It was a competitive and fun round of Jr Leagues for the Spring Series.  The competition was tight from start to finish and the driver’s showed great poise and improvement.

The team at LVGP decided to spice up the race formats adding reverse track to the mix.  ”We felt that the kids had such a great grasp on the racing that we had the opportunity to shake it up,” said Jeff Shuey, Jr League Director.

Not only were the kids racing at a fast pace each week but it was the driver’s ability to understand the track and the passing points that enabled the staff to bring more race formats to the table.  All of the driver’s should be extremely proud of their results.

LVGP would like to thank all of the parents for bringing the kids each week to leagues and we hope to see you all in the Fall League!

Final Results:

Class A

1.  Z Racer (Zack Dunn) 7,059 pts. 2.  JoetheTraitor (Joey Brey) 5,865 pts.  3.  Agile Beast (Noah Kreitzer) 5,171 pts.  4.  Kalynnthemadness (Kalynn Stroble) 4,773 pts.  5.  JPSRacer24 (Jase Smith) 4,631 pts.

Class B

1.  Terminator (Nicholas Winton) 7059 pts. 2.  Jigga (Michael Sava) 5,638 pts.  3.  Dominator24 (Cole Wilkinson) 5,445 pts.  4.  Da Beast (Patrick Bassil) 4,351 pts.  5.  David (David Rush) 4,613 pts.

Class C

1.  Chandler (Chandler Gavin) & Speedyboy88 (Brett Fausey) 7,209 pts.  3.  Sgt Swift (Tommie Kleppinger) 5,831 pts.  4.  Harry (Harry Ryan) 3,263 pts.

The Jameson 12hr is the ultimate test for competitors in indoor karting.  The team at LVGP delivered what could be regarded as one of the most challenging 12hr endurance race formats in the industry.  Teams from all over the East Coast showed up for the challenge including teams from Victory Lane Karting, Allsports Indoor Karting, F1 Boston and Summit Point.

The first 6 hours of the race was run with baby powder on the track.  The racing surface was extremely slick and proved to be a mental challenge for all of the competitors. “When you make a mistake on the slick track it costs you seconds, when you make a mistake on a tacky surface it costs you tenths,” said Ryan Suchon, Competition Director. Teams that figured out the slick surface were able to create sizable leads on the other teams.

The second half of the race the staff let the powder run off and the surface gained grip.  What made it so challenging was the fact that the surface was constantly changing as the race went on. In the first 6 hrs, every time you seemed to get grip the track guys were throwing down more powder.  At the second half of the race as you gained grip the track put a greater physical toll on the body.

To start the race team MIA took a sizable lead with Ryan Curtin flying across the powder track.  Andrew Von Fange from Xpress Lube did a great job keeping pace but Curtin seemed to be the hot hand all day.  The 3rd team from VLK was able to maintain and kept the race within reach throughout the first 6hrs.

As the powder started to run off team VLK made their move to secure the top of the board.  The local team 333 was in a strong position halfway through the race but ran into some challenges and found themselves 4 laps down from VLK.  Throughout the second half of the race 333 made a strong charge to jump into the second position passing MIA for the second position.  MIA slowly faded in the second half after a strong start.  They appeared to be the team to beat but in the end they finished 3rd.

In the Amatuer class Wheel to wheel karting was able to secure the top position from start to finish.  The battle for second place proved to be the most exciting race of the 12hr.  With 10 minutes left in the race and a 1 lap lead team SNOT fought off Zack Dunn from THOSE DAMN KIDS to earn the second spot by less than 3 seconds.

LVGP would like to give special thanks to Fred Ogrim from Victory Lane Karting and Bill Judy from Wheel to Wheel karting for the active involvement and exposure.

Maybe next year we will get Fred and the Victory Lane Crew off the podium ;)

Final Standings

Pro Class

1.  VLK- Fred Ogrim, Hans Soneson, Ryan Curtin

2.  333- Mike Bendar, Carl Bligan, Kevin Bligan, Carter Fartuch

3.  MIA- Ryan Curtin, Andrew Hopwood, Fred Ogrim

4.  Xpress Lube- Jamil Nassar, Andrew Von Fange, Mike Birkle

5.  LVGP- Pat Gillin, Jason Frankenfield, GJ Dixon, Joe Voda

Amatuer Class

1.  Wheel to Wheel Karting- Bill Judy, Matt Williams, Jon Pessoa

2.  SNOT- Tom Philip, John Hall, Joe McGroagty, Chris Haug

3.  Those Damn Kids- Andrew Pettijohn, Zack Dunn, Hunter Stewart, Noah Kreitzer, Joey Brey, Jase Smith

4.  RMG- Jon Zombeck, Pat Gouttevel, Joe Bendor, Bodi Debnath, Jens Scott

The Jr Leagues at Lehigh Valley Grand Prix have become a showcase for some of the best Jr drivers in indoor karting.  Each week it is truly amazing to watch these kids race in 20 minute, wheel to wheel racing, features!  The program attracts kids from all different racing experience levels and provides a great racing experience for everyone!

“We have kids that race sling shots, quarter midgets and outdoor go karts that use the league as a way to keep their skills sharp in the off-season.  We also have participants that have never raced or driven a vehicle in their life!  It is exciting to watch them all improve over the 8 week program,” said Kyle Lick, assistant competition director.

The winter league had 3 classes for the competition.  The league started in mid January and ran until March 3rd.  Each week for 8 weeks the participants would race in a 5 minute qualifier followed by a 20 minute feature.  The fastest qualifier would start on the pole position for the feature race.  The Spring League will begin on April 14th and run for 8 consecutive weeks.  The cost is $175.

We would like to give a big congratulations to all of the Winter League participants and parents and we hope to see you in the Spring league!!  Here are the final results from the Winter League.

Class A

1. Zack Dunn “Z Racer” 5909 pts, 2.  Joey Brey “JoetheTraitor” 5609 pts, 3.  Kalynn Strobel “KalynnTheMadness” 5206, 4.  Noah Kreitzer “Sanitator” 4768 pts,  5.  Hunter Stewart “Flaming Bull” 4631 pts, 6.  Jase Smith “JPSRacer24″ 4528 pts, 7. John Coranati “Vito” 4217 pts.

Class B

1.  Brycen Jasionowski “BMAN” 5916 pts, 2.  Kiel Cochran 5785 pts, 3.  Josh Patterson “Bullet Bill” 5354 pts, 4.  Brandon Gehris “I Like Chicken” 5302 pts, 5.  Spencer Patterson “Spencer” 5080pts,  6.  Kimberlee Taylor “Kimbo” 3687 pts.

Class C

1.  Christian Eckes “Christian” & Alex McCollum “WildChild” 6252 pts, 3.  David Rush ”David” 5194 pts, 4.  Chandler Gavin “Chandler” 5171 pts, , 5.  Nicholas Winton “Terminator” 4518 pts, 6.  Alex Roan “Alex” 4080 pts.