February 11, 2011

During the 2005 racing season, Phil Harp of Largo, was racing his go-kart regularly with the Tri City Kart Club at Desoto Super Speedway on Sunday afternoons.

At each month’s race, Phil would look up at the empty grandstands, and wonder how much fun it might be, to race in front of fans, as part of the Saturday night stock car program.

Phil Harp – Series Founder/Director

Then, Phil got an idea.  He decided to try and contact a few stock car track promoters, to see if any might schedule a senior champ kart race.  Phil entertained them on the idea of a race class that would average 15-20 drivers, have a devoted following, and was deserving of a chance to run as part of the “big show” with the regular Saturday night classes.

On Thanksgiving weekend of 2005, Desoto Super Speedway in Bradenton, Florida gave Phil a race date.

Phil, who is employed as a plumber, worked the phone hard in the weeks leading up to the race, trying to convince every racer he knew to enter.  Many in the karting community were skeptical.

“When I drove to the track for that first race,  I was nervous.  My biggest fear was that noone would show up”, Phil later said.  “I decided to get there early, before the pit gate opened.  But, when I turned off of Highway 64 onto the track road, I saw a line of trailers already lined up at the pit gate.  I thought wow… those car racers sure get to the track early.  Then, as I got closer, I realized that they were all karters, patiently waiting for the track to open.  You’ve got to get up pretty early in the morning if you expect to beat my guys to the track on race day… karters are a passionate group”, Phil chuckled.

Twenty-six champ karts showed up that night, and a series was born.

Since 2005, the South East Champ Kart Series (SECKS) has traveled to five stock car tracks in Florida including Desoto Super Speedway, Auburndale Speedway, Punta Gorda Speedway, Orlando Speedworld and Citrus County Speedway.   The drivers range in age from 15 years old,  to 74.

On February 26, the series will kick off the 2011 Season by sanctioning it’s  80th race, at Citrus County Speedway, in Inverness.

When asked how the South East Champ Kart Series has continued to average nearly 20 drivers at each event over the past three seasons, despite the tough economy, Phil paused.  “The economy has really hurt most traveling racing divisions, but for us, it probably has helped, as much as hurt.  When I started this, I didn’t think that many car racers would be interested in racing with us.  However, as the economy has soured, my series has become a relatively inexpensive way for car racers to keep their faces visible at the stock car tracks, while they are waiting to find funding for their cars”,  said Phil.

“Another possible reason is that we really try and make our new and part-time racers feel welcomed.   When a new racer comes into our series, I always try to encourage them to pit next to me that first night, so that I can make sure they have all the tools, help and encouragement that they need to make as many laps as possible.  I can remember going to races in my younger days where the only person who spoke to me was the lady who took my money at the pit gate.  That will never happen in my series.  I’m sure some of my drivers get tired of me visiting their pits at each event”, Phil chuckled.

“The part-time racers are also a big key, I think.  In my experience, these racers are often overlooked by promoters.  If you can grow your numbers of part-time racers, and give them reasons to dust off their equipment, it begins to pay big dividends.  It’s a lot easier for a guy with heavy financial or family commitments to race part-time, than to travel the entire series.  One thing we did to encourage the part-timers to race a little more is to award three ‘Track Champions Trophies’, to the drivers who gain the highest points at  Auburndale Speedway, Citrus County Speedway and Punta Gorda Speedway (respectively).  This allows a racer who isn’t able to travel the entire series to pick one track, and try to win a Track Champions Trophy.  The last race of the season  at each track is pretty exciting for the guys who are in contention for the Trophy.  We had one race last year where seven drivers could have won the Track Champions Trophy on the final night.  You’d have thought those guys were racing for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship…. they made Days of Thunder look pretty mild.  They all wanted to win that big Trophy bad”, Phil laughed.

The series races for a cash purse at each event, and has several loyal sponsors who routinely post additional cash and prizes throughout the season.   They include J. Hite Exterminating (Tampa), PBS Sales and Service, Inc. (Tampa), Top Deck Concrete Inc. (Riverview), BS Powerhouse Racing Engines (Zephryhills), Impact Racing Products and AlleyCat Grafix (Palm Bay), among others.

Tim Simmons – 2010 Overall Track Series Champion

“Three of our 17 features during the 2010 season paid the winner $500 cash, or more, to win.   We are proud of that, and those types of payouts are always popular with my guys.  However, in our normal races, we try to keep the payout very flat, so that we can give the guy who finishes deeper in the field a little something extra in his pocket at the end of the night.  I’ve noticed that some drivers can seem pretty disappointed after a feature, because they didn’t have a good finish.  But then, when he finds out that he finished in the money, and that we have some cash waiting for him at the payout table, his mood quickly changes” said Phil.

Chase Fitzgerald – 2010 Triple Crown Champion

“When the series began, I didn’t think we would still be doing this, six years later”, said Phil.  “I owe a lot of the credit to my wife Joan.  She is a registrar, cashier, scorer, and official all rolled into one.  Racers can sometimes get pretty upset after a race, but she always tries to listen to everyone, and treat them with respect when she explains a call.  She is a big reason why our guys keep coming back to race with us, even after a bad night.  Every racing series needs a Joan Harp”.

“The track promoters and their staff have also been great to the champ kart group, and they always make us feel welcomed.  Critter, Rex, Greg, Rick, and all of their track staff… they are always patient with our guys, and make us feel just as important as the car divisions”, remarked Phil.

NEXT RACE: Saturday night, February 26, 2011

Location: Citrus County Speedway,  Inverness, FL

Track Website: www.CitrusCountySpeedway.com

Time: Racing starts at 6pm!

SECKS Series Website:  www.NewSecksRacing.com