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Won’t Get Fooled Again

2009-04-17T20:33:00Z

From a Different Seat
A viewpoint
Greg Wright
Rapid Racing Inc.

Won’t Get Fooled Again

Fans of the TV series CSI may recognize the title of this month’s column as a classic (Really Classic) rock song by The Who.
Those of you that only recognize it as the rock theme to the popular TV drama need to learn a little more about what classic rock is all about.

“Meet the new boss, Same as the old boss!
We won’t get fooled again!!” Dum, Da Dum, Dum, Da Dum.

   What’s this got to do with kart racing? Actually quite a lot. Over the next couple of years the CIK (International Karting rulesmakers) will be homologating (approving) new chassis, then the following year new engines.

   Homologation is much misunderstood and if adhered to as intended it should add stability to the marketplace.
At one time (pre 2003) it did and was not planned obsolescence as often said but it was intended to keep the equipment from becoming outdated more often than the every three years that form the homologation periods.
   But, (there is always a but) somehow this stability has slipped away and it seems that continual updates come through the pipeline from over the pond defeating the purpose of the whole process.
   Before anyone calls up my editor and says I am full of male bovine excrement I offer up this example. During 2007 we received several (8 plus or minus) shipments of a well known, successful chassis. Only twice did we receive karts that were of the same spec. Updates included frame rail placement and design, spindles, brakes, bodywork, wheels and hubs.
   All this despite them all having the same model number and homologation tags. Not much stability there now is there. This is bad for the racer and bad for the US karting industry as well.

I’m sure that the newest stuff from Europe will be jam packed with new sophisticated features and designs and will have a lot of “WOW” factor. That’s nice and all but be prepared for the costs to go up with a similar “WOW” factor.
The expected increases coupled with the poor buying power of the weak US Dollar will be one more step towards our beloved sport pricing itself right out of business.

And another thing!! (Spluttering like Sylvester the Cat) Be prepared for importers to try to bring in the new (to us) KF, KZ and K-whatever engines being used currently in the CIK championships. These engines are TAG like in that they have onboard starters but that is where the similarity ends. Balancer mechanisms, power valves, fancy schmancy carbs etc, etc. result in a thorobred line of engines with lots of power and lots of cost built in. (Currently about $4500 US and bound to go higher)

“Meet the new boss, Same as the old boss. We won’t get fooled again.”

Shifter guys, Do you remember the promises when ICC was introduced to the US Shifter market?

“We won’t get fooled again.”

    What’s my point you ask. The fact is high tech cutting edge racing equipment does nothing to improve the quality of racing. In fact quite the opposite, quality of racing declines due to the cost and complication factors that automatically come with high end equipment limiting the racing to those with the monster racing budget and the rent-a-tuners that are almost essential at that level.
    I’m not advocating a return to 1985 at all, but we need to draw the line somewhere. What I am advocating is standing up to the increasingly high tech machines that are being rammed down our throats, and instead allow a little room for ingenuity and creativity in our sport.
    Our reliance on karts and engines from over the pond has pretty much destroyed the American sprint kart manufacturing base with only Margay producing anything resembling volume.
   In addition the Euro/CIK mindset which insists on spec everything is destroying the American aftermarket business. As hard as it may be for some to imagine, a strong industry will result in a stronger better supported sport.
   I for one want to see a revival of American kart manufacturing so that we as kart racers can deal directly with the people who built them instead of resellers that honestly aren’t sure what’s coming next.
   As far as engines go, well that’s a tougher nut to crack and they most likely will still come from overseas but it is time to just say no to constantly upgraded engine packages.

“Meet the new boss, Same as the old boss, We won’t get fooled again.”

   What’s that I hear? Putting a halt to engine development by the manufacturers will ruin racing?
   The most commonly used engine in US car racing is the small block Chevy that is over 50 years old and it sure doesn’t seem to hurt the racing at hundred of tracks and series across the country.
   In my very humble opinion the current crop of TAG engines are plenty sophisticated and will do just fine if (very big if) the weak US dollar doesn’t cause them to price themselves out of the market. That could happen in very short order unless the economic climate changes and changes quickly.
   I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again we cannot turn our backs on simple engines like the Yamaha KT100. The Yammie saved sprint and enduro racing once and very well could be in position to do it again due to runaway pricing on Euro engines.
    I don’t pretend to have the answers but much like current US economic and foreign policies I’m sure we are on the wrong path.

