Temecula – The 2023 California ProKart Challenge returns to action on the July 8-9 weekend with a trip to the Santa Maria Karting Association facility. The third round of the Superkarts! USA regional program will be held at the Santa Maria, California facility. Following two events at the Buttonwillow Raceway Park to open up the year, the California PKC program reaches the midway point with the third event to continue the 19th championship season with a perfect sunny, breezy beach climate expected for Round Three.

Two wins in the opening two rounds puts Texas driver John Burke at the top of the championship chase in the HRT Driver Development KA100 Senior class. His two Buttonwillow triumphs have him leading two-time podium finisher Ethan Lampe by 40 points, with Kane Martin in third. Keagan Kaminski has a similar record in the SpeedSense Motorsports KA100 Junior division with two wins in Buttonwillow of his own. His point lead is 124 over Ryan Giannetta with Shea Aldrich sitting third.

The Factory Karts Pro Shifter division has seen two different winners over the opening two rounds as well. Multi-time series champion Billy Musgrave won Round Two, and leads Round One victor Keawn Tandon by 80 points heading into Santa Maria. Matthew Ostiguy and Ronnie Swaim each have a victory in the Nash Motorsportz KA100 Master category on the season. Ostiguy has the most points after two rounds, leading Swaim by 10 points. Swaim does sit on top of the standings in the Empire Karts X30 Master category, winning Round One and finishing second to Tony Rossetti in Round Two. Rossetti trails by 63 points, with Robert Switzler sitting third in the championship chase heading into Santa Maria.

The battle in the SuperSpeed Bearings Mini Swift class is shaping up to go down to the wire with three drivers within 25 points after two rounds. Troy Ferguson finished runner-up in the first two events and leads the standings by five points over Round Two winner Matthew Cagle. Round One Victor McLaren Carroll is a close third. P1 Racing Engines Micro Swift class is close as well, led by Drew Jensen. The Round Two winner holds a 70-point lead over two-time podium finisher Byron Borneman, with Aidan Go a close third after two rounds of racing.

The weekend at the Santa Maria Karting Association facility will consist of a full day of practice plus qualifying on Saturday, followed by the Prefinal and Final action contested on Sunday. Race Pre-Entry remains open for the third event of the 2023 California ProKart Challenge program until the online registration deadline of Tuesday, July 4 at 11:59 pm PST. As always, a 2023 SKUSA membership is mandatory to register and compete. Complete race and venue information, along with a tentative weekend schedule, can be found at the PKC Event Page. Reserved pit spots and camping reservations are highly recommended prior to the pre-entry cutoff and can also be found online.