Timing is everything (need parenting advice!)

The best search tip I found so far was from Ian- try a google search for Formula Junior {enter your state here}.

tuna55 wrote: How does one find these venues? I have a 5 year old and a 4 year old who would be very curious to know.

This is great advice- and it sounds like you achieved the same goal I would like to achieve.

Unfortunately the snow is coming soon, so this is a rotten time to get started.

jmc14 wrote: I started by buying an inexpensive Kart for my 5 year old son. I would take him to the school parking lot and set up different courses using cones to lay out a track. He had drive for hours and had a blast. We talked about racing lines and I would time him so that he could see how different lines effected speed. He ended up going to racing karts at 10. The track tested him and let him race in a 12 year old division. He won his first race and has been hooked ever since. Now, 19 he drives full size stock cars and will be racing a 360 Sprint Car next year as well. For me Karts and racing has been a great way to bond with my son.

I think you are on to something here!

I really like the approach fornetti's dad took. Let them get comfortable in a seat for a year and see where it goes from there. And I am all about pooling resources- besides they will associate the activity with friends, and I think that will help my guys out.

If you would be interested, we are planning on going to Great Escape in Howell this Saturday- our clans could meet up. Here is the site: http://www.greatescapefun.com/ It is the closest indoor track I could find that has side by side karts. I guess I'm thinking for the winter of doing this once a month or so until we can get back outside. Unless my boys grow 10 inches by March

ppddppdd wrote: Oddly enough, last week I was talking to a kart-wise friend about how to go about getting kids started karting and he suggested the track in Lansing. My 6 year old overheard this and was pretty gung ho. My wife hope he forgets. But given that you're in Ann Arbor, too, I just say we start our own local kids karting/autocross series. :)

I'd start with a yard cart, bought for ~$100 off craigslist. Let them ride it around the yard. No need for traveling or tracks, a back yard will do fine. Only a moments notice to go riding, no planning involved.

You could make your own from an old riding mower. Fun project, but takes time, and if the boys aren't into the project, it was a waste of time.

For faster silly fun, the generic go cart funland kind of place for a bit. Faux track and they can go "wee", and discuss how the blue cart is faster than the red cart, but that green one is really fast.

Then, if come spring time, they are still rather enamored of it, start looking at more serious carting.

Good advice Foxtrapper, thank you my friend!

The only trouble with the back yard is the coming snow.

But your point of not diving in with the big budget stuff is well taken.

foxtrapper wrote: I'd start with a yard cart, bought for ~$100 off craigslist. Let them ride it around the yard. No need for traveling or tracks, a back yard will do fine. Only a moments notice to go riding, no planning involved. You could make your own from an old riding mower. Fun project, but takes time, and if the boys aren't into the project, it was a waste of time. For faster silly fun, the generic go cart funland kind of place for a bit. Faux track and they can go "wee", and discuss how the blue cart is faster than the red cart, but that green one is really fast. Then, if come spring time, they are still rather enamored of it, start looking at more serious carting.

Didn't GRM have an article on building yard carts?

foxtrapper wrote: I'd start with a yard cart, bought for ~$100 off craigslist. Let them ride it around the yard. No need for traveling or tracks, a back yard will do fine. Only a moments notice to go riding, no planning involved. You could make your own from an old riding mower. Fun project, but takes time, and if the boys aren't into the project, it was a waste of time. For faster silly fun, the generic go cart funland kind of place for a bit. Faux track and they can go "wee", and discuss how the blue cart is faster than the red cart, but that green one is really fast. Then, if come spring time, they are still rather enamored of it, start looking at more serious carting.

+1 on all of that. I've taken my boys to those funland/minigolf places. And they were thrilled with it. They talked for hours about each cart, as if they knew what .5lbs of air pressure change in the right rear would do to an oversteer problem through decreasing radius left turns.... I also have a yard kart I picked up cheap. I've been tinkering with the damn carb trying to get it right, but just can't. So I just picked up a $99 motor from HF and will drop that in soon...it'll be cheaper and easier than trying to keep tinkering with the motor it has (I'll sell it on CL for $40). As I mentioned in previous post, I've also done the bigger indoor electric carts with them. I'm dancing all around the "real" racing, but I just can't bring myself to go full hog into it. Too much money, parents are too competitive, etc...

One of the local indoor kart facilities does junior leagues. It's like $200 for a 6 week session. Not cheap, but I may let them try that. It's much more of a spec series...everyone has the same equipment. Plus I don't have to buy, fix, store, transport, etc....

chaparral wrote: Call East Lansing Kart Track and ask about the school. I'll be there next weekend, renting a kart from them.

I was surprised to and happy to learn that place is still in business. East Lansing Cart Track was the first "race track" I ever drove anything with four wheels on. My friend Richie and I convinced his mom to take us there on weekday in the summer. We were only customers there. We rented a couple of standard issue (5hp Briggs with governors) carts they had at the time and proceeded to chase each other around until our money ran out. That was 1980.