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"My Take" on kart racing
Written by: Dave Despain
Charlotte, NC – 7/21/2003
"My Take" is a regular feature of "Wind
Tunnel," Dave Despain's weekly motorsports phone-in show,
seen only on Speed Channel. "Wind Tunnel" airs live at
11pm eastern every Friday night.
I'd like to follow up on Bryan Herta's comments on "Wind
Tunnel" last week, in which he said that kart racing should be "our
Little League"...meaning, as I understood it, the Little League of
American motorsports. I could not agree more wholeheartedly.
Just as Little League baseball is the first step toward a fat contract in the majors, so too should Little League karting be the
training ground for future generations of American race drivers.
But at this point,
let me draw a distinction.
I'm not talking about sticker-covered shifter karts running for
$15 grand, their drivers seeking more TV time so they can get big
sponsors. That's PROFESSIONAL racing. I'm talking about AMATEUR
karting, and I'd like to see it become every bit as pervasive in
America as Little League baseball. Regular viewers know what I'd
really like to see is interscholastic karting - karting as a school sport, paid for by
the taxpayers, just like football. That's a tough sell, so in the
meantime let's shoot for a kart track in every town that has a
Little League ball park, paid for and run the same way as the ball
diamond...by local fund-raising and volunteers.
It all makes perfect sense to me. Led by NASCAR, racing is quickly
outpacing the stick-and-ball sports in fan popularity. How long
before the average kid grows up wanting to be Sam Hornish instead
of Sammy Sosa? And in terms of benefit to society, which is more
helpful...the ability to drive,
or to hit a curve ball?
Just like baseball, let's have age categories and a big annual
Little League Karting Tournament. In the top class, which I'd call
"Seniors," the top qualifiers earn the right to race in
the National Finals. There'll be no birth certificate scandals
because to be in the Senior Class, you've got to be just that...a
senior in high school, enrolled and attending class.
And only after SUCCESSFUL GRADUATION does the winner collect the
prizes - a test in a NASCAR Truck, a test in a Steve Lewis midget,
and a Skip Barber
scholarship.
Done right, Little League karting would serve as a big filter
system, quickly recognizing kids who just want to race for fun and
giving them that opportunity. It would also identify the one in
10,000 who has the talent to be a star.
And of that young racer, Little League Karting should demand
tremendous dedication, determination, hard work and sacrifice. He
or she is going to need all that and more to have a successful pro career, and Little
League Karting should be the place to pay those dues.
That's my take...I'd like to hear yours.
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