REAL racing

Thanks to some wonderful hospitality on the part of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indy Racing League, I had the opportunity to race go-karts this week against several current IRL and one former Indy driver at Stefan Johannson's Karting Center in Indianapolis. On-hand were IRL drivers Johnny Unser, Scott Harrington, Jeret Schroeder, Tyce Carlson, Sam Schmidt, and former Indy driver Stan Fox. Robbie Unser showed up, too, but he didn't drive. The racing was great -- it was a 2-1/2 hour enduro team event, with teams of 5 to 6 people. Each team had a "real" driver, and we had to figure out pit strategies for driver swaps, amount of time on track for each driver, how to make up time for the slower drivers, etc.; the winning team was the one who could put in the maximum number of laps in the allotted time. Stefan's place is awesome -- it's an indoor slick track, and it's laid out as a multi-turn "road course" circuit, so you have to turn left and right. The karts could do up to 45 mph in the long sweeper/straight segment, and hard braking was mandatory at various points in order to successfully navigate the various turns. The best time of the night was 21.10 seconds -- and, amazingly, this time was not set by one of the "real" drivers (I think the guy was a "ringer" who had a lot of previous experience at Steffan's place). This guy's laps were about a second faster than what the IRL drivers were turning in, and he was a BIG guy (about 6' 2", and he wasn't skinny), so he HAD to have a ton of previous experience on this particular track with these particular karts. The "real" drivers were awesome to watch, though. I was on Jeret Schroeder's team, and after our first round of seat time, he pretty much tapped me as the team's second driver (right after him, of course). He was turning in laps in the 21.65 - 21.84 second range; my best was in the 22.18 second range, so I figure I was doing pretty good myself. Maybe all that sim seat time DOES pay off in the real world! <G> At any rate, if you're ever in Indy, be sure to stop by Stefan's place (or find a karting center near you) -- it's a ton of fun, and it's probably the ultimate "simulator" experience. Professional drivers not included, of course, and your mileage may vary! ;-) -- JB

We have the same thing in Omaha called "National Indoor Karting". It's an indoor slick track with speeds up to around 45 mph around a sweeper. Typical racing is $12 for 5 minutes or you can arange special 50, 80, or 100 lap races for around $70 per person. The special races include 10 minutes of qualifying follwed by the race. It really is the most fun "real" racing I've tried, not including Malibu Grand Prix in Florida and near Kansas City (which has since closed, unfortunately). <Dan>

Any Kart track is a blast if you get enough competitive people on it. The last time I ran Go Karts was after a local SCCA regoin meeting. The Kart track never thought you could have spun one of their karts, but they were dumb enough to put 16 of us out and agree to give us a flying start and the mayhem started, by lap three the leader was being pushed sideways by the number 2 and 3 palce drivers due to karts being so slow you really had to forcefull with any passing attempts. Also for some odd reason we were invited not to come back. Dave

>On-hand were IRL drivers Johnny Unser, Scott Harrington, Jeret >Schroeder, Tyce Carlson, Sam Schmidt, and former Indy driver Stan Fox. It's a bit off topic, but can I ask how Stan seemed to be getting along? We really haven't heard too much about how he is and what he's doing since his recovery. -- | "Instead of letting the moon be the Bill Mette | gateway to our future, we have let Enteract, Chicago | it become a brief chapter in our

Some of the best fun I've had is in go karts the place I go to is an outdoor track with a concrete road course and a high banked concrete oval which is almost a mini Bristol. Beatin' and bangin' in one of the naskarts is some of the best fun someone can have.

