By Robin Ervin
Walls karting program finally got its opening day April 29; the previous scheduled dates were rained out. The gates to the garage were opened at 11 am and soon the pit area was swarming with drivers eagerly unloading their race cars, anxious to feed their craving for speed that gnawed at them all winter. There were a lot familiar faces as well as many new ones at the track.
There were six classes of Karts as well as Microstocks, Bandoleros and Legends cars. They all ran a 10 lap heat, a 10-lap practice and a 20-lap feature. Only the karts and Microstocks raced for points. The Bandoleros and Legends were just running for practice to allow the many young novice drivers to get accustomed to driving their race cars.
The addition of the Sunday Legends cars class for young racers was one of the biggest changes in the Sunday Wall program from last year. NJ State recently changed the age at which a driver can race. The Bandoleros and Legends cars were dropped to 12 years old for Bandoleros and 14 years old for Legends.
There were also some rule changes made in the interest of driver safety. NJ State law says anyone who drives with a cage and seatbelts must have a SA 2000 helmet. Everyone in the pit area at Wall Township Speedway for the Sunday program must have a $30.00 pit license, which is good for the whole year. Spectators and drivers family members who wish to watch the racing activity can do so from the main grandstand for $10.
Racers and promoters in NJ had been fighting for years to get the age lowered because once the kids got older they would leave NJ to race elsewhere. For example, The Young Lions Legends division at Lowes speedway in Charlotte has 12 years olds racing Legends cars. Many in the pits at Wall Township Speedway considered the lowered age limits to be a move in the right direction in keep the kids racing at NJ tracks instead of losing them to another state.
The Sunday Legend class is for kids from 14 to 17 years old only. Once they are over that age they will have to drive on the big track in the Saturday program. The Sunday Legends class will work as a training ground to develop young legends drivers. John Hugate, Legends dealer for NJ states, This class is a good stepping stone for them (young racers). By running on the flat part of the track, it will help them learn to handle the car, race side-by-side and not wreck. Hugate continues, The best part of this is that when they are ready to move up to the big track, they arent even going to need to buy a new car because everything is the same. The only change will be the chassis set-up from the flat track to the banked oval.
The next scheduled Karting date at Wall Township Speedway will be May 20. Wall Township Speedway will be having two practice dates on Friday May11 and Friday May 18 for Kart, Bandolero and Legends drivers. The gates will open at 5 PM and practice will start at 6PM. The goal is to get everyone comfortable with racing their cars by the May 20 race. On this date Legends and Bandolero drivers will start racing for points. Wall Karting officials Bob Danka and Jill Forester state that the Legends and Bandoleros points will be handed out according to the IMEX rule book. IMEX is the sanctioning body for those two forms of racing. Karters and Microstocks will continue to earn points the same as they always have.
Walls karting program finally got its opening day April 29; the previous scheduled dates were rained out. The gates to the garage were opened at 11 am and soon the pit area was swarming with drivers eagerly unloading their race cars, anxious to feed their craving for speed that gnawed at them all winter. There were a lot familiar faces as well as many new ones at the track.
There were six classes of Karts as well as Microstocks, Bandoleros and Legends cars. They all ran a 10 lap heat, a 10-lap practice and a 20-lap feature. Only the karts and Microstocks raced for points. The Bandoleros and Legends were just running for practice to allow the many young novice drivers to get accustomed to driving their race cars.
The addition of the Sunday Legends cars class for young racers was one of the biggest changes in the Sunday Wall program from last year. NJ State recently changed the age at which a driver can race. The Bandoleros and Legends cars were dropped to 12 years old for Bandoleros and 14 years old for Legends.
There were also some rule changes made in the interest of driver safety. NJ State law says anyone who drives with a cage and seatbelts must have a SA 2000 helmet. Everyone in the pit area at Wall Township Speedway for the Sunday program must have a $30.00 pit license, which is good for the whole year. Spectators and drivers family members who wish to watch the racing activity can do so from the main grandstand for $10.
Racers and promoters in NJ had been fighting for years to get the age lowered because once the kids got older they would leave NJ to race elsewhere. For example, The Young Lions Legends division at Lowes speedway in Charlotte has 12 years olds racing Legends cars. Many in the pits at Wall Township Speedway considered the lowered age limits to be a move in the right direction in keep the kids racing at NJ tracks instead of losing them to another state.
The Sunday Legend class is for kids from 14 to 17 years old only. Once they are over that age they will have to drive on the big track in the Saturday program. The Sunday Legends class will work as a training ground to develop young legends drivers. John Hugate, Legends dealer for NJ states, This class is a good stepping stone for them (young racers). By running on the flat part of the track, it will help them learn to handle the car, race side-by-side and not wreck. Hugate continues, The best part of this is that when they are ready to move up to the big track, they arent even going to need to buy a new car because everything is the same. The only change will be the chassis set-up from the flat track to the banked oval.
The next scheduled Karting date at Wall Township Speedway will be May 20. Wall Township Speedway will be having two practice dates on Friday May11 and Friday May 18 for Kart, Bandolero and Legends drivers. The gates will open at 5 PM and practice will start at 6PM. The goal is to get everyone comfortable with racing their cars by the May 20 race. On this date Legends and Bandolero drivers will start racing for points. Wall Karting officials Bob Danka and Jill Forester state that the Legends and Bandoleros points will be handed out according to the IMEX rule book. IMEX is the sanctioning body for those two forms of racing. Karters and Microstocks will continue to earn points the same as they always have.










