The LVGP500 proved to be one of the most competitive races in Lehigh Valley Grand Prix racing history.  A field comprised of 4 Pro Teams and 10 Amateur Teams was much faster and competitive than expected.

“Generally when you have teams that have never competed in an endurance race before and drivers that have never raced at a facility you find that they fumble early on and make mistakes in the pits.  This was clearly not the case in this race!” said Ryan Suchon, Competition Director at Lehigh Valley Grand Prix.

Of the 14 teams participating in the race, only 5 teams had previously participated in an endurance race at LVGP.  A handful of the drivers had never even raced at LVGP before the start of the race.

11 out of the 14 teams had drivers in the sub 31 second lap times.  Owner, Mike McCreary whose team finished 2nd in the Amateur Class in the 2012 LVGP500 was shocked to see how fast the field was.  ”Last year our team wasn’t the fastest but our execution and strategy allowed us to keep in the hunt for the race.  In this year’s event our execution and strategy didn’t change.  The field was extremely competitive and I was impressed to witness teams and drivers adapt to the rules and simply out perform expectations.”

Two surprise teams in this year’s event were Dusty Heathens and Loose Nutz.  Both teams had not participated in an enduro at the facility.  Dusty Heathens had driver’s who had never raced at LVGP prior to the event.  Both teams finished within 15 & 16 laps respectively from the PRO class winner.

In the PRO Class the team of Mike Bednar and Carl Bligan took the lead from the start and never looked back.  Carl Bligan set the new track record towards the end of the race hitting a 29.540 second lap!

Here is a list of the final Results

PRO CLASS

1.  333  2.  Speed Dudes  3.  Hyline  4.  Spaz Racing

Amateur Class

1.  Dusty Heathens  2.  Loose Nutz  3.  Red Bell  4.  Himmer Graphics Racing  5.  LVGP  6.  Butter Haus Commission  7.  Team Pickles   8.  Team Sack  9.  1 Eye Tickle Snake  10.  Coors Light

Group B Provides Closest Points Race in LVGP League History!

It was another exciting round of leagues at LVGP.  The final week the field had the opportunity to run the league races on the new Super Karts which add a little more speed and power into the mix!

Here is a break down of the league format for Winter Leagues:

Week 1: 2 twenty minute races run in normal direction

Week 2: 1 twenty minute feature forward, 1 twenty minute feature run reverse track

Week 3: Team Endurance Race (1hr 20min race)

Week 4: 4 ten minute features

The final week was a 4 race format which provided the league driver’s with a greater opportunity to gain or loss ground.  It was a extremely close race to the finish.  Here is a list of all of our driver’s and the final results from the Winter League.

If you are interested in joining leagues and becoming part of the racing culture at LVGP contact Ryan Suchon at competition@lehighvalleygrandprix.com.

Special Notes:  This was the closest points race in the history of LVGP leagues amongst Group B!!

Group A

1.  Jeff Shuey 8,638pts

2.  Dylan Castro 7,947pts

3.  Nic Varec 6,588pts

4.  Kevin Carney 6,145pts

5.  Fred Heinly 6,067pts

6.  Jason Botta 5,323pts

7.  Anthony Federico 4,896pts

Group B

1.  Ryan Leach 7,312pts

2.  Austin Merkel 7,303pts

3.  Warren Wunderly 7,201pts

4.  Michael Bombard 7,158pts

5.  Jon Nickel 7,148pts

6.  Andrew Welch 5,002pts

7.  Richard Petey 4,480pts

8.  Lisa Bond 4,297pts

This past weekend was a big weekend for the competition teams for LVGP.  The Junior Team traveled to face off against Mid Atlantic Grand Prix in Delaware and the Adult Team traveled to Victory Lane Karting to compete in the 24hrs of Charlotte.

