Archived News - 2004, 2003, 2002

Fast Fusion Year in Review

2004 was a great year for Jason Berry and Fast Fusion Kart Services. Fast Fusion was very fortunate to work with some of the best karters in the country. Jason's 2004 season started down in Florida with the popular SKUSA Winter Series promoted by Bill Wright. This was Jason's first trip to Florida and his first visit to the Winter Series. Rysa Racing brought Fast Fusion Kart Services out for the first weekend to help one of the local racers and Jason enjoyed his time in Florida. He was very impressed with the atmosphere of the whole event. The racing was good, the off-track atmosphere was great, and the Miami women, enough said.

After the first weekend, Jason would team up with one of karting's most potent tuner/driver combinations, Tim Lobough (of MRP) and Josh Schrieber. Jason's roll was to handle the data portion of the program while all three of them learned the tuning on the SwedeTech Pavesi package. After the Winter Tour had wrapped up, Jason would help Ron White of RC*20 fame at the 2004 Kart Expo in St. Charles, Ill. This proved to be a very valuable trip, as Jason would have his first introductions to the Whitt Family. Fast Fusion Kart Services agreed to work with Cole and the Whitt Racing Team effort for the SKUSA and Stars of Karting Western Zone Championship. On the East Coast, Jason was on hand for a few different drivers. The Eastern Zone Stars Races would have Jason in the pits for Zachary Schiff and the SKUSA Eastern Zone; Jason would work with Xan Rose. Fast Fusion Kart Services looks for one or two local drivers a year to work with, and this year Jason teamed up with Auston Harris and his father Dean. Auston would race a few local NorCal events, but his main focus was the Stars of Karting Western Zone tour. This was a great learning year for Auston, and as the season progressed, so did his finishing positions.

Here is just a quick recap of results for the 2004 year:

Cole Whitt -

Jr80. National Champion - Stars of Karting

Jr.80 National Champion -SuperKarts USA

JICA National Runner-Up - Stars of Karting (winner of the Finale in Orlando)**

Jr.80 Western Zone Champion - Stars of Karting (7 wins)

Jr. 80 Western Zone Champion - SuperKarts USA (3 wins West, 3 wins East)

JICA Western Zone Runner-Up - Stars of Karting**

Winner of multiple SuperKarts USA Eastern Zone races *

Zach Schiff -

Jr.80 WKA George Kugler Manufacturers Cup - 4th Overall*

Winner WKA Round Three - Final #2*

SKUSA ProMoto - Norway - 2nd and 3rd*

Stars of Karting - New Castle - 2nd Place

Xan Rose -

Jr.80 SKUSA ProMoto National #11

Jr.80 Red River Region - 3rd Place Overall*

Jr.80 Space City Kart Challenge - Currently 2nd Place Overall (still racing)*

Jr.80 SKUSA ProMoto Tour - Norway - Race #2 - 5th Place

Auston Harris -

Placed as high as 6th on Stars of Karting West Tour

Handful of NorCal local wins

Fast Fusion would like to express our thanks to all customers that have supported Fast Fusion Kart Services. Below is a list of webpages for each individual driver.

Fast Fusion is off to Florida for the SKUSA PMT

Jason Berry joins Josh Schrieber and Tim LoBough in Jacksonville for the first round of the East Coast ProMoto Tour. Josh Schrieber is a top national level driver in the Pro ICC class and is joined in the pits by professional chassis tuner, Tim LoBough. Jason will be assisting Josh and Tim in the pits controling the Mychron 3 data acquisition system. Jason has been working with Josh and Tim for two races during the Florida Winter Series. Josh placed 2nd and 3rd in Ocala and is looking forward to Jacksonville with high hopes of standing on the top step. Stay tuned to our site for more updates.

End of Year Sale

Receive 10% off or a free copy of Memo Gidley's Secrets of Speed book. Offer is good while supplies last. For orders over $200.00, shipping is free. Contact Fast Fusion Kart Services at (925) 528 - 9011.

Book your day at the track now and receive 15% off the regular rate. Book 3 or more track sessions and receive a 20% discount.

Jimmy Ends 2003 with a Win

Jimmy Moon, age 10, the youngest child in the Moon Racing family, ended his 2003 race season on a very high note. Jason of Fast Fusion Kart Services gave Jimmy a hand while Dad, Benny, and Justin were away at the Stars of Tomorrow finale. Jimmy set the pace in the practice sessions, being about 0.50 seconds faster then his nearest competitor.

We cut the practice day short because there was no sense of wearing everything out and risking any off track excursions. Sunday rolled around and in the first practice session, Jimmy was 0.7 second faster than anyone. Prairie City uses the "pea-pick" system to determine the heats starting order. In both heats, Jimmy would start fourth. Heat #1 saw some good action. After the green, Jimmy was in 3rd place going into turn one. A very cold track plus an over anxious driver equaled a spin out and Jimmy was in dead last. After he recovered on got under way, the same lap Jimmy passed four karts to move into 6th. After a few more laps, Jimmy made his move for 5th. On the last lap, Jimmy had a beautiful run coming on to the straight, and edged out the 4th place kart by less than 6 inches.

