SSC East PRI/CKI Karting All-Star Classic Driver Lineup

The Performance Racing Industry show along with Championship Karting International are pleased to announce the SSC East driver lineup for the fourth annual PRI/CKI Karting All-Stars Classic. Competing with the SSC East organization will be IndyCar NASCAR’s Jamie McMurray, up and comer Colin Braun as well as Jan Heylen and Alan Rudolph. Joining the pro guys will be Gary Carlton, Arie Ouimet, Phil De La O, Mark Pellegrini and Michael Lewis.

McMurray kicked off the 2009 season by dominating the final stages of the Budweiser Shootout but lost the lead on the final circuit to finish second. McMurray had a good Daytona Speedweeks, finishing 9th in his Gatorade Duel and ran upfront in the Daytona 500 but was eliminated from contention when he was involved in one of the races biggest crashes On November 1, McMurray won the AMP Energy 500 at Talladega Speedway after leading over 20 laps early and passing for the lead with 8 laps to go, then surviving a green-white checkered finish to earn his second restrictor-plate win. Prior to that, McMurray won the World Karting Association event at New Castle Motorsports Park in Indiana.

Competing in karts when he was younger, the now 21 year old is becoming a star in the closed wheel ranks. Competing in the ARCA ReMax Series, the Craftsman Truck Series and the Nationwide Series, Braun claimed both his first pole and victory in 2009. Braun has also competed in the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona making history by being the youngest driver ever in the series at the age of 17 and also stood on the podium at the 24 Hours of LeMans as he finished second in class.

Jan Heylen began karting in 1992 and rapidly moved through the ranks. In 2005, he was the Renault Eurocup champion and in 2002 he won the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch. Later in his career, Heylen competed in the Grand American Rolex Series where he raced in the 24 Hours of Daytona and well as the Champ Car World Series. Heylen is another returning driver to the PRI event and will look to battle with some of the world’s best.

Alan Rudolph will make his first career PRI All-Star Classic start as he will do battle in the All-Star division. Known as one of the most decorated karters of all time, Rudolph has been seen around the track in 2009 tuning and providing up and coming drivers with some valuable coaching. The Vice President at the Bondurant School of High Performance Driving will enter the All-Star class due to his participation in the 2003 Petit Le Mans in the Prototype class.

“The SSC East squad has a stellar lineup as they have in all previous events,” expressed CKI’s Kevin Williams. “SSC always comes to this event looking to win and they are doing the same this year. It is going to be good to see Alan back in a kart battling with some of the world’s best.”

“SSC East has been at every PRI event since its inception and we are excited how the races have progressed with each passing year,” stated SSC East’s Dave Davies. “This is a very important event for us and we look forward to it every year. This year is no exception and with nine confirmed drivers, SSC East and CRG will look to sweep the podium.”

Joining the All-Stars will be karters Gary Carlton, Michael Lewis and Arie Ouimet. To karters, Carlton needs no introduction as the multi-time race winner and national champion will look to control the TaG ranks. Ouimet is part of the SSC program and has competed overseas at the Rotax World Finals as well as was this year’s CKI Karting KF2 National champion. Lewis will be back again at the PRI show looking to finish in the results and transfer to the big show where he and five other karters will compete against today’s stars. Also competing with SSC East will be young hot shoe Phil De La O who has been seen at the front of almost every junior event in 2009. De La O will utilize the PRI show as his first senior start as 2010 will see him move up in classes. Also, joining the aforementioned karters will be Mark Pellegrini

More information on the SSC East and the CRG of chassis can be found at http://www.SSCEast.com

The PRI/CKI Karting All-Star Classic will be televised nationally on Fox Sports Net affiliation of cable networks.  Both the Karter and All-Star Divisions of the race will have their own dedicated half-hour broadcasts that will air in a minimum of 86 million households. Last year’s PRI event, with re-air dates, was viewed in more then 700,000 households helping bring karting to the mainstream media. The Karter division from the 2009 event will air on Monday January 11th,  2010 at 4:30pm local time while the All-Star division will be broadcast on Monday January 18th, 2010 at 4:30pm.

The 2009 PRI/CKI Karting All-Stars Classic will take place at the annual Performance Racing Industry trade show in Orlando, Florida. With the event taking place on the evening of Thursday, December 10th, Fox will be in attendance producing an hour long broadcast bringing karting to the mainstream medium of television early in 2010.

Stay tuned to http://www.championshipkartracing.com for up-to-date information, photos and results.  The PRI show is held at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida from December 10th – 12th with the PRI/CKI Karting All-Stars Classic taking place on the evening of December 10th.  Admission to the event is free for PRI attendees and exhibitors with PRI show credentials.