Cup Karts South's Bret Spaude made a big announcement recently, confirming the series' event at Daytona International Speedway

The opening quarter of the 2024 calendar has proven to be very successful for the Cup Karts North America program, and this positivity is focused on the continuing growth of the Cup Karts South program and another incredibly well-attended Spring Nationals at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in March. We sat down with Cup Karts South leader Bret Spaude this week to discuss his program and his major announcement from last week.

eKartingNews.com: Bret, thanks for taking the time to chat with us about Cup Karts South. You guys just made a huge announcement recently that the series finale in April is being moved to the legendary Daytona International Speedway. Can you give us some insight into how this came together and how long did it take to secure the venue for a CKNA South race?

Cup Karts South’s recent announcement of the addition of Daytona International Speedway to their schedule as their finale in May has been enthusiastically received
(Photo: Cup Karts South)

Bret Spaude: When the Cup Kart South series started four years ago, I knew that adding Daytona to the schedule would be a massive feat, but it would be important for the series. As CKNA events like the Grands and Spring Nats continued to grow, securing a large-scale track in the South (Daytona) became even more critical. We have been trying for about two years now, and, finally, Daytona agreed to give us a date. Of course, we were very excited to get it. For a week or so, we (Greg Jasperson and myself) both sort of would tell each other that it didn’t really happen and we were waiting for something to come up that would be a hiccup… and thankfully that has not happened!

EKN: Well, it’s definitely happening, which is huge for the sport to get another big race at DIS. How’s the feedback been from your community of regular drivers? I expect they’re all incredibly excited about it. As such, do you have an entry number target that you’re hoping for?

BS: So far, it’s been amazing. I think the Memorial Day weekend might take a few people out of the running on attending, just because they already had Indy or Charlotte tickets. So far though, that’s the only hiccup that has come up. We were ‘late’ to announce this and I can understand it. Everyone is excited for a good travel weekend and being able to race inside the Speedway. We will be lucky enough this year to have the entire facility to ourselves to spread out and take advantage of.

EKN: The CKNA South program is enjoying a strong period of growth with more and more support. Can you tell us how you approach the series and what your goals are for the program and your racers?

BS: We think that treating the racers well and providing a fair-priced event, but running it like a million-dollar event, is key to success. When racers pull into the pits, they know exactly what they are getting; fair and comprehensive tech, a LOT of track time, cool door prizes at the drivers meeting, and competitive racing. In the Cup Karts South Series, we have some of the toughest competitors across all the classes. When you look at the Spring Nats qualifying and heats, the top 4-6 were all South regulars. When you win or get a top-three in the South, it’s like you are winning a National-style event.

The Cup Karts South program has been a massive positive in solidifying Briggs four-cycle racing in the Southeast
(Photo: Cup Karts South)

EKN: Indeed. There are a ton of top-level racers running the South program. Now that we’ve discussed the new Daytona event, and want to circle back to the start of this ‘season’ for you guys, which started in December of last year. It’s been a strong couple of months for the southern component of Cup Karts North America with the Winter Nationals at NOLA in December and the Spring Nationals at Charlotte in early March. I want to start with the Winter Nationals from 2022. You moved the event from New Years to earlier in December in 2023. Can you give us some insight into the reasoning behind that adjustment and do you feel that you’ve found a sweet spot for the race on the national schedule? Will that date return at NOLA in December of 2024 to kick off 2025?

BS: The first year we did the Winter Nationals, it was perfectly timed to line up with end of WKA KartWeek for Friday practice and racing on Saturday and Sunday. We have played with moving the date around due to the younger racers who are still in school. And, you are right, we have to get this in about 10 weeks after the Grands and 8-10 weeks in front of the Spring Nats. With other series in the south having major events, there are not a whole lot of options. We are always trying to make sure that we find a date that works for everyone involved.

EKN: This year’s Winter Nationals drew great participation numbers, along with a group of Canadians who trekked down to get out of the cold and have some fun. Do you feel that the event has developed the roots it needs to have solidified itself on the racing calendar of Briggs racers nationwide, and grow steadily like the Spring Nationals and Grand Nationals?

BS: Well, we actually missed a bit this year on the Winter Nats and went down a bit from 2022. Again, I think that the date had something to do with it. Our counts were still good in most of the classes…actually up a bit, but we were massively down in the Cadet and Sportsman classes. That’s a big indication that we didn’t get the families to travel during the first part of December. Overall, the event was a success and the racing was top notch, actually some of the best racing we had seen in a while from our group. The roots of the event are formed, but we still need to find the perfect date that works for everyone.

Last December’s Cup Karts South Winter Nationals was a big success at NOLA Motorsports Park
(Photo: Cup Karts South)

EKN: Overall, can you speak to the growing stability of the numbers in the CKNA South program? There are majors like the Winter Nationals and Spring Nationals that are part of your South schedule, but the additional events are drawing strong fields as well. What do you look to as the reasoning behind this increase in numbers?

BS: Our races are seeing a 20%-30% increase from last year. I think that for a while, in the beginning, we were involved in battles with other groups that were hosting events and would schedule near or on top of ours. We are now seeing that groups are working around us, instead of against us, which allows the conflicts to disappear, giving racers the chance to pick where they want to race. We’ve continued to race at new facilities over the years, like Biloxi, AMP, Kershaw, and now Daytona, and this keeps the racer engaged with going to new places they don’t get to see very often. We think our brand in CKNA is also helping. We are known for providing excellent value for your registration dollar, running an on-time event, and having consistent, tough tech that when the day is over, you know that it was fair and everyone was legal.

EKN: There’s no doubt that the CKNA brand has great momentum right now, and there’s no indication that it will slow down any time soon. We expect to see the Summer Nationals at Pittsburgh to be a full paddock as well. Bret, let’s give you the floor. Is there anything else you’d like to communicate to the karting community as you get set for the last two Cup Karts South races of the season – Atlanta Motorsports Park (April 12-14) and Daytona International Speedway (May 24-26)?

BS: We are so excited to keep the pace going. We have to check ourselves sometimes and remind ourselves that we are doing big things. These events are pulling big numbers and we aren’t using tricks to get them that way. We are running and promoting great venues with quality experiences that make racers, first to last, enjoy the experience. AMP being a new facility will be a blast to drive, big elevations, blind off camber turns; it’s going to be a challenge! Daytona is just…Daytona. We are excited to be a part of karting history and we look forward to sharing it with everyone in under 60 days!

EKN: Thanks for taking the time to speak with us, Bret. We look forward to seeing you trackside soon!

BS: As always, EKN does great with getting our story out. Thank you for taking the time and helping us and karting as a whole.

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