Eric Suminski Racing -- Racing History

2000

What a season! 2000 has been our most fun year of racing go-karts so far. We competed in Yamaha Heavy at Badger Kart Club. The competition was extremely stiff and the racing was rough and tough, but we were able to accumulate 13 top 5's out of 15 competition events. We had two wins and led the points for a majority of the season. As the season worked out, we dropped to 2^nd in points, but it was still a season to be proud of. Not only did we race the Bridgestone Points Series at Badger, but we competed in the Midwest Sprint Series race, the Great Lakes Sprint Series race, and the WKA Manufacturer's Cup race that attended BKC. We had an exciting time at the Midwest Sprint Series and Manufacturer's Cup races posting decent finishes, along with learning even more about our equipment on the newly repaved Badger racetrack. However, the highlight for our season came at the Great Lakes Sprint Series race when we won the feature events in 100cc Senior Heavy and HPV Heavy. This was our first double-feature win at any race. To top off the year, on an educational note, I was awarded the Howard Memorial Scholarship given by the Howard Family of Badger Kart Club. I would like to thank them for their generosity.
Season Points
2^nd - Yamaha Heavy (Bridgestone Points Series at Badger)

1999

1999 proved to be a learning year for us. We went from racing 4-cycle Briggs engines to racing faster 100cc 2-cycle engines. We purchased a new PCR chassis and a Yamaha and HPV motor and jumped right in. The competition level in the new classes I raced, Yamaha Senior and HPV Senior, seemed to be more than I had ever experienced. We raced most of the races in the WKA Manufacturer's Cup Series, the Great Lakes Sprint Series, and the Midwest Sprint Series. We began the year with a bad head-on collision at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte, NC. This was not a good start. After many bangs and bumps, things gradually began to improve. By the middle of the season, we learned a lot about our new equipment and posted many finishes in the top five and top ten. Our highlight for the season came at Norway Speedway for the Manufacturer's Cup Series. This race was one of the biggest races of the year and attracted racers from many states. We finished in 5^th place for both of the classes we raced which both had 24 karts or more. We ended the year with four top ten finishes in the points standings out of the six classes we competed in. For my first year in this type of kart racing, I raced against many national champions with considerably more years of experience than I had. We were recognized for our exceptional effort in 1999 by receiving the award for Most Improved Senior Driver in the Midwest Sprint Series. We also qualified as one of 45 drivers in the nation to attend the Horstman HPV Pro Invitational/S.T.A.A.R.T. Runoffs held in Las Vegas, NV, but were unable to make it.
Season Points
2^nd - Yamaha Heavy (Midwest Sprint Series)
5^th - HPV Senior (Midwest Sprint Series)
6^th - HPV Heavy (Manufacturer's Cup Series)
7^th - 100cc Senior Heavy (Great Lakes Sprint Series, only competed in 4 of 6 events)
11^th - Yamaha Heavy (Manufacturer's Cup Series, only was counted for 2 of 3 races in the points standings because of Charlotte crash)

1998

1998 was the first year we competed in the senior ranks. We stepped up to race the 4-cycle Briggs Heavy class in the Midwest Sprint Series and the WKA Manufacturer's Cup Series. We started the year off on a new Coyote WideTrack LE. We raced in the top five for the first few races and then eventually settled into mid-pack for the remainder of the season. We were a contender to win a couple of races and even finished 2^nd, showing up at the race track at six in the morning on race day with no practice. We had a strong showing for the Manufacturer's Cup race at Badger, where we placed a tough 3^rd. All in all, the season turned out to be fairly decent and I learned a lot about driving technique and was to improve on it for the next season.
Season Points
6^th - Briggs Heavy (Midwest Sprint Series)
8^th - Briggs Heavy (Manufacturer's Cup Series, only had 3 finishes to post for the points standings which included best 4 finishes)

1997

1997 was the first full season we raced in the Midwest Sprint Series. We began the year with two new Invader chassis. I competed in 4-cycle Jr. Stock, where I raced in the top five for most of the season. I won the first feature race of the season in the rain at Springfield, Il. We also attended the WKA Gold Cup Series race at Charlotte, NC, which proved to be a learning experience, and the Manufacturer's Cup Series race that visited Badger.
Season Points
3^rd - 4-cycle Jr. Stock (Midwest Sprint Series)

1996

In 1996, we raced the full series at Badger Raceway in Jr. Briggs. This was our second year racing the entire series at Badger. We competed in the top ten for the majority of the season and won a few heat races. We finished in the top ten in points out of over 20 drivers. We also competed in most of the Midwest Sprint Series races for our first year and had two feature finishes in the top five.
Season Points
5^th - 4-cycle Jr. Stock (Midwest Sprint Series, only had 3 finishes to post for the points standings which included best 4 finishes)
6^th - Jr. Briggs (Badger Kart Club Racing Series)

1995

1995 was our first full year in karting. We competed in almost all of the races at Badger Kart Club. We started the year off with a new Coyote FX1 chassis and a competitive attitude. Being still a rookie, we raced our way out of the back of the pack for most of the season. We absorbed as much knowledge as possible and got better and better every weekend. By the end of the year, we were competing towards the middle of the field and finished in the top 20 in points.
Season Points
20^th - Jr. Briggs (Badger Kart Club Racing Series, didn't compete in all of the races)

1994

We competed in a few races at the end of the 1994 racing season on a borrowed kart. This was sort of a test for us to see if we would like karting. What a test it was! I flipped trying to pass another racer and had to be taken to the hospital in my first ambulance ride. My dad recalls asking me if I wanted to pursue karting further, and, without hesitation, I said "YES!" That had to be the best decision of my life. After that, we were a little more prepared for what kart racing was all about.