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SCCA Hawaii - Formula Junior Karts, 99-500 Salt Lake Boulevard, Aiea, HI (2026)

10/15/2021

In case you haven't been following our situation at the National level, the BOD, SEB and the kart committee have decided to cancel the Junior Driver Program. That basically means our program is officially dead in the water.

The committee determined there was no safe way to conduct the program in a solo/parking lot environment without having risk to the kart drivers. There are a lot of varying degrees of opinions out there, but regardless of how well we presented our case, the SCCA will no longer have a junior kart program. Period.

I want to thank all my wonderful kart kids who I got to watch grow up and mature in front of my eyes. Seeing them become an integral part of our SCCA Hawaii Ohana was simply amazing. The wonderful parents and our phenomenal approach to sportsmanship and ohana couldn't have made me any prouder. I spearheaded the proposal to bring the program to Hawaii back in 2012, and by 2013, we held a test season - 6 events with one driver - to see if it could be successful. Based on the fact that 13 kids have passed through and over the 7 full seasons we got to run, we were considered one of the best programs in the country, coupled with the fact that we spawned three Nationals competitors and one Junior B Champion in such a short time... I'd say we were extremely successful. I can't thank our kids and our kart parents and our leadership enough for making that happen.

Most of all, I am so sorry for the kids. It hits Hawaii so much harder than anywhere else. Other states have road courses and several series designed for younger karters that they can still race on... we don't. This was it. The only motorsport left for kids to compete in are dirt bikes in Kahuku.

While my daughter, Saraya, who was our test pilot and got to race the most seasons, she still lost out on the final two years of her eligibility, as well as her last shot at a possible podium at Nationals just last year. Other kids got started, went all in on the program, and then suddenly had to stop. I'm really not sure which is worse. Either way, the kids are the ones who suffer... not the adults. And that's just not right.

I can only hope we find something else to help our keiki become better and more passionate drivers... to really get them interested in our sport. I really do hope another opportunity comes along for them... but for now, I just feel bad for their generation. They seem to be growing up in an era where a bunch of over zealous, legal minded adults are trying to bubblewrap them into safety... and I think that hurts them more in the long run.

Thank you all for the memories. I'm really gonna miss it.

01/29/2021

Here's the seminar from yesterday if you'd like to get more detailed info.

01/29/2021

So... not sure how many of you were able to attended the National Convention seminar for the JDP yesterday, but I'll try to recap here. Let's just say it was a little heartbreaking for us. Bottom line is there won't be any Junior Karts running anywhere until May at the earliest. Even then, there will only be 5 to 10 regions that will be allowed to participate in a new "pilot program" to try out the new rules. Once that's cleared, other regions can apply to run.

The investigative committee addressed the safety gaps and implemented broad changes in training and certification to make things more consistent and limit liability with a lot of oversight. I'll try to list the changes as best as I can, but forgive me if I forget something.

* All JDP drivers must be licensed and have kart experience. If the driver doesn't have any experience they are suggesting kart track or indoor karting to gain seat time. (Just like we were already doing)

* Each region must apply to host JDP events, and the site must be approved by our Division Executive. (We fall under Southern Pacific Division)

* There will be more training and certification for anyone doing the job of Youth Steward, Course Designer, Tech Inspector, and Safety Steward. (Not sure if it will be anymore in depth than before, but I assume we all have to get relicensed)

* Any JDP steward working an event cannot have a driver related to them in the event. (This might prove difficult as we asked if other chief positions fall under this rule - I assume it would, but we'll see)

* The Youth Steward will have to submit monthly logs to the committee to document which drivers ran, and exactly what happened at each event during that month. Any incident will have to be addressed. (I already did this for our region and voluntarily filed a "season report" with our board for the last 6 years - now it looks like it'll be monthly)

On a personal level, I asked how we in Hawaii are supposed to get experience drivers when we are the only kart activity on the island. I was told to email the committee and they/we would work to find a way. Our solo chair also sent an email asking how we are to get site approval when our division head is 2500 miles away... we'll see how that goes. Luckily several people on the committee have been to our site, so we're hoping their memory will be enough. Another thing I asked was are karts going to be at Nationals. The answer I got was that they don't know yet. They want to see how things go at the pilot regions, and then decide. They won't be on the national tour events was all they could say for now.

