Pro Karting - Giebler Racing's Daughters 2nd, 3rd At SKUSA SummerNationals

GRAND JUNCTION, July 20, 2011: Phil Giebler Racing’s Mason Daughters finished second Sunday (July 17) and third Saturday (July 16) in the TaG Junior main events in the Superkarts! USA Pro Tour’s Mothers Polish SummerNationals at Grand Junction Motor Speedway.

“Mason Daughters had two podiums in a very competitive TaG Junior field,” Giebler said. “I'm extremely proud of his results. All his hard work is paying off and our development program for Level 5 Motorsports is proving to be successful. This is the beginning of a lot more to come. We have all the right ingredients and Mason is eager to learn.”

PGR also had a solid performance from Noah Grey, of Dana Point, Calif., in TaG Cadet. Grey was third Saturday and fourth Sunday in the main events. The team had main event top-10s from Joe Ruch, of Frankfort, Ind., eighth in S2 on Saturday, Andrew Wiener, of Chula Vista, Calif., ninth and Jess Peterson, of Sparks, Nev., 10th in TaG Senior on Sunday.

Daughters, of Polo, Mo., was leading Saturday on the final lapin the first heat when his FA Kart was hit from behind and knocked off the .9-mile track. Daughters salvaged seventh place. He drove up to second in the second heat and started on the outside pole for the 16-lap main. Daughters fell back early, but when his MG Tires and 125cc Vortex engine reached full race temperatures, he rallied back to finish third.

“It was a huge success for a rookie, but Sunday Mason proved it was no fluke,” Giebler, of Huntington Beach, Calif., said.

Daughters was involved in an accident on the first lap of the first heat, falling to the back of the 15-kart field. He rallied to take seventh. Daughters finished second in the second heat and started on the outside pole for the main. He took the lead on the fourth lap and held it through the 15th. Austin Dement passed him on the 16th and final lap to win by .266-second.

Ruch had difficulties early on Saturday, 28th in the first heat and 14th in the second. He was challenging for a top-five in the main when he went off the track and finished eighth. He was eighth and ninth in his heats on Sunday and was knocked out in the first corner of the main, finishing 24th.

“Joe was short on luck,” Giebler said. “He showed a lot of speed (setting the second fastest lap of the race) and it looked like a podium was in his grasp but he dropped off the track in the Saturday final. On Sunday, he was knocked out on the first corner after getting a great start.”

Wiener was also 12th in the TaG Senior main event on Saturday.

“Andrew was looking great on Sunday,” Giebler said. “He really improved all weekend and had an impressive race. He drove up to fifth in the main and had a podium finish in his sights. He was hit from behind and lost a lot of positions late in the race. Andrew did a great job and learned so much. He held his own against some of the best drivers in the country.”

Peterson was in contention for a top-five in Sunday’s TaG Senior final until his seat broke and he had to hold himself up for the remainder of the race.

PGR’s Emily Madison, of Calgary, Canada, was 14th Saturday and 13th Sunday, Rory Mackey, of Basalt, Colo., was 15th Saturday and 12th Sunday and Peterson was 21st Saturday in TaG Senior main events; Vatche Tatikian, of North Hollywood, Calif., was 14th Saturday and 14th Sunday in S4 mains; and Steve Wiener, of Chula Vista, Calif., was 15th Saturday and 13th Sunday in TaG Master mains.