Connor Iseli

2005 Race Season Archive:

November 20, 2005.  Connor turned in strong performances in the Fall 5, Fall 6 and Fall 7 events finishing in 2nd each time.  Connor's most recent race, Fall 7, found him qualifying in 3rd place just a few thousands of a second behind T.J. Michael in second.  Connor took 2nd on the start and held on for the prefinal.  In the final, starting second, Connor dropped back to 3rd on the start behind TJ.  TJ, Connor and Clint Korte were bumper to bumper for 2nd through 4th for the first third of the race.  Fortunately for Connor he was able to get by TJ going into turn 1 on about lap 5 and held on to finish 2nd.  Fall 7 would ordinarily be the last race of the season - however we have one more, a makeup for the rained out Fall 3 on December 4. 

October 23, 2005.  The racing at NTK returned to Sunday afternoons for the Fall 4 event.  Unfortunately rain brought an early end to the day, canceling the race prior to qualifying could begin.  The race will be rescheduled at a later date. 

October 15, 2005.  Connor's evening started out very well capturing the pole in qualifying out of the 11 entrants, and winning the prefinal with out too much of a challenge.  Unfortunately Connor's luck took a turn for the worse in the final, he dropped back to second on the start and on lap 2 while strongly challenging to regain the lead, locked his brakes and spun off track in turn 7, he rejoined the race in seventh, where he finished. 

October 3, 2005.  Connor finished 2nd out of 10 entrants in the Fall 2 event at NTK.  Connor drove well challenging for the lead in the prefinal, but was slightly slower in the final.  Connor finished a very comfortable second.  We are still working on getting the the setup right on the new chassis. 

September 10, 2005.  Connor debuted his new Top Kart Cadet Chassis in the Summer  7 event at NTK.  Unfortunately setup and reliability problems had Connor finishing 5th for the night in the final, after coming in 2nd in the prefinal.  This last race of the season didn't effect his point standings and he finished second for the Summer series. 

August 1, 2005.  New pictures are posted on the Junior 1 Pictures page.

 July 30, 2005.  Connor began the night by accepting his First Place trophy from the Spring series.  In the racing action Connor qualified 2nd, was 2nd in the prefinal and 2nd in the final out of the 10 entrants in the Summer 3 race at Denton.  Connor's setup was a bit off the pace all night and didn't allow him to seriously challenge for the lead. 

July 23, 2005.  Connor turned in a second place run for the second race in a row at the Summer 2 race at NTK.  Connor qualified on the pole out of the 10 entrants.  In the prefinal Connor took the initial lead but was passed midway in the race by Devin Mauk.  Connor finished a close second.  In the final Connor was passed on the start by the third place kart, Jake French.  While Connor was working hard to get by Jake, Devin was opening a gap in first.  Connor passed Jake in turn 7 on lap 4, however by then Devin was too far in front to challenge.  Connor finished a comfortable second. 

July 9, 2005.  After a 2 week break Connor began the Summer series at North Texas Karters in Denton, TX.  He began the night by qualifying on outside pole amongst the fourteen entrants, missing pole by only 0.064 second! In the prefinal Connor maintained his second place position throughout the race, staying right on Devin Mauk's  bumper in first but couldn't get the advantage to pass.  In the final Connor was pushing Devin hard and had a couple pass attempts he couldn't make stick, unfortunately the two leaders,  had to work through lapped traffic on the final three laps of the race splitting up their battle for the lead.  Connor finished a strong second. The highlight of the night was that although Connor didn't win the race he lowered his own track record to 41.369, besting his own previous record of 41.401 set in the second spring race.  Connor is also officially the winner of the NTK Spring Series, giving him two series championships in a row at NTK. 

June 25, 2005.  Connor participated in three classes in the KART Nationals this weekend, Junior 1 2 cycle light, medium and heavy.  Connor took the pole in medium and heavy and missed pole by 0.07 seconds in the light class.  In the prefinals Connor won medium and heavy and finished 4th in the light class after getting pushed and bumped on the start.  In the light class final Connor moved up to 3rd place and was only 0.06 seconds out of second place.  During the medium class final Connor had completed a pass for the lead when the second place kart made contact with the rear of Connor's kart, spun him around and ran over the front of Connor's kart injuring Connor's arm and tearing the front fairing from the mounting bracket.  Connor valiantly continued on to finish 10th.  The other kart was black flagged.  After a late night trip to the emergency room to check his arm, not broken just a bad bruise, Connor came back on Saturday night to put his #75 kart on the pole for the heavy class. After winning the prefinal, Connor started on the pole for the final.  At the start he dropped back to second place but was all over the rear bumper of the first place kart.  On lap 6 Connor slid off the exit of turn 3 slightly into the grass loosing 2nd place.  He maintained 3rd for the remainder of the race, challenging hard for 2nd but wasn't quite able to make the pass.  Overall Connor had 2 poles, 2 prefinal wins and 3rd, 10th and 3rd place final finishes. 