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> Thanks to some wonderful hospitality on the part of the Indianapolis > Motor Speedway and the Indy Racing League, I had the opportunity to > race go-karts this week against several current IRL and one former > Indy driver at Stefan Johannson's Karting Center in Indianapolis. > On-hand were IRL drivers Johnny Unser, Scott Harrington, Jeret > Schroeder, Tyce Carlson, Sam Schmidt, and former Indy driver Stan Fox. > Robbie Unser showed up, too, but he didn't drive. > The racing was great -- it was a 2-1/2 hour enduro team event, with > teams of 5 to 6 people. Each team had a "real" driver, and we had to > figure out pit strategies for driver swaps, amount of time on track > for each driver, how to make up time for the slower drivers, etc.; the > winning team was the one who could put in the maximum number of laps > in the allotted time. > Stefan's place is awesome -- it's an indoor slick track, and it's laid > out as a multi-turn "road course" circuit, so you have to turn left > and right. The karts could do up to 45 mph in the long > sweeper/straight segment, and hard braking was mandatory at various > points in order to successfully navigate the various turns. > The best time of the night was 21.10 seconds -- and, amazingly, this > time was not set by one of the "real" drivers (I think the guy was a > "ringer" who had a lot of previous experience at Steffan's place). > This guy's laps were about a second faster than what the IRL drivers > were turning in, and he was a BIG guy (about 6' 2", and he wasn't > skinny), so he HAD to have a ton of previous experience on this > particular track with these particular karts. > The "real" drivers were awesome to watch, though. I was on Jeret > Schroeder's team, and after our first round of seat time, he pretty > much tapped me as the team's second driver (right after him, of > course). He was turning in laps in the 21.65 - 21.84 second range; my > best was in the 22.18 second range, so I figure I was doing pretty > good myself. Maybe all that sim seat time DOES pay off in the real > world! <G> > At any rate, if you're ever in Indy, be sure to stop by Stefan's place > (or find a karting center near you) -- it's a ton of fun, and it's > probably the ultimate "simulator" experience. Professional drivers not > included, of course, and your mileage may vary! > ;-) > -- JB

I went to that place down in South Florida last year, those NasKarts were awesome. Road course was pretty good too, but was not that competitive. -- Gary243 - The most electrifying driver in racing entertainment Gary Silverman - Driver/Owner Jersey Motorsports NROS - #91 On Track Realty/gojersey.com Oldsmobile Aurora SCCA Solo II - #30 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme

I absolutely Agree with J. Bodin about kartin.. About a week ago I bought my own used kart 100cc Parilla. The expirience is awsome ,It goes like a rocket and its an old model and its not 125cc or more.. its not so easy to drive ..after 10 laps I was exusted especialy my arms There is a track about 8 miles form the place I live -Athens Greece- and already I was there twise with my Kart.. I am driving civilian car more than 8 years this is the first real racing expiriance and its awsome.. every time I learn more thinks about going faster and faster! Go give it a try! Kostis

>Thanks to some wonderful hospitality on the part of the Indianapolis >Motor Speedway and the Indy Racing League, I had the opportunity to >race go-karts this week against several current IRL and one former >Indy driver at Stefan Johannson's Karting Center in Indianapolis. [snip] >At any rate, if you're ever in Indy, be sure to stop by Stefan's place >(or find a karting center near you) -- it's a ton of fun, and it's >probably the ultimate "simulator" experience. Professional drivers not >included, of course, and your mileage may vary! If any of you are planning to go the Grand Prix in Montreal this year, come and check out the kart action on Saturday evening June 12. Last year we organised a Saturday get-together for the rec.autos.sport.f1 crowd and we had so much fun we're certain to do it again this year. See <http://www.globalserve.net/~trauttf/kart/> for last year's details and maps to two of Montreal's more easily accessible indoor karting tracks. We went to Circuit 500 last year and will probably do the same this year. -Ferdinand-

writes: Two questions - about how much does a Kart cost, and does anybody know of any tracks around the Detroit, MI area? Eldred __ Put your message in a modem, and throw it in the ***-sea... remove SPAM-OFF to reply.

