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Every year CKNA refines it procedures and rules to best suit the needs of our racers, and this year is no exception. The official book will be published to CupKarts.com in the next few days after we finish up some final tweaks.
Of course, there are some minor adjustments to procedures and policies. For example, we’ve added some language to better explain who will be considered for an age waiver, clarified some penalties and adjusted the review procedures to expedite the process. But today we want to focus on two key changes we believe most of our racers will be excited about.
Tires:
For the first time, all Divisions of CKNA will adopt a “1 set per weekend” rule for tires. This means that whatever tires you scan in must be used for every scored session that weekend. There is no question that the Vega tire will perform for all 3 days if asked. For 2026, we will not require the purchase of tires at a Divisional race. In fact, the tires hold up so well we believe there are competitors that will want to use a set for more than one weekend. We will evaluate how many racers choose to do that and see if we need to adjust for next years rules. This year, racers will have the option to either buy a new set of Vega Tires directly from CKNA, or use a set they have previously used this season at a CKNA race.
This will allow us to greatly simplify the tire scanning process. As most racers are starting the weekend with a new set already, we will be able to scan tires at the distribution point since they must be bought from CKNA, just like we do at all the Nationals. Racers choosing to compete on a used set will still have to come to the tire clerk and scan their existing tires. When scanned, our system will verify that the tires being scanned have been used this season by that driver at a previous CKNA race.
As this is a new rule, we decided to allow racers to use any used VAH tire from the correct country of origin for the first race of each division. So anybody that was saving a set of takeoffs will still have the opportunity to use them up. Throughout the year, we will record how many racers choose to race on used tires to evaluate how to proceed in the 2027 season.
This rule change accomplishes a few things. Obviously, we hope that it reduces the costs for the racer. It will also allow us to simplify some of the registration and check-in processes. This will also greatly reduce the chances of people getting penalized for forgetting to scan in their tires. But our primary goal was to level the playing field and ensure the best competition on track, and we believe this will accomplish that.
Class weights:
For over two years now, we have been documenting the amount of ballast competitors are running on their karts. I think the majority of our competitors would agree they have a lot of ballast bolted on. Based on the observed amount of ballast, and in the interest of safety, we have decided to reduce the class weights by 10lbs in almost every class:
- Kid Kart – 190lbs (Kid Kart Chassis) / 205lbs (Cadet Chassis)
- Cadet – 235lbs
- Sportsman – 265lbs (US only)
- Junior – 310lbs (US & Canada)
- Sr. Light – 330lbs
- Sr. Medium – 355lbs
- Sr. Heavy – 380lbs
- Masters – 380lbs
- Legends – 375lbs
We firmly believe this is an important change for the better. Drivers and parents lifting the karts onto kart stands just got a little easier, and that’s a good thing. Any beyond the on-track safety implications which are obvious, we also believe that the high amount of ballast bolted to the seats is not in anybody’s best interest. We are also excited that the USA and Canada divisions will now be utilizing all the same weights per class, making it even easier for competitors to travel to their neighboring country and compete in CKNA internationally!
We do recognize that there may be a small number of competitors this may negatively impact. For that we are sorry, but we feel that the safety implications are important enough to make this change. To alleviate some of this, we have adjusted our age waiver rules to allow CKNA directors a little more flexibility, especially when it comes to younger drivers.
Stay tuned for the official release of the 2026 CKNA rules this weekend. Number reservation is now open, and people wishing to renew the same number they had last year still have a few days to re-reserve their number from last year. When South Round 1 opens registration Saturday afternoon, any unreserved numbers will become available!
Finally, Spring Nationals at Charlotte Motor Speedway is approaching fast, and registration for that event will open the first week of February. Pit space for that event always fille up fast, so make sure to register early to guarantee yourself a great spot!
