Adventure confirmed.
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My great granddad was a pilot in WW2, When piloting new paratroopers for training, one was too scared to jump out, in response, my granddad shook the plane back and forth till he fell outā¦
Dang, well, thatās one way to get him out 
I spent my teens racing motocross, and after high school had to quit due to lack of funds and equipment. I spent a few years trying to find anything to scratch that itch. I eventually found autocross, and spent a few years doing that. Eventually I got a chance to try an auto-x in a shifter kart, and I was sold. How can you not want to be the guy whos slowest run is still faster than the fastest car? A good family friend who got injured from MX to the point where he finally had to quit had also been driving shifters for a few years and had been poking the bear a little bit. So my Dad and I both got karts and spent a few years learning the ropes. I got a little burned out by the local club politics here in Oregon, so I ended up taking a break from karting to go back to my first love MX, but a mechanical issue resulted in a broken femur and so far 1.5 year recovery. Most of that time Iāve been gung ho towards getting back on the bike as soon as I can, and I even tried once (with a still broken leg), but ultimately Iām feeling like its not worth it anymore. Its just taken too much away from what makes me me.
I threw an old bent up kart together in November and remembered what i love about karts as soon as the tires were warm.
I have a new chassis coming on Monday and now Iāve got to figure out life after the CR125.
So I guess the answer to the question, and one I hear from a lot of the old motocrossers, Is that I kart because I can get the intensity and some of the feelings of moto, but with a big decrease in injury potential.
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That happened on my first jump. One of the instructors let one go. It was so bad they opened the door halfway up. 
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I wanted to go auto racing. What race car will fit in my shed, and can be towed behind my motherās Subaru, and doesnāt need any heavy equipment to be worked on? Thatās a kart and nothing else. That it happens to have more decisions-per-minute than any long-track machinery, has $50 tires, and pulls 2g is what got me addicted after I started, and Iāve been there ever since except for graduate school.
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Outright performance &/or bang for the buck, it canāt be beat.
I have always been a fair bit of an adrenaline junkie. Jumping motorcycles and cars when I got my license. Not good way to keep a license. Half a dozen times skydiving in college. Fun, but did not trip my trigger. A 170mph motorcycle out of college that I had at 165 too many times. Good way to die. Sold it when 100mph became an every ride thing. Then when I turned 31, 22 years ago, I ended up at a kart track. I realized that day that race tracks are where I am meant to be. Race karts for 7 years then went off to SCCA. Now I am back because SCCA always had me having to compromise my racing to maintain a reasonable budget. Karting allows me be involved in great racing at a much better budget. I still think tracks are where I belong. In addition to kart racing I flag for SCCA some and am building 65 Mustang to do some track days.
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Also I met a kart racer while racing karts. Married her. She is the love of my life.
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Exactly! My buddy tried to persuade me to go in on a Clio race car and do some series at Yas with him instead of karting. Having time to contemplate the theory of the universe along the back straight just doesnāt appeal.
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And thatās just awesome 
Preface Long post alert. After writing for a bit, Iām realizing that I have a lot to say about my āwhyā. This hits on some of my background in karting, but in some ways I feel it barely scratches the surface. Either way, Iām going to stick with what Iāve got below in order to keep it from ballooning into a novel. Brevity is not my strong suit.
Sitting here on New Yearās Day taking some time to reflect, and read through this thread. Hearing everyoneās karting origin story has me truly in awe, and is yet another reason why I love karting, and the karting community.
Similar to many who have shared their stories, karting has played a remarkably formative role in my life. Iām so grateful each and every day for all of the amazing experiences karting has brought me, as well as for the many friends Iāve met along the journey thus far.
Short version of my "why karting?:
Iāve found that karting has given me an avenue for me to push myself, and do so on my terms. Each and every lap, and each and every race is an opportunity for me to give the absolute best I have. I try to base my attitude on the inputs and not the outputs, i.e. winning is less important to me than giving it my all. I find zero shame in driving the best race of my life and finishing P5. The community within karting is another factor that always keeps me coming back. Thereās something special about being amongst a group that shares the same passion and dedication for our silly and strange (to many) sport. My favorite karting memories transcend the personal achievement aspect, and always include others with whom the experience is shared. That, and driving is just plain fun.
More background:
I come from a family that has always had an interest in cars, and from that came an inherent interest in racing. My dad loved cars, and had an interest in racing, but never did anything of that sort on his own dime (was able to do a couple of racing schools through work perks). Eventually we became aware of indoor karting spots in the area, but only through corporate outings and such. It wasnāt like we were hitting up the local indoor spot on the regular to pound laps, lol.