Heat #2 was fairly boring, not much going on. Jimmy started 4th, fell back to 6th on the start and worked his way into the 2nd finishing spot. The main is when the action began. Jimmy started in 3rd, and was in 2nd behind Derek Tillet. Moon paced himself and finally made the move on Derek while heading down the straight. Moon passed Tillet on the outside just in time to make it into turn 1. For two laps, Jimmy started to pull away. On the last lap, Jimmy would run into lap traffic going through the turn 2-3 combo. This allowed Derek a good run on Jimmy and was able to close the gap. I was hoping Jimmy would be able to put a few lappers between himself and Derek, but Derek was not having any of that. For the next 7 turns, Jimmy and Derek worked through the traffic with ease. I knew the win was ours as long as we made it through the lappers. We came across first and Jimmy ended his season with a win.

Justin moves to S1 for Supernationals

E Karting News Full story

Justin Earns National #10

Justin Moon started off his World Finals weekend with a top five position in the SuperPro (Formula One) style qualifying. He set his personal fast time on the first hot lap, which kept the time on the tires very low. This would set Justin up very well for the pre-final. The first three drivers were able to pull away from the field as the battle for forth was highly contested. Justin was in fifth and doing a great job working on fourth and pushing the abilities of the brakes going into turn one. The pack started to catch up with the third place kart and began to put pressure on both spots. Going down the straight, Justin was helped by the 6th place guy and they drafted past fourth, unfortunately the track needed to be about 25 feet longer as the speed from the draft was to much for turn one. Justin ended up going wide and into the marbles, losing a few spots, but made a quick recovery. Justin was able to pass a few guys and ended up seventh on the track. The officials moved Justin to sixth on a judgment call for a bump draft. A very difficult decision on the official side.

So Justin was awarded the sixth starting spot for the main and was driving great moving through the pack quickly and moved into fourth. Gaining ground on third, Justin then started to go through lap traffic, and eventually a lapper without a clue, got in the way in the middle of turn one (not a favorable spot for Justin this weekend). This took Justin to eighth spot were he eventually finished. But after all the heartbreak this series has given Justin, one big good thing comes out of it. Justin can now wear the Jr. 80 N10 panel. Only ten national numbers are given by SKUSA in the Jr. 80 class, and Justin’s consistency earned him the N10 panel.

Benny Secures National #8

Benny Moon started the ProMoto Weekend in a little bit of a hole. Being fast in the practices all week long, the gremlins of racing poked their heads up at the worst possible time. Without dwelling on the past and the qualifying, Benny was going to start the Pre-final from 13th, even the announcer was surprised to see Benny this far back.

In a thrash in the pits to try to bring something together for Benny in the pre-final, many changes took place on the kart. In typical Benny Moon style, he drove quickly and aggressively passing 5 guys before the checkered flag. This would give Benny a starting spot of eighth for the Main event. With many laps to move forward, Benny did just that. In the tight SuperPro Class, every position is hard to take, but Benny managed to move up to fifth. This finish would secure Benny the SuperPro N8 number panel. After the heartbreaker in Canby, this was a good finish to the year. So Benny will be sporting the N8 for next year, and Bonnie can keep her necklace with the numbers 8 and 10 on them.

Moon Boys Podium at two seperate races

Team Moon was separated this weekend due to the popular "schedule conflict". Benny and Justin headed to Sears Point Raceway for the Stars regional race, while Jimmy headed to Prairie City to run the club championship series. Jimmy is running in the top for both series, but the decision was made to run Jimmy at Prairie City. So I went to the Prairie City track to give Jimmy a hand.

Jimmy started the weekend out with a full day of practice on Saturday. Sunday rolled around and Jimmy was going to start in the 6th spot for the 1st heat. Jimmy quickly moved up to 4th by the third lap. The next two laps Jimmy passed two more competitors to place him in 2nd, where he would finish. The 2nd Heat, Jimmy was starting in 8th. After moving up to 6th after the start, he passed another competitor for 5th. A few laps later, the group Jimmy was running in caught lap traffic on the slowest part of the track. After positions shuffled, Jimmy came out in 6th and ended the heat race there.

The main event was non eventful for our Jr. driver as he started the main event in 4th. The first three karts had worked together on the start and put a gap between Jimmy and 5th place. As Jimmy pulled away from the 5th place kart, the top three were drafting away from the whole field. Jimmy maintained 4th for the entire race, with a large distance over 5th.

The other two Moon drivers also had a good weekend. I wasn’t there, so I don’t know the specifics, but Benny finished in 3rd and Justin finished 5th. All three drivers are in the championship chase for each of their classes, so these top results will help them in each of the battles.

