Behind the Laptop: If I Had a Million Dollars...

[David Cole]

Please take a few minutes to read my latest column.

http://www.ekartingnews.com/news_info.php?n=21693

And please post your feedback, ideas and opinions on the topic.

Thank you.
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David Cole
News Desk Manager
eKartingNews.com
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[John Matthews]

Hi David,

I'm waiting for the snow to melt too I'm a little farther north than you up here on Grand Traverse Bay. If all goes well we'll have a little something going with a private grasspass style track this summer, if that goes well maybe we'll get it paved and start a regular program

The class structure you laid out would work and be great for the sport if we could only get everyone behind it. Key is having a rational system with affordable beginner and sportsman classes, love the open engine concept for those that want to step up or have different equipment. There is a lot of decent used equipment out there that could be competitive in that kind of scenario, we just need ways to get it on track.

Don't know if a lotto jackpot would be enough but it would at least be a good start, I just purchased my ticket, wish me luck....

Cheers,
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John Matthews
Heartbeat Power, LLC.

[David Cole]

Thanks John.

I'm guessing no one in karting won the powerball this weekend.
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David Cole
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eKartingNews.com
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[Keith Bridgeman]

I think the class structure you put out there makes a lot of sense.

Trouble is getting clubs to stick with it. The club nearest to me is pretty much a World Formula track. Pushed that engine so hard its now the only class they have. Before that they where selling the Vampire engine. Bad choices have made for a very small club that trying to get things back going again.

Everyone starts racing with a club. Then they get board and want to venture out to a regional race, then they love that competition and then they shot for a national race. If your on some oddball engine that is dead from the start.

The one thing I really don't like about karting now is the spec approach. It might be best for growing the sport right now in down times I guess. For Jr. classes its the way to go for sure.
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Merlin / Maxter KZ

[David Cole]

That's the issue where the industry is at the local level. Clubs are doing what they can to survive. My home track has a WF class, which is almost the Masters class as it is all 4-cycle. But we are talking at most 50 racers total at the track. Obviously, the industry is a major factor in what clubs allow and don't allow.

At the club level, if you have enough racers to support a class, you should offer it. We always had the saying '5 make a class'. With a national class structure, you can offer that plus anything else that is popular in your area.

Spec is the easiest way to get new racers into the sport. People have a hard enough time with computers and televisions, let alone a kart. Also, if you make the rules simple, it helps take away the thought that someone has the 'advantage'. If you narrow it down to just kart and driver by making the engines as similar as possible, it produces better racing and more competition.

Rotax, Stock Moto, Yamaha and LO206 are great examples of that, and the TaG structure SKUSA has assembled puts multiple engines in close proximity. I can't wait for the SKUSA SpringNats as two years ago, the TaG class was a great battle with Rotax, Leopard and Rok TT all there.
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David Cole
News Desk Manager
eKartingNews.com
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[Tony Leone]

[David Cole]

[Adrian Baran]

First thing I'd do is build a track in my backyard that way I can test test and test!

I do like how you've laid out and organized the classes seems well thought out.
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Adrian Baran
Mechanical Engineering Student
The Pennsylvania State University||Penn State Racing (FSAE)
Birel AR 30|Hoosier R60a|Yamaha KT-100

[Chris Livengood]

The sport should grow bottom up, not top down. Once the clubs find a way to to work together, to make a few unified classes for the masses, then the organizers at the top will have no choice but get on board.
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"Auto racing, helping white guys get laid since 1887!!!"

[David Cole]

[John Matthews]

Ok,

Here's a crazy idea....

Since eKartingNews.com is about the only place where racers from all around the country come together how about you guys put it out there?

Just take the structure you've laid out and get with the sanctioning bodies you referenced for buy-in then put it together as a package local tracks can choose to follow if they want. Strictly voluntary, but with the 17943 registered users you have there's actually a potential for sparking a grassroots uprising from kart racers that just want to be able to have good local programs and travel a little bit without being forced to deal with completely different rules at tracks near them.

Just call it the EKN Guidelines or something like that and maybe put on one big race at the end of the season where all the different classes you've laid out are run. You don't actually have to put the race on yourselves, just work with one of the established promoters (RIGP comes to mind)....

Honestly I see the structure you've laid out here as a great way for local, regional and national organizations to all get on the same page. It's not based on what can work in any particular region, it's a compilation of classes based on many, many, many discussions we've had on this forum involving people from every possible perspective in the sport.

Of course not every class would be run at every participating track but by adopting the guidelines local tracks would make it clear they want maximum participation by not leaving anyone's equipment out. If one track had a bunch of guys that wanted to run Aixro they could do it while another track might have a group wanting Ltd. Mod Flatheads, nobody gets left out. By having the open class and setting some weight guidelines like Unlimited All-stars does even the oddball stuff experimenters come up with will have a place to run. You might even get some crossover from the dirt oval ranks

We've been having this conversation here for years now and it keeps coming back to the lack of one strong national sanctioning body taking charge of karting in the US. We might as well realize that it's not going to happen so what else can we do? Clearly the Internet is the one thing that connects the largest number of kart racers in the US, let's take advantage of the structure you've built and help move karting to the next place it needs to go


Cheers,
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John Matthews
Heartbeat Power, LLC.

[David Cole]

Thanks John for the comments.

If we can get others to comment and support the idea, then we have a reason to help push this further. However, until the masses can come together like you stated, then it might not be worth the fight. Thus why I think it may not work unless you have the money to back up one national organization to oversee the sport.
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David Cole
News Desk Manager
eKartingNews.com
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[Chris Hutchinson]

Is their any particular reasons, why American Karting could NOT or would not embrace the Commission International De Karting in other words the CIK / FIA. It appears that they have a very well define and structured layout for karting. It's even used in the very successful AMA Supercross series.


http://www.cikfia.com/home.html

[John Matthews]

[John Matthews]