CKNA Grand Nationals 10 Recap

CKNA Grand Nationals 10 is the biggest 4-cycle race in the country, and it showed. Huge fields, tough racing, packed grids, and very little room for mistakes made every session matter.

For our team, it was a good weekend with a lot to take away. Some of our drivers were at their first Grands. Some were stepping into a new class. Some were returning after a couple years away. Across the board, the weekend tested everyone, and our drivers kept showing up.

There were wrecks, mechanical issues, missed chances, and a few “what could have been” moments. There were also big charges through the field, first-time finals, smart racecraft, and plenty of grit.

Senior Medium brought speed, setbacks, and a big drive forward

In Senior Medium, we had Bryce Mersberger and Adam Maxwell both on Best Karts. One was powered by Kart City and the other by Lawson.

Adam started the weekend strong in a stacked field. He qualified 38th out of 99 drivers, which put him in a solid spot going into the heat races. Unfortunately, the heats did not go his way. In both Heat 1 and Heat 2, Adam got wrecked out. After that, he made the decision to park the Medium kart and focus the rest of his weekend elsewhere.

That left Bryce to carry the Senior Medium effort, and he put on a show every time he hit the track.

Bryce had a rough qualifying run and ended up 83rd. From there, he had to work. He kept digging through the heats and found a way into the final, which was no small task in a field that deep.

He started the final 46th out of 60. Then came the kind of race that sums up the whole weekend. Bryce got wrecked twice in the final, but he never quit. He kept driving forward, kept making passes, and brought it home 25th.

That was a gain of 21 spots in the final alone.

In a race where track position is hard to come by and contact can end your day in a second, that drive was a huge bright spot. Bryce made the most of every lap, and that result showed the kind of effort he brought all weekend.

Senior Light gave Adam a better shot at showing what he had

Adam had a much better run in Senior Light.

He qualified 21st, putting himself in a good position early. From there, the goal was simple: stay clean, get through the heat races, and make the final.

That is easier said than done at Grands. With that many drivers fighting for every inch, survival is part of the race. Adam did a good job staying clear through the three heat races and kept himself in the hunt.

He started the final 47th. During the race, he was helped off the track a few times, which made it hard to build the kind of momentum he needed. Even with that, he kept going and finished 38th.

After the bad luck in Senior Medium, it was good to see him get a cleaner overall run in Senior Light and bring home a finish.

Junior class gave two first-time Grands drivers valuable experience

The Junior class was a big one for us because we had two drivers making their first Grands appearance: Andrew Avalos and Parker Dunn.

For Andrew, this was a huge step. He had only been in a 206 kart roughly seven times before making his 4-cycle Grands debut. That is not much seat time before jumping into one of the biggest events in the country.

Even with that, Andrew had some good racing throughout the weekend. He showed progress every time he went out.

Heat 2 brought some bad luck when a wreck forced us to pull in. That could have easily derailed the weekend, but Andrew still made the final in his first year at Grands. That alone is a big accomplishment.

He started the final 52nd and got to work right away. Before getting helped into the grass, Andrew had gained 22 positions. His official finishing spot was 53rd, but the result sheet does not tell the full story. The drive he was putting together showed real promise.

For a first Grands with limited 206 experience, making the final and racing forward like that was huge.

Parker Dunn was also in Junior and also at his first Grands. He had very solid runs during the weekend, even though the results did not fully show it.

Parker qualified 72nd after some bad luck. From there, we ended up in the LCQ. During that race, a mechanical issue forced us to pull in early. That was a tough break because we felt like we had the speed and the drive to make the final.

It was a bummer, no doubt. But Parker’s weekend still had a lot of positives. He handled a big event, dealt with adversity, and showed that he belonged in the fight.

Sportsman was fun all weekend with Jackson McNeely

Sportsman was one of the most enjoyable classes for us all weekend because Jackson McNeely showed up every session.

Jackson qualified 26th and kept pushing from there. Every time he went out, he was passing karts and giving everything he had. He kept the attitude right and kept working.

He started the final 20th and had a great start. After making up spots early, his race took a tough turn when he ended up in the grass and into a wall.

That could have ended the day, but Jackson got back on track and went right back to work. He kept racing and brought it home 20th.

We called that a win.

At a race like this, finishing after that kind of hit takes toughness. Jackson showed plenty of it. His pace all weekend was strong, and the way he battled back after trouble in the final said a lot.

Diesel Maxwell fought through a tough Cadet weekend

Our Cadet driver, Diesel Maxwell, had his own battle all weekend.

Diesel qualified 35th in his class after going out in a kart with broken and bent parts. That made the start of the weekend tougher than it needed to be, but he never stopped fighting.

The goal was to work toward a 25th-place finish. Diesel kept at it all weekend and fought for every position he could get. He ended the weekend with a solid 30th-place finish.

That was a good result considering what he had to deal with. He had to overcome the kart issues, keep his head in it, and race hard in a tough Cadet field.

Out of the Box Challenge Overview

We entered Brayden Johnson into the Out of the Box Challenge with a team of four members:

• Eric Johnson

• Rob Smith

• Adam Maxwell

• Brayden Johnson

Competition Details

The team competed against 20 other teams, with the primary goal of taking an engine straight out of the box and seeing who could fire it first. Here are some key points from our performance:

• Finished 13th out of 20 teams.

• Received one penalty for a zip tie.

Race Performance

After hitting the track, we managed to put down a fast lap. We came in to make a change or two and then went back out for the race. We fought hard for a 7th place finish after getting hung out to dry while the top six teams pulled away.

The weekend was full of lessons and reasons to be proud

This was not a perfect weekend, but Grands rarely is. With fields this big and racing this close, every driver is going to face something. Contact, bad luck, mechanical problems, and traffic are all part of it.

What mattered most was how our group responded.

CKNA Grand Nationals 10 gave us plenty to be proud of and plenty to work on. That is exactly what a weekend like this should do. We left with experience, notes, and a group of drivers who proved they can handle a tough stage.

Now it is time to take those lessons, get back to work, and come back stronger.