The Mid Atlantic Grand Prix Challenge was the first time our Juniors have left the building to compete against another track.  On Dec 2nd LVGP held a qualifying session in which the top 5 kids made an All Star team to compete in the event.  The format for qualifying was a 20 minute practice/qualifier followed up with 4 feature races of 20 laps.  The top five finishers were Joey Brey, Jessica Brey, Tommy Kleppinger, Nicholas Winton & Brenna Schubert.  This group squared off against a Mid Atlantic Grand Prix team of Stephen Mallozi, David Rodgers, Tolly Flinn, Joseph Davidson, & Joshua Shine.

The competition involved a 2 day challenge in which Day 1 was held at Mid Atlantic Grand Prix and Day 2 was hosted at Lehigh Valley Grand Prix.  The first day of competition was an eye awakening experience for LVGP.  The first feature heavily favored the team from Mid Atlantic as their names shown at the top of the leader board.  This did not discourage LVGP as the team became more familiar with the track and managed to climb their way back into the competition.  After the day of racing, LVGP walked out with a 16pt deficit.

Day 2 was a different story.  Home track advantage was crucial as only a few of the MAGP drivers figured out the racing line.  LVGP made a strong comeback and evened the score after the second feature.  This left the team with breathing room heading into the final 2 feature races.  In the end LVGP came out with a 17pt Victory sealing the deal for the first ever Challenge against MAGP.

The driver’s were scored individually as well as by team.  The top 3 finishers for the event were Jessica Brey scoring 68pts, Stephen Mallozzi 64pts and Brenna Schubert 60pts.  It was a tight race from start to finish and we would like to thank all of the drivers that participated.

The adult team of Ryan Suchon, Kyle Lick, Jason Frankenfield, Kevin Bligan, & Carl Bligan hit the road south for the 24hrs of Charlotte held at Victory Lane Karting.  This race is a true test of endurance as the 13 teams that participated competed for 24hrs of straight karting.  A standard race at LVGP is 8 minutes.  It is hard to image going for 24hrs!!

The team ran into issues from the start as the kart shut off on the Lemans start and Kyle Lick failed to buckle his seat belt.  This set the tone for the team as they continued to hurt themselves throughout the race.  Jason Frankenfield later was penalized 2 laps for exiting the kart under weight.  The sick bug hit the team as Kevin Bligan & Carl Bligan had to pull off the track early in stints costing the team precious time.  ”When you compete against the best you cannot make mistakes.  Every second, every exchange, every kart swap can determine your outcome,” stated Ryan Suchon.

It was a disappointing finish for the team coming in 6th place.  In qualifying many of the teams had LVGP slated to be a contender.  Despite adversity the team did finish the race and looks forward to redemption at next year’s competition!

It was another great round of Jr. Leagues at Lehigh Valley Grand Prix!  Some of the tightest races in track history were witnessed over this league.  It was great to see the improvement across the board with not only lap times but with the passing and racing.  These kids can square up with some of the best drivers in the industry and hold their own.

Results:

League A:

1.  Joey Brey (JoeTheTraitor) 6,223 pts.  2.  Jase Smith (JPSRacer24) 5,303 pts.  3.  Kaylnn Stroble (KalynnTheMadness) 5,029 pts.  4.  Nicholas Winton (Terminator) 4,755 pts.  5.  Zack Dunn (Z Racer) 4,636 pts.  6.  Nate Jackard (Captain Rex) 4,274 pts.  7.  Cole Wilkinson (Dominator24) 3,924 pts.  8.  Noah Kreitzer (The Stig) 3,750 pts.

League B:

1.  Jessica Brey (Danica7) 6,866 pts.  2.  Tommy Kleppinger (TommieTornado) 5,866 pts. 3.  Brendan Kressler (SpeedRacer) 4,806 pts.  4.  Connor Orcutt (Outrage) 4,441 pts.  5.  Chandler Gavin (Chandler) 4,186 pts.  6.  Kimberlee Taylor (KimboSlice) 4.023 pts.  7.  Zack Held (Zack) 3,551 pts.  8.  Jacob Weaver (Snowman) 3,432 pts.  9.  Alex Roan (Alex) 1,339 pts.

