San Diego, California
March 11, 2009

The FX Racing Makita Team travelled to Buttonwillow Raceway Park for Round 2 of the IKF Region 7. The team was looking forward to a dry race weekend after the tricky, changing conditions encountered at Round 1.

Three Wins of Four for Spaulding
Trackmagic Racing Karts Factory Driver Kiel Spaulding came into Round 2 of the IKF Region 7 Championship ready to put the frustrations of the previous event behind him. After Spaulding set a blistering pace in the dry practice sessions for Round 1, the field was equalized a bit by rain for the rest of the weekend. The wet track, combined with some tough calls by officials, dampened but did not snuff the strong performance the young Northern California driver delivered at CalSpeed. Buttonwillow would bring the opportunity to show that his new Trackmagic Hornet 100 with Swedetech power was going to be at the sharp end of the field in rain and shine.

Running this event with the FX Racing Junior Team, Spaulding lost no time getting his Trackmagic dialed in on Friday. Supported by his primariy wrench, Dave Spaulding, Jason Berry from Swedetech and Ryan Perry of FX Racing, the Trackmagic Factory driver made the most of the short practice day Friday. Running two chassis – one for HPV-2 and one for Junior Super Sportsman, Spaulding locked in setups that had him running very competitively.

Spaulding kicked off Saturday with Qualifying for the Junior Super Sportsman class, taking Pole. A broken exhaust stud moved him to the rear of the grid for the Heat race. Spaulding made the most of the hand dealt with a storming drive through the field to finish third, setting the stage for his eventual race win in Junior Super Sportsman.  The usual tough competition in HPV-2 continued as the Sacramento based driver just missed the pole. A good setup on the Trackmagic combined with some crafty driving by Spaulding brought the results though, as he nailed wins in both the Heat and the Final.

The Trackmagic driver continued his strong form in Qualifying for the Yamaha class on Sunday, taking pole on his final flying lap. Spaulding led every lap until he was passed on the final go around. Not content to let the win get taken away, Spaulding retook the lead in the last 100 feet before the checkered flag. Sunday’s final race for the Junior Super Sportsman class proved a little more of a challenge as Kiel ran in second, hounding the leader Tyler Palmer lap after lap. Unable to find a way by, Spaulding had to settle for P2. Later inspection by the team uncovered a worn clutch on the Yamaha, which had cost Kiel some performance on track.

The HPV-2 qualifying session only brought Spaulding P3 on the grid as a mismatched set of tires affected handling and balance, costing him about 3/10ths. In the hyper-competitive class, Kiel had a back and forth battle throughout the heat race until taking the lead on the last lap and holding on for the win. The final race for HPV-2 on Sunday did not feature the race-long battle for the front seen in the heat event. Spaulding took the lead from the start and ran away with it, finishing over 5 seconds ahead of the P2 finisher. The podium finish brought Spaulding’s tally for the weekend to one pole position, 3 heat race wins and 3 final race wins – a stellar performance for the young driver.

“It was a very good weekend.  It was the first time I was able to compete on the Trackmagic in the dry and it was the best kart I’ve been on,” young Kiel Spaulding explained. “The Swedetech power and team support from FX Racing really gave me an advantage on the competition…now the goal is definitely set at a weekend sweep.

Finding the Rythm
FX Racing Makita Junior Team driver Andrew Wiener made his first trip to Buttonwillow for the IKF event. After struggling a bit to find a good rhythm on Saturday, Wiener put his mind to unleashing more of the speed in his Trackmagic Hornet 100 and Swedetech HPV-2 for Sunday. Working with mechanic Ryan Perry, the San Diego driver improved his qualifying position and set his fastest lap of the weekend in Sunday’s main.

Regular FX Racing driver Steve Wiener did battle in the TaG Masters class with his Trackmagic Hornet with Swedetech Leopard power. The package performed well all weekend, with Steve taking a half second off of his best time of the weekend in the Final on Sunday despite being on used tires.

Ready to compete at the front? FX Racing has a proven record of building champions and we can develop a championship program for you.  Whether you are looking for a career in motorsports or just making your kart racing more enjoyable, our team of professionals can maximize your experience. For more information, visit www.fxracingusa.com.

Trackmagic Racing Karts, located in Benicia, California, is a leader in the design and development of high performance racing karts, supporting a full product line from cadet to shifter models.   For more information visit www.trackmagic.com or contact Mike Pickman at mike@trackmagic.com or 925.639.6453.