Being pulled into a couple of corporate karting events gave me my first exposure to driving. I was generally good enough to go out and be competitive against any of the adults in the group, but thatās probably a pretty low bar given that they were generally randoās and 100 pounds heavier than me.
Around 2000/2001 I met a new friend through school, letās call him Bert (not his real name), and we would go on to be quite close friends. He was (and still is ) tremendously intelligent, and had a deep rooted passion for motorsports, especially Formula 1. We spent countless hours playing on our version of a āsimulatorā at the time, which was either of our PCās with a crappy logitech wheel bolted to the desk, playing F1 Challenge '99-02. He taught me how to be a better driver on the game, how to analyze our telemetry (the game actually had a great telemetry interface!), and we made thousands of laps. The game of choice eventually developed into rFactor, as well as various XBox titles we would play on XBox Liveā¦some fun memories there.
Sprinkled throughout this time were various stories from my friend about karting, sprint karting in particular. He did so through a father & son neighbor duo of his that was kind enough to provide old equipment to him. A couple years later, probably around 2003, he introduced me to this particular neighbor, the kid that is. Letās call him Ernie (again, not his real name). The three of us would go on to spend a lot of time together between then and 2007, and these days the Ernie is now a professional race car driver. Bert and I would travel with Ernie and his family to various karting events, and help out in the pits/paddock as we were able to. This is what REALLY lit the fire for me. After enough exposure to karting, I was hit with a burning desireā¦I had to start karting myself! HAD TO!
It was probably in late 2004 that I was finally given the opportunity to get in the seat and see what I could do. The kart was an old Comet Mach 1 with a Yamaha KT100 Can motor, and the track was New Castle Motorsports Park. Here I was with Bert, Ernie, and Ernieās dad, and man was a desperate to impress them. Iāve had a couple of years perfecting my sim skills, thrashing atvās around their property, and soaking up knowledge while alongside at the kart track. I was about as nervous as I had ever been, but this was it. They started the motor (outboard starter), and away I went. I remember getting out of the pits, and heading down the back straight at NCMP towards turn 4ā¦my godā¦this thing felt FAST! I babied the thing through the next few corners, trying to get my bearings. I made my way around through the two fast kinks, and was approaching the braking zone into whatās now the āgreen cornerā. Hard and the brakes, and then disaster (or what seemed to be)ā¦I locked the brakes, spun the kart, slid off into the grass, and that was that. This was my shot at karting glory, and I didnāt even begin a flying lap. Ernieās dad didnāt offer me another go at it, so that was my day. I was absolutely devastated!
Skipping ahead to early 2005, I ended up purchasing the very kart that I not so successfully piloted on my maiden spring karting voyage. I was 16 years old, and had been working hard, saving up my money to buy this kart and motor. Finally, I had enough to purchase the package, and I was actually going to be able to go karting for real! It wasnāt quite that easy though. I wasnāt aware at the time how little I actually knew about karting, working on the karts, knowing what parts were needed and such. It was a bit of a project getting the kart outfitted, and properly ready to race. For instance, I remember going to purchase lead to get my machine up to weight, and my jaw nearly hit the floor once I heard what it was going to cost to get this thing (with my 130lb self) up to the min. weight of 360lbs. That was a lot of lead! I donāt remember the exact cost, but I purchased all of the pre-drilled lead and hardware from the track, not knowing any better at the time, and the price tag was substantial. I remember feeling like all of my money for the season was gone at that point! Yikes! But I continued forward, and had the thing ready to enter my first race near the end of the local championship in 2005. I was terrible at first, and the chassis was a piece of junk, but I progressed quickly, and was soon able to compete with the other locals.
Without dragging this on too much longerā¦I think I ended up racing 4 or 5 races in that 2005 season, and I didnāt know it at the time, but that dedication to get my karting endeavors off the ground (essentially by myself) was absolutely pivotal. From that point forward, my parents were generous enough to get more involved, and provide much of the financial backing needed to keep racing. Karting developed into a family activity, and as many of you all know, it turned into a lifestyle. I was consumed by everything karting, and our involvement ramped up in the years to come. Regional races in 2006, National races in 2007. By that point my brother and my father were both racing as well in the club races at NCMP. After 2007 I went off to college, and was fortunate to still be able to go karting during the summers until I graduated in 2011. During that time we had our fair share of ups and downs, screaming matches, and failures on and off track. Again, looking back itās crazy to think how little we knew in those days, but we learned SO much just through the experience of doing it.
