For the second time in just over a month’s time, kart racers will invade Las Vegas, Nevada for a spectacular karting event.
This week the SKUSA SuperNationals 24 is on tap at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It was only two weeks ago that SKUSA was forced to change the location of their event after a challenging situation with the RIO Hotel and Casino sent them scrambling for a new venue to host their event. It will be their first voyage to the Nascar circuit, but not the first time a major karting event has been held in the parking lot adjacent to the oval.
SKUSA opted not to host their SuperNationals last year due to the pandemic and that has left them with two years to prepare for their annual spectacular that annually draws racers from around the world.
This year, 41 Canadians are set to take part and one of them is looking to defend a major title from 2019.
The last time the SuperNats took part, Zachary Claman DeMelo was victorious in X30 Senior after pulling off a last-lap pass and bringing home the victory for Racing Edge Motorsports. This week, he is racing with Genesis Racing on an Atomica Kart, which will share pit space with REM and seek another victory. The year before, Ben Cooper brought the X30 Senior title back to Canada after a spectacular victory. Could we see it come back for a third straight year?
Seventeen Canadian drivers will line up in X30 as the massive 88-kart field will be one of the feature categories. A number of our Canadian drivers have the ability to be in contention for the podium but as proven many times over the years, X30 Senior is very unpredictable when the green flag waves and these racers go on the attack.
Practice for the event begins today (Wednesday) as racers navigate the circuit for the first time. 5 days of on-track will culminate with Super Sunday and the chance to etch their names into the SKUSA history books.
X30 Senior – 88 entries
- Zachary Claman DeMelo (QC, Genesis Racing / Atomica)
- Mathieu Cousineau (QC, Racing Edge Motorsports / Parolin)
- Marco Filice (ON, Prime Powerteam / BirelART)
- Josh Finer (BC, KartPlex Racing / JV Kart)
- Cole Hooton (ON, Prime Powerteam / BirelART)
- Marco Kacic (BC, KartPlex Racing / JV Kart)
- Laurent Legault (QC, Ben Cooper Racing / BirelART)
- Jason Leung (BC, Rolison Performance Group / Kosmic)
- Eamon Lowe (ON, Racing Edge Motorsports / Kosmic)
- Cedrik Lupien (QC, Rolison Performance Group / Kosmic)
- Samuel Lupien (QC, Rolison Performance Group / Kosmic)
- Ryan MacDermid (ON, Speed Concepts Racing / RedSpeed)
- Thomas Nepveu (QC, COY Motorsport / Kart Republic)
- Lucas Pernod (QC, Ben Cooper Racing / BirelART)
- Kellen Ritter (BC, Genesis Racing / Atomica)
- Nicolas Taylor (Aluminos Racing / Aluminos)
- Patrick Woods-Toth (QC, Prime Powerteam / BirelART)
Pro Shifter – 51 entries
- Evan Arnold (BC, Italian Motors / Italkart)
- Devlin Defrancesco (ON, Leading Edge Motorsports / Formula K)
- Charles Gauthier (QC, Ron White Racing / CRG)
- Davide Greco (ON, PSL Karting / BirelART)
- Ryan Martin (AB, Ron White Racing / CRG)
- Remo Ruscitti (BC, Italian Motors / Italkart)
KA100 Senior – 92 drivers
- Mathieu Cousineau (QC, Racing Edge Motorsports / Parolin)
- Marco Filice (ON, Prime Powerteam / BirelART)
- Isaac Finer (BC, KartPlex Racing / JV Kart)
- Patrick Woods-Toth (QC, Prime Powerteam / BirelART)
X30 Masters – 38 entries
- Rob Kazakowski (AB, Ruthless Karting / Exprit)
- Sam Porter (BC, KartPlex Racing / TB Kart)
Master Shifter – 17 entries
- Nicholas Bedard (QC, PSL Karting / BirelART)
X30 Junior – 48 entries
- Caleb Campbell (ON, JC Karting / Kosmic)
- Ayden Ingratta (ON, Speed Concepts Racing / RedSpeed)
- Frederique Lemieux (QC, PSL Karting / BirelART)
KA100 Junior – 46 drivers
- Jamel Abougoush (BC, KartPlex Racing / TB Kart)
- Ayden Ingratta (ON, Speed Concepts Racing / RedSpeed)
Mini Swift – 66 entries
- Gabriel Balog (BC, Checkered Motorsports / Magik Kart)
- Jensen Burnett (ON, AKT Racing / Energy Kart)
- Alex Chartier (AB, Ruthless Karting / Nitro Kart)
- Ty Fisher (BC, KartPlex Racing / TB Kart)
- Jackson Lachapelle (QC, Ben Cooper Racing / BirelART)
- Matthew Roach (ON, Prime Powerteam / BirelART)
- Pearce Wade (ON, Prime Powerteam / BirelART)
Micro Swift – 48 entries
- Kingston Gadoury (QC, Raceworx / CRG)
- Edward Kennedy (QC, Parolin USA / Parolin)
- Jackson Pearsall (ON, PSL Karting / BirelART)
- Luca Popescu (BC, Nash Motorsports / EOS Kart)
- Rocco Simone (ON, Mottaz Sport / BirelART)
*Note: Davide Greco has revealed that he tested positive for Covid-19 and was unable to travel to Las Vegas.
