This one might spark some controversy! Please share it on your Facebook wall etc so other racers can tune in.
In this episode, Davin and I chat about KartPulse… what it is, why we are working on it. Then we riff a little on the topic of karting’s place in racing.
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Stay tuned, we still have more content recorded and lined up for ya. Sorry for the sound on this one, (Well my voice anyway) our other recordings were made with better equipment.
Shownotes
James’ Drink: Smooch’s Dad’s Racist White IPA
Davin’s Drink: “Some Apple Cider Ale”
I can’t agree with this enough. I am right in 25+ age bracket that you guys spoke about and when I wanted to go racing on a reasonable budget these were the options:
Autocross: Very little seat time. Running double duty street/autocross car is no fun - there are just too many compromises. If you get into a dedicated autocross car you have all the headaches of a racecar with none of the payoff. Plus, its not wheel to wheel racing.
Club Racing: Very expensive. Even if you bypass Skip Barber or a comparable racing school, you still have to either rent a car for 3 days (I think) or own a racecar for a SCCA school. You probably can’t get a license for less than $10,000, and that’s before you actually start racing.
Time Trials/Track Days: Can be fun but again, you’re not going wheel to wheel. If you run TT in you daily driver and wreck, you’re screwed. It’s also expensive. $300 entry fees, race brake pads, $1000 sets of tires etc.
Sim Racing: Its just not the same as really being out there.
So that leaves karting. For someone like me, its perfect. Tires are (relatively) cheap, entry fees are cheap, and if you wait for the right deal, you can get a kart for cheap. I tow the thing with my GTI with no problems. The fun quotient second to none.
But it’s not all roses and sunshine. In my area at least, people who are not “on the ladder” aren’t ridiculed or anything, but they definitely are ignored. A big reason why I am trying to promote Briggs 206 racing locally is because I saw how much money parents are spending on their kids, thinking they will be the next Vettel. I just can’t afford to throw a new set of tires on the kart every heat for a club race, or do a top end every 2 hours. So even within the sport there is that separation of people who are doing it for fun and because they love racing, and people who are doing it because they view it as a potential career.
And I get it. There is very little money to be made from a guy like me who buys a used chassis and runs the same set of tires all year. But this is a unique opportunity to build something that is truly grassroots, and efforts like KartPulse are key to this movement.
^^^^ All of this. It makes me so happy that something in the latest podcast that resonated with you. Hopefully you’re able to share Episode 2 with your friends, so we can gather as many people as we can to #keepkartingfun
Great listen guys! You hit so many things that #MakeKartingFun.
We’ve been in karting for 5 years. Have done the club racing and now do 206 Cup with a few club dates mixed in. When we started it was just to get my Son, Randy who is now 13 and will be 14 to start 2017, into something other than the stick and ball sports he was and is doing.
The main goal for us was to make memories. If that included wins, so be it. If not, we would have fun racing and tearing stuff up along the way. To date, we have only won a handful of races and tore up more than we like to talk about but we’ve gained much more in the memories and life long friends we’ve made along the way. It’s become the “what we do”. What we do is hang with our friends and happen to race while we do it.
One of the highlights of last years race season was a float trip the boys took on cheap dollar store pool rafts down the Bark River at Badger after a hard day competing. Good times on and off the track makes racing fun.
There is always a fire, good food and cold beverage for the adults and kids alike following race day. Some days the Mrs hooks up the biscuits and gravy for breakfast!
That is what makes karting special. As long as you let it be that…
Hope to see you guys this summer. Not sure I’ll have Racist White IPA in the cooler, where the heck did he find that LOL, but you are both welcome to what I have.
Happy New Year!
BTW if you get a chance and can find it, try the Lake Louie Golden Booty
I can definitely agree with some of the pieces in this. I’m not even in the 25+ demographic here like y’all others on here but I still felt the presence of “You don’t win, you suck.” almost worse in the Junior categories my first year. I ran there, and we had NO help apart from one guy who was in the same situation we were. Who WAS willing to help, however, were the senior drivers who saw us and actually recognized the kart we had bought and made an effort to help get us on track. Those guys are a great representation of what karting is other than just a stepping stone for kids whose parents are willing to spend $80 million to get their child to F1 (Looking at you Lance Stroll and father)
Ep 2 was a good listen! Only things I’d say are maybe a little less sauce next time to help stay on topic lol. Also, drop the F-bombs, no one likes to hear the bleepy noise thingy.
I’m excited to listen to how this podcast develops, it’s definitely headed in the right direction! Maybe break off some of the big items mentioned here into their own segmented conversations. Example, the cost of karting was touched on. Maybe do an episode where a true breakdown of running different classes at a club and national level and be broken up. Where does the money go, etc
I was going to comment this too. My favorite podcasts are the ones where it just feels like you’re in the room hanging out with the presenters, very casual and off-the-cuff.
I can understand how some wouldn’t want the swearing in there, but for me the name of the podcast is “Drinks with Kart Racers” so I would like to feel like I’m hanging out having drinks with the bros after the races.
The beer I had was from my next door neighbors’ home brewery. They’ve been brewing for about 6 years and I’d say have made 100 brews at this point. Each one is named after an East St. Paul theme.
Here’s what I’ll probably have for our next one, just put it on last weekend. It’s a staple brew they always have called Herb Brooks’… so I called it “Herb Brooks’s Drunken Russian”
Monday Morning Podcast with Bill Burr
You Made It Weird with Pete Holmes
Handsome Rambler with Hannibal Buress
Your Mom’s House with Tom Segura
How I Built This with Guy Raz
