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Kart Expo International

FYI
06-05-2001

RUTLEDGE FINISHES 3rd AT MILWAUKEE MILE

West Allis, Wisconsin – Karter and professional race driver with the Lynx Racing Team, David Rutledge, 22, of Vancouver BC, Canada, moved up through the field from his 5th place qualifying spot to finish 3rd in the 65-lap CART Toyota Atlantic race at the Miller 225 event at the famed 1-mile Milwaukee oval.

Run under gray skies with the temperature hovering in the mid-50s, the race was won by Hoover Orsi – his first Atlantic victory – with pole sitter Grant Riley finishing 2nd. The margin between first and third was less than one second.

The lead-up to Rutledge’s weekend showed promise with his victory in a WKA Gold Cup 125cc Shifter kart race at Portland last weekend and a win in the March of Dimes kart race on Thursday evening at the Milwaukee fairgrounds track. The race itself had no small amount of drama with multiple crashes, but no injuries, and a final eight-lap sprint at the end that had the top three karts running nose to tail.

“It’s always good to head into to a race weekend with a win under your belt, particularly if it’s something as hard to win as a shifter kart race,” said Rutledge. “It’s a psychological boost for the team and I, and I’m at the point in my career where I’m just about ready to make the jump to CART, and every victory is a step in that direction.”

K & N SPONSORS AMERIKART

Long Beach, California – Americkart Inc. announced sponsorship by the Riverside, California-based performance filter manufacturer, K & N Engineering. K & N has been involved in karting since its inception and in all forms of motorsports where youngsters participate.

“Americkart is an ideal platform to introduce our brand and the performance industry to young people. But principally, we look forward to an educational involvement as well as research and development for karting with Americkart”, said K&N CEO Rodney Mall. “Furthermore, we are pleased to be involved in the development of young American drivers and the values performance and racing can inculcate in our youth.”

Jean Genibrel, Americkart President took time to further the new organization’s agenda by saying, “With the help of companies like K & N, Americkart intends to fill the need for highly skilled and educated American race drivers. Our program is based on the same ladder systems that created the drivers who won the majority of CART, IRL and Formula One races and championships in the last decade.” Genibrel added, “It is obvious that we cannot turn all our karters into CART or IRL drivers, but many can graduate and become officials, engineers, mechanics, crew and track personnel, sponsor relations and more.”

Chris Kaufmann, Vice President of education and driver training added, “The performance industry will also be in need of qualified individuals. Racing is not just for drivers, it is a field packed with challenging positions that will need to be filled by enthusiastic professionals in the coming decades. K & N and the performance/racing industries will assist in the formulation of a curriculum to train youngsters from the age of eight in race driving, and to educate them in the basics of the technologies and sciences germane to the modern race car driver.”

ST LOUIS TRACK COMES TO REALITY

St. Louis, Missouri – Kenny Schrader, driver of the M&M’s Pontiac on the NASCAR circuit, and Ray Marler, co-promoters of the I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Missouri, have signed an agreement with the St. Louis Karting Association (SLKA) that will allow the SLKA to construct a 7/10-mile asphalt road course at the facility. This is a win-win situation for both I-55 Raceway and the SLKA.

Kenny Schrader, from Fenton, Missouri, began his racing career in the St. Louis area where he raced midgets, sprints, champ cars and just about anything he could find to drive. His successes have taken him to NASCAR’s elite Winston Cup circuit where he drives the #36 M&M’s Pontiac. Ray Marler’s experience in racing spans numerous decades of involvement from midgets to modifieds and everything in between.

The addition of the kart track will bring younger racers to the I-55 complex and expose older racers to an ever-growing form of family fun – karting. The 7/10-mile road course will be more than adequate to allow the SLKA to open its doors to shifter karts and future national events. This may also be a golden opportunity for younger drivers to hone their skills in karting to be noticed and possibly get a chance to move up to the modifieds when they get older. After all, kart racing was the training ground for many of the current race car drivers of today including Tony Stewart, Sarah Fisher, Mark Dismore, and Paul Tracy, to name a few.

The SLKA has had many set backs in the last couple of years trying to relocate their track. At their present location, due to land development and road improvement, flooding has become a yearly problem. Only once in the last eight years did a season go by without flooding, causing the club to cancel events or travel to other tracks within the region.

The St. Louis County Parks and Recreational Department tried to help the SLKA find a suitable location, but when the club started to develop the property, they were shut down by environmentalists saying that a kart track, in the middle of an open field, would cause a severe impact to local wildlife. When it was discussed about improvement to prevent flooding and expanding the old site, local residents complained about the noise. It was not looking good for the club that had been promoting karting in the St. Louis-area since the early 1960s, so this latest news came as a very positive note for the club and for karting! At the present time, the final designs are being scrutinized and constructions will begin soon. It is hoped that by the end of the current season, racing will be taking place on the new track.

HUSQVARNA/NASCAR PROMO AT L&G SHOW

Louisville, Kentucky – If you planning to attend EXPO 2001, July 20-22 in Louisville, Kentucky, you will have a compelling reason to go to the show’s web site to register for badges. The annual dealer exposition is show where most fun kart manufacturers exhibit their wares. Those who register on-line before July 1 will have a chance to win suite tickets to a NASCAR Winston Cup Race.

Husqvarna, one of the Expo 2001 exhibitors, will welcome two lucky people to the company’s suite for the New Hampshire 300 in Louden, NH on September 16 and four people to Lowe’s Motor Speedway for the UAW-GM Quality 500 in Concord, NC on October 7th.

Winners will have a panoramic view of the track from the air-conditioned comfort of Husqvarna’s luxury suite, which includes closed-circuit television coverage, food and an open bar. Participants will have an escorted tour of the pit and garage area to see the crews and drivers of every team getting ready for the day’s race. Along with other guests of Husqvarna, the winners will have an opportunity to meet Joe Gibbs, four-time Super Bowl-winning coach and the owner of Joe Gibbs Racing and the #18 car of which Husqvarna is an associate sponsor, and Bobby Labonte, 2000 Winston Cup winner and driver of the #18 car. The winners will also come away with souvenirs and bragging rights on Monday!

Sam Catalano, marketing manager for Husqvarna said, “Husqvarna is very pleased to provide these tickets as part of our involvement with the industry’s most important trade show. We feel we can benefit the industry by helping draw as many people to the show as possible. If this promotion encourages dealers who have never attended before, the investment will have been worth it. Dealers can also learn so much at EXPO 2001 to make their businesses more profitable. And, of course, we’d like to see them at our booth, as well.”

The winner of the three pairs of tickets will be announced at EXPO 2001’s dealer/retailer reception on Saturday, July 21, 5:00-7:00 PM. To register to win the tickets, go to the web site at http://expo.mow.org and click onto “Register Me Now”.

END

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