Events – Page 6 – Vintage Karting Association

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May 6. 2021

CMS Vintage Race Report – 2021

By Dick Charest

The World Karting Association held the 2021 Karting Challenge at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, NC on April 16-18, 2021. It was a multiple event with road racing on the CMS “Roval”, modern sprint racing on the sprint kart track in the infield near turn 3 of the main oval, and dirt sprint racing on the dirt track right next to the Speedway. Road racers moved in on Friday morning April 16^th. The road course was rented to Mustang racers on Friday morning so we were not able to get on the track until the afternoon. WKA changed the configuration of the road course adding a 180-degree loop at the end of the road course before going onto the oval.

Bill Johnson’s Piston Port/USA entry was running a MC-101, but during the race on Saturday his GoPro was falling off, and when he reached to grab it he hit the quick-releas-se fuel cap and had to pull in. He also suffered some engine damage knocking him out for Sundacy.

The track was very bumpy, especially between turns 3 and 4 of the oval and as you entered the road course from the oval. And when I say very bumpy, I mean very bumpy. Many racers said that their heads were jarred so badly in turns 3 and 4 of the oval that they had trouble seeing the turn-in for the front stretch chicane. The track roughness also took its toll on equipment since our racing karts don’t have suspension. All that jarring will eventually break something.

There were 3 Vintage Twins at the track on Friday. Rick Gilmore just got his engine mounts for his twin on Thursday afternoon so he didn’t have time to get the engines set-up on his C-Open enduro kart. He worked on it off and on during the day on Friday. Ron Caldwell had added a fuel tank to his C-Open sprint kart to have enough fuel capacity for the road race. Unfortunately Ron locked up an engine during a practice. Undaunted, he installed a spare engine and went back out for another practice session. However luck was not with Ron this day. His new tank cracked so he packed it up and went home. The 3^rd Vintage Twin was Tom Tretow who came all the way from Wisconsin. Tom’s Invader twin was set-up with 2 TKM 135cc reed valve engines. During practice on Friday, Tom put a hole through the top of the piston in one of his engines. Unable to repair the engine at the track, Tom removed the 135cc TKMs and installed a pair of 100cc PCR reed valve engines and started dialing them in.

Ron Caldwell brought his twin DAP T-60 (each with dual 34mm Mikunis) sprint kart. After installing a larger fuel tank for the enduro, he proceeded to seize an engine. He installed a spare, then the new fuel tank cracked.

Tom Tretow’s dual Invader with twin TKM 135 reed valve engines got off to a rocky start when he “holed” a piston in practice. However, he had a pair of backup PCR 100s that ran flawless the rest of the weekend.

There were 3 Vintage Piston Port/USA karts, all set-up with McCulloch MC-101s. As far as I know they did not have any significant issues during practice.

There were 2 Vintage Open karts, Rick Gilmore’s Margay with a K-299 B-Bomb and my Invader with a K-299 B-Bomb. Rick seized a piston in practice on Friday and spent the rest of the afternoon swapping engines. I went out for the 1^st practice to familiarize myself with the new track configuration and to check my clutch and carb settings. My clutch was over slipping and when I came in I noticed that the outboard clutch oil seal had blown out. I set to work removing the rear axle to remove the axle clutch. I got a replacement seal, installed it, turned out the clutch adjusters to reduce clutch slip, and refilled the clutch with new oil. Then I re-assembled the rear axle and went out for another practice session. This time the clutch was still over slipping but just a little bit so I turned out the clutch adjusters a little bit more to reduce clutch slip. During the next practice session, the clutch was right where I wanted it to slip so I concentrated on getting the carbs dialed in.

After a couple of short practice sessions on Saturday morning I had the engine, carbs, and clutch just where I wanted them to be. The kart handled well and the brakes performed well.

Dennis Griffith’s Van-K kart ran a MC-101 in Piston Port/USA class. Dennis won his class on Saturday when the two other competitors, Bill Anderson and Bill Johnson both experienced problems.

Race #3 on Saturday included the Vintage Twin 1 class. Rick Gilmore was still working on repairing the damage to this Vintage Open kart so he didn’t get his Vintage Twin ready for the race. Consequently Tom Tretow was the only Vintage Twin to make the grid. Tom ran very well and showed how quick a good Vintage Twin kart can run.