Moon Goes 1-2-3

Benny, Justin, and Jimmy gave Dean a great Father’s Day gift by driving their best, taking first, second, and third in the mixed classes. Jimmy had the best race of his year taking his first main event win in the competitive Jr. 1 2-cycle class. Qualifying less than a 10th/second off pole, Jimmy was a contender from the start. After many laps of running just inches off the bumper of the first place car, Jimmy made his move. Half a lap later, the former leader wanted the spot back and overtook Jimmy at the end of the straight. Jimmy was clearly faster in the infield, but the other car had gear for the straight. It was a very interesting race between the two drivers until the leader had to pull off due to a broken throttle cable . It was a bad way to end a great race, because it was going to be a battle all the way to the checkered. Jimmy kept his head in the game and held on for his first Jr. 1 2-cycle win crossing the finish line with both hands in the air.

Benny was the next race up and he was starting in 3rd after a good qualifying run. After a good start to put him in 2nd, Benny began to pull away from the rest of the field, while the leader put some distance between everyone. After about 7 laps, Benny seemed to be gaining on the leader, than about 15 laps into it, the progress was stagnant. Coming down to the last few laps, a fellow competitor was charging through the field, and Benny was not able to hold him off. Benny finished a close third.

Justin has been a consistent runner for the past few months. After solid drives all year long, I think Justin just likes to pass people. Not running up to speed on practice, we switched motors and did some chassis adjustments and Justin qualified 4th. After many laps of being stuck in 5th, Justin started to apply pressure and mad a good pass. Second place pulled off due to a broken pipe and Justin was in third. Chasing down the other drivers, Justin was turning fast laps and he eventually overtook for 2nd. After the race had ended, we inspected Justin’s kart, and he had literally driven with only one brake pad. The other pad was broken and was pressed into the rotor. All the drivers did a great job this weekend.

No Blackjacks in Primm

The week prior to the Buffalo Bill’s Stars of Tomorrow race gave the Moon team a boost of confidence. Justin had another great run to finish on the podium. Jimmy was running strong all weekend long, and Benny passed about 20 karts to finish 11th in the main. The Moon team had good hopes for the Primm, NV event.

With high hopes for all three drivers, we were excited to run this race. Benny has been fast all year, Justin removed the monkey from his back and has been a consistent front runner, and Jimmy is becoming faster every race, pushing forward to the front.

Practice was going good for the team, but some unexpected rules threw a little twist in the game plan. So we got the karts ready, but unfortunately for Benny, he was the one with the engine problems this weekend. After loosing his transmission in the ICC, the gear choice for qualifying was a crap shoot, and he ended up 21st. In good Benny Moon style, he started to work his way through the field and finished about 11th or 12th. This was a feat considering the close lap times of all the competitors.

Justin was running strong all weekend and qualified 4th for the main. The Jr. 80 class did not have much action. Justin ended up taking 5th for the day, which is a strong position for a title chase.

Jimmy was the driver with most of the luck this weekend. Qualifying third for the main, Jimmy was ready for the podium. On the first lap, Jimmy was involved in a turn one accident which bent both spindles and whipped little Jimmy around like a rag doll. After shaking off the impact, Jimmy geared up to retake the start while us mechanics thrashed to make Jimmy’s kart semi-drivable. After the restart Jimmy fell back a few spots, and I contributed the problem to the bent spindles. Jimmy then turned up the heat and started to reel in the pack in front of him. After many laps of chasing down the pack, Jimmy passed for 4th. On the last lap, Jimmy then passed for 3rd and held the spot until the awards ceremony. Under a bad call, Jimmy was moved back to the 4th spot for passing under a yellow. No one was notified of this infraction until Jimmy was standing in front of the podium awaiting his trophy, they gave the fourth place finish Jimmys trophy. But if the crowd and fans mean anything, Jimmy brought home the 3rd place prize in their eyes, and ours.

Justin takes Dominant win at Sears Point

I did not spin any wrenches for the Moon’s this weekend, but I wanted to give you a press release on Justin, who deserves the spotlight for Moon Racing this weekend.

Justin Moon finally has the break through that was much needed. After a strong finish two weeks ago at the Stars of Tomorrow race, Justin had a dominant drive in the main event for round two of the Sierra SKUSA race. Not completely free of the gremlins that haunted Justin in Phoenix, they made one more appearance Saturday Afternoon when the transmission lost 3rd gear, during the last practice.

As usual, the Sierra Region ran a tight schedule, which was not to Dean or Justin’s favor. With only about 25 minutes to “put together” another back up motor for qualifying, Dean worked franticly to put his son on the track. Tightening bolts and filling the radiator while rolling up to the grid, Justin only had a few laps to put on the track for the timed session. He ended up taking 5th for the qualifying.

The two heat races gave Justin two top five spots, which would offer him a good starting position for the main. As the green fell in the main, Justin began to work his way through the pack, easily passing the first few karts, Eddie Cabalero proved to be the most difficult position to acquire, but he was also the leader. For about 7 laps, Justin and Eddie drag raced into turn one, and Eddie was able to hold off Justin under hard braking. Finally, Justin was able to make his pass stick going into one, and for the remaining laps, pulled away from the field. This was the perfect way to kick off for next weekend, SKUSA ProMoto Tour in Sonoma.

