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.

Championships Sweep For Tornado Kid Karts Drivers?

With Donnie Bell wrapping up the SWRC title and Jacob Winslow taking the SKUSA championship all that is left is the IKF R7 and IKF R11 titles. We didn't have anyone running in R11 this year after Chloe St. George won it last season for the Tornado Team, but two 2009 Tornado karts lead both days of the R7 title. If one of them wins the title then that will mean that the 2009 Tornado Kid Kart chassis will have wrapped up 100% of the regional titles it competed in and two national races.

For a company that has only 2% market share that is certainly conclusive proof that we ended up with the best and luckiest drivers in the USA and or we have very competitive mixed steel chassis in our 2009 Tornado Kid Kart that has an advantage on all the European karts.

The 2010 Kid Kart is out now and will have the advantage over our 2009 karts because of it's ability to change ride height and ride length. This is something that no other kid kart has today. It allows you to set up for short tracks and long sweeping tracks with just one chassis. Invest in the best and only cry once!

Donnie Bell Wins Southwest Regional Cup

Donnie had some pent up energy after his experience in St. Louis. He hopped in his Tornado prototype and took it to the front of the pack at the last SWRC weekend in Oklahoma. He won the heat and exploded into celebration.

On Sunday Donnie took the pole again, won the heat race and then broke a clutch spring in the final causing him to finish in fourth right behind Ryan Lewis. Points should be calculated by the end of the week but it looks like Donnie may have won the season championship. If that happens and it will mean that three of the four major regional series that run kid karts competitively will be won by Tornado drivers. Thank you Donnie for taking us to victory lane with you!

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 mild steel used by the major kart names from Europe. 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.

Summer National Races Coming Up

The IKF and SLKA have put both venues for kids to compete for a larger title within the same week again this year. It will be very hard to make both races because of the shear logistics of it. Of the two races IKF is possibly offering the biggest name but in the past it's been a regular plastic trophy with only a few racers. The Kid Kart Nationals has been the much better attended race and is solely dedicated to kid kart racers. Our record has been astonishing in both races, in the last three years we have won 75% of the titles and over 45% of the total podium positions.

The West coast kids always seem to have the advantage because they run only the new style engines at races on the big lumbering tracks. They've sorted through more equipment and finely tuned what they have to work. In some cases they have tuned more than what is legal and getting very good at hiding it. Only the best engine builder could find it in tech. The central and East coast drivers use the C50 old style and don't get to race the new style as much but they have the advantage of racing tighter tracks and are usually better drivers on those tight tracks.

So the Kid Kart Nationals ends up being the best race all around because it has had very heavy tech for the last three years, it's track is a combination of a long straight and many tight corners. This year with the economy down we would expect fewer racers but not less quality. We predict this may be the best racing we've seen yet. That's hard to top with the two classic battles between Trickle, St. George and Leatherberry last year and Johnson, Lazier and Lantz the year before.

Over the next few weeks we'll introduce the drivers and talk about our thoughts about the race. I do think this years race could well be decided in the tech shed. Our goal has remained the same, to win with great drivers and good equipment that is legal. We are not going to drill out a hole somewhere that no one will probably see to win a race. We're not going to reshape the head and hope that someone won't catch it. I told last years winner that my personal reward comes in moments where the drivers and their family celebrate. I know that the trophy they are holding is their trophy, not anyone else's or my trophy. They earned it and it can't be questioned at least in my mind because I handled the engine start to finish, it is legal. Everyone I've know that cheated to win has regretted it in later years.

In the last two years the race went to two teams that were behind in prep only weeks before race. Buddy Lazier had been dealing with someone that bent his king pins to simulate changes we had made in our newer chassis. Buddy realized what was happening and called us directly, we overnighted a new chassis to the track, flew out to help and he won the race starting from 4th. Greg Leatherberry blew a crank out of his best engine only ten days before the race. He flew what was left out to us and we rebuilt it. "I had to decide to stick with it or go to the back up, it came in during the final and we won with two corners to go", Greg explained. Greg placed great trust in us to get the engine back together. We had to put in used bearings and performed a few other tricks to age it fast enough to have a shot at winning.

Will this be our year again? I think we have a 50 percent chance. You can't win them all but we have wonderful drivers and crew chiefs.  There is no one that is completely prepared this year. No one favorite with five engines all aged and ready. It will be more interesting to see whom will take the top step of the podium at KKN.

We don't think the IKF event will be of interest as the tech has been very weak in the areas that count and kart count has continued to drop as the series has lost credibility, we can't recommend it this year. I sincerely hope that parents will write to IKF and encourage them to revoke their oversize jet rule and get back to legal equipment or change the rules to allow everyone to blueprint the engine legally for max performance.

