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NEWS Archive
Jeff Begins
Stretch Run with Win August
25, 2007 Phoenix,
Arizona Jeff
Hybiak survived a long night filled with cautions and spins to sweep both heat races and
the main event. Cody
Hybiak swept both of his heat races and led the first 11 laps of his feature event before
succumbing to Zach Hintz in the final laps. “My
engine started to run out of gas with 4 to go. It
was hesitating in the corners. It finally ran
completely out coming to the checkered
flag.” The
race was filled with dozens of caution laps and restarts as the young drivers reacquainted
themselves with their karts and the fast track at AKA.
The race actually exceeded the number of allowable laps and the finishing
order will likely be restated. The
highlight of the night came from Rookie driver, Tyler Hybiak. In only his 5th race at AKA, Tyler stormed to the
front of the first heat race and led the first 5 laps before mechanical issues forced him
off the track. In the second heat race, he
again worked his way forward, finishing 3rd. In
the feature event, he was comfortably in 4th place when he moved his racing line up the
track. He quickly erased a straight-away
deficit and moved into 3rd place. He then
began racing for 2nd place, moving next to the 2nd place kart several times. He was unable to make the pass. Coming to the checkered flag in turn 4, the two
karts made contact and they both spun. With
the checkered already displayed, the two limped across the finish line in last place. August
18, 2007 Albuquerque,
NM Having
never been to the track, the team struggled to get a handle on their karts and the driving
lines during hot laps. HMS
driver Jeff Hybiak paced the Animal class field all night, holding off Bernie Lacotta, and
Dennis Smith for the championship. A key
decision made by his crew chief, Cody, was the determining factor behind the victory. “If
Cody hadn’t put on the different tires, I would have surely lost,” the exhausted
driver said afterwards. “Once again, Cody
was the reason I was able to win.” Cody
would be racing two national and regional veterans, plus some local drivers as well as his
younger brother Tyler. In the first heat, both
boys struggled and ran near the back of the pack, before Cody began picking up a few
positions. In heat 2, Cody started on the
outside pole and remained there. Tyler again
fell back to last place, but remained on the lead lap. In
the main, Cody was able to hold onto his 3rd place starting position, gaining on the
leaders during the middle of the race before his kart got loose. Tyler had a race-long battle for 5th place, going
back and forth before finally making the pass for good with 2 to go. The
highlight for the youngest Hybiak driver was being able to see his older brother the
entire race. June
29, 2007 Tucson,
Arizona The
evening did not start out well, but when it was over, Cody & Tyler Hybiak came out on
top, winning on the same night for the first time since May 11. It was the fifth time that two HMS drivers reached
victory lane this season on the same night. With
a water main break at the track keeping the track dry, the evening started out later than
usual and the dusty track confounded the team during the qualifying heat races. Tyler
was able to hang on to win both of his heat races, despite the fact that he spun out of
the lead both times. After Cody’s
successful debut in his ProRacing Cody
started on the pole of the 2nd heat, but was quickly blown away by outside pole sitter
Jerry Lockery. Cody would close to
Lockery’s bumper in the corners, but could not get enough speed to get around him. He was dramatically underpowered by the suddenly
fast Lockery who was able to slide through the corners but sill maintain strong pull off
the corners. Cody ended up 2nd and Martinez
3rd, putting Martinez on the pole once again with Cody on the outside pole. The
team made an air pressure adjustment to Tyler’s kart to dial him in for the main and
it worked as he drove with ease to his 3rd career victory. With
Cody’s kart handling so poorly, the team made wholesale changes, changing tire
compounds, gears, and air pressures. Right
from the start, the changes made a big difference. Martinez
got the jump on the start and led the first lap. On
lap 2, Cody pulled along side Martinez and made the first of 3 attempted outside passes. After nearly losing control of the kart on lap 4,
Lockery passed Cody, but quickly spun in the next corner.
