n2racing2 Posted October 13, 2010 Report Share Posted October 13, 2010 With the 2009 NASKART Champion Lyndon Kirk moving up to sprt mods and running a limited NASKART Schedule, it left the 2010 championship wide open. With new faces and old returning faces there was no clear cut front runner for the championship. RACE 1: With Kelli Garrett returning to the series to fill in as a driver for the #18 M&M's kart, she started out the season showing the boy's the way around Houston Motorsports Park and took the WIN in the season opener. But later was DQ'ed for being underweight. Which promoted 2nd place winner Frank Mena in the #12 to 1st and thus leading the season points at the get go. Andy Taylor starting his 2nd season in the NASKART Series finished right behind Frank and was 2nd in points. Followed by Team ROCKHARD Racing's Marty Kreis in 3rd. Megan Smith #07 in 4th and Team Rockhard Racing's Kevin Hummell in 5th. 1. 20 - #12 Frank Mena 2. 18 - #14 Andy Taylor 3. 17 - #29 Marty Kries 4. 16 - #07 Megan Smith 5. 15 - #48 Kevin Hummell RACE 2 & 3: Races 2 and 3 were a double header weekend for the NASKART Series as they raced onHMP's 3/8 mile banked Oval on Saturday Night and then race GCKI's 3/4 mile road course on Sunday. Longtime NASKART Racer Mike Steinman, in his 3M/Austin Architectural Graphics #16, was the 2nd winner of the season taking the win at HMP in front of the #07 of Megan Smith and Kelli Garrett sub driving in the #20. But again after the race in tech, it was deemed that Megan was underweight and thus DQ'ed from her best result ever at HMP promoting Kelli to 2nd and Team ROCKHARD Racing's Marty Kreis to 3rd, for his 2nd top 3 finish of the season. This Left Frank Mena still leading the points but elevated Mike Steinman from 6th in the points up to 2nd, Marty Kreis 3rd and dropping Andy Taylor down to 4th. Followed by Houston's Jack Kelly who jumped from 8th to 5th. 1. 36 - #12 Frank Mena 2. 35 - #16 Mike Steinman 3. 34 - #29 Marty Kries 4. 32 - #14 Andy Taylor 5. 27 - #4 Jack Kelly With race 3 the next day everyone was changing setups for the road course that morning. With Mike Steinman #16 winning the pole in qualifying and then winning the heat race, it looked like he was going to pull off a double win weekend. But in the Main it was Team ROCKHARD Racing's #24 Chris Terry upsetting Steinman for the Win. Steinman 2nd with Team ROCKHARD Racing's Marty Kreis #29 taking his third 3rd place of the season. This allowed Mike Steinman to take the series points lead followed by Marty Kreis and dropping Frank Mena back to 3rd. With his first win of the season, Chris Terry was able to jump up to 4th in the points and with Kelli Garrett driving the #20 for Lyndon Kirk was elevated to 5th in the points. dropping Andy taylor out of the top 5. 1. 55 - #16 Mike Steinman 2. 51 - #29 Marty Kries 3. 50 - #12 Frank Mena 4. 45 - #24 Chris Terry 5. 35 - #20 Lyndon Kirk (Kelly Garrett sub. driver) RACE 4: The fourth race of the season saw the NASKARTS Visit a new venue in Grand Sport Speedway. A 1.3 mile road course down in Hitchcock, Texas. At first it looked like Mike Steinman #16 was going to dominate the road course again winning the heat race...but in the main, it was First Time Winner Megan Smith #07 showing the way with Mike Steinman finishing 2nd and Andy Taylor #14 coming home in 3rd in his first roadrace ever. So since Stienman finished 2nd this allowed him to extend his points lead over 2nd in points, Team ROCKHARD Racing's Marty Kreis, to 6 points. Jumping up to 3rd in points was Team ROCKHARD Racing's #24 Chris Terry. With her first ever Win in the series, Megan Smith jumped from 7th to 4th in points with Frank Mena #12 dropping down 2 positions to 5th in points. 1. 74 - #16 Mike Steinman 2. 65 - #29 Marty Kries 3. 61 - #24 Chris Terry 4. 51 - #07 Megan Smith 5. 