Coming into the final round of the Stars of Karting Western division final, Team Top Kart USA drivers Chris Scribner, Brendan Phinny, and Taylor Miinch were vying for championships.  Other team drivers were looking to score their first wins of the season.  The track was short, narrow, and very demanding on the drivers, but it proved to show some great racing.

All throughout practice Taylor Miinch led the way in the JICA category, but it was Brendan Phinny who would take pole position for the heats.  Miinch qualified third just two one-hundredths behind his teammate.  Tyler Thomas qualified ninth followed by Artie Carpenter in seventeenth.  After winning two of the three heat races Phinny gained pole position for the finals.  Miinch unfortunately had to start seventh after a DNF in the last heat race.  Phinny jumped out to the early lead and set the pace for a four-kart breakaway with Miinch sitting in fourth.  With around four laps to go, Phinny was passed for the lead and unfortunately it was by the driver who he is battling with for the championship.  Phinny tried as hard as he could to get back by, but had to settle for second.  Miinch ended up in fourth and Thomas moved up to ninth.  Final two was raced in wet conditions, but even before the green flag flew Miinch was forced to watch the race due to a mechanical issue.  Phinny again broke out to the early lead in final two.  As the laps were winding down it looked as if Brendan was going to score his first win of the season.  On the final lap he was passed for the lead and finished second.  Even though he was disappointed with the loss, he did manage to close the gap on the lead in points for the National Championship and finished second in the West.

It is a rare occurrence not to see a single Top Kart at the front in qualifying in the TaG class, but that was the case this weekend.  Neil McCoy led the way in eighth followed by Neil Alberico and Chris Scribner in ninth and tenth.  In the heats both Alberico and McCoy regained their pace giving them fourth and fifth starting positions for the final.  Scribner could not get luck on his side and with two DNF’s he started from seventeenth for the finals.  Both McCoy and Alberico got off to great starts, but in the early laps Alberico dropped a chain and was forced to retire.  McCoy ran a great race finishing in third.  The big story was Scribner who finished in eighth and with that result dropped to second in the standing just one point out of the lead.  Final two proved that karting is the most exciting form of motorsports.  With the race being held in wet conditions, Chris Scribner was on a charge.  Neil Alberico was leading the two other championship contenders going into the final lap.  Heading into turn five Scribner saw an opening and went for it.  Making minimal contact, Scribner made one of the best passes of all season passing both karts to finish third and taking home the TaG West Championship.

With more than half the Cadet field being Top Karts, the team was confident the weekend would go well.  Luis Tyrrell with Kartel Motorsports grabbed pole position, his first of the season.  Jake Craig qualified third with Ferrucci, Chelootz, Williams, Smith, and Manthei behind.  Chelootz’s consistency throughout the heats gave him a front row starting position in second.  Tyrrell was third and Ferrucci in fifth.  Final One got off to a slow start for the Top Kart drivers.  Around halfway Luis Tyrrell’s kart came in and he was on a mission to get to the front.  With a few laps to go he picked off the leaders one by one and stretched the lead to a 1.2 second victory.  Ferrucci had a strong run in fourth with Chelootz in fifth.  Final Two was another good showing for the team.  Chelootz gained another podium finish on the season with a third followed by Tyrrell in fifth.

“This was an amazing weekend for the team even though we only came away with one win,” commented Team Manager Chris Wehrheim.  “We have put ourselves solidly in second in the Constructor’s standings, won the TaG West Championship, and Luis Tyrrell won his first career Stars race.”

For more information on the team please visit www.grandproducts.com.  Next up for the team is the Rock Island Grand Prix where Wiegand will be looking to retake his King of the Streets crown!