In case you didn't know, shifter karts are at the pinnacle of go-kart racing. That being said, they are actually a lot harder to drive than you might think. With the particular race karts in the video below maxing out around 90 MPH, these definitely are not for the inexperienced go-karter.
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You can tell just from the intro to the video that YouTuber Cleetus McFarland and the folks he joined on the go-kart track did not show up to work on their technique or shave time off of their laps. They showed up for a good ol' fashioned racing kart drag race, and they definitely had their work cut out for them. Since, you know, shifter karts aren't meant for drag racing in any way.
Now, the hardest part of any drag race is the launch, but in a shifter kart, it is even more difficult because of the extremely tall first gear, as well as the fact that a low-torque shifter kart engine package makes it extra easy to burn up the clutch by letting it out too slow or get bogged down letting it out too fast.
While the kart racers never really got the complete kart launching quite figured out, they settled on a rolling start and the dark green kart pulled away again. Here's another example of the fun that comes from using machines in a way they weren't intended to be used.
Before you get any wild and crazy ideas (I'm looking at you, Floridians), you probably don't want to attempt shifter kart drag racing without the supervision of trained professionals. And, even then, you should probably think twice about it.
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This post was originally published on March 9, 2017.
