Smooth racing at revamped Blackhawk Farms Story and photos by Joe Brittin ROCKTON, IL - The Margay.com Championship Enduro Series and the Russell Karting/Dunlop Tire Mid-States Super Series returned to the newly paved Blackhawk Farms Raceway for the first time since a complete repaving was done late last fall. The new surface was welcomed by all since it had been nearly 15 years since the last repaving was done. The smooth asphalt contributed to faster lap times of about two seconds per lap for most classes. Many veteran karters dusted off their equipment and returned to one of their favorite raceways because of the improved racing surface. Some long-time karters who returned for this special event included names like Schatz, Lapke, Stockbridge, Corcoran, Hartwig, Schneiderman, Freeburg, etc. "It was almost like driving at a brand new track," was the comment heard by many since the bumps were gone and the surface grip was very different from the old Blackhawk. The 1.95-mile road course, built in 1967, is located just north of Rockford, IL and is a short drive from the Chicago area. The current owners, Raymond and Michael Irwin, purchased the track in 1986 and have made many improvements to this picturesque facility that still has two big silos on the grounds. The hosting club, River Valley Kart Club, has staged events at Blackhawk Farms for many years. They even had veteran race director Bill Schatz on hand who has been involved with the club for over 20 years. Over 150 drivers signed in for Friday practice and six rounds were held before the 4:30 pm noise curfew. Because of the noise curfew, the Intrepid Kart Pro Shifter race was moved to the end of the day on Saturday. A few brief rain sprinkles fell during practice, but it was not enough to wet the track. The rain cleared out and beautiful weather prevailed throughout the weekend with temperatures reaching into the 80's on Sunday. The moderate weather attracted many campers to this densely wooded facility. Several large campfires were seen burning each night for the many campers to carry on with some bench racing. 4-Cycle racer Brad Richards captured four wins over the weekend by taking wins in the 4-Cycle Open class both days and in the Sprint Briggs class on both days. Eric Larue was a triple winner in the enduro classes capturing the PP SSX Can classes on both days and the Saturday Yamaha Sportsman SBX class. Double winners included Josh Lane in the Sprint Jr. Yamaha YBX Can class both days, Richard Hoff in the Sprint CIK Yamaha Can class both days, Dean Opperman in the Sprint WKA 125 shifter class both days, Johnny West in the 250 Twin class both days, Tom Disch in the Controlled Limited class both days, and Jay McQuinn won the Sat. Yamaha Heavy enduro class and the Sun. Yamaha SBX Sportsman class. Sprint Novice class racer Patrick Travis won the Briggs division of the Novice class on both days. The growing Novice class is now split into two groups for the Yamaha and the Briggs powered karts. The Sat. Novice class winner, Ryan Wykes, won by just .038 seconds over runner up Brian Valin. Matt Gilbert took the Sunday Novice Class win setting fast time at 1:43.359. Setting the overall fast lap time was Johnny West in his 250 Superkart at 1:09.916. The fastest lap time turned in by a 125cc shifter kart was by Clayton Prater at 1:13.740 in the Saturday SK-125 class. Donnie Day turned in the best lap for a sprint Yamaha pipe kart at 1:22.924. Brad Richards had the quick time for a 4-Cycle OHV at 1:26.279. The 125cc shifter karts put on another excellent show with plenty of drafting and close finishes. 