Route 66 Sprint Series tackles Wolf Paving Raceway

The busy month of June began with the second event of the Route 66 Sprint Series presented by MG Tires and Franklin Motorsports. Rounds Three and Four - presented by MTEC - were held at the Wolf Paving Raceway in Dousman, Wisconsin. The home of Badger Kart Club remains a continued stop for the program with a number of club members taking on the series regulars in the seven categories competing on the weekend. Weather over the May 31-June 2 weekend was changing by the minute. Rain was on and off throughout the weekend, especially Saturday with all the main events conducted on a wet track.

The largest category of the event was the Bromberek Racing KA100 Senior division, featuring 32 drivers. Josh Hotz was the lone driver in Saturday qualifying to break the 49-second mark to earn fast time. Hotz was able to lead all seven laps of the Prefinal before the rains came main event time. Kyle Thome got the jump on the opening circuit as Hotz fell down to sixth. Hotz worked his way up to second by lap four, but was unable to work past Thome, who led all 16 laps for the victory in his class debut. Hotz settled for second, earning fast lap of the race, while Aaron Hachmeister earned the final podium position over Alexander Kardashian and Becker Reardon. Hotz began Sunday as he did the previous round, setting fast time in qualifying and leading the entire Prefinal. The difference was no wet track for the main event, as Hotz led all 16 laps for his first victory on the year, becoming the fourth different winner on the year. Kardashian and Tristan Farber completed the podium with Michael Paterno fourth and Stephen Dial fifth.

Brandon Lemke was the only driver to win both main events on the weekend in his respective category, sweeping both rounds in the Merlin Nation X30 Senior class. Lemke began Saturday's round as he cleared the class by over two tenths in qualifying before winning the Prefinal. In the wet, Lemke drove away to a 10-second advantage in the Final ahead of Kyle Thome and Austin Schaff. Sunday was more of the same, this time posting a 46.855-second lap to be over four tenths quicker than any other driver. Lemke went wire-to-wire in the Prefinal and Final to complete the sweep as Schaff took second and Thome finished third.

Four different drivers have won over the course of four rounds in the BBS Technologies KA100 Junior class. Both days, Zach Collins was able to set fast time in qualifying in his series debut for 2019. Each day, Lucas Smalec came out as the winner in the Prefinal to earn the pole position for the Finals. Saturday's main event was all Nicholas Terlecki, who navigated the wet circuit the best, driving away to an eight-second advantage for his first win of 2019. Smalec settled for second with Cameron Christ in third. Dru Lyda and Logan Adams completed the top-five. On Sunday, Smalec fought with Joshua Carlson throughout the 16 laps. With one to go, Carlson secured the top spot and held on to reach the checkered flag first, earning his first victory of 2019. Smalec and Lyda joined him on the podium with Terlecki in fourth and Collins in fifth.

Nicholas Nicholson and Adam Maxwell each took home a win in the Woltjer Racing Engines X30 Junior class. Maxwell led the day on Saturday through qualifying and the Prefinal until Nicolson took over in the Final for his first victory of 2019. Maxwell began Sunday on top in qualifying before Nicholson won the Prefinal. Maxwell responded by securing the victory with a last lap pass over Nicholson for his second victory of the season.

Two sweeps took place in the Mills Pallet Inc. Yamaha Junior division on the weekend. Saturday was all Nico Bratz, as he swept the action in Round Three. Bratz picked up victory in his 2019 series debut over Camrin Cass and Joshua Carlson. Round Four was all Cass, who swept the action over Bratz and Carlson for his first victory of 2019.

The Allison Racing Engines Mini Swift category welcomed its first two-time winner on the weekend. Not before Ava Dobson became the third different winner on Saturday. Round Two winner Cameron Brinkman set fast time in qualifying while Austin Jurs came away with the win in the Prefinal. Dobson navigated the wet track best, leading the final 13 of 14 laps to record the victory. Dane Sensel set fast time in the race to finish second with Austin Jurs completing the podium. Brinkman bounced back from a fifth place on Saturday to sweep the action on Sunday. Brinkman fought off Logan Julien and Dobson for the win in the Prefinal before leading all 14 laps in the Final. Julien ran second with and Jurs completing the podium.

Racing was exciting in the One Powersports Micro Swift class all weekend long. Just 25 thousandths separated the top two in qualifying with Aryton Grim edging out Austin Olds. The Prefinal began without Olds, as he was unable to start the race. Grim came under pressure from Indy Ragan, who ended up winning the race. Grim led the opening circuit of the Final before retiring, handing the lead over to Levi Copass. He would navigate the wet track the best, driving away to a four-second advantage for his second victory of the season. Brayden Zirves earned his first podium of the season with the runner-up performance as Olds fought back to finish third. Ava Hanssen finished seventh in the wet on Saturday, and found speed overnight to sweep the action on Sunday. Hanssen cleared the field in qualifying by four tenths and led all 10 laps of the Prefinal. Olds was a close second, and challenge for the top spot early in the Final. Hanssen secured the position and led the second half of the race for her first victory of 2019. Both Ragan and Grim were able to slip past Olds for the remaining two podium positions.

The Route 66 Sprint Series resumes the 2019 schedule on July 12-14 with a trip even further north in Wisconsin, visiting the CTECH Manufacturing Motorplex inside the famed Road America facility in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Registration and more information regarding the Route 66 Sprint Series can be found online at www.route66kartracing.com or on the Facebook page.