PR: BENIK Kart Claims Rotax Pan American Challenge Victory

Descending on the Mooresville, North Carolina area to compete in the annual Cold Stone Rotax Pan American Challenge, BENIK Kart would enter the event with a host of talented competitors. Looking to claim the final major Rotax victories of the 2014 season, the squad fought for race wins and podium results at the fast and tricky GoPro Motorplex facility.

Completing unofficial practice on Wednesday and Thursday, BENIK Kart drivers entered Friday with speed on their mind. With a pair of morning warm-up sessions on the docket, drivers would then complete a qualifying session with the top six advancing to the Super Pole sessions. With two laps to prove their speed, the fastest overall lap would claim the elusive pole position for all three of Saturday’s heat races.

Three BENIK Kart drivers would see action in the Rotax Mini Max ranks with Lance Fenderson, Lachlan DeFrancesco and first time Mini Max pilot Jeremy Fairbairn in the division. DeFrancesco advanced to the Super Pole session on Friday and would claim the third quickest time to start all three heats inside row two. With Fenderson having trouble and not able to complete a lap in qualifying, the transplanted Mooresville resident would start all three heats from the tail of the field as he began his march forward. Staying out of trouble in all three heats, Fenderson would start his prefinal from the middle of the field and drive forward to finish second. DeFrancesco made it two BENIK karts in the top five with his fifth place result while Fairbairn narrowly missed the top-ten in his first Mini Max prefinal.

The main event would be a good one for Fenderson as the consistent frontrunner took the point and eventual victory in dramatic fashion. Coming from the last position in qualifying to win on Sunday was one for the ages and capped off an awesome weekend for the up and coming driver. DeFrancesco nearly made it a pair of BENIK’s on the podium, as his speed would see him near the front of the field. An unfortunate incident took him out of the running, as he would finish well down the running order.

Lance Fenderson provided BENIK Kart with their first Cold Stone Rotax Pan American Challenge victory (Photo: Cody Schindel – CanadianKartingNews.com)

Fairbairn, in his first event since graduating from the Micro Max class, showed the speed to run in the top-ten all weekend long. Mixing it up with the front-runners, Fairbairn would have a tremendous debut weekend in the class and will be a force in 2015 and beyond.

Jak Crawford and Leland Honeyman would be the BENIK Kart Rotax Micro Max duo as both were at the pointy end of the field all weekend long. Crawford would lead several laps in the main event before ending his Pan American challenge in second. Honeyman also showed the speed claiming the second quickest lap time in the main event while scoring a sixth place result for his efforts.

“It was a great event for the BENIK Kart team and all of our drivers,” explained Co-Founder Nick Mitchell. “The racing was tight and all of our drivers were in the front half of the field. It is a great testament to our overall package and we will now look forward to the SuperNationals in Las Vegas.”

Making the long cross country trek from Florida to Las Vegas, Nevada, BENIK Kart will shift their focus to the biggest event on their calendar. Taking place on the grounds of the Rio All Suites Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, BENIK Kart will enter the event with an event victory on their mind while also closing out the final round of the SuperKarts! USA (SKUSA) Pro Tour.

For more information on BENIK Kart, please contact Nick Mitchell or Ben Cruttenden via e-mail to Info@Benik-Kart.com or by phone at 754.206.4870. For all West Coast Sales, please contact Nash Motorsportz at 951.233.3431 or via email to nashmotorsportz@yahoo.com or through their Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Nash-Motorsportz/302987366497945. BENIK Kart can also be found online at www.BENIK-Kart.com, Facebook at www.facebook.com/BenikKart and Twitter at @kartBENIK.