No matter what, we'll have fun, excitement, broken parts and broken dreams, winners and runners up. It's all in how you look at it. We look at it as fun and part of a building process for young men and women. We say if you make it to a national race and you have a kart you are a winner!

2010 Kid Kart Preview

Each summer we release a new model kart. This year we'll have a set of changes that are aimed at making it easier to get spare parts in the field. We're going to soften the kart a little more and allow for more adjustability up front. With new caster/camber pills made of stainless steel in varying degrees of offset you'll be able to dial in your favorite track even better. With a 30 mm axle you'll be able to get more options for replacement parts in the field should you run out of spares. With a softer middle section the kart will be more user friendly. A new seat strut option will give you additional speed at a few tracks you visit.

The goal of the design additions are to improve the driving experience, make the kart faster in the corners and help standardize parts to the more available metric sizes.

As with years past three Karts will be made available for purchase prior to the summer national races.

Tornado Round Up

Cory, Leatherberry & Griesbach, Winslow Sweep Kid Kart Class in St. Louis Regional Race

Cory Wins, Leatherberry Returning Champion 2nd, Grant 3rd

With storms on the horizon drivers from seven states made it to St. Louis to race at the big NASCAR track on the infield for the Central States Super Series. The rain held off but the trophies fell into the hands of our drivers. Tornado Factory Team drivers took 1st, 2nd and 3rd at the Central States Super Series opener in the Kid Kart Class at the St. Louis Speedway with Tornado Driver Jacob Winslow coming in 4th. Nicholas Cory was fast all weekend and won it with Owen Leatherberry 10 karts back and Grant Greisbach another few karts back. Leatherberry and Greisbach were fighting gremlins all weekend but got them isolated enough to podium. It ended up being a race between two of the seven sisters engines, the one that won the Kid Kart Nationals and the new one that Cory picked up last season.

Jacob Winslow - New Tornado Factory Driver Finished 4th

Alanmykael Polley was racing for the Tornado Factory Team in the Tag 60 cadet class and was completing a pass for second in the heat race when he was clipped in the rear and it took both drivers out. He started in the back and put down some of the fastest times of the race as he came from 16th to 8th. But with rain approaching officials shortened the race and there wasn't enough time to make it back to challenge for the win. "Had we not got knocked off the track I'm sure we would have had a chance for the win", lamented Michael Polley. We had been bracketing gearing and jetting all weekend and were very close to the setup we needed.  We dropped 7 seconds from start to finish.

The Polleys learned a bunch during the weekend and that's what we hope for each time we race or practice. Keep an eye on these two young drivers Cory and Polley as they develop this season.

P.S. A number of our Kid Kart Factory Drivers were not in attendance. A Mother's day race is controversial as it is a traditional day off racing. Biles and Mitchells were at home celebrating Mother's day, putting in a central vacuum system, chassis testing and Lewis was attending business in Texas. I've maintained that a top 5 sweep of a class would allow me to retire. For those that I help, they may be lucky, for others it's a missed opportunity to remove a championship tuner and coach.... One other side note, rumor has it that Cory was being helped by Keith St. George in Las Vegas.. Could that last corner pass for the KK Nationals by Owen be costing him? The bees are buzzing. Hmmmmm.

Grant Grand Griesbach Opening

Dousman Wisconsin

If you have waited all winter to put some rubber to the road then you know how bad these 20 kid kart racers wanted to smell gas burning, feel the corners in the road and taste victory. Spring fever translated in to hot laps for one of our new Tornado Factory Drivers. 

Grant Griesbach opened his season at Dousman in Wisconsin with a sweep of qualifying, heat races and the final. There were 20 Kid Karts in attendance and officials did a much heavier than normal tech.  We recently went through Grants equipment and he should have what he needs for his Tornado to run up front. Just wait until the break in process completes! Congratulations Grant, Jeremy and family. Thanks for taking us to victory lane with you!

Tornado Round Up

Cory, Leatherberry & Griesbach Sweep Kid Kart Class in St. Louis Regional SKUSA CSSS Race

Cory Wins, Leatherberry Returning Champion 2nd, Grant Griesbach 3rd

With storms on the horizon drivers from seven states made it to St. Louis to race at the big NASCAR track on the infield for the Central States Super Series. The rain held off but the trophies fell into the hands of our drivers. Tornado Factory Team drivers took 1st, 2nd and 3rd at the Central States Super Series opener in the Kid Kart Class at the St. Louis Speedway. Nicholas Cory was fast all weekend and won it with Owen Leatherberry 10 karts back and Grant Greisbach another few karts back. Leatherberry and Greisbach were fighting gremlins all weekend but got them isolated enough to podium. It ended up being a race between two of the seven sisters engines, the one that won the Kid Kart Nationals and the new one that Cory picked up last season.

