IndyCar driver JAY HOWARD/Arrow kart/KartSport-Arrow team finished second, where he started. But Howard had led until the end, when Heylan hit and ran past him for the checkered flag.
Coming from sixteenth on the grid, BEN COOPER of UK/Praga kart/Praga North America team finished third. He had just won the Senior Division class at the 2011 Rotax Max Challenge Finals in Dubai. Cooper finished second in the Karter Division, which moved him and seven other top Karters into the main event.
DANIEL FORMAL/Birel kart/MRP team won the Karter’s Division, Cooper second, and JONATHAN THONON/CRG kart/CRG USA Team was third.
The outdoor event took place in the parking lot behind the Orange County Convention Center and was open to anyone at the trade show.
PRI announced it was a 3,500 standing-room only crowd for the Red Bull Kart Fight at PRI, Powered by Rotax. The grandstands hold 2,000 people and the rest crowded around fences. The weather was warmer than I expected – low sixties. Still, a coat with muffler and gloves helped.
Show promoter, STEVE LEWIS, was all smiles while in stealth mode mingling with everyone else in the tent.
There were two Divisions – Pro All Stars and Karters.
These drivers really take it seriously, and many were very young. I saw one kid who didn’t look old enough to be in High School.
The lap times were around 14 seconds, according to E.J. VISO. The IndyCar driver said the track was too short for him.
Other IndyCar drivers I saw were RYAN BRISCOE, JAY HOWARD, ALEX TAGLIANI, plus A.J. ALLMENDINGER from NASCAR. It was organized openness, with spectators mingling everywhere at will. Talk about getting up close and personal with a driver or team.
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Thursday afternoon Allmendinger and Briscoe were in the KartSport booth signing autographs. They were to have been joined by Howard, but he didn’t land until 2pm.
Dinger made the day for a young karter, by spending 15 minutes talking with him about the youth’s career, what he drove, etc. The kid’s father said they had been to the local kart track Wednesday night and there were several All Star driers testing, including some Europeans. Allmendinger feigned surprise that drivers would test for this race.
For those who couldn’t attend, there was radio coverage through a kart website.
The races will be shown on Fox Sports Net nationwide, in simulcast at 4:30 pm East and West Coast time. The Amateur Race and Karter Division Broadcast will be on 2 January 2012, and the All-Star race airs 9 January 2012.