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The Route 66 Sprint Series gathered at T.J. and the Team's home circuit of Badger Raceway in Dousman, WI this past weekend to battle it out in round 2 of the regional series. T.J. and the Team were in attendance to take part in the TaG and Parilla Leopard classes. Several other high-caliber TaG drivers were on hand to do battle too, making this event great preparation for upcoming national races.

Friday practice yielded less-than-stellar results for the Team as Koyen struggled for pace with chassis adjustments providing little change in the kart's handling. After diagnosing the problem as T.J.'s driving style not suiting the TaG engine package, the Merlin pilot buckled down and reinvented his technique.

Saturday morning's several practice sessions revealed that T.J.'s driving changes were working. As the sessions wore down, Koyen picked up more and more time, eventually clocking some of the best laps in the class. In qualifying, Koyen was able to grab the 4th position. The outside row is traditionally difficult to defend from however, this proved to be the opposite for Koyen in the pre-final as he jumped to P3 on lap one and was able to steal the P1 position away from WKA Manufacturer's Cup driver Jacob Sekey (PCR/Sonik) in the closing laps. T.J. narrowly held onto the position at the checkered and would start from P1 for the final.

The final started off rough as Sekey darted past Koyen on the starting lap and made a small gap. Koyen was able to reel the PCR pilot back in however, and wrestle the position back with a few laps remaining. T.J.'s Merlin/Parilla machine cruised from that point on, handily winning with a 1.5 second margin.

On a high from the previous day, T.J. was able to set quick times in the opening practice for Sunday's action and in qualifying, grabbed the pole position by 0.2 over P2. The pre-final proved to be a bit of a challenge as teammate Jamie Sieracki (Merlin/Parilla) jumped to the inside at the start as Dillon Kranz (Storm/Parilla) pinched Koyen from the outside, allowing both karts by, placing T.J. 3rd into the second corner. Koyen was able to work past Kranz again on lap 3 and set his sights on Sieracki. However, T.J. was only able to get to his teammate's bumper at the line and had to settle for 2nd.

Determined to not let his competitors get the better of him on the start again, Koyen pounced as soon as the green dropped and was able to get into P1 ahead of Sieracki by the first corner. Koyen was able to open a small gap by the halfway point, but with the crossed-flags showing, Sieracki began his charge. With Koyen's kart handling fading, Sieracki was able to close the gap to the other Parilla-powered Merlin and put pressure on Koyen for P1. However, T.J. defended handily and was able to keep his mentor at bay in the closing laps to come away with his second win of the weekend.

The stiff competition of the weekend and grippy track conditions provided plenty of valuable testing for upcoming TaG ventures. The team now feels much more confident in their TaG program and continues to look forward to the WKA Manufacturer's Cup race at The Briggs and Stratton Motorplex in July where they can put their new-found knowledge to use. However, next on the calendar is the prestigious 2nd Annual Komet Throwdown which takes place July 3rd during the Midwest Sprint Series event at The Briggs and Stratton Motorplex. The coveted "Sword Trophy", a cash prize, and bragging rights are on the line for this event and it is one the Team is truly looking forward to.