43 karts lined up for the Saturday shifter race with Tim Koutney and Clayton Prater battling it out for the SK 125 class win. Koutny took the win and Dan Barth won the Sprint CIK 125 class. The Sunday shifter race saw the results reverse for Prater and Koutney with Prater edging out Koutney for the win by .091 seconds. Lance Lane won the CIK 125 class beating Chad Donner by just .138 seconds. Sunday's race had a scary moment when a motor let go dumping oil through the carousel corner and six karts ended up spinning off the track in that corner. The total number of shifter entries for the weekend was 95, including the SKUSA Mid-America Region race, which ran on Sunday. It is interesting to note that shifter kart entries made up almost 1/3 of the total number of entries for the entire event. The Intrepid Kart Pro Shifter Series race saw some more great shifter kart action where Jason North, Clayton Prater and Chad Donner battled it out in the Pro SK 125 class. The top three finished under a blanket with only .123 seconds separating first through third with Jason North from Team Bermuda taking the win. Rich Salerno picked up the win in the Pro ICC class edging out Tim Koutney by just .169 seconds. The ICC and the Moto classes were turning nearly identical lap times at around 1:14.10. This was the final point race of the 2003 season for the Russel Karting/Dunlop Tires Mid-States Super Series. For information on series points and the 2003 awards banquet, visit www.michkartclub.org. The next race for the Margay.com Championship Enduro Series is August 22 - 24 at Gateway International Raceway. For more information see www.championshipenduro.com. RESULTS (BLACKHAWK FARMS RACEWAY): Saturday Classes: Novice: 1.) Ryan Wykes, 2.) Brian Valin, 3.) Brian Ellis, 4.) Tom Steinbach, 5.) Clint Kleim, 6.) Patrick Travis, 7.) Jake Bustos, 8.) Travis Yoder, 9.) Matt Gilbert, 10.) Stephanie Schumacher, 11.) Michael Ramsdell, DQ-Nicholas Weiss, DQ-Jarred Weiss, DQ-Kyle Butters Jr. 80cc Shifter: 1.) Eric Schumacher, 2.) Quentin Templeton Sprint 80/100cc Open: 1.) Craig Templeton, 2.) Nick Hartl, 3.) Chris Julian Sprint PP SSX Can Lite: 1.) Jarret Schwartz, 2.) Tim Barnard, 3.) Brian Zirves, 4.) James Hurst, 5.) Jim Snyder, 6.) Bob Zirves, 7.) Peter Zambos, 8.) Gerald Revely, 9.) Ron Brannam, 10.) Scott Nevelle, 11.) Donnie Day, 12.) Ryan Petty, 13.) Tory Kammerling, 14.) Mike Lapke, 15.) Mark Kluempers, 16.) Ricky Fauth, 17.) David Roll, 18.) Dave Hamel, 19.) Rich Voss, 20.) Patrick Reinhart Sprint 4-Cycle Open: 1.) Brad Richards, 2.) David Klaus, 3.) Glenn Branstad, 4.) Robert Markiewicz, 5.) David Konen, 6.) Jodi Weiss, 7.) Ron Nigro, 8.) John Koon, 9.) Tiffany Wester, 10.) Dan Bakke, 11.) Tom Pankratz Dennis Stenz, 13.) Julian Schmitz Jr. Yamaha YBX Can: 1.) Josh Lane, 