Battles, Crashes, and Comebacks: Round 3 at Road America

Round 3 of the MotoAmerica Talent Cup finally arrived, and it did not disappoint. Road America brought fast straights, cold mornings, tight battles—and a fair share of drama. Carson King showed grit, speed, and resilience all weekend, with a rough crash in Race 1 and a strong comeback to P5 in Race 2.

Here’s how it all played out.

Friday: Fast Out of the Gate

Road America is unlike any other track on the schedule—two massive straights, elevation changes, and wide-open throttle sections that challenge every part of the bike and rider. On a lower-horsepower machine like the Kramer APX-350 MA, gearing is critical.

Carson rolled into Practice 1 solo on track—no draft, just clean laps—and immediately put in competitive times. The bike setup was on point from the start, and he was feeling confident on one of his favorite tracks.

When Qualifying 1 began, the weather flipped. Rain soaked the circuit, and with a limited number of tire stickers available, we held Carson out to avoid burning a set of wets in a session that offered little value.

But with 10 minutes left, the track began to dry. We scrambled to get Carson out on slicks—and it paid off. He dropped a full second on his second flying lap, topping the timesheets… briefly. DiMario slipped ahead by just .009 seconds, and a late flyer from Sam Drane bumped Carson to P3. Still, a front-row start and a strong way to end Friday.

The only issue? Carson reported some chatter through the carousel as the pace picked up. We dove into the data overnight looking for answers.

Saturday: Ice-Cold Mornings and a Wild Race 1

Saturday kicked off with 42° air temps and Qualifying 2 at 8:35 AM. Definitely not sleeping-in weather.

We made changes based on Friday’s data, and Carson confirmed they worked—no more chatter. He dropped nearly another second and looked dialed in. Despite the gain, some of the competition stepped it up too. Carson qualified 5th—middle of Row 2 and feeling strong.

But Race 1 took a hard left turn.

Carson got a rough launch and was swallowed up off the line but fought back to P3 by Turn 6. As he entered Canada Corner—one of the heaviest braking zones in the series—a massive incident unfolded behind him. Derek Sanchez hit Hank Vossberg under braking, sending Hank’s bike ghost-riding into the air fence. In the chaos, Derek and his bike collided with Carson just as he tipped in. The result: a violent highside and a multi-rider pileup.

All riders walked away under their own power, though Hank was taken to the hospital for evaluation. Carson was bruised and sore, with a banged-up leg and foot—but thankfully okay.

The bike? Not so lucky. Cracked bodywork, bent controls, and broken electronics. But thanks to help from the Kramer crew and the team’s late-night efforts, we got it rebuilt and ready for Sunday.

Sunday: Rebuilt and Recharged

Sunday morning was even colder but with calmer wind and clear skies. Warmup went great—Carson was immediately quicker than his qualifying pace, and we knew we were back in the game.

Due to his role in the crash, Sanchez was penalized, and Carson moved up to P4 on the grid. The first start of Race 2 saw another incident—Ella Dreher locked the front in Turn 5 and took out Hank (who had a brutal weekend). Red flag.

The restart was shortened to 5 laps. Carson finally nailed a start, but was shuffled to 5th by Turn 3. He pulled off a slick draft pass on Correa to retake 4th, but soon found himself in a scrap with Kody Kopp that slowed them both down. Once free, Carson laid down a flyer—closing the gap to the lead pack and getting into a four-wide draft going into Turn 1.

On the final lap, he went from 6th to 4th with a double-pass through the chicane. But Bodie Page returned the favor under braking into Canada Corner, edging Carson back to 5th. Carson crossed the line close behind, having closed a massive gap in just a couple laps.

Takeaways: Resilience, Speed, and a Two-Second Drop

Looking at the data post-race, Carson had dropped two full seconds from his best lap of the weekend and set the fastest Sector 4 time overall. His final lap was blistering, and with just two more laps, who knows how far he could’ve climbed?

From a violent crash to a P5 finish—and some of his best laps yet—this weekend tested everything: rider, team, and machine.

Next Stop: Mid-Ohio

Now we’ve got a long break until Mid-Ohio at the end of July. We’re already working on ways to keep Carson sharp between now and then.

Big thanks to our sponsors, Window Depot, our supporters, partners, and fans—we couldn’t do this without you. If you thought Road America was wild, just wait for what’s next.

See you in Ohio.