Kart Racing - Enjoying a Huge Following in the United States
Americans have had a fascination for motorsports for a long time and their love of kart racing is the perfect example of this. As a matter of fact, karting is a perfect way for people to enjoy motorsports without spending too much money. There is no doubt that it is a scaled down version of motorsports, but it is not lacking in excitement. Besides, the fact that all kinds of people can take part in this sport, whether in an indoor or outdoor circuit, makes it accessible to lots of people. Lots of people use this form of racing to get the hang of driving actual automobiles and improving their reflexes.
Kart racing is a very exhilarating sport because the karts that are used can sometimes go faster than most people drive their automobiles. The fastest cars, known as Superkarts, have been known to easily reach 140 miles per hour, and are a staple on the best karting tracks. However, most karts travel at 80 - 90 miles per hour which is fairly impressive in itself. Of course, people whose appetite for speed is slightly tamer can go for Go Kart racing. Go Karts can be used by almost any body and a person needs to be above the age of 8 in order to use it.
There was a time when kart manufacturers used to modify motorcycle engines in order to construct these open and four wheeled vehicles. However, the huge amount of interest in this fast paced game, not just in the United States but also in Europe and other parts of the world, has resulted in companies putting a lot of effort and money into designing engines for these vehicles. As a matter of fact, the engines used these days are designed especially for kart racing. In addition, the chassis of the kart has to be strong and flexible at the same time since the vehicle does not have a suspension. The most popular kart chassis in the United States are manufactured by Emmick and Margay while Briggs & Stratton, Tecumseh, Honda, Yamaha and TKM are examples of popular engines.
Since kart racing is a very popular sport in the United States, there are many rules governing it. The different kart chassis in this country are classified as 'Open', 'Caged', 'Straight' or 'Offset' depending on what kind of track is being used and whether the race is on short tracks or on speedways. While caged carts are used on dirt tracks, open karts (without any roll cage) are used on proper tracks. Karts used for sprint racing generally have straight chassis whereas karts used for speedway racing have offset chassis.
Americans, especially those in the Midwest, have a definite preference for dirt track racing. These races have enthusiastic audiences and are also very successful at drawing in sponsorship. There are also quite a few European style Sprint races where the kart racing is done on sleeker vehicles. However, irrespective of the track or the kind of kart being used, this is a sport that is only getting more popular.
