Plaza Grand Prix of Jacksonville this weekend!

Come out to run in the first ever Jacksonville Grand Prix street race this Sunday! Things are shaping up to be a good event and the weather forecast looks warm but dry. See the event flyer on the Schedule page and visit our Facebook page for more info throughout the weekend.

Also, please note that the track in Springfield is CLOSED until further notice for all track activity. Once we return the crash barriers to position after their use in the Grand Prix, we will reopen the track like normal.

Meeting TONIGHT at Top Cats

With the weather report showing thunder storms and heavy rain today/tonight, we will be having our monthly meeting at Top Cats on Stevenson Drive instead of at the track.
 
Food - 6:30
Meeting - 7PM.
 
The agenda for tonight includes:

1. Review previous meeting minutes
2. Review the club finacials
3. Arrive and Drive - workers  - daily plan
4. Jacksonville Street race - update
5. Race #1 - plan - qualify - awards
6. Re-schedule the first race rain date
7. Raffle status - 
8. Joe Brittin - fence update
9. Open discussion

Meeting should be over by 8PM.
 
We hope to see everyone there.

RACE #1 CANCELLED

The first club race scheduled for this weekend has been cancelled/postponed due to all the rain we have received this past week. The gravel pit area is just too soft yet since redesigning the pits last fall to have people driving/parking on. The track is still open for practice, but please use the old pits at the north end of the track and enter/exit the track carefully through the green gate.

As as side note, look for another update in the next few days on the site for information on the Plaza Grand Prix of Jacksonville, classified ads, and other updates. Sorry for not getting anything up sooner but unfortunately the webmaster was without access to the site or internet for over the past week.

March 22 Update

As you can see, the new design to the website has been launched. There are still some areas being worked on such as the Standings & Results page. We'll have this page up by the start of the season. Also, our new Facebook Page has grown to 90 likes in less than a month. Let's keep it growing and use this as another method of promoting karting and the Mid-State Kart Club so be sure to like the page and share it with your friends. Let us know what you think of the new look and any suggestions on what else you would like to see added.

This Saturday is our first work day of the season and it appears the weather will be decent--a bit cold but the snow is suppose to hold off until Sunday. There will be tasks to be completed inside the buildings as well as outside. In addition to the items mentioned in the previous update, we would also like to get the Tech building framed for a concrete floor. Please bring hammers and shovels if you have any available for use. The day is scheduled to begin at 10am.

We're working on awards now, every racer will have some nice hardware to take home this year.  Thank you to everyone who donated trophies to the club. We could use more, if you have some that are not being displayed (garage, attic, closet, etc) let Russ Kemple know and we'll gladly update them to use for different events during the season.

The club is looking into raffling off a new Margay Clone Kart, if we decide to do this, we may ask each member to sell 10 $5.00 tickets.  That would pay for the kart and any additional tickets we sell would be profit for the club.   It is also a way to market our sport and get new members.  We expect thousands of people at the Jacksonville event and the club could possibly make a LOT of money and maybe get new members.
 
If you have not mailed in you club membership, please do so. We have not replaced the keys to the gate lock yet but it is on the to-do list.

Finally, we would like to welcome Davis Electric and Law Automotive for joining as class sponsors this season as well as Good Time Doc's in Jacksonville for sponsoring the Plaza Grand Prix of Jacksonville. Please support our sponsors and thank them for their contributions to the club.

March 14 Update

Saturday March 23 is our first Work Day of the season and will start at 10 AM. Items to get taken care of include:

• Planting grass seed (If you have a rake, seed spreader, or tractor we can use your help)
• Clean out garage and concession stand
• Spread gravel over the pit area
• Clean the tower and put up shelves to display vintage trophies

The track will be available for practice after the completion of the days projects so bring your tools to help out and your karts to have some pre-season testing time to finish out the day.

The Clone rules have been being discussed on Facebook group page and continued during the February meeting. Those in attendance decided to postpone the vote until the March meeting to get more clone racers input on the matter. Rules in question include bodywork styles, maximum kart width, and allowed axles sizes. If you plan to run a Clone in 2013, please come to the meeting on March 26 to define the structure for the season.

The Jacksonville Street Race on May 19th is progressing forward. Be sure to mark this date on your calendar and plan to be part of this historic event.

We have a new facebook page that will become the new, official page on Facebook for Mid-State Kart Club. If you're on Facebook, be sure to start following our new page. Eventually the old group will be going away. The new Facebook page will be integrated within the updated website which is almost complete.

Finally, we are still looking for a class sponsor for the Kid Kart Unrestricted class. If you are interested in becoming a class sponsor, please see our 2013 Class Sponsorship Form.

February Meeting Agenda

The February membership meeting will be held Tuesday February 26th at Top Cats Chill & Grill starting at 7pm. The agenda for the meeting includes:

• After Action Report for the Winter Kart Show
• Discussion on Clone rules from discussions on our Facebook page
• Jacksonville Street Race on May 19th
• Sponsorship
• How to further promote the club
• Future track improvements for the year
• Insurance options
• Open discussion

Site Updates

The Mid-State site now has the 2013 Schedule posted as well as the 2013 Class Structure. The Yamaha Masters class has been eliminated for 2013 and the Clone Sr class has been split into a Lite and Heavy class.

Starting this season, all classes are required to have a full width rear bumper. If your kart does not yet have one, they can be easily installed on any make/model of chassis.

Clone racers, please be sure to check out the Engine Specification Tech Sheet for this season as well to make sure your motor is legal for the upcoming season. The tech sheet can currently be accessed from the link above or from the Class Structure page.

Finally, be looking for a redesign of the website hopefully by the end of the month. I hope to get a bit cleaner look to the site as well as making sure all information is current and available. More information will be posted closer to the launch of the new design.