On lap 6 Cody was able to get a run on Martinez and dove to the inside to
complete the pass. Finally
out front for the first time all night, Cody extended his lead to 10 kart lengths as he
closed in on the now last place Lockery. Cody
again struggled to pass him, but a caution came out, putting Lockery back at the tail end
of the lead pack for the restart and bringing Martinez back to Cody’s rear bumper. On
the restart, Lockery again mysteriously blew by the competition, going from 7th to nearly
2nd. Martinez was able to hold him off, but it
was enough to give Cody a 3 kart length lead, which he held the remaining 4 laps to claim
his 10th career victory, and the 22nd in team history. Cody wins in
1st Race After Accident Team
Performs Well in State Series June
22 & 23, 2007 Tucson,
Arizona Cody
Hybiak didn’t miss a beat as he returned to the track 13 days following his ambulance
ride to the hospital, winning the feature race Friday night at Tucson Kart Club. Running
his new, ProRacing Cody
started the 2nd heat race on the outside pole, took the lead in turn 1 and never looked
back, pacing Hulsey and Hintz by 10 kart lengths. The
effort was good enough to qualify 3rd for the main event. Tye
Mihoko, another national level racer from Phoenix won the pole and led the first lap, with
Cody right on his back bumper. On lap 2, Cody
dove to the inside down the front stretch and took the lead in turn 1. He then led the rest of the way, with Mihoko
following closely, to claim his 4th straight Tyler
Hybiak finished a strong 2nd behind Kyler Reynolds of Phoenix in the Jr 1 Rookie division. Tyler continues to lead the points in the Rookie
division. Saturday
brought the 2nd round of the Arizona State Championship Series to Tucson. With more than 10 karts, the Jr 1-4 division was
again split into two flights of heats, determined by a pill draw. Flight B included the top 4 karts from the night
before-Hulsey, Mihoko, Hintz, and Cody. Hulsey
started the night out strong, winning the first heat race, followed by Hintz, Cody, and
Mihoko. The nose of Cody’s kart was
damaged in the 1st heat, so the team rushed to replace it before heat two. With help from Mark Gorton and Paul French, the
kart was ready just before the race started. The
repairs helped, but they still were not enough to over take Hulsey who once again won,
with Cody right on his tail. Hintz was 3rd and
Mihoko 4th. The
two flights were combined for the main. Hulsey
won the pole. With Cody qualifying 5th, Hintz
6th, and Mihoko 8th, it would prove to be an exciting main event. On the start, Hulsey led, followed by Conner Turner
of Florence, Steven Perry, and Carlos Martinez, both from Tucson. Cody was 5th, but in the next 4 laps worked his way
up to 2nd by using the outside groove. By
lap 5, Hulsey, Cody, Martinez, Hintz, and Mihoko began to pull away from the pack. Cody took the lead on lap 7. He and Hulsey began to separate from the rest of
the pack as Martinez and Hintz battled for 3rd. Hulsey
soon retook the lead for a few more laps before Cody took the lead on lap 13. A small bump by Hulsey on the last lap was enough
to move Cody up the track giving him enough room to take the lead. Cody got underneath Hulsey coming to the checkered
flag, but finished about 3 feet short of winning. He
was followed by Martinez, Hintz, and Mihoko. With
2 races remaining, Hulsey now leads the series, Cody is 2nd, and Mihoko is 3rd. In
the Animal division, Jeff Hybiak finished 3rd all night long, behind Hulsey’s
teammate, Brady Labree, and Thomas Parker. Labree,
another national level competitor was in a class all by himself, but Parker and Hybiak put
on a good show as they competed for 2nd place. Jeff
took 2nd 3 different times before Parker took over with two laps to go and beat Jeff by
about 5 feet. Parker continues to lead the
series. Jeff is in 2nd. While
Hulsey, Mihoko, Labree, and Parker travel to the Midwest Speedway National Series next
weekend in Kansas, the HMS team is back on the track Friday night for the final Tucson
race before the summer break. June 8 & 9, 2007 Tucson
& Phoenix, Arizona Hybiak
Motorsports driver Cody Hybiak continued the momentum from the prior week by winning his
3rd consecutive Tucson race on Friday night. The
win did not come easily, as Carlos Martinez was never further than one kart length back
the entire 15 lap feature. Most of the time
only one foot separated the two karts. Tyler
Hybiak also ran well in the Jr 1 Rookie class, challenging for the lead the first 10 laps
before struggling to get through lapped traffic. He
finished 2nd. Little
did the team know that the momentum would take a sudden turn for the worse on Saturday. The day started out with Jeff Hybiak missing the
drivers meeting as he worked to get Cody’s motor running, meaning he’d have to
start in the back of both heat races. That
didn’t stop him from winning the first heat race, passing Dickie Dudd as they came to
the checkered flag. Cody also started his heat
race last, but worked his way through traffic into 3rd place before being shuffled back to
7th on the last lap. Tyler too ran well until
the last lap when he was spun out finished last. Jeff
missed the 2nd heat race as he worked on Tyler’s and Cody’s karts. Cody started on the pole for his heat race and was
running strong with he and Tye Mihoko pulling away from the field. On lap 5, though, his engine sputtered and Cody
pulled off the track. In Tyler’s 2nd heat
race, he somehow survived a crash fest that included 1 red flag, and 4 consecutive caution
flags on restarts. Eight karts started the
heat race, only 3 finished it, with Tyler in 2nd, although his kart was heavily damaged as
well. Having
missed his heat race, Jeff started the feature in the back.
He worked his way to 2nd but could not catch Dickie Dudd, who went on to
claim his first victory of the season. With a
frantic engine change on Cody’s kart, the team had him ready to go for the feature. He also had to start near the back of the pack, but
quickly passed several karts and was up to 6th place.
On lap 4 he worked his way to the inside of turn 1 to take 5th place when
the 3rd place kart of Zach Hintz spun in turn 2. His
kart drifted down in front of Cody who slammed into Hintz, throwing Cody’s kart into
the air. Martinez who was right
behind Cody, narrowly missed that wreck, but pancaked the wall. The
emergency crews were quick to the scene to stabilize Cody and check on the other drivers. Cody ended up having to be transported to the
hospital due to back pain. The x-rays came
back negative and he was released with a lower back strain, a cut on his thigh, and 2
contusions on each knee. He
returned home on Sunday and is already feeling better.
