Looking around the grandstands on any given night at a racetrack anywhere in the United States, one glaring fact is obvious: Young children who were once in abundance at dirt tracks, are few and far between these days. In previous articles, Todd Turner and Kelley Carlton have highlighted what well-run tracks do to help that situation. My blog, however, focuses efforts in another direction — go-kart sanctioning.

Getting behind the wheel of any vehicle whether it's a boat, tractor or go-kart is MORE

While big race teams with deep, deep pockets may always be able to outspend the competition, there’s no reason — or excuse — to be outworked by those teams. Money doesn’t come easy, so making sure you take care of your equipment is critical.

Admittedly, for the last several years, our maintenance program has not been at the level it should be. We work out of a small two-bay shop, and one of those bays is filled with a Boyd Built Sheet Metal brake and a table for working on body panels and MORE

Today I’m faced with the loss of another great friend to the racing community. Though I considered Jack Starrette a friend, today’s loss has hit much closer to home.

I received the call a little after 10 am. It was Talladega Short Track general manager Dennis Anton. I answered and he said “Hey,” and then a long pause. “Perry passed away this morning.”

His voice cracked as he struggled to get those horrible words out. I sat there in silence, dumbfounded. “What?” is all I could MORE

Last weekend’s USA Nationals by U.S. Steel at Cedar Lake Speedway shows what a difference there is between race teams and fans. Many fans enjoyed the hammer-down, side-by-side, high-speed racing the track presented. But most drivers were upset that the track surface was too fast and heavy, making it tough on equipment and engines. With fewer than 10 cars running after 100 laps, the track took its toll on race cars with many drivers actually able to continue, but deciding against it to save MORE

Before agreeing to write a regular blog for this website I had to have two things. First, I had to be assured that I would get one of those snazzy caricatures that the other DoD bloggers have. That was a must, because it really is hard to beat an over-accentuated cartoon figure that brings out the few features that you’d really rather hide. And second, well, I had to find out what a blog was. Sure I’ve read a few, but they are all so erratic. Some are actual diaries; some are well-crafted MORE