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September 24, 2012 - Jens Claims Another Grand National Title in WKA Action.

At the last round of the World Karting Association’s Manufacturer’s Cup Series, which is the Grand National event, Joel Jens was able to come home with the victory in the Komet Junior Light class. Having been a powerhouse all weekend in the junior classifications, Joel Jens came away with finishes of 3rd or better in all of his classes of participation. Jens was the best overall junior driver for the weekend, having an average finish of 2nd in all four classes. This amazing achievement helped TonyKart leap to the top of the Ekartingnews chassis standings. “I am happy with my win and overall fantastic results and the chance to help my chassis brand climb to the top” commented Joel afterwards.
The last round of the WKA series was contested at the New Castle Motorsports Park in New Castle Indiana. This event would be Joel’s last National event as a junior competiton in his career. Having just come off a successful test event the weekend prior, Joel and his Joel Jens Racing Team were looking to dominate the event and bring home wins, as the chances of National titles were mostly out of reach. Friday would see Joel pilot his TonyKart Racer EVRR chassis powered by Switch Racing Engines in several rounds of practice, as half the day was wasted by rain showers. In Yamaha practice Joel was in his usual position as a front runner and deemed a threat to be the best challenger of the weekend by his competitors. This put Joel and his team in good spirits, but the best was yet to come. In Komet practice, Joel would set the paddock and competitors talking about how much he was in a league of his own. Joel would end the day with everyone shaking their heads as he was clearly a second faster a lap than any of his challengers.
Saturday’s events would find Joel in the seat of his TonyKart #35 in Komet Junior Heavy and Yamaha Junior Light. After qualifying up front and racing up front in the Pre-Finals, the outcome of both finals would be affected by contact at the last turn. This would relegate Joel to 2nd place finishes in both classes. This type of finish for the top racers of the country being placed in sitsuations of contact to determine the outcome of the races is a shame, hopefully the organization looks at correcting this for the future. Sunday’s events would see Joel once again qualify up front and also obtain his second pole of the weekend and securing an unofficial track record for the Komet Junior Division. In preliminary completion Joel would dominate the Komet class by winning it and also run up front in the Yamaha division. In the Finals, once again contact in the last turn would affect the finish of Joel’s race, as he would finish second. The finished was reversed by the officials, giving the win and Grand National Championship to Joel after they reviewed the race. For Joel’s last class of his junior career, a miscalculation to the setup for the kart would leave Joel struggling on track and unable to challenge for the lead and in a 3rd place finish, the lowest of his weekend. Not too shabby and what most racers would be happy with. After all points were tabulated Joel would finish the year 2nd in points in two classes and 3rd in points in 2 classes. Having come to the final event with the goal to win races and not worry about point outcomes, it was a welcome reward to have improved greatly in the standings in one race. For those that tried to de-rail one of the best junior racers in the country, the results speak for themselves over the past two years. Joel Jens leaves the junior ranks as one of the best, a Triple Crown Champion and a multi time Grand National Champion.

Next up is an endurance race back in New Castle for the RoboPong 200, as well as a special Yamaha money race at the same event. Following that Joel will depart for France with a special invitation to compete in the IAME world challenge race in Lyon at Circuit Actua and then on to the SKUSA SuperNats in Las Vegas in November.
All of these accomplishments could not have been achieved without the countless efforts and support of many. TonyKart, Switch Racing Engines, OTK USA, L&T Clutches, Verde Speed Resources, GO Designs, Tiffin Willareth, Vic and Jason Matuszewski, WOMT Manitowoc radio, Green Stone Farm Credit, Bank First National, Indocil Helmet Art, Stocks Harley Davidson, Friends and Family, TA Motorsports, Grand Products Inc., Bridgestone, and Haddock Ltd are all sponsors and supporters that Joel Jens Racing would like to thank.

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