Rickert Racing - 2003 Season

November 9, 2003, Jacksonville, FL - The last race of the 2003 season at the 103rd St Kart Complex saw Nick win his first two heats only to wind up second in the final, in one of the closest races of the day. Nick swapped the lead with hard charging Sean Rayhall several times in the final and was unable to make a move in time when the checkered flag fell. Nick stated that he "did not see the two laps to go signal from the flagman and missed his opportunity". Nick wrapped up the championship in 1st place and is looking forward to next season and racing more National and State races.

October 5, 2003, Ocala, FL - The Ocala Gran Prix was the site of the final round of the WKA Florida State Championship Series. The sandy track and lack of rubber made for slick track conditions for everyone. Qualifying was tight as the top five were covered by less than one second and 2nd through 5th covered by less than .3 tenths! Nick qualified fourth and quickly moved up to second on lap one, but was soon to relinquish that position and one more due to a bit of "rough driving", putting a cap on his first Florida State Championship Series and fourth place in the Series.

September 7, 2003, Homestead, FL - Nick's second attempt at the WKA Florida State Championship Series, was at the famed Miami-Homestead Speedway. Sunday classes were plagued by late morning rains causing a scramble to mount rain tires for qualifying. Nick qualified 4th and was unable to get a good handle on the track configuration and the rain tires. The final proved to be the last race prior to race officials calling for slicks as we toasted a new set of rain tires in a dozen laps on almost dry pavement. Nick finished 4th in the final and left unimpressed with the Miami-Homestead course.

July 26-27, 2003, Nashville, TN / SEDiv Divisional Solo2 Event #3 - The Nashville Superspeedway was the backdrop to the third and final round of the Southeast Divisional Solo2 Series. Nick took the lead from his opening run and never looked back. Saturday Nick held a 4.8 second lead over the second place kart driven by CJ Sharp of Kernersville, NC. Sharp closed the gap a bit on Sunday, but was unable to move up. Nick also took home the Southeast Division Formula Junior Championship for the 2nd year in a row.

June 14-15, 2003, Atlanta, GA / SEDiv Divisional Solo2 Event #2 - Formula Junior didn't get to run at the first divisional, due to age regulations at Michelin Proving Grounds, so their first event would be Atlanta. The early edge in FJ seemed to be going to Shelton Wright, as he was over a second quicker than Nick Rickert. However, Rickert posted a 5.6 second improvement on his second run, which was more than enough for the Saturday lead over Wright, who managed a 56.1 on his last run, and CJ Sharp, who brought in a 56.6 for his best. But Rickert wasn't done until his last run, a 53.6, another 1.7 second improvement. Rickert continued his dominance on Sunday, starting with a 51.3; two full seconds better than Wright's opening shot. James McCool would make a move with a 55.2, but would not improve on his subsequent runs. Rickert's third run of 49.390 gave him a total of 103.028, good for the win and for second fastest indexed time and 8th quickest overall time! Wright would take home second place with his 52.3 Sunday best. Sharp held on for third, despite being bested on Sunday by Charles Quillian, 53.4 to a 53.0. - Story by Karen Kraus

May 20, 2003, Jacksonville, FL - Nick's first race with the WKA Florida State Championship Series, turned out to be a learning experience for Rickert Racing. Nick participated in Sunday's races only and we unloaded and practiced .5 seconds of the track record and within tenths of our competition. Qualifing was not good as our mechanic left a bolt loose on the motor mount after a gearing change and it came out and drug the ground for the entire 5 laps session (in 5 laps he wore the head off of a 5/16 allend head bolt). Nick started the first heat in fourth, after 3 laps was able to make the pass for 3rd and finished there. At the start of the final Nick was hit in the rear and punted to the rear of the six kart field. After lap 6 Nick had pulled into fourth place and was trying to pull in the leaders. Unable to close the 1.5 second gap, Nick never gave up and as the last lap came, the three leaders came together in the last turn and two of them went off course, leaving a hole for Nick to pass through to finish his first WKA State race in 2nd place! Click Here for Photos

May 10, 2003, Jacksonville, FL - The 2003 season has been good so far with 7 wins to date. After picking up another .5 second a lap over previous races lap times, Nick is currently only .6 secounds of the track record at 103rd St Sports Complex.

February 8, 2003, Jacksonville, FL - The second race of the Rickert Racing sprint racing season ended on another high note as Nick Rickert continued on his winning streak. After picking up almost 1.2 seconds a lap over last races lap times, by a change in chassis set up, Nick was set to take on the competition. Starting in the rear of a multi-class, 5 kart field in Heat #1, Nick was able to pass the field and win the heat by a 10 second margin. Heat #2 ended with the same results and Nick was able to pickup another .2 tenths over his personal best at the 103rd St Complex. With the threat of rain, the feature race was set and tensions where high from a previous race accident. Nick went on from pole position once again to put a cap on win number two for Rickert Racing.

January 25, 2003, Jacksonville, FL - 103rd Street was the site of the 2003 season opener for Rickert Racing. Nick started on pole for heat #1 in Yamaha Jr Sportsman, took the lead in turn one and never looked back! Finishing 6 seconds in front of the nearest contender. Heat #2 started with Nick on outside pole and once again came out of turn one in first place. A mid race spin put several mid pack karts half a lap down as Nick cruised to an 8 second lead at the end of the heat, lapping two drivers in six 6 laps. The feature race came as the sun was setting and the temperatures started to drop. Nick started on pole and was able to get through turns one and two, out front of the pack! Nick started knocking off consistant laps to pull out a 1.5 second gap over second place on each lap. By the end of the race Nick had pull out to a 12 second lead, taking the checkered flag on race #1 for 2003!