Inaugural Inverness Grand Prix 2011

10/16/2012

In November of 2011 we had the Inaugural Inverness Grand Prix and our little town was lucky enough to host some very talented drivers! In the weeks leading up to the 2012 IGP we would like showcase some of the drivers from last year.

Jesse Gröse has been racing for five years. He is a team driver for P.D.B Racing Team America in the only Dutch-made Kart, the Gillard. Jessie is sponsored by E3 Spark Plugs and has a total of five career podiums with two wins.

-Started racing in Karts in 2009
-(2009)4th in points for Easykart 125 Light Florida Championship
-(2010)First season in TaG Sr.
-(2010)First win and Pole position scored with P.D.B. Racing Team America in KF2 class of Florida Karting Championship Series.
-(2011)First official full season with P.D.B. Racing team America in Florida karting Championship Series TaG Sr. class finishing 9th in points out of 40+ drivers.
-(2011) 3rd place at Inverness Grand Prix in TaG Sr.
-(2012)9th in Florida Karting Championship Series TaG Sr. class out of 40+ drivers.

Jessie is looking forward to the 2012 Inverness GP. Cheer him on! Be there! On the square!

09/27/2012

Today's 2011 IGP racer profile is a local racer - Greg Mroz. Greg has been racing with the Affordable Karting Club for four years now. He started out racing in different karts here and there, and in the mean time working on a ranch. He has always had an obsession for John Deere and had the idea to make a John Deere go kart. So piece by piece he got it together and is now racing the John Deere 37 go kart. (37 because John Deere started in 1837) He got this kart together for last years GP and placed second in his class. He is very excited for 2012 IGP, come on down on November 17th and cheer him on!

The Affordable Karting Club is the local kart group that runs on the Citrus Speedway practice nights. If you are looking for an affordable and approachable way to get involved in karting they have a great formula.

09/25/2012

Things are heating up for the 2012 Inverness GP! To catch all the latest news and tips be sure to like the main Inverness Grand Prix page - https://www.facebook.com/InvernessGP

09/22/2012

How karting saved my life - by Michael Sachs

Today's profile is on a racer who has been racing for 6 years and was the 2007 NKCS Tag Master Track Champ in Jacksonville. His story is from the 2011 Inverness GP and it is a story that everyone from this town should hear!

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First let me just say how wonderful it is to still be alive. Second let me thank my best friend Mark Thomas, for playing such a large part in saving my life. I am telling this story to maybe help save a life.

It was a perfect day for racing in central Florida. Mark and I were in Inverness Florida for their First Annual Street Race. We had never been to a street race and had no idea what to expect, but I was jacked up to say the least. This was going to be a blast.
About 10:00am I went out on the track for a practice run. After I came in I spoke to Mark about a manhole cover that he needed to watch out for. I then pushed my kart back to the pits and returned to track side to watch Mark. This is where my memory goes blank until about 3:00pm when I woke up in the ICU of Citrus Memorial Hospital with my wonderful wife and family by my side.

After Mark loaded up his kart we started back to the pits. About half way back (I was told) I put my hands up against the side of my head, dropped to my knees and fell over unconscious. I then went into some kind a seizure, my eyes rolled back in my head, I quit breathing and my heart stopped.

I was in SCA (Sudden Cardiac Arrest). Sudden cardiac arrest has a 2% survival rate. That’s right 98% of the time it is fatal! (Sudden cardiac arrest is a sudden loss of the electrical signal that makes the heart beat. IT IS NOT A HEART ATTACK and there is no damage to the heart muscle.) Within seconds Mark was doing chest compressions. Almost immediately the EMT’s arrived and loaded me in the ambulance. Now with the use of a defibrillator they began to try and restart my heart. After successfully restarting my heart we headed to the hospital, where I under went a heart catheterization. Two 90% blockages were found in my Right Coronary Artery. A stent was installed in each blockage to hold the artery open. My potassium level was 2 which is almost non existent and my cholesterol was a mere 165.

So what caused this?. The low potassium level can cause electrical problems, but they just don’t know for sure. I have been wearing an external heart monitor/defibrillator ever since and will be getting an internal defibrillator put in my upper left chest before the end of the month as a precaution incase it ever happens again. What a crazy ride, no warning of any kind and I have always been in good health and I have a physical every year. I was released from the hospital two days later. It will be about 2 months before I can lead a normal life including racing. A special thanks to all my friends and family for their support.

Thank GOD I was racing my go kart. My freind Mark knew CPR, the EMT's were on site , and the Hospital was accross the street. A perfect recipe for my second chance at life. In any other situation I would have been dead before the ambulance could get to me. THAT'S HOW KARTING SAVED MY LIFE!
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Mr Sachs is doing well, is back to racing, and is looking forward to competing in the 2012 Inverness Grand Prix. Come on out on November 17th and root for him.

09/20/2012

There is no shortage of examples of high quality talents that graced our streets in the 2011 IGP. Today's driver profile is on Mr. Daniel Pingston who has a very impressive driver resume!

Started karting in 1991 at age 9 racing in 4-cycle junior at Speedway Park against drivers up to 16 years old. Finished 4th in the championship.