It is unknown at this time when he or the other team members will be back on
the track. Hybiak
Motorsports Wins 4 Times in One Weekend Worst finish
was 2nd all weekend May 25, 26,
& 27, 2007 Tucson
& Phoenix, Arizona As a
child growing up, Hybiak Motorsports driver Jeff Hybiak always dreamed of racing and
winning on Memorial Weekend. This past
weekend, he finally got his chance, although not at the Indianapolis 500 like he had
dreamed of. For
the first time, the Hybiak Motorsports team was in action on Memorial weekend, with a
triple header. The first race was in Tucson on
Friday night, with Cody & Tyler Hybiak in action.
Cody started the night with an exciting heat race between him and Carlos
Martinez. The two were bumper to bumper and
side by side the entire race, with Martinez edging Cody out at the finish line. In heat #2, the excitement continued as they
exchanged the lead 4 times with Cody this time taking the checkered flag. Once again, the qualifying order for the main event
was determined by the pill draw and again, Martinez was awarded the pole. As
Martinez and Cody took the green flag side by side, neither driver let up going into turn
1. Cody was able to make the kart stick on the
high side and claimed the lead coming out of turn 2. From
there Cody maintained a small kart length lead that never got bigger than 3 kart lengths. The two drivers once again lapped the entire field
with Cody claiming the first victory of the weekend. Tyler
Hybiak nearly made it two in a row, but had his main event ruined when he was taken out by
a lapped kart. Having lapped the entire field
except the eventual winner, he was still able to finish 2nd. The
team went on the road Saturday, with Cody and Jeff in action at AKA SUPER Speedway. With Thomas Parker absent from the race and Jeff
running the same set-up as the week before, Jeff cruised to victory and lead all 40 laps
on the night to claim the 2nd victory of the weekend. After
struggling with the handling the week before, Jeff made a few adjustments to Cody’s
kart to start the night. It was hooked up and
fast and allowed Cody to work his way through traffic after starting in the back row. He ran out of time and finished on the back bumper
of the winner. In heat 2, Cody was starting on
the outside of Tye Mihoko. Cody took the lead
on lap 2 and led every lap until lap 7 when a kart got into the back of him in turn 3. The two were hooked together and headed straight to
the wall. Both smacked the wall hard and Cody
was unable to continue with an injured arm and damaged kart. Jeff
worked hard to repair the kart as Cody iced his arm and decided whether or not he wanted
to race. With the kart repaired and a pep talk
from Jr 2 drivers Paul French and Nick Parker, Cody went out there with the goal of
holding onto his 5th place starting position. As
the green flag waved, Cody decided 5th wasn’t good enough and was into 3rd place by
the end of lap 1. In two more laps he had
worked his way to 1st place, with Tye Mihoko stalking him.
Cody maintained a 5 kart length lead until 3 laps to go when Mihoko, fresh
off of multiple top 5 finishes at a national race the week before, changed his line and
began to reel him in. He was able to close the
lead to about 1 kart length, but Mihoko was able to get to Cody’s bumper. Cody took the checkered flag for the team’s
3rd victory of the weekend. Sunday,
the sleep deprived team was back in action again at the SUPER Speedway. The Animal division was the featured division and
ran the Trophy Dash to kick the night off. The
4 lap dash started with points leader Jeff Hybiak and Thomas Parker in the back of the 6
kart pack. The 2nd place kart of Dickie Dudd
started the dash on the pole. By the end of
the 1st lap, Jeff had worked his way up to 3rd behind Dudd and upstart Jim Pruitt. As Pruitt made his move to the inside of Dudd on
lap 2, Dudd squeezed him down into the infield, causing Pruitt to spin and the caution to
come out. On the restart, Jeff timed it
perfectly and jumped to the lead and extended his unbeaten streak in trophy dashes to
five. After
watching Mihoko’s speed the last few laps of Saturday night, Jeff & Cody decided
to make an adjustment to Cody’s kart for Sunday’s race. Cody started the first heat on the pole, but was
not sure if he was going to make it through the night as he fought a stomach bug all day
and all night long. He showed no signs of
illness as he led Mihoko for the first 8 laps. Coming
to the white flag, Mihoko got inside of Cody and took the lead. Cody nearly passed him back coming to the
checkered, but had to settle for second. For
the second heat Cody started last so Jeff made another adjustment to Cody’s kart to
free him up. Cody worked hard through traffic
and found Mihoko on lap 7. He was able to
wrestle the lead from him on lap 8 and claimed the victory.
That was enough to qualify on the pole for the main. The problem was, the stomach bug was getting much
worse and he again wasn’t sure he was going to race the main. He
decided to go out there and see how many laps he could log.
He was clearly asleep still when the green flag flew as he fell quickly from
1st to 4th by lap 2. He then woke up and
worked his way back to 2nd. He even took the
lead for a lap from Mihoko, but Mihoko wrestled it back from him the next lap. The rest of the race Cody was able to pull next to
Mihoko, but couldn’t take the position away. He
ended up finishing 3 feet short of his 3rd victory for the weekend. Thomas
Parker ended up winning both Animal heat races and Jeff finished 2nd, but Parker’s
qualifying efforts were disqualified because he was late to the track both times. That awarded Jeff the pole and had Parker starting
last. Jeff took the lead as Parker worked his
way through traffic, picking off a kart nearly every lap.