2.) Jessica Brannam, 3.) Ryan Premo, 4.) Clay Kleim, 5.) Corey Marks, 6.) David Gemignani, 7.) Eric Bakke Enduro Formula 125: 1.) Marke Horne, 2.) Mac Hubbard, 3.) Darin Kearn, 4.) Michael Cousin, 5.) Scott Fiesler, 6.) Scott Frost, 7.) John Stockbridge, DNF-Kyle Schreiber, DQ-Bradley Hunt 100cc Piston Port/Controlled: 1.) Brook Roncke, 2.) Gary Makusch, 3.) Martin Powers, 4.) Tim Kizer, 5.) Paul Evans Yamaha SBX Sportsman: 1.) Eric Laehm, 4.) Ken Dressler, 5.) Jame McElheny, 6.) Paul Corcoran SK-125: 1.) Tim Koutny, 2.) Clayton Prater, 3.) Rich Salerno, 4.) Dave Doogan, 5.) Ross Kasner, 6.) Eric Winberg, 7.) Chuck Fritz, 8.) Leo Pastore, 9.) Oscar Navarro, 10.) Ken Ivaska, 11.) Tim Barnard, 12.) Owen Wharton, 13.) Raymond Nabogny, 14.) Dale Nickos, 15.) Greg Wright, 16.) Rick Chdewinski, 17.) Gavin Haulihan Sprint WKA 125: 1.) Dean opperman, 2.) Harold Deihl, 3.) Scott Cole, 4.) David Cole, 5.) Jeff Estres, 6.) Richard DeHauch Sprint CIK 125: 1.) Dan Barth, 2.) Chad Donner, 3.) Jason North, 4.) Joe Barth, 5.) Anthony Santavy, 6.) Ted Steffke, 7.) David Smith, 8.) Tom Kwehn, 9.) Gary Rosenbeck, 10.) Joe Kleim, 11.) Mike Jacobs, 12.) Chad Roe, 13.) Bradley Tadin, 14.) Rich Voss, 15.) Rick Schumacher, 16.) Lester Orlow, 17.) Dan Ciolino, 9.) Jeff Easterday, 20.) Lance Lane Yamaha Heavy: 1.) Jay McQuinn, 2.) Scott Grenier, 3.) Ron Thompson, 4.) Bill Hartwig, 5.) Glenn Gustavson, 6.) Michael Hartwig, 7.) Don Roll, DQ-Duwain Kennedy, DQ-Garrick Schneiderman Piston Port SSX Can: 1.) Eric LaRue, 2.) John LaRue, 3.) Jim Steinbach, 4.) Bob Broehm, 5.) Kevin Thompson, 6.) Jeff Johnson, 7.) John Koch, 8.) Dave Wester, 9.) Brian Wester, 10.) Joshua Larson, 11.) Joe Brittin, 12.) Kevin Tyler, DQ-DeAnne Dressler, DQ-Kirk McElheny, DQ-Scott Frost Jr. Yamaha SSX Can: 1.) Geoffrey Premo, 2.) Brent Brannon Sprint WKA Heavy: 1.) Bob Zirves, 2.) Donnie Day, 3.) Allan Gierz, 4.) Dennis Cole, 5.) David Bird, 6.) Dan Schrementi, 7.) Roger Dehean, 8.) Gerard Schrementi, 9.) nick Hartl, 10.) Wesley Hiser Sprint PP SSX Can Heavy: 1.) Mark Kluempers, 2.) Michael Knouse, 3.) Kurt Freeberg, 4.) Mike Raisley, 5.) Michael Meyers, 6.) Spencer Ramsdell, 7.) Scott Edwards, 8.) Don Tate, 9.) Dennis Jadin, 10.) Tory Kamerling, 11.) Brian Fitzgerald, 12.) Patrick Reinhart, DQ-Kathy Orlow Sprint CIK Yamaha SSX Can: 1.) Richard Hoff, 2.) kevin Thompson, 3.) james Hurst, 4.) John LaRue, 5.) Mike Hoff Enduro 250 Twin: 1.) Johnny West, 2.) William Huck, 3.) Willy Giacobbe Unlimited: 1.) Shawn Menzei, 2.) Tim Gilbert, 3.) Dale Clark, 4.) Thomas Learn, DQ-Keith Tiffany, DQ-Jason North Controlled Limited: 1.) Tom Disch, 2.) Mike Roncke, 3.) John Stockbridge, 4.) Paul Evans, DQ-Don Dean Sprint Animal: 1.) Matt Bakke, 2.) Tiffany Wester, 3.) David Smith, DQ-Kris Ortega Sprint Briggs: 1.) Brad Richards, 2.) Scott Evans, 3.) Ken Paulson, 4.) Wally Dahlquist, 5.) Joey Presnell Sprint Jr. Briggs: 1.) Michael Kocsis, 2.) Ryan Kensinger, 3.) Michael Phillips, 4.) Tom Colson, 5.) Michael Schumacher, DQ-Jonathan Evans Sprint Team SSX Can: 1.) Gerald Revely, 2.) Davy Larson, 3.) Michael Meyers, 4.) Justin Terning, 5.) Bob Cole, 6.) Bradley Jardin, 7.) Dale Gamignani, 8.) Mike Lapke, DQ-Charles Ramsdell. DQ-Richard