Badger Karts race 4

Mark Heinert leads Mike Bilicki in Shifter Kart action.Dousman, WI- The fourth race in Badger Kart Club’s Bridgestone Championship Series was contested on a picture-perfect May day. The club, marking it’s 50th Anniversary season, has enjoyed a large count of karts thus far in 2009. On this weekend 162 entrants signed into the pits with especially strong support from the TaG Masters Series and the popular Kid Kart class.

One of the 15 contested classes was the Briggs Animal WKA Limited Mod. class, which was again dominated by Regan Vehring. From his front row start Vehring took off as he was chased by Joe Ciszek and Tom Schroeder. By lap three, Vehring had the field by at least six lengths. The battle then heated up for second as Ryan Vehring started to pressure Ciszek. But the Vehring one/two was not to be as Regan sailed to an easy win for the second week in a row over Ciszek while Ryan V. finished third.

Kid Kart Action at Badger. Eric Blumer photo.The HPV Jr. race was a copy of the Mod. contest as Andrew Hobbs smoked the field from the beginning. Hobbs, grandson of famed road racer David Hobbs, was making his 2009 feature debuts as Badger rain-outs and WKA touring races have kept him from the Dousman road circuit. But again, a brouhaha was had for second with point leader Kodiak Wirtz and Nathan Crane. A third of the way through the race, with Hobbs ahead by six lengths, Wirtz rode Cranes bumper throughout the infield portion of the track. Out of No Man’s Land, though Crane would gain a couple of kart lengths. The two beat on each other several times, as they nearly took each other out in the boot and made contact again on the white flag lap at the infield left hander. Hobbs won by four seconds while Crane nipped Wirtz by .7 seconds.

After the race, Hobbs was humble, indicating he wasn’t totally sure he had a big lead and raced as such. He credited his dad, Greg Hobbs for prepping the kart.

As for Crane, the only thing more noticeable than his Mohawk haircut, was his excitement at being runner up. "We get to go to tech." he yelled as he pushed his kart up to be scaled. "This is my best finish in my whole (5 year) career!" the youngster exclaimed. Further explaining he’s been racing since age six. It was an impressive run considering it was only his second go in the HPV class. Of the battle with Wirtz, Crane said, "That was fun. I just caught him out of the corner of my eye," explaining the last lap contact. "I couldn’t have done it without my sponsors and my dad (crew chief Mark Crane)."

Other feature winners on the day were: Bille Lehmann, Natalie Decker, Porter Weisensel, Ryan Hoke, Wesley Steege, Matt Sriver, Jenny Swiercz, Jeffrey Hanisch, Jake Feeder, Ethan Roskopf and Hannah Roskopf.

Jr SSX action at Badger with William Thompson followed by Neil Sczerzen, Tyler Burns, Alex Zambrowski, Kindra Hurlbert and Paige Decker.The club’s next race will be at Badger Raceway in Dousman, Wi on May 31. The race fans and friends are always encouraged to attend. There is no admission charge for grandstand seating during Bridgestone Championship Series races. To get closer to the action, pit passes are available for only $10. Visit www.badgerkartclub.com for the latest information.