EKN Trackside: SKUSA Pro Tour MG Tires SpringNationals - Sunday Report

The final day of on-track action was just as sizzling as the weather in Phoenix, Arizona as the Superkarts! USA Pro Tour MG Tires SpringNationals was completed on Sunday. The skies were clear and the temperatures soured to triple digits at the PKRA Formula K Raceway, challenging the drivers and mechanics alike. Thankfully, there were no reported health issues with the weather for drivers nor those in attendance, and the on-time schedule set by the SKUSA Track Staff put the final event to be completed just after 5:00 pm. Although their were no red flags on the day, drivers were still on edge throughout the schedule as some poor decisions were made. Despite this, the great racing that was provided for a majority of the time trumped those bad moments, as eight drivers stood at the top of the podium to end the weekend. Fritz Leesmann and Phil DeLaO led the way with top honors in the headline categories, both scoring the win on Sunday and the event winner $1,000 check for S1 and TaG Senior.

Extreme Karting/Vemme Kart S1 Pro Stock Moto
Back in 2010, Fritz Leesmann (CRG) began his Pro Tour championship run with a sweep at the inaugural SpringNationals at Infineon. This year, Leesmann had to wait until day two before scoring a near sweep to put himself in the championship lead for the S1 title. An almost perfect day on Sunday helped Leesmann earn 310 points of the possible 320 on the day, propelling him into the point lead leaving Phoenix. The only blemish on Fritzer’s day was in qualifying where New Zealand driver and defending champ Daniel Bray (GP) scored the pole position, as the only driver below the 44-second mark. Leesmann would not be denied in the heat races, driving to the 10-lap moto wins and the pole for the Main Event. Grabbing the holeshot, Leesmann drove away to lead the entire 20 laps to a four-second victory. Behind him was a great battle for second that continued throughout the day. Bray ran second in the opening heat, but was moved back to third when Saturday winner Joey Wimsett (CRG) worked by in the second heat. They continued the duel into the feature race, with Wimsett grabbing the spot early. Bray was able to work by for position, but Wimsett kept the pressure on. With some defensive maneuvers, Bray held off Wimsett for the spot at the checkered, but officials gave Bray a one position penalty for blocking. The penalty placed Wimsett on the second step of the podium with Bray in third. Rookie Nicky Freytag (FA Kart) had his best day of the weekend, driving to fourth in his S1 debut on the Pro Tour with fellow freshman Jake French (Birel) fighting into fifth.

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