We have already submitted interest in being one of the pilot regions, and I hope our track record and good standing with the kart committee will get us back on track this summer. I'm definitely not happy about this, but I made a commitment to this program 7 years ago, and even though it looks like Saraya will age out before she has a chance to go to one more Nationals, I will do all I can to keep this program going. We've got the endless support of our region directors, and I know we will get back to karting one way or another. I know it's hard to stay positive, but let's keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best.

03/19/2020

Well, we all kinda knew it was coming, but yes, our Junior Karters joined the ranks of all the other racing organizations in having to cancel the last remaining points race of the season, as well as Runoffs. While the Hawaii Region board had been discussing the logistics/safety of holding just two more events, in the end it was decided for us, as the venue itself cancelled all functions on stadium property.

As disappointing as this is, we know it's the right thing to do, and luckily, we were a few weeks from our off season, so the loss isn't as bad as those on the mainland. The impact does hurt, but hopefully, by the 2020-2021 season opener in July, things will be back to normal, and we can get back to doing what we love.

So with that said, here are your 2019-2020 season winners:

Junior B:
1. Kyson Parker
2. Marina Vowell
3. Teague Vowell
4. Gabriel Wong

Junior A:
1. Tommy Kubo
2. Saraya Okazaki
3. Madi Kubo
4. Coleton Gumban
5. Naomi Wong

Congratulations to all our kids! They really pushed themselves to be better drivers, and the results are amazing! The intense competition in both classes was epic, and I know the next season is gonna be even better! See you all in a few months!

03/11/2020

It's all coming down to the last race!! With some amazing performances by our newer drivers at Points Race #11, it looks the last race of the season, Points Race #12, is gonna be epic! This past Sunday saw one of our Junior A driver's lock up his first championship, and another one show he's gonna be in the mix come next year. In Junior B, our youngest driver laid the hammer down and showed he has a bright future, as well! The weather gave us all a good scare as sprinkles started coming down as we moved the karts to grid, but the high winds blew the light showers away and the kids got to have another dusty race of sliding their way through the course!

Speaking of the course, Howard Shek really pulled a number on us at race 11. Borrowing elements of previous courses, he set up a very straight forward, simplistic course with only one crossover at the top u-turn... but boy did he trick us! The course was anything but simple. Certain sections required specific kart placement and speed otherwise round you go! Starting off from Pole 14, a short straight into an open left-hander sent the kids up to the crossover and optional u-turn circle. Once around the u-turn it was back through the crossover to the left and past a non-relevant pointer. This section lulled several kids to sleep, as they approached the pole 15 drain. With a double pointer, on-camber hard right, that led to a straight, that looked like a sweeper if you weren't careful. Several of our kids found themselves facing the wrong way at this element. Once through the straight it was our favorite "fenceline left sweeper" that sent the kids into an offset showcase slalom to the finish. Carry too much speed into the finish, and you were facing the wrong way again! A highly technical course that caught most of our kids off guard. This was the course that reinforced the "slow is smooth, smooth is fast" philosophy. It was a great course before the last race of the season.

In Junior B, the points shake up continues! Gabriel continued to push harder, and after spins in his first two runs, he settled down and came home in fourth with a 37.291. Kyson got in his own head a little bit after being well off the pace on his first run. He was able to gather himself up and post a 33.465, but that was only good enough for third place, and the star of the day was Teague! Dead set on beating his big sister, his calculated style worked really well with the course, and he was able edge Kyson for second with a super smooth 33.086! Marina was feeling down after having a really bad day three races ago. She was down over 50 points in the championships, even with her win last race. But a solid performance on Sunday put her right back in the hunt! Coming in with a nice 32.089 on her second run, she was able to close the gap to just 11 points! JB is where the action will be next race!

