Nathan Dupuis in his X30 Junior entry at the USPKS Carolina Grand Prix (Photo: Studio52.us)

The 2023 season was a unique one in the Junior divisions. Several drivers graduated out of Junior from 2022, while the majority of those advancing up from Cadet moved into the 100cc divisions across the country. The 125cc categories featured only two dozen or so drivers competing throughout the season. And, for many, it was the first season competing for top-five results and podium finishes. This allowed us to learn more about Canadian driver Nathan Dupuis.

Nathan’s first kart in 2020 (Photo: Dupuis Family)

Dupuis is a 12-year-old from Harrow, Ontario, Canada. He began karting in May 2020, introduced to the sport by Sean Patterson, whose son started racing a year before. The Dupuis family began at the Point Pelee Karting Club, located in Leamington, Ontario. At 9-years-old, Nathan began racing in a full-size Ricciardo Kart powered by a Briggs 206 in the Junior Lite category.

Nathan ran the full season at PPKC in 2020, finishing second in the class championship behind a driver who had been karting for at least five years. Dupuis was also voted by the club as the Rookie of the Year. The next season, Dupuis transitioned over to Goodwood Kartways in Stouffville, Ontario. He continued to excel that year, landing on the podium a handful of times in the Kart Stars Canada regional program along with the TRAK series hosted at Goodwood. His performance on the year at Goodwood landed him in the top-100 in Briggs Weekly Racing Series Junior program in 2021.

“I had tried soccer and baseball, but I didn’t like them so my parents took me to indoor karting and I thought this was something I could get into and like,” stated Nathan Dupuis. “I liked the fact that a lot of people at the club were helping me and my dad to better understand the sport. I enjoyed the speed and trying to get better at every race. I didn’t like going off the track and hitting the barriers for my first race, but I’ve been able to avoid that since.”

The 2022 season was an advancement into the 2-cycle world, along with racing in the USA. Dupuis finished eighth in the Florida Winter Tour championship in the VLR Junior category, and he also made starts at the SKUSA Winter Series, Rotax Winter Trophy, and the opening round of the United States Pro Kart Series. When the summer season hit Canada, Nathan was performing at his best. He went on to win the VLR Junior Kart Stars championship and the TRAK title in the category, in addition to the Briggs Junior crown in Kart Stars.

“The four-stroke taught me a lot about the craft of the sport and I wanted more speed,” added Nathan. “I asked my parents if I could race two-stroke and they said yes. The first thing I noticed about the two-stroke was the acceleration of the kart and how much heavier the steering was compared to the four-stroke, along with overall speed and how much faster I needed to think to drive the kart properly. Braking became much more important than before.”

Dupuis joined the Speed Concepts Racing team for the 2023 season (Photo: Studio52.us)

The start of the 2023 season began the new relationship with Speed Concepts Racing. He made his debut with SCR in February at the second round of the ROK Cup USA Florida Winter Tour, held at the Piquet Race Park in West Palm Beach.

“We were looking to challenge Nathan, and develop his racing skills,” stated Nathan’s mother Melissa Dupuis. “He had already won the championships in the Ontario area, so it made since to make a move to competing in the United States. Nathan’s coach at the time, Dale Bonham from Goodwood Kartways, had always spoken very highly of Alex Speed and Speed Concepts Racing for Junior driver development.”

The Speed Concepts Racing operation has been helping produce some of karting’s top talent for decades. Mike Speed is a lifelong karter, having several notable victories and championships himself as a driver. When Scott and Alex Speed ventured into the driver’s seat, they excelled under the guidance of their father, and of course went on to gain national and international stardom. Their past driver development relationships included Kyle Kirkwood, Oliver Askew, Ashley Rogero, and many other Florida based drivers before launching SCR. Luca Mars, Kyffin Simpson, Paul Bocuse, Jack Jeffers, and many others have benefited from working with the Speed family with Dupuis among the new crop of drivers currently working with them in 2023 and for the upcoming 2024 season.

The move to SCR and racing in the United States brought on a busy 2023 season for Dupuis, who competed in different programs. He had a best result of third at the Rotax Winter Trophy program, followed by placing 11th in the Florida Winter Tour championship in Junior ROK. He ended up 22nd in the X30 Junior standings for the SKUSA Winter Series program. The bulk of his focus was centered around the United States Pro Kart Series and the SKUSA Pro Tour championships. In his first season, Dupuis finished fifth in the USPKS point standings, earning a best result of runner-up at the Motorsports Country Club of Cincinnati in August. He went on to end up seventh in the championship chase in SKUSA, earning a podium finish at the SpringNationals in Utah.

“Working with Speed Concepts Racing this year was amazing,” continued Melissa. “He learned so much and his progress was amazing. We had some ups-and-downs, it’s racing after all.  There is so much support under the tent and everyone is eager to help you when they can. Nathan has improved in his focus and understanding of his competitors and is learning to make better decisions when on the track. There is still a lot to learn, but Nathan is very eager to learn, to listen, to understand how the kart works, and how to apply that knowledge out on the track. The Junior program at Speed is the best.”

Nathan finished the USPKS X30 Junior standings in fifth (Photo: Studio52.us)

What stood out for Dupuis, much more than the results, was his attitude on and off the track. The first time he stood out was at the USPKS event at Speedsportz Racing Park in Texas. His finish of fourth place in the main event was an improvement from 18th at the season opener in Orlando. The thrill and excitement Nathan had in the scale line was unforgettable.

“Our first impression of Nate was his incredible rolling speed as well as super smooth hands, both great positives to have when working with a new driver,” commented Alex Speed of Speed Concepts Racing. “The main focus on the year was working on braking and hustling into the corner while engaging early in race craft. Because he’s such a nice person, it was about getting him to ‘get his elbows out’ and battle. Nate is a great kid who is very respectful and always has a smile, which makes him a great teammate and everyone around him wants to help him succeed. He’s one of the first to congratulate another driver for their good results. The family as a whole has been awesome to have under the tent. They step in to help anywhere, any time with pit setup or teardown, always willing to give a hand when anyone needs help. It was such a pleasure to have helped ‘Nate Dawg’ this year for his Junior development year. We are excited to see him push the limits in 2024 and compete for race wins!”

Dupuis is set for another busy racing season ahead in 2024. He already returned to the track in December, racing at the CKNA Winter Nationals at the NOLA Motorsports Park recently and is planning on the WKA Daytona KartWeek event at the Daytona International Speedway between Christmas and New Years. Nathan will be racing as many different tracks and series as possible that he can, with a focus on the Rotax program under the Speed Concepts Racing tent. X30 and KA100 Junior classes in SKUSA and USPKS competition. He will also be competing in Briggs 206 competition in the USA under the Marc Stehle Motorsports tent.

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