History - Grassroots Racing
Starting with a conversation at the lunch table, Dirt Squirts Kart Club is grass roots racing by definition. In 2018 a few guys sat around talking about racing Go Karts, Peter Austin #88 and Jeff Conklin #25 were the first drivers to buy Go Karts, and by that fall, these two guys were already racing around trying to get a layout for their first track. 2019 was the first full season, we had a total of 5 races that season, including the one and only race at Jones Pond, and our final race on the original BlueStone Oval. In 2020, Dirt Squirts added an unbelievable 10 new drivers which lead to our first Exhibition race to kick off the 2020 season. After that we held 6 points races, which included introducing HomeStead Speedway, running Conklin Glen backwards, and our very first Night Race on the new BlueStone Oval.
In 2021, the club saw a total of 15 drivers and we ran our first race on a professionally run track, when we headlined an event at Action Park East in Greene, NY. For the 2022 season we had 16 drivers in our big block series (original series), ran 11 points races, and added Champion Speedway in Owego, NY to our professionally run tracks list. We added a small block series, which had 8 drivers, and this adds a whole additional level of excitement on race days. While we enjoy the hassle free day of racing that the professionally run tracks offer us, we are still strongly tied to our roots and that is; just carving a track out in a field. Our 2023 season will undoubtedly be just as exciting as the previous seasons. Our club has expanded the driver registration to 20 allowable racers for each raceday, 3 times the size of our biggest group from our first year. We have scaled back our schedule to 8 points races, including a race at Action Park East and Champion Speedway. We will hold the dreaded double header again and our small block series will run every race on the schedule, the expectation is that we will be able to maintain and grow the fan base that has added to the excitement of our sport.
Our Founding Five members for the 2023 Season includes one original member, Jeff Conklin #25, as well as our original flagman who simply couldn’t resist getting a Kart of his own, Alan Gary #33. Two founding five members that joined at the beginning of the 2020 season and both had great success, including being voted in as new representatives of our growing group, Shaun "Cooter" Krause #01 and Shane Lewis #3. Lastly a newly added member for 2022, Shawn Brown #77. Unfortunately for us, one of our key members, Peter Austin #88, accepted a great job opportunity that took him to the sunny state of Florida and he will no longer be racing with the club. We welcome you to join us as a spectator, or as a driver if you think your interested, just look us up on Facebook and send us a message. You can check out our rules by clicking on the Rules link at the top of the page or look at previous season points by clicking that link at the top of the page. Don't forget to check out the club sponsors who are also linked on the page.