Jason LaPoint - My Trackmagic Story
Jason LaPoint - My Trackmagic Story
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My Trackmagic story begins in 1994 at Pat's Acres Kart Track in Canby, Or. It was about a year after winning my first Shifter Kart IKF Grandnational Championship in Batavia, NY and we had a IKF Region 6 Gold Cup race at my home track of Pat's. This was my introduction to George Barros. It was one race deal which I finished second to George, I was amazed on how fast and smooth he was. I never forgot that race because not many drivers at the time could come to my home track and hand me my ass.
At the time, I had only heard of the Trackmagic Brand a few times. I was currently racing a Mac Minerelli Kart in the Shifter Classes, which included at the time Formula 125 limited, spec Mac Aircooled 125, and I ran a Pavasi Reed Valve in 125cc open class. I had traveled that year to the 1994 IKF Grandnationals in Quincy, IL. I won the screaming eagle fast time award that year, but fell short the victory with a mechanical issue in 125 limited. The open class that year was stacked with CRG''s running honda RS125's and JM Racing with its built Pavasi's were super quick. That year the Tonykart Esprit Chassis debuted and was the first kart I had seen with a front axle design. Alex Barron ran a Tony Kart and I knew that was the kart I needed to stay competitive.
1995 came and the IKF Grand Nationals was held at Pat's Acres. It was the largest karting event in the United States with over 660 entries. Shifter karts were just coming on strong and I was running 6 classes, two shifter and 4 100cc non shifter. I won the Duffy in the Formula 125cc class once again securing my Expert yellow number plates for IKF as you had to win two Grandnational Championships. I finished second to Alex Barron in the 125 open class. I ran a Honda RS125 on a Tonykart Esprit that year.
1996 begins my direct link to the Trackmagic Brand as we were still running the IKF Region 6 Gold Cup series in the NW. Our last stop before heading to 1996 IKF Grandnationals in Cuddesbackville, NY was in Wenatchee, WA. At Wenatchee the Trackmagic Factory Team showed up to race with a new driver this time Memo Gidley, and George Barros was back, this time pitting for Memo.
Now normally I was not the most liked driver in the shifter classes, we had two classes in the NW, Moto 125 and Open 125. Trackmagic being from Norcal was only running the Moto 125 with a CR honda. Well, since Trackmagic was from Norcal the race between myself and Memo was a hit on the fence as many local NW kart racers always wanted the "Californians" to lose. It was a good race and we battled back and forth, but ultimately I was able to secure the victory over Trackmagic. I later won the 1996 IKF Grandnationals in the NY which Trackmagic did not travel too.
But...It was 1996 the marked the first big race in Las Vegas. The United States Gearbox Championship. Essentially the first "Super Nationals" began. After, we have a great year racing around the country, I was told I had to travel to this new track north of Vegas to compete in this race. We showed up with our little team, my father Garry LaPoint, my best friend Ryan Pfau, and we bought my friend and fellow NW competitor Riley Will for an extra hand.
We ended up setting the Track Record and Qualifying in pole position. The field was stacked with the best of the best. I went out and won the first heat race. Then in the second race I was leading Memo Gidley by about two seconds when my front countershaft sprocket came off. The DNF in the one heat race was my only loss in the heats but it placed me 12th on the grid as more than 80 drivers were in the class. I managed to finish in the top 5 and Memo went on to the first major win for Trackmagic. I remember our pits were not far from each other. I went over and looked at the new Trackmagic Demon four bearing kart with brembo brakes. I thought WOW! Brembo's that is cool. Coming from the NW nobody ran American made karts. We were very into the European Karts the CIK bodywork and never even considered a American made shifter kart at the time.
After Las Vegas, I went back to my life as usual entering my 2nd year of college. As in Oregon we have long winters and our Kart racing season's were 6 months at best. While sitting in my dorm room, I get a phone call from George Barros. George explains he would like me to race a Trackmagic as Memo was going to run Toyota Atlantic. I told him I appreciated the offer, but I was comfortable with my program and had a local deal to run Tonykarts. So I turned him down. After, thinking about it more I was very unhappy at college and my dream was to race professionally in formula cars. Well, George called me back a few days later and told me he wanted me to come down and test the karts at Dixon.
