CalSpeed Karting held their inaugural race for their new Super Series League on last July and I have to say, that was probably one of the best efforts I’ve seen for a first race for a new  league. Mind you, this is the first I’ve experienced, but I can tell you that both the Sprint Grand Prix and the Ironman Enduro ran smoother than I expected. There are still a few kinks that need to be worked out, but if they keep the great effort up, I can see this league getting bigger and a lot more competitive.

As for my results, well, it definitely could have  been better.

The Sprint GP format included qualifying, heat 1, heat 2, and the final Sprint GP. I had an underpowered kart for the qualifying, got bumped and shoved around the heat races and finished close to last on the final. Disappointing? You bet, but the experience alone was worth it.

The Ironman format included a 15-minute qualifying, and a final 45-minute solo enduro (with the slower bunch getting ejected from the track every 5-minutes during qualifying, until the top guys were the only remaining for the last 5 minutes). With my enduro experience from CalSpeed’s 4-hour enduros and Dromo 1′s 12-Hour enduro for the past six months, I thought I was going to be able to put up a good fight. Eventually, I qualified and finished in the back third. Another disappointment? A little, but again, it was worth it because I was able to learn from guys with years of karting experience under their belt.

In the end, after points from both the Sprint GP and Ironman were tallied together, and I (miraculously) finished 14th out of 33 (results are shown below). Not bad considering it’s the first race of the season. With practice and some more seat time, I’m hoping to finish in the top 10 by seasons end. Think I can do it? Let’s hope so. My sponsorship quest for next year’s racing season depends on it.

Super Series Points – Round 1

1. Aaron Downs 568
2. Jon Kimbrell 567
3. Taylor Hays 545
4. Sam Brumley 540
5. Patrick Britain 533
6. Diego Morales (M) 527
7. Sergio Bravo (M) 523
8. Jay Schreiber (M) 519
9. Dave Arnold (M) 484
10. Miles Calvin 474
11. Mike Arnold (M) 444
12. Steve Jasinski (M) 405
13. Ted Coen (M) 365
14. Brian Guevara 364
15. Jordan Robertson 339
16. Gerry Florez (M) 322
17. Ben Blank (M) 310
18. Steve Hansen (M) 234
19. Dennis Kimbrell (M) 230
20. Roy Ballard (M) 220
21. Gordie Smith (M) 219
22. Scott Meadow 217
23. Todd Bell 216
24. Luis Arrieta 201
25. Rene Moreno 183
26. Matt Meisberger 180
27. Steve Frame (M) 176
28. John Shepard 174
29. Jake Deangelis 157
30. Ryan Reed 148
31. Daniel Cardenas 144
32. Jeff Latimer 134
33. Mark Meisberger (M) 110