Some truly brave teams and drivers were present at TKC for Round 15 of the 2012 Championship, as the IRONMAN special event separated the walkers from the talkers.  This event is unique for blending both the oval and full sprint track layouts in one timed endurance event.  For the first five minutes of the race, drivers would compete on the oval layout.  Then they would switch over to the full sprint layout, in stride, for another 10 minutes to the checkers - the equivalent of more than two final events' worth of racing under a regular program.  Most drivers would turn oval laps in less than 17 seconds, with the fastest in TAG Heavy clocking in at 14.5 seconds and the TAG "junior" karts screaming around at under 14 seconds.  The IRONMAN is a test of endurance for engines, tires, bodies, and minds, and winners of this event have accomplished something special.

In the F4 class, the #182 of Benny Cantellay got off to a quick early lead and marched off into the sunset without ever looking back.  His nearest competitor was the #77x of Paul Churchwell, who finished almost 25 seconds behind in 2nd place.  Jeff Endsley in the #71 was within striking distance of Churchwell, finishing in 3rd place.  Ken Foster's #43 kart was three seconds further back, just off the podium in 4th, while Kyle Pearce in the #42 was the first kart a lap down finishing 5th on the day.  The #9 of Jase Martin and the #95 of Gene Pearce retired around the midway point, individually, the latter of which seemed to have expired his power plant.  The lead lap karts completed a total of 37 circuits in their race - compared to the traditional 15 'easier' laps they'd normally run on the full sprint circuit.

The Junior 1 IRONMAN event was dominated by the #48 of Joshua Callahan.  The native of Mulberry, Arkansas who is hanging on to a scant lead in the points championship, lapped the entire field by sneaking in 38 laps just before time expired.  The #14 of Cole Quaile was the first kart a lap down, and joined Callahan in putting a lap on everyone behind him to finish in 2nd.  The #18 of Max Stephens had a solid run as the first kart two laps down, claiming the final podium position in 3rd.  Jake Richardson in the #19 was 6 seconds behind in 4th place, and Austin Jeffries' #159 was another 6 seconds back in 5th at the checkered flag.  The #3 of Kennon Anderson retired on lap 34, earning him 6th place points on the day.

In both the Junior 1 4-cycle and Sportsman classes, the title of IRONMAN winner for 2012 would be contested by just two drivers.  The #00 of Morgan Bain stretched out a few seconds on the #14 of Cole Quaile in the oval segment of the Junior 1 4-cycle event, and as the yellow & green flag flew to signal the layout change, Bain's kart came to life.  At the checkered flag, she too had completed 38 laps and was almost 22 seconds clear of Quaile to earn the victory. 

The Sportsman event saw perhaps the closest racing of the day, with the #2 of Derek Proctor leading the #86 of Steven Younger as the duo lapped nose-to-tail throughout the 5-minute Oval segment and well into the Sprint segment.  On lap 31 as Younger found a way through to the lead, the incidental contact on the pass caused Proctor to lose precious time, and that was the race.  40 laps completed, Younger would claim the victory by 10+ seconds over Proctor in 2nd place.

Owing to a number of factors, the Kid Kart class opted to run the sprint configuration only, but for 10 minutes instead of the traditional 12 laps.  At the checkered flag, the #3 of Kennon Anderson put the skills he's developed in Junior 1 on display en route to a 20 second victory over the #48 of Rachel Callahan in 2nd.  The #24 of Jake Richardson was 6 seconds behind her, claiming the final podium position in 3rd place.  The #6 of Reese Moore made his karting debut in the IRONMAN event, and turned in a very respectable showing in 4th place just two laps back.  Fast lap went to Anderson with a best of 37.976 seconds in qualifying, the only Kid Kart driver faster than 39 seconds on the day.

In the TAG final, the #30 of Christian Duarte took the lead position for the Oval segment with the #1 of Gavin Moore nearly affixed to his bumper.  Just before they switched to the Sprint configuration, Moore capitalized on a bobble by Duarte to take the lead exiting turn 2.  On the next lap through the sprint course, Moore extended a bit of a lead, but could not hold on.  Unbeknownst to anyone at the time, his axle had loosened enough to shift in place and his brake rotor began to drag against the pads.  Duarte continued to extend his lead, while the #19 of Rey Ferreyro Jr. kept reeling Moore in.  With time expiring and only a couple of laps remaining, Ferreyro made it past for 2nd place extending a half-second lead on Moore at the finish.  44 grueling laps after it began, the modest points lead Moore had was diminished significantly.  The title fight in this class is the closest of any, as each of the top three drivers will likely be in contention through the final race of the season.

Finally, in TAG Heavy, a long awaited breakthrough finally occurred.  The #97 of Jerry Isaacs had run with race winning pace earlier in the year, but could never seal the deal - until today.  The #14 of Don Grace had led from pole for the first 22 laps in an impressive showing of his own, but a mistake in the hairpin on the Sprint course opened the door for Isaacs who wasted no time moving through on lap 23 - along with the rest of the field.  Saddled back in 5th, Grace began clawing his way back, past Kip Anderson in the #7 first, then past the #22m of Scott Matejec on lap 38.  Meanwhile up ahead, Isaacs was extending his lead over the #48 of Jason Shackelford to 8 full seconds en route to his first victory.  Shackelford was able to hang on to 2nd place, just 0.456 seconds ahead of a hard charging Grace who earned a spot on the podium for the first time in his TAG Heavy career.  The 22m of Matejec, who was on a backup motor after properly destroying his second in as many races, came home in 4th position.

Racing will commence again in two weeks' time for Round 16 - the first of our final three events on the calendar - where we'll see racers showing off everything they've learned in the 6 months since the season began.  See you there!