Live in the East Coast? Like Formula 1, Le Mans, and cheap racing?

"isocuda" (isocuda) 10/09/2013 at 11:53 • Filed to: Racing, New England, Karting, Endurance, Fun, fast, cheap, money, east, coast, F1, Formula, 1, Le Mans, lemans, magic pill

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We will probably never see a 24 hour Formula 1 race, but what if you wanted the closest thing to it and didn't want to mortgage the house to get some seat time? Well, thanks to Johan Schwartz (and his wife!), if you're an average Joe and live on the east coast, you're in luck.

(If you don't know who he is or only know about his 51 mile drift, it would behoove you to check out his sweet !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! )

Anyway, Johan created !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ; a company that not only acts as a race organizer, but as an arrive and drive rental service as well. They set up events at Lime Rock Park, Englishtown Raceway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Atlanta Motorsport Park, Carolina Motorsports Park, and NFKC in Jacksonville, Florida with more tracks set to be added to the roster for next year. The biggest race of the year is the 24 Hours of America held at Atlanta - and yes, it's kind of a big deal.

The great thing about all of these events though, is the fact that Endurance Karting brings all the karts, fuel, saftey gear, and basically everything you need to enjoy a day of competitive racing. I say competitive because the second reason people in karting circles praise Johan's company is the upkeep and balance of the karts themselves.

Now they may only be entry level karts, but they are so closely maintained that the fastest and slowest drivers in each class are usually separated by a few fractions of a second. Couple that with the fact that all the karts are serviced before each event, as well as having a good combination of rubber to firepower, and you have yourself some damn good racing!

I'm a big fan of a Le Mans start and if you scroll to the 27 minute mark you see part of the finishing celebration.

As the video above shows, it's a lot of fun. Eagle eyed readers might notice one of the drivers wearing a GT academy suit. Now I can't pull up the roster from 2012 to confirm who was in that suit, but I'm willing to bet you can't buy one of those at your local Wal-Mart. There is a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! if anyone is interested in name drops. After racing at one of their events it should come as no surprise that pros commonly battle it out along side amateurs because of the sheer quality of competition.

My first outing with Endurance Karting was at Lime Rock Park and I had an absolute blast zipping around the funky and highly technical infield track. Meanwhile, various 911's and other cars owned by members of the PCA occupied Lime Rock's main course, which created a nice background soundtrack to the whole affair. During the event, you get a feeling that everyone around you is an enthusiast. The staff are all very passionate about karting, and are very helpful as well as accurate; they aren't there to try to squeeze money out of you.

Seen here is fellow gearhead, and close friend, John Campbell starting out of the pits after I completed my stint during the race at Lime Rock.

I started karting at arrive and drive tracks local to me, namely F1 Boston and F1 Outdoors - also set up by a pro driver, R.J. Valentine. I can highly recommend this for beginners because it's cheap and family friendly. One of the problems at F1 is how much abuse the karts get daily, and the as-needed maintenance of them causes quite a lot of variation in terms of overall performance. The track staff are all kids or college students so the flagging/marshaling is so-so at best. This is great value per dollar and the flagging is a little better during events and leagues. Once I got fairly comfortable in a kart, I wanted to try something more competitive without breaking the bank. During an event at F1 Outdoors, a friend and karting veteran sold me on the previously mentioned Endurance Karting event at LRP, and I'm glad I did it. I would recommend it to anyone: the prices are reasonable and you're getting excellent karts, good staff, and proper timeing and scoring. If you haven't been impressed by your local arrive and drive, then at least give !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! a try. You won't be disappointed.

Shout-out to Jack Meeker and Crew for the "Creative signage"

I have a 16 hour enduro coming up next month, along with a trip to see F1 @ COTA, which I'll be doing write ups on those events. Plus I'm throwing around the idea of doing a guide to karting in New England due to it's lack of popularity here. I'll need to touch base with a few of the veterans I know first. -Shaun

302? I think yes > isocuda 10/09/2013 at 16:22

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Would an F1 engine even last 24 hours?

isocuda > 302? I think yes 10/09/2013 at 20:58

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current specs no they wouldn't, the tolerances are too tight. As it stands I believe FIA regulation limits a grand prix to a maximum of 2 hours or 2.5 hours.

mazdaspeed2 > isocuda 10/12/2013 at 12:32

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I would love to see a guide for karting in NE. I really want to try it, but as you said there is a definite lack of popularity here.

Steven Phillips Photography > isocuda 10/12/2013 at 13:13

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I did one of these at Lime Rock in conjunction with a skip barber school before they got their new fleet of karts. It was one of the best karting experiences I've ever had. Johan and his wife are truly stand up peoples, and are completely dedicated to ensuring that EVERYONE there is having a good time. When I was there they also had the option to do a karting school that trained beginners to drive race lines and drive side by side. I did it just for grins, and as someone that already had a substantial amount of karting experience (not so much competitively, but I've been hot lapping rotax with my family for awhile) it was still educational, and it provided valuable extra seat time for race day. Looking forward to see what tracks they announce next!

isocuda > mazdaspeed2 10/12/2013 at 15:08

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I think the problem is that there are a lot of kiddie style kart places around so people assume "karting" is just a kids thing. I'll be compiling information from people on my ride to Summit Point so feel free to follow me, although I don't have much up yet haha.

isocuda > Steven Phillips Photography 10/12/2013 at 15:12

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They really put in a solid effort for each of these events and It's refreshing to see such passion. I'll most likely be doing this at LRP again next year, hopefully I'll see you there if you decide to go again.

Steven Phillips Photography > isocuda 10/12/2013 at 15:31

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When is it? I haven't looked at the schedule yet. I've just recently relocated to DC from Texas, but I'd consider making the trip if it didn't conflict with my masters work. I wonder how much interest there would be for a Jalop team...

Steven Phillips Photography > isocuda 10/12/2013 at 16:45

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We'll see how the 2014 schedule coincides with my masters. I wonder if anyone would be interested in a Jalop team...

RealDealMc > isocuda 02/13/2014 at 12:09

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Shaun, Thanks for an awesome write-up about our events at Endurance Karting. We have a new schedule for 2014 which include New Jersey Motorsports Park and a recently completed race at Daytona including a team with Jordan and Ricky Taylor (Finished 2nd, again). Please come join us again soon.

-Chris McCoy
EnduranceKarting.com

RealDealMc > Steven Phillips Photography 02/13/2014 at 12:12

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Steven,
Checkout the schedule here: http://endurancekarting.com/index.php/ek-s…

New Jersey Date also soon to be added!
CMc

RealDealMc > isocuda 02/13/2014 at 12:26

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That GT Academy driver was on team 6. Sebastian Cedano

kbuffo > mazdaspeed2 02/15/2014 at 00:39

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Have you found any karting yet? The NHKA Racing Series puts on kart races at NHMS. A lot of us also race at F1 Outdoors just south of Boston. And a few of us race at over 125mph on big tracks like Daytona, Mid-Ohio, the main course at Summit Point. Most racers own their own karts, others rent from kart shops. There's a wide range of karts for every age and budget. Check out http://www.nhka.net It is a blast!

mazdaspeed2 > kbuffo 02/15/2014 at 10:51

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Awesome, thanks. I will definitely have to check it out.