San Diego, California
June 28, 2008

Fontukey in late June…not exactly the ideal place to be in Southern California when BBQ’s and beaches are buzzing with summertime activities. The hardcore crew of ProKart Challenge competitors were not swayed by the smells of coconut oil, sea breezes and grilling burgers though. Preferring the heady aroma of two-stroke exhaust and rubber, the top shifter pilots in the region returned to their “home track” to host round 4 of the PKC SoCal season championship, pulling out all the stops for some of the best racing on the planet. The FX Racing Makita Team was no different and testing times showed the new Trackmagic Hornet chassis was set to raise the bar for top spot on the .75 mile CalSpeed Nuovo circuit.

Fans Young and Old turned out for the CalSpeed Round of PKC

Ribs at the Wrong Time
FX Racing’s Philip Conte (Monster Energy/Makita/Trackmagic/Mid-Cities Honda) was flying high in preparation for Round 4. After a the proverbial $2 part cost a chance at the win at the previous round at Willow Springs, Conte and FX Crew Chief Greg Marlow were set to take the field by storm. Pre-event testing and Friday practice showed well for the Trackmagic Hornet as new setup discoveries really helped dial in the kart.

The hard work paid off as Conte decisively took pole position with a lap at 46.6. Both Heats seemed to be a breeze as Conte cruised to victory with little pressure from championship contenders Marty Henderson or Grant Westmoreland. With a strong start in the Main, things looked to be falling in to place for the Lakewood driver to pick up his second win of the season – but it was not to be. The bumpy and physically demanding CalSpeed Nuovo circuit claimed another rib injury as Conte was caught out in turn 8.  Fighting on through the pain, the veteran driver held onto his Trackmagic to finish 3rd, moving into control of the S3H championship.

Barnes Back in the Fold
Returning to the fold, Envista’s Jim Barnes (Monster Energy/Makita/Trackmagic/Envista) stayed competitive atop the tight S4 field.  Fast drivers Bryce Miller and the Musgrave duo did not skip a beat as the field qualified just 0.1 second apart with the younger Billy Musgrave on point and Barnes falling into 4th. 

The first race of the weekend started off rough, both for Barnes who failed to get a strong start but more importantly for young Kyle Zirkle. The enthusiastic shifter pilot, moonlighting as a corner worker, was unfortunately struck by an errant kart. Our thoughts are with you Kyle. Get back to the track soon.

After a restart, Barnes maintained his pace to finish 4th. A mirror image in Heat 2 as a sluggish launch saw Barnes battle to hold on to his starting spot. As temperatures were approaching the 3-digit mark, fitness was the topic as drivers battled to stay up on the wheel for the 20 lap Main. Keeping focus under the grueling conditions proved to be a crucial factor as the leaders made contact in the waning laps. Barnes moved into second spot before relinquishing the position to young Corey Neveau. Finishing 3rd, Barnes picked up valuable championship points.

FX Racing Makita Prize Continued with TaG Senior Winner Will Martindale and the WunderBar/Trackmagic Team tuner Mike Speed

Finally, a Finish
After battling season-long technical issues which caused numerous DNF’s, long-time FX Racing TaG Master’s driver Steve Wiener (Monster Energy/Makita/Trackmagic) recorded his best ProKart finish of his career. Posting competitive times in Friday practice, Wiener and top tuner Kyle Kuntze were feeling strong about Saturday’s chances. Kuntze was on top of every challenging maintenance item thrown his way and kept the Vortex Rok TT on song and on pace.

Wiener qualified a disappointing 6th place after a binding kart robbed some engine power.  The crew persevered with Wiener solidly running in the heat races. Wiener’s recent fitness program paid dividends in the afternoon heat as he moved up two spots to finish 4th in the difficult Main. 

Pole, Track Record - but No Win for Legate
The FX Racing Makita Team’s S3 contender Bobby Legate (Monster Energy/Makita/Trackmagic) was content heading into Qualifying for what has become the top class in Southern California kart racing.  He had good reason to be quietly confident as a blistering pace in testing and practice carried into qualifying with Legate laying down a lap to score pole with a new track record of 45.372. 

S3 Championship contender Patrick Cushenberry lined up in P2 for the first heat race.  At the line, Cushenberry got the jump into turn 1 with Legate in close tow.  Legate applied substantial pressure to the young Utah driver as the two checked out on the field.  With no mistakes, Legate crossed the line just 0.2 behind while up over 3 seconds on the field.

Heat 2 saw the same challenge at the start with Legate not getting a good jump.  Legate slotted back to third in the opening lap jumble. Losing one more spot to Utah’s Tyler Benett, Legate was challenged to find a place to pass despite posting a fast lap of the Heat by almost 0.4 of a second.

Determined to reclaim the top spot in the main, Legate sorted out starting issues and was ready to go.  A solid start, Legate tucked into 4th  and began applying pressure on the leaders, moving up a spot as Mike Beeny made a mistake.  A charging Nick Halen, forced his way by Legate and the two top drivers were looking towards the leaders. Surprised by Bonnier Moulton, Legate battled to hold on to 4th before eventually conceding the spot. The CalSpeed ringer did not go easy on the S3 class as Legate held on to finish a disappointing 5th. 

The FX Racing Makita Tent was a busy place on Race Day

Sabiani’s Second Start
Allen Sabiani, FX Racing’s newest driver making only his second start with the team, had a challenging weekend. Posting strong times in Friday’s practice, Sabiani was pumped for Saturday’s event. Qualifying fell short as the native of France missed his personal best mark by over 0.5 seconds. Sabiani rebounded in the heat races posting faster times making passes to move into fourth. A rear measurement outside of 55” moved Sabiani to the back of the grid for the Main. The slow pace of the rear of the field caught out the rookie driver, leading to contact by turn 3, ending his day.

The FX Racing Makita Team will stay at home for the San Diego round 5 of ProKart Challenge July 25-26.  For more news, check out www.fxracingusa.com

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.