U.S. Superkart Championship for 2005

[michael beamer]

Charlie if you look at the national 125 class now it is a splintered group of unhappy people.Icc versus moto versus cik body work versus road race bodywork ect....If you want to come road racing bring whatever works the best not something that happens to work in another series.Skusa , stars whatever is a constant state of war with their participants because of all the rules,and changes.My exact point there are not enough people running 250s, 450s ,unlimited karts to start splintering off in different directions.Did cart versus irl make anything better.There has been a constant slide in the national 125 class since this splintering happened I dont think we need to hold their ideas up as a shining example of what path to follow.If you go back and read JR's original 2 posts describing what his concept was he carefully did not call this a WSK series and said that he hoped the west coast boys would adopt the views and rules of this series , a looser idea in which laydowns and others would be welcome.I just dont understand why anybody has the interest to exclude existing unlimited karts from a series that could showcase the fastest ideas.What took place at Barber was not a typical wka ,badger or any other type of race.It very effectively showcased the best that karting has to offer.At most races the unlimiteds are one small class among many,this series could be different because it emphasizes and showcases the fastest and best whatever they may be.I greatly appreciate JR's effort to bring about such a series and I hope it will reflect these inclusive ideas.

When I reffered to Andy I think he has shown a dominance now east /west /north and south at whatever his attention is focused on.At the time the change took place there was only one national 125 class.
I am looking to race tracks and individuals ,not organizations .In the 18 years I have racing I have made the 1328 mile trip to road am numerous times whether it was part of Wka or not .I am interested in the future health of the unlimited class and I dont think that excluding karters and a good chunk of the existing class serves this purpose.

thanks
m beamer

[Charlie Tackett]

Again, Micheal, you are operating in your little WKA world. You want one class of 125s, that's what we had here in the Mid-West for many many years. ICC, Moto, open carb ICC reeds, FormulaC rotaries, CIK, full-bodywork. Pick your engine, pick your chassis, pick your body work and bring it on! If it wasa non-GP 125 engien, bring it on. Unfortunately, being karters, we had to start spec-ing and restircting things because somebody might think somebody else had an unfair advantage. Also, you think they WKA doesn'tchange rules?????

Three years ago at VIR, I believe there were about 28-30 125 sprinters on the grid. I believe there were over twice that many at Mid-Ohio this last spring. Doesn't seem to be hurting the overall turnout. OBTW, at that VIR race, ANdy finished 2nd after another driver dropped out on the last lap. He was around 22secs behind the leader.....and the guy who won also turned faster lap times that day in his 125 sprinter than Andy did in the 250 he had at that time.....don't believe me, ask John F.

As for the designation of what constitutes a "Superkart", that comes from the CIK definition and long term use of that moniker.

Try to explain to me if you would, why have a duplicate class, ie, carbon copy of the WKA unlimited, running two different series in the same part of the country? Why not just run selected WKA events and maybe throw in one or two others at selected tracks with non-WKA events?? This is not about 250 gearbox vrs clutch or anything else, it is simly asking why duplicate a series and run the same classifications and stretch a small segment into something even smaller????

[michael beamer]

Charlie, I have not responded to you with any personal defining statements and frankly I dont know how you could possibly know what I do or dont think .As to me being in a small world you seem to be the one trying to shrink this down to a small world view not me.As to the cik they can kiss my a** the whole point is I dont want you or anybody else trying to define what I can and can't race .I have never been one to limit my racing to any particular series.If you will bother to look at the actual numbers for 125 or 250 whether at badger wka or mid ohio daytona or new hampshire they are not as strong as they used to be.Barber with an inclusive concept had 80 125cc and a healthy mixed unlimited field.The people that only run local series are hardly likely to drive distances for this series therefore I am trying to refer to relevant national series participants of which WKA is kind of hard to ignore.OUT west there are no laydowns left so this is not a discussion they have faced.As I stated before JR said this was a new series with a more open view then WSK. You seem to be blaming me for his concept .Since WKA,BIG SOUTH, SRRA,and DART all follow this open unlimited view I think if this series is going to come to the EAST coast and have healthy full fields then this is the reality of this side of the country.I dont see why any existing series would allow a new series to piggyback and take time and participants away.If it is strong enough to stand alone then they can be as exclusionary as they can afford to be.
Lets once again refer to facts instead of what you would like the reality to be: Andy won Mid Ohio this year
Andy won WSK ROAD ATLANTA this year
Andy won ROAD AMERICA this year
Andy won Laguna this year
you have to finish to win, not blow up, not spin off
east-west-north-south as I said,Andy doesnt need me as a cheerleader but I dont think you can name anyone else this year that has accomplished this.I have expressed inclusive ideas not provincial distortions.JR asked for a discussion .Your type would be pretty boring with only your view. There is a big difference between 125 karts and 250s and I dont think most of the people running 250s want it to be like the 125 class has become. If JR has changed his intentions then all he has to do is say the discussion is over and he -the one bringing the money to the table -can decide anything he wants ,but I will wait for his statement not your distortions.
thanks again
m beamer

[Charlie Tackett]

[CHRIS TAYLOR]

250 superkart racing, sit up, laydown, what ever. Let's line up race and have fun. quit sweating all the smal stuff!

