CONCORD, NC- As the title claimed for the 2016 Manufacturers Championship Trophy was claimed by the slightest of margins, the 2017 battle for the top chassis on the Bridgestone Manufacturers Cup Series appears to be headed in the same direction. On the heels of the 2016 edition of Daytona KartWeek, which also kicks off the 2017 season for the series, 11 different chassis scored wins in the 18 Final events run during the Margay Sprint Championships at Daytona International Speedway Dec 28-30.
Leading the way was 2016 runner-up Tony Kart, checking in with 4 wins at the World Center of Racing, followed closely by defending champion Top Kart with 3. The Comet Eagle Chassis, as well as Kosmic, were the only other chassis that scored more than 1 victory in the season opener.
The wealth for Tony Kart was spread amongst 4 drivers, with Ashton Chilton scoring one of the wins in the IAME USA East Pro Swift Sportsman Class. Joining Chilton in the win category for Tony Kart were Colin Neal, the top dog in the Comet Racing Engines Yamaha Junior class, while Elliott Budzinski took Day 2 honors in the same class, with Vincenzo Sarracino taking the win in the OTK Kart USA ROK Shifter class.
For Top Kart, again 3 different drivers led the way, with Alexander Kardashian taking the Franklinkart.com Yamaha Senior class. Joining Kardashian for Top Kart were Jonathan Kotyk in the ROK Shifter class, while Dakota Pesek claimed the second day of Yamaha Senior competition.
Kosmic cashed in on their 2 wins on day 2 with Mateo Rubio-Luengo taking the CRPRACING.com Mini Swift competition, while Tyler Gonzalez laid claim to the Woltjer Racing Engines Pro IAME Junior category.
The addition of the LO206 Senior class to the Mfg Cup fold this year led to Corey Towles drawing first blood not once, but twice, leading the charge for the Comet Eagle camp. The two wins were significant also in the fact that Towles was the only repeat winner all week long in national competition, leading to quite a bit of parity for the first national event of the season.
Scoring 1 victory a piece were Comp Kart, TB Kart, Parolin, BTK, FA, Praga, and Benik. Here’s the list of winners per chassis:
Allison Racing Engines Yamaha Sportsman: William Robusto: Comp Kart
KARTSPORT North America Pro IAME Senior: AJ Myers: TB Kart
CRPRacing.com Mini Swift: Caleb Gafrarar: Parolin
Woltjer Racing Engines Pro IAME Junior: Zane Maloney: BTK
Allison Racing Engines Yamaha Sportsman: Garrett Adams: FA
KARTSPORT North America Pro IAME Senior: Brandon Jarsocrak: Praga
IAME USA East Pro Swift Sportsman: Elio Giovane: Benik
A complete recap of the Margay Sprint Championships will be coming shortly. In the meantime, for a look at the updated Chassis Standings to begin the 2017 season: CLICK HERE.