California Prokart Challenge readies for 18th season

Flagship Superkarts! USA regional program to kick off 2022 championship at Buttonwillow

The 2022 California ProKart Challenge is set to begin on the April 23-24 weekend at the Buttonwillow Raceway Park. The 18th season of the program kicks off at the Buttonwillow, California facility, welcoming the Superkarts! USA regional competitors for the opening round of the six-round championship.

The Buttonwillow Raceway Park has been a consistent destination for the California ProKart Challenge, largely due to its central location between NorCal and SoCal. The opening round this year is slated for the national circuit in the counter-clockwise direction, including the popular ‘Spa’ and ‘Le Mans’ section that produce exciting finishes.

This year’s series format will again be a ‘Best 5 of 6 races’, with competitors having the ability to drop one round towards their year-end points total. Following the upcoming season opener, the California ProKart Challenge returns to Buttonwillow on May 14-15 for Round Two in the ‘clockwise’ direction. June welcomes the lone ‘double-header’ weekend, with two rounds contested over the June 24-26 weekend at the CalSpeed Karting facility. The series will take off July and August before visiting the historic Santa Maria Karting Association facility on September 10-11 for Round Five. The final round is a return to CalSpeed on October 1-2. The single-round weekends will feature a full day of practice plus qualifying on Saturday, with Prefinal and Final action contested on Sunday.

Another consistent part of the California ProKart Challenge program is the lucrative event and year-end prizes awarded each season. 2022 is no different with a nearly $70,000 prize package over the six-round program. The daily podium prizes for the top-three finishers at each round for every category competing includes a free 2022 PKC entry with tires for first place, a free PKC entry for second, and a $50 MSR credit to third – along with high quality trophies presented at each podium ceremony. Year-end awards continue to recognize the top-three in each championship category. Series champions will earn a 2022 SKUSA SuperNationals entry with tires. Second place in the standings takes home two 2023 PKC entries with tires, while third place is awarded a 2023 PKC entry with tires. The PKC champions in those categories competing at the 2022 SuperNationals also receive a guaranteed SuperSunday starting position. Several additional prizes provided by IAME USA West, Evinco/MG Tires and other PKC partners will be handed out throughout the season as well as at the popular awards banquet at the end of the season, somewhere close to $15,000 in value.

The class structure for the 2022 California ProKart Challenge features the nine national categories along with four regional classes. The cadet divisions include Mini Swift and Micro Swift. All three X30 categories will be contested with Senior, Junior and Master. All three age groups are offered for the KA100 engine package as well with Senior, Junior and Master. Pro Shifter and Master Shifter represent the national shifterkart divisions, while the Stock Moto divisions of Shifter S125, Shifter M125 and S5 Junior remain as regional class options.

Race Pre-Entry remains open for the California ProKart Challenge 2022 opener until the online registration deadline of Tuesday, April 19 at 11:59pm PDT. As always, a 2022 SKUSA membership is mandatory to register and compete. Complete race and venue information, along with a tentative weekend schedule, can be found at the PKC Event Page. Reserved pit spots and camping reservations are highly recommended prior to the pre-entry cutoff and can also be found online.

For more information on anything related to Superkarts! USA, please visit the website – www.superkartsusa.com and be sure to follow the Superkarts! USA Facebook page, Twitter and Instagram accounts.