TKZ is closed for the winter

As I prepare for a late fall vacation trip to Mackinac Island for the weekend in 30degree temps.....the Maxter is on its way to warm sunny Cali for some tlc! The chassis has been cleaned, stripped, and wrapped for the off-season. Karting in the Midwest is all but over. The RoboPong and Karting ProAm at NCMP are all that remain in the Midwest for outdoor kart racing. For me....it will be a long wait until spring, probably an early test day at Grattan Raceway. Can't wait 'til spring!

Thanks to Joe White JWRengines.com for this years tech support....and as always. Big D! Without my number one tuner, my racing endeavors would not be possible!

SHIFTERFEST

The inaugural Shifterfest took place at New Castle Motorsports park Sept 13-15. I had mixed feelings about this event. I wanted to attend as I am eager to see the SKUSA organization gain momentum in the Midwest...but have been disappointed at their previous events and scheduling dates. Even this particular event was scheduled on the same weekend at the race at Michigan International Speedway. The MIS race is a big draw for Midwest shifter drivers - oh well.

Upon arrival at the track Friday evening...the lack of competitors was obvious. I've seen more racers at NCMP on a practice weekend! Sad to say, the kart count was bad. My hope is that SKUSA can take some input from Midwest racers, and work TOGETHER with other regional series to get some shifters together. Unfortunately, ontrack driving tended to be rough without policing, and rules enforcement was inconsistent at best. A bad recipe with drivers, for a series trying to build a brand and establish a new market.

I'm hopeful that the future will bring better events to the Midwest from SKUSA. 

Gingerman

The final round of the Championship Enduro Series took place at the Gingerman Raceway near South Haven MI. This is a great track, only minuets from Lake Michigan. Gingerman is a fast challenging layout, that makes for some great shifter racing. The track surface is in need of resurfacing, and some competitors had complaints....but there were rumors that track management is considering repaving. -GREAT NEWS-

The CES still proves to be THE place to race with a shifterkart in the MidWest! Another solid field of fast drivers took to the track to compete on this beautiful late summer day! We had awesome weather all weekend, which made for great evenings along the Lake Michigan shoreline. If you have not raced with the CES - Plan on attending one of their events for 2014.  

I was pleased with the new Maxter MXS power...I finished with a 2nd place on Saturday and 1st place on Sunday! The Maxter power continued to be strong through the entire season. I've raced the engine with no issues, complaints, or problems all season. 10hours of race time! Many people will claim that these motors can not compete competitively for a full season without continual maintenance/rebuilding. This was my first season with the KZ/ICC power plant, and I was very pleased with the power, and ease of tuning. 

ROCK ISLAND GRAND PRIX 2013

Another great year at the ROCK! Rock Island still gets my vote as the best street race in North America! A well run event with great competitors and one of the best staffs in karting all meet together in Rock Island Il over the Labor Day weekend for a great street race. This year I entered the 125Shifter Masters class, along with the 125Shifter Open class. I honestly had extremely high expectations this year (WINNING!), so the bar was pretty high for my on track performance. Long story short - 2nd place was the best I could produce on the track! It was tough to swallow, as this was most likely my last trip to this event.....maybe!

Great battles on the track in nearly every class. I had great wheel to wheel battles all weekend. It is such a blast to race with guys that are clean racers, and solid competitors!