What is Karting?

Kart racing is the fastest growing form of motorsports in the world. It provides all the fun and thrills of full scale high performance racing at a fraction of the cost. It appeals to people of all ages and from all walks of life, blue collar to professionals, who want the challenge of competition at an affordable price. Karting provides a place to develop and fine tune driving skills in a controlled envivironment. For young racers, karting is super training ground for teaching responsibility, good sportmanship and respect. Many of today's professional race drivers began their carreers a s kart racers. There's a place for everyone from local level up to national level competition. Many programs and and classes are available so it's easy to be competitive and feel the thrill right away.

Keeping It Safe

There are some risks associated with any type of motorsports. Tracks and competitors are always concerned about safety. All karts are inspected before the race to be sure they are race ready. In addition, racers must have the proper safety equipment including a suit or jacket, an approved helmet, driving gloves, a neck brace and high top driving shoes. you will beasked to sign a waiver of liability when registering. Familiarize yourself with the insurance coverage the track provides.

Dirt or Speedway

Done on oval trackes with either a dirt or asphalt racing surface, left turn only type of competition. Ovals range from small bull rings to large 1/4 mile tracks. Dirt track racing is an ever changing situation that provides an excellent challenge. Asphalt tracks are more constant and can be run day or nght.

Sprint Racing

Takes place on an asphalt road course with right turns, banked monzas, hairpins and straightaways. Racing is usually in the daytime.

Enduro racing

Held on large asphalt raod courses using a lay down kart that tests driver and machine endurance. Karts are very fast and are raced on big tracks such as Dayton Intl. Speedway and road America. Racestypically last 45 minutes. Due to the investment, competitors are usually very experienced drivers. Enduros are not recommended for novices.

Classes

Classes are age, weight and type of engine. Different tracks run different classes, 16 years and up.

Engines

Either 4-cycle or 2-cycle. Most 2-cycle engines are foreign made with Yamaha being the most popular.

Budget for Getting Started

Kart chassis, engine (4-cycle or 2-cycle), helmet, neck brace, gloves etc. approximately $4,000.