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Special
Notes:
Used
Engines and Karts
2007 Used Kid Kart $1475
New Style SuperStealth 1875
Tornado Lightning Adult 2008 Chassis $1150
Kid Kart National Winning C51 Engine $3475
Call today (916)390-6474
before they are
gone! First to pay gets them, we do not reserve engines for
people. Great engines only come by every once in a while.
Lead Stories:
KKN
Video
Are You Ready?
A fun look back at the last
two years Kid Kart Nationals racing action and a question.
Will you be there to race the best and will you be ready?
Even if you don't win like
Flinn Lazier did in 2007 and Owen Leatherberry did in 2008
you'll learn a lot to take home against your local
competition.
New Parts
Just In Time
When I was a robotics engineer for GM
we had an automated storage and retrieval system that kept
parts coming to the line just in time. When it didn't work
right we called it just too late... Our special connection
has delivered a special allotment of parts just in time for
the nationals. Hand selected hard to find parts that really
go fast. If you haven't had your engine rebuilt yet or you
want to freshen up one before the big summer races you'd
better get them in right away. We'll add a little last
minute magic, let your rings soak in a nice special brew of
California hot spring water and we'll buff up the parts that
need it and rough up the parts need to break in.
How about a
carb that almost no one has yet, last year it was just the
ticket to the front row. Do you have an 08 or 09 carb, have
you seen them anywhere? It seems that the factory likes to
release it's latest things right before the big summer races. We've got them
in the past just in time. It cost a lot of money to run down
the parts and to get them here but racing requires an edge
to win the big races. It's good to review your equipment
before a big race anyway.
The last
engine we looked at had a cracked flywheel. It would have
detonated at the beginning of the KKN practice session, but
now the engine has a new flywheel and is ready to run for
the win. The crank wasn't straight either and would have
been holding down the rpms. It's important to keep an eye on
these little flexible crankshafts. Even if you don't have us
rebuild your engine please check the flywheel for cracks
that develop right on the keyway on the inside. If you find
a crack destroy the flywheel so no one can use it.
We updated
an engine a month ago, fixed a bad crank, changed out some
incorrect seals, looked after about ten other areas and now
the engine is turning 12,200 rpm, wowing the competition and
making the driver smile. There are so many things to focus
on when a piston goes up and down 200 times in one second.
Another engine builder recently commented, "you always seem
to have 400 rpm on us, I'm not sure how you do it."
Enjoy this
video
while you are thinking about if you are going to race the
Kid Kart Nationals this season. Are you ready? Is your
engine ready? We believe we have the parts and the knowledge
to give you a chance to run up front just like our drivers
did the last two years.
Chloe St.
George - Pole Position KKN 2008
Owen
Leatherberry - Winner KKN 2008
Dalton
Adkins - Pole Position KKN 2008 Restricted
Mason
Mitchell - Winner KKN 2008 Restricted
A Sweep of
The Fastest Four Qualifiers 2007 KKN - Trickle Pole, Lantz
2nd, Johnson 3rd, Lazier 4th
Flinn
Lazier - 2007 Champion
Headed In The Right
Direction?
So many people just keep
trying to make their engine work when it's the head that is
not straight or that has egg shaped itself because of wear
or over heating. A properly honed new head can really pick
up times at the track. We have hundreds of new heads that we
purchase when sorting for clients and sixty or so that we
have taken off new engines as they came in. If you want to
purchase a new head and give it a try to see if it will be
faster we are having a sale on them. $175 gets you a new
head. Or if you want one that has been run on the dyno, that
is slightly used $135.
Independence
Sale
To
celebrate our nations independence we are having a sale. You
can get these items on sale while supplies last. If you are
a veteran or active military you get a 5% discount! Thanks
for your service to our country.
Comer C50
Instructional Video Set $95 - Save $85
Come C50
Stealth $1776 - Save $200
2009
Tornado F5 Kid Kart $2776 - Save $100
2009 Cadet
F1 - $2276 - Save $200
Comer C50
New Head $175
The Favorites For The Nationals
Let's Flip A Coin Ten Times
So many factors go into winning a big race, driver practice,
driver disposition, driver weight, crew chief knowledge,
level of equipment, prep of equipment, number of spares,
testing and research, innovation, experience and luck. While
we are not picking a winner or expressing a favorite we are
going to look at the strengths and challenges of each
driver. When you are done you'll come to the same conclusion
that this year it's anyone's game. You could see the
greatest race ever or you could see the greatest upset.
We can't know all the drivers that will show up but we can
talk about those we know well and those that plan to be
there. First and foremost you have returning winners Owen
Leatherberry and Mason Mitchell, they've been there and done
it before, one in unrestricted and one in restricted. Both
teams have multiple top engines and parents that know how to
tune, as factory drivers both crew chiefs have been with us
at multiple races in multiple states plus hundreds of races
with our other factory drivers. The edge goes to Owen
because he ran unrestricted and won already, owns the track
record and he owns two of the seven sisters engines that
have both been redone recently. They are prepped and almost
ready to go but the luck factor has often not been on their
side. It was last year and the title is theirs forever for
2008. The Mitchells have been building a new house and that
has to be one of the biggest distractions in the world but
they have been racing for so many years they can be ready in
minutes. Mason's got a gift behind the wheel and many are
calling him the favorite if the stars align. Both teams have
been rumored to be selling off equipment as they get ready
to move up so they may be running with few spares...
