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I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me...Phi 4:13 |
2008 KART National Champion - 2009 IKF National Champion 2010 US Rotax Grand Nationals Runner-Up |
About Cole Glasson
Cole is a 10 year old, fifth grade racer that lives in Corinth, TX and is a daredevil at heart - he began racing at the age of 5 years old. Cole enjoys being active outside, baseball, basketball, X Box 360 (all racing games) and track / cross country. His parents are Tim and Wendy Glasson and he has two sisters Courtney and Alexa and will soon have exchange student sister, Yurina from Japan. Cole is also actively involved in a charitable organization called Kids Racing for Kids. He and his father are usually at their home track, North Texas Kartway, at least once a week practicing when not on the road. Cole's goal is to have a career in Motorsports and become an F1 Driver. Cole has completed his fourth full season of racing and became very competitive. See his racing stats below. To contact Cole directly, please email him at cole@dfrusa.com Cole was a 2-time National Champion at the age of 8, special thanks to his tuner and coach for both National Championships, DJ Ortiz of Kart Racing Solutions.
Race Team History
Cole Glasson began his racing career in Kid Karts at the age of 5 and was named to his first Factory Team for the 2008 season at the age of 7. Cole raced the Tornado F4 Chassis in the Tag Cadet Gazelle class and raced the SWRC, SWRA, and KART series in 2008. Cole teamed up with the KRS Factory Kart Team in early 2008, owned by DJ Ortiz who has tuned for and coached Cole since he was 7 years old. In mid 2008, Cole added a second class after the KART Nationals- Rotax Mini Max and moved to Margay chassis' for both karts. Cole ran at both Regional and National levels in the Cadet classes and ran two separate engine packages-Comer 80 and Rotax Mini Max in 2008 and 2009. In April 2009, he was named to the DeFrancesco Racing Team. The team is owned by Andy DeFrancesco and has a very experienced crew of David Tennyson, Bobby Wilson, and Ben Cruttenden. Cole is privately coached locally and nationally by DJ Ortiz of Kart Racing Solutions and some of his race engines are provided by TCRE who along with KRS has built Cole's most winning Rotax Engine. In 2010, Cole races with both the KRS and DFR National Teams and is always coached and tuned by DJ Ortiz. Cole is running a 100% National Program in 2010 with Florida Winter Tour, Rotax Pan American, and CKI.
Cole's Racing Memories
Winning his 2 National Titles as well as being Runner Up at the 2010 US Rotax Grand Nationals- He has won several regional races and placed in the top 3 in National races. He has also raced at Daytona International Speedway on multiple occassions and won the KART Nationals in 2008 and the IKF Grand Nationals in 2009 as well as finished on podium in many other National Series. During his visit to Daytona in 2007, he was able to ride in a pace car and go 135 mph around the Speedway. Cole raced his first road race at Cresson Motorsports Ranch in March 2008 reaching speeds in excess of 70 miles per hour and winning the regional race in the Gazelle class. While at the Indy 500 Race, Cole had the opportunity to meet Mike Lanigan, owner of Newmann, Haas, Lanigan Racing Team of the Indy series. He also had a chance to meet Arie Luyendyk Jr. as well as Speed's #1 show host, Rich Christensen of the TV show Pinks. In addition, he is around the professional racers of David Tennyson and Bobby Wilson as well as DJ Ortiz, a 9 Time National Karting Champion. His memorable races are as follows:
- 2010 Runner Up at US Rotax Grand Nationals, New Castle, Indiana- Mini Max
- 2010 Podium- Rotax Pan American Series, Houston, Texas- Mini Max
- 2010 Pole Position, Podium- WSK/CKI North American Series, New Castle, Indiana-Mini Max
- 2010 1st Winter Series Regional Champion, Denton, Texas- Mini Max
- 2009 8th US Rotax Grand Nationals, Norman, Oklahoma- Mini Max
- 2009 4th US Rotax Max Challenge Series- Mini Max
- 2009 2nd SWRC Regional Series, Southwest US- Mini Max
- 2009 1st IKF Road Race Grand Nationals, Decatur, Texas- Mini Max- NATIONAL CHAMPION
- 2009 2nd MRP Speed School Nationals, South Bend, Indiana- Mini Max
- 2008 1st Kart Nationals, Garnett, Kansas- Cadet- NATIONAL CHAMPION
- 2008 4th Tag World Championships, Grand Junction, Colorado- Cadet
- 2008 3rd Kart Regional Series, Southwest US- Cadet
- 2008 2nd SWRC Regional Series, Southwest US- Cadet
- 2007 2nd SWRC Spring Nationals, Norman, Oklahoma- Kid Kart
- 2007 2nd Kart Nationals, Tulsa, Oklahoma- Kid Kart
Cole's Race Stats
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Class
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Races
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Podium
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Podium%
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Wins
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Win %
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Kid Kart
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137
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89
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65%
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33
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24%
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Cadet
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121
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68
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56%
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27
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22%
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Rotax
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103
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46
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45%
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23
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22%
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Total
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361
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203
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56%
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83
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23%
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Cole's Regional and National Standings
Florida Winter Tour
US Rotax Challenge
Championship Karting International
Southwest Regional Cup
For a list of supporters, please visit the Support Page and if you are interested in sponsoring Cole, please contact us or simply join our mail list by contacting us through the website.
