WKA: Pit Board 2008-01-17

KartFest 2008 & Champion Celebrations Just Days Away

01.17.2008 -- The World Karting Association is just days away from one of the biggest non-race weekends of the year; KartFest 2008 and the 2007 National awards banquets for the Briggs & Stratton Speedway Dirt Series, the Horstman Gold Cup Series, and the Rage Karts Speedway Pavement Series.

Every year during the last full weekend of January, karters from all over the US converge on Hickory, NC for one of the largest karting consumer tradeshows, KartFest. Vendors from every aspect of karting will be present displaying their latest chassis', parts and tools, explaining how they can help you make it to the winner's circle. There is no better time to see first hand the new products for the 2008 racing season than at KartFest 2008.

Another great part of the show are the seminars covering topics such as data acquisition, insurance tips and this year a round table discussion on tire prep. There will also be a 4-cycle Technical Seminar, which includes the SFI Exam and 2 year certification for tech officials. There is limited space for the certification class/seminar and pre-registration is required. Deadline for registration for the technical inspector seminar is Friday, January 18th (Registration form is available at http://www.worldkarting.com/downloads/banquet_registration.pdf). The other seminars are on a first come first serve basis Friday and Saturday at the show.

The roundtable discussion on tire prep will lead by WKA President Rick Dresang and Executive Director Van Gilder. President Dresang encourages everyone whom the tire prep issue affects to attend, as your feedback is greatly welcomed. Again, this is not for WKA members alone but for all speedway racers in and outside of the WKA program.

The Briggs & Stratton Speedway Dirt Series, the Horstman Gold Cup Series, and the Rage Karts Speedway Pavement Series will celebrate their 2007 season champions at banquets during KartFest. The deadline for dinner/breakfast reservations is Thursday January 17th, but there may be additional seating for the dinner/breakfast available at the show. The awards presentation is open to all, but dinner and breakfast does require reservations.

You may find additional information on KartFest at the top of our homepage at http://www.WorldKarting.com, including an area map courtesy of Google maps.

We hope to see you all at the show.

-----------------

WKA Announces Revised Animal Restrictor Plates

01.17.2008 - WKA announces two changes to the Animal Restrictor Plate Program. In the Gold Cup Series the Purple restrictor plate used in the Briggs Junior Sportsman 1 divisions is being replaced with the Blue restrictor plate. This will resolve the tuning and drivability issues encountered with the Purple plate. It will also bring the performance back to the levels achieved last year with the Purple plate when the fuel pump was pulsed from the intake manifold. Pulsing the fuel pump from the intake manifold is now an illegal modification.

To balance performance of the Sportsman 2 and Junior classes, the restrictor plates will be moved up. Junior Sportsman 2 classes will now run the Gold plate, and the Junior classes will run the Black plate. This change is effective at the first Gold Cup event in the 2008 competition year.

For the Speedway Series', WKA is also developing a new "Red" plate for the Animal engines in the Briggs Junior Sportsman 1 and Briggs Junior Sportsman 1 Champ classes in the Speedway Dirt and Pavement Series. This new plate is intended to bring parity between the Animal and Raptor engines in these classes. The size of the new plate and the effective date will be announced as soon as development is complete.

-----------------

The Race Is On

01.17.2008 -- The competitors in the George Kugler/Bridgestone Manufacturer's Cup Series driven by Mazda will gather February 29 -- March 2, 2008 at Lowe's Motor Speedway for the second event in the 2008 racing season. With only one event in the history books, it is still any ones game.

The fifteen turn sprint track, located inside turns three and four of Lowe's Motor Speedway, is a favorite by many racers. With two high-speed sections, and moderate to tight sections of the track, the action and excitement is sure to please.

The entry form is now available online (http://www.worldkarting.com/downloads/eb-2008/0229_lms_mc.pdf) and pre-registration ends February 20th. Reserved parking, reserved numbers and garages are also available via the pre-registration form. Garage space is on a first come, first serve basis.

Pit Pass sales begin at 8:00 AM Thursday morning February 28th at the turn three tunnel entrance with the first karts hitting the track at 9:00 AM Friday, February 29th. So download your pre-entry forms, mark your calendars, and make your plans to be there today.

-credit: www.WorldKarting.com