It was a 12-driver affair for Trackside Karting Services (TKS) at the Texas Sprint Racing Series (TSRS). Taking on the Speedsportz Racing Park in New Caney, Texas, TKS drivers earned pole positions, race wins, podium results, and countless strong runs as the Texas-based series took their first green flag of the new season.
Five TKS drivers would do battle in the 206 Cadet class with Aston Wyatt leading the way. After earning the fastest lap in qualifying to score the pole position, Wyatt scored three top-five results in the heat races. Returning to the top of the charts in the main event, Wyatt took the main event win to flex his muscles in the opening event of 2023. With five drivers in the field, a pair of them would finish in the top-five with four in the top-ten. Christopher Tracey crossed the line fifth in the main event after coming home third, fifth, and ninth in the heat races while Robert Arana was ninth in the results sheets with a pair of eighth-place results in the heat races. Will Stevens, in his first year of racing and first event with TKS, improved throughout the weekend to finish tenth while Benton Hale crossed the stripe in P12 after a tough weekend for the young talent.
In the Micro Swift ranks, Kade Kasper was the driver to beat throughout the weekend converting his pole position into the heat one win ahead of second place results in heats two and three. Utilizing his GFC chassis and Woltjer Racing Engines power, Kasper drove to the main event win, the second victory for TKS on the day. Pato Medina led the TKS charge in the Mini Swift category after qualifying second, a scant .016 from the pole position. Three solid results set Pato up for what he had hoped to be a strong run in the main event before an opening lap crash took him out of contention. Showing speed on his Woltjer-powered GFC, Pato had significant pace in a tough field.
A pair of drivers took on the 206 Heavy field as both finished in the top-five, one earning another podium finish for TKS. Noah Murphy scored the 206 Heavy pole position and heat race one win before crossing the line second in the main event to stand on the podium. Showing his pace, Noah and TKS are excited for the rest of the 2023 season and the results that could follow. Kyle Hale, father of Benton Hale, closed his weekend with a P4 result after steadily improving his finishes throughout the heat races.
Ragan Saville would be the sole TKS entrant in the 206 Junior category and capped off his weekend with a podium result. Qualifying third and finishing fourth, second, and first in the three heat races, a slight setup miscue in the main event as drivers were forced to make the last-minute switch from rain tires to dry tires before the field took to the track resulted in Ragan standing on the third step of the podium.
A pair of drivers battled in the KA100 Junior ranks in Jaxon Young and Sawyer Roussel. Young, making the move from 206 Cadet to KA100 Junior showed that he had the speed to run at the pointy end of the field with an eighth-place result in qualifying as he closed his weekend P12 on the results sheet. Roussel had a tough weekend and despite hovering around the top-ten throughout the event, his main event result was not indicative of the effort the young and talented driver put forth.
“I am proud of everyone in this team and the effort that they put in every event,” explained Tim Lobaugh. “A huge thank you to our drivers, their families, and everyone at TKS. An extra shout out to Austin Garrison, Hanna Greenemeier, and Dan May for all the hard work in difficult conditions as well as Gary Carlton from GFC, Woltjer Racing Engines, and Howard Stewart. On to the next one.”
For more information on Trackside Karting Services or to compete with the Texas-based team, please contact Tim Lobaugh at 269.519.7593 or via e-mail at TracksideKartingServices@gmail.com.
Photos by: Trackside Karting Services