This was around December of 1996 and I was on winter break from school. I flew down to San Francisco and headed to Trackmagic Factory. It was there I met Fausto Vitello for the first time. I also met Memo, George, and others at the shop on Yosemite. They had prepared a Kart with a bump style shifter, this was new to them as they used butterfly shifters up till that point. Fausto took me to Hunters Point, showed me where the karts were made, the machine shop and more. It was very impressive the amount of work that was done by hand and in house. I had had the privilege to tour a lot of factories in Europe in 1995. I had been to Swiss Hutlass, Tony Kart, and CRG. The Trackmagic Factory was nothing like the operations in Europe that featured Robotic Welding, CNC machines, and private test tracks etc. The Trackmagic Factory was OLD essentially a WW2 machice shop at the old Naval Shipyard. The building on Yosemite, was a steel building, metal wall and was in the ghetto. The shop where that karts were assembled was packed and tight, small rooms to build engines, little room to assemble karts. It was cross between a kart shop and a kart factory with a lot going on. It was very interesting to me because after seeing the European side and seeing this I was intrigued that they produced a kart that was competitive.
My first experience driving a Trackmagic
The next morning George and I got an early start as we were going to meet Fausto and Memo at Dixon, Ca Kart Track to test the karts. At this point I had woke up ready to show them my driving ability. I was very eager to try out the karts and I was really impressed with the potential I saw at the Factory and the passion Fausto had for making the best karts. I kept thinking on the way to the track that this deal was good for me for two reasons. One, they knew how to help me become a racecar driver, and two I knew I could finally race a kart where I was the number 1 driver. No other European Kart MFG was going to give an American a number 1 seat. I knew it was better to be #1 with a #2 Kart. I was done being #5 with a Tonykart or other chassis.
We got all setup at Dixon and I remember it being a cold morning. Later, I would experience a lot of these cold mornings..lol. Memo went out and baselined the karts and set some times. I got ready and went out on the track, quickly I realized this track was a bitch...holy shit it didn't even have a staight and it was ran backwards. I was not in great shape at the time for right hand direction and like many people my neck felt the pain around this track pretty fast. I pushed the kart hard and even spun out once trying to beat Memo. I came off the track kind of pissed off , I was not faster, and I think trying to convince them I could do better. At that point, Fausto said, you know this test is for you to decide to drive for us, not for us to decide on you. I guess I didn't have that mindset at the time, and when I put my helmet on I was in full race mode. The whole day was an experience as I was not familiar with all the racecar feedback vocabulary, I was asked about the handling, and the chassis setup. They used words like understeer, oversteer, lift, caster, camber, and more.. Now that is all common knowledge nowadays, but I came from running kart and focusing on engine tuning and a little chassis tuning. Trackmagic was BIG on chassis and engine was secondary. I quickly learned that I did not know everything about karting at all. The development of a chassis was going to be a real learning experience.
I flew back to Oregon after telling Fausto and George that I would be excited to drive for them in 1997. Shortly after two Trackmagic Demon's arrived at our shop. They sent us a ton of stuff including spare parts, tons of stickers, and more. It was like christmas morning. As we prepared the karts we noticed a lot of issues, some minor and some more major, but we made it work. We assemble the kart with our motor package and trackmagic had not converted to CIK bodywork yet. So we mounted up out white Tonykart bodywork to at least make it ready to test. Our first test was scheduled for Medford, OR. We drove 4 hours south and Fausto and George in the brand new White Ford Powerstroke dually drove north. They met us at the track where I finally got to put in some laps on the new kart. George had also brought up a new Trackmagic that he set up with his engine package that also featured Trackmagics newest color scheme. BLACK and YELLOW. This was the first kart to have yellow side pods and the black stipes. The test ended and we had a great time getting to know each other and come up with our plan for the 1997 season.
1997 Racing Season
So in the middle of doing all the Trackmagic stuff and attending my 2nd year of college. I had been offered an opportunity to racing the 1997 European Formula C Championship with my friend Riley Will. He had secured a deal with PCR to run all the race with Pavasi engines. We had discussed out intention to run in Europe with PCR with Fausto and George. Somehow it turned into joint effort with Trackmagic to help support me overseas. So we put down the 1997 European Championship and World Championship on the schedule.