Alanmykael Polley was racing for the Tornado Factory Team in the Tag 60 cadet class and was completing a pass for second in the heat race when he was clipped in the rear and it took both drivers out. He started in the back and put down some of the fastest times of the race as he came from 16th to 8th. But with rain approaching officials shortened the race and there wasn't enough time to make it back to challenge for the win. "Had we not got knocked off the track I'm sure we would have had a chance for the win", lamented Michael Polley. We had been bracketing gearing and jetting all weekend and were very close to the setup we needed.  We dropped 7 seconds from start to finish.

The Polleys learned a bunch during the weekend and that's what we hope for each time we race or practice. Keep an eye on these two young drivers Cory and Polley as they develop this season.

P.S. A number of our Kid Kart Factory Drivers were not in attendance. A Mother's day race is controversial as it is a traditional day off racing. Biles and Mitchells were at home celebrating Mother's day, putting in a central vacuum system, chassis testing and Lewis was attending business in Texas. I've maintained that a top 5 sweep of a class would allow me to retire. For those that I help, they may be lucky, for others it's a missed opportunity to remove a championship tuner and coach.... One other side note, rumor has it that Cory was being helped by Keith St. George in Las Vegas.. Could that last corner pass for the KK Nationals by Owen be costing him? The bees are buzzing. Hmmmmm.

Tornado Factory Driver Is 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!

Finally Kid Kart National Video

We found a way to get the whole Kid Kart National Video to show on the web at once. Click here to watch it.

Tornado's Destroy Italian Competition in IKF R7 Rain Races At Calspeed

Tornado's Take 4 of 5 Top Spots Both Days!

Saturday

All last year we trained and worked with young Jerett Tachovsky and his crew as part of our Tornado Factory Driver Team. He's picture below talking with Chris Trickle another former Tornado Factory Driver.

These two are a couple of the most talented drivers we've seen and Jerett proved it Saturday in his opening performance in R7. Chris Trickle holds the only two Screaming Eagles ever awarded to Kid Karts last year when he took two poles on the Tornado Kid Kart at the Grand Nationals. The Tornado chassis won last season's opening race at Calspeed with Cruz Fiore at the helm and the same design won again on the super slick track at Fontana California with Jerett driving. Ryan Lewis of Texas had to start last after a coil failed in the heat, but the racer from Lone star state wouldn't give up and made it to the podium. Ryan made it from last to fourth, a great run for anyone in R7! Tornado Karts took four of the top five positions Saturday. Hayden Wagoner took 5th place both days in his Used Tornado (thanks you Charles for the nice note).

Pictures complements of Rob Tachovsky

Sunday

Ryan Lewis #65 improved in day two as this was his first ever rain race experience and first time to Calspeed. A lose muffler in the qualifying sent Tachovsky and Lewis to the back. Lewis threw a chain and Tachovsky lost an air filter in the heat race. In the final the two started dead last. By the end of the first lap Ryan had made it to the front and lead all laps until lap 6 when he got loose in the rain. Tachovsky took the opportunity to get in front and held the lead to the checkered flag. The two finished 1st and second on the 2009 Tornado Chassis. The number 88 running a 2009 Tornado as well got third, Anthony Sawyer  got fourth and fifth was a Tornado as well. Leading to an all American Chassis sweep in the final. Both days Tornado karts took four of the top five spots. Thanks for taking us to victory lane!

Tanner McKee Wins Las Vegas Opener Cowen Second As Tornados Roll Through

Tornado's took first and second in the desert of Las Vegas this Sunday. Tanner is the younger brother of the first ever Kid Kart IKF Grand National Champion. Tanner's more into girls than practice but he's got the some great racing genes, a top notch crew chief and tire cleaner and the race was on. Rumor has it that Katie Fiore, his secret cheerleader was wearing a pink shirt with his number on it in the stands and blowing him kisses. Tanner would come around the track and give her a thumbs up sign as he fended of a hard charging Sport Cowen that was running Chloe St. Georges Tornado. Congratulations to both drivers and thanks for taking us to victory lane with you.

If ever in Vegas stay at the Terrible Herbst Hotel, they sponsor Tanner and we should pay them back as often as we can!

Mitchell and Leatherberry Kid Kart Nationals Champions!

 So many great drivers from all across the country came to St. Louis to test the best. They were local champs, hot shoes that looked like they couldn't be bested but this race would put them, their equipment, their crew chief and luck to the test. It was all Chloe St. George early in the unrestricted class as she took the pole for the Tornado Factory Team. She had only had two weekends off since January often racing two days in cities separated by ten hour drives.  They continually sought to toughest tracks and competitors.