Moon Racing has Strong Results in all Classes at the new Sears Point Track

Benny and Justin Moon barely had time to settle down after the ProMoto race in Phoenix. Benny brought home the two 1st place medallions for the SuperPro class. Saturday, Benny moved through the field from 18th to finish 3rd at the checkered. After the race ended in protest and the final tech issues were covered, Benny was announced the winner. Benny was happy, but he told me he wanted to earn his first win. His hopes came through on Sunday with a great drive in the last few laps to chase down the 1st place kart. On the last lap in the last turn, Benny over took the leader. This one he earned.

Justin's luck seemed to have been on Benny's side of the tent down in Phoenix. Hampered with mechanical gremlins, Justin drove his heart out to do the best with the package he had. On Sunday, Justin was moving through the field and was about to overtake the 10th place kart, when the gremlins sidelined Justin's 80 package.

The Moon Family had to regroup for the Sear Point Race when all three boys would be racing. Jimmy was entered in the Jr. 1 2cycle class and was running strong all weekend. After qualifying fourth, Jimmy set his sites for the main event. Jimmy was personally dissapointed with his qualifying result, but drove his Emmick kart in fine fashion for the main. 20 laps of racing allowed a long race for Jimmy to get over the qualifying. For the full 20 laps, Jimmy was dicing with the class veteran, Ian Mille. Almost every lap included a pass from the two drivers. Jimmy finished fourth right behind Mille, and crossing the line he threw his hands in the air, releasing his emotions. He was the happiest Jr driver on the track. Being a rookie in the Jr 1 Class, Jimmy drove like a seasoned veteran, and was very happy with his results.

Justin was in fine form for the weekend, being the driver to beat in the Jr. 80 class. Posting fast times throughout the practice sessions, Justin drove with the confidence he had been looking for. Qualifying did not go Justins way after a mix up of air gauge readings, which knocked him back to 8th for the main. Newly equipped the day before with an SwedeTech Engine Package, Justin was on a mission to let everyone know he was the fastest Jr 80 on the track, and he did not let anyone down. After being held up for many laps by the 5th place kart, Justin was able to carry some momentum around the driver and then he checked out, reeling in 3rd and 4th. For several laps, Justin pushed 3rd, 4th, and himself up to the lead pack. Slowly working on the fourth place kart, Justin made is move. Once he had 4th place secured, he worked on the third place kart, and eventually overtook. Finishing third for the day, Justin gain the confidence he once had, and is now looking to carry his momentum to the next race.

Benny entered the ICC class, which is NAKA's top class. Qualifying on pole by 100ths of a second over Memo Gidley and Scott Speed. After the start, Benny was forced to work his way up to the front from 5th. After passing two karts, he began to work on Speed. The two had a good battle for 5-6 laps. Memo had a small lead over Scott and Benny, until lappers got involved. Memo was bumped to 5th and Scott and Benny had a lot of room to play. Hanging very closely with Speed, Benny was unable to capitalzed do to engine temp. Our crew now knows why Nascar uses duct tape for paneling. Unable to remove tape, Benny was forced to watch his engine temp rise over the remainder of the race. Finishing a very close second was how the day ended for Moon Racing.

Jimmy had a drive of his life, showing he can hang with the older boys. Justins package came together to show what this young driver is really capable of. And Benny followed up his Phoenix results with a solid finish.

Moon Racing Update from Atwater

Moon Racing headed to Atwater for round two of the IKF Region 11 Series. Jason helped the Moon Family on Saturday as Dean was doing double duty for Justin as he ran the Jr. 80 and for Jimmy as he ran Jr. 1 2-cycle. Justin put in a strong effort to place his kart in the 2nd qualifying spot for the race weekend. After a solid finish in the heat race, Justin brought his 80 kart home to a third place finish in the main event.

New to the Jr. 1 2-cycle class, more emphasis is being put on Jimmy to become a solid driver and to focus on learning the new race courses. This was Jimmy’s first weekend behind the wheel at the Atwater track. Jimmy started his race weekend off with a qualification spot of 15th. Throughout the day, the little Moon driver worked his way up from 15th to 8th., and more importantly, Jimmy has added another track to his bag of knowledge.

As Sunday rolled around,Justin was the only Moon driver participating ( so Jason was not needed ) in the racing as he once again qualified strong, but in the Jr. SuperBox class. Starting from the third spot, Justin maintained his position to take the third spot on the podium.

Fast Fusion Teams Up with the Moon Family

Jason will be lending a hand to the popular Moon Family as Dean will be running all three boys this year in various series. Jason will assist Dean in the NAKA Regional Series as all three boys will be running their respective classes. Benny (SuperPro) and Justin (Jr. 80) will run the same classes as last year, and Jimmy will be running in the Jr. 1 2-Cycle Class (Comer 80) for his first year of regional racing. For more information and current news on the Moon Family, go to the teams website at moonracingonline.com. Fast Fusion Marketing will also release news for the events that we participate in.

