6/1/2020
KC Sparks
Seconds in Iowa and Wisconsin
Minnesota Missile Monday: Seconds in Iowa and Wisconsin
May 25, 2020
Plessis Motor Speedway (Hartley, Iowa)
The team pulled into Plessis MOtor Speedway to find a pit area full of karts. The excitement of opening day was in the air and KC was excited to hit the dirt. There were 5 BP karts on hand for competition. Although that number is small, there haven’t been any BP karts to run regularly at Plessis so to jump to five for the opener was exciting.
KC drew the middle of the field so lined up third for both heats. The opening heat saw Nixon Heiderscheidt and Gaige Weldon pace the field. A quick caution flew and Weldon ended up losing his chain, sending him to the pits for the first heat. Heiderscheidt took the early lead but KC was able to find a line under him and claim the top spot. The second heat saw KC lining up behind rookie driver Hunter Hanson with Willy Kirk alongside. Hanson set the pace and KC motored to his inside at the drop of the green. Weldon was able to work his way past Hanson and was chasing KC. Halfway through the heat, Weldon made the pass on KC and cruised to the heat win with KC settling for second.
The heat finishes put KC on the pole of the feature, starting alongside Heiderscheidt. KC had a great start and Weldon was right on his back bumper forcing Heiderscheidt back to third. Weldon stayed on KC’s back bumper and gave him several shots to get him loose but KC kept driving out of them. On lap 6, Weldon was able to get a nose under KC going into turn three and although they bumped and fought for the track position, Weldon had the preferred line and took over the lead. The lead duo had pulled away as Heiderscheidt and Kirk battled back and forth for third while Hanson was ready to take advantage of a mistake by either driver. Weldon caught the back trio and took the checkers first with KC followed by Heiderscheidt, Kirk, and Hanson.
Sizzlin’ Summer Series - Cedar Lake Indoor Arena (New Richmond, Wisconsin)
After a short night, the team checked in at the Sizzlin’ Summer Series Race #1 and found themselves in an 8 kart field of Jr. Wing drivers. KC’s draw lined him up outside row 1 for the first heat alongside Cade Nelson. With some pushing from Trenton Boyer from behind, KC motored into the lead with Boyer close in tow. KC and Boyer ran nose to tail just ahead of the field with Boyer closing at times and KC pulling away in the next turn. KC was able to hold off the challenges and claim the heat 1 win. He was followed by Boyer, Nelson, Tylar Alton, and Garrett Tatnell.
The heat two lineup invert put KC inside the last row with Gage Pulkrabek and Alton on the front. KC quickly moved into fifth position while Pulkrabek took the lead down the backstretch from Alton. Tatnell was running third with Boyer fourth and KC working the back bumper. On lap 4, Boyer was able to get Tatnell high down the backstretch and move ahead but KC did one better and overtook Tatnell and Boyer getting into turn three. KC was able to drive to the third place finish while Alton reclaimed the top spot from Pulkrabek to take the win.
The fifteen lap feature saw KC setting the pace from the pole with Alton to his outside. KC was able to power ahead to over a 2 second lead and maintain the cushion while hitting his marks. Just before halfway, the kart started making a high pitched noise like the chain was coming loose but KC was in it til the end. In the final three laps, Boyer led the chard with Alton and Pulkrabek in tow to catch KC. Down the back stretch, KC struggled and Boyer tagged his back bumper and moved ahead. KC was able to pull back into line and finish second after leading 14 ½ laps. The rest of the field was Alton in third followed by Pulkrabek, Tatnell, Nelson, Michael Hucovski, and Andrew Christiansen
“It's these ones that get away that really hurt,” said Brad when the team was back in the pits.
“I just threw it in the corner and hoped it stuck because my arm was hurting so bad,” KC explained after realizing his header pipe had broken and was blowing hot exhaust on his arm.
Upcoming Schedule:
Friday 6/5: English Creek Speedway Season Opener
Saturday 6/6; Newton Kart Klub Season Opener
2020 Partner/Sponsor Appreciation
Autoland; Sioux Falls, SD
Furby’s Auto Repair; Sioux Falls, SD
Last Deck LLC; Jackson, MN
Heser Auto and Detailing; Jackson, MN
DRE Horsepower; Boyden, IA
Jared Bailey Photography; Carlisle, IA
MyRacePass; #TeamMRP #GetTheApp
GRP Motorsports; Stillwater, MN
TL Racing; Jackson, MN
YTD Stats:
Features: 7
Wins:1
Top 3: 3
Top 10: 7
Heat Wins: 3
Article Credit: Stephanie Sparks