Mason Mitchell took the pole for the Tornado Factory team in the restricted class, Dalton Adkins of West Virginia would assume the pole after the heat race. Mason too had raced the US from East to West already this year and was ready. Thaye, Brady, Branden... I can't name them all but they were fast and brought their A game. The heat races were exciting with no one sure whom would take the win. Trickle and Leatherberry put on the best show of the weekend in the second heat of the day. The two karts ended touching coming to the flag with Owen edging Trickle after Chris passed for the lead in the final corner.

 In the other heat race Owen Leatherberry bested Chloe St. George for the pole in the final as Tornado Factory Team drivers locked up the front row but the talented Chris Trickle was in a Tornado with someone else's engine in P3 for the final.

Chris got the lead with a great set of moves early to lead the 28 talented karters across the stripe for the first time. Owen and Chloe were close behind and it didn't take long for Owen to put the move on Chris for the lead. Chloe then took over the lead a lap later as Chris' engine was ailing and he slipped back.  Chloe would put a 10 kart length gap on Owen in the middle of the final but Owen wouldn't give up and he could see Chloe. Lapped traffic slowed Chloe in a couple key areas and Owen's engine came in perfectly to set the track record. He hunted Chloe down and with two turns remaining he put a clean move on her for the win. Owen came across the start finish with both fists in the air  in jubilant fashion and Chloe on his back bumper.

Mason Mitchell had a pretty easy run in the restricted class as he was running Alabama, one of the fastest Kid Kart engine ever. Young mister Turpin came in second in his Tornado. Dalton Adkins looked good early as he turned the fastest time of the day while winning the heat race (see below) and was a possible winning driver but the carb clogged and he had to retire his kart.

Young Mr. Shankleton got his Tornado on Thursday and dad got it together in time for the race to come in fourth after an early morning heat win. It was only his sixth race so keep an eye on this young man!  That gave us 3 of the top 4 in Restricted as well. Look at Mason's eyes when he figures out that the podium finishers get more than a participation trophy. The look is priceless.

Jaydon Biles put on a great show to finish 4th in unrestricted in his Tornado. As a six year old he'll be the force to recon with in years to come, but Owen has the right to run KKN one more time next year if he doesn't move up. There were so many talented drivers at the race. We were all impressed. As it is each year, the technical nature of keeping the little engines in their sweet spot and keeping the chassis' stuck to the pavement proved to be too much. National championships leave little room for error as many hungry competitors are ready to eat your lunch. Dillon Schwanbeck got caught up in a turn one wreck but came back to win the last chance qualifier.  Eagan Shankleton made it from 20th to 9th after an air cleaner came off. He ran the 3rd fastest time in the final followed by Dillon's 4th fastest time. Tornado Kart Drivers ran top 5 of the six fastest lap times in the final!

Thank you Tornado drivers for giving us 3 of the top 4 spots in unrestricted and 2 of the top 4 in restricted. A sweep of the top podiums is more than we had expected. By luck and hard work by talented teams Tornado drivers won ever pole, heat and final with the exception of one heat - there were no Tornado Karts in that heat by the luck of the timing gods. As one parent said it "this ends the question about what kid kart chassis is the fastest in the world right now". We want to thank all the talented drivers that made the Tornado look so good. Thanks for taking us to victory lane with you.

A big thank you to Michael Thompson for helping out tuning and for bringing the special Hoosiers. Thanks to Keith Allison for coming all the way down to help tune, your eyes and ears are very tuned to karting and we couldn't do it without you. The team stuck together and worked to create a successful winning effort. Thank you to the sponsors, officials and all the workers that gave up their weekends so the kids could race the best. There were many tears during the weekend. Owen's little sister cried twice because Owen beat Chloe and the last tear shed was the entire Leatherberry family as they hugged and held each other tightly, there dreams realized. Only a week earlier their best engine's flywheel blew up destroying most of the engine. They faught back against the odds and won. They'll remember it for years!

Super Star Wins R7 Too!

Chloe St. George of Las Vegas called from Grange Race Circuit near Apple Valley California to let me know she completed her goal of winning each of IKF's regions. She asked me, "who's your super star"? I had to answer you are today. It was her day and she raced Chris Trickle and Jake Drew for the win, trading the lead with them five times. In the end she was first on the podium and Drew was second.

When we met Chloe in Las Vegas she was driving a beat up old Italian kart but she was solid as the older kids kept hitting her. She showed determination and we decided to invest in her because we wanted more females in the sport. She's given back more than we could have ever hoped. She won IKF R11's title, she won the only regional race she ran in IKF R4, took the pole at Kid Kart Nationals and now she adds a IKF R7 to her list of accomplishments.

