Farmer has career year
on way to 2009 Triple Crown
12.15.2009 – Today we’ll continue the week of recognizing WKA’s 2009 Triple Crown champions with a look back at the outstanding season for Bully Clutches Gold Cup veteran Brett Farmer, who joined Dakota Bell and Gary Lawson as the series’ three Triple Crown winners.



The Grand Rapids, Michigan, racer won a single Gold Cup national championship in 2008 in Briggs Medium. Farmer returned to the top 4-cycle sprint series in 2009 and had a career year, netting four national championships on his way to his first Triple Crown Championship.

Farmer’s triumphs came in Briggs Lite, Briggs Medium, and Briggs Super Stock Medium and Heavy. The Briggs Medium class was arguably the most competitive division on the circuit and clearly the best attended, averaging 25 karts per race. The 18-year-old racer won two of the four Medium features on his way to the championship.

“This is definitely the highlight of my career so far,” Farmer said. “I had a chance at (the Triple Crown) in the past, but never quite got there. This year we put together a great year and got it.”

Farmer, who fields Margays numbered 89, has been running the Gold Cup tour regularly since 2003 and came into his own in 2009. He swept every Super Stock race of the season, albeit against minimal competition. But what he did in Briggs Lite, Medium and the Friday Money Race speaks volumes for the Upper Midwesterner’s talent behind the wheel. He won three of the four Lite features, two of the four Medium mains and cashed in when he drove to victory in two of the four Money Race 30-lappers.

What may stand as equally impressive as Farmer’s seven national wins in Lite, Medium and the Money Race is where he finished when he didn’t win. Farmer only finished outside the top three once in 12 features in the three classes. The lone disappointing result came when an exhaust pipe broke while he was leading the Medium feature at Camden. Disregarding that misfortune, Farmer’s worst finish of the five classes he regularly entered was third in the Money Race at Lowe’s.

“The season seemed to go almost perfect. I can’t say enough about our team and everyone who helps us. I’d like to thank Jerry Cole from Michigan Kart Supply, Steve Baker from Baker Racing Engines, my dad for making it all happen and Ryan Clay for helping on the crew.”

The most difficult part of Farmer’s interview was when he was asked what his best moment of the season was. The new Triple Crown champ narrowed it down to three.
“AJ Roderick and I had a great battle in the Money Race at New Castle. We were going back and forth in the last laps and I ended up getting the win in an awesome race. I passed Gary Lawson for a win at Camden and it was the first time I ever passed Gary, so that was pretty special. And at BeaveRun I crossed the line first in Medium and knew I had the Triple Crown with the win. We knew what we had to do to get it and then we went out and did it, and that’s always a great feeling.”

Farmer, who adds to his duties in the karting industry as a flagman for the Great Lakes Sprint Series, peered ahead to 2010. He says he’ll be looking for another Triple Crown, but will focus on Briggs Lite, Medium and Heavy. Of course, if the Money Race is offered, Gold Cup competitors and fans will assume Farmer will again be a major player in those cash-paying events, as well.

Farmer will accept his many awards at the Gold Cup banquet at the Carolina First Center in Greenville, S.C., on Saturday night, Jan. 30 in conjunction with KartFest 2010. The banquet will be a dual event with the Rage Karts Speedway Pavement Series.