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| EKN Editorial: Rob Howden’s The Bottom Line - Reading a Positive Trend into the Numbers |
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I know it’s probably just my age creeping up on me, but last year seemed to fly by in an instant. I can honestly say that it feels like only a moment ago that I was in Florida for the final Winter Tour race in March or in Tucson for the SKUSA SpringNationals in April. Looking back, it all just seems like a blur. That said, when I do take the time to sit down and review the past season, I get a much better feeling of the year as a whole than I did when I was consistently forced to mire through the threads on our EKN forums or endure doomsday prophecies ranted by the ‘glass half-empty’ sect of the sport. Most certainly, karting continued to battle the nationwide recession in 2011, but there were many highlights throughout the year that have led me to believe that we’re finally clawing our way out of the economic cellar.
If you’re a person who looks at entry numbers to determine the strength of our sport, then you definitely saw bright spots from coast-to-coast. From our position here at EKN, we survey the sport and all of its programs from many angles, and I think it’s fair to say that regional and national entry numbers can be a decent gauge of how we’re doing. They’re not the ‘be-all and end-all’, as they don’t measure true grassroots stability, but I’ll deal with that in another column. For the most part, these numbers let us know that people are racing, supporting the series and the promoters, burning through consumables like tires and fuel, chassis and parts. This is good for the industry, because it keeps money flowing through the kart shops, which is key to growth, profit and stability for the people who actually support our passion with service and equipment.
At EKN, we also spend a great deal of time speaking with promoters, shop owners, teams, drivers and parents. It is common knowledge that karters like to provide ‘constructive criticism’, so I take any complaints with a grain of salt, as they have been balanced by loads of great feedback as well. And if numbers can be looked at as a basic indication of how well we’re doing, we must be able to take some good from the 2011 season. Numbers in the major national series and special events were certainly encouraging.
 | The WKA Manufacturer's Cup Series continued to pull in strong numbers during 2011
(Photo: Sean Buur - Go Racing Magazine) |
Let’s start with WKA Kartweek in Daytona from over a year ago, as we’ll touch base of this past week’s events at the end of this column. If our sport is hurting, the WKA’s Manufacturer’s Cup program is a faulty indication of this concept. The Man Cup event held at the end of 2010 drew another massive entry count to the infield of the Daytona International Speedway, and their numbers were pretty consistent through to the end of the year as well. The Man Cup deal remains strong and has a loyal following. This is extremely positive for the shops that are there to support these racers. It’s awesome to see that the 2011 edition last week was equally as solid.
Coming off of Daytona over a year ago, the strong attendance figures continued with the Florida Winter Tour, the West Coast’s Challenge of the Americas and the kick-off for the second edition of the SKUSA Pro Kart Tour. I strongly believe that the excitement generated during these months, and in these series, has a positive residual effect for the sport over the next few months. This was certainly the case in 2011.
Bill Wright’s Florida Winter Tour once again played host to packed houses in the Sunshine State, filling the paddocks at the Orlando Karting Center, Palm Beach International Raceway and Ocala Gran Prix through the ‘off-months’ of our sport. The FWT Rotax weekends are ridiculously popular, drawing drivers from the frozen tundra of Canada and from countries throughout Europe, Central and South America. The series has become the largest Rotax program in the world, and the competition is ferocious. Again, great numbers at the FWT are an indication that the program is sound and this equals profitability for the industry, which is hugely important.
Andy Seesemann’s Gatorz Challenge of the Americas does not have the same international participation as the FWT, nor does it have the 13 years of history, but it is certainly gaining momentum thanks to participation from Mexico and Canada. The series pulled over 100 Rotax drivers in 2011 in its focused class line-up, including 40-plus in Rotax Senior. 2012 promises to be even larger. This is great momentum for our sport.
 | A rise in numbers during the sophomore season of the SKUSA Pro Tour indicates increased entry for 2012 as well
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
Superkarts! USA’s sophomore running of its Pro Tour might have been the best signal that we’re on an upward trend, as the series enjoyed a 60% increase in entries for its SpringNationals in Tucson in April, where over 170 drivers clashed to begin their season of national Stock Honda and TaG competition. SKUSA’s SummerNationals in July followed suit with a 57% increase in attendance from 2010 as over 130 pilots took to the track in Grand Junction, CO. The Stock Moto program continues to expand under the guidance of SKUSA and the 2012 season points to even more growth for their Pro Tour. The annual SuperNationals in Las Vegas put an exclamation mark on the Pro Tour with total entries of over 530 and an end number of 437 drivers competing in the eight Tour classes. There were certainly a significant number of international participants in these categories, however, the core group of domestic competitors is growing. All signs point to 200+ entry numbers for the first two Pro Tour races in 2012, and over 550 at the SuperNationals in November.
