Written By: GLSSKarting.com (Tim Reed)

MEDINA, OH (APRIL 27th, 2011)The Great Lakes Sprint Series kicked off it’s 25th anniversary season at the beautiful Michiana Raceway Park facility in South Bend, IN with a HUGE crowd of 245 entries! Friday practice was under sunny, but chilly skies for most of the day. Around 4:00 p.m., the rain started, and would stick around until Sunday morning! The competitors proved to be tougher than the weather, however, and the weekend had some fantastic racing! Some of the best drivers that WKA and GLSS racing has to offer would make the trip, as many of the fields were stacked with top competition from WKA’s Manufacture’s Cup championship series. By the end of the weekend, Grant Quinlan would rack up 3 final victories in the Sportsman ranks, while Emerson Reed and Gresham Wagner would both snatch up 2 final wins.

SATURDAY EVENTS

Saturday morning started out cold and rainy, and the weather would only deteriorate as the day went on, ending with snow flurries as the racing would wrap up for the day. Saturday would see 13 different classes take to the track.

The first class to see action would be the Yamaha Rookie Final 1 class. Harry Coulton found himself on pole followed closely by Trenton Tucker and Jamie Williams. Coulton would finish the pre-final where he started the race with Luke Fines and Trenton Tucker rounding out the top 3. The Final would shuffle the top 3 quite a bit, with Jamie Williams finding himself on top of the podium followed by Ben Varner and Max Kaser.

Next up for Saturday would be Cadet Final 1 with Zane Smith scoring the pole followed by Kaden Harter and Leonardo Stoia. Zane Smith would find himself on top of the leader board at the end of the pre-final, followed by Stoia and Grant Quilan. The final would see Quinlan come out on top with Stoia maintaining 2nd and Smith finishing 3rd.

Yamaha Junior Lite was next on the ticket with Austin Schoonmaker taking the pole followed by Sarah Carmon and Mike McAndrews. Schoonmaker would take the pre-final victory with Carmon able to maintain here P2 spot and Jared Thomas finding his way into the top 3. Schoonmaker would drive away with the victory in the final with over 14 seconds to cushion himself between 2nd place Cody Evans. Carmon was able to finish 3rd.

Next up would be the Kid Kart Comer class. Even the kid karts would have their fun in the rain today! Mark Fineis found himself on the pole followed closely by Parker Abed. Nic Sheppard rounded out the top 3. For the pre-final, Abed would work his way to the top spot with a comfortable win over Robert Noaker III and Madison Campeau. In the final, Abed would retain the number one position with some shuffling going on behind him showing Beau Power and Fineis rounding out the top 3.

Patrick Beatty would find himself on pole for the Yamaha SuperCan Medium class followed by Greyson Eves and Blaine Eves. Beatty would cruise to the pre-final win while Greyson and Blaine would swap positions at the finish line. Beatty would once again find himself at the top spot on the podium for the final while Andy (not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word)man would drive to P2 and Blaine Eves finishing 3rd.

Zane Smith would capture the pole for Komet Sportsman while Emerson Reed and Grant Quinlan would secure the next two spots with only .084 to separate them. The pre-final would bring some of the heaviest rain of the day, and Quinlan would take the win over Smith and Jacob Zellner. Quinlan would maintain the top spot for the Final, Zellner would improve by one spot and Reed would find himself back in P3.

For Yamaha Masters, Ted Cradlebaugh would capture the pole followed by Bill Smiley and Mark Lewis. Lewis would take the win in the pre-final with Cradlebaugh in 2nd followed by Greyson Eves. For the final, Cradlebaugh would win by a comfortable 27 second margin with Lewis and Smiley rounding out the top 3. For Briggs Heavy, Nick Cole would take the pole and both race wins.

Komet Junior Heavy would once again see Austin Schoonmaker on pole followed by Jared Thomas and Sarah Carmon. Thomas would find his way around Schoonmaker for the pre-final win and Mike McAndrews would round out the top 3. McAndrews would find himself 2 spots better for the final taking the win by a very close .228 sec over Jeff Myers Jr. Carmon finished where she qualified, in 3rd.

Yamaha Sportsman Heavy would be next up, with Emerson Reed grabbing the pole over Zane Smith and Grant Quinlan. Reed would take the win in the pre-final over Kyle Tilley and Quinlan. The final would see the same top 3 result as Reed crossed the line first followed by Tilley only .179 sec behind and Quinlan in 3rd.

TaG Final 1 would see Kyle Smith on point followed closely by Jacob Knueven. Robert Bujdoso would round out the top 3 qualifiers. Bujdoso would waste no time in the pre-final, jumping out to the victory followed by Knueven and Smith. Bujdoso would win the final as well, with Smith and Knueven swapping their pre-final finishes.

