Stephanie Klenotich
World Karting Association Manufacturers Cup Driver
  Stephanie Klenotich, at
fifteen years of age, is a seasoned and
accomplished kart racer. She started racing when
she was eight and has competed at the World
Karting Association National level for the last
five years. She races in the Manufacturers' Cup
Division which focuses on sprint, road-racing
events held at kart-specific tracks. Regional
series in the Midwest include the Midwest Sprint
Series and the Great Lakes Sprint Series, the
largest regional kart series in WKA.
In 1995, her first season of national
competition, Stephanie finished 4th in WKA
National Points in the Yamaha Jr. Sportsman
class, and 9th in the Briggs Jr. Sportsman class.
She was also the 1995 Midwest Sprint Series
Season Champion in Yamaha Jr. Sportsman.
|
first place in the
Nationals...
|
In 1996, Stephanie took first place at the
Manufacturers' Cup Spring Nationals and won the
Fast Time Award at Dousman, WI. That was an
exciting moment for her. She started the feature
from the fourth row and moved quickly into third
place. For several laps she and the two karts
ahead of her pulled away from the field. Making
her move on the white flag lap, Stephanie passed
those two karts for her first National victory.
That victory helped cement her second straight
Midwest Sprint Series Season Championship. She
won two of the five National Events and finished
a heart-breaking second in the final national
standings, just two points behind the leader, the
closest finish among all divisions and classes in
WKA.
After another round of successful racing in 1977,
Stephanie moved up to Junior competition, for
twelve to fifteen year olds, in 1998. The
highlight of her first season in this new class
was a first place finish at the Manufacturers'
Cup Summer Nationals. Starting from the second
row in a twenty kart field, Stephanie passed for
the lead at the start of the second lap and built
a margin of victory of over five seconds. She won
the race and the Fast Time Award. Regionally, she
finished 3rd in the Great Lakes Sprint Series in
a very competitive Yamaha Junior field.
Nationally, she was 7th in HPV and 12th in
Yamaha.
1999 was just one of those years for Stephanie.
If it could break it did. If drivers came
together, she was involved. Her most exciting
ride was in an ambulance at the last National
event. Luckily it was for a minor injury.
For this year, Stephanie has opted to move to
Senior Classes instead of remain for her last
year of eligibility in the Junior Classes. She
will continue to receive support from Horstman
Manufacturing, the leading clutch and gear
supplier to the karting industry, and receive new
support from RLV, the industry's leading exhaust
products manufacturer. She will be racing Yamaha
Lite and HPV Lite, regarded as the two most
competitive Senior classes.
Stephanie's short term goal is to become a
karting National Champion. In the long term,
however, she hopes to use the newly developed
"career ladder" events that showcase karting
talent and have given selected drivers the
opportunity to move up and on to better things.
For instance, Skip Barber and the World Karting
Association have developed a scholarship program.
Horstman and Skip Barber have host a year-end
STAART Race (Series to Advance American Racing
Talent). The WKA and Elf Fuels have an annual
invitational event where several drivers receive
a trip to France and a tryout at France's
national motorsports facility. The goal of each
of these programs is to provide further support
for drivers. Stephanie's intent is to qualify for
one or these opportunities over the next two
years.
You might think that karting and racing are
Stephanie's whole life, but you should know that
she is a high school freshman Honors Student as
well. She competes on her high school's Varsity
Cross Country Team which went to the State Finals
for the first time in 1999. She is also on the
Varsity Girls Soccer Team.
Stephanie is an 'A' student who has received a
number of academic and citizenship awards. Her
Dad also thinks she's a pretty nice person.
|
