CONCORD, NC - Letters converted quickly to numbers for Aiden Baker Crouse in the season opener for the RLV Tuned Exhaust Products Gold Cup Series this past weekend at 103rd Street Sports Complex in Jacksonville, Florida, as the World Karting Association began a new era for 6 of their 11 national classes, offering purse payouts to the top 3 overall finishers of the respective Pro Classes. While the good fun has been finding new and creative ways to denote Crouse’s 3 names utilizing the first 3 letters of the alphabet, the North Carolina youngster is chuckling all the way to the bank by virtue of his 7 national event wins over the weekend, 6 of those for national points classes, the other in the form of the Friday evening Shootout Race. All in all, Crouse left Jacksonville with $700, the beneficiary of being the overall winner in the Brads Heating and Cooling Sportsman Pro Gas Heavy class, as well as the winner in the Sportsman Pro Gas Shootout, netting $500 and $200 respectively.
While Crouse was busy winning the most races, Maryland veteran Jacob Heavlow netted the highest total of purse money, taking home $1,000 for his overall efforts in the Coyote Motorsports Senior Pro Gas Medium and Bordeaux Dyno Cams Senior Pro Gas Heavy main events. Other big winners were Matt Miller, the 2 time defending Junior champion. Miller took the high honors in the Junior Pro Gas Lite class, as well as second overall in the Briggs & Stratton Racing Junior Pro Gas Heavy group, taking home $750 for his efforts.
Cody Hall wasn’t far behind, netting $700 for his win in the Junior Pro Gas Shootout, sponsored by Brads Heating and Cooling, as well as the overall win in the Junior Pro Gas Heavy class, while Corey Towles took home $500 as the overall winner in the Briggs & Stratton Senior LO206 Class.
Other winners over the weekend included Brently Miller, sweeping the Boon and Sons LO206 Kid Karts, while Brad Farmer and Joey Miller shared the all new Masters LO206 Senior class wins, which showed quite a bit of promise for its initial voyage, netting 8 national entries. And While Corey Towles snared one of the Briggs & Stratton Racing Senior LO206 main events, Jason Yarbrough claimed the second event on Sunday.
For Crouse, his march towards weekend perfection began with the MattMillerRacing.com Sportsman Gas Lite Class, where he fended off the efforts of Cale Hall, Elmer Edmonson, Kid Kart graduate Blake Boon, and Hunter Burns to claim the first win. Later in the day, Crouse returned to victory lane, this time in the LA South Tire Sportsman LO206 Class, again finding Elmer Edmonson chasing him, with Kevin Lanyi, Caleb Gafrarar, another Kid Kart graduate, as well as Blake Boon rounding out the top 5. With his 2 Trophy class wins secured, Crouse began his quest for the Money Payout, this time taking the Brads Heating and Cooling Sportsman Pro Gas Heavy Main. With all 3 victories came the Fast Time top honors as well, with Crouse taking the Mikim Motorsports Medallions for all 3 classes. With less than favorable weather conditions the evening prior, the usual Friday evening Shootout Races were moved to Saturday evening, with Crouse snaring his 4th win of the day, topping Landen Lewis, Tanner Carter, Cale Hall, and Elmer Edmonson.
While fans thought they were seeing double in the Senior ranks, they weren’t, as the pair of practically identical bright yellow and blue Jims Marine sponsored karts of Jacob and Jimmy Heavlow took their place at the front of the field this past weekend, with Jacob besting Jimmy in the Coyote Motorsports Senior Pro Gas Medium main. Sean Meier, the defending class champion, came home third, followed by Mike Greiner and Matthew Lewis.
The duo returned to take the same places later in the day in the Bordeaux Dyno Cams Senior Pro Gas Heavy main, with Jacksonville area product, and national competitor Matt Mayes taking down third, followed by fellow Floridian Matt Travis and Jacob Connors. Jacob Heavlow also took the Mikim Motorsports Fast Time awards for both classes as well.
Matt Millers 2 win day began with the top honors in the Junior Pro Gas Lite main, as Miller had to fend off the efforts of Jimmy Cole Jackson, Brian Van Cleve, former Sportsman racer Riley Kelley, and Alex Vrabel. Cody Hall, 8th in the main event, claimed the Mikim Motorsports Fast Time award.
Miller returned a few classes later to claim the Water Medic sponsored Junior LO206 class, again fending off Jackson, with Cade Frazier, Hunter Fox, and Andrew Willis completing the top 5. Miller also claimed the Mikim Motorsports Fast Time award.
Corey Towles confined his efforts for the weekend to the Briggs & Stratton Racing Senior LO206 Class, and for good reason, taking down the Day 1 win over Michael Clark, Brandon Murzynski, Patrick O’Neal, and Jacob Heavlow. Towles also claimed the Mikim Motorsports Fast Time Award.
Brently Millers 2 win effort pretty much went with the flow of the weekend success, shared by many, as the youngster claimed both days of action in the Boon and Sons Kid Kart class, as well as the Mikim Motorsports Fast Time award on Day 1. Miller was followed by newcomers Rachel Richter and Carlos Willis both days, while Richter also claimed her first ever Mikim Motorsports Fast Time award on Sunday.
The first day of points action was not totally dominated by repeat winners, as Cody Hall broke up the party in the Briggs & Stratton Racing Junior Pro Gas Heavy main, besting 2 time winner Matt Miller, with Jimmy Cole Jackson, Brian Van Cleve, and Riley Kelley completing the top 5. Hall also snared the Mikim Motorsports Fast Time top honors.
