leader Derek Esquibel clocked the 3rd best time, split by their VLR factory teammate David Vasquez. In the first heat, Smith and Vasquez would lead the way after their own little tussle, before Smith fell to third in the later stages after some hard racing. In the second heat race, it was more of the same, the tone being set for a very exciting finish to the heat races. Having slipped to fourth, the last lap of heat two saw Smith make a slide job move for third in the hairpin, before capitalizing on the battling duo in front. Making it three wide up the hill, he narrowly was able to clear the group to go from 4th to 1st in two corners, stealing away the heat race win. Unfortunately, Esquibel’s heats didn’t go as planned, and after a hard fought 5th in heat 1, contact resulting in a flat tire took him out of heat two. In the main the real charge came from Esquibel, as the championship leader looked to salvage points after his bad luck, surging all the way up to finish 5th at the line. That would be the best finish for CSK Racing in the Senior category, as Smith slipped back from the lead after a bad decision on air pressures. 206 SENIOR TOP 5 POINTS (AFTER DROP): 1) Derek Esquibel 1858 (1526) 2) KC Cook 1842 (1501) 3) Mike Smith 1826 (1478) 4) Riley Dugan 1749 (1423) 5) Drew Zeller 1643 (1348) 206 MASTERS While the pace amongst the front-runners has been close all season in the Masters 206 class, round #5 saw things get even tighter. Mike Smith would earn the pole position to start the day, with his season-long rival Mark Connell clocking the second best time to line up P2. The start of that first heat race would go to Connell however, with Smith having to fight back from 4th after Photos by Heather Perrin Round 5 July 28