Keith St. George still has hoses coming out of his back. He's been patching himself together to keep her on the track. He was upset because Chloe got 4th on Saturday. When she finished the race he saw that her accelerator cable was set wrong and she wasn't racing with full throttle. Once he got that fixed she did the rest. She was a kart length behind at the line but the Pitt's engine failed tech and was disqualified giving Chloe the win. Thank you Chloe and SGF Racing for a spectacular season.

Clash Of Kid Kart Titans At I70

Mason Mitchell of Palmyra Missouri won the restricted class at the Kid Kart Nationals and Ower Leatherberry won the Unristricted Class at the KKN. Both are  our factory drivers and both love to win setting up for a real battle in Missouri. This weekend they did battle at the I70 speedway just outside of Kansas City for the Central States Super Series. Mason Mitchell duked it out with Owen and came up the victor.

This is the part of the season when the younger drivers start maturing and have the weight advantage over the older drivers with experience. Both the Mitchell's and the Leatherberry's are focused race teams with a depth of great equipment in their pits. We've trained both teams and it must have been a race to behold. We love all our Tornado Factory Drivers. Congratulations Mason, we can almost see that big grin from here. Thanks for taking us to victory lane in your first big regional win!

Chloe St. George Wins IKF R11

Chloe St. George wins the final at Reno Nevada. It was not easy because she did not get to practice on Friday and they drove all night long. With only a couple hours sleep and two morning practice sessions she stuck with it and worked her way to the front. Two competitors failed on a cc check showing that the most common mistake at this level can end your season. Keith St. George checked his during the day and finished at exactly 7.3cc securing the season title for Chloe and the 2009 Tornado chassis. And yes her engine is for sale right now.

Jerett Tachovsky was wrecked twice  by other drivers but still put down fast time in his 2009 Tornado while trying to make it back to the front of the pack. He received second place after tech finished up. Jerett was caught off guard by the use of lights to start the race. He went from pole to last and had to work his way back up to third in the heat. In the final he was hit twice but never gave up and kept going. Jerett almost completely wraps up second place in the R11 series, a great accomplishment for someone that started the season as a five year old.

Chloe can chose to continue racing the series or drop both last races and accept the championship. She actually has enough points to suffer a DQ and still win the championship. She has not missed a race yet and has won 6 of the 7 races so far. This was the first race in her home state of Nevada but she still had a 7 hour drive to attend the race. Congratulations Chloe on becoming the most dominant Kid Kart Driver in recent history with 8 regional IKF wins in one season, a second at KKN and a 3rd at IKF Grand Nationals.

Jerett Tachovsky Takes Pole At Reno IKF R11 Race

Jerett Tachovsky stunned the crowd at the first race of the IKF R11 season by taking the pole as a five year old. Now he's six and he placed third at the IKF Sprint Grand Nationals. No longer are people surprised by this young driver, they are just watching intently to see how far he will progress. Rob Tachovsky called me the other night and said, "We are going for the win in Reno". That's a big statement when you know that you'll be racing Chloe St. George his other Tornado Factory Driver and arguably the best overall kid kart racer in the country. She has won all but one race of the R11 season and that was the one where her engine failed under the heat.

Keith St. George made it up in time to race Saturday only and Chloe qualified 2 seconds off Jerett's pole time in fourth place. She will have to learn the track while racing. Keith had snuck out of the hospital bedroom and drove seven hours through the desert to make this race. "Chloe's picking up 2 seconds a session but she just hasn't figure the track out yet like Jerett has at this point. Maybe we'll be there with something for him in the final", explained Keith. Zenny St. Georges was happy to explain that Keith had an accident in the car on the way up. One of the tubes from his kidneys came undone. Oh my, I guess it could have been another kind of accident.

Wilson Skjerven has one of our engines and qualified off pole for the R11 race. Everyone will be trying to figure out how to tune at altitude. Keith St. George probably has an advantage her as he won R4a in Colorado when tuning above 5000 feet a couple months ago. Right now we are proud to have three of the top five engines in qualifying and to have the pole with the youngest driver. Keith and I agreed that Jerett has a great touch on the steering wheel and he's coming into his own right now. Congratulations Jerett Tachman Tachovsky on the pole!

IKF Points Leads for Cruz, Conner and Chloe

Cruz Fiore, Conner Hanson and Chloe St. George hold the points leads with and without drops at the three IKF Regional race series currently as we reach the halfway point in the season. We congratulate Chloe on her four straight wins and Cruz for making it onto the podium in all but one of his races so far. Conner has a string of seconds place finishes. The kart that he had been losing to recently took a DQ for tires that had been on the kart in other races this season. We are proud to see our Tornado Drivers doing so well this season. We hope that hard work, preparation and a bit of luck will allow them to finish the season in the same positions.

