Junior Open Wheel Talent

Andersen Racing recently tested two kart racers in a USF2000 car at their test track (Andersen RacePark).  Bryson Schutte (Junior Rotax) and Taylor Gates (Senior Rotax) each won their respective championships in the 2009 TRAK (Toronto Racing Association of Karters) series.  Andersen Racing is a series sponsor for TRAK and subsequently offered a USF2000 test to the up-and-coming drivers.

According to the official press release, two other karters received a wild-card prize and will test with Andersen Racing next month.  Dalton Kellet (Rotax Junior) and Andrew Waring (Rotax Junior) are the wild-card recipients.

It’s always great to see race teams offering top karters a formula car test and exposing them to the world of junior formula racing.  Let’s hope this sort of prize continues for years to come.

If you missed it last week, make sure to tune-in to your local Fox Sports station today at 4:30 PM EST for Part-2 of the PRI/CKI All-Star Karting Classic.  It should be a pretty entertaining race as the top karters get to go head-to-head with the “All-Stars“  (drivers from various professional motorsport series– ie. IRL, NASCAR, F1 etc.)

Make sure to check your local listings … my guide is reporting the half-hour show will air at 5:30 EST rather than the fore mentioned 4:30 EST.

Hopefully everyone was able to watch the first edition of the PRI/CKI All-Star Karting Classic on their local Fox Sports station tonight or at the very least set their DVR’s so they can watch it at a later date.

I’d like to start out by saying, it’s great to see karting on mainstream media.  A lot of hard work was put in by CKI (Championship Karting International) and the Bondurant School of High Performance Driving, among others, to make this possible.

I thought Rob Howden and Randy Kugler did an excellent job, as usual, in their race call and illustrating just how important karting is to the future of motorsports.

The only issue I had with the broadcast occurred during the track introduction when Doc Riley (pit reporter) stated:

“Making the turn here is kind of a little different…for the karters, they have a tendency to let-up a little bit, the All-Stars just hammer down… all the way through“.

Unless, Doc had some concrete data that showed all the karters lifting in that location and similarly that all of the All-Stars were flat-out through that section (which I’m confident he didn’t), that statement shouldn’t be made.

In fairness to Doc, All-Star driver Jan Heylen did set the fastest overall lap of the weekend (15.148).  The fastest overall lap in the karting division was set by Wes Phillips (15.182).  That said, it’s important to note that it’s impossible to accurately compare the lap-times between the karters and the All-Stars simply because both divisions were on-track at separate times.  When they were on-track together, in the final event, the karters had to start at the back of the pack (and had already run a 40-lap main event).  Regardless, I thought it might be interesting to look at some fast lap averages between the top-five drivers from each division (during the main event).

Fast Lap Average From the Main Event

• Top-Five All-Stars: Average Fast Lap- 15.222
• Top-Five Karters:  Average Fast Lap- 15.263

The times are very competitive and I think the data illustrates just how talented some of these karters are.  Make sure to tune-in next Monday and watch the final event of the PRI/CKI All-Star Karting Classic on your local Fox Sports network.

Make sure to set your DVR or tune-in to your local Fox Sports Network at 4:30 PM EST today and watch Part-1 of the  PRI/CKI All-Star Karting Classic.  The second edition will air next Monday (January 18th, 2010) at the same time; 4:30 PM EST.

This is pretty big news for the karting industry and it’s great to see karting on mainstream media again.  Let’s hope this continues for many years to come.

Look for a full story tomorrow but it only seemed fitting to announce the winners tonight.  Gary Carlton and Alex Ellis will both receive a fully-funded ride in the 2010 Jim Russell Championship after winning the inaugural Jim Russell Future Driver Selection.

**Update** You can read the full story here.

Related Reading:

• Jim Russell Future Driver Selection Entry List
• Jim Russell Future Driver Selection: Final 20
• Jim Russel Future Driver Selection:  Final 6

At what age should a driver make the transition from karts to cars?  Is there a correct answer?  Probably not, but we will take a closer look at some real-life examples below.

There might not be a magical answer that’s set-in-stone, but that’s not to say that people don’t have strong opinions on this particular topic.  Last week, I wrote a piece that looks at the decreasing age of drivers who are attempting to move from karts to cars.  Since that time, my inbox has been hit pretty hard by those who disagree with me.  Which is great because I value the thoughts and input of my readers.  What fun would the world be if we all agreed on everything?

