Art Ingels is generally accepted to be the father of karting. A veteran hot rod enthusiasts and race car builder at Kurtis Kraft, he built the first kart in Southern California in 1956. The first kart manufacturer was an American company, Go Kart Manufacturing Co. (1958). McCulloch was the first company, in 1959, to produce engines for karts. Later, in the 1960’s dedicated manufacturers, started to build engines for the sport, today Briggs & Stratton and Clone engines are primarily used across the US…

The chassis are made of ‘chrome molly’ steel tube. There is no suspension therefore chassis have to be flexible enough to work as a suspension and stiff enough not to break or give way on a turn. Kart chassis are classified in the USA as ‘Open’, ‘Caged’, ‘Straight’ or ‘Offset’. Open karts have no roll cage.

There is more to racing karts than meets the eye. One should always seek the advice of a reputable, experienced, and professional motorsports team and attempt to speak with the Crew Chief or race driver before making a final decision prior to purchasing.

Ambassador Racing School has produced hundreds of professional driver’s who race at various levels and in various forms of racing. Some have started in karts like Chris Fontaine of Lakeland, Florida, who has joined the ranks of other NASCAR Drivers who also started their development in karts such as, Danica Patrick, Juan Pablo Montoya, Darrell Waltrip, Lake Speed, Ricky Rudd, Jeff Gordon, and Tony Stewart, to name a few…

How to get into Racing Karts