June 4, 2005.  Connor continued on his winning path with his fourth consecutive win at the Spring 7 race in Denton, TX.  During a night that had several brief delays because of passing light showers, Connor qualified on the pole, then led every lap of both the 8 lap prefinal and 12 lap final to take the victory. 

May 21, 2005.  Connor extended his winning streak to three in a row with a strong victory in the Spring 6 race at NTK.  Connor qualified well to take the pole, and led every lap of the prefinal and final.   

May 14, 2005.  Connor captured his second win in a row at the NTK Spring 5 race in Denton, TX.   In the first night race of the season Connor started off by capturing the pole, although by only 0.002 seconds over Devin Mauk.   In the prefinal Connor led the entire race with Devin close behind until the start of the last lap when Devin passed Connor in turn 1.  Connor finished the prefinal a close second to Devin.  Starting on the outside pole in the final Connor was able to take the lead in the first turn which he never relinquished.  Devin challenged close behind for the first half of the race but faded late with mechanical problems.  Connor drove successfully faster laps throughout the race posting his fastest lap of the night on the last lap of the final.  Connor now has two victories and three seconds in the five Spring Series races.  Next up is Spring 6 on May 21.  Connor's recent track record for Junior 1 2 cycle Light is now posted on the NTK website - Track Records

May 1, 2005.  Connor had a great day at the NTK Spring 4 race in Denton, TX.  He began the day by qualifying on outside pole, missing the pole by only 0.03 seconds.  Connor started 2nd in the prefinal and challenged for the lead several times but couldn't get in front, finishing a close 2nd.   The final was yet another thrilling show put on by Connor and Devin Mauk.  Connor and Devin battled back and forth the entire twelve lap final, trading the lead 5 or 6 times.  In the end Connor was able to stay in front and took the win for his first victory in the Spring series.

April 24, 2005.  First the unofficial track record set last race is now official.  Connor is the Junior 1 2 cycle track record holder at North Texas Karters with a time of 41.401 for the half mile track at Denton, Texas.  On to the latest race, Spring 3, at NTK.  Connor began the day with a slight mistake in his 3rd qualifying lap, sliding off track at the exit of turn 1, however his times in the first two laps were still good enough to put him on outside pole for the prefinal, out of ten entries.  On the start of the prefinal, Evan Brown starting third,  passed Connor for 2nd in the first turn, Connor was able to pass Evan back in Lap 3 but by that time the leader, Devin Mauk, had a lead that was too big to overcome.  Connor finished a comfortable second in the prefinal.  In the final Connor again started on outside pole, but this time held 2nd on the start and took up position on Devin's rear bumper.  The two racers battled closely the full 10 laps, with never more than three kart lengths between them and usually less.  Despite a few good attempts Connor wasn't quite able to pass for the lead and ended up finishing 2nd.  Connor's best lap time of 41.414 seconds was only 0.013 seconds slower than the track record he set the week before.  For the second week in a row, Connor ran a faster best lap than the winner, but finished 2nd.  

April 10, 2005.  Connor had another good race at the Spring 2 event at North Texas Karters.  He finished second in the final, but led about half the race and had another fantastic back and forth battle with Devin Mauk.  The two racers once again put on one of the best shows of the day at NTK.  Although finishing second, in the final lap of the race Connor set an unofficial track record of 41.40 seconds which is 0.32 seconds faster than his personal best, set only the race before. 

March 20, 2005.  Connor opened the Spring season at NTK with a second place run and his fastest times ever at the Denton, TX track.  Although Connor was running very fast he couldn't quite get the victory.  He began the day by qualifying on outside pole with a time of 42.216 only a tenth behind Devin Mauk on the pole.  In the prefinal Connor took the lead from Devin at the start of the second lap with a nice pass in Turn 1, unfortunately he lost the lead in the same spot two laps later and couldn't get it back.  Connor finished the prefinal in 2nd with a large margin over the 3rd place driver.  In the 10 kart final Connor challenged Devin for the lead early but couldn't pull off the pass.  He dropped back slightly maintaining second place comfortably throughout the race.  Connor turned in a fast lap of 41.72 in lap 4 of the 12 lap final just 0.01 slower than the official track record and a personal best for Connor.  

