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                                                                          DYNO Room
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(415)341-0456 Call for more information or email us at Tornadodriver @gmail.com  Shipping P.O. Box 720041, San Francisco, CA 94172
 

TornadoDriver.com is the home of kart racing teams focused on moving to the front with American Made Innovation.. While the site is new, the karts and our history is not. We have been producing the Tornado chassis for eight years and our racing experience dates back to 1980 in the off road racing business.

Tornado - that strong undeniable force when the jet stream dips down to the earth. Our goal for our racing chassis and Engine process is to strive to be a strong undeniable force in racing. We accomplished this with our Kid Kart Tornado in 2007 winning all major races and series. In 2008 The Cadet won several SWRC regional races two Gatorz spec Rotax International races and was at the top of the podium at the TAG USA World championships and won the Midwest Tag Shootout! We also produce an Adult sized Lightning Chassis and a Rookie Chassis. In 2009 we introduced our first chassis with multiple steel types and again we won more races. In 2010 we gave more adjust ability than any other manufacturer. In 2011 models we added safety and more performance enhancements that left us with 3 of the top five at the nationals.

The engine design and development business is moving beyond the karting engines we started with ten years ago.   Our long term goal is to unite many different engine building disciplines under one roof and one company. This allows us to bring additional engineering principles to research and design. We have a goal to have  six dynamometers running in separate climate controlled rooms running engines from tiny RC power plants turning 40,000 rpm’s to full size fuel injected V8’s.

Why would we do this, because we love engineering and we love racing of all types. Because the racing world is often ruled by machinist and hobbyist turned engine builders. While talented machinist are pared with inspired engineers you have a formidable force.

We charge more than most, but we reinvest in new tools and technology. Our engineers approach building and testing as a scientific process. We continue to test and break things because racing is living on the edge of destruction of an engine. That’s what Tornado Engineers do best, find the edge of destruction and give that edge to our drivers. It’s not cheap, it’s not easy but it is what we believe is required to win. Our week includes the study of Tribology, Thermodynamics, Metallurgy, Chemistry and then application of a testing process on the dynamometer.

 

To compete with those that have been in the industry for twenty years we have to utilize engineering advancements to move beyond the conventional wisdom. There are many great people in our sport and it is our honor to race with them and against their products. We are proud that our products and facilities are in the US.  We enjoy working with top teams that like to test and hunt for speed. If we can help you please give us a call 415.860.2986 or drop us a note at tornadodriver @gmail.com

Engine Building

Tornado Engines

We love building power. Our expertise is different than most other engine shops. We look at the business of racing from an engineers point of view. 90% of the top engine builder names in karting are not engineers but talented hobbyist and machinist. We've got a $15,000 Land And Sea Dyno that was built special for 2 cycle kart engine development. It captures thousands of data points a second with HP readings out to .001  It's got a computer controlled console and a constant weather input system that changes horsepower and torque settings as the weather changes inside and outside our shop. You can almost actually see inside the engine when running this dyno and we love to watch changes in the engine show themselves to us on the computer screen.

We started building race engines in 1975 for offroad racers. The two cycle engines became our focus when running for a national title about ten years ago. The combination of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering education along with good basic knowledge of machining have lead us to develop power where others were not looking. For years others that have been in the business much longer have scratched their heads and said, how did they do that. They come over and look at the kart to see if it is something new that is visible from the outside. They stand near the tech area to get a glimpse of what was teched.

When we ask, does you engine have legs in our ads we are wondering if you engine has all the little details right to give it that extra edge at the end of the race when it is just you and the other guy or girl. Our goal isn't to be the Walmart of engine building and pump out a ton of engines with our name on the side and keep a few good ones for our best clients. Our goal is to find the best pieces, make them faster and then ask ourselves again what other things can we do to reduce friction, match fuel to air ratios, reduce heat or add heat... The approach isn't the least investment but it is the way our engine department is run. Look to the far right column and you'll see a long list of wins. Many of the wins came in classes where we had just started building that class of engine.

New Engines Updates:

Names on Engines

Why do you see our engines with rock band names on them? Because we used to name engines for the song playing on the dyno when we saw them start to show potential. (A dynamometer is a $10,000 investment that most engine builders don't have, they have a basic device that kind of looks like a dyno, but really lacks the software and calibration to be accurate.) Then we named them based on head type and song of that band. So it was easy to keep track of what type of performance we would see at the track.

We have rarely ever stickered our engines with our own company name. Does a sticker make the engine go faster, no. Does a sticker help our clients win, absolutely not. If you had a magic spark plug that was giving you a one second lead would you put stickers all over your kart telling people about them and how to find them? Not if you really wanted to win or you needed the sponsor money. We don't give discounts for sponsorship so we don't ask people to run our stickers for our benefit.

We invest more than anyone in research and development so we don't ask or require anyone to run our brand name on our engines. We've even told some competitors to stick some other engine builders sticker on our engine, to send them down the wrong path for a few races...

Should I Buy New or Used

I get a lot of e-mails asking about the history of this engine or that engine. We don't verify whom is running our engines so we rarely help unless it's listed on our site in the used section. Most of the questions are from parents asking about C50 engines. It is of course buyer beware. If it's not listed on our site and I haven't checked it over you could be getting a fake, a worn out engine, an engine that was ours but was maintained or rebuilt by someone else. I have had a couple clients last year and this year that purchased used engines that really had a bad experience.

The first one was purchased from the local hot shoe. It wasn't our engine and never was. It was sent to me to make faster. The crank wasn't even a comer c50 crank, piston was bad and the carb was illegal. The invoice to fix all those things was huge. Add the invoice to original purchase and you could have had our top engine. Luckily the head was legal and fast.

Someone purchased two of our former engines from a driver moving up. They were so badly beaten that both cranks were shot from heat and being hit. The head on the one was egg shaped and couldn't hold ring seal, the other was so worn out that it couldn't handle a hone to seat a new ring. We are only talking about a aluminum casting and very thin nick plating. The heads can't last forever so be very careful when purchasing a used engine with a great track record. Ask to have the head scoped by someone qualified to see if it is straight. Check the crank too if you can. Sometimes a purchase of an engine with a history can be a great deal, most of the time it ends up being a nightmare that costs more than you had hoped for. An example of this would be the engine that Braden Johnson ran for years.

While Braden originally ran the head on the old style he raced, Alabama became a new style and won him the R7 title in IKF. On it's last run for me it ran second at the 2007 KKN and won the 2008 restricted class. It grabbed the hone on it's final visit to our shop, telling me it was warping too bad to fix and hold ring seal. I would not pay more than $700 for the base of the engine because the head is gone. The current owner asked if I wanted to sell it and I said no. It is most likely gone. It served us well.

 

EasyKart Win

Recently a client came to us to rebuild his Easykart Tag 60 engine. It's basically the same as the Gazelle but with 62cc's and the Easykart label stuck on it. There are a few extra restrictions placed on the class and builders but now it's not sealed engine. After the race they took about our client's engine completely and wanted to inspect it overnight. It was legal and they must have worked hard to figure out what was different. So much of what happens in racing inside the engine is hard to see, the smallest of changes can make the difference. Knowledge and testing is what pays dividends in these spec classes. If you have an Easykart engine and would like to run up front give us a call.

 

New Chassis Updates:

 

IceMan Locks It Up

Michael Schneider Wraps Up IKF R4B Title

story from Jeff Schneider

Video of the win!

In the final race of the year at Oak Hill Speedway, Michael Schneider and his Tornado Cadet secured the Road Race Championship in IKF Region 4B!
 
Saturday the weather could not have been better and the Tornado was running strong.  In the main, Michael turned up the heat and turned in fast lap times of the day running over 70mph and securing the Saturday points series championship. 
 
Sunday was another story.  Rain was the order of the day.  That's the perfect forecast for a kid from Dallas running a Tornado!  With the track soaked and rain coming down hard, Mike took the green flag and ran away putting on a clinic on wet weather driving going wire to wire ending up with a lead large enough for him to stop at Burger King to argue with Tony Stewart as to the proper way to make a Whopper, before crossing the finish line.  This was a tough reminder of what could have been at the IKF Road Race Nationals had we not lost an engine. 
 
The Tornado ran flawlessly after taking some serious punishment at the Rotax Grand Nationals 2 weeks prior when another kart went airborne, landing on Mike and the Tornado Cadet crushing the left pod and nerf bars, breaking the seat strut, cracking the seat, puncturing the left rear rim, flattening the tire, and bending the axle.  Then in the finals Mike slammed into a kart that went sideways in front of him bending the tie rod, hiems, and spindle.   The chassis remained true and with repairs made ran as strong as ever.  A testament to the toughness of the Tornado

 

 

Moly or Mild

Yesterday a new customer called and wanted to learn about our Tornado chassis. He wasn't the average customer, he was from a large racing family that also built and tuned chassis for some very big names in the industry. He was doing his due diligence for his most important customer ever, his son.

 When I tried to explain the difference between chromoly steel that we use and mild steel that is used in big name European karts, he stopped me and said we know the difference.

We are required by the rules of our sport to run mild steel for the cost savings. Mild is heavier, has less snap and is much cheaper, he said. Every once in a while a new racer comes into our racing and dominates the others until the officials take apart their race car chassis and test the metal to find a lightweight Chromoly tubing and disqualify them. Then they are not as fast anymore. If given a choice we would always use Chromoly tubing and I understand why you choose it if the rules allow it.

