I’m Riley Morgan and I am currently a sophomore. I have been racing gokarts since 2019, when I was nine years old. Normally the Panther Press writes features on other students with interesting hobbies, but I’m going to share some information about my own.
I got involved when my dad started taking me to the track. He started going in 1999 and has been attending ever since. We have been to events in Pittsburgh, Ohio, Virginia and North Carolina. We have been to tracks like Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio and Charolotte Motor Speedway in Charlotte, N.C.
It all started when I began going to the race track with my family when I was just three years old. I fell in love with the atmosphere. The sound of the engines was something I loved.
Before I got my own kart, I participated in an event called the “Fun Finale” at the track. This took place after racing was over on Saturday evenings, where people with limited experience could get a taste of racing. That was my first sense of adrenaline. While I definitely set the slowest lap time on that track, I got addicted from there. I was hungry to keep going back for more.
I always looked up to my dad, and I wanted to be like him. I had also seen other kids around my age racing, and I wanted to try it. After being interested for many years, I got my first kart.
I raced for the first time in September that year. I started in Cadets (ages 8-12), then I moved up to Juniors (ages 12-15), and next year, I will be in the Senior class (ages 15 and up). Our home track is in West Virginia, where we go three to four times a year.
The kind of racing I do is very different than what is common around this area, with most people locally racing on dirt oval tracks. We race on asphalt tracks that are two to three miles long. A typical race lasts anywhere from 20-45 minutes (depending on the class). All these events last the whole weekend.
Due to the tracks being so far, we have to travel a lot. There is a smaller sprint track in Berks County, which is only about two hours away. Since sprint tracks are smaller (about a half mile long), it requires a lot more precision, while the longer tracks rely more on speed and aerodynamics. Sprint tracks usually involve much more close and intense racing. These are usually a one-day event.
While racing is fun, it can also be very dangerous. I have witnessed a couple of wrecks that made me rethink my decisions. The sound of metal crashing is enough to make a grown adult go silent. There have been some really bad ones where the driver has flown out of the kart and hit the wall. Thankfully, the driver is okay most of the time. To ensure safety, drivers are required to wear approved safety gear, such as a suit, helmet, gloves, neck brace and rib protecter.
In this past season, I finished second in the championship. I won one race with many other really close second and third place finishes. In past years, I have had many other wins and finishes in the top three. For the past three to four years, I have finished second or third in the championship.
One of my favorite memories was in 2024 when we were racing in the rain. The feeling of flying through the rain and being soaked and just completely trusting the person in front of you is unmatched. We were in a group of three to four people, pushing each other the whole race. The adrenaline was really flowing when we approached the last corner and were forced to battle it out. I ultimately ended up getting shuffled to the back, so the outcome was not what we wanted, but it was one of the best races I have had.
Like any equipment, karts require maintenance after each race. During the weekend, we tweak little things, like gear changes in hopes of making the kart faster. We also have to change the oil in the motor, and new tires after a few races are always nice.
I enjoy racing because of the adrenaline and the feeling of accomplishment after. I just like the feeling of getting to go fast. The more I race, the greater the desire I have to go faster. I have reached speeds up to 80 m.p.h.
Motorsports are primarily a male dominated sport, making me the only girl most of the time. Recently, there has been an increasing number of females. I think that’s pretty cool, especially when there are more girls than boys.
In the future I want to continue racing gokarts, but I would like to race faster ones, like the laydown karts, which the driver basically lays in. They can reach speeds of over 110 m.p.h.
If I have the opportunity, I would definitely like to move up to cars. I also want to work in a racing atmosphere when I’m older, perhaps as a journalist or even something in the engineering process.