Parker Abed would grab the Kid Kart LO 206 Jr. pole followed by Nic Shepard and Gage Rodgers. The pre-final would see Shepard on top followed by Abed and Rodgers. Abed would reclaim the top spot for the final, however, with Shepard and Jayden Larson rounding out the top 3.

Jacob Zellner would take the Briggs Sportsman 3 Lite class and Gabriel Zellner would take the Briggs Sportsman Lite 1. This would complete the racing action for Saturday. As the final karts rolled out of post tech inspection, the snow flakes would begin to fall on those packing up for the night!

SUNDAY EVENTS

Sunday would bring some relief from the rain, but the cold persisted with the temperature not going above the 40s until after noon. The competition would once again prove hot, however, as 10 different classes would line up and do battle today.

Once again, Yamaha Sportsman Rookies would kick off the action, this time for Final 2. Harry Coulton would once again find himself starting from the top spot with Ben Varner and Trenton Tucker filling out the fast 3. Pre-final action saw Coulton finishing 1st followed by Tucker and Luke Fineis. The final would see Coulton complete the sweep with Fineis and Varner completing the top 3.

Next up would be Cadet Final 2. Grant Quinlan narrowly edged out Kyle Tilley for pole by only .020 sec. Leonardo Stoia would start 3rd. The pre-final would see Quinlan edging Tilley for the win by .172 sec with Stoia maintaining 3rd. The final would see the top 2 remain the same with Quinlan once again edging Tilley out for the win, this time by a scant .041 sec. Emerson Reed would put in a great drive from 8th to finish 3rd.

Junior Yamaha Heavy would be next up, with Jeff Myers Jr. grabbing the pole position with his 2nd best lap time, as he and Austin Osborne would set the exact same fast time of 46.510! Alex Keyes would start 3rd. The pre-final would see Osborne and Myers swap spots, while Keyes would maintain 3rd. The final would see a different story, however, as Gresham Wagner would race to the win with Myers and Osborne in tow to round out the top 3.

Kid Kart Comer Final 2 would hit the track next with Nic Shepard scoring the pole followed by Gage Rodgers and Parker Abed. The pre-final would see Mark Fineis on top with Abed and Shepard rounding out the top 3. Fineis would find the top step of the podium for the Final, with Abed and Jayden Larson finishing 2nd and 3rd.

Parilla Leopard would see Mick Gabriel over Jacob Knueven during qualifying. Gabriel would beat Knueven to the line for the pre-final win and final wins. Nick Cole would take pole and wins for Briggs Medium.

Komet Junior Lite would be next in the rotation. Alex Keyes would take his turn on point this time, followed by Cameron Meek and Gresham Wagner. Keyes would win the pre-final over Meek, with Jeff Myers Jr. finding his way into the top 3. Wagner would edge out Keyes for the final win with Myers Jr. taking 3rd.

Tristan Van Wieringen would snag the pole in Sportsman Yamaha Lite, followed by Kyle Tilley and Jacob McWhirter. The pre-final would see Tilley and VanWieringen swap spots and Grant Quinlan round out the top 3. Emerson Reed would take his second Yamaha final win of the weekend over Tilley and Quinlan.

TaG Final 2 would see Kyle Smith start first with Robert Bujdoso 2nd and Jacob Knueven 3rd. Smith would take the pre-final win, followed by Knueven and Eric Schumacher. Smith would complete the sweep with the final win, with Kyle Knecht finishing 2nd and Bujdoso 3rd.

Next up would be Kid Karts LO 206 Jr, with Nic Shepard taking pole followed by Gage Rodgers and Parker Abed. Abed would take the pre-final win with Shepard and Rodgers rounding out the top 3. The final would show the same top 3, Abed 1st, Shepard 2nd and Rodgers 3rd.

The final group of the weekend would be Briggs Sportsman 1 Heavy and Briggs Sportsman 2 Heavy. Gabriel Zellner would take the Heavy 1 and Jacob Zellner would take the Heavy 2.

Next up for the GLSS will be G&J Kartway, in Camden, OH, May 13th – 15th. Visit www.GLSSKarting.com to sign up for the event.

The Great Lakes Sprint Series would like to thank all their 2011 series sponsors. This year Kart Sport North America joins the program as the title sponsor of the series in partnership with AM Technical Solution. Other series sponsors include; Comet Kart Sales, American Power Sports, Grand Products, Margay, Gearhart Farms, Jammer Clutches, Team Valhalla, Beaverun Motorsports Complex, Adkins Speedcenter, Checkered Motorsports, Zap Payment System, MCR Engine Development, Championship Racing Performance, Woltjer Racing Engines, L&T Clutches, Michiana Raceway Park, Michigan Kart Supply, Coyote Motorsports, Thor Oil Racing Lubricants, Circleville Raceway, S&M Kart Supply, Bad Boy Brands, The Decal Zone and WaltersWebDesign.com

For more information on the Great Lakes Sprint Series please visit www.GLSSKarting.com