Up Next: Rok Vegas – What we know so far

Next up on our calendar is our penultimate race of the season as we venture to Las Vegas, Nevada for Rok Vegas.

Moving on from the Rio Hotel and Casino, ROK Vegas will take place behind Planet Hollywood and the Paris Hotel, putting the track walking distance from the famous Las Vegas Boulevard and in front of many more eyes and ears.

With a new venue always comes new challenges and for Rok Cup USA, it’s been a bit of a whirlwind last few weeks.

Speaking with Kart Chaser on a live stream earlier this week, more details about the race were revealed.

They were forced to change lots only two weeks ago after some commercial confusion with the city, but Garett Potter and Robbie Poupart went to work as soon as they found out and created a new track design and layout in the lot they intended to park all the trailers in. Adjustments have been made and from our view, it only looks better.

Speaking of the track design, it will really challenge the racers of all divisions with plenty of passing opportunities and a good length main straightaway.

The event will run for five days of on-track action. Wednesday is set for a full day of practice. Thursday will see another round of practice before Qualifying in the afternoon. Heat races will run on Friday and Saturday as drivers will get four progressive starting grid heats, with their combined finishes determining the starting grid for Sunday’s main events to crown the 2021 Rok Vegas Champions.

As entries continue to roll in, we don’t know the final numbers yet, but we’ve had a look at the current list and it’s great. The list is nearing 300 entrants with Rok Cup USA expecting anywhere from 330-350 by the time karts hit the asphalt in Vegas. More than 40 Canadian drivers have entered so far, covering almost every category.

Canadian race teams making the trek include Prime Powerteam, Racing Edge Motorsports, Catalyst Driver Development / Italian Motors, PSL Karting, Ben Cooper Racing, Magicbox Motorsports and Vemme Kart.

We have our eyes on a few Canadians that we expect to be in contention for victory in Las Vegas. Former winner Ryan MacDermid will suit up in Rok Senior that features a number of potential Canadian winners, including Patrick Woods-Toth, Thomas Nepveu and Adam Ali. There are ten Canadians entered in the class so far.

Rok Shifter will see Remo Ruscitti lead a six-kart charge from Catalyst Driver Development. Ayden Ingratta just missed out on the USPKS title a week ago, but he will be a contender in both Rok Junior and VLR Junior. Rocco Simone is a hopeful in Micro Rok, while any of Pearce Wade, Gabriel Balog, Alex Chartier, Jackson Lachapelle and Matthew Roach could surprise in Mini Rok.

Rok Shifter is already about the 40 mark, while Micro, Mini, Senior Rok, Shifter Master, VLR Junior and VLR Senior are into the thirties. There are 18 nations represented featuring drivers from Brazil to Venezuela and many in between. 32 different chassis brands have been recognized in the entry list and there’s even a few car racing stars entered in the event.

A prize package was also announced for every class with a purse of $5000 being split amongst the top-five finishers, including an awesome $2500.00 to win.

It’s not too late to register and join in on the fun, although you better get into gear if you do want to race. Registration can be completed on KartPass App, downloadable on your mobile phone. As a reminder, everyone will require a pass from KartPass to enter the paddock.

To learn more about the event, visit https://rokcupusa.com/races/rok-vegas/.

We will see you there and bring you all the Canadian content from the event!