News

December 2010

Team Endurance Karting.com Wins 12 Hours of Victory Lane

The team representing Endurance Karting won the 2010 running of the 12 Hours of Victory Lane presented by NOS Energy Drinks Sunday at Victory Lane Karting in Charlotte, NC. Johan Schwartz, owner of Endurance Karting, teamed with Dan Burke (plus a single stint from Cody Robnett to meet the three-driver-per-team rule) to win the event for the second time since 2008. The silky smooth Schwartz combined with the brute strength of Burke to complete 1107 laps in the once-around-the-clock race.

The Endurance Karting duo practiced driver changes in the days prior to the event to minimize the time spent on pit lane.

“[Pit stops] are one of the keys to staying up front,” explained Schwartz, whose team was sponsored by Cardo Systems (Bluetooth driver communications) and Safety Clean. “Understanding endurance racing is also key. When you don’t have a fast kart, you don’t battle with drivers that are faster. You make them pass you in an area that doesn’t slow you down. [One of] our strategies was planning ahead and going through scenarios to think about what to do if certain things happen.”

The team known as Bedda Chedda, with drivers Cody Robnett, DJ Osmond and Robbie Freeman, finished second, only one lap behind the winners. In qualifying, Robnett won the pole position for Bedda Chedda.

Starting from the fourth position, Endurance Karting’s Burke made an early pit stop to change karts, then methodically worked through the entire field to take the lead for good 90 minutes into the endurance clash. For the remaining 10-plus hours, Bedda Chedda closely hounded Endurance Karting with a margin never exceeding two laps. The first six-and-a-half hours of the race were run in the forward (clockwise) direction and then finished in the reverse (counter-clockwise) direction on the 11-turn Victory Lane indoor course.

Despite leading much of the race, it wasn’t a perfect run for Endurance Karting.

“When I was in the [number] 20 kart, it started slowing down and sputtering,” said Schwartz. “We knew it wasn’t out of gas, but if we stayed in it, we could possibly stall on track or slow down enough second place could catch us. We swapped karts, and it was exciting for 10 minutes as the tires were getting warmed up. When I saw a 38-second lap time on the third lap, I knew we were in great shape.”

The 12 Hour race was the third victory of the weekend for Schwartz, who drove more than five-and-a-half hours during an endurance sports car race win at Road Atlanta Friday afternoon. He also won a sprint race in the rain Saturday in a BMW 325, followed by the awards banquet before driving back to the Charlotte area. At Victory Lane Sunday morning, Burke qualified and drove an initial double-stint in the race, which allowed Schwartz a few hours of sleep.

Third-place was claimed by the Bracket Busters team with drivers Andrew Hopwood, Ryan Curtin and Bryan Coe. Curtin turned-in the fastest lap of the race with a circuit of 37.76 seconds in the counter-clockwise direction.

The event featured the closest racing in the history of endurance races at Victory Lane as the top six teams were separated by only seven laps at the finish. The sixth-place team, Havoline Xpress, completed 99.4 percent of the total race distance.

Race Results: 12 Hours of Victory Lane presented by NOS Energy Drink
(Team, Laps Completed, Drivers)

1. Endurance Karting 1107 laps
Johan Schwarz, Dan Burke, Cody Robnett

2. Bedda Chedda 1106 laps (-1 lap)
DJ Osmond, Robbie Freeman, Cody Robnett

3. Bracket Busters 1105 laps (-2 laps)
Andrew Hopwood, Bryan Coe, Ryan Curtin

4. Lehigh 2 1103 laps (-4 laps)
Carl Bligan, Ryan Suchon, Mike Bednar, Kevin Bligan

5. Team ABC 1101 laps (-6 laps)
Hans Soneson, Mike Ibach, Walt Sova

6. Havoline Xpress 1100 laps (-7 laps)
Jamil Nassar, Andrew Von Fange, Evan York

7. Lehigh 1 1088 laps (-19 laps)
Andrew Pettijohn, Jianni Koburi, Kyle Lick, Kevin Bligan

8. fingerprint inc. 1081 laps (-26 laps)
John Connaughton, Jade Gurss, Kevin York, John Luzzi

9. NAPA Auto Care 1076 laps (-31 laps)
Mohammed Nassar, Coty Hartson, Paul Shelton

10. Stragglers 1071 laps (-36 laps)
Laurie Osmond, John Ellis, James Kirkham

11. GH2 1069 laps (-38 laps)
Cory Gordon, Caleb Hindes

NOS Energy Pole Position: Cody Robnett, Bedda Chedda / 40.067 seconds

Fastest Race Lap: Ryan Curtin, Bracket Busters / 37.76 seconds (Reverse direction)

August 24, 2010

Registration for the Fall Junior and Senior League is now open on motorsportsreg.com

August 18, 2010

ProCup Karting Champion Pat Wilmot Named as Finalist for Mustang Challenge Shootout at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah.

ProCup Karting alumnus Pat Wilmot is making his way up the ladder of a national driving competition, not unlike fellow PCK Alumni Drew Cattell, Mary Mossey and John Mossey who were semifinalists for the Red Bull Driving Search in 2003 and 2004 that brought the first American to Formula 1 in over a decade.  Pat got his start at Andretti Indoor Karting & Games, winning a number of ProCup Karting League Championships. The Georgia Southern Student is currently racing in the American Sedan Class in the SCCA, where he has proven his skills with two SCCA National Event wins. Wilmot is now one of 5 Finalists for the Mustang Challenge Driver Shootout to take place at the brutally challenging 23-turn, 4.486 mi Miller Motorsports Park near Salt Lake City, Utah during the Grand-Am Race weekend September 10-11th.  According to Mustang Challenge releases: “The “Mustang Challenge Driver Shootout” will put one driver behind the wheel for the season-finale Mustang Challenge race at Miller Motorsports Park on September 11.  The Mustang Challenge Shootout mixes talent, new media savvy, and the drive to win to give one driver the chance of a lifetime. Drivers have submitted applications and videos and the 5 finalists will travel to Miller Motorsports Park and receive training at the Ford Racing High Performance Driving School before being run through a variety of exercises in and out of the Ford Mustangs. And it won’t just be their stopwatches that the judges will be looking at, as the panel of judges on hand will watch as the drivers show their skills along the same scope of talents that are required for pro racing success in the modern world, from data analysis and media interaction to the ability to find a strong set up quickly.”

ProCup Karting and all of our drivers wish Pat the best in his competition and will be pulling for him to get the ride of his life in the progression of his racing career.  As a dedicated racer and blue-oval guy through and through we know of no one more deserving of this opportunity.  Go get ‘em Pat!

July 1, 2010

Have a child between the ages of 9 and 13 that is interested in racing? Email me and let me know as we are planning a Junior Karting League for up to 8 drivers and want to see who is interested in being part of the pilot program.

June 7, 2010

ProCup Karting has recieved a redesign. New website and logo by StruveDesigns.

ProCup Karting (PCK) is an Atlanta based organization that provides competitive Junior and Adult racing events in arrive and drive karts that are performance and weight balanced so that the driver makes the difference. PCK hosts sprint and enduro races at Andretti Indoor Karting and sends teams to outdoor endurancekarting.com events ranging from 6 to 24 hours in length. The goal of PCK is to reduce the barrier of entry to racing by keeping costs low and competition high to provide the best value in motorsports and a proving ground for talented individuals looking to build a racing career. Visit our website www.ProCupKarting.com for more information.