Amongst other podium finishers from last year is Jaydon
Biles. Jon Biles has a dyno, extensive machine tool
experience and dedication to research. They have been almost
untouchable this season and joining the factory team has
probably raised their game at least one notch. There is
probably not a team more focused on winning. They have
multiple engines but they have raced primarily old styles
and that's not what we'll be racing at KKN. Some competitors
are hoping that the Biles won't have it in the new style
department. You only need to look at the times from last
year to see that they weren't far off the mark and were
probably too tight on chassis set up. Jaydon has shown
multiple times he can race from the back to the front and
dice it up with the best. Like Leatherberry he's a big boy
and will give up weight to younger smaller drivers. He's
also running and older version of our Tornado so the newer
chassis present will have a slight edge.
Nicholas Cory has been labeled the dark horse by a couple
competitors. I think he'll probably race restricted but he's
shown he is definitely good enough to run up front with the
big boys. He just took delivery of a new chassis and will
have it tuned in soon. He's got several excellent engines
including one that a competitor thinks is unbeatable. Will
he run unrestricted or restricted, we'll have to see, but
the consensus from multiple racers in the know is this team
is the real deal and the one to watch for this year and next
year.
Grant Griesbach has been running his new styles successfully
up front. He took the pole at the last race. He hasn't
been investing time in old style engines and has two of the
best engines available to race with. One is on the blink but
hopefully we'll have it ready in time for the big race.
Grant has been spending time behind Owen Leatherberry and
watching his moves. People say that Grant likes to work
together with Owen on the track, these two could draft their
way to the front and counter the Iowa push. If Grant
decides to step out of the draft of his successful Wisconsin
native team mate he could be at the front to take the
checkered to keep the trophy for the cheese head crowd up
North.
Kansas City favorite Jacob Winslow has been wowing crowds
with his persistence and driving ability. His record locally
is unmatched and he's proven he can lead the race amongst
the favorite teams. He's a bit behind in the engine
department but working hard right now. His crew chief has a
deep understanding of tuning to the conditions. If he gets
the right combination of engine, tuning and prep watch out.
This driver could stun the crowd and win this race with a
kart that is as fast as it looks.
The Shankleton brothers are full of talent. The crew chief
is one of the calmest and most observant around. He has
consistently given his sons the ability to finish up front.
Grayson finish third in restricted last year in his Tornado.
Egan may have finished 10th in unrestricted at the 2008 KKN
but he ran the third fastest time of the final and was
faster in that lap than Jaydon Biles. If they get a hold of
a great engines this race could be over for everyone that
thought they wouldn't be there at the end. Few drivers
exhibit more talent and this team is definitely a favorite
to put at least one driver and maybe two on the podium.
Ryan Lewis has been down in Texas a bunch lately but has the
goods to place on the podium and could pull off the big one.
He's still young but has raced around the country
extensively and that experience can add up. He's one of the
most aggressive drivers around and he'll attack any track.
If he shows he'll be one to watch during the heat races to
see where he'll be at in the final. This young man races
dirt ovals, asphalt road courses. With all the dirt dusted
on the track from the track on the hill maybe it will be
Ryan's weekend to take the checkered.
The California posse will have trouble making it because of
the Grand Nationals being the same week but we could see
them. My favorite driver is young Tachovsky that leads R7 in
points both Saturday and Sunday's series - he was our
factory driver last season and we trained him well. He's got the
nicest family and is one talented driver. He's got one of
our first 2009 Tornado prototypes built. Barrett also has
one and has been
besting him in a couple races and could be the favorite of
the CA drivers with his performances of late. He's almost
wrapped up the tough LAKC championship. This is a long trip
for anyone from California but much harder if they rip your
engine apart in Reno two days before the race. It can be
done and maybe they'll be there. There is also one very young
talented driver that's only five that is stepping up the
ladder too. It's too hard to know which will make the trip.
There are probably five other super talented drivers on
other equipment we've never met. There will probably be 30
other local champions that will come and test the best.
This is a stock engine class so everyone has a chance to
win. We've been fortunate to win three of the last four
years but it could be our year to smile and congratulate
someone else that has done their homework better than our
guys. Racing is best when multiple camps have a chance and
we welcome competition. We couldn't be happier with the team
of talented drivers that will be racing our equipment this
year or running as our Factory Team drivers. No one
has asked us to be there yet, flights are pricey and I've
got great confidence in the team. Last year we flew in eight
extra engines as spares, tuned for three days and then
visited family. Its an investment of several thousand
dollars but it paid off as our drivers got three of the top
five spots in both classes.
Biles From The Back
Row!
Winslow, Shankelton and Cory Take Top 4 at SKUSA In
Illinois
Leathberry in the lead. Cory and Greisbach side by side.
Biles (far right) starting in the back
Jaydon Biles did not qualify on Saturday so he started in
the back on Sunday at a track he'd never raced before. He
would have to face hometown favorite and KKN Restricted
champion on his home track. and worked his way to third in
the heat race and won the final. Grant Greisbach had the
pole but his carb cracked and ended his day. Owen
Leatherberry had to pull off because the fuel valve got hit
while heading out of the pits. Jacob Winslow
followed Jaydon across the finish line, Shankelton third and
Cory Fourth.
Jacob and Jaydon Celebrate on top. Fifth Place
Trophy - A puppy!
These boys have really been dicing it up this season. It's
been a tough fight with old and new style engines on the
track. Each has to be considered a favorite for the podium
at next month's KKN but they'll each be running different
engines at that race. So much talent all racing each other
each weekend. Jacob Winslow probably takes over the points
lead for the series after this race. Thanks to all the
drivers running Tornados for taking us to victory lane with
you.
