Raced
by a 10
year old.
My son wanted to go karting for his birthday. Now we both have race licenses, and he’s faster than me. This is how that happened.
It started as one afternoon. It did not stay one afternoon.
The Log
K1 Speed, Irvine
Reid’s birthday. A couple of electric karts, around and around. Then we came back the next day. Then again the week after.
Where it started
Two-day test · K1 Circuit
First time on gas karts, with Hayner Racing Team (HRT). It went well. Especially for Reid.
First taste of gas
A 23-second lap → his first helmet
A few days before Christmas, Reid ripped a 23-second lap at K1 Speed in Irvine. His reward was waiting under the tree: his first real helmet.
Earned it
We bought karts
Two of our own karts and a pair of entries for our first real races. No going back now.
All in
Reid’s first race · Willow Springs
He lined up against kids who’d done this for years and held his own. I mostly held my breath.
Lights out
Both of us on track · Tri-C, Apex
Father and son, two karts, one race weekend with Tri-C Karters. Still not sure who had more fun.
Side by side
I learned a new term
Wrestling a kart through a full race weekend at fifty expands your vocabulary. Mine that month: “intercostal rib pain.” Reid, naturally, felt great.
Worth it
California Nights Round 3 · Tri-C, Apex
Reid switched to #172 in TaG Mini and finished 5th in the Main. His quickest lap came in the feature, which is when you want to find it. I ran #525 in 100cc TaG Master: 7th in qualifying, 9th in the Main in a twelve-kart field. He finished mid-pack; so did I. He’ll tell you his was more impressive.
Round 3
Champions of the Future America Rd 8 · K1 Circuit, Winchester
Our first national-series weekend. Reid ran #221 in a 25-kart Mini field: 22nd in qualifying, six karts passed in the Super Heat, 19th in the Final with a best lap 1.3 seconds off the winner. I ran #525 in KA100 Heritage: third, third and fourth in the heats, a five-second front-fairing penalty in the Super Heat, and then third in the Final — 0.18 seconds off the fastest lap of the race. Trophy, champagne, and a ten-year-old who was mostly interested in the champagne.
Podium
Champions of the Future America Rd 9 · K1 Circuit, Winchester
Same track, Pro layout this time (no D’s). Reid started the Final 15th in a 19-kart Mini field and finished 12th, a second off the winner and 0.046 seconds behind his teammate. He could have run the under-10 class and finished fifth; he chose the big kids. I started 4th in KA100 Heritage, inherited 3rd on lap 1 when the pole-sitter’s day ended early, and then had to keep it for 16 laps with nobody to hide behind. Third again, half a second off the fastest lap. Two podiums in a row is starting to look less like an accident.
Podium, again
Photos & Video
Champions of the Future Rounds 8 and 9, onboard laps at K1 Circuit, and a few frames from the first real races.
Reid’s got his own site.
He’s faster than me, and he will be happy to tell you. This page is mine; the real speed is over there.