2016 Challenge of the Americas Champions

Challenge of the Americas
Words | www.ekartingnews.com Photos | Sean Buur
Sonoma, 2016 Rounds 5-6
Sr. Max
Nash Motorsportz Senior Max Saturday Report
Nothing helps to earn a championship more than winning a race. That
was the goal for Nash Motorsports Senior Max title contender Christian
Brooks heading into the weekend. Brooks was shut out of the five bonus
points in qualifying with Nathan Adds (Dallas Karting Complex / Sodi Kart)
posting fast time. The Prefinal was a warm-up for what the main event would
bring, with five drivers showing as the top pilots and fighting for position.
Florida driver Darren Keane (Orsolon Racing / Tony Kart) was able to steal
the win away from Brooks. The battle continued for the first half of the main
event, with some great racing on display by the top-five. Brooks was shuffled
back early on, and fought his way to the point. Once there, he was able to
break away and cruise to his third victory of the series. The fight continued
for second with contact on lap 23 helping to put Kellen Ritter (Rolison Performance Group / Kosmic) into the position by the checkered flag. Adds,
among those in the contact, continued on and finished third with Adam
Smalley (Rolison Performance Group / Kosmic) and Jim McKinney (Rolison
Performance Group / Kosmic) were advanced up into the top-five. Coltin
McCaughan (Rolison Performance Group / Kosmic) and Keane suffered
the brunt of it, as the Canadian finished 12th and the other retired from the
race.
Christian Brooks
Kellen Ritter
Nathan Adds
Sr. Max
Nash Motorsportz Senior Max Sunday Report
Things did not begin on the positive side for Christian Brooks on
Sunday. The Nash Motorsportz / CRG driver entered with the chance
to clinch the Nash Motorsportz Senior Max championship, but the day
began with him showing up late to grid for qualifying. He was not
able to complete a lap and thus started 15th in the Prefinal. The Nash
Motorsportz / CRG driver charged his way through the field to end
up second behind top qualifier Darren Keane (Orsolon Racing / Tony
Kart). Keane led the field to the green flag, but it was Nathan Adds
that emerged as the top driver early on in the Dallas Karting Complex
/ Sodi Kart entry. Adds led for the majority of the race until Brooks
reeled him in and took over the lead with three laps remaining. Christian held on to take his fourth checkered flag of the season and claim
the championship. In a photo finish, Adds edged out a charging Coltin
McCaughan (Rolison Performance Group / Kosmic) for the second
spot with Keane finishing fourth and Senior rookie Kellen Ritter (Rolison
Performance Group / Kosmic) in fifth.
Christian Brooks
Coltin McCaughan
Nathan Adds
Jr. Max
Nick Brueckner
Matthew Taskinen
Hannah Greenemeier
Rolison Performance Group Junior Max Saturday Report
The championship was all but clinched for Rolison Performance Group Junior Max as Nick Brueckner earned his fifth straight victory of
the season. The perfect streak came to a close as Hannah Greenemeier took top honors in qualifying. Brueckner (Orsolon Racing / Tony
Kart) started fourth in the Prefinal and worked his way to the point by lap two. He led the remainder of the race and continued on to go
wire-to-wire in the 25-lap Final. Greenemeier closed up late but could not get around Brueckner in the final few corners. Canadian Matthew Taskinen (Rolison Performance Group / Kosmic) finished third for his fifth straight podium finish of the season. Carter Herrera drove
to fourth in his Rolison Performance Group / Kosmic debut with Max Fedler in fifth aboard his Unser Racing / Tony Kart).
Jr. Max
Carter Herrea
Rolison Performance Group Junior Max Sunday Report
With a fifth victory on Saturday, Nick Brueckner (Orsolon Racing / Tony Kart) locked up the Rolison Performance Group Junior Max
championship heading into Sunday. He attempted to try and score the perfect series with six wins, however, a chucked chain in qualifying
put him back to the tail of the 19-driver field with Hannah Greenemeier (Rolison Performance Racing / Kosmic) at the point. Brueckner
worked his way up to the front quickly, and finished first but withdrew before the Final to ensure no issues during the main event. That
allowed Greenemeier to control the race, which she did until the very end. Matthew Taskinen (Rolison Performance Group / Kosmic) put
the pressure on late in the race. The two went side-by-side into the double left hand corners at the far end before tic-tac-toe. Both slide
wide, allowing Carter Herrea to slip through. In his Rolison Performance Group / Kosmic debut, Herrea earned his first series victory.
