THIS COULD HAVE BEENTHE LAST KIRL OF ALL TIME! CHICAGO INDOOR RACING IS IN THE PROCESS OF CHANGING OWNERSHIP AND IS DEFINITELY UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT.  UNTIL CONTACT IS MADE BETWEEN THE KIRL ADMINISTRATION AND ANY FUTURE NEW BUSINESS OWNER, KIRL AS WE HAVE ENJOYED IT FOR THE LAST DECADE COULD BE OVER!

APRIL 7, 2013 Addison, IL: The FINAL KIRL event of the 2012-13 season concluded with an unbelievable race. Track management was not in favor of the proposed plan for the final SUPER FINAL. The crazy idea was masterminded by ASA legend TOM JONES: he wanted every entrant to KIRL event #6 transferred to the first ever 40 LAP SUPER FINAL!  Six time Bill Hartwig was unsure himself and took the side of management who believed that there would be way too many karts on the track at one time. The KIRL promoter convinced track management that the KIRL racers would run the 40 laps without problems. The deal was made and the rest is history. At the drop of the green the karts were racing single file and extended nearly the entire length of the track! There was an amazing turn-out for what was billed as perhaps the last KIRL event ever and they were all in one race at one time for a whopping 40 laps on the big track at Addison CIR!

Andy Jones won the March Super Final so he was allowed the pick of the litter for the kart he would race from the last starting spot in the 40 lap final SUPER FINAL.  Over 60 karts were available for him to choose from.  Almost with clairvoyance, Andy picked what turned out to be a stellar kart. It was one that was parked off to the side and had not seen competition all night!  Some of the competitors thought there may have been some insider information which may have been given to Andy before he made his decision. 

At the drop of the green, Adrian Merchant, the polesitter who was driving the fastest working kart of the night, took off and opened up a 12 second lead by lap 16. His lead would have continued and probably kept growing were it not for his neck collar coming loose! Sadly, Adrian had to pull over and address his safety equipment failure before track officials allowed him to rejoin the race. Although, Adrian worked quickly, his wardrobe malfunction cost him nearly 15 positions!

Sean Seamon and Nick Petska were like sharks circling a bleeding victim. They both saw Adrian's collar coming loose and no one could miss track officials pointing their pit boards at poor Adrian! Like the killer fish Nick and Sean sliced past the slowed kart of unlucky Adrian who was resetting his collar as quickly as humanly possible!







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EVENT FOUR--SEASON TEN

February 3, 2013--It may have been Super Bowl Sunday but, nevertheless, 40 racers took to the challenging combined track at Addison's Chicago Indoor Racing facility. Staff members timed each kart beforehand and placed them appropriately in the grid at the conclusion of each race. Three 14 year olds and one 70 year old bookended the age brackets of the competitors while 121 and 360 pounds did the same with weight classes. The 40 were split almost evenly into 3 separate weight classes and the members of each class battled others in their class for 72 laps in 4 races. The top 6 finishers from each weight class 30 lap feature transferred to an additional "bonus" 30 lap race (The Super Final!) which pitted the best against the best.
Well this Super Final was no different than the previous 63--it was a brawl.  The fastest qualifiers start in the back in the slower karts and the slower (usually heavier) qualifiers start in the front in the faster karts. This KIRL-ONLY format not only helps equalize the field but it frustrates the normally faster lightweights who have to contend with heavier and normally slower racers who have the "better" karts! The Super Final is one of the best races of the event! Everybody wants to race it!

EVENT THREE--SEASON TEN

January 6, 2013---Once again KIRL broke the 60 racer mark and this time they hit track 3 clockwise in Buffalo Grove. James Swan didnt make the show after racing at DILLON SPEEDWAY in North Carolina on Saturday's rain date but the competition was nonetheless stiffer than ever!

Past PRO-KIRL CO-CHAMPION and IRA SPRINT CAR STANDOUT BIlly WIRTH showed the Super Heavyweights and PRO-KIRL Super Final Field why he is a force to be reckoned with--WIRTH ran away from the field and lapped over half them, some multiple times! Bill is perhaps one of the smoothest drivers in the series, his confidence comes from years of experience racing the high horsepower four wheeled rocketships called sprint cars.  The car he races throughout the season carries an inverted wing which drives the car into the ground for traction! Similar to the sprint car, the gokart is always short on traction especially in the corners--perhaps thats what makes Bill so competent in a gokart--he has learned how to take what ever he races to the edge of control and traction.