50 - #12 Frank Mena RACE 5: Race 5 saw the NASKARTS visit Thunderhill Raceway for the first time in the 2010 season. With a rookie to the series taking the pole position. Robert Carr #27 in his 2nd ever NASKART race won the pole and then in the main battled it out with Andy Taylor #14 and 2009 NASKART Champion Lyndon Kirk #20 for the win. At the Line though it was Kirk #20 with his race savy and knowledge of racing at Thunderhill that took the win. But again for the 3rd time this season in post race tech, a NASKART Driver came in under weight...Kirk was DQ'ed for being 2 lbs light at the end of the race. This elevated the Rookie, Robert Carr, to his first win ever in the NASKART Series! Andy taylor who finished 3rd was promoted to 2nd with Team ROCKHARD Racing's #24 Chris Terry being credited with 3rd. The points Leader, Mike Steinman finished 5th but was still holding onto the points lead. Followed by Team ROCKHARD Racing's #29 Marty Kreis still in 2nd. Team ROCKHARD Racing's #24 Chris Terry was starting to make his charge to the fron of the points board with his 3rd place finish. Andy Taylor with his 2nd place made his way back into the top 5 in points to 4th moving Megan Smith back to 5th. 1. 89 - #16 Mike Steinman 2. 81 - #29 Marty Kries 3. 78 - #24 Chris Terry 4. 67 - #14 Andy Taylor 5. 65 - #07 Megan Smith But with the first drop of the season being mixed into the points....it changed the order with Andy Taylor being elvated to 2nd in points tied with Marty Kreis in 3rd. But his 2nd place finish at Thunderhill allowed him to hold 2nd in points to the next race. 1. 75 - #16 Mike Steinman 2. 67 - #14 Andy Taylor 3. 67 - #29 Marty Kries 4. 66 - #24 Chris Terry 5. 51 - #07 Megan Smith RACE 6: With the next double header weekend in Houston being rained out and re-scheduled the series Returned back to Thunderhill Raceway. For Qualifying, Team ROCKHARD Racing's #88 Kaleb Kreis showed his speed and took the pole making him the pre-race favorite. But it wasn't to be as this race was a race of attrition. While Kaleb was battling for the lead....his motor let loose and dropped him out. Steinman the points leader was running in the lead pack when he had a tire go down and went laps down. Chris terry 3rd in points also had mechanical issues and went down laps as well. This put Megan Smith #07 out front but with just a few laps to go...she had mechanical gremlins as well. But still battling up front was Andy Taylor #14, #29 Marty Kreis and #20 Lyndon Kirk. With the 3 of them finishing in that order and giving Andy Taylor his FIRST Win ever in the NASKART Series. So 6 races...6 different winners.The season was shaping up to be close action all season. Steinman held onto the points lead, but only 10 points separated the top 4 drivers. And if Megan Smith did not have a DQ from an earlier race...it would have made the top 5 only separated by 10 points. 1. 90 - #16 Mike Steinman 2. 87 - #14 Andy Taylor 3. 85 - #29 Marty Kries 4. 80 - #24 Chris Terry 5. 65 - #07 Megan Smith RACE 7: Race 7 was the NASKART Series 3rd race at Thunderhill for the year and saw some great racing up front. Sitting in for the #48 of Hummell was Superstock Driver Chris Birmingham. But in Qualifying it was the #88 of Team ROCKHARD Racing's Kaleb Kreis winning the pole again. In the Main it was all of Rockhard Racing's karts battling with Steinman #16 and Andy Taylor #14. The lead changed several times during the race with Birmingham even leading a few laps until a mechanical dropped him from the race. Chris Terry #24, Kaleb Kreis & Marty Kreis #29 teamed up to try and take the win...but it was Mike Steinman #16 taking the win late in the race with help from Andy Taylor #14 finishing 2nd. Kaleb Kreis was relegated to 3rd with his teammates terry and Kreis finishing 4th and 5th. Overall points positions stayed the same with Steinman opening up a small lead. 1. 110 - #16 Mike Steinman 2. 105 - #14 Andy Taylor 3. 100 - #29 Marty Kries 4. 96 - #24 Chris Terry 5. 