billbadass
Drag Racing Champion
- Location
- your moms house
zero to do with VW but I am betting you will think this is really fun/cool anyway.
some crazy shifter karts in norcal for sale below and some background on how/where to race them in norcal in case you buy one....…. Each one of these are CRAZY good deals and have won races and set lap records.
I am posting here to hopefully help you get a great deal, help my friends, but also show you guys something really cool in case you want to come race and have fun.
SHIFTER KART BACKGROUND
Most people don’t know this but…. Northern California is the absolute “mecca” for competitive karting, with more shifter kart tracks than anywhere in America and some of the best race drivers in the world. There are 7 kart tracks within a short drive of San Francisco. There are hundreds of drivers out every weekend having a blast going really fast for crazy cheap, ranging from literally professional indy car drivers who race at Sonoma 3x per week, down to local club racing weekend-warrior fathers racing at Bluemaxx, while their kids race cadet or lo206 karts
For $325 you can literally get your own set of keys to a track and practice drive “all you can eat” anytime for an entire year, a single race day is ~$60 entry fee, set of tires cost $200 and last a long time, motors can last many seasons if maintained properly, and engine rebuild kits are $450 and you can do yourself. A nice 80 shifter kart ready to win on any weekend can be bought for $3-4k second hand. If later turns out is not your thing you can also then sell them for roughly the same price. Net/net you get a season of racing stupid cheap relative to anything remotely comparable.
These shifter karts are STUPID FAST AND HILARIOUS FUN. The minute you drive one I guarantee your mind will be blown, and you WILL be hooked. Specifically, the 80 shifter karts we all race in norcal flatten your face with acceleration, 2-3g cornering force and will brake faster than anything you have ever driven. From behind the wheel they feel like an Indy lights, or F3 car, and every name in Formula1 spent their life racing karts. I’ve raced so many other things in my life. Once I started racing karts it’s hard to drive anything else now, they are SO much faster, and SO much more intense and simultaneously far cheaper.
To give you a sense, here is some gopro track footage which doesn't really capture the sense of speed from behind the wheel but is fun anyway:
We have a big group of 50+ drivers in the 80 shifter norcal series racing together, typically 10-20+ drivers per race. Setting expectations, this is a FUN focused racing series where we race hard but big egos are not welcome, we all pit together on race days to help each other out, there are trophies but zero prize money and we race hard, but only for the glory and hilarious fun of it all, and to go fast with friends while doing epic track days for 1/10 the cost of anything else
The racing is as serious as you want it to be. We typically split the group into A and B by lap times so everyone has a great time. With many drivers in the B group who only drive on race days a few times a year, but have epic battles, and the younger stud drivers who are more serious in A group. We have >6 guys in the group who are older than 55 years old, who are also fast AF, and guys who drive in from Oregon and Socal. 80c shifter kart racing is “race car fight club” community, and every single person is incredibly friendly, welcoming and just wants to help you.
You may not believe me but karting is also INCREDIBLY safe, we wear tons of safety gear, rules are strictly enforced, the karts are so lightweight with so much rubber grip they don’t slide far if you spin, and the tracks are purposefully built to be safe as well. I’ve been racing for many years seen countless spins, and spun myself, and never seen a single person get more than small bumps and bruises.
To be clear I do not make a penny on anything here also, I just like racing with good people.
Here is the FB group used to organize the racing and for people to ask questions. If you’re looking to buy a kart or some parts you can find that here also. IF THIS SOUND INTERESTING THEN JOIN THIS FB GROUP!!!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/362811984208960
Here are my two favorite kart tracks. PC karting has rentals too if you want to come out and drive something fun to check out what the tracks are like.
https://pckarting.com/ (this track has replica of laguna seca corkscrew turn!)
https://bluemaxkartclub.com/
and also some other kart tracks :
https://kinsmenkartclub.org/
https://simracewaydrivingschool.com/...es/go-karting/
https://shastakartklub.com/
https://stockton99.com/little99_info.html
https://www.nnkcreno.com/
some crazy shifter karts in norcal for sale below and some background on how/where to race them in norcal in case you buy one....…. Each one of these are CRAZY good deals and have won races and set lap records.
