It was a podium winning weekend for Speed Concepts Racing at the opening round of the 2020 United States Pro Kart Series (USPKS) this past weekend at New Castle Motorsports Park. Veteran driver and X30 Masters pilot Scott Roberts stood on the second step of the podium on Saturday while X30 Pro Junior driver Paul Bocuse added to his season podium total with a third-place result on Sunday.
“We are happy to be back at a national level event and it was great to see the entire racing family,” expressed Mike Speed. “As always, we pushed hard to earn the results we feel we deserve and did so on a few occasions. New Castle is such a tricky place as you need to have the kart set up properly to get through the infield but have the gearing and horsepower to get down the long back straightaway.”
X30 Masters driver Scott Roberts scored the team’s best results of the weekend finishing second on Saturday and returning to the top-ten on Sunday with a seventh-place effort. One of the drivers to beat all weekend long, Roberts often found himself at the top of the time charts during Friday’s practice sessions and led on occasion in the wheel to wheel competition.
Superkarts! USA Winter Series podium winner Paul Bocuse found his way back to the podium this weekend at New Castle with a strong run on Sunday. With a disappointing finish on Saturday from himself and the complete trio of Speed Concepts Racing X30 Pro Junior drivers, they all returned on Sunday with a vengeance. Jace Park and Jack Jeffers qualified on the front row, but it was Bocuse who led the way scoring the fastest lap of the race en route to a third-place podium result. Looking good early as the trio of Speed Concepts Racing Redspeeds were running 1 – 2 – 3, rain interrupted the party and provided the drivers with difficult conditions. Jace Park ended his weekend in fifth while Jack Jeffers put three Speed Concepts Racing drivers in the top-ten with a ninth-place effort as the trio showed speed and poise on Sunday.
Speed Concepts Racing newcomer Zachary Hollingshead found his way to the top-ten in the X30 Pro class on Saturday, climbing a whopping thirty-three positions to finish seventh and was named the biggest mover of the race. Returning to the track on Sunday and with rain falling before the start of the main event, Hollingshead turned the fastest lap of the race en route to a 12th place finish. Luca Mars, who ran inside the top-ten in the 41 strong X30 Pro field, rebounded from a disappointing finish on Saturday to close his weekend in 14th.
Speed added, “The USPKS competition has risen and it is one of the toughest series to win in. This was a great benchmark for us as a team to show where we need to be and the level we need to be at for future events. Thank you to New Castle Motorsports Park and the USPKS staff for a great event and to Chris Freckelton for the horsepower and support all weekend long.”
For more information on Speed Concepts Racing and the Redspeed Racing Kart, please contact Mike Speed via email to Mike@Speed-Concepts.com. Be sure to follow Speed Concepts Racing on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for news, results, information, and photos from the event. Find us at ‘Speed Concepts Racing’ or @SCR_Karting.
Photos: USPKS