[s-cars] Re: Karts -- was Track time update

[William Noland]

A few weeks ago, the wife and I attended a two day kart school at Jim
Hall, Jr. Racing in Ventura, CA.  (Jim, Jr. is son of the Jim Hall of
Chapparal and Indycar fame and holds several national and international
kart titles.)  We were in sprint karts -- no shifting, but a great place
to learn and a prerequisite to the shifter karts.

Even the sprint karts are quick in their own right and can corner your
head right off your shoulders.  When put in the context of a small scale
track and with your butt about 3/4" off the ground, the sensation of
speed is quite a rush. Even when you're doing things even remotely
correctly, things happen very quickly in the kart. I did much better
than I thought, even though I outweighed the 150 lb. kart by 50 lbs. --
fastest qualifying time in the class and won my race by a healthy
margin.  A few of the students had attended other formula car schools --
Russell, Bondurant, etc. and found the karts more fun than the FF's!

Really itching to jump into the 6-speed shifter karts now. About the
time that we attended class, construction was completed on a new track
in our own back yard -- on the grounds of Sears Point Raceway.  Jim
Russell runs the school.  If some listers and assorted hangers-on are
interested, I'd be willing to try and negotiate a group rate for either
sprint karts or shifters, if  the group has the sprint kart experience.
 What better excuse for a trip to Northern California wine country?
 Sprint kart full-day courses are $350, but should be able to knock this
down with a group.

Format at Russell sounds similar to the Hall School and, believe me,
after a day or wrestling around a solid rear axle kart, the shoulders
and arms are begging for a hot tub and a refreshment. Lots of track
time.  Now, we REALLY understand why the differential is our friend.  If
there is any interest, let me know and I'll talk with the Russell
School. See http://www.russellracing.com/asp/topic_karting.asp

Bill Noland
94 S4

>
>Frank, try a shifter cart sometime.  Growing up with "go carts" is put in
>better perspective.
>