79 - #07 Megan Smith RACE 8: The NASKARTS were back at GCKI for the 2nd time this year but this time had weather to contend with. Chris Terry #24 was the top qualifyer but with the rain falling it was Steinman who took the Heat win. Thus allowing both to gain a bonus point for the day. But in the main on a wet but drying track, it was Steinman #16 using his road racing experience to take the win over Team ROCKHARD Teammates #29 MArty Kreis, #24 Chris Terry and #88 ?Kaleb Kreis with Andy Taylor finishing 5th. With his 2nd win in a row, Steinman was beginning to open up a larger points lead over the rest of the field. And with Megan Smith #07 missing the race....this Allowed #88 Kaleb Kreis to join the top 5 in points for the 1st time this season. 1. 131 - #16 Mike Steinman 2. 120 - #14 Andy Taylor 3. 118 - #29 Marty Kries 4. 114 - #24 Chris Terry 5. 86 - #88 Kayleb Kreis RACE 9: And back to Thunderhill for the 9th race of the season where in qualifying #88 Kaleb Kreis once again took the pole position showing his speed and that he was ready to win his first race of the season. But it was his teammate #48 Kevin Hummell battling hard up front the whole race who took the win with Kaleb Kreis on his tail at the line. Battling for the win throughout the race was #20 Lyndon Kirk but Kirk was dropped to 3rd late in the race as Kaleb made his way past. Marty Kreis #29 and Chris Terry finishing 4th and 5th made it all 4 of Team ROCKHARD Racing's karts in the top 5!! Points Leader Steinman had a right front tire go down as was laps down. This allowed the points chase to start tightening up again with the order still the same. Andy Taylor still 2nd in points but finishing 6th in the race was now tied again with Marty Kreis but had the tie breaker with a win at Thunderhill the race before. Still Kreis #29 was having a very consistant season having almost all top5 finishes. 1. 145 - #16 Mike Steinman 2. 134 - #14 Andy Taylor 3. 134 - #29 Marty Kries 4. 129 - #24 Chris Terry 5. 105 - #88 Kayleb Kreis RACE 10: This was our 2nd visit to Red River Speedway but our first race of the season there since our 1st visit was rained out. In Qualifying it was Steinman winning the pole with Tery a very close 2nd. But in the heat race it was Chris Terry #24 showing he had the race pace and winning the heat by several karts over the field. But in the main...it was a battle up front between Terry and Mike Steinman #16 from about half way on as the 2 would pass each other almost every lap and vying for position with neither able to break away from the other...but leaving the field behind them. But on the last lap Steinman made a mistake and Terry was able to capitalize to take his 2nd win of the season and 1st at Red River. Steinman dropped to 6th from his mistake spin and thus elevated Kaleb Kreis to 2nd with Andy Taylor finishing 3rd. With Chris Terry's win this elevated him from 4th to 2nd in the points tied with Andy Taylor. But with multiple wins Chris was 2nd on tie breakers. Marty Kreis dropped to 4th with his son Kaleb Kreis closing in on him with 5th in points. 1. 146 - #16 Mike Steinman 2. 137 - #24 Chris Terry 3. 137 - #14 Andy Taylor 4. 135 - #29 Marty Kries 5. 123 - #88 Kayleb Kreis RACE 11 & 12: This was our 2nd Double-Header weekend in Houston starting at HMP on Saturday night. In the heat race it was Team ROCKHARD Racing's teammates of #88 Kaleb Kreis and #24 Chris Terry Teaming up and allowing #88 Kreis to take the heat win with Terry 2nd and #07 Megan Smith 3rd. For the main though it was Chris Terry out front early with #07 Megan Smith Battling with Terry for the lead but late in the race it was #88 Kaleb Kreis passing Megan for 2nd and helping Chris Terry take his 2nd win in a row. Megan fisnished 3rd with #29 Marty Kreis finishing 4th and Mike Steinman 5th. With his 2 wins in a row...Chris Terry was making his charge to the front of the points closing the gap on Steinman. The top 4 being seperated by only 11 points. 1. 161 - #16 Mike Steinman 2. 157 - #24 Chris Terry 3. 151 - #14 Andy Taylor 4. 150 - #29 Marty Kries 5. 