chopperzz

I've been one of those broken rib guys. The track guy said, "have fun for the next 6 weeks". He was right. The first time i sneezed without pain I started to laugh. It took me 20 minutes to explain to my wife why it felt so good.

Potomac-Greg

So, what did you decide?

utkinpol

what you think is tempting but is unwise long term...

an old man dies and says suddenly 'i`m not thirsty!!!'
his children and wife ask - what do you say? he repeats - 'not thirsty!'
wife says - 'so what?!'
he says - 'all my life i was told - you will die alone and no one will be around to bring you a glass of water if you'll not change - so here i am, dying and NOT THIRSTY!'.

ajcjr

you are correct, we will be spending more time there this year, the competition is great for my son, he was going very well locally but i want him to race against some of the best and OVRP has a great program.

ajcjr

Shifters are great but may give you a bad taste of karting. The best kart to learn in is a Yamaha 100cc because of the power band but they require alot more maintenance and finess. The tag kart is a lot of fun and fast.

Whatever you do by a ribtech 2 or 3 ribvest, i wear mine all the time, even at indoor tracks. I also put some zoombang padding on my seat which eases the back pain.

TheOtherEric

Indeed! I broke a couple ribs too. Took 3-4 months before it no longer hurt, then another year to stop being uncomfortable. Over 2 years later it's still a little tender. Worst part is that I've always slept on my right side, well, not any more.

ajcjr

if you need any help i just started with my son i can give you some information. Basically i bought a used kart, let him see if he likes it and if this is for him, then i will put some money into a real kart. Dont get bit by the kid kart bug that you need brand new engines and light weight stuff, its a kid kart, let them learn.

Potomac-Greg

Believe me, I have made the same choice as you have made. Family first. (Also cheaper in the long run!)

ajcjr

I have thought about this and you know what if it means i race a little less so be it. Just hanging out with him in his driving suit, putting his helmet on and him giving me knuckles before he heads out gives me a great feeling. I get so much pleasure watching my son race and after the race him telling me what he thought and how it felt (he is 6).

Plus right now i can race a kart because their is nothing to tune on a kid kart. When he gets older i will probably stop racing the kart and just race on my own days so i can concentrate on him.

utkinpol

yep... there is always another season coming, meanwhile i can keep modding my car from time to time, so, there is little to no drama here at all...

but it seems like MA got no karting venues for lil kids. so sad. it would be a great present for my son on his 5th birthday. well, i better investigate more.

ajcjr

http://www.f1boston.com/

utkinpol

i was just told they do not let in 5 year olds. but i`ll double check.

ltc

A lot of very very good drivers came thru OVRP ... Andretti, Karem, Danica....
Learn to drive OVRP well and you can drive at any track in the country.

multi21

This is SOOOOOO true. The kid kart years were the best. I wouldn't trade them for anything in the world. She had the kid kart, I had the Rotax. Not much to do to her kart since you can't change gears, max pressures in the tires have to be 20#. Put some gas in, change the plug and go.

When she moved up at 8 years old to the Jr. 1 Cadet, it was a different story. Gear changes, chassis tuning, etc. I ended up selling my kart because it was tough to service 2 karts between both her races and mine.

As the years have gone on and she is up in the full size kart with a 100cc HPV motor, it doesn't seem as fun. More like work and it's turned me off a bit to karting. Maybe it's the fact that it's no longer good to just be out there, but needing to be up front and trying to get a good engine, chassis, fresh tires all the time is a PITA. The good engines are handed down from buddies to buddies as people move classes and as is the case with all racing, usually the ones with the biggest checkbooks win or have a shot at winning.

Unlike ltc, I can't afford to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on karting. Perhaps if I got my own Super Moderator gig with the huge bucks RL has to offer, then maybe, but I'm just a 944 spec guy..... enough said..... I'm at the bottom of the Porsche wading pool and lucky to be there.....

93 FireHawk 968

For those in NJ looking for a new indoor karting facility, check out Pole Position in Jersey City. It's right off the NJ Tpk extension. I've been to their Corona CA facility and it was top notch.