Category Archives: Challenge of the Americas

Tracks Confirmed for 2024 Challenge of the Americas

Posted on by

Winter west coast series to visit Arizona with two events scheduled for California

The 2024 season is just around the corner and Challenge of the Americas is continuing the planning stages for the upcoming championship. The 17th edition of the winter west coast series is set for another three weekend events, featuring six rounds of racing between the months of February and April. The locations for the three race weekends have been confirmed for the 2024 Challenge of the Americas.

The opening weekend of the Challenge is set for February 2-4, beginning at the Musselman Honda Circuit. The Tucson, Arizona facility has been the opening location for the Challenge in now four of the last five seasons. What has changed for the first two rounds of the 2024 championship will be contesting the 3/4-mile circuit in the clockwise direction for the first time in series history. This will be a great new challenge for those opening up the 2024 championship.

“We will mix it up in Tucson by going the opposite direction to open up the season,” stated Andy Seesemann from Challenge of the Americas. “Many of our racers enjoy traveling to Tucson, and we’re able to fit everyone in the paddock as we continue to grow as we have in the last few seasons. It’s a perfect fit for who we are at the Challenge.”

The second location will be a new facility to the Challenge program, as the new K1 Circuit is scheduled to host the March 1-3 weekend. The Winchester, California facility is among the newest facilities for karting in North America, and one of the most anticipated tracks in many years. While K1 Circuit remains under construction, track officials recently announced a possible November 2023 opening period. The timetable allows for Challenge of the Americas to be the first major karting event at K1 Circuit.

“K1 Circuit has been on the radar since it began construction,” added Seesemann. “This facility is going to be state-of-the-art with an amazing track layout. Southern California needs a pinnacle location for karting and K1 Circuit will be providing that. We understand the delay in opening and are working with General Manager Mike Smith. We will re-evaluate their progress in early November to make the final call on taking the Challenge to K1 Circuit. There is a backup plan in place and if necessary, we will announce it at that time.”

Closing out the 2024 Challenge of the Americas schedule is the Sonoma Raceway on April 12-14. The Sonoma, California facility updated their paddock area during the spring and summer months, paving the surface and will be welcoming the Challenge for a 10th time in the last 11 years for the final two rounds of the championship.

“This is a great grouping of racetracks that provide their own uniqueness,” Seesemann continued. “Sonoma hosted our second ever event in 2008, and we are happy to have our series finale once again at this great facility. They have put in a lot of time and money into improving the facility, and will be a great place to once again crown our Challenge of the Americas champions.”

Challenge of the Americas continues its partnership with eKartingNews.com to provide Trackside Live coverage. Since 2012, EKN has covered each weekend of the Challenge, including daily reports, and streaming live play-by-play audio. EKN Publisher Rob Howden remains the voice of the Challenge, set to call the action from all three weekends in 2024.

Be sure to follow updates at challengekarting.com regarding the 2024 Challenge of the Americas program, in addition to following the Facebook and Instagram pages.

2024 Challenge of the Americas Schedule

February 2-4, 2024: Musselman Honda Circuit – Tucson, Arizona
March 1-3, 2024: K1 Circuit – Winchester, California
April 12-14, 2024: Sonoma Raceway – Sonoma, California

 

CHALLENGE OF THE AMERICAS ADJUSTS SERIES FINALE DATE FOR 2024

Posted on by
New weekend for final two rounds of winter west coast series

NAMPA, ID (August 31, 2023) – In the matter of five months, the 2024 Challenge of the Americas will be kicking off the 17th season for the international winter west coast series. February 2024 is the opening month of the three weekend, six-round championship program. Dates for the 2024 season were announced this past July, with February, March and April as the three months to host the three events. Series owner Andy Seesemann has reviewed the recent changes made by other promoters and has elected to move the date of the series finale to April 12-14 – which will be held at the Sonoma Raceway in northern California.

“We apologize for the change, as it was not our choice to do so,” commented Andy Seesemann of FTK Promotions. “We announced our schedule after corroborating with several series earlier in the summer. Unfortunately, the recent announcement by other programs that are focused on the eastern half of the country caught me by surprise, as it was the first that I heard about the changes.” Continue reading →

Challenge of the Americas Setting Plans for 2024 Program

Posted on by

Initial dates set for 17th season of winter west coast series

The halfway point to the 2023 calendar year has passed, and FTK Promotions is excited about the upcoming season for the Challenge of the Americas winter program. When the calendar switches over to 2024 in January, the Challenge will host its 17th season of the premier west coast winter series. To begin the planning stages, series promoter Andy Seesemann is proud to announce the dates for the three-race weekend season in 2024.

Continue reading →

ROK the PARC 2023 Cancelled

Posted on by

The following is a statement from Andy Seesemann of FTK Promotions, providing information on ROK the PARC event originally scheduled for July 14-16 at the Pat’s Acres Racing Complex in Canby, Oregon.

It is with a heavy heart that we announce the cancellation of ROK the PARC event due to lack of participation. This is an event that I look forward to every year, in fact, it’s probably my favorite event of all the events that I promote and attend. Unfortunately, with the low participation numbers, the financial loss would have been too much to continue for the 2023 edition.

One-off events in the summer months are always a risk, but Pat’s Acres is such a special place that I have taken that risk the past couple of years. After looking at the pre-entry numbers and speaking to several of the teams that have supported us the past few years, it was obvious that the very packed summer schedule was impacting the entry numbers and would not allow us to reach an acceptable level for the event.

As a race organizer, I control many things; the venue, the classes, the personnel, the rules, and more but I do not control the participation. That is the one thing that the racers control. All pre-entrants have been refunded in full and I contacted each of them personally to tell them the news. They were obviously disappointed, but they all understood.

R3/R4 PKRA General Information

Posted on by

REGISTRATION OPEN:
The second event of the 2023 Challenge of the Americas season is set for March 3-5 at the Phoenix Kart Racing Association in Glendale, Arizona. Registration is now open at www.challengekarting.com or via the direct link HERE. Pre entry deadline is February 22nd so get your entry in ASAP.

PRACTICE & RACE SCHEDULES:
Official COTA practice begins on Friday with R3 on Saturday and R4 on Sunday.
Event Schedule is posted on the PKRA event page of our site and HERE.

PKRA track schedule for the week leading up to our event is:
Monday: 9a-5p.  Track open for move in. NO PRACTICE
Tuesday: 9a-5p.  Track open for move in. NO PRACTICE Continue reading →