142 - #88 Kayleb Kreis Sunday we were back in Katy at GCKI and Chris Terry was putting the pressure on Mike Steinman #16 as Terry took the pole in qualifying. But in the heat race, it was Steinman slipping through traffic and building up enough of a lead to hold off the charging Chris Terry and win the heat race with Megan Smith #07 taking 3rd. For the Main, Steinman tried to use the same strategy by getting out front early and making a break away. But Chris Terry #24 held strong and ran down Steinman half way though the race and then pulled away for the victory. Steinman 2nd and Megan 3rd with Andy Taylor 4th in the Heat race and in the Main. With now 3 victories in a row, Chris Terry had closed the gap to Steinman for the points lead down to 2 points and looking to take the points lead at the next race. Taylor and Marty Kreis were now battling each other for 3rd in points. 1. 180- #16 Mike Steinman 2. 178 - #24 Chris Terry 3. 167 - #14 Andy Taylor 4. 165 - #29 Marty Kries 5. 142 - #88 Kayleb Kreis RACE 13: The Series was back to Thunderhill Raceway for the ROY SMITH Memorial Race in honor of Roy who had passed away the month before. Roy was one of the founding members of the NASKART series and Megan Smith's Grandfather. In Qualifying it looked to be another pole position for #88 Kaleb Kreis but he was displace by Megan Smith #07 and #24 Chris Terry until points leader Mike Steinmsn #16 went out and won the pole as the last qualifyer. For the Main though it was all megan Smith as she was able to open up a lead with help from Steinman drafting with her....but she then left the field in her dust to fight for 2nd. On the last lap while in 2nd Steinman was looking to have a strong finish but #20 Lyndon Kirk made his way by with the train of Team ROCKHARD Racing's #29 & #88 Marty and Kaleb Kreis going thru as well dropping Steinman back to 5th at the flag. Marty Kreis made his move and beat #20 Lyndon Kirk to the line for 2nd, Kirk 3rd with Kaleb Finishing 4th. Also coming thru was Chris Terry #24 but he was laps down as he had a front tire go down dropping him back to 9th, but he came back on the track to help his teammates. So this allowed Steinman to open up the points lead a little over Chris Terry. 1. 196- #16 Mike Steinman 2. 191 - #24 Chris Terry 3. 183 - #29 Marty Kries 4. 181 - #14 Andy Taylor 5. 158 - #88 Kayleb Kreis RACE 14: This was the last race of the Season for Thunderhill Raceway at their Stock Car Spectacular. And so far in 5 races at Thunderhill the NASKART Series had 5 different winners! 1. #27 Robert Carr, 2. #14 Andy Taylor, 3.#16 Mike Steinman, 4. Kevin Hummell, 5. Megan Smith. Who would be the next winner. In qualifying it was once again Mike Steinman taking the pole for the 2nd straight race at thunderhill and looking strong for the main. In the Main though it was #48 Kevin Hunmmell leading until the #20 of Lyndon Kirk came through with Mike Steinman #16 on his bumper and helping the 2 of them try to get away. But after the competition yellow...it was now #07 Megan Smith drafting with Steinman to the lead and pulling away until #29 marty Kreis's motor let out the ghost and bringing the field back together. With only 4 laps to go....Steinman and Megan Smith pulled out a lead and held it to the end finishing 1st & 2nd with Kevin Hummell taking 3rd after #24 Chris Terry had a mechanical problem and dropped out of the race as well as the #20 of Lyndon Kirk. With Steinman winning and 2nd in points Chris Terry finishing 7th this opened up the points for Steinman to 13 points over 2nd Chris Terry. Taylor & Marty Kreis are still battling for 3rd in points with #07 Megan Smith retaking 5th overall in the points from Kaleb Kreis. 1. 217- #16 Mike Steinman 2. 204 - #24 Chris Terry 3. 195 - #29 Marty Kries 4. 193 - #14 Andy Taylor 5. 