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| January 19, 2012 News |
| EKN Fast Five with Russ Kemple - Mid-State Kart Club |
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The winter months can be a stressful time for karters in the northern states, particularly in the Midwest area. Unless you are able to get away to Florida or California for a weekend of racing, it could be months before you hit the track again. To help ease that withdrawal, many take to swap meets across the area. The show that is quickly becoming the new ‘must-attend’ event is the Winter Kart Show, presented by the Mid-State Kart Club. The show, scheduled for January 27-28 in Springfield, Illinois, has moved to a larger facility and is welcoming a number of industry players to display their 2012 equipment. We caught up with MSKC President Russ Kemple for a quick ‘EKN Fast Five’ questions about the show.
eKartingNews.com: When did the idea for the Winter Kart Show become a reality?
Russ Kemple: When I became President in November 2011, the club had been doing a small swap meet at the local Eagles Club for 21 years. With the Kart Marketing Industry show stopped, I decided to invite the vendors who normally displayed to come to our little swap meet. We sold out the Eagles Club and had to turn multiple vendors away. This year, we worked with the Illinois Department of Agriculture to use their new state of the art Orr Building with 39,000 square feet. We created a website - http://www.WinterKartshow.com - and advertised the event through multiple websites and magazines. We sent over 300 letters, emails and multiple phone calls to make this event a success. The club plans to spend $54,000 in track improvements come March 2012 and this event will help pay for a percentage of that.
EKN:Who is on the list of kart shop vendors you have attending this year’s show?
 | | Mid-State Kart Club President Russ Kemple, promoting the Winter Kart Show at the PRI Trade Show |
RK: We have a number of shops and industry members that will here for the show from around the Midwest and beyond:
ACR
American Aero Inc
CKT
DRT Racing
Express Karts and Parts
Franklin Motorsports
Laukaitis
KartLift
KartSport North America
Margay Racing Products
MKP
MRP Motorsport
RLV
Russell Karting Specialties
Streeter Super Stands
TS Racing
Viking Karting Products
Viper
Among the kart brands that will be on display include; Arrow, Birel, Bandit, Corsa, Coyote, DR Kart, Margay, Merlin, Monza, Parolin, PCR, and Rocket
We will have a number of tracks and series that will be on hand to promote their 2012 programs:
61 Kartways, Delmar, IA
Cerro Gordo Speedway (Dirt Oval)
Championship Enduro Series
Concept Haulers Speedway - Norway Illinois
Great Lakes Pro Series
Lake Sangchris Speedway (Dirt Oval)
Mid-America Track Challenge
Mid-State Kart Club - Springfield, IL
Mid-West Sprint Series
Rock Island Grand Prix
Route 66 Series
St. Louis Karting Association - St. Louis, MO
TAG USA
TNT Kartways - Quincy, IL
USA International Raceway - Shawano, WI
Vintage Karting Association
 | | The Orr Building in Springfield, IL will house plenty of karting vendors and karters setting up swap tables |
EKN: How many number of regular booths will there be for people to do some bargain shopping for karting products from karters?
RK: Over 50 swap booths so far and we expect twice that many by show time.
EKN: What are the days and hours of the show? What does it cost for someone to attend?
RK: Vendor Set-Up is from 1pm until 9pm on Friday, January 27. A Vendor-Only show is open to the public from 6pm until 9pm Friday night at $10.00 for Adults with kids 12 and under in free. Following that is a ‘Karting Mixer’ at the local Quaker Steak and Lube from 9:30pm-Midnight. A food buffet and Karaoke will be available.
The show opens to the public on Saturday, January 28 for a special ‘Early Bird SWAP’ special at 8am to 9am for $10 Adult tickets. Entry into the show will then move to $7 Adult tickets for 9am until 5pm with kids 12 and under free the entire time. The address is 801 E Sangamon Ave, Springfield, IL 62702 and more information can be found at http://www.winterkartshow.com |
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