(Photo: EKN)

EKN’s Paddock Insider is part of our Trackside coverage, bringing you notes, updates and breaking news as it happens. The article will feature notes from trackside at the 2024 United States Pro Kart Series at the Wisconsin Grand Prix held at the Mill-Rite Raceway in Dousman, Wisconsin.

Back to Badger

One of the locations for the inaugural season of the United States Pro Kart Series was the home of Badger Kart Club. It was in 2013 that the USPKS made its only visit until this weekend to the Dousman, WI circuit, which is among the longest tenured facilities in North America, dating back to the early 1960s. The track has played host to many major events, including numerous WKA national and international competitions. For those in the Midwest, it is a regular stop on the season. For the many competitors from west of the Mississippi River and those international drivers, this is their first visit. Team owner Mike Rolison of Rolison Performance Group raced here back in 2001 for the WKA Grand Nationals. California’s Matt Johnson ran here a few times in the early 2000s as well, just missing out on a few wins. Alan Rudolph of the Alan Rudolph Racing Academy remembers shifterkarts here in the late 1990s. The consensus of those who have never been here are enjoying the ‘old school’ feel to the facility and the challenging layout it provides.

Silly Season 2024 Underway

Diego Ardiles making his debut with Speed Concepts Racing (Photo: EKN)

The month of June is nearly complete and we have begun the Silly Season for 2024. One of the first moves to begin is X30 Junior championship leader Diego Ardiles joining Speed Concepts Racing. The Florida driver has left Rolison Performance Group where he has been for the last two seasons. The move puts him alongside Jackson Wolny under the SCR tent in both Junior classes, however, Wolny will be racing aboard the Kart Republic chassis while Ardiles is on the new CS55 chassis in each division. The other announcement last week came with Harley Keeble and Sodi Racing USA ending their two year relationship. Keeble, now living here in the USA, has moved over to Inter MS aboard the Kart Republic chassis, racing alongside Alessandro de Tullio. Both drivers have been welcomed by their new teams and confirmed with EKN the change thus far has been positive.

Brown Completing International Triple-Header

Turner Brown is coming off a P3 at the FIA Karting Academy Trophy event in Slovakia (Photo: KSP)

It has been a busy month for Rolison Performance Group driver Turner Brown, who is on the end of a month long run. It began with two weekends at the Motorsports Country Club of Cincinnati for the SKUSA Pro Tour SpringNationals before heading to Slovakia to compete in the second round of the FIA Karting Academy Trophy program. The California driver finished 14th in the opener in France in his first time racing an OK-N package. He was among the top contenders in Slovakia, qualifying eighth in group. Finishes of eighth, third, and 11th put him ninth on the grid for the Final. He advanced later in the race up to fourth and was promoted to the podium in third place. Now here in Dousman, Brown is looking to rebound and grab his first USPKS victory of the season in X30 Junior and KA100 Junior competition. The travel has been normal, with of course jet lag and help from family – including his mother, cousin Hunter Pickett, mechanic Colton Filkill and driver coach at the FIA Karting events Gary Carlton. Brown sits ninth in the Academy Trophy standings with the final event scheduled for August 1-4 in Sweden, which will be in between the SKUSA Pro Tour SummerNationals and the USPKS Ohio Grand Prix.

Team FMS Adds Bobby Wilson

Former national champion Bobby Wilson joining Franklin Motorsports as driver coach (Photo: EKN)

When you think of nearby Oconomowoc, Wisconsin – the name that comes to mind in karting is Bobby Wilson. During the late 90s and early 2000s, Wilson was among the top shifterkart drivers in the country. He was the 2000 SKUSA ProMoto Tour champion in the headline S1 division and went on to earn ‘Driver of the Year’ for Shifter Kart Illustrated in 2003. He raced aboard Birel, Trackmagic and First Kart race teams during his tenure, earning numerous victories along the way. Eventually, he went up to cars, racing in the USF2000 program before jumping to Indy Lights (now Indy NXT). There he went on to finish fourth in the championship in 2006 and 2007 before finishing up his career in 2008. In recent weeks, Wilson was added to nearby Franklin Motorsports as driver coach and mechanic with their growing cliental at Badger Kart Club.

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