Following Bill Wirth in their best Super Final finishes were James Thorndike and Dwayne Williford.

We are not sure why this month's Super Final was more physical than others in the past, some speculate it was because of a full moon, others think the late hour start was past the bedtime of some of the younger racers and there are a few who suspect that it was because of a slow competitor being allowed to start on the pole of the race. It seemed like everyone on the track took a shot at the slow kart when they passed.  Some racers showed their lack of experience in anticipating how fast the slow kart was really going through the corners.  Several of them in their haste ended up overdriving the corners and spinning themselves out and quickly pointing fingers at the pilot of the slower kart.  The slower driver pointed out to the less experienced that the track is 24 feet wide and the kart is only 4 feet wide, so that leaves a full 20 additional feet to negotiate a pass if they are really that much faster!

In the end, everyone realized they all had fun and that Bill Wirth was the man on January 6th!



EVENT TWO--SEASON TEN

Over sixty competition hungry racers hit the track in Addison, IL on December 2nd... Tony Velez returned to CIR and showed everyone why he was the first to successfully dethrone the 6 time Pro-KIRL Champion Bill Hartwig 1 season ago. Racers such as Kyle Shear (from Ohio) travelled great distances to try and qualify for the the prestigous Pro-KIRL Super Final race at the end of the night.  Andy Jones drove all night from Florida to make it on time for the start of the qualifying races.  Almost everyone believed that at the drop of the green flag for the Super Final nothing would stop Andy from his 21st starting spot to claim the coveted win. Tony Velez wasted little time changing everyone's mind as he slid through the field like a hot knife in butter! Once out front, Tony established a gap on the field that not even the lightweight, ex-CIR employee and LEGENDS superstar Andy Jones could erase! The podium also included for the first time in Pro-KIRL history--a young lady--Brittany Campbell who we know nothing about!  She patiently worked with a group of hard charging KIRL veterans throughout the race, working their way as a pack from the back to the front... she did not try anything crazy as this was not only her first Super Final--it was her first KIRL event ever! Lapped traffic proved to be too big of a challenge for a few of the veterans in Brittany's pack as several suffered position losses despite a flying move over flag! Brittany kept her cool and when the dust settled she found herself on the third step of the Pro-KIRL Super Final in her first ever KIRL appearance. We suspect we will hear more from this young lady in the future! Current points leader Bill Wirth had a rough night in his feature after serving time in the penalty box after taking out ASA legend Tom Jones who had been leading the feature. Wirth recovered for a 2nd but his points lead may have suffered.
**The kart of Bill Hartwig in the weight class final and super final was guest driven by Aaron Katzenberg who crossed finish line first in both races and was not scored... we hope Bill's injury will heal by Event #3 on January 6 in Buffalo Grove!




EVENT ONE SEASON TEN

On November 4th, fifty-five racers (ages 12-70, male and female, weighing from 90 to over 320 pounds!) met at Chicago Indoor Racing to do battle in twelve 14 lap qualifying races for the 4 weight classes followed by 4 separate weight class 30 lap features. The top four finishers from each feature and several provisionals transferred to an additional 30 lap Super-Final for the 19 starters.

At the end of the night after over 300 laps had been contested the Super Final came down to 1 racer who has been no stranger to the Pro-KIRL podium in seasons past! Andy Jones held off Michael Bilderback, Aaron Katzenberg, Nick Petska, Tommy Jones, Bill Wirth, Josh Bilicki, and finally Camden Murphy who charged from the last starting spot to the back of Andy's kart by the drop of the checkered!

The tenth season of KIRL is shaping up to be very competitive! Last seasons Co-Champions Bill Wirth and Nick Petska have risen to the unofficial top of the points standings.  Bill had a clean sweep in his weight class races.  For the championship only 4 of the season's 6 possible race nights will score points. The extra 2 scores may be used in any tie breakers. 

New in 2012-13 is the adoption of the Tom Jones Benefit Rule: Any racer who wishes to compete and is age 50 or older before January 1st of next year will have the option of moving to the next heavier weight class for competition!

Competition Highlights:

70 year old senior Jones finished 2nd to Bill Wirth in the super heavyweight feature!

13 yr old Grace Humphries qualified for the Super Final and finished just off the podium!

Past champions Tony Velez, James Swan, Sonny Schoffen and 6xChampion Bill Hartwig were all absent!

$70 per event charge is appreciated!

