November 11, 2009
Team Odkarts.com tackles Las Vegas
From November 17-22 the Overdrive Motorsports PCR team invaded Las Vegas with 4 Calgary based drivers looking to challenge the World’s best at the 13th annual SKUSA Supernationals.
Coming off a successful first season in the Senior ranks, Tyler Wheeler was entered in the stacked KF2 class taking on a star-studded field of international competitors. After spending the practice days getting acclimatized to his KF2 power plant, Wheeler managed to qualify his PCR 10th in the field of 31 karts. In the heats, he was twice the victim of a first lap incident which resulted in him starting the final in the 21st position. Once again, Wheeler was on the receiving end of contact, putting him at the back of the field as they completed lap 1. From there he put his head down and delivered an impressive drive to 16th position.
Junior drivers Emily Maddison and Austin King were both making their first trips to the Supernationals, while at the same time adjusting to the unfamiliar Leopard motor used in the TagJr class. In the field of 65, Maddison and King both qualified just inside the top 50 as they came to grips with the tricky parking lot circuit. Both drivers knew they would have their work cut out for them to get into the top 34 and transfer directly to the main. Maddison had an impressive run to 15th in her third heat, however she would still have to start 12th in the Last Chance race where only the top 6 would transfer to the main. King on the other hand would have a disastrous run of bad luck, ending up with two DNF’s, and would have to start the LCQ from 28th place.
In the LCQ the PCR drivers would show their best speed of the weekend, with Maddison getting inside the top 6 at several points as she was part of an intense battle for the final transfer spot. In the end she would end up 7th, missing the main by one heartbreaking position. King would manage to improve a massive 14 positions in the 12 lap race, setting times fast enough to run in the top 6, however his 28th place starting position proved to be too much of a handicap and he was also left on the outside looking in.
S3 Driver Jake Thompson headed to Vegas looking to run up front, but like his teammates he was running in an unfamiliar class. After qualifying mid pack, Thompson ran well in his heats finishing 10th in heat 1 and 12th in heat 3. A DNF due to a broken ground wire on the coil in the second heat pushed him further back although still transferring to the “A” main. On Sunday morning, they were finally able to put everything together and showed the potential of the PCR chassis by clocking in 7th during final warm-up. However, any hopes of a charge through the field were dashed by a first lap incident. A fast push start after the crash got him get back in the race, albeit half a lap behind. Despite the gap caused by the first lap incident, he continued on to bring home the kart in 29th position.
In the end Team Overdrive was able to draw lots of positives from their first trip to the Supernationals, and everyone is already excited about a return trip in 2010. Team manager Joey Guyon summed up the weekend by saying “The Supernats was a great experience. I am fortunate to be surrounded by such a great crew of drivers and mechanics. We showed up well prepared and will build off this year’s experience to make sure these drivers are competing in the top 10 next season”.
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