Just start…

This is how we got started. Most tracks have an “arrive & drive” or rental kart series. Start with this. It’s cheap, uses equal machinery, and you will likely have a healthy mix of newbies and seasoned competition. Do this for a season or two and acclimate yourself. The track will typically provide everything you need to race, all for a couple hundred bucks a season (2 races a night for 7 weeks). I believe we pay $200 a season during the spring and fall. Far more affordable that club soccer.

Once you get the bug, start talking to the other racers. It’s like a family here and people are very friendly. The kids that work at the track are also racers themselves and happy to pass the racing bug on! Racers, parents, track employees are all extremely passionate about the sport and will help in any way they can. We’ve made lots of friends in a single season of racing that have taught us a lot!

If you really want to propel yourself, look for a driver that has accomplished something ahead of you. This would be someone years older than you that can pass on racecraft without creating a competitor or roadblock to their own career.

Pay attention and put that download of knowledge to work. There is nothing more defeating than someone taking their time to help and you don’t pay attention or put that to use…then tell them how they made you better. This is Spike Kohlbecker and he’s been able to help my son shave seconds off a lap in under an hour. He does it out of his passion for the sport and is one of very few 18 year olds I highly respect…actually, the only one I know.

Once you feel like you can attack the field and not getting lapped every race, the sky's the limit to what you can do and spend.

If you want to level up into a L206 series racing which is very affordable, you can find a used kart to compete with. Your biggest investment will be the kart and safety gear. Once you have that, you can run as many series as you want for relatively cheap. If you decide to travel and do regional races, it can get pretty expensive very fast.

Check out YouTube. There is a lot of content about getting into the sport. Like anything, find out how to start without making an investment so you don’t get in over your head.

A bit of wisdom for you.

However old you are, you’re never too young/old to ask for sponsors. Find local businesses that has a strong Facebook or social media presence. As a business owner myself, ongoing content is VERY hard to come up with, so business owners are always looking for ways to get their name out there. You must be able to deliver results if you go this route, so use it when you know what your doing and are committed.

As an example, go to a local pizza shop that is always posting on social media within the community. Ever see all the billboards at local kiddie sporting events, this is what they do. How much cooler would it be for that business to talk about a local racer they support? Offer them real estate on your kart/suit and provide them with high quality pictures and written content. Parents are amazing at taking pictures! If all they have to do is post a picture and copy/paste the story line, you’ve saved them marketing dollars and told all your friends and family to buy their pizza because this business supports your passion. Share the posts and tell your friends/family to support these establishments as they are supporting you and believe in you.

I had my son do this over the summer, well partially, because the season doesn't start till April. I told him to build a budget for 2022. List all of the things he’ll require to race for the entire year. Of course, most of that first year is the kart and gear required to race. He raised about half the amount in a couple weeks of asking and still working towards the rest of it.

My philosophy is that these skills will be so valuable to him as an adult in the racing world, business world, and in his personal life. Asking people for money or a chance (whatever that may be) and providing some form of return is hard and most people are scared of it. Listen to Toto Wolff’s story, he started out like this as a kid…now look at him! You’d be surprised how many small business owners spend on radio ads that get muted, print ads that get thrown away, and to content writers that don’t sell with a compelling story or really understand what they are writing about. The story of a kid who knocked on their door one day for me to commit a couple hundred bucks a year to provide a social media story that will 10x my return is priceless.

If 100 people follow you on social media consisting of genuine friends and family. Say 10 of them have pizza night every week as a family and spend $20. That is $200/week of revenue they weren’t seeing before and $800/mo to give you $3-$400 a year. That is a return I’ll make any day! Now what if your friends and family share, like, and comment and support that local business? Do you see how it could be easier to increase those support dollars? The business could care less if you win or not if YOUR the best sales person the business has.

Anyone can do karting, rich or poor, and once you know the way things work, you can accomplish more of what you imagined if you think outside the box.

Don’t forget, Lewis Hamilton walked up to Ron Dennis at McLaren as a young lad and said “I”m going to win a championship for your team”. Ron was so impressed he supported that driver and guess what happened in 2008? Lewis won McLaren a world title. He delivered on that promise!

Let me know if you like this content in the comments and I’ll post more or answer more of these questions.

Message anytime if you need ideas or help!

Remember that NO GOAT or success story began with a silver spoon. The harder life hurts or hits you now, the greater your story becomes and the harder you pursue it!