Three CRG Drivers Among The Seven Championship Karting International Pole Winners On Friday at New Jersey

Millville, N.J. (June 26, 2009) - Qualifying positions were set in all seven Championship Karting International (CKI) classes Friday at F1 New Jersey, the world-class karting facility at New Jersey Motorsports Park. The qualifying sessions set the starting grids for Saturday’s heat races, which in turn will set the grids for Sunday.

Gary Carlton, of Marysville, Calif., topped the KZ2 time charts with a lap of 1:04.904 around the 1.030-mile Avenger course. The CRG driver was 0.766 seconds faster than second-quickest Alex Manglass.

“We rolled off the truck pretty good and almost have the same set-up from New Castle,” Carlton said. “Conserving tires is so important, so I put in a quick lap on my first lap and pulled off, and it held up. Tomorrow we’ve got to try to finish everything and hopefully get the pole for the pre-final.

“The kart has been really good this weekend,” continued Carlton, the KZ2 class points leader. “This is my first time here, and it’s a beautiful facility. They’ve done a great job.”

On the other end of the spectrum in both speed and experience is the CKI Cadet class, with 10-year-old Ryan Raffa, of Washington Crossing, Penn., on the pole. Raffa turned a lap of 1:18.822 to best runner-up Josh Saurino by 0.257-seconds. It was a successful day for Raffa, who isn’t a regular on the CKI circuit and would have missed the event without the generosity of fellow racers such as Mike Doty Racing and other competitors.

“I’ve run here one time before in the WKA Regional, but missed Saturday because of a baseball game,” Raffa said. “I’d like to win this weekend, or at least get in the top five. It’ll be tough.”

In addition to Carlton, two other CRG drivers qualified on pole in their respective classes. Arie Ouimet, of Plymouth, Mass., and Phil DeLaO, of Phoenix, Ariz., led the KF2 and KF3 class qualifying sessions, respectively. Ouimet turned a lap of 1:06.432 to lead Shin Iguchi by just 0.162 seconds, while DeLaO’s 1:09.006 bested Taylor Miinch by 0.222 seconds.

The pole times became extra important for the SSC East drivers, as New Jersey Motorsports Park and F1 New Jersey principal RJ Valentine also heads the trio’s CRG race team.

“Being at F1 New Jersey for RJ, and also being on his team, is a big opportunity,” Ouimet said. “Tomorrow, I just need to play it cool, try to take it easy on the tires, and not kill ourselves for the final.”

DeLaO also feels up to the challenge.

“This track is a lot harder, and I’ve never been here before,” DeLaO said. “You have to get all of the turns right, and it’s up to the driver to adapt. The competition is going to be good, and we need to keep trying to find more speed. That’s what racing’s all about.”

Miinch, of Alpine, California, was the runner-up in KF3 but snagged the pole in IAME Jr. class with a lap of 1:08.642, just 0.080 seconds quicker than Raquel Martinez.

“It went good,” said Miinch of his IAME Jr. pole. “Our kart handled really good, and it went our way. This track is really fun. Hopefully we can win tomorrow to have a good spot for Sunday.”

Andre Nicastro captured the IAME Sr. pole position with a lap of 1:08.250, edging Kyle Wiegand by 0.377 seconds. Russell Hamel will start on pole of the Rotax Masters class with a lap of 1:10.546, besting Chris Rock by 0.814-seconds.

CKI, a World Karting Association-sanctioned series and the top touring karting series in the United States, makes its East Coast debut at New Jersey Motorsports Park’s F1 New Jersey karting track.

Spectators can watch the Championship Karting International race at F1 New Jersey by purchasing tickets for $15 at the gate. Children 12 and under receive free admission to all events at New Jersey Motorsports Park.

Entry forms and more information on Championship Karting International can be found at www.championshipkartracing.com. More information on F1 New Jersey is available at www.njmp.com.

Sitting on over 500 acres in Millville, N.J., New Jersey Motorsports Park is conveniently located to Philadelphia, the Jersey Shore, New York and Baltimore, and offers diverse and dynamic motorsports attractions. The facility includes two world-class road courses (Thunderbolt and Lightning), an exclusive motorsports country club known as the Drivers Club, the Breighton Room Restaurant open to the general public, and F1 New Jersey, one of the top karting facilities in America. Opened in July 2008, New Jersey Motorsports Park hosts eight major motorsports events in 2009. The 2009 spectator schedule opened with the Verizon Wireless 250 presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 in May, and also includes the Formula X weekend featuring the Atlantic Championship powered by Mazda and a host of Mazda-powered race series, as well as All Revved Up; the debut of the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) Pro Road Race Series, including the American Superbike class and the new Daytona Sportbike program; the return of the ARCA/ReMax Series as the only road course visit on the series schedule; a Ferrari Challenge event and the excitement of two separate Vintage race weekends.

For more information on New Jersey Motorsports Park, F1 New Jersey, Breighton Room, or to purchase tickets, visit www.njmp.com or call 856-327-7217. Children 12 and under are admitted free to every event at New Jersey Motorsports Park.