How do we get children involved in motorsports?

So with the SCCA Jr karting done for good now what can our kids do?  My 12 year old daughter is all about racing,  a bunch of you guys that come to the cfr autocross events know her from running grid and following Caitlin around for rides in the vette (now miata).  We go to the go kart tracks around here but it would be nice if I could get her into something a lil more structured with her own kart so she can learn to maintain it and do setups.  This lil jam I'm in got me thinking about how do we get kids interested?  You never see kids around and a good chunk of the racers are starting to get up there in age.  So if anyone has any ideas on how to get people to bring the whole family ID love to hear it so I can try to implement it here.  If anyone has any ideas on what I could get my daughter into in Central Florida that would be great too.

A guy I know and some neighbors built a decent size dirt oval kart track between their houses. They have family league with wives, kids, everybody joining in.

Some of their younger folks also race at a reasonably nearish asphalt outdoor kart track that attracts regional competition.

I started taking DD#1 to help me autocross when she was 15. Once she turned 16 or 18 she started autocrossing her old bugeye Impreza. Then she bought herself a Miata maybe 5 years after that. Since 2020 she's been running our club's AX program, though I sense her interest is starting to wane. Still, she's been AXing with me for almost 15 years, and I can't ask for more than that.

They don't have Kart races locally?

My other pick would be motorcross.

I get the impression there is a pretty extensive set of kids/junior series for circle track racing in most parts of the US.

In reply to codrus (Forum Supporter) :

Totally forgot about that; we have some really good kids circle track series locally.

Tom1200 said:

In reply to codrus (Forum Supporter) :

Totally forgot about that; we have some really good kids circle track series locally.

There is a circle track not too far from here but nobody will ever call me back.  She has a dirt bike but she isn't too into it, she wants to drive.

Have you reached out to Garrett Mitchell, aka Cleetus McFarland?

He's got a track that sits a lot if the time, and you could probably make a usable road course out of what he has there.  The oval might be a little big for young kids, depending on their speed.  You could even switch to Jr Dragsters next door, but I don't think you're looking for that.

Plenty of kids racing that isn't SCCA stuff.  The scca is incredibly behind the times with this.  Makes me wonder how they even function anymore tbh.

racerfink said:

Have you reached out to Garrett Mitchell, aka Cleetus McFarland?

He's got a track that sits a lot if the time, and you could probably make a usable road course out of what he has there.  The oval might be a little big for young kids, depending on their speed.  You could even switch to Jr Dragsters next door, but I don't think you're looking for that.

That's actually a really good idea, thank you.  I think I'm going to start working on the outlines of a jr karting program so I would have something to pitch.

camopaint0707 said:

Plenty of kids racing that isn't SCCA stuff.  The scca is incredibly behind the times with this.  Makes me wonder how they even function anymore tbh.

The problem I have is that I've been so wrapped up with the SCCA for so long I don't even know where to start looking.  So at the last TNIA in Daytona I was asked if I could work it so they could fly less people down and I said yes.  This afforded me the interesting opportunity to get quite a but of one on one time with someone that runs a nation wide program with the SCCA and pick his brain.  I was told that it's not likely the jr karting program will ever come back due to it being uninsurable.  Everything is a numbers game and there is no way to make the dollars make sense.   The crappy part is they have no plan in place to do anything else.   I was asking how these cars at the track night were allowed in the track with no safety gear because when I started time trials 15ish years ago you had to have a roll bar, battery cutoff,  belts, fire extinguisher etc to run the hills but now you just show up with a piece of paper saying your clapped out daily is safe and you can go drive it on a Nascar track.  He explained that because of the newer cars having fancy stability control and abs systems they can insure the events without the safety equipment......TIL everything is a numbers game with the insurance and they don't like the kids running around a parking lot with lawnmower engines. 

camopaint0707 said:

Plenty of kids racing that isn't SCCA stuff.  The scca is incredibly behind the times with this.  Makes me wonder how they even function anymore tbh.

I think it would be a (nearly) no-brainer to have a kids auto-x class where they run racing karts. Even if it is a huge age range (say <16), it would give the little ones a chance to compete alongside their parents. 

@RonnieFnD my daughter started karting last year in my work parking lot. After she got comfortable with some basic cone exercies, we took her to a local kart track. Depending on where you are at, there are 'teams' that often have arrive-and-drive packages that your daughter could use to try it out and see. You can also just buy a used kart and then sell it for nearly what you paid since they hold value well when taken care of. Weekdays tend to be not too busy unless there's a large race coming up, and there were many times she had the track to herself. Getting started at 12 can be very daunting though since some of those kids will already be eyeing a professional career. It is a blast though, and it is amazing seeing how much the kids really can comprehend. 

RonnieFnD said:

camopaint0707 said:

Plenty of kids racing that isn't SCCA stuff.  The scca is incredibly behind the times with this.  Makes me wonder how they even function anymore tbh.

