Fort Lauderdale, Florida – It was a weekend of speed for Team Benik in their annual trip to Las Vegas as the Florida-based program took on the temporary ROK Cup USA-designed circuit for ROK Vegas 2022. With drivers showing their speed in the Micro, Mini, and Senior ROK categories, Team Benik earned heat race wins and fast lap honors, but bad luck ripped wins and podiums from their grasps on Championship Sunday.
Tyrone Kemper Jr. earned Team Benik a podium result on the weekend as found his way to the box in the Mini ROK main event. Qualifying eighth and lining up for the main event in tenth, Kemper was a man on a mission in the fifteen-lap final as he drove forward to a third-place result.
In the Micro ROK class, a pair of Team Benik drivers were at the pointy end of the field all week long as Royce Vega and Troy Ferguson fought tooth and nail to be at the front. Vega turned a second-place result in qualifying into a pair of heat race wins as he never finished outside the top-five once wheel-to-wheel action commenced. Leading the main event all the way to the final corner on the very last lap, Vega tried to defend as another competitor attempted to force his way by. Losing momentum and positions, Royce would cross the line in fifth. Troy Ferguson had a trio of top-five results in the four heat races and drove a solid main event battling in the lead group throughout the final. Running as high as third and starting the final circuit in seventh, Ferguson took advantage of the last corner melee and slotted himself into the fourth position when the checkered flag flew.
Frankie Mossman showed speed in a pair of senior classes. In ROK Senior, Mossman earned four top-ten heat race results including a second-place finish in heat one and a win in heat four. Working his way forward in the main event, Mossman led early but contact with another competitor while battling for a podium result took him out of the race. On the ROK VLR Senior side of the program, Mossman came from the tail of the field after qualifying to line up for Championship Sunday’s main event just outside the top-ten. Again, he drove forward to lead the race, and while he crossed the line third, he was relegated back to fifth after post-race penalties.
“While we did not walk away with any wins, we did make our presence felt,” explained Nick Mitchell. “We led in Micro ROK, VLR Senior, and ROK Senior and won heats in a couple of classes. We were in contention for podiums in many, but luck was not on our side. Congrats to Tyrone for nabbing a P3 finish in Mini ROK with an excellent drive towards the front.”
Next up for Team Benik is the 2022 Superkarts! USA (SKUSA) SuperNationals next week.
Looking to add drivers to their program for the 2023 season, Team Benik has opportunities available.
Are you are interested in being part of Team Benik? For more information on the BENIK Kart or Team BENIK, please contact Nick Mitchell via e-mail to Info@Benik-Kart.com or by phone at 561.348.4406. To keep up to date with news, photos, results, and information on Team Benik, please follow them on social media by searching ‘Team Benik’.
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