Brandon Weaver sat on the front row with Chloe. He's got a new generation of engines that we have been producing and boy was it fast. He ran Chloe down in the final and lead part of the race before Chloe took it back. Brandon stayed right behind Chloe and drafted her down the straights but couldn't get by for the win. Chloe and Brandon had their work cut out for them racing against top drivers on their home track. They finished 5 seconds ahead of the nearest competitor.

Jerett Tachovsky drove excellent all weekend but was nursing Frankenstein back to health. That's the engine we put back together Thursday from all the parts left over after his flywheel exploded at the last race and ruined his engine. Jerett is testing some new engines for us and watch for him to be back strong at the next IKF race.

Conner Spencer On Podium at LVMS

We are pleased to announce that Conner Spencer has joined the Tornado Factory Team of drivers. Conner is the son of famed Fast Freddie Spencer. At 21, Freddie Spencer had become the youngest World Grand Prix Champion in history. Conner is development nicely and got third this weekend at the Las Vegas Motorspeedway. Cruz Fiore won the race and Donny Williams son got second, all were racing Tornado Chassis.

Conner just took delivery of a new 2009 Tornado Kid Kart. Here is what Freddie had to say about the kart: 

Jared Mitchell recently tested the new 2009 Tornado against the 2008 and found similar results. He reported that they gained 4 tenths on a 40 second lap time. The 2009 is easier to drive then the 2008 and a bit looser. We should see the benefits of the 2009 chassis as the summer months wear on and the tracks get sticky. Thanks for all the positive feedback Factory Drivers!

Schwanbeck Sweeps

Dillon Schwanbeck swept both days of the Midwest Sprint Series at New Castle this weekend in his new 2009 Tornado Prototype Kid Kart. "It handled so well in the high speed corner, he was actually taking it faster than I thought  it could be taken. While others slid out Dillon stuck the corner perfectly" said Paul Schwanbeck. "We were successful both days and won convincingly. People were looking at the chassis to see what it was."

Too bad you can't see all the changes we made to the kart for 2009. Thanks to people like Paul that stepped up early and tested the prototype they have a slight advantage. We are switching production to the new chassis this month ahead of schedule.

St. George Wins IKF R11 Opener

Jerett is only 5 years old but he thought he'd take a shot at the IKF Region 11 opening race at the Davis California Blue Max Kart Club. He was driving a new Storm Edition 2009 prototype Tornado. We loaned him a top engine along with his team mate Brandon Weaver.  They both quickly learned the track and started to sling the karts around the track. In the morning Jerett was clean and we kept asking him to keep on the gas through turn 1. In the qualifying run he trusted us and kept on the gas setting fast time and taking the pole for the morning stunning the experienced local drivers that had be practicing the track. The crowd was amazed that a 5 year old that had never been to Davis took the pole. 

Unfortunately the scales moved a couple pounds from morning practice and Brandon weaver was a half pound light, he'd have to start in the back at a tough to pass track. Jerett and Chloe noticed the weight difference but squeaked by.

In the heat race the experienced drives slowly moved past Jerett and Chloe moved to the front row. She had to race Jeremy Kay of Reno, Jeremy had been fast all Friday in practice. In the final it was Chloe St. George of the Tornado Factory Drivers team that jumped off to a great lead. She was caught with three corners to go by another driver that had built their own engine that would later fail tech. Michael drove a great race but was assisted in running to the front by a powerful engine that didn't meet spec. Chloe assumes the points lead for R11.

Chloe loaded up quickly for the 8 hour drive to Los Angeles and the California Speedway. She would test some things for us in the morning that did not work and had to start tenth on Sunday. She made it up to 3rd in the final to get her second podium of the month. Chloe is racing somewhere almost every weekend so her testing is done on race weekend. This makes it more difficult for her to learn the track at the limits of the chassis, but she adapts quickly and gives us good feedback. Congratulations Chloe on your first IKF regional win. Keep an eye on young Jerett Tachovsky (pronounced tahavsky) he has real talent and a great touch on the steering wheel. Thanks for taking us to victory lane with you and making our engines/chassis look so good.

5 Year Old Takes Pole in 2009 Prototype Tornado at IKF R11

Jerett Tachovsky has had his new prototype Tornado Storm Edition for only a month or so. He decided to change plans to race at Santa Maria and come take a shot at the big time regional racing of Region 11. He received his new kart and put it on the track for the first time at the R7 opener. He's one of the most gifted drivers we have seen in a long time. When he came down the sweeper at Davis and entered the hairpin in a controlled drift I was impressed. When he came around again and attempted a pass at the same time when the door opened with a mistake from the kart in front I was in awe.  Most kids would lock it up and try to avoid the kart, but he steered around it and tried to stick it in for a pass.