Cole Clinches SKUSA ProMoto West Championship

Canby, OR – SKUSA ProMoto West - Whitt Racing headed to the very beautiful Pat’s Acres Racing Complex (PARC) in Canby, Oregon for the final West Coast race on the SKUSA ProMoto Tour. The PARC facility does not usually enjoy a high number of entries for two reasons. First it is the last stop in the points chase, so many competitors opt out if they are not in contention for a title shot. And the above reason is a great excuse to skip PARC because from a driver and tuning stand point, it is one of the most physically demanding (and arguably the most) circuits on any national tour.

Last year Cole was able to “hang on” to a 3rd place finish, but a year later, a more experienced and stronger driver came back to tackle the Pat’s Acres Challenge. For Cole, he wanted to show his competitors that he could run with the older and stronger Jr. drivers. For the Whitt Racing team of Tobin and Kim Whitt, and Jason Berry of Fast Fusion Kart Services, this weekend was all about winning the championship.

Leading into the racing for the weekend, Cole Whitt and Race Johnson were the drivers to beat. Cole had the fastest lap times during practice, but Whitt Racing was unsure of what local favorite Johnson would be able to turn until qualifying rolled around. On Saturday, Cole and Race qualified within 1/10th of each other, with Cole taking the Pole. Cole won the heat race after pulling out a marginal lead about half way through, then his lead had increased when Race tangled with another driver. This would place Cole on the inside of row 1 for the main with a local driver sitting outside. As the lights went green for the main, Cole had a good start and would steadily gain distance over the rest of the field. By the end of the main, Cole set the fastest lap and had over a 50-kart lead over second. Cole tackled the Pat’s Acres Challenge on Saturday, and Sunday would be a new day for all.

Again, Cole set the pace with the fastest qualifying time and Race was sitting off pole. This time in the heat race, we chased Race Johnson, but Cole was right there. Cole and Tobin had a new strategy for Sunday’s main event, finish on the podium. Tobin and Cole both wanted to go for the main event win, but the point spread between Cole, Ryan Phinny, and Race Johnson did not allow any room for a DNF. The Whitt Racing game plan was to finish the race up front, and if the kart was able to, go for a win. As the lights went green for the final time in 2004 on the SKUSA West Coast ProMoto, Race Johnson got the jump. Cole followed Race for 18 laps, again, setting fastest time of the race. A few times Cole looked posed to take the lead, but fell back opting for the championship title. After the checkered fell, Race took the hometown win, and Cole took the West Coast Championship. Cole told the crew that the car was fast enough to win, but not fast enough to place a quick and comfortable lead over the field.

One Event, Two Days, Four Podiums

Sonoma, CA - Round three of the Stars of Karting West Coast championship brought Cole Whitt to the Infineon Kart Track to compete in the JICA and the Jr. 80 Shifter classes. Gary Woltjer, of Woltjer Racing Engines, and Jason Berry, of Fast Fusion Kart Services, were on hand to assist the Whitt Family with the racing duties for the weekend.

In the JICA events, Cole qualified 5th and through out the day, worked his way up in both the heat and the main to finish 3rd. The Whitt crew went back to work on Saturday night to find Cole the extra speed needed for both classes, and Cole came back strong.

After the Jr. 80 qualifying was over, Cole was again sitting off pole, but a faster qualifying from the previous day was laid down. In his typical style, Cole laid down excellent starts, which put him into the lead from turn one until the checkered. Race and Ryan were still chasing Cole around the track for the entire length of the heat race, but the Whitt crew made a few chassis and engine adjustments for the Main, and Cole Lead from the drop of the green until the checkered.

Cole was better positioned in the JICA class as well for the Sunday racing. Cole qualified 3rd and finished 3rd in the heat race, but his package was much more competitive then the day before. The Main rolled around and after a few laps of chasing the leader, Nick Johnston, Cole took the lead with a pass into turn one. Cole lead most of the race with Nick making many attempts to pass. But Nick was lacking once he pulled out of the draft of Cole’s Woltjer JICA package. A hard pressing 3rd place kart was also keeping Nick busy as they swapped for 2nd no less then 5 times. This would allow Cole only a little breathing room. On the 12 lap, the 2nd and 3rd place karts tangled and which gave Cole a small room to breathe, but not enough. The current 2nd place kart was charging hard, as his previous JICA experience in Europe came into play. On the last lap, 2nd place dived under Cole in turn one, but a half a lap later, Cole came back with a clean aggressive pass, but scrubbed too much momentum to pull it off. With a package that needs some more track R&D, Cole did the best he could to come home with the 2nd place trophy.

Cole Whitt goes 1-2-3 In Carson City

A long weekend of racing at the Stars of Karting event in Carson City produced 3 podium finishes for Cole Whitt. Cole entered the competitive JICA and JR. 80 Shifter classes for the second round of the Stars of Karting West event. The Carson City track was about a temporary circuit, about 6/10-mile in length. The tight configuration was tough on the Woltjer Racing JICA engines. The JICA has a very low stall speed on the clutch and the engine wants to have high RPM's. This was difficult with the tight track we were presented with. The Woltjer 80 shifter on the other hand, ate the track up.

