WWRD?

So many racers suggest upping the overall game of karting, but they forget the one basic step needed to up that game. Make their machines worthy of a pro series. So ask yourself: What Would Roger Do? That's Roger Penske. Would the Penske team turn up with heavily soiled bodywork, tire marks running along the bodywork, numbers hanging off? Or an immaculately prepared and presented machine worthy of their sponsors?

Many racers ask me how I keep my kart nicely presentable race to race. While my kart's bodywork is
going into its 5th season, it still looks pretty good. I like to clean the entire kart between race weekends with compressed air first, picking tire rubber pickup out of the frame and bodywork. Window cleaner
(the blue stuff) and/or Simple Green takes the dust/bugs/etc. off of the body. Denatured alcohol on a
soft rag or paper towel cleans off the grime on the chassis and engine, as well as the body if you need to. As long as you don't literally soak your decals with the stuff, denatured alky will not harm anything.

As you remove the grit, grime and bugs, look for any defects on your kart, like cracks or misaligned and worn-out parts. Take a moment to fix any mechanical problem areas at this point. Fix any broken or damaged bodywork; if you have fiberglass bodywork, use easily obtained epoxy colorant to match
your bodywork color. This blends in the repair and makes the damage less noticeable. Replace any damaged bodywork decoration tape, decals or numbers. Finally, a good coat of car wax goes onto
the body. Not only does it make the machine look great, but it keeps those blasted bugs from sticking (racers in the South will know what I mean). Don't forget to wax your helmet too!

None of this is expensive. These simple tips don't take long to accomplish, either. They make your machine look great, make you look professional, prolongs the paintwork and gets admiring glances from onlookers. Roger would be proud.