WAMPUM, Pa. (Oct. 8, 2011) – Coyote Motorsports accomplished one of its best race events of the season this past weekend with five wins and 18 top-five finishes at the GT Machine Grand Nationals, the fourth and final round of the 2011 World Karting Association Russell Karting Gold Cup Series at the BeaveRun (Pa.) Motorsports Complex.
Coyote teams from western New York and other areas of the country traveled to western Pennsylvania and faced cold, rainy conditions throughout the three-day event. It
was the first time the Gold Cup Series saw unfavorable weather in 2011 as pleasant, dry conditions were the norm at the opening three rounds of the tour in Jacksonville, Fla.; Camden, Ohio; and New Castle, Ind. Every race at BeaveRun from Friday through Sunday was run in the rain.
Teams worked together to adapt to the weather during Friday practice, including determining the best rain tire to run and making various chassis setup changes.
“Everyone in the Coyote camp worked together, shared setup information and ran great,” Coyote owner Jim Lipari said after the weekend. “It was a total team effort. When conditions are cold and wet like they were at BeaveRun, it’s easy to get discouraged and lose focus. I’m very proud of all our drivers and mechanics because everyone worked well together and kept their heads in the game despite the bad weather.”
Lipari kicked the weekend off with a second-place finish to Gary Lawson in Friday night’s Money Race. Lipari decided late in the day that he wanted to run the Money Race, prompting a rush of teamwork at the Coyote hauler before the special 30-lapper.
“I decided to run the Money Race less than an hour before we needed to be at the grid. We had a lot of friends help us get the kart ready to run in the wet, includingRyan McDermott, Mike Fauci, Dad, Brett Peters and the Zobkiw brothers. Those guys busted their butts to help me prepare the kart for wet weather. If not for them I would not have been able to compete let alone finish second, and those guys were responsible for me running as good as I did!”
Several Coyote drivers accomplished their best weekends of the 2011 season at “the Beaver.”
Hamburg, New York’s Jake Lutz, a Coyote factory driver, entered the Grand Nationals with two feature wins on the season in the Sportsman 2 category. With national championships on the line, the 12-year-old National Bank Equipment-sponsored racer left nothing on the table at BeaveRun, scoring wins in Sportsman 2 Lite and Sportsman 2 Heavy on his way to a clean sweep of the weekend with fast-time Pole Awards in both classes, heat and main event wins.
In his best season yet, Lutz won 50 percent of the Gold Cup races he entered in 2011 (four of eight) and finished outside the top five only once. While final point standings have not yet been posted, it’s expected Lutz won at least one national championship, which would mark the second national title of his WKA career.
North Chili, New York’s Tyler Orlop improved throughout the year and finally netted his first career Gold Cup win.
There isn’t a better time to win your first feature than at the Grand Nationals, which awards winners with the prestigious WKA Eagle trophy. Orlop secured the triumph in the ultra-competitive Restricted Junior division. While the main was canceled due to heavy rain making the track unsafe for racing, Orlop won the Pole Award and the heat race, giving him the overall victory for the day and the elusive Grand National victory. Orlop also finished a strong second in the Jr Lite class.
Seven-year-old Brockport, N.Y., youngster Nick Fauci wheeled his Coyote chassis to career-best finishes of second and third at BeaveRun. The Coyote factory driver finished third against the country’s best young 4-cycle sprint racers in Saturday’s Sportsman 1 Lite main, crossing the stripe just ahead of fellow Coyote racer Joshua Stark. Fauci returned Sunday to improve a position and net the runner-up finish in Sportsman 1 Heavy. Similar to Orlop, Fauci improved throughout the year and had his best weekend in the season’s final race.
Victor, New York’s Ryan Bavineau won his first-ever Pole Award in Saturday’s Jr Heavy division. The 13-year-old talent finished sixth in the Jr Heavy main, but his best finish of the weekend came in Sunday’s Restricted Junior, which saw Ryan accomplish a fifth-place result and add to Coyote’s weekend top-five total.
Senior divisions (15 years old and up) saw several Coyote drivers race to top-five results. Stock Medium, the largest Gold Cup class at over 20 starters, saw factory drivers Jason Zobkiw and Scott Kleman finish third and fifth, respectively. J. Zobkiw also crossed the stripe third in Stock Heavy while his brother Dylan Zobkiw was fifth.
Lipari was once again a double race winner with another sweep of the Animal Modified mains. Lipari won both days for his fifth and sixth Gold Cup triumphs of the season.
“I want to send a big shout out to our racers,” Lipari said. “Tyler Orlop on his first national win and Ryan Bavineau on his first pole; obviously Jake Lutz and his great weekend and success all year. Nick Fauci did a terrific job finishing second. He’s only 7 years old and showing a ton of talent already. And the senior racers – the Zobkiws, Stiefels, Scotty Kleman and Kaytlyn Fauci for their good runs. I also want to thank Steve Baker for providing the Animal Mod engine for me to run. The motor was flawless all season and a lot of fun to race.”
The WKA Gold Cup Series now enters the offseason. The Coyote Motorsports camp will work throughout the fall and winter months to improve on 2011’s events and prepare for the new 2012 season, which is slated to open in March.
While on-track action will be rare between now and the spring, Coyote Motorsports will continue keep customers, supporters and fans informed with press releases and announcements throughout the winter months.
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Press written by New Concept Race Media. For more information, visit www.NewConceptRaceMedia.com.
Photos courtesy KRAPP Photos; Columbia, Tenn.
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