Greenemeier held on for second with Riley Dickinson (Orsolon Racing / Tony Kart) in third. Taskinen went off-road, and came back on to
finish fourth heady of Payton Durrant (Koene USA / Tony Kart)
Hannah Greenemeier
Riley Dickinson
Senior
Shifter
Jake French
Kolton Griffin
Brett Buckwalter
Energy Kart USA Senior Shifter Saturday Report
Energy Kart USA Shifter Senior championship leader Jake French took another step to
toward the championship chase with his fourth victory of the season. The Dallas Karting
Complex / Sodi Kart driver swept the day in Round Five, leading from qualifying through
the Prefinal and wire-to-wire in the Final. Griffin nearly pulled off the fast time in qualifying,
missing by 14 thousandths of a second. The two ran 1-2 again in the Prefinal with French
out front all 17 laps. Local driver Brett Buckwalter (Cameron Karting / Aluminos got the
jump on Griffin, but not French as the point leader lead all 25 circuits to the checkered flag.
Buckwalter and Griffin completed the podium with Brian Keck (Ron White Racing / CRG)
and Colby Yardley (Energy Kart USA) making up the top-five.
Senior
Shifter
Energy Kart USA Senior Shifter Sunday Report
It was a battle to the very end in the Energy Kart USA Shifter Senior class with
Kolton Griffin declared the winner. Three drivers fought through the Prefinal and
Final, all evenly matched. Griffin (Pure Karting / Tony Kart) muscled his way to the
point and the win in the Prefinal with Brett Buckwalter (Aluminos) dropping champion Jake French (Dallas Karting Complex / Sodi Kart) to third. They went at it again
in the 25-lap Final, going three wide at one point. French emerged at the end with
the point, crossing the line first but was penalized two position for contact. That
awarded Griffin the win, his second in the series and put Buckwalter to second on
the podium. Don Whittington (Pure Karting / Tony Kart) ended up fourth with Ben
Schermerhorn (Birel ART) in fifth.
Jake French
Brett Buckwalter
Kolton Griffin
Masters
Shifter
Dallas Karting Complex Masters Shifter
Report
Patrick O’Neill (Ron White Racing / CRG) and teammate Kevin Woods (Ron White
Racing / CRG) Battled all weekend long. O’Neil led every session, but Woods stayed
close enough to keep O’Neil honest. The championship was decided coming into the
Sonoma event with the tie breaker going to Ryan Kinnear.
Patrick O’Neil
Kevin Woods
Masters
Billy Cleavelin
Cambrian Go-Karts Masters Max Saturday Report
The Cambrian Go Karts Masters Max division has been unpredictable throughout the series as Billy Cleavelin scored the victory. Throughout the day local driver Carlos Calderon (Aluminos) was the quickest driver on track. The first-time Masters Max pilot clocked in two thousandths of a second quicker than championship leader Mike Jones (Dallas Karting Complex / Sodi Kart). The Prefinal was in Calderon’s
hands until the closing laps. With two circuits remaining, Carlos spun around entering turn three, suffering a broken axle. This gave the lead
and the win to another local, Roman Alekseenkov (Tony Kart). He led the opening lap until Cleavelin charged his way forward. The Rolison
Performance Group / Kosmic driver took over the lead and never looked back, pulling out to a four-second advantage. That was after a
near challenge from Calderon. Into the top-five early, the Aluminos driver was knocking off fast laps before reaching second and running
down the veteran. On lap 19, nearly on the bumper of Cleavelin, Calderon lost the chain to end his attempt at challenging for the win. That
promoted Jones to P2 on the podium with Alekseenkov in third. Behind them was a battle of attrition with Stephan Gaudneau (Aluminos)
fourth and Perry Needham (Energy) earning his best finish of 2016 in fifth.
Mike Jones
Roman Alekseenkov
Carlos
Calderon
Cambrian Go-Karts Masters Max Sunday Report
Carlos Calderon was the quickest driver all weekend in the Cambrian Go-Karts Masters Max division. After contact in the Prefinal with
eventual champion Mike Jones, Calderon started the 25-lap Final in seventh. Out front, Billy Cleavelin (Rolison Performance Group /
Kosmic) led the way after winning the Prefinal, but was closely followed by David Pergande (Full Throttle Karting / Tony Kart). Calderon
was charging forward aboard his Aluminos, and eventually caught the top-two after posting fast laps of the race by a half-second. Once
around Pergande, he slipped past Cleavelin to drive away to a 2.3-second advantage for his first series victory. Cleavelin and Pergande
rounded out the podium with Dallas Karting Complex / Sodi Kart driver Jones in fourth, clinching the championship. 2014 US Rotax
Grand Nationals winner Ken Maxfield (Arrow) was fifth in his only weekend with the series.
