EKN Radio Network

The Texas ProKart Challenge kicked off its 2018 season at the end of March with the first round of the championship held at the Speedsportz Racing Park in New Caney, Texas. The March 24-25 event hosted one round of racing at the new facility, the same place where the 2017 season ended. The Superkarts! USA regional program began the new year and new chases toward the year-end awards. Rob Howden and David Cole broke down the entire event with the latest ‘EKN Debrief’ - presented by Acceleration Kart Racing. The KartSport North America Paddock Pass, CRG Nordam Race Report and the Alan Rudolph Racing Academy Race Calendar complete the podcast.

The newest show to hit the EKN Radio Network is ‘Operation Grassroots’, a podcast geared solely on the foundation of the sport. The hub of the show will be discussion centered on the grassroots level of karting, from club racing to regional racing, all focused around the Briggs & Stratton 206 engine platform. Our #OperationGrassroots movement has been based around the Briggs powerplant, with the ultimate goals of bringing new people into the sport and igniting the spark of former racers to come back into what is the most economical form of karting.

The second episode of our ‘Operation Grassroots’ podcast features an interview with South Florida Karting Championship President Marc Julien. EKN’s Rob Howden talks with Julien about the development of the ‘SoFloKC’ and it’s focus around providing a grassroots movement for the sport around the Miami area.

The 2018 World Karting Association Manufacturers Cup Series resumed at the end of March with the first of two events scheduled for the GoPro Motorplex in Mooresville, North Carolina. The March 23-25 weekend served as Round Three and Four toward the 2018 championship chases, which began with Daytona KartWeek in December. Changing weather conditions kept the weekend challenging, with some solid performances by a handful of drivers. Rob Howden and David Cole broke down the entire event with the latest ‘EKN Debrief’ - presented by Streeter Super Stands. The Comet Kart Sales Paddock Pass, IAME USA Race Report and Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires Race Calendar complete the podcast.

The 2018 Superkarts! USA Pro Tour kicked off at the NOLA Motorsports Park with the second annual WinterNationals. The Avondale, LA facility welcomed 212 drivers on March 2-4 in five IAME classes and four Honda categories to compete around the 1.1-mile circuit to begin the chase toward the SKUSA Pro Tour titles. It was an exciting weekend of racing, with Rob Howden and David Cole breaking down the entire event with the latest ‘EKN Debrief’ - presented by Rolison Performance Group. The Alan Rudolph Racing Academy Paddock Pass, Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires Race Report and Bell Racing USA Race Calendar complete the podcast.

The 2018 Superkarts! USA Pro Tour kicked off with the second annual WinterNationals on March 2-4. The NOLA Motorsports Park in Avondale, LA hosted the event for a second straight time, welcoming 212 drivers to compete in the five IAME and four Honda divisions. Friday, EKN’s Rob Howden provided the call of the final practice session for all seven race groups around the 1.1-mile course, serving as the newest episode of the ‘Happy Hour with Howden’. Sitting down with the official voice of SKUSA was Cadet racer Elliot Cox, Master driver Travis Irving, Nick Tucker of Nitro Kart, and 2017 EKN Driver of the Year Jake French.

The Challenge of the Americas returned to the CalSpeed Karting facility in Fontana, California on February 23-25 for the second stop of the 2018 season. EKN was trackside throughout the weekend, providing LIVE coverage for the three days of competition that helped shape up the championship categories in the Rok Cup USA divisions. The EKN duo of Rob Howden and David Cole breakdown the event in the latest edition of the ‘EKN Debrief’ - presented by Precision Karting Technologies. The Alan Rudolph Racing Academy Paddock Pass, Bell Racing USA Race Report and Acceleration Kart Racing Race Calendar.

The ‘Happy Hour with Howden’ returned for the second stop for Challenge of the Americas. The premier winter series on the west coast made its return to the southern California area and the CalSpeed Karting facility in Fontana, California. EKN’s Rob Howden provided the call of the Pre-Qualifying session for all seven race groups on Friday, February 23 around the 7/10-mile ‘Grande’ course. During the 2.5-hour show, series promoter Andy Seesemann joins Howden, along with Senior Rok point leader Jim McKinney, Briggs 206 Senior racer David Vasquez and Rok Shifter Senior driver Alex Keyes.

The inaugural Superkarts! USA Winter Series closed out at the Ocala Gran Prix facility on February 9-11. EKN was trackside throughout the weekend, providing LIVE coverage throughout the three days of competition. The third and fourth rounds of the ‘spring training’ for the SKUSA Pro Tour helped to crown the 11 inaugural champions and set the tone of the 2018 SKUSA season. EKN’s Rob Howden and David Cole discuss the weekend in the latest edition of the ‘EKN Debrief’ - presented by CRG Nordam. The two discuss the topics, including the K1 RaceGear Paddock Pass, the Briggs & Stratton Race Report, and look ahead in the Franklin Motorsports Racing Calendar.

The ‘Happy Hour with Howden’ is back, making a return to the Ocala Gran Prix for the finale event of the 2018 Superkarts! USA Winter Series. EKN’s Rob Howden sits down on the mic for 2.5 hours as the classes complete their final practice session on Friday, February 9 around the 6/10-mile circuit. During that time, Rolison Performance Group’s Mike Rolison sits down to talk about the task of driver development and what the leading race team is doing for 2018.

Our second episode of the ‘Industry Insider’ podcast has EKN’s Rob Howden talk with Nick Tucker of Nitro Kart. Today, the brand is among the top Cadet chassis on the market after a stellar opening year in 2017. Tucker has been involved in motorsports and karting since he was a kid. Howden dives into his early years as a driver, his progression within the motorsports world, and how he came to developing the Nitro Kart chassis and race team.