Hall returned at the end of the day to claim the $200 top prize in the Brads Heating and Cooling Junior Pro Gas Shootout. Jackson, Miller, Van Cleve, and Vrabel completed the top 5.
And the debut of the new Masters LO206 Senior class was a big hit, with a strong turnout for the opener, as well as tight racing from green to checkered. In the end, Brad Farmer took down the win, with Joey Milller right on his heels in second, followed by Tim Stiefel, Jerry Yarbrough, and Alan Strihafka.
The Senior Pro Gas drivers had one last shot for a chance to win some money Saturday with their rescheduled Money Race from Friday night, scheduled as the last race of the day. And the 11 drivers in the field did not disappoint, with the first 10 lap segment going down in history as one of the best 10 laps ever, with 2 by 2 racing into the tight first turn at the end of the long 1,000 foot backstretch, as well as 3 wide racing going into the tight right hander that is turn 6, just beyond the grid exit. In the end, Jacob Heavlow again prevailed, taking the win over Mike Griener, with Matt Mayes, Matt Travis, and Jimmy Heavlow completing the top 5.
Day 2 action found Jacob and Jimmy Heavlow again atop the Jims Marine Senior Pro Gas Medium class, with Mike Greiner, Sean Meier, and Jacob Connors completing the top 5, with Heavlow again claiming the Mikim Motorsports Fast Time Award. The same result was found in the Trackside Kart Supply Senior Pro Gas Heavy event, with the Heavlows a 1,2 punch, followed by Matt Mayes, Matthew Lewis, and Matt Travis completing the top 5. Heavlow again took the Mikim Motorsports Fast Time award.
Not to be outdone, Matt Miller again returned to victory lane twice on Sunday, taking the Junior Pro Gas Lite and Water Medic Junior LO206 mains. Brian Van Cleve, Jimmy Cole Jackson, Riley Kelley, and Talia Moffett chased Miller in the Pro Gas main, with Miller taking the Mikim Motorsports Fast Time honors, while Cade Frazier, Hunter Fox, Jackson, and Brian Collins made up the top 5 in the LO206 Main event, with Jackson taking the Mikim Motorsports Fast Time award.
Crouse was next up for the day, and hit 3 more homers, first taking the Spooner General Contractor Sportsman Gas Lite main, topping Landen Lewis, Cale Hall, Tanner Carter, and Blake Boon. Crouse then took the Sportsman LO206 main, topping Caleb Gafrarar, Kevin Lanyi, Elmer Edmonson, and defending Kid Kart Champ Jax Walker. For the nightcap, Crouse bested Lewis, Carter, Cale Hall, and Edmonson in the Brads Heating and Cooling Sportsman Pro Gas Heavy finale. And once again, Crouse also laid claim to all 3 Mikim Motorsports Fast Time awards.
Jason Yarbrough roared back from a 6th place finish on Day 1 to claim the Inferno Racing Clutches Senior LO206 Heavy main, taking his first national event win of the season. Michael Clark rode home second with Sean Meier, day 1 winner Corey Towles, and Eric Fagan completing the top 5. Yarbrough also claimed the Mikim Motorsports Fast Time award.
Cody Hall placed his name in the weekend record books as a sweeper as well, taking the Briggs & Stratton Racing Junior Pro Gas Heavy main for the second day in a row, topping Matt Miller, Brian Van Cleve, Alex Vrabel, and Talia Moffett, while also taking the Mikim Motorsports Fast Time award.
And, saving one of the best races of the weekend for last, Joey Miller led the Briggs & Stratton Racing Masters Senior class across the stripe for his first win of the weekend, edging Day 1 winner Brad Farmer, with Matt Skaggs, Tim Stiefel, and Jerry Yarbrough completing the top 5. Miller also took the Mikim Motorsports Fast Time Top Honors.
With the first race of a new, successful season in the books, the series will next head to Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw, South Carolina for the Series Summer Nationals June 24-26. The weekends festivities will be kicked off by the Shootout Races for the Sportsman and Junior Pro Gas Classes, again sponsored by Brads Heating and Cooling, along with the Senior Pro Gas Money race.
The updated Entry Blank for the Kershaw event will be online later this week.
Here’s a look at the breakdown of the Top 3 finishers in the Shootout Races, as well as the overall Top 3 finishers in the respective Pro Classes.
Brads Heating and Cooling Sportsman Pro Gas Shootout:
1 Aiden Baker Crouse: $200
2 Landen Lewis: $100
3 Tanner Carter: $50
Brads Heating and Cooling Junior Pro Gas Shootout:
1: Cody Hall: $200
2: Jimmy Cole Jackson: $100
3 Matt Miller: $50
Brads Heating and Cooling Sportsman Pro Gas Heavy:
1 Aiden Baker Crouse: $500
2 Landen Lewis: $250
3 Tanner Carter: $150
Junior Pro Gas Lite:
1 Matt Miller: $500
2 Brian Van Cleve: $250
3 Jimmy Cole Jackson: $150
Briggs & Stratton Racing Junior Pro Gas Heavy:
1 Cody Hall: $500
2 Matt Miller: $250
3 Brian Van Cleve: $150
Coyote Motorsports/Jims Marine Senior Pro Gas Medium:
1 Jacob Heavlow: $500
2 Jimmy Heavlow: $250
3 Sean Meier: $150
Bordeaux Dyno Cams/Trackside Kart Supply Senior Pro Gas Heavy:
1 Jacob Heavlow: $500
2 Jimmy Heavlow: $250
3 Matt Mayes: $150
Briggs & Stratton Racing/Inferno Racing Clutches Senior LO206:
1 Corey Towles: $500
2 Michael Clark: $250
3 Jason Yarbrough: $150