News – Page 21 – Vintage Karting Association

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March 11. 2022

The Faye “Ladybug” Pierson Memorial Karting Reunion

The 2022 Adams Event Was a Memorably Affair

By Leonard Emanuelson
Photos by Wayne Mass & Julie Watson

Adams Motorsports Park is located in the Inland Empire of Southern California, more specifically the city of Riverside. Like most of SoCal, it is a desert – massively irrigated so that it doesn’t resemble a desert, but still a desert. VKA’s premier west coast event, the Annual Vintage Kart Reunion is traditionally held the first part of February, and the weather is always a crapshoot. It can be a sunny 80-degrees, or like in 2019 a near rainout. This year’s 17^th Annual Reunion honoring Faye “Ladybug” Pierson, was cold and windy with overnight temps dipping in the high 30s. Compared to the icecap gripping the rest of the country, Adams was the place to be but the plunging afternoon temps and Santa Ana winds dampened some of the evening festivities, but the vintage karters soldiered on.

We lost several vintage karters in ’21 & ’22. The most notable was Faye “Ladybug” Pierson who drove her signature Bug kart here for the final time in 2020 at the age of 91. There were several photo displays of Faye and other karting legends whom we dearly miss. A few of the others include Rick Gifford whose karting career included a national championship in every division of karting. Tom Smith, a talented vintage kart restorer/fabricator, and Jerry Imbroden, the long-time Adam’s track photographer.

Dual Sidewinder, C-Open, 300 Classic – call it want you want, but the action is awesome! Opening laps of Heat 2 here with winner Steve O’Hara followed by the Hannon Gang – Brian Hannon and Doug Waterman. Brian’s K35s led many laps, but the Swantek Bro’s K-30s on “Goldfinger” prevailed.

Another great friend in karting we lost this year was John Motley from Paso Robles, California. John owned Yamaha of San Luis Obispo and Race Kart Engineering. He was heavily involved in modern karting too, serving as a tech director for SKUSA for many years. His daughter Kelley Coons and son-in-law, Randy Coons brought a huge trailer of John’s collection of kart parts from over the years. Several engines, pipes, karts and even a Rathman Exterminator were for sale.

My photo doesn’t do Steve O’Hara’s Caretta II/Mc30 justice, but the judges awarded it Best Modified Historic Rear Engine kart. It is a beauty!

In 2021 the VKA “Reunion” was relegated to a “Fun Day” due to Covid. This year vintage karters were happy to return to a full event schedule promoted by Louie Figone and Joe Swantek and hosted by Adams Motorsports Park. Some highlights were the Thursday lunch provided by JMax-Torque’s Jim Donovan, ably assisted by Dean Kanocz and Jack Murray. The Randy Holt estate provided the excellent pizza Thursday night, and the Adam’s family and VKA hosted dinner and a jazz band on Friday night.

Virtually unlimited track time was available on Thursday and Friday, and the heats went off without a hitch on Saturday. When nearly 130 karts descended on the historic track the action was hot and heavy, and we were all treated to watch a couple of karting legends dominate the action. Steve O’hara won both heats in 300 classic and 150 classic. Howard Combee got the trifecta with dual Yamaha, 100cc Open and Yamaha Stock Appearing. The always tough Tom Wilms, captured the Historic honors and and Martin Johnson won Dual Rear. None of these guys have lost a step in 30 years!

Here is the remainder of the pack behind O’Hara in the second heat. #19 Ron Funkhouser from Indiana was having mechanical problems. Jason Gibb #83 leads Cayden Spring in a Swantek entry, followed up by Richard Swantek in #19.

