Page 5 - 2022CalSpeedMagazineJan

Round 1 - Jan 7
The 2022 racing season kicked off this past weekend at CalSpeed Karting, with the 8th season of the Sprint Series taking to the to track for the first of their 10-round championship. The Sportivo track would be the
stage for the season opener, with a sold-out crowd of 90 drivers aiming to start the year, and their titles hopes off on the right foot. This season’s crop of up- and-coming talent has been viewed as perhaps one of the most unpredictable heading into the season, and in the end, the results were exactly that...
The 8-minute practice/qualifying session of the season saw drivers all split into their groups via how they signed up, so unlike the rounds that will follow where it is set by points, finding a partner was a bit more tricky for those that perhaps had more experience. Perhaps because of this, we saw three new faces at the sharp of qualifying, with Adrian Comstock scoring his first career pole to kick things off, with CalSpeed newcomer Alexander Blake in second and car transplant James Bratton in third. With their quick times, the trio would lead the field away for each of their respective heats...
When the heat races did get underway, experience would pay off, and it was only Comstock that saw himself still in the hunt by the checkers during his 8-lap run. In fact, he would lead all but the final lap, as Frank Hsu kept the pressure on, stealing away the top spot on the final circuit to score his first career heat win.
In heat two, the #2 overall qualifier Alexander would come under fire from the drop of the green, with series veterans Jeremy Aldridge and Ivan Martinez, along with up-and-coming talent Brett Lopinsky all finding their way by on the opening lap. The former two would pull away to a healthy gap, with Aldridge leading flag to flag to score a heat win to start his 2022 campaign.
The final heat of three would see James Bratton line up on pole after qualifying third overall, but the opening lap would not go his way, and he would slip down the order. Instead, the lead would go to the outside pole man Jacob Abrams, who led lap one before seeing Vince Azua moving to the top spot on lap 2. There was no stopping Azua, pulling out to a convincing win to notch his second career heat win...
A mechanical issue in his heat race would see Nathaniel Small start the C-Main from the third position, but by the end of the first lap he was in the lead. The long time Sprint Series driver had his rivals in terms of experience, but he still would not be able to shake Pedro de la Hoya, who not only keep the pressure on, but overtook small on lap 2. The pair would run in tandem through until just passed the halfway point, when Small made his move back into the lead, however the big mover was Lee Povey. Povey had methodically worked his way up from 7th, and when Small re-took the lead, he had just moved into 3rd, and in front of pole sitter Michael Collins. Povey would make his own move for the lead on the penultimate lap, but the counter came from Small, re-taking the lead on the most important circuit to claim the W and the B-Main transfer.
The theme of great racing continued through the B-Main, this time with newcomers David Mock and David Lawson leading the field away for the start, with fellow rookie Gregory Csik showing he had something for the front by stealing away the lead after lap one. But as we see plenty of in the Sprint Series, infighting at the front would see things shake up, and it would be SE
A Main Podium
B-Main Winner Paul Wagner
C-Main Winner Nathaniel Small