Summer National Races Coming Up
The IKF and SLKA have put both venues for
kids to compete for a larger title within the same week
again this year. It will be very hard to make both races
because of the shear logistics of it. Of the two races IKF
is possibly offering the biggest name but in the past it's
been a regular plastic trophy with only a few racers. The Kid Kart Nationals has
been the much better attended race and is solely dedicated
to kid kart racers. Our record has been astonishing in both
races, in the
last three years we have won 75% of the titles and over 45%
of the total podium positions.
The West coast kids always seem to have the
advantage because they run only the new style engines at
races on the big lumbering tracks. They've sorted through
more equipment and finely tuned what they have to work. In
some cases they have tuned more than what is legal and
getting very good at hiding it. Only the best engine builder
could find it in tech. The central and East coast drivers
use the C50 old style and don't get to race the new style as
much but they have the advantage of racing tighter tracks
and are usually better drivers on those tight tracks.
So the Kid Kart Nationals ends up being the
best race all around because it has had very heavy tech for
the last three years, it's track is a combination of a long
straight and many tight corners. This year with the economy
down we would expect fewer racers but not less quality. We
predict this may be the best racing we've seen yet. That's
hard to top with the two classic battles between Trickle,
St. George and Leatherberry last year and Johnson, Lazier
and Lantz the year before.
Over the next few weeks we'll introduce the
drivers and talk about our thoughts about the race. I do
think this years race could well be decided in the tech
shed. Our goal has remained the same, to win with great
drivers and good equipment that is legal. We are not going
to drill out a hole somewhere that no one will probably see
to win a race. We're not going to reshape the head and hope
that someone won't catch it. I told last years winner that my personal
reward comes in moments where the drivers and their family
celebrate. I know that the trophy they are holding is their
trophy, not anyone else's or my trophy. They earned it and
it can't be questioned at least in my mind because I
handled the engine start to finish, it is legal. Everyone
I've know that cheated to win has regretted it in later
years.
In the last two years the race went to two teams that were behind
in prep only weeks before race. Buddy Lazier
had been dealing with someone that bent his king pins to
simulate changes we had made in our newer chassis. Buddy
realized what was happening and called us directly, we overnighted a new chassis to the track, flew out to help and
he won the race starting from 4th. Greg Leatherberry blew a
crank out of his best engine only ten days before the race.
He flew what was left out to us and we rebuilt it. "I had to
decide to stick with it or go to the back up, it came in
during the final and we won with two corners to go", Greg
explained. Greg placed great trust in us to get the engine
back together. We had to put in used bearings and performed
a few other tricks to age it fast enough to have a shot at
winning.
Will this be our year again? I think we have
a 50 percent chance. You can't win them all but we have
wonderful drivers and crew chiefs. There is no one
that is completely prepared this year. No one favorite with
five engines all aged and ready. It will be more interesting
to see whom will take the top step of the podium at KKN.
We don't think the IKF event will be of
interest as the tech has been very weak in the areas that
count and kart count has
continued to drop as the series has lost credibility, we
can't recommend it this year. I sincerely hope that parents
will write to IKF and encourage them to revoke their
oversize jet rule and get back to legal equipment or change
the rules to allow everyone to blueprint the engine legally
for max performance.
No matter what, we'll have fun, excitement,
broken parts and broken dreams, winners and runners up. It's
all in how you look at it. We look at it as fun and part of
a building process for young men and women. We say if you
make it to a national race and you have a kart you are a
winner!
Circle Track News
Cameron Hofbauer powered
around the Indiana track in Tony Stewart's back yard with
one of our Stealth Engines in a 4 year old kart Saturday
night dirt oval action. Cameron was able to lap the entire
field. The race was run with a restrictor. Congratulations
Cameron and thanks for taking us with you to victory lane!
Tornados
Sweep Route 66 Kid Kart Podium Top 3
Jaydon
Biles, Eagan Shankelton and Owen Leatherberry swept the top
three spots in Norway Illinois. Mason Mitchell was up in the
front during the heat racing running the fastest time in the
heat and finishing on the front row for the start of the
final, but did not finish in the final. These drivers are
all capable of winning and it must be exciting racing to
watch. Jaydon continues to finish on top. Thank you for
taking us to victory lane.
Alanmykael
Polley finished third after making a few set up changes that
brought the fastest laps of the weekend for the Polleys.
Keith St. George was helping tune and the Polleys are
learning fast how to make the kart quick. The help payed off
because Alanmykael layed down send fastest time of the
competitors. Watch for the Polley team to
real in the leaders soon.
All smiles Alanmykael
Video Testimonials
We have had several good
notes about our new set of instructional videos for the kid
kart engine and chassis.
"We
really learned a bunch in a short amount time, this helped
us to understand all the things we didn't know and wouldn't
have thought about. You guys have seen a lot and tested many
small things that all add up to a fast engine and kart."
Over the last seven years
we have had over a hundred nice notes from crew chiefs that
invested in our video series. It's several hours of tips,
tricks and things not to do that encompass thousands of
hours at the track.
In talking with someone
that had purchased the videos we learned that he'd been
running too lean. He'd been winning but was looking for a
little bit more. Now that he knows he's been running too
lean and ruined his ring he'll be much faster once he gets
the top end rebuilt.
Look at the
How To Videos Section in the upper
right of this page to see the videos.
Digital
Change Over Sale! Driver's Moving To Cadet Win!!
