Kaylin Kirk is REDRACER

By Elizabeth Franklin, Special to the Democrat

Ten-year-old Kaylin Kirk of Live Oak, nickname “Redracer,” has more fire in her belly than she does at the roots of her brilliant, beautiful red hair. Many of her fans and competitors describe her as one of the most focused drivers they have encountered. The leading — and only — lady racing in the local Easykart 60 class at Monticello Karting, keeps a good attitude about the competition, despite a few boys with a negative opinion of girls’ racing. “The boys are awesome drivers. Now, some of them want to be friends with me,” Kaylin said. “People ask me why I like this so much, and want to know why I don’t just quit, I just say, ‘that’s my flesh and blood, my heart and soul.’” Could the next superstar on wheels be out there learning his or her craft in a race kart right now? “Most of the drivers with NASCAR and any of the bigger drivers like with Formula One, their base point was karting,” Kimberly Kirk, Kaylin’s mother, said.Juan Pablo Montoya, Indy 500 champion, former Formula One star and up-and-coming NASCAR rookie, is the chief executive officer of Easykart, the group that sanctions Kaylin’s class at Monticello. Kaylin is ranked first in point standings in her local Easykart 60 class. She accumulated 1,216 points at the Monticello track, breaking the track record for her division. She won the pole six races in a row this season.

Kaylin recounted one particularly memorable win. “I won the heat race. I passed (a competitor) on the last lap,” Kaylin said. “At the end of the race, I got to get on the platform.”

Indy racer Danica Patrick is Kaylin’s role model and inspiration. “She was the only girl in her class, too,” Kaylin said.Family friends took Kaylin to see a race when she was a little girl and she has wanted to be a racer ever since. “She tried horseback riding and I said, ‘let’s throw her on a kart and see what she likes,’” said Carl Kirk, Kaylin’s father. “She went for the kart.”

Kaylin, who has been racing for two years, began her karting career in Immokalee — Southwest Florida Karting’s Kid Kart Class — when she was 8 years old. “We do it as a family. We call it family time,” Carl said. “It’s not just about winning or losing a race, it’s based on us going out and doing it together.”

Carl has raced stock cars and dragsters and has helped Kaylin immensely. “This Easykart class is supposed to be based on driver ability,” Carl said. “I didn’t know a whole lot about this kart. It was a lot. The carburetor is such an important part of the kart.”Kaylin is a fourth-grader at Melody Christian Academy in Live Oak. “She is different, and she found her thing that she is good at and loves,” Kimberly said. “It’s a tough sport for parents to be involved in, so it’s truly a family commitment. My husband goes out in the bigger cart just to help, I give him a lot of credit, there’s a lot more to it.”

There has been some discouragement along the way. “We almost gave up on it,” Carl said. “We didn’t know if she could hang with them because they (competitors) were so much faster.” Kaylin told them she knew she could do it and just needed the chance to prove it. “She’s worked her way up, and when she got herself up to third place in points, we were amazed,” Kimberly said. “If you don’t win every race, she has had to place second in order to get up to that champion place.”

“We are so proud of her, because we don’t have a lot of the money some of the others have,” Kimberly said. “She has to have the driving ability to be able to do it.”

Next season Kaylin plans to compete in the Easykart Nationals. She has competed in racing series with the World Karting Association, the Florida Karting Championship Series, the WKA Florida Sprint Series and the Ocala Grand Prix. “Every track has their own local series, that you can be apart of, so if we’re not at Monticello, we’ll try and hit Ocala,” Kimberly said.Kaylin’s Easykart 60 class is for children ages eight through 12. “There’s so many different series,” Kimberly said. “There are about 10 other classes out there for her age group. There are probably between 20 and 30 classes total. The next class she’ll go into is the Easy Kart 100.”Race karts and go-karts“I’ve never even heard them call it a go-kart in this sport,” Kim said. “Nobody really knows a lot about this sport.” A “kart” is a small, flat, motorized vehicle used in racing. Kart racing, or “karting,” is commonly used to train a driver so than can be promoted to more advanced levels of motorsports, such as stock-car or open-wheel racing. Karting is now considered the most economical form of motorsports. “I didn’t know any of this stuff until we started getting into it,” Kim said. “I didn’t know how big it really was.”Some people race karts just for recreation and not as a stepping-stone into other forms of racing. In some cases, drivers decide not to advance into auto racing and become professional kart racers instead.

“Most people don’t know what a real kart is,” Carl said. “Many people haven’t even heard of Easykart. If you say go-kart they think of a toy kids ride around in the yard.” Karts in Kaylin’s class hit 60-65 m.p.h. during a race.

Kaylin has three karts: one that she has grown out of, the one she uses now, and the one she will grow into that she will use as an adult, “if she takes it that far,” Kimberly said.Kaylin has been sponsored by Live Oak Tractor and Wes Haney Chevrolet.