POINT PELEE KARTING CLUB LAUNCHES NEW WEBSITE TO KICKOFF THE 2009 SEASON

Southwestern Ontario club sets new direction for an exciting 2009 season by establishing a new board and new programs

Leamington, Ontario - This week marks a new chapter for the Point Pelee Kart Club as they embark on a new season with big plans and bigger goals in the center of Ontario's agricultural heartland. Things really kick off this week with the launch of a new and improved website designed to promote the club, support members and encourage guests. In only a few weeks time a determined group of supporters pulled together to inject new energy and excitement into the club. With the first board meeting happening on Mother's Day, a lot of ground was covered in a short time. Named after a unique local landmark, Point Pelee is the southern most part of Canada sticking south into Lake Erie and located only minutes from the Windsor/Detroit crossing.

"We are very happy to be starting off 2009 with a new website," comments Point Pelee Kart Club President Todd Quinlan. "This year we are starting with a renewed energy and focus on the great karting community here in our area. Many people have worked hard to build up karting in the southwestern region and we intend to honour that effort."

The new website is chalk full of great features including information about the club, schedules, downloads of key documents, directions, class profiles and much more. The site located at www.pointpeleekarting.com and will be a key resource for anyone looking at participating in any of the scheduled events or heading out to practice.

Veteran kart racer Jason Papp operates the Point Pelee Karting facility overseeing a variety of projects of programs. The track is undergoing loads of new features including a wireless control system to operate traffic lights all around the track. Also, the track is being fitted with a transponder system as well as upgrades to the landscaping and surrounding paddock area.

The season will kick off this Sunday May 31st with the opening day event. The first special event will be held on June 13th and 14th with a double-header weekend of racing featuring a Pig Roast put on by the Van Eerd family. Other special events will include an Australian Pursuit, draws to invert fields, surprise track layouts and a scheduled rain race.

"Yes, a rain date is on the schedule," smiles Cole Cacciavillani, a PPKC board member. "We're farmers out here and we know how to water stuff. We have watering trucks lined up to soak the track after each session. This is going to be a blast and the roaster tails will be three feet high."

Additional programs have been created to give back to this close-knit rural community including a food drive for local food banks and a toys for tots drive. The local Fire Department will be hand to collect the donations designed to help the region and surrounding areas. During these special events, drivers without a donation will be asked to add $5 to their entry fee with all the money going to charity.

The PPKC is offering a full slate of Honda classes along with some special classes to develop new drivers and grow the membership. There will be a TAG Senior class and TAG Junior class open to all touch and go start engines. A Yamaha class has been added to support the American members of the club and encourage more US drivers to cross the border. A new class for 2009 will be a Girls Only Honda Class. Any girl age 10 to 18 can race using a JR Lite engine set-up and with no boys allowed on track we know who will be lining the fences.

"With six girls already signed and more already showing interest, we think this could be a great class," comments Quinlan. "We heard from many of the teenage girls they dropped out of racing because the unrestricted classes got too rough and not very fun."

With an expected membership exceeding 75 for 2009, the board of PPKC is very excited about the 2009 season and look to build quickly on that number. Current PPKC members have already begun to flex their muscle in Ontario Regional karting. At the recent Brian Stewart Racing Karting Championship event held in Sutton Ontario, several club members made the five-hour trek across the province to compete in several classes. Scoring wins for the PPKC banner were Grant Quinlan, Marc Stehle, Clay VanEerd and Cory Caccivillani.

Next time you are looking for fun racing in a family atmosphere look no further then PPKC and be sure to check them out at their new virtual home away from home www.pointpeleekarting.com.

Autosports Media is your premiere source for calendars, plaques, posters, hero cards, website development and press release writing.