In parts of the country engine builders, officials and others do their best to slant results in favor of the karts that they import from Italy. In one state the people running the series were also the ones supplying karts through their kart shop. A client had his engine built their. He was very fast until he didn't purchase the newest kart from the shop. Then after a rebuild he got slower. He caught the change in power and switched engine builders. Once he had someone review the engine he saw that it had been detuned in an effort to control who wins with the new chassis they wanted to sell.

In another part of the country a dealer has given away many many engines, so many that officials actually believe that things that are not legal probably are that way from the factory. In an effort to get drivers off of the Tornado chassis and onto something else the kart shop has worked to supply engines that are better to the ones willing to break the rules. They have taken DQ's but it doesn't matter if they can fool enough people. It is just amazing how far some shops and individuals will go, especially after they take a DQ and get embarrassed. But this process repeats itself about every other year.

So next season there will be one or two, or more that wake up with a chassis that won't work because they don't have a souped up engine strapped to it. The mild tubing will have sagged and they won't be able to get the kart to snap out of the corners. They'll see other chromoly karts with a history of winning continue to consistently win with their new adjustability and flexibility, the Tornado. The only kid kart on the market with up and down axle adjustability and length adjustment. The only kart to win an IKF Grand National twice, screaming Eagle, KKN, all three regional IKF titles, all the State championships that run the class. Only one kart in history has done it, we are proud that our hard work and our chromoly tubing combined with our hard working teams have made us the safe choice to win a championship.

The games will go on around the country. Tech officials will come and go, but in the end the honesty of the American people win out and tech gets tough and throws out the thieves that steal children's trophies to save their dealership from going under. When series or races are run by shops participants need to question the leaders and get a few outsiders on the board and in tech so that the playing field is leveled OR join the cartel and cheat with the rest better than they do. If you can live with yourself then that may be the best plan for you.

We will continue to engineer the best karts we can, the best engines we can, all inside the rules, all legal. We didn't take 17 DQ's on our engines this year and last. We win straight up with hard work and research. Rest assured if you invest in Chromoly tubing your purchasing more than high quality carbon enriched steel that will last, you are investing in snap that means your childs' kart will react when they want it to and pop in the corners sending them down the straight in style.

Tornado Kid Karts

 Winning Across USA

The Tornado Kid Kart drivers have experienced unusually high success this season. We have been fortunate to have garnered the attention of some top talent and our hard work in the engineering department has paid off. While most are still not utilizing the full Velociraptor system of technologies the design of the 2010 and 2011 Kid Kart chassis' have proven themselves to be the most adjustable and most likely to win chassis on the market.

With no dealer channel, only phone support and a lot of practice a US Kart maker that has less than 2% of the market has over 70% of the regional title leads. Most of the regional titles that we are not leading are series that don't have a Tornado in the field.

A systematic approach to development of the chassis and engine packages have given our young drivers the ability to overcome older drivers with more experience. We have even been able to over come issues associated with crew chiefs that are new to racing. Our education approach to kid kart racing combined with a strong Chromoly steel chassis that was specifically designed to win have combined to be a dominating force in the karting world. The old days of assuming that an Italian kart had to be the fastest are long gone. The Tornado has proven for several years to be the simplest kart to configure and win with in America.

Our karts last longer, perform better out of the box and help drivers train quicker. It's hard to underestimate the value of a stable platform when learning to race. It's like trying to learn to play tennis while standing on milk crates that wiggle. When you drive a mild steel chassis from Europe you have to guess at when to turn in at the corners. When you drive a Tornado you simply need to aim at the corner and the kart reacts instantly. So if you would like to give your driver a chance to run up front and learn with a firm footing then it is time to trade in your old kart for a new Tornado, you'll be glad you did.

Luke Howard Tames New Castle In His Red Bull Tornado

Again we want to thank the talent drivers that make us look so good weekend after weekend and those that support them in the pits. We can feel the warm smiles all the way out here in California on race weekends. Thanks for taking us to victory lane with you.

Cory, Howard, Arndt and Preiser All Win!

Kid Kart Factory drivers had a great weekend at four tracks this weekend. Nicolas Cory pulled off the biggest win as he won from the back row in the final of a nice sized field at the Route 66 regional race. Howard won comfortably at New Castle Indiana on his first venture out for a regional series far from home and Zach Prieiser fought a faulty engine but still got a win at Elkhardt Lake Wisconsin and two thirds at Dousman. Not to worry Zach two new test engines are on the way up to you. Ethan Arndt won at Gulf Coast Karters, taking the pole, heat and final comfortably against a talented field.

We are very proud at how well our Tornado Factory drivers did this weekend. Tornado Factory team drivers run our karts and engines exclusively and only one of the four was running VR technology, so there is room for improvement. That's two wins in a row for Cory in the 66 series. We really appreciate all you young men putting our name on your karts, suits and taking us to victory lane with you.

 

Bradio Wins

Braden Johnson's moved up out of karts and into dirt modifieds. He just sent me a message that he won this weekend by half a track. He also said that he could have news soon of a very very big sponsor. We won't talk about it until he's got it done but wow.

Here's a video that he sent us this week. He was one of our best Tornado Factory Drivers ever and a straight A student.

 

 

Leatherberrys Wins SKUSA Race Winslows Win Championship

 End Of Season Battle Between Season Veterans Of Tornado Team

In a match up between old dogs and fresh talent it was Owen Leatherberry finishing up his Kid Kart career, Jacob Winslow also moving up and Nicholas Cory the stunning young man from Quincy Illinois. In the heat race it was Leatherberry and Winslow on the front row with Winslow taking the pole. In the final Winslow jumped to a solid lead as Cory and Leatherberry raced each other (click here to watch the race). A spin in front of Jacob put him back to third and Cory assumed the lead. Nicholas held of the two veterans for several laps but unfortunately caught the rumble strips in turn 7 and it threw his chain. In the end Jacob could not find a place to pass Owen and he brought home the win for the Wisconsin cheese heads.

We had a huge lead(at least 8-10seconds) and lap traffic spun right in front of us with no place for Jake to go. We came back and it was an awesome neck and neck three kart race at the end. We were just too lean at that point to get around Owen. It made for a great race finish and we were very happy for the legendary Leatherberry's to end their kid kart racing with a win -- they deserve it. And, our finish was good enough to give us the championship.             Dave Winslow

Two Victors In One Race Jacob and Owen Both Won Today

 Congratulations Owen and Greg, you have been the best ambassadors of the sport that anyone could ask for and a record that is almost unmatched for the Tornado Team drivers over a two year period. Father and son had learned many things together and been very determined to win at every race. Mom and sister were there for support and it made for a winning team.

The second place finish was enough to wrap up the SKUSA championship for the Winslows of Lee's Summit Missouri who ran a new 2009 Tornado to the championship and move the trophy from last years Wisconsin native Owen Leatherberry to Missouri. Final details are not out on scoring of second and third, the Griesbachs had a funeral of a close friend to attend and could not make the trip.

Jacob Winslow Looks Like The Champion And Cory Could Be Next

 

 

 

 

Infineon Racing

 

Make That A Double: 2 Poles

Chloe Takes The Pole In Tag 60 Gazelle at Sonoma California Sears Point Infineon Raceway

Chloe is racing a Tag 60 Gazelle engine for the first time. It's a loaner engine we gave Keith so she could run both days. She had been figuring out the engine and giving Keith feedback. We kept changing the gearing until we had no more gears left. It was good enough to take the pole. Next time we'll have to send a greater selection of gears or drivers. That's an 870 straight. Chloe is pulling down the straight but still not sure of herself in the corners compared to other drivers that ran the whole season at Infineon last year. She's consistently dropping time and raising her bottom end rpm so hopefully she keep reducing times throughout the day.

In the final Chloe changed tactics on the start and took the lead. She spun under braking and killed the engine. She hit the start button, refired the engine and got back on the track. It took 16 laps but she hunted down the leader while fans watched and cheered her on. She caught him on the last lap and passed him, but he got back around her in a key corner and she had to settle for second.  It was not her day to win but she set fast time again all day and showed why Tornado Drivers are feared when they show up to the track.

St. George Takes Pole, Sets Fast Time

This was the view most drivers had of Chloe today it Infineon

In only her third race in a Cadet, the youngest driver in the field of seven Rotax MicroMaxs drivers, Chloe took the pole by .5 seconds and set fast time in the heat race. She had never been to Infineon raceway and had to run against the kids that had practiced here. In the final she worked her way up from 3rd after a bad start to lead the race and set fast time again,  but another kart knocked off her valve stem and gave her Tornado Cadet a flat rear tire. She could not finish the race for the win. We could not have asked for more of our young development driver. She gave it her all against a talented field.

While she was upset with the result those of us that have been in the sport a while know these things happen. Congratulations to Michael that went on to win the race and Wilson that got second. Chloe will be back and she even said she thinks she'll be ready for Pato soon. Her former Tornado Factory driver has scored some wins lately in Florida and Chloe wants a chance to race him. Our Texas drivers already bested Pato in the SWRC last season. The Tornado Cadet continues to set the pace with the youngest drivers in the field. Thanks to the other teammates for helping Chloe get a great start in the MicroMax class.