In celebration of the digital
TV change over we are having our own driver changeover sale.
For the first two buyers we are offering a discount on our
F4 or F5 Cadet chassis. If you currently own a Tornado Kid
Kart and you want to upgrade to the Cadet then drop us a
note and we'll drop $400 off the price of the chassis.
Upgrading to a Cadet during
the middle of the season will allow your driver to test
tracks at a higher speed. When they get back into a kid kart
they'll feel like it is easy to coast around the track wide
open in the race.
Michael Schneider
The Ice Man was frosted on
Wednesday on his first lap on the track for the Road Race
Nationals practice day. He got one lap under his belt when his newly
rebuilt engine let loose. He had a spacer on the bottom end
come apart and ruin his engine. It didn't ruin his hopes. He
had a high spirit that his Father and crew chief would do
something about it. Jeff asked around for help and one of
his main competitors not only loaned him an engine but also
had it rebuilt for him just for this race.
We sent out a new set of
bodywork to try to help the aerodynamics of the kart but the
engine work took priority. Saturday Jeff and Michael will do
their best to go after the Tornado teams first Duffy. While
they were a favorite they now are a long shot to win but one
thing is for certain the Ice Man will take the wheel with a
cold hard determination to pilot his kart to the front. He
is now the leader in points of the South West Regional Race
in MiniMaxs as well as the SWRA. Michael is currently ranked
third in the nation by Rotax.
Race Update
Michael got a bit banged up in the race as you can see from
the picture above. His new engine just wasn't set up for
road racing and the favorite to win had to fight hard to
make the podium. He made it to fifth and former Factory
Driver Cole Glasson took home his first Duffy.
Congratulations to the Glassons on the win.
Biles Wins
SKUSA CSC
Tornado
Drivers Sweep
Jaydon
Biles was able to work his way to the front for the win and
the trophy but he didn't buy the tires so he doesn't get the
points. Tornado drivers took the top five positions at the
Springfield Illinois race. Jaydon Biles won and loaned an
engine to the very fast Shankleton's that finished second.
Grant Griesbach finished third and Owen Leatherberry was
still breaking in his engine and got fourth with Winslow
Fifth. There is a talented group of drivers and tuners in
the Midwest and any one of them can win on any given
weekend. Thanks for taking us to victory lane with you!
Preparations for the Kid Kart Nationals continues and it
should be the best shootout in years as both former national
champions will try to repeat alongside favorites like Jaydon
Biles and the Shankletons.
Length Matters
Secrets of our 2010 Karts
Leak Out
After secret spy photos of
your new Tornado Kid Kart and Cadet start to show up on
Italian websites (www.americankartenvy.com) we thought we'd
go ahead and make the announcement of more details of your
next kart. We can confirm that length matters. On some
tracks you want the shortest chassis you can get so it can
make the corners quicker, however on big tracks you might
want a longer sleeker chassis so you have less scrub. For
some clients we have built a custom second chassis that they
used on longer tracks, but now you can have all in one.
Now you can have more
options all in one chassis. The 2010 Cadet and Kid Kart both
have adjustable length and adjustable height. This give you
the ability to change the characteristics of the kart based
on the track you are running at.
Now we become the only Kid
Kart in the world with adjustable length. In keeping with
the tradition of rolling out new capabilities to stay ahead
of the competition we are making more changes to give you
the advantage on the competition.
Next week we'll give you a
sneak peak of the new bodylines of the 2010 Tornado Cadet.
It is sleek and really great looking, best of all it's
faster!
Kings In
The Castle
Tornado
Factory Drivers Sweep Top 5 At New Castle SKUSA CSC Race #2
Five young
men that represented the Tornado Factory Team held court on
the podium after a weekend of hard fought
racing. Jaydon
Biles was the fastest all weekend long and took home the
title at New Castle Indiana this weekend. We loaned an old
style C50 to new factory driver Jacob Winslow and he challenged Biles during the race. Fast on their heels was Wisconsin
Factory driver Grant Griesbach that fattened up and was
closing fast with our new style C51! Owen Leatherberry
fought engine gremlins and came in fourth. Nicholas Cory
spun on the track after avoiding a baby goose and was able
to get back up to make it on the podium. At the end 2nd
through 5th were nose to tail with Biles 5 kart lengths
ahead holding out against the drafting train trying to catch
him. Watch the video by clicking
here.
We ended up
with a sweep in the engine department and tech wisely tore
the heads off of the top five since they were all from the
same builder. Everyone passed as they are all spec engines
with no modifications outside of the rules. We have two more
old style C50 engines if someone wants to purchase one. Congratulations
to all the young men racing for the Tornado Team! Thanks for
taking us to victory lane with you. I've ordered new shirts
for all of you on behalf of your victory.
New Pins & Pills!
The new pills and king pins have arrived. You can see the
difference in the king pin on the left and the old one on
the right. Pill kits include 0, 1 and 2 degree offsets. The
pills have a set screw so they are less likely to move once
you align your kart. The fit between the pill and pin is
perfect so the spindle fit and movement is greatly improved.
This has been the single biggest area that we see wear out
and get missed by teams. You can order a set of these if you
are a factory team now. The kit will be available to the
public in a couple months.
Tornado
Round Up
Cory,
Leatherberry & Griesbach, Winslow Sweep Kid Kart Class in St. Louis
Regional Race
Cory Wins, Leatherberry Returning Champion 2nd, Grant 3rd
With storms
on the horizon drivers from seven states made it to St.
