The 2007 SKUSA Super Nationals have begun in Las Vegas. PG Racing has made the long trek and if Wednesday is any indication it will have been a worthwhile journey.
Wednesday was just a practice day with qualifying on Thursday, but we do have a 
preliminary report on times. In the hotly contested S1 class PG Racing has two drivers in the top 10. Scott "Skitchy" Barnes, who is coming off a win at Rock Island, had the 
3rd fastest lap and Derek Crockett was 9th quick.
Rick Freund made is SuperNat debut and was 17th quick out of 38 in the S4 class. Rick got quicker and quicker each time and a top 10 qualifying spot is not out of the question.
As we go to press there are still karts on the track and the S3 and G1 classes have not been posted. There is a strong chance that PG has three drivers in the top ten. Barnes, Crockett and Zeis all ran strong in the last session. Joe Sturm was turning some hot laps as well in the G1 class.
S5 driver Austen Duncan did not take the track today because the class as a whole had no practice time. The class will have an extended session Thursday morning so we will have his qualifying time and position in tomorrow's report.
All these times may sound good, but in reality they mean nothing. Thursday is when it counts. All classes will have one, 20-minute session to get it done. Those times will set the grid for the three heat races that will determine the grid for Sunday's finals.
Stay tuned to www.pgracing.com for updates each night and tomorrow night we will let you know where all the drivers have qualified.
Las Vegas Update #2
The qualifying portion of the SKUSA Super Nationals is over and the heat races are set. The PG Racing team did not have a phenomenal showing in qualifying, but with three clean heats any driver can have a front row starting spot.
In the S1 class Derek Crockett is going to be on the outside of the fifth row for the three heats with Scott Barnes in the 14th spot. How close and how fierce is the competition? The pole speed is just 1 second faster than Barnes so 1st-14th is only 1 second apart!
Rick Freund is going to be mid-pack in the 21st spot with 37 karts scheduled to take the green.
S3 is even tighter than S1 and PG has 3 drivers in the top 15. Matt Zeis who missed pole by six tenths is 11th, and to make row six an all PG affair Derek Crockett is 12th. Barnes will roll off 14th.
Joe Sturm in G1 will be 18th in the 40 kart field. Sturm is known for his consistency and ability to stay out of trouble so three clean heats should put him top ten.
Finally Austen Duncan in the S5 junior class will go out of the 14th spot.
So how does this all work? Friday's action will have 2 heat races with the third and final heat occurring on Saturday. Points are awarded for each finish and the combination off all three heats will determine the start position for Super Sunday.
The karts are about to take the track for the first set of heats so we will attend to that and we'll give you an update on Saturday.
Friday update
from Las Vegas
The first two heats are in the books and it has been a rough time for the team of PG Racing drivers.
The S1 class was the first heat to take the track and the festival of bent axles started before turn one as Derek Crockett got turned and fellow team member Scott 
Barnes found the stopped kart and made severe contact. Both 
karts were heavily damaged and out of the race. For the second heat things went better for Crockett who got 9th, but Barnes was caught up in another crash and did not finish.
Vegas first-timer Rick Freund had his work cut out for him starting mid-pack. In the first heat Rick was caught up in someone else's mess, but made a great drive through the field to a 24th place finish. Things were the same in heat two as the 7th and 9th place kart came together creating an accident that blocked the track. Rick was caught up in it, as was most of the field. As tires and parts rolled down the track Rick stalled, but was hit from behind and this bump started the kart and his race was back on. In the following 10 laps he passed 8 karts giving him another impressive drive through the field and a 19th place finish.
The S3 class is now PG's best chance for a podium as both Crockett and Barnes were able to get two clean heats in. The first heat's start was clean for Crockett and Barnes, but Matt Zeis was involved in a dozen-kart crash that, according to Matt's dad, "bent every bendable part on the kart". While Zeis was out Crockett and Barnes finished 5th and 7th respectively. The second heat had all three drivers finishing with Crockett 10th, Barnes 14th and Zeis 15th.
The S5 class was hotly contested and Austen Duncan in the first heat finished 10th. The second heat had some drama as when the red lights went out the 4th place kart spun and collected over half the field. Somehow Austen made it through, but with a dozen karts stationary in the track the race was red flagged. Because of a light malfunction and looming darkness the second heat will be ran on Saturday.
There's still one heat to go to set the field for the SKUSA Super National Super Sunday and even with the bad finishes in the heats the finals are 25 laps. PG is hoping that the bad luck is now behind them so they can bring home some podiums on Sunday.
July 13, 2007 News
Race Report: PG Racing Championship Enduro Series - Round Four
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The fourth round of the PG Racing Championship Enduro Series (CES) was held at the challenging Grattan Raceway on a beautiful July 1st weekend. Joining the series this weekend was the Great Lakes Region Superkarts USA (SKUSA) series. Although rain often hampers the activities at Grattan, not a drop was in sight as sunny skies and pleasant temperatures prevailed throughout the weekend. With the SKUSA races scheduled for Sunday, many of the SKUSA competitors took the opportunity to race Saturday with the CES classes making for competitive shifter and TAG classes. READ MORE
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