DeFrancesco Racing, US Grand Nationals Report DE TROIS-RIVIÈRES - ARROW RACE REPORT
	DeFrancesco Racing made its third trip to New Castle Motorsports Park a week ago as the best Rotax Max racers in America converged on the Indiana facility for the 2010 US Rotax Grand Nationals. Following on the heels of great CKI and Pan-Am showings at the track, its five member lineup was primed and ready for the competition that ran Wednesday to Saturday. Team Junior driver Dore Chaponick Jr. drove the point home on day one of competition when he captured pole by over two tenths of a second in a field of 55 junior drivers, and he maintained the pace through two days of heat racing when he recorded finishes of 2-1-1. The results meant he still had pole position on Saturday morning for the prefinal, and after holding position at the start, there was only one race lap the Florida driver didn’t lead as he broke free of the field with another pair. The trio then created a four-second gap before second and third drafted by with three laps to go. The DFR driver took one spot back before the checker when he utilized the draft himself, and he looked in fantastic form heading to the National final on the front row. Fighting to find his way back to the inside after the wave of the green flag, Chaponick was sixth through the opening pair of laps before passing back to fourth over laps three and four. There he stayed, creeping his way closer to the draft of the leading trio, when disaster struck on lap eight. “Dore’s chain snapped,” said team manager Bobby Wilson. “It was really a shame too, as he was running so strong all week. Really upsetting. But, the proof was there for us and all to see, and he’ll be back on top soon enough!” The words ring true, as even though Chaponick sat fourth after having to come back up in the opening laps, things really were looking positive. He was roughly the same distance off of third as he was up on fifth, and data would later prove that the lead trio had each already set what proved to be their fastest laps of the race. Chaponick’s kart was still working toward it’s prime lapping phase - similar to the prefinal where on laps nine, ten and eleven he lowered his best time three consecutive times. The leaders fighting amongst themselves was surely set to help as well, but everything came to an abrupt end. The remainder of the DFR squad was in Mini-Max competition as Sebastian Coulson, Cole Glasson, Devlin DeFrancesco and Patricio O’Ward also came through the heats well. DeFrancesco won his first and followed with a third and second to qualify P3 overall; Glasson was alongside after posting 2-2-3; O’Ward came through at 4-7-4 and Coulson at 8-6-8 heading to Saturday. Things then got off to a rocky start on Championship Saturday, as DeFrancesco, Glasson and Coulson each went backward in the opening phase, and O’Ward was knocked all the way down to twenty-fourth! DeFrancesco and Glasson recovered to fifth and sixth, O’Ward charged back to P13 and Coulson crossed P17. In the final both DeFrancesco and Glasson were among the lead draft train - which equates to a life line at New Castle - and the train was quickly changing cars! Fifth and sixth through the first lap, the DFR duo were then second and third through two! Things then continued to change, as the top five karts only crossed in the same order once over the first half of race distance. As things worked toward the end, Glasson found himself running in a leading trio of breakaway karts, and expertly worked the draft to sit second when the checker waved and climbed the National podium! DeFrancesco was fifth, O’Ward charged to sixth and Coulson was fourteenth. “The Mini-Max guys did a great job as well,” Wilson continued. “Cole, Devlin and Sebastian were strong through the heats and finals. Cole kept up a great pace the whole weekend and looked great on the podium! Devlin was right there too until he lost the draft, and Pato salvaged sixth but he was much stronger than that. It was a great showing.” Next up for DFR will now be the third round of the Pan American Rotax Max Challenge at the team’s home track, Homestead Karting, in August. For more information on DeFrancesco Racing, visit the team on Facebook.
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