[Kerry Matthews]

If you do head out to Prairie City, ask for Bill McCallister.  He and his wife Paula are running the show out there these days, and he will answer any and all of your questions.  He will get you going in the right direction, and he has a couple of rental karts, so you might be able to check out a kart before buying one.

The kart track is located all the way at the back of the park, near the water tower, ‘igloo’ and park offices.  There’s a sign showing the way at the ranger check in station.

[Kerry Matthews]

Drew,

You have several kart tracks within short drive from Davis.  Blue Max in Davis, Prairie City has a track, and there’s Kinsman Kart Club, a track south of Dixon on Hwy 113.  There’s also a kart track at Sonoma raceway.

In fact, there’s a race at Prairie City this Sunday, Aug 17th.  Might be worth it to drive over and check it out!

http://www.allstarkarting.com

[Kerry Matthews]

I use Bergfelt bumpers on my kart.  Made of metal right here in the USA in Pennsylvania.

http://www.bergfeltracing.com/bumpers.html

[Kerry Matthews]

I am, barring any ‘issues’.  I just fixed my RV problem, so now I just need to make sure my kart’s good.  I will know for sure by Sunday night.  Vince & I are planning on driving down Friday afternoon.  It will be my first time in the kart in 10 months.  I am ready…

[Kerry Matthews]

Advanced weather reports say a high of 95 degrees, which would be AWESOME for Buttonwillow in the summertime!

 

[Kerry Matthews]

The “West” track is close to 2 miles, considerably shorter than the “Main” track.  The longest straight is less than half of the length of the front straight on the main track.  It’s much more of a driver’s track, as there’s not many places, if any, to draft someone.  It’s twisty, curvy, has hairpin turns and elevation changes!

[Kerry Matthews]

Keep an eye on the classifieds here.  Or try e bay.

[Kerry Matthews]

Like Bill, I started late in life, at 45 y.o.  I started with a TaG, then bought a second one for my then g/f.  Ran the TaG’s for the first couple of years sprint racing, but discovered road racing late in my second year running karts.  As soon as I went road racing, I knew I needed a Stock Honda.  Bought one a year later.  The TaG’s were driving me nuts with all the problems keeping them running.  The Honda’s are SO nice to run!  And people wonder why I have a spare Honda in my trailer…  It’s because I used to run TaG, and you needed a spare engine!  Man, after running those pain in the butt TaG’s for a couple of seasons, I can’t say that I’d be too quick to steer anyone towards one, especially a beginning karter. I’d probably steer a new karter towards a KT 100.

[Kerry Matthews]

Check with any of your local kart shops to see if they have a carrier that they use for shipping.  You will get a better shipping rate.  Then, If you take it to the nearest shipping ‘hub’ for the carrier and have the person receiving it do the same, the price drops greatly.  This eliminates the need for a lift gate, which can be expensive.  If  no local kart shops can help, try friends that have businesses that ship and receive merchandise frequently, and see if they will let you use their account to ship.  Otherwise, you’ll need to open an account, and that could cost $$$$.  You’ll also need to palletize the karts, which means ‘merging’ 2 pallets, or building a custom pallet to ship a kart on.  This will be most of the shipping weight, btw.

[Kerry Matthews]

[quote quote=19088]You guys can’t really expect any legitimate info on this thread, it is not the original thread started by the race promoter. The pursuit for a 2014 COTA event actually ENDED months ago. The question is not about the interest for an event at this track but WHO will put it on. The next person I would suggest you folks talk to is Tom Kutcher. He is the next person who has experience/resource/ SKUSA to put on a huge event at COTA.[/quote]

And have to run spec tires, etc.?  We’d probably all have to use spec sun tan lotion too.  No thanks…

[Kerry Matthews]

[quote quote=18708]Over the years at times the more someone tries to make karting safer the more dangerous it has become. Karting has turned into overpowered rental karts it’s less about driver skill and more about shoving and wrecking somebody. The last step to finally screwing it up is putting on a roll cage in the name of safety. Karting would be safer if you removed all the bodywork you would sure learn respect real quick if you tried to drive the same way. I am fortunate to able to watch guys like Scott Pruett, Lynn Haddock and Ron Emmick race karts seeing those guys race each other hard and passing was an art form it was a joy to watch I can’t say that about karting today. [/quote]

There’s SO many good comments on here against bigger bumpers, but I like John’s the best, maybe because I’ve talked to Scott Pruett and his father many times about karting… then and now.  They say the same.   I got out of sprint karts because of the carnage, all the younger guys going kamikaze into turn 1 on the first lap.  Granted, I had a rough start in sprint racing, flipping in my second race due to wheel to wheel contact, and breaking several bones and collapsing my lung, so I’m not too keen on contact.  I found road racing to be a lot more fun, but when things go wrong, they go wrong in a big way.  I’ve seen the inside of the ambulance a few times, but I’ve always been lucky and gone home in my own vehicle.  I’m against any more bumpers or safety crap on karts because, as stated above, it takes away from a driver’s skill.  Without them, you know that IF you have contact with another kart, you’re BOTH done for the race, so you do your best to avoid it at all costs.  It makes for better drivers.  And I have done indoor karting with several pro drivers from NorCal, along with some of the SwedeTech guys.  Never been hit so hard in my life.  On a big track, that would not be pretty.

