2019CalSpeedMagazineFeb

Pole - Sam Hunt T he Grande CCW layout would play host to the CalSpeed Super Series for round #2, and once again it would be an action packed day, as drivers continued to come to grips with the reconfigured CalSpeed Karting configurations. As this was the second event though, most of the drivers had seen the new bits before, and especially for the veterans, the high speed nature of the old parts was a welcome sight as well. Morning warm up would actually take place a little later in the day, as the IronMan Series finished a little late as they had to wait for the track to dry. Still, this did not deter the Super Series field from putting up some very solid times in the green/white/checkered qualifying session, with Sam Hunt coming away with his first career pole position. Clocking in the second and third fastest laps -and therefore pole positions for heats 1b and 1c- were one-off starter Logan Calvin, and title contender Sean Fite. Like we saw in the season opener, it would be the Super Series veterans and experienced karters that had a strangle hold on the heat races, with Paulo Franca scoring the first heat win of the day, followed by Taylor Hays and Sean Fite for the first trio of heats. And while Logan Calvin and Patrick Britain scored victories for heats 2b and 2c, the biggest story may have been Evan Karp. After coming up light at the scales in qualifying, Karp had a stellar drive from last in his first heat to get to 10th; the final invert spot. He was then able to capatilize on the infighting in heat 2a for the win, making for a impressive recovery from the morning. Overall it would be Logan Calvin and Sean Fite sharing the front row of the A-Main after their 1st and 3rd place finishes, the tie breaker coming from qualifying, and Calvin’s quiker time. Unlike last month, the C-Main for round #2 would be a dogfight, with no less than five drivers looking like they had a shot at the win over the course of the 12 lap race. Starting from pole, Antonio Aranda looked to have the pace to keep the field at bay, but after continuously earning warnings for 4-wheels off, would earn a penalty that took him out of the fight. Trevor Volin was also in the lead pack, taking over the lead with the exit of Aranda, but he too would earn a penalty having moved into the lead via contact. In the final laps it was Nor-Cal driver Roddy Balanga scoring the hardware over Rodney Bryant, with Mike Carlson surviving a hornet’s nest to come away third. This time around it would be the B-Main that was the calm one, at least at the very front. Max Demoss Sr would lead the field away at the start, but it would be heat race winner Paulo Franca taking over the lead early, and with it Demoss’ A-Main hopes. Still, it was a solid drive from Demoss who nearly matched the lap times of his more experienced rival, while also maintaining the gap back to Chris Carter in third. For Carter, he was able to win out among the intense battle that A Main Podium B-Main Winner Paulo Franca C-Main Winner Roddy Balanga Round 2 Feb 16