The weekend started with one man down for the event, so everyone involved knew they had to step it up. Friday practice was busy, but only a warm up for the crew for the coming weekend. In the second session out on the track for the JICA, Cole was the benchmark. He laid down some fast and consistent times to give his JICA competitors the motivation to speed up. In the 80 shifter class, Cole was in the hunt with practice times placing him 2^nd or 3^rd, depending on the session. The competition in both classes stepped up to the plate and at the end of the day, Whitt Racing knew we had to work hard to stay in the podium spots.

Friday night was a long night, prepping the karts for the following day, chasing a bog in the Jr. 80, and looking for a good set up for both of our TopKart chassis. With only two wrenches on hand, Tobin Whitt (the father) and myself, Kim (the mother) stepped up to the plate and took over some of Tobin's tasks. Wes (Cole's older brother) gave an all around hand when needed. Not much on the wrenching skills, but big on heart, which bailed me out a couple of times in Parc Ferme.

Saturday's events rolled around, and if it were not for the Parc Ferme and running two classes, Whitt Racing would have had a little more time to sit down and think and make changes. I worked with Cole on the grid and in Parc Ferme. Cole would come off the track, give me the input from the Woltjer engines and the Top Kart Chassis. I would send Cole to the next Parc Ferme corral to help Tobin prep the next kart. After I finished tech, I went to the disassembly area in Parc Ferme, removed the tires and fuel tank. Tobin and I would swap the karts. Tobin would tell me the changes he made back at the pits, and I would tell Tobin of the changes to be made before the next heat race. This continued all day for qualifying, the heats and the mains. It was a very long day, headed up and followed by long nights of work. After the qualifying rounds, all the previous hard work was 100% worth it.

Cole qualified 2^nd in the JICA class but was move to pole after the pole sitter was DQ'd in tech. This put our only real threat in the JICA class in the back. But after the 1^st heat, Nick Johnson had moved himself into the front pack. Cole would start on pole for the main. Ryan Phinny found some more speed between rounds and the race came down to Ryan, Cole, and Nick. As the laps were winding down, Nick caught up with Cole and they worked together to reel in Ryan. On the final lap, Cole pulled his Woltjer powered TopKart out of Ryan's draft, and with a bunch of help from Nick, Cole had pulled along side Ryan and was going for the lead with Nick going for second. A last lap defensive maneuver by Ryan ended up putting Cole into the hay barriers on the straight. Nick backed out of it and Cole did a great job of keeping the TopKart from catching a hay bale and ending our day. The loss of momentum from the contact allowed Nick a pass at the end of the straight putting us in third for the day. Cole was visibly upset at the defensive tactic of his competitor. With no real time to cool down, Cole was back in Parc Ferme with Tobin, prepping the 80 shifter.

The 80 races, like the JICA, only got exciting in the main. Cole was starting off pole to Ryan Phinny with Race Johnson in third. Ryan had set the pace all weekend long, and Whitt Racing worked long hours to bring Cole to the party. The race was short for Cole. A turn 1 incident with Race put Cole back to about 5^th, and while trying to recover from the 1^st incident, Cole was entangled with another kart, putting Cole last on the track. But if the kart is still running, Cole will drive it. By the end of the main, Cole worked his way up from 13^th to 5^th.

Now let us jump right to the main events on Sunday. In the JICA, Cole sits off pole. We stayed late on Saturday to bring both karts up to speed, and it paid off. In the main, Cole and Nick ran nose to tail every lap and left the remaining field. Cole held the lead for a few laps, and then Nick took over. As the laps were winding down, Cole passed Nick for the lead again. But the following lap Nick made an aggressively clean pass. Cole lost some momentum and crossed the checkered stripe in 2^nd. This was a hard fought race, so for Cole to stay within 1/2 a kart length every lap was a good result in itself.

The 80-shifter class was also very exciting. Race Johnson and Ryan Phinny were starting in the back due to separate heat race incidents. Cole was sitting on pole and at the start of the race, pulled out a quick lead over the field. From the JICA tech tent, I was clocking Cole, and a hard charging Ryan was coming through the field. Race was also coming up through the pack, but it was Ryan who was on a mission. As the laps were winding down, Ryan made a flat out Bonsai pass going into turn one. Cole backed out of it and when Ryan over shot the apex, Cole hit the gas and powered back around. Ryan's nose dive into one gave us a lap or two to breath, but he was back two laps later, and attempted another dive bomb pass, resulting in a collision with Cole's TopKart side pod and the hay bale. With Ryan eating straw, Cole had a large margin over the remaining second place kart.

Racing has an interesting way of leveling the playing field. Cole's lack of luck on Saturday turned into his fortune on Sunday. The long, long weekends effort by everyone under the Whitt Racing tent brought home a 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd place trophy. The Saturday's Jr. 80 result was last to 5^th. Four Top Fives with three on the podium, not a bad weekends work.

