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International Karting Industry Buyer's Guide
International Karting Industry Buyer's Guide


Kart Expo International
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 FYI
08-14-04
    ROCK ISLAND GRAND PRIX UPDATE
    The Rock Island Grand Prix has a couple of updates to share with you regarding this year’s Rock Island Grand Prix kart races, Sept. 4-5, 2004 in Rock Island, Illinois. Don’t forget, there is an increase in the entry fee after Friday, August 20, so get those entries in!

    RULE CHANGE: The Rock Island Grand Prix has announced a change in rules for the upcoming Labor Day Weekend race, Sept. 4-5, in Rock Island, Illinois.

    The published Supplemental Rules produced earlier this year state that “Data Acquisition (downloadable type) must be removed or disabled prior to qualifying.”  The genesis of this rule dates back a number of years to when DA was not as commonplace as it has become today. The rule was instituted to level the playing field for a majority of drivers who did not have data acquisition.

    Today, it is believed that its use has become fairly commonplace for drivers who race at the national level. It is accepted by most other series and sanctioning bodies. After a number of inquiries from competitors, and after discussions with race director Terry Riggins and the technical committee headed by Bob Paladichuk, the Rock Island Grand Prix has determined that at the 2004 event, and in the future, Data Acquisition will be allowed at all times.

    This decision is being emailed to competitors, karting websites and publications, and will be posted at registration.

    VEGA CONTINGENCY:  Grand Prix Distributing, US distributor for Vega tires, has announced a generous contingency program for this year’s Rock Island Grand Prix.  The program applies only to the following classes: ICC World Street Championship, Yamaha Medium and Heavy, 125cc moto, 2- cycle Super Sportsman, and 4-cycle Heavy. It will be extended to include the ICA World Street Championship if there are sufficient entries.

    Drivers who finish in first place in any of these classes on Vega tires – wet or slicks -- will win $250 in cash from Vega. Drivers finishing in second place on Vega tires will win a tire voucher good for a set of Vega tires through Grand Prix Distributing. Drivers on Vegas finishing in third place in these designated classes will receive a Vega deluxe tire gauge with a $150 value.

    Several Vega dealers expect to have tires available on site at the Rock Island Grand Prix. We would like to thank John and Jim Giacomelli for their support of the event. For more information on the Vega Contingency Program visit www.grandprixdistributing.com  or call toll free 877-864-9060. 

    The Rock Island Grand Prix is the largest karting street race in the world. SBC is the Presenting Sponsor. It is held each year through the downtown streets of Rock Island, Illinois. For additional information, visit www.rockislandgrandprix.com or email grandprix@qconline.com.
     
     

    WKA COMPETITORS HEADING TO IOWA, INDIANA, AND PENNSYLVANIA
    The weekend of August 20th, WKA will be host to three national events, as well as, the Snap-On Stars of Karting event at Road America in Wisconsin. Competitors competing in the Horstman Gold Cup Series, Dunlop Tire Road Racing Series, and the brand new Heartland Speedway Pavement Championships will be racing at venues located throughout the nation.

    This is the first year for the Heartland Speedway Pavement Championships, being held at Jamaica Raceway in Jamaica, Iowa. Its counterpart, the Heartland Speedway Dirt Series presented by Heartland Bully Clutch Dealers has exceeded everyone's expectations. The number of entries has increased with each event held throughout the Midwest. With the continued support from the racers in the dirt series, WKA is encouraging as many people who can to attend the Heartland Speedway Pavement Championships in Iowa.

    Recognizing the Midwest karter on the national level by providing them the opportunity to compete against other drivers in the area is long overdue.

    "Being in this area of the country for the first time with WKA sanctioned events was only a concept two to three years ago, but now with support of many key people, WKA has set a new standard for kart racing and I am proud to be a part of it." -- Tony Barton, Director of Project Development

    It has been an exciting time for WKA and the karters and tracks in the Heartland region of the country.

    "I'm happy to become associated with WKA; this truly is the best step we can all take for the future of Midwest Speedway racing." -- Randy Perkins, Promoter of Jamaica Raceway

    Off to Putnam Park is the Dunlop Tire National Road Racing Series for stop #6 for the season. The event is expected to have an excellent turnout as pre-entries are up from last year. Some reminders for competitors: there will be registration and pre-entry pick up at the Holiday Inn from 6:00 - 10:00pm on Thursday night, as well as, trailer drop off the same night from 6:00 - 9:00pm. Also, there will be an extra hour of practice on Friday and Saturday night; therefore, competitors do not need to be out of the track until 7:30pm. Finally, there is an hour time difference for those coming from the east coast. 

    Finally, race #4 of the Horstman Gold Cup Series will make its way to BeaveRun Motorsports Complex in Pennsylvania for the ING Direct Nationals. Competitors will be racing on the larger course in a clockwise direction -- same as last year. For more info call 704-455-1606.
     
     

    MOTORSPORT SAFETY FUND ANNOUNCES TWO NEW PUBLICATIONS 
    Credit Card-sized Leaflet on Kart Marshalling
    The MSF has launched a full color, credit card-sized 'Z-fold' leaflet on the marshalling of kart races. This handy pocket guide has sections on how to communicate with fellow marshals, officials, competitors and spectators; the use of radios; fire fighting and first aid. It also has a potted history of the sport. The leaflets are priced at 50 for £10 including p&p.

