Round 2 Race Report

The 2^nd Round of the Reaper Rentals Rookie Racing Series was held last weekend at Grange Motor Circuit.  The Series Point Leader coming in Mike Marino looked unbeatable during practice.  His kart was running well and he was as aggressive as always.  As the green flag dropped on the 1^st Heat Race Marino drove himself to the lead with Brian Smith and Jake Pfeiffer rounding out the top 3.  Marino will never have any competition in the race and lead every lap before winning the race.  Pfeiffer would spin his kart off track on lap 2 at the end of the very long straightaway.  That would end his chances of catching the leaders.  Smith would end up in 2^nd. 

 

Before the 2^nd Heat race, the Reaper mechanics worked hard on the kart set up for Smith trying to find him some speed comparable to Marino.  As the 2^nd Heat began, Marino took the lead with Smith hot on his tail.  Pfeiffer worked himself back to 3^rd about 2 kart lengths off the leaders.  Smith ran directly behind Marino for the first 10 corners before he found an opening and pounced on it.  Smith moved to first and started to drive away.  At the end of the long straightaway, Pfeiffer took his kart off the track for the 2^nd race in a row on lap 2.  Smith’s kart was noticeably faster in the 2^nd Heat and drove away from the field to win the race and end Marino’s dominance of this series.  Marino would end up in 2^nd.

 

As the field was set for the Main Event, the Reaper crew worked hard on Marino’s and Pfeiffer’s karts to help them now catch the speedy Smith.  As the Main started it looked as though the changes helped Pfeiffer and Marino.  Smith from the Pole took the lead, but Pfeiffer was able to overtake Marino for 2^nd place.  Marino would only stay behind Pfeiffer for a few corners before he made his move for 2^nd Place and set his course back towards the lead.  Pfeiffer’s bad luck would continue as coming off the final turn on Lap 1 he broke a throttle cable which put an end to a disappointing day.  Marino would drive to within 3 kart lengths of Smith, before Smith found some more speed to drive away.  Unfortunately the Main was less than exciting as Smith would dominate and win his 2^nd race in 6 days and first win in the Reaper Series.  Marino would hang on for 2^nd.

 

The series finale is scheduled for May 18^th and it is a three driver race for the Championship and the full race sponsorship that comes with the Championship.  Even though you may not be able to win the Championship, you can still come out and race with us at the final event.  Contact steve@reaperindustries.com for info our to sign up.   

The road to California Speedway started to be paved yesterday as Round #1 of the Reaper Rentals Rookie Racing Series was held at Grange Motor Circuit.  For those of you who are new to this site, Reaper Rentals is giving out a full race weekend sponsorship to the Series winning driver of this 3 race series.  The sponsorship is for the Tri-C Grand Prix that is being held at the 1.9 mile infield road course at California Speedway (aka Auto Club Speedway) in Fontana, CA and will bring Pro Drivers from around the Country to this one of a kind race.  The Reaper Rentals Rookie Racing Series is only for drivers who have never raced before so even you can enter.

 

The race day belonged to Mike Marino who swept both Heat races and the Main Event in only his 3^rd time driving a racing kart.  Heat 1 started with a first turn spin by Abhisht A.S. (1^st time in a racing kart).  All of the other drivers avoided him and Brian Smith (2^nd time in a racing kart) held the lead for the next few turns.  Marino would then pass Smith and drive away with the win.  Smith had Jake Pfeiffer (5^th time in a racing kart) hot on his tail for the rest of the race but would hold on for 2^nd with Pfeiffer rounding out the Top 3.

 

Heat two saw Jake Mottram (3^rd time in a racing kart) spin in turn 1 followed by Marino slamming the side of his kart into Mottram.  This catapulted Abhisht to the lead with Smith in 2^nd, Pfeiffer in 3^rd and Jason Young (1^st time in a kart) to 4^th.  Marino bounced off Mottram but kept running.  Lap after lap he passed karts until catching the leader on lap 4.  Abhisht would get loose exiting turn 13 and Marino would pounce on the mistake to take over the lead.  Smith too would pass Abhisht there and move the once leader to 3^rd.  Marino would drive away with the win, but Smith, Pfeiffer and Abhisht would exchange positions for the remainder of the race with Smith finishing in 2^nd, Pfeiffer in 3^rd and Abhisht in 4^th.

 

The Main saw Marino take the lead in turn 1 and never look back.  Smith fell into 2^nd, with Pfeiffer in 3^rd, Mottram in 4^th and Abhisht in 5^th.  Smith and Pfeiffer battled hard every lap of the Main, never having more than 4 kart lengths between them.  On lap 7 Pfeiffer would pass Smith for 2^nd and hold it the remainder of the race.  Smith would end up finishing in 3^rd.  Mottram and Abhisht would race hard as well passing Mottram for 4^th.  With 2 laps remaining in the race Abhisht would spin off of the track.  This gave 4^th back to Mottram and he would hang on to it.  Abhisht would end up in 5^th.