In Junior A, the points championship got decided early, as our defending champion, Saraya, missed her 4th race due to school commitments. This opened the door for Tommy, who drove his way to his first kart title! Madi was having a hard time finding traction in the dusty conditions, and brought home fourth with a 34.063 on her last run. Naomi was driving Saraya's kart, as she may be the next owner, and although she spun a lot - this course required the right set up and braking - she had a blast and we may see her vie for next year's title! Shaking things up a bit, however, was Coleton! While no one was looking, Coleton pushed his kart harder than any of have seen him do, and after holding first place after one run was able to hold onto second with a really nice 29.747. Tommy got put on notice after that run, and showed he's the champ for a reason, laying down an awesome 29.131 to seal the deal!

With one championship decided, all eyes are gonna be on Junior B come March 29th! These kids have really shown amazing growth this year and we couldn't be more proud of their accomplishments. Hope you all can make it to the next race - it's gonna be amazing!

02/27/2020

Another Points Race in the record books... and wow, what a great event! Although the "Kubo Kids" were a no show due to travelling, the 7 remaining drivers had a great time on a super fun course. They had so much fun, our younger, usually cautious drivers, were letting it all hang out for the first time this season! Mother Nature cooperated again, and gave us a beautiful sunny day in between some rain storms. But, the kids sure didn't need any water to be sliding, drifting, and spinning their way through this great course!

Speaking of the course, our designer, Howard Shek, is really getting good at challenging the Hawaii Region drivers. Sunday's course was similar to a course we ran awhile ago, but with some new tweaks to make it flow even better - and trick you into getting too greedy! ;-) A Pole 12 start sent the karters to a quick left followed closely by a tight right hander that led into the first crossover and a two cone slalom followed by an optional circle-crossover-circle at the top of the course that caught a few drivers off guard. After going around the optional direction top u-turn, it was back through the crossover into another optional u-turn by the Pole 15 drain (on camber FTW!) that sent the kids back up to the top u-turn again! Now heading back down towards the finish, it was all throttle for the full length of the course and back through the first crossover - our JA kids were hitting over 50+ mph at this point! Once through the crossover, it was hard on the brakes to set up for a showcase sweeper to the right. This is where our kids either slid, spun, or drifted their way through the element. The sweeper was followed by a short straight towards Pole 15 to set up the nasty double-apex left hander into the finish. It was amazing, and definitely challenged the kids and made them think.

All four of our Junior B drivers were in attendance, and little did we know what they had in store for us. Gabriel was back in action, and was hitting RPMs we hadn't heard from his little Comer K-80 since Saraya owned it! Although he still came in fourth with a 58.486, he was really moving, and was pulling and lifting tires all over the course! Not to be outdone, our youngest and newest driver, Teague, was on a mission to beat his big sister, Marina... and he almost got it done! Normally a few seconds off the pace, Teague closed that gap to just 1.3 seconds as he took third place with a nice 53.486! First place was up for grabs as Kyson and Marina went back and fourth. After first runs, it was Marina holding the lead with a 52.445 to Kyson's slippery 59.985. But, second runs was where the tide turned... Kyson put it together and stopped the clocks with an amazing 52.151 to Marina's 52.187 to take over top spot. Marina wasn't able to answer back, although she came close, and Kyson put the cherry on top with his last run clinching the win with a 52.118!

With Tommy and Madi out for the day, it was only Saraya, Coleton, and Naomi in Junior A. Naomi started off well, but ended up having some engine trouble towards the end of her first run. It seemed to be fixed for run #2, but the menehunes sabotaged her again, and she had to limp back to grid. After trying to fit into a couple karts, she hopped into Marina's JB kart and proceeded to light up the timing board with a 50.923!! Over one second quicker than the fastest JB time! Someone has been holding back on us!! Coleton had to shake off a little rust after missing the last two races, and he struggled to get heat in his tires, but once he got it, he was able to lay down a nice 49.480 to lock up second place. Saraya was looking good right out of the gate, and was able to lay down a 47.981 on her first run. Trying different lines, and even sliding through a sweeper or two didn't seem to help as her times stayed similar. She took the JA win with a 47.468, putting her 25th overall.

As our older kids start to get their licenses and transition out of karts and into cars, it's so incredible to see the younger drivers start to rise to the level of competition that those older kids set for them. Getting better and better with each race, our JB kids are following right in the footsteps of Saraya, Tommy and Madi - our first three karters in the Hawaii Region. Grab those shades, folks... cuz the future is definitely bright! (Ba-dump-bump!)

