The best part of racing is winning; at least for the Vanderpool family

The Vanderpool Racing Team of Litchfield, Pa. has rounded the corner and drifted their way to South Carolina for the Maxxis Kart Racing National Championships. 

This season, Kaela, Alyssa and Anthony Vanderpool, ages 13, 12 and eight, respectively, have been racing go-karts since they were all around the age of five. Their father, Rich Vanderpool, started racing karts and larger cars at 18. With the kids watching, they wanted some speed of their own. 

“They wanted to start racing, and it’s the best thing for them at a young age to get going on it,” Rich said. 

They race karts that look like toys but weigh about 300 pounds and can go 45 to 60 miles per hour, depending on the track size. Larger tracks, whether they are dirt or asphalt, have larger straight-aways and corners, allowing for more time to shift gears and control speed.  

“When people think go karts, they think it’s the go karts at the mall that you race. Not these,” Mary Vanderpool, the racers’ mother said, gesturing to beaten-up karts with exposed engines on electric stands.

This season, racing has brought the family to tracks all over the state of Pennsylvania as well as to races in Ohio and Virginia. Mary said every weekend they are traveling, with their regular track, Paradise Speedway, being about two hours away in Geneva.  

During the normal season, running from April through October, the kids compete in the Pennsylvania Maxxis Series where they finished in the top of their classes. Anthony won the 2019 Red Plate Championship for the second year in a row, Kaela is the Junior 2 Flat Kart Champion, with Alyssa coming in third. 

Because of their success, Maxxis has given them a special invitation to race at nationals. Rich and Mary are anticipating tough competition for the kids. The Vanderpool’s, fast as they may be, are a small team with local sponsors funding their sport, which can become expensive quickly. 

“A low budget team going against corporately sponsored teams,” said Mary. Rich responded, saying he’d be happy to place in the top five. 

The kids aren’t rolling over on the competition though. Kaela said that her favorite part of racing is winning, something all three racers share. Along with winning, the kids have been able to make friends through their travels. Anthony told the story of other students in his class asking what a “Maxxis” was when he shared the news of his upcoming travels. 

The championship races began on Saturday with qualifiers, and a winner will be awarded on Sunday. The Vanderpools may just return with the championship.