Congratulations to all of our competitors.  The next round of Jr. Leagues begin on January 19th.  For registration contact competition@lehighvalleygrandprix.com.

The Ultimate Karting Challenge was a test to see which track held the best drivers.  Summit Point Karting and Lehigh Valley Grand Prix each selected their top 6 drivers for the ultimate showdown.  The format was a two day race held at each location.

Day 1 was held at Summit Point Karting.  The team from LVGP arrived knowing that it was going to be a challenge to compete against an ALL STAR team of drivers on their home track.  SPK came out on fire.  Having the track and kart knowledge the SPK team jumped out to a commanding lead.  LVGP was fortunate that Kevin Bligan had a strong performance to keep them in the hunt.  Jianni Koburi, Kevin Bligan and Carl Bligan each won a heat race to capture 3 of the 5 features. The rest of the team managed to keep in the hunt the best they could to earn valuable points.  At the end of the day SPK walked out with a commanding lead of over 30 pts.

Day 2 team LVGP had an uphill battle to come back.  The team was ready!  In the first 3 features team LVGP placed 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th in each race.  The points started flowing and the team never looked back.  Andrew Pettijohn scored a team high pts on Day 2 leading the charge for the comeback.  The SPK team was not ready for the physical indoor karting style racing and by the time they caught on the event was over.

The final team totals were 362 pts for SPK and 418 pts for team LVGP.  Taking the overall title was a huge honor against a tough team from West Virginia.

Individual Awards

Top Performer:  Kevin Bligan

Second:  Jianni Koburi

Third:  Carl Bligan

Look out for the second Annual UKC between LVGP and SPK.  Tryouts will be held for the next team selections.  For more Pics Click Here.  Gallery 1 & Gallery 2

Team SPK:

Nathan Bates (Broxter), Edward Adams (E3), Austin Dickey (Austin), Russell Mullen (Russh), Patrick Moran (Patty Cakes), Alexander Cater (Sandy Cater)

Team LVP:

Kevin Bligan (Bligan), Carl Bligan (Von Blargen), Ryan Suchon (Warren Wallace), Jason Frankenfield (Bone), Jianni Koburi (Fox Racer), Andrew Pettijohn (F4ast Kid) & Kyle Lick (Lick One)

The Ultimate Karting Showdown is happening 10/27 & 10/28 between Lehigh Valley Grand Prix and Summit Point Karting.  Jens Scott of SPK dreamt up the battle and Mike McCreary from LVGP was excited for the challenge!!  The top 6 drivers from each track will duel it out at each facility.  On Oct 27th the battle will be held on the SPK turf and return up to LVGP on the 28th.

The race format will be 2 practice sessions of 20 minutes followed by 5 feature races.  Drivers will earn points in each feature finish.  The driver with the highest point total will be crowned the UKC champion!  The facility that accumulates the most points will get a trophy held in thier facility until the next battle.

“This is completely about PRIDE!  It is about who has the best drivers!  The excitement is building up and this will be a great event that we can build upon each year,” said Mike McCreary partner at LVGP.

The event will be a great opportunity to for the facilities to continue to build relationships with each other and have a blast with karting!  Look out for the race results!!

When it comes to karting competitions, the true champion is the individual that can display the greatest endurance while keeping fast laps times.  The LVGP Summer Iron Man Series is a great test to that skill.  An hour and half race was held in each of the 3 Summer months.  The overall champion would be crowned based upon overall points over the 3 Races.

The tough aspect of racing is that you can never predict what can happen during a race.  In the final race of the series Jason Frankenfield aka Bone had kart issues in the beginning of the race with a broken throttle cable.  This enabled Ben Lindsay and Jonathan Updegrove to have a 2 man race.  The two drivers raced nose to tail for the final 25 minutes of the race finishing with a difference of .205!!!  Bone finished 3rd but had won the previous 2 races to claim the overall victory!

