We will also post the full race story (copied below) with photos later on Sunday, at the Desoto Champ Kart Series website:
http://www.desotochampkartseries.com
It was a night of surprises at the 3/8 mile low-banked paved oval of Charlotte County Motorsports Park in Punta Gorda, FL! And when the feature ended, and the top three finishers stopped their karts on the front stretch to get interviewed by the track announcer, a few new faces were in Victory Lane, while a very familiar face had claimed his first career points championship with the Desoto Champ Kart Series!
Nineteen champ karts came to Charlotte County Motorsports Park to take their shot at winning the race sponsored by:
2008 Series Primary Sponsors:
VEGA Tires from http://www.TSRacing.com,
GECKER Motorsports at http://www.Geckermotorsports.com,
C&D Motorsports and Hurricane Speedway at http://www.hurricanekartinginc.com,
Cutting Edge Kart Shop at http://www.cuttingedgekartshop.com
COMPETITION Karting, Inc. in Welcome, NC
HEAT RACING of Brandon, Florida
2008 Series Race Sponsors:
VP-Motorsports at http://www.VP-Motorsports.com,
J. Hite Exterminating at http://www.hiteexterminating.com
PBS Sales and Service of Tampa at http://www.pbssalesandservice.com
5 STAR MOTORSPORTS at http://www.5starmotorsports.net
Thanks to all of the sponsors for their support of the Desoto Champ Kart Series!
Five drivers made their debut last night with the Desoto Champ Kart Series. These were car (and truck) racers Cody Benoit, Dean Butrum, Logan Lenard, Jeff Firestine and Paul Benfer.
Two heat races were run, with the odd pill draws running the first heat, and the even pill draws running the second heat.
The first heat was won by recently crowned 2008 Desoto Super Speedway Late Model Points Champion Dustin Chisholm with JD Cordon pushing him across the line, followed by Rance Williams.
The second heat was won by PJ Letourneau, with Mitchell Stevens in second, followed by Michael Burns in third.
The feature rolled out onto the track at approximately 8:30pm. Champ kart family and crew could be seen waving and cheering from the pit grandstand as the field circled the track for it’s pace laps!
When the field took the green flag, Mitchell Stevens moved to the front, with Dustin Chisholm pushing hard in second.
Mitchell and Dustin would continue to run in a tight two-kart draft until lap 18, when Dustin slipped by Mitchell for the lead.
Kelli Burns contained her strong recent performances at CCMP, as she moved into the third place position with PJ Letourneau pushing hard in fourth.
Coming to the checkered flag, Dustin Chisholm held off Mitchell Stevens for the win, with Kelli Burns crossing the line in third! This was the first career DCKS podium finishes for both Mitchell and Kelli!
Congratulations to Dustin Chisholm on claiming his second Desoto Champ Kart Series win of 2008!!
IN ADDITION to the feature winners trophy and payout, Dustin also collected a VEGA TIRE! from Tod Spaude and Raymond of http://www.tsracing.com, that had been posted for any driver who could win with VEGA tires on both the right front and right rear!
And after the feature cash payout was given out, the fun continued for the top ten points finishers in the 2008 CCMP Points Series… 
Starting with the tenth place finisher, each of the top-ten points finishers were summoned to the front of the awards table, and series director Phil Harp presented them with their prizes.
And, even though the CCMP Points Series only counts five races (seven races with 2 drops), the series was able to give away approx. $900 last night in year-end contingency prizes, trophies and giftcards, due to the amazing support of our series sponsors.
The Desoto Champ Kart Series would like to extend a special thanks to HEAT RACING. Even though the economy is down and they are sponsoring several other series and tracks, Robin and Gary Green wanted to do something special to help the Desoto Champ Kart Series racers. As a result, HEAT RACING agreed to sponsor the year-end points funds for the 2008 CCMP Points Season. Thanks to Robin and Gary Green for all of your support this season!
Also, a special thanks goes out to Lewis Dowell of Competition Karting Inc. (CKI) in Welcome, NC. Lewis has posted three $100 giftcards, one for each of the three DCKS points champions in 2008!!! (Triple Crown, DSS Track Points, CCMP Track Points). Thank you Lewis very much!
The following year-end awards were given out last night to the top ten points finishers:
1st Place - Phil Harp - 2008 CCMP Series Points Champion:
Champions Trophy
$100 Giftcard from Competition Karting Inc., redeemable for any store merch.
$50 Giftcard from HEAT RACING of Brandon , redeemable for any store merch.
FREE ENGINE REBUILD LABOR (any make), parts extra from C&D Motorsports/Hurricane Speedway
FREE CLUTCH REBUILD, parts INCLUDED (any make), from CUTTING EDGE KART SHOP
2nd Place - Alan McKinney - 2008 CCMP Series Points:
Trophy and $100 Giftcard from HEAT RACING of Brandon , redeemable for any store merch.
3rd Place - JD Cordon- 2008 CCMP Series Points:
Trophy and $100 Giftcard from HEAT RACING of Brandon , redeemable for any store merch.
4th Place - Brian Scherrer - 2008 CCMP Series Points:
Trophy and $100 Giftcard from HEAT RACING of Brandon , redeemable for any store merch.
5th Place - Rance Williams - 2008 CCMP Series Points:
Trophy and $100 Giftcard from HEAT RACING of Brandon , redeemable for any store merch.
6th Place - PJ Letourneau - 2008 CCMP Series Points: TROPHY
7th Place - Ron Letourneau - 2008 CCMP Series Points: TROPHY
8th Place - Tim Simmons - 2008 CCMP Series Points: TROPHY
9th Place - Paul Letourneau - 2008 CCMP Series Points: TROPHY
10th Place - Scott Hailey - 2008 CCMP Series Points: TROPHY
If you’ve ever wanted to race in front of cheering fans, be interviewed by the track announcer after the feature, race for cash in EVERY race, and watch some of Florida’s best car racing after the champ kart feature is completed (at no additional cost), please consider trying a race with the Desoto Champ Kart Series! Everyone is welcome to participate in this unique karting experience. The complete 2009 DCKS schedule will be posted later today (Sunday).
Finishing Order:
- Dustin Chisholm - Victor Peters - Chapparal Trucking
- Mitchell Stevens - Ambassador Racing
- Kelli Burns
- PJ Letourneau - Top Deck Concrete, Inc.
- Phil Harp
- Tim Simmons
- Michael Burns
- Rance Williams - Gecker Motorsports
- Scott Hailey - National Semi-Trailer Corp.
- Ron Letourneau - PBS Sales and Service
- Barry Bartlett - PBS Sales and Service
- Dean Butrum
- Paul Letourneau - PBS Sales and Service
- JD Cordon - Victor Peters - Creative Early Learning
- Cody Benoit
- Logan Lenard
- Alan McKinney - PBS Sales and Service
- Jeff Firestine
- Paul Benfer
And after the feature, Tina Scopano and Sandi Letourneau laid out a huge spread of food for all the racers and crew. A large crowd quickly gathered in the PBS Racing team pits, to enjoy the yellow rice and chicken, bread, salad, lasagna and deserts!! Thanks to the Scopanos and Letourneaus for their hospitality!
Thanks also to everyone for coming out last night! Everyone seemed to have a great time.
For a complete schedule of ?Events?, and rules, please visit the series website at: http://www.desotochampkartseries.com
If you have any questions about the series, please contact series director Phil Harp at 727-510-5401. Contingency and race sponsorships are always welcomed by Phil for each race. This group is very appreciative of all the race sponsors and supporters during the 2008 season!
The DeSoto Champ Kart Series - A little different… a little bigger… let the drafting begin!
