CKNA SOUTH KERSHAW REPORT — LLOYD, MCKEITHAN WIN EVERYTHING IN SENIOR, KLYS WINS JUNIOR

KERSHAW, S.C. — Coyote Motorsports teams raced to great accomplishments at the Cup Karts North America South Division season closer April 28-30 at Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw, S.C., where Owen Lloyd and Christopher McKeithan paired to win all of the six Senior finals on their Coyote Zeniths and Ronnie Klys added a Junior win on his Zenith.

Ten drivers wheeled their Coyotes at the CKNA South race at CMP. The event marked the first series race at CMP’s 0.7-mile Carolina Kart Park since 2021 and the first Vega Tire race at the track since 2016. 

Still most drivers have experience at the South Carolina circuit from past years’ races and practice days that are offered throughout the year. The course’s asphalt is known for its abrasiveness on tires and many drivers noted the tires’ grip would fall off dramatically after only 15 to 20 laps.

The tough course didn’t hold back Lloyd or McKeithan in the senior ranks. The two young drivers both raced to multiple wins on the weekend with Lloyd winning both Senior Heavy mains and splitting the four Light and Medium finals with McKeithan. The weekend was likely the first time Coyote chassis drivers won all six senior finals at a CKNA race.

Lloyd easily won both Heavy mains in 10-kart fields, crossing the finish stripe 10 seconds ahead on Saturday and over 7 seconds in front on Sunday. He qualified P1 both days, as well.

In Saturday’s Light program McKeithan would jump ahead to qualify P1 by less than a tenth of a second over Lloyd. The North Carolina racer would win one of the two heat races but it was Georgia’s Lloyd scoring the final win by a 0.244-second advantage over McKeithan.

Saturday in Medium McKeithan again won the pole award over Lloyd and again won one of the two heats. But in this division’s final McKeithan was able to fend off challenges from championship driver Colin Warren to pick up his first main event win of the weekend.

Sunday started with rain but the track would dry out during heat races to make for a dry round of finals. In the Light final, McKeithan and Lloyd went at it all race with Christopher edging Owen by a kart-length to win his second final of the event. 

McKeithan had a shot at the hat trick in the Senior Medium final, the last race of the weekend. But Lloyd, who already owned a hat trick with his two wins Saturday and Heavy win earlier Sunday, would dominate the 16-lap Medium final and add a fourth set of P1 hardware to his collection. McKeithan would settle for P3 in this one on his Precision Performance Karting / Coyote Zenith.

Chris Carroll and Luke DaCosta joined Lloyd and McKeithan in the Senior Medium division on Saturday, but both sat out Sunday with the morning storms.

Carroll would have the better final of the two with a P8 result. DaCosta, who showed speed early in the day with a P5 qualifying effort, settled for 12th in the final.

DaCosta’s home track is Trackhouse Motorplex (formerly GoPro) in North Carolina, where he’s on a hot streak. The Concord, N.C., racer recently won his first Briggs Senior race of the season on April 15 and added a P2 result to PPK / Coyote racer James Overbeck in the second Senior final of the day. 

Ronnie Klys led the way for Coyote in the Junior division. Riding his orange No. 7 Zenith, Klys opened Saturday timing P2 of 15 juniors in qualifying and he’d go on to sweep the rest of the day in a super impressive performance, winning both heats and the main event by a healthy 1.3-second margin.

Klys would close out the event with a close P2 drive in Sunday’s final. He was 0.013 seconds away from winning both Junior finals in another outstanding weekend for the Jacksonville, Fla., driver as he continues to prove he’s a top junior 206 racer in North America.

Carson Neel was another Coyote entrant in the tough Junior division. Neel recorded final finishes of 11th Saturday and 13th Sunday on his sharp No. 17 Zenith as he continues to gain experience. He also finished P7 and P9 in a couple of heat races between the two race days.

Four drivers were on Coyote Zeniths in the age 35-and-up Masters and 50-and-up Legends divisions — James Inscoe, Ron Klys, Kevin Medearis and Jeff Revis.

Inscoe raced both Masters and Legends with his best finish a P4 in Saturday’s Legends final. The Florida veteran would add a seventh-place result in the Saturday Masters final and he’d sit out Sunday due to the morning storms.

Ron Klys was behind the wheel of his black No. 9 Zenith in Masters. The Jacksonville racer would finish eighth on Saturday and round out the top five on Sunday. Ron’s highlight of the weekend surely came watching his son win the Saturday Junior main.

Medearis was in the mix in Masters on Saturday. He’d round out the top five in day one final after qualifying third and finishing P6 and P4 in the heats. Like Inscoe, Medearis say out Sunday’s action.

Revis was also a Saturday-only racer at CMP. Entered in the Legends division, Revis wheeled his sleek No. 28 Zenith to a P6 result in the final. He finished fifth and sixth in the pair of heat races earlier in the day. 

In the Cup Karts South final point standings, a number of Coyote racers finished in the top five in their class’s championship. 

Lloyd and McKeithan were second and third in both Senior Light and Senior Medium.

Ron Klys, Inscoe and Medearis ended up fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively, in Masters.

Inscoe finished P2 in final Legends points while Revis was eighth.

In Junior, Ronnie Klys fought back from bad luck early in the series to close strong at CMP. He’d finish fourth in the class’s final standings while Neel was eighth.

With the 2023 Cup Karts South Division now complete, Southeast-based Coyote racers will be headed to various tracks and series for the balance of the year. 

Popular series include the North Florida Kart Club’s local program at 103rd Street, Bushnell Motorsports Park in Florida, Trackhouse Motorplex’s Karting Challenge, WKA Gold Cup South events scheduled for Jacksonville, Kershaw and Charlotte, and CKNA’s North and Northeast divisions for those interested in traveling north of the Mason-Dixon Line. 

If you have not yet jumped on the hottest 206 kart on the market, contact Coyote today at 585-352-0806 or coyotekart@gmail.com or reach out to an authorized dealer near you!