San Diego, California
April 26, 2008

The SKUSA ProKart Challenge rolled into Buttonwillow Raceway Park April 26th for Round 2 of the 2008 Championship. The facility, located near Bakersfield, is a mainstay for folks across California who live to race or just drive fast.  It’s fitting that this playground of speed also has a kart track, which the PKC has made a regular part of its annual championship.  The FX Racing Makita team picked three podiums with two wins in the debut of the new Trackmagic Hornet chassis.

Legate Buzzes to Another Win
Bobby Legate (FX Racing/Makita/Trackmagic) continued his winning ways in S3 on his new Trackmagic Hornet race kart. The 24-year old driver from Newport Beach started off the weekend right dipping below the track record on Friday just after hitting the track for first time in his new ride.

Feeling positive after the practice day, Qualifying looked to be all Legate’s until Clinton Schoombee delivered a surprise in snagging the pole. When the green dropped for Heat 1, Legate set out to correct the surprising grid order, hounding Schoombee for a few laps until taking the lead away at the end of the long main straight. Legate held on to the lead until the end taking Heat 1 win. Heat 2, Legate had a slow start and again spent several laps staring at the back of Schoombee’s kart until he again took the lead and carried it all the way to the checkered flag.

The Main saw a clean start for Legate as he and Utah’s Patrick Cushenberry checked out on the field. Cushenberry ran close although a little too far back to be a threat. Legate found himself all alone at the end, as Cushenberry dropped out with electrical problems a few laps from the finish. Another strong weekend, as the young driver continues to work well with the team and the Trackmagic chassis.

Hard Work Pays Off for Conte
Regular FX Racing Makita driver Philip Conte (FX Racing/Makita/Trackmagic/Mid-CitiesHonda) did plenty of homework preparing for the Buttonwillow round. Spending time working on fitness plus test days prior to the event paid off well as Conte took home a win in the S3H main – with a close to perfect weekend.

Conte’s weekend started off with pole position in Qualifying, which he converted handily into a win in Heat 1. Heat 2 saw another strong performance until a broken chain on lap 7 ended what looked to be another win.

Starting from the back of the field for the Main, Conte had a tough race to pass on the twisting .75 mile track. Conte spent several laps behind the kart of Rob Whitley, while the leaders made ground and pulled away. Once Whitley was dispatched, Conte set off through the field, chasing down the leaders and grabbing the fastest lap. Ending the penultimate lap, Conte closed on leader Westmorland and knew he had to get by to take the win. Seizing his opportunity, Conte made an aggressive pass around the outside of turn one, taking the lead and holding it all the way to the checkers for the win.

Beijing to Buttonwillow for Barnes
San Francisco’s Jim Barnes (FX Racing/Makita/Trackmagic/Envista) has to receive the award for longest trip to make it to Buttonwillow as he was returning from a business trip to China the day before the event. Barnes got used to being back on this side of the world quickly though and proceeded to set quick times in practice, dipping into the 45’s. Qualifying proved a bit disappointing as Barnes was unable to get a consistent lap and ended up 4th on the S4 grid.

Heat 1 saw Barnes battling with young Bryce Miller throughout the race, ultimately finishing in 3rd as the duo of Musgraves checked out for the top two spots. Heat 2 saw more of the same with Barnes passing Miller at the halfway mark to take home 3rd. 

A poor start in the Main let the Musgraves get a small jump, until Barnes saw an opening after a bobble from Musgrave in turn 1.  Misjudging the braking, Barnes made slight contact with Musgrave allowing John Cram to slip by.  For the next 10 laps, Barnes battled to find a way by Cram with the added pressure from Miller charging up from behind. Both Barnes and Miller slipped by Cram as a gap opened up into turn 3.  Barnes and Miller ran nose to tail until the young driver spun the kart with just 1 lap to go, letting Barnes carry on to finish 3rd.

Hot Inside and Out
Prolific Southern California racer Steve Wiener (FX Racing/Makita/Trackmagic) faced another tough weekend. Forced to resort to his backup chassis after damaging his primary at the last round, Wiener was saddled with an elusive engine problem on his Parilla Leopard that prevented him from running at full speed for the duration of each session. Qualifying brought a 7th place spot on the grid despite the problems.

Heats 1 and 2 saw the engine problems continue to impact performance as the engine would drop off after a few laps resulting in a 6th place for Heat 1 and 5th in Heat 2. Continued problems in the Main, however Wiener was able to match his qualifying times as he brought the kart home 6th.

The new Trackmagic Hornet chassis are now available in Shifter, TaG and 100cc configurations.  A winner out of the box, contact FX Racing today to have us build you a championship contender.

FX Racing USA, LLC is a professional motorsports and marketing organization with headquarters in San Diego, CA offering programs ranging from auto and kart racing to corporate team building and training. For more information, visit www.fxracingusa.com.