Well, it's that time of the year again. Time for the big dance, the big kahuna, the 36 double-d's of kart races... The Superkarts! USA Supernationals at the Rio in Las Vegas. I say this every year because it's true. It just doesn't get any bigger, any badder or any better than this. And I'm not exaggerating when I say that this year is going to raise the bar even higher. I'm expecting Supernats XIII to blow the doors off of all previous versions.

Why, you ask? Call it a gut-feeling. Call it instinct. Call it an educated opinion. Call it whatever you want. This is the second year back at the Rio and I think Tom Kutscher and crew learned a lot last year and will have integrated what they learned to make this year's version even better than last year's. The schedule has been revamped to allow racers some much needed down time during the course of the event. This will give us a chance to hang out at the pool and take in the sights. That right there is a vast improvement.

Oh, yeah and then there's that Michael Schumacher guy. I think I've heard of him. Didn't he race in Formula Renault? Or was it Formula Ford? Having the seven time F1 World Champion, arguably the most accomplished racing driver in the history of the world, racing in the Supernats in the Superpro class is simply mind-blowing. Sure, there are also two F1 drivers in the field in Sebastien Buemi and errr... Nelson Piquet Jr. all of which is pretty damn cool, but having Schuey is a whole 'nother level of cool. I mean do you want to have Jenna Jameson stripping at your bachelor party or one entry-level porn newbie and an ex-fluffer? You're certainly not going to complain about either option, but most of us (the men at least) would probably rather have J.J.

So I think we've established that Supernationals XIII is going to be uber badass. So what about the racing? With no further delay, here is the second annual class by class MadKarter.com Supernationals preview and predictions.

Superpro

Can GFC take down Thonon, Ardigo, Schumacher and the rest?

Of course we're going to start with the headline class. Especially since the King of F1 is in the field. How good is Schuey in a shifter? I have no idea but I'm sure he doesn't suck. But not sucking and being good enough at 40 years of age to run with Thonon, Ardigo, Fore and the like are two different things. For that matter, how fast are Buemi and Piquet? They're substantially younger than Schumacher but that's about all you can say about them. What about the "rest" of the field? The karters? CRG will undoubtedly have Thonon, 2009 World Champion Kozlinski and probably Davide Fore. That's a pretty tough lineup. Tony Kart is bringing Marco Ardigo, Gary Katt and the aforementioned Schumacher. Another pretty stout lineup. Intrepid will undoubtedly have a large lineup with Buemi, Jeremy Iglesias, Bas Lammers, Norman Nato and Piquet Jr. Last year, Sodi Kart's Antony Abasse was a suprise to many of us with his speed. He was very impressive right up until he mounted Ardigo and took them both out in the main event. What about the North American contingent? Gary Carlton's trips to Europe to race have made him an even better driver and he was already pretty damn amazing. Beyond Carlton there's Fritz Leesman, Ron White and the returning to karting for one race Alan Sciuto and Matt Jaskol. As far as we know, last year's top finishing North American, Jordy Vorrath is not entered. Neither is David Jurca. In fact, the "domestic" presence in this class is actually pretty shallow.

So what about predictions? Well, I'm going to go on the record and predict that Thonon will win his second consecutive Supernats. The guy is just flat amazing in a shifter. I expect Ardigo to follow him home and a very motivated Gary Carlton to nab the last podium spot. What about Schuey, Buemi and Piquet Jr.? Well honestly I don't have a clue. If pressed to guess I'd say Schuey will finish somewhere in the range of 4th to 7th. With Junior and Buemi somewhere behind him. But for all I know Schuey could spank all the youngsters and send them to bed without supper. Only a complete fool would discount Schumi's talent behind the wheel and I'm no fool. I think he'll be quick, but probably not quick enough to beat the top two kart racers on the planet and the top American on his home soil. My dark horse is Jose Zanella. This kid is lightning quick. Last year in S1 he was running times that would've put him near the front in Superpro. Keep an eye on him.


KF2

These two guys know how to get it done.

While this class may be the big tuna in Europe, I'm not sure why it's on the docket at the Supernationals as it barely exists in any form in the U.S. Sure, the manufacturers, importers and a few promoters are pushing it, but... well I guess that's why it's here. It does seem a bit redundant with TaG though. Nonetheless, it's here and will undoubtedly have strong support from the manufacturers. Information provided by MadKarter.com's decommissioned U-2 spy plane tells us that Alex Speed, Joel Miller and Buddy Rice will be running this class under the Tony Kart banner. Phil Giebler and Brendan Phinny will join the KF2 brigade as well. There are also a whole host of Europeans and at least one Japanese driver, none of whom I'm familiar with.

