Junior 500

When you see the million dollar cars of NASCAR and the Indy Racing League flying around the track pushing their cars to mechanical limits we can't imagine, most of those drivers got their start in KART. That's right, the old go-carts. Except today the old go-cart has a new look and they go much faster than the ones we raced as kids around an asphalt oval for dollar. These karts have engines that when set up properly can hit speeds in excess of 75-80 mph. And who is that possible? It's a combination of fuel, engine, tires and chassis. Not to mention these youngsters drive them like their qualifying for the Indianapolis 500. The Tulsa Kart Club has been around since the 60's when they raced on a little track in north Tulsa. Today they have one of the best facilities in the South at the JRP Speedway. Ron Pattison is President of the club, "This track is one of the best in the four state area maybe in the country. It's a new 10 turn track that we put in to give these kids a premiere place to race." Kart Southern Sprint Series will call this track home for the second time when they host the Nationals event in June. "Nationals will bring 300 karts to Tulsa to race. Some competitors will drive 15-16 hours to get here, maybe more," said Pattison. Like Hannah Williams, age 8, who lives in Denton, Texas or Taylor Stawicki, age 15, from Argyle, Texas. "This track is one of my favorites. We get good competition here and I really like the layout of the track," said Stawicki. Several others make the trek from Texas like Dan Taylor who lives in Allen, Texas. But not every driver comes from Texas. Bailey Ring lives in Collinsville, Oklahoma and calls this her home track. Her two sisters Megan, age 9 and Stevie, age 5, also race. Bailey is 10 and has raced since she was five. No surprise her favorite driver is Danica Patrick. The races are broken up into several different categories. Kids Kart is for ages five through seven. Junior Novice is age eight to 11 and they only race in this division for one year. Junior 1's is the more advanced class for the age group. They can hit speeds of 55 mph. Sportsman is for ages 12-15 and a new group called TAG (Touch and Go) can hit speeds that top 85 mph. The Senior Class is 16 and up which also has a TAG class. The first thing you notice when you're at the track is the number of families helping each other. Older drivers lending tips to younger drivers, crew chief dads lending a hand to move a competitor's kart or helping fix a broken part. The atmosphere is racing and it's competitive, but the teams help each other when it's needed. For more information about up coming events log on at www.tulsakartclub.org and don't forget to go to our website at www.hsstm.com for more photos related to this story.