Whitt Racing and Fast Fusion Team Up for 2004

Jason Berry, of Fast Fusion Kart Services, will team up with Whitt Racing for the West Coast venues of the Stars of Karting Championship and the SKUSA ProMoto Tour. Whitt Racing is a family affair with the young Cole Whitt at the controls of the Woltjer powered TopKart. Cole is an 8-time Regional and National IKF champion, defending SKUSA SuperNationals Jr. 80 champion, and past SKUSA SuperNationals 60 Cadet champion.

Tobin Whitt is the head of the team, operating hands on with every aspect of the racing experience. Kim Whitt has the hardest job of keeping the driver and crew level headed through out the weekend. Kim also coordinates with the mechanics, sanctioning bodies, and handles all of the travel plans.

Cole Whitt will be contesting in two classes on the national level this year. For the Stars of Karting series, Cole's Grand Products sponsored Top Kart will have a Woltjer JICA and a Woltjer CR80 for the JICA and Jr. 80 Shifter classes. On the SKUSA ProMoto front, Cole will contest the only class available to his age group, the popular Jr. 80 class.

" I am excited about the whole team atmosphere that I have been fortunate to be a part of." Comments Jason Berry. He adds, " Everyone involved has the same goals and vision, and with the structure in place before my arrival, I hope I can only add to the already successful team." The results up to date while Fast Fusion Kart Services has been onboard the Whitt Racing team are as follows:

In addition to the above-mentioned parties, Whitt Racing is sponsored by Moen Faucets, Enterprise Rent A Car, MWI Plumbing Wholesale, Lockton Insurance, and Grand Products.

For more information on Cole Whitt, please visit his website at www.colewhitt.com

Jahan Wins first Jr 1 2 Cycle Race this year

Jahan Mongul drove his new kart to the top position at the Stars Race in Sonoma. After a few weeks of working with Jahan, and a kart swap, Jahan was ready to run up front. Qualifying extremely well at the beginning of the day put Jahan in the position to run up front with out having to play catch up. Without getting into the racing politics ( which I'm not good at anyway ), the top finisher was disqualified after a post race tech inspection. This gave the top trophy to Jahan. Look for Jahan to continue to run upfront in the highly competitive class of Jr.1 2-cylce.

Fast Fusion to Work with Jahan Mongul

Jason Berry will work with Jahan Mongul with an aggressive driver developement program. Lenny, Jahans father, approached Jason at the Sears Point ProMoto Race to start working with his son. Jahan will be competing in the Jr. 1 2-cycle class for the Russell Club series and the Stars of Tomorrow events. Jason is excited about working with the Mongul family and hopes it will be a rewarding experience for all involved. Check back regularly to see the updates on Jahan.

KK Nelson's Energy YZ250 Project Kart

Every once in a while, a new project comes up that is new and exciting. When KK emailed me about building a 250 sprint kart, I advised him not too. The 250's, from my experience, are just too much engine for chassis, and I told him he would be spinning wrenches more than the tires. KK was persistent with his idea and he spent many hours piecing together all the parts necessary to build the Energy YZ250. At first glance, I thought the project would take forever, but KK did a massive amount of research and all the hard work was done. All I had to do is bolt parts to kart.

Below, I have included a semi-detailed report of the YZ250 project kart. I have used small photos to quicken the download, but to view more detail, just click on the photo of choice. Thank you for stopping by my site and I hope you enjoy the project as much as I did.

When I first walked into KK's garage, all the parts were neatly laid out and the chassis was awaiting its first piece of bodywork. My first thought was what did I get myself into when I say the large 250 engine sitting on the ground with an electric shift hooked up. I thought at first glance that I would have to cut the frame in half and add about 3 inches of width to the kart, and for me, that was not an option. I started to lay the kart out with the radiator and engine to see how things would line up, and to my surprise, it looked pretty damn good. After placing the engine on the frame rails, I was thinking about how to mount the seat with out cutting a big chunk out of the side to make the engine fit. Once I placed the seat in the kart, I saw a clearance of 1/4 inch between engine case and seat, another sigh of relief.

Once I realized that the major components (seat, engine, and radiator) would fit with out too many modifications, I began to build the rolling chassis. After all of this was done, my only stumbling block was finding "proper" hardware for the kart to make everything look great. KK spent a lot of money and time on this YZ250 and I didn't want to cheat him by hacking together the kart.

So to finish the kart, I brought it to my garage, and the project almost finished on time. With a timeline closely approaching, I had to wrap up the project to beat the rainy weather to deliver the kart. Minus a few zip ties, the kart was ready to hit the track. The equipment installed on the Energy YZ250 included: Plenum Fairing Radiator, Electric assisted shifting, MyChron3 Gauge, PSR articulating engine mount, and PSR pump around carburetor.

After all was said and done, the YZ250 project was well worth it. I learned a new thing or two about karting applications on steroids, and most importantly, my client was happy to see his kart. I just wonder how many times he has driven in the street.