Our next race is March 8th. The points races are starting to shape up, and right now, it's a two driver race in both classes! Anything can happen in the last two events... don't miss the action!

Phot Credit: Verna Zuniga-Okazaki

02/12/2020

Our 9th points race of the season is in the record books, and what an interesting race it was! Mother Nature has been drenching our islands for the last couple months, as apparent by all the kart suits that had to be cleaned after the last event! But the weather gods smiled down on our kids and gave them exactly one day of sunshine to run their karts all out - and that was race day! We were sadly down 4 kids, as only 5 karters were able to make it to the event. The winds also picked up in the late morning, making for some dusty and slippery conditions, but the karters muscled through it and posted up some great times for such a horsepower-friendly course.

The course last event was amazing, but with the rain-soaked conditions, it just didn't flow well for everyone. Plus, we believe some 2nd heat cars got really lucky as cones seemed to move locations on their own - opening up a key section that should have favored the karts... bitter much? LOL Nah... not at all! So, for this race, a very similar course design was utilized, albeit with some slight line variations. It still favored the big horsepower cars, but it was a fast, fun, and flowing course for everyone!

Again, the Pole 14 start was utilized with a sharp left up to the first optional u-turn at the top of the course. Once through the crossover, a very open Chicago box sent the kids into their second optional u-turn by Pole 15, and then right back the way they came. After the third u-turn at the top, they headed back down towards the start, passing the third crossover, and into a tight right-hander that led into a multi-apex, showcase left-handed sweeper. The great equalizer was the finish... as out of the sweeper, if you carried too much speed, you were way offline for the narrow right-hander to the finish beams. Several greedy cars - and a couple greedy kids! - found themselves facing the wrong way in the shutdown area! While the kids definitely suffered in overall standings, they were all smiles at such a long and challenging course.

As the only two kids in Junior B, the Vowell siblings battled it out all on their own. With no pressure to force any driving errors, Teague set a goal to get within three seconds of his big sister, and he accomplished his goal on his very last run, stopping the clocks with a 51.883, down from his 57 second first run. Marina was looking for redemption after a disappointing outing last race, and she got that in spades! Lifting wheels on almost every corner, Marina laid down a really nice 49.611 and took the win to close the gap on Kyson's slim points lead. The JB kids are getting more and more competitive, and we couldn't be more proud of these guys!

Junior A was where the action was! After missing a chance to gun for FTD last race, Tommy was back with a vengeance and ready to do battle with Saraya for the lead! Saraya, after missing FTD by just a half a second, was also not about to give it anything less than 100%! Madi was also back, and as a driver who loves fast, open courses, she was looking to close the gap on the two leaders. The dust, unfortunately, had other plans, as Madi pushed a little too hard and spun away several of her good runs, finishing in third with a 51.072. The slippery conditions also plagued Tommy, who was sliding way more than normal with no heat in his tires, and sawing his steering wheel like a lumberjack through the sweeper! He did stop the clocks with a respectable 44.856 in bad conditions., but, Saraya was on a mission, and showed that the "slow is smooth, smooth is fast" philosophy has its advantages... turning in a great 43.748 to take her 6th win of the season!

Even with the two lead girls winning on Sunday, the points are not decided just yet! The boys have a serious task on their hands, but they can do it! Nothing is set yet! Another win for Tommy or Kyson, and things go right back to neck and neck! It's gonna be a fun last three events, and you definitely shouldn't miss it!! Next race is on February 23rd... hope to see you there!!

Photo Credit: Verna Zuniga-Okazaki

01/13/2020

Well... autocross is an (almost) all weather motorsport, and we certainly found that out yesterday! Mother Nature has been in a foul mood the last couple weeks, and Sunday was no exception. Heavy rains ensured that the race was called as an official "rain race" - which means the kids can bolt up rain tires to their karts - before registration was even completed! While the kids did get lucky as to not be in a downpour during their heat, there was enough rain, and lots of puddles to make it interesting.