While participation was down slightly over previous years, the vintage karters that traveled long distances were way up. The Hannon Gang from Seattle just keeps growing, and was joined by other Washingtonites Jason Gibb, Mike Stryker and Stan Crocker, to name a few. Doug Sharp hauled much of his Vintage Museum Restoration from Indiana and his dual 101-powered Hartman was the talk of the pits. Alex Odenthal showed up from Idaho and ran a direct-drive Dap T-80 out of the Hannon camp. Jason Gibb’s brother Chris showed up from Texas to drive his brother’s second kart. Dennis Faust and his wife brought two beautiful vintage Emmicks for sale and a Yamaha single to race from the Phoenix area. But undoubtedly the long distance award goes to Frank Weir from VROOM magazine who traveled all the way from Ireland.

The Adam’s Kart Show did not disappoint. While the amount of participants was noticeably lighter, the quality just keeps getting better. Doug Sharp showed some amazing karts from his Vintage Museum Restoration and won Best Modified Rear Engine for his ’61 McCulloch 300. Alan Paolercio and Bug Cooper are a traveling karting “event” by themselves (usually showing up with no less than 10 of Alan’s karts) — were rewarded with Best Un-Restored Rear and Sidewinder classes. The Washington state folks showed well too with Stan Crocker’s ’69 Bug Stinger winning Best Restored Sidewinder and the Tom Pierson “Best Bug In Show” award. Jason Gibb’s ’82 Proline captured the “Peoples Choice” award. Jsson has made the transition from racing dirt karts to vintage, and says he loves the karting and the people. Check the photos out – other stunning karts include Steve O’Hara’s Carretta II, Rennie Goldberg’s Lancer and Paul Wright’s Bug Stinger Enduro.

If Adams is any indication, the ’22 VKA season is going to be awesome!

Results

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November 9. 2021

by Adminin Events

Sandy Hook Summary (10/9)

By Kurt Bogerman
Photos by Rolf Hill

Juniors, Rear 6.1 & Sportsman Rear take the Green

The Rolling Stones repeat the famous lyric “You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need”. I have no idea what the rest of the imagery in that song is meant to convey, but I have often found that lyric to ring true.

Case in point:

On Saturday October 9, 2021, the NE Region closed out their 2021 season with the Dessert Nationals at Sandy Hook Speedway in Street, MD. Originally scheduled to be a two-day, Saturday/Sunday event, by mid-week we found ourselves confronted by a high percentage chance of rain, particularly on Sunday. As described in my previous event summaries, we have often adjusted an event’s schedule to run two Heats one day and one the next. In this instance, it was decided in advance to nix Sunday’s schedule entirely, and the event was condensed into a one day, two Heat affair. Fortunately, this was all negotiated by Thursday morning, so, for the most part, participants were able to adjust their schedules accordingly. Bright and early Saturday morning, we rolled in, looking forward to what, for many of us, would be one last day of VKA vintage karting in 2021.

People’s Choice 1960 Simplex Mark IV with dual WB 580s was shown by Paul Hunter (L) and Jon Clark (R). It deserved two photos!

The schedule was, of course, very tight, and, as a result, there was not much “Tier Two” action available this time around. We had our drivers’ meeting and got into practice right away. We kept things rolling by alternating simply between rear engine karts and sidewinders, ten or fifteen minutes per session. The Sandy Hook staff kept us on schedule giving us 1^st, 2^nd, Final Call announcements over the PA system. I should say, “they made a valiant effort to keep us up to date,” but inevitably there was always at least one cantankerous kart motor that absolutely had to be revved heavenward just as the PA would click on. Isn’t that always the way? By the time we took our break for lunch, most of us had found sufficient time to get things shaken out, shook loose, or both!

The concession stand was open for business and had a tasty variety of burgers, dogs, and… “walking tacos”??? Natalie and I make it a point to patronize the concession stands at the tracks we visit. What I did not realize is that Natalie had been looking forward to having another Sandy Hook “Walking Taco.” If you have not seen one of these, it is very clever: They basically build a taco salad in a snack-size bag of Doritos. You fork it right out of the bag as you walk away. It cannot be “good” for you, but if it is only once a year…. Right?

Getting kart show participants was a challenge, but nonetheless, fruitful.