[Robby Harper]

can t you all just get along
i keep hearing people talk about racing at Barbers and Road Atlanta
i promote races at both
do you know something that i don t about scheduling
i think that we can all run together and put on a great show as Unlimited

[CHRIS TAYLOR]

Well put Robby!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You got it figured out!!!!!!!! Glad you are taking care of the races at those tracks. See you in two weeks!

[J.R. Osborne]

Happy Monday Guys,

Thanks for all the "lively" discussions over the weekend. Let me give you some insight on why we are promoting our series for next year:

1) WSK, the Laguna Seca event, and Shifter Kart Illustrated has brought alot of interest and participation to the 250 scene. We want to continue to build on this momentum by increasing the 250 coverage and to have a championship that is properly funded.

2) Unfortunately Wayne Rainey and the WSK had some issues at this past Laguna event and it does not look as though the WSK will be promoting any future races at that track. I(we) do not want to take a chance of not having a 250 national championship for next year.

3) Why not just run with the IKF or WKA championships? I have ran and supported the WSK because it had select races at the premier tracks around the country. It's an organization exclusively for 250's and had our 250 concerns in mind. It is worth traveling 1000+ miles to compete w/ 30+ 250's and a specific 250 series has attained those numbers. I don't think the WKA/IKF offer the same type of championship.

4) Even though the WSK had the best single race event (Laguna) for the 250's, I think it's championship could be improved upon. I would think most people would embrace a 4-5 race 250 championship that is well covered (Super Kart Illustrated/ ekartingnews.com) and well funded,(prize money and trophies) at great race tracks around the country. What is not to like about that scenario?

5) Rules- we are making some changes to allow for better racing, a better points battle, and hopefully more participants. They are not an entire new set of rules. If you have a concern on a specific rule, let me know and we'll look at it.

6) Schedule- we are looking at the different race dates available. I see us running primarily w/ other kart races, along side their unlimited class (like last year). That will offer the lowest entry fees and most track time for the racers. But we are also looking into possibly running a support series w/ the Grand Am Series. We'll have to wait and see what they say.

7) Laydowns- when the WSK made it's rules they did not allow laydowns. I understand the reasoning behind it. I think at that time it helped define the class. At this point though, I do not see a problem with having a different style kart in the class. I feel at most tracks a typical WSK kart will be faster than a laydown. I don't think that a few laydowns will detract from the class. To an outsider it may cause even more interest. I would rather have a bigger diverse field than a small common one. If we are going to gain any clout to run w/ another series, guaranteed large grids is one of the biggest determining factors.

Conclusion- I'm not doing this for a living. I have a job. I'm doing this because I feel that things in the 250's can continue to evolve and be improved upon. I want to be part of a series that has some coverage, is held at the better tracks, and gives something back to the competitors. I did not see that happening next year, so I'm doing something about it. No one is forcing you to run this series but I think, if you have a 250, you would be missing out on a really fun championship.

Thanks for Listening,

J.R. Osborne
_________________
Anderson/Gas Gas/P-1

[CHRIS TAYLOR]

J.R.

I 100% think you have the right idea. My hat is off to you for working to make this happen. I look forward to racing with everyone!

Chris Taylor

[John Ferreira]

[John Ferreira]

[John Ferreira]

[Chris Reinhardt]

Just an idea that I posted on another forum. Why doesn't SKUSA step up and kick start their long track series? I know there's not much as far as SKUSA reps here on the east coast. Howard Rice races with some of Robbie’s events, but that's it. Track owner Tom Johnson at Oakland Valley in NY heads the Liberty region. We tried working one of his SKUSA events at Summit and they cancelled at the last minute, he owns a track, there's no reason for him to travel the series.
I'm sure WKC wouldn't mind hosting some SKUSA long track events, put that together with Robbie’s events and get the Mid States on board with some of the west coast guys and we have a series. Run SKUSA rules, have the series hosted by JRO's sponsors and it's pretty much done.

Just some thoughts...

Chris R.

[Larry Dobbs]

Thanks for thinking of me, but I am not qualified to lead, only to help, and I volunteer my services whole heartedly!

[Bill Kassy]