Louis to race at the big NASCAR track on the infield for the
Central States Super Series. The rain held off but the
trophies fell into the hands of our drivers. Tornado
Factory Team drivers took 1st, 2nd and 3rd at the Central
States Super Series opener in the Kid Kart Class at the St.
Louis Speedway with Tornado Driver Jacob Winslow coming in
4th. Nicholas Cory was fast all weekend and won
it with Owen Leatherberry 10 karts back and Grant Greisbach
another few karts back. Leatherberry and Greisbach were
fighting gremlins all weekend but got them isolated enough
to podium. It ended up being a race between two of the seven
sisters engines, the one that won the Kid Kart Nationals and
the new one that Cory picked up last season.
Jacob Winslow - New Tornado Factory Driver Finished 4th
Alanmykael
Polley was racing for the Tornado Factory Team in the Tag 60
cadet class and was completing a pass for second in the heat race
when he was clipped in the rear and it took both drivers
out. He started in the back and put down some of the fastest
times of the race as he came from 16th to 8th. But with rain
approaching officials shortened the race and there wasn't
enough time to make it back to challenge for the win. "Had
we not got knocked off the track I'm sure we would have had
a chance for the win", lamented Michael Polley. We had been
bracketing gearing and jetting all weekend and were very
close to the setup we needed. We dropped 7 seconds
from start to finish.
The Polleys
learned a bunch during the weekend and that's what we hope
for each time we race or practice. Keep an eye on these two
young drivers Cory and Polley as they develop this season.
P.S. A
number of our Kid Kart Factory Drivers were not in
attendance. A Mother's day race is controversial as it is a
traditional day off racing. Biles and Mitchells were at home
celebrating Mother's day, putting in a central vacuum
system, chassis testing and Lewis was attending business in
Texas. I've maintained that a top 5 sweep of a class would
allow me to retire. For those that I help, they may be
lucky, for others it's a missed opportunity to remove a
championship tuner and coach.... One other side note, rumor
has it that Cory was being helped by Keith St. George in Las
Vegas.. Could that last corner pass for the KK Nationals by
Owen be costing him? The bees are buzzing. Hmmmmm.
2010 Kid
Kart Preview
Update: We worked most of the last two days with engineers
and the CNC shop to create much better components for the
front end of our karts. If you have noticed the grey grit in
the oil on the spindles then you know that the way today's
karts are designed is not as good as it could be. Anytime
you see grey metal shavings you are leaving speed on the
pavement. We have such little
horsepower that we need those bearings and wheels to roll
free. Lateral loading in the corners can really slow us down
with the former design.
Another item that we addressed is the loose fit of many of
our current components. By upgrading the quality of the
parts and the fit we were able to fix tolerances by more
than 50%. This means that when your driver goes into a turn
the kart will be much more precise. In a sport of thousands
of an inch and thousands of a second being of by 8/1000th
here and 9/1000 there adds up to be a fair amount of play
when it really doesn't need to be that way. Yes the
components are a bit more but when you add it all up it's
probably not more than $100 to upgrade all the components.
We feel that when a driver makes the split second decision
to move the kart should respond right away and this is the
method to do that.
One other thing we fixed is our current pills can rotate
with vibration. When this happens it changes the toe. We've
fixed that with the new pills and you'll see them soon
enough. They go into production Friday and we should have
them by Wednesday next week.
Soon racers will have the ability to free up that front end
and experience a new way to run the wheels freely. A new
king pin and set of caster/camber adjusters was also
approved and sent to the CNC machine. This design process is
a big investment but the upgrade is not much considering how
much we spend in a weekend to get to the track. So the 2010
Kid Kart and Cadet will feature these new upgrades. We are
excited about how much this will increase our advantage on
the imports from Europe.
Each summer
we release a new model kart. This year we'll have a set of
changes that are aimed at making it easier to get spare
parts in the field. We're going to soften the kart a little
more and allow for more adjustability up front. With new
caster/camber pills made of stainless steel in varying
degrees of offset you'll be able to dial in your favorite
track even better. With a 30 mm axle you'll be able to get
more options for replacement parts in the field should you
run out of spares. With a softer middle section the kart
will be more user friendly. A new seat strut option will
give you additional speed at a few tracks you visit.
The goal of
the design additions are to improve the driving experience,
make the kart faster in the corners and help standardize
parts to the more available metric sizes. In 2007 Buddy
Lazier Fedexed a new kart to the track and Flinn won the
Nationals with it, Braden Johnson drove a new design to the
IKF R7 title that year. This year our original 2009 Tornado
Prototypes lead R7 with 5 of 6 wins.
As with
years past three Karts will be made available for purchase
prior to the summer national races. You can order a 2010 F5
storm now or wait until July 10, when they become available
to the general public in quantity in each level.
Route 66 A Success For Tornado Drivers
The long awaited open to the Route 66 Regional series has
finally arrived. Drivers have waited through months of snow,
windy days and torrential spring rains for this weekend.
Tornado Drivers from the Midwest ascended on Springfield
Illinois. Qualifying took place Saturday and the race was
Sunday.
Alanmykael Polley ran second all day to last years winner
and former Tornado Factory Driver Kaleb Allison in the Tag
60 class. Kaleb had been offered a sweet deal to move teams.
Alanmykael was fast and clearly earned second. It was a
great job since he'd never raced at this track before. In the Kid
Kart class it was pretty similar to last years Kid Kart
Nationals finish. With Fourth place Jaydon Biles a Tornado
Factory Driver holding down first all weekend. Jon Biles
said, " I've never seen him drive this good before". Teresa
Biles felt it might be the racing video games he used to
stay fresh over the winter. Jon chose an old style engine
for this race and it was the ticket to the front row for Jaydon and Egan
Shankleton, also on a Tornado and old style engine. They
were one and two only a second apart at the checkered.