After lunch we got right into the Heats, rapid fire. There were chains derailing (Rodrigo!) and ignition points wires fleeing the scene (mine!) as the drivers jockeyed for position out on the racecourse. Traction seemed to come and go, partially, I assume, because of the local club’s rubber being progressively scrubbed off the track surface, in conjunction with the track temperature fluctuating over the course of the afternoon. Turn One changed the runningorder of more than one Heat, for me, for sure! At this point, if this were a YouTube video, I would be gesturing towards wherever the Heat results will be posted in the final edit.

With the Heats completed in record time, we launched headlong into the Kart Show. Honestly, the condensed schedule made it difficult to raise enthusiasm to get karts back out on the show field. Many drivers opted to begin packing for their departure. The karts that were displayed in the show represented our hardcore participants and we made the best of it! Doug Jorgensen, Doug Tenney, and I judged the Show. We decided to forego the “Past Champion” category (as many of these were, in fact, Past Champions) and instead evaluate them all head-to-head. It does not get easier, even with a smaller field, especially when you might know the stories behind each kart or have detailed knowledge of the trials and tribulations of a particular restoration. We aimed to keep it fun and fair, and I hope that our participants agree! The winners, of course, are posted in the Show Results chart.

The Sandy Hook VKA Dessert Nationals were short and sweet this year. Approaching the event, I wanted a big, two-scoop cone, and I was lucky to enjoy a single scoop dish. Next year I can dream about a three-scoop sundae can’t I? Till next year!

Results

Doug Jorgensen’s MC-75-powered ’64 GoKart 1200 won Historic Modiied

Diego’s dad, Rodrigo DeFrancisco won Sidewinder Unrestored with his ’87 DAP.

Young gun Diego DeFrancisco’s ’65 Rupp A-Bone won Rear Modified. Diego wrings out the MC-92 as well as anyone.

Lots of tasty Rear-engined karts on the East coast. Sandy Hook was a bit of a time warp.

Paul Hunter’s MC-91B1-powered ’68 Bug Sprint won Best Rear Restored honors to go with his Peoples Choice award.

Beautiful fall weather with the leaves falling and plenty of track time. Here a couple of “square tire” Rears surround a fat-tired 4-stroke SW.

Small trailer? No problem consider a “stacker”

Entering the banking offers plenty of options: go high if you need to build momentum – go low for the shortest way around.

Next time you load up that cumbersome kart stand, consider this…

Sal Paltucci won the Rear Unrestored class with his ’64 Dart Grand-A II with a MC-90

Another green-flag start – small grids provided plenty of racing room and little to no kart-to-kart contact.

Coming down off the banking provided plenty of G-forces and thrills

The DeFrancisco brothers took 1st and 2nd in the Junior class.

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AKRA and Dart Kart Host Vintage Enduro Celebration at Pittsburgh Motorsports Complex

November 6. 2021

by Adminin Events

AKRA and Dart Kart Host Vintage Enduro Celebration at Pittsburgh Motorsports Complex

Text and Photos by John Copeland

Fred Stoll led every lap in Vintage Open.

Woodbridge Kart Club Vintage Coordinator Arthur McKinney took advantage of the expected large crowd of enduro racers at September’s AKRA/Dart Kart enduro event at Pittsburgh Motorsports Complex to showcase Vintage Enduros in a whole new way. The first ever Vintage Enduro Celebration staged a special 20 minute race at the end of Friday’s practice sessions at the breathtaking 2.78 mile race course. A total of 22 Vintage Enduros in 3 divisions took the green flag for a special 20-minute exhibition event. Notably, Yamaha Enduro hot-shoes Patrick Olsen and Adam Trumbley came over from the “modern” karting world to try their hands in more “time-honored” machines.

But it was Fred Stoll who showed these young guns the quick way around, leading every lap with his Vintage Open machine. Surprisingly, the next fastest 6 places all went to karts in the vintage Piston Port division, led by Olsen, followed by Art McKinney, Trumbley, and John Copeland. The closest race of the day was between Jerry Bowgren and Dennis Griffith who finished an astonishing 0.189 seconds apart after 20 minutes in the battle for 5^th in Vintage Piston Port.

