12/20/2021
KC Sparks
Minnesota Missile Monday: Closing out 2021 with a Win
Minnesota Missile Monday: Closing out 2021 with a Win
Emma Indoor Raceway; Emma, Missouri
December 20, 2021
By : Stephanie Sparks
The weekend before Christmas saw 6 drivers in competition in the Box Stock Outlaw Wing Kart class at Emma Indoor Raceway.
Alex Yoerger set the pace in the heat race, bringing the field to green and jumping to the lead ahead of Brogan Carder. Heading through the first set of turns, Yoerger’s kart broke loose allowing Carder to move into the top position while KC Sparks jumped on the binders to avoid contact and race around the top side to take second. Bentley Long carried his momentum past Yoerger going into turn three as Yoerger collected his kart to rejoin the pack. The top three pulled away from the field and ran nose to tail for all 10 circuits with Carder picking up the win and earning the pole position for the feature event.
The 20-lap feature saw a pair of Hawk Wings out front on the karts of Carder and Sparks. Liam Barton tagged the tail of the field with his restricted box motor to see how he would do. Creeping toward the start line, Sparks appeared ready to challenge for the top spot but Carder timed his start perfectly and left Sparks on the high side with Long also pulling ahead of Sparks into the runner-up position. Carder led Long for the first five laps but slid high out of turn two allowing Long to pull alongside in a drag race. Heading into the first turn, Long clipped an infield disc, forcing his kart into the side of Carder and both leaders came to a stop. Carder’s chain jumped off the gear with the contact, forcing him to the infield and Long was sent to the tail for making contact. That handed the lead over to Sparks with Sierra Rose Gary, Yoerger, Micah Haugan, and Barton in the top five running positions.
On the restart, Gary tried to hang with Sparks so close that she tagged his rear bumper and spun herself and went to the tail behind Long. The next restart saw Sparks maintain his lead while Haugan was challenging Yoerger for runner up on the track. Long and Gary put on a show, working their way through the field from the tail with Long up to second by the halfway point, and Gary into a three way battle for third with Yoerger and Haugan for the second half of the race.
As the laps clicked off, Long was slowly closing the gap Sparks had built up. With two laps remaining, Sparks caught the tail of the field, but wasted no time finding a line past the slower kart and took the white flag with Long a quarter lap behind. Sparks drove to the win with Long in second and Gary climbing onto the podium in third. Yoerger held off Haugan for fourth with Barton finishing just one lap down in sixth.
The race at Emma Indoor Raceway was the final event for 1KC Motorsports in 2021. The season ended with 10 feature wins in the kart and 15 heat race victories throughout the year. Sparks competed at seven different kart tracks across Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Additionally, there were two micro sprint tracks he tested out and look forward to making many more laps on in the upcoming seasons.
The 2022 season is already taking shape with several tracks already releasing their schedules and the micro schedule is looking full. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!! See y’all in 2022 at a track near you.
Upcoming Schedule:
12/29-1/1: Attend the Tulsa Shootout
1/15/22: Emma Indoor Raceway
2021 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: 47
Wins: 10
Top 3: 21
Top 10: 42
Heat Wins: 15 out of 58
Quick Times: 1 out of 14
MICRO STATS:
Shows: 4
Wins: 0
Top 5: 2
Top 10: 3
Heat Wins: 0
Article Credit: Stephanie Sparks
