1/31/2022
KC Sparks
Minnesota Missile Monday: Opening 2022 With a Clean Sweep
Minnesota Missile Monday: Opening 2022 With a Clean Sweep
Emma Indoor Raceway; Emma, Missouri
January 31, 2022
By : Stephanie Sparks
The 2022 racing season opened this past weekend with the outlaw kart racing down in Emma Missouri for their winter point season’s sixth event. A nice field of eight drivers signed to do battle with representation from two South Dakota racers, three from Minnesota, and three from Iowa. The box stock division was also scheduled to be one of the three classes that were selected to run a cash dash at the end of the evening.
The heat race was slated for 10 laps with Brogan Carder and Florence Drost on the front row. KC Sparks and Micah Haugan lined up in row 2 making it an all DRE racing engines front two rows. Carder took the lead with Sparks motoring into second and Drost squeezing her way into third. Carder ran a strong race out front with Sparks and Drost within striking distance. The heat race was slowed a couple times as the karts of Walker Overturf and Owen Hendrichs worked to figure out the track in their first ever visit. Even through the restarts, Carder was able to maintain his top position. With just a couple circuits remaining, Carder left the inside lane going into turn three opened just enough that Sparks filled the hole and charged into the lead. Drost followed Sparks past Carder. In the final circuits, Hendricks worked his way back through the field and claimed fourth from Haugan. Sparks claimed the heat win.
Feature time for the young drivers in the box stock class saw Sparks and Hendrichs earn the front row starting positions with their passing points from the heat race. As the duo led the field at a brisk pace, the initial start was called off and Hendrichs pulled to the infield with an issue that knocked him out of the event. That put Carder on the outside lane as the field headed to the green flag.
In battling for track position, the initial start didn’t work so the field aligned single file for the start and after a few attempts, was able to get going without stopping until the checkered fell. Sparks was able to grab the lead from the pole with Drost never getting more than a kart length behind. The lead duo pulled away from the field quickly and maintained their running order.
As the feature event neared the halfway point, Drost was finding some speed out of turn four at the bottom while Sparks would drift just a bit higher down the frontstretch. Drost got a strong run and heading into turn one, overtook her Minnesota rival for the top position. It was short lived as Sparks executed a crossover move out of turn two and reclaimed the lead down the backstretch.
The top two continued nose to tail half a lap ahead of the field. A couple laps later, Sparks found some rubber in the turns and started to put a little gap on Drost. When the checkers fell, Sparks took the victory with a pair of girls joining him on the podium with Drost finishing second and Sierra Rose Gary in third. Haugan finished fourth ahead of Bentley Long, Carder, and Overturf.
The night ended with a cash dash where the drivers lined up by a draw. Carder drew the pole with Sparks lined up to his outside. Sparks used his years of experience to take the lead down the frontstretch on the opening lap. Sparks would cruise to the $75 payout with Carder, Gary, Hendrichs, Long, Haugan, Drost, and Overturf filling out the field.
Upcoming Schedule:
2/12: Emma Indoor Raceway
3/5: Emma Indoor Raceway
3/12-13: Emma Indoor Raceway Megamaloofa Winter Classic
2022 Partner/Sponsor Appreciation
Autoland; Sioux Falls, SD
Furby’s Auto Repair; Sioux Falls, SD
GRP Motorsports; Stillwater, MN
Last Deck LLC; Jackson, MN
Heser Auto and Detailing; Jackson, MN
DRE Horsepower; Boyden, IA
Hawk Wings; Jackson, MN
MyRacePass; #TeamMRP #GetTheApp
TL Racing; Jackson, MN
YTD KART Stats:
Shows: 1
Wins: 1
Top 3: 1
Top 10: 1
Heat Wins: 1 out of 1
Quick Times:
MICRO STATS:
Shows:
Wins:
Top 5:
Top 10:
Heat Wins:
Article Credit: Stephanie Sparks