Race #6 on Saturday included both the Vintage Open 1 class and the Vintage Piston Port/USA 1 class. Rick Gilmore and I were gridded for the Vintage Open 1 race and Dennis Griffith, Bill Anderson, and Bill Johnson were gridded for the Vintage Piston Port/USA 1 class.

I got a great start and took the lead of the Vintage Open 1 race right off the starting grid. I led every lap and won the race. There were 7 classes running together but there were no traffic problems. I found out after the race that Rick Gilmore stripped a belt coming off the starting grid so he did not even complete one lap. Dennis Griffith running the Vintage Piston Port/USA 1 class with his Van-K kart and a MC-101 had a great race with me. I was slow in the infield road course and Dennis caught and passed me there just about every lap. However I would catch him on the oval and pass him before we entered the front stretch chicane so I led every lap. At about 1/3 race distance, my temperature indication failed due to a broken CHT thermocouple lead. At about half race distance, my slippy pipe cable broke so I lost some top end speed. With only a couple of minutes left in the vintage races, the red flag came out due to an accident in one of the other classes so our race ended just a little early. Dennis and I both completed 11 laps and our best lap times were less than half a second apart. We were essentially glued together for the entire race. It was fun.

Gilmore’s dual B-bomb-powered Invader will be a missile when he gets it sorted out.

In the Vintage Piston Port/USA 1 class, Dennis Griffith was quite a bit quicker than both Bill Anderson and Bill Johnson. Dennis led that class from start to finish. Close to the end of the race, Bill Anderson suffered a broken rod in his MC-101. He still completed 10 laps. On lap 8 Bill Johnson’s GoPro camera started to fall over so he reached over to get it but the bumpy track caused his elbow to hit his flip up tank cap and it came open. He couldn’t close it on the track so he came into the pits ending his race after 7 laps. Bill also felt he may have hurt his engine in the race.

Bill Anderson’s MC-101 broke a rod on Saturday, so he installed a 100cc Mac for Sunday. Unfortunately, it too failed after 5 laps.

I did not run practice on Sunday morning since I needed to correct the issues from yesterday’s race. I installed a new CHT thermocouple lead and installed a new slippy pipe cable. Then I did my standard pre-race preparations.

On Sunday, race #2 featured the Vintage Open 2 class and the Vintage Piston Port/USA 2 class. I was the only kart in Vintage Open 2 since Rick Gilmore worked on his Vintage Twin kart to get it ready for the Vintage Twin race later that day. I got a great start and came off the grid like a rocket ship. The engine ran well, the clutch worked well, and the kart handled well. There were 7 classes running together but there were no traffic problems. Only 6 minutes into the race, my new CHT lead broke and then the MyChron4 gauge quit working entirely. I richened the rear carb HS needle just a little bit and ran the rest of the race without any gauge info. Now that’s real “vintage”. My fastest lap time of the Vintage Open 2 race was 2:01.545 so I was almost 5 seconds faster than I was on Saturday. I ran the entire race without any issues except for the gauge failure and completed 14 laps.

Bill Anderson was the only entry in Vintage Piston Port/USA 2. After damaging his MC-101 on Saturday, Bill ran a 100cc McCulloch in the Sunday race. Unfortunately as he came off turn 4 of the oval his engine suffered multiple engine failures. Bill quickly turned onto pit road preventing further damage to his engine. Bill completed 5 laps before dropping out.

Rick Gilmore brought two beautiful Enduros to Charlotte. Here is his single B-bomb-powered Margay. Last-minute parts arrival and engine woes plagued Rick all weekend. Got lots of wrench time and very little track time. (Been there, done that – Ed.)

Sunday’s race #4 featured the Vintage Twin 2 class. Unfortunately Rick Gilmore was unable to sort out the issues on his vintage twin kart and did not make the grid for the race. Tom Tretow ran well again and cruised to an uncontested win.

I had decided about a month before the race that this would be my final enduro road race. I’m 74 years old and it has been getting more physically challenging for me to do the enduro races. However I wanted to go out on a good performance and I am happy that I was able to do that. To me a race is successful if my equipment runs well, I drive well, and I finish the race. I will still participate in vintage sprint races but this was my “curtain call” for enduro kart racing. I have had a great time racing enduro karts for many years and have been very successful at it. It’s much better to go out on top than to stay too long in a sport. I will miss it but I have had a very good career road racing karts and I have no regrets about stopping now.

