The following is a statement from Andy Seesemann, owner of FTK Promotions and Challenge of the Americas championship program regarding the suspension of the 2026 season.
It is no secret that numbers were down at the Challenge of the Americas opener at K1 Circuit. So low, there was a significant financial loss organizing the event. Track costs there are exorbitant and not sustainable, but the series took the chance, and it did not pay off. Challenge of the Americas cannot continue down the path of hemorrhaging cash. Doing it once was extremely painful, but necessary. Doing that three more times is impossible. So, we set out with a goal of 60 pre entered for our Phoenix Kart Racing Association race in April by Saturday, March 14. Our hope was that by requesting a refundable deposit that racers would commit to the event early and we could continue to do what we do best, put on great karting events. Unfortunately, we did not hit our needed 60 entry threshold to continue operations of the Challenge of the Americas for 2026.
With a heavy heart and extreme disappointment, I am suspending operations of the Challenge of the Americas for the remainder of 2026. Based on our numbers from our first event a few weeks ago, it has become apparent that the program will take a significant financial loss for 2026. With date conflicts on the next two event weekends, the outlook was not looking any better. The racing calendar has always been crowded, but over the past few years, the addition of more regional and national programs, all fighting for the same customers, has put extreme stress on the industry. In the past, regardless of our competition with one another, most programs have been respectful of each other’s dates. As new players move into the sport, that respect has eroded. Unfortunately, date conflicts force racers and teams to make tough choices, often reducing the number of weekends they race, or worse, reducing the number of weekends the teams and mechanics can earn a living.
Despite this, I am extremely proud of what my staff and I have accomplished in almost two decades. I am convinced that I have the most passionate and finest staff in the sport, filled with karting “lifers”, who treat our racers and the sport with the respect it deserves. We have always prided ourselves in providing a fair, safe, and family friendly high quality kart racing program. Just the other day, someone shared a staff photo from 13 years ago and I realized that more than half of the folks in the photo still wore my Challenge staff t-shirts a few weekends a year. A remarkable statistic, when you consider the turnover that happens in our sport at all levels. Several of the individuals have been with me for all 19 years, a couple as officials, and a few more who started out as competitors before hopping to the other side of the fence.
When I first announced the creation of the Challenge of the Americas 19 years ago at the Colorado Karting Circuit in Denver, I had no idea if it would last one season, let alone 19. A few years ago, I realized that 20 years was not far off, and that became my goal. Even with this difficult situation, reaching year 20 is still my goal. After I recover from my disappointment, I will go back to work to see what needs to change so the Challenge can carry on into a 3rd decade. My team and I would like to thank all competitors and teams that raced at our first event in February and to those that did enter for our planned April event in Phoenix. Refunds for your deposits will be processed shortly.
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