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FYI ARCHIVES
12-18-2000

4CYCLE.COM AND BURRIS RACING JOIN FORCES

Broken Arrow, Oklahoma - 4cycle.com has gone through a lot of growing pains in the last years. What started out as a hobby turned into a full time endeavor, requiring Bob Evans (the site’s publisher/editor/creator) to make a decision between staying with the security of his job with CITCO (and all the benefits that go with it) or continuing with 4-cycle.com with the hopes of it becoming financially successful enough to provide his family a living.
“As many of you know, 4cycle.com has been hugely successful, but as you read from my post on 11/13/00, things haven’t been working out financially. We have had some individuals who came forward and offered to help, and while grateful for their generosity, it doesn’t come close to the amount of money it will take for me to make a living and maintain the site at the same time,” stated Evans. “The fact of the matter is, 4-cycle.com would probably shutdown shortly if something substantial didn’t materialize – that’s the bad news.”
Evans continued, “ The good news is that Mike Burris and the folks at Burris Racing have stepped up and offered to underwrite the future of 4cycle.com so that it can expand and continue to give the Speedway karters in the U.S. a place to be heard.”
Mike and I have talked numerous times about the importance of having ‘somewhere to go’ and be heard. He and I both believe the major sanctioning bodies have pretty much lost touch with the real needs of the average karter and have turned speedway racing into a meal ticket for the support of their other karting programs.”
Continuing, Evans said, “We both strongly feel that it is vital to oval track karting in this country to keep this line of communications open so the little guy and independents can be heard. Mike has long been an outspoken critic of the way IKF (International Kart Federation, based in California), KART (Karters of America Racing Triad out of Missouri) and WKA (World Karting Association, headquartered in North Carolina) handled their speedway programs, so both of our views on this matter should fit right in with some of the discussion on the forums lately.”
“One of the things that brought us together was that Burris was in the early planning stages of consolidating their many oval track ‘spec’ tire programs into a truly national speedway series,” said Evans. “I hope I am not talking out of school, but I believe it (the series) will be called the Burris National Speedway Series.”
“Anyhow, Burris was planning to have a web site of their own to keep everyone informed and to showcase their various regional series, when one thing led to another, and we decided to pursue a program that would be mutually beneficial,” Evans maintained. “The plan is for me to continue as webmaster and continue to improve the site and Burris will handle the administration and business side allowing me to do what I started out to do in the first place, which is to have the ‘Best damn Speedway karting site’ in the world!”
Adapted with permission from 4cycle.com

CART DRIVERS USE KARTING TO GET ON TRACK

Harrisburg, North Carolina -- During the CART FedEx Championship Series off-season, many drivers go back to their beginnings – in a race kart.
“I have a kart at my house in Miami (Florida), so in the off-season I will be driving it to keep in shape for next season,” CART driver Tony Kanaan said. “The best way to train is to drive my real race car, but since I can’t do that every week, karting is the next best thing.”
Kanaan began racing karts at the age of eight and collected six karting championship titles over the next eight years. Numerous years in open-wheel competition and several championships later, Kanaan graduated to CART and was honored with the Jim Trueman Rookie-Of-The-Year award in 1998. Now in his third year in the series, he earned his first pole at the Toyota Grand Prix in Long Beach, California, April 18, 1999 and captured his first win at the U.S. 500 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan on July 25, 1999.
Kanaan is also one of the many CART stars who have been sighted at the Stefan Johansson Karting Center in Indianapolis, Indiana -– an indoor training ground for countless professional drivers. “Many drivers come to our center to hone their skills or for rehabilitation on a weekly basis between CART races,” said Mark Vandersall, operations manager. “When Al Unser Jr. competed in CART, his doctor required him to log at least 50 laps on our track to determine whether or not he could get back into the driver’s seat after an injury in 1998.
Kanaan and Unser Jr. have more that the Stefan Johansson Karting Center in common. A month after sustaining injuries in an accident last June, Kanaan tested his healing body by logging more than 600 laps in a race kart in order to be able to finish the 2000 season.
“The most important thing that karting teaches you is ‘car control’,” Kanaan said. “Karts are faster than anything you drive because the tracks are small and the movements are so tight and fast. You have to be really quick, so it really develops your reflexes.” Karting is the most important category in your racing career, because it’s where you begin,” Kanaan continued. “If you are good in school and do well, you are going to be ahead of the game when you move on. I think every driver should begin in race karts.”
Former World Karting Association (WKA) star and CART driver Michael Andretti agrees. Andretti began racing karts in 1972 and after working his way up the racing ladder made his Champ Car debut in 1983. At 37, he has accumulayted more points (40), poles and laps than any active Champ Car driver and he is quickly approaching his father Mario’s record of most CART wins -– 52 -– which is second only to 67 wins held by A.J. Foyt.
“Karting is the first step in getting involved in racing,” Andretti said. “It is a very important step which not only includes learning about racing, but also teaches other important elements such as competition, teamwork and controlling a race car.”
My son Marco is involved in karting and we feel that it is a very important learning experience which will help him get to the professional level.”
Bryan Herta, American Champ Car talent and co-owner of Las Vegas Karting Center, began racing karts at the age of 12. “I really believe that the basic skills you use in driving a Champ Car are learned in karting,” said Herta, a three-time WKA champion. “The best thing is that it makes racing accessible to kids. There is no other racing that you can do under the age of 18. It is a great way to get in at an early age.”
Editor Note: For more information re: WKA see: www.worldkarting.com or call 704-455-1606.

TECUMSEH COMMITTED TO KARTING

Grafton, Wisconsin -- Tecumseh Products Company has renewed its interest and commitment to karting for the 2001 season and beyond.
Tecumseh Motorsports engine product line is now complete with the introduction of the new “Enduro” racing engine, The new “Enduro” is a 4-cycle OHV racing package that is based on a production 5.5 HP engine. The new offering contains all the right components for the kart racer such as:
Billet aluminum connection rod with bearing insert
Racing Tillotson carburetor
Walbro fuel pump
Racing valve springs
Stainless valves
Billet aluminum carb adapter
Steel bore
Motorsports ignition
All these features and more are included with the racer in mind. According to the manufacturer, Tecumseh leads the way in producing the highest quality line of 4-cycle engine packages available today.
Tecumseh continues its commitment of support to the sanctioning bodies for 2001. Groups such as IKF, IRA, SERCA and WKA will benefit from Tecumseh’s involvement in support of the Tecumseh Classes. Tecumseh Motorsports is also a proud member of Karting Industry Council (KIC). Tecumseh is not only focused in the U.S., motorsports programs are underway in Europe and Australia as well.
Motorsports engineers recently said that Tecumseh’s goal in motorsports, “is to gain a substantial share of the American market along with unparalleled growth worldwide. We have a new product line planned for 2002 and beyond that will enhance and compliment our current engine line. We are serious about this market and intend to make our presence known.”
Tecumseh Motorsports will have a large display including the new “Enduro” line of OHV racing products at the 2001 Kart Expo, scheduled for February 17-18, 2001 in St. Charles, Illinois.
For complete information on Tecumseh Motorsports products, call 262-377-2700.

END

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