2019CalSpeedMagazineSeptember

TITLE IMPLICATIONS ABOUND IN TRI-C KARTERS’ PENULTIMATE ROUND FOR CSK RACING T he seventh event in the Tri-C Karters 2019 season marked thepenultimate round in the championship, and with it, an important last chance for many drivers looking to keep their hardware hopes alive. For CSK Racing, a pair of drivers would lock in their final results one round early, while two others bolstered their chances at moving up the standings in the finale… 100CC TAG MASTERS Round #7 saw one big thing change for CSK Racing’s Mark Connell: luck. Kicking off the year strong, the previous three rounds had unforeseen issues keeping him from the sharp end, but this past Saturday showed what he could do once again. A solid time in qualifying would set the field for the first heat race, with Connell emerging from the opening melee in the third position. He would be able to hold off race-long pressure to maintain that spot, crucially gaining a handful of points in the process. Heat #2 would be more of the same, this time with an even better start that saw him exit the opening corners in 2nd, before settling into the third spot, where he would eventually finish. Like the second heat, the Main would see another solid start from the rookie 2-stroke driver, slotting into second at the beginning, and holding onto it for a handful of laps. He would eventually slip to 3rd, but then would hold off non-stop pressure throughout the race to be in the right place at the right time. When a last lap attempt for the lead went south in front of him, Connell would steal away the runner-up spot, coming across the line 2nd for his second podium of the season. Perhaps even more important, were the valuable points gained on his closest rivals, now sitting just 9 points astern of 2nd in the championship with one round to go… 100CC TAG MASTERS (TOP 5) 1. Robert Perez 2329 2. Steve Jasinski 2145 3. Mark Connell 2136 4. Bryan Williams 2049 5. Dana Estes 1944 206 MASTERS The 206 Masters class has been dominated all year by CSK Racing drivers, with Lukas Dziemidok and Jose da Silva each scoring three wins a piece across the opening six events. With just two events to play, things got a little more elbows up, and things would be anything but smooth in the penultimate round of racing. The first heat race would see the pair of title contenders slot into 5th (Dziemidok) and 7th (Da Silva), but immediately make inroads to the front, with the former making it into the lead in quick succession. Eventually, Lukas would settle for 2nd, while da Silva would work up into the 4th spot before the checkers fell. Heat two would see Da Silva continue his march for the front, making the pass on his teammate for second early on, but unfortunately would lose the draft of the leader in the process. In the end, it would be P2 for him, while the point leader held off the chase pack to secure 3rd. The Main would be anything but storybook for our season-long front runners, as right from the start there would be contact in the front row, which would cause a chain reaction with several drivers involved; Lukas included. While Jose would make it through still in the spot he started, contact just a couple laps later would see him drop several more positions, and lose a lot of time in the process. From there it was a salvage effort, one that would see Da Silva settle for 5th, while Dziemidok would climb from nearly last, to 7th when the checkers fell. It may not have been the event they wanted, but it was still enough for Lukas Dziemidok to claim the 206 Masters championship one round early, and Jose da Silva to lock in 2nd! 206 MASTERS (TOP 5) 1. Lukas Dziemidok 2336 2. Jose da Silva 2258 3. Steve Jasinski 2142 4. Pietro Moro 2116 5. Sean Bradley 2088 SENIOR 206 Arguably the closest championship fight in all of Tri-C is the 206 Senior category; heading into Saturday the top three were separated by just 10 points, and when the dust settled it would still be far from over… For the second round in a row, rookie competition karter and title contender Seth Willits would score the top spot in qualifying, and would lead the field away in heat one. He would maintain the top spot for the opening couple of circuits, before slotting into second when one of his title rivals made the move for the lead. Not willing to settle for second, Willits stole back the top spot on the final lap to score the heat race win. Heat Photos by Heather Perrin Round 6 Aug 17

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