My kid Karting for the 1st time..
 

I was exhausted from yesterday (Tire Rack Street Survival School with older son) but got up at 6:30 and started getting ready.

We arrived at the track signed in, and then Gian (my younger son 9 y/o) had a very short classroom session where they discussed driving line with the kids and how to follow the instructor correctly, since this was going to be a day of shadowing the instructors to learn the track.

I felt 95% of that fell out of their heads as soon as the Karts were started. :D:

Classroom:
https://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y2...ps0b1b04f1.jpg

Class:
https://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y2...ps672ee66e.jpg

Our little racers:
https://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y2...ps9cb42da0.jpg

https://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y2...psa81eb534.jpg

Interesting technique, they made Gian follow behind and mimic their line. I was happy to see Gian flying along, the instructor quickly realized they could move out and was really moving at a fast pace, I am sure Gian was happy too, this was an early session:

https://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y2...ps46cbbb96.jpg
https://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y2...ps77dcde96.jpg
https://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y2...ps4385318b.jpg
https://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y2...ps4a9cd949.jpg
https://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y2...ps6f518ad5.jpg

Sadly, Gians last session (where I had the Contour on his Helmet) was cut short, due to me not having any time, I never got to go over his Kart, I hoped for the best and unfortunately, his spark plug and carb were both loosening up, the plug so much so that he lost compression and broke down. :(

I am going over the entire Kart this week, there is a Race Sunday and his instructor said he should run in it, he is pretty fast and would do well.

We might do it. We shall see...... :D:

Nice, father son weekends are special. I always looked forward to get away hockey tournaments
P.S. hope he does fine in his first race

I really do not think he is ready to race, but I was assured he would be in a beginners class racing.

Thanks for the well wishes, I am really happy to be able to get him into this.

Very cool. Train them up right. Good stuff. He will have more respect for the roads as well.

Paul.

I wish I had a father like you. Let him race!

That's awesome Jims!!! I hope to do the exact same thing as soon as my son is old enough. Heck yeah, let him race!!

Looks fun! I never rode those for a long time. Anyway, thanks for sharing your father and son moment.

When I was a kid many years ago, I built a soap box racer at the Cincinnati Boys Club. My uncle bought me the axles and wheels. That started my love for racing and at 70 still love it.

Congratulations, my son was going to the racetrack since the time he was born. However, he never took to racing or cars in general, until after he got his drivers license. He still doesn't care about performance driving. He's in his mid-20's and I'm still teaching him simple auto mechanics.

^^Best thing my dad ever taught me...granted now, I don't really need to know how to change the jets in a carb, but it's the experience of laying on some cardboard in the baking heat of summer that sticks with me the most

Took the boy again this evening to open practice, it is apparent the Kids Kart is too small for him. He really needs something faster to challenge him, he is driving sloppy because he is not going fast enough and knows he can get away with it.

Looks like I am about to be $4500 poorer real soon as I get him into a Rotax Minimax, it is a 125 engine choked down to about 7 HP then as the kid gets older, you take off the restrictors until it has close to 20+ HP. The same frame is used for the next 4-5 years then he outgrows that to a larger frame with the same engine.

gulp....

http://www.southwestregionalcup.com/..._berryhill.jpg


When we were at open practice, I remember why I never really got into karting. Big $$ being spent on equipment and machine.

I chuckled as Mercedes after Mercedes pulled into the complex this evening, then an Audi R8 pulled it too.

The car I was most excited to see? Another RX8 owned by a kid that worked there. We talked cars for a while.