Kart Racing - Burris Circle Tour Race Date: 05/25/2003 This week’s venue: Rockford Speedway, Rockford, Illinois In the early going Billy Hulbert and Adam Carlson were the front-runners. Then the chain flew off of Carlson’s kart dooming him to watch from the infield while Nick Chiapetta and Tanner Bohlen swapped the top honors for the next 25 laps. Once flagman Dana Tagenhorst gave the 10 laps to go signal, the action heated up. Hulbert made a push for the front with Mason Hadley squeezing up the middle. Not to be outdone, Tanner Bohlen went inside leaving Hulbert out of the draft and moving backward in a hurry. Then Hadley took his turn at the front and was leading coming into the final corner. Chiapetta saw the finish line as he came around that last turn, found a line, put his foot in the gas and crossed the finish line less than a quarter of a second ahead of Hadley. The final order was Chiapetta, Hadley, Bohlen, Jordon Thiel and Tyler Middleton finishing 1st through 5th. The Sr. Lite 50 lapper was 2 races in one. The front-runners, Shane Morrissey and Chad Waller stretched out a comfortable lead, swapping positions out in front. The second pack formed up to give the large spectator crowd a thrill. Jimmy Johnson, Brandon Eash, Rick Johnson and Joey Johnson raced nose to tail and side by side for the full 50 laps. At the stripe it was Morrissey, Waller, Jimmy Johnson and Brandon Eash. Local favorite Derrick Gough, a Loves Park resident, won his first Feature Race as a Jr. 1 Lite. It was easy to see that Derrick will be the next in a long line of successful Gough family racers. Derrick tucked behind Alex Stumpf to take advantage of the draft on the big ¼ mile, high banked oval. Finding his opportunity to pass, Derrick went low and held the top spot for a few laps. Alex, showing patience and grit bided his time to find his next passing opportunity. The hometown crowd saw 5 lead changes in the next 10 laps. But anyone who has watched a race at the Rockford Speedway knows that the track is too wide to protect with one kart. Stumpf chose to go outside, setting up for the final sprint. Gough went inside and was able to hold the middle line shutting the door for the last time. As the checkered flag dropped, Gough was still in the lead, Stumpf running a close second with Cody Daul in third. Dylan Hobbs won his first Feature Race in the Jr. 2 class fending off a strong challenge from Johnny Whitman. Other drivers joining the Winners Circle this week are Matt Vice – Jr. Champ, Colton Clevenger – Jr. Sportsman Champ, Nicole Phillips – Sr. Champ, Brandon Eash – Sr. Heavy, Chad Waller – Sr. Medium, Dean Daul – Sr. Sportsman, Jessica Brannam – Jr. Yamaha, Eric Freiberg – Yamaha Sportsman and Tiffany Wester – F200. The Burris Circle Tour will stop at Lake Geneva Raceway on June 8th for the F200 Pro Double Pay Out. July 6th, the Burris Circle Tour returns to the Rockford Speedway to celebrate Independence Day and remember our good fried Jay Gough. Check out the Burris Circle Tour website at www.karts.net/burriscircle for the details.
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