At the halfway point, Parker was up to second and gaining on Jeff ever so
slightly. With 7 laps to go, Parker was to
Jeff’s bumper, but like Cody earlier in the night, couldn’t get enough of a run
to take the lead away. As the checkered flag
flew, Jeff claimed HMS’s 4th victory of the weekend by 3 feet. This was his first main event victory over Parker
in over 25 races. After a Polish Victory Lap
and a mini donut, Jeff was met with a water shower from Courtney and Tyler Hybiak. Hybiak
Motorsports Sweeps Tucson! 2nd
Time this Season Cody & Tyler win on same night May 11,
2007 Tucson,
Arizona The
Hybiak boys broke out of their losing streak in Tucson in a big way on Friday night, with
both Cody & Tyler sweeping the Jr 1-4 main events. Despite
not racing for a month, Tyler came out blazing and won both of his heat races to qualify
on the pole for his main event in the rookie class. He
led the first 5 laps with the 07 kart in tow. Tyler
lost the lead and faded back to a 10 kart length gap, but started gaining ground again. With 2 laps to go he had closed the gap to 2 kart
lengths when the 07 got into a lapped kart and spun. Tyler
avoided the spinning karts and took the lead as the caution came out. The ruling on the track was that the 07 spun to
avoid the spin and was given the lead back. On
the restart, Tyler got the jump and had the lead back by turn 1. He ended up winning by 1 kart length. Cody’s
race was equally exciting. With defending race
winner Carlos Martinez starting up front and Cody near the back of the pack, Cody had to
pick his way through traffic before trying to track down Martinez. By lap 6 Cody had found him, but couldn’t find
a way to get around. Coming to the checkered
flag, Cody got underneath Martinez and the two finished side by side, with Martinez edging
Cody out by inches. In
the second heat, Cody started 4th and pushed visiting driver Andrew Earle from Phoenix
into the lead in turn 1. By turn 3, Cody was
in the lead by half the track before Martinez worked his way through traffic to move into
second place. With the two tying in the
qualifiers, the pill draw decided who would get the pole—Martinez won. On
the start the two were side by side going into turn 1, with Cody eventually giving way to
Martinez. The two were bumper to bumper the
first 8 laps, but didn’t make contact as they exchanged the lead 3 times. Cody eventually began to pull away as
Martinez’s tires went away due to the blistering pace.
With 5 laps to go, Cody caught the rest of the pack and began putting karts a lap
down. That allowed Martinez to catch up, but
Cody kept 1-2 lapped karts in between as he closed on the 3rd place kart. Cody attempted to lap him on the outside and nearly
spun going to the white flag. He finished the
night side by side with the 3rd place kart and Martinez right on his tail. Martinez
and Cody continued their season long battle in Phoenix on Saturday with the two sticking
together all night. Martinez ended up
finishing 3rd and Cody 4th. Jeff Hybiak nearly
won the AKA feature, finishing right on the tail of veteran Thomas Parker. The
team is back in action Memorial Day weekend with a triple header—1 race in Tucson on
Friday night and back-to back races in Phoenix on Saturday and Sunday. Jeff wins
again in Phoenix April
14, 2007 Phoenix,
Arizona The
first night race of the season and a different track configuration didn’t seem to
phase Hybiak Motorsports driver Jeff Hybiak as he led all 40 laps to win his 5th career
race at AKA. Dickie Dudd gave Jeff a challenge
the first 8 laps of the feature, but as Jeff changed racing lines, he was able to pull
away to claim the win. Fellow
driver Cody Hybiak was fast all night, but had several missteps that had him restart from
the back of the pack 4 times before finishing in the 4th position. Cody wins
again in Tucson Tyler
Hybiak has first crash March 18,
2007 Tucson,
Arizona It
was another hot and dusty day at Tucson Kart Speedway, which seems to be how Cody Hybiak
likes it. As all but one of his fellow Jr 1-4
racers struggled to keep the back end of their kart going in the right direction, Cody
cruised to his 4th career victory. Cody led
all but 1 of the 35 laps on the day. He
started last in the first heat race, but had claimed the lead by lap 2. On a
dusty track, you would think that being up front would keep you out of trouble, but that
was not true for Cody’s brother Tyler. Tyler
started last in the first heat race also, but made some daring moves to take the lead. He had already lapped half the field and had nearly
a 3/4 track lead on 2nd place when the white flag came out.
Just as he was going into turn 3 to claim the checkered flag, a kart spun in
the middle of the turn and Tyler hit him head on. The
crash tore up the body and bent the right front tire into the frame, but he was still able
to limp across the finish line in first place. Tyler
missed the 2nd heat race, but with his crew working feverishly to repair his kart he was
able to compete in the main. It clearly was
not handling well and Tyler drove tentatively to a 3rd place finish. The
team is back in action for the first night race of the season at the AKA SUPER Speedway in
Phoenix. 1-2-3 Finish
for Hybiak Motorsports Jeff
Hybiak wins 3rd consecutive AKA Feature February
26, 2007 Phoenix,
Arizona Jeff
& Cody both won their first heat races in dominating fashion, but from there they
fought handling problems the rest of the day. Both
then finished 2nd in their second heat races, with Jeff earning the pole position and Cody
the outside pole. With Jeff starting on the
pole, he and Dickie Dudd again pulled away from the pack.