The problem I have is that I've been so wrapped up with the SCCA for so long I don't even know where to start looking.  So at the last TNIA in Daytona I was asked if I could work it so they could fly less people down and I said yes.  This afforded me the interesting opportunity to get quite a but of one on one time with someone that runs a nation wide program with the SCCA and pick his brain.  I was told that it's not likely the jr karting program will ever come back due to it being uninsurable.  Everything is a numbers game and there is no way to make the dollars make sense.   The crappy part is they have no plan in place to do anything else.   I was asking how these cars at the track night were allowed in the track with no safety gear because when I started time trials 15ish years ago you had to have a roll bar, battery cutoff,  belts, fire extinguisher etc to run the hills but now you just show up with a piece of paper saying your clapped out daily is safe and you can go drive it on a Nascar track.  He explained that because of the newer cars having fancy stability control and abs systems they can insure the events without the safety equipment......TIL everything is a numbers game with the insurance and they don't like the kids running around a parking lot with lawnmower engines. 

I missed this post when making my previous response. That sucks, BUT there really are a lot of options for kids when you look outside of SCCA

cyow5 said:

I think it would be a (nearly) no-brainer to have a kids auto-x class where they run racing karts. Even if it is a huge age range (say <16), it would give the little ones a chance to compete alongside their parents. 

They used to do that in most bigger regions.

The first problem is insurance, which is getting harder and harder to get.  I can't even insure kids under 16 riding along with an adult, let alone driving anything.

The second problem is that SCCA regs demanded that no other vehicle on site could be in motion when the Junior karts were running.  It kind of killed the entire momentum of the event.

Is the kart track east of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge still around.  It's been about six years since I was there with some friends running their rental karts.  If I remember right, it's on the north side of 275, on US41 I think.

edit- Anderson Race Park

racerfink said:

Is the kart track east of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge still around.  It's been about six years since I was there with some friends running their rental karts.  If I remember right, it's on the north side of 275, on US41 I think.

edit- Anderson Race Park

I got in touch with them and we are going next Saturday to watch and see what classes are and what we would need.  Thanks for the info.  I was just doing some Google searching and reading about when the SCCA had their program.   It's funny how many people cry that the kids are too slow and hold everything up.  That's how I feel about 80% of the cam class cars running 10 seconds slower than H street, the one or two McLarens and GTRs that show up to every event and run 25 seconds slower than everyone's else.   Glass houses and such....lol

Around here a lot of kids start in quarter midgets.

https://quartermidgets.org/

Most local circle tracks let you race the entry level class at 14. A lot of those kids come from quarter midgets.

bearmtnmartin (Forum Supporter) said:

Around here a lot of kids start in quarter midgets.

https://quartermidgets.org/

Most local circle tracks let you race the entry level class at 14. A lot of those kids come from quarter midgets.

We actually tried to get her in one at New Smyrna but she is way too tall.  She's 12 but she's taller than my wife.   Those quarter midgets look neat but man they are tiny once you are up close and personal with them.

I just wish I could have something that both a kid and an adult could drive. Karts are expensive in that regard - you might get one for a kiddo who isn't interested, but you may need another for yourself! 

Has anyone mentioned sim racing?  There is a huge range of games available and you can slowly move it toward the more serious stuff.  [super arcadey game] -> forza/gt -> project card/Assetto corsa -> iracing/ ACC/etc 

might be a good holdover until kids reach the proper height / age for amateur racing in your region.

ProDarwin said:

Has anyone mentioned sim racing?  There is a huge range of games available and you can slowly move it toward the more serious stuff.  [super arcadey game] -> forza/gt -> project card/Assetto corsa -> iracing/ ACC/etc 

might be a good holdover until kids reach the proper height / age for amateur racing in your region.

That's a solid idea,  tomorrow we are going down to Anderson Race Park to check it out.  It looks like a pretty professional outfit with driver training and everything. 

RC cars as well. Like racing games, there's a whole range of basic to complex setups.

Something significantly different (but may also have a minimum age): FL-area has Electrathon events open to more than just student teams https://electrathonofflorida.org

Typical raceday seems to be a pair of 1-hour "wheel-to-wheel" races.  It is relatively low power and low speed, but one guy claims he can pull 1.6-1.7g in corners.
The guy's website and a thread he started on another forum: https://proev.com/  https://www.diyelectriccar.com/threads/fun-and-cheap-ev-racing-series.209209/

RonnieFnD said:

ProDarwin said:

Has anyone mentioned sim racing?  There is a huge range of games available and you can slowly move it toward the more serious stuff.  [super arcadey game] -> forza/gt -> project card/Assetto corsa -> iracing/ ACC/etc 

might be a good holdover until kids reach the proper height / age for amateur racing in your region.

That's a solid idea,  tomorrow we are going down to Anderson Race Park to check it out.  It looks like a pretty professional outfit with driver training and everything. 

Cool.  Remember, relative to cars building a sim rig (or multiple) is dirt cheap and seat time is relatively infinite.  I.e.  if it looks right, get one in your house - no need to travel somewhere to do it.  Not a replacement for physical racing, but plenty of fun and a significant skill set overlap.

Today (Sat 11/4) is one of Andersen's monthly club races. You could check that out to get a feel for what club level racing is like. Orlando Kart Center & Bushnell are other popular tracks in the area. Tri-City Kart Club also runs in the St. Pete area and is a bit more laid back. They run at Sunshine Speedway on oval/infield combos. I definitely recommend karting!