photo by RPM 360
Nathan Barth, from Buxton Maine has been busy in the off season waiting for the snow to melt so that he can get back behind the wheel of the #37 kart, “I have been doing some Ice fishing and a little snowmobiling Also getting some seat time in racing indoor karts at Maine Indoor Karting during their winter racing leagues.”
The 2016 race season gets underway at Richmond Karting Speedway (RKS) on May 1st, “I plan on racing Richmond in the Sportsman class this yr. After winning championship last year we thought it was time to move up a class seeing how most of the Jrs. were moving up also. I will also be running a full season on the dirt at Bartlett Bridge Raceway this year in the Jr cage class. We have my karts all race ready at this time.”
A number of kart drivers are getting some dirt track experience, “Last year I won the champion at Saco Pathfinder on the dirt in the Jr. Cage and, I have finish 2nd in points at Bartlett Bridge the last two years there. This year I will focus on that Bartlett Bridge points Championship.” Nathan and his brother Spencer have both won championship at Saco and have decided to move on.
One way of getting to know how the kart works and how to improve a drivers performance is by turning a wrench, “I try to help my dad as much as I can with telling him what the kart feels like and what I think it needs to be faster. I always help out when it’s time to scale karts up when it’s time for our racing set ups. My dad does most of the Mechanical work on our karts.”
Last season Nathan won the Jr Sportsman Championship as a Rookie at RKS with 10 feature wins. “Awesome is what I say we didn’t even know for sure if we would be competitive enough to run with the front runners being our first year and all but with hard work and patience we got it done. I hope to carry that momentum into my 2016 sportsman run.”
So why is RKS such a great place to race? “The speed, definitely the speed. I also really enjoy racing with all the other kids in my class. I think there was a lot of talent out there in Jr Sportsman last year and next yr looks even better.”
Winning the championship Nathan had a lot of highlight moments so which was his favorite. “The last points race I got spun early and had to start last on the restart. I had to get front quickly to secure my championship. Then we had a rain delay. After delay I managed to catch the leaders and win the race and the title.”
Getting sponsors is one thing the race teams ae busy doing during the off season. “Yes our sponsors are already in place for the 2016 season My brother and I have been very lucky with landing great sponsors for our karts and they have been very generous .Maine Indoor Karting, Straightline Roofing, Risbara Bros Construction, New Energy Solutions, Quinn’s Installations, Brackett Machine, and also some friends and family have donated. Also would like to thank Roy and Caroline Ensor for building me some awesome engines.”