Dudd could not get to Jeff’s bumper and began to fade with 5 laps to go
as Jeff cruised to the finish line. Cody
fought the entire race to hang on to 2nd place with C.J. Hulsey of El Paso. As they battled, Tye Mihoko cruised to victory from
the pole. They exchanged positions several
times with C.J. edging out Cody by 1/2 a kart length as they took the checkered. Tyler
Hybiak continued to improve and finished 2nd in the Rookie class. He again struggled with lapped traffic, backing all
the way up to the 3rd and 4th place karts until he was able to lap the slower karts. Cody
& Tyler are back in action on Sunday in Tucson. Hybiak
Motorsports Sweeps Tucson Season Opener Tyler
Hybiak earns first victory February
17, 2007 Tucson,
Arizona For
the first time in Hybiak Motorsports history, two drivers won on the same day, with Cody
& Tyler Hybiak both winning their main events to open the points season in Tucson. Even
though the results were the same, the two races couldn’t have been more different. Cody had to battle from the back of the pack in
both heat races after being shuffled out of line on the start. He picked his way through traffic to finish second
and then third. That was good enough for him
to win the pole for the main event. Tyler
started out strong in both heat races, putting the entire field of Rookies down two laps
in the first heat race and one lap in the second heat race.
In both races he spun while leading, but was able to maintain his lead to
win the pole for his main event. Cody
took a big lead the first seven laps, but as he encountered lapped traffic and his tires
began to go away, Tye Mihoko of Phoenix began to reel him in. With 3 laps to go, Mihoko nearly got under Cody in
turn one, but Cody was able to pull ahead and crossed the finish line by 1/2 a kart
length, claiming his 3rd main event win and second in a row in Tucson. Tyler
also took a big lead for his main event and by lap 7 had put the entire field one lap
down. However, as he was attempting to lap
another kart, he spun and brought out the caution. He
struggled for 3 laps to pass the kart at the tail end of the lead lap, but eventually got
around him and checked out to claim his first main event win. The
entire team is back in action next Sunday at AKA Speedway in Phoenix. Hybiak
Motorsports Opens Season with Win! Jeff
Hybiak Claims Opening Day Victory February
11, 2007 Phoenix,
Arizona What
a difference a year can make. In 2006, Jeff
Hybiak started the season with 2 straight last place finishes with motor problems the
first race and then crashing into the wall in the 2nd race.
Most of the season was a struggle to finish in the top 5. In late August, his season turned around and he
didn’t finish out of the top 2, winning 2 of the last 4 features on his way back to a
2nd place points finish. With
fellow Tucsonan and defending track champion Rick Spencer running a partial schedule as he
moves on to a Modified Midget in ‘07, the championship chase is wide open for the
returning drivers. Jeff took the early season
lead by besting Dickie Dudd & Bernie Lacotta in both heat races to qualify on the
pole, with Dudd on the outside pole. The two
stayed in that position the entire 20 lap feature event, with Lacotta in tow for an
uneventful, caution free race. That would end
up being the only main event run to completion as a heavy rain began to fall, causing AKA
to cancel the remaining feature races. The
highlight of the day for HMS though came from rookie driver Tyler Hybiak who made his
debut in his #34 Phenom. He stayed on the lead
lap for both heat races, never spun out, and made a couple of passes without incident in a
field filled with more experienced drivers. He
qualified 4th for the main event. Cody
Hybiak struggled all day, drawing the fast heat again.
He led most of the laps in both heat races only to get loose near the end
and fall back to 3rd. He qualified 5th for the
main. The
two younger Hybiaks are back in action on Saturday for Tucson’s season opener. Jeff will be back on the track with his boys in two
weeks at AKA. Hybiak
Motorsports Wins at Holiday Classic! Cody Hybiak Claims
2nd Career Feature Win, Team brings home 6 trophies in 7 races December
30, 2006 Phoenix, Arizona
In 2005, Cody Hybiak surprised everyone at the Holiday Classic by making it to the
podium in both classes he entered. The rookie
driver competed with the veterans from around the region and managed two top 5 finishes. In 2006 he surprised even more people, claiming his
first Crystal bowl by winning the Jr 1-4 Medium class against some of the top drivers in
the country.
The Holiday Classic is a week long event held at AKA Speedway in Phoenix, AZ. 2006 marked the 12th running of the Classic. It attracts drivers from throughout the country and
a few from Canada. The Jr 1-4 division
included 4 drivers that placed in the top 10 at Grand National events.
The first day of Jr 1-4 action was in the Light division. The action was intense with the main event being
run under the lights with 14 entries. Cody was
part of a breakaway pack of 5 karts that ran bumper to bumper the entire race. He ran as low as 5th and as high as 2nd before
finishing the race in a photo finish with Nick Parker.
