What can be said that hasn’t already been said about the Corona Virus Pandemic? It’s effects have been felt by everybody in our country, including our fellow kart racers. We hope that you and your loved ones are safe and getting by in these troubling times.
Karting has been all but shut down for the past 2 months, and for us since Grand Nationals last October. There’s no surprise that determining when the right time to get back to normal has become the most polarizing topic in the news, social media and among our fellow racers. Furthermore, the different policies in each state has made determining the where just as difficult as the when part of the equation. Our opening round in Whiteland as well as Round 2 in East Lansing have both been missed as these various restrictions have prevented us from racing.
So in an effort to try and solidify the remainder of our schedule, we started looking into the upcoming tracks on our schedule that had not yet reopened, specifically Mid State Kart Club and Concept Haulers Motor Speedway. As both tracks are located in the same state, we had obvious concerns as Illinois still has some of the harshest restrictions in the Midwest. After talking with both track operators and the unlikelihood that local restrictions will be lifted in time for us to hold our event, the reality set in…
Regrettably, we are informing you all that our events at both of these facilities have also been either postponed or canceled. At this time, we are still confident that our scheduled race at Road America will still be able to take place as Wisconsin has been able to reopen most all outdoor activities and RAKC has already returned to racing activities.
Being forced to postpone or cancel four events is the last thing we thought we would have to do this year. And over the past six weeks, the discussion became whether or not we would even be able to have a Champions Cup season in 2020? It was a short discussion… YES WE ARE! After spending weeks working with a variety of tracks to determine if we would be able to schedule races with a high likelihood of taking place, two tracks stepped to the plate to get 2020 started!
I am pleased to announce our revised Champions Cup Schedule:
Round 1: June 5th-7th, 61 Kartway – Delmar, IA
Round 2: July 3rd – 5th, New Castle Motorsports Park, Newcastle, IN
Round 3: TBD
Round 4: August 21st-23rd, Road America – Elkhart Lake, WI
Although this is not the schedule we intended for 2020, we are very excited about what we have been able to put together on such short notice. 61 Kartway has always been one of our favorite destinations, and the Neilson family is ecstatic that we will be making it back for our 3rd consecutive year. The racing there is always top notch.
Round 2 at NCMP will be CKNA’s first visit for a Champions Cup Divisional event. Karting on 4th of July weekend has been “off limits” the past few years because of the success of the Battle of the Brickyard race. As that race had to be moved to accommodate the NASCAR race, we believe this gives us the opportunity to host our biggest divisional race ever.
To celebrate, we will be holding our first ever fireworks show right at New Castle on the evening of July 4th!
We are still looking at options for a 4th race to add back into the 2020 season, which is why you see a TBD on the schedule. We have decided that we will not be adding back in a 5th race this year. Given the compressed timeline and added concern that some families may struggle to adjust to these changes, we don’t feel it is a responsible decision or in the best interest of our racers to cram in 5 divisional races into the remaining 2020 season. As soon as we are able to put something together a plan for the TBD race, we will let everybody know the details. Ideally we would like to visit one of the tracks we were forced to miss earlier this year, but our main focus will be to find a track that has a high likelihood of being able to take place safely.
Please look for online registration to open late on 5/20 for the 2020 Season opener in Delmar IA. We will also be releasing a supplemental schedule and rules for the event in the coming days including any special preventative measures or format adjustments that will be in place to help combat the spread of the Corona Virus.
We look forward to seeing you all soon!
And yes, Grand Nationals IV is still on, and will run the first weekend of October at New Castle Motorsports Park!