 

A big thank you to Lisa at Race Karts Inc. for sponsoring Chloe St. George for the weekend to race the Rotax race and the Tag 60 class. Lisa's providing room and boarding for the young up and coming female racer. Lisa runs a class act school for karters. Find her at www.racekartsinc.com on the web.

Schneider Wins Texas Outlaw Race In Tornado Cadet

Michael Schneider won going away from the pack in Denton Texas Saturday with his 2009 Tornado Cadet. "We had about a thirty kart lead at the end and he was increasing his lead. We ran some of the fastest laps ever on a day with 20 mph winds and really cold temperatures, the (Tornado) chassis just stuck" said Jeff Schneider. That gave Michael  two wins and a second, plus the last place when his head was cracked by the water freezing in his engine the week before the race.

Without that freezing incident it was clear that Texas' Tornado Team would have another series win. Michael "The Ice Man" ends up second overall in the series mainly because of too much ice in the engine. This is the fourth team that we know of that has experienced Rotax engine cracking because of Ice - drain your engines or put antifreeze in them crew chiefs.

Chloe St. George's team could not get the Tornado chassis put together fast enough to race on Saturday morning but was able to work her way up to third in the MicroMax Class. Keith will be working hard this week to get the Tornado put together this week to run at Dixon's Rotax Series race this coming weekend. Her new team suit arrived and she also handed out extra shirts to team drivers in Texas.

For the video of this race Click Here. For the video of the other win Click here. Congratulations Michael and Jeff, thanks for taking us to victory lane with you!

Michael Schneider Wins First race of 2009 In Texas With Style!

Jeff Schneider called to tell us that Michael ran away with the Outlaw winter race in Texas. The race has $10,000 in prize money and draws from several states. "We were up against Birel, TopKart, Margay and Intrepid most with factory tuners in hand and we walked away with the race. Michael really liked the new 2009 Tornado Cadet with the sway bar in up front. It was 80 degrees and we ran sticky tires but the turn in was so crisp that Michael felt he could put the kart anywhere he wanted on the track with ease. It was a phenomenal day and we were so close to the track record that can usually only be broken in the summer months" explained Jeff. Click here for the video.

Michael and Jeff have been hard at work in the off season and have stepped up their game upgrading to the new 2009 Cadet built especially for Rotax Max racing. The Chromoly chassis has extra support built in for all that extra horsepower as well as a new sway bar option that Michael really likes. We didn't think the sway bar would be the way to go but Jeff requested it and we built it for him. Thanks for all your testing Michael and Jeff. As always, thanks for taking us to victory lane with you! What a start to 2009!!!

 

California State Championships!

Conner Hanson and Jerett Tachovsky took first and second in their Tornado Kid Karts at the Grange track near Apple Valley for the 48th running of the Cal State Championships.  We were happy to get the chassis win and return to victory lane to repeat. There is no questioning the talent of the drivers as all the young men can really drive given the right chassis set up.

Chloe St. George clogged a carb jet in the heat race and started in the back making into the top ten. She'll try again tomorrow. They have added a Kid Kart Heavy class for the second day.

On day two it was Garza with the win and Stearns second, congratulations to these great drivers on their wins. The Garza's have worked tirelessly for such a prestigious win and Noah deserves it.  Chloe's crew chief finally found a bad real axle bearing in the heat race and she made it up onto the podium in the final right behind Conner Hanson.  Drew's engine failed going up the hill robbing him from a third chance to win, his talent is remarkable and he'll have many more chances to win this race.

Wins LAKC California Speedway Championship!!!

She is from Las Vegas and wanted to win the hardest club title in the West at the California Speedway in Fontana, outside Los Angeles. Grandma lives near there so it was a great title to shoot for and visit her at the same time. Keith begged the doctors late last night in Las Vegas to unhook him from the machines and let him go to support Chloe. He had an IV drip going while he tuned on her kart. They drove all night to make the race. Look below, is this the picture of dedication to your daughter or someone that needs to cut back on the meds. ;-)

 

Chloe lead eight laps of the final, with one corner to go Jake Drew tucked underneath and took away her line. She finished half a kart length behind but still five places ahead of RJ. That was enough to win the championship. In tech they check almost everything and then pulled heads of the top three.  Chloe passed and was crowned the champion. Competitors were all gentleman and came over to congratulate the youngest ever female champion at the California Speedway.  What a nice Birthday present for Chloe, she just turned 8. Congratulations Chloe, Keith, Zenny and Heather, thanks for taking us to victory lane with you!
 
 

How To Contact Us:

415.341.0456 (new phone) or

 tornadodriver @gmail.com

Mondays and Tuesdays are often our days off. If you call on those days leave a message or drop an e-mail so that we can get back to you when we get back in the shop. It is always preferred to use e-mail to get questions answered as the phone isn't a good option if your hands are covered in grease, in a hot tank or running a very loud dyno.

 

How To Use This Site:

You can mouse around this front page for the latest stories about our karts and engines. Driver stories are here too. To look at individual karts mouse up to the right hand top of the home page and click on teh names of the karts or engines you are looking to purchase. We also have pages across the top of this home page that have videos, pictures, team news and how to contact us.

Special Notes:

Used Engines and Karts

Call today (415)341-0456 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:

 

Sneak Peak

It's is not always serious stuff here at Tornado. Here is a movie trailer for the summer premier of Red Line. An inside story of a set of young mechanics struggle to tame a set of 1969 Pontiac Firebirds. Click here to see the trailer.

 

RUMOR Patrol

It is humorous that rumors are part of the racing world. We can't complain too much because we have used them to help tech do a better job or to scare competitors into thinking tech was going to check their components that aren't legal. At one race the tech director came to us and said I think these guys are fuel cheating but I can't really stop them. I said announce at the drivers meeting that you'll be keeping samples from qualifying and the final and that the NHRA fuel test would be used on them and their DQ would be final if they blew fuel. He said I don't have the NHRA fuel test kit. I said they don't know that. All of a sudden four karts got much slower. These karts were later caught at another race fuel cheating and banned from the series.

In the last two weeks we have heard the new rumor twice from two different people that Tornado is not making karts. I can tell you that whomever is making this up is probably not interested in having to race against Tornado Karts. If you order a kart you will get a kart. While we have model change over going we are still producing existing karts. Our model change over is almost complete. We moved to a bigger facility so it's taking a bit longer than two years ago.

We are also bringing in sand rails and sprint cars chassis to test and build jigs for. Our new equipment is built to handle much larger tubing and so we can and plan to make sprints and other race chassis. Other additions of note are a $8,000 Sunnen automated hone and tubing indexer to speed bending, higher end Tig Welder and powder coat and annealing oven. We have a Ph.D in welding helping us improve our process to bet the best we can be. We aren't just throwing out cheap mild steel chassis like the Italians do, we are building quality American steal chassis for Americans interested in winning. We are also shipping much more overseas and you'll start to hear Italy whine more about us. In one country they have on their race spec only Top Kart. Only one chassis can race that country. Interesting.

My sons are returning to karting and my daughter will be in one next year. Few people are more focused on winning than and engineer Father trying to help his children.

New Logo

My youngest son was going through CNC training and came up with a unique logo for the karts. He was bored while they were helping some people catch up and he was freelancing a bit. I looked over and liked the look. We converted into several forms, used the new laser cutter and cut it into several things to get a feel for it. Watch the video here.Here it is in red acrylic and black acrylic.You'll start to see it show up in stickers, shirts and karts soon. It looks like a driver with a beenie that is being swept backward by the speed of his kart.

Moving In To New Digs

We have been moving into our new 6500 square foot space this weekend. It will take a while to get it fully operational with paint booth and welder upgrades but we are moving along. It's a great space only a couple blocks away from where we live.

 

 

Season Summary

Luke & Blake Howard

 

Luke won the Kansas City Karting Championship in his Tornado Tag 60 in his Rookie season.

Also he won the Sweetsprings Missouri Season Championship in the Junior Sprint Car Class.  His win percentage was 68% of the feature races including 15 feature wins

Luke ran about 38 events this year in karts and Sprint cars. He had a phenomenal season.


He also just won his first hare scramble race in the 7-8 year olds for the Forward Motion Hare Scramble series this was his second motorcycle race ever.

Yesterday he got a 6th at the Missouri State Motorcross race in Merwin Missouri, Midwest Extreme Motorcross track.  His first MX race ever.  He raced in the 7-8 year old 50cc class.  This was also a state qualifier race.  This is like Route 66 where the young kids travel the midwest to qualify for the Loretta Lynn's national race ect.

Blake has one more kart race then we will take him to the indoor kart track for a few dirt kart races this winter and do a few more motorcycle races.  Blake has won two Kid Kart expert races this year as a 5 year old.  Blake is also racing in the 4-6 year old hare scramble and MX races.

Congratulations to the Howard's. Thanks for taking us to victory lane with you!

 

 

 

I Found Two!

Arguably the kid kart engine with the most wins ever was an engine named Alabama. It started off as an old style engine that I put together for a family in the Midwest. Soon he was winning everything. They switched it over to a new style for the Kid Kart nationals and for a run at the R7 IKF title. The won that series and most of the club races in the Midwest. They had a great shot at the Kid Kart Nationals win but were beaten by a better tire choice from our other driver, Buddy Lazier's son.

