February - 2002

• "IRA utilizes closed-circuit TV to accomodate huge attendence at it's Awards Banquet!"
  The International Racing Association's (IRA) 2001 Awards Banquet was held with a standing room only crowd on January 26 at the Carol Stream Holiday Inn. All 300 dinner seats were sold in advance, so video monitors were set up outside the main banquet hall to accommodate the overflow crowd. Receiving awards on this night were all divisions of the IRA; the Burris Circle Tour, the MG Tires Championship Enduro Series (CES), and the SSC Racing Shifter Kart Pro Series.

• "Burris National Speedway Series racers win "Top Gun" awards"
  Ultramax racing chassis recently gave Burris National Speedway Series racers Adam Carlson and Jack Benson their "Top Gun" awards. The Ultramaxracing.com website has a Top Gun award for Ultramax racers each month. Racers that are selected have their picture and profile posted on the Top Gun section of the website.

• "Double winners dominate Dirt World Championships"
  Five of the 1,761racers who entered the 21st annual WKA/Briggs & Stratton 2001 Dirt World Championships presented by American Power Sports earned double World Championship wins on the 1/2-mile dirt oval at Daytona Beach, FL's Municipal Stadium December 27-30 dominating 10 of 25 classes offered. With the 2001 World Dirt Championships in the record book racers in the WKA/Briggs & Stratton Speedway Dirt Series still have four nationals ahead of them in the 2002 season.

• "ROTAX Word Finals 2001"
  Two Americans made the finals grid for the 2001 ROTAX Max World Finals, just finished in Langkawi, Malaysia. Tim Lobaugh, who started the pre-final in eighth place, but then blew up an engine, entered the main in 31st position. Jason Bowles, whose race ended five laps early, spent his best lap, #7, at 1:02:064.

• "Rob Hindrey rules Briggs Day at Daytona"
  A near record turn out of 283 racers competed in this year's 7th annual WKA/Briggs & Stratton Day at Daytona, held December 26th, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, FL where 4-cyle kart racers from the Speedway Pavement and Dirt Series, Gold Cup and National Road Racing Series come together once a year to compete in 10 classes on the 2.5-mile high banks and road course at speeds exceeding 65 mph.

• "Kart Expo International races into town"
  Kart Expo International, the premier exposition for go-kart racing in North American will be held February 23-24, 2002 at Pheasant Run Resort and Convention Center in St. Charles, Illinois (west suburban Chicago). The 10th annual public show will feature racing karts and accessories from around the world including those from Australia, New Zealand, Italy, England, Germany, the Czech Republic, France, Pakistan, Canada and the USA.

• "NAKA to head Indoor Kart Racing forum at Kart Expo 2002"
  Kart Expo management is pleased to announce that the North American Karting Association (NAKA) and Richard J. Valentine of F1 Boston, will be conducting an Indoor Kart Racing Forum during the Kart Expo weekend, February 23-24, 2002. The conference will take place on Sunday, February 24 from 9:00 AM until Noon, at Pheasant Run Resort and Convention Center in St. Charles, Illinois, a Chicago suburb.

• "F200 OHV Concept & Rules"
  The F200 OHV concept was established to fill several needs that Karting here in the U.S. will need to address in the coming years. We feel that the F200 engine program, when fully operational, will provide the Karting community with an affordable, reliable source of power that will be extremely popular with everyone in the industry as a whole. As many of you already know, the days of the 2-cycle and Rat head 4-cycle engines in Karting are numbered.

• "Miller to test for CASCAR SuperSeries team"
  Michigan native, Marc Miller, will continue to progress through the motorsports ranks with a test with the #82 RaceSportz Tide Racing Monte Carlo at Canada's Mosport Park Race Course in April, 2002. The successful road racer was presented with an opportunity to sign with the team as a back-up/test driver at all road course events for 2002, as well as future opportunities for additional race events.

• "Badger Kart Club release 2002 schedule"
  The Badger Kart Club has officially released their 2002 schedule. Highlights are that once again, Badger will play host to the World Karting Association's George Kugler Manufacturer's Cup Grand Nationals in August! This prestigious race is the capstone to a five-race series that pits the nation's top drivers against one another for manufacturer bragging rights!

• "Azusa Engineering expands racewear line"
  Azusa Engineering, Inc., of Covina, California has expanded its line of custom racing products to include those of Morco Products Corporation, of Jackson, Missouri. Azusa Engineering has purchased specific Morco Products assets including designs, equipment and rights to use the Morco brand name.

• "Bob White named Executive Director of KIC"
  Bob White, a 24-year veteran of karting, has been named full-time Executive Director of the Karting Industry Council (KIC). He replaces part-time director Curt Paluzzi who had to step down due to increased business commitments. White started his karting career in 1978 and began racing nationally with the World Karting Association (WKA) in 1979.

• "Brain Herta elected President of NAKA"
  The North American Karting Association, at its January meeting, elected a new slate of officers for 2002. Bryan Herta, one of the most successful American open wheel racing drivers, was elected president of NAKA for 2002. Herta, owner of the Las Vegas Karting Center, started his career in karting and has been instrumental in developing the CART Stars of Tomorrow series for aspiring open wheel racers emerging from karting.

• "NAKA, Bryan Herta and the Las Vegas Karting Center form a new alliance"
  In a joint announcement today, Bryan Herta, the North American Karting Association, the Las Vegas Karting Center, and SSC Racing revealed their plans for a major renovation and expansion of the Las Vegas karting facility. The project will begin immediately to develop the kart track into a "showcase" for kart racing and retail sales.

• "Rick Waddell joins the NAKA Board of Directors"
  The North American Karting Association, LLC, has announced that Mr. Richard (Rick) W. Waddell of Edmonds, Washington is the newest member of the NAKA Board of Directors. He has a background in aviation and computers, actively developing several software companies and is currently is General Manager of Platform Engineering, MSN Operations, at Microsoft.

• "CART Stars of Tomorrow announces final dates for 2002 series"
  The racing schedule for the 2002 CART Stars of Tomorrow series is now complete with the finalization of the Ocala, Florida dates. The CART Stars of Tomorrow regional championship series consists of six events at several locations around the country. The competitors will count their best four races for points qualifying them for an invitation to the Grand Nationals at the Las Vegas Kart Center in November.

• "New website for Karting takes root"
  A new address is now available for karters on the world-wide web. This new website is www.karttalk.net and it features discussion boards as well as a chat room. All were designed for the Kart raer wanting to interact with other kart racers.