July 21, 2014 – Coyote racers from around the eastern half of the country traveled to southwest Ohio the weekend after Fourth of July for the second round of the World Karting Association Gold Cup Series at the historic G&J Kartway in Camden.
Two Coyote drivers netted wins at G&J, where over 200 entries made it another strong turnout for the Gold Cup.
A highlight of the weekend came Saturday when youngster Blake Boon raced his Coyote Kriptonite to his first-ever national win in the LO206 Kid Kart division. Blake out-raced three other competitors for his first Gold Cup triumph in his third event in the series. Boon made his series debut at the 2013 season-closer last October at Carolina Motorsports Park.
Coyote owner Jim Lipari was thrilled to see Boon score his first win.
“That was an exciting race! Blake and the other little guys are really awesome to watch, and it’s great to see the Kid Kart division growing. The Boon family puts a lot of effort into Blake’s racing and it’s showing. Blake is a good young driver and he’s really helped us develop this Coyote Kryptonite Kid Kart chassis. We’re hoping to see more Kid Karts come out at the upcoming races.”
Blake also finished second to Georgia racer Jax Walker in Sunday’s Kid Kart contest.
Jet Tobin was also on a Coyote Kriptonite and had engine problems throughout the weekend. He finished fourth both days and we’re hoping the problems get resolved so he can get up and challenge Blake and the rest of the group like we know he is capable of.
In the competitive Sportsman Pro Gas divisions Nick Fauci and Austin Williamson carried the Coyote banner. Nick raced his XP to top-five finishes in three of the four Sportsman Pro Gas finals.
Austin Williamson ran the Sportsman Pro Gas Lite class only and scored a solid fourth-place finish in Sunday’s main event. He finished seventh on Saturday and it was a really good showing for his first-ever Gold Cup event.
Team Coyote was well represented in the Junior divisions. Joshua Stark, Cameron Clifford, Rafael Leon, Matt Tortorell, Talia Moffet and Nate Shelhart all competed in the competitive 12- to 15-year-old categories.
Stark is right on the verge of his first Gold Cup victory and almost scored it this past weekend. Behind the wheel of his sharp bright yellow #39 Coyote XP, Stark raced in all six Junior main events and recorded a pair of runner-up finishes to Zach Wells in Junior Heavy, a pair of third-place runs in Junior Medium, and a fifth and sixth-place result in the ultra-competitive Junior Pro Gas Animal.
Stark nearly had Wells beat in Junior Heavy but came up just short. We’re excited to hear that Josh and his dad, Jeff, will be attending the acclaimed Bondurant Driving School in Phoenix, Arizona, in a couple weeks, where Josh will work one-on-one with a certified instructor to develop his driving skills. Josh won a $500 gift certificate to the school at the Jacksonville WKA Gold Cup opener in March.
Cameron Clifford was quick all weekend in his first Gold Cup outing of the year. Cameron ran well but just didn’t have quite enough to challenge for a win in Junior Medium. He finished fifth both days and hung with some very talented drivers in the alcohol Animal Junior division.
Rafael Leon switched from a Margay to a Coyote Wide Track after Jacksonville and improved greatly. The Florida driver nearly scored a top five in Saturday’s Junior Pro Gas main but had to settle for sixth place, just behind Stark. On Sunday Leon finished eighth in Junior Pro Gas. He also ran Junior Heavy on Saturday and raced his Coyote to a fine fourth-place result.
Matt Tortorell continues to improve. After recording a pair of eighth-place finishes at Jacksonville, Matt finished seventh and eighth in the Junior Pro Gas main events at Camden. Tortorell continues to gain experience in his first season on the Gold Cup circuit and we’re looking forward to watching him the rest of the season.
Nate Shelhart and Talia Moffett both ran their first Gold Cup events. Shelhart ran strong to an impressive fifth-place finish in Sunday’s Junior Pro Gas feature. Moffett had problems in Sunday’s heat and feature and retired early from both, but she did run well Saturday, racing to a seventh-place result in Junior Pro Gas.
A number of Coyote racers competed in the Senior classes.