While cleaning up and organizing I opened two boxes that were miss labeled after our last shop move. In them were over 90 heads. It's always fun to go through the head box and remember each wave of designs that have come from Comer. The great news was that I found two Alabama style heads that were not used. What makes them different? Most heads are good for a year or two but Alabama lasted our Midwest driver almost three years. It had a much harder and thicker nic plating than all other heads.

The ports were in a great position and they must have been left in the plating tank extra long. I have sent three other engines out with these heads and they all got great responses. One from a  family racing in England in the Kid Kart class lead them to many wins. He wrote back when moving up, "we had many engines and engine builders but this was always our go to engine for big races. It wasn't cheap but it was worth it! Thank you for a great engine."

If you have a young son or daughter that will be racing a while maybe you should invest in these last remaining Alabama class engines. Why Alabama? We name our engines by classes of port timing or revisions made by Comer. We pick the name by the song that is playing in the Dyno room when the engine shows it's power.

Sale Ends Monday October 1st!

 

Luke Howard Continues His Winning Ways

 

 

Luke Howard Continues His Winning Ways

Luke has won 5 of 5 on his Tornado Cadet this season and 6 of 8 on his dirt car. Is he going to be the next Cole Whit? It's hard to make the transition from Kid Karts to Cadets but he's done it well and is breaking records in the process. Practice, practice, practice is his motto and his younger brother is coming along nicely too. Keep an eye on this hot shoe if you are in the Midwest.

What A Bunch Of Junk

The importer has been out of engines for months now. So some clients have purchased used engines and sent them to us. I took apart a couple engines that were from the top LA builder. The seals were ground down to leak air, the rings never seated and they had several other issues. These guys make a couple small illegal changes and ship the engines out. They use cheap bearings made in Turkey. I'm sure they'll do well at the west coast club race that doesn't tech them well enough to get DQ'd. They give out a trophy that looks a lot like a Duffy but it can't be real anymore since the officials allowed oversized jets when there were none.

I feel sorry for the racers that purchase this stuff. I hope that tech officials will continue to do air leak tests with WD40 or a pressurized leak down test. Also look at the cranks real close and if you really feel brave pull the emulsion tube. If all this gives you a pitt in your stomach then hope and pray that tech officials do their job and DQ so many of these engines that they just can't stay in business.

Congratulations

Our international customers have had a great season on the other side of the world. We appreciate that they want to remain anonymous and don't run any kind of stick on their engines. After a slow start for the first few weeks when they didn't trust the engines and fully break them in they had a change of heart and started to run them fully. Now they are performing superbly and they are leading the pack.

Our How To Kid Kart Videos

Still the best value in Kid Kart racing. Ten years of racing knowledge, tens of regional wins over ten national championships. All that know how in three DVD's with over three hours of instruction. For people starting out it is a basic starting line to start your racing program. It gets you away from myths and right to what works. For most people they gain several seconds a lap right away if they are just starting out. Give them a try or purchase them as a gift for your favorite wrenching parent or grandparent. Click on the How To Videos and take a look. Send in a money order or pay via credit cardand we'll get some knowledge out to you in a week. Practice makes perfect but knowledge wins races.

Luke Howard Sprinting Forward

The Midwest hot shoe will drive anything anytime anywhere. He's had a very successful year so far. Technical issues have slowed him down but only after the race. Here is a look at his new ride. His success on the track has gotten him a great deal on the next level car. Will he be the next Cole Whit? You never know. He is still young and has two more chances to win the big Midwest race in St. Louis for the Kid Karts.

Here is a picture of the new car. Thanks for the nice sticker on the sprint car! We enjoy the chance to give great drivers like Luke a good solid start in racing. What they will do as they go up the ladder is up to them, their hard work and the racing gods.

Trever said to me I know you're not into sprints but I wanted you to see what we've got. What he didn't know is that I love sprints. I traveled with the World of Outlaws for half a season and it is my favorite form of racing. Good luck Luke!

 

 

Ayrton Ori Wins Jacksonville FL

Ayton's crew chief has to tune for two drivers. I know the pain, at one time I tuned for my three sons in kid karts and my own Yamaha. It's gets hard.  A crew chief error mounting the tie rod back up almost cost the win but Ayrton drove through the issue and the Tornado still won with the ackermann steering off one spot.

Ayrton now leads the series in Florida and is starting to get the attention of other teams. Where does this Tornado get all it's speed? In the corners is the answer by the video. The answer to why is because it was designed to be fast in the corners. Watch the race here www.youtube.com/watch?v=azqBP5HSKAM

 

Used vs New Karts

Coast to coast the economy is tough. Many people purchased used karts this year and last. It is okay for us because we don't live off of the karting business income. This business is a hobby and passion for our family. Our Chromoly tubing is good for several years. People are giving up the advantages of the new adjustability by using an older Tornado but it seems to be enough from East to West Coast as Tornado karts won the key races.

We will unveil new parts for the karts in June as we roll out the 2012 final version that will make people say wow once again. The engineering was done two years ago but we didn't want to roll out too many new things at once. No need to let people copy all the good stuff. Folks will be surprised when they see the results on the mychron and at the track.

So if you are just starting out a used kart is fine. They Italian mild steel karts are harder for the driver because they need to guess at where the apex will be. Chromoly karts turn in with a snap and the drivers can just aim at the apex and the kart will be there for them. That is why Tornado drivers end up being top drivers across the country. It is really fairly hard to drive the sloppy mild steel karts after the first three months or so. My sons did, that is what we started with ten years ago and that is why we switch to making our own karts and why we stick with Chromoly.

It's not cheap to invest in one of our karts but if you are serious about giving your driver a good start in karting a Tornado will build his or her confidence faster than any other kart on the market.

 

 

 

Luke Howard Leads The Field At Route 66

Luke Howard is our Tornado Factory driver in the Midwest and he's off to a great start in the first regional race. He  had a great year last year, but wants to step his program up a notch. He'll have his work cut out for him as the Allison's, Drakes and Wests are not going to settle for second best.

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A talented group of drivers took to Springfield's track with high hopes for the season ahead. Preparation was on the side of the Howards. Endless fall and winter practices had them ready to go.  Several Tornados were in the field but all things came together for Luke as he finished 22 seconds ahead of the field. Talan Drake took second followed by Kyle West and former Tornado Factory Driver Kaleb Allison's younger brother Tyler Allison.

The drivers will meet up again in Norway Illinois in May at the Concept Haulers Raceway. Luke's goal is clear that he wants a clean shot at the Kid Kart Nationals this summer. Thanks for taking us to victory lane with you Luke. A new shirt and hat are on the way to you this week.

 

Quotes This Week

Almost every week we get calls or letters from around the world telling us that our hard work and research is getting them results. What were mid pack running teams are now winning and challenging for the championships. Ten years of racing experience and attention to detail goes into our engines, Tornado Karts and instructional videos. An investment in your son or daughter's future is always the right thing unless you are just playing around. If you play to win then you have come to the right place.

"Your Stealth carburetors got us right to the front row, thank you. They were much faster than what we had been running" South America

"Your black head engine is a screamer, its our best engine and we only bring it out when we need it." England

"Your videos helped us get to the front of the pack of drivers, thank you so much!" South Africa Kid Kart Racer

"The engine is so much stronger now with the top end rebuild, you really know how to make these little C50's work. I don't know why we waited so long" North America

"She has won 7 of the last 9 races and she only lost to a different type of engine that is really built for cadet classes that they restrict down for our class. The Tornado chassis simply handles so much better than the other Italian karts." East Coast

Hudspeth Wins IKF R7

Tanner Hudspeth comes from racing roots and it showed on Sunday when he came from the back to win the final R7 race of the season. He was running a Tornado at Calspeed, a particularly slippery track that Tornado's have always had a slight advantage. Coming in second was Hudson Morrow running another set up with a Velociraptor mount. Sounds like it is up in the air as to whom won the series but Hudson did his part.

There are many great drivers in R7 but the series has left many shops and racers with a bad taste in their mouth. Maybe the news that Gatorz will join forces this season will allow a few of us to return. I'm even thinking of taking four drivers to the series, once we see how tech will be handled. We have ignored the series for two years for differences on how to tech.

Thanks for the pictures sent to me of Hudson Morrow on his Velociraptor 2011 Tornado. I believe 2011 will be the year of the chassis as more teams figure out all the options we have and how to best configure them. We have more adjustability than any other kart and it helps when you run a regional race program. You just can't afford to drop a race. New for 2012 will be even more fine tuning options and enhanced Velociraptor technology that we developed late this summer. The testers will be working hard the next three months and the new crop of Tornado Factory drivers will be the lead testers. Sign ups start this week.

Polley Wraps Up

 MATC Series

Alanmykael Polley wrapped up the Mid American Track Challenge championship. Congratulations to all of Team Polley on the effort to put and keep Alanmykael up front in the clone class. This family has been racing for years and really has a great time at the track. We are proud to have them as part of the Tornado family of drivers.

Alanmykael’s was fast when we were there in April we ran a 48.4. This time when we went back to finish out the series we ran a 47.1 so much much more faster. The kart handled great we made no adjustments other then gearing and tire pressures. In a few of the pictures you can see the right front pick up off the ground as this is how the kart was to handle and handle it did coming out of the corners like a rocket. We not only won our featured event The Clone Rookie Class but we also won the Series for that Class and he was Crowned Class Champion of Clone Rookies.

