Article Discussion

Hello You guys did a good job discussing dirt and asphalt circle track racing, but you totally forgot about the other “half” of racing, meaning road racing or road course. I believe a road course is a more challenging concept of racing than circle track or drag racing, where the driver must not only contend with with their fellow racers but also negotiate both right and left hand turns of various types (i.e., increasing or decreasing radius, off camber turns, blind apexes, etc.) elevation changes, hitting their braking point, hitting the exact spot for the turn-in, clip the apex of the turn while accelerating off the corner with your competitors running in close quarters, as in NASCAR door-to-door, occasionally making contact. I am a member of Woodbridge kart club (http://www.woodbridgekartclub.com), located in northern Virginia. I race enduro karts at Summit Point. Now when I mention karts, you may be thinking of not so powerful yard kart that your dad or grandpa built for you to run around the yard. No so! However, our home track is Summit Point Motorsports Park (http://summitpoint-raceway.com/track-information/) in the north east part of the state near Charles Town.

The enduro kart that we race is very unique style of racing. Imagine lying down on you back, half and inch off the ground and hitting speeds of over 100 MPH! We run timed races of 45 or 30 minute long races, use a standing LeMans start; with several compatible classes running in the same race, competing against the racers your selected class. Most karts are powered by powerful 2-cycle purpose built racing motors of 100-cc and use centrifugal clutch developed from chain saw engines. Other use 125-cc or 250-cc small dirt-bike motors with or without 6-speed transmissions. The 250-cc variety are know as Superkarts and they are extremely fast…only thing faster would be an Indy or Formula 1 car. We race on full sized sport car courses. If one is good enough he or she can go race at the national level and visit several premier road course tracks like Daytona, Mid-Ohio, and of course Summit Point. WKC hosts two National points races one each at Virginia International and Summit Point Main.

Woodbridge Kart club (WKC) is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to organize and sanction kart competition activities. Its primary concerns are to provide participants with a safe, well organized racing program with adequate insurance protection and a wholesome family environment for the sport of karting. WKC’s goals are to promote the sport, encourage young people to pursue their mechanical interests and to provide a place for the proper use of racing karts while emphasizing safety, fun, close competition, sportsmanship and fair play.

The club was established in 1960. Records show the club was incorporated in 1969 making it one of the oldest kart clubs in the U.S. According to an article in Summit Point Magazine in the September 1983 issue written by Bob Grenier, in the early ’60s WKC members competed in the Virginia State Championships at Ellerson, Va., and raced at Marlboro Speedway in Maryland.

It was in 1965 that many of WKC’s members raced at Virginia International Raceway in Danville for the first time on a road course and WKC’s enduro program was born. During the late ?60s, enduro racing was conducted at Marlboro Speedway. It was in 1970 that the WKC decided to establish Summit Point Raceway located in West Virginia as their home track. The track, now owned and operated by Bill Scott, proved to be quite suitable for enduro as well as sprint karting. WKC has been hosting club races as well as national level races at Summit Point from 1970 to the present.

For the past several years, Woodbridge has been the preeminent enduro club in the nation, averaging between 350 and 400 entries for each race weekend. The club and Summit Point are known nationwide for innovation in karting programs, seriousness about racing, and as a nice place to visit.

WKC races on two of three available circuits at Summit Point, the Main Circuit This 10-turn, 2.0-mile (3.2 km) road course that features a 2,900-foot (880 m) main straight and the Shenandoah Circuit is a 2.2-mile very technical road course. The Shenandoah Circuit has multiple configurations and the one we use has 17 turn, 1.79 mile course.

According to Summit Point’s web site “Summit Point Motorsports Park features four road racing circuits that are used for amateur automobile, kart, and motorcycle racing, high performance driver education and emergency training for local and federal law enforcement.”

Their web site further states “Built between 1969 and 1970, Summit Point Motorsports Park, opened in 1970 as a professional racing venue featuring the Summit Point Circuit (http://summitpoint-raceway.com/track-information/summit-point-circuit/). The first races held there were IMSA International Sedans, later to become The Radial Tire Series, and IMSA Pro Formula Ford. The event was held on Memorial Day, May 30, 1970. Rasey Feezell won in an Alfa Romeo 4 door sedan, whose modifications were very questionable, taking home the grand sum of $200 prize money. Five of the eleven entrants were from Raleigh, NC.”