Mazda Heartland Sprint Series gets in First Round
Despite a foreboding forecast early in the week, the weather was perfect for the first round of the Mazda Heartland Sprint Series presented by Russell Karting Specialties. The first round took place April 9-10 at the series home, the Precision Driving Center, in Independence, Mo.
There was a lot of excitement surrounding the opening of the 2011 season. BP Motorsports Group, the promoter of the series, has been working hard during the off-season to make the things better for the racer. New partners like Mazda, and the IZOD Indycar Series through the Mazda Road to Indy program have increased the stakes for each racer.
As part of the Road to Indy program, the MHSSR TaG Sr. champion will head
down to Florida to take part in the Mazda Road to Indy Scouting Combine. Aside from that, TaG Sr. competitors are also fighting for a $4,000 purse that will be split up between the top three in the class at the end of the year.
Jim Russell Jr. stuck first blood in the TaG Sr. class leading the way from flag-to-flag. Broc Yocom drove hard, and came in second behind Russell. Luke Waller rounded out the top three. With everything at stake in the TaG Sr. class, it is no wonder that the class was one of the largest all weekend. As the season progresses, the number of racers in this class is expected to grow.
In the TaG 60 class, series veteran Jacob Winslow was able to bring home the win. He beat second place finisher Caden Bolz to the line by a mere .232 of a second. Michael Quigley captured the last step on the podium. James Yates and Garret Daughters rounded out the field. Every point will matter this year as these drivers look to get their part of the $500 purse to be divided among the top three point earners.
TaG Jr. is another of the ultra-competitive classes in the series. With a $500 prize to be divided among the top three, these drivers have incentive to drive fast and make each session count. Wyatt Manness certainly made his day count, beating out Cole Hannah and Troy Walsh for the win. Charlie Williams and Kyle Potts completed the top-5.
The S2 class is the last money class with $750 up for grabs amongst the top 3 finishers. Chris Thomasson took the victory with Dennis Brandon and Joe Carlson taking the last two podium positions. Lee Szydlosk also took home some hardware as the sole G1 on track.
The Clone class saw another very close race, as John Pennington was the first to the stripe, with Brian Carter and Andrew Pennington close behind. During the final, positions were being swapped at just about every corner. Russell Karting has put an entire clone package, including an engine and new chassis, up for a season end raffle. Each participant in the class will have the opportunity to have their name drawn to win the new package.
In the TaG Masters class Mike Knefel took the checkers by taking advantage of some bad luck on the part of his competition. Angela Hannah broke a chain heading to take the white flag, after she had built up more than a one-lap lead over Knefel.
Faith Yates dominated the Kid Kart class leading all twelve laps, finishing 17 seconds ahead of second place Henry Williams. Luke Howard, Dakota Earls, Zach Granberg and Tyler Hagan rounded out the field in that order.
There is still plenty of racing left in the season. Those drivers who had difficulties in the first race still have plenty of time to make up the gap. Come out and enjoy the great hospitality and excellent racing offered by the Mazda Heartland Sprint Series presented by Russell Karting Specialties.