Website Visits
Top News Stories |
Cole Makes Great Showing at 2008 Tag Worlds |
 Cole and his pit crew (tuner and coach DJ Ortiz, father and grandfather)make the 20 hour trip to Grand Junction, Colorado to compete in the Tag World Championships. Some of the best drivers in the nation showed up as well as some great locals like Flinn Lazier (son of Indy Car Driver, Buddy Lazier). The weekend had its share of ups and downs but was a great showing for Cole. Over the weekend, Cole led over 40 laps, qualified pole and outside pole, and podiumed in both classes he competed in. Cole also won the first heat race by over 5 seconds. Cole finished fourth in both finals after hitting the dirt in the prefinal as the top three leaders went into turn 1 three wide. In the finals, Cole led laps in both races and was trading spots with the top four drivers for the win.
Despite the downs, Cole was in the top 4 drivers all weekend competing for the win in every race. A great weekend as Cole makes a name on the National stage. |
Cole Glasson Wins 2008 Kart Nationals |
 Cole Glasson and his family and tuner, DJ Ortiz, make the trip to Garnett, Kansas this weekend for the KART National Championships. Cole had a great race weekend and was in the thick of the racing all weekend as his coach and tuner, DJ worked to get the kart and driver where they needed to be. In TAG Light, Cole took second on Saturday in Nationals against Bailey Ring. On Sunday, it was a different story where Cole qualified pole position, won the pre final and won the final by sizable margins, taking the Tag Heavy Kart National Championship and winning his first National Championship. Cole and Bailey lapped the field both days. |
Cole Finishes 8th at 2009 Rotax US Grand Nationals |
 Cole traveled to the Rotax US Grand Nationals from September 11th through September 19th to compete against 41 of the best Mini Max racers in the United States. He arrived in Norman, Oklahoma with the Alonso Kart USA National Team owned by Defrancesco Racing. The drivers were faced with wet conditions through qualifying which brought a lot of adversity for the week. Cole ended up qualifying 21st out of the 41 driver field which put him toward the back in all of his heat races. In Heat 1, Cole was taken out at the start when a driver forced him into another kart causing his bumper to bend under the car and ending his race in 16th position. In Heat 2, Cole came back with a vengeance forcing his way to the front of the field and finishing in the 6th spot. It looked as though Cole's National race would end early after Heat 3 where he again was wrecked out in Turn 11 putting him finishing dead last. This caused Cole to be the last transfer spot into the Finals on Saturday and starting him in the 28th position. While most drivers would be frustrated and just try to get in the top 20, Cole came out to reach the front. He charged from the 28th spot in the prefinal to finish 10th where he would begin the Final. In the final, he again charged out of the gate and was in a eight kart break away from the rest of the 34 kart field. The eight karts battled for position the entire 18 laps with Cole fighting as far up as fifth place. He would end his first Rotax Grand Nationals in eighth position of the 41 entered drivers and would run with the lead pack the entire race. The eight drivers that broke way from the field had lap times within 1/10th of each other. A very good showing for the youngest diver in the Mini Max field. |
Cole Glasson Places 2nd in 2009 WKA Mini Max |
 Cole and his new race team traveled to South Bend, Indiana to participate in the WKA Round 2 National Series. This was the first weekend that Cole was with his new race team, Alonso Kart USA which is owned by Andy DeFrancesco of DeFrancesco Racing. The team was in the Tony Kart Florida tent and was working on the new Alonso Karts to get them tuned in. The race weekend started with the Friday night race where Cole participated in the Mini Max race where he came in 2nd to Santino Ferruci with Derek Sobel close behind. He then worked the next two days to get the new Alonso Kart dialed into the track. On Saturday we qualified 27 out of 34 and on Sunday moved up to 22 out of 34. We had a lot of ups and downs throughout the weekend from stalling the engine in Saturday's prefinal and starting in the back of the pack- finished 25 in Saturday's final and then having a massive wreck in Sunday's final after getting into the 17th position. All in all we had a great weekend as the kart was getting within a half second of the leaders. A special thanks to the team- Andy DeFrancesco, Bobby Wilson, Ben Cruttenden, and Doug Sharp for the endless work on the karts throughout the weekend. |