In Vintage Open, Stoll was followed to the finish by Greg Hartley, Phil Reuter, Chuck Morgan and John Konkle.

A special class titled Vintage Exhibition was created for karts that did not fit into the regular Vintage classes. Jeremy Baldi was the only entry in that class and, unfortunately, only finished a single lap.

All 22 entries were happy to be able to “strut their stuff” in front of the crowd of 800+ participants at Pittsburgh and organizers hope that the Vintage Enduro Celebration will become an annual fall event.

Mike Schlager brought 2 vintage twins; a twin B-Bomb Mean Machine and a twin Mac Chaparral.

This rear view of Mike’s twins puts the “Mean” into his Mean Machine.

22 Vintage Enduros graced the spacious Pitt Grid.

Copeland’s Piston Port Coyote has seen plenty of action this year

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As 2021 Season Winds to a Close, Vintage Karters Flock to Whiteland Raceway Park

October 28. 2021

by Adminin Events

As 2021 Season Winds to a Close, Vintage Karters Flock to Whiteland Raceway Park

Story by John Copeland
Photos by Denny Scott and Don Roll

Fall in central Indiana means bright sunshine, warm days, cool evenings. It also brings the annual Fall Classic VKA event at historical Whiteland Raceway Park. Since they purchased the track, the oldest continuously operating kart track in the country in 2017, Sarah Fisher and Andy O’Gara have committed to transforming it into one of the premier karting facilities. New buildings, upgraded facilities and services, and expanded track layouts have made Whiteland a “can’t miss” date on the VKA calendar.

Cody Brookman won Best Modified Sidewinder

This year the event boasted 102 entries and featured the “Rathman Rumble”; a special event showcasing Rathman Exterminator karts built by 1960 Indy 500 winner Jim Rathman. While many Vintage Karters, myself included, had seen an Exterminator at other Vintage events, the Rathman Rumble provided for these historic machines to actually race as a subset of the Historic class.

Prime pit space is always in high demand and this year the most desirable spaces were already reserved from last year. But, with the help of Whiteland’s terrific and helpful staff, we were able to find convenient working pit space for everyone who arrived. As expected, most karters reserved their spots for next year already, but Andy and Sarah have acquired additional property just north of the existing pit area and will be expanding into that space for next season.

Thursday is always practice and get acquainted time, with plenty of time for R&R (‘reck and repair?)It’s always great to catch up with other Vintage Karters, even if it’s only been a few weeks since you saw them at the last race. Whiteland’s layout for the VKA weekend was ½ mile long, but compact enough for everyone in the pits to watch all the action.

After a short driver’s meeting Friday morning, practice resumed. Due to the threat of rain on Saturday, a vote was taken at the driver’s meeting to adjust the schedule to run heats 1 & 2 on Friday and the final heat on Saturday. VKA President Gary Wlodarsky provided lunch for everyone.

Wheels up! Walter McDade tries a new cornering technique

Everyone completed Friday’s heat races in good order, with no significant incidents and it was time to set up for the kart show. About 30 outstanding unrestored, restored, and modified karts were displayed and judges Romero Llamas and Tom Kelley had their work cut out for them picking the winners. One of the highlights of the show was Mike Anderson’s unrestored Rathman Exterminator, originally owned by, and autographed by, Jim Rathman himself.

After the kart show everyone was treated to a special BBQ dinner prepared by Jim Donovan. Jim always does such a great job and seems to have a terrific time doing it, too.

