EKN Radio Network

The 24th edition of the Rock Island Grand Prix was held over Labor Day weekend. Karters from all over the country and the world traveled to the Quad Cities area to compete in the two-day racing festival in Rock Island, Illinois. Racers battled wet weather early before the skies opened up for perfect racing conditions the rest of the way. In all, 16 categories took on the 6/10-mile street circuit t...

The ninth season of the Superkarts! USA Pro Tour came to a end with the 2018 SummerNationals held at the New Castle Motorsports Park. The Pro Tour finale has found a new home in New Castle, Indiana, with the nine IAME and Stock Honda categories crowning the 2018 champions after Round Five and Six were contested on the 1-mile course. Rob Howden and David Cole break down the entire event with a spec...

The 2018 edition of the United States Pro Kart Series closed out at the recent Hoosier Grand Prix. The New Castle Motorsports Park in New Castle, Indiana hosted Round Five and Six on the July 27-29 weekend under perfect racing conditions. The seven IAME categories decided the 2018 champions after two days of solid racing around the 1-mile circuit. Rob Howden and David Cole break down the entire ev...

Each Labor Day weekend, karters flock to the Quad Cities area to take part in the annual Rock Island Grand Prix . The Illinois city along the Mississippi River will host the 24th edition of the RIGP with a host of volunteers putting on the three-day festival. The featured entertainment is the two days of racing through the city streets in a six-trun, 6/10-mile course. The event requires 365 days o...

The Texas ProKart Challenge completed its summer season with the second annual trip to the Amarillo Kart Circuit on July 20-22. The series hosted Round Four and Five of the 2018 championship program, welcoming high-profile drivers from the west and east coast venturing to the Lone Star State. Amarillo, Texas featured record high temps during the weekend, which featured some exciting racing on this...

The World Karting Association resumed the 2018 season for the Manufacturers Cup Series on the July 13-15 weekend. The program visited the Concept Haulers Motor Speedway for the first time since 2012, taking on the challenging grassroots course. Rob Howden and David Cole break down the entire event with the latest ‘EKN Debreif’ - thanks to the Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires . The K1 R...

A new event is gaining momentum in only its second year. USAC Karting is providing karters with the bucket list opportunity to race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a dream all racers have. The Battle at the Brickyard was established in 2017 with rave reviews, and exceeded those marks in 2018 with the second edition on July 6-8. Rob Howden and David Cole break down the entire event with the lat...

The newest show to hit the EKN Radio Network is ‘Operation Grassroots’, a podcast geared solely on the foundation of the sport. The hub of the show will be discussion centered on the grassroots level of karting, from club racing to regional racing, all focused around the Briggs & Stratton 206 engine platform. Our #OperationGrassroots movement has been based around the Briggs powerplant, with the u...

The United States Pro Kart Series reached the halfway point of the 2018 season with Round 3 and 4 contested at the GoPro Motorplex. The Mooresville, North Carolina facility hosted the Carolina Grand Prix on June 15-17 during what was a hot weekend for all seven IAME categories. Rob Howden and David Cole broke down the entire event with the latest ‘EKN Debrief’ - presented by KartLift . The Acceler...

The 2018 season on the west coast begins with the Challenge of the Americas . Promoter Andy Seesemann hosted the 11th season of the program this winter, beginning a new era with the series under the Rok Cup USA banner. Each event improved in terms of numbers and is a great starting point for the expansion of the Rok Cup engine platform for the western half of the North America. With the program co...

Club racing is the backbone of karting here in the United States of America. It is what makes kart racing the grassroots level of motorsports, based on families willing to put their time and effort into making the sport better. One of the hundreds of volunteers to put in his time is Greg Speed of North Texas Karters . EKN’s Rob Howden sits down to talk with him about the growth and sustainability...

The second event of the Texas ProKart Challenge was a special and unique experience. The Superkarts! USA regional program hosted a Thursday, Friday, Saturday event, featuring two rounds of competition, with the main events held under the lights of the North Texas Kartway in Denton, Texas. Rob Howden and David Cole broke down the entire event with the latest ‘EKN Debrief’ - presented by CRG Nordam...

The World Karting Association resumed its 2018 season with the third event of the year. The Pittsburgh International Race Complex served as the site for Round Five and Six of the championship chase, with the Wampum, Pennsylvania once again providing excitement, changing weather conditions, and putting a close to the first half of the series. Rob Howden and David Cole broke down the entire event wi...

