Junior Open Wheel Talent

A couple news items surfaced today in the North American karting world. Both are worthy of mention...

Dan Wheldon, IndyCar driver, will pilot a Kartel Motorsports entry at this weekend's Stars of Karting: Eastern Division opener at Ocala, Florida. Kartel Motorsports is owned and operated by two fellow race drivers: Joey Hand and Erik Bartolero. Wheldon ran with the team at the 2008 SKUSA SuperNationals and also competed in this year's PRI All-Stars Karting Classic. He finished 26th at the SKUSA SuperNats and 13th in the PRI All-Stars Classic - (Masters Division). It's refreshing to see all of these IndyCar drivers returning to their roots, ...perhaps, dare I say it, they even find the karting ranks as much if not more competitive?

Also of note, 14-year-old American karter Gustavo Menezes placed 10th in the ultra competitive KF3 class at this year's Winter Cup in Lonato, Italy. He finished third in the 2008 Stars of Karting JICA Championship, while also running races across the pond for experience. His ultimate goal is to race in Formula One.