4 racers of the 55 competing raced in the inaugeral KIRL season 10 years ago!  They are: Ken Johnson, Jerry Giuliano, George Schultz and Mike Corvo!

Other highlights will be added as provided by the racers who can submit such to drtwoth@comcast.net



KIRL NEWS RELEASE!

For the Final 2011-12 Pro-KIRL point standings: CLICK THIS!







2011-12 Co-Champs Nick Petska and Bill Wirth have RSVP'd For Event #1 on Sunday November 4th in Buffalo Grove.  Are you planning to race?  You need to RSVP asap to drtwoth@comcast.net

*Nick Petska took his KIRL success to a WIMSA Mini-Sprint Championship and a Wilmot Speedway Championship while Bill Wirth had his most successful season racing in the IRA Outlaw Sprintcar Racing Series!

 Was it a coincidence or a result of racing all winter in the KIRL Series?

2010-11 KIRL Champion Tony Velez has been selected to the Lafferty Motorsports Driver Development Program following testing at Hickory Speedway in North Carolina! To view the complete press release CLICK THIS. Congratulations Tony!



Buffalo Grove Results from KIRL Finale April 1st:

For the 2nd time in 9 seasons, the Pro-KIRL points championship has ended in a tie between 2 equally deserving KIRL regulars!

What is an amazing coincidence is what our KIRL champions have in common. Both champions are open wheeled dirt racers! Nick Petska races Mini Sprints and Bill Wirth races full size Sprint cars. Both champions are found during the summer racing season underneath the wings of their lightweight dirt rocketships.




 Buffalo Grove Results from March 4, 2012: 38 racers-3 weight classes-- Lots of new faces!

Nick Petska hits his marks in the Super Final and brings home another SF Checkered this season.  His competition Aaron Katzenberg in 2nd and Camden Murphy in 3rd were bumper to bumper and nearly alongside of Petska at the stripe in one of the most fiercly contested Super Finals this season! Tony Velez and Andy Jones were players throughout the race. The stellar field took to the track running track 5 in the counterclockwise direction for maybe the 2nd time in 9 years.  13yo Grace H. made her first PRO-KIRL start a memorable one. She ran near the front in all of her qualifying races and just missed the cut for the final transfer spot to the Super Final after a 3 wide melee at the checkered in her weight class final. KIRL PROMOTER and CIR STAFF had no question in their minds that she deserved one of the precious provisionals.  Unfortunately for Grace she found out a KIRL regular who prefers anonymity did not like being passed by a girl. He did everything possible to pass Grace who was running a meticulous race. Ultimately the anonymous racer got his way as Grace ended up facing the wrong way on the track, a victim of what the nameless racer later called "a racing incident!"  The video footage from several "go-pro" in car cameras are being reviewed before any fines, penalties and/or suspensions are assessed!

Camden Murphy makes his UARA Late Model debut on March 17th in Hickory, North Carolina. 

Addison Results Super Bowl Sunday February 5, 2012
41 RACERS-3 WEIGHT CLASSES

15 year old CAMDEN MURPHY raced like a seasoned veteran, demolishing the stellar packed field in the Pro-KIRL Super FINAL! Camden took advantage of his starting spot mid-pack in the 20 kart field. 
It didnt take Camden long to blow through the competition in front of him and use the clean track once out front to put a huge distance between him and the field. 
Even though NICK PETSKA, the nights FAST QUALIFIER and championship POINTS LEADER, figured out and selected the fastest kart on the grid to pilot from last to second, he was unable to even get Camden in his sights.
AARON KATZENBERG (son of JIM from FiveStarRaceCarBodies) who crushed all comers in the 5-lap NELMS CHALLENGE and VELEZ 3-lap dash for no-cash, started deep in the Super Final grid and garnered a convincing third to put himself on the podium with Murphy and Petska.
Last year's Pro-KIRL Champ TONY VELEZ who was the racer who finally toppled KIRL KING BILL HARTWIG off his 6 consecutive championships throne, had a quiet race in Addison and finished fourth in the Super Final. His weight class final was marred by an incident involving him and MIKE BILICKI who experienced a momentary brake failure entering the final chicane on lap 10.   This one time only "mechanical" failure dropped VELEZ to last and ruined his chances at a transfer spot to the Super Final! VELEZ was forced to use a PAST CHAMPION PROVISIONAL!
Track mechanics are checking the BILICKI kart for any irregularities in the brake system today, results of their investigation are pending.  MIKE BILICKI's son JOSH says "his dad's equipment always seems to have brake issues!"