Jaydon Biles Looking Cool and Confident In The #95 Tornado
Mason Mitchell move up the pack into third place for the
Tornado Factory Team and Nicholas Cory took 6th after a
great run from 10th to almost podium. Mason was last years Kid
Kart National Champion in the restricted class and a driver
that can put it on the front row in this series. That gave
four
of the top six spots to Tornado Team drivers or Tornado
Chassis drivers. Thanks for taking us to victory lane Jaydon
and thanks for filling up the podium Mason, Eagan and
Nicholas. Ryan Lewis ran up near the front but got knocked
off the track and had to take a DNF for this one, but he'll
be back and challenging for the lead soon at the next race.
The next race will be in Norway, Il at the Concept Haulers
Speedway. Drivers wishing to compete will need to pull out
the old style engine to run up front in this series. We have
one left if someone needs one. Or if you have one we can
make it quicker if you'll send it out for a rebuild. It's
tough to run old style vs. new style unless they let the new
style's tap off so they can heat up. Out West here they
haven't let old style C50's race for three years now.
Congratulations to all our drivers on a great weekend of
racing.
TNT In The Rain In Cadet
Here's the
video
to watch and see for yourself how good Alanmykael Polley
drives. He's very confident as you'll see and he shows that
the Tornado Cadet loves the rain. Drivers report a feeling
of confidence in the grip and predictability. When you have
drivers this good it all comes together for a nice run up
front unchallenged.
Thanks Alanmykael and team
for taking us to Victory Lane with you! We are all smiles
out here in sunny California. ;)
Want To Go Road Racing?
Here is a
video of Michael Schneider's helmet cam. Be careful the
first part is very scary. Close your eyes and wait until you
hear the engine!
St George Wins First Tornado Cadet Outing in
Vegas
Chloe put together Michael Schneider's older Tornado Cadet
and outran a Minimax with her much less powerful Micromax as
well as a Jr 1 to win her class and final with all MicroMax
and Jr1 Comer 80 drivers at the local LVMS club race. Fellow
Tornado driver Tanner McKee also won again in the Kid Kart
class.
Tornado Factory Drivers Lewis Down And Dirty
Winning In Texas Mud Too!
Here are a couple shots from Ryan Lewis' recent win at a
dirt race down south in Texas - What's next Ice racing? Congratulations Ryan. Our
hopes and prayers go out to his tuner Steve who is facing
some difficult choices with surgery coming up. The team will
do all they can to help keep Ryan on the track. Thanks for
sending us the pictures. Ryan is currently second in points
in IKF R7 Sunday series, as an out of state driver. That's
doing very good against the local drivers.
2009 Tornado Factory
Drivers Announcements Continue
Shocking
New Accessories To Adult Tornado Lightning Chassis
Check the
Lightning chassis section out for more details on how to
stay cool at the nationals this summer.
Tornado Kid Kart Drivers
Rule Again at IKF
1st, 2nd
and 4th Sat: 1st, 3rd and 5th Sunday
The 2009 Tornado chassis
proves itself again as the drivers with them were up front
and owned the majority of the podium including the top spot
each day. Jerett Tachovsky won on Sunday setting fast time
for the weekend with a 108.4 with a 16 second lead over 2nd, and Ryan Lewis got
third. That time was over 2 seconds slower than when the
track is run the opposite direction, but if you're going to
claim a track record it would go to Jerett Tachovsky.
Fastest time run the other way we've seen was 1:05.9 at the
Grand Nationals two years ago by our RJ Lantz.
Ryan has done very well
considering he's got to fly in from Texas, get a kart and
engine set up for a track he's never seen before. It's a
tough task against the local and regional drivers that get
to practice. After the race we found what was slowing Ryan's
kart and hopefully Keith St. George will get it ironed out
before the next race. Keith's agreed to help out since the
kart stays in Vegas.
Ryan is in striking
distance of the championship with a second and third in the
first two races. We are happy to announce Ryan as a member
of the Tornado Factory Team for 2009. Remember Ryan, that
two years ago Braden Johnson won the series for the Tornado
Team without every winning a race, sometimes its the
consistent driver that wins the championship by following
the rules and showing up to compete. It is a long season and
anything can happen. Congratulations to all the Tornado
drivers that finished in the top 5 this weekend.
Sunday's Winner Jerett Tachovsky - One Cool Racer!
Factory Driver Announcements Continued
More Texas Power! Ryan
Lewis
The first time I watched
this young man he was letting it all hang out on a track
he'd never been too. Come to find out later he was also not
feeling well that day after all the flying, heat of the day
and the food. He just wanted to keep going and he wanted to
win. Ryan never claimed to be a superstar just someone that
likes to race. He was up against some of the best in
California and almost everyone that comes out West gets a
surprise at how fast the locals are. He was not happy about
the results. We like drivers and teams that don't give up
and want to win. We also like teams that want to stick with
the rules and run clean. That's Ryan and Steve Lewis of
Lufkin Texas.
