×

Racing Is Back

Karts to run for $1,000 Friday night at Stateline

Times Observer File Photo by Scott Kindberg Clone 350 class go-karts will be featured at Stateline Speedway’s kart track Friday evening.

BUSTI, N.Y. — Racing action will return to Kortwright Road on Friday evening.

While the main track at Stateline Speedway remains closed amidst the coronavirus pandemic, the adjacent Stateline Speedway Kart track will host its annual July 3 Sr. Clone 350 race.

Sr. Clone 350 karts are for drivers ages 15 and up with the combined weight of the kart and driver not to exceed 350 pounds. The race will be sponsored by Dave Warren Auto Group and Stateline Speedway Karts.

“We built the track back when Jennifer Seamens owned Stateline,” said Mark Matthews, Stateline Karts director of operations, “and thanks to Jim and Jean Scott, we’ve been able to continue to operate today. … There is no way people can do things like this by themselves.”

Rules posted at statelinespeedwaykarts.com state that clone engined are limited to a maximum displacement of 196cc. Legal engines include, but are not limited to the following manufacturers: Lifan Greyhound, Yellow Clone, Red Clone (Ducar and Dupor) and Blue Max.

Times Observer File Photo by Scott Kindberg Clone 350 class go-karts will be featured at Stateline Speedway’s kart track Friday evening.

“350s are probably one of the more popular classes for go-karting,” Matthews said. “Most adults fall into that group with the total weight.”

The 3/16th-mile dirt track has slightly banked corners with a 300-foot straightaway that is 40 feet wide.

Friday’s main event will feature a $1,000 prize to the winner with payouts decreasing throughout the final 16-kart field.

Gates will open at 3 p.m. with hot laps beginning at 6 p.m. or shortly after. Organizers will run between three and five heats depending on how many karts enter. Top cars will then be placed in the feature race with the final competitors entered after a B-main last-chance qualifier.

Entry fee is $60 per kart.

“People used to come down from Canaada and there would have been people from Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia,” Matthews said. “With the restrictions in place, maybe not this year.”

There will be no spectators allowed at Friday’s race, but teams are allowed to check people into the pit area. Organizers ask that participants observe social-distancing guidelines set forth by the CDC while on the Stateline Speedway grounds.

“It’s a big family event. It’s a family-oriented thing where kids race, fathers race, women race,” Matthews said about go-kart racing. “Go karts are used as a stepping stone for young kids to go to the big cars. There have probably been 10 or 12 kids who have gone from go karts to big cars. That’s what it’s all about; getting these young kids interested in racing and going to the next level at Stateline.”

During a normal season, Stateline Karts run every Saturday morning from April to September. Gates open at 8 a.m.

“There are 12 different classes of karts, with drivers ranging in ages from 4 to guys who are racing in their 70s,” Matthews said. “The performance level of the engines go along with the class. Kids classes are no more than a lawnmower engine and classes go up through a fully modified wing kart with a dirtbike motor that produces 60 or 70 horsepower.”

Pittsfield Championship Karting will host a $1,000-to-win race July 11.

“When I started, there weren’t a lot of tracks around,” Matthews said. “It’s more or less a family thing to start getting kids interested in motor sports.”

This summer, Stateline Speedway kart racing began the weekend of June 20.

“We’d like to thank Jean Scott for giving us the opportunity to keep it going. The track has progressed a lot because of Dave Turner Enterprises,” Matthews said. “Also, a big thanks to Mike Anderson from M&M Enterprises and Jay Currie from Dave Warren Auto Group.”

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

COMMENTS

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today