Liberator track practice day scheduled for this Sunday, May 21
MILLVILLE, N.J. — With the dust settled on a successful first Cup Karts North America Northeast Division race in April at New York’s Oakland Valley Race Park, the new series now has its sights set on a highly anticipated rounds 4/5 set for this June 2-4 at the popular New Jersey Motorsports Park in the south portion of the Garden State.
The first-ever CKNA race at NJMP will utilize The Liberator course, a 0.53-mile circuit that uses about half of the track’s full sprint karting course. While some veteran 4-cycle drivers have experience racing at Jersey at WKA Gold Cup races approximately 10 years ago, for most racers on the entry list the CKNA Northeast event will be their first attempt at the challenging track.
Series promotor Tony ‘The Toe’ Cirillo believes NJMP’s Liberator will be an equalizer for many.
“This race should be a good test of skills on all levels since most of the drivers, including some of the top CKNA racers, have never been to NJMP,” Cirillo said. “This should give competitors a level playing field and make for some surprise finishes and great competition. The Liberator track is a great 4-cycle course with good speeds, technical areas and elevation changes.”
While many will turn their first laps on the Liberator Friday, June 2 during CKNA’s official practice day for the event, drivers in closer proximity to South Jersey will have a slight upper-hand if they decide to take part in a practice day the track has available this Sunday, May 21.
NJMP opens their karting circuits for practice days on weekends routinely throughout the season, and we’ve heard several 4-cycle teams will be participating in this Sunday’s leading up to the CKNA event.
For information, visit njmp.com/event-calendar/.
As of Wednesday morning the race sits at 53 pre-entrants with Junior and Senior Light the largest classes thus far. We expect this number will at least double in the coming weeks before pre-registration closes the week of the race.
The CKNA Northeast Series officially kicked off at Charlotte Motor Speedway in early March with the 3rd Annual Spring Nationals counting as a Northeast points race. OVRP marked rounds 2/3 with NJMP rounds 4/5 and the July 28-30 season-closer at Pittsburgh Int’l Race Complex serving as rounds 6/7.
The series counts the best 5 of 7 rounds toward the championship, meaning if racers ran Charlotte but missed OVRP, they still have a legit shot at a class championship, although there will be little room for error.
“After NJMP, there is only one Northeast race remaining at Pitt Race in late July,” Tony ‘The Toe’ added. “I can already tell you that drivers from the original CKNA North series will be making their way to Pitt to challenge the Northeast drivers — again, on a level playing field since CKNA has never held an event at Pitt Race. Even if you are not in it for the points, join us at New Jersey Motorsports Park and Pittsburgh International for a couple competitive and enjoyable experiences this summer.”
Heading to Jersey, points leaders are —
- Kid Kart: Spencer Hite +100 over Liam Compitiello.
- Cadet: Wyatt Fink +2 over John Dwyer.
- Sportsman: Colton McQuade +9 over Trevor King.
- Junior: Emil Osman +50 over Paulie Hart.
- Senior Light: Matthew Darlison +21 over Hudson Brown.
- Senior Medium: Hudson Brown +76 over Brady Atwood.
- Senior Heavy: Chris Cirillo +14 over Cody Svoboda.
- Masters: Chris Cirillo +45 over John Price.
- Legends: Tim Stiefel +96 over Simon Pepin.
To pre-enter for New Jersey, go to CKNA’s Race Select page HERE.