Major annual events like the Rotax Grand Nationals and Rock Island Grand Prix enjoyed great editions as well in 2011. The main national event for Rotax drew over 200 competitors to Utah, all vying for a spot on Team USA in Al Ain, while RIGP officials started with a clean sheet of paper for the 2011 race and attracted new participants by sharing the top billing among shifter, TaG, Yamaha and Open categories. The race entry numbers were an increase from the previous year, and there was certainly a new atmosphere of excitement, which was supported by some great racing. In the end, any time we can use the term ‘increased entry numbers’, it’s a good thing.
There were some new bright points in the country as well, with special events like the Streets of Lancaster Grand Prix, Red Bull Kart Fight at PRI and the Indy Karting Classic injecting their own unique excitement to the mix.
The SOLGP teamed up with Superkarts! USA to re-invent itself after its first two years of existence, moving the racecourse deeper into the ‘Boulevard’ area of the city, essentially taking the race to the public and the local economy. This was an extremely positive step that promises to fuel new growth and excitement within the community, as local businesses reported record sales on the Saturday of the event as the spectator areas were packed. The SKUSA-promoted race brought the organization’s core competitors to the event and they put on a great show, and I expect to see this become one of the largest TaG races in the state in 2012. That said, as always, the spectators loved the shifters. When it comes to the new fans, the shifterkarts always seems to be the favorite. The City of Lancaster is behind this race 100% and one can only dream of how big this race could get for Southern California karting.
 | A rejuvenated Rock Island Grand Prix hosted its highest entry total in the last few season's with more changes and more first-time racers looking forward to the 2012 edition
(Photo: Joe Brittin - Go Racing Magazine) |
The simple arrival of Red Bull onto the karting scene at the PRI show should be enough to fire up everyone in the sport, and Monday’s airing of the ‘Karters’ division race at the Red Bull Kart Fight on Fox Sports Net is another important highlight from 2011. The staff at Performance Racing Industry continues to show their support for karting, and this year, the race was their baby, and they ran with it. Partnering with Red Bull and MAXSpeed to try something new (with a spec motor program) resulted in the best edition yet, surely paving the way for event’s future. The positive effect of having the race on Fox cannot be understated.
Just as the Red Bull Kart Fight at PRI generated mainstream motorsports coverage for the sport, the Indy Karting Classic injected a positive plug when it capped the IMIS show in Indianapolis. You know you’re doing something good for the sport when you can get Tony Stewart in a kart, as the media flurry that followed simply continued the injection of karting awareness in the mainstream motorsports media.
All in all, the bottom line is that karting on the national and major event level was really pretty solid last year. Regionally, there were some huge positives as well, especially when you look at programs like the Route 66 Series in the Midwest and the Florida Karting Championship Series. These programs, and others like them, are drawing great numbers. They’re doing the right things and it’s paying off. In a future editorial series, we’ll be talking to the leaders of these programs to get a feel for the keys to their success, with the goal of passing that knowledge on throughout the karting community. Some stuff works, some stuff doesn’t, so if we can share our successful ideas, maybe we can fast-track improvement all over the nation.
As I sit here at my desk during the first week of 2012, everything that I’m hearing points to an even better year nationally. WKA Kartweek had some issues, but overall, it was a great event with solid numbers and a return to the big track for the road racers. The Florida Winter Tour is bracing for record numbers on their Rotax weekends, and early registration and team commitments for the Challenge of the Americas point towards growth of 25% or more. Also, as I stated, the SKUSA Pro Tour is expecting to host over 200 drivers at their Spring and SummerNationals, and the introduction of new streets races in 2012, such as the Texas Lone Star Grand Prix in Dallas, will continue to bring the sport to the public. Yep, we are definitely on an upswing.
And if all goes well, I’ll be able to write a similar column in January of 2013.
Race safe,
Rob Howden
Editor-in-Chief / Publisher
eKartingNews.com |
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