Dacono – Standing about 3 1/2 feet tall, Kurtland Larke puts on his racing shoes, gloves and fire suit and tugs his helmet on with his dad’s assistance. He anxiously waits as his dad tightens the steering wheel, adjusts his harness and helps him down through the sunroof of his half-scale NASCAR-style car.
The engine roars to life as 6-year-old Kurtland makes his way to the track. He slowly drives onto the course, where motorcycles, dirt bikes and go-karts already are in motion.
All the other drivers on the track have graduated from elementary school.
Kurtland is part of a growing group of youth racers whose cars top out at 80 to 100 mph.
“It is becoming a youth phenomenon in the U.S. with kids starting to race younger and younger,” said Nextel Cup driver Kyle Petty, the 46-year-old son of NASCAR legend Richard Petty. “I’ve raced against guys that started when they were 7 or 8, but my father wouldn’t let me get in a race car until I was 18.”
In the Denver area, there are four clubs and series designed with youth in mind.
The Rocky Mountain Mini-moto club allows children age 3 and older to race minibikes and scaled-down replica bikes. Bandimere Speedway has a junior dragster program that allows kids starting at age 8 to race. There also are five tracks in the area that specialize in youth go-kart racing and two tracks near the Wyoming and Nebraska border that offer mini Nextel Cup-style racing.
The junior dragsters reach 85 mph driven in a straight line. They are half-scale versions of top-fuel dragsters. The child’s legs are tucked into the body of the elongated car.
The mini-cup cars are enclosed, reach up to 100 mph and resemble small stock cars.
Junior go-karts expose the drivers more, reach speeds of up to 50 mph and look like little Indy-style cars. There is no age limit for go-karting.
To those who might question the wisdom of having such young children put pedal to the metal at the high speeds mini- cup cars can reach, Pete Neimeier, president of the Miniature Motorsports Racing Association, offers this defense.
“I am not aware of any major accidents,” Neimeier said. “We have an excellent safety record here. These cars are made just like regular NASCAR-type vehicles that can handle 200-mph crashes.”
Neimeier says he would argue that the mini-cup cars are safer than go-karts because of the kids’ age, the restraint systems and the car enclosures. “The physics of it are on our side,” he said.
Kurtland races in the Tri-State Grand National Mini Cup series with kids who are two years older than he is. He hits 65 to 70 mph on straightaways, and his car tops out at close to 100 mph. The division’s minimum age is 8, but after seeing Kurtland’s skill level, the owners of Big Country Speedway in Wyoming and I-92 Speedway in Nebraska granted him an exemption. He regularly places among the top five finishers, proving he can keep up with the big boys.
“I started when I was 4,” Kurtland said. “We were watching the NASCAR, and I said I wanted to race them.”
His father, Ken Larke, who serves as lead mechanic, psychologist, chef and cheerleader for his son, said he has no worries when it comes to his son’s safety.
“We started him off slow. He couldn’t go faster than 15-20 mph at first,” Larke said. “He uses a professional helmet, fireproof suit, gloves, shoes, and head and neck restraints.”
Illustrating the safety of the mini-cup cars was an accident during a practice session last week, when Kurtland spun his white Monte Carlo 180 degrees, leaving him facing the wrong way on the track. One of the young drivers failed to realize Kurtland’s car was stopped and plowed head-on into him at 45 mph. Both drivers escaped unscathed. The car was easily fixed with $80 in repairs. Kurtland had only one question about the incident: “Why didn’t that other kid see me?”
Before the car leaves the pits, Larke preps his son, making sure he understands the tough areas of the track before he is off and running. Larke uses hand signals and yells motorsports jargon to his son, instructing him on how fast he should be going and what he needs to do.
The mini-Nextel Cup series car speeds around the track, diving low into corners and stretching wide on the straightaways. The high-pitched whine of the engine gets louder as he approaches the finish line. When the practice runs are over for the day, Kurtland steps out of his car, taps the hood and smiles. “That was fun,” he said.
Kurtland also races in the junior kart series as a part of the Colorado Sprint Championship.
