USPKS Operations Manager Tim Koyen sat down with EKN's Rob Howden to preview their 2024 program
(Photo: Ken Johnson - Studio 52.us)

The biggest series on the East Coast over the past few years is set to fire up a new season of competition next weekend as the United States Pro Kart Series takes the green flag at Speedsportz Racing Park. As we’ve seen through their social media posts of late, classes are hitting their caps, and the paddock area is all but sold out at Speedsportz. The long-range forecast for Houston is looking good and we’re sure that everyone involved in the program is raring to get rolling. We caught up with Series Operations Manager Tim Koyen earlier this week to get his take on the new season and their 2024 schedule.

eKartingNews.com: Tim, thanks for taking the time to chat with us ahead of the USPKS season opener in Texas. The program is coming off a super strong 2023 season that saw all-time highs for participation, and some truly incredible racing. Let’s start by talking about the Texas Grand Prix at Speedsportz Racing Park, which is set to kick off the season next week. How are things shaping up for the event?

Tim Koyen: So far, the event looks to be a carbon copy of last year, although the pit area sold out much quicker than in 2023, so we’ll see how that bodes for entries. As of this writing, we are ahead of last year.  The long-term weather forecast looks great and SRP has a ton of local support for the KA classes, so I’m very positive on the event.

USPKS returns to Speedsportz in 2024, this time to open up the season (Photo: Studio52.us)

EKN: The race weekend is closing fast, so can you give us an indication as to which classes are stacking up to be the largest this year?

TK: KA100 Junior was the biggest class last year and it’s off to a great start for this year. Lots of very talented Mini drivers have moved up this year, so it’s going to be a whole new cast of characters up front. It should be a fun one to watch. KA100 Senior also has some great talent coming into the pool from Junior, and it never disappoints. Micro is also strong, which is great for the future of the series and the sport.

EKN: Big numbers fuel big numbers, and that’s great for the sport. Tim, as with any racing program, the off-season presents an opportunity to improve or tweak your equation. Did the USPKS make any additions or adjustments with the staff for 2024, or with the overall program, that we should discuss or is it a case of ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’?

TK: Well, we subscribe to the school of continuous improvement, so while the program remains essentially unchanged, and 95% of the staff is back, we do have some initiatives that we will be rolling out. One of the biggest will be how racers and mechanics are notified of penalties. As we work with Race Select to continue developing their software product, we will be rolling out a new display system for penalties in the scale area. We won’t be wasting paper tickets anymore, many of which seemed to end up blowing all over the pits.  Instead, the penalties will show up on two TVs that can be viewed by the drivers as they cross the scales and the mechanics as they come to pickup the karts.

We are also tweaking the format of the Geo Cup Team Championship to make it more attainable for smaller teams. Essentially, only the race winners will count towards the points system, which takes away a team’s ability to dominate the top-three in a class and take the award. Under the new system, a team could have just a handful of drivers, yet notch numerous wins and secure the title that way.  It’s a different approach and it should be fun to watch the results.

Mill-Rite Raceway – home of the Badger Kart Club – will welcome back USPKS for the first time since 2013

EKN: Looking at the 2024 schedule, the calendar includes five venues that anyone would rate among the best on the East Coast. Can you give us your thoughts on each facility?

TK: Sure. Texas joined the rotation in 2023 and the Rudolph’s were great hosts for the series, and we all loved the event. I really enjoy working with Alan and Jessica because they’re both owners and racers, and that makes them sensitive to all the things that racers want, and the series needs. It’s greatly appreciated. I’m expecting more of the same good vibes at this event going forward.

Trackhouse comes second on the schedule this year, and there isn’t much to add to what others have already said. Great facility, great management, and great fun is pretty much the norm for us at Trackhouse.

The third event this year is at Mill-Rite Raceway, more commonly known at ‘Badger’ or ‘Dousman’.  The Badger Kart Club is an anomaly in the karting world these days as its basically member-owned and operated. They poured their profits back into a repave last fall, complete with new curbing. It’s a bullring for sure, but its 3/4 of a mile now and we can’t run all our races on superspeedways. It really brings karting back to its roots and the racing is great at this track. Plus, we’re working on some extra-curricular fun stuff to go along with it.

MCC in Cincinnati is up fourth and was another newcomer to the national series last year.  I think a lot of people were surprised at how much work the Bayliff family has done at this gem buried in the south Ohio hills. It has a country club type vibe, but it races well with a mix of tight sections and flat out runs.  It also has one of the nicer pit areas, and they are still improving.

The USPKS has put together the ‘Geo Cup’ team championship for the last several years (Photo: Alissa Grim)

We wrap everything up again this year at New Castle. NCMP needs no introduction, as everyone has been there and knows what to expect. Long straights, high speeds, crazy passes. Expect more of it in 2024. As per usual, our Awards Ceremony is scheduled for Sunday afternoon of this event.

When we layout the schedule each year, it’s important to Mark Coats and I that people earn their USPKS championship. They earn it by grinding it out against the best in the business five times at five different venues and at five different times of the year. We want the USPKS championship to be the hardest to earn, and the most prestigious.  I think we’re doing a pretty good job of that right now.

While we’re on the topic of tracks, I think we’re seeing an interesting time in motorsports right now, particularly with karting tracks. There was a time when big time racetracks that had karting facilities, like Daytona, Charlotte, and Road America, for example, were mostly off limits to traveling kart series due to cost, other than through special arrangements. We are beginning to see some doors open with these venues, due in part to the popularity of the sport, but also due to the venues becoming more cost competitive. This will likely be a trend that continues for some time as racers seek variety and promotors seek balance. 2025 could see a big shift in that balance across the sport.

EKN: The venues for this year’s USPKS program are truly among the cream of the crop on the East Coast and I personally like the mix of facilities, in addition to the geographical positioning, which gives most drivers one ‘home’ race. We’re sure it will be yet another outstanding season for the program, so best of luck at Speedsportz!

TK: Thanks, Rob. 2024 should be another awesome year for American kart racing and for the USPKS. I can’t wait to get back to the track with our team and do what we do best, put on awesome races. I’d like to personally extend an invitation to anyone who is new to the USPKS and isn’t sure about how something works, or has a question, to reach out to me. My contact info is all there at uspks.com. For everyone else, we’ll see you at the track!

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