174 - #07 Megan Smith Race 15 & 16 This was our last Double-Header Race weekend with HMP on Saturday and Sunday back out at Katy at GCKI. At HMP in the heat race it was Team ROCKHARD Racing's Kaleb Kreis getting to the front fast and making a break away with #14 Andy Taylor and #16 Mike Steinman drafting to almost run down Kaleb. But the two of them ran out of laps as Kaleb was able to take the heat win. But in the main it was a battle up front with Chris terry leading for a while then Steinman leading until Terry came back around with Kaleb in tow drafting to the lead and slowly pulling away. But with the competition yellow....it group everyone back up...and now the real race was on. Kaleb Kreis #88 pulled out a 3 to 4 kart lead as #16 Steinman, #29 Marty Kreis and #14 Andy Taylor jockyed for position several times to see who would get to run down Kaleb Kreis. But 2 people hwo had not been factors until late in the race started making their moves. #07 Megan Smith got around taylor and Steinman and started running down Kaleb in the lead...but she came up short as she waited to long to make her move which allowed Kaleb Kreis to win his first race of the season.Megan Smith 2nd with Chris Terry #24 coming from 6th to 3rd on the last lap and beat Steinman to the Line. Steinman finished 4th with Taylor 5th. Chris Tery had made up a point on Steinman...but at post race inspection was DQ'ed for being 3 lbs light thus losing out on points from the race and dropping down to 4th overall in the points. 1. 234- #16 Mike Steinman 2. 210 - #29 Marty Kries 3. 209 - #14 Andy Taylor 4. 204 - #24 Chris Terry 5. 194 - #88 Kayleb Kreis It was a hard hit to take in the points. And with the 3rd drop of the season...dropped Chris terry down to 5th. 1. 219- #16 Mike Steinman 2. 198 - #29 Marty Kries 3. 197 - #14 Andy Taylor 4. 194 - #88 Kayleb Kreis 5. 191 - #24 Chris Terry Giving Steinman a 21 point lead going to Katy. Sunday at Katy the series had perfect racing weather. with low temperatures and low humidity the karts were running great. Qualifying saw Steinman take the pole for the heat race. And with Chris Terry having mechanical problems in qualifying, no one was even close to Steinman's times. In the Heat race It was Steinman running away with the win over #14 Andy Taylor and #88 Kaleb Kreis. #29 Marty Kreis had another motor failure and would not race in the main. Chris Terry was still having some mechanical issues but finished 4th. In the main, it was all Steinman again as he got thru traffic early and left the field behind to take his 2nd win at Katy for the year. #88 Kaleb Kreis did well and finished 2nd, the only other driver on the lead lap as Steinman lapped the field up to Chris Terry who was 3rd. This really bolstered Steinman's points lead up to 28 points over 2nd in points which was now #14 Andy Taylor. only 5 points seperated 2nd to 5th in the points. Kaleb Kreis was the big mover over the last few races now up to 3rd in points. 1. 241- #16 Mike Steinman 2. 213 - #14 Andy Taylor 3. 212 - #88 Kayleb Kreis 4. 212 - #29 Marty Kries 5. 208 - #24 Chris Terry It was also deemed at this race to drop the next race at Grand Sport Speedway to let everyone get ready for the last 3 BIG Races of the year. 2 at HMP in Houston and the following week at Red Rvier Speedway in Wichita Falls where the NASCAR guys will be racing in the NASKARTS after the last race of the Season for the NASKARTS. But in dropping the Grand Sport Speedway Race and accounting drops, this leaves only 63 total points for anyone to gain as a maximum. Thus sealing the deal for the 2010 NASKART Season and made it where Mike Steinman could not be caught in points and is your 2010 NASKART SERIES Champion!!!! Mike won the Championship back in 2006 and is the first repeat Champion in the series. 2006 NASKART SERIES Champion - Mike Steinman 2007 NASKART SERIES Champion - Driskill Stahlworth 2008 NASKART SERIES Champion - Brian Kuemple 2009 NASKART SERIES Champion - Lyndon Kirk 2010 NASKART SERIES Champion - Mike Steinman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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