CarRacingBlog.com

SACRAMENTO, California - The national talent search for the driver development program conducted by Ron Sutton’s Winner’s Circle launches today. Supporting sponsors, K&N Filters and Sunoco Racing Fuels will be awarding four free spots in the 2009 Talent Search Shoot-Out to young, talented drivers from various forms of youth motorsports.

Many successful car racers today, honed their driving skills driving something smaller. K&N Filters and Sunoco Racing Fuels have stepped up to award positions in the Shoot-Out to four young racers with successful backgrounds in any of the recognized youth series, such as: Kart Racing, Legends, Dwarf Cars, Quarter Midgets, Mini/Micro-Sprints and Dirt Karts. The Shoot-Out application process is open to all drivers 11 to 19 years of age, with race winning backgrounds.

RSWC has developed many young racers to successfully make the transition from youth racing to winning car races in the USAC Junior Focus Midget, Focus Midget, Western Midget and Sprint Cars series, including Daniel Adler, Jessica Brunelli, Beau DeBard, Bobby Grewohl, Brendan Langlois, Jace Meier, Ian Miille, Joel Miller, Benny Moon, Jimmy Moon, Brennan Newberry, Jeff Oleen, Nik Romano, Porter Smith, Keegan Walmer, Brandon White and more.

Ron Sutton’s Winner’s Circle (RSWC) is an established talent scout and development program, providing long term, comprehensive racing and career development for up and coming drivers focused on racing careers. RSWC drivers are raced, coached, groomed, trained and molded, within a professional racing environment, into what top teams look for when hiring drivers.
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The 2009 USAC-sponsored/supported .25 midget racing series has really taken off and attracted quite the following. The junior midget racing series has now completed Round 5 in the 2009 season and here is the current place standings for each age group:

Junior Rookie
McConahay Zachary 5
Crandall Cole 4
Cullen Zack 4
Miner Jacob 4
Ottman Garrett 4
Rowe Morgan 4
Wren Hayden 4
O’Bryan Carson 2
Schloss Ashley 2
Staup Travis 2
Woods Madison 2
Barker Noah 1
Barker Camyrn 1
Braun Brady 1
Haley Cait 1
Hjellming Nicholas 1
Johnson Jacob 1
Pelfrey Logan 1
Porter Hayli 1
Schneider Blake 1
Tanner Hayden 1
Weil Garrett 1
Wise Zeb 1
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Grundy County Speedway in Morris, Ill. will host its next USAC events on August 15, NOT this Saturday as originally announced.

We regret any inconvenience caused by the incorrect posting about a race this Saturday.

The August 15 events include the Regional Midgets, USAC/UMARA Ford Focuses and the Kenyon Midgets

Building on the already feature-packed schedule of PKE2010tm, 600 Racing has announced as part of their major involvement behind the exposition, fifty lucky experienced karting competitors will get a chance to test drive a new 2010 Bandolero miniature stock kart on Sunday morning, February 7, 2010, during the Las Vegas event.

Considered a unique alternative to traditional open wheel karting, the 600 Racing Bandoleros provide a scaled down version of the full-bodied Stock Car format of racing. The Bandolero Car is a turnkey, spec-series racer designed for drivers as young as eight years old and the young-at-heart at any age.

The car’s motivation is provided by a thumping Briggs & Stratton 570cc Vanguard engine mounted behind the driver. Small modifications have been made to the engine to bring the once 20HP stock engine to nearly 30HP.

Joe Maylish, 600 Racing’s Western Regional manager said, “600 Racing is extremely excited about PKE2010tm and our ability to bring the Bandoleros to the heart of the karting community. We realize that karting enthusiasts with an interest in full body oval racing will see this as a cost effective progression from a performance kart on their way to a full-sized car.” Joe added, “Having the ability to do live demonstrations and exhibitions right here in Las Vegas brings a new energy to the sales process that cannot be replicated from a just a static trade show display.”

In addition to the VIP test drives, a multi-car exhibition race will take to the track on Sunday for a 50 lap challenge. A number of leading Bandolero competitors from around the country will arrive at PKE2010tm to show off their rides and race for bragging rights and a trophy on the re-configured high speed oval course.

It is the nature of people everywhere to shorten a name to an abbreviated version. Our event is no different. The Performance Karting Exposition will now be marketed and trademarked as PKE2010tm. This new shorter name eliminates any confusion with other regional programs. The brand also removes any question as to the affiliation with any other organizer. PKE2010tm is an exclusive event production owned by Performance Kart Racing, LLC and is managed and marketed exclusively by International Motorsports Marketing, LLC.

Joe Ramos, one of the organizing partners said, “We have listened to our exhibitors and made the change to make it easier to remember and reference. We have even modified the website URL so you only need to type www.PKE2010.com to get to the site.”

