Mike Smith and the SRD / KartRaceArt.com Team are USA Champions!
November 2008 - IKWC driver Mike Smith from Oregon is the 2008 United States Indoor Kart Champion! Smith was able to beat a strong field of 45 drivers from across the USA at the USIKC 3 day event held earlier this month at America's largest indoor kart racing facility, the F1 Race Factory in Phoenix, Arizona. The US Title event has a similar format as the World Championship. It is composed of 6 races: four 30 minute races, one 1 hour race, and one 1.5 hour Final Grand Prix, and all drivers race at an equal weight of 200 lbs. As usual, it was an extremely competitive event, and this year drivers were competing using a brand new fleet of Honda powered Sodi RX7 karts provided by the track.
On his way to victory, Smith accumulated 142 points with 3 wins, one 2nd, and one 5th place in the Qualifier races. Smith had a tough kart draw in the Final, which resulted in his worst result during the event, a 7th place. But 7th was all he needed, as his closest competitors for the Title (Mike's own SRD / KartRaceArt.com teammate Adam Kellerman from Oregon, and Team Dromo 1's Aaron Downs from California) finished the Final outside the Top 10 positions. In the end, the entire Championship podium was composed of past or present IKWC drivers, with multi-time Arizona Champion Truman Godfrey in 2nd with 140 points, and Aaron Downs in 3rd with 136 pts.
Smith, who is the race director at the Sykart Indoor Karting Center in Tigard, Oregon, has for the last 2 years been the highest placed American driver at the World Championship (5th in 2007 and 6th in 2008), and has established himself as one of the top names in the sport. Along with his 1st National Title, Smith takes home a nice trophy, and a sponsored entry in the 2009 Indoor Kart World Championship in Brazil.
Smith's Oregon based team (SmithRacingDevelopment.com / KartRaceArt.com) also took the US Team Championship Title, and was composed of Chris Naficy, Adam Kellerman, Steven Pepka, and Smith. Kellerman, who had a shot at the Title going into the Final, had kart trouble and opted to retire from the race, but still finished 6th overall in points. Pepka finished 8th, and Naficy 18th overall. Last year's Champions, Team FinishLineRaceGear.com, took 2nd place.