The EKN Radio Network continues to expand with more live events and new shows. The latest is the rebirth of the Hot Seat, now hosted by EKN Managing Editor David Cole. Each race weekend Cole is trackside throughout the karting season, he will sit down with a member of the karting community to discuss past and present within the sport. The first to join him in the Hot Seat is new World Karting Asso...

The Superkarts! USA Pro Tour reached the halfway point of the 2018 season with the ninth running of the SpringNationals. The Phoenix Kart Racing Association in Glendale, Arizona hosted Round Three and Four of the championship chase for the nine IAME and Stock Honda categories. The weekend featured record high temperatures for the area as the nearly 200 drivers battled the challenging ‘Formula K Ra...

The 2018 Superkarts! USA Pro Tour continued with ninth annual SpringNationals taking place at the Phoenix Kart Racing Association in Glendale, Arizona. The nine IAME and Stock Honda divisions took part in Round Three and Four in extreme weather conditions that included record high triple digit temperatures throughout the weekend. On Friday, EKN’s Rob Howden provided the call of the final practice...

A lot of karting’s history is based from the Quincy area, both on the Illinois and Missouri sides of the Mississippi River. The famous race track in West Quincy, Missouri remains one of the grassroots facilities that shaped this countries karting history. On the Illinois side is ‘The Park’, one of the sport’s most famous street course rich with history. Gus Traeder, a true pioneer of karting, crea...

The newest show to hit the EKN Radio Network is ‘Operation Grassroots’, a podcast geared solely on the foundation of the sport. The hub of the show will be discussion centered on the grassroots level of karting, from club racing to regional racing, all focused around the Briggs & Stratton 206 engine platform. Our #OperationGrassroots movement has been based around the Briggs powerplant, with the u...

A trip to wine country sparked the end of the 2018 Challenge of the Americas. Rounds Five and Six of the premier winter series on the left coast were contested at the Simraceway Performance Karting Center in Sonoma, California on April 13-15. Seven champions in the Rok Cup USA categories were crowned, with six earning tickets to the famed Rok Cup International Final in Lonato, Italy with others ea...

The 2018 Challenge of the Americas closed out the winter season with the third and final event in the championship. The Simraceway Performance Karting Center in Sonoma, California played host to the fifth and sixth rounds of Challenge, crowning the seven Rok Cup USA champions. On Friday, EKN’s Rob Howden provided the call of the final practice session for all seven race groups around the ‘National...

The third episode of the ‘Industry Insider’ podcast has EKN’s Rob Howden talk with Shawn Bayliff of Trinity Karting Group . The Trinity operation is a new program, based out of the Cincinnati, Ohio area, focused on driver development. Bayliff is no stranger to the sport of karting, having been among the top drivers in his prime, experiencing the climb up the motorsports ladder behind the wheel and...

The sixth season of the United States Pro Kart Series began with the programs first visit to the Ocala Gran Prix. The central Florida facility hosted the Southern Grand Prix on April 6-8, serving as the first two rounds of the 2018 championship chase. The all-IAME program welcomed over 100 drivers in what was an exciting weekend of racing. Rob Howden and David Cole broke down the entire event with...

The Texas ProKart Challenge kicked off its 2018 season at the end of March with the first round of the championship held at the Speedsportz Racing Park in New Caney, Texas. The March 24-25 event hosted one round of racing at the new facility, the same place where the 2017 season ended. The Superkarts! USA regional program began the new year and new chases toward the year-end awards. Rob Howden and...

The newest show to hit the EKN Radio Network is ‘Operation Grassroots’, a podcast geared solely on the foundation of the sport. The hub of the show will be discussion centered on the grassroots level of karting, from club racing to regional racing, all focused around the Briggs & Stratton 206 engine platform. Our #OperationGrassroots movement has been based around the Briggs powerplant, with the u...

The 2018 World Karting Association Manufacturers Cup Series resumed at the end of March with the first of two events scheduled for the GoPro Motorplex in Mooresville, North Carolina. The March 23-25 weekend served as Round Three and Four toward the 2018 championship chases, which began with Daytona KartWeek in December. Changing weather conditions kept the weekend challenging, with some solid perf...