With a slightly-lower-than-normal turnout, our course designer was able to make a long flowing course with two crossovers. Another Pole 14 start had the kids head out towards the middle of the course, then make a left up through the first crossover, then past an offset pointer and into the second crossover which housed an optional u-turn. The u-turn was the topic of discussion in grid as going one way was smoother, but longer, and the other required more steering input, but was much shorter in distance. Once out of the u-turn, the kids went left and headed down to an Ewa Box, and on to another u-turn, albeit much tighter, then back up the way they came to the bigger u-turn. Once they headed back down to the right, to the first crossover, it was throttle down! This high speed section led them straight to another short slalom to the right, and then a nice left-handed showcase sweeper. Once out of the sweeper, a tight right-hander to the finish had all the kids hanging the back end out. Needless to say, there were smiles aplenty!

All four Junior B kids were in attendance, and they had a slugfest going on for first place. Gabriel was looking good, and was holding the throttle more than he had before and managed to post a solid 65.870 to bring up the rear. Teague stepped up quite a bit and was looking good with a 61.026 that put him in the third spot. That brings us to the two leaders. Kyson on rain tires, but with some motor mount issues, and Marina running on pumped up reds. They were neck-and-neck after one run, but once Kyson got his kart sorted out he was able to put down an incredible 49.621 to Marina's spinning 56.425 to claim his fourth win. Now, both Kyson and Marina sit with 4 wins each... this means the last 4 races are going to be critical, and they will need to bring their A games for sure!

Junior A was a bit sparse for this race, with only Saraya and Naomi showing up to race. Saraya took the opportunity of the bad weather to try and flex her muscles against the cars, especially after a certain Ford Focus RS threw down an amazing 44.964 in second heat. The challenge was on! Naomi, running on reds, was getting some practice in kart control as she was having some traction issues and spun her way to a 60.267. Saraya bolted up her rain tires and was pushing hard to beat the top time of the day... possibly too hard... as even on her best run, she slid a little too much and fell short of FTD with a 45.481. The cars win this round, but the karts will be back with a vengeance for sure!

All told, another great and exciting event... even if we all were really soaked and the karts all need some serious cleaning!! The next event, Points Race #9, will be on February 9th. So, another nice long break to sort out any tuning, and fix any problems before we head into the home stretch! The points battles are heating up, so stay tuned for all the action!!

12/18/2019

What a great weekend of racing! Points Race #7 went off without a hitch this past Sunday, and we had 6 of our 9 kids out in their karts, ripping up the course! Unfortunately, 2 of our kids, Teague and Marina were down with the flu, and Naomi had a recital that she couldn't miss.

As far the rest, it almost was a rain race, until the skies parted and the sun came out during Heat 1. By the time the track dried out at the end of Heat 2, the kids were ready to tear it up with a fully dry track! With only 88 drivers registered for the event, we were treated to another long, flowing course designed by Howard Shek. An unusual start at Pole 14 led to a quick right turn. From there, a one cone kink and a double pointer that led to the showcase sweeper really tested those look ahead skills. A "barely there" up slalom allowed for some amazing speeds as they rocketed to the McDonald's u-turn. An optional circle left the kids debating between "smooth and fast, but longer", or "shorter and tighter, but slower". Once out of the u-turn, the kids headed back down into a short, but fast slalom which led to a tight left and sweeping right-hander that finished with another tight left that if you got too greedy, had you sliding backwards through the shutdown chute. As usual these days, a very fast, yet very technical course that really made you think!

In Junior B, half the field was sick, so it was just Kyson and Gabriel having fun sliding around the course by themselves. With no pressure from rivals, both kids consistently dropped time from their first to their fourth runs, with Gabriel going from a 44.358 to a 38.436 to take second, and Kyson going from a 38.505 to a winning 34.755. Both kids are progressing nicely and no one hit any cones!

