Go Kart History :: Racing Entertainment Essays

Go Kart History Do you ever hear the word â€Å"karting†? Many people still don’t know what karting is. They try to relate it to the cart; the basket to take your things from the market with the wheels on it. In this situation, kart means the miniature of car racing, especially Formula One (F-1) cars. And karting means racing of using a kart. Maybe if I say â€Å"go kart†, you will know what I am talking about. Actually â€Å"go kart† is a trademark of karting. It is the manufacturing company that originated karting in 1958. The history and accessories of karting are important in order to get started in karting. The history of the go kart is quite interesting. To begin with, there were two guys whose names were Duffy Livingstone and Roy Desbrow. They were partners in a muffler business in Monrovia, California. Both were experts in welding components. One time, they saw Art Ingle’s one off creation (model of the car). Then they were inspired to make their own versions. Duffy built a couple for their friends. And there was another guy whose name was Bill Rowles, a salesman of surplus materials in Los Angeles. He visited their muffler shop very often. He also got inexpensive engines from a failed West Bend rotary lawn mower venture. These three individuals formed a loose partnership to produce and sell kit components for go karts. One day, when they are relaxing in the small office at their muffler shop, the postman came by with many envelopes. These envelopes brought about thirty orders for that day. The demand became constant in the following days, so they thought that they needed to change their business. They formed a corporation for the company called Go Kart manufacturing and leased a five acre facility in Azusa from AeroJet General Corporation. This corporation had six stockholders. Duffy Livingstone, Roy Desbrow, and Bill Rowles were the primary stockholders. Other stockholders were Jim Patronite (the company’s accountant, who later formed Azusa Engineering), Don Boberick, and the company’s office manager. In 1962, Art Linkletter Enterprises wanted to buy the shares for $750,000. But Go Kart declined the offer because the proposal gave the Linkletter group management of Go Kart mfg and Go Kart didn’t trust the Linkletter group ability to manage the Go Kart mfg. However, in less than a year, Go Kart hired a very experienced, energetic and enthusiastic person to manage the sales.