One thing I AM familiar with is how bloody good Alex Speed is. But I never overlook Joel Miller either. The kid is faster than greased monkey poo in this type of kart. I think the battle for the win will come down to these two. They're both excellent drivers and they both will have the full support of the Tony Kart factory which is no small thing. As for the final podium spot, aside from the Euro's, there could be a ton of guys battling for the spot. Conor Daly, Gustavo Menezes, Rice, Giebler, Phinny, Beachner, Miinch... You get the picture. I'm not including the various Europeans in my prediction because well, I've never heard of any of them. As for my dark horse, I'm giving it to Phinny. I learned firsthand how fast the little bugger is last year.


S3
Last year's S3 (Stock Moto light) race was one of the best shifter races ever. So said a number of people who watched it. This year's version looks to be at least as good. I count at least twenty drivers who could win this race. That's way too many to go over here. But I'll throw out a few names. Jason Toft, Christopher Barkley, Eddie Olpin, Jordan Musser, Jake Thompson, Tommy Thompson, Nick Lucido, Patrick Cushenberry, Bryan Eady, Jacob Neal, Tom Dyer, Steve Reasoner, Tyler Bennett, Mike Beeny, Memo Gidley, Kyle Wiegand, Zac Clark and probably a good half-dozen more.

I guess it would be wimpish of me not to make a podium prediction even though it's obviously difficult. Of this group there is a sub-group that I absolutely know will be faster than hell. In no particular order: Jordan Musser, Jacob Neal, Memo Gidley, Mike Beeny, Tom Dyer, Kyle Wiegand and Bryan Eady. Three of these dudes will likely make up the podium. That's about as far as I can narrow it down. If I had to give the nod to someone for the win it would probably be Neal. He's been pretty much the S3 Terminator this year. Tyler Bennett is my dark horse mainly because he beat me a bunch of times this year. Not that beating me is very difficult.


TaG Senior

Can Wimsett end David Sera's domination on American soil?

Okay. There are over eighty drivers in this class and there's no way I can mention them all. So if you're a Mom or a tuner or even a driver in this class, don't send me angry emails because I didn't mention you/your kid/your driver. One thing's for certain, this class will once again be an exercise in chaos, red flags, crumpled karts, drivers doing stupid things on the track and consequently a large number of really fast drivers that find themselves way back in the pack due to heat race mishaps. The only way to avoid this is to always be in front. That's how this class was won last year. In fact, the race for the win in 2008 was a snoozer.
So who in this class is capable of putting it at or near the point in qualifying and running at the front for all their heat races? David Sera? Absolutely. Pier-Luc Ouellette? Without a doubt. Joey Wimsett? Yep. Michael Valiante? Uh huh. Will one of these guys win? Probably. Are these guys the only ones with a shot of winning. Oh hell no. Let's see... Michele Bumgarner could win. So could Gustavo Menezes (though the two class thing will probably bite him), Wes Phillips, Joey Licata Jr., Brett Buckwalter, John Zartarian, Neil McCoy, Michael Hogg and probably about a dozen others could win this thing without it being a shocker.

I'm going to keep it simple here. I think David Sera will win with Wimsett and Ouellette rounding out the podium. Sera is just a machine and has been pretty much unbeatable anytime he's planted his bum cheeks in a kart seat on this continent. My dark horse for this race is Buckwalter. He always flies under the radar, but he's a very smart driver and that's what it's going to take to win this class.


G1
Ahhh, good old G1. My old stomping grounds. Usually this class is relatively easy to predict. It seems like there's always one or two guys who stand out from the crowd. Last year, I absolutely knew that Collin Lynn would win. This year is a bit different. There isn't one or two or three drivers that leaps out of the pack as a clear favorites. It could be Kelly Baker's year. Or it could be Doug Cox's year. I've raced with both and I know they're both very quick. PP Mastro can't be overlooked though I hear he's also running Superpro and running two classes generally only means that you'll be mediocre in both. Then there's Jason Campbell, Robert Marks, Kurt Mathewsom, Fernando Diaz, Jim Kidd, Troy Butts and the Martins brothers. All potential podium finishers if not outright winners. Oh and lets not forget Jason Lee. If he can manage to stay off the internet forums telling the world how the world works for a week, he could be a threat.

If you get the feeling I have no clue who's going to win G1, you're absolutely right. With these old fellers, seat time during the year counts for a lot and I think my personal pick has been spending too much time lounging on the South Beach sand and not enough time banging bumpers on the track. Doug Cox has the potential to win this thing but I don't know if he's in Supernats shape. Nonetheless, I'm going to pick him for the win with Baker and Campbell rounding out the podium. My dark horse is John Kwong. Why? All I remember is the last time I ran G1 I kept seeing fast times from this guy even though he was mired in the pack and running a Pavesi. Now I hear he's got a TM, so I'll be keeping an eye on him.