In Junior A, while Naomi was out, Saraya was back to help Madi keep the Girl Power alive and strong! With two very tight sections, as well as two wide open slaloms, it was a tough call if the KTs or the WFs would come out on top. Madi was having some engine trouble in the finish area, but was able to gather her composure and finish the event strong with a 36.121. Coleton looks to have shaken all his earlier fears and was holding the throttle wide open everywhere he could! He put down his best time on his third run with a 32.207 - closing the gap on the two leaders! Tommy was looking good after his tires warmed up, but he ran out of gear on the up slalom and was only able to manage a 31.749 on his second run. Saraya came back after a three race hiatus for her band commitments, and showed she hadn't lost a step. Taking the lead on her first run, she never looked back, and kept dropping time until she posted a nice 31.147 to take her fourth class win and 9th overall on a serious horsepower course. Even though they are faster, the Junior A kids showed that they too can have all clean runs! No cone calls!!

With the season more than half over now, the points races are starting to take shape. Dropping their three worst performances, the current standings are as follows:

Junior A:
1. 4000.00 pts - Saraya Okazaki
2. 3989.68 pts - Tommy Kubo
3. 3799.81 pts - Coleton Gumban
4. 3556.72 pts - Madi Kubo
5. 2652.08 pts - Naomi Wong

Junior B:
1. 4000.00 pts - Marina Vowell
2. 3965.75 pts - Kyson Parker
3. 3551.09 pts - Teague Vowell
4. 2529.27 pts - Gabriel Wong

Also of note, our very first junior karter, Saraya Okazaki, who helped start our program 6 years ago, back when she was 9 years old, officially started transitioning from karts to cars as she got to drive her own car in fun runs. Now, at 15, and with her learner's permit, she took to it like a duck to water! She was able to drop 17 seconds from her first run of a 55.### to an amazing 38.### on her last run! We can't wait for what the future holds for this young lady! We're also excited to hear that a couple of our other kids plan to do the same!

Next race is on January 12th, so from myself and my family, I'd like to wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!! See ya in 2020!

11/27/2019

Wow! No posts from us since October... bad Youth Steward!! Okay, I will try to get better at putting the pictures up and doing the write ups. Been slacking a bit as a certain racer has been really busy with band things, and unfortunately, that means I was, too. 🙄🙄 Race #7 is coming up on December 15th, and I think after the holidays, things should die down enough for me to get back to business. My apologies, and I'll have an update for ya soon!

10/02/2019

We have two events coming up in October! First, the Curtis Lee Memorial Event will be held on October 13th. This is the race where we honor the man who really helped shape and move the Hawaii Region SCCA to where it is now. It's a very special event with parade laps for each heat and a lots of camaraderie with Curtis' friends and family.

Second will be Points Race #5 on October 27th. The points races will start shaping up around this time, and the leaders will start to emerge. This is where any racer slightly behind in points needs to knuckle down and start making some moves!

We hope to see you at either or both races!

09/30/2019

Well, the weather held up and we had a great kart test n tune yesterday. The heat was pretty bad, and I think for the next one, we really should stick to running in the morning. But, the kids stayed hydrated and got a ton of seat time in the two hours. I think Mat and his crew also got some great footage of the kids for the upcoming video... I know they got some GoPro shots off Saraya's kart... so I can't wait for that!

The course was super fast, and we were able to make it loop, so even though the times stayed about 50-60 seconds, they covered a lot of ground and got to feel how a Nationals level course might look and feel, and how far you have to look ahead. The kids were able to work on various elements including a long offset slalom, two circles, lane changes, and a long high-speed sweeper.

I'd like to send a HUGE mahalos out to the awesome volunteers who came out to support our kids! Big ups to Max, Brad, Jack, Joey, Elliot, Elayne, Aaron, Jon, Cody, and Remy for putting in hard work in the hot sun. Also huge thanks to our instructors, Howard, Jenn, Mike, and Ryan... you guys were awesome going from kid to kid and helping them focus on what they needed to improve on.

Last, but not least, a big thank you to the parents... Ryan, Davin, Bill, Verna, and Mike and Jenn. You guys were so great, and just on it! Always looking after the kids, giving so much encouragement, and being so supportive to them, as well as the volunteers... it was awesome! I am so lucky to have gotten such an amazing group to work with when I started this program, and its success is due to the wonderful group effort you all put in.

Thank you so much! Can't wait to see the times drop at the next event!

SCCA Hawaii - Formula Junior Karts

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