Alanmykael is a Tornado Factory driver and driver of the month for September. Thanks for taking us to victory lane with you. Videos of team Polley racing can be seen at www.teampolleyracing.com

 

 

How To Win Big

Over the years we have been blessed to win over 50% of the national races and 60% of the regional titles in the starter class. It wasn't always our engine and our Tornado chassis but many times we had a part in the win with one or both. Sometimes people switched from our engines because they were given free ones by someone else trying to buy a name for themselves, but our training and input helped put the team on a course for success.

We are working on a special video for the teams that want to win big. Of course the majority of kids would say they want to win big trophies. My four did. When the boys all sat at a table with me and I asked what are our goals for this coming race season they said "we want to win"! The next questions was meant to help define that better. I asked, win a club race, win a club championship, a regional championship, a national championship? Of course they picked the hardest one for me and them in choice E, all of the above.

When I told them how hard that would be on me, their family and them... they told me not to worry, they would do their part and drive. When I explained such a goal would be much more work than soccer practice or baseball practice. "It's ok, we are ready!" A great proud Dad answer but also a very big time and monetary commitment. So we wrote down together what we thought it would take in the amount of test days, practice days, practice races and long distance travel. They quickly agreed to the tasks and for the most part did the work. We were fortunate in that the track in Davis was only 2 miles from our house. On a cool clear day you could hear the shifters practicing.

In our upcoming video, How To Win Big Races, we will cover some of the secrets of winning teams of the past and what we feel your goals list should include. After having created an Inc 500 company with a few hundred software programmers you get accustomed to making a plan because software people, bless their hearts, can be like herding cats. Here are some basic steps to think about.

Set a goal and work backwards from that date. Great teams that have the best shot have been in planning for over a year. Good teams have a 7 month plan and happy go lucky teams say I think we can get to that track at the end of the month and have a chance to win.... Little do they know that will require all the top great teams to crash or have mechanical difficulty.

Engine locating, engine testing, engine aging and engine rotation takes a great deal of time, especially in the stock C50 and other classes where the engines can vary greatly from the manufacturer. Add to that driver training, chassis testing as well as crew chief training and this gets very difficult fast. A high end bond trader once said to me, I thought my world was really tough until we decided to go kid kart racing. The pressure is so much greater in racing. So much to learn and so little time. One of the benefits that we offer is that we have done this so many times that it's not new to us. Few single car NASCAR teams ever do well because they don't have the data sharing to bracket settings and get to the final answer fast enough to let the driver learn the track.

So another tip is to get with a team, a club team, a local kart shop team, a national team like ours or some group that you can work together with all season long. That's why so many people sign up to be selected for our Tornado Factory Driver teams. September is when we start taking applications. Not everyone gets in but we work hard to get Dads, Moms, Uncles and Grandfathers trained early. Then we work on the chassis and engine programs. When the time comes for the big one you've got to be ready for adversity. Weeks before key races engines have a tendency to blow or break because we are putting them on the edge to get them ready to sing. Ring strategy... that could be three chapters in itself. Let's save that for another day.

That should be a start for some of you hard researching teams. I can tell you that with the economy there were only a few, less than you can count on one hand, well prepared great teams last year. I can also tell you that more than five teams are already well on their way for next year. They don't have Cadetitis (that almost incurable mania to move up to a much more powerful and competitive class) and they had their plan to win a national before this years races were run. Anyone can win. You all have a chance. It isn't about whom has the most money. This year's winner is a Refer mechanic, two years ago, a policeman, the year before that a Indy 500 Champ (nice motor home, better than average budget) the year before that restaurant owner. One little girl that won more regionals than any boy had the smallest budget I've seen in racing but one very hard working and educated Father. So it's all up to you, start planning. Build your own kart from scratch and do it all yourself or hook up with a top team and get proven equipment that passes tech and get seat time for your driver. Good luck, see you at the races.

 Jerry and Zach Preiser on the walk back after tech

Many Try But Only A Few Get This Feeling When Its Over

P.S. What happened to our goals? One national title (third for the little one), one regional title and second/third in the club. You just can't always win them all... But it is so much fun trying.

 

Over Inflated?

Some people really have a hard time being second or third. For those that have worked in the tech shed, we know that it is often second and third that are cheating, not first. First place often goes to the team that did the homework, tested, researched, practiced and then tested again to be sure. They make it look like it is illegal. Some people think it is okay to modify port timing, cut cases and such to catch up with those running up front. They think splitting hairs in tech isn't fair.

What the top engine builders know is that often it is just a hair difference to get an engine from third to first. In the stock engine world like the C50 or Gazelle it often comes down to sorting through factory parts to find the one that fits just right, has the right blow down, has the right wall clearance. We have to hit the basics right on the money. At many races we stay safe a thou or two because some tech directors may not have good equipment but at big races with national level tech guys we can reset to be right on the line.

Some people that build engines gamble on cc's or timing hoping the tech guy will give it to them but we like to keep it legal and know for sure the win is ours, legally. So when we quote our win record on the right we quote the name of the driver and when as well as where the win happened. One thing is for sure we didn't over inflate the win, we didn't cheat to win and we did do our research.  Our wins are not inflated, they were pumped up by hard working honest teams along with our own team of engineers, onsite and contracted expertise. When you work with us we may be slow but we put out great equipment that you too can win with.

Luke Howard Wins SKUSA Regional Independence

Luke has been on a tear this year finishing on the podium in a large percentage of the races locally and regionally. He had a great chance at second at KKN restricted but didn't take the right steps in the tech shed. There are many learning experiences in karting and they'll be back next year, more ready to take another shot at KKN. Luke races dirt and asphalt and has become a force to be reckoned with at each race he goes to.

Congratulations Luke, thanks for taking us to Victory Lane with you. The Red Bull bullet looks fast. Thanks for the pictures.

What Do We Think

 Of KKN?

That Trophy Is Taller Than Zach!

Way to go Zach and Jerry Preiser, Sam and Kevin Paley for giving the Tornado brand a 1,2 finish. We were very happy to regain the title with Zach driving and Jerry tuning. Sam Paley (pictured below) gave a great run and his Tornado engine was screaming but in the end Zach edged him out for the win. Zach is a Tornado Factory driver and had the Tornado Kart and engine working well to get to the front. He gambled in the week prior and it paid off.

We had a very tight engine because it was apart only days before the race. Zach had put in 9 of 10 days of practice and break in for us in the days prior to the race. But as with some other champions of the past in Leatherberry and Lazier their engines were apart only days before the race too. There is a technique in getting to the front in big races that few know and few will share.

Tech played a significant part in the race again this year. It seems as if after last years failure of those that over ruled tech, they were determined to tech heavier and better. Engines that were modified heavily by machinist were caught and sent back early in the race weekend. The leader of the final race took a DQ for 5 thou off on port timing handing the win to Zach. You can miss by a thou but no one will give you 5 thousands that's just too big of an advantage and has to be intentional on a professional builders part.

Zach had taken the pole, won his heat race, won the preheat and in essence won the final but didn't get to put his hands up with a victory celebration because he thought he was second. We took a gamble on new technology that we had invented in the months prior that came in late. It was installed only a week before the race and Jerry had to be creative in conditioning the loaner engine for race day.

If you only knew everything we went through in the days prior to the race to get the very latest stuff ready to go. Let's just say that included some creative engineer and a persistent Dad with the guts to take the rides of his life.

Someone at the race said that almost 30% of the field was on a Tornado Kart or had a Tornado engine. We don't really know who has our old equipment but we think we had at least 3 of the top 5 racers in Unrestricted. We are sorry we couldn't be part of the race this year. It's good to see a three year old chassis win the race and it goes to show you that our Tornado's Chromoly lasts. Jerry will be the rare owner that probably makes money on his engine and chassis purchase as many people are vying for his equipment.

I do predict next years race will be won by a 2010 or 2011 or newer Tornado chassis. The technology advantage is just too good with up and down as well as length adjustability. Our new mount and clutch safety cover were not run in this race yet we still achieved almost 370 head temps all inside the rules. While the system and process is not known to the public it does work and we appreciate Zach and Jerry putting their trust in us as Factory Drivers do. Thanks for taking us to Victory Lane with you in the Show Me state. Thanks to everyone that worked so hard to put the race together for the kids.

Man That's A Good Feeling After Clearing Tech

 

Ethan Arndt Takes Lead in SWRC Series

Ethan has been steadily progressing and with a solid performance at the last SWRC race he's taken the points lead in the series.

Hudson's Happy

 Happy - Two IKF R7

 Titles

Hudson Morrow wrapped up the IKF R7 Saturday and Sunday Titles this weekend at Calspeed running the 2011 Tornado Velociraptor Edition and set fast time on the track. The Saturday and Sunday series were combined for the last race as the series fell on hard times. Hudson set fast time in the final by .7 seconds and did what he had to do to win the title. Just like Braden did a few years back, he didn't need to win the race to win the title he just had to place close enough to a few of the competitors. He placed second comfortably after leading the race.

