Kart Expo 2003 a plus for Karting in North America ST. CHARLES, IL - Karting businesses and enthusiasts from all over North America and beyond showed up at the Pheasant Run Resort & Convention Center in St. Charles, Illinois the weekend of February 22-23 for Kart Expo 2003. Event organizer Darrell Sitarz of eKMI.com is on the right track after moving to this new location a few years ago and Kart Expo has seen tremendous growth in both exhibitor numbers and in the amount of participants attending each year. This year's show was undoubtedly the best ever and Mr. Sitarz said that Kart Expo 2004 will expand into more space for next year in order to accommodate all the new karting businesses, clubs and tracks. As Karting in America grows in popularity more interest is coming from international companies wishing to gain a piece of this lucrative market. Ten countries were represented at Kart Expo with businesses displaying products and services from as far away as Indonesia, Israel and New Zealand. One of the great successes of the show was ROC Timing out of London, England displaying their timing and scoring systems and did a tremendous amount of business and will surely to be back in force for 2004. Highlight of the show Saturday was the attendance of CART team owner Bobby Rahal who was on hand representing the CART "Stars of Tomorrow" program and answering questions for participants and dealers alike. Mr. Rahal conducted and informative Open Forum session for two hours discussing the "Stars" program and answering questions from the standing-room-only crowd of attendees. Champ car driver Memo Gidley was on hand all day Sunday signing autographs and promoting his new book "The Secret of Speed". Upbeat and energetic, Memo was still signing autographs as the show ended and exhibitors were tearing down their displays. The unofficial "Best of Show" award would have to go to Curt Paluzzi and the crew at National Kart News (NKN). NKN was on hand with a huge trailer stocked with issues of their ever-popular publication and also had a few big-screen TV's running videos of kart races from across America. Clements Racing also was on hand with many active displays of engines displaying their working systems and would certainly win the award for "Best Active Displays". The International Racing Association (IRA) was on hand with a great booth display offering information on all their various karting programs, series and insurance opportunities. This up-and-coming organization offers something for everyone in the world of Karting and gave out thousands of free issues of The Inside Track, the official publication of the IRA, among other items. Also in attendance informing the public were representatives of SKUSA, WKA, IKF, KART and many other racing organizations. Several chassis manufacturers and distributors brought their latest products for the crowds to pour over. Karting standout Margay Racing Products had a wide selection of karts featuring Bridgestone Tires and many reps, including Margay President Keith Freber, on hand informing participants about their newest products. Another huge display of racing chassis' at the show was evident at the Russell Karting Specialties booth. Russell Karting Specialties has grown into one of the premier Karting companies in North America and is especially proud of their commitment in promoting the many race series and Karting in general throughout the states. Other chassis manufacturers and distributors in attendance were All Kart, Birel, CRG, PTK and Rage Karts to name just a few. This year's show saw slightly lower than expected attendance counts probably due to inclement weather in the Midwest that weekend but Kart Expo 2003 still did a great job promoting Karting to the North American public. Attendees to the show this year seemed to be more intelligent about the sport than in the past showing that Karting is fast becoming a serious sport while maintaining is cost-effectiveness for the average racer. Kart Expo 2004 will again be held in St. Charles, Illinois at the Pheasant Run Resort & Convention Center next year on February 21-22 with intentions to expand. Make your plans now to exhibit your products or organization at this venerable event and help to bring this great sport of Karting into the mainstream of American life. More information can be found by contacting Darrell Sitarz at (630) 653-7368 or online at www.eKMI.com.