Larke estimates he spends $3,000 annually to support Kurtland’s racing pursuit – primarily on gas and the $100 membership fee at each track. That’s in addition to the initial $9,000 for the car, plus other equipment costs that bring the total investment close to $16,000.
Rob Holleran also has two children involved in motor sports. His son Tate, 6, competes against Kurtland in the go-kart series, and his daughter Lauren, 5, also races go-karts.
“It’s a big family thing. It forces you to spend time with your kids, and it keeps them out of trouble,” Holleran said. “It teaches these little guys how to concentrate and helps you communicate with them through direct interaction.”
Tate said he races to “win and get a big trophy.” Tate started racing go-karts at the tender age of 4; Lauren got her first taste of speed at 3. “Me and Tate used to play basketball,” Lauren said, “but I like racing better.”
The three young racers, still in their racing gear, head to a trailer to play with equipment. They mess with the flashlights, thermometers and wheels before chasing one another around the vehicle. After races, the three like to play with Legos in the trailer, which doubles as a playhouse.
All the gear helps keep the kids safe, but it doesn’t prevent accidents. At IMI Motorsports Complex, the dusty track in Dacono, Lauren flipped her go-kart on the track but came away with nothing more than a scratch on her elbow. She was still running around afterward as if nothing had happened.
The restraint systems Kurtland wears can withstand accidents at 70 times the force of gravity, according to Safety Solutions, manufacturer of the Simpson D-cell harness. In comparison, the accident that killed legendary NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt had an estimated force of 42 G’s.
The National Hot Rod Association’s representatives at Bandimere Speedway say safety is of the utmost concern. The track refuses drivers who are not wearing association-approved helmets, fire suits, seatbelts, gloves, arm restraints and neck collars. Jeff Sipes , marketing director at Bandimere, says that the junior dragsters are held to the same safety standards as the full-scale professional dragsters.
Kurtland has ambitions of being a professional stock car driver like his favorite athlete, Dale Earnhardt Jr. At 6, he will settle for being ahead of his peers and boasting about his own personal website.
In the future, racing may get old for Kurtland, but not now. Now he is just a Lego-playing little kid who also drives cars at breakneck speeds.
Staff writer Brandon Meachum can be reached at 303-820-1720 or bmeachum@denverpost.com.
Where the future great ones drive
A look at some motorsports options for young people in the region
Junior drag racing
Drivers race half-scale dragsters over an eighth of a mile. National Hot Rod Association-sponsored tracks with programs for junior dragsters are broken into three groups: JD1, ages 8-9; JD2, ages 10-12; and JD3, ages 13-17. Starting cost for a junior dragster is $3,000. Track has a $25 membership fee
Contacts
Bandimere Speedway: 303-697-6001
Grand Junction Motor Speedway: 970-256-1912
CRE Motorsports at Calhan: 719-749-9840
The Track at Centennial: 303-706-9300
Minibikes and replica bikes
Rocky Mountain Mini-Moto offers classes in groups from ages 3-10 and 11-15. Club races minibikes and replica bikes. Costs are $300 to $4,000 to get started. Annual membership is $35, and track fees are $35 at Centennial and $20 at Colorado Springs
Contacts
The Track in Centennial: 303-706-9300
CRE Motorsports Track at Colorado Springs: 719-201-7527
Mini-cup racing
Drivers race half-scale Nextel-series cars. Top speed is 80-100 mph. Cars cost between $8,000 and $9,000 new, $3,000 to $4,500 used.
Contacts
Big Country Speedway in Cheyenne: 307-632-2107
HIWay 92 Speedway in Gering, Neb.: 308-635-2767
Go-kart racing
Colorado Sprint Championship drivers are separated by age and skill into 14 classes. Go-karts cost from $1,000 to $6,000. Drivers can rent and practice at kart tracks.
Contacts
IMI Motorsports Complex in Dacono: 303-833-4949
Bandimere Speedway in Morrison: 303-781-4483
Grand Junction Motor Speedway in Grand Junction: 970-254-1500
CRE Motorsports in Calhan: 719-749-9840
The Track in Centennial: 303-706-9300
