Wide Bumper Rule!!!

[Floor It Racing(Eric Potts)]

That sure is a turn of events. The rules committee brought this up to be voted on by club members in our Oct. and Nov. rules meetings. We were told it was a safety item and didn't need to be voted on. That led me to believe it was going to be enforced. With the ruling now it seems to me IT SHOULD OF BEEN VOTED ON. We are at the club level, not the national level. It seems to me if there is a problem with rough driving the club and board members are able to control it. Not to mention, I know almost all of the drivers at the track and I can honestly say that I don't think it would be a problem. A large majority of the drivers already have the wide bumpers and it doesn't seem to have caused any problems. I believe this is a safety issue not to have one, moreso than it is to have one and worry about rough driving. I would like to ask the board to rethink there decision on this issue and do the right thing.

PS. This is coming from a man that has yet to put one on his drivers kart out of plan stupidity. He will have one on come the first race regardless of the rule. A wide bumper would of kept my driver from getting tangled up a couple times last year. I have said my piece.

Eric Potts
Kyle Potts #100
TAG 60

[BryanRacing55(Kent Metcalf)]

I agree with you, but there two sides to the issue. It is a proven fact that drivers are more careful knowing there is no bumper protecting the tires and if they touch bad things can happen. Bryan and I went to the PIR kart race in Fla. in December and everyone had the bumper, with that said you would not belive how brave they thought they were. countless drivers were sent into the fence and one ended up with a busted up shoulder because of being pushed off the track in the rear going into the corners.
I understand the club is going to put all the TAG 60 guys together and some new drivers are coming into the Yamaha Rookie class. If they make it manatory full bumpers watch how many kids end up in the fence because they think they can "bump" someone in the corner and get away with it without getting hurt. either way it really is not going to make everyone happy.
I know since Bryan had his 2 big crashes he is in NO hurry to "bump" anyone in the back but I am in fear he will get a little braver knowing he will not get hurt bumping someone. The only one loosing in this will be the guy in front that just got pushed off the track and I pray he/she don't get hurt. You are right there is a lot of drivers already there that have them so this should not be an issue. Accidents are going to happen either way.
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Racing for fun, chill out

[Angie Brooks(Angie Brooks)]

There are pros and cons to the wide bumper rule. Sure it does make the back of your kart a bigger target to be bumped, hit, slammed what ever. We have been to a ton of national level events through out the years and let me tell you they bump, push, slam whatever it takes to get to the front no matter what rear bumper you put on the back of your kart. You could put side rails on your kart like the ones at fun town and those guys are gonna hit you. National level even regional racing is aggressive. Did any karts get upside down by hopping over someones rear tire. If you get pushed off the track so what at least you are not on your head sitting in front of a pack of karts heading at you. I know the rear bumper is expensive but listen to this. The last csc race Coltan was starting on the pole (We were using a small bumper) the 5th place kart jumped the start pushing the 3rd place kart up and over the back of coltan spinning him around and landing on top of him. Here is the list of damage 1 radiator, 1 steering wheel, 1 steering shaft, 2 tie rods, 1 bent spindel, 1 bent wheel and a banged up driver. So I would assume that is several hundred dollars in repairs. a 200 dollar bumper would have prevented it, they would have spun gathered back up and continued on. Instead we had a 350 pound go kart laying on top of my driver and a torn up race car. so wether the club enforces it or not I would have to say its in your best interest to protect your driver. and for those of you who think bumping isnt going to happen whether you have a big or small bumper you are in lala land

Brian Brooks

[BryanRacing55(Kent Metcalf)]

Don't get me wrong Brian, we also favor the bumper rule. My point was down there with the barriers there was allot of people bouncing off them. See that track was wall to wall barriers with no where to run off of. With a bumper rule change or not people will bump to improve there spot. I'm just hoping my boy Bryan don't use it to force someone off the track on purpose to improve his spot. I do not teach him to drive dirty (although everyone will play dirty from time to time) as you said in the national races people are way more aggressive and I would rather go spinning off the track myself other than seeing the underside of another kart. There is no question Bryan agrees with you on this as he has seen his share of flying karts. Hope you are having a safe and warm winter.
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Racing for fun, chill out

[Charles Groeteke(Charles Groeteke)]

First, if the karts were not 55+ inches wide the target would be smaller.
Drivers have to use their heads to avoid mishaps.
Officials have let the over aggressive driving get the best of the sport, these are karts not stock cars.
With the current chassis and rules in place, unfortunately the bumpers are probably needed.