TaG Masters
While we're on the topic of the old(er) drivers or the young and prematurely large drivers or even the old and justifiably large drivers... Yep, it's TaG Masters. The story of this class will likely be what motor a driver is running. There are a number of really quick drivers who are tackling this race with Rotax engines. Last year a Rotax was not the engine to have unless your name was Cory Pollock. This year, we'll see. The favorite (at least in MadKarter.com's eyes) has got to be Billy Cleavelin. This cat is so fast he could probably run up front in TaG senior. Throw Jerry Henderson and Howie Idelson into the mix and stir gently. Now toss in some Rotax runners. Namely John Crow, Paul Bonilla and Andy "Saysmun". If they can get the Rotax working (and if anyone can do it it's these guys), expect them to be in the hunt.

Without knowing how the Rotax will perform at the Rio relative to the Seven, I'm going to go with Cleavelin for the win with either Henderson or Idelson (but not both) taking the second step of the podium. I'm looking for Crow to pedal his Rotax fast enough to round out the TaG Masters podium. My dark horse is David Harwin. I don't know what engine he's running, but I do know he's quick.


S4 (Stock Moto Heavy)

Holy crap, there's a sale on Metamucil at Albertsons!

Another class where chaos can happen and happen quickly. These guys pretend to be the group that "has to go to work on Monday" but they drive as hard and crazy as any of the kids. I'm very familiar with some of these guys, quite familiar with a few others and completely unfamiliar with the rest. So if I ignore someone who's fast it's only because I don't know that they're fast. Having said that, I'll come right out and pick Alex Raine to take the win. He's one of the young, fast, but not jockey sized drivers. The final two steps on the podium will be up for grabs with a whole host of guys trying to wedge themselves onto them. The Pulp Racing guys (Doug Hayashi and Jeff Littrell) are pretty quick and put lots of effort in, but I haven't seen much racing out of them this year so I don't know what kind of racing shape they're in. Jason Campbell is very fast, but I've already made known my opinion on the "racing two classes" idea and the effect it normally has. Craig Sender is experienced and fast and will undoubtedly be right in the thick of it. The Utah contingent, Ryan Pool, Todd and R.J. Edgington are quick and aggressive. If they an avoid mishaps they'll be right there. If I didn't mention my good friend Scott Clark, or Captain Chaos as we prefer to call him, I'd certainly hear about it. He's got the capability of running for a podium if he can keep everything together. Literally.

I'm going with Raine for the win with Sender and Todd Edgington on the podium. The dark horse is some guy who I've never even heard of who comes out of nowhere (from my perspective) and surprises everyone (or at least surprises me.)


TaG Junior
There's quite a few "furriners" in this class and undoubtedly at least of few of them will be super quick. But I have no idea which ones. So I'll stick with the "Muricans" or at least the North Muricans. Well except for Felipe Fraga. He won last year, so it stands to reason that he's got a pretty good shot of winning again. Though winning the Supernationals twice in a row is not an easy thing to do. There'll be a whole host of little twerps challenging Fraga for the win. Louie Pagano, Austin Self, Tristan DeGrand, Alec Udell and Philip Orcic to name a few. There's a pretty good chance that TaG Junior will have a female winner in '09 as two ultra-quick gals are in the field; Allessandra Madrigal and Raquel Martinez. Both are fast and tough as nails on the track.

In fact I'm going to shimmy way out to the end of a rather scrawny limb and go with Madrigal for the win with DeGrand and Fraga rounding out the podium. It's a crapshoot as this class will most likely come down to a last lap, last corner battle for the spoils. The MadKarter.com dark horse for TaG Junior is anyone I haven't mentioned that ends up winning.


S5 (Stock Moto Junior)
Okay, there's a reason I left S5 for last. I fully understand that SKUSA is trying to build this class, but I have to question whether the Supernationals is where you do it. I'll risk the ire of S5 parents worldwide by saying that if a class can't muster twenty entries for the biggest kart race on the planet then it probably shouldn't be part of the biggest kart race on the planet. I think this class is great, I love the concept, but it's obviously not ready for prime time. But it's here so... The defending S5 Supernats champion, Devin Mauk is not entered. Mauk dominated the main event last year, pretty much decimating the field. The way I see it, this race should come down to a fight between Austin Schimmel and Lukas Johnson. At least these are the two drivers who I expect to be quickest. The final step on the podium could go to Reid Arnold, Cole MacEwen, Zach Silver or Kiel Spaulding. My dark horse for S5 is Dylan Kwasniewski. He's a past Supernats winner ('05 80cc Cadet Shifter) so he knows how to get it done. He hasn't been in a kart much this year, but he could surprise.

Well, that wraps up the MadKarter.com Supernationals XIII Preview and Predictions. I'll be blogging, posting photos and videos from the event, so make sure to check back every day to see what's going on. And again, if you find that your pulse rate and blood pressure are up, your face is red and your eyes are bulging out because I didn't mention you/your kid/your driver, feel free to not email me with some scathing comment about my IQ, my parentage or a suggestion involving some anatomic contortion involving my cranium and my bum.

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