Hoff Enduro Team SSX Can: 1.) Brent Brannon, 2.) John LaRue, 3.) Jime Steinbach INTREPID KART PRO SK-125: 1.) Jason North, 2.) Clayton Prater, 3.) Chad Donner, 4.) Ross Kasner INTREPID KART PRO ICC-125: 1.) Rich Salerno, 2.) Tim Koutny, 3.) Ray Mabozny, 4.) Oscar Navarro, 5.) Anthony Santavy, 6.) Ted Steffke Sunday Classes: Sprint Novice: 1.)Matt Gilbert, 2.) Clint Kleim, 3.) Tom Steinbach, 4.) Ryan Wykes, 5.) Patrick Travis, 6.) Stephanie Schumacher, 7.) Jake Bustos, 8.)Michael Ramsdell, 9.) Ryan Butters, 10.) Travis Yoder, DQ-Nick Weiss, DQ-Jared Weiss 100cc Piston Port Controlled: 1.) John Stockbridge, 2.) Brook Roncke, 3.) Paul Evans, 4.) Martin Powers, 5.) Royce Donner Yamaha Over 35 Pipe: 1.) Joe Brittin, 2.) Ron Thompson, 3.) Glenn Gustavson, 4.) Don Roll Yamaha SBX Sportsman: 1.) Jay McQuinn, 2.) Scott Grenier Piston Port SSX Can: 1.) Eric LaRue, 2.) John LaRue, 3.) Kirk McElheny, 4.) Jim Steinbach, 5.) Kevin Thompson, 6.) Matt Premo, 7.) Josh Lane, 8.) Dave Wester, 9.) Bob Broehm, 10.) Douglas Morrison, 11.) Michael Schwartz, 12.) Kevin Tyler, 13.) Brian Wester Sprint CIK 125: 1.) Lance Lane, 2.) Chad Donner, 3.) Jason North, 4.) Jeff Easterday, 5.) Joe Harth, 6.) Anthony Santavy, 7.) David Smith, 8.) Ray Mahoony, 9.) Leo Pastore, 10.) Bradley Jadin, 11.) Chad Roe, 12.) Rich DeHan, 13.) Mark Darth, 14.) Ted Steffke, 15.) Tom Kuehn, 16.) Joe Kleim SK-125: 1.) Clayton Prater, 2.) Tim Koutny, 3.) Ross Kasner, 4.) Dave Doogan, 5.) Greg Wright, 6.) Oscar Navarro, 7.) Timothy Barnard, 8.) Ron Schreffler Jr., 9.) Todd Jurs Sprint WKA 125: 1.) Dean Opperman, 2.) Scott Hall Sprint PP SSX Can Lite: 1.) Lamont Critchett, 2.) Janet Schwartz, 3.) Mark Kluempers, 4.) James Hurst, 5.) Peter Zambos, 6.) Donnie Day, 7.) Gerald Revely, 8.) Ryan Petty, 9.) Chris Neville, 10.) Michael Meyers, 11.) Ricky Fauth, 12.) David Roll, 13.) Dale Gemagnani, 14.) Patrick Reinhart, DQ-Ron Brannam, DQ-Mike Lapke Sprint Jr. Yamaha YBX Can: 1.) Josh Lane, 2.) Jessica Brannam, 3.) Clay Kleim, 4.) Corey Marks, 5.) Eric Bakke, DQ-Ryan Fuchs Sprint Animal: 1.) Kris Ortega, 2.) Tiffany Wester, 3.) Matt Bakke Sprint Briggs: 1.) Brad Richards, 2.) Scott Evans, 3.) Wally Dahlquist, 4.) Ken Paulson, 5.) Joey Presnell Enduro 250 Twin: 1.) Johnny West, 2.) William Huck Jr. Unlimited: 1.) Tim Gilbert, 2.) Dale Clark, 3.) Keith Tiffany, 4.) Michael Cousin Controlled Limited: 1.) Tom Disch, 2.) Mike Roncke, 3.) James Fuchs, 4.) Don Dean Yamaha Medium: 1.) Don Roll, 2.) Glenn Gustavsen Sprint Yamaha: 1.) Donnie Day, 2.) Allen Gierz, 3.) Brian Zirves, 4.) David Bird, 5.) Wesley Hiser, 6.) Dan Schrementi, 7.) Nick Hartl, 8.) Lamont Critchett, 9.) Bart bartusiewicz, DQ-Bob Zirves, DQ-David Hamel Sprint 80/100cc Open: 1.) Quentin Templeton, 2.) Craig Templeton, 3.) Chris Julian Sprint 4-Cycle Open: 1.) Brad Richards, 2.) Robert Markiewicz, 3.) Dan Bakke, 4.) Dan Dedering, 5.) Glen Branstad, 6.) Ron Nigro, 7.) Jodi Weiss, DQ-Tiffany Wester Sprint PP SSX Can Heavy: 1.) Michael Knouse, 2.) Scott Edwards, 3.) Carl Swanson, 4.) Tory Kamerling, 5.) Matt Premo, 6.) Spencer Ramsdell, 7.) Dennis Jadin, DQ-Nick Di Gilio Jr. Sprint CIK Yamaha SSX Can: 1.) Richard Hoff, 2.) Jeff Hoff, 3.) James Hurst