Rob Soares wins Russell Championship

A long year of practice and broken parts came to an end this past weekend as Rob Soares achieved his largest goal for the 2003 season. Fast Fusion and Rob have been working together for over a year to prepare for each championship race in the Moto Masters 125 class. Broken brakes, broken seat struts, stuck engines, swiss cheesed seat, cracked pipes, broken hubs, 85 mph donuts, crappy starts, etc. NONE OF IT MATTERED! Many laps were logged on the MyChron as Rob headed to the track on a religous basis to train for the championship series. Many days of excitement for reaching new milestones, seemed to be dragged down by a plague of mishaps. None of it mattered!

Rob Soares and George Tavares had been battling all year long for the points chase. Starts have haunted Rob all year long, most of them being a 3 or 4 on a scale of ten. There was one start, 15 laps, a George Tavares between the Championship and Rob's # 66 Machine. As a tuner, I can usually stay calm, but not today. George was in top shape for this race, and I knew nothing could go wrong for us to win the Championship. As the karts lined up for the start, I did not want to watch. Teaching someone how to make good standing start is very hard. It is 100% feel.

As the flag dropped, I was pleasantly amazed that Rob LAUNCHED off of the starting line from the P2 spot. Heading down the straight, Rob was on the outside of George. I half way excpected Rob to fall back into second and put a run on George going down the hill, but that did not happen. Apparently a string of 3 and 4 scale starts add up to a 10, because Rob had the best start ever. He was able to dive into turn 1 in the lead, with George on his bumper. For 15 laps, George made at least 15 attempts to pass, but none successfull. Rob held his ground and George raced clean. I was timing the race only so I could have a lap count down. On the white flag lap, George made an all or nothing move, which did not stick. I must admit I felt bad for George. We had raced all year together and pitted in the same pits, but they both knew one of them had to win.

In the end, Rob came across the line first. It was a great way to wrap up a great season. Tight points race ending in a tight on track battle. Congratulations to Rob and George for a Great Year!

Rob Soares pulls out a Hat Trick

After sharing the #1 seat in the Russell Series Moto Masters class, Rob Soares last win moves him into the lead going into the final race. Many hours of hard work paid off for Rob as he dominated the Moto Masters class. Taking the Pole, winning the heat, and going on to win the Main Event, Rob now has a 25 point lead going into the last race. He must beat the second place runner up to bring home a hard earned championship.

Rob Soares scores 2nd Straight win

Rob Soares backs up his first 2003 Masters 125 win at the Sears Point (Infineon) Kart track. After running in the points for the Moto Masters class, Rob Soares adds a few points in his favor with two back to back wins at the last two races. The class includes former national champion Kirk Jeffery and other quick regional drivers. Rob has placed a lot of effort into the 2003 session in the hunt for the 125 Moto Master championship. With two wins and a two other podium finishes, Rob is tied for the championship lead.

Stay tuned for more updates

Zach is Schiff-ting Gears

Zach Schiff, of Columbus, OH, is moving forward in the Jr. 80 class in both SKUSA and WKA competition. . Jason Berry, of Fast Fusion Kart Services, was brought in to assist the team for the 2004 season at various events. With a win and multiple podium finishes under his belt, Zach has put his SwedeTech powered CR80 CRG up front and has proved to be an East coast national contender.

James Willis, of Willis Brothers Racing, has been working with Zach for some time now, and the recent addition of Jason Berry has proved successful. Zach was a contender for the last stop of STARS at the New Castle Complex. A racing accident with another driver on Saturday squashed both drivers' attempts at a podium shot, but Zach was charging hard on Sunday to take 2nd place.

Fast Fusion Kart Services Assists Another Jr. 80 Driver

Jason Berry, of Fast Fusion Kart Services, and Zachary Schiff, Jr. 80 driver, will be working together for the Stars of Karting 2004 East Coast Tour. Jason has worked with S1 stand out, Justin Moon during his Jr. 80 days, and is currently working with Cole Whitt on the West coast SKUSA and Stars events.

" I am looking forward to more events with Zachary. We worked together at the first Stars East Race and without previously working together, the rainy weather factored into my effectiveness with the new match up. Once the dry conditions were set, I was very impressed with Zachary's ability to tell me what he wanted out of the kart."

At 14 years old, Zachary Schiff has 3 club/regional championships under his belt, and he is looking for more. He is coming off of a win at the last stop of the WKA Manufactures Cup. He currently runs CRG Speed Demon chassis powered by a SwedeTech Racing CR80. His ambition is to run open wheel or sports cars professionally and would like to drive for T.C. Kline Racing in the BMW Formula Jr. class for 2005. Away from the track, Zachary is an Honor Roll Student, on the wrestling team, and plays the attack and middie positions for the defending state champion Lacrosse Team in Ohio.

His father, Tim Schiff, finances Zachary's racing effort. Tim is semi-retired from the custom manufacturing restaurant equipment business. Tim is also an avid motorsports fan and enjoys racing local BMW Club events.