Here’s Dick Charest’s Komet K299-powered Invader that won both Vintage Open races. Dick retired from Enduro racing on a high note.

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Vintage Racers Roar at Georgia’s Roebling Road

April 27. 2021

by Adminin Events

Vintage Racers Roar at Georgia’s Roebling Road

By John Copeland
Photos & Captions By Dick Charest

The first weekend in March can be unpredictable weather-wise, in the southeast, but 2 months after the final checkered flag of the year at Daytona, the WKA Vega Tire Road Racing Series, presented by Summit Racing Equipment, descended on Roebling Road Race Course near Savannah, Georgia.

Roebling Road couldn’t be in a more iconic setting, a 2.02 mile, 9-turn road course nestled beneath towering oak trees draped with Spanish moss.

Kart #68, Scotty Orr’s Coyote,Yamaha KT-100 was a consistent runner with a 4th on Saturday and a 3rd on Sunday.

Saturday’s Vintage Piston Port class featured 4 entries contesting the 30 minute race. Arthur McKenny was the class of the field, lapping 4 seconds faster than his nearest competitor. All 4 racers made it to the checkered flag with McKenny taking the win over Christopher Foskey, followed by William Anderson and Scotti Orr.

In Saturday’s Vintage Open class, Tony Ellison continued his winning ways in a tightly fought battle with Dick Charest and Terence Armstrong. Piston Port winner Arthur McKenny was in the hunt as well before retiring after 5 laps. Christopher Foskey dropped out after 1 lap and Rick Gilmore lasted until lap 11 before retiring. At the flag it was Ellison, followed by Armstrong besting Charest by less than half a second to take 2^nd.

Sunday’s Piston Port race saw the same 4 karts on the grid, but McKenny’s luck ran out after only 1 lap and he retired. William Anderson took this one by a lap over Christopher Foskey, with Scotti Orr in 3^rd.

The last Vintage class of the weekend was Sunday’s Vintage Open and only 3 competitors made it to the grid. Once again is was all Tony Ellison and he ripped off laps 1 ½ seconds faster than his winning pace on Saturday. Unfortunately neither of his fellow Vintage racers could hang on as Dick Charest retired after 2 laps and Terence Armstrong was unable to complete the 1^st lap. Ellison cruised to an uncontested win.

Next up on the Vintage enduro calendar is the Shenandoah Circuit at Summit Point Raceway on April 17^th & 18^th, hosted by the Woodbridge Kart Club. That same weekend WKA will welcome Vintage enduro karters to the “Roval” at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Competing race dates at tracks so geographically close is never a good thing, but hopefully racers will pick their favorite track and support these events.

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March 2. 2021

by Staffin Events

2021 GSKA NFKC VKA Vintage Ice Breaker

By Bob Barthelemy
Photos by Tony Cassata

This is just one half of the smooth, long Jacksonville straightaway

Although the temperature was in the mid 30’s Thursday morning, the late morning and afternoon saw temps. in the60’s and made for a beautiful day of practice. After safety tech inspection, we opened the track for practice around 10 am. With all single engine karts then duel engine kart practice. After lunch (the Mother Truckin Pizza food truck served some delicious subs and pizza) we provided open practice till 5:00 pm. with the grid steward controlling the amount of karts on the trackat a time.

The forecast for Friday showed rain so we got an early start with practice open from 8:30-9:30 am. We posted the starting line-ups and held a quick drivers meeting at 9:45. The first group to enter the track for heat #1 at 10:15 was the Sportsman Rear accompanied by a Karman Jobe (junior) and Nick Wiel in the straight axle S/W. Two more groups were able to run heat # 1 prior to the rain setting in till noon. About a two hour process of drying the track followed lunch and by 2:30 the sportsman S/W and 4 cycle stock group completed their first heat. Two more groups completed heat #1 before more rain came to end the on track activities for the day.

Saturday morning a steady rain was drenching the facility at 103rd St. Jacksonville. After talking with the people at the track, and a few already packing up to leave, we decided to officially call the Saturday activity as a rain-out. The few people that were interested in participating in the kart show did not even want to get their karts out in the rain. We presented awards based on first heat finishing order (12 classes) and by order of registration (5 classes). Karman Jobe assisted us by drawing Todd Horton’s name as winner of the 50/50 raffle. Todd and the VKA were presented $155.00 each from the proceeds of the raffle. Thank you to Jim Hindery, NFKC President, and the entire NFKC & GSKA team for a well-run event! Thank you to all the Vintage Karters (58 competition plus 2 practice only entries)for participating at this event. Come join us at Barnesville March 25ththru 27th where we hope for better weather conditions.

