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41 °F Forecast | Road Cams Tuesday, January 25, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Opportunities Moving to Southern Oregon? MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend June 4, 2004 Garen Linder, 18, is spending much more time in his shop since his recent graduation from Crater High School. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli Karts keep him going Garen Linder’s fondness for go-karts and other forms of racing translate into a budding business In The Pits By DON HUNT Mail Tribune By the age of 15, Garen Linder was hooked on just about any motorized vehicle he could get his hands on. Dirt bikes, go-karts, four-wheelers, cars — put his hands on a steering wheel and his foot on a throttle and you could keep him happy for hours, especially if he found his way to a competition. But racing costs money, and Garen’s father, Mike, wasn’t about to give his son a free ride throughout his teenage years. In 2001, they came up with a brilliant idea. Noticing that no one locally was supplying go-kart racers with new frames, Garen Linder began to build them in the back of his father’s auto repair shop in northwest Medford. Garen Linder, now 18, graduated from racing go-karts to sprint cars last summer, but his burgeoning kart-building business has never been more popular. Advertisement "Before I started my business, the closest place to get (go-kart) parts was in Red Bluff, Calif.," says Garen Linder, who graduated from Crater High School earlier this week. "That’s a long ways away when something breaks on race night." Linder bends and forms tubing to specified angles to shape his frames, then welds the pieces together. He also builds the cages that surround the frames and adds bumpers and floor pans. He’ll even install the engine if that’s what a customer wants. Linder estimates he could build a kart from start to finish in about three days, but he usually finds himself repairing other karts while building new ones. Currently, he’s constructing two of them. "I take a lot of pride in this because I want to do it right," Linder says, noting that almost all his customers race at the White City track. "It’s time consuming but also satisfying because you’re creating something that people want." Linder has received nothing but positive feedback from his creations. Two of his clients, Eagle Point’s Kevin and C.J. Putnam, rank 1-2 in the 500 cubic inch division point standings at the local oval. "If I have enough patience, I think this (business) could get pretty big," says Linder, who began putting in long hours this week now that he’s finished with school. "The sport keeps growing here locally, and people are always wrecking their karts." On the weekends, Linder leaves his shop and climbs into his own vehicle, a Maxim chassis sprint car. He’s only about a dozen races into his sprint career but already owns a second and a third in main events. Linder has encountered some bad luck this season, blowing an engine one week and getting taken out the next, but he still ranks eighth in the point standings at the Cottage Grove Speedway, where he has finished among the top five in each of his three starts. "I’ll race anything that has a motor, but nothing compares to a sprint car," Linder ways. "Racing a sprint is what motivates me to get in the shop and work." CENTRAL POINT’S Bill Nutter had a rough go in the Northern Sprint Tour’s 2004 season-opener at the Southern Oregon Speedway last Saturday. First, a seal broke in the hydraulic system of Nutter’s wing mount, spewing fluid into his eyes and nearly blinding him for his heat race. Then, during the B main, Nutter blew his engine. He regrouped in a big way the following night at the second NST event in Cottage Grove, however. After installing a new engine that he didn’t plan to run until next year, Nutter won the B main and finished second in the A main. Defending NST points champion Roger Crocket of Eugene won the feature race. Gold Hill’s T.J. Winningham ranks eighth in the NST point standings after the opening two events, Nutter is 10th and Medford’s Todd Zeitler is 15th. A NEW KID’S CLUB is proving hugely popular at the Southern Oregon Speedway. For $5, youngsters receive a T-shirt and are treated to a bus tour of the pits, where they can meet and interact with the drivers. The $5 fee entitles them to pit tours throughout the summer. "In the past, kids couldn’t get into the pits until they were 14," speedway business manager Teresa Lowe says. "It’s heartwarming to see how excited they get." Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers