Heading into the final round of the Championship Karting International Series, Team Top Kart USA was in contention for the championship in all five categories. The weather in Norman, Oklahoma was dark and gloomy, but the Top Kart drivers were ready to do battle.
Four drivers were in contention in IAME Sr. for the title, and all them were Top Kart drivers. The two main title contenders were Neil McCoy out of the PKS stable and Michael Hogg from Kartel. Hogg led the way for the title chase for most of the weekend while McCoy who was the points leader coming into the weekend struggled with bad luck, which included a DNF in the prefinal. A second place finish in the prefinal for Hogg would give him the points lead heading into the final. McCoy though put on an impressive drive coming from last to finish second. Hogg came home a solid third and took home the title. Neil Alberico ended the season in third followed by Wiegand in fourth.
In IAME Jr., Taylor Miinch all but had the championship locked up after finishing third in the prefinal. Raquel Martinez in her first season of IAME Jr. continued to impress finishing one spot behind Taylor in fourth. Not wanting to take any chances, Miinch sat in third position for the majority of the race and cruised taking the inaugural CKI IAME Jr. title. Martinez was involved in an early on track incident that forced her to the rear of the field, but she would battle back to finish eight securing fourth in the championship. Hans Saurino also had a great run finishing sixth in the final.
As always the Cadet class put on an amazing show with the three title contenders taking the top spots in qualifying. After the three heat races, Zane Smith went on to take a dominant two-second win in the prefinal followed by teammate Josh Saurino in third. The final proved to be much different with the three title contenders pulling out a gap on the rest of the field. With lead changes happening every lap it was no surprise to see a photo finish of the three with Josh Saurino taking second and the title by just .090 of a second. Smith ended up third in the race and championship.
Chris Wehrheim ended the year with a fifth place result in the KF2 final, which rewarded him with a second place in the championship. Taylor Miinch who also competed in the KF3 category ended the season second in the championship and will be moving up to KF2 in 2010.
Team Top Kart USA would like to thank all of its drivers and teams for their support this season and are looking forward to another successful year in 2010. For more information Top Kart please visit www.grandproducts.com.