Jarett practiced on Friday and had much of the track handled. The only thing left was the reducing radius turn one at the end of the front stretch. We explained that most kids take months to get that corner down and hold it wide open. He explained that it was a challenge he wanted to master. Before he went out I explained that the kart would handle better if he stayed full on the gas and didn't lift in the reducing radius. The kart would hold him if he drove steady. He looked at me with a long gaze deep into my eyes. Neither of us blinked and we both knew it was possible. I felt like telling him that we had a set of specially matched tires like Harry Hog did in Days of Thunder, but then I'd be telling a lie and he'd know it. Jerett decided to trust in the advice.

Jerett talked it over with his Dad before he went out for the green, white, checkered. They agreed that if it felt good to go for it on the final lap and if the kart spun then they'd accept their first lap time. Jerett did it and held it down, showing the poise of a seven year old with months of practice on the track. As I announced the race from the booth Jerett's name popped to the top of the list of qualifiers on the computer. I looked up and the checkered was flying. Jerett would hold on to the pole position in an upset of momentous proportions. My voice must have cracked with pride when I figured out that Jerett had placed his trust in the chassis to hold him and floored it through the corner.

It was a pleasure tuning for Jerett. Rob had ordered a new top end carb from us. We bolted it on and dropped two seconds a lap on Friday. Sorting of carbs does make a difference. We want to thank Rob, Tracie and the whole Tachovsky for great wine, food and hospitality. We also want to thank Dan Weaver for offering us a place to warm up and eat dinner. It was a great weekend. We are looking forward to watching The Javelin (Jerett) slice through the wind again soon.

IKF R7 - Cruz Fiore Wins At California Speedway Opener!!

3 Tornados on the Podium, Mitchell and Hanson Take 4th and 5th As The 2009 Prototype Tornado Wins It's First Race. Wow!!

It was the start of the most coveted series in the world for Kid Kart racers, the International Kart Federation's Region 7 Southwestern Super Series at the California Speedway in Fontana outside Los Angeles. Competitors from East to West coast were in attendance. Cruz Fiore put his trust in the Tornado engineers and took a new 2009 Tornado prototype chassis version 1.1 out for the first time in a race and had a great result. Last year we had a prototype in the field and it took 6th, the driver Braden Johnson went on to win the championship. "It was perfect", said Cruz after the race. Eddie and Anthony put the chassis together just the day before the IKF race and shook it down at Apex in the afternoon. "This was our weakest track and we are very pleased to win our first IKF R7 race here at the California Speedway". The Las Vegas native had not made the club race two weeks earlier because of the Las Vegas Kart Club banquet and had not raced this configuration in over a year. Cruz was fast all day timing in on the front row and winning the final. Chloe St. George set fast time on her Tornado in the heat and let the boys know they could not count her out this season, but got caught up in the big crash in turn two in the final. Logan Mitchell finishes 4th after starting in the back and Conner Hanson finishes 5th as the only in state local driver in the top 5, making it a three Tornado sweep of the top 5. Again, chromoly tubing chassis' dominated the top positions.

Logan Mitchell was our standout in the final. He had a crew chief that had forgotten to get painted after qualifying and had to start the heat in the back. He made it up to 10th after the DQ of the heat winner he would start the final in 9th. In the final he got the hole shot and slid through the field moving up 5 spots hitting turn two at full speed. Unfortunately a kart ahead of him slowed and he touched his bumper while trying to tuck underneath and avoid the slowing kart. In IKF racing you can't lift or you'll get hit from behind. The ensuing wreck took out several top competitors including Chloe St. George, Sebastian Elizondo and Jacob Drew. Logan steered into the slide and saved it to tuck into 6th. He then worked the pack and made it up to 4th. The 5th place finisher failed in tech and Conner Hanson then moved his Tornado into a 5th place podium finish. Conner was in third at one point of the final and drove a great race. While the tech officials reviewed the unmarked engine closely of the Florida entry that has taken technical DQ's all over the country they ended up allowing him to pass but did not cc or take the head or clutch off - many listening felt this entry was illegal by watching and listening to it.

