ROCK ISLAND, ILLINOIS — Tony Neilson added two more Rock trophies to his collection, Scott “Skitchy” Barnes took four more home to Bermuda, and racers clocked some of the most competitive finishes in recent history at the 30th annual Xtream Rock Island Grand Prix August 30-31.
The two wins by Neilson, of Iowa, left him tied with Gary Lawson for the most career wins at the Rock Island street race with 28 each. Barnes became the second foreign driver to win the coveted King of The Streets title and the first since Remo Ruscitti of Canada in 2016. Barnes’ four wins put him in third place overall with 14 career wins. In the King’s heat race, he led Illinois’ Lance Lane and Aiden Liber from Missouri by less than a second, but Lane, Liber and Dawson Tenk from Missouri were unable to go in the final. Barnes also won the Open Shifter race with Brian Wake in second and Jacob Tenk in third.
King of the Streets Skitchy Barnes
Wisconsin’s T.J. Nevels took home the 100cc King of The Rock title and his first Grand Prix win when Talan Drake of North Carolina lost his chain on the last lap, finishing second with no power. Joe Adler of Wisconsin was third. Connor Lund of Illinois became the fifth different winner of the King of The Rock Briggs 206 race, leading the entire race but only beating Justin Wishard by .089 of a second.
“This year found the Grand Prix challenged by issues including losing sponsors, racers and some downtown business concerns about a declining economy, as well as the number of competing national karting events,” said Roger Ruthhart of the Grand Prix. “Our amazing committee members did a great job addressing a number of unsuspected issues, and we did welcome a number of new racers as well.”
100cc King of the Rock T.J. Nevels
In order to encourage participation, the Grand Prix ran the most classes it has ever offered, eliminated the use of LeMans-style starts. There were no crashes on the starts and the decision went well with drivers. The Grand Prix also offered a Bring a Friend promotion, where your entry was free if you brought another racer who had not raced at Rock Island before. Racers also got to compete on newly repaved streets over much of the course. Joseph Rapp said it’s the first time he remembers racing at Rock Island and not getting sore ribs. The race also eliminated the need to purchase spec tires from the Grand Prix, and organizers treated racers and race fans to the popular “Come For The Races, Stay For The Party” promotion, featuring a free Saturday night concert by The Blooze Brothers, an 11-piece national tribute band, that drew great reviews.
“In addition, we had the most detailed and aggressive social media campaign we have ever offered, and a local TV partner will soon air a one-hour TV special about the race, which is unheard of in kart racing. Yet the race ended up with only 175 race entries – the lowest in history,” said Ruthhart. “Clearly, we have to look at other options for the next 30 years. If the racers and sponsors aren’t going to support the event, finances will determine the future for us.”
The opening race of the Sunday schedule was the Travis DeVriendt Memorial Briggs Heavy class, which annually remembers a local racer and Rock Island winner who died of suicide. This year’s race was the first of the weekend won by Tony Neilson after a battle with Connor Lund until the last lap when Lund slipped to third and Joesph Rapp took second.
Briggs King of the Rock Connor Lund
Rock Island also marked the third and final stop in the Margay’s Ignite Grand Prix Cup Series Presented by Skip Barber Racing School. In Margay Ignite Senior 1, Tony Neilson added to his win total, edging Justin Vancil by just .119 of a second. Ashton Wheeler was third. Talan Drake took the Ignite Senior 2 class by just .085 with Vancil and Wheeler again in second and third. Ignite Masters was won by Skitchy Barnes, with the top 5 finishers less than one second apart. Neilson took second by .051, and Vancil was just .078 back in third in a three-wide finish.
This year’s event was also marked by many other close finishes. In Briggs Masters, Tony Neilson led much of the race, but in the final corner, Jeremiah Davis made an inside pass and went wide into the barriers. At the finish line, Jeff Dolian of Texas beat Illinois’ Andrew Coulter by .055 of a second, with Neilson in third.
This year also saw a change in the schedule with two Briggs classes moved to the end of Saturday’s Heat Races, to take some pressure off drivers running multiple classes on Sunday. The move seemed to go over well with racers. The Briggs 206 Heavy 2 race was lead most of the way by Justin Wishard, but on the last lap Joseph Rapp gained the lead and crossed the line with his first Rock Island win with Jeff Dolian just .074 of a second behind and Lund in third. Rapp also added second and third-place finishes on the weekend. The Briggs 206 Medium 2 event followed, and Justin Wishard, who won the heat race, led for all 15 laps, beating Riley Scott by just one second.
Riley Scott presses for position in the Ignite Senior race
Neilson missed his last shot at taking the all-time lead in total wins in Briggs Light. Justin Wishard led all 15 laps, and Neilson finished second just .229 of a second back, and Joseph Rapp was third.
Rock Island also again ran three Vintage kart classes with Josh Fisher winning Vintage Open ahead of Aaron Kruger, and Randy Duncalf of Illinois taking Vintage Mac over Wisconsin’s Daniel Reinbold. Brad Nicholson of Missouri won the Vintage Yamaha race, edging James Hof of Oklahoma by just .226 of a second. Felicity Kruger was third.
It was also the first appearance at Rock Island for the Margay Ignite 100cc Senior and Masters programs. In the Senior class, Barnes and Liber exchanged the lead throughout the race with Liber slipping by at the end to win his first Rock Island race. Barnes was second, just .104 behind, and Jimmy Jones of California was third. The Ignite 100cc Masters was won by Barnes with Robert Lynn in second and Mikel Henderson of Missouri third.