Buffalo Grove 1-8-2012
The new year of racing opens with a surprise! 2nd year KIRL racer Sean Seamon ran away and hid from the stellar field in the night's last race-The SUPER-FINAL where the top racers from all the weight classes compete in the same race.  KIRL and CIR have developed a system over the years that attempts to even the playing field between the heavy/slower racers and the faster/lighter racers who make it to the final.  Tonight the system worked perfect! Sean who is not the lightest or the fastest still managed to run 30 consistent laps that were fast enough to finish about 6 seconds ahead of super-light, super-fast, super-star Josh Bilicki! Josh started last and Sean started on the pole! Any slips by Sean and the hard charging Josh would have eaten Sean for dinner like a shark! Don't think that Sean had it easy, the final 10 laps we saw Sean slicing and dicing through lap traffic like a hot knife in butter... he knew that the sharks were on his tail.  Hats off to Sean who proved why KIRL Racing is so successful! Often imitated but NEVER duplicated! Join the KIRL racers for event #52 on February 5th, early enough in the day to make any Super-Bowl party within 120 miles of Addison! 



No more pre-pay discounts!

Everyone pays just $70

Sign, weigh and pay by 4:15pm to be included in the coolest indoor racing to be found in the Midwest this Winter!

Don't sit at home waiting to race or watching races on the tube, get down to CHICAGO INDOOR RACING in Buffalo Grove and Addison and hang with KIRL gang and have a blast racing on the first Sunday of the month from November to April.

You don't have to be a short track racer to race KIRL.  KIRL is open to just about anyone who can pay the $70 bucks.

If you are planning on racing just email your intentions to drtwoth@comcast.net or phone or text them to 773-719-9559.

Tony Velez: KIRL CHAMPION
2010-11

IT'S BEEN SEVEN YEARS SINCE THE PRO-KIRL CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS HAVE LISTED ANY NAME OTHER THAN BILL HARTWIG...WELL, THE TIME HAS COME WHEN THERE IS A NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN!

Tony Velez has etched his name in history books forever... Tony started racing in Ken's Indoor Racing League (KIRL) over four years ago as young teenager. Initially he had to be cleared by Chicago Indoor Racing staff to race in the Pro-KIRL division since he was far below the minimum age of 18. Tony passed his audition with flying colors and has been flying behind the wheel ever since!

After Tony's first KIRL race the other drivers were overheard asking each other "who is that kid?" "He's pretty fast." "Where did that kid come from?" It wasn't long before everyone knew the mystery kid's name because it was on the top of the scoreboard race after race, always a top 3 and regularly the fastest lap holder! Many superstars have passed through the Pro-KIRL Series and some still remain but none can say they don't know who Tony Velez is once they've raced him! Tony has raced every single one of them the hardest they've ever been raced and he can rest his helmet on the fact that none can ever say he wasn't the cleanest most respectable competitor they've raced. Bill Hartwig whose racing career has spanned 7 decades, a legend himself, stated early on after racing and watching Tony "that kid's got IT!" "IT" of course is what every racer strives for, what every parent dreams their kid has, "IT" is the stuff champions are made of and at the conclusion of the 2010-11 Pro-KIRL season, Tony Velez has the highly coveted Pro-KIRL Series Championship title that proves he has "IT!"

CONGRATULATIONS to TONY VELEZ for dominating the Pro-KIRL Series in the 2010-11 season and earning your CHAMPION status!

TONY VELEZ  2010-11
Pro-KIRL CHAMPION

__________

New last Season:
the SUPER FINAL CHAMPION!
The super final is the race at the end of the official pro-KIRL races each night that includes the top qualifiers from each weight division.  The fastest racers are given the slowest karts and asked to start behind the slower drivers who are given the faster karts.  We realize this puts a huBilderbackon all the racers and it's usually a race where only the best surface to the top because it requires pure driving skill to finesse one's way through a field of karts faster than than yours!

In 2010-11 no one knew we were scoring Super Final finishes but we did and after 6 Supers the top two were separated by the points from one position!  

NICK PETSKA is the inaugural
SUPER FINAL CHAMPION!

Pro-KIRL CHAMPION Tony Velez was just nipped by Nick after Nick moved up one position on the last lap of the last Super Final of KIRL Season VIII.

Luke Blazek finished in third.