The Los Angeles Karting Championship completed the sixth round of the 2019 season on July 21 at the CalSpeed Karting circuit. It was another picture perfect weekend for racing around the Fontana, California facility, contesting the ‘Nuovo’ course. Round Six brought on a handful of first-time winners on the year, in addition to adding victories to those who continue their reign among the best in Southern California.

Three-time HRT KA100 Senior winner Jake Drew was absent from Round Six, opening the door for a new driver to take the top step of the podium. Jared Caylor stepped up to the plate, earning his first podium finish on the year by sweeping the round. Caylor barely edged out Douglas Creesy for the fast time in qualifying by 19 thousandths. That was the closest anyone got to Caylor for the rest of the day, as he led all seven laps in the Prefinal and went wire-to-wire in the 18-lap Final for the victory. The battle was for second, with Luis Perez grabbing the position ahead of Ethan Barrett. Henry Falls-Hand was fourth with Nathan Martin in fifth.

Izaac Gutierrez became the third different winner on the year in the P1 Engines Mini Swift class. Gutierrez swept the round to earn maximum points in his first victory of the season. Qualifying was tight, with the top three separated by only 86 thousandths with Gutierrez on top of Dane Idelson and Wyatt Vidovich. The top two went back and forth in the Prefinal until Gutierrez secured the win while Idelson recorded fast lap. Idelson jumped out to the lead to begin the main event while Gutierrez fell to fifth. Idelson led the first four laps before Evan Reuben took control. Gutierrez slowly found his way back to the point. Taking over the lead on lap 16, Gutierrez held on to take the checkered flag for the victory. AJ Matheson followed through to finish second with Idelson completing the podium. Reuben was fourth with Tristan Young rounding out the top-five.

Carson Morgan became the first repeat winner on the year in the Mack Motorsports X30 Junior class. Morgan won back in Round Two, and was able to add a second in Round Six. Colin Queen began things on the day with fast time in qualifying, edging out Round Three winner Cole Morgan by 13 thousandths. Carson Morgan was fourth in the session behind Frankie Mossman. The top four pulled away with Carson Morgan jumping ahead of Queen at the checkered flag in the Prefinal. The Morgan brothers checked out in the 18-lap Final, with Cole earning fast time but coming up short in the end with Carson securing the victory. Queen was running third until he retired with three laps remaining. The fight for fourth became the battle for the final podium position, with Cooper Hicks taking the spot ahead of Round Four winner Blake Nash and Enzo Swan.

The Sanner Racing KA100 Junior division also welcomed a third different winner on the year. Four-time winner Cole Morgan began Round Six with fast time in qualifying over Tyler Ruth by 75 thousandths. Cole Schroeder was third in the session, and joined them in the battle for the Prefinal win. Ruth sat third for much of the race before moving up to the top spot for the win. Ruth and Morgan fought for the top spot throughout the Final until Schroeder began his move forward. Working past Ruth on lap 16, Schroeder took the lead from Morgan on lap 17, holding the top spot through the final lap to earn his first LAKC victory. Kasey Gillis and AJ Zarcone followed him through to complete the podium with Morgan fourth and Ruth in fifth.

Caden Chrisman grabbed his second straight victory in Empire Karts Micro Swift in similar fashion. Chrisman found himself third after the Prefinal with top qualifier Alexander Gonzalez earning the win. Chrisman came on strong in the Final, fighting lap after lap with Gonzalez. Chrisman secured the top spot on the final circuit, reaching the checkered flag first. Gonzalez slipped to fourth with Truly Adams and Alex Mercado grabbing the podium spots. Rocky Moran completed the top-five.

A second win in the 2 Wild Karting X30 Pro class helped Billy Musgrave add another two win performance to his record. Musgrave swept the category in a rare wire-to-wire performance on the day. Musgrave held off Joey Brienza every session, with Jake Drew completing the podium. Bryce Stevens was fourth with Branden Underwood in fifth. Musgrave went unchallenged in the Baldozier Racing Pro Shifter 1 class for his fifth straight.

Add in John Crow and Brett Harrelson as double winners at Round Six. Crow scored victories in the Nash Motorsportz G1 division and the Fleming Racing Engines KA100 Super Master. Each victory performance was done with a sweep, grabbing the win ahead of Carl Lewis in G1. Howard Combee and Terry Giffen joined him on the podium in KA. Harrelson earned a third straight sweep in the Tru-Tech Racing Engines X30 Master class, outrunning Robert Perez and Steve Martin. Harrelson went unchallenged in the PKS S4 Super Master Stock Moto division.

The Ruthless Karting KA100 Master class welcomed its largest field of the season with a similar end result. Nick De Graaf made his class debut, setting fast time in qualifying and winning the Prefinal. Four-time winner Mike Smith jumped ahead at the start of the Final, and held on to claim his fifth victory of the season. De Graaf settled for second with Edison Noboa in third. Emon Fazlollahi returned to the top of the podium in Mad Old Nut Racing Pro Shifter 2 division. Connor Robles set fast time in qualifying before Fazlollahi took control, winning the Prefinal and Final. Carlee Taylor drove to second with Josh Weis placing third in his LAKC debut.

Nixon Ellsworth claimed his first victory in the Formula Works Kid Kart Expert class. Round Two winner Keegan Ellsworth set fast time in qualifying before Nixon took over in the Prefinal. The two were in a fight with four time winner Zate Legend until he retired on the last lap. Nixon was able to edge out Keegan at the line by four thousandths of a second for the victory. Keegan Rabicoff completed the podium. Gavin Lewis won his third in the HPD Kid Kart Novice division, sweeping the round ahead of two-time winner Oscar Padilla and Ruby Murphy.

Other winners on the weekend include Slava Prikhodko (Phil Giebler Racing Open Shifter), Vincente Salas (MRC S3 Novice Stock Moto), Michael Korody (DMG Motorsports S2 Semi-Pro Stock Moto), Mathias Coito (Kimball Williams Racing S5 Junior Stock Moto), and Wolfgang Kladde (MDG Karting X30 Intermediate).

The Los Angeles Karting Championship is set to host Round Seven of the 2019 championship program at their home of the CalSpeed Karting facility on August 25. For more about the Los Angeles Karting Championship program, please visit LAKC.org and ‘Like’ them on Facebook and follow on Instagram.

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About the Los Angeles Karting Championship (LAKC):

Since 1985, the Los Angeles Karting Championship series, a true 501(c) (7) non-profit organization, has provided a family-friendly, sprint kart racing environment for all ages in the Southern California region. Our mission is to provide the most competitive, largest sprint kart classes in the region at the lowest prices in the industry. We are extremely proud of averaging of 2,400 competitive entries per year. Our series operates from the CalSpeed Karting facility located in Fontana, CA. For more information about the Los Angeles Karting Championship please visit www.lakc.org.