Five states host USAC Ford Focus races this week as the battles for 2009 championships intensifies. The Midwest series competes at Anderson (Ind.) Speedway Friday, then joins the UMARA series for Saturday’s “Salute to Mel Kenyon” race at Grundy County Speedway in Morris, Ill. Carolina Series competitors are gearing up for Saturday’s race at Hickory Motor Speedway, while the California Dirt and Junior Focus contingent heads for Ventura Raceway for a Saturday night engagement. The Utah Ford Focus series also competes at Rocky Mountain Raceways in Salt Lake City Saturday.

Get out and support your local tracks and check out the awesome line-up of USAC sanctioned Ford Focus races this weekend!

This weekend at Madera Speedway in California, a huge schedule of midget racing mania is ready including the USAC Western Midgets and the USAC-sanctioned California Pavement Ford Focus midget series.

Garrett Hansen of Manhattan Beach, Calif. continues to enjoy a healthy point lead over two-time series runner-up Scott Pierovich (2007-2008), but that lead could diminish Saturday if Pierovich has a good night.

Don’t miss the 2009 Super Saturday at Madera!

USAC’s Mopar National Midget Car Series makes its Midwestern debut this weekend but the “keyword” could be “East” before it’s over.

Bobby East of Brownsburg, Ind. dominated the only pavement race to date, at Kyle, Texas March 14, and figures to be among favorites for victory in Saturday night’s “JEGS Crown” Midget Super Nationals at Columbus (Ohio) Motor Speedway and Sunday’s 100-lapper at the Anderson (Ind.) Speedway.

Piloting the Klatt Enterprises Club Sport/Ford Racing Beast, East led all 60 laps at Kyle and ranks fourth behind Darren Hagen, Brad Sweet and Brad Kuhn in the 2009 series standings. East won the 2004 championship and has 18 career wins in National Midget competition. Eleven of those have come on the pavement.

One more win at Anderson would tie Bobby with Tate Martz as the winningest USAC drivers in track history. His six Anderson wins to date include last year’s April National Midget race, plus wins in Sprint cars and Ford Focuses. He’s never won at Columbus and finished eighth in his only previous CMS appearance in 2005.

“Although I’ve had better success at Anderson, I actually feel better about Columbus,” admits East. The race at Kyle was on a track very similar to Columbus and we learned a lot about setting up for this Saturday’s race. I’m pretty confident about my chances. The car was new last year but doesn’t have a whole lot of races on it. Anderson’s been an up and down track for us. We’ve won a lot there but we’ve also had a few accidents there, so we’ll see what Sunday brings. I plan on running for the title so points are important.”

Bobby has 33 career victories in USAC’s three National series. Wins at Columbus and Anderson would move him past Rodger Ward and Chuck Gurney and into a tie with Norm Nelson for 29th on USAC’s all-time list of race winners since 1956.

The Columbus events include .25 Midget racing Saturday and Sunday, plus Ford Focus Midgets Saturday night. At Anderson, the USAC Kenyon Midgets share the billing on Sunday.

Tickets for the “JEGS Crown Midget Super Nationals” USAC races at Columbus Motor Speedway can be obtained at either display location or at the track on race day. Tickets for Sunday’s races at the Anderson (Ind.) Speedway can be obtained by calling the track at 765-642-0206.

Garrett Hansen of Manhattan Beach, Calif. is the new point leader in the USAC Western Midget Series after winning Saturday night’s 30-lap race at Bakersfield (Calif.) Speedway.

Hansen now sets his sights on Madera (Calif.) Speedway, the site of the next series race, on “Super Saturday” April 4. He takes a 33-point lead into the race, the fifth on the 2009 calendar.

Hansen led all 30 laps in his Bondio/Barnes machine to beat Randi Pankratz, Shane Golobic, fast qualifier Josh Ford and Scott Pierovich.

Get all the latest updates on USAC sanctioned Midget Racing at http://www.usac.com.

Modified Clones running against Modified World Formula’s and 4 valve 250cc Motorcycle engine. Clone wins by 3/4 lap! Clone engines are in cars #3, #4, #5, and #7

Winners of USAC’s .25 Midget races in 2009 will receive distinctive medallions during selected victory lane ceremonies, commemorating their inclusion among USAC’s exclusive list of feature winners. The first of these prestigious events will be the Eastern District .25 Midget Championship March 20-22 in Tampa, FL.

The medallions, made of heavy metal with red, white and blue USAC emblazoned ribbons, will be distributed to all class winners at select events during USAC’s 2009 .25 Midget racing season.

“It’s an award to be cherished,” says USAC’s Developmental Racing Series Director James Spink. “The significance of winning a USAC feature race has long been acknowledged and we’re proud to be able to reward these youngsters with these medallions.”

The medallions will mirror those presented to recent winners of USAC’s National racing events in Arizona (Bud Kaeding, Darren Hagen and Brad Sweet), Nevada (Jerry Coons Jr. and Cole Whitt) and California (Rickie Gaunt and Hagen) and to be presented during the remainder of the calendar year to all USAC National feature winners.