Ferralloy, Inc., along with our sponsors, begins the second year of the World Karting Association competition. This year the races entered will be in the Great Lakes Sprint Series which is a regional series sanctioned by the World Karting Association. Steven Habansky, 10 years old, will be competing in two classes – Briggs Junior Sportsman 1 Lite and Briggs Junior Sportsman 1 Heavy.

The series is comprised of five races in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Michigan. In addition, national races are scheduled for Florida, Ohio, Wisconsin and North Carolina.

A link to the GLSS website is provided for access to the points standings. We will update this page as information becomes available.

Updates

December 20, 2005 Ferralloy, Inc. announces sponsorship commitment
Ferralloy, Inc. is pleased to announce its commitment to serve as the Major sponsor of the Great Lakes Sprint Series for the 2006 season. We are looking forward to another competitive series of racing throughout the year beginning in New Castle, Indiana in the spring.

Steven Habansky, Ferralloy’s driver, will be moving up to the Briggs Junior Sportsman 2 Classes of both Lite & Heavy. The fields will be larger and the racing even more competitive!

November 12, 2005 Great Lakes Sprint Series Banquet
Saturday evening proved to be a fun night with most all competitors in attendance.

Steven Habansky claimed his awards for 3rd place in both the Lite and Heavy Classes! In addition some very nice door prizes were brought back home as well.

Many thanks to all of the volunteers who contributed generously with their time to a great racing season! See you in 2006!

November 03 – November 06, 2005 – Lowes Motorspeedway – Charlotte, North Carolina Nationals
Charlotte, North Carolina was the site of Steven’s first National Race. Prior to arriving at the Lowes Motorspeedway we had the privilege of having a tour of Penske South in Mooresville, North Carolina. This town is NASCAR Central. All of the major NASCAR race teams are based here. Mr. Gary Brooks, a high school friend of Steven’s father, is the Operation’s Manager of the team that owns the Miller Lite – Rusty Wallace, Alltel – Ryan Newman and Kodak – Travis Vuapil cars. We were given a private tour of the complete facility there! This was a real treat!

After the trip to the Penske facility we drove to Lowes Motorspeedway and set up shop in the infield. Practice began Thursday and ran through Friday. Drivers from all over the country were in attendance and it was very exciting. Each of Stevens’s two classes had more than 24 karts racing. The event was very well organized and the competition was very good. Saturday Steven finished 7th out of 26 karts! For Steven’s first National event we were all very happy!

Sunday saw another competitive race however the tight packs made getting around the karts in front a challenge. Toward the end of the race a crash took place in front of Steven and with nowhere to go but the infield he lost some ground. After starting in 11th place he now found himself in 17th. Not one to throw in the towel, Steven charged on and caught the 12 place kart but was unsuccessful in getting by the driver who seemed determined to prevent losing his top 10 position. Down the final straightaway they went with Steven finally pushing his nemesis across the finish line for a respectable 11th place finish!

A great weekend with plenty of memories was had by all! We are looking forward to 2006!

August 26 – August 28, 2005 – New Castle, Indiana Regional
New Castle is the final race on the 2005 Great Lakes Sprint Series schedule. This track is the longest of the series and is a 1.5 mile road course. The facility is top notch and practice began as usual on Friday. After a full day of practicing and Steven getting familiar with the track we looked forward to two days of racing. Saturday’s Lite Class culminated with a third place as we had some difficulty staying tuned to the changing track temperatures. Sunday was a day for an engine change and the realization that a basic tuning issue was required. Steven was competitive in the morning’s practice session and after the engine change and tuning adjustments we were ready for a great race. As the karts were heading to the grid the final checks were made except one that was the most unforgivable by his pit crew. Steven was on the inside second row, third place. The race began and Steven immediately jumped into second place and after getting around this competitor was chasing down the first place kart. One half way around the track he later told us he felt the engine losing power. As he came down the long straightaway he ran out of fuel! His crew chief neglected to fill the tank with the alcohol. Steven was out of the race and needless to say was not very happy with his supporting crew. It was a terrible feeling but a lesson was learned the hard way. Last place is hard to take.

July 22 – July 24, 2005 – East Lansing, Michigan Regional
The weekend began with practice on Friday and getting familiar with another new track. Intermittent rain on Saturday and torrential rain on Sunday morning required a switch to rain tires. By the time qualifying began both days; the sun came out and dried out the track. Saturday was a good day and Steven took third in the Lite Class. Sunday was a tough day. After getting the chassis setup dialed in and qualifying 2nd, the expectations for a high finish were high. Unfortunately half way through the first lap a group of karts collected on the back chute and coming out of the 6th turn Steven had a fellow competitor drive up onto the rear of his kart and the two karts became locked. As the field went by a corner worker eventually separated the two karts but it was too late to catch the field. A sixth place finish was very disappointing. On to New Castle, IN in August!

Past Ferralloy Motorsports Updates

World Karting Association

Thanks to our generous sponsors who helped make this race team possible:

A special thank you to Gary Lawson of Mentor on the Lake, Ohio who built and set up the kart after acquiring the engine, chassis, and related components. Gary , a WKA national champion , is providing personal instruction to Steven to ensure his safety and competitiveness. We greatly appreciate his interest and commitment to this effort!