I am posting here to hopefully help you get a great deal, help my friends, but also show you guys something really cool in case you want to come race and have fun.
SHIFTER KART BACKGROUND
Most people don’t know this but…. Northern California is the absolute “mecca” for competitive karting, with more shifter kart tracks than anywhere in America and some of the best race drivers in the world. There are 7 kart tracks within a short drive of San Francisco. There are hundreds of drivers out every weekend having a blast going really fast for crazy cheap, ranging from literally professional indy car drivers who race at Sonoma 3x per week, down to local club racing weekend-warrior fathers racing at Bluemaxx, while their kids race cadet or lo206 karts
For $325 you can literally get your own set of keys to a track and practice drive “all you can eat” anytime for an entire year, a single race day is ~$60 entry fee, set of tires cost $200 and last a long time, motors can last many seasons if maintained properly, and engine rebuild kits are $450 and you can do yourself. A nice 80 shifter kart ready to win on any weekend can be bought for $3-4k second hand. If later turns out is not your thing you can also then sell them for roughly the same price. Net/net you get a season of racing stupid cheap relative to anything remotely comparable.
These shifter karts are STUPID FAST AND HILARIOUS FUN. The minute you drive one I guarantee your mind will be blown, and you WILL be hooked. Specifically, the 80 shifter karts we all race in norcal flatten your face with acceleration, 2-3g cornering force and will brake faster than anything you have ever driven. From behind the wheel they feel like an Indy lights, or F3 car, and every name in Formula1 spent their life racing karts. I’ve raced so many other things in my life. Once I started racing karts it’s hard to drive anything else now, they are SO much faster, and SO much more intense and simultaneously far cheaper.
To give you a sense, here is some gopro track footage which doesn't really capture the sense of speed from behind the wheel but is fun anyway:
We have a big group of 50+ drivers in the 80 shifter norcal series racing together, typically 10-20+ drivers per race. Setting expectations, this is a FUN focused racing series where we race hard but big egos are not welcome, we all pit together on race days to help each other out, there are trophies but zero prize money and we race hard, but only for the glory and hilarious fun of it all, and to go fast with friends while doing epic track days for 1/10 the cost of anything else
The racing is as serious as you want it to be. We typically split the group into A and B by lap times so everyone has a great time. With many drivers in the B group who only drive on race days a few times a year, but have epic battles, and the younger stud drivers who are more serious in A group. We have >6 guys in the group who are older than 55 years old, who are also fast AF, and guys who drive in from Oregon and Socal. 80c shifter kart racing is “race car fight club” community, and every single person is incredibly friendly, welcoming and just wants to help you.
You may not believe me but karting is also INCREDIBLY safe, we wear tons of safety gear, rules are strictly enforced, the karts are so lightweight with so much rubber grip they don’t slide far if you spin, and the tracks are purposefully built to be safe as well. I’ve been racing for many years seen countless spins, and spun myself, and never seen a single person get more than small bumps and bruises.
To be clear I do not make a penny on anything here also, I just like racing with good people.
Here is the FB group used to organize the racing and for people to ask questions. If you’re looking to buy a kart or some parts you can find that here also. IF THIS SOUND INTERESTING THEN JOIN THIS FB GROUP!!!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/362811984208960
Here are my two favorite kart tracks. PC karting has rentals too if you want to come out and drive something fun to check out what the tracks are like.
https://pckarting.com/ (this track has replica of laguna seca corkscrew turn!)
https://bluemaxkartclub.com/
and also some other kart tracks :
https://kinsmenkartclub.org/
https://simracewaydrivingschool.com/...es/go-karting/
https://shastakartklub.com/
https://stockton99.com/little99_info.html
https://www.nnkcreno.com/
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