I think karting has been the main instrument for teaching me dedication, and pursuit of a larger goal. Iām not sure WHY I had such a desire then, nor why I still have a burning desire today, but for whatever reason I just absolutely love karting. That love keeps me wanting more, and Iām grateful every day that Iām still able to be involved and racing. 2021 may be different, as my wife and I are expecting our first kid, but Iāll have my machine in the garage prepped and ready for the next opportunity to hit the track!
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Itās funnyā¦ I found SCCA and autocrossing/racing kinda by accident. I enjoyed autocrossing/racing thoroughly and found racing is one of those activities that required the focus that results in getting into the āzoneā. It would happen when I played soccer (played for 30 years) and softball (not as long 
) too. The 'zone is one of the things I miss when not playing/racing. I really enjoyed the āfamilyā at the track both at the big tracks and at the QM tracks. I was crew for a SCCA national driver and traveled all over the midwest. There was always a group of people at the track that I knew. Iāve already seen that at the kart tracks. I met my wife through a mutual friend at a race shop while I was working on one of the race cars. Our kids raced quarter midgets ( the track is a mile from our house) and now the kids are out of QMs my son and I (and maybe my daughter) are getting more into karts. Iāve done some arrive and drives and was competitive and now Iām looking forward to the fun of racing with him and the memories weāll have.
I have made a ton of friends across generations in karting. Itās an oddly friendly sport. For me, what makes motorsport different is that everyone sort of has to be on the same page or folks get hurt.
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This, too, I find consistently in karting. Again, thereās something about karting thatās correct.
I was discussing the high level sim scene with a pro friend and it sounds so petty and insecure. Thatās what I love about karting. End of day itās about self-improvement. Organ size and how great you are is sorta irrelevant. No one cares.
Why do I kart?
I suppose it started in the early 70ās when as young boy my parents gave me a Tootsie Car set and a love for things with wheels started. I played with Matchbox cars as boy, raced BMX as a teen, raced R/C cars from my late teens into my 40ās. I have always enjoyed motorsports, would attend local races and did some parking lot / Solo racing with the SCCA. Then one fall day in my late 40ās my father in law (who is also a car nut) took my 13 year old son and I to the local kart track to try the rental karts. It was fun but the track was brutally rough, nonetheless my son was hooked. We returned for a race day and they put him in a rental race kart and the hook was set. The family had recently purchased the track that was started in the 60ās and stated they were resurfacing the track in the spring. On their word I found a family that had 2 karts in a sell out and with no real idea what I was doing, my son and I were going to race karts in the spring. My thinking was this would be too much fun to not participate and if I am going to help him it would help to understand how a kart works from behind the wheel. Three seasons later we concluded our best year in karting and next season we will be racing together in the same KA100 class. I am now 51, my son is 16, when people ask about it, to me it is basically a R/C car I get to sit in a drive. It is exhilarating and satisfying and can be humbling too. It is expensive, especially since everything is times two, but so is R/C or any activity related to motorsports. I doubt either of us will ever have the funds to go further so its our summer hobby. Thankfully, we have track 30 min from home and the owners committed their time and money to make it a great place to race and a fun place to be. As one of my fellow karts says, You donāt stop racing when you get old, you get old when you stop racing!
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This statement checks outā¦ I need to get back racing againā¦
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Why do I Kart?
This one starts only 4 years ago. My boy (age 8 at the time) came to me and told with complete conviction, āI am going to be a Racing Driver.ā Now let me take a small step back and say I am a motorsports nut, I watch any and all types of motorsports I can. It likely started because my dad have a short track pro stock all growing up. So when my boy came to me to say he was interested enough to want to drive himself, I was all in! We started at an indoor karting track that was 30 minutes from us for a winter, but that only wet his appetite! So in the winter/spring of 2018 we bought him his first kart to race in the LO206 Cadet class with the NHKA series in New Hampshire. It was a big family operation as we had 9 people that came to the track to support him. (Myself, wife, daughter, Dad, Mom, brother, sister in-law, niece, and nephew) That first year was all about learning and communicating. What we found after the year was over is that my boy isnāt just a flat out 8 year old but he thinks and can give us real feedback! We returned the next year with 3 karts! Yes that is right 3, my brother and I joined in. It was that year in 2019 that we met some really great people and got hooked up with the team we race with now. My boy is prepping for his final year in cadets after finishing 5th in point last year getting his first podium of the year in race 1.
Sorry this post got long winded, but I am really passionate about the community that karting is and the lessons we have all learned in just the short time we have been doing it!
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A fellow New Englander! What class do you race in? Ive probably met you
We have met, I raced WF with you in 2019 (#3) and changed to race 206 last year (#333)!!! Hoping for a full season this year, fingers crossed!
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