Redemption And Perfect Timing – Burns And Kitzmiller Split Wins At Carteret

What started as a beautiful day at one of the nicest short tracks in America, Carteret County Speedway, soon turned into a soggy affair nearing the early hours of the morning.

Carteret superstar Chris Burns took over Bob Schacht’s # 75 machine after the # 57 blew a motor during practice. It was no problem for Burns, as he took the ChaLew Performance LLC Pole Award with a scorching time of 17.371 seconds. Marc Jones returns to the series along with another visit from “Super” Dave Hutchinson. After the top six redraw, Mike Kurkowski led the field to green in search of his second career GNSS victory. However, it wouldn’t take long for the Scott Bloomquist memorial tribute machine driven by AJ Henriksen to take the lead. With an average finish of 2.67 at the Swansboro 3/8ths mile track, Henriksen was in prime position to end his winless streak. But much to his chagrin, Burnss experience started to shine, assuming the top position and never looking back, winning his first career GNSS race along with the Howe Racing Enterprises Hard Charger Award in honor of Kevin Kromer. Jason Kitzmiller came through to finish second, Henriksen settled for third, points leader Jeremy Mayfield crossed the line fourth, and Kurkowski would ultimately secure fifth.

The second race could only be described as topsy-turvy. Perennial veteran Larry Wilcox had the pleasure of leading the field to green with Henriksen alongside. After four attempts at the initial start and moving Wilcox near the rear, the field finally got going with Mayfield now the lead racer. The fans were soon treated to an absolute treat, with Mayfield, Burns, and Kitzmiller all within striking distance of the win. Kitzmiller and Burns kicked Mayfield to third, as Burns looked for every which way to get around Kitzmiller. As Burns continued to dance in Mayfield’s mirror, a sudden storm came through, completely soaking the track. The adverse conditions caused Mayfield to spin in third while Lauren Butler spun into the tire barrier, causing major damage to her machine and barricading her pivotal points chase. Due to both the downpour and curfew, the race was called then and there, with Kitzmiller grabbing his tenth win of the year.

Burns came up just short of the sweep in second, Henriksen grabbed another third, Mayfield finishes fourth, and Wilcox gets a much needed top five in fifth. Not only does Kitzmiller win the race, he also takes the second Howe Racing Enterprises Hard Charger Award.

We’ll see you all on October 12th as we crown our 2024 champion at fast Dominion Raceway in Virginia!