The first round of the Florida Winter Tour held at the Homestead Karting Center has just concluded and Top Kart returned to the top step of the podium along with multiple drivers scoring top five results.
Always at the front of the pack, the Top Kart cadet was seen leading the way in the hands of Derek Sobel, Santino Ferrucci, and Jacques Saurino. On Saturday Sobel led the team with a second place finish in the final followed by Ferrucci in third and Saurino with a solid sixth in his debut on the Top Kart. Sunday would go even better with Ferrucci sweeping the day taking a commanding victory in the final. Sobel scored another top five in fourth with Saurino in sixth. This puts the three drivers in the top five in points with Ferrucci leading the championship.
Team Top Kart USA fielded five entries in the new TaG Jr. class. Right off the bat Taylor Miinch led the way for the team. In Saturday’s final the leader broke away from the field, but there was a hard fought battle for second with Miinch eventually finishing in fourth followed by Thomas who recovered from tough prefinal. Mason Chelootz finished twelfth followed by Emilio Acosta in thirteenth and Alec Udell in sixteenth. Sunday once again proved to be a much better day for the team. Miinch improved to finish second in the final while Thomas tallied up another top five in fourth. Mason Chelootz rebounded to finish in sixth followed by Emilio Acosta in eleventh and Alec Udell in thirteenth.
The #1 TaG driver in the country, Kyle Wiegand, had a rough start to the 2009 season. Struggling all weekend with engine problems, Saturday was a complete disaster never making it out of the top 20. You don’t become the #1 driver without hard work and dedication as this proved on Sunday with Kyle qualifying fourteenth. Unfortunately in the prefinal his chain came off, but Kyle charged through the field in the final to finish in eight place turning lap times as fast as the leaders. Look for Kyle to return to the top step of the podium at the next round of the FWT.
Taylor Miinch was the sole entry for the team in KF3. The ultra competitive class was very tough and Taylor came home with a sixth and fifth respectively. Taylor will be a force in the next two races as Wesley Boswell and the team become more familiar with the new engine.
Next up for the team is the second round of the Florida Winter Tour followed by the Stars of Karting opener at Ocala in March and the last race of the Florida Winter Tour also at Ocala. For more information on Top Kart and the team please visit www.grandproducts.com.