Preston Andersen was second in the qualifying but had troubles in the heat race  as an accident put him back and finished a lap down even though he was running as fast as the winner of the heat. In the final he made it from the back row to the podium finishing in fifth. Dezel West also had a great weekend finishing up third on the day. These Vegas boys do a great job with as little track testing time as they have. If Vegas could get it's own track where they could practice everyday they'd really by tough to beat. The cement makes them really light on the wheel and is a wonderful training ground. The World Championships will be there in August. www.jrkartingwc.com

 

Ethan Arndt Breaks

 Record At SWRC

Ethan's crew chief committed one of the biggest violations of the winning kid kart parents rulebook, taking the head off on race weekend. He wanted to be safe and easily legal on cc's so he checked the engine over and set it up to be safe. We'd set it up very tight on the last rebuild and it was too close for comfort.  The head removal held Ethan back on Saturday but the engine came back in on Sunday and Ethan broke the track record by half a second.

He didn't win but he was in position to as he sat on the front row for the final. A wreck took out half the field on the start but the race director kept them running. Out here in California that would have most likely been a restart of the entire field. Ethan's getting the kart and engine dialed in and he'll be a force to be reckoned with in coming races. We are confident he'll be taking us to Victory lane with him soon. Ethan, don't beat up good old Dad too much, he is really learning this stuff fast and soon he won't be making those rookie mistakes.

Crew chief training often proceeds at the same rate as driver training but most of the time drivers actually get ahead of their crew chiefs. Drivers drive for a few hours while good crew chiefs are often up late nights for days trying to figure out things to go faster. Keeping these engines in the sweet spot isn't easy.

 

Luke Howard Wins

One of our Tornado Factory drivers has been on an early spring tear like a Kansas twister. He's been tearing up the tracks in the Midwest. His team is called Thunder and Lightning Racing, Luke is Lightning and his younger brother Blake is Thunder. They won the second race in a row at the PDC in Independence Missouri.

 

 

 

 

"It's Soooo Expensive"

 Or Is It?

We hear this from time to time. Your equipment is so expensive but is it really? When we got into karting we had to purchase three karts all at once for our four boys. The wifester said that's $5400! Yes, that's true. Upfront it was but let's not forget about the back end of the transaction, because unless all three tangled down the straight and ruined every part of those karts we were still going to sell them and get money back. Remember to calculate the resale value, and also be confident about the fact that Tornado karts have the very best resale value in the business.

Why you ask...? Because they are made of quality Chromoly tubing that is super fast, light weight and last longer than all the Frenchman chasing Lance Armstrong up the hills in France. When people go to sell our karts they get back 50% to 80% of the original investment. That's right our karts are an investment. The limp noodles from Italia don't have a good resale because the mild steel is spent after a year or less and the kart's can't perform because they sag.

So let's do the math together karting Mom's and Dads, kids you follow along too... you can correct their mistakes and help them justify the fast one for you! Say we get an Italian kart and it's $500 cheaper. Yeah, you saved money on that first exciting day you fell in love with karting...Then we add a hollow axle, smaller brakes and all the other things the Tornado comes with as standard, cha ching, the prices is going up now. We are now about the same price. It's true, you have a spare 9 pound solid axle from Italy but hey unless your clubbing a huge catfish you caught what are you ever going to do with it... you can't race it.. Now when you finish up and move up a class you will be lucky to get $750 for that pasta special from overseas because it has sagged and it never really did well all season or at the end of the season. The Tornado on the other hand was winning the club championship and the new crop of parents that did do their research are clamoring to purchase the kart that won. The Tornado goes for $1500 or more.

Let's do the math together now. What looked like a better deal with the $500 less initial purchase really doesn't look so good now. So if we invested $2500 and we got back only $750 we have a loss of $1750 if we can even sell that kart locally, chances are you'll need to ship it off to some unsuspecting parent in a rural area without internet access. If you invested a few dollars more in the Tornado, your mantle is full of trophies, your memory of races won and contested heavily is full and your DVD player will show a great couple years. When you sell it for $1500 your total investment is $1000. Over two years that's $41 a month for the Tornado but $73 a month for the Top Italian mild steel kart.

 

There wasn't room on the fireplace mantle for all of Cruz's hardware.

Kids lets review in case they haven't moused over to the purchase button yet. $41 a month for the Tornado is LESS than $73 a month. So it's really expensive to buy the cheaper kart isn't it? Did they mouse over yet? It's the buy it now button on the chassis page. Ok, now help them understand 1st or 2nd place is better than 7th or 10th place even though those numbers are bigger. Being on the podium is much more exciting than watching your friends climb on the podium every weekend... Invest in the best and only cry once. Pick up a new Tornado or used one today, you'll be glad you made the correct investment for the future financially and for your young driver.

 

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.

Click Here!
Customer Testimonials

Engines

Gazelle Engine

"the new engine was really fast in the first race, we beat the regional champion going away, we had 4 tenths on the second place kart."

The new motor you sold me definitely has a lot more top end I was worried the dads were going to start protesting!!!l LOL  that thing was a freight train down the front straight! they ran track backwards on us unexpectedly ... in the final we won! so first race of the Oregon state championship we won the final. (legally!)

Chassis

"We couldn't have asked for a better result to win as the youngest driver in an international race. Wow, it feels like a dream."

"The Cadet was so hooked up on the road course he never had to lift as some of the other karts did. We walked away from the field easily"

 

 

 

2012 Point Series

Kid Kart Nationals - 3 of the top 5 Spots

Kansas City Karting Championship Tag 60 Cadet

Sweet Springs Kart Championship Tag Cadet

 

 

We haven't had time to compile all the winning drivers from this season.

 

 

2011 Points Series

Kid Kart National 2011 Pole Unrestricted Class Talan Drake, 2nd in the Final - West

Mazda Heartland Sprint Series - Luke Howard

Midwest Sprint Series Leader - Kyle West

Route 66 Sprint Series - Kid Kart Talan Drake

Florida Series Championship

 

2010 Points Series

Kid Kart National 2010 Winner - Zach Preiser, Sam Paley Second, Ryan Lewis Fifth.

SWRC - Kid Kart Points Lead Ethan Arndt

IKF Region 7 Sat Spring Title Winner Kid Kart - Hudson Morrow

IKF R7 Sunday Spring Title Winner Kid Kart - Hudson Morrow

IKF R7 Sunday Fall Title Winner Kid Kart - Hudson Morrow

 

Route 66 - Kid Kart Nicholas Cory

Heartland Sprint Series - Kid Kart Luke Howard

SKUSA Central States Challenge - Kid Kart Luke Howard

Mid American Track Challenge - Alanmykael Polley Clone Class.

if you're in the points lead in your series drop us a line and we'll post it here!


 

SKUSA Midwest Kid Kart-Jacob Winslow - Wins Title

Route 66 - Jayden Biles Kid Kart

IKF R4B - Minimax Cadet Michael Schneider Wins!

IKF R7 - Kid Kart Jerett Tachovsky Wins Sunday Title!

IKF R7 - Kid Kart Saturday Title

 

SWRC - Minimax Michael Schneider

SWRA - Minimax Michael Schneider

SouthWestReginoalCup- Donnie Bell Kid Kart Wins!

SKUSA CSC - Kid Kart Class  1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th: Winslow, Griesbach, Leatherberry, Cory - Biles with four wins..

Winslow Wins SKUSA Championship

Route 66 - Kid Kart Class  1st, 2nd and Third: J. Biles, Egan and Mason

LVKC - Kid Kart Class Tanner McKee, 5 straight wins, MicroMax St.George

Los Angeles Kart Club - Kid Kart Class Championship two years

Las Vegas Kart Club - Kid Kart Class - Three years running

Eagle Canyon Road Race - Michael Schneider

IKF R7 - Kid Kart Class  1st,2nd,4th & 5th: Sun, 1st,2nd, 4th, 5th

 

Four of our greatest drivers take top four podium spots. Royal McKee won this IKF Race and went on to be the first IKF Grand National Kid Kart Champion, 2 podium spot is Braden Johnson that won the IKF R7 title that year, 3rd is RJ Lantz that won the King Taco at Calspeed and lead part of the California State Championships, 4th spot is Cruz Fiore that went on to win the California State Championships.

Wins of our Drivers

Kid Kart National 2010 Winner - Zach Preiser, Sam Paley Second, Ryan Lewis Fifth.

