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Tony Rolfson Wins 2010 AZIKC
Racing NewsAZIKC Final Wrap Up Report

After going wheel to wheel for the better part of 2010, the monthly AZIKC Series at F1 Race Factory has come to a close and a worthy “Champion” has been crowned. Tony “TheTiger” Rolfson is now and will forever be known as the 2010 F1 AZIKC Champion. Tony rose from the ashes of potential disaster by making a kart change prior to the close of the qualifying run and it turned out to be the right call. His qualifying run had him starting 11th and with Team Titanium (Steve Lattanzi/Charles Crowe) going into the final race first in points with no race drop and starting the race from the second position they would be in the prime time spot to take the AZIKC Championship and all the riches that come with winning it such as the 10’ solid gold trophy, thousands of dollars in cash and a “Winners” parade in their honor.

It was not to be for Team Titanium who ended up finishing a strong 2nd in the race and 2nd overall for the series. Rolfson came from the back of the field to finish 3rd in the race and score enough points after the race drop to take the Championship. Congratulations to Tony Rolfson and his coach and sideline strategist Paul Williams. Paul calls the shots from the sidelines and does a great job feeding Tony info that advances him thru the field with timely pit stop strategy and other valuable info. That’s what teamwork is all about. Next series we hope they change spots. Paul to drive the kart and Tony calls the shots! Team Titanium tried that, but since our communication device included two cans and a waxed string between the cans that kept getting tangled up in the wheels we gave up and use the yellow/blue foam bear claw to indicate our pit stop. Works like a charm and no innocent bystanders are hurt by the “claw”.

F1’s own John Ahrens captured the 3rd place overall and was clearly frustrated by a kart not performing as strong as his karting skills. A late pass by one of the indoor karting newcomers had John’s neck snapping back with a solid hit before the pass. That and his 9th place finish in the race had him pacing after the race like a tiger in a cage at the zoo. Now, where is that raw meat when you need it?
This report tends to focus on the racers at the top of the charts but without all the racers at every skill level racing together this would turn out to be a pretty boring event week to week or month to month. A “Special” award was handed out today and even though the award title of “The Kandyman Award” which is given to the racer that runs the most races but scores the least points; it is given out filled with candy and meant as a huge thank you to the recipient as a way to say Thank You for showing up for every race and never giving up. It’s a nice trophy with a faux wooden base with a polished front wheel hub on top filled with candy and a plaque.
The recipient for the 10 race AZIKC series was non other than Bill Hunter. A true gentlemen racer and with neck brace firmly in place he never misses a race even with his heavy travel schedule. Thank You Bill and we will be looking forward to competing with you again once the 2011 AZIKC is put on the schedule. He still finished a very respectable top 10 overall.

Now for some of Saturdays AZIKC action: Taking the pole position was a F1 track official by the name of Ron Phillips who comes with his entourage of baby strollers and assorted family members pushing the strollers and riding in them. Racing with Ron is always a clean affair and his progress behind the wheel is nothing short of impressive which was backed up today in the qualifier and the 72 lap race on the ½ mile GP track layout.
Team Titanium with Charles Crowe taking the honors and the first half of the race laid down a good enough time to roll from the second starting position on the grid. The Dynamic Duo Team of Julia Castro/Austin Kipp with replacement driver Chaz Baca Jr driving for Austin Kipp, who feels that being late is standard operating procedure, lined up from the 3rd starting spot. Logan Swane & Matthew Lamanilao rounded out the top five starting spots.
The start of the race saw Baca Jr leap frog Crowe to take second place away and Phillips and Baca raced off together as if off on a date. Crowe & Swane had their own two way race going as did Rolfson and Ahrens. This seemed to be a two by two race throughout the field of racers that numbered 14. After the first five or so laps it seemed like Baca Jr ran out of NOS or Crowe just turned up the wick and came right up on his back bumper. A, let him pass, order was given to Baca Jr by, Chaz Baca Sr and Crowe set off to chase down the runaway Phillips. Team Titanium was on a mission and wasn’t about to take this championship title lying down. One by one pit stops started happening and the mandatory pit stop is only 20 seconds long but seems like an eternity when you are pumped up on the adrenaline from all the racing you are in the middle of. Unless of course you are one of the two teams that do a driver switch. A different kind of anxiety happens at that time. Will we get this right with the time allotted and will the devil seatbelt system ruin our game plan? With the use of a seatbelt clip all was good and went as smooth as expected. Driver change at lap 36 went without a hitch for Team Titanium and now with Steve Lattanzi fresh as a daisy and raring to go, he starts picking off slower karts not knowing who has pitted and who has not. Just knows that passing anyone will be a good thing. By the end of his 36 lap stint he found Rolfson parked right behind him for the mandatory top five weigh out and knew that unless Rolfson weighs out under the 198# wiggle weight he will be declared the winner. Watching the scale bounce between 201 and 199 Team Titanium cried “Uncle” and resigned to the fact that they had second place wrapped up like an early Chrismas present. A great end to a long and exciting 2010 AZIKC series
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The Finish Order of Race # 10: Ron Phillips…Team Titanium (Steve Lattanzi/Charles Crowe)… Tony Rolfson…Logan Swane…Matthew Lamanilao…Keith Sears…Pete Linawag…John Pappagallo…John Ahrens…Dynamic Duo (Chaz Baca Jr/Julia Castro)…Bobby Neumann…Bill Hunter…Josh Walker…John Gilles

AZIKC Top Three Overall: Tony Rolfson (258 points)…Team Titanium (Steve Lattanzi/Charles Crowe) (246 points)…John Ahrens (227 points)
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