Hmm... I'm not around Detroit, but you should be able to find something competitive and used for about 800-1200 bucks. Depends if you want to go two-stroke or four... i'd go with a restricted Yamaha class (2 stroke). -_dave

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> writes: > >I am driving civilian car more than 8 years this is the first real racing > >expiriance and its awsome.. every time I learn more thinks about going > >faster and faster! > >Go give it a try! > >Kostis > Two questions - about how much does a Kart cost, and does anybody know of any > tracks around the Detroit, MI area? > Eldred > __ > Put your message in a modem, and throw it in the ***-sea... > remove SPAM-OFF to reply.

-- Dave Schwabe The Aussie Toad -- Grand Prix Legends & Brabham site http://users.wi.net/~schwabe

> Two questions - about how much does a Kart cost, and does anybody know of any > tracks around the Detroit, MI area? > Eldred Flat Rock Speedway on Telegraph RD just south of Flat Rock has a kart series that runs on sundays during the summer months. They also have a club called the Thunderbirds. If you call the speedway they can give you info on the racing there. Their number is 734-782-2480. They could also give you numbers to the various kart retailers in the area. I am a late model crew chief for Dan Ford Racing with Dan Ford Jr. as driver. This year we are moving on to the Iceman Series based out of Toledo Ohio. Mike

>Hmm... I'm not around Detroit, but you should be able to find something >competitive and used for about 800-1200 bucks. Depends if you want to go >two-stroke or four... i'd go with a restricted Yamaha class (2 stroke). >-_dave Thanks Dave - I guess I'll have to start saving my pennies... :) __ Put your message in a modem, and throw it in the ***-sea... remove SPAM-OFF to reply.

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>Flat Rock Speedway on Telegraph RD just south of Flat Rock has a kart >series that runs on sundays during the summer months. They also have a >club called the Thunderbirds. If you call the speedway they can give you >info on the racing there. Their number is 734-782-2480. They could also >give you numbers to the various kart retailers in the area. >I am a late model crew chief for Dan Ford Racing with Dan Ford Jr. as >driver. This year we are moving on to the Iceman Series based out of >Toledo Ohio. >Mike

Thanks. Is there an age limit? I've always thought of karting racers as late ***s to mid-20's. I'm 35, and I don't want to look TOO foolish... :) Eldred __ Put your message in a modem, and throw it in the ***-sea... remove SPAM-OFF to reply.

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> >Flat Rock Speedway on Telegraph RD just south of Flat Rock has a kart > >series that runs on sundays during the summer months. They also have a > >club called the Thunderbirds. If you call the speedway they can give you > >info on the racing there. Their number is 734-782-2480. They could also > >give you numbers to the various kart retailers in the area. > >I am a late model crew chief for Dan Ford Racing with Dan Ford Jr. as > >driver. This year we are moving on to the Iceman Series based out of > >Toledo Ohio. > >Mike > Thanks. Is there an age limit? I've always thought of karting racers as late > ***s to mid-20's. I'm 35, and I don't want to look TOO foolish... :) > Eldred

Eldred, I belive they do have *** racing. Call the track they will be glad to help you out. Mike

I'm 35 as well and racing Honda twin engine prokarts. (4 srtoke) There are plenty of us old uns around in our series and we tend to clean up in the longer endurance races 4 hours+ We might not have the ultimate pace and reflexes of an 18 year old but stamina and physical strength seems to be the order of the day. Regards Mark

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>>Flat Rock Speedway on Telegraph RD just south of Flat Rock has a kart >>series that runs on sundays during the summer months. They also have a >>club called the Thunderbirds. If you call the speedway they can give you >>info on the racing there. Their number is 734-782-2480. They could also >>give you numbers to the various kart retailers in the area. >>I am a late model crew chief for Dan Ford Racing with Dan Ford Jr. as >>driver. This year we are moving on to the Iceman Series based out of >>Toledo Ohio. >>Mike >Thanks. Is there an age limit? I've always thought of karting racers as

late

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>***s to mid-20's. I'm 35, and I don't want to look TOO foolish... :) >Eldred >__ >Put your message in a modem, and throw it in the ***-sea... >remove SPAM-OFF to reply.