Castaneda Takes Title with a Double Win at Home Track

After a few short weeks, the third and final weekend of the Gatorz Challenge of the Americas commenced this past weekend in beautiful Sonoma, CA at Infineon Raceway. High expectations were placed on Troy as Infineon is his home track and he did not disappoint.

Saturday morning Castaneda qualified on pole, half of a second in front of the rest of the field, setting a new track record in the process. In the pre-final he ran away with it and by the checkered flag, Troy had a 3.5 second gap to second place. Saturday’s main event, however, was a different story. On the formation lap to the green flag Troy noticed that his fuel line had become disconnected to the carburetor. Without enough time to re attach it before the green flag, Castaneda had to drive with one hand while holding the fuel line to the carb with the other. Losing position after position trying to put the fuel back on, Troy was able to get it done and by this time he dropped back to 6th place. Remaining calm and staying focused, he worked his way back up the field picking off karts one by one. By lap 11, Castaneda was in the lead, but was not going to have it easy for the rest of the race. The second place driver stayed on his bumper the entire time. Seemingly unfazed by the pressure Troy never put a wheel wrong and went on to win his 4th race of the Championship. With that win, Troy secured the Championship with one round to go.

With no pressure of the Championship looming over Castaneda, Sunday looked like a great day to soak it all in. With motor issues troubling the young Californian, Castaneda qualified 3rd, the lowest he had all season. Even with the Championship wrapped up, Troy still was aiming for a win. At the start of the pre-final he quickly slotted into second and by lap 2, he was in the lead and never looked back taking the win by just under 3 seconds. At the start of the main event, Castaneda lost the lead, but was quick to regain the position within the next lap. With clear track ahead, Troy streaked into the distance winning his 5th race by 5.5 seconds.

“This was definitely a perfect way to end the season especially at my home track and on top of that winning the Championship is fantastic!” said Castaneda. “I’m so excited and proud to be able to represent the U.S. once again at the Rotax World Finals in Italy!”

Troy represented the U.S.A. last year at the World Finals in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt. He proved his natural talent and skill by finishing 5th after an unprecedented charge from 34th on the grid.

“I’d like to give a special thanks to my mechanic and tuner Diego Valverde for his exceptional work and support. This is just the beginning and I’m looking forward to a great 2010. Also, a special thanks to James Perez at SSC Racing for all of his help throughout the Championship. Thank you so much to all of my sponsors for their support through COTA Championship; SSC West, Bariani Olive Oil, The Studios, April Phillips Design Works, Marin Karting/ Cameron Karting, Infinity Karting and De Anza Services. Thank you!”

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