May 09, 2019

Negativity is a dangerous thing in any community, whether it’s a sport or a club or just a hobby. The other day, I was taking in some of the chatter on the social media platforms surrounding the topic of the evolving engine formulas in the sport.  The introduction of the IAME KA100 powerplant has injected […]

Mar 27, 2019

Every year, as the new racing schedules start landing in our email inboxes at EKN, David Cole and I begin assembling both our personal travel schedules and our plans for the coming year’s EKN Trackside Live Tour. More than any other season, this year’s schedule was hit with date conflicts, which we knew would make […]

Jan 07, 2019

Seeing as it’s been only a week since New Year’s Eve, I’m going to go out on a limb and state that most people are still in a pretty positive mindset and that a majority of your NYE resolutions are still being chased with full commitment. This stream of positivity is an annual mindset shift […]

Mar 20, 2018

Like so many of those enthusiasts who raced karts in the 80s and 90s, I smile widely when I think back to my first years in the sport. I think that it was simpler then.  I loved getting up at 4:30 am to drive an hour to my club track to make sure I had […]

Dec 12, 2017

“You absolutely couldn’t have sent us a better candidate. Jake was polished, a gentleman, and extremely fast. I really hope he gets a bit more seat time, because if he does and he wants to pursue racing as a full-time gig, there’s no doubt he’ll be successful.” This tremendous feedback was part of a text […]

Nov 27, 2017

We’re now a week on from the 21st running of the Superkarts! USA SuperNationals in Las Vegas, and everyone has returned home. They’ve enjoyed Thanksgiving with family and friends, and they’ve ‘rested up’ through the weekend. During this time, I’ve personally been reflecting on the event itself, going over some of the happenings and experiences […]

Nov 14, 2017

Over the last 20 years, the Superkarts! USA SuperNationals has cemented its position as the official cap to the national racing season in North America. When it comes to the event’s importance in our sport, one cannot argue against the fact that the race is unparalleled in terms of sheer size and longevity.  The event […]

Jun 26, 2017

I’m a big fan of karting, in general, meaning all its unique disciplines. I’ve raced four-cycle and two-cycle, I’ve driven in street races like Rock Island and Quincy in the Park, and on big car tracks like Mid-Ohio.  I’ve competed in the Florida Winter Tour in a 125cc shifter and driven on the dirt in […]

Jun 06, 2017

I’m often asked about running a company like eKartingNews.com, and what we do to fill our days at the desk. This isn’t the time to list the endless work that keeps me in my office for 10-12 hours a day between races, but suffice it to say that motorsports journalism is perceived through the end […]

May 17, 2017

In my early days as a motorsports journalist, I worked as a freelance Editor-at-Large for National Kart News, which was the leading karting magazine at the time. One of the annual editorial components that my publisher always requested was a ‘Safety Guide’, so we put together an issue each year that highlighted the helmets, suits, […]

Jan 16, 2017

Now that we’re halfway through January, it’s really starting to feel like the new season is up and running.  The final weeks of 2016 felt like a whirlwind, as we came off a month of preparations that led into our trackside effort for last November’s SKUSA SuperNationals.  It seems like I just left Las Vegas, […]

Jan 03, 2017

For all the battling that went on this year in karting, both on-track and off-track, between drivers and between organizations, there’s one thing that is for certain.  2016 is done and gone, and everything that happened throughout the year it is now history.  As we roll into the first week of January, I suggest that […]

Dec 14, 2016

It’s been a long year, as I’m sure most of you will agree, and I’m finally back in the office after my last travel trip of the year.  I wrapped the season by attending the Performance Racing Industry Show in Indianapolis, working with the Mazda Road to Indy crew and hosting a few driver announcements […]

Jun 21, 2016

As is so often the case, I draw many ‘Morning Coffee’ topics from the daily discussions I have with people in the sport.  More often than not, it’s either my conversation partner or myself who eventually blurts out…“that should be a column”.  We discuss the positives and negatives of the current state of karting or […]

Jun 10, 2016

Amidst all the tension and stress that comes with any major national karting event these days, there are also numerous stories throughout the paddock that remind us all of the passion that resides outside the track boundaries. A case in point is Franklin Motorsports’ Jamie Sieracki, the lifelong kart racer and industry member who during […]

May 06, 2016

The sport of karting has evolved a great deal through its 60 years of existence, but the overall approach to competition may have changed the most over the last five years alone, especially at the national level.  This unique segment of our world is now characterized by pro-level transport truck haulers and toterhomes, unlimited testing, […]

Apr 29, 2016

As I sit at the desk in my hotel room, just before the start of official practice for the seventh running of the Superkarts! USA SpringNationals, I can’t help but think about the fact that national-level karting is on the verge of being able to finally move to the next level.  During my 20 years […]

Jan 08, 2016

It had been a handful of years since I’d made the trek to Daytona for WKA Kartweek, jumping onto a plane bound for Florida while still digesting my second helping of Christmas dinner. After attending a string of the events in the late 2000s, I succumbed to the pressure of logging in some family holiday […]

Aug 07, 2015

In the many discussions that I’ve had with racers and members of the karting industry in recent years, I often hear the statement that ‘karting is broken’ or that ‘it’s all upside down’. Your personal view likely depends on where you find yourself within the different levels of karting, but from someone who regularly connects […]

Jul 15, 2015

If you’ve been around the sport of karting for an extended period of time, you’ve had the opportunity to watch the evolution of race weekend scheduling. We’ve went from the week-long summer karting festivals that were the old-school, well-attended IKF Grand Nationals to tight two-day events to extended three-day race weekends with Friday practice and […]