November 18, 2023

When you think of winter, what is the first thought that comes to mind?

Maybe it’s snow, or the holidays, right? Well for us at Liberty Racing Review, its the sweet, sweet smell of burning racing fuel at Atlanta Motorsports Park Kart Track. Let’s jump straight into all of the pod-to-pod racing.

Kicking it off first were the young guns of the LO206 Cadet/Juniors, and boy did these drivers put on an amazing show. The Pre-Final ended in a tie. Lincoln Massey and Luke Giglio battled the entire 10 lap Pre-Final. On the final lap, Massey rocketed passed Giglio in turn 16. Giglio gave everything that his Briggs and Stratton LO206 could handle to catch back up. In the end, they crossed the line at the exact same time. Massey and Giglio would lead the field to green in the Final.

We continue with the LO206 Masters division. The story of this race is found in seasoned AMP veteran Al Edwards (711). This would be the first race that Edwards has ran at AMP in a little over a year. For context, back in 2019, Edwards had a nasty wreck that took him out of the drivers seat and into the role of crew chief/ head mechanic. In his time out of the seat, he has built one of the largest kart teams at AMP, WILL BITE Racing, fielding multiple Karts through different divisions of LO206. This race was personal for Edwards, and he would jump out to an early lead in the Pre-Final with his teammate Matt “The Cookie Man” Lassiter (87) right behind him. Edwards would go on to win the Pre-Final with teammate Lassiter finishing second. Talking with Edwards after the race, he was ecstatic. He jumped cout of his kart, pounding his chest. To say he was excited is a complete understatement.

Can you guess the next division? You probably guessed it right; it’s what I like to call “The LO206’s of Mayhem”. This Senior division of LO206 was absolutely packed with over 30 drivers. The first lap of the Pre-Final had everything wrapped into a single lap. We are talking 4 wide racing, passes in the grass, and bumping and banging all throughout the 30 kart field! Nic Lefferdo (00), followed by his team mate Erick Evans (29), would lead the field in the Final.

That steady rumble coming from the pre-grid area is that of the Vintage flat-heads of yesterday. Yes, there is a division solely dedicated to vintage kart racing. All of the Vintage Karts are based on chassis that were manufactured before 1990, and the engines are flat-headed Briggs and Stratton’s. Phillip Tidwell (6) would win the Pre-Final and lead the field to green for the final.

The first Final of the day belongs to the young guns of the LO206 Cadet/Juniors. Massey and Giglio would trade paint back and forth for the lead. Every lap, these drivers were swapping back and forth with neither one gaining a competitive edge. Back further in the pack, the Juniors were also putting on a show. Talon Laney (48), Javier Soto (95), and Scotty Arnold (111) would push it 3 wide in some very tight quarters. Giglio would cross the line first in the Cadet division and clinch the overall win. Laney would secure the win in the Junior division, finishing 6th overall.

We continue our race day coverage with the LO206 Masters. Al Edwards would lead the field to green for the 12 lap final. Lassiter, Edwards, and Brandon Miller (31) would duke it out on the track, trading paint. Miller would throw an early “Hail Mary” with two laps to go to pass Edwards. Miller and Edwards bumped back and forth, but in the end Miller would be victorious.

Now it’s time for the Main Event, I’m talking about The LO206’s Of Mayhem! Oh boy, we were not ready for all the mayhem that the LO206 Senior division had to offer. 30 karts would come to the green flag but not all of these drivers would make it out of the first turn. Six karts were involved in a first lap accident at the bottom of turn 2. The racing would be tight, three, four and at one point even five wide going into the backstretch. Evans sprint to the lead early and hold off his team mate Lefferdo until the closing laps. Lefferdo would make the pass for his first win at AMP this year.

The Final series of the day is the Vintage division. Seven Vintage Karts would take the green flag for the 10 lap Final. Ken”Belue By Ya” Belue (0) would take advantage of a minor mistake at the start of the race and jump from P3 to the lead within a full lap. Anthony Lazzaro (30) would challenge Belue and overtake him in turn 14. Belue would quickly challenge him and overtake him on the final lap, and in the final corner, to secure his first win of the Winter Season at AMP.

We here at LRR would like to thank the wonderful team at AMP and all of the wonderful staff that make these race days happen. It is always a privilege to be a part of the media team and write these articles. Special thanks to LRR’s newest member, Mitchell Bell for capturing all of our race day photos that will be available later in the week. Below, we have listed the podium finishers in all divisions.

LO206 Cadet

1. Luke Giglio
2. Lincoln Massey
3. Issac Carvalho

LO206 Junior

1. Talon Laney
2. Scotty Arnold
3. Javier Soto

Tag Senior

1. Oz Cheek IV
2. Danny May

Tag Master

1. Eugen Panenko
2. Sean Akins
3. Kyle Clark

Shifter

1. Oz Cheek III
2. Eric Huewe
3. Steve Frank

TAG Rookie

1. Regan Greer

TAG Cadet

1. Luke Giglio
2. Ryan Peres
3. Evan Frey

LO206 Kid Kart

1. Harrison Marintsch

Comer Kid Kart

1. Alex Schomer
2. Arlo Stowers
3. Luca Valadez

KA Senior

1. Danny Perez
2. Andrew Hammil
3. Bhanu Yedla

KA Junior

1. Aiden Augustyne
2. Talon Laney
3. Mason Groves

LO206 Senior

1. Nick Lefferdo
2. Erik Evans
3. Steve Roberts

Vintage

1. Ken Belue
2. Phillip Tidwell
3. Jessika Epting

LO206 Master

1. Brand Miller
2. Al Edwards
3. Matt Lassiter