    Updated Guide to Motorsport Rescue Techniques
    The Motorsport Safety Fund (MSF) based in Great Britain has introduced an updated
    edition of its 'Rescue Manual'. This definitive guide to motorsport rescue techniques and equipment comprises 68 illustrated A4 pages, housed in a dedicated ring binder for
    easy updating. Seven key amendments have been made to the text and a new section added on the increasingly popular Head & Neck Support system (HANS) which is mandatory in Grand Prix racing. The price is £10 including p&p.

    Other items available from the MSF, a registered charity, include: A series of three video guides:
    (a) The so-called '3-in-1 Safety Video' - covers marshalling, first aid and general
    driver safety; 
    (b) The '2-in-1' video deals with rescue and firefighting, 
    (c) the third one (rally-orientated) features marshalling and first aid coupled with talks on personal safety, special stages, dealing with spectators, etc (each video is priced at £10 including p&p).
    Also available; 
    (e) 'A Pocket Guide to Marshalling' (10 booklets for £10 including p&p).
    (f) 'A Pocket Guide to Rescue & Resuscitation' (10 booklets for £10 including p&p).
    (g) 'Z' leaflet on Marshalling (50 for £10 including p&p).

    All the above items are available from: Motorsport Safety Fund, PO Box 239, West Malling, Kent ME19 4BL, UK. Further details on the MSF and its products can be found by
    logging onto www.motorsportsafetyfund.com.

    The Motorsport Safety Fund is a registered charity, formed in 1974 to help improve safety in motorsport. It does this mainly by communication through the annual Watkins Lecture
    and its publications and videos. The fund is run entirely by volunteers and the work it is able to do is governed by the amount of money it is able to raise. Donations from motor
    clubs and individuals form a significant part of the Fund's income - those wishing to contribute should make cheques payable to Motorsport Safety Fund and post them to: 
    Motorsport Safety Fund, PO Box 239, West Malling, Kent ME19 4BL, UK.
     
     

    X-KARTS RETURNS FROM HOT AUGUST NIGHTS EVENT
    The X-Karts Racing Series has completed their taping of the events at “Hot August Nights” and will now begin the editing process for the televised race coverage and the Official Hot August Nights Home Video.  Further details on the television coverage will be announced shortly.  Once again, the X-Karts Race held at Desert Park Raceway, home of the Northern Nevada Kart Club, proved to be a fun and competitive event.  The top 2 drivers in the country, Ron White and Wesley Boswell participated and put on quite a show for the over 500 local spectators that attended.  Local favorite Mike Botelho, Jr., also demonstrated his abilities and talent coming away with a strong third place finish behind White and Boswell in the ICC class.  Complete results can be found on www.mylaps.com and search for X-Karts.  There was also a strong contingency from the Northern California area, led by Wes Phillips, Renn Ortenburger among others. 

    Along with the racing, White and Boswell both received extensive attention from the local media.  Ron was featured in news segments on local television outlets and Wesley was accommodating local print media outlets with interviews as well.  Junior Cadet Class driver, Tiffany Kay, age 7, added to the exposure of this sport, by having her picture on the front page of the Sunday edition of the Reno Gazette, Reno’s largest daily newspaper.  Along with the picture, was an extensive article on Kart racing and the family values that exist within this sport.  Another highlight of the event was the “Celebrity/Media” race that was held on Saturday with participants including the Mayor of the city of Sparks, a Reno City Councilman, the President of the Reno Hilton and a few newspaper and radio journalists.  Though young Tiffany’s lap times in her race exceeded these celebrities, it was great fun for everyone involved and even the seasoned veterans that were participating in the races were rooting these guys & gals on.  We did catch one of the celebrity drivers, Margaret Brosco a sports journalist from local Channel 4 news, receiving racing tips from Ron White, though to no avail as the Mayor of Sparks, Tony Armstrong, won the race.

    On a serious note, we would like to pass along our best wishes for a speedy recovery to Carol Brown who sustained various injuries during one of her heats on Sunday.  Carol is one of the finest, strongest, talented and personable people in our sport.  She is a strong supporter of our series and more importantly, a tremendous spokesperson for the sport of Kart Racing.  In typical Carol fashion, she was more concerned that no one else was injured, that she scuffed her helmet and that we continued racing.  Everyone at Hot August Nights, the X-Karts Racing Series and the city of Reno, wish her the best.

    We would like to thank all of the participants, sponsors, government officials, volunteers, the NNKC and Hot August Nights, LLC for their continued support.  Special thanks go to Team MMI and Shift for supporting our series and providing additional promotional items for the winners in all classes and Snap-On Tools for their cooperation in various aspects of our production. 

    The next X-Karts Race Series event will be held September 24th & 25th at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.  It will be called “A Day at the Races” as that on the evening of the 25th, the Champ Car Race Series and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will be running at the Speedway as well. 

    Registration for “A Day at the Races” is available online through one of our marketing partners at www.speedreg.com and is a free service for all participants.  Entry forms can also be found in the upcoming issue of Go Racing or can be downloaded from www.lvkc.com. 
     
     

    END
     
     

Kart Marketing Group, Inc.
Post Office Box 101
Wheaton, IL 60189 USA
Telephone: 630-653-7368
Fax: 630-653-2637
Email: karting@msn.com

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