Cole Glasson Wins 2nd National Title-2009 IKF Nationals |
 As quoted by Ekarting News, "The youngest drivers of the IKF Road Race Grand Nationals put on a great 20-minute show with three drivers battling for the win. Cole Glasson paced the field the majority of the race with Chris Clark and Beck Duggleby on his bumper. As they came around for the checkered, Glasson was leading the way with Clark looking to slingshot by him. At the line, Glasson had the edge by 0.044-seconds. Duggleby was a close third while Kinsley Cook beat Michael Schneider for fourth."
Cole as well as several members of the KRS Team arrived in Decatur, Texas to compete in the 2009 IKF Road Race Grand Nationals which was held at Eagles Canyon Raceway. The 2.1 mile course was quickly tuned in for Cole by his driving coach and tuner, DJ Ortiz. During Wednesday's practice, Cole was running on average two seconds a lap faster than the field. His speed continued on Saturday mornings practice session where he found himself over 3 seconds a lap faster than the field. However, as usual, the competitors found speed and the draft to create a dramatic race for the coveted "Duffy Trophy". The entire race had the lead pack of three, Cole, Chris, and Beck within kart lengths each lap, there was one lead change in the second to the last lap where Cole fell to third, but retook the lead prior to the white flag where he held off a late charge by Chris and Beck beating them by only 4/100th's to claim his 2nd National Title.
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Cole Has 3 Top 10's In 2010 FWT at Ocala |
 Cole arrived to the final Florida Winter Tour race having already earned 3 top 10 finishes in the series hoping to add more to his resume. It did not take long for his Coach and Tuner, DJ Ortiz of KRS to get him dialed in and he quickly became a threat to run at the front of the 42 kart field. On Saturday in dry conditions, Cole qualified 15th getting an automatic transfer to the finals where he placed 7th in the prefinal and 8th in the final. On Sunday, however, he would have his work cut out as there were severe rain storms the entire day so he would have to change his driving style. DJ changed the kart set up and Cole went out and qualified 13th in the pouring rain. The prefinal was no different where Cole got a great start and quickly found himself in 9th place only two spin with 3 laps to go and falling near the back of the field. He was able to salvage a couple of positions before the checkered and finished 23rd. He did not give up and as the green flag waived for the final, Cole made an aggressive move down the middle and was in 13th place before turn 2. He worked his way into a 12 kart break away pack and finished the race in 10th to earn his 6th top 10 of the series. Cole did a remarkable job as one of the youngest drivers in the field and consistently ran in the top 10 and getting an automatic transfer to the finals in every race weekend. Special thanks to DJ Ortiz of KRS who tuned for Cole and the DFR Team for their continued support throughout the series. |
Pole Position and Podium at 2010 CKI |
 Cole began the opening round of Championship Karting International series in great fashion as he came away from the weekend with a pole position, and two top 5's including a podium in the finals. Cole was tuned and coached through the weekend by DJ Ortiz of www.kartracingsolutions.com and was under the DFR Race tent. Cole quickly found the pace on Saturday setting fast time to begin the pre-final rounds. He was in 3rd place when an on track incident pushed him back to 9th for the finals. He ended up charging from the back of the field to take the final podium spot in Saturday's final. Sunday still found him very fast, but he did not have enough to run into a podium position running in the top 5 all day only hundreths from a top 3. Cole finished the weekend with only 15 points separating him from 3rd place in the Championship points race. He also added another national stage podium to his resume...WKA, IKF, KART, TAG USA, and CKI. |
Cole Glasson Shines on National Stage-2010 Rotax Grand Nationals |
 Cole Glasson made his third trip to New Castle, Indiana with his coach / tuner DJ Ortiz of Kart Racing Solutions where the two joined the DeFrancesco Racing Team to compete in the 10 year olds 2nd US Rotax Grand National Event. Last year he finished the event in the eighth spot but was determined to place even better in 2010. The young pilot would compete against a tough 33 kart Mini Max field including his three teammates (DeFrancesco, Coultston and O' Ward) along with other notable National contenders of Dalton and Logan Sargent, Kyle Kirkwood, and Jordan Perry.