2009 Kid Kart National Champion Ryan Lewis, Restricted Class

2009 IKF Grand Nationals Kid Kart Heavy Champion

 Jerett Tachovsky, Screaming Eagle and 2nd in Kid Kart Light

2009 IKF R7 Pheonix Sat - Kid Kart 1st Wagner

 

2009 IKF R7 Perris, CA Sat - Kid Kart 1st Barret, 2 Wagoner

Route 66 Springfield Illinois Nicholas Cory

SKUSA Pevely, Mo Leatherberry Wins, Winslow 2nd

2009 Southwest Regional Cup Oklahoma Donnie Bell

2009 IKF R7 Calspeed Sat - Kid Kart 1st Barret, 2nd Tachovsky,

2009 IKF R7 Calspeed Sun - Kid Kart 1st Barret

2009  SKUSA Central States Super Series#4 Quincy Ill Kid Kart Jaydon Biles

2009  SKUSA Central States Super Series#3 MidStates Kid Kart Jaydon Biles

2009  SKUSA Central States Super Series#2 New Castle Kid Kart Jaydon Biles

2009  SKUSA Central States Super Series#1 St.Louis Kid Kart Nicholas Cory

2009 Route 66 Springfield Illinois Kid Kart Jaydon Biles

2009 Jim Russell Infineon: Poll  on Saturday MicroMax, Poll on Sunday Tag 60

2009 IKF R7 Kid Kart R3 Grange 2nd on Saturday, 1st on Sunday

2009 Texas Outlaw Race Series 2 Wins, 1 2nd in Minimax Michael Schneider

2009 IKF R7 Kid Kart R2 Buttonwillow 1st on Saturday, 1st on Sunday

2009 IKF R7 Calspeed Sat - Kid Kart 1st Tachovsky, 3rd Barrett,4th Lewis

2009 IKF R7 Calspeed Sunday - Kid Kart 1st Tachovsky, 2nd Lewis

2008 Kid Kart National Champion - Mason Mitchell (restricted) , olso 2nd, and 4th!

2008 Kid Kart National Champion - Owen Leatherberry (unrestricted), St. George (pole and 2nd)

2008 California State Championships - Conner Hanson, 2nd Tachovsky

2008 CSSS Peverly, MO Tag 60 Kaleb Allison

2008 CSSS Pevely, Mo Kid Kart Owen Leatherberry

2008 California Speedway LAKC Champion - Chloe St. George

2008 IKF R7 KKH Grange - Chloe St. George

2008 IKF R11 Reno - Chloe St. George

2008 SWRC Race 8 Win - Cole Glasson

2008 Route 66 New Castle - Kaleb Allison

2008 Route 66 Series - Iowa Kaleb Allison

2008 Kart National Win Tag 60 C. Glasson

2008 Tag Shoot Out Iowa - Kaleb Allison

2008 Route 66 Tag 60 Cadet - Kaleb Allison

2008 Route 66 Tag 60 Iowa - Kaleb Allison

2008 Southwest Regional Cup Cadet Wins - Saturday and Sunday -Hannah Williams, Cole Glasson Pole Sun, 2nd, Sat 3rd

2008 IKF Region 11 Redding (Chloe St.George)

2008 Gatorz Race of the Americas Royal McKee Saturday and Sunday Races MiniMax Cadet

Xplex Las Vegas, Nevada in Tornado Cadet

2008 IKF Region 11 Davis, CA (Chloe St.George)

2008 IKF Region 7 California Speedway (Cruz Fiore) Final Video 

2007 WKA Man Cup Daytona International Speedway (Logan Mitchell of Missouri)

2007 Cal State Championships (Cruz Fiore of Las Vegas) Videos: Heat     Final

2007 IKF Region 7 Champion (Braden Johnson of Illinois)

2007 IKF Sprint Grand National Champion(Royal McKee of Vegas) Video: Final

SLKA Kid Kart Nationals Champion 2005 and 2007 (Flinn Lazier of Vail, CO) Video: Final

2007 Central States Super Series(Braden Johnson, Illinois)

Colorado State Championship Series 2007 3 of 4 wins (Flinn Lazier)

Stars of Tomorrow National Championship Elkhart Lake, WI - (Thomas May)

Colorado State Champion

Stars Sears Point Regional Champion - Thomas May

WKA Grand Nationals Dirt Track

Venezuelan National Champion  Video: Final

Mexican AKN Champion - Patricio O'Ward

Mexican DIPSA MOTORSPORTS Champion - Patricio O'Ward

KART Nationals Kid Kart Champion - Michael Schnieder

Route 66 Championship Champion

Las Vegas Motor Speedway Champion 2006 Cruz Fiore 2007 Royal McKee

St. Louis Kart Club Track Champion and runner up

King Taco Open Champion - RJ Lantz

Many, many other track championships around the country and the world. Wins on four continents!

2008 Points Lead in Series

Tornado Cadet

2nd Southwest Regional Cup Gazelle

Kaleb Allison - Tag 60 Route 66 Champion with 4 of 5 wins!

Cole Glasson - 2nd KART Regional Series

Michael Schneider - 2nd SWRC MiniMax

Tornado Kid Kart

Chloe St. George - 1st International Kart Federation R11 six wins!

Owen Leatherberry- 1st SKUSA - Central States Super Series

Chloe St. George - California Speedway LAKC Champion

Jerett Tachovsky - 3rd IKF R11

Cruz Fiore -Las Vegas Kart Club Champion, 4th  in IKF R7

Conner Hanson - 2nd IKF R7 Heavy


 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

Cruz Gets All A's

Cruz Fiore sent me a note that he received all A's again on his grade card. We are so proud of you Cruz. Cruz brought us home the first ever California State Championships win for the Tornado Team. It had been an outlaw race for years and they took it serious in 2007 and we cleaned up that year with several of the top six spots. Cruz has been taking it easy and hopefully some day we'll get that smart young man back in our testing program. He did so much to test the 2009 kid kart prototype. Watch his video here.

The engine Cruz talks about in the video went on to win a National race. It is one of the seven sisters engines that had the best record in karting of any series of engines. We have the last one left in stock. It set fast time at nationals this summer for us as a loaner engine. We'll have it here as a back up for key races unless someone invests in purchasing it. Most of the others have slowly been ruined by poor maintenance by the engine owner. Some have blown up some were given to another engine builder that didn't know what to do and ruined the nic plating. If you get a great engine take care of it. One this is for sure Eddie Fiore took care of everything we gave him. He did exactly as we asked and more, his equipment remained strong and he got much of his investment back when he sold it.

 

 

Three Holes? Or Five Holes? Or More?

TKO - Technical Knock Out

In boxing TKO stands for Technical Knock Out, on our parts you will see TKO which stands for Tornado Kart Organization. What can these three holes in the picture below be used for? How can they make an engine faster? How can they effect the outcome of a race day.. Drivers of the new F4 and F5 Kid Karts will soon see what us whacky engineering types have been up to in our spare time.

Our prediction is that 2010 will be the year of the chassis tuning wins. As the engines get closer and closer the difference will come in whom can best set up the chassis for that track that day. In this way our clients will have the advantage, as long as they can test, they will have many more options than any other chassis owner. Six rear axle positions to change loose, tight, weight distribution and grip. Six total spindle positions additions to change for loose in our tight out situations. Multiple engine options based on racing hot, cold, new style old style.

We are working on implementing several new changes that increase set up options for the crew chief, safety for the driver, adjustability for loose and tight conditions, and horsepower multipliers. Wait, what was the last one, a multiplier? How can you add horsepower to an engine and multiply it's effectiveness? There is one way back at the axle, there is another up front and a several inside the engine. This is something that has been part of our focus for seven of the last ten years. We deal with such little horsepower that we really needed to find ways to increase power at the margin and in certain power bands. The nice thing is that this science adds to K80, Miniswift, Gazelle, and Minimax as well.

For kid karts we have moved the power band by changes to the way we build the engines, that way when two drivers go down the straight the one that is still accelerating at the 3/4 mark has the mental advantage to stay with it going into the next corner. There are other ways to increase torque and power. We have held back many of these advances because there was no reason to roll out all at once. The 2010 Cadet and Kid Kart will start to have more of theses as options as standard equipment on new models.

Why do we do this? Because you want to win, you want a slight advantage (actually you want a big advantage but if you are 4 seconds a lap faster it looks like you cheated), because we want to add safety and you expect us to invent and keep the lead we have in the marketplace. While some cheat with illegal modifications that get caught some times, we produce speed the old fashioned way, we earn it with R&D ingenuity and hard work.  You can invest in our karts and engines knowing that you have the leader in innovation on your side today and all next season. Cheaters never really win and winners never cheat. So we work and work to find ways of winning inside the rules, one small step at a time! Hi, Ho, Hi, Ho it's off to work we go...

 

 

Factory Drivers 2010

The applications and inquiries to become part of the 2010 Tornado Factory Driver Team are starting to come in from all over the country. Some of the drivers are Cadet drivers that are racing internationally, some are Kid Kart drivers that have completed a successful season of club racing. The common thread is these are teams determined to win, drivers that are exceptional and crew chiefs that have searched for the best equipment and methods to get to the front. Combine that with good sportsmanship and you have the makings for a candidate team for the Tornado Factory program.

We have started to send out the Factory Driver Agreements. If you haven't received one by next week then drop us a note and we'll get it on the way to you. Who will be selected, no one knows and no one is guaranteed.

 

 

 

 

Resale Values Hold Up

Why do our karts have such a good resale value? Two main reasons, first they are made of quality Chromoly steel tubing. Chromoly has a higher carbon content and last much longer than the much cheaper mild steel used by the major kart names from Europe. Some will tell you it's Chromoly too but test show it is not high carbon steel. The second reason is supply and demand, our karts win the nationals, regionals and club championships. We don't have a dealer network so there are only so many available and used ones go fast.

Those imported karts are cheaper to build and work fine for the first few races and then start to sag. Think of them like spaghetti, it's great when you cook it up and then it sits in the pan and just gets really soft and sloppy over the next few days. After three months of a mild steel chassis you just won't want to head to the track anymore and your driver will give you a look when coming off the track. That look that says, crew chief fix this problem. The best way to fix it is to get a quality Chromoly chassis.

We aren't against mild steel, it can work. It's just that most people don't want to purchase a new frame every three months. Top name drivers don't race the same frame all season in the adult classes because the mild steel gets a memory. So while a used European kart has less than half the resale value most of the time, many of our karts go for only 20% less after a year of running. That means that your per race investment is half as much. It's also very hard to bend one of our karts and very easy to bend mild steel.