Josh Stiefel was very impressive at Camden and he capped his weekend with a big win in the last Senior feature Sunday, Animal Heavy Mix. Stiefel passed Paul Headley late in the race to score his first Gold Cup victory of the season. Josh also ran strong in Senior Pro Gas. He raced in the lead pack all weekend and recorded a solid fourth-place finish in Sunday’s 20-kart Pro Gas Animal main event.
“Josh did a great job and I’m not surprised he picked up the win Sunday at Camden,” Lipari added. “Josh is one of the many drivers who have continued to help us develop the XP chassis, and we have others like Dylan Zobkiw who have worked hard with us on the WideTrack chassis. I’m running the Animal Medium class this year, as well, to help with the continuing development of the XP. We’ve been trying a lot of different setups and we hit it pretty good on Sunday until we had an engine issue. Many of our drivers ran well at Camden and Josh certainly shined with his win in Animal Heavy.”
Nick Fauci was the top running Coyote in the competitive Sportsman Pro Gas Animal divisions
Josh’s dad Tim Stiefel lost 25 pounds between Jacksonville and Camden, saying he wanted to beat his son in Animal Heavy. He did it Saturday, running strong all day and finishing third in the Animal Heavy feature. And the two drivers who beat him were are some 30 years younger than the veteran Gold Cup racer!
Veteran Scott Kleman raced his Coyote Wide Track to a couple of top-five finishes in Pro Gas Animal. Kleman finished a strong fourth in Friday’s Money Race and backed it up with a fifth-place run in Saturday’s Pro Gas Animal main.
Nick Cole wheeled his Michigan Kart Supply entry to good finishes in Pro Gas Animal. Cole, who’s been doing some enduro road racing lately, as well, finished just outside the money both days. He was seventh Saturday and sixth Sunday.
After skipping Jacksonville, Sarah Luoma made her senior debut at Camden. Like Cole, Luoma ran very well but finished just outside the money. She was sixth in Saturday’s Pro Gas Animal and seventh in Sunday’s main. Sarah was impressive in her senior debut, a year after she won a pair of WKA national championships in Junior.
Jordan Mincey continued his impressive showings in the new LO206 Heavy division. The Jacksonville racer finished second Saturday to Gary Lawson and earned $200 for his effort. He returned Sunday to race to a third-place finish in the LO206 main.
Mincey traveled north to Camden along with Florida racers Patrick O’Neal and Brad Farmer of Brad’s Karts & Parts. O’Neal and Farmer competed in the Animal Heavy Mix division. O’Neal finished fourth Saturday and seventh Sunday, while Farmer was seventh Saturday and fifth place in Sunday’s main.
Defending Pro Gas Animal national champion Dylan Zobkiw has had better weekends. Zobkiw had mechanical problems in qualifying Saturday, which caused him to lose valuable track position. He came away with finishes of 11th and 10th in Pro Gas Animal, but a silver lining came with a special $50 bonus award posted for the driver to advance the most positions in the Senior Pro Gas main events. Dylan won the award both days and collected a $100 bonus on the weekend.
Cayla and Mike Chapman traveled to Camden from their Upper Peninsula Michigan home. Cayla ran well in Animal Medium and earned a pair of third- and fourth-place finishes in the competitive races. Cayla also finished 13th of 22 starters in Saturday’s Pro Gas Animal feature.
RJ Stevens made his Gold Cup debut at Camden. RJ competed in the ultra-competitive Senior Pro Gas Animal divisions and netted top-20 finishes both days. We’re always happy to see new competitors in the series and we’re looking forward to RJ improving throughout the rest of the season.
The next road trip for many Coyote Motorsports racers will be the August 15-17 Gold Cup Nationals at Michiana Raceway Park in South Bend, Indiana. The event marks the third round of the 2014 WKA Gold Cup Series before closing the season in October at Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw, South Carolina.
Congratulations and “thank you” to all the Coyote racers who competed at Camden, and we’ll see you at South Bend in August!
If you’re interested in attending a Gold Cup Series national at South Bend or Kershaw, or you’d like more information on a Coyote chassis or parts, be sure to visit Coyote’s official website at CoyoteKarts.com or call the shop directly at 585-352-0806.
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