Practice went very well as DJ and Cole worked together to get the kart and jetting right for the humid conditions. Throughout the practice week, Cole remained in the top 10 spots and was running consistently well. When official practice began on Wednesday, the final timed practice put Cole in the fastest qualifying group for Thursday's qualifying session. Cole came out of the gates with a mission to be consistent all week and put himself in a position to compete for the title. Cole qualified 7th out of the field of 33 which would put him starting in the second row of all of his heat races. Heat 1 found Cole in P3 and in a good position to get with the breakaway pack and finish in P2. Heat 2 and 3 put Cole on the outside of row two going into the fast Turn 1. DJ and Cole worked on race strategy to ensure he was smart and made the right race decisions not to get in an incident. Cole would finish Heat 2 in P2 and Heat 3 in P3. The young driver did exactly what he needed to in order to stay in front of the field as he would begin the final day on the outside of Row 2 in P4.
The prefinal would be a battle as the top six drivers pulled from the field and began making multiple runs to the front as they came down the front straight away. Cole would find himself as high as P3 but could not hold on in the final turns and finished the prefinals in P6. This put Cole once again on the "familiar" outside but he was able to squeeze in and find himself in P4 out of the first few turns. Cole battled with the same breakaway group of Perry, D. Sargent, Defrancesco, L. Sargent, and Kirkwood as again the pack slowly began pulling from the field. In the end, Perry and Cole were able to put a little distance between themselves and the next 4 drivers and they battled to the checkered with Perry taking the top spot by only 2/10ths and Cole standing on the podium of one of the biggest National events. It was a great weekend for the 10 year old who walked away with three P2's, a P3, and a P6 over the event schedule.
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Another 2010 Rotax Podium- Highs and Lows |
 Cole and DJ Ortiz, owner, coach, and tuner from Kart Racing Solutions had another great run at the opening round of the Rotax Pan American national series race that was held at MSR Houston. Friday began a long day of practice with the last session posting times with the front runners. On Saturday, Cole qualified 5th and ran up to a 3rd place finish with a five kart breakaway with Kart Mini and DFR drivers making the run from the field. Cole made some great late passes to take 3rd. In the final, Cole fell to 5th early as again the five karts pulled from the field, Cole was able to make a last lap pass around his teammate, O Ward to get into the 3rd position as they overtook lap traffic on the final lap. Cole finished on podium for a 2nd straight race and had the fastest lap time in the finals. Sunday quickly turned into "bad luck" day as an issue forced us to go to our backup engine for the prefinal and a broken bumper had us starting the final in the 7th position. Cole ran a solid 6th in the final but did not have enough to stay with the break away field. Cole and DJ leave in two weeks to Phoenix for the 2nd round of the WSK/CKI North American Series where they currently sit 5th in points. |
Cole Takes Pole, Sets Track Record, and Wins 2010 Championship |
 Cole raced the last two races of the Winter Regional series this weekend and again performed flawlessly with pole, and wins in both the prefinal and final. His engine was provided by TCRE/KRS (DJ Ortiz and George Shear) and not only walked away with wins all day, he set the track record in Mini Max which has stood for almost three years. The wins secured the points championship for Cole taking 7 wins, 4 poles, and 1 second throughout the four race series. In addition, the engines provided by KRS/ TCRE have been the most winning engines that Cole has raced gaining him two National Titles. To find out more about the tuning or engines, visit www.kartracingsolutions.com or www.gokartracingengines.com |
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