So when making that purchase choice, remember that it only seems like we may be a little bit more of an investment, but in reality you are saving money. Buy the best and Mom, Dad or Grandapa can only cry once, better than the driver crying each race.

 

 

 

SWRC Winner Hannah Williams Race #2

 

St. George Sets Record Lap

Lap times are in from Infineon Raceway at Sears Point. Chloe St. George set the track record for Micromax with a 59.7. She was .6 seconds faster than the winner and was the only driver to get below a minute a lap in the class. Congratulations Chloe! Setting the track record on your first try!! She was .6 seconds faster than any other kart again on Sunday in the Gazelle class.

  

Tornado Driver World Famous!

Cruz Fiore just received his copy of the Speed Karts Super Trumpf playing cards that are produced and distributed as a playing card game in Europe. The card set features famous kart racers from around the world. He was one of only two American drivers featured and he also received the cover of the game box. What an honor for the hard working A student from Las Vegas. 

Eddie Fiore and his lovely wife have worked tirelessly with Uncle Anthony to get Cruz great equipment to win with over the last several years. When the game maker contacted us we gave them several drivers to chose from and Cruz got the nod with this great shot that caught one of those wonderful moments we have worked so hard for over the years. This photo is worth the 8 months of long dyno days we had last year alone. Thousands of pulls on the dyno, often in 110 degree temperatures. Thanks for your hard work too Cruz. Thanks for winning the California State Championship for us and the IKF R7 race as well as the Las Vegas Championship.  Now you are world famous!

Pole, Pole, Pole, Win, Podium, Pole, Win, Podium, Pole, Win, Fast Time, Win, Podium, Pole Fast Time, Pole, Track Record....

We have some great drivers around the country. It is amazing how the youngest drivers are setting the pole, breaking track records, podiuming and winning so early. The Chromoly steel combinations we are running are really giving the establishment of Italian kart dealers a fit. We are up against big kart shops with hired tuners and still we are smoking the older drivers.

Tornado Kart Organization sells directly to racers. We don't share profits with dealers and we rarely advertise. We do put money back in to R&D and track testing. The wins show that our plan is working. Dealers still control the minds of many customers and there is a good relationship there but winning is the goal of most customers along with keeping costs in line.

A Chromoly chassis lasts much longer than a Eurpean mild steel kart and that makes it much cheaper than the Italian karts that are fast for a race or two and then start moving to the back. Our resale value is 50% above our Italian counterparts for a reason, the chassis will still be good next year. It does not sag like the Italian makes do.

For a while some chassis makers in Europe offered great deals to get our best drivers away from us. They felt that we couldn't keep winning if we didn't have drivers. Guess what, it is still happening. Tornado Karts are still winning! If you want to win and you are tired of excuses from your local dealer then give us a try and we'll show you why American made is becoming the popular choice for speed and saving money again. If you have the red kart or the blue kart and it just keeps getting slower, mark it with a for sale sign and get the Red White and Blue kart that is sweeping the nation's tracks with a fresh wind of ingenuity.

 

 

Tornado Kid Karts 1st & 2nd At Route 66

Two Tornado Kid Karts took home the top two spots in the Route 66 Kid Kart Class. Logan Mitchell was leading the race but got spun out in the final moments of the race otherwise it would have been a 1,2,3 finish. Younger brother Mitchell got second and Jaydon  Biles won the race. Logan set fast time with a 43.401. Egan Shankleton ran a new 2009 Tornado into 4th in the heat race even with engine troubles. "The new Tornado kept us up front in the heat race even though our engine was having issues", said Bret Shankleton.

Their is such a talented group of teams running this series. They did full tech and pulled engines down to the crank so the series is serious about competition. 

 

 

Factory Girls Rule Regional Races

Hannah Williams and Chloe St. George  (pictured at right) took home big regional wins today. Chloe took the pole, heat and final at the IKF R11 race in Redding California with her new 2009 Tornado Prototype. Hannah took home  the heat win and final with her Tornado Cadet in a big regional race in Texas.  We are so proud of our two factory drivers for bringing home the gold.

Hannah Williams got the lead in the heat after qualifying second. She never relinquished the lead. In the final heat she took the pole position into turn 1 and never gave it up . She left the field behind, way behind. She was so far ahead that when she caught a lap kart and caught a bumper on the kart it sent her off the track. She came to a stop in the grass got going again and still won the race! Watch the race below.

 

Cole Glasson was second at the end of the heat race making it an all Tornado front  row for the final. He got caught outside on the start and finished in 3rd. In the MiniMax Class their teammate on the Tornado Factory team, Michael Schneider took 2nd in a talent filled class.

Jerett Tachovsky moved into second in IKF R11 points with a second place finish behind Chloe St. George.

 

Chloe Wins IKF R11 Medford Oregon

It must have seemed like a million miles for Chloe as she and Keith drove from Los Angeles to Medford Oregon. She had an undefeated season going and wanted to keep it going. The only driver that was going to stand in her way was Zach Corbit. Zach is getting better and the Corbits have been at this a while with Hunter. Chloe took her time and brought home the win.

She's keeping her hopes alive for a perfect season. It will get tougher and tougher as the younger drivers improve and new tracks challenge Keith's set up expertise. "Chloe learns tracks very fast and she amazes me", said Keith. She is a super smooth driver. Now she's on to Atwater and then Dixon. But first she'll head back down to R7 and take a shot at a win. She can't win 7 because of turn 1 wrecks and the schedule conflict with R11.

 

Board Of SLKA Silent

A letter that was sent to the board of SLKA has not had a response yet. Those in the industry that have reviewed what happened are amazed at the decisions made by the attending board members. The track ruling of "we just aren't going to follow the rulebook today" is not what people wanted to hear. It would have been nice if they had put that at the top of the entry form so people could know in advance that there was no guarantee of a fair race. It would have saved many people a very long drive.

While we understand that the board of SLKA has the ability to do whatever it wants, it would be best to at least explain to the racing community how it came to do what almost no group has ever done before. My opinion is that if we don't hear an explanation soon then the race will end and become part of history. It is certainly unfortunate but there will most likely be a better alternative that comes out of this poor experience.

 

KKN Controversy Grows - Oil Gate

Loose Lips Sink Ships

The board of SLKA has not yet responded to the letter sent by several racers and former KKN winners. In fact they have not even acknowledged receipt of the letter. Teams are also looking into the fact that some or all  of the main sponsors teams knew what gas and oil would be used at the race while the rest were told several times that it was not going to be disclosed and to "show up on the grid Saturday with an empty tank".  Someone from their team offered to tell us, we just had the information held to see if it later matched what was used and it was correct. They had know way in advance and had time to test and break in to that combination. Loose lips sink ships and in this case maybe the whole KKN race. Synthetic oil is not used in the Comer classes and certainly conflicts with our strategy of breaking in rings during the race weekend.  We were amazed that the information provided was actually correct and that in a way the race looks to have been rigged in the favor of a select few. The board of SLKA should get to the bottom of this  internal issue and rule officially on the reversal of the DQ's. It's not believable that the entire board was part of this but the actions of one or two select people in charge.

Everyone we have asked has stated that if competitors left tech and came back later they could not protest their DQ. For a competitors DQ to be overturned without a protest is even more amazing. If the board does not explain to the racing public then they are left to assume that phone calls made by the sponsor changed the outcome of the race. The answer on race day was that the race director had decided not to follow WKA rules even though that was the stated rulebook for the race. If the board agrees with this call we hope they will post that on next years race - "We may not follow this rulebook and may just make up our own minds". That way most of us that race fairly can stay home and avoid the waste of time and money. Races that are rigged die fast.

There are many ways to handle these issues, our hope has been that the board will meet and deal with it directly. If that doesn't happen it looks like some competitors will take it to the next level. When competitors come from miles around and invest thousands of dollars to race only to have the rulebook ignored and to find out they were put at a disadvantage on purpose by someone that was aiding the main sponsors teams, you can't expect them to just walk away and forget it While we have stayed out of the fray we have advised competitors of their rights under the rules and view what happened here as the most egregious violation in the ten years we've been involved.. We were an anonymous sponsor of the race and had asked for our donations to go to tech tools. Tools don't matter if the race doesn't follow the rulebook.

KKN Squared Cases Controversy

The kart that crossed the finish line first had talked to teams and asked if we had squared cases. Their worry was that all of them did and they hoped our teams did as well. Machining cases for level and square is not allowed in the WKA or IKF rulebooks so none of our engines were squared. If this competitor knew his cases were not legal then why didn't he run another engine? Why then when his engine came back to tech was it not checked and DQ'd a second time for squared cases? Was that over ruled too or did a different engine come back to tech a second time?

It is hard to do but sometimes its best just to give up your position on the grid or after a win if you or your engine supplier didn't follow the rules and you know it. Many people did give up their positions during heat races because they found carbs that didn't pass tech.  I've seen it done, a competitor races and then opts out of tech and hands the trophy to the next finisher because they were legal.

It would be the biggest show of kindness and good sportsmanship by any of the top 5 finishers that knew they were illegal. Has our sport risen to that level or is it win at all cost and hope not to get caught?

We are left wondering what was done to increase times over last year when we were running synthetic. Those that have tested synthetic know that it usually slows a Comer down by a second or two on a track the size of SLKA.

 

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.

 

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

 

 


 

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