With a newly-modified track layout, and a full fleet of the long-anticipated electric karts finally in place, Round #2 of the K1 Speed GP Challenge Series kicked off in Sacramento. The 7-man field began their event in competitive fashion with winged-sprint-car-driver Justyn Cox stealing the pole with a track-record lap at the very end of Q2 from USAC Ford Focus Midget standout Garett Peterson by .08 of a second. Shawn Brisco, making his second start of the season rolled off in 3rd place, with newcomers Marc Vickers and Erin Brandt lining up 4th and 5th, and RPM veteran Mario Castellanos and our third newcomer Michael Damotte rolling off 6th and 7th, respectively.

Justyn Cox got off to a very strong start and led the first 14 of the scheduled 16 laps, but couldn’t shake the determined Garett Peterson who was hot on his heels for the entire race. In the end, it all came down to the final lap when Peterson’s dogged determination finally paid off with a run off of the tight first turn and a blast to the inside of Justyn Cox for the lead heading into Sacramento’s sweeping turn 2. After regaining his momentum, Cox made a valiant charge on the white flag lap to make a bid to the inside for the lead coming out of Sacramento’s back chicane, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Peterson’s clever defensive driving techniques and heavy right foot. With a margin of victory a little more than a kart length wide, Garett Peterson notched his first victory of the 2013 Challenge GP Season with Justyn Cox finishing second, and Shawn Brisco rounding out the podium in 3rd place. Marc Vickers came home in 4th to head up the rest of the field, with Michael Damotte, Mario Castellanos, and Erin Brandt in tow, respectively.