1992 and 1993- Speedway Park 4-cycle junior champion

1994 - Speedway Park 4-cycle junior vice champion - 10th in Junior Restricted in the Florida State Championship

1995 - Speedway Park Stock Medium champion - 4th in Junior Non-Restricted in the Florida State Championship

1996 - Moved to Open Wheel Modified. Finished 4th in the championship points and won rookie of the year at Ocala Speedway

1997 - Ocala Speedway Open Wheel Modified points champion

1998 - Started the year running the Ho***rs Cup modified division and was leading the rookie of the year standings but moved to Super Late Models in the summer of 1998.

Ran all over the state in the Super Late Model gaining experience at different tracks, but did not run for a track championship anywhere.

1999 - Graduated high school and started college. Put all racing on hold.

2004 - Graduated for the University of Florida with a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration

2010 - Started to get the racing bug and entered an endurance race with my dad for my birthday in the "semi-pro" division. Won the division and started looking to get back into racing

June of 2010 - bought a used tag kart and entered the FKCS Tag Heavy race in Jacksonville. Struggled that day but learned a lot. Had a DNF that race

End of 2010 - Finished 3rd at the Monticello FKCS race in Tag Heavy and 2nd in the combined Tag Heavy/Masters Charity race at Ocala Gran Prix

2011 - Won the Tag Heavy Florida Karting Championship Series. Finished 4th overall at the Inaugural Inverness Gran Prix

Spring 2012 - Ocala Gran Prix Tag Masters Vice Champion

09/16/2012

Kenner Brown is quickly becoming known in the racing world as a force to be reckoned with! He show Inverness his talent last year by winning the Clone class. Will he do it again this year?

He has ten karting champoinchips to his credit including the 2009 SECKS rookie of the year, 2008 5th in national WKA Gold cup points, and 2007 6th & 7th in WKA Gold Cup points.

There will be lots of great competition in the Clone class this year, come check it out on November 17, and keep up with all the latest news on the GP at the main Inverness GP site - https://www.facebook.com/InvernessGP

09/13/2012

09/13/2012

The second driver profile in our Inverness Grand Prix series is Akela Pacitto. Be sure to look for this future super star at the 2012 IGP on November 17!

At just 5 years old, Akela Pacitto was the youngest driver to compete in the 2011 Inverness Grand Prix. She finished 2nd in the Kid Kart class, which uses 50cc 2 stroke motors to run at speeds of up to 38 mph. Her age and bold kart graphics made her a clear crowd favorite.

Akela started racing karts two years ago at the age of 4-1/2. During that time she has competed in the statewide Florida Karting Championship Series as well as the local racing series at West Coast Karting in Immokalee and Race Complex in Fort Myers.

Ask Akela which track is her favorite and she’ll be quick to reply “The one with the hay bales” (i.e., Inverness). She is very excited for the 2012 IGP and will be sporting even bolder and pinker (if you can believe it) graphics on her kart this year.

09/08/2012

In November of 2011 we had the Inaugural Inverness Grand Prix and our little town was lucky enough to host some very talented drivers! In the weeks leading up to the 2012 IGP I would like showcase some of the drivers from last year.

Our first profile is from a dynamic young man named Cody Johnson who is currently doing a great job running a Sportsman Stock car at Citrus speedway, but has been in racing for more than 7 years with a very impressive career that is just getting started.

Photo provided by Mark Sims Photography


Cody Johnson Racing Resume

Started racing karts in 2005 at age 12

Rotax North Florida Series 2006 3rd in championship

Ocala Gran Prix 2006 HPV track Championship

Ocala Gran Prix 2006 Rotax Jr track Championship

Ocala Gran Prix 2007 SuperCan Track Championship

WKA FKCS 2008 Supercan state Championship

2009 move to Legend cars

2010 Transitioned into full bodied stock cars earning 2010 New Smyrna Speedway Best Appearing Car and 2010 Citrus county Speedway Rookie of the year

2011 Moved to the Limited Late model/Sportsman ranks at Citrus county speedway Finishing 14th in points running limited schedule

2012 Currently Running a full season at Citrus County Speedway



If you are a Inverness GP driver from 2011 who would like to be featured on this FB page please send a pic and info to [email protected]

11/21/2011

Thank you FaceBook! As of November 19th (the day of the Grand Prix) we had 40,150 post views. That is a heck of a lot of exposure for a local event, and we are here to build on it for next year!

11/20/2011

We got a great write-up in this mornings paper! Thank you again to everyone involved, From Racer to Spectator, from promoter to corner crew, photographers and hay slingers! You all made this a really great day!

Shemir Wiles Staff Writer INVERNESS — The deafening sounds of go-kart engines tearing up the asphalt broke the early morning silence Saturday in downtown Inverness as spectators gathered to watch the inaugural Inverness Grand Prix. The curvaceous course took drivers on a high-speed journey along ...

11/19/2011

Thank you everyone for a fantastic day!!!!!!!! The Grand Prix was a blast! A big thank you goes out to the city of Inverness and to all the wonderful sponsors that made this happen.