We’re very excited to bring Cup Karts North to the United States’ longest running kart track, Whiteland Raceway Park. Even though the majority of our racers have been in the sport far fewer years the Whiteland has been available, there’s no denying that many of them see the allure of bringing our series for a visit to this historic track.
Racing at Whiteland does present a few challenges that we have not faced over the past few years at other facilities we have frequented. When designed, karts we’re smaller and couldn’t carry the corner speeds of today’s modern 4-cycle karts. Even the trailers and canopies we’re smaller! When Cup Karts North arrives at WRP next weekend, we believe we will be hosting the largest race Whiteland has seen in may many years. We will all be making history together!
To accomplish this, we are going to have to make some adjustments to our normal Divisional format and race procedures. WRP’s track can’t handle classes the size we anticipate having. With safety and quality of races in mind, we know we must limit the number of karts on track.
So here’s the plan! We will be running split heats for any classes that exceed the number of karts we feel comfortable running at once. While reserving the right to adjust this number, we are using the track limit of 20 Youth competitors and 24 Senior competitors to set race sizes. Of course, we will adjust as needed to better accommodate the schedule or track. Much like we did at Spring Nationals, we may publish an updated schedule on Friday evening if the number of competitor changes noticeably from what we anticipate.
All competitors will qualify. Using those times, classes exceeding our track limit will be split into groups by placing the odd placed qualifiers into one group, and the even numbered competitors into another. Each of these groups will compete in a Pre-Final, in which the top 8 (could be adjusted) will transfer to the Feature. Remaining competitors will transfer to a last chance qualifier to fill the remaining spots available in the Feature race.
Here is an example of a single classes runs:
- Qualifying
- Pre Final (Odd Qualifiers)
- Pre Final (Even Qualifiers)
- Last Chance Qualifier (Racers finishing 9+ in prefinal)
- Feature (Top 8 from Pre Finals and LCQ)
As you may have noticed, this is potentially one less heat that we are accustomed to running. As much as we have tried to avoid this, there is simply no way to use our traditional format when having to split at least 4 classes as we are anticipating. we also have contingency plans in place if more or less competitors register by the 15th, when late fees go into effect and we begin finalizing plans.
Since we are running less races, we feel we can make the races a little longer than normal. The biggest consumer of time in our regular schedule is the time between races for out-laps, in-laps and waived off starts. By eliminating some of those along with the shorter lap-time at WRP, our goal is to offer as close to the same time on track as you are all used to at our events.
We are really looking forward to the opportunity to host an event at the Historic track in Whiteland Indiana. Although the size constraints are providing some challenges, we know that our racers will make it an amazing event. Make sure to get registered, late fees go into effect on May 16th, and online registration will close on the 19th! Walk-ups will always be welcomed!
