Ted Hamilton
Helmet Painter / Racer
IF the goal is cars, and the driver is 14+, go straight to cars. cars are a step DOWN from karting in terms of performance if you're talking about sedans. If you want formula car experience, karts will teach threshold tire management, and then jump to Formula Enterprise or something. The cheapest Formula class is Formula Vee, and it will be a $10K buy in with spares and trailer, and cost $300 per race minimum. There is no better bang for the buck than karting, and the performance level exceeds most cars until you're at Indy lights / Continental level, IMO.