It takes time to learn
everything, find good equipment and to get laps under your
belt. Ryan has many of those things handled now and he's
learning fast. He's got a second and third in the IKF
regional racing so far and has been on the podium each race,
including the first ever rain race he was in. He's raced in
Daytona, the Texas outlaw series and now IKF. He watches the
Speed channel regularly, wants to jump into bigger cars as
fast as he can and wants to go fast. We want to help him get
that done. Hopefully soon he'll be in the winner's circle at
one of the big regional races and he's in the running for
the IKF championship as an outside driver from another
state. This is a feat only pulled off once before in this
class two years ago when Braden Johnson did it for the
Tornado Factory Team. We are proud to announce the #65 of
Ryan Lewis as a Tornado Factory Driver for 2009.
Ryan is sponsored by :
|
Exploreco International
Webcom Resources
Sandoz Insurance Services
Dr Daniel Fuentes D.O.
|
Michael Schneider
Michael Schneider "The Ice
Man" has been part our history for some time. He ran one of
our Kid Karts into a KART national title a few years back
with Coldstone Creamery sponsorship. Then he went into
Cadet's. He came back to us and picked up a Tornado Cadet
and moved up to the front again winning the KART Regional
Title in Gazelles.
He just finished the
2009 Winter Outlaw series in second place with two wins, a
second and broken engine last. Had the engine not cracked
with freezing temperatures The Ice Man would have brought us
the first title of 2009.
Michael in 2005 with his first Tornado Chassis
Michael is a valued test
driver and his crew chief Jeff is one of the most tenacious
engineers around. He's got the newest version of the 2009
Cadet with some changes specifically requested by Jeff
Schneider. Those changes will become standard in the 2010
model. In the powerful Minimax class the Chromoly Tornado
has proven to be the option for drivers that want
performance and longevity. The attention to aerodynamics
also has paid off as Michael has met with success in the
road racing arena as well. He dropped 4 seconds a lap from
last season and was 5 seconds quicker than any other Minimax.
Watch him at work by clicking below. Wow, is that fast!
Check
Out Mike Road Racing
Thank you Michael and Jeff
for taking us to victory lane with you so many times and for
pushing us to be better every week.
Chloe St. George - Las Vegas Nevada
 Chloe
is driving up to San Jose to pick up her IKF R11
Championship award. It is her day to be recognized as a
returning driver moving up to Cadets. She has already
adapted many of the skills required to drive a Cadet
successfully.
She won most of the R11 races, a R7 race and
a R4 race. She lead most of the Kid Kart Nationals, took the
pole in time qualifying for the race and also got 3rd at the
IKF Grand Nationals. She had more regional and
national podiums than any other Kid Kart driver and deserves
to be recognized as the top female kart racer in her age
group and possibly the top Kid Kart racer of 2008. We have
high hopes for her as she moves into the MicroMax class and
possibly a couple more.
She had her trusty crew chief at her side.
She regularly had to bail him out of the hospital to make
the race. Hopefully Keith (Dad) will get his chassis fixed
and so he can focus on our Cadet. The two make a dynamic duo
that are hard to match. Soon little sister Heather will join
the team and start practicing. Congratulations Chloe on
making the team again and thank you for taking us to victory
lane so many times in 2008!
Hannah Williams - Texas
Hannah is on the far right, we'll need to grow into that
shirt!
Hannah is returning for a
second year as a Cadet Tornado Team Factory Driver. She won
two Southwest Regional Series races last year and lead the
series in points for a while. A kart that lost control ahead
of her and almost destroyed her chassis and engine set her
season on end or she could have challenged for the title in
her first of three years of eligibility.
Hannah's Father Chris has
raced before and is a great tuner and coach for Hannah.
"Hannah enjoyed being part of the team last season and wants
to continue again this season" said Chris and we are more
than happy to continue to support any female driver as
talented and hard working as this young lady.
"With the new axle changes
we made the kart is really working nicely. Once we fix the
issues with the engine after the crank was bent in that bad
wreck last year we should be back up front".
Mason
Mitchell - Missouri
The little
man with the big smile is how I always remembered Mason but
last year he grew up. He came to some R7 races with his
older brother and kept working hard to catch up. At the Kid
Kart Nationals it was his day to step out from his big
brother's shadow to take down the Kid Kart Nationals
Championship in the Restricted Class. He took turns dicing
it up with our other Factory driver Dalton Adkins but a
clogged carb and great driving from Mason gave the win to
Team Mitchell.
Mason has
raced from coast to coast already and was one of the two
fastest kid karts in Daytona this winter. He'll come back to
challenge for the Unrestricted title this year and try to be
the first driver to win KKN's twice. He'll have plenty
of competition but one thing is for certain, he'll have a
smile on his face at many points during the weekend.
The
Mitchell's are great sportsmen always willing to help. They
focus on sticking to the rules and hunting for new areas to
gain speed. They are great ambassadors for our team and we
are happy to have Mason join us for another year.
Owen
Leatherberry -Wisconsin
Several
Tornado Team Factory Drivers have sent back their paperwork
and we are ready to start naming the teams. The teams are
not all rich, they are not all engineers, they are not all
professional race families. They do have a couple things in
common, first of all they are good sportsmen, second they
are hard workers willing to put in the time to win, third
they have patient personalities. We realize we can't win
every race against the established Italian syndicate of
dealers and manufacturers, but we can compete and have fun.
It is with
great pride that I announce the first of our 2009 Tornado
Factory Team Drivers. This team gave me one of the best
moments of our career in racing last summer. They came from
behind in the final lap in the final two corners to win
their biggest race of the year. After tech declared them
clean I watched as the family hugged and cried together
realizing they had achieved to top level in their sport.