Billy Cleavelin
David Pergrande
Masters
Mini Max
Jak Crawford
x
Ashton Torgerson
Dustin Salaverria
Go Kart Hero Mini Max Saturday Report
Former Challenge champion Jak Crawford made an impact in his Go Kart Hero Mini Max series
debut for 2016 with a victory. Championship contender Austin Torgerson (Ruthless Karting / Tony
Kart) cleared the field by four tenths in qualifying with the Prefinal going down from there. After earning a 10-second penalty for moving out of the starting lines, he was shuffled back after contact from
Crawford. Another penalty for contact dropped him further down the order, hurting his championship
chase. Crawford ended up crossing the line first until being handed a penalty for the contact. That
promoted the win to Ashton Torgerson (Ruthless Karting / Tony Kart) with Dustin Salaverria (Nash
Motorsportz / CRG) in second. Salaverria got the jump at the start of the Final and looked to have the
race in hand. Crawford had other ideas, inching his way closer and made his move on the final lap.
Heading down into the helicopter pad section, Crawford pulled the trigger and took over the lead.
Dustin fought back into the final corner, but it was not enough with Crawford reaching the checkered
flag first. Ashton Torgerson drove to third for his first podium in the category. Josh Pierson (Rolison Performance Group / Tony Kart) was fourth in his series debut for 2016 with Austin climbing up to fifth.
Mini Max
Go Kart Hero Mini Max Sunday Report
The day was a sweep for former Micro Max champion Jak Crawford, who controlled the Go Kart
Hero Mini Max category from qualifying to the main event. After winning the Prefinal, it was a battle
for the win in the main event as the Exprit driver had to fend off Dustin Salaverria (Nash Motorsportz
/ CRG) and Austin Torgerson (Ruthless Karting / Tony Kart). Crawford and Salaverria swapped the
lead a number of times, while Torgerson waiting in the wings. At the end, Crawford was able to hold
on for his second victory of the weekend. Salaverria crossed the line second but was penalized for
contact with Crawford near the halfway point, thus falling to fourth in the final order. That moved
Torgerson to second, helping him to claim his first series championship. Younger brother Ashton
Torgerson (Ruthless Karting / Tony Kart) finished third. Josh Pierson (Rolison Performance Group /
Kosmic) was fifth.
Austin Torgerson
Ashton Torgerson
Jak Crawford
Micro Ma
Josh Pierson
Diego LaRoque
ax
Ruthless Karting Micro Max
Saturday Report
It was a dog fight throughout the day in the Ruthless Karting Micro Max category. Josh Pierson made his 2016 series debut, becoming the driver to beat
early on. The Rolison Performance Group / Tony Kart driver was the top qualifier and battled in the Prefinal with Diego LaRoque (Benik), who moved down to
Micro for the weekend. LaRoque bogged on the final lap, dropping to fifth as
Pierson took the win. At the start of the Final, LaRoque hooked up with Carson
Morgan (Benik) and the two broke away. LaRoque never left the rear bumper
of Morgan, helping to push him all the way to the final lap. At the checkered,
Morgan took his second victory of the season with LaRoque off by two hundreths
of a second. Pierson settled for third with point leader Ashton Torgerson (Tony
Kart) fourth and Branyon Tiner (Tony Kart) fifth.
Carson Morgan
Micro Ma
Ashton Torgerson
Carson Morgan
ax
Diego LaRoque
Ruthless Karting Micro Max Sunday Report
Ashton Torgerson helped his championship cause in the Ruthless Karting Micro Max division with the fast time in qualifying and
winning the Prefinal. The main event was a battle throughout the 14-lap Final. Diego LaRoque (Benik) came out the winner, able
to secure the lead in the final circuit and reach the checkered flag first. Torgerson (Tony Kart) finished second by under two-tenths
of a second, yet clinching the championship. Carson Morgan (Benik) was third with Branyon Tiner (Tony Kart) fourth and Josh
Pierson (Tony Kart) fifth.
2016 Challenge of the
Americas Champions
Micro Max - Ashton Torgerson
Mini Max - Austin Torgerson
Junior Max - Nick Bruckner
Senior Max - Christian Brooks
Masters Max - Mike Jones
Shifter - Jake French
Shifter Masters - Ryan Kinnear