[Kerry Matthews]

I flipped my Stock Honda last year and landed on my head/right shoulder.  Did a complete spin while upside down.  Wasted my Arai GP6 and Leatt neck brace.  I also wore through the back of my K1 suit and partially through the shoulder strap of my Ribtech vest, but all of my equipment did the job.  I had no abrasions or serious injuries.

[Kerry Matthews]

I too have experience with K1 kart suits.  Their quality has improved quite a bit the last couple of years, and their suits are comfortable to wear ALL DAY.  Sorry, no experience with ONE suits.

[Kerry Matthews]

Big thanks to everyone that brought me their old kart tires!  Nate says we delivered over 200 tires!!  And that’s about a 1/4 of what he needs, so it looks like I’ll be collecting your old tires for a while…  Thanks again!

 

[Kerry Matthews]

The turnout was good, the racing was great in several heats, and the weather was absolutely gorgeous for Thanksgiving weekend. It was just an all around good day of racing!

[Kerry Matthews]

Bring them tires!  I need a couple hundred of them, so the more the merrier!  I’m hoping to fill my truck and maybe some more that I can talk one of my fellow Sacramento racers into taking home in their trailer and I can come pick them up on Sunday.  I’ve been told by a few racers that they are bringing several tires (5o in one case)  to the race for me.

[Kerry Matthews]

And I thought the bad audio was me….

[Kerry Matthews]

ATTENTION ALL RACERS COMING TO SONOMA RACEWAY:

I have a friend that wants to build a retaining wall using old kart tires, and he’s asked me if I can help him in acquiring used kart tires.  So please bring your used tires to the Western States race next weekend, and I will take them home.  No need to worry about disposing of them!  I will have my F 250 there with a shell, so I can haul plenty of tires back!  So when loading up your trailer, don’t forget to throw all those old tires into the trailer too!  Thanks in advance!

[Kerry Matthews]

I still read it all the time.  I’ve adjusted to the change.

[Kerry Matthews]

If the weather’s nice, I’ll be down in the Mustang to mingle and schmooze for a while.  I see Paul Traver is bringing out his Superkart.  Maybe I can talk him into letting me take a couple of laps in it.  I’ll bring my driving gear along in case that’s a possibility.

 

 

[Kerry Matthews]

Joe, you think the sound is better on the GoPro than the Contours?  I’d say the exact opposite.  I always thought the sound on the GoPro’s was crap.  That was one of my biggest complains about the GoPro’s.

[Kerry Matthews]

Used a GoPro for a while, then switched to Contour.  Better picture quality,  I HAVE had a couple of issues with the cameras, but Contour has been good with replacing cameras when they go bad.  I use 2 Contour +’s mounted to my kart, as helmet mounted cameras are illegal here in IKF land.

[Kerry Matthews]

Not that you’re gonna run out and buy one, but the best tire changing tool ever is the Italian made Semel Baby kart tire changing machine like I have in my race trailer.  I bought one from a friend who was selling off a lot of his stuff, so I got it fairly cheap. ($1k)  I had a beadbreaker and a Tire Wizz, maybe even one of those straps, now that I know that’s what it was… from the time I started karting.  But I struggled trying to change tires that way.  I’ve watched people do it by hand in a few seconds, and I’m always amazed by their talents.  Unfortunately, that’s not what happens when I try to change tires, and an hour later I walk away tired and exasperated with a set of tires mounted.  Now I’m done in 10 minutes!

[Kerry Matthews]

I  took this class several months ago in San Jose.  Great class!  Whether you’re a caveman around these things like me, or a total whiz with these things, you will learn something from this class!

[Kerry Matthews]

Hi Matthew,

A couple of questions for you.

What part of the country do you live in?

Do you want to run sprint tracks, (built specifically for karts) or road race on the big tracks?

I did sprint racing locally in a TaG kart (Touch and Go) for a couple of years until a couple of my sprint racing friends in Reno talked me into checking out road racing at Thunderhill Raceway in Northern California.  I’ve been road racing ever since.  Entry fees are higher, but you get more track time.  Entry fees run around $250 – $300 for most road races.  Sprint racing is considerably cheaper in the entrance fee department.  (about $30 – $50)  Not to mention unless you live somewhere like Northern California, where we have several road racing venues within a half day’s drive, road racing will require a travel budget as well.
A set of tires will last a race day, but some change them for each race.  Depends on your budget.  I’ve run them for 2 races before.  What type of racing you do might dictate what kind of kart you buy.  Road racing is best in a shifter kart, while sprint racing is better in a single speed kart.  (My opinion)  Also, sprint racing seems more sensitive to kart age, as the newer karts usually have the new ‘tricks’ on them to make them a .10 of a second faster, while in road racing it doesn’t matter quite as much, as it’s more of a drafting thing on the big tracks. I’ve been running an older kart (2006)  and run mid pack in it.  The big difference is the speed.  Sprint racing, you will top out at around 65 – 70 mph at most tracks.  Road racing, you’re doing in excess of 100 mph at most tracks.   Although it IS fun to run a road track in your kart and find out you’re 8 seconds a lap faster in your shifter kart than in your Porsche.

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