Next, the World Karting Association WKA announce a new Nationwide Karting Series in the United States that would showcase European and American Kart Mfg in the first of its kind full nationwide championship series...called the WKA Constructors Championship. Trackmagic decided this would be a great chance to promote it's brand against the best and we quickly put our hats into the ring.
Now, I was still going to college full time while all this is happening, new ride, European deal, and WKA. Needless to say I was not focused on school at all now. I found myself completely focused on how to race karts and become a racecar driver.
So, I called my parents and told them I was quiting school. My mom was supportive and it was my Dad of all people that was hard to convince. I called George Barros and told him my intentions and that I was ready to make the move to San Fran and be there full time to race and work at the shop. I packed up everything I could fit in my car and drove to San Fran. I arrive at like 10pm on a Sunday night and thought I could just get Hotel near the Factory in South San Francisco. Quickly, I realized that this place was scary as hell and not where someplace I could stay. Coming from Oregon I was a fish out of water. I ended up driving all the way back out of the city to almost Vacaville, Ca where I found a Days INN and got a room. I was thinking that night that I had really no idea what I was doing.
The next morning I rolled into Trackmagic and met George and Fausto. George asked me where I was staying, I told him I didn't know? He said he had a room in Marin I could use since he was back with his girlfriend and wasn't using it. I said great I will take it, I had stayed in that same house when I had flown down and tested the karts a few months back, so I thought man this is a good deal. Then Fausto asked me what I was going to do for money, I told him, "I don't know," He asked how much do you need to live on? I told him that I had to call my mom..lol.. As I was talking to my Mom, Fausto took the phone and had a nice conversation with her. He said, I like your Mom. He then said he would give me a $1000.00 a month. I was like awesome! Having no idea about money or cost of being on my own, my first thought was: I am a professional kart driver! I was really happy.
The end of the first day came, and I had no idea how to navigate the city, nor get across the Golden Gate Bridge to Marin County. George Barros, said he had to go back to Dixon and wasn't able to take me to his room first. So Luckily Jamie Florence was nice enough to let me follow him to the house I was staying in. When I got there I met George's roommate, who of course had no idea who I was or why I was staying there? George apparently did not tell him anything (now I know that communication wasn't George's strong suit). So I moved in my things to George's room he was renting and his roommate Tony was nice enough. About 11pm his other roommate showed up and was pissed off and arguing that he didn't know who I was and did not want me there. They were outside my door and I was freaking out. Luckily, the one roommate Tony calmed the other guy down. So the next morning; I woke up and went down to the kitchen, I was quickly confronted by the other roomate who was weighing out a bunch of Weed on a scale and putting in little bags. I was like, "Hi and Bye" quickly leaving to navigate myself back to Trackmagic in what I can say is a horrible commute.
2nd Day at Trackmagic
After arriving and figuring out all the details of how I could work and live by the factory. I quickly realized that I had no place to work on my kart and the shop was stuffed. So Fausto had the great idea that I use the orginal Trackmagic Shop at Hunters Point Shipyard. He took me over and showed me the space I could use. The shop was large enough and was the original office for Thrasher Skateboard Magazine. Fausto's partner Eric Swenson was still using the office next the area. Well, I quickly realized that working on my karts here was very lonely and I really was not a good wrench by myself. My tools were lacking, I had no equipment, everything was miles away i needed. I was trying to get the karts ready to test and pack for the first European race in Braga, Portugal. I was a slob, I had crap everywhere and I left it a mess when I left. The next day Fausto laid into me for the first time and told me I needed to clean up the mess and Eric was pissed I was so sloppy. I quickly realized that this was a real job and I needed to take things seriously and I needed to get my shit together.
My father came down not long after I moved there and we were packing these large Trunks to travel with to Europe with all our karting tools and supplies. He realized I needed a tool box and other stuff to do my job. It wasn't long before he brought me a tool box and a bunch of tools so I could work on my stuff.