The event was won by Tye Mihoko of Phoenix.
The next day had the karts adding 15 pounds to run the Medium class. There were 13 entries vying for the coveted Crystal
Bowl. Cody woke up that morning with the
stomach flu, but decided he wanted to try to race. He
drew the fast heat, racing for qualifying positions with Mihoko, Canadian Louie Kennedy,
and AKA Champion Nick Parker. It didn’t
matter as Cody went out and won both heat races to qualify on the pole.
CJ Hulsey of El Paso qualified on the outside pole, and the two drivers broke away
to start the feature. Cody extended his lead
to 10 kart lengths before a caution bunched the field back up. On the restart, Hulsey hung with Cody and a few
laps later, Hulsey passed Cody going into turn 3. Cody
passed Hulsey back coming out of turn 4 and then Hulsey dove under Cody again in turn 3. The two made contact, sending Hulsey over the disc
on the inside of the track. Hulsey got back on
the track, but a caution was thrown and he was put to the back for causing it. On the restart, Cody held off a challenge from
Kennedy before pulling away to claim his 2nd career feature win.
“I knew today was my best chance of winning,” an excited driver said
afterwards. “I had the fastest kart all
day.”
In post-race tech, the officials tore Cody’s motor down with everything being
found to be legal. With his other motor
already having 14 races on it and an additional 20 pounds being added to the karts for the
last day, Cody initially said he didn’t want to race.
“I already got what I came here for,” he said. However, the morning of the race Cody and Jeff
decided they’d try to race one more day. Showing
up 15 minutes before the drivers meeting, the two rushed to get the karts ready. Amazingly, they only missed the first practice
session.
Cody’s kart with the old motor was second fastest all day behind Parker. The two finished 1-2 for both heat races and
started the main running first and second. A
last lap pass by Zach Hintz got Cody loose and he fell from 2nd back to 4th as he took the
checkered.
Fellow HMS driver Jeff Hybiak also fared well, taking home 3 trophies in 4 races. A scoring error prevented him from making it 4 for
4. The most exciting race of the week for him
came in the Animal Heavy division. Qualifying
4th, he was forced to start on the outside of the second row. With a slick track, he soon fell back to 6th and
had to work his way back up front. By lap 5 he
was up to 2nd place and was working to chase down the leader when he spun in turn 2.
“I was just trying different lines to see which one got me closer to the
leader,” Jeff explained. “I guess I
moved up the track a little too much and I just lost it.”
The caution came out, but Jeff had to go to the back of the pack. In two laps he was back to third and was gaining
one kart length per lap. He closed to a 1/2 a
kart length when the white flag came out. Going
into turn 3, Jeff made his move on the outside and pulled along side 2nd place coming to
the finish line. The inside kart moved up and
slammed into Jeff as they crossed the finish line. The
officials had to use the electronic scoring loop to determine that Jeff had missed 2nd
place by 0.01 seconds.
“This week was better than we had ever imagined,” an exhausted
owner/driver/crew chief explained. “With
last year being our first year to run up front, win a race, and challenge for more wins
against some of the best drivers in the country, you have to call that a success.”
The “off season” will be short for Hybiak Motorsports with the first
regular season race starting on February 11. The
team also announced that Tyler Hybiak will be entered in the Jr 1-4 division this year as
a rookie. Jeff will be sitting out the Hybiak
Motorsports Wins Tucson Shootout! Cody Hybiak Claims
1st Career Feature Win November
25, 2006 Tucson, Arizona
When the money’s on the table, Cody Hybiak comes to race. In 2005, Cody posted his first ever podium finish
in the 1st Annual Tucson Shootout, finishing 2nd behind Nick Parker and winning $125. On Saturday, Cody won his first ever feature event
during the 2nd Annual Tucson Shootout, winning $200.
Running his “retro” #12 black and yellow body one last time, the day
started out tough for Cody, starting 6th in the 11 kart field for the first heat race. He worked his way through traffic to 4th. That would be as high as he could get as the leader
Carlos Martinez held the low line and the AKA racers following, Jacob Stone, Tye Mihoko,
and Cody could not get around him no matter what they tried.
On the last lap Stone made his move down the back stretch only to have
Martinez slam his kart into Stone. The contact
threw Stone into Mihoko and Cody, damaging both Stone’s and Cody’s bodies.
Both karts were able to be repaired for the 2nd heat race, where Cody started 5th. He again worked his way through traffic and by lap
3 was chasing down Stone in the 2nd position and AKA driver Paul French for the lead. Cody worked his way past Stone and French quickly
and cruised to the finish line unscathed. The
win was enough to qualify Cody on the outside of pole sitter Stone.
For the main event, Cody and crew chief Jeff Hybiak decided to use their Phoenix
main event set-up. That decision proved to be
crucial as the Tucson track gained nearly as much grip as the track in Phoenix. On the start, Cody got the jump and out drove
Stone into turn 1 to take the lead. From there
it appeared to be clear sailing as Cody extended his lead on every lap. A lap 7 caution bunched the field back up with Cody
leading Stone, Martinez, Mihoko, and French. With
the tires cooled back down, Cody was unable to pull out to a commanding lead. Nearly ever lap had Stone closing within inches of
Cody’s bumper, but Cody was able to pull away coming off the corners. On lap 13, Stone got into Cody getting him loose,
but Stone got loose as well and was unable to make the pass.