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DAYTONA 2020: Vintage Karters Hit The High Banks

February 13. 2021

by Staffin Events

DAYTONA 2020: Vintage Karters Hit The High Banks

By John Copeland

Rudy Francek with Capt. Jack McClure and his Rocket Kart

A small, but dedicated group of Vintage Enduro Karters made the annual winter trip to Daytona to enjoy the high-speed thrills that only the track’s high banks can provide. Rolling up onto the banking in NASCAR turn 3 at over 100 miles per hour is an experience no karter should miss.

Tony Ellison was a double winner, notching wins in Vintage Open F1 and Vintage Open F2, while Dennis Griffith took the win in Vintage Piston Port F1 and Stuart Keller was the victor in Vintage Twin F1.

While only 11 entries were on the grid sheets, a number of Vintage Enduro racers have committed to drawing larger numbers for next year.

One terrific surprise was the appearance of 95-year-old Capt. Jack McClure who displayed his Hydrogen Peroxide-powered “Rocket Kart”. Capt. Jack was a crowd favorite at drag races nationwide in the ‘60s and ‘70s.

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Adams Motorsports Park Pandemic Play Day 2021

February 11. 2021

by Staffin Events

Adams Motorsports Park Pandemic Play Day 2021

Photos & Text By Len Emanuelson

One of the young Carbarino boys on a Mc8-powered ’61 Dart leads Paul Wright on his KT-100 Panther X. Body English versus no body English!

Like virtually everything else in California, this year’s 16th Annual Faye Pearson Vintage Kart Reunion was canceled due to Covid. And that was a real shame as the weather was a balmy 76, with lots of sunshine and hardly a wisp of wind. Not typical weather for Riverside in February that can often be wet, cold and extremely windy. About 25 vintage karters showed up for the Saturday-only gathering with masks, social distancing and all of that. Those who made it were rewarded with the best track day possible – plenty of track time sharing it only with fellow vintage karters.

There was a great assortment both rear-engine and sidewinder karts. The Bug camp was well represented by Tom Harpur of Wilmington, CA who brought a ’76 Wasp, a ’88 Spider and a ’81 Scorpion. (He left a ’72 Stinger and Bug 2000 home because he ran out of trailer space.) The opposing Margay camp was well represented by Paul Wright who brought a pair of beautiful Expert 1s and a Panther X. He too left a couple of Margays at home. And finally, Jack Dodd brought three Emmicks, a NOS Arrow III (twin Yamaha, big axle), a K35-powered Elite and a Yamaha-powered Express. All that was missing was a few of Van Duesen’s Invaders.

What was interesting to me was to find out what everybody was doing with this track day. My old buddy from the Hot Rod Magazine days, Pete Eastwood (his primered ’32 Sedan graced the cover while I was editor), was there breaking-in a freshly rebuilt pair of 101s on his ’68 Dart Chapparal single, for his twin Dart Chapparal. Big Mike Golembesky had his twin K-30 Emmick at Adams to switch from gas to methanol and figure out the new tune-up. Jack Dodd was breaking in his NOS Emmick Arrow III with a pair of Yamahas and Jon Woods at the wheel. The Bug guys including Stacy Seguine in a Spider were seriously working on their lap times as were Paul Wright’s Margays.

Howard Combee showed up with an early ‘80s Birel with a direct drive K78 – no gauges, as bare bones as it gets. He gave us all a driving exhibition of how to drive a DD for smoothness and momentum. I think Howard ran more laps than anyone until he broke a header. Fortunately, someone was selling exactly what he needed. Unfortunately, a hard-working Victor Osuna from nearby Jurupa Valley thrashed all day before getting in some laps just before the track closed. And it was good to see a couple of youngsters out there getting a thrill of a lifetime. One of the highlights of the day was when Greg Richardson let Timel Sebastian (Adams Track Manager) drive her first vintage kart. She’s been part of the Adams operation for years, but never had the opportunity to drive. Greg’s Briggs-powered ’80 Proline was the perfect starting point.

With the limited number of VKA karting events in any regional area, arranging a few track days with a group of friends is a great way to get your kart ready for the big events and also to get that all-so-important seat time!