All that was great but I went to my first race on a Trackmagic at Buffalo Bills Casino, Stateline NV. We did not have the best weekend, my kart preparation was really lacking and we had some failures. I was so disappointed, but my entire racing program was so different. I was so use to having my father and friend Ryan Pfau working with me before and after the races. Now it was all me in a new place, on my own, figuring out how to wrench, test, develope, etc. It was so hard. I was focused on improving and knew I was at fault with kart prep. I quickly tried everything to improve as fast as I could. Even in testing at Dixon, I was quickly taught a lesson by Fausto when I refused to widen the rear of the kart as I assumed it would be slower. Fuasto told me "quit being so fucking stubborn, and try new things," prove it before ruling it out. Turned out, I went faster with it wider and I never forgot that lesson.
Fausto was constantly on me and my kart, he taught me how to wrap any lines that rub, and zip tie things better, he would come over and critique my kart completely, usually it involve a bunch of F words and hurry the F up. The lessons learned were valuable, it was day in day out hustle. The WKA Constructors Championship was a feat in itself besides racing in Europe, and in between those races we did some IKF Region 6 events at Pat's Acres and Medford, Oregon. I even did a Tri County Event at Dixon, CA, and to top it off we did the IKF Grandnationals at Marshalltown, Iowa.
1997 was busy and I had to grow up fast, a lot of it is a blur from race to race. We went from Portugal, to Phoenix, to Charlotte, to France, to Norway, IL. Iowa, Pat's Acres, we did a Pro Invitational HPV race at Buffalo Bills and the 1997 Skusa Supernationals, not to mention the CIK Formula C World Championship in Ugento, Italy. I might have these events out of order but it was a packed year!
After the dust settled that year, we did walk away with some hardware:
1997 WKA Constructors Cup National Champion Formula 125.
1997 IKF National Champion in 125 Open
Highest finishing American in FC World Championship
Sat on pole at SKUSA Supernationals won all heats got crashed in main event.
Selected for Team Green Driving Academy for 3 day event is FF2000 cars.
Tested with DSTP F2000 team in Buddy Rice's Lynx sponsored car.
My first year with Trackmagic was intense and amazing. Met lots of new people and added some teammates, including Landon Yee, and Joel Odenthal. We added new Trackmagic dealers including Greg Bell. I was able to win some championships and get my feet wet in some Formula Cars.
1998
The 1998 season very different from the previous year, we started off running the WKA Constructors Championship with a Formula C TM engine that I had raced in the World Championship, but our sales and the sport of Shifter Kart Racing in the United States was mainly Moto Honda CR engines. We were forced to make a choice of trying to compete against the European Chassis and engines or focus on the development of the Honda Package. We ultimately went with the Honda and it made winning the Constructors Championship very hard as the Moto engines had to compete against the FC with different weights. Needless to say our efforts to win the series was not going to happen so we shifted directions. In the Midwest a series ran by SKUSA was up and coming and I flew into Minneapolis to race a kart ran by Joe Janowski. At the race I met a bunch of cool shifter kart drivers including a young Bobby Wilson. I ran the race and got third I think, but that night I was hanging out with Jim Murley and Don Janowski talking about a shifter only Pro series and how cool it would be. This was the start of the SKUSA Pro Moto Tour Concept. I had been friends with Joe Janowski since standardizing the rules for the Moto 125 class at a IKF board meeting in Las Vegas the previous year. It was cool that Joe got on a Trackmagic Kart. In 1998 a lot of people were buying and racing Trackmagic. In fact, at the 1997 Skusa Supernats I was one of only a few Trackmagics at the race, it was the 1998 IKF Grandnationals which I met another Trackmagic Chassis owner out of Texas named Kyle Martin. It wasn't long before we met again in Norway, IL and then convinced him to head west. Kyle became my first teammate to run in the same class as me.
The 1998 Super Nats I sat on pole again, but managed to get hole in my radiator on the parade lap for the main. The same year we did win the 1998 CIK North American Championship in Las Vegas.
1998 was also the first year I started running the Skip Barber Dodge West Coast Series, and I won one of the 4 rides from the Skip Barber National Karting Scholarship for the 1999 season.
