It was a return to New Castle Motorsports Park (NCMP) for Nathan Dupuis as he rejoined Speed Concepts Racing (SCR) for the third round of the United States Pro Kart Series (USPKS). Battling in the X30 Pro Junior class, Dupuis raced wheel-to-wheel with some of the country’s best showing speed through the heat races, earning top-ten results and eventually finished the weekend tenth in class.
“It was a good weekend overall, and the next few weeks are busy,” explained Dupuis. “Also, moving forward in USPKS competition, I will compete in both KA100 Junior and X30 Pro Junior to double up on track time and podium opportunities.”
After a day of practice on Thursday and a couple of sessions Friday morning to fine-tune his machine, Dupuis clocked the ninth fastest lap time in X30 Pro Junior qualifying to solidify a starting place inside the top-ten for the first heat on Saturday. With three opportunities to move forward in the heat race format, combined results from the heat races would set the grid for Sunday’s main event.
Returning to the track Saturday under near-perfect conditions, the first wheel-to-wheel action of the day saw Dupuis earn an eighth-place finish. Heat two was a hard-fought battle as the young Canadian pushed hard for a seventh-place result, ultimately crossing the line ninth, less than six seconds behind the eventual race winner. The third and final heat race of the day ran under the hottest conditions of the weekend as ambient temperatures approached 90F. Taking a toll on competitors and challenging mechanics and drivers, Nathan Dupuis crossed the line ninth before being dropped to 14th on the results sheet as he shifted his focus to Sunday and the X30 Junior main event.
Back to the track Sunday and starting ninth for the X30 Pro Junior main event, Dupuis was caught up in another driver’s incident early on falling back to 17th. Returning to the track from his off-course excursion, the young Canadian drove forward often turning some of the fastest laps of the race. Racing his way back forward and crossing the line in the same position he started, ninth, a post-race penalty relegated him to tenth in the results.
“I raced hard, and it was great to know that we had the pace to compete,” explained Dupuis. “Unfortunately, I was a victim but that is racing. On to the next one.”
With no time off, next week Nathan will be running 206 Junior and VLR Junior in the Goodwood Kartways Kartstars Tournament Series at Point Pelee Karting Club, back to where it all began. The following weekend Nathan Dupuis will travel to the Pittsburgh International Race Complex with Marc Stehle Motorsports in the KA100 Junior class.
For more information on Nathan Dupuis Motorsports, please contact Melissa Dupuis via email at Melissa@WorkSmartSafety.com or by phone at 519.819.9887. To learn more about Nathan Dupuis Motorsports, please visit him online via his new social media pages on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by searching “Nathan Dupuis Motorsports”.
