10th Annual Kart Expo International - "A Blockbuster Show!" ST. CHARLES, IL - How do you top last years overwhelmingly successful show? With a blockbuster, sold-out show this year, that's how! And, the 2002 Kart Expo International, held February 23-24 at Pheasant Run Resort and Convention Center in St. Charles, Illinois, was just that! "It only took 10-years to become an overnight success, but I think we finally hit the jackpot," said Darrell Sitarz, Expo Director and President of Kart Marketing Group, the show's management company. "We built upon last years success with the a lot of new wrinkles, interesting seminars, tons of publicity and I think it worked!" Sitarz continued, "When you have exhibitors smiling each day and you see thousands of people talking to exhibitors and big-name racers just walking the show, then you know you've made the right moves." Juan Montoya, Davy Jones and Derek Daly with his family were among the throngs in attendance at the two-day event. "Needless to say, I'm thrilled that everything worked out including picture-perfect weather." (It was bright and sunny and 50-60 degrees the whole weekend.) A jam-packed convention center highlighted over 200+ booths of karts and karting equipment from around the world, including exhibitors from Canada, England, Germany, Italy, The Czech Republic, France, New Zealand and of course, the USA. Attendees came from as far away as Austria, Japan, South America, Switzerland, Mexico, and many other International ports-of-call - truly an international affair. Exhibitors at the show included those showing shifter, sprint, oval and caged karts and indoor racing chassis, both 2-cycle and 4-cycle engines, clutches, electronics of all kinds, lubricants, safety equipment - you name it, it was on display! As advertised, it was "North America's premier kart racing show!" Another highlight of the show was the display of over 20 vintage karts, ranging from 1959 to 1988. It was interesting for attendees to see the transformation throughout the years and a delight for the kart owners to talk about the early days of the sport. Saturday morning, as always, was set-aside for dealers and distributors to talk business in the "Trade-only" portion of the show. This year, over 400 dealers and their reps attended; another record. The first-ever Track and Club Workshop preceded the show on Friday which was attended by about 60 track and club reps including the president of Road America, George Bruggenthies and a Rhonda Mims-Brown from IKF. The reaction to the program was overwhelmingly positive. The workshop was headed by some of the best minds in the sport including Tom Argy, Scott G. Evans, Dave Larson, John and Sue Nuttall, Tom Johnson and Bob Cycon of KIC. Next year, it was suggested that the T & C Workshop be expanded to two days as this year's session was very intense; from 9:00 AM until 6:00 PM with little time for inter-action among participants. Also some important subject matter could not be addressed due to the necessary time constraints. Last year, most of the seminars were SRO, so this year, show management decided to double the space for the popular sessions. The now doubled space was still not large enough for many of the programs as most were packed with attendees with overflow seated in the hallway! Many karting and motorsport press were in attendance including all major karting publications and Chicago-area print and electric media. ESPN reps were also on-hand, making their rounds throughout the show interviewing exhibitors and filming products. Saturday evening, the Karting Industry Council (KIC) hosted an industry reception featuring Sam Hornish Jr., the current IRL Champion. Hornish spoke to the crowd talking about his move from karts to IRL, with the audience hanging on every word. So many exhibitors expressed their delight with the show that management began taking orders for booth space for the 2003 event during the show with over 40% of the space immediately spoken for. As is policy, all current exhibitors will have the first right of refusal for exhibit space. If need be, management may expand the show into an adjoining ballroom, nearly doubling the show space. The 11th Annual Kart Expo International will be held February 22-23, 2003 at Pheasant Run Resort and Convention Center - the same location and weekend. "We've obviously found the right venue and the right date," concluded Sitarz. "We love it here and won't be changing anytime soon, that's for sure!" The 2002 Kart Expo was sponsored by CLTV-Chicagoland Television, Shifter Kart Illustrated, Speedway USA, Rock Island Grand Prix, International Racing Association, The Inside Track and Press-Republican Newspapers. For more info contact Kart Marketing Group, Inc., at karting@msn.com or telephone 630-653-7368.