Some very good points made in this post, as Owners & Promoters it is very hard and getting harder everyday. Thanks Kenny Foster for saying these things and putting alot of thoughts into words.
Chip/Tony
To All,
I would like to make a positive point to everything in some way. Try to make my words come out the way they are supposed to. Tony Cope and myself drove into an open field one day that Tony gave up his field his horses were running in to build a kart tracks for the kids. Adults yes was going to get to race there as well. Gene Smith brought up his equipment and we built a racetrack that became the premier kart track in the Midwest. I’ve raced karts for close to 45 years total. Literally raced them all over the world. I’ve had my ups and downs at Twister and yes Chip and I have had words.. something I learned and actually knew but in the heat of things quickly forgot. Sometimes two wrongs don’t make a right. I’ve put on races and promoted as well and the stress and pressure of trying to keep everyone happy is more difficult than I ever dreamed it would be. Would I promote again, probably never. Do I understand the stress of the many years Twister has now been there and the changes that have developed in the sport? Yes I do. I’ve seen changes in the way driving has become and I don’t care for it. I’ve seen parents try to live the childhood they may have missed through their kids. It’s sad that a track that has become the hot bed of kart racing and what Tony Cope started and gave up his land to build has a lot of people into an argument. I see a bad thing coming that could shut a track down either for a while or permanently. Please sit back and think things over people. I did and have. My kart career ended with a double concussion after a concussion working construction just two days before I went racing..Three concussions in 72 hours could have been fatal for me..to look at the scans and results from the CT and MRI and then sit down with one of the physicians who was actually involved in treating Dale Earnhardt Jr was an eye opener. But I went to Bolivar Speedway on the asphalt when I was released to go back racing and turned that track at close to 100 mph. I had and have no memory of getting hurt racing. I have 5 days of my life I will never get back. As I stated though it started with a concussion in my construction company and then got hurt racing but it all ended my career in karts. My family and my physician said it’s either with a roll cage or hang it up. I learned to race Enduro karts first before I ever got into circle track. My early years in circle track no bodies, curved in nerf bars, narrow rear bumpers, rear tires fully exposed. You didn’t want any part of that or you was going on your lid! Insurance rules for tracks, kart manufacturers fear of being sued, people complaining about kart safety brought about changes that helped change the way we raced and raced each other. It’s not any single thing that is at fault, it’s a multitude of things. But when things happen then tempers flair and here goes. Damn right I’m guilty of it too! Please I ask for a time that I remember driving into that field and Tony and I driving those stakes to build a racetrack we have all had the pleasure of enjoying for all these years sit back, take a breath, think about what if Twister Alley Raceway is no longer there. It’s taken a lot of drivers onto the big cars and made them what they are today. Just my two cents for what it’s worth. Again I have been on both sides of this and will be the big man and admit it and two wrongs or any wrongs don’t make rights. It never has a good outcome unless cooler heads prevail!
Kenny Foster
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