Several drivers showed themselves to be practiced and ready including Sebastian Elizondo, RJ Stearns and Jacob Drew. Sebastian was involved in a wreck in the heat when he and Chris Trickle got together in turn 5. Drew was driven off the track in the heat race and did not finish the final race as he was caught up in the wreck. They'll use this race as their drop and be back up front again. Stearns had issues in tech and was sent to the back of the field. Eyes were on former Tornado driver Chris Trickle as many expected a win from him after his fast times at the prior club race. Chris had full free factory support of a local kart shop and Italian kart maker.  Chris' times were off three seconds a lap from the times he turned in the club race and two seconds off from the year before when he had set fast time for us on a Tornado at the season opener. Chloe's time's were off a second from the club race so the track was obviously slower. Chris was in tenth at the time of the wreck and came out 4th so it really helped him get to the podium. Why the other drivers were so much slower on IKF race weekend than at the club race is a mystery. In Chloe's case she had a brand new engine at the club race that was too tight to win, it was much looser for the IKF race and was very fast as we found something that was slowing here down ever as she set fast time. She had a real chance to win this race but in the final it didn't matter as she was driven hard into the turn 2 barriers by the wrecked karts. Cruz Fiore drove a flawless day. A test on our part probably cost him the pole but he recovered nicely in the heat and the engine was mostly back in the final. The engine named Killer Queen sounded almost back to full health in the final and bested the field.

We are so please with our Tornado drivers. With the stiff competition and the gamble on a new chassis design with almost no testing we had anticipated having only one driver on the podium. To have three drivers up there was a great victory. Congratulations to Mason Mitchell and Jerett Tachovsky as they finished mid pack, pretty good for 5 and 6 year olds in their first big IKF R7 race. We believe had Chloe made it through turn 2 she would have been right up along side the leaders racing for the podium. She was in fifth at the time of the wreck and had been .3 seconds faster than Cruz in the heat with her fast new Stealth engine. We'll see all the great drivers back in four weeks near Las Vegas for the Buffalo Bill's race where no one will have the advantage of track time and practice. Luck will play a part again, a wreck will almost for certain cripple someone's run for the championship and there will probably be a DQ for something. That's racing and if you navigate all the issues you can have a chance to be the champion. Congratulations Cruz, Eddie and Anthony... you worked hard, put your trust and faith in ComerJet and the Tornado Team and came away with the win. Thank you for taking us to victory lane with you!

We were missing a Factory Driver at the race. Click here to see the video of the race and a hint of why Tanner McKee wasn't there...

Customer Quotes -

"Just wanted to call and let you know we won our first race ever in Kid Karts with your Tornado Chassis. We are thrilled, I knew it was the right investment to make. He sailed smoothly through the corners while others hopped and skidded through." East Coast

"The Tornado chassis handled perfectly, it was really smooth in the corners, I could pass anyone at will." Flinn Lazier

"My son spun out four times in his old kart at this track, in the race today with his new F5 he didn't spin out once. He is so happy with the kart. Thank you!"

"Look at him the harder he drives it the better the chassis performs, he is carries the wheel speed out of the corner and rockets past the other karts as he exits the corner"

"We ran the kart and were fast out of the box on the dirt oval. It was so wild to watch the inside front lift up in the corners like a dirt modified car. The kart just handled so smooth that no one could catch us. East Coast

"When we got the chassis we were running at 1:14, within a week or so we were down to 1:10 a lap. It is a rocket in the corners and really fast. The others were having trouble catching us. We collected two karts and the nose did its job by holding the other kart down and dissipating the energy of the crash" West Coast

"The chassis arrived late yesterday and we only had time to put a stock engine on it after testing all day with the old chassis and our blueprinted engine. The day before we were running 1.16.5 and 1.17. We dropped 4.5 seconds with your chassis and our slow stock engine.  Our driver is so pleased to be running with the leader. On Sunday he qualified on .3 of a second off the pole in his first race with the Tornado F4. Thank you, this chassis is really fast! Build us a second so we have a spare ready to go in the trailer"

"Look at it go through the corners, it is so fast and smooth!" Western US

"My son said it was much quicker and felt so much better to drive" Central US

"We love the kart!" Southern USA

"My son and I are very impressed!" Southern USA

"We love the front end design and handling" West USA

"Just wanted you to know we love the chassis. It was a bullet in the corners. We took second in a National race with it and were very happy with its performance." Central USA customer
 

 What is a My-Chron? Check them out - they are invaluable.

The All New MyChron 4

Decals for the Tornado line are available at Margison Graphics. http://margisongraphics.com/MG/karttemp2.htm

http://margisongraphics.com/MG/karttemp2.htm

Race chassis do not have warranties. Once you place the order and pay for the chassis it is your property and can't be canceled or returned for a refund.  We ship when they are done - once ordered you can't get a refund. If you refuse shipment we'll hold the engine or chassis 3 weeks, if you don't take shipment or redirect it to a new owner it will be donated to a charitable organization that helps young racers get a start in your name and you may take the tax write off. Please make sure you are prepared to accept these conditions before you purchase.