From there Cody extended his lead slightly. On
the last lap, Stone again went to make his move, but got loose on the backstretch and
Martinez blocked him from getting back in line. With
the chaos behind him, Cody had clear sailing to the finish line to take his first ever
main event victory.
“I kept thinking Jacob was going to pass me on the last lap. I was so excited my legs were shaking,” a
smiling Cody said afterwards. “I could
barely get out of my kart. I waited so long
for this day to happen. I’ve dreamed
about it for a long time, but this is better than I even dreamed about.
“I’m just glad that all the Phoenix people were there because I wanted to
get my first win against them so I could say I beat the best.”
Jeff’s day did not go as well as Cody’s.
A ruptured brake line on the starting grid ended his main event before it even
started.
“That’s ok,” Cody’s dad said, “After watching Cody win I
got everything I wanted out of the day.” Hybiak
Motorsports Closes Out Season in Style! November
19, 2006 Phoenix, Arizona Hybiak Motorsports ended the 2006 regular season on a winning note, with HMS driver Jeff Hybiak claiming his 3rd career feature win as well as the final Trophy Dash of the season.
With Jeff entering both his OHV (Animal) kart and his Stock (Flathead) karts, it
looked to be a busy day before they found out he would also be running the trophy dash to
kick off the day. A mix up in scheduling with
the paramedics delayed the start of the race for over an hour and a half. The trophy dash finally got underway with Jeff
starting 3rd. On lap 2 pole sitter Kevin
Behrendt, a former IKF National Champion, slid coming off of turn 2. Jeff dove underneath and took the spot going into
turn 3. While coming out of turn 4, Behrendt
drove into Jeff’s left rear tire, hopping up and hitting his arm. Behrendt ended up spinning as the caution came out. On the restart, Jeff checked out to capture his 4th
career Trophy Dash victory and the 8th in a row for HMS .
The first heat race for the animal class had Jeff on the pole. Behrendt and Rick Spencer challenged for the lead a
few times, but ended up taking each other out of contention as Jeff led every lap. The second heat race had Jeff starting last. It was a 4-way 10 lap battle with Behrendt,
Spencer, and Eddie Bonine. At one point Jeff
was up to 2nd, but fatigue and a loose kart had him fade to 4th as he crossed the line. However, the tight battle was enough for him to
qualify on the pole for the main event.
Having felt a little under the weather all day long, running two classes and
suffering through the 90 degree temperatures, Jeff spent the break laying in the trailer,
fighting a stomach bug. He decided to withdraw
from the Flathead main event and handed the kart over to Thomas Parker. With his parents visiting from Colorado, Jeff
decided to attempt to race the Animal class.
Jeff looked strong the first 10 laps leading a tight pack of Behrendt, Spencer, and
Bonine. On lap 12 Behrendt dove underneath
Jeff at the start finish line and made contact while Spencer dove to his inside to make it
three wide. Behrendt then drove down into
Spencer in turn one collecting both of them in a spin.
Jeff was nearly caught up in the melee but managed to get by it on the outside. Having caused the caution, Behrendt and Spencer
were put to the back on the restart.
Jeff took the green flag in the lead again and drove away until lap 17 when
Behrendt got to his rear bumper and tried the next 4 turns to get Jeff loose enough to go
around. Jeff held his position and turned his
fastest lap as he took the white flag and drove away for his 3rd career victory.
“I don’t know how I did it,” the fatigued driver said afterwards. “Cody gave me the right set-up all day long
and Corryn’s tires were perfect. The kart
felt like it would fly off the corners which was enough to let me pull away from the 0
kart each time he bumped me.”
Jeff finished the year 2nd in points after starting the year with 2 last place
finishes. After engine problems mid summer
broke his string of 6 top 5 finishes, he finished the season strong, with 5 consecutive
top 2 finishes.
Fellow HMS driver Cody Hybiak tied his best finish at AKA this year with a 3rd
place run. He gave up 2nd place to Tye Mihoko
late in the race, but was able to hold off Jacob Stone at the finish line to finish 3rd. The run was his 4th top 3 and was enough to
give Cody the 4th place position in the season points with 9 top 5’s in 14 races. Hybiak
Motorsports Wins Track Championship! September
29, 2006 Tucson, Arizona Hybiak Motorsports driver Cody Hybiak was awarded Tucson Kart Club’s track championship after finishing 2nd in the Ironman Race. The championship was up for grabs after points-leader Nick Parker decided to compete at the WKA Grand Nationals in Kansas over the weekend. The
Cody went out and won the pole in dominating fashion.
In the main he led the first 7 laps before giving up the lead to Phoenix driver
Paul French. Cody went on to finish 2nd,
nearly a straightaway ahead of Martinez.
“I feel bad for Nick because he is the true champion, but I wanted to win this
for him,” Cody said afterward.
