Verona go-kart racer, 54, wins national competition

Roger Myers loves the strategy and excitement of go-kart racing.

“It intrigues me,” said Myers, 54, of Verona, who was crowned grand national champion at the inaugural American Kart Racing Association competition in Jacksonville, Fla., earlier this year. “I've always had a keen interest in racing.”

Myers said figuring out how to best traverse each unique course is a combination of dealing with “no suspension” — the karts only have an engine and frame — along with making sure tire pressure is adequate to match the texture of the track.

“You set your kart up for different parts of the race,” he said, adding that the factors are geared toward gaining speed as the race progresses.

After buying the chassis and 100 cc 2-cycle engine, Myers said the challenge becomes with figuring out how to get faster without destroying the kart.

“If nothing breaks, you're constantly tweaking and trying to find a little more speed,” he said.

Myers, the director of technology for the Penn Hills School District, has raced competitively for four years. In the summer, he qualified for the national competition by competing in four races in New York, Ohio, Indiana and Maryland.

The national championship, a three-day affair, hosted 50 drivers from across the country ranging in age from 5 to 70.

Myers reached speeds of 40 mph as he navigated banked, S, and off-camber turns on the 0.6-mile course.

“I wasn't the fastest in every race. I won off points,” Myers said of his victory in the Yamaha Senior 2-Cycle Class.

In go-kart racing, “seniors” are drivers over the age of 15.

“Hats off to him,” said Michael Scarabino, karting director at the 400-acre Pitt Race International Complex in Lawrence County.

Scarabino has handed Myers club-level trophies during the past several years and said he feels a sense of pride knowing that one of the local racers he knows won a national title.

“It's cool to see people at our club level hit national races. It's like: ‘Hey! That's one of our guys.'”

Being one of the guys is one of the most enjoyable aspects for Myers.

He said racers end up building camaraderie simply because one man can't carry a go-kart alone.

“He's got that competitive edge,” Scarabino said. “But you always see guys helping each other out. He's solid, loyal ... all you want in a club racer. He's very dedicated.”

Samson X Horne is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 412-320-7845 or shorne@tribweb.com.