It was an excited Series this Summer as we got to see a lot of new faces get into the competition program.  All of the drivers showed great class and sportsmanship.

Next upcoming Competition Events:  Adult Leagues 10/3, Junior Leagues 10/6

Final Points Standings

1.  Jason Frankenfield 2,801 pts,

2.  Ben Lindsay 1,879 pts

3.  Fernando Oliveira 1,458 pts

4.  Nicholas Takacs 1,431 pts

5.  Brandon Gehris 1,142 pts

6.  Dave Kraige & Jonathan Updegrove 843 pts

7.  Ross Stuart & Nunzio Craccholio 649 pts

8.  Jason Squitiere, Dan Krantz & Michael Todos 587 pts

9.  Dylan Castro 536 pts

10.  Matt Winker & Rodrigo Da Silva 493 pts

11.  Hunter Stewart, Kris Dumschat & Carlos Dos Reis 456 pts

12.  Adriano Oliveria & Marty Depano 423 pts

13.  Jake Krantz & Gabrielle Larrimore 371 pts

It would take a lot more than a little rainout to stop the fun at the LVGP500 and Pocono Raceway Viewing Party!!

As the teams rolled in for the sold out event at 7am to prepare for the first ever LVGP500 you could feel that it was going to be a great competition.  The field held 13 teams, 4 teams in the pro class and 9 teams in the amateur field.

To qualify for the race the teams participated in a 5 minute qualifier.  The results.  1. Runt & Jianni 2.  Speed Dudes 3.  Octane  4.  Boneheads  5.  333  6.  Racer X  7.  Indo Pratama  8.  The Bitches  9.  Speed Shop  10.  Rib Breaker  11.  Pocono Raceway  12.  Sibum Auto Part  13.  Wheel2Wheel.

The start of the race was chaos.  On the first start a kart didn’t make it to the green flag so there had a to be a restart.  On the restart the top qualifier pulled in to make a kart swap giving up the lead on the first lap!  Speed Dudes quickly followed for a stop and go in the pits.  Team 333 also did a kart swap to start the race.  After two laps team Octane was in the lead!  That lead wouldn’t last long as Team 333 charged up the field and made the pass.

Team 333 would run a near flawless race to take a victory in the Pro class with a 3 lap lead. Team Speed Dudes who had won the previous 5 enduros would finish in the second position, while Runt & Jianni would fight back after some poor decision making early on to secure the final podium spot.

The Amatuer class provided some good racing as well as some comic relief in the pit area.  Team Indo Pratama fielded a team from the Northern Virginia area and had very little experience on the LVGP track.  This team of experienced drivers would eventually figure out the line and make a 3 lap comeback to beat out Octane for the amateur victory!  Octane finished the race a 1/4 lap behind Indo Pratama with “The B’s” finishing in 3rd place.

After the race the awards ceremony held in the main lobby  was packed wall to wall with people attending the race as well as the Pocono Raceway Viewing party, provided some great recognition for the participants.

Following the awards Kevin Haney from Pocono Raceway started up the Viewing Party.  With great anticipation for the Daytona 500 it was disappointing to have the rainout but Kevin made the most of it.  The crowd latest for a few hours while Pocono gave away race tickets, signed racing memorabilia and gear.  Overall, it was a great event even though the NASCAR race never got going.

Overall LVGP500 Results

Pro Class

1.  Team 333- 500 laps

2.  Speed Dudes- 497 laps

3.  Runt(.)(.)Jianni- 494 laps

4.  Boneheads- 489 laps

Amatuer Class

1.  Indo Pratama- 479 laps

2.  Octane- 479 laps

3.  The B’s- 472 laps

4.  Sibum Auto Part- 467 laps

5. Speed Shop- 466 laps

6.  Racer X- 464 laps

7.  Pocono Raceway- 455 laps

8.  Rib Breaker- 454 laps

9.  Wheel2Wheel- 448 laps

The final round of our adult league series ended on Wednesday night.  The competition was fierce and the formats were kept a mystery each week.

