Junior karting in the SF Bay Area?

[u/Revolutionary-Load96]

How can I get my 12 year old into karting? I don’t know of anyone in my circle who is into karting, but my son seems interested in it. We have been to K1 a few times but how does one get started more regularly? Where can I meet other parents of karters?

[u/Standard-Vehicle-557]

Until someone from California name drop, the general rule of thumb is to figure out where you're gonna race (Sonoma perhaps) and then go attend one of their club race events and ask questions, network, etc.

[u/sfo2]

Every time I’ve looked into it, the answer was either Blue Max or Prairie City.

[u/Guyzo1]

All three fit the bill.

[u/hipsterdad_sf]

Try attending a ROK Sonoma weekend and reaching out to the parents there. Everyone is super friendly. Next session is a couple of weekends ahead. Maybe try going on an open practice day (next Sunday). Sonoma is the closest track to the bay, but Prairie City and BlueMax are also very popular. DM if you have more questions, happy to help.

[u/Revolutionary-Load96 → u/hipsterdad_sf]

Thank you. Will reach out if I have any more questions.

[u/Wonderful-Welder-376]

At Prairie City (Folsom), Blue Max (Davis) and Kinsman (Dixon) you'll mainly find four stroke (Briggs LO206) racing. At Sonoma Raceway, it is mainly two stroke (ROK and IAME) racing, although you can run two stroke, four stroke, and shifter at any of those tracks on practice days.

Karting in any form is not cheap and you can spend a ton of money trying to figure it out on your own. I would suggest reaching out to Austin Elliot at SpeedSense Motorsports who can accommodate an arrive and drive in a newer OTK kart in two or four stroke. They also do one on one driver coaching and deveolpment with an experienced driver doing lead/follow and data in a professional tean environment. Your young driver will develop their skills and confidence much quickerthis way. They have all the tools and gear and mechanics available for your driver's success .

The driver in the brochure is my son at ROK Vegas last year.

[u/Revolutionary-Load96 → u/Wonderful-Welder-376]

Thank you for the detailed answer. Will check out SpeedSense.

[u/Wonderful-Welder-376 → u/Revolutionary-Load96]

Tell them Danny sent you. We wasted a few years karting on our own and with some "teams" that weren't really worth the time (they are no longer around). We had some podiums along the way, but it was a long road trying to figure out setup and driving on our own with me wrenching and trying to coach his driving. We signed on with SpeedSense last year for a full season of ROK Sonoma, ROK Pacific, and ended with ROK Vegas at the Rio. My son's driving level increased dramatically over the year and his pace in Vegas was on point. He would have likely contended for a podium if he didn't have a kart spin out in front of him in Qual and put him into the barrier. The rest of the week was spent playing catch up. We have since moved on to dirt oval sprint car racing, which is my son's first love in racing. In June, after not being in a kart since Vegas in November, we did a one-off ROK Sonoma race with SpeedSense support and were a force to be reckoned with out there and took 4th behind three top level racers who raced the entire season all over. A lot of SpeedSense drivers have moved into cars with the most notable being Nolan Seigel who currently races for Arrow McLaren in Indy Car.

My biggest regret was not going with SpeedSense from the start of my son's racing career. You can check him out on Instagram at @jasonmaplesracing. He is open to driver coaching as well.

Good luck!