Saturday morning it looked like the decision to double up the races on Friday would be a good one. Rain was forecast in the early afternoon and everybody moved quickly to get the program in. There was some great racing throughout the weekend, but especially in the finals on Saturday. Unfortunately the rain arrived a bit earlier than expected and the last 3 finials were unable to be run. After everyone gathered up their stuff and got packed up, the awards ceremony was held in the lobby of the main building. Here are the results:

So, another VKA Fall Classic at Whiteland Raceway Park is in the books. The facility continues to get rave reviews and the event showcases what is best about Vintage Karting; fun, challenging, competition among the best in the sport. If it’s not already on your calendar for next season, pencil it in now; Sept 29 & 30, Oct 1^st. See you there!

Results

Darren Critchett won Past Champion Sidewinder

John Copeland (with original kart owner Sam Brumment) won Best Restored Historic

Scott Kerestes won Past Champion Rear Engine

Nick Sgorro won Best Modified Rear Engine

Shawn Moore won Best Unrestored Rear Engine

Iwan Davies won Best Unrestored Sidewinder

Loran Critchett won Best Restored Sidewinder

Mike Anderson won Best Unrestored Historic with his Rathman Exterminator

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October 26. 2021

by Adminin News

The Vintage Kart Calendar

You may know him as the Editor of the VKA Magazine, FirsTurn, or the driver of the blue and orange Fox Kart #4, or you may know him as Rolf Hill. What you may not know is that he started karting when he was about 13; raced for six years at Upper Marlboro, MD and 75/80 kart track in Monrovia, MD. He took a 45-year break for college, family, and a career. In 2010, he was retired and wanted to renew his interest in karting and according to Rolf “rebuild my memories in karting.”

This next phase of his life included total immersion in the Vintage Karting Association. At first it was 10 events a year, three Fox Karts that he restored to look like his original, then five engines, so he had “spares,” (something he learned at his first VKA event at Barnesville in 2011), and ultimately enough “spares” to run a dual.

To keep his life organized (and so his wife would know of upcoming events), he created a wall calendar, complete with pictures. “It turned out pretty good, if you ask me, and I thought some of my new friends might like a copy.” So, if they sent him $15, he would print one off on his home color printer and mail it to them. As requests increased, Rolf started to take pre-orders and used a professional printer. For the first five years, Rolf donated the profits to VKA. Then things changed.

“Nobody has heard of Friedreich’s Ataxis (FA),” says Rolf. “It is classified as a ‘rare’ disease. Only one in 50,000 people have FA. ‘Rare’ or not, when it strikes someone you love, how ‘rare’ it is, doesn’t matter. It is real.” In 2016, his 12-year-old granddaughter was diagnosed with FA … a neurological, degenerative, condition that affects balance, speech, and other physical attributes. [If you want to know more, check out the Friedreich’s Ataxia Research Alliance (FARA) website: www.curefa.org/whatis.] Since that time, her youngest sister also has been diagnosed with FA. Profits from the 2017 Calendars (and beyond) have gone and will continue to go to a non-profit organization to help find a cure and to help others with Friedreich’s Ataxia expenses. Visit www.burrows-hill.org to see how the money they collect is spent.

Each year’s calendar has had a theme: Peoples’ Choice winners, virtual kart show winners, unique and one-of-a-kind karts, etc. The 2022 theme is VKA tracks and Rolf has expanded his fund-raising efforts to include them. Track supporters will get a full-page aerial photo and 10 free calendars. Rolf hopes the 2022 calendar will be attractive to modern karters as well as vintage karters who use those tracks.

According to Rolf, “In the last five years, profits have gone to the non-profit to find a cure and help with FA-related expenses. Since 2017 vintage karters have raised nearly $13,600 from sales, advertising, and donations. My goal for the 2022 Vintage Karting Calendar is to exceed $20,000 for the 5-year total contribution.”

“I couldn’t be more grateful for all the support I’ve gotten from vintage karters. Any support, large or small, is welcome. Every dollar helps. It could be the last one we need to find a cure,” according to Rolf.

The 2022 Vintage Kart Calendar will go on sale in October. Mailing is scheduled for early December … just in time for Christmas. If you are interested, contact Rolf at KartNumber4@yahoo.com.