In just his 2nd season, Cody recorded 7 top 3’s and 10 top 5’s in 13
races. He also won 7 heat races, 3 pole
positions, and a trophy dash.
HMS driver Jeff Hybiak was denied his 3rd straight victory after being spun out of
the lead on lap 10. After leading every lap of
the heat race and starting on the pole, Jeff recovered from the spin to finish 3rd. Jeff finished the season 2nd in points with 1 win,
10 top 3’s, and 12 top 5’s. Hybiak
Motorsports Earns 2nd Straight Victory! September
23, 2006 Phoenix, Arizona Hybiak Motorsports driver Jeff Hybiak claimed his 2nd straight feature event victory and his first victory at AKA Speedway in Phoenix, Arizona. Driving in the Stock Animal Heavy division, Jeff overcame early handling problems to challenge Rick Spencer in the 2nd heat race and the main event.
The night started out poorly for Jeff as he finished last in the first qualifying
heat race.
“I don’t understand what happened,” Jeff said afterwards, “we
ran the exact same set-up that was so successful last race here, but I couldn’t even
turn the kart. I was having to hit the brakes
and let off the throttle just to avoid the wall.”
The HMS team made several large set-up changes between the heat races and it paid
off as a slip up on lap 7 was the only thing preventing Jeff from leading every lap of the
second heat race. He ended up finishing 2nd
and moved his qualifying spot up to 4th for the feature.
“We’ve never made that many changes at once. We changed 4 different things on the kart to get it
back to where I like it,” Jeff explained. “I’ve never seen such a dramatic
difference in the kart like that. It was
rewarding to take such an ill-handling kart and make it so fast.”
For the feature Jeff started on the outside of row 2 and made it a 3 wide battle
for second as they entered turn 1, with Jeff on the outside.
He was able to make it stick and by turn 4 was in 2nd, tracking down championship
leader Rick Spencer. They were bumper to
bumper for several laps before Jeff made a move on Rick going into turn 1. With Jeff on the inside, the two made contact and
Rick began to slide. During the slide,
Rick’s wheel came off, ending his night.
“I certainly didn’t want to take Rick out or pass him that way,”
Jeff said later. “I feel terrible that it
happened, but I guess that’s racing.”
From there Jeff took a comfortable lead on the rest of the field to claim his 2nd
straight victory.
“Cody took a huge gamble on my set-up and it definitely paid off. Corryn gave us great grip in the tires all night. Not many people can say they won with a crew of a
12 year old and a 10 year old. Credit for this
victory goes to Corryn and Cody.”
Fellow HMS driver Cody Hybiak had an up and down night. He won the trophy dash, his 4th time in 5 attempts,
but had his feature cut short by contact on the first lap.
The HMS team is back on the track September 29, in Tucson for the double points
regular season finale. There are still 3 races
remaining at AKA. September
15, 2006 Tucson, Arizona A Hybiak Motorsports (HMS) driver visited victory lane for the first time in their history Friday night, as Jeff Hybiak edged out Rick Spencer in the feature event of the Adult 4 Cycle class at Tucson Kart Speedway.
The #30 kart driven by Jeff was the fastest kart in the field all night. He won both heat races by a comfortable margin to
earn his first pole position of the year and only his 2nd of his career. It looked like the main event would be a photo copy
of the heat races as Jeff took the lead and began to pull away. Contact with a lapped kart going into turn 3 on lap
12 made the race interesting as Spencer pulled to Jeff’s rear bumper. Spencer made a hard charge a few laps later and the
two made contact, but still pulled away from the rest of the pack. Coming to the finish line, Spencer was able to pull
to Jeff’s rear tires, but Jeff took the checkered flag first and the celebration
began.
“It just feels good to get this first win out of the way,” Jeff said
afterwards. “It was a strange feeling to
be at the front all night. Now I know how Rick
feels every week.”
Jeff said a major key to his victory was the return of his wife
“Having
“I knew Rick would be making some adjustments and would be fast in the main,
so I started trying to guess what we could do to get faster.
Finally, Jeff gave credit to Pro Racing’s
“Mike has given us quality equipment and the support we needed so we could
focus on our driving and not worry about being underpowered or chasing handling problems
during the race. His help and advice is a key
reason we could win so early in our history.”
Beating fellow
“Rick has been the class of the field in both Phoenix and Tucson all season
long. I’ve followed him around all season
trying to learn from him and catch him. The
excitement of finally crossing the finish line ahead of him is indescribable, even if it
is only for one race. Having so many Pro
Racing supplied karts in our field (5 of them) has made the racing challenging. If you’re not on top of your game, you
won’t have a chance.”
Fellow HMS driver Cody Hybiak nearly made it a Hybiak sweep as he too won both heat
races and started on the pole. He and Tye
Mihoko of Phoenix nearly lapped the entire field before Cody ran into the back of Mihoko
causing both to spin. The yellow came out even
though the two were well ahead of the field when they began rolling again, and Cody was
put to the back for causing the caution.
HMS will be competing in Phoenix next weekend, followed by their last regular
season race in Tucson on September 29.
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