Ten IONIC Edge Chassis racers competed in one of the biggest races of the year March 3-5 at Charlotte Motor Speedway where Cup Karts North America held their first-ever Spring Nationals at the challenging 13-turn, 0.65-mile kart track located in the turn 3-4 area infield of the CMS 1.5-mile speedway.
Competition was fierce throughout the event with seven of the eight classes reaching over 30 entrants. Three of the divisions – Senior Light, Senior Medium and Sportsman – each boasted over 50 entrants and needed last-chance-qualifying races to bring their final fields down to 40.
IONIC Edge was represented well at the national event. Chris Cline was one of the fastest driver in Masters throughout the event. Carter Pryor led a number of laps in Junior and battled at the front of the field in every round of competition on his Edge.
Matt Skaggs was a top-10 finisher in Masters and his nephew, Elijah, finished just outside the top 10 in Senior Light. Jeff and Riley Scott, Ronnie Klys, Jayelynn Kerr and Cam and Jett Ebben all competed hard on their IONIC Edge’s and gained plenty of valuable experience racing against many of the best 206 racers in the country.
Here’s a rundown of the action at Charlotte:
Masters
Cline entered the event as one of the favorites in Masters. After qualifying P5 of 41 entrants, he’d go on to win heat one in impressive fashion. Chris was leading on the last lap of heat two when contact was made sending Cline around. He’d get back going, however the incident relegated Cline to an 11th-place result in the heat, and it would hurt his starting position for Sunday’s final.
Cline was able to make his way to P3 in the final, but by the time he made it to the third position the top two had already opened up a several second lead. Cline ran strong throughout the race but would have to settle for third.
Matt Skaggs and Jeff Scott joined Cline on Edge’s in the Masters class. Skaggs had a good weekend, finishing 10th in the final. The Tennessee driver gained speed all weekend and had a nice run to round out the top 10.
Scott qualified eighth and finished a strong P5 in the first heat. He’d run into some bad luck over the next couple rounds, finishing 16th in heat two and 33rd in the final after a lap one accident with a couple other drivers.
Junior
Three of the 41 entrants in Junior were on IONIC Edge’s and Carter Pryor led the way. Pryor raced at the front of the pack all weekend and challenged for wins in every round. He’d qualify fifth, finish fourth in heat one and drove to a big win in Saturday’s second heat over six other racers who were right on his tail.
Carter entered the final as one of the favorites and it came down to the final laps. Unfortunately the cards didn’t shake out in Pryor’s favor and he was shuffled back in the last lap or two, finishing just outside the top five in P6. Carter still had an outstanding weekend against the best in Junior.
Ronnie Klys continued to gain experience on his Edge and he’d come away with a 29th-place result in the Junior final. Klys’ had better runs in qualifying and the heats; he qualified P12 and finished 15th and 18th in the heats.
Similar to Klys, Jayelynn Kerr gained valuable experience at Charlotte. Unfortunately, Kerr would be involved in an accident at the start on the final and not finish the race. She did post the 34th fastest lap time in qualifying and finished a respectable 25th in heat two.
Senior Light, Medium & Heavy
Elijah Skaggs continues to impress in Senior Light in his first full season racing in the senior ranks. Elijah was fast in qualifying with a P12 result of 46 to take time. Heat one didn’t go well as he was involved in a first lap accident and did not finish. Skaggs rebounded in heat two, finishing eighth. Starting deep in the field in the final, he’d have a strong run resulting in a finish just outside the top 10 in P11. Look for Elijah to continue to challenge at the front of Senior fields all season.
Cam and Jett Ebben both entered Senior Light, as well. Cam showed some great speed Saturday with a fine P4 time in qualifying. He finished fifth of 24 in his first heat but ran into troubles in the final and would come home 34th in a tough run. Jett didn’t qualify for the final, finishing 13th in Sunday morning’s LCQ.
Riley Scott entered both Senior Medium and Heavy and his dad, Jeff Scott, competed in Heavy along with Masters. Jeff had the best final of the team, finishing P14 in the Heavy main. Riley was 30th in Heavy and had his better run in Medium, crossing the stripe in 22nd of 56 entries. Riley rebounded nicely in the main to nearly break the top 20 after qualifying outside the top 40.
Alyx Smith entered his No. 292 Edge in the Senior Medium division but missed qualifying for the final. The Tennessee driver finished 16th in the LCQ.
Next up, many IONIC Edge Chassis national racers will look to round 1 of the CKNA North series April 30-May 2 at Concept Haulers Motor Speedway in Sheridan, Ill.
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IONIC Edge Chassis are championship-winning sprint karts built and distributed by Luttrell Racing in Cartersville Georgia. For more information, contact Kyle Luttrell at kyle@luttrellracing.com or 404-516-8934.