12 year wants to race.

guesscrazy

New member
My grandson wants to start racing karts. He will turn 12 in August. Going to buy him a new kart. He is a very small guy at 60 lbs and 48 inches tall. There are dirt tracks and road courses in our area of Middle Tennessee. We are going to watch some races on July the 18th. Are there karts that can be used on dirt and road courses? I think the lo206 classes would work for us. Any advice would be appreciated. Please chime in.
 
Any modern competitive chassis for oval racing will be a Left Turn Only (LTO) design. The driver is offset to the left and stiffness/wheel location etc is optimized for turning left.

I would advise checking out both scenes and committing to one for a while. The learning curve is steep and almost no parts will transfer from a oval chassis to a sprint chassis.

I've heard great things about the LO206 classes though I have not run them myself. It is definitely more popular in the sprint racing scene though there are a few (and growing) oval tracks running that package
 
Ditto I'd pick one and go with it, to jump back and forth just starting out Isn't going to work to well on his end OR your's, and will just end up a money pit with just a lot of frustration to show for it !!
 
You've been given very good advice, I can only add to that. Research this very carefully. Getting the pits, ask questions, take pictures, take notes. Get an idea on what karts are running up front. It's hard to beat successful setups.

Optimally, you have some understanding of engines and tools. Optimally, this is not just a passing fancy, and it's expensive. I would suggest rental karts, just as a preliminary, to gauge your grandsons readiness, willingness, commitment. Patients, waiting for that first win, is essential. Being good at karting is not nearly as easy as you might think.

Other than all that, have fun, and welcome to karting. It's been my passion for over 50 years.

Read my articles on Facebook under the name "Mayko products". I like to think they're all about the basic essentials of karting. My sign-on; "not the how to, but the why".
 
Look at Tennessee Karting Association on Facebook, they're a road racing group. If you're thinking dirt ovals there are 6 or so tracks not too far from Nashville, mostly in southern KY but a number of them also in middle Tennessee.
 
All good advice given.
If you have any specific questions about the LO206 engine package, feel free to give us a shout (Facebook, email, phone, or on here.)

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Brian Carlson
Carlson Racing Engines
Vector Cutz
www.CarlsonMotorsports.com
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31 years of service to the karting industry
Linden, IN
765-339-4407
bcarlson@CarlsonMotorsports.com
 
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