November 22, 2009 - Tom Wins at the 2009 SKUSA SuperNationals in Las Vegas!

LAS VEGAS, NV – Victory is always sweet, but when it comes at one of the biggest kart racing events in the world, it tastes even sweeter. That's what it was for Tom Dyer and the Aluminos racing team as they celebrated in victory lane during the Superkarts! USA SuperNationals XIII event that took place November 18-22 at the Rio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, NV. Lead driver and coach Tom Dyer, now a two-time SKUSA SuperNationals winner (2007), piloted his Team Aluminos entry to the top step of the podium in the competitive S3 stock Honda light category helping to celebrate the two year anniversary for the Northern California-based operation.

Tom taking the checkered flag becoming a two-time SuperNationals winner.

"Wow, it feels great to be here again after taking last year off. I am very fortunate to have such a great team of people around and behind me. My Aluminos prepared GP chassis handled great and the George Tavares Aluminos built engine was fast! It's really awesome to share this with all of them! This year's event is unparalleled to any in the past and all of us here on the Aluminos team have showed very well. I really couldn't be happier as a team driver, coach and tuner."

Heading into the event Dyer was confident he'd be in contention for the win based on his previous SuperNats title in 2007, as well as winning two of the three races he entered this year.  Once the massive seventy kart S3 division took to the Rio Hotel parking lot race track on Wednesday Nov. 18th, Dyer showed he was on form leading many of the timed practice sessions by posting the quickest times. He continued that trend in qualifying again recording the quickest lap time of the session at a 42.194 and earning the special Oakley Eyewear "Bomb" pole award.  

"Practice and qualifying went really well. Being a parking lot track it was super slippery the first couple days so everyone was searching for more grip out of the chassis' and the right gearing and jetting combinations with the engine. It is so much fun to tune and develop the same package that everybody in the S3 class has. It's a stock Honda 125cc dirt bike engine. There are no special engine parts or trick carburetors. It's all spec and stock so it's essentially the same for everyone and it comes down to maximizing it to its potential, driving and chassis set-up.  That's what makes this class so competitive and fun. I really love it!"

Only 40 of the 70 karts entered would be allowed to start the main event race on Super Sunday. The next two days were spent running heat races to determine who was in and who was out with each racer running in three heat races. Points collected in those three races determined their starting spot for the main event on Sunday. Carrying the week long momentum and speed into the heat races Dyer went two for three by winning his first and second heats and finished a close second in the final heat race to secure the pole position for the main event. "There was only one thing left to do and that was go out and seal the deal in the main event on Sunday!"

S3 was the final race of the SuperNats event. With the late afternoon sun setting in the west and the crowd lining the fences to watch, Dyer grabbed the hole shot from the pole position as the starting lights went out and leading and pacing the field in the early goings. Savvy racing veteran Memo Gidley popped up to challenge Dyer in the early goings and entertaining the fans as Dyer and Gidley diced it up for the lead for a few laps.  Never relinquishing the lead for more than a lap and his chassis set-up coming in, Dyer began upping the pace laying down faster laps quickly ending the fight for the lead and pulling away from Gidley and the rest of the field. With each lap completed Dyer continued to ease away as his rivals began to fight it out for the runner-up spot. At the line, Dyer earned his second SuperNats S3 title by four-seconds.

"The SuperNationals annually represents one of the most prestigious and biggest kart races in the world as evidenced by who is here racing. With around 400 entries spread among nine classes it makes the racing intense and tough. I like to think of this race as karting's Indy 500 because it happens once a year, there is so much planning and preparation that goes into it and it's a one shot deal. So many things have to go right and if you are just a little off then it's thanks for coming and come back next year for a shot at SuperNationals glory! We have the factory efforts from CRG, Tony Kart, Intrepid and Energy brands here with some of the top kart racing talent in the world, as well as North America competing. Then you have race car stars like Formula One drivers Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Buemi, Nelson Piquet Jr., Indy 500 winners Dan Wheldon and Buddy Rice and others who are here because they love how pure and competitive karting is!  It's where we all got our start and consider it our roots. It's an amazing event and I am glad to be here racing and win!"

Please visit and support Tom's sponsor's and loyal supporters: www.aluminos.com   www.musclemilk.com   www.cytosport.com www.menards.com

The top step of podium, the fastest helmet and the biggest trophy.

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