1999
This year for Trackmagic Karts is historic on many levels, and was my most memorable years. Shifter Kart racing was growing super fast and large fields of Moto powered shifter karts dominated. Shifter Kart Illustrated Magazine debuted, with volume 2 featuring myself on the cover with Trackmagic Kart. SKUSA unveiled the Shifter ONLY Pro Moto Tour. That first year it was a nationwide series, not east and west. We had to travel all over the nation. It was the second race of the SKUSA Pro Moto Tour and we had myself and Kyle Martin running the Pro S1 Class with new 80cc factory pilot Oliver Rowen running the 80cc shifter. That second round I had switched chassis from the tried and true 4 bearing Demon to the new 3 bearing Diablo prototype... And Oliver switched to the new 80cc Dragon. Our development proved wise as we both claimed Victory at Norman, OK that weekend.
While running the Pro Moto Tour I was racing full time Formula Dodge Series in the Midwest and some east Coast events. I would sometimes race a car one weekend, stay in a RV park and then hit he Pro Moto race the next weekend. I was on the road or in a airplane most of the year.
Trackmagic was in full force and we had backorders on karts, all types of growing pains at the factory. We had moved in 1998 to a new location at 1290 Underwood. The new shop was great but lacked once again a race shop. Luckily, it had a hole in the way that was part of the building next to it. I just ran some lights into it and declared it my race shop. I wasn't even sure Fausto leased or owned it, but when he saw what I did he didn't say much. He did eventually allow me to paint it. Later we finished the walls and painted the floors, I refurbished the old work benches inside. Painted the upstairs office with George and Fausto. It became a really nice race shop by the time we finished. Fausto had a dyno room added and we could park the trailer inside. Myself, Oliver and Kyle worked daily in the shop prepping are karts. It was by far my fondest memories of that time. We were one big Trackmagic Family, we raced, ate, hung out after work, weekends, had great customers stop by daily. It was really fun, compared to the previous couple years where I worked alone for while, I was finally mentally strong and happy with the whole program.
This balance of years of work and our continued commitment to the Moto package lead to the Winning of the first ever 1999 SKUSA Pro Moto World Championship. The Championship was a milestone for Trackmagic. The brand was so popular that in just a few years of me being 1 of 3 Trackmagics at the 1997 Supernationals, to half the grid was Trackmagic's in 1999. Europe was shocked, tuners, drivers, and chassis mfg, were all astonished that an ALL American Chassis MFG and engine builder could not only win the whole series and the supernats, but dominate the grid.
By 2000 my Trackmagic Journey of being the #1 Driver had almost come to an end. I secured a ride with the Factory Star Mazda Team of the 2000 season.
I had one more race I needed to do. I was lacking money to race the whole season in Formula Mazda's. So I decided to race Pat's Acres Pro Moto Tour race, and try and raise money for my car racing. Fausto told me that if I did the race I better win! I knew he was right as I had everything to lose and not much to gain. I literally moved back to Oregon and dedicated myself to that race for about a month. The effort paid off as I set the track record, which i think still stands for the old track, and I won the race! This after being flown into the track in a helicopter before the main event. Oliver Rowen ended up 2nd place and Trackmagic finished 1st and 2nd . This would be my final race as a Factory Trackmagic Driver. It was very special being at my home track in front of all my family and friends. I knew after the race I was going to miss karting and my Trackmagic Family as I moved into car racing full time.
I finshed the 2000 season with Rookie of the Year in the Star Mazda Series and 3rd in the Championship.
By 2001 I had a Formula Ford 2000 ride, I finished 1st in the National Championship and got Rookie of the Year. I also ran Toyota Atlantic Races at Laguna, Houston, and Road America. The years at Trackmagic and the lessons I learned directly lead me to a car racing career that I had only dreamed about. After looking back 20 years later the part I miss most in racing is the time I spent at Trackmagic with my friends.
Althought my car racing career ended around 2003, I never lost touch with Trackmagic. I ended up partnering with Fausto and Eric later in business. And since 1997 I have never raced any other kart but a Trackmagic Kart. My best friends to this day are the same guys that I worked with at Trackmagic.
The reason we started Trackmagic Karts again is to keep the friendships alive and to create new and lasting memories with the next generation. It is a true loyal family bonded by the Trackmagic name.
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