Getting Started in Racing
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Rocket sled, fighter jet on four wheels, formula one car -that's today's high-tech racing kart! Long gone are the "go" karts which began in the 1950s as put-around-the-parking lot or backyard recreational machines. The current generation racing kart can provide all the exhilaration of the above "extreme" machines along with one of the most fun, family-oriented and economical segments of the racing sport. Whether you're a kid, have a kid or a big kid at heart looking to go racing, there really is no better "bang for your racing buck" than getting your start in a kart.
Check Out Your Local Track
As we discussed in our What Is Your Need For Speed section, one of the best ways to learn about the sport is to find a track in your area and go check out a local race. Most kart racing tracks have a very nominal entry fee (if any) for spectators, and you can usually get a pit pass to get right out in the action. This is especially true for local club races, but may not be the case if the track is hosting a regional or national race. Just check the track's web site or give them a call before you head out.
Once there, you can almost always find racers or "racer dads or moms" who are more than happy to throw in their "two cents" worth about how to get started in karting, cost estimates, classes to run in, recommendations on karts and equipment, etc... Also, the track or karting club typically has info on rules, required equipment, classes, and the schedules that you can pick up while you're there.
Get A Book
Some excellent books are also available that provide a great intro to karting as well as providing detailed technical info and "speed secrets" once you get into the sport. A couple you may want to check out are Memo Gidley's Secrets of Speed For Two-Cycle Kart Racing at www.mgspeedsecrets.com and the Complete Karting Intro Book available at www.tsracing.com.
Talk To The Local Kart Shop
Another great place to get info is your local kart shop and/or racing kart school.
If the shop hasn't provided quality service and fair pricing to this small group of customers, then they won't last very long. Bottom line is that they should provide some great recommendations for the various aspects of getting started in karting. Nobody of any integrity is going to push a $6,000 kart on you if they don't think it's right for you.
Try A Kart School
Your next step is to sign up for a class or intro session if there is a racing kart school associated with the local track. Most kart schools have a half-day class that will cover the basics of the kart, its operation, track rules, flags, and driving the racing line followed by enough laps on the track to leave you thoroughly exhausted, yet exhilarated.
Schools like Go Faster Racing Kart School in the Dallas/Ft. Worth region even offer programs like a $99 Superkart Experience where you get all the same classroom instruction and then three 5-lap sessions. For someone new to racing, this is a perfect intro to karts without getting totally worn out. Of course, you can always add some laps if the first three sessions were not enough.
Once you've gone through an intro class like that, you have a few options as far as the next steps to continuing in the sport. You can, of course, jump right in and buy a kart, all your safety equipment, tools, truck or trailer to haul everything if you don't already have one, and then sign up at your local track and kart club to start racing. If you're going this route, make sure you chat with some more racers out at the track about kart selection, whether to buy new or used, the series to compete in, where to buy parts, tools, etc... Once you've done your homework, then go for it.
Arrive and Drive
If you want to ease into kart racing without having to buy everything right up front, check with the local kart racing school or shop to see if they have an arrive and drive program. With arrive and drive, you do just that. The kart, equipment, and trackside support is all provided for you, so you just show up at the track on race or practice days and hop into the kart. This is a great way to go if you haven't quite made up your mind about making the investment in your own kart.
It's also an awesome way to learn from the wisdom of a professional "pit crew" (i.e. the race school) while you get up to speed on kart racing. Once you've gotten a few races under your belt through an arrive and drive program, then you may be ready to make the jump to purchasing your own kart and equipment.
If you're working with a school like Go Faster Racing Kart School, they'll actually deduct a substantial amount of your last arrive and drive fee from the purchase price of any new kart chassis/engine package. This is the best of both options - arrive and drive, then purchase.
Kart Series
As far as what series you can race in once you get started, there's a ton out there, and it will really depend on what's going on at your local track. Thus, I'll defer the details to them. However, here's a quick overview of the three basic divisions in karting.
Sprint Racing
Sprint karts are definitely the most common types. Sprint karts run relatively short races (i.e. 10-15 laps) on road course type tracks of 1/4 to 1/2 mile in length. Sprint karts can also run on some of the longer full-size road courses around the country, as well as oval tracks, thus making them the most versatile division in karting.
Oval
In the spirit of NASCAR, kart racing on 1/10 and 1/8 mile dirt or paved oval tracks is moving up in popularity and makes up the 2nd largest division. As you can imagine, oval carts are set up for..., you guessed it, turning left. You'll see a greater variety of karts competing on ovals from road course Sprint karts to karts with roll bars and all the way to miniature dirt "Sprint" karts that have the huge wing on top.
Enduro
The Enduro division comes from endurance, i.e. much longer races. The karts for Enduro are built to allow the driver to virtually lay down to reduce aerodynamic drag. Enduro carts can attain speeds over 100 mph and are generally raced on full-sized road courses like Road Atlanta and Mid-Ohio.
National Kart Sanctioning Organizations
Virtually every track is associated with some kart sanctioning body that helps to regulate and promote the sport. You will find tons of information on their websites about the different karting divisions, regulations, which tracks are associated with each, and more. The big three are:
KART: Karter's of America Racing Triad - The largest organization in Mid-America
IKF: International Karting Federation - First national karting organization
WKA: World Karting Association - 2nd American karting organization
Odds are your local track will be hooked up with one of these, so follow the links to learn more about each. And a few of the other more specialized karting associations include:
- BNSS: Burris National Speedway Series - Dirt Kart Racing
- SKUSA: Superkarts! USA - World's largest shifter kart organization
- RMAX Challenge: Rotax Max International - Fastest growing karting class in the world
And lastly a couple of excellent general karting web sites are:
If karting is going to be you're thing, then you don't want to miss one of the most important subjects when it comes to racing: SAFETY - It's the Name of the Game! Head over there now or press on to our next section, Take The Ultimate Test Drive, where you'll learn about test driving your own car on a race course, piloting a 300 h.p. dragster for $12, getting behind the wheel of an open-wheel formula race car and more!