In week one the facility did the usual 8 minute qualifier to determine the league groups.  After the qualifier the groups each competed in two 20 minutes feature races.  Kyle Lick won honors for the A group while Samanthalee Greco too the B group and Brian Roemer won the Group C.

Week 2 the format was a true test of endurance.  After the qualifying race each group participated in a 40 minute mini-iron man race.   Halfway through the race the field was inverted and sent backwards.  This added a twist and created challenges for drivers who had never driven the track backwards.  In the A group the honors were split between Kyle Lick and Jeff Shuey.  Group B was a dominate victory by Samanthalee Grecco winning both directions and the Group C was split between Brian Roemer and Jon Stangle.

Week 3 was the biggest surprise of the league series.  League Director, Ryan Suchon, made the decision to throw down powder and make the track surface slick.  None of the drivers had any practice opportunity, so the skill had to come from natural instinct and ability.  In group A Kyle Lick and Jason Frankenfield split the two victories.  In Group B Jim Wilson and Dan Deithorn were winners and in Group C Brian Roemer and Ed Stangle came out on top.

Week 4, the final week was the best week to make up points and climb or fall down the ladder.  The format was each group ran a 8 minute qualifier followed by 3 features that were 12 minutes.  The shorter features meant drivers had to be more aggressive and make moves early.  It also meant that there was an extra feature to earn points.  Jeff Shuey from the A Group took advantage winning 2 out of the 3 features helping him secure a third place in overall standings.  Jason Frankenfield was the other winner in the A Group.  In the B Group Samanthalee Greco continued to dominate winning the final 2 of the 3 features and Jim Wilson took the first of the 3 feathers.  In Group C Mike Krachun came out of the boxes hot winning the first 2 features and Michael Hartberger took the final race.

Overall, this was one of the most competitive leagues in LVGP history.  The formats were meant to keep the races fresh and exciting each week and we are thank to all the drivers who participated!!

Final Standings:

Group A

1.  Kyle Lick, 7,339 pts 2.  Michael Jachowski 7041 pts 3.  Jeff Shuey 6852 pts 4.  Jason Frankenfield 6703 pts 5  Andrew Pettijohn 6638 pts 6. Tyler Benson 4534 pts 7.  Clint Benson 4100 pts 8.  Martin Kompas 3232 pts.

Group B

1.  Samanthalee Greco 7732 pts 2.  Jim Wilson 7183 pts 3.  Daniel Deithorn 6663 pts 4.  Michael Egge 6541 pts 5.  Hunter Stewart 6142 pts 6.  Ashley Giroux 5249 pts

Group C

1.  Brian Roemer 7452 pts 2.  Mike Krachun 7261 pts. 3.  Ed Stangle 7009 pts. 4. Michael Hartberger 6591 pts. 5.  Walter Sahaydak 6279 pts. 6.  Jon Stangle 5568 pts.

Ryan Suchon and Kyle Lick are dirt racers.  They are also the Competition Team at LVGP.  To spice things up at last nights league they decided to add a little of their dirt racing background to the league experience.

Powder Night!  The league drivers got to experience the first ever Powder Night at LVGP.  Using a combination of baby powder and shuffle board wax they created an entirely new experience on the track.

Upon entering the track, driver’s appeared to be driving on ice!  Sliding all over the track and struggling to adjust to the new surface.  It was fun to watch the drivers compete.  ”The true driver’s can figure out how to go fast on any type of surface.” said Ryan.

Overall, the event seemed to be a huge success.  You could see big grins on the driver’s faces as they slid around the track!

Here is a link to a video taken by League Driver, Walt Sahaydak.