On a much lighter note I recently attended the “Race for Riley” at NCMP. This is a charity event to benefit the Riley Children’s Hospital featuring a handful of traditional classes plus celebrity/media races in rental karts. A huge turnout for a mid week (During the day on a Wednesday) race resulted in over $200,000 being raised for a great cause.

As this is being written the 2008 racing season is well past the halfway mark. I guess time really does fly when you are having fun.
Oh yeah, The mysterious and amazing Gooseman (?) says Hey.

I hope some of this made sense but in the meanwhile,
Race hard, Race safe, and God Bless America, and let’s not get fooled again.

November Rain

2009-04-17T15:47:00Z

From a Different Seat
A viewpoint
Greg Wright
Rapid Racing Inc.

November Rain

'Cause nothin' lasts forever
Even cold November rain

    Although I realize that it is probably January when you read this it is late November as this is being written and there is a cold rain falling outside the palatial World Headquarters of Rapid Racing. This epic Guns ’n Roses rocker seems to fit my mood at the moment.
    As is typical for this writer at this time of the year I find myself in a reflective mood looking at where the sport of kart racing has been, is now, and where it will go in the future.
    With the exception of Daytona Kartweek the 2008 season is in the books and at the least it’s been interesting. Karting has shown a tremendous amount of resiliency and overall has held it’s own during tough economic times.
   In fact for most of the 2008 season I was amazed that despite four buck gasoline and a lot of belt tightening going on everywhere karting stayed pretty strong.
    Some of the economic chickens appeared to come home to roost late in the season with some upper echelon special events feeling the pinch with lighter than expected turnouts.
    I’m not preaching gloom and doom here at all, in fact current conditions could well result in the eventual growth of our favorite form of motorsport.
    Just like any activity or business for that matter we have to be ready and willing to change with the times and reinvent ourselves to some extent. One thing that kart racing must do is remain affordable particularly at the entry and club levels.
   We the karting community have fallen in love with the flashy, high end Euro inspired divisions such as Shifters and TAG (Me too!!) and we have given them so much attention that we have forgotten to maintain our infrastructure.
     Not everybody can or should start out in a high end, high performance machine but we have given those divisions so much fanfare that more sensible entry level packages like the Yamaha KT100 have come to be regarded as a “Lower Caste”. This is in spite of the fact that on a regular basis the best true racing often occurs in something like Yamaha Can.
    I hear a lot of discussions that we need to develop an entry level class. My view is that we already have entry level classes but we are not promoting them. In fact just the opposite seems to be happening in some areas with some orgs, shops and series appearing to be trying to wipe lower cost affordable racing off of the menu.
    Then the same folks want to re invent the wheel by coming up with another new class based on questionable Chinese manufactured engines etc. as the answer.
     I call BS on this, instead I feel we need to promote what we already have in place, maybe fine tune it a bit to make it a little more user friendly. Entry level racing exists right now but we have to nurture it a bit and take the “Lower caste” stigma away.
    I don’t want the “Glamour” classes to go anywhere, I’m as big a fan of Shifters and TAG as anyone but if we want butts to put in the seats in the future we have to give them a ladder system to teach the fledgling newcomers a place to learn racecraft before we let them throw themselves to the wolves in the higher end classes.
     Putting all our eggs in the exotic machine basket doesn’t work any better than Dubya’s trickle down economics plan. Long run it just doesn’t work.
   And another thing, (Spluttering like Sylvester the cat) I fail to understand how and why so many groups continue to put a huge emphasis on Junior classes and young senior drivers (All the while encouraging them to move up and out) while often the biggest classes running are Masters classes.
     The thirty to fifty year old age group is and has been the group that stays in the sport for the longest and is in karting for all the right reasons. They are there for the love of the competition and the camaraderie that comes with it. They know that Chip Ganassi or Roger Penske don’t have their names on their short list and don’t care. These guys are there to have fun.
    This group is often the most faithful to the sport and its strongest defenders but so often they are merely left to their own devices in the overall scheme of things. Go figure!!
    I truly do not believe that karting is in any serious trouble, but like the rest of life we need to exploit our strengths and minimize our short sighted weaknesses.
   There may be some tougher times on the horizon but if we all pull together we will emerge stronger than ever. So during the off season that most of the country has to endure think positive, think about how we can improve our sport.
    Visit your local kart shop, call your racing buddies, start thinking about the great racing coming up in 2009, and when the cold and dark of the winter starts getting you down.
   Just remember;
'Cause nothin' lasts forever
Even cold November rain

‘Til next time remember to Race Hard, Race Safe and God Bless America.