4/12/2021
KC Sparks
Minnesota Missile Monday: Sparks Sweeps Emma
Minnesota Missile Monday: Sparks Sweeps Emma
Point Show Emma Indoor Raceway; Emma, Missouri
April 12, 2021
Outdoor season is right around the corner but a group of racers have the Emma Indoor Raceway season to wrap up. Scheduled practice for several outdoor tracks cut down on some teams’ plans to attend the weekly point show in Emma, Missouri, but KC Sparks was among the group of four drivers who made the tow to race indoors while the rains fell outside.
Heat:
Sully Buck sat on the pole for the heat race in his first visit to Emma with his Box Stock outlaw wing kart. KC Sparks lined up to the outside with Haylie Allen and Anthony Guessford making up row two.
When the green flag dropped, Buck jumped to the lead over Sparks who spun his tires allowing Allen to move ahead into second place.
Buck held off challenges out of turn two but Allen drove under him out of turn four to lead lap one. Buck tried to get the position back in turns one and two but Allen was too strong and pulled ahead. Sparks moved to Buck’s inside down the backstretch and claimed second, setting his focus on Allen.
The four pack raced nose to tail around the quick 1/10th mile track for the next couple of circuits. Charging into turn three, Sparks tagged the tail of Allen who turned down to keep from spinning to the top side where the two karts found the infield but kept racing back to the track without losing the top positions but the caution flew.
Allen restarted on the point with Sparks going to the tail. Allen quickly jumped ahead of Buck while Sparks moved ahead of Guessford on one lap and Buck the next. Moving under Buck opened up the track for Guessford to also move into third down the frontstretch.
Allen had opened up a 10 kart advantage in the two laps but Sparks was focused, closing in through the turns. WIth five to go, Sparks caught the back of Allen but found passing more difficult. After three laps of following her, Sparks charged to her inside going into turn one and successfully made the pass for the lead.
Sparks would continue on to take the win ahead of Allen, Guessford, and Buck.
Feature:
KC Sparks set the pace for the feature and Haylie Allen was ready to challenge for the win. At the drop of the green, Sparks had the preferred line into the first set of turns but Allen was not going to let him get away from her. The top two racers pulled away from Buck and Guessford but were not more than a couple kart lengths apart.
Allen showed good speed in turns three and four while Sparks was a bit stronger at the other end of the track. As the race neared the halfway point, Allen’s front tire appeared to build heat and started to push allowing Sparks to get just a touch of space between the two drivers.
Soon the battling karts of Guessford and Buck came into play as the two drivers swapped the podium position lap after lap, racing side by side as Sparks closed in on them. Sparks was able to catch Buck and then Guessford at good points on the track to quickly move past them and open up his lead while Allen worked her way past the backmarkers.
Sparks would cruise on to the victory leading all 25 laps. Allen was a strong runner up with Guessford holding off Buck.
Cash Dash Feature
In a winner take all race, the drivers drew at sign in for starting positions with Buck again drawing the pole. After a long day of double classing and fighting his outlaw wing kart, Buck decided to stay out of the way and let the three racers who have participated all year battle for the cash. That moved Guessford to the pole and Sparks to his outside for the drop of the green.
Guessford got the jump out of turn four as the green dropped with Allen pulling to the inside of Sparks past the start/finish line. Sparks stayed in the gas into the first turn and pulled ahead of Allen and then drove under Guessford out of turn two to take the lead down the backstretch.
Allen followed Sparks’ line to move into second, past Guessford on the next lap and was again in pursuit of Sparks for the win.
The laps went fast as the three drivers kept clicking off laps without challenging for position and Sparks drove to the race win and completed the sweep of the day.
Upcoming Schedule:
4/17: Emma Indoor Raceway; Emma, MO - Point Championship
4/23: English Creek Speedway; Knoxville, IA
4/24: Newton Kart Klub; Newton, IA
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
Jared Bailey Photography; Carlisle, IA
MyRacePass; #TeamMRP #GetTheApp
TL Racing; Jackson, MN
YTD Stats:
Features: 12
Wins: 6
Top 3: 11
Top 10:12
Heat Wins:4 out of 6
Quick Times: 0 out of 5
Article Credit: Stephanie Sparks