As you can probably tell, from my past articles, I’m a fairly big karting advocate.  While drivers can find success without karting experience, it’s safe to say that karting is a proven training ground for an aspiring race car driver.  The readers who had issue with my post last week seemed to overlook my main point:

The more seat time the better… whether it be in cars or karts.  It’s always great to see drivers diversifying their skills.

Rather than debate this topic, I decided to take a look at some actual statistics.  This gets pretty long, so please make the jump to see the actual stats. [More]

Skip Barber released their 2009 Skip Barber Karting Scholarship Shoot-Out entry list today at the PRI show in Orlando, Florida.  The list is comprised of 37 drivers.

The shoot-out will take place on December 27-30, 2009 at Sebring International Raceway.  The entrants will be competing for $255,000 worth of seat time in various Skip Barber Racing Series.  The top prize, presented by the MazdaSPEED Development Ladder and the FIA Motorsport Safety Development Fund, will be a pair of fully-funded rides in the 2010 Skip Barber National Championship.  A fully-funded ride in the SBN championship is valued at approximately $52,000.

As noted above, their will be 37 drivers in attendance for this year’s shoot-out.  The entry numbers are down in comparison to years past, but I suppose that was to be expected considering the current economic climate.

Last year, I wrote a piece about the number of drivers who are 15 years of age or younger and competing for the prestigious Skip Barber Karting Scholarship.  It seems the average age of the entrants continues to drop every year as competitors are getting younger and younger.  Last year there were ten drivers who were 15 years of age or younger in the shoot-out.  This year, there are thirteen drivers who are 15 years of age or younger.

Here is a closer look at some actual numbers…

Percentage of Drivers Age 15 or Younger

2009- 35.14% (13 drivers) with the youngest being 13 years of age.
2008- 20.00% (10 drivers) with the youngest being 13 years of age.
2007- 29.41% (15 drivers) with the youngest being 12 years of age.
2006- 24.49% (12 drivers) with the youngest being 13 years of age.
2005- 17.02% (8 drivers) with the youngest being 13 years of age.

As noted last season, with these stats, it’s impossible to argue against the fact that drivers are attempting to move from karts to cars at a younger age every year.  I’ve said it before and I will say it again… It’s great to see these young drivers gaining experience in cars but it’s a shame to see so many rushed into cars.  A drivers karting years are so important to their overall development as a race car driver that pushing kids into cars at such a young age can be detrimental to their overall success.

I know that a lot of these drivers will continue karting along with their car programs… which is great to see.  The more seat time the better whether it be in cars or karts, but it’s always great to see drivers diversifying their skills.

Make the jump to see the full 2009 Skip Barber Karting Scholarship Shoot-Out Entry List…

[More]

The PRI Trade Show/CKI All-Star Karting Classic will be held this evening (December 10th, 2009) under the lights at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida as part of the PRI Trade Show (Performance Racing Industry).

This is the fourth edition of the All-Star Karting Classic which features some of the best drivers in motorsports going head-to-head with top karters in go-karts.

They will also be holding a media race or media-shootout prior to the headline event.   I’d like to throw my name in the hat for entry in 2010 …  in case any of the event organizer’s are reading this.

As always, this should be a tremendous event.  It’s great to see so many big-name drivers return to their roots.  As you read through the entry list below you will realize there isn’t much difference between the karting entries and the All-Star entries… as both lists are extremely impressive.

Make the jump to see the full entry list… [More]

The Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals will take place December 7-12, 2009 at Ghibli Raceway in Sharm El-sheikh, Egypt.  A total of 24 drivers from North America will make the trek to Egypt for this year’s prestigious Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals.  I’ve listed the Team USA and Team Canada selections below.

Make the jump to see the roster of each.  [More]

The biggest karting event in North America took place last weekend at the Rio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.  Top karters from around the world gathered for the 13th edition of the SKUSA SuperNationals.  Several IndyCar and F1 drivers also entered the mix to see if they could still run with the top kart racers in the world.  Names such as Michael Schumacher, Nelson Piquet Jr., Sebastien Buemi, Dan Wheldon, Buddy Rice, and Raphael Matos—among others— got behind the wheel for this ultra-competitive event.

I was fortunate to have a photographer on site to snap a few photos for your viewing pleasure.  Make sure to watch the slideshow linked below.  You can also enlarge individual thumbnails for a better look.  Enjoy.

Related Reading:

• SuperPro:  Who Are They?
• SKUSA SuperPro Stats

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All photos by Corey Johnson/ Junior Open Wheel Talent.

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SKUSA SuperNats SuperPro Photo Gallery

[View slide show]

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