US Open Championship Kicks off with Qualifying in Dallas on Friday

The locals swear they have never seen anything like it before. The amount of rain that has fallen at the Dallas Karting Complex to welcome the racers of the US Open Karting Championship has been astounding, erasing a four-year regional drought in only a matter of weeks.

However the rain has not slowed down the competition from attacking the track and Friday saw the first ever US Open event officially get underway with Qualifying and the first round of heat races for all of the classes competing.

The rain came and went throughout the day, with mechanics switching back and forth between tire choices all day long, chasing the track and hoping to hit the setup just right when it was their time to roll out on track.

Sting Ray Robb (205) has led the way thus far in Rotax Junior (Photo by: Cody Schindel/CKN)

The mix between Rotax and Stock Moto Shifter is a difficult one to grasp as the two programs have never really ran side-by-side before, but it great to see many different racing options available to drivers.

The challenging DKC track has really been put through the paces so far, with drivers learning that any excursion off track can have major complications due to the large amounts of water around the facility.

The unique new race format for this weekend features plenty of racing. Friday featured qualifying and heat one, followed by three heats on Saturday, with the tally of all four heats setting the grid for the Finals on Sunday. However, the heat races are progressive, forcing drivers to stay on their toes and out of trouble to ensure a good starting position for the following heat race.

We are working with our friends at Kart360.com this weekend in Dallas and you can follow all the live action this weekend on their On Location page, while we will do our best to provide daily photo galleries and updates.

Make sure to check out our Friday Photo Gallery and share it with your friends on favourite social media websites.

Friday Qualifying Top-5’s:

Micro-Max:
1. Diego LaRoque (BBR/BENIK)
2. Branyon Tiner (Brash/TonyKart)
3. Ashton Torgerson (BBR/BENIK)
4. Jaun Pablo Cepeda (FalconeGP/BirelART)
5. Carson Morgan (RPM/TonyKart)

Mini-Max:
1. Hannah Greenemeier (RPG/Kosmic)
2. Jak Crawford (Precision Works/TonyKart)
3. Payton Durrant (KoeneUSA/TonyKart)
4. Cash Tiner (Brash/TonyKart)
5. Maxwell Waithman (IRP/TonyKart)

Junior Max:
1. Sting Ray Robb (BBR/TonyKart)
2. Darren Keane (P1/TonyKart)
3. Michael Michoff (RPG/Kosmic)
4. Braden Eves (J3/COMPKart)
5. Trenton Estep (KoeneUSA/TonyKart)

Senior Max:
1. Jake Craig (RaceLab/Formula K)
2. Gianfranco Mazzaferro (Ferrolati Corse/TonyKart)
3. Rinus Van Kalmthout (KoeneUSA/TonyKart)
4. Oliver Askew (PSL/BirelART)
5. Jack Black (RPG/TonyKart)

Rotax DD2/DD2 Masters:
1. Ferenc Kancsar (PSL/BirelART)
2. Alessandro Bizzotto (PSL/BirelART)
3. Michael Ilavia (J3/COMPKart)
4. Jake French (DKC/Sodi)
5. Harry Gottsacker (Champion/Intrepid)

Masters Max:
1. Luis Schiavo (Intrepid)
2. Carlos Medina (FalconeGP/Birel)
3. Billy Cleavelin (CRG-USA/CRG)
4. Derek Wang (BBR/TonyKart)
5. Mike Jones (DKC/Sodi)

Shifter Elite:
1. Joey Wimsett (CRG-USA/CRG)
2. Jordon Lennox (PSL/BirelART)
3. Davide Fore (CRG-USA/CRG)
4. Sabre Cook (CRG-USA/CRG)
5. Nick Neri (Anderson/BirelART)

Shifter Masters/Shifter Veteran:
1. Javier Echeverria (GP)
2. Ryan Kinnear (Champion/Intrepid)
3. Jorge De La Huerta (GP Kart)
4. Juan Carlos Garcia (CRG)
5. Hugh Templeman (CRG)

Shifter Junior:
1. David Malukas (Top Kart)
2. Andrew Engberson (Intrepid)
3. Ryan Patrick Lewis (Mad Croc)
4. Carson Mueller (TonyKart)

Shifter Senior:
1. Miguel Lopez (GP)
2. Luke Shanahan (TonyKart)
3. Chris Jennings (DR Kart)
4. Cody Jolly (CRG)
5. Austin Wilkins (DKC/Sodi)