March 13, 2005.  Connor had an eventful weekend at the  Stars of Karting Race of the America's in Norman, Oklahoma.  During the official practice day on Friday Connor struggled with motor problems all day culminating in the need for a replacement motor to be shipped overnight for Saturday delivery at the track.  The first run on the new motor was in Saturday qualifying where Connor placed 19th fastest in the group of 38 entrants.  The prefinal on Saturday afternoon had Connor starting 10th in a group of 19 drivers.  Connor drove a conservative race maintaining 10th.  Sunday brought 25 degree colder temperatures and  a 25 mph North wind. With the two prefinal groups now combined for the final,  Connor took the green flag for the final from the 19th starting position in a field of 38 karts!  Connor drove a solid race, avoiding trouble in the early crowded laps he fell back to about 22nd. He then began picking karts off and ended up 16th at the end of the 17 lap race.  Overall considering the motor problems resulting in a lack of practice and setup time, Connor had a very good finish for his first major national event.   Cadet Final Results

March 8, 2005.  This weekend, March 11-13, Connor will be racing in the Race of the America's presented by Snap On Stars of Karting on the 7/10 mile track in Norman, Oklahoma.  The Stars of Karting is the premier national karting organization. The Race of the America's combines the best racers from the east and west regions of the United States as well as drivers from Europe and Japan.  Connor will be racing the Cadet class specification using the Comer 80cc engine.  The race will Connor's first Stars of Karting event and the first time racing the Comer.  Results through the weekend should be available at Results. 

February 27, 2005.  Connor had a good finish to the Polar Bear Series.  Connor began the day by taking the pole in qualifying, then won the prefinal and final while maintaining the lead throughout both races.  The win clinched the Polar Bear Series Championship for Connor narrowly edging out Devin Mauk for the win.  The two racers ended up with two wins and two 2nd place finishes each and Connor took the series championship based on total entries for the races he won. 

Race Results  Series Results 

February 13, 2005.  Connor won the Polar Bear 3 event at North Texas Karters with a thrilling victory over a field of ten entrants.  Connor qualified on the pole out of the ten entrants but only by a .01 second margin over Devin Mauk.  The prefinal was extremely close between Connor and  Devin,  ending with Devin taking the victory by half a kart length to setup the twelve lap final.  During the final Connor and Devin put on the best show of the day at NTK.  During the 12 laps they traded the lead 14 times!  In one single lap there were four lead changes between the two racers.  In the end Connor held on to take the victory with a thrilling outside pass on the final lap.  Video of  Polar Bear 3 Final

January 29, 2005.  At the annual awards banquet for North Texas Karters Connor received two awards.  Connor received the 3rd place trophy in the Junior One 2-cycle class and also the Junior Most Improved Driver Award.  Both awards came with significant checks, especially for a nine-year old!  The Junior Most Improved driver is quite an accomplishment.  This award is for the second year driver with the most points from all of the Junior classes, or all drivers between the ages of 8 and 15. 

January 23, 2005.  The morning for Polar Bear Two at North Texas Karters brought sunny skies and a temperature of 20 degrees.  Fortunately just like the temperature the racing action heated up as the day went on - especially for Connor.  There were eight entrants in the Junior One 2-cycle class for this race.  As scheduled the race was run backwards (clockwise) on the NTK track in Denton.  Connor began the day qualifying 2nd although with times slower than he had run in practice.  In the pre-final Connor and the pole sitter, Devin Mauk, quickly broke away from the field.  Connor had an early shot at passing going into turn 1 side by side with Devin but couldn't hold the position.  Great driving by both drivers to go through the tight corner side by side without contact.  Connor remained glued to the first place kart's bumper throughout the prefinal to finish second.  The 12 lap final started with the prefinal finishing positions, with Connor on the outside pole.  A good clean start saw Connor come out of turn 1 in second position.  Going into turn 1 on lap 2 Connor made a great pass to take the lead.  He opened up a small gap over Devin and held on for the about the next six laps, before making a small mistake in turn 2, which Devin quickly capitalized on to regain the lead.  Connor followed closely in second place until lap 11 where he was able to out brake Devin into turn 1 to briefly take the lead for the second time.  Unfortunately the inside line pushed Connor wide on the exit and Devin passed back coming out of turn 2.  Connor had one last chance on the white flag lap when Devin got loose coming out of turn 7, Connor tapped him slightly, but couldn't get around.  Connor finished the race a close 2nd. 

January 9, 2005.  Connor began 2005 with an awesome drive to finish second in the first Polar Bear race at NTK.  Connor began the day qualifying 2nd out of 11 entrants.  In the PreFinal he got caught outside on the start and dropped back to 5th and couldn't find an opportunity to pass back and improve his position throughout the heat.  The Final had Connor starting 5th - he would not be denied on the start and quickly moved up to 4th.  A great battle ensued between the 2nd through 5th place karts for the first half of the race - multiple passes made an exciting race but with about 4 laps to go in the 12 lap race Connor made his final pass to take 2nd and quickly opened up a big lead over the 3rd through 5th place challengers.  Unfortunately by then 1st place was too far out front for Connor to challenge.  Connor drove a fantastic Final and ran his fastest times of the day during the race.  Next up is the Polar Bear two event on January 23rd.  This race will be run backwards on the 9 turn, 1/2 mile track at NTK.