San Diego, California
November 30, 2008

FX Racing continued to extend its partner's brand awareness by supporting the widely popular Machismo 500 endurance race run overnight during the 2008 SuperNationals. Check out the details below -

Sonoma Valley Racing takes Inaugural Machismo 500 win while Alex Tagliani pushes Team Gatorz Eyewear to 3rd

While many of the world's top karters descended on fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada this past weekend with visions of a SKUSA SuperNational win in their head, it was the prospect of winning the inaugural overnight enduro known as the 'Machismo 500' that brought out some of pro racing's biggest names to the Rio Hotel and Casino.  With a field of wheelmen that included Alex Tagliani, Boris Said, Colin Fleming, and Joey Hand, some of the weekend's most thrilling on-track battles were had just before the sun came up to illuminate the strip on Sunday morning.

Temperatures may have dropped as the sun went down Saturday evening, but things quickly began to heat back up as all teams hit the track for qualifying near 10pm.  It didn't take long for the drivers to get familiar with their Sodi GT2 karts, their brand new MG Tires, and the .66-mile temporary circuit basking in the purple and red neon glow of the Rio.  When the 30-minute team qualifying session was complete, it was last minute entry of Team Sonoma Valley Racing (SVR) comprised of Robby Mott, Renn Ortenburger and Raymond Zanotto, that found themselves sitting on pole to kick off the long night of racing.

As the green flag flew near 11pm it was clear that Team SVR would not be taking a leisurely cruise to victory lane.  Team Gatorz Eyewear with the likes of Tagliani and Hand on the roster, as well as Team RDD Motorsports traveling with Brazilian passports, were both well equipped to take the challenge.  As Saturday night turned into Sunday morning pit and fuel strategies saw the field constantly in a shuffle.  Various teams began testing the limits of their fuel tanks, with some squeezing over 2 hours worth of open-throttle racing out of a single tank.

Road racing specialists, Team OSST/Russell Karting Specialties headed by Jim Russell Jr., would find themselves making a move to the front in the wee hours of the morning with a mistake-free evening.  Not far behind was Team Speed (with a roster that Ganassi may want to think about for Daytona next year) including Boris Said, Colin Fleming, Brett Smrz, Jason Bowles, Chris Carmody, Torsten Wilke, and Jon Kimbrell.

CalSpeed Karting Facility regulars, Team Arias, Team T, Team Blast-Off and Team SBF Racing would all post best lap times on par with the race leaders, but just didn't seem to have lady luck on their side during this trip to Sin City.  They would ultimately settle for 5th, 6th, 8th, and 9th respectively and will no doubt be forces to reckon with in future installments of this overnight battle.

Not until the clock struck 5am (and the thermometer 44 degrees) did the unfolding of pit strategies start to paint a clear picture of how close the finish would be.  Team Gatorz Eyewear was poised for victory after strong performances throughout the night when they handed their sled to "Tag" for the final stint of the race.  Running in the lead with just 10 minutes remaining, Tagliani would be sitting in an unenviable position as he realized that the gas tank on his kart was not quite as large as that on his Indy Car.  On the list of things I never thought I'd see: Alex Tagliani, at dawn in Las Vegas, wildly pushing an out-of-gas go-kart to pit lane for a splash and go to try and salvage a win.  Unfortunately for Team Gatorz, they would watch both Team SVR and OSST-Russell Karting Specialties move up as they tried to get their go-kart fueled and re-fired.  Once back on track, they would narrowly hold onto a podium finish, as Mott, Ortenburger and Zanotto went from pole to the top step of the podium after 7 hours of racing.

After all was said and done, it was all smiles and high-fives during the podium presentation as race sponsors Gatorz Eyewear, Makita Powertools, Monster Energy Drink, Set Stuff Inc, and Ribtect Racing Products made sure nobody left empty handed.  As all the podium finishers watched the sun rise from behind their brand new pair of Gatorz Eyewear Sunglasses, Tagliani added to his tool collection with his Makita Power Tool Combo set compliments of Makita and FX Racing for posting the fastest race lap at 56.824s.  Just days after the checkered flag flew, plans for next years event are already in the works.  For information on this race, or on how to be a part of next year's event, please contact Brad Packard at 951.241.3872 or via email at brad@calspeedkarting.com.  Full race results can be found at www.mylaps.com.

Machismo 500 Race Results:

1.   Team Sonoma Valley Racing: Robby Mott / Renn Ortenburger/ Raymond Zanotto
2.   Team OSST-RKS: Bill Boyce / David Lindhart / Sam Lindhart / Jim Russell Jr.
3.   Team Gatorz Eyewear: Joey Hand / Kerry Lynch / Ray Robinson /Alex Tagliani
4.   Team Speed: Jason Bowles /  Chris Carmody / Colin Fleming / Jon Kimbrell / Boris Said / Brett Smrz / Torsten Wilke
5.   Team Arias: Mike Arias / Bill Myers / Gordie Smith
6.   Team T: Wally Clark / Steve Donald / Larry Harden / John Lonero
7.   Team RDD Motorsports:  Joao Goncalves / Sebastian Ordonez / Dalton Sargeant / Andre Serra
8.   Team Blast Off: Ari Baquet / Chris Ebbott / Scott Meadow / Rene Moreno
9.   Team SBF Racing: Luis Arrieta / Mike Kai / Steve Klenk / Clement Ng / Billy Tallichet / Jober Velasco
10. Team Vito: Nick Borella / Mike Miller / Vito Racano
11. Team Ekartingnews.com:  Tim Blaney / Patrick Britain / David Cole / Rob Howden / Todd McCall / Jim Pauley / Jim Smith
12. Team RM Kartworks-Woodsource: Mike Foster / Brian Milne / Cris Schureman / et all
 
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. The kart racing efforts are supported by Monster Energy, Makita Industrial Power Tools, K&N, Bell Racing, Trackmagic Racing Karts and Swedetech Racing Engines. For more information, visit www.fxracingusa.com.