AMP Summer Karting Series Round Five

Round 5 of the AMP Summer Series took place last Saturday in Dawsonville Georgia. The rain held off which allowed for some of the closest racing we’ve seen so far this year. 

Lo206 Cadet and Junior Final:

The top five on the grid consisted of a few familiar names of the AMP Summer Series. Joseph Saddington (Cadet), Danny Dyszelski (Junior), Alyssa Vascocu (Junior), Noah Ryan (Junior), and Oliver Piatek (Junior) led the rest of the pack to green for the Lo206 Cadet and Junior Final. As the green flag dropped Saddington jumped out front and led the field into turn one, Dyszelski and Ryan followed behind. Alyssa Vasocu fell back to 4th as Adam Wein challenged her for position through turn four on lap two. A tight race for 2nd and 4th continued through lap three. Saddington held two tenths of a lead over Dyszelski as the top five broke off and held a one second lead over the rest of the field. 

Heading into lap three the top four mixed things up and went three wide coming to the line. Dyszelski inherited the lead as Saddington dropped to 2nd. Going into turn eight Saddington and Ryan made a move on Dyszelski that put him back to 3rd. Coming to lap four Adam Wein (Cadet) put pressure on Vascocu for the 4th spot and by turn two Wein attempted a pass but couldn’t complete it. As the pack moved through the backside of the track Saddington spun coming to turn 15 and dropped to 7th. By lap five Piatek now held the 5th spot followed by Kia Mars (Cadet) in 6th

The four-car pack of leaders stayed locked in a tight race as they crossed the halfway point of this twelve-lap race. They maintained positions until turn nine of lap seven when Ryan and Vascocu passed Dyszelski. Ryan, new leader, took the field into lap eight. Wein lost time as Dyszelski held a .6 second lead by lap eight. Vascocu was bumper to bumper with Ryan as she held consistent pressure for the lead coming to lap nine. Three to go, the top three drafted into turn nine. With two laps remaining Dyszelski made a pass on Vascocu through the esses but couldn’t hold position. 

The white flag was waved and the top three headed into turn two as Vascocu started to challenge Ryan for 1st. Through turn nine Dyszelski made a huge run on Vascocu and completed the pass. As the checkered flag dropped Ryan crossed the line first followed by Dyszelski and Vascocu.

TaG Junior, Senior, and Master Final:

Leonardo Oliveira (Senior), Jack Mangrum (Senior), Raiden Nicol (Senior), Jose Garcia (Master), and Aidan Johnson (Senior) started at the front for the twelve lap final.  At the start, Olivera jumped out front as Nicol made a pass for 2nd. The field started to spread out coming into lap two. Olivera held a 1.13 second gap over Nicol as Mangrum started to track them down. 

Things became stagnant for the top four through laps two, three, and four. Nicol, now 2.4 seconds behind Olivera, started to fall back while Mangrum started to gain some time. 3.1 seconds separated the top two with four to go. Things remained stagnant upfront while a tight race brewed in the middle of the pack between Johnson and Craig Foster (Master) for 4th. By lap nine Nicol held a 1.7 gap advantage on Mangrum with none of the top three close enough to each other to make a move. The white flag came out and Olivera suddenly pulled off the track with a mechanical failure. Nicol became the new leader and Mangrum held 2nd . The final top three was Nicol, Mangrum, and Johnson. 

TaG Cadet and Rookie Final:

Bowen Greene (Rookie) started alongside Maddox Thoman (Cadet) with Kai Mars (Rookie), Luke Giglio (Rookie), and Austin Warner (Cadet) behind. Greene jumped into the lead as Mars followed behind. Going into turn two on lap two Thoman and Warner went side by side with Warner able to complete the pass for 3rd

By lap three Warner was on the bumper of Mars battling for the 2nd spot. Warner attempted a pass in turn nine but couldn’t complete it. Coming to the line on lap four, Warner went side by side with Mars and took the 2nd position. Greene held a marginal gap over Warner and a two second lead over Mars by lap five. Things started to stretch out and no moves were made through laps six and seven. A lapper blocking the leader gave Warner an opportunity to make a move for the lead on lap eight. Warner took the opportunity and passed Greene coming to the line with three to go. Warner took the lead and then created a two-kart length gap on Greene through the esses. 

With two laps remaining there was a .4 second difference between Warner and Greene coming to turn two. With one lap to go, Greene got stuck behind another backmarker in turn nine that resulted in an even larger gap between the leaders. Warner took the checkered for the win with Greene and Mars rounded out the podium.

KA100 Final:  

Top five of the KA100 Final consisted of Raiden Nicol (Senior), Jacob Hughes (Senior), Leonardo Olivera (Senior), Oliver Piatek (Junior), and Jacob Schneider (Senior). Nicol quickly got out front as Olivera followed behind. Coming down the hill Hughes and Schneider go side by side into turn two. 

Schneider advanced and held position through lap one. As the field came to the line 3rd, 4th, and 5th went three wide. Schneider was able to hold position while Hughes and Piatek followed. Coming down the hill on lap two, Hughes started to put pressure on Schneider. Olivera looked to the inside of Nicol through the esses and completed the pass for 1st. The leaders created a .3 second gap on 3rd and 4th by lap three. Nicol puts heavy pressure on Olivera through laps four and five. 

Top five stayed consistent and made no position change through lap six and seven. Nicol and Olivera held a 1.6 second lead on 3rd.  With four laps remaining Schneider gained the 3rd position as Hughes dropped to 5th. Piatek ran on the bumper of Schneider with two laps to go. Piatek passed Schneider going through the esses while Olivera held off Nicol. Olivera took the checkered as Nicol and Piatek followed.  

Lo206 Senior and Master Final:

Brandt Estes (Senior), Xander Laws (Senior), Adam Philips (Senior), Matt Lassiter (Senior), and Carson Craig (Senior) were the top five of this twelve lap final. Estes and Laws led the pack into turn two. Through turn seven and eight, Phillips passed Laws for the 2nd spot. As the field crossed the line the order ran as Estes, Philips, Craig, and Laws as the top four. Laws ran on Craig’s bumper down the hill on lap two. Through turns 14 and 15 Rexrode gained places. By lap three Laws and Rexrode held 3rd and 4th

Laws progressively gained on the top two through the esses but was passed by Rexrode with 8 laps remaining. On laps four and five there was no change in position. On lap six Laws and Rexrode went side by side into turn two, Laws couldn’t complete the pass. There was a four-kart length gap between Philips and Rexrode by lap seven. Through laps seven, eight, and nine there was no position change. 

With three laps to go a tight race for the lead broke out between the top three. The trio went bumper to bumper coming down the hill.  Philips made a move on Estes for first and held position coming to the line. With one lap to go Estes made a move on Philips and took back the first position. Coming to the line Rexrode made a last-minute pass on Lassiter for 4th. The podium consisted of Estes, Philips, and Laws.