Where to start?

Cotton.16

New member
Hey everyone, I am brand new to the Forum and wish to be spoon fed some information. Quick back story. So i recently got into autocross after doing a short stint in drag racing. Here is my current plan. At the end of this season (I should take pro for my area) I want to trade in my Fiesta st to get a truck i can drag race as well as do truck things with (Likely an AWD ss Silverado). With that being said i want to continue doing technical racing and would love doing something with a payout of some sort. Here is where Karting comes into play. I am 29 years old close to 200 pounds and want to race wheel to wheel. Is there a class of road course syle racing that allows a cage? I have seen a lot of bad accidents on youtube where a cage would be really nice. If not where would you all recommend i start, what class, what kart what motor etc etc etc. I would like to stay fairly affordable. I live in Fayetteville NC so what's close. Any information or links to page that i should have found with the search bar would be great. Thanks everyone!
 
The only karts with a cage are Champ Karts, and there are some big money events for those too, here in the Southeast... But that's all dirt oval. For road-course karting (long track like Road Atlanta) or sprint karting, (GoPro Motorplex), there are no big money events around here. The SKUSA ProTour pays big, but costs big too, and is a shifter-based organization. There is nothing approaching "affordable" that has big payouts. Unless, of course, your comparing karting's affordability next to say, Indycar. :) If you want weekly shows, with money payouts, go dirt oval. If you want less cleaning and righty-lefty stuff, get a LO206 and race at GoPro in the Heavy LO206 class, which is quite popular and has national-level talent. Your weight will be a handicap in the pro sprint karting classes until you're old enough to go into Masters level. All JMO, of course, but that's what I've found based on my research... The other option for you might be Winged Outlaw Karts, which race at Millbridge Speedway in China Grove, NC and Mountain Creek Speedway near Newton, NC. They have payout, but have NASCAR level tuning and spending going on too.... again, affordable is relative. Good luck!
 
The only karts with a cage are Champ Karts, and there are some big money events for those too, here in the Southeast... But that's all dirt oval. For road-course karting (long track like Road Atlanta) or sprint karting, (GoPro Motorplex), there are no big money events around here. The SKUSA ProTour pays big, but costs big too, and is a shifter-based organization. There is nothing approaching "affordable" that has big payouts. Unless, of course, your comparing karting's affordability next to say, Indycar. :) If you want weekly shows, with money payouts, go dirt oval. If you want less cleaning and righty-lefty stuff, get a LO206 and race at GoPro in the Heavy LO206 class, which is quite popular and has national-level talent. Your weight will be a handicap in the pro sprint karting classes until you're old enough to go into Masters level. All JMO, of course, but that's what I've found based on my research... The other option for you might be Winged Outlaw Karts, which race at Millbridge Speedway in China Grove, NC and Mountain Creek Speedway near Newton, NC. They have payout, but have NASCAR level tuning and spending going on too.... again, affordable is relative. Good luck!


Thanks for the quick reply. I don't need a huge pay out. Honestly just loooking for A. The opportunity to be paid and B. Something to show for my efforts. Champ kart may be interesting But i know absolutely nothing about Oval racing. LO206 sounds like fun. I also plan on cutting about 30lbs since i have gotten fat lol. As far as affordable i mean i don't wanna pay. Thousands of dollars to start. I do like the weekly aspect since i Have a weird work schedule.
 
Looking at the 2 i am liking L0206 Guess i need to look into that some more. Do chasis expire or what i should look for to start?
 
For the LO206 class, a variety of older chassis can be made to work. I have a 1998 Birel chassis that wasn't used much, and was converting that at one time for LO206. It's one of the few that work well for that, because the rear crossrail is straight instead of slanted. I would make you a GREAT deal on it, complete with the bumper you'd need, if you're interested. It has MCP brakes now, so easier to service and repair than the Italian stuff. I even have a seat that may fit I'd throw in.... Call me this weekend. I'll PM you my number. I'm near Winston-Salem, NC and could meet you in Concord or something... Cheers, ~Ted
 
For the LO206 class, a variety of older chassis can be made to work. I have a 1998 Birel chassis that wasn't used much, and was converting that at one time for LO206. It's one of the few that work well for that, because the rear crossrail is straight instead of slanted. I would make you a GREAT deal on it, complete with the bumper you'd need, if you're interested. It has MCP brakes now, so easier to service and repair than the Italian stuff. I even have a seat that may fit I'd throw in.... Call me this weekend. I'll PM you my number. I'm near Winston-Salem, NC and could meet you in Concord or something... Cheers, ~Ted


That would be awesome. Thanks.
 
In my opinion, getting paid or more importantly coming out ahead financially in any part of motorsports that involves working a steering wheel is very rare(aside from the transport drivers).
In most cases you can get started in karting for a couple grand outlay, and after the first year, if you can restrain your spending it can be cost effective fun. Like autocross, it's the nut behind the wheel that makes the difference. Experience and seat time are the keys to success. Don't fall in the trap of trying to spend your way into a winners circle no matter what discipline you are after. Wheel to wheel being the goal, karting is probably the least expensive option, but you might look into a local oval track for their entry level car class. You can also find a bunch of like minding folk in your area and go crap can racing with 24 hours of lemons or chumpcar. If you don't want head to head, there are all sorts of steps above autocross that a street car can do....but you'll run the risk of wrapping the car around a tree or rock...so you need to be prepared to destroy a car and walk away financially.
Hopefully in the next few years crosskarts will become popular in the US, as those are caged, full suspension karts designed for rallycross action similar to ARX 3(Americas Rallycross entry level class). Grassroots cross karts are popular in northern Europe and are an absolute hoot.
Bottom line, it's an awesome time to want to drive fast legally. There are a ton of options out there for the everyday joe.
 
In my opinion, getting paid or more importantly coming out ahead financially in any part of motorsports that involves working a steering wheel is very rare(aside from the transport drivers).
In most cases you can get started in karting for a couple grand outlay, and after the first year, if you can restrain your spending it can be cost effective fun. Like autocross, it's the nut behind the wheel that makes the difference. Experience and seat time are the keys to success. Don't fall in the trap of trying to spend your way into a winners circle no matter what discipline you are after. Wheel to wheel being the goal, karting is probably the least expensive option, but you might look into a local oval track for their entry level car class. You can also find a bunch of like minding folk in your area and go crap can racing with 24 hours of lemons or chumpcar. If you don't want head to head, there are all sorts of steps above autocross that a street car can do....but you'll run the risk of wrapping the car around a tree or rock...so you need to be prepared to destroy a car and walk away financially.
Hopefully in the next few years crosskarts will become popular in the US, as those are caged, full suspension karts designed for rallycross action similar to ARX 3(Americas Rallycross entry level class). Grassroots cross karts are popular in northern Europe and are an absolute hoot.
Bottom line, it's an awesome time to want to drive fast legally. There are a ton of options out there for the everyday joe.


I would love to cross kart. I am looking to do wheel to wheel and on a road course style track so it's looking like for my age and weight it's going to be lo206 class for me now to get Into it as cheap as possible. Lol
 
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