Snap-On Stars of Karting, Stars of Karting, Bryan Herta, Hollis Brown, A.J. Allmendinger, Scott Speed, Jeff Gordon, Kimi Raikkonen, Fernando Alonso, Juan Pablo Montoya, Bobby Wilson, Kyle Wiegand, Steve Eppard, Mark Dismore
Stars ascending
determination is addictive, and because he
expects so much of himself. Wiegand is one of
those people you only encounter every once in
awhile, who is so brutally hard on himself that
anything short of absolute excellence simply
isn’t acceptable. In the world of motorsport,
perfection means winning.
His personal drive and the chops he’d been
learning on the Stars of Karting tour recently
drew the attention of Indy Pro Series owner
Steve Eppard. Having spotted the young driver at
the New Castle Motorsports Park kart facility
owned by former IndyCar Series competitor Mark
Dismore, Eppard then watched Wiegand drive to
victory at this year’s Rock Island Grand Prix.
“The Rock Island Grand Prix has been
around for 14 years and is one of the top
karting events in the country,” says Eppard,
who grew up in the area. “Not only do a lot of
superstars of karting compete in the event, but
so do a lot of guys who are now racing cars.”
By virtue of his Rock Island win, Wiegand
42 IndyCarSeries 2007 winterspecial
Racers like Kyle
Wiegand (186)
learn racecraft in
an extremely
competitive
environment in
the Stars of
Karting series
found himself testing for Eppard’s SWE Racing
Indy Pro Series team. In one fell swoop, and
giving credence to the original vision put forth
by Herta and Brown, Wiegand went from his
45hp shifter kart to a 420hp race car.
“Kyle has been very impressive,” Eppard
says. “It started at the shop. After we finished
the seat fitting, I left for a while to take care of
some business. I came back and Kyle was still
sitting there in the car. He told me was getting
comfortable with it, visualizing driving it. He’s
a very focused and determined individual.”
Wiegand’s test was an obvious success. In
just his second stint, he shaved more than
three seconds off his lap time and was running
as quick as more experienced drivers.
“No doubt, the level of competition in the
Stars of Karting is very strong, and the
competitive environment has been good
preparation for the highest levels of racing,”
says Wiegand. “Driving a shifter kart against
some of the best racers in North America has
“Kyle is a
very
focused
individual”
Steve Eppard
been invaluable for the development of both
my mental and physical skills, both of which
will serve me well in the Indy Pro Series and
hopefully one day, the IndyCar Series.”
It was this exact scenario that had been
envisioned when the IndyCar Series began its
sponsorship of the Stars of Karting. By
supporting an environment that allows young
racers to develop their skills and catch the eyes
of professional car racing teams, the IndyCar
Series gains direct access to these karters while
providing opportunities to nurture one of the
more coveted and increasingly rare
commodities in open-wheel racing: homegrown
American talent.
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