What heightened the experience that only 14 days before the
race the flywheel blew in the best engine destroying the
bottom end. We were able to save the engine and prep it for
the race. Owen Leatherberry ran down Chris Trickle and
Chloe St. George to win the Kid Kart Nationals.
We are
happy that they have decided to continue with the Factory
Team and they are a shining example of what we look for when
selecting teams. Here is a recent letter from Greg printed
here with his permission.
"We would once again enjoy running
as a Tornado Factory Team Driver
this season. It is hard to believe that this will be
our last
year in Kid Karts, we have really enjoyed the
partnership the past
2 years. It has always and will always be my intention
for us to
have fun in whatever we are doing. I don't care to see
others
struggle with motor or setup issues at the local level
and have
stepped up to help those around us. Many of those same
people are
or were in the Tornado Family ...
The 2008 season was very good for us running the SKUSA
Central
States Challenge Series as well as many local club
races around
the Mid-West. The Kid Kart Nationals was icing on the
cake for the
great run we had. The 2009 season will have us running
the SKUSA
series and many local club races again in the Midwest.
The WKA
Grand Nationals is again being held in Wisconsin at one
of our
favorite tracks (Road America) but unless WKA plans to
run it as a
competition class I don't see us running it.
Thank you for bringing an unknown racer from Wisconsin
to the
Tornado Team, it has been one wild ride. The memories
will last a
lifetime."
Congratulations
Owen on Winning the Kid Kart Nationals, thank you
Leatherberry family for being so understanding of our
schedule and for being such a great representation of our
Tornado Chassis and Tornado Engines products.
Watch
(click
here) as Owen and Chris Trickle battle on the final
stretch for the heat race win that gives Owen the pole at
the 2008 Kid Kart National, this young man is a scrapper!
Kid Kart Nationals In HD?
Yes!
Click Here To See Chloe win the heat race. The file was
700 mb and takes a couple hours to load but youtube is
allowing much bigger files now. When watching make sure to
click on the HD in the bottom right.
Tornado Factory Team Suits
Stitched
If you want to have your race
suit stitched up with the Tornado Team Logos you can send
them to
Ink Monkey In Davis, Ca. While you can just send them to
us our travel schedule could add a week or so to the
timeline.
http://www.inkmonkeygraphics.com Explain that you are a
Tornado Factory Driver and they'll get you set up. Depending
on how many logos you select it can be between $40 and $140
for the embroidery. They can also produce patches for you
and send them to you to sew on the suit if you want.
2008 Kid
Kart National Video
We found a
way to get the whole Kid Kart National Video to show on the
web at once.
Click here to watch it.
Cadet
Driver Tribute Video Up
Click
Here!
Tornado's
Destroy Italian Competition in IKF R7 Rain Races At Calspeed
Tornado's
Take 4 of 5 Top Spots Both Days!
Saturday
All last
year we trained and worked with young Jerett Tachovsky and
his crew as part of our Tornado Factory Driver Team. He's
picture below talking with Chris Trickle another former
Tornado Factory Driver.
These two
are a couple of the most talented drivers we've seen and
Jerett proved it Saturday in his opening performance in R7.
Chris Trickle holds the only two Screaming Eagles ever
awarded to Kid Karts last year when he took two poles on the
Tornado Kid Kart at the Grand Nationals. The Tornado chassis
won last season's opening race at Calspeed with Cruz Fiore
at the helm and the same design won again on the super slick
track at Fontana California with Jerett driving. Ryan Lewis
of Texas had to start last after a coil failed in the heat,
but the racer from Lone star state wouldn't give up and made
it to the podium. Ryan made it from last to fourth, a great
run for anyone in R7! Tornado Karts took four of the top
five positions Saturday. Hayden Wagoner took 5th place both
days in his Used Tornado (thanks you Charles for the nice
note).
Pictures complements of Rob Tachovsky
Sunday
Ryan Lewis
#65 improved in day two as this was his first ever rain race
experience and first time to Calspeed. A lose muffler in the
qualifying sent Tachovsky and Lewis to the back. Lewis threw
a chain and Tachovsky lost an air filter in the heat race.
In the final the two started dead last. By the end of the
first lap Ryan had made it to the front and lead all laps
until lap 6 when he got loose in the rain. Tachovsky took
the opportunity to get in front and held the lead to the
checkered flag. The two finished 1st and second on the 2009
Tornado Chassis. The number 88 running a 2009 Tornado as
well got third, Anthony Sawyer got fourth and fifth
was a Tornado as well. Leading to an all American Chassis
sweep in the final. Both days Tornado karts took four of the
top five spots. Thanks for taking us to victory lane!
Tanner
McKee Wins Las Vegas Opener Cowen Second As Tornados Roll
Through
Tornado's
took first and second in the desert of Las Vegas this
Sunday. Tanner is the younger brother of the first ever Kid
Kart IKF Grand National Champion. Tanner's more into girls
than practice but he's got the some great racing genes, a
top notch crew chief and tire cleaner and the race was on.
Rumor has it that Katie Fiore, his secret cheerleader was
wearing a pink shirt with his number on it in the stands and
blowing him kisses. Tanner would come around the track and
give her a thumbs up sign as he fended of a hard charging
Sport Cowen that was running Chloe St. Georges Tornado.
Congratulations to both drivers and thanks for taking us to
victory lane with you.
If ever in Vegas stay at the Terrible Herbst Hotel, they
sponsor Tanner and we should pay them back as often as we
can!
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Thermodynamics, Metallurgy,
Chemistry and then application of a testing process on the
dynamometer.
