Carmel, Indiana- Yesterday, JD Byrider Kart Racing Team Drivers Ron Petersen and Colton Aldridge piloted their JD Byrider / Tony Stewart Racing / Eldora Speedway sponsored 125cc TaG Kart to a fine 4th place finish in the “6th Annual Mazda Robo-Pong 200 Presented by Bridgestone” at Mark Dismore’s New Castle Motorsports Park. This race, commonly referred to as “The Indy 500 of Karting”, brings racers from all over the U.S. and several other countries to this central Indiana venue.
On Saturday in qualifying, against 46 other karts, Colton put the team in 6th position for the Sunday event. Colton started the race and avoided a first lap incident that damaged the karts of Dan Wheldon and Conor Daly.
Although the leader at the time pulled out to a nice lead, Colton raced bumper-to-bumper with 2nd and 3rd place drivers, IndyCar veterans Ed Carpenter and Jay Howard. At 54 laps, in 3rd position, the team made their first pit stop for fuel and a driver change. Ron drove the next segment and pitted at lap 101 in 4th place. Colton took over and got the team to 2nd behind Ed Carpenter at lap 109. Ron jumped back in at lap 150 with the team maintaining 2nd position through the pit stop. It was near the time of this pit stop when the kart developed a huge push in the corners. Ron struggled with the ill-handling kart and was forced to pit at lap 171 in 4th place with the front tires worn to the cords. After replacing the front tires, Colton took over and got back on the track in 5th place. The 4th place team pitted, moving Colton to 4th, and he passed the 3rd place team on lap 180.
By lap 193, with the handling issue slowing the kart, the 4th place team had caught and passed him. With 5th position well behind him, Colton cruised the last few laps and posted the 4th place finish, with the front tires, again, worn to the cords. Ed Carpenter and his teammate posted a flawless race to take the win by 2 laps.
After the race, during the engine teardown in tech inspection, the team discovered that the chassis of the kart had broken under the seat, causing the evil handling of the kart. Despite the problem, the team was very happy with the results and $2,500 4th place purse. Also, for the 5th consecutive year, in a race that is brutally hard on equipment, the JD Byrider Team Kart has not only been running at the end, but finished “in